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1. ck ek ok OO oO Ro 0 Baud rate is 300 1 Baud rate is 1200 2 Baud rate is 2400 3 Baud rate is 4800 4 Baud rate is 9600 5 Baud rate is 14 4 6 Baud rate is 16 4 7 Baud rate is 19 2 iPortRate 4 Parity values 0 4 gt no odd even mark space iPortParity 0 Stop bits 0 1 2 gt 1 1 5 2 iPortStop 0 iPortRetrans 10 iPortWatchdog 2048 iPortFlow 0 Data bits 0 gt 7 Bits 1 8 bits iPortData 1 Display the port and controller information iError EngCmd KamPortGetMaxLogPorts IMaxLogical iError EngCmd KamPortGetMaxPhysical IMaxPhysical IMaxSerial IMaxParallel Get the port name and do some checking iError EngCmd KamPortGetName iComPort strCom SetError iError If iComPort gt IMaxSerial Then MsgBox Com port our of range iError EngCmd KamMiscGetControllerName iController strCntil If iLogicalPort IMaxLogical Then MsgBox Logical port out of range SetError iError End If Display values in Throttle LogPort Caption iLogicalPort ComPort Caption strCom Controller Caption strCntrl End Sub Jak sk ck ee ee ok eae oe ke eee a ae ae 13 continued Send Command Note Please follow the command order for the application to work Private Sub Co
2. 1 17 00 ABSTRACT 52 US 01 em 105 1 5 105 1 4 105 29 2 A system which operates a digitally controlled model rail 246 197 246 62 701 19 701 20 road transmitting a first command from a first client program 58 Field of Search 105 1 5 1 4 29 2 to a resident external controlling interface through a first 246 197 62 701 19 20 communications transport A second command is transmit ted from a second client program to the resident external 56 References Cited controling interface through a second communications U S PATENT DOCUMENTS transport The first command and the second command are received by the resident external controlling interface which 3 944 986 A 3 1976 Staples queues the first and second commands The resident external 3 976 272 8 1976 Murray et al controlling interface sends third and fourth commands rep 4 307 302 A 12 1981 Russell resentative of the first and second commands respectively 4 853 883 A 8 1989 Nickles et al to a digital command station for execution on the digitally 3012900 Malon controlled model railroad 5 475 818 A 12 1995 Molyneaux et al 5 493 642 A 2 1996 Dunsmuir et al 5 638 522 A 6 1997 Dunsmuir et al 20 Claims 3 Drawing Sheets 10 N 14 CLIENT PROGRAM CLIENT COMMUNICATIONS PROGRAM TRANSPORT X o o COMMUNICATIONS TRANSPORT 16 12 RESIDENT EXTERNAL CONTROLLING I
3. 2 16 19 gt LEVEL3 1 2 32 35 gt LEVEL4 All system semaphores critical sections 1 2 64 67 gt LEVELS detailed debugging information 1 2 128 131 gt COMMONLY Read comm write comm ports You probably only want to use values of 130 This will give you a display what is read or written to the controller If you want to write the information to disk use 131 The other information is not valid for end users Note 1 This does effect the performance of you system 130 is a save value for debug display Always set the key to 1 a value of 0 will disable debug 24 The Digitrax control codes displayed are encrypted The information that you determine from the control codes is that information is sent S and a response is received R iDebugMode 130 iValue Value Text Display value for reference iError EngCmd KamPortPutConfig iLogicalPort 7 iDebug iValue setting PORT DEBUG Now map the Logical Port Physical device Command station and Controller iError Engemd KamPortPutMapController iLogicalPort iController iComPort iError EngCmd KamCmdConnect iLogicalPort iError EngCmd KamOprPutTurnOnStation iLogicalPort If iError Then SetButtonState False Else SetButtonState True End If SetError iError Displays the error message and error number End Sub oe oe of fee s ee ake ake eo ake ske ck ck ake ake cel kn ok ok Set the address
4. iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamMiscGetInterface Version takes a pointer to an interface version string as a parameter It sets the memory pointed to by pbsInterface Version to the interface version string The version string may contain multiple lines depending on the number of interfaces supported OKamMiscSaveData Parameter List Type NONE Return Value iError short 1 1 iError 0 for success see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamMiscSaveData takes no parameters It saves all server data to permanent storage This command is run automatically whenever the server stops running Demo versions of the program cannot save data and this command will return an error in that case OKamMiscGetControllerName Parameter List Type Range Direction Description iControllerID int 1 65535 1 In Command station Range Direction Description Range Error flag Nonzero is an error number Description type ID pbsName BSTR 2 Out Command station type name 1 See Figure 6 Controller ID to controller name mapping for values Maximum value for this server is given by KamMiscMaxControllerID 2 Exact return type depends on language It is Cstring for C Empty string on error Return Value Type Range Description bsName BSTR 1 Command station type name Return Value Type Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero i
5. Commands to control the command station KamOprPutTurnOnStation KamOprPutStartStation KamOprPutClearStation KamOprPutStopStation KamOprPutPowerOn KamOprPutPowerOff KamOprPutHardReset KamOprPutEmergencyStop KamOprGetStationStatus Commands to configure the command station communication port KamPortPutConfig KamPortGetConfig KamPortGetName KamPortPutMapController KamPortGetMaxLogPorts KamPortGetMaxPhysical US 6 827 023 B2 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 10 continued Table of contents 3 10 Commands that control command flow to the command station KamCmdConnect KamCmdDisConnect KamCmdCommand 3 11 Cab Control Commands KamCabGetMessage KamCabPutMessage KamCabGetCabAddr KamCabPutAddrToCab 3 12 Miscellaneous Commands KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamMiscGetClockTime KamMiscPutClockTime KamMiscGetInterface Version KamMiscSaveData KamMiscGetControllerName KamMiscGetControllerNameAtPort KamMiscGetCommandStationValue KamMiscSetCommandsStationValue KamMiscGetCommandStationIndex KamMiscMaxControllerID KamMiscGetControllerFacility I Overview This document is divided into two sections the Tutorial and the IDL Command Reference The tutorial shows the complete code for a simple Visual BASIC program that controls all the major functions of a locomotive This program makes use of many of the commands described in the reference section The IDL Command Reference describe
6. 0004 SET CV WRITE DIRTY 0x0008 SET CV ERROR READ 0 0010 SET CV ERROR WRITE Return Value Type Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamCVGetEnable takes the decoder object ID configuration variable CV number and a pointer to store the enable flag as parameters It sets the location pointed to by pEnable OKamCVPutEnable Parameter List Type Range Direction Description IDecoderObjectID long 1 In Decoder object ID iCVRegint 1 1024 2 In CV number iEnableint 3 In CV bit mask 1 Opaque object ID handle returned by KamDecoderPutAdd 2 Maximum CV is 1024 Maximum CV for this decoder is given by KamCVGetMaxRegister 3 0 0001 SET CV INUSE 0x0002 SET_CV_ READ DIRTY 0 0004 SET CV WRITE DIRTY 0 0008 SET CV ERROR READ 0 0010 SET CV ERROR WRITE Return Value Type Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamCVPutEnable takes the decoder object ID configuration variable CV number and a new enable state as parameters It sets the server copy of the CV bit mask to iEnable OKamCVGetName Parameter List Type Range Direction Description iCV int 1 1024 In CV number pbsCVNameString BSTR 1 Pointer to CV name string 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 18 continued 1 Exact return type depends on language It
7. Configuration type index piValue int 2 Out Pointer to configuration value 1 Maximum value for this server given by KamPortGetMaxLogPorts 2 See Figure 7 Controller configuration Index values for a table of indexes and values Return Value Type Range Description iError short 1 Error flag US 6 827 023 B2 35 continued 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamPortGetConfig takes a logical port ID configuration index and a pointer to a configuration value as parameters It sets the memory pointed to by piValue to the specified configuration value OKamPortGetName Parameter List Type iPhysicalPortID int Range Direction Description 1 65535 1 In Physical port number pbsPortName BSTR 2 Out Physical port name 1 Maximum value for this server given by KamPortGetMaxPhysical 2 Exact return type depends on language It is Cstring for C Empty string on error Return Value Type Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamPortGetName takes a physical port ID number and a pointer to a port name string as parameters It sets the memory pointed to by pbsPortName to the physical port name such as COMM1 OKamPortPutMapController Parameter List Type Range Direction Description iLogicalPortID int 1 65535 1 In Logical port ID iControllerID int 1 65535 2 In Command station type ID iCom
8. ID handle returned by KamDecoderPutAdd Return Value Type Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 26 continued 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamEngPutSpeedSteps takes the decoder object ID and a new number of speed steps as a parameter It sets the number of speed steps in the locomotive database to iSpeedSteps Note This command only changes the locomotive database The data is not sent to the decoder until execution of the KamCmdCommand command KamDecoderGetMaxSpeed returns the maximum possible speed for the decoder error is generated if an attempt is made to set the speed steps beyond this value OKamEngGetFunction Parameter List Type Range Direction Description IDecoderObjectID long In Decoder object ID iFunctionID int 0 8 2 In Function ID number IpFunction it 3 Out Pointer to function value 1 Opaque object ID handle returned by KamDecoderPutAdd 2 FL is 0 1 8 are 1 8 respectively Maximum for this decoder is given by KamEngGetFunctionMax 3 Function active is boolean TRUE and inactive is boolean FALSE Return Value Type Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamEngGetFunction takes the decoder object ID a function ID and a pointer to the location to store the specified functio
9. IDecoderObjectID long 1 In Decoder object ID bsAccNode BSTR2 In Server node name 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 32 continued 1 Opaque object ID handle returned by KamDecoderPutAdd 2 Exact parameter type depends on language It is LPCSTR for C Return Value Type Range iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamAccDelFeedbackAll takes a decoder object ID and node name string as parameters It deletes interest in all functions by the method given by the node name string bsAccNode bsAccNode identifies the server application and method to call if the function changes state Its format is Server App Method where Server is the server name App is the application name and Method is the method name Description A Commands to Control the Command Station This section describes the commands that control the command station These commands do things such as con trolling command station power The steps to control a given command station vary depending on the type of command station OKamOprPutTurnOnStation Parameter List Type Range Direction Description iLogicalPortID int 1 65535 1 In Logical port ID 1 Maximum value for this server given by KamPortGetMaxLogPorts Return Value Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetE
10. Note that this command is designed for command station consisting CV consisting is handled using the CV commands If a new parent is defined for a consist the old parent becomes a child in the consist To delete a parent in a consist without deleting the consist you must add a new parent then delete the old parent using KamEngPutConsistRemoveObj OKamEngPutConsistChild Parameter List Type Range Direction Description IDCCParentObjID long 1 In Parent decoder object ID IDCCObjID long 1 In Decoder object ID 1 Opaque object ID handle returned by KamDecoderPutAdd Return Value Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamEngPutConsistChild takes the decoder parent object ID and decoder object ID as parameters It assigns the decoder specified by IDCCObjID to the consist identified by IDCCParentObjID Note that this command is designed for command station consisting CV consisting is handled using the CV commands Note This command is invalid if the parent has not been set previously using KamEngPutConsistParent OKamEngPutConsistRemoveObj Parameter List Type Range Direction Description IDecoderObjectID long 1 In Decoder object ID 1 Opaque object ID handle returned by KamDecoderPutAdd Return Value Type Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamEng
11. Parameter List Type Range Direction Description IDecoderObjectID long 1 In Decoder object ID iFunctionID int 0 312 In Function ID number pbsFcnNameString BSTR 3 Out Pointer to function name 1 Opaque object ID handle returned by KamDecoderPutAdd 2 Maximum for this decoder is given by KamAccGetFunctionMax 3 Exact return type depends on language It is Cstring for C Empty string on error Return Value Type Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamAccGetFunentionName takes a decoder object ID function ID and a pointer to a string as parameters It sets the memory pointed to by pbsFcnNameString to the symbolic name of the specified function OKamAccPutFunctionName Parameter List Type Range Direction Description IDecoderObjectID long 1 In Decoder object ID iFunctionID int 0 31 2 In Function ID number bsFenNameString BSTR 3 In Function name 1 Opaque object ID handle returned by KamDecoderPutAdd 2 Maximum for this decoder is given by KamAccGetFunctionMax 3 Exact parameter type depends on language It is LPCSTR for C Return Value Type iError short 1 Range Error flag Description US 6 827 023 B2 31 continued 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamAccPutFunctionName takes a decoder object ID function ID and a BSTR as parameters It sets the specified symbolic
12. Range Direction Description IDecoderObjectID long 1 In Decoder object ID piModelint 1 65535 2 Out Pointer to decoder type ID 1 Opaque object ID handle returned by KamDecoderPutAdd 2 Maximum value for this server given by KamDecoderGetMaxModels Return Value Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamDecoderGetModelFromObj takes a decoder object ID and pointer to a decoder type ID as parameters It sets the memory pointed to by piModel to the decoder type ID associated with iDCCAddr OKamDecoderGetModelFacility Parameter List Type Range Direction Description IDecoderObjectID long 1 In Decoder object ID pdwFacility long 2 Out Pointer to decoder facility mask 1 Opaque object ID handle returned by KamDecoderPutAdd 2 0 DCODE_PRGMODE_ADDR 1 DCODE_PRGMODE_REG 2 DCODE_PRGMODE_ PAGE 3 DCODE_PRGMODE_DIR 4 DCODE_PRGMODE_FLYSHT 5 DCODE_PRGMODE_FLYLNG 6 Reserved 7 Reserved 8 Reserved 9 Reserved 10 Reserved 11 Reserved 12 Reserved 13 DCODE FEAT DIRLIGHT 14 DCODE FEAT LNGADDR 15 DCODE FEAT CVENABLE 16 DCODE FEDMODE ADDR 17 DCODE FEDMODE REG 18 DCODE FEDMODE PAGE US 6 827 023 B2 23 continued 19 DCODE FEDMODE DIR 20 DCODE FEDMODE FLYSHT 21 DCODE FEDMODE FLYLNG Return Value Type Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is a
13. a timely manner before the execution of the command by the digital command stations 18 Accordingly the execution of com mands provided by the resident external controlling inter face 16 to the digital command stations 18 occur in a synchronous manner such as a first in first out manner The COM and DCOM communications transport 12 between the client program 14 and the resident external controlling interface 16 is operated in an asynchronous manner namely providing an acknowledgement thereby releasing the com munications transport 12 to accept further communications prior to the actual execution of the command The combi nation of the synchronous and the asynchronous data com munication for the commands provides the benefit that the operator considers the commands to occur nearly instanta neously while permitting the resident external controlling interface 16 to verify that the command is proper and cause the commands to execute in a controlled manner by the digital command stations 18 all without additional high speed communication networks Moreover for traditional distributed software execution there is no motivation to provide an acknowledgment prior to the execution of the command because the command executes quickly and most commands are sequential in nature In other words the execution of the next command is dependent upon proper execution of the prior command so there would be no motivation to provide an acknowledgment prior to
14. and a pointer to the location to store the specified function state as parameters It sets the memory pointed to by IpFunction to the specified function state Description OKamAccGetFunctionAll Parameter List Type Range Direction Description IDecoderObjectID long 1 In Decoder object ID piValue int 2 Out Function bit mask 1 Opaque object ID handle returned by KamDecoderPutAdd 2 Each bit represents a single function state Maximum for this decoder is given by KamAccGetFunctionMax Return Value Type Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamAccGetFunctionAll takes the decoder object ID and a pointer to a bit mask as parameters It sets each bit in the memory pointed to by piValue to the corresponding function state OKamAccPutFunction Parameter List Type Range Direction Description IDecoderObjectID long 1 In Decoder object ID iFunctionID int 0 312 In Function ID number iFunction int 3 In Function value 1 Opaque object ID handle returned by KamDecoderPutAdd 2 Maximum for this decoder is given by KamAccGetFunctionMax 3 Function active is boolean TRUE and inactive is boolean FALSE Return Value Type Range iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamAccPutFunction takes the decoder object ID a function ID and a new function state as parameters It sets the speci
15. asynchronous response processor 106 both verifies the validity of the command and provides a response to the client program 14 thereby freeing up the communications transport 12 for additional commands Without the asynchronous nature of the resident external controlling interface 16 the response to the client program 14 would be in many circumstances delayed thereby result ing in frustration to the operator that the model railroad is performing in a slow and painstaking manner In this manner the railroad operation using the asynchronous inter face appears to the operator as nearly instantaneously responsive Each command in the command queue 104 is fetched by synchronous command processor 110 and processed The synchronous command processor 110 queries a controller database storage 112 for additional information as necessary and determines if the command has already been executed based on the state of the devices in the controller database storage 112 In the event that the command has already been executed as indicated by the controller data base storage 112 then the synchronous command processor 110 passes information to the command queue 104 that the command has been executed or the state of the device The asynchronous response processor 106 fetches the informa tion from the command cue 104 and provides a suitable response to the client program 14 if necessary and updates the local database storage 102 to reflect the updated
16. both portions to be separate from each other where each considers the other to be the destination device In addition the command queue maintains the order of operation which is important to proper operation of the system The use of a single command queue 104 allows multiple instantrations of the asynchronous functionality with one for each different client The single command queue 104 also allows the sharing of multiple devices multiple clients to communicate with the same device locally or remote in a controlled manner and multiple clients to communicate with different devices In other words the command queue 104 permits the proper execution in the cases of 1 one client to many devices 2 many clients to one device and 3 many clients to many devices The present inventor came to the realization that the digital command stations provided by the different vendors have at least three different techniques for communicating with the digital decoders of the model railroad set The first technique generally referred to as a transaction one or more operations is a synchronous communication where a com mand is transmitted executed and a response is received therefrom prior to the transmission of the next sequentially received command The DCS may execute multiple com mands in this transaction The second technique is a cache with out of order execution where a command is executed and a response received therefrom prior to the e
17. button Private Sub DCCAddr__Click Dim iAddr iStatus As Integer addresses must be match to a logica operate iDecoderType 1 Set the decoder type to an NMRA baseline decoder 1 8 reg iDecoderClass 1 Set the decoder class to Engine decoder there are only two classes of decoders Engine and Accessory Once we make a connection we use the as the reference object to send control ini If Address Text gt 1 Then iStatus EngCmd KamDecoderPutAdd Address Text iLogicalPort iLogicalPort 0 iDecoderType IEngineObject SetError iStatus If IEngineobject Then Command Enabled True turn on the control send button Throttle Enabled True Else MsgBox Address not set check error message End If port to IEngineObject ormation Turn on the throttle 15 continued Else MsgBox Address must be greater then 0 and less then 128 End If End Sub eo oe Disconenct button Private Sub Disconnect Click Dim iError As Integer iError EngCmd KamCmdDisConnect iLogicalPort SetError iError SetButtonState False End Sub Safe fee Display error message Private Sub SetError iError As Integer Dim szError As String Dim iStatus This shows how to retrieve a samp
18. commands do things such as setting BAUD rate Several of the commands in this section use the numeric controller ID iControllerID to identify a specific type of command station controller The following table shows the mapping between the controller ID iControllerID and controller name bsControllerName for a given type of command station controller 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 34 iControllerID bsControllerName Description 0 UNKNOWN Unknown controller type 1 SIMULAT Interface simulator 2 LENZ 1 Lenz version 1 serial support module 3 LENZ 2x Lenz version 2 serial support module 4 DIGIT DT200 Digitrax direct drive support using DT200 5 DIGIT DCS100 Digitrax direct drive support using DCS100 6 MASTERSERIES North coast engineering master series 7 SYSTEMONE System one 8 RAMFIX RAMFIxx system 9 SERIAL NMRA serial interface 10 EASYDCC CVP Easy DCC 11 MRK6050 Marklin 6050 interface AC and DC 12 MRK6023 Marklin 6023 interface AC 13 DIGIT PR1 Digitrax direct drive using PR1 14 DIRECT Direct drive interface routine 15 ZTC system ltd 16 TRIX TRIX controller iIndex Name iValue Values 0 RETRANS 10 255 1 RATE 0 300 BAUD 1 1200 BAUD 2 2400 BAUD 3 4800 BAUD 4 9600 BAUD 5 14400 BAUD 6 16400 BAUD 7 19200 BAUD 2 NONE 1 ODD 2 EVEN 3 MARK 4 SPACE 3 STOP 0 1 bit 1 1 5 bits 2 2 bits 4 WATCHDOG 500 65535 mill
19. control logic 114 and if appropriate forwards the results to the command queue 104 The asynchronous response processor 100 clears the results from the command queue 104 and updates the local database US 6 827 023 B2 7 storage 102 and sends an asynchronous response to the client program 14 if needed The response updates the client program 14 of the actual state of the railroad track devices if changed and provides an error message to the client program 14 if the devices actual state was previously improperly reported or a command did not execute properly The use of two separate database storages each of which is substantially a mirror image of the other provides a performance enhancement by a fast acknowledgement to the client program 14 using the local database storage 102 and thereby freeing up the communications transport 12 for additional commands In addition the number of commands forwarded to the external device control logic 114 and the external devices 116 which are relatively slow to respond is minimized by maintaining information concerning the state and configuration of the model railroad Also the use of two separate database tables 102 and 112 allows more efficient multi threading on multi processor computers In order to achieve the separation of the asynchronous and synchronous portions of the system the command queue 104 is implemented as a named pipe as developed by Microsoft for Windows The queue 104 allows
20. device the com mand should be directed to the particular type of command it is and builds state information for the command The state information includes for example the address type port variables and type of commands to be sent out In other words the state information includes a command set for a particular device on a particular port device In addition a copy of the original command is maintained for verification purposes The constructed command is forwarded to the command sender 202 which is another queue and preferably circular queue The command sender 202 receives the command and transmits commands within its queue in a repetitive nature until the command is removed from its queue command response processor 204 receives all the commands from the command stations and passes the com mands to the validation function 206 The validation func tion 206 compares the received command against potential commandi that are in the queue of the command sender 202 that could potentially provide such a result The validation function 206 determines one of four potential results from the comparison First the results could be simply bad data that is discarded Second the results could be partially executed commands which are likewise normally discarded Third the results could be valid responses but not relevant to any command sent Such a case could result from the operator manually changing the state of devices on the model rail
21. is Cstring for C Empty string on error Return Value Type Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamCVGetName takes a configuration variable CV number as a parameter It sets the memory pointed to by pbsCVNameString to the name of the CV as defined in NMRA Recommended Practice RP 9 2 2 OKamCVGetMinRegister Parameter List Type Range Direction Description IDecoderObjectID long 1 In Decoder object ID pMinRegister int 2 Out Pointer to min CV register number 1 Opaque object ID handle returned by KamDecoderPutAdd 2 Normally 1 1024 0 on error or if decoder does not support CVs Return Value Type Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamCVGetMinRegister takes a decoder object ID as a parameter It sets the memory pointed to by pMinRegister to the minimum possible CV register number for the specified decoder OKamCVGetMaxRegister Parameter List Type Range Direction Description IDecoderObjectID long 1 In Decoder object ID pMaxRegister int 2 Out Pointer to max CV register number 1 Opaque object ID handle returned by KamDecoderPutAdd 2 Normally 1 1024 0 on error or if decoder does not support CVs Return Value Type Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamCVGe
22. its actual execution It is to be understood that other devices such as digital devices may be controlled in a manner as described for model railroads Referring to FIG 2 the client program 14 sends a command over the communications transport 12 that is received by an asynchronous command processor 100 The asynchronous command processor 100 queries a local data base storage 102 to determine if it is necessary to package a command to be transmitted to a command queue 104 The local database storage 102 primarily contains the state of the devices of the model railroad such as for example the speed of a train the direction of a train whether a draw bridge is up or down whether a light is turned on or off and the configuration of the model railroad layout If the command received by the asynchronous command processor 100 is a query of the state of a device then the asynchronous command processor 100 retrieves such information from the local database storage 102 and provides the information to an asynchronous response processor 106 The asynchronous response processor 106 then provides a response to the client program 14 indicating the state of the device and releases the communications transport 12 for the next command The asynchronous command processor 100 also verifies using the configuration information in the local database storage 102 that the command received is a potentially valid operation If the command is invalid the asynch
23. 16 The resident external controlling inter face 16 then passes the command to the digital command stations 18 which in turn executes the command After the digital command station 18 executes the command an acknowledgement is passed back to the resident external controlling interface 16 which in turn passes an acknowl edgement to the client program 14 Upon receipt of the acknowledgement by the client program 14 the communi cations transport 12 is again available to accept another command The train control system 10 without more per mits execution of commands by the digital command sta tions 18 from multiple operators but like the DigiToys Systems software the execution of commands is slow The present inventor came to the realization that unlike traditional distributed systems where the commands passed through a communications transport are executed nearly instantaneously by the server and then an acknowledgement is returned to the client the model railroad application involves the use of extremely slow real time interfaces between the digital command stations and the devices of the model railroad The pre sent inventor came to the further US 6 827 023 B2 5 realization that in order to increase the apparent speed of execution to the client other than using high speed com munication interfaces the resident external controller inter face 16 should receive the command and provide an acknowledgement to the client program 12 in
24. CVPut Value KamCVGetEnable KamCVPutEnable KamCVGetName 3 4 3 5 3 6 3 7 3 8 3 9 9 continued Table of contents KamCVGetMinRegister KamCVGetMaxRegister Commands to program configuration variables KamProgram KamProgramGetMode KamProgramGetStatus KamProgramReadCV KamProgramCV KamProgramReadDecoderToDataBase KamProgramDecoderFromDataBase Commands to control all decoder types KamDecoderGetMaxModels KamDecoderGetModelName KamDecoderSetModelToObj KamDecoderGetMaxAddress KamDecoderChangeOldNewAddr KamDecoderMovePor KamDecoderGetPort KamDecoderCheckAddrInUse KamDecoderGetModelFromObj KamDecoderGetModelFacility KamDecoderGetObjCount KamDecoderGetObjAtIndex KamDecoderPutAdd KamDecoderPutDel KamDecoderGetMfgName KamDecoderGetPowerMode KamDecoderGetMaxSpeed Commands to control locomotive decoders KamEngGetSpeed KamEngPutSpeed KamEngGetSpeedSteps KamEngPutSpeedSteps KamEngGetFunction KamEngPutFunction KamEngGetFunctionMax KamEngGetName KamEngPutName KamEngGetFunctionName KamEngPutFunctionName KamEngGetConsistMax KamEngPutConsistParent KamEngPutConsistChild KamEngPutConsistRemoveObj Commands to control accessory decoders KamAccGetFunction KamAccGetFunctionAll KamAccPutFunction KamAccPutFunctionAll KamAccGetFunctionMax KamAccGetName KamAccPutName KamAccGetFunctionName KamAccPutFunctionName KamAccRegFeedback KamAccRegFeedbackAll KamAccDelFeedback KamAccDelFeedbackAll
25. Error EngCmd KamOprPutPowerOn iLogicalPort SetError iError End Sub Vk kk Throttle slider control US 6 827 023 B2 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 16 continued Private Sub Throttle Click If IEngineObject Then If Throttle Value 0 Then Speed Text Throttle Value End If End If End Sub I IDL Command Reference A Introduction This document describes the IDL interface to the KAM Industries Engine Commander Train Server The Train Server DCOM server may reside locally or on a network node This server handles all the background details of controlling your railroad You write simple front end pro grams in a variety of languages such as BASIC Java or C to provide the visual interface to the user while the server handles the details of communicating with the command station etc A Data Types Data is passed to and from the IDL interface using a several primitive data types Arrays of these simple types are also used The exact type passed to and from your program depends on the programming language your are using The following primitive data types are used IDL Type BASIC Type C Type Java Type Description short short short short Short signed integer int int int int Signed integer BSTR BSTR BSTR BSTR Text string long long long long Unsigned 32 bit value Name ID CV Range Valid CV s F
26. It is Cstring for C Empty string on error Return Value Type Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamDecoderGetPowerMode takes a decoder object ID and a pointer to the power mode string as parameters It sets the memory pointed to by pbsPowerMode to the decoder power mode OKamDecoderGetMaxSpeed Parameter List Type Range Direction Description IDecoderObjectID long 1 In Decoder object ID piSpeedStep it 2 Out Pointer to max speed step 1 Opaque object ID handle returned by KamDecoderPutAdd 2 14 28 56 or 128 for locomotive decoders 0 for accessory decoders Return Value Type Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamDecoderGetMaxSpeed takes a decoder object ID and a pointer to the maximum supported speed step as parameters It sets the memory pointed to by piSpeedStep to the maximum speed step supported by the decoder A Commands to Control Locomotive Decoders This section describes the commands that control loco motive decoders These commands control things such as locomotive speed and direction For efficiency a copy of all the engine variables such speed is stored in the server Commands such as KamEngGetSpeed communicate only with the server not the actual decoder You should first make any changes to the server copy of the engine va
27. NTERFACE o DIGITAL COMMAND STATIONS US 6 827 023 B2 Sheet 1 of 3 Dec 7 2004 U S Patent OL 81 SNOILVLS GNVAWOD TV LIDIC ONITIOHLNO2 IWNS831IX3 INSQISad Sls LYOdSNVYL SNOILVOINAWWOD O LHOdSNYYL SNOILYOINNWNIWNO O YL INVHuoouUd LN3ll2 O O O pum OL US 6 827 023 B2 Sheet 2 of 3 Dec 7 2004 U S Patent 6 Dis YLL 901 et 21501 HOSS320Hd 2 3SNOdS4H SNONO 5 d H3110H1NOO Bone INNH3LX3 FOL 8L 3ovHuols asvaviva 1v201 32lA3Q TWNYSLXS 21901 TOHLNODS 7 7 1 1 3 380 5 39 503 ONVINWNOS On 001 30 32034 GQNVWWOD SNONOYHONASY 9 NYYDOud SNOILVOINNWWOD OL v US 6 827 023 B2 Sheet 3 of 3 Dec 7 2004 U S Patent Old 96 01 dsNodsa3H QNVWWOO HOSSd20ud LIASAY NOILONNS NOILYGITWA dOssiooud OQNVNWOS2 vN 3ilX3 d3O0N3S 115 US 6 827 023 B2 1 MODEL TRAIN CONTROL SYSTEM This is a continuation of U S patent application Ser No 10 124 878 filed Apr 17 2002 now U S Pat No 6 530 329 dated Mar 11 2003 which is a continuation of U S p
28. PutConsistRemoveObj takes the decoder object ID as a parameter It removes the decoder specified by IDecoderObjectID from the consist Note that this command is designed for command station consisting CV consisting is handled using the CV commands Note If the parent is removed all children are removed also A Commands to Control Accessory Decoders This section describes the commands that control acces sory decoders These commands control things such as accessory decoder activation state For efficiency a copy of all the engine variables such speed is stored in the server Commands such as KamAccGetFunction communicate only with the server not the actual decoder You should first make any changes to the server copy of the engine variables You can send all changes to the engine using the KamCmdCom mand command OKamAccGetFunction Parameter List Type Range Direction Description IDecoderObjectID long 1 In Decoder object ID iFunctionID int 0 31 2 In Function ID number US 6 827 023 B2 29 continued IpFunction int 3 Out Pointer to function value 1 Opaque object ID handle returned by KamDecoderPutAdd 2 Maximum for this decoder is given by KamAccGetFunctionMax 3 Function active is boolean TRUE and inactive is boolean FALSE Return Value Type Range iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamAccGetFunction takes the decoder object ID a function ID
29. Range Direction Description IDecoderObjectID long 1 In Decoder object ID iClearState int 2 In Clear state flag 1 Opaque object ID handle returned by KamDecoderPutAdd 2 0 retain state 1 clear state Return Value Type Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamDecoderPutDel takes a decoder object ID and clear flag as parameters It deletes the locomotive object specified by IDecoderObjectID from the locomotive database OKamDecoderGetMfgName Parameter List Type Range Direction Description IDecoderObjectID long 1 In Decoder object ID pbsMfgName BSTR 2 Out Pointer to manufacturer name 1 Opaque object ID handle returned by KamDecoderPutAdd 2 Exact return type depends on language It is Cstring for C Empty string on error Return Value Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamDecoderGetMfgName takes a decoder object ID and pointer to a manufacturer name string as parameters It sets the memory pointed to by pbsMfgName to the name of the decoder manufacturer OKamDecoderGetPowerMode Parameter List Type Range Direction Description IDecoderObjectID long 1 In Decoder object ID pbsPowerMode BSTR 2 Out Pointer to decoder power mode 1 Opaque object ID handle returned by KamDecoderPutAdd 2 Exact return type depends on language
30. S 0 Retrans index PORT RATE 1 Retrans index PARITY 2 Retrans index PORT STOP 3 Retrans index WATCHDOG 4 Retrans index PORT FLOW 5 Retrans index PORT DATABITS 6 Retrans index PORT DEBUG 7 Retrans index PORT PARALLEL 8 Retrans index iError EngCmd KamPortPutConfig iLogicalPort 0 iPortRetrans 0 setting PORT RETRANS iError EngCmd KamPortPutConfig iLogicalPort 1 iPortRate 0 setting PORT RATE iError EngCmd KamPortPutConfig iLogicalPort 2 iPortParity 0 setting PORT PARITY iError EngCmd KamPortPutConfig iLogicalPort 3 iPortStop 0 setting PORT STOP iError EngCmd KamPortPutConfig iLogicalPort 4 iPortWatchdog 0 setting PORT WATCHDOG iError EngCmd KamPortPutConfig iLogicalPort 5 iPortFlow 0 setting PORT FLOW iError EngCmd KamPortPutConfig iLogicalPort 6 iPortData 0 setting PORT DATABITS We need to set the appropriate debug mode for display this command can only be sent if the following is true US 6 827 023 B2 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 14 continued Controller is not connected port has not been mapped Not share ware version of application Shareware always set to 130 Write Display Log Debug File Win Level Value 1 42 4 7 gt put packets into queues 1 2 8 11 gt LEVEL2 Status messages send to window 1
31. United States Patent US006827023B2 12 10 Patent No US 6 827 023 B2 Katzer 45 Date of Patent Dec 7 2004 54 MODEL TRAIN CONTROL SYSTEM 5 681 015 A 10 1997 Kull 5 696 689 A 12 1997 Okumura et al 76 Inventor Matthew A Katzer 1416 NW 5 787 371 A 7 998 Balukin et al Benfield Dr Portland OR US 97229 5 828 979 A 10 1998 Ploivka et al 5 896 017 A 4 1999 Severson et al Notice Subject to any disclaimer the term of this SOUS A al g 5 952 797 A 9 1999 Rossler patent is extended or adjusted under 35 6065406 5 2000 Katzer U S C 154 b by 0 days 6 267 061 7 2001 Katzer 6 270 040 8 2001 Katzer 21 Appl No 10 340 522 6 460 467 B2 10 2002 105 1 5 6 530 329 B2 3 2003 105 1 5 22 Filed Jan 10 2003 OTHER PUBLICATIONS 65 Prior Publication Data US 2004 0011241 A1 Jan 22 2004 Chapell David Understanding AcitiveX and OLE 1996 Microsoft Press Redmond Related U S Application Data cited by examiner 63 Continuation of application No 10 124 878 filed on Apr 17 2002 now Pat No 6 530 329 which is a continuation Primary Examiner Thomas G Black of application No 09 858 222 filed on May 15 2001 now Assistant Examiner Olga Hernandez Pat No 6 460 467 which is a continuation of application 74 Attorney Agent or Firm Chernoff Vilhauer No 09 550 904 filed on Apr 17 2000 now Pat No McClung amp Stenzel LLP 6 267 061 3l
32. as parameters It attaches the decoder specified by iDCCAddr to the cab specified by iCabAddress A Miscellaneous Commands This section describes miscellaneous commands that do not fit into the other categories OKamMiscGetErrorMsg Parameter List Type Range Direction Description iError int 0 65535 1 In Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero indicates an error Return Value Type Range Description bsErrorString BSTR d Error string 1 Exact return type depends on language It is Cstring for C Empty string on error KamMiscGetErrorMsg takes an error flag as a parameter It returns a BSTR containing the descriptive error message associated with the specified error flag OKamMiscGetClockTime Parameter List Type Range Direction Description iLogicalPortID int 1 65535 1 In Logical port ID iSelectTimeMode int 2 In Clock source piDay int 0 6 Out Day of week piHours int 0 23 Out Hours piMinutes int 0 59 Out Minutes piRatio int 3 Out Fast clock ratio 1 Maximum value for this server given by KamPortGetMaxLogPorts 2 0 Load from command station and sync server 1 Load direct from server 2 Load from cached server copy of command station time 3 Real time clock ratio Return Value Type Range Description iError shor 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamMiscGetClockTime takes the port ID the time mode and pointers to locations to store th
33. atent application Ser No 09 858 222 filed May 15 2001 now U S Pat No 6 460 467 dated Oct 8 2002 which is a continuation of U S patent application Ser No 09 550 904 filed Apr 17 2000 now U S Pat No 6 267 061 dated Jul 31 2001 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a system for controlling a model railroad Model railroads have traditionally been constructed with of a set of interconnected sections of train track electric switches between different sections of the train track and other electrically operated devices such as train engines and draw bridges Train engines receive their power to travel on the train track by electricity provided by a controller through the track itself The speed and direction of the train engine is controlled by the level and polarity respectively of the electrical power supplied to the train track The operator manually pushes buttons or pulls levers to cause the switches or other electrically operated devices to function as desired Such model railroad sets are suitable for a single operator but unfortunately they lack the capability of adequately controlling multiple trains independently In addition such model railroad sets are not suitable for being controlled by multiple operators especially if the operators are located at different locations distant from the model railroad such as different cities A digital command control DDC system has been devel op
34. ccess Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamOprPutStopStation takes a logical port ID as a parameter It performs the steps necessary to stop the command station US 6 827 023 B2 33 continued OKamOprPutPowerOn Parameter List Type Range Direction Description iLogicalPortID int 1 65535 1 In Logical port ID 1 Maximum value for this server given by KamPortGetMaxLogPorts Return Value Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamOprPutPowerOn takes a logical port ID as a parameter It performs the steps necessary to apply power to the track OKamOprPutPowerOff Parameter List Type Range Direction Description iLogicalPortID in 1 65535 1 In Logical port ID 1 Maximum value for this server given by KamPortGetMaxLogPorts Return Value Range Description iError short Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamOprPutPowerOff takes a logical port ID as a parameter It performs the steps necessary to remove power from the track OKamOprPutHardReset Parameter List Type Range Direction Description iLogicalPortID in 1 65535 1 In Logical port ID 1 Maximum value for this server given by KamPortGetMaxLogPorts Return Value Type Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamOprPu
35. ct takes a logical port ID as a parameter It disconnects the server to the specified command station OKamCmdCommand Parameter List Type Range Direction Description IDecoderObjectID long 1 n Decoder object ID 1 Opaque object ID handle returned by KamDecoderPutAdd Return Value Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamCmdCommand takes the decoder object ID as a parameter It sends all state changes from the server database to the specified locomotive or accessory decoder A Cab Control Commands This section describes commands that control the cabs attached to a command station OKamCabGetMessage Parameter List Type Range Direction Description iCabAddress int 1 65535 1 In Cab address pbsMsg BSTR 2 Out Cab message string 1 Maximum value is command station dependent 2 Exact return type depends on language It is Cstring for C Empty string on error Return Value Type Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamCabGetMessage takes a cab address and a pointer to a message string as parameters It sets the memory pointed to by pbsMsg to the present cab message OKamCabPutMessage Parameter List Type Range Direction Description iCabAddress int 1 In Cab address bsMsg BSTR 2 Out Cab message string 1 Maximum value is command stati
36. der object ID logical programming port ID and programming mode as parameters It changes the command station mode from normal operation PROGRAM_MODE_NONE to the specified programming mode Once in programming modes any number of programming commands may be called When done you must call KamProgram with a parameter of PROGRAM_MODE_NONE to return to normal operation OKamProgramGetMode Parameter List Type Range Direction Description IDecoderObjectID long 1 In Decoder object ID iProgLogPort int 1 65535 2 In Logical programming port ID piProgMode int 3 Out Programming mode 1 Opaque object ID handle returned by KamDecoderPutAdd 2 Maximum value for this server given by KamPortGetMaxLogPorts 3 0 PROGRAM MODE NONE 1 PROGRAM MODE ADDRESS 2 PROGRAM MODE REGISTER 3 PROGRAM MODE PAGE 4 PROGRAM MODE DIRECT 5 DCODE PRGMODE OPS SHORT 6 PROGRAM MODE OPS LONG Return Value Type Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamProgramGetMode take the decoder object ID logical programming port ID and pointer to a place to store the programming mode as parameters It sets the memory pointed to by piProgMode to the present programming mode OKamProgramGetStatus Parameter List Type Range Direction Description DecoderObjectID long 1 In Decoder object ID iCVRegint 0 1024 2 CV number piCVAllStatus int 3 Out Ord decoder programming s
37. e Type Range Description iError shor 1 Error flag iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamPortGetMaxPhysical takes a pointer to the number of physical ports the number of serial ports and the number of parallel ports as parameters It sets the memory pointed to by the parameters to the associated values 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 36 A Commands that Control Command Flow to the Com mand Station This section describes the commands that control the command flow to the command station These commands do things such as connecting and disconnecting from the com mand station OKamCmdConnect Parameter List Type Range Direction Description iLogicalPortID int 1 65535 1 In Logical port ID 1 Maximum value for this server given by KamPortGetMaxLogPorts Return Value Type Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamCmdConnect takes a logical port ID as a parameter It connects the server to the specified command station OKamCmdDisConnect Parameter List Type Range Direction Description iLogicalPortID int 1 65535 1 In Logical port ID 1 Maximum value for this server given by KamPortGetMaxLogPorts Return Value Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamCmdDisConne
38. e day hours minutes and fast clock ratio as parameters It sets the memory pointed to by piDay to the fast clock day sets pointed to by piHours to the fast clock hours sets the memory pointed to by piMinutes to the fast clock minutes and the memory pointed to by piRatio to the fast clock ratio 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 38 continued The servers local time will be returned if the command station does not support a fast clock OKamMiscPutClockTime Parameter List Type Range Direction Description iLogicalPortID int 1 65535 1 In Logical port ID iDay int 0 6 In Day of week iHours int 0 23 In Hours iMinutes int 0 59 In Minutes iRatio int 2 In Fast clock ratio 1 Maximum value for this server given by KamPortGetMaxLogPorts 2 Real time clock ratio Return Value Type Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamMiscPutClockTime takes the fast clock logical port the fast clock day the fast clock hours the fast clock minutes and the fast clock ratio as parameters It sets the fast clock using specified parameters OKamMiscGetInterface Version Parameter List Type Range Direction Description pbsInterfaceVersion BSTR 1 Out Pointer to interface version string 1 Exact return type depends on language It is Cstring for C Empty string on error Return Value Range Description
39. e resident external controlling interface to verify that the command is proper and cause the commands to execute in a controlled manner by the digital command stations all without additional high speed com munication networks Moreover for traditional distributed software execution there is no motivation to provide an acknowledgment prior to the execution of the command because the command executes quickly and most commands are sequential in nature In other words the execution of the next command is dependent upon proper execution of the prior command so there would be no motivation to provide an acknowledgment prior to its actual execution BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS FIG 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a model train control system FIG 2 is a more detailed block diagram of the model train control system of FIG 1 including external device control logic FIG 3 is a block diagram of the external device control logic of FIG 2 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIG 1 model train control system 10 includes communications transport 12 interconnecting a client program 14 and a resident external controlling inter face 16 The client program 14 executes on the model railroad operator s computer and may include any suitable system to permit the operator to provide desired commands to the resident external controlling interface 16 For example the clien
40. ed to provide additional controllability of individual train engines and other electrical devices Each device the opera tor desires to control such as a train engine includes an individually addressable digital decoder A digital command station DCS is electrically connected to the train track to provide a command in the form of a set of encoded digital bits to a particular device that includes a digital decoder The digital command station is typically controlled by a personal computer A suitable standard for the digital command control system is the NMRA DCC Standards issued March 1997 and is incorporated herein by reference While pro viding the ability to individually control different devices of the railroad set the DCC system still fails to provide the capability for multiple operators to control the railroad devices especially if the operators are remotely located from the railroad set and each other DigiToys Systems of Lawrenceville Ga has developed a software program for controlling a model railroad set from a remote location The software includes an interface which allows the operator to select desired changes to devices of the railroad set that include a digital decoder such as increasing the speed of a train or switching a switch The software issues a command locally or through a network such as the internet to a digital command station at the railroad set which executes the command The protocol used by the software
41. efined and limited only by the claims which follow What is claimed is 1 A method of operating a digitally controlled model railroad comprising the steps of a transmitting a first command from a first program to an interface wherein said first program resides on a first device and said interface resides on a second device b transmitting a second command from a second pro gram to said interface wherein said second program resides on a third device and c sending third and fourth commands from said interface representative of said first and second commands respectively to a digital command station wherein said digital command station is a fourth device 2 The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of a providing an acknowledgment to said first program in response to receiving said first command by said inter face prior to sending said third command to said digital command station and US 6 827 023 B2 41 b providing an acknowledgment to said second program in response to receiving said second command by said interface prior to sending said fourth command to said digital command station 3 The method of claim 2 further comprising the steps of a selectively sending said third command to one of a plurality of digital command stations and b selectively sending said fourth command to one of said plurality of digital command stations 4 The method of claim 3 further comprising the step of recei
42. er is given by KamCVGetMaxRegister 3 CV Value pointed to has a range of 0 to 255 Return Value Type Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamCVGetValue takes the decoder object ID and configuration variable CV number as parameters It sets the memory pointed to by pCVValue to the value of the server copy of the configuration variable OKamCVPut Value Parameter List Type Range Direction Description IDecoderObjectID long 1 In Decoder object ID iCVRegint 1 1024 2 In CV register iCVValue int 0 255 In CV value 1 Opaque object ID handle returned by KamDecoderPutAdd 2 Maximum CV is 1024 Maximum CV for this decoder is given by KamCVGetMaxRegister Return Value Type Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamCVPutValue takes the decoder object ID configuration variable CV number and a new CV value as parameters It sets the server copy of the specified decoder CV to iCV Value OKamCVGetEnable Parameter List Type Range Direction Description IDecoderObjectID long 1 In Decoder object ID iCVRegint 1 1024 2 In CV number pEnable int 3 Out Pointer to CV bit mask 1 Opaque object ID handle returned by KamDecoderPutAdd 2 Maximum CV is 1024 Maximum CV for this decoder is given by KamCVGetMaxRegister 3 0x0001 SET CV INUSE 0x0002 SET CV READ DIRTY 0
43. ess a command station US 6 827 023 B2 11 continued Devices start from ID 0 gt max id FYI devices do not necessarily have to be serial channel Always check the name of the device before you use it as well as the maximum number of devices supported The Command EngCmd KamPortGetMaxPhysical IMaxPhysical ISerial IParallel provides means that IMaxPhysical Serial IParallel lOther Controller These are command the command station like LENZ Digitrax Northcoast EasyDCC Marklin It is recommend that you check the command station ID before you use it Errors All commands return an error status If the error value is non zero then the other return arguments are invalid In general non zero errors means command was not executed To get the error message you need to call KamMiscErrorMessage and supply the error number To Operate your layout you will need to perform a mapping between a Port logical reference Device physical communications channel and a Controller command station for the program to work references uses the logical device as the reference device for access Addresses used are an object reference To use an address you must add the address to the command station using KamDecoderPutAdd One of the return values from this operation is an object reference that is used for control We need certain variables as global objects since the information is being used multiple t
44. eters It sets the memory pointed to by piMaxFunction to the maximum possible function number for the specified decoder OKamEngGetName Parameter List Type Range Direction Description IDecoderObjectID long 1 In Decoder object ID pbsEngName BSTR 2 Out Pointer to locomotive name 1 Opaque object ID handle returned by KamDecoderPutAdd 2 Exact return type depends on language It is Cstring for C Empty string on error Return Value Type Range Description iError short 1 Error flag US 6 827 023 B2 27 continued 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamEngGetName takes a decoder object ID and a pointer to the locomotive name as parameters It sets the memory pointed to by pbsEngName to the name of the locomotive OKamEngPutName Parameter List Type Range Direction Description IDecoderObjectID long 1 In Decoder object ID bsEngName BSTR 2 Out Locomotive name 1 Opaque object ID handle returned by KamDecoderPutAdd 2 Exact parameter type depends on language It is LPCSTR for C Return Value Type Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamEngPutName takes a decoder object ID and a BSTR as parameters It sets the symbolic locomotive name to bsEngName OKamEngGetFunctionName Parameter List Type Range Direction Description DecoderObjectID long 1 In Decoder object ID iFunctionID int 0 82 In F
45. fied accessory database function state to iFunction Note This command only changes the accessory database The data is not sent to the decoder until execution of the KamCmdCommand command Description OKamAccPutFunctionAll Parameter List Type Range Direction Description IDecoderObjectID long In Decoder object ID iValue int 2 In Pointer to function state array 1 Opaque object ID handle returned by KamDecoderPutAdd 2 Each bit represents a single function state Maximum for this decoder is given by KamAccGetFunctionMax Return Value Type Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamAccPutFunctionAll takes the decoder object ID and a bit mask as parameters It sets all decoder function enable states to match the state bits in iValue The possible enable states are TRUE and FALSE The data is not sent to the decoder until execution of the KamCmdCommand command OKamAccGetFunctionMax Parameter List Type Range Direction Description IDecoderObjectID long 1 In Decoder object ID piMaxFunction int 0 312 Out Pointer to maximum function number 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 30 continued 1 Opaque object ID handle returned by KamDecoderPutAdd 2 Maximum for this decoder is given by KamAccGetFunctionMax Return Value Type Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for succes
46. function name to bsFcnNameString OKamAccRegFeedback Parameter List Type Range Direction Description IDecoderObjectID long 1 In Decoder object ID bsAccNode BSTR 1 In Server node name iFunctionID int 0 313 In Function ID number 1 Opaque object ID handle returned by KamDecoderPutAdd 2 Exact parameter type depends on language It is LPCSTR for 3 Maximum for this decoder is given by KamAccGetFunctionMax Return Value Type Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamAccRegFeedback takes a decoder object ID node name string and function ID as parameters It registers interest in the function given by iFunctionID by the method given by the node name string bsAccNode bsAccNode identifies the server application and method to call if the function changes state Its format is Server App Method where Server is the server name App is the application name and Method is the method name OKamAccRegFeedbackAll Parameter List Type Range Direction Description IDecoderObjectID long 1 In Decoder object ID bsAccNode BSTR 2 In Server node name 1 Opaque object ID handle returned by KamDecoderPutAdd 2 Exact parameter type depends on language It is LPCSTR for C Return Value Type Range short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamAccRegFeedbackAll take
47. imes Dim iLogicalPort iController iComPort Dim iPortRate iPortParity iPortStop iPortRetrans iPortWatchdog iPortFlow iPortData Dim IEngineObject As Long iDecoderClass As Integer iDecoderType As Integer Dim IMaxController As Long Dim IMaxLogical As Long IMaxPhysical As Long As Long IMaxParallel As Long Vk fee sek e ke Form load function Turn of the initial buttons Set he interface information Mak ak ak ak sk ake ake ake ak ake a ake a ak ck ake ok ck ok ce ok ck ake ke ce oe e e Private Sub Form load Dim strVer As String strCom As String strCntrl As String Dim iError As Integer Get the interface version information SetButtonState False iError EngCmd KamMiscGetInterface Version str Ver If iError Then MsgBox Train Server not loaded Check DCOM 95 iLogicalPort 0 LogPort Caption iLogicalPort ComPort Caption Controller Caption Unknown Else MsgBox Simulation COM1 Train Server amp strVer Configuration information Only need to change these values to use a differen controller UNKNOWN 0 Unknown control type SIMULAT 1 Interface simulator LENZ 1 2 Lenz serial support module LENZ 2x 3 Lenz serial support module DIGIT DT200 4 Digitrax di
48. is based on Cobra from Open Management Group where the software issues a command to a commu nication interface and awaits confirmation that the command was executed by the digital command station When the software receives confirmation that the command executed the software program sends the next command through the communication interface to the digital command station In other words the technique used by the software to control 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 2 the model railroad is analogous to an inexpensive printer where commands are sequentially issued to the printer after the previous command has been executed Unfortunately it has been observed that the response of the model railroad to the operator appears slow especially over a distributed network such as the internet One technique to decrease the response time is to use high speed network connections but unfortunately such connections are expensive What is desired therefore is a system for controlling a model railroad that effectively provides a high speed con nection without the additional expense associated therewith The foregoing and other objectives features and advan tages of the invention will be more readily understood upon consideration of the following detailed description of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION The present invention overcomes the afore
49. iseconds Recommended value 2048 5 FLOW 0 NONE 1 XON XOFF 2 RTS CTS 3 BOTH 6 DATA 0 7 bits 1 8 bits 7 DEBUGBit mask Bit 1 sends messages to debug file Bit 2 sends messages to the screen Bit 3 shows queue data Bit 4 shows UI status Bit 5 is reserved Bit 6 shows semaphore and critical sections Bit 7 shows miscellaneous messages Bit 8 shows comm port activity 130 decimal is recommended for debugging 8 PARALLEL OKamPortPutConfig Parameter List Type Range Direction Description iLogicalPortID int 1 65535 1 In Logical port ID ilndex int 2 In Configuration type index iValue int 2 In Configuration value iKey int 3 In Debug key 1 Maximum value for this server given by KamPortGetMaxLogPorts 2 See Figure 7 Controller configuration Index values for a table of indexes and values 3 Used only for the DEBUG iIndex value Should be set to 0 Return Value Type Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamPortPutConfig takes a logical port ID configuration index configuration value and key as parameters It sets the port parameter specified by iIndex to the value specified by iValue For DEBUG ilndex value the debug file path is C Temp Debug PORT txt where PORT is the physical comm port ID OKamPortGetConfig Parameter List Type Range Direction Description iLogicalPortID int 1 65535 1 In Logical port ID ilndex int 2 In
50. le error message from the interface for the status received iStatus EngCmd KamMiscGetErrorMsg iError szError ErrorMsg Caption szError Result Caption Str iStatus End Sub af fee of fee oe oe of feo ook koe of of feo oe ake co Set the Form button state Private Sub SetButtonState iState As Boolean We set the state of the buttons either connected or disconnected If iState Then Connect Enabled False Disconnect Enabled True ONCmd Enabled True OffCmd Enabled True DCCAddr Enabled True UpDownAddress Enabled True Now we check to see if the Engine Address has been set if it has we enable the send button If IEngineObject gt 0 Then Command Enabled True Throttle Enabled True Else Command Enabled False Throttle Enabled False End If Else Connect Enabled True Disconnect Enabled False Command Enabled False ONCmd Enabled False OffCmd Enabled False DCCAddr Enabled False UpDownAddress Enabled False Throttle Enabled False End If End Sub Safe fee of fe ee oe ske fee oo eo oe a e Power Off function Vk ak ak ck ak ak ak ak ak ake ak ake ake che ce ch Private Sub OffCmd_Click Dim iError As Integer iError EngCmd KamOprPutPowerOff iLogicalPort SetError iError End Sub Power On function Private Sub ONCmd Click Dim iError As Integer i
51. lue int 0 255 In CV value 1 Opaque object ID handle returned by KamDecoderPutAdd 2 Maximum CV is 1024 Maximum CV for this decoder is given by KamCVGetMaxRegister Return Value Type Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamProgramCV takes the decoder object ID configuration variable CV number and a new CV value as parameters It programs writes a single decoder CV using the specified value as source data OKamProgramReadDecoderToDataBase Parameter List Type Range Direction Description IDecoderObjectID long 1 In Decoder object ID 1 Opaque object ID handle returned by KamDecoderPutAdd Return Value Type Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamProgramReadDecoderToDataBase takes the decoder object ID as a parameter It reads all enabled CV values from the decoder and stores them in the server database OKamProgramDecoderFromDataBase Parameter List Type Range Direction Description IDecoderObjectID long 1 In Decoder object ID 1 Opaque object ID handle returned by KamDecoderPutAdd Return Value Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamProgramDecoderFromDataBase takes the decoder object ID as a parameter It programs writes all enabled decoder CV values u
52. mPortID int 1 65535 3 In Physical comm port ID 1 Maximum value for this server given by KamPortGetMaxLogPorts 2 See Figure 6 Controller ID to controller name mapping for values Maximum value for this server is given by KamMiscMaxControllerID 3 Maximum value for this server given by KamPortGetMaxPhysical Return Value Type Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamPortPutMapController takes a logical port ID a command station type ID and a physical communications port ID as parameters It maps iLogicalPortID to iCommPortID for the type of command station specified by iControllerID OKamPortGetMaxLogPorts Parameter List Type Range Direction Description piMaxLogicalPorts int 1 Out Maximum logical port ID 1 Normally 1 65535 0 returned on error Return Value Range Description iError short Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamPortGetMaxLogPorts takes a pointer to a logical port ID as a parameter It sets the memory pointed to by piMaxLogicalPorts to the maximum logical port ID OKamPortGetMaxPhysical Parameter List Type Range Direction Description pMaxPhysical int 1 Out Maximum physical port ID pMaxSerial imt 1 Out Maximum serial port ID pMaxParalle it 1 Out Maximum parallel port ID 1 Normally 1 65535 0 returned on error Return Valu
53. mentioned drawbacks of the prior art in a first aspect by providing a system for operating a digitally controlled model railroad that includes transmitting a first command from a first client program to a resident external controlling interface through a first communications transport A second command is transmitted from a second client program to the resident external controlling interface through a second communica tions transport The first command and the second command are received by the resident external controlling interface which queues the first and second commands The resident external controlling interface sends third and fourth com mands representative of the first and second commands respectively to a digital command station for execution on the digitally controlled model railroad Incorporating a communications transport between the multiple client program and the resident external controlling interface permits multiple operators of the model railroad at locations distant from the physical model railroad and each other In the environment of a model railroad club where the members want to simultaneously control devices of the same model railroad layout which preferably includes multiple trains operating thereon the operators each provide com mands to the resistant external controlling interface and hence the model railroad In addition by queuing by com mands at a single resident external controlling interface permits co
54. mergency stop for all modes 3 Forward is boolean TRUE and reverse is boolean FALSE Return Value Type Range iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamEngPutSpeed takes the decoder object ID new locomotive speed and new locomotive direction as parameters It sets the locomotive database speed to iSpeed and the locomotive database direction to iDirection Note This command only changes the locomotive database The data is not sent to the decoder until execution of the KamCmdCommand command Speed is set to the maximum possible for the decoder if iSpeed exceeds the decoders range Description OKamEngGetSpeedSteps Parameter List Type Range Direction Description IDecoderObjectID long 1 In Decoder object ID IpSpeedSteps int 14 28 128 Out Pointer to number of speed steps 1 Opaque object ID handle returned by KamDecoderPutAdd Return Value Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamEngGetSpeedSteps takes the decoder object ID and a pointer to a location to store the number of speed steps as a parameter It sets the memory pointed to by IpSpeedSteps to the number of speed steps OKamEngPutSpeedSteps Parameter List Type Range Direction Description IDecoderObjectID long 1 In Decoder object ID iSpeedSteps int 14 28 128 In Locomotive speed steps 1 Opaque object
55. mmand Click Send the command from the interface to the command station use the engineObject Dim iError iSpeed As Integer If Not Connect Enabled Then TrainTools interface is a caching interface This means that you need to set up the CV s other operations first then execute the command iSpeed Speed Text iError EngCmd KamEngPutFunction IEngineObject 0 FO Value iError EngCmd KamEngPul F1 Value iError EngCmd KamEngPu F2 Value iError EngCmd KamEngPu F3 Value iError EngCmd KamEngPutSpeed IEngineObject iSpeed Direction Value If iError 0 Then iError EngCmd KamCmdCommand IEngineObject SetError iError End If End Sub RR ake ake ae a ake ake nk ake ake sek ake ake Order is important Function lEngineObject 1 Function lEngineObject 2 Function IEngineObject 3 Connect Controller Private Sub Connect Click Dim iError As Integer These are the index values for setting up the for use RETRANS 0 Retrans index PORT RATE 1 Retrans index PARITY 2 Retrans index PORT STOP 3 Retrans index WATCHDOG 4 Retrans index FLOW 5 Retrans index DATABITS 6 Retrans index DEBUG 7 Retrans index PARALLEL 8 Retrans index These are the index values for setting up the port for use RETRAN
56. mmand station facility mask 1 See Figure 6 Controller ID to controller name mapping for values Maximum value for this server is given by KamMiscMaxControllerID 2 0 CMDSDTA PRGMODE ADDR 1 CMDSDTA PRGMODE REG 2 CMDSDTA PRGMODE PAGE 3 CMDSDTA PRGMODE DIR 4 CMDSDTA PRGMODE FLYSHT 5 CMDSDTA PRGMODE FLYLNG 6 Reserved 7 Reserved 8 Reserved 9 Reserved 10 CMDSDTA SUPPORT CONSIST 11 CMDSDTA SUPPORT LONG 12 CMDSDTA SUPPORT FEED 13 CMDSDTA SUPPORT 2TRK 14 CMDSDTA PROGRAM TRACK 15 CMDSDTA PROGMAIN POFF 16 CMDSDTA FEDMODE 17 CMDSDTA FEDMODE REG 18 CMDSDTA FEDMODE PAGE 19 CMDSDTA_FEDMODE_ DIR 20 CMDSDTA_FEDMODE_FLYSHT 21 CMDSDTA_FEDMODE_FLYLNG 30 Reserved 31 CMDSDTA SUPPORT FASTCLK Return Value Type Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamMiscGetControllerFacility takes the controller ID and a pointer to the location to store the selected controller facility mask It sets the memory pointed to by pdwFacility to the specified command station facility mask The terms and expressions which have been employed in the foregoing specification are used therein as terms of description and not of limitation and there is no intention in the use of such terms and expressions of excluding equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof it being recognized that the scope of the invention is d
57. n error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamDecoderGetModelFacility takes a decoder object ID and pointer to a decoder facility mask as parameters It sets the memory pointed to by pdwFacility to the decoder facility mask associated with iDCCAddr OKamDecoderGetObjCount Parameter List Type Range Direction Description iDecoderClass int 1 In Class of decoder piObjCount int 0 65535 Out Count of active decoders 1 1 DECODER ENGINE TYPE 2 DECODER SWITCH TYPE 3 DECODER SENSOR TYPE Return Value Type Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamDecoderGetObjCount takes a decoder class and a pointer to an address count as parameters It sets the memory pointed to by piObjCount to the count of active decoders of the type given by iDecoderClass OKamDecoderGetObjAtIndex Parameter List Type Range Direction Description index int 1 In Decoder array index iDecoderClass int 2 In Class of decoder plDecoderObjectID long 3 Pointer to decoder object ID 1 010 KamDecoderGetAddressCount 1 2 1 DECODER ENGINE TYPE 2 DECODER SWITCH TYPE 3 DECODER SENSOR TYPE 3 Opaque object ID handle returned by KamDecoderPutAdd Return Value Type Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamDecoderGetObjCount takes a decoder index decoder class and a pointer to an
58. n state as parameters It sets the memory pointed to by IpFunction to the specified function state OKamEngPutFunction Parameter List Type Range Direction Description IDecoderObjectID long 1 In Decoder object ID iFunctionID int 0 8 2 In Function ID number iFunction int 3 In Function value 1 Opaque object ID handle returned by KamDecoderPutAdd 2 FL is 0 1 8 are 1 8 respectively Maximum for this decoder is given by KamEngGetFunctionMax 3 Function active is boolean TRUE and inactive is boolean FALSE Return Value Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamEngPutFunction takes the decoder object ID a function ID and a new function state as parameters It sets the specified locomotive database function state to iFunction Note This command only changes the locomotive database The data is not sent to the decoder until execution of the KamCmdCommand command OKamEngGetFunctionMax Parameter List Type Range Direction Description IDecoderObjectID long 1 In Decoder object ID piMaxFunction int 0 8 Out Pointer to maximum function number 1 Opaque object ID handle returned by KamDecoderPutAdd Return Value Type Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamEngGetFunctionMax takes a decoder object ID and a pointer to the maximum function ID as param
59. nd 10 A method of operating a digitally controlled model railroad comprising the steps of a transmitting a first command from a first program to an interface wherein said first program resides on a first device and said interface resides on a second device and b said interface selectively sending a second command representative of said first command to one of a plu rality of digital command stations based upon informa tion contained within at least one of said first and second commands wherein said digital command sta tions are not said first device or said second device 11 The method of claim 10 further comprising the steps of a transmitting a third command from a second program to said interface and 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 42 b said interface selectively sending a fourth command representative of said third command to one of said plurality of digital command stations based upon infor mation contained within at least one of said third and fourth commands 12 The method of claim 10 wherein said first program and said interface are operating on the same computer 13 The method of claim 11 wherein said first program said second program and said interface are all operating on different computers 14 The method of claim 10 further comprising the step of providing an acknowledgment to said first program in response to receiving said first command by said interface prior to se
60. nding said second command to one of said plurality of said digital command stations 15 The method of claim 10 wherein said interface com municates in an asynchronous manner with said first pro gram while communicating in a synchronous manner with said plurality of digital command stations 16 A method of operating a digitally controlled model railroad comprising the steps of a transmitting a first command from a first program to an interface wherein said first program resides on a first device and said interface resides on a second device b transmitting a second command from a second pro gram to said interface and c said interface sending a third and fourth command representative of said first command and said second command respectively to the same digital command station wherein said digital command station is a third device 17 The method of claim 16 wherein said interface com municates in an asynchronous manner with said first and second programs while communicating in a synchronous manner with said digital command station 18 The method of claim 16 further comprising the step of providing an acknowledgment to said first program in response to receiving said first command by said interface prior to sending said third command to said digital command station 19 A method of operating a digitally controlled model railroad comprising the steps of a transmitting a first command from a first program to a first pr
61. ned by KamDecoderPutAdd 2 Maximum value for this server given by KamPortGetMaxLogPorts Return Value Type Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamDecoderMovePort takes a decoder object ID and pointer to a logical port ID as parameters It sets the memory pointed to by piLogicalPortID to the logical port ID associated with IDecoderObjectID OKamDecoderCheckAddrInUse Parameter List Type Range Direction Description iDecoderAddress int 1 In Decoder address iLogicalPortID int 2 In Logical Port ID iDecoderClass int 3 In Class of decoder 1 Opaque object ID handle returned by KamDecoderPutAdd 2 Maximum value for this server given by KamPortGetMaxLogPorts 3 1 DECODER ENGINE TYPE 2 DECODER SWITCH TYPE 3 DECODER SENSOR TYPE Return Value Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for successful call and address not in use Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg IDS ERR ADDRESSEXIST returned if call succeeded but the address exists KamDecoderCheckAddrInUse takes a decoder address logical port and decoder class as parameters It returns zero if the address is not in It will return IDS ERR ADDRESSEXIST if the call succeeds but the address already exists It will return the appropriate non zero error number if the calls fails OKamDecoderGetModelFromObj Parameter List Type
62. ntrolled execution of the commands by the digi tally controlled model railroad would may otherwise con flict with one another In another aspect of the present invention the first com mand is selectively processed and sent to one of a plurality of digital command stations for execution on the digitally controlled model railroad based upon information contained therein Preferably the second command is also selectively processed and sent to one of the plurality of digital command stations for execution on the digitally controlled model railroad based upon information contained therein The resident external controlling interface also preferably includes a command queue to maintain the order of the commands The command queue also allows the sharing of multiple devices multiple clients to communicate with the same device locally or remote in a controlled manner and multiple clients to communicate with different devices In other words the command queue permits the proper execu tion in the cases of 1 one client to many devices 2 many clients to one device and 3 many clients to many devices In yet another aspect of the present invention the first command is transmitted from a first client program to a first US 6 827 023 B2 3 processor through a first communications transport The first command is received at the first processor The first proces sor provides an acknowledgement to the first client program through the firs
63. object ID as parameters It sets the memory pointed to by plDecoderObjectID to the selected object ID OKamDecoderputAdd Parameter List Type Range Direction Description iDecoderAddress int 1 In Decoder address iLogicalCmdPortID int 1 65535 2 In Logical command port ID iLogicalProgPortID int 1 65535 2 In Logical programming port ID iClearState int 3 In Clear state flag iModel int 4 In Decoder model type ID plDecoderObjectID long 5 Out Decoder object ID 1 1 127 for short locomotive addresses 1 10239 for long locomotive decoders 0 511 for accessory decoders 2 Maximum value for this server given by KamPortGetMaxLogPorts 3 0 retain state 1 clear state 4 Maximum value for this server given by KamDecoderGetMaxModels 5 Opaque object ID handle The object ID is used to reference the decoder Return Value Type Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamDecoderPutAdd takes a decoder object ID command logical port programming logical port clear flag decoder model ID and a pointer to a decoder object ID as parameters It creates a new locomotive object in the locomotive database and sets the memory pointed to by 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 24 continued plDecoderObjectID to the decoder object ID used by the server as a key OKamDecoderPutDel Parameter List Type
64. ocessor wherein said first program resides on a first device and said first processor resides on a second device and b said first processor providing an acknowledgment to said first program indicating that said first command has properly executed prior to execution of commands related to said first command by said digitally con trolled model railroad 20 The method of claim 19 further comprising the step of sending said first command to a second processor which processes said first command into a state suitable for a digital command station UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION PATENT NO 6 827 023 B2 Page 1 of 1 DATED December 7 2004 INVENTOR S Matthew A Katzer It is certified that error appears in the above identified patent and that said Letters Patent is hereby corrected as shown below Column 4 Line 67 change sent to read present Column 16 Line 23 after using delete Column 20 Line 39 after commands delete that and insert for Line 40 after such insert as Column 37 Line 13 change Descriptiom to read Description Signed and Sealed this Thirteenth Day of September 2005 Wl ue JON W DUDAS Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office
65. on dependent 2 Exact parameter type depends on language It is LPCSTR for C Return Value Type iError short 1 Range Error flag Description US 6 827 023 B2 37 continued 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamCabPutMessage takes a cab address and a BSTR as parameters It sets the cab message to bsMsg OKamCabGetCabAddr Parameter List Type Range Direction Description DecoderObjectID long 1 In Decoder object ID piCabAddress int 1 65535 2 Out Pointer to Cab address 1 Opaque object ID handle returned by KamDecoderPutAdd 2 Maximum value is command station dependent Return Value Type Range Descriptioni iError short 1 Error flag iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamCabGetCabAddr takes a decoder object ID and a pointer to a cab address as parameters It set the memory pointed to by piCabAddress to the address of the cab attached to the specified decoder OKamCabPutAddrToCab Parameter List Type Range Direction Description IDecoderObjectID long 1 n Decoder object ID iCabAddress int 1 65535 2 In Opaque object ID handle returned by KamDecoderPutAdd 2 Maximum value is command station dependent Cab address Return Value Type Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamCabPutAddrToCab takes a decoder object ID and cab address
66. rect drive support using DT200 DIGIT_DCS100 5 Digitrax direct drive support using DCS100 MASTERSERIES 6 North Coast engineering master Series 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 12 continued SYSTEMONE 7 System RAMFIX 8 RAMFIxx system DYNATROL 9 Dynatrol system Northcoast binary 10 North Coast binary SERIAL 11 NMRA Serial interface EASYDCC 12 NMRA Serial interface MRK6050 13 6050 Marklin interface AC and DC MRK6023 14 6023 Marklin hybrid interface AC 15 ZTC Systems ltd DIGIT_PR1 16 Digitrax direct drive support using PR1 DIRECT 17 Direct drive interface routine nk cock iLogicalPort 1 Select Logical port 1 for communications iController 1 Select controller from the list above iComPort 0 use 1 0 means Digitrax must use Com1 Com2 Digitrax Baud rate requires 16 4K Most COM ports above Com2 do not support 16 4K Check with the manufacture of your smart com card for the baud rate Keep in mind that Dumb com cards with serial port support Com1 Com4 can only support 2 com ports like com1 com2 or com3 com4 you change the controller do not forget to change the baud rate to match the command station See your user manual for details Vk sk sk
67. rection Description IDecoderObjectID long 1 In Decoder object ID piMaxConsist int 2 Out Pointer to max consist number 1 Opaque object ID handle returned by KamDecoderPutAdd 2 Command station dependent Return Value Type Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamEngGetConsistMax takes the decoder object ID and a pointer to a location to store the maximum consist as parameters It sets the location pointed to by piMaxConsist to the maximum number of locomotives that can but placed in a command station controlled consist Note that this command is designed for command station consisting CV consisting is handled using the CV commands 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 28 continued OKamEngPutConsistParent Parameter List Type Range Direction Description IDCCParentObj ID long 1 In Parent decoder object ID iDCCAliasAddr int 2 In Alias decoder address 1 Opaque object ID handle returned by KamDecoderPutAdd 2 1 127 for short locomotive addresses 1 10239 for long locomotive decoders Return Value Type Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamEngPutConsistParent takes the parent object ID and an alias address as parameters It makes the decoder specified by IDCCparentObjID the consist parent referred to by iDCCAliasAddr
68. riables You US 6 827 023 B2 25 can send all changes to the engine using the KamCmdCom mand command OKamEngGetSpeed Parameter List Type Range Direction Description IDecoderObjectID long 1 In Decoder object ID IpSpeed it 2 Out Pointer to locomotive speed IpDirection int 3 Out Pointer to locomotive direction 1 Opaque object ID handle returned by KamDecoderPutAdd 2 Speed range is dependent on whether the decoder is set to 14 18 or 128 speed steps and matches the values defined by NMRA 59 2 and RP 9 2 1 0 is stop and 1 is emergency stop for all modes 3 Forward is boolean TRUE and reverse is boolean FALSE Return Value Type Range iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamEngGetSpeed takes the decoder object ID and pointers to locations to store the locomotive speed and direction as parameters It sets the memory pointed to by IpSpeed to the locomotive speed and the memory pointed to by IpDirection to the locomotive direction Description OKamEngPutSpeed Parameter List Type Range Direction Description IDecoderObjectID long 1 1 Decoder object ID iSpeed int 2 In Locomotive speed iDirection int 3 In Locomotive direction 1 Opaque object ID handle returned by KamDecoderPutAdd 2 Speed range is dependent on whether the decoder is set to 14 18 or 128 speed steps and matches the values defined by NMRA 59 2 and RP 9 2 1 0 is stop and 1 is e
69. ription iModel int 1 In Decoder model ID IDecoderObjectID long 1 In Decoder object ID 1 Maximum value for this server given by KamDecoderGetMax Models 2 Opaque object ID handle returned by KamDecoderPutAdd Return Value Range Description iError short Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamDecoderSetModelToObj takes a decoder ID and decoder object ID as parameters It sets the decoder model type of the decoder at address IDecoderObjectID to the type specified by iModel OKamDecoderGetMaxAddress Parameter List Type Range Direction Description iModel int In Decoder type ID piMaxAddress int 2 Out Maximum decoder address Maximum value for this server given by KamDecoderGetMaxModels 2 Model dependent 0 returned on error Return Value Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamDecoderGetMaxAddress takes a decoder type ID and a pointer to store the maximum address as parameters It sets the memory pointed to by piMaxAddress to the maximum address supported by the specified decoder OKamDecoderChangeOldNewAddr Parameter List Type Range Direction Description lOldObjID long 1 In Old decoder object ID iNewAddr int 2 In New decoder address plNewObjID long 1 Out New decoder object ID 1 Opaque object ID handle returned by KamDecoderPutAdd 2 1 127 for shor
70. road or from another external device assuming a shared interface to the DCS Accordingly the results are validated and passed to the result processor 210 Fourth the results could be valid responses relevant to a command sent The corresponding command is removed from the command sender 202 and the results passed to the result processor 210 The commands in the queue of the command sender 202 as a result of the validation process 206 are retransmitted a predetermined number of times then if error still occurs the digital command station is reset which if the error still persists then the command is removed and the operator is notified of the error APPLICATION PROGRAMMING INTERFACE Train ToolsTM Interface Description Building your own visual interface to a model railroad Copyright 1992 1998 KAM Industries Computer Dispatcher Engine Commander The Conductor Train Server and Train Tools are Trademarks of KAM Industries all Rights Reserved Questions concerning the product can be EMAILED to traintools kam rain com You can also mail questions to KAM Industries 2373 NW 185th Avenue Suite 416 Hillsboro Oreg 97124 FAX 1503 291 1221 Table of contents 1 OVERVIEW System Architecture 2 TUTORIAL 2 1 Visual BASIC Throttle Example Application 2 2 Visual BASIC Throttle Example Source Code 3 IDL COMMAND REFERENCE 3 1 Introduction 3 2 Data Types 3 3 Commands to access the server configuration variable database KamCVGetValue Kam
71. ronous command processor 100 provides such information to the asynchronous response processor 106 which in turn returns an error indication to the client program 14 The asynchronous command processor 100 may deter mine that the necessary information is not contained in the local database storage 102 to provide a response to the client program 14 of the device state or that the command is a valid action Actions may include for example an increase in the train s speed or turning on off of a device In either case the valid unknown state or action command is packaged and forwarded to the command queue 104 The packaging of the command may also include additional information from the 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 60 65 6 local database storage 102 to complete the client program 14 request if necessary Together with packaging the command for the command queue 104 the asynchronous command processor 100 provides a command to the asynchronous request processor 106 to provide a response to the client program 14 indicating that the event has occurred even though such an event has yet to occur on the physical railroad layout As such it can be observed that whether or not the command is valid whether or not the information requested by the command is available to the asynchronous command processor 100 and whether or not the command has executed the combination of the asynchronous command processor 100 and the
72. rrorMsg KamOprPutTurnOnStation takes a logical port ID as a parameter It performs the steps necessary to turn on the command station This command performs a combination of other commands such as KamOprPutStartStation KamOprPutClearStation and KamOprPutPowerOn OKamOprPutStartStation Parameter List Type Range Direction Description iLogicalPortID int 1 65535 1 In Logical port ID 1 Maximum value for this server given by KamPortGetMaxLogPorts Return Value Type Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamOprPutStartStation takes a logical port ID as a parameter It performs the steps necessary to start the command station OKamOprPutClearStation Parameter List Type Range Direction Description iLogicalPortID int 1 65535 1 In Logical port ID 1 Maximum value for this server given by KamPortGetMaxLogPorts Return Value Type Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamOprPutClearStation takes a logical port ID as a parameter It performs the steps necessary to clear the command station queue OKamOprPutStopStation Parameter List Type Range Direction Description iLogicalPortID int 1 65535 1 In Logical port ID 1 Maximum value for this server given by KamPortGetMaxLogPorts Return Value Type Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for su
73. rt ID pilndex int 0 65535 Out Pointer to maximum index 1 See Figure 6 Controller ID to controller name mapping for values Maximum value for this server is given by KamMiscMaxControllerID 2 Maximum value for this server given by KamPortGetMaxLogPorts Return Value Type Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg Kam MiscGetCommandStationIndex takes the controller ID ogical port and a pointer to the location to store the maximum index It sets the memory pointed to by pilndex o the specified command station maximum miscellaneous data index OKamMiscMaxControllerID Parameter List Type Range Direction Description piMaxControllerID int 1 65535 1 Out Maximum controller type ID 1 See Figure 6 Controller ID to controller name mapping for a list of controller ID values 0 returned on error Return Value Type Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 60 40 continued 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamMiscMaxControllerID takes a pointer to the maximum controller ID as a parameter It sets the memory pointed to by piMaxControllerID to the maximum controller type OKamMiscGetControllerFacility Parameter List Type Range Direction Description iControllerID int 1 65535 1 In Command station type ID pdwFacility long 2 Out Pointer to co
74. s Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamAccGetFunctionMax takes a decoder object ID and pointer to the maximum function number as parameters It sets the memory pointed to by piMaxFunction to the maximum possible function number for the specified decoder OKamAccGetName Parameter List Type Range Direction Description IDecoderObjectID long T In Decoder object ID pbsAccNameString BSTR 2 Out Accessory name 1 Opaque object ID handle returned by KamDecoderPutAdd 2 Exact return type depends on language It is Cstring for Empty string on error Return Value Type Range iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamAccGetName takes a decoder object ID and a pointer to a string as parameters It sets the memory pointed to by pbsAccNameString to the name of the accessory Description OKamAccPutName Parameter List Type Range Direction Description IDecoderObjectID long 1 In Decoder object ID bsAccNameString BSTR 2 In Accessory name 1 Opaque object ID handle returned by KamDecoderPutAdd 2 Exact parameter type depends on language It is LPCSTR for C Return Value Type Range iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamAccPutName takes a decoder object ID and a BSTR as parameters It sets the symbolic accessory name to bsAccName OKamAccGetFunctionName Description
75. s a decoder object ID and node name string as parameters It registers interest in all functions by the method given by the node name string bsAccNode bsAccNode identifies the server application and method to call if the function changes state Its format is Server App Method where Server is he server name App is the application name and Method is the method name Description OKamAccDelFeedback Parameter List Type Range Direction Description DecoderObjectID long 1 In Decoder object ID bsAccNode BSTR 2 In Server node name iFunctionID int 0 31 3 In Function ID number 1 Opaque object ID handle returned by KamDecoderPutAdd 2 Exact parameter type depends on language It is LPCSTR for C 3 Maximum for this decoder is given by KamAccGetFunctionMax Return Value Type Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamAccDelFeedback takes a decoder object ID node name string and function ID as parameters It deletes interest in the function given by iFunctionID by the method given by the node name string bsAccNode bsAccNode identifies the server application and method to call if the function changes state Its format is Server App Method where Server is the server name App is the application name and Method is the method name OKamAccDelFeedbackAll Parameter List Type Range Direction Description
76. s an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamMiscGetControllerName takes a command station type ID and a pointer to a type name string as parameters It sets the memory pointed to by pbsName to the command station type name OKamMiscGetControllerNameAtPort Parameter List Type Range Direction Description iLogicalPortID int 1 65535 1 In Logical port ID pbsName BSTR 2 Out Command station type name 1 Maximum value for this server given by KamPortGetMaxLogPorts 2 Exact return type depends on language It is Cstring for C Empty string on error Return Value Type Range Description iError short 1 Error flag US 6 827 023 B2 39 continued 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamMiscGetControllerName takes a logical port ID and a pointer to a command station type name as parameters It sets the memory pointed to by pbsName to the command station type name for that logical port OKamMiscGetCommandStation Value Parameter List Type Range Direction Description iControllerID int 65535 1 In Command station type ID iLogicalPortID int 65535 2 In Logical port ID iIndex int 3 In Command station array index piValue int 0 65535 Out Command station value 1 See Figure 6 Controller ID to controller name mapping for values Maximum value for this server is given by KamMiscMaxControllerID 2 Maximum value for this server given by KamPortGetMaxLogPorts 3 0 to KamMi
77. s each command in detail I Tutorial A Visual BASIC Throttle Example Application The following application is created using the Visual BASIC source code in the next section It controls all major locomotive functions such as speed direction and auxiliary functions A Visual BASIC Throttle Example Source Code Copyright 1998 KAM Industries All rights reserved This is a demonstration program showing the integration of VisualBasic and Train Server tm interface You may use this application for non commercial usage Date Author Revision Log Engine Commander Computer Dispatcher Train Server Train Tools The Conductor and kamind are registered Trademarks of Industries rights reserved This first command adds the reference to the Train ServerT Interface object Dim EngCmd As New Engine Commander uses the term Ports Devices and Controllers Ports gt These are logical ids where Decoders are assigned to Train ServerT Interface supports a limited number of logical ports You can also think of ports as mapping to a command station type This allows you to move decoders between command station without losing any information about the decoder Devices gt These are communications channels configured in your computer You may have a single device com1 or multip devices COM 1 8 LPT1 Other You are required to map a port to a device to acc
78. scGetCommandStationIndex Return Value Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamMiscGetCommandStation Value takes the controller ID logical port value array index and a pointer to the location to store the selected value It sets the memory pointed to by piValue to the specified command station miscellaneous data value OKamMiscSetCommandsStation Value Parameter List Type Range Direction Description iControllerID int 1 65535 1 In Command station type ID iLogicalPortID int 1 65535 2 In Logical port ID index int 3 In Command station array index iValue int 0 65535 In Command station value 1 See Figure 6 Controller ID to controller name mapping for values Maximum value for this server is given by KamMiscMaxControllerID 2 Maximum value for this server given by KamPortGetMaxLogPorts 3 0 to KamMiscGetCommandStationIndex Return Value Type Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamMiscSetCommandStation Value takes the controller ID logical port value array index and new miscellaneous data value It sets the specified command station data to the value given by piValue OKamMiscGetCommandStationIndex Parameter List Type Range Direction Description iControllerID 1 658535 1 In Command station type ID iLogicalPortID int 1 65535 2 In Logical po
79. se private or public communications protocol as a medium for commu nications The client program 14 provides commands and the resident external controlling interface 16 responds to the communications transport 12 to exchange information A description of COM common object model and DCOM distributed common object model is provided by Chappel in a book entitled Understanding ActiveX and OLE Microsoft Press and is incorporated by reference herein Incorporating a communications transport 12 between the client program s 14 and the resident external controlling interface 16 permits multiple operators of the model railroad at locations distant from the physical model railroad and each other In the environment of a model railroad club where the members want to simultaneously control devices of the same model railroad layout which preferably includes multiple trains operating thereon the operators each provide commandi to the resistant external controlling interface and hence the model railroad The manner in which commands are executed for the model railroad under COM and DCOM may be as follows The client program 14 makes requests in a synchronous manner using COM DCOM to the resident external interface controller 16 The synchronous manner of the request is the technique used by COM and DCOM to execute commands The communications transport 12 packages the command for the transport mechanism to the resident external con trolling interface
80. sing the server copy of the CVs as source data A Commands to Control all Decoder Types This section describes the commands that all decoder types These commands do things such getting the maximum address a given type of decoder supports adding decoders to the database etc OKamDecoderGetMaxModels Parameter List Type Range Direction Description piMaxModels int 1 Out Pointer to Max model ID 1 Normally 1 65535 0 on error Return Value Type Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamDecoderGetMaxModels takes no parameters It sets the memory pointed to by piMaxModels to the maximum decoder type ID OKamDecoderGetModelName Parameter List Type Range Direction Description iModel int 1 65535 1 In Decoder type ID pbsModelName BSTR 2 Out Decoder name string 1 Maximum value for this server given by KamDecoderGetMaxModels 2 Exact return type depends on language It is Cstring for C Empty string on error Return Value Type Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamportGetModelName takes a decoder type ID and a pointer to a string as parameters US 6 827 023 B2 21 continued It sets the memory pointed to by pbsModelName to BSTR containing the decoder name OKamDecoderSetModelToObj Parameter List Type Range Direction Desc
81. status of the railroad layout devices If the command fetched by the synchronous command processor 110 from the command queue 104 requires execu tion by external devices such as the train engine then the command is posted to one of several external device control logic 114 blocks The external device control logic 114 processes the command from the synchronous command processor 110 and issues appropriate control commands to the interface of the particular external device 116 to execute the command on the device and ensure that an appropriate response was received in response The external device is preferably a digital command control device that transmits digital commands to decoders using the train track There are several different manufacturers of digital command stations each of which has a different set of input commands so each external device is designed for a par ticular digital command station In this manner the system is compatible with different digital command stations The digital command stations 18 of the external devices 116 provide a response to the external device control logic 114 which is checked for validity and identified as to which prior command it corresponds to so that the controller database storage 112 may be updated properly The process of trans mitting commands to and receiving responses from the external devices 116 is slow The synchronous command processor 110 is notified of the results from the external
82. t communications transport indicating that the first command has properly executed prior to execution of commands related to the first command by the digitally controlled model railroad The communications transport is preferably a COM or DCOM interface The model railroad application involves the use of extremely slow real time interfaces between the digital command stations and the devices of the model railroad In order to increase the apparent speed of execution to the client other than using high speed communication interfaces the resident external controller interface receives the command and provides an acknowledgement to the client program in a timely manner before the execution of the command by the digital command stations Accordingly the execution of commands provided by the resident exter nal controlling interface to the digital command stations occur in a synchronous manner such as a first in first out manner The COM and DCOM communications transport between the client program and the resident external con trolling interface is operated in an asynchronous manner namely providing an acknowledgement thereby releasing the communications transport to accept further communica tions prior to the actual execution of the command The combination of the synchronous and the asynchronous data communication for the commands provides the benefit that the operator considers the commands to occur nearly instan taneously while permitting th
83. t locomotive addresses 1 10239 for long locomotive decoders 0 511 for accessory decoders Return Value Range Description iError short Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamDecoderChangeOldNewAddr takes an old decoder object ID and a new decoder address as parameters It moves the specified locomotive or accessory decoder to iNewAddr and sets the memory pointed to by pINewObjID to the new object ID The old object ID is now invalid and should no longer be used OKamDecoderMovePort Parameter List Type Range Direction Description IDecoderObjectID long 1 In Decoder object ID iLogicalPortID int 1 65535 2 In Logical port ID 1 Opaque object ID handle returned by KamDecoderPutAdd 2 Maximum value for this server given by KamPortGetMaxLogPorts Return Value Type Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamDecoderMovePort takes a decoder object ID and logical port ID as parameters It moves the decoder specified by IDecoderObjectID to the controller specified by iLogicalPortID OKamDecoderGetPort Parameter List Type Range Direction Description IDecoderObjectID long 1 In Decoder object ID piLogicalPortID int 1 65535 2 Out Pointer to logical port ID 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 22 continued 1 Opaque object ID handle retur
84. t program 14 may include a graphical interface representative of the model railroad layout where the operator issues commands to the model railroad by making changes to the graphical interface The client pro gram 14 also defines a set of Application Programming 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 4 Interfaces API s described in detail later which the opera tor accesses using the graphical interface or other programs such as Visual Basic C Java or browser based applica tions There may be multiple client programs interconnected with the resident external controlling interface 16 so that multiple remote operators may simultaneously provide con trol commands to the model railroad The communications transport 12 provides an interface between the client program 14 and the resident external controlling interface 16 The communications transport 12 may be any suitable communications medium for the trans mission of data such as the internet local area network satellite links or multiple processes operating on a single computer The preferred interface to the communications transport 12 is COM or DCOM interface as developed for the Windows operating system available from Microsoft Corporation The communications transport 12 also deter mines if the resident external controlling interface 16 is system resident or remotely located on an external system The communications transport 12 may also u
85. tHardReset takes a logical port ID as a parameter It performs the steps necessary to perform a hard reset of the command station OKamOprPutEmergencyStop Parameter List Type Range Direction Description iLogicalPortID int 1 65535 1 In Logical port ID 1 Maximum value for this server given by KamPortGetMaxLogPorts Return Value Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamOprPutEmergencyStop takes a logical port ID as a parameter It performs the steps necessary to broadcast an emergency stop command to all decoders OKamOprGetStationStatus Parameter List Type Range Direction Description iLogicalPortID int 1 65535 1 In Logical port ID pbsCmdStat BSTR 2 Out Command station status string 1 Maximum value for this server given by KamPortGetMaxLogPorts 2 Exact return type depends on language It is Cstring for Return Value Type Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamOprGetStationStatus takes a logical port ID and a pointer to a string as parameters It set the memory pointed to by pbsCmdStat to the command station status The exact format of the status BSTR is vendor dependent A Commands to Configure the Command Station Commu nication Port This section describes the commands that configure the command station communication port These
86. tMaxRegister takes a decoder object ID as a parameter It sets the memory pointed to by pMaxRegister to the maximum possible CV register number for the specified decoder A Commands to Program Configuration Variables This section describes the commands read and write decoder configuration variables CVs You should initially transfer a copy of the decoder CVs to the server using the KamProgramReadDecoderToDataBase command You can then read and modify this server copy of the CVs Finally you can program one or more CVs into the decoder using the KamProgramCV or KamProgramDecoderFromDataBase command Not that you must first enter programming mode by issuing the KamProgram command before any program ming can be done OKamProgram Parameter List Type Range Direction Description IDecoderObjectID long 1 In Decoder object ID iProgLogPort int 1 65535 2 In Logical programming port ID iProgMode int 3 In Programming mode 1 Opaque object ID handle returned by KamDecoderPutAdd 2 Maximum value for this server given by KamPortGetMaxLogPorts 3 PROGRAM MODE NONE PROGRAM MODE ADDRESS PROGRAM MODE REGISTER PROGRAM MODE PAGE PROGRAM MODE DIRECT tno US 6 827 023 B2 19 continued 5 DCODE PRGMODE OPS SHORT 6 PROGRAM MODE OPS LONG Return Value Type Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamProgram take the deco
87. tatus 1 Opaque object ID handle returned by KamDecoderPutAdd 2 0 returns OR d value for all CVs Other values return status for just that CV 3 0x0001 SET CV INUSE 0x0002 SET READ DIRTY 0x0004 SET WRITE DIRTY 0 0008 SET ERROR READ 0x0010 SET ERROR WRITE Return Value Type Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamProgramGetStatus take the decoder object ID and pointer to a place to store the OR d decoder programming status as parameters It sets the memory pointed to by piProgMode to the present programming mode OKamProgramReadCV Parameter List Type Range Direction Description IDecoderObjectID long 1 In Decoder object ID iCVRegint 2 In CV number 1 Opaque object ID handle returned by KamDecoderPutAdd 2 Maximum CV is 1024 Maximum CV for this decoder is given by KamCVGetMaxRegister Return Value Type Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamProgramCV takes the decoder object ID configuration variable CV number as parameters It reads the specified CV variable value to the server database OKamProgramCV 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 20 continued Parameter List Type Range Direction Description IDecoderObjectID long 1 In Decoder object ID iCVRegint 2 In CV number iCVVa
88. unction ID number pbsFcnNameString BSTR 3 Out Pointer to function name 1 Opaque object ID handle returned by KamDecoderPutAdd 2 FL is 0 1 8 are 1 8 respectively Maximum for his decoder is given by KamEngGetFunctionMax 3 Exact return type depends on language It is Cstring for C Empty string on error Return Value Type Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamEngGetFunentionName takes a decoder object ID function ID and a pointer to the function name as parameters It sets the memory pointed to by pbsFcnNameString to the symbolic name of the specified function OKamEngPutFunctionName Parameter List Type Range Direction Description DecoderObjectID long 1 In Decoder object ID iFunctionID int 0 8 2 In Function ID number bsFcnNameString BSTR 3 In Function name 1 Opaque object ID handle returned by KamDecoderPutAdd 2 FL is 0 1 8 are 1 8 respectively Maximum for his decoder is given by KamEngGetFunctionMax 3 Exact parameter type depends on language It is LPCSTR for Return Value Type Range Description iError short 1 Error flag 1 iError 0 for success Nonzero is an error number see KamMiscGetErrorMsg KamEngPutFunctionName takes a decoder object ID function ID and a BSTR as parameters It sets the specified symbolic function name to bsFcnNameString OKamEngGetConsistMax Parameter List Type Range Di
89. unctions Address Range Speed Steps NMRA Compatible 0 None None 2 1 99 14 Baseline 1 1 8 1 8 9 1 127 14 Extended 2 1 106 1 9 17 18 19 23 24 29 30 49 66 95 9 1 10239 14 28 128 All Mobile 3 1 106 1 106 9 1 10239 14 28 128 Name ID CV Range Valid CV s Functions Address Rangge Accessory 4 513 593 513 593 8 0 511 All Stationary 5 513 1024 513 1024 8 0 511 A long DecoderObject D value is returned by the KamDecoderPutAdd call if the decoder is successfully registered with the server This unique opaque ID should be used for all subsequent calls to reference this decoder A Commands to Access the Server Configuration Variable Database This section describes the commands that access the server configuration variables CV database These CVs are stored in the decoder and control many of its characteristics such as its address For efficiency a copy of each CV value is also stored in the server database Commands such as KamCVGetValue and KamCVPutValue communicate only with the server not the actual decoder You then use the programming commands in the next section to transfer CVs to and from the decoder OKamCVGet Value Parameter List Type Range Direction Description IDecoderObjectID long 1 In Decoder object ID iCVRegint 1 1024 2 In CV register pCVValue int 3 Out Pointer to CV value US 6 827 023 B2 17 continued 1 Opaque object ID handle returned by KamDecoderPutAdd 2 Range is 1 1024 Maximum CV for this decod
90. ving command station responses representative of the state of said digitally controlled model railroad from said plurality of digital command stations 5 The method of claim 4 further comprising the step of comparing said command station responses to previous commands sent to at least one of said plurality of digital command stations to determine which of said previous commands it corresponds with 6 The method of claim 5 further comprising the steps of a maintaining a sending queue of commands to be transmitted to said plurality of digital command sta tions and b retransmitting at least one of said commands in said sending queue periodically until removed from said sending queue as a result of the comparison of said command station responses to previous commands 7 The method of claim 6 further comprising the step of updating a database of the state of said digitally controlled model railroad based upon said receiving command station responses representative of said state of said digitally con trolled model railroad 8 The method of claim 7 further comprising the step of providing said acknowledgment to said first program in response to receiving said first command by said interface together with state information from said database related to said first command 9 The method of claim 8 wherein said first command and said third command are the same command and said second command and said fourth command are the same comma
91. xecution of the next command but the order of execution is not neces sarily the same as the order that the commands were provided to the command station The third technique is a local area network model where the commands are trans mitted and received simultaneously In the LAN model there is no requirement to wait until a response is received for a particular command prior to sending the next command Accordingly the LAN model may result in many commands being transmitted by the command station that have yet to be executed In addition some digital command stations use two or more of these techniques With all these different techniques used to communicate with the model railroad set and the system 10 providing an interface for each different type of command station there exists a need for the capability of matching up the responses from each of the different types of command stations with the particular command issued for record keeping purposes Without matching up the responses from the command stations the databases can not be updated properly Validation functionality is included within the external device control logic 114 to accommodate all of the different types of command stations Referring to FIG 3 an external 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 60 65 8 command processor 200 receives the validated command from the synchronous command processor 110 The external command processor 200 determines which

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