To:  Dr. Brian D. Huggins
       Dr. Winfred Anakwa

From:  Darrell Glenn - dlglenn@ibm.net
           Doug Carlton - dcarlton@cbtmail.com

Date:  November 4, 1999

Subject:  Standards, Patents and Bibliography

Project Title: Embedded Control System Workstation

Relevant Standards:
The following keywords were used to search industry standard web sites:  MatrixX, AC104, embedded control, embedded software, embedded develop, embedded, control development and control system.

A list of the web sites searched and number of results received are located below.  Also, any standards relevant to our project are listed.

(a) www.sae.org - Society of Automotive Engineers
 
 

 The control system keyword produced the most results, but nothing relevant to our project.

(b) www.nssn.org - American National Standards Institute
 
 

 The control system keyword produced the most results, but nothing relevant to our project.

(c) IEEE
 
 

The most relevant standards are:

Standard     Description
IEEE 996.1 Draft     PC/104 Draft Standard
ANSI/ISO 9899 – 1990    C Language Standard

 Relevancy of Standards:
The IEEE 996.1 Draft defines a standard for a platform based on the PC/104 architecture. PC/104 is an architecture derived from IBM-compatible personal computers, utilizing modified bus architecture to enhance compactness and power usage factors. The AC-104 platform uses PC/104 technology (hence the '104' in the name).

The second applicable standard is the ANSI/ISO standard for the C programming language, since the AutoCode feature
of  MATRIXx generates ANSI-standard C code.

Relevant Patents:
The same keyword list was used at http://www.womplex.ibm.com/ to retrieve patents related to this project.  The results are located below.
 
 

The most relevant standard was Patent US4796179, "Multirate real time control system code generator".  This patent is directly related to the project. The list of fifteen patents that referenced US4796179 provided a wealth of relevant patents. The relevant patents are as follows:

Number   Description
              US3652942  Feedback control systems
              US4839800  Data processing system with a fast interrupt
              US4975865  Method and apparatus for real-time control
              US5133045  Method for operating a real-time expert system in a graphical programming environment
              US5287511  Architectures and methods for dividing processing tasks into tasks for a programmable real
                                   time signal processor and tasks for a decision making microprocessor interfacing therewith
              US5481716  Process for machine generation of a control process program
              US5612866  Code generation system to construct an asynchronous real-time controller for a real-time system
 

  First Claim of US4796179 - Multirate real time control system code generator

1. An automatic computer software code generator for multirate real time control systems, comprising:

(a) functional library means for defining a multiplicity of functional blocks, including means for defining for each functional block a software template for generating a set of software statements for performing one or more logical and/or mathematical computations each time the software associated with said functional block is executed, and parametric variables to be used in said computations;
(b) catalog means coupled to said functional library means, for describing a specified multirate real time control system
    having specified external input signals and specified external output signals, including a first database for
    representing computational relationships between said external input signals and said external output signals of said
    specified multirate real time control system;
 said computational relationships being defined by specified combinations of said functional blocks, specified
 parametric values for said specified functional blocks, and specified computation initiation conditions; said
 computation initiation conditions including computational trigger conditions for asynchronous computations,
 and computational repetition rates and computational skew periods for periodic computations;
(c) linking means coupled to said catalog means for organizing said first database into a plurality of separate
 subsystems, each  said subsystem including all the specified functional blocks with a given specified computation
 initiation condition, a separate subsystem being used for each unique specified computation initiation condition; and
(d) code generation means coupled to said catalog means for generating software for use in said specified control
 system, including means for generating:
a. a subsystem software routine for each said subsystem for performing computations corresponding to said
 computational relationships specified in said first database for said subsystem;
b. a scheduler program for initiating execution of said subsystem software routines in accordance with the
 specified computation initiation condition for each corresponding subsystem;
c. and software interface means for holding input, output and temporary data values for said specified
multirate real time control system, including
(a) zero order hold means for each said subsystem, for holding output values generated by said
 subsystem during each execution of said subsystem for use as input signals to other ones of said
 subsystems; and
(b) sample and hold means for each said subsystem, including a sample and hold buffer and sampling
means for copying into said sample and hold buffer specified input data signals to said subsystem
from other ones of said subsystems and specified ones of said specified external input data
signals.

References

Anakwa, Dr. Winfred K. Electrical & Computer Engineering and Technology Professor. Bradley University, Peoria, IL.

Integrated Systems, Inc. Vendor of MATRIXx software and AC-104 platform, and supplier of respective product
literature. 201 Moffett Park Drive,  Sunnyvale, CA 94089.

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. Standards information. 445 Hoes Lane, PO box 1331, Piscataway,
NJ 08855.

Motorola, Inc. Vendor of modular microcontroller system to be used, and supplier of respective product literature. P.O.
Box 5405, Denver, CO 80217.

MATHWORKS Web Site.

ADI Web Site.

XANALOG Web Site.
 
 

Date Modified: 11-9-99