Installation comprising a plurality of numerically controlled machine tools

Claim 1

An installation comprising N machine tools numerically controlled by a computer common to all of the machine tools, each machine tool having n motors to be monitored and controlled, said installation further comprising a data and program input station, monitor means for controlling each machine in accordance with a desired independent program and N interface units connected by at least one bus to said computer, said units being allocated and adapted to individual ones of said machines tool, characterized by the fact that said computer is a minicomputer operating in real time which together with said input station comprises a single centralized control device for simultaneously controlling all N machine tools and all n motors of each machine tool, said minicomputers being adapted to transmit all work commands and all check and state signals respectively, and having a maximum context switching time of 900 ns and a cycle time which is no more than one-fifth of the context switching time, and comprises a central memory as a working storage to store all work programs to be run, and further characterized by the fact that each interface circuit comprises n sections for checking each of the n motors of a machine tool and is a circuit of at least 2n bits, and a monitor integrated circuit connected to the output of each of said sections and assigned and adapted to each motor for all comparison and state functions controlled directly by said minicomputer, and a common identification line connecting all identification lines of said sections.