Microprocessor based process control system

A control system for controlling the motion of a machine tool along spatial axes, comprising:

• bus means, including system data, address and control buses for communicating data, address and control information to the below specified components of the system;
• operating systems means for storing program instructions, containing prespecified part programs that require data, manually input thereto for commanding particular machine tool functions and movements;
• interactive data means communicating with said operating systems means, for informing an operator of said system of the data required to perform a particular machine tool function or movement as needed by said part program and for permitting the operator to enter said required data;
• central processor means comprising processor means communicating with said operating systems means, and said interactive means for generating digital command signals to cause the machine tool to move, and for generating information be be displayed to the operator via said interactive data means, said processor means further including means for generating 16 bits of data and address information and means for multiplexing the data and the address information on an internal bus;
• said central processor further including
• address transfer means, including latch means, communicating with said internal bus and said system address bus, for temporarily storing bits of address information and including buffer means for communicating the address information to said systems address bus;
• data transfer means including byte swap means communicating with said internal bus and buffer means communicating with said byte swap means for transferring data to said system data bus, wherein said byte swap means contains first means for selectively transferring the low order eight (8) bits of data information generated by said processor means to the low order bit locations of said system data bus, and for transferring the high order (8) bits of data information generated by said processor means to the low order bit locations of said system data bus;
• control bus means, responsive to output signals from said processor means for indicating when said processor means has placed address or data information on the internal bus and for communicating the status of said processor means to said system control bus;
• memory means, communicating with said address and said internal bus for storing part program and variable data;
• system clock means for generating system timing signals.