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US5189604A
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Distributed logic control system and method
Assignee: El Paso Technologies Co
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Filing: 1990-12-19
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Granted: 1993-02-23
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Expires: 2010-12-19
Abstract
Abstract A system and method for controlling operation of a plurality of elements in an automated process, such as a production process, and indicating error conditions as they occur. Each unique set of input and output conditions of the various system elements defines a unique logic state or zone. Thus, there are defined a multiplicity of valid system logic states or zones, each having a unique input/output image. A predetermined sequence of zones, productive zones representing designed machine operations, is stored in a zone table. All zones not explicitly defined in the zone table are automatically treated as error zones. A zone engine automatically cycles to observe any change in input/output image. Any change in inputs from the various system elements automatically transfer action to the unique zone associated with such inputs, resulting in corresponding changes in control outputs to the system elements and/or display an error message as appropriate.
Inventors
- 👤 Rodger T. Lovrenich
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-01 05:16
CPC Classifications
G; G05; G05B; G05B19/00; G05B19/02; G05B19/18; G05B19/406; G05B19/4063; G05B19/04; G05B19/05; G05B19/058; G05B2219/00; G05B2219/10; G05B2219/11; G05B2219/1159; G05B2219/12; G05B2219/1204; G05B2219/13; G05B2219/13066; G05B2219/13067; G05B2219/13189; G05B2219/14; G05B2219/14044; G05B2219/14055; G05B2219/14074; G05B2219/14091
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 28
Claim 1
Independent Claim
72 words
An apparatus for indicating errors in a machine comprising: means having a table containing a list of zone names, input/output names, input/output images for each zone and allowed zones for each said zone; and means having a stored input/output image and last valid zone name, and a memory containing a plurality of error designations and means for implementing an algorithm for generating an error message from said table and said stored data.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
72 words
An apparatus for indicating errors in a machine comprising: means having a table containing a list of zone names, input/output names, input/output images for each zone and allowed zones for each said zone; and means having a stored input/output image and last valid zone name, and a memory containing a plurality of error designations and means for implementing an algorithm for generating an error message from said table and said stored data.
Claim 3
Independent Claim
82 words
An apparatus for indicating errors in a machine comprising: means having a table containing a list of zone names, input/output names, input/output images for each zone and allowed zones for each said zone; a memory containing a plurality of error designations; means for formulating an error message from said table and memory indicative of said error condition; and means for implementing an algorithm which selects data from said table and combines the data with other fixed words to generate an error message.
Claim 4
Independent Claim
82 words
An apparatus for indicating errors in a machine comprising: means having a table containing a list of zone names, input/output names, input/output images for each zone and allowed zones for each said zone; a memory containing a plurality of error designations; means for formulating an error message from said table and memory indicative of said error condition; and means for implementing an algorithm which selects data from said table and combines the data with other fixed words to generate an error message.
Claim 5
Independent Claim
95 words
An apparatus for indicating errors in a machine comprising: means having a table containing a list of zone names, input/output names, input/output images for each zone and allowed zones for each said zone; a memory containing a plurality of error designations; means for formulating an error message from said table and memory indicative of said error condition; and means for generating the error message from the names of the last valid zone and the input/output names that caused the input/output image to not match the last valid zone or any of the allowed next zones.
Claim 6
Independent Claim
95 words
An apparatus for indicating errors in a machine comprising: means having a table containing a list of zone names, input/output names, input/output images for each zone and allowed zones for each said zone; a memory containing a plurality of error designations; means for formulating an error message from said table and memory indicative of said error condition; and means for generating the error message from the names of the last valid zone and the input/output names that caused the input/output image to not match the last valid zone or any of the allowed next zones.
Claim 7
Independent Claim
63 words
An apparatus for indicating an error condition of a machine comprising: means for looking up a zone name and an input/output name; means for determining an error designation from a plurality of error designations indicative of an error condition; means for combining said zone name, said input/output name, and said error designation into an error message; and means for displaying said error message.
Claim 8
Independent Claim
63 words
An apparatus for indicating an error condition of a machine comprising: means for looking up a zone name and an input/output name; means for determining an error designation from a plurality of error designations indicative of an error condition; means for combining said zone name, said input/output name, and said error designation into an error message; and means for displaying said error message.
Claim 9
Independent Claim
59 words
A method for indicating an error condition of an apparatus comprising the steps of: looking up a zone name and an input/output image name; determining an error designation from a plurality of error designations indicative of said error condition; combining said zone name, said input/output name, and said error designation into an error message; and displaying said error message.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
59 words
A method for indicating an error condition of an apparatus comprising the steps of: looking up a zone name and an input/output image name; determining an error designation from a plurality of error designations indicative of said error condition; combining said zone name, said input/output name, and said error designation into an error message; and displaying said error message.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
89 words
A method of indicating an error condition of an apparatus having at least one mechanism, one input, one output and a plurality of states of operation characterized by: storing a unique zone name for each zone of said mechanism, storing a unique input/output name for each input/output, providing at least one template containing fixed words and blank spaces, and upon detecting an error, selecting zone and input/output names for insertion into the blanks of the appropriate template to generate a message using data stored upon detection of the error.
Claim 12
Independent Claim
89 words
A method of indicating an error condition of an apparatus having at least one mechanism, one input, one output and a plurality of states of operation characterized by: storing a unique zone name for each zone of said mechanism, storing a unique input/output name for each input/output, providing at least one template containing fixed words and blank spaces, and upon detecting an error, selecting zone and input/output names for insertion into the blanks of the appropriate template to generate a message using data stored upon detection of the error.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
41 words
The method as set forth in claim 6 further characterized by: saving the actual input/output image when leaving a zone, and using said image for selecting a next a zone and, if an error is detected, for generating the error message.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method as set forth in claim 6 further characterized by: generating a plain language text error message.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
49 words
The method as set forth in claim 6 further characterized the step of storing a unique zone name includes storing at least one error zone name, indicating an error condition when, after determining to depart a present zone, no next zone can be selected, and entering the error zone.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method as set forth in claim 6 further characterized by: displaying an error message indicative of an error condition.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method as set forth in claim 6 further characterized by: recording an identifier of each zone that is departed and the actual time spent in that zone.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method as set forth in claim 6 further characterized by: recording the occurrence of each error in a journal.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
92 words
The method of claim 6 further comprising the steps of: storing a table containing a list of zone names, input/output names, input/output images for each zone and allowed zones for each said zone, storing in a memory of plurality of error designations, formulating an error message from said table and memory indicative of said error condition, and generating the error message from the names of the last valid zone and the input/output names that caused the input/output image to not match the last valid zone or any of the allowed next zones.
Claim 20
Independent Claim
97 words
An apparatus for indicating an error condition in a machine having at least one mechanism, one input, one output and a plurality of states of operation characterized by: means for storing a unique zone name for each zone of said mechanism, means for storing a unique input/output name for each input/output, means for providing at least one template containing fixed words and blank spaces, and means, upon detecting an error, for selecting zone and input/output names for insertion into the blanks of the appropriate template to generate the message using data stored upon detection of the error.
Claim 21
Independent Claim
97 words
An apparatus for indicating an error condition in a machine having at least one mechanism, one input, one output and a plurality of states of operation characterized by: means for storing a unique zone name for each zone of said mechanism, means for storing a unique input/output name for each input/output, means for providing at least one template containing fixed words and blank spaces, and means, upon detecting an error, for selecting zone and input/output names for insertion into the blanks of the appropriate template to generate the message using data stored upon detection of the error.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
41 words
The apparatus of claim 14 further characterized by: means for saving the actual input/output image when leaving a zone, and means for using said image for selecting a next zone and, if an error is detected, for generating the error message.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
17 words
The apparatus of claim 14 further characterized by: means for generating a plain language text error message.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
54 words
The apparatus as set forth in claim 14 further characterized by: the means for storing a unique zone name includes storing at least one error zone name, means for indicating an error condition when, after determining to depart a present zone, no next zone can be selected, and means for entering the error zone.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
19 words
The apparatus of claim 14 further characterized by: means for displaying an error message indicative of an error condition.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
27 words
The apparatus of claim 14 further characterized by: means for recording an identifier of each zone that is departed and the actual time spent in that zone.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
19 words
The apparatus of claim 14 further characterized by: means for recording the occurrence of each error in a journal.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
94 words
The apparatus of claim 14 further characterized by: means having a table containing a list of zone names, input/output names, input/output images for each zone and allowed zones for each said zone, a memory containing a plurality of error designations, means for formulating an error message from said table and memory indicative of said error condition, and means for generating the error message from the names of the last valid zone and the input/output names that caused the input/output image to not match the last valid zone or any of the allowed next zones.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1996-02-23 | 1996-08-24 | 1997-02-23 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2000-02-23 | 2000-08-24 | 2001-02-23 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2004-02-23 | 2004-08-24 | 2005-02-23 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |