Controller for automated apparatus, and method of controlling said apparatus

A controller for an automated apparatus comprising a plurality of independent operating units in cooperative relationship, each operating unit driving a plurality of input/output elements, said controller comprising:

• program control means for controlling said plurality of operation units;
• direct designating means which, when said program control means controls said plurality of operating units independently from an external unit, is for directly designating individual ones of said input/output elements within the automated apparatus by an exclusive first set of numbers;
• external interface means for interfacing said external unit;
• and
• indirect designating means which, when said program control means communicates with the external unit via said interface means, is for indirectly designating individual ones of said input/output elements by a mutually exclusive second set of numbers within each of said operating units;
• said indirect designating means having converting means for converting the second set of numbers into the first set of numbers;
• wherein said controller comprises an externally provided terminal, which includes a display device and a keyboard, capable of being switchingly connected to each of said operating units via said interface means;
• said program control means executes a program settable in an execution mode, a program forming mode, an output setting mode and an input monitoring mode;
• said terminal has a program for setting the controller to any of said modes;
• and
• said terminal is made capable of functioning as a man-machine interface with respect to any input/output element in each of said modes by one number of said second set which corresponds to this input/output element;
• and
• further comprises at least:
• a master module for communicating with said terminal and controlling the overall controller;
• one or a plurality of slave modules for controlling said input/output elements;
• and
• a memory coupled to said master module and slave modules by a bus and shared by these modules;
• wherein a cueing table for cueing commands, which are for controlling said input/output elements and are managed by the second set of numbers of these input/output elements, is provided in said memory;
• and
• said slave module has an internal conversion table for converting said second set of numbers of the cued commands into said first set of numbers.

A method of designating input/output elements of an automated apparatus comprising a plurality of independent operating units in cooperative relationship, each operating unit driving a plurality of input/output elements, said method comprising the steps of:

• assigning a physical number to each input/output element of said plurality of operating units so that every input/output element may be identified within said plurality of operating units;
• assigning a logical number to each input/output element of each operating unit so that every input/output element may be identified within each operating unit;
• inputting a logical number with which one input/output element to be controlled can be specified;
• converting the input logical number into the corresponding physical number;
• and
• controlling the specified element on the basis of the converted physical number.