US6505097B1
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Arithmetic processing device, inter-object communication method, and robot
Assignee: Sony Corp
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Filing: 2000-01-12
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Granted: 2003-01-07
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Expires: 2020-01-12
Abstract
Abstract An arithmetic processing device for inter-object data communication has an object manager for connecting objects so as to enable exchange of data between the objects, and a connection data supplying unit for supplying the object manager with connection data necessary for achieving the connection between the objects. An inter-object communication method and a robot incorporating the arithmetic processing device are also provided. The robot may be designed to enable a user to replace parts thereof, thus changing the robot configuration. The robot preferably includes a part detection unit for detecting parts attached to the robot, and outputting a part detection result in accordance with the detection. An information storage unit stores information corresponding to the part detection result for each configuration obtained by replacement of the parts. A software changing unit revises robot-controlling software in correspondence with a changed configuration, based on a comparison of the part detection result with the information stored in the information storage unit. A controller controls general robot operations in accordance with the revised software.
Inventors
- 👤 Masahiro Fujita
- 👤 Takayuki Sakamoto
- 👤 Kotaro Sabe
- 👤 Tsuyoshi Takagi
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-02 20:37
CPC Classifications
G; G05; G05B; G05B19/00; G05B19/02; G05B19/04; G05B19/042; G05B19/0426; G05B2219/00; G05B2219/20; G05B2219/23; G05B2219/23312; G05B2219/23389; G05B2219/23432; G05B2219/30; G05B2219/32; G05B2219/32137; G05B2219/32161; G05B2219/33; G05B2219/33105; G05B2219/33125; G05B2219/40; G05B2219/40304; Y; Y02; Y02P; Y02P90/00; Y02P90/02; Y10; Y10S; Y10S707/00; Y10S707/99931; Y10S707/99933; Y10S707/99934; Y10T; Y10T74/00; Y10T74/20; Y10T74/20207; Y10T74/20305; Y10T74/20317
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 38
Claim 1
Independent Claim
76 words
An arithmetic processing device for inter-object data communication, comprising: an object manager for connecting objects so as to enable exchange of data between the objects; and connection data supplying means for supplying said object manager with connection data necessary for achieving the connection between said objects; wherein said connection data supplying means selects from among a plurality of sets of connection data recorded in a file, and supplies the selected connection data to said object manager.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
76 words
An arithmetic processing device for inter-object data communication, comprising: an object manager for connecting objects so as to enable exchange of data between the objects; and connection data supplying means for supplying said object manager with connection data necessary for achieving the connection between said objects; wherein said connection data supplying means selects from among a plurality of sets of connection data recorded in a file, and supplies the selected connection data to said object manager.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
28 words
The arithmetic processing device according to claim 1 , wherein said connection data identifies the objects to be connected and the format of the data to be exchanged.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
21 words
The arithmetic processing device according to claim 1 , wherein said connection data is described in the form of text data.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
73 words
An arithmetic processing device for inter-object data communication, comprising: an object manager for connecting objects so as to enable exchange of data between the objects; and connection data supplying means for supplying said object manager with connection data necessary for achieving the connection between said objects; wherein said object manager operates in accordance with said connection data to break connection between objects and then re-connect objects, thereby revising software composed of said objects.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
73 words
An arithmetic processing device for inter-object data communication, comprising: an object manager for connecting objects so as to enable exchange of data between the objects; and connection data supplying means for supplying said object manager with connection data necessary for achieving the connection between said objects; wherein said object manager operates in accordance with said connection data to break connection between objects and then re-connect objects, thereby revising software composed of said objects.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
24 words
The arithmetic processing device according to claim 4 , wherein the revision of the software is for changing the mode of electrical power consumption.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
54 words
An inter-object communication method for data communication between objects, comprising: connecting said objects in accordance with connection data supplied by predetermined data supplying means so as to enable exchange of data between said objects; wherein said connection data has been selected from among a plurality of sets of connection data recorded in a file.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
54 words
An inter-object communication method for data communication between objects, comprising: connecting said objects in accordance with connection data supplied by predetermined data supplying means so as to enable exchange of data between said objects; wherein said connection data has been selected from among a plurality of sets of connection data recorded in a file.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
28 words
The inter-object communication method according to claim 6 , wherein said connection data identifies the objects to be connected and the format of the data to be exchanged.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
21 words
The inter-object communication method according to claim 6 , wherein said connection data is described in the form of text data.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
55 words
An inter-object communication method for data communication between objects, comprising: connecting said objects in accordance with connection data supplied by predetermined data supplying means so as to enable exchange of data between said objects; and breaking connection between objects, and re-connecting objects, in accordance with said connection data, thereby revising software composed of said objects.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
55 words
An inter-object communication method for data communication between objects, comprising: connecting said objects in accordance with connection data supplied by predetermined data supplying means so as to enable exchange of data between said objects; and breaking connection between objects, and re-connecting objects, in accordance with said connection data, thereby revising software composed of said objects.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
25 words
The inter-object communication method according to claim 9 , wherein the revision of the software is implemented to change the mode of electrical power consumption.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
88 words
A robot having replaceable parts to enable the robot configuration to be changed, the overall actions of said robot being controlled by software containing objects through inter-object data communication, said robot comprising: an object manager for connecting objects so as to enable exchange of data between the objects; and connection data supplying means for supplying said object manager with connection data necessary for achieving the connection between said objects; wherein said connection data is selected from among a plurality of sets of connection data recorded in a file.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
88 words
A robot having replaceable parts to enable the robot configuration to be changed, the overall actions of said robot being controlled by software containing objects through inter-object data communication, said robot comprising: an object manager for connecting objects so as to enable exchange of data between the objects; and connection data supplying means for supplying said object manager with connection data necessary for achieving the connection between said objects; wherein said connection data is selected from among a plurality of sets of connection data recorded in a file.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
26 words
The robot according to claim 11 , wherein said connection data identifies the objects to be connected and the format of the data to be exchanged.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
19 words
The robot according to claim 12 , wherein said connection data is described in the form of text data.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
94 words
A robot having replaceable parts to enable the robot configuration to be changed, the overall actions of said robot being controlled by software containing objects through inter-object data communication, said robot comprising: an object manager for connecting objects so as to enable exchange of data between the objects; and connection data supplying means for supplying said object manager with connection data necessary for achieving the connection between said objects; wherein said object manager operates in accordance with said connection data to break connection between objects and then to re-connect objects, thereby revising said software.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
94 words
A robot having replaceable parts to enable the robot configuration to be changed, the overall actions of said robot being controlled by software containing objects through inter-object data communication, said robot comprising: an object manager for connecting objects so as to enable exchange of data between the objects; and connection data supplying means for supplying said object manager with connection data necessary for achieving the connection between said objects; wherein said object manager operates in accordance with said connection data to break connection between objects and then to re-connect objects, thereby revising said software.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
20 words
The robot according to claim 14 , wherein the software is revised to change the mode of electrical power consumption.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
50 words
The robot according to claim 14 , further comprising component detecting means for detecting said parts, wherein said connection data is supplied in accordance with the results of the detection performed by said component detecting means, whereby the revision of the software is achieved in accordance with the robot configuration.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
86 words
The robot according to claim 16 , wherein: said component detecting means includes a robot serial bus operative to receive data from said parts; and said connection data supplying means comprises robot system software including a virtual robot object operatively coupled to said robot serial bus and retrieving connection information indicative of a current robot configuration, and a design robot object for receiving said connection information from said virtual robot object and supplying said connection data in accordance with said connection information to said object manager.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
101 words
A robot having a configuration that is changeable via replacement of parts thereof, comprising: part detection means for detecting parts attached to said robot, and outputting a part detection result in accordance with said detection; information storage means for storing information corresponding to said part detection result for each configuration obtained by replacement of said parts; software changing means for changing robot-controlling software in correspondence with a changed configuration, based on a comparison of said part detection result with the information stored in said information storing means; and control means for controlling general robot operations in accordance with said changed software.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
101 words
A robot having a configuration that is changeable via replacement of parts thereof, comprising: part detection means for detecting parts attached to said robot, and outputting a part detection result in accordance with said detection; information storage means for storing information corresponding to said part detection result for each configuration obtained by replacement of said parts; software changing means for changing robot-controlling software in correspondence with a changed configuration, based on a comparison of said part detection result with the information stored in said information storing means; and control means for controlling general robot operations in accordance with said changed software.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
33 words
The robot according to claim 18 , wherein said software comprises objects and said software changing means changes said software corresponding to said changed configuration by changing said objects based on said comparison.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
46 words
The robot according to claim 18 wherein: said software includes: configuration-dependent software dependent on a change in said configuration; and configuration-independent software independent of a change in said configuration; and said software changing means changes software corresponding to said changed configuration by changing said configuration-dependent software.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
22 words
The robot according to claim 18 , wherein information corresponding to said part detection result is written in a text data format.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
110 words
A robot having a configuration that is changeable via replacement of parts thereof, comprising: robot system software running on processing circuitry within said robot, and including a virtual robot object operatively coupled to said parts and operative to detect parts attached to said robot, and to output a part detection result in accordance with said detection; an information storage unit for storing information corresponding to said part detection result for each configuration obtained by replacement of said parts; and a software changing unit operable to revise robot-controlling software in correspondence with a changed configuration, based on a comparison of said part detection result with the information stored in said memory.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
110 words
A robot having a configuration that is changeable via replacement of parts thereof, comprising: robot system software running on processing circuitry within said robot, and including a virtual robot object operatively coupled to said parts and operative to detect parts attached to said robot, and to output a part detection result in accordance with said detection; an information storage unit for storing information corresponding to said part detection result for each configuration obtained by replacement of said parts; and a software changing unit operable to revise robot-controlling software in correspondence with a changed configuration, based on a comparison of said part detection result with the information stored in said memory.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
35 words
The robot according to claim 22 , wherein said robot-controlling software comprises objects and said software changing unit revises said robot-controlling software corresponding to said changed configuration by changing said objects based on said comparison.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
48 words
The robot according to claim 22 , wherein: said robot-controlling software includes: configuration-dependent software dependent on a change in said configuration; and configuration-independent software independent of a change in said configuration; and said software changing unit revises software corresponding to said changed configuration by revising said configuration-dependent software.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
22 words
The robot according to claim 22 , wherein information corresponding to said part detection result is written in a text data format.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
66 words
Apparatus for processing data transmitted between a plurality of objects, comprising: means for defining a plurality of combinations of objects; means for providing specific information corresponding to each of said plurality of combinations of objects; and means responsive to said specific information for generating at least one control signal for application of said plurality of objects to manage the data transmitted between said plurality of objects.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
66 words
Apparatus for processing data transmitted between a plurality of objects, comprising: means for defining a plurality of combinations of objects; means for providing specific information corresponding to each of said plurality of combinations of objects; and means responsive to said specific information for generating at least one control signal for application of said plurality of objects to manage the data transmitted between said plurality of objects.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
13 words
The apparatus according to claim 26 , wherein said apparatus is a robot.
Claim 37
Independent Claim
65 words
A method for processing data transmitted between a plurality of objects, comprising the steps of: defining a plurality of combinations of objects; providing specific information corresponding to each of said combinations of objects; and generating, in accordance with said specific information, at least one control signal for application to each of said plurality of objects to manage the data transmitted between said plurality of objects.
Claim 38
Independent Claim
65 words
A method for processing data transmitted between a plurality of objects, comprising the steps of: defining a plurality of combinations of objects; providing specific information corresponding to each of said combinations of objects; and generating, in accordance with said specific information, at least one control signal for application to each of said plurality of objects to manage the data transmitted between said plurality of objects.
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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) | 2006-01-06 | 2006-07-08 | 2007-01-07 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2010-01-06 | 2010-07-08 | 2011-01-07 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2014-01-06 | 2014-07-08 | 2015-01-07 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |