United States Patent [19] [11] Patent Number: 4,780,631 Griininger [45] Date of Patent: Oct

United States Patent [19] [11] Patent Number: 4,780,631 Griininger [45] Date of Patent: Oct. 25, 1988

[54] DEVICE FOR THE ELECTRONIC CONTROL [56] References Cited AND REGULATION OF MACHINES U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS [75] Inventor: Alois Griininger, Augsburg, Fed. 4,393,343 7/1983 Angersbach et al...... 318/640 4,420,793 12/1983 Strandberg ...... 361/415 Rep. of Germany 4,584,511 4/1986 Rudich, Jr. et a1...... 361/415 [73] Assignee: Erhardt & Leimer GmbH, Augsburg, FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS Fed. Rep. of Germany 1076766 3/1960 Fed. Rep. of Germany ...... 361/415 54-23302 2/1979 Japan ...... 361/415 [21] Appl. No.: 88,466 594340 1/1978 Switzerland ...... 361/415 Primary Examiner-Patrick R. Salce Assistant Examiner-—D. L. Rebsch [22] Filed: Aug, 19, 1987 Attorney, Agent, or Firm—Herbert Dubno [57] ABSTRACT Related US. Application Data An electronic control and regulation device for a ma [63] Continuation of Ser. No. 844,465, Mar. 26, 1986, aban chine or like apparatus has a plurality of printed circuit cloned. boards in a housing, each of the printed circuit boards having interconnected analog and digital circuitry with [30] Foreign Application Priority Data respective analog and digital terminals. The analog and digital terminals of all of the boards are interconnected Mar. 26, 1985 [DE] Fed. Rep. of Germany ...... 3510820 respectively by analog and digital conductor bundles, the analog conductor bundle running to the machine or [51] Int. Cl.4 ...... c0513 l/06;H05K 1/14 apparatus to be controlled, and serving as well to supply [52] us. 01...... 310/71; 310/DIG. 6; the electric current to the analog part of each printed 318/594 circuit board. [58] Field of Search ...... 310/68 R, 71, 89, DIG. 6; 318/594, 600, 636, 640; 361/415, 413 13 Claims, 2 Drawing Sheets

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H GI US. Patent Oct.25, 1988 Sheet 2 of2 4,780,631 4,780,631 1 2 ual connectors or conductor attachments for each of the DEVICE FOR THE ELECTRONIC CONTROL AND conductors or pairs of conductors used for the above REGULATION OF MACHINES mentioned purposes on the printed circuit board. Only for the digital part has it been the practice to This is a continuation of co-pending application Ser. 5 provide standardized data collection conductors or No. 844,465 ?led on Mar. 26, 1986, now abandoned. so-called buses, for connection between a number of printed circuit boards. FIELD OF THE INVENTION The provision of a multiplicity of individually con My present invention relates to a device or apparatus nected conductors to such printed circuit boards is a for the electronic control or regulation, i.e. the direc- 10 major problem and, indeed, a major cause of the unreli tion of operations of and the regulation of the speed of, ability of such printed circuit board control systems as machines and like apparatus utilizing circuits on printed have been provided heretofore. Not only does this circuit boards. More particularly, the invention relates problem arise because connections may not properly be to machine control systems utilizing both analog and made, but also because each of the connections is indi digital electronic circuitry and having a housing in 15 vidually sensitive to handling and mechanical strain which printed circuit boards carrying such circuitry are upon insertion or removal of the printed circuit board. mounted. The replacement of a defective printed circuit board is dif?cult and time-consuming, so that the maintenance of BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION the electronic control and regulation device is dif?cult. In general, the control and regulation circuitry for 20 machinery, in which such circuitry is provided on OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION printed circuit boards, comprises the usual electronic It is, therefore, the principal object of the present components on a plurality of such circuit boards in a invention to provide an improved device for the elec common housing, the circuit boards having conductive tronic control and regulation of a machine or other tracks which are applied by a printing operation to 25 controlled apparatus which avoids the aforementioned make electrical connection among the components in drawbacks and provides improved control and regula the formation of the circuit carried by each printed tion without sensitivity to mechanical stress upon circuit board. printed circuit boards of the control system. The complete printed circuit board, carrying the Another object of the invention is to provide an appropriate elements in their operative interconnection 30 electrnic control and regulating device in which the are mounted in a housing which is generally separated electrical connections to and from the electronic circuit from the machine or apparatus to be controlled so that elements on the printed circuit boards can be made these circuits can be interconnected as required, to pro rapidly, simply and reliably. vide the desired control and regulation. In modern high ef?ciency and high precision control 35 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION and regulation units, it is common to detect parameters These objects and others which will become apparent of the machine or apparatus operation in an analog form hereinafter are attained, in accordance with the present to convert the analog signals which thus result in digital invention, in a device for the electronic control and signals and to process the latter signals digitally, utiliz regulation of machines and other controlled apparatus ing a microprocessor or microcomputer, for example. in which a plurality of printed circuit boards in a com The output digital signals, of course, must be trans mon housing carry the control circuitry. formed again into analog signals, which after appropri According to the invention, each of the printed cir ate ampli?cation, if necessary, and modi?cation for cuit boards is provided with a single analog connector control purposes, are applied to the machine or other or terminal for the analog part and a single digital con controlled apparatus to effect a change in the operation 45 nector or terminal for the digital part of the circuit thereof, eg a change in direction or speed. formed on the respective printed circuit board, each of It is not uncommon, therefore, for a printed circuit these terminals being of the multicontact type. board as used in such applications to carry analog cir According to the invention, moreover, an analog cuitry and the associated electronic components for conductor bundle and a digital conductor bundle are such circuitry, as well as electronic components for provided, the analog conductor bundle being connected digital signal processing. to the analog part by the single analog terminal and the At the interfaces between analog and digital parts, digital conductor bundle being connected electrically to analog/ digital converters are required. the digital part via the digital terminal. The digital components of the individual printed All of the connections to the analog part of the circuit boards must be electrically interconnected with 55 printed circuit board, therefore, are made through the one another. Furthermore, connections must be pro analog conductor bundle which is thereby constituted vided for current supply. as an analog bus. The inputs to the analog part of the printed circuit Similarly, the digital conductor bundle can contain boards are provided with pickups for measured values all of the necessary conductors for tying together the from the machine or controlled apparatus and the out digital parts of a plurality of printed circuit boards uti puts of the analog part which generally applied to elec lizing a digital bus. tric motors, such as servomotors or other positioning The result is a high reliability system which prevents elements, capable of modi?cation of machine operation uncontrolled conductor paths or locations which might or changing machine control conditions. For externally introduce electrical perturbations in the control system. measuring and test devices, additional conductors must 65 The analog and digital terminals, moreover, allow be provided. each printed circuit board to be rapidly and simply In practice in the machine control environment de connected in the system. Similarly, a subsequent re scribed above, it has been necessary to provide individ placement of the printed circuit board can be easily 4,780,631 3 4 undertaken in a unitary packaged electrical connection system of modular construction with high ?exibility in BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING setting up the control and regulation system for differ The above and other objects, features and advantages ent requirements of the machine or apparatus. Advanta of the present invention will become more readily ap geously, the analog parts of each printed circuit board parent from the following description, reference being are supplied by current supply conductors of the re made to the accompanying drawing in which: spective analog conductor bundle. The integration of FIG. 1 is a diagram of an electronic control and regu the current supply directly into the analog conductor lating circuit for a machine illustrated in somewhat bundle results in a further simpli?cation of the electrical simpli?ed form; and structure in that separate connections for current supply FIG. 2 is an elevational view diagrammatically illus are no longer necessary. trating the layout of connectors of a housing in which a It has been found to be advantageous to supply the multiplicity of the printed circuit boards of FIG. 1 can digital part of the printed circuit board by current sup be inserted for such device. ply conductors of the digital conductor bundle, thereby further reducing or eliminating any need for additional SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION terminals on the printed circuit board. The electronic control and regulating device illus I have also found it to be advantageous to provide the trated most generally in FIG. 1 can utilize conventional digital conductor bundle so that it includes at least one electronic circuits which therefore are not described in data bus by which the digital parts of all of the printed any detail. These circuits are provided on respective circuit boards can communicate with one another. printed circuit boards 1 which are mounted in a housing In an especially advantageous embodiment of the shown only in outline form at H in FIG. 2 and which is - invention, the analog conductor bundle has at least one remote from the machine or apparatus to be controlled. signal conductor which transmits measured value sig The printed circuit board 1 is connected by an analog nals from the machine or other apparatus to be con conductor bundle 2 to the apparatus to be controlled trolled. The analog conductor bundle can also include a 25 control conductor which delivers analog signals from and a current supply source as will be described below, and by a digital conductor bundle 3 to the data bus and _ the analog part of one of the printed circuit boards to' other printed circuit boards. the machine or controlled apparatus. Consequently, all of the requisite electrical connections between the ma The printed circuit board 1 carries an analog part or chine or controlled apparatus and the control regulating analog circuitry 4 including analog circuit elements as device are integrated in the analog conductor bundle. well as the circuit elements for digital processing repre As a consequence all signi?cant analog signals and volt sented by the digital circuitry or digital part 5. The two ages can be determined at any point along the analog parts are interconnected on the board to form a unit for conductor bundle and can be detected via an analog control and regulation of the apparatus. The analog part terminal. At any desired location, for example, and at 35 is electrically connected to the analog conductor bundle any printed circuit board, measuring and test devices by the multicontact analog terminal 6. can be connected or substituted in order to monitor the The digital part 5 is connected to the digital conduc operation of the system. tor bundle 3 by the digital terminal 7. Printed circuit boards can be replaced with others The analog conductor bundle 2 contains a current having different electronic components, circuitry and 40 supply conductor 8, a ground or common conductor 9, operations without rewiring the connections of the a signal conductor 10 delivering measured value signals machine or controlled apparatus or rewiring the control to the circuitry and two control conductors 11 and 12 and regulation system itself. which delivery output signals to the controlled appara With the invention, therefore, a simple and highly tus to regulate same. ?exible system for electrical connection of both the The digital conductor bundle 3 has two current sup analog and the digital parts is provided so that the sim ply conductors 13 and 14, a common or ground conduc plicity and ?exibility hitherto associated with digital tor 15 and two further parallel conductors forming a systems can be seen to apply to the analog components data bus 16. as well. In FIG. 1, the machine or apparatus to be controlled It has been found to be advantageous to provide the has been represented at 17 and is connected by the terminals so that they form with the respective conduc= signal conductor 10 and the two control conductors 11 tor bundle mechanically separable plug-and-jack con and 12 to the analog terminal 6 of the printed circuit nectors, with one member of each of these connectors board 1. and the respective conductor bundle and the other The actual value sensor 18, which can be any trans member serving as the analog or digital terminal as ducer responsive to a condition of the machine, supplies described. an analog signal to the analog terminal 6 representing a It has been found to be advantageous to provide plug machine condition to be monitored and to be utilized by bars as the connector members on the back of the hous comparison with a set-point value, for example, for ing or on a base conductor board ?xed in the housing control purposes in a feedback path. and forming a back wall of the space in which the On the printed circuit board 1, this signal is applied printed circuit boards are provided? Preferably such to an analog/ digital converter A/D which outputs digi plug connectors are provided in pairs for the digital and tal signals representing the actual value signal. Ihese analog bundles of a respective printed circuit board, one digital signals are then processed by a microprocesser spaced apart above another. The printed circuit boards mP which is connected to a digital/analog converter can thus form plug cards which are inserted into these 65 D/A and to the data bus 16. The feedback output from connectors. The contacts on the printed circuit board the digital/analog converter is applied to an ampli?er can thus be formed along rear edges thereof. This con and then to the board control circuitry L of the machine stitutes a space saving on the printed circuit board. to regulate operation thereof, the control signals being 4,780,631 5 6 delivered through the terminal 6 to the analog conduc (0) having a plurality of conductors separate from tor bundle. the analog bundle and detachably connected via The digital signals of the microprocessor are applied the respective digital connectors to said digital as well to two memories S which can be random access parts by the respective contacts of the respective memories set via the data bus from some remote loca multicontact digital terminals, and tion or in accordance with data from another printed ((1) including a power supply conductor for ener circuit board, or programmable read-only memories gizing only said digital circuit elements. assigned to the particular printed circuit board or sim 2. The device de?ned in claim 1, wherein the analog ple read-only memories assigned to a speci?c control conductor bundle includes at least on signalling conduc function and establishing a ?xed setpoint value. The tor carrying a measured-value signal from the machine analog output signal can be applied to a servomotor M or apparatus to be controlled. which is therefore controlled in response to the actual 3. The device de?ned in claim 1 wherein the analog value and signal generated by element 18. conductor bundle includes at least one control conduc Thus all of the analog signals and voltages for control tor connected by said analog terminal to the output of and regulation of the machine 17 can be found at the said analog part. analog terminal 6. 4. The device de?ned in claim 1 wherein the analog Via the analog conductor bundle 2 and the digital terminal and the digital terminal are each formed by one conductor bundle 3, the printed circuit board 1 can be member of a. respective plug-and-jack connector, an connected to other, similar or identical printed circuit other member of the respective plug-and-jack connec boards, serving for backup or other control tasks, in the 20 tor being provided on the respective conductor bundle. housing H. 5. The device de?ned in claim 4 wherein said mem The latter, as can be seen from FIG. 2, has a base bers of said connectors are provided in pairs on a back conductor plate 19 or a rear wall of the housing in of said housing or on its base circuit board and in a which plug bars 20 are mounted in pairs, one above mating pair on each said printed circuit board whereby another, each plug pair receiving the terminal 6, 7 of a 25 said printed circuit board can be plugged into a selected printed circuit board 1 forming a card insertable into the pair of said members on said housing. plug pair. The plug pairs are spaced apart so that the 6. The device de?ned in claim 5 the members of said printed circuit boards can be similarly spaced. connectors on the back of said housing or on its base The terminals 6 and 7 can have contacts formed along circuit board are provided one above another for each a rear edge of the board for insertion into the contact pair. strips 20. 7. A device for the control of machinery, comprising: I claim: a housing formed with two rows of spaced apart 1. A device for electronic control and regulation of a mutually parallel connectors, a plurality of bus machine or like apparatus, comprising: conductors connecting corresponding terminals of (A) a housing; 35 the bus connectors of one of said rows to form a (B) a plurality of printed circuit boards in said hous multiconductor analog bus and a plurality of con ing each formed with: ductors connecting corresponding terminals of the (a) an analog part comprising analog circuit ele connectors of the other of said rows to form a ments forming analog circuitry having an output multiconductor digital bus, said buses being trans and an input, versely separated and each bus connector of one of (b) a digital part separate from the analog part and said rows being transversely aligned with a respec comprising digital circuit elements froming digi tive bus connector of the other of said rows: and tal circuitry having an input and output, said a plurality of printed circuit boards replaceable analog and digital circuitry being interconnected mounted in said housing, each of said board being only at the inputs and outputs on the board to rectangular and having along a common edge, an form a respective unit for control and regulation analog board connector spaced from a digital of said apparatus board connector, the analog and digital board con (c) a multicontact analog terminal on said printed nectors of each board being matingly engaged circuit board having contacts connected only to respectively in a plug-and-socket relationship with the respective analog circuitry, and 50 one of said bus connectors of said one of said rows (d) a multicontact digital terminal on said printed and a respective bus connector aligned therewith circuit board having contacts connected only to of the other row, said printed circuit boards each the respective digital circuitry; having an analog portion with interconnected ana (C) an analog conductor bundle log circuit elements connected to the respective (a) connected to said apparatus, 55 analog board connector, and a digital portion spa (b) carrying a plurality of respective analog con tially separated from said analog portion and nectors, formed with electrically interconnected digital (0) having a plurality of conductors detachably information-processing digital circuit elements connected via the respective connectors to said connected to the respective digital board connec analog parts by the respective contacts of the 60 tor, and conductor means on each printed circuit respective multicontact analog terminals; and board accessing the analog bus from the respective (d) including a power supply conductor for ener digital circuit elements through the respective ana gizing only said analog circuit elements; and log board connector. (D) a digital conductor bundle 8. In a device for the control of machinery which (a) formed with a data bus, 65 comprises: (b) carrying a plurality of respective digital con a plurality of printed circuit boards each having an nectors each associated with a respective analog analog part provided with interconnected analog connector and board, circuit elements and a digital part spatially separate 4,780,631 7 8 from the analog part and provided with digital analog connector of the respective printed circuit circuit elements interconnected for digital data board. processing; 9. The improvement de?ned in claim 8 wherein said a housing provided with a base plate onto which said analog bus includes at least one conductor carrying a printed circuit boards are replaceably plugged, said measured value signal from at least one machine con base plate having means forming a multiconductor trolled by a respective one of said printed circuit digital bus interconnecting all of said digital parts boards. of said printed circuit boards; and 10. The improvement de?ned in claim 9 wherein said connectors on said boards and on said base plate, each analog bus includes at least one conductor carrying of said boards being provided with spatially sepa machine-control commands. 11, The improvement defined in claim 10 wherein the rated connectors respectively forming an analog connectors on said plate and said printed circuit boards connector connected to the respective analog part are mechanically releasable connectors. and a digital connector connected to the respective 12. The improvement de?ned in claim 11 wherein digital part, 15 said mechanically releasable connectors are plug-and the improvement which comprises: socket connectors. a multiconductor analog bus formed on said base 13. The improvement de?ned in claim 12 wherein plate, spatially separated from said digital bus, and said analog bus is provided with conductors supplying interconnecting all of said analog parts through electrical power to the circuit elements of all of said said analog connectors; and 20 analog parts and said digital bus is provided with con Conductor means on each of said printed circuit ductors supplying electrical power to the circuit ele boards electrically connecting the respective digi ments of all of said digital parts. tal part to said analog bus through the respective * * * * *