Method for actuating valves for controlling a flow path and machines, especially medical treatment machines

A machine having a plurality of processes for establishing a plurality of flow paths comprising:

• a plurality of valve actuators for controlling valves to establish flow paths, said valve actuators in said plurality of valve actuators, before being claimed by a particular process, being available to, and controllable by, more than one process;
• a valve actuator control for executing a plurality of processes for establishing said flow paths by controlling a group of said plurality of valve actuators, the valve actuator control being configured such that a first process polls an availability of a group of valve actuators from said plurality of valve actuators to establish a first flow path suitable for said first process to execute a first one of said plurality of processes;
• said first process configured to control said group of valve actuators that are determined to be available for execution of said first one of said plurality of processes, said first process setting switching states for said group of valve actuators, said switching states creating connections between the valve actuators to establish the first flow path;
• said machine configured to compare the connections that define said first flow path with a plurality of connections previously identified as non-permitted connections, said machine upon detection of a non-permitted connection being further configured to enter a safety state in which the switching states identified as creating the non-permitted connection are prevented;
• in an absence of non-permitted connections, said machine configured to permit the switching states to create the first flow path and perform the first process, said claimed valve actuators being unavailable to other processes while said valve actuators are controlled by said first process and other processes being prevented from changing the switching state of said claimed group of valve actuators;
• said valve actuator control being further configured such that a second process is able to poll valve actuators for controlling a second group of valves for performing a second process, polling of a non-available valve actuator by said second process resulting in a request to the first process claiming the non-available valve actuator to release the non-available valve actuator, with only the first process making a decision on this release request;
• and
• said machine monitoring current and scheduled switching states of the valve actuators to avoid a non-permitted connection.

A computer program product comprising a non-transitory storage media encoded with computer executable instructions, the computer executable instructions, when executed, control a plurality of valves to control flow paths in a medical treatment machine that has a plurality of processes for establishment of flow paths by controlling a group of valves from said plurality of valves and setting a switching state of said group of valves, said valves in said plurality of valves, before being claimed by a particular process, being available to, and controllable by, more than one process, said program configured to enable a first process to take control of a group of valves from said plurality of valves and set switching states for creating connections between the valves to establish a flow path for executing the first process before said first process is executed;

• said program further configured to compare the connections defining said flow path with a plurality of connections previously identified as non-permitted connections in a presence of a non-permitted connection, the program initiating a safety state in which the switching states identified as creating a non-permitted connection are prevented in an absence of non-permitted connections, the program permitting the switching states to create the flow path and perform the first process, said claimed valves being non-available to other processes while said valves are claimed by said first process and other processes being unable to change the switching state of said claimed valves while said valves are claimed by said first process;
• said program configured so that polling by a second process of a valve being used in said first process results in a request to the first process claiming said non-available valve for a release of said non-available valve, said first process itself making a decision on said request for the release of the non-available valve claimed by said first process;
• and said program operating to monitor current and scheduled switching states of the valves during performance of said plurality of processes by said machine to avoid, a flow path having a non-permitted connection.