Feedforward control system, method and control module
OwnerGeorge E. Burke, Jr., George M. Horne +1inventors
InventorsGeorge E. Burke, Jr., George M. Horne, Michael B. Carter
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A control system (FIGS. 2, 3, 5, 6) and method in which multiple levels, or stages (128, 130, 132), of logical decisions are made by selectively feedforwarding output signals (356) from control modules (72) to the inputs of other modules (80), preferably through use of control modules (233) with selective feedforwarding circuits (239, 240) to logically combine during selected synchronous time slots (351) of a synchronous clock signal (FIG. 11) the result of a plurality of nonconcurrent input signals from a plurality of input devices (28, 30, 32, 34) to control an output device (26).
Claims31
A control system for controlling at least one output device in response to a plurality of signals from input devices, comprising:
- a plurality of control modules coupled to a bus, each of the control modules functional as a logical unit;
- means for transferring input signals to the bus from the plurality of control modules responsive to said input devices at selected times associated with the control modules;
- at least one combinational logical unit formed by feedforwarding an output signal from one of the plurality of control modules associated with one of the selected times to an input terminal of at least one other of the plurality of control modules associated with another of the selected times;
- and
- wherein an output of said combinational logic unit is couplable to other of said plurality of control modules to form a multi-level combinational logical control system to control the output device.
A method of controlling at least one output device in response to a plurality of input devices, comprising the steps of:
- transferring input signals to a bus from a plurality of control modules at selected times associated with the control modules;
- and
- feedforwarding an output signal from one of the plurality of control modules associated with one of the selected times to at least one other of the plurality of control modules associated with another of the selected times to control the output device, the output signal being responsive both to the output signal feedforward from the one of the plurality of control modules and to input signals transferred to the bus by the plurality of control modules.
A control system for controlling at least one output device in response to a plurality of signals from input devices, comprising:
- a plurality of control modules, each control module having at least one input terminal and being in time division multiplex communication with a serial multiplex bus at a selected time associated with that control module;
- at least one transferring circuit within each control module for receiving an input signal from its associated input terminal and transferring that input signal to the serial multiplex bus and to an associated output terminal at the selected time associated with that control module;
- and
- means for feedforwarding an output signal from one of the plurality of control modules associated with a selected time to at least one input terminal of at least one other of the plurality of control modules being associated with another selected time, the feedforward output signal of each control module being derived from the transferring circuit of that control module, the output device being controlled by the input signals transferred to the bus by the plurality of control modules and the feedforward output signals.
A control module, comprising:
- a first channel associated with a selected time slot of a time division serial multiplex bus and having an input terminal for receiving an input signal, an output terminal for providing an output signal, and a transferring circuit for transferring the input signal to the bus and to the output terminal;
- a second channel associated with a different selected time slot of the time division serial multiplex bus and having an input terminal for receiving an input signal, an output terminal for providing an output signal and a transferring circuit for transferring the input signal to the bus and to the output terminal;
- a feedforward circuit in each of the first and second channels for selectively feedforwarding an output signal from the associated first or second channel to the input of the other of the first or second channels.
A control system for controlling at least one output device in response to a plurality of signals from input devices, comprising:
- a plurality of control modules, each having a plurality of channels, each channel having an input terminal and being in time division multiplex communication with a serial multiplex bus at a selected time associated with that channel;
- a transferring circuit associated with each channel for receiving an input signal from its associated input terminal and transferring that input signal to the serial multiplex bus and to an associated output terminal at the selected time associated with that channel;
- and
- means for feedforwarding an output signal from one of the plurality of channels associated with a selected time to at least one input terminal of at least one other of the plurality of channels being associated with another selected time, the feedforward output signal of each channel being derived from the transferring circuit of that channel, the output device being controlled by the input signals transferred to the bus by the plurality of channels of each control module and the feedforward output signals.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.