US5252899A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Numerical control system
Assignee: Fanuc Corp
•
Filing: 1992-04-30
•
Granted: 1993-10-12
•
Expires: 2012-04-30
Abstract
Abstract A numerical control system for controlling a plurality of axes with a plurality of functional arrangements includes a controller bus (1) having a plurality of slots, a plurality of controllers (10, 20, 30) each of which can read, decode, and execute numerical control commands for a group of axes. The controllers are connected to the channel bus (1), and axis control modules (3, 4) for controlling a plurality of servomotors. The controllers (10, 20, 30) share processing operations and use common peripherals, making the numerical control system flexible.
Inventors
- 👤 Hideaki Kawamura
- 👤 Kentaro Fujibayashi
- 👤 Morimasa Sato
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-31 19:35
CPC Classifications
G; G05; G05B; G05B19/00; G05B19/02; G05B19/18; G05B19/414; G05B19/4141; G05B2219/00; G05B2219/30; G05B2219/33; G05B2219/33129; G05B2219/33163; G05B2219/33334; G05B2219/33341; G05B2219/34; G05B2219/34009; G05B2219/34011; G05B2219/34422
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 19
Claim 1
Independent Claim
221 words
A numerical control system for controlling a plurality of axes of a numerically controlled machine, comprising: a controller bus; a plurality of controllers, coupled to said controller bus, each of which can read, decode, and execute a numerical control command for a respective group of the plurality of axes in accordance with a selected one of a plurality of functional arrangements, each of the plurality of functional arrangements indicating particular groupings of the plurality of axes and corresponding controllers which are to control each particular grouping of the plurality of axes, a first one of the plurality of controllers capable of determining whether the first one of the plurality of controllers needs access to data which a second one of the plurality of controllers holds, the first one of the plurality of controllers being capable of alerting the second one of the plurality of controllers that the first one of the plurality of controllers needs access to the data which the second one of the plurality of controllers holds, and the second one of the plurality of controllers being capable of providing the first one of the plurality of controllers with the data in response to the alerting; and an axis control module connected to said controller bus, for controlling the plurality of axes in response to the numerical control command.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
221 words
A numerical control system for controlling a plurality of axes of a numerically controlled machine, comprising: a controller bus; a plurality of controllers, coupled to said controller bus, each of which can read, decode, and execute a numerical control command for a respective group of the plurality of axes in accordance with a selected one of a plurality of functional arrangements, each of the plurality of functional arrangements indicating particular groupings of the plurality of axes and corresponding controllers which are to control each particular grouping of the plurality of axes, a first one of the plurality of controllers capable of determining whether the first one of the plurality of controllers needs access to data which a second one of the plurality of controllers holds, the first one of the plurality of controllers being capable of alerting the second one of the plurality of controllers that the first one of the plurality of controllers needs access to the data which the second one of the plurality of controllers holds, and the second one of the plurality of controllers being capable of providing the first one of the plurality of controllers with the data in response to the alerting; and an axis control module connected to said controller bus, for controlling the plurality of axes in response to the numerical control command.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
36 words
A numerical control system according to claim 1, further comprising: a peripheral device coupled to said controller bus, for selecting the selected one of the plurality of functional arrangements using parameters, control programs, or external signals.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
43 words
A numerical control system according to claim 1, wherein one of said plurality of controllers serves as a master controller for controlling a numerical control system, and wherein the master controller is used to monitor the other ones of said plurality of controllers.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
28 words
A numerical control system according to clam 3, wherein said master controller can transfer a master function to one of the other ones of the plurality of controllers.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
28 words
A numerical control system according to clam 3, wherein said master controller can transfer a master function to one of the other ones of the plurality of controllers.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
35 words
A numerical control system according to claim 1, further comprising: a CRT/MDI unit connected to said controller bus, wherein each of said plurality of controllers includes a display control means for controlling the CRT/MDI unit.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
60 words
A numerical control system according to claim 1, further comprising: an input/output unit, coupled to said controller bus, including at least one of a floppy disk drive, tape reader, tape puncher, hard disk drive, host computer, spindle control circuit, and a programmable controller, and wherein one of said plurality of controllers includes: an external interface for controlling the input/output unit.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
33 words
A numerical control system according to clam 1, wherein each of said plurality of controllers comprises: a processor, a RAM, a ROM, and an interface which are mounted on a single printed-circuit board.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
33 words
A numerical control system according to clam 1, wherein each of said plurality of controllers comprises: a processor, a RAM, a ROM, and an interface which are mounted on a single printed-circuit board.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
24 words
A numerical control system according to claim 7, wherein each of said plurality of controllers further comprises: a coprocessor, and a memory management unit.
Claim 12
Independent Claim
186 words
A method for expanding a processing capability of a numerical control system for controlling a plurality of axes of a machine, the numerical control system including first and second controllers which process a plurality of tasks which relate to the controlling of the plurality of axes, comprising the steps of: (a) selecting a functional arrangement which assigns the first controller to control a first group of the plurality of axes, and which assigns the second controller to control a second group of the plurality of axes; (b) assigning a plurality of tasks to each of the first and second controllers to control the first and second groups, respectively; (c) determining whether one of the plurality of tasks assigned to the first controller causes a processing capability of the first controller to be exceeded; (d) determining whether the second controller has a processing capability when the processing capability of the first controller has been exceeded; and (e) assigning the one of the plurality of tasks to the second controller when the second controller has processing capability and when the processing capability of the first controller is exceeded.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
186 words
A method for expanding a processing capability of a numerical control system for controlling a plurality of axes of a machine, the numerical control system including first and second controllers which process a plurality of tasks which relate to the controlling of the plurality of axes, comprising the steps of: (a) selecting a functional arrangement which assigns the first controller to control a first group of the plurality of axes, and which assigns the second controller to control a second group of the plurality of axes; (b) assigning a plurality of tasks to each of the first and second controllers to control the first and second groups, respectively; (c) determining whether one of the plurality of tasks assigned to the first controller causes a processing capability of the first controller to be exceeded; (d) determining whether the second controller has a processing capability when the processing capability of the first controller has been exceeded; and (e) assigning the one of the plurality of tasks to the second controller when the second controller has processing capability and when the processing capability of the first controller is exceeded.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
54 words
A method according to claim 9, further comprising the steps of: (f) processing the one of the plurality of tasks with the second controller to generate a result; and (g) returning the result of the one of the plurality of tasks of the second controller to the first controller whose processing capability was exceeded.
Claim 15
Independent Claim
227 words
A method for reducing an amount of memory needed for a numerical control system for controlling a plurality of axes of a numerical control machine, the numerical control system having a plurality of controllers which each read, decode and execute numerical control commands, operate on data, and are operatively connected to each other by a controller bus, comprising the steps of: (a) selecting a functional arrangement which assigns the first controller to control a first group of the plurality of axes, and which assigns the second controller to control a second group of the plurality of axes; (b) providing the first and second controllers with data for control of the first and second groups; (c) determining whether a first one of the plurality of controllers needs access to data which a second one of the plurality of controllers holds; (d) alerting the second controller when said determining in said step (c) establishes that the first one of the plurality of controllers needs access to data which the second one of the plurality of controllers holds; and (e) supplying the data from the second one of the plurality of controllers to the first one of the plurality of controllers when said determining in step (d) establishes that the first one of plurality of controllers needs access to data which the second one of the plurality of controllers holds.
Claim 16
Independent Claim
227 words
A method for reducing an amount of memory needed for a numerical control system for controlling a plurality of axes of a numerical control machine, the numerical control system having a plurality of controllers which each read, decode and execute numerical control commands, operate on data, and are operatively connected to each other by a controller bus, comprising the steps of: (a) selecting a functional arrangement which assigns the first controller to control a first group of the plurality of axes, and which assigns the second controller to control a second group of the plurality of axes; (b) providing the first and second controllers with data for control of the first and second groups; (c) determining whether a first one of the plurality of controllers needs access to data which a second one of the plurality of controllers holds; (d) alerting the second controller when said determining in said step (c) establishes that the first one of the plurality of controllers needs access to data which the second one of the plurality of controllers holds; and (e) supplying the data from the second one of the plurality of controllers to the first one of the plurality of controllers when said determining in step (d) establishes that the first one of plurality of controllers needs access to data which the second one of the plurality of controllers holds.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
195 words
A numerical control system for controlling first and second groups of servomotors of a numerically controlled machine, said numerical control system being supplied with first and second numerical control commands, said numerical control system comprising: a controller bus; a first controller operatively coupled to said controller bus and having a first processing capability, which receives, decodes and executes the first numerical control command including a first task and corresponding to the first group of servomotors to generate first machine control data, and which generates a first alarm signal when the first processing capability is exceeded; a second controller operatively coupled to said controller bus and having a second processing capability, which receives, decodes and executes the second numerical control command corresponding to a second group of servomotors to generate second machine control data, and which receives and executes the first task in response to the first alarm signal when the second processing capability is not exceeded; and an axis control module operatively connected to said controller bus, which controls the first group of servomotors and the second group of servomotors in response to the first machine control data and the second machine control data, respectively.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
195 words
A numerical control system for controlling first and second groups of servomotors of a numerically controlled machine, said numerical control system being supplied with first and second numerical control commands, said numerical control system comprising: a controller bus; a first controller operatively coupled to said controller bus and having a first processing capability, which receives, decodes and executes the first numerical control command including a first task and corresponding to the first group of servomotors to generate first machine control data, and which generates a first alarm signal when the first processing capability is exceeded; a second controller operatively coupled to said controller bus and having a second processing capability, which receives, decodes and executes the second numerical control command corresponding to a second group of servomotors to generate second machine control data, and which receives and executes the first task in response to the first alarm signal when the second processing capability is not exceeded; and an axis control module operatively connected to said controller bus, which controls the first group of servomotors and the second group of servomotors in response to the first machine control data and the second machine control data, respectively.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
60 words
A numerical control system according to claim 12, wherein the second numerical control command includes a second task, wherein the second controller generates a second alarm signal when the second processing capability is exceeded, and wherein the first controller receives and executes the second task in response to the second alarm signal when the first processing capability is not exceeded.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1996-10-11 | 1997-04-12 | 1997-10-12 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2000-10-11 | 2001-04-12 | 2001-10-12 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2004-10-11 | 2005-04-12 | 2005-10-12 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |