Machine state virtualizer
Contents
1. 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 6 relating to the connection of the external hardware of the device of the invention to the microcomputer The reset instruction is a command required by the Machine State Virtualizer circuitry to prepare it for the next state It would typically instruct the device to turn all switches off and would be issued at ST6 and ST12 during the procedures described below The latch instruction is the means of controlling in traswitching states to maintain switch contact closure while both X and Y switches are being selected and activated and for a defined time interval Latching may be controlled via software e g constantly resending switching commands or hardware e g circuitry in cludes lines for latch initiation and termination The circuit of the first preferred embodiment shown in FIG 2 utilizes the hardware latches contained within the microcomputer 1 Timing parameters are intervals required by the de vice being controlled in order to properly receive key strokes Such timing parameters must be determined for each device and include minimum state time for host decoding and minimum interkey time Such times may vary based on individual switches sequence of strokes the mode a machine is operating in and similar factors Once initialization is complete the frequency is then set in ST2 FIG 45 is a flowchart of the device driver sequence whereby the function of setting the2. gies a unifying approach for the control of electronic devices is unknown in the prior art SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The device of this invention overcomes the disadvan tages of the prior art discussed above and allows a uni versal approach to device control by interaction with the device s own switches and existing control facilities and by use of the device s own signal levels and timings The control infrastructure of the device of this inven tion initiates and manages the controlled device not through imposing external control events as in the prior art but by virtualizing the very events for which the machine was designed The device of this invention is a generalized interface which implements state switching electronic device control and related applications using a microcom 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 65 2 puter Accordingly the device of this invention has widespread applications and can be used to control any electrical device which uses switches or responds to logic states However one specific advantageous use of the device of this invention is the use thereof to control radio devices A typical electronic device incorporates an elec tronic keypad having an X Y network of switches sometimes referred to as a crosspoint switch network The X Y lines are interconnected by keystrokes and data is generated thereby and forwarded to other blocks of the device through simple logic state swit
3. MPUTER 1 Y SWITCH DEVICE SELECTOR 3 X SWITCH POLES 6 Y SWITCH ARRAY 5 Y SWITCH POLES 7 gt 7 U wig cere TP1 FEEDBACK DEVICE 8 Sheet 1 of 6 5 442 542 Aug 15 1995 U S Patent 8 MOVE 4 584104 HOLIMS A S HOLIAS A 9 54104 HOLIAS X Old JOL JTAS HOLIAMS A WdNL dWOO OHDIN YOLOATAS HOLIAS X HOLIAS X Sheet 2 of 6 5 442 542 Aug 15 1995 U S Patent 9 54104 HOLIMS HOLIMS 58104 1 8 3 4OIANQ XMOVHGSd 6 HOLVT 0108178 5 HOLIAS SSLOdAODOHOIN U S Patent Aug 15 1995 Sheet 3 of 6 5 442 542 FIG 2 gt gt gt gt gt gt gt gt gt gt gt gt gt gt gt lt lt lt lt Sheet 4 of 6 5 442 542 15 1995 U S Patent Old daS O T 344 Bed 354 84 dn 224 ueog 0 1 mur Hd 0 6 8 L 9 S p Z i 1 en pA INO U S Patent Aug 15 1995 Sheet 5 of 6 ST Initialize ST2 Set Next Frequency Device Driver 513 Wait For Minimum Duration Signal Detected Yet Max Duration Elaps
4. United States Patent Po Cook US005442542A 11 Patent Number 45 Date of Patent 5 442 542 Aug 15 1995 54 MACHINE STATE VIRTUALIZER 76 Inventor Steven R Cook 2575 S Bayshore Dr Suite 8A Coconut Grove Fla 33133 21 Appl No 700 705 22 Filed May 16 1991 A o KE 05 19 02 52 IS e 364 140 364 709 01 364 709 11 58 Field of Search 364 140 147 364 191 709 14 709 15 709 11 709 09 709 12 709 13 709 16 709 01 370 60 56 References Cited U S PATENT DOCUMENTS 4 570 216 2 1986 Chan 364 143 4 672 602 6 1987 Hargrave et al 370 58 4 679 135 7 1987 Kobayashi et al 364 146 4 757 463 7 1988 Ballou et al 395 905 5 144 548 9 1992 Salandro 364 191 5 179 552 1 1993 Chao 370 60 5 249 115 9 1993 Reid 364 141 OTHER PUBLICATIONS Datametrics Inc Communications Manager bro chure 1989 Electronic Equipment Bank 1990 EEB Shortwave Cata log pp 10 11 1990 Keithley MCPT 8X8 Metrabus Crosspoint Matrix Relay Boards Data Acquisition Land Control Catalogue vol 24 p 238 1991 Harris Semiconductor RCA Solid CD54 74HC22106 CD54 74HT22106 Jul 1985 State brochure National Semiconductor CMOS Logic Databook pp 5 56 1988 Omega Engineering Inc AT DIO 32F The Data Acquisition and C
5. cated the Machine State Virtual izer can be utilized to control any electronic device which contains switches The description of radio scan ning is presented as only one example of the applica tions of the device of the invention While there are shown and described present embodi ments of the invention it is to be distinctly understood that the invention is not limited thereto but may be otherwise variously embodied and practiced within the scope of the following claims What is claimed is 1 A universal controller for controlling an external electronic device having a switch matrix of X lines and Y lines comprising A switch means adapted to be connected to the X lines and the Y lines and comprising a plurality of switches for selectively interconnecting X lines and Y lines of the external electronic device B control means for controlling said switch means so as to virtualize a desired machine state of the external electronic device 1 wherein said control means comprises a data selector which controls said plurality of switches and storage means for storing a machine state virtualization map 2 wherein said machine state virtualization map correlates X line and Y line intersections of said electronic device to data values corresponding to a machine state 3 wherein said control means further comprises processing means for processing a control rou tine instruction by referencing said machine state virtualization
6. ce of events when a predeter mined sequence of events occurs wherein said predetermined sequence of events is defined by a set of program rules k x
7. ching pulse coded switching and other strategies Depending upon the device the X Y switch network may be used to input data to a microcontroller The signals switched by the keypad may include non standard states and or timed pulses thus rendering simple logical control unre liable The device of this invention overcomes the unre liability by connecting directly to the X Y circuits and under microcomputer control by virtualizing the key strokes for which an electronic device was designed BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DRAWINGS FIG 1a is a block diagram of a first preferred em bodiment of the invention FIG 15 is a block diagram of a second preferred embodiment of the invention FIG 2 is a schematic diagram of a specific implemen tation of the device of the invention according to the first preferred embodiment FIG 3 shows an exemplary keypad logic analysis map FIG 4 is exemplary flowchart of the main pro gram sequence and FIG 45 is an exemplary flowchart of the device driver sequence DETAILED DESCRIPTION According to the first preferred embodiment of the invention four X switch poles 6 and eight Y switch poles 7 are hard wired to the X Y circuits of an elec tronic device to be controlled As shown in FIG 1a an X switch array 4 is provided to electronically switch each of the X switch poles to a common line TP1 Simi larly a Y switch array 5 is provided to electronically switch each of the Y switch po
8. ctors may be inhib ited if so desired via a manual switch or an electronic data selector 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 4 The outputs 0 of 01 are fed to switch poles E0 E3 of four bilateral switches incorporated in switch device US Similarly the eight outputs Y0 Y7 of data distributor U2 are fed to terminals 0 on each of two such switch devices U3 U4 Switch devices 03 05 are preferably 4066 CMOS bilateral switches Output lines YO Y3 and Y0 Y7 together with unused pins 4 15 on UI are held in a default low state by resistor packs RP2 RP4 preferably 100 kOhm In other embodiments such as higher energy applications the apparatus of the invention could utilize alternative switch devices including solid state relays other semi conductor switches and mechanical relays Terminals Y0 Y3 of switch device U3 and terminals Y0 Y3 of switch device U4 are connected via CN2 to the Y signal lines of the device to be controlled Simi larly terminals YO Y3 of switch device U5 are con nected via CN2 to the X signal lines of the device to be controlled Terminals 20 23 of each of switch devices 03 05 are connected to a common bus 1 In addi tion to its bus function between the switch devices TP1 can be used to send or receive a signal via the TP1 line in CN3 to or from one or more of the X Y lines The 12 unused lines of data selector U1 may be used to virtualize a larger X Y network However these
9. e invention is used to control frequency scanning of a radio device as described above the device of the invention provides for a plural ity of user interrupt events to facilitate use thereof User interrupts may include displaying help information displaying the present date modifying parameters set ting frequency exclusion rules pausing resuming to the next frequency altering the display setting frequency selection rules editing frequency records and ending the control sequence In addition the device of the invention provides a plurality of utility routines includ ing for example routines for building and editing fre quency files performing defined receiver operations logging data regarding signal activity editing parame 5 442 542 7 ters and rules displaying information and preparing reports It is apparent that the invention could be used to control multiple devices or to control a larger number of switches by cascading more than one Machine State Virtualizer unit or by expanding its circuitry The system can also be implemented with large scale integration multiplexers such as the configuration re flected in FIG 15 This latter implementation actually utilizes electronic switches at each of the unique X Y intersections rather than the X selection to Y selection described in the first preferred embodiment however the functionality as it relates to the objective of the device is identical As previously indi
10. ed Fig 4a 5 442 542 U S Patent Aug 15 1995 Sheet 6 of 6 5 442 542 ST6 Select Next Data Word In Frequency Write Latch Selected Switches Data Words All Processed Lookup Output State For Data Word From Map Settletime Elapsed 2 STD Clear Switch Data Sb Continue Main Program Sequence Fig 4b 5 442 542 1 MACHINE STATE VIRTUALIZER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Device and process control in prior art electronics applications is generally achieved through special pur pose circuitry using either simple gate logic or more complex microprocessor controllers Such prior art devices typically are provided with switches to enable a user to manually initiate and control their various appli cations Generalized process control according to the prior art usually involves limited switching of electrical de vices e g a heater is turned on via a relay if tempera ture falls to a certain level Such control strategies typically employ a device controller such as the 8255 programmable peripheral controller and the necessary hardware and software drivers Thus a logic state con trols a semiconductor or mechanical relay which in turn switches a control voltage Such a design is acceptable if the device to be controlled is engineered to respond to simple logic signals or has simple control needs which can be accommodated through patte
11. eded for device selection or other functions From this map the microcomputer adds the data bits together to determine the byte necessary to virtualize a desired keystroke In this way the logic states of the computer are used to effect interconnection of switching circuits in the device rather than to apply the logic states of the computer directly to the device as in the prior art FIG 3 shows a keypad logic analysis map for the RS PRO2006 radio An X is placed in the map corresponding to X Y intersections of the relevant key For this scanner CN601 pins 1 8 are high when open and effect one low variable duration pulse when closed CN601 pins 9 12 are low open and high closed A full discussion of the features and keypad logic of the PRO2006 scanner can be found in the PRO2006 service manual One advantageous use of the Machine State Virtual izer is to control frequency scanning of a radio device such as the PRO2006 scanner A flowchart illustrating the main program sequence to perform this function is shown in FIG 4 ST1 is an initialization step during which rules and or parameters are established from stored machine instructions override rules and or pa rameters are established from data files and from user input and the Machine State Virtualizer hardware is initialized The initialized parameters include communi cation parameters frequency settletime minimum dura tion maximum duration delay priority frequencies and
12. first or subsequent frequency ST2 is performed for a particu lar device Referring to FIG 45 the device driver sequence 15 entered at start step ST6 The sequence then proceeds to select the first or subsequent data word in the fre quency ST7 and determines if all data words have been processed 578 If the answer in 518 is yes the driver returns to the main program sequence ST13 If the answer is no the output state for the selected data word is looked up from the map ST9 and the output state is written and latched to the X Y switches ST10 The driver waits for a predetermined keystroke sett letime to elapse ST11 and then clears the switch data ST12 and returns to ST7 to select the next data word Returning now to the main program sequence FIG 4a the sequence waits for the minimum duration ST3 and then determines whether a signal has been detected ST4 The minimum duration was set to a predeter mined duration during the initialization step If a signal has not been detected the sequence returns to ST2 If a signal has been detected it is then determined whether the maximum duration has elapsed The maximum dura tion was also set to a predetermined duration during the initialization step If the maximum duration has elapsed the sequence returns to ST2 If it has not the sequence loops through states 514 and 515 until a signal is no longer detected or the maximum duration elapses When the device of th
13. in provides power to voltage regulator VR1 Volt age regulator VR1 comprises a 78LO5 voltage regula tor U7 and a filter capacitor C3 The filter capacitor preferably has a value of 500 mf The output of VR1 is connected to the Vreg line and is used to power the rest of the circuit A power supply filter capacitor C1 pref erably 10 mf is connected in parallel between Vreg and ground to properly condition voltage Voltage regula tion could of course be provided externally in which case Vin would be superfluous and a regulated voltage could simply be applied to Vreg Capacitor C2 prefera bly 0 1 mf is connected between Vreg and ground to filter signal noise Four of the data lines from CN1 are fed to a data selector U1 which is preferably a 4067 integrated cir cuit The four data lines are connected to terminals 0 of the data selector U1 and are used to control the output of terminals Y0 Y3 Because only four X sig nal lines are being controlled in this embodiment only four of the Y terminals of U1 are being utilized How ever the four data lines are sufficient to control up to 16 outputs Y0 Y15 of U1 if necessary Similarly the remaining three data lines from CN1 are fed to terminals A0 A2 of data selector U2 which is preferably of the 4061 type The three data inputs are used to control output of terminals 0 7 of U2 An inhibit line TP2 connected to the inhibit pins of U1 and 2 is provided so that the data sele
14. les to the common line TP1 Electronic control of the X switch array 4 and Y switch array 5 is effected under the control of a mi crocomputer 1 through X switch device selector 2 and Y switch device selector 3 respectively The mi crocomputer 1 provides control signals representative of machine states of the device to be controlled and forwards these control signals to the device selectors The device selectors then decode these control signals and control the individual switching of the switch ar rays thereby A feedback device 8 is provided which provides a feedback signal from the electronic device to the microcomputer 1 A second preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG 1b wherein corresponding elements from FIG 1a are denoted by the same reference numer als In the second preferred embodiment the device selectors are replaced by a switch selector latch 9 which controls a 32 unit electronic X Y switch array 10 The X Y switch array 10 implements a switch ma trix of the eight Y switch poles 7 and the four X switch poles 6 Thus electrical interconnection between any 5 442 542 3 Y switch pole and any X switch pole may be achieved under control of the switch selector latch 9 Feedback device 8 is also provided in the second preferred em bodiment A more detailed schematic diagram of the first pre ferred embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG 2 wherein the device is used to control a 4x 8 X Y switch netw
15. lines may also be used for security purposes to serialize 4 096 possible combinations concealed under the IC for verification of proper connection and password protec tion In this case a diode should be inserted on the Z line of data distributor U1 to permit data to be written to both data selectors while restricting input to U1 and another 4049 buffer could be used to read the password information from U1 The microcomputer 1 embodies a table which maps machine states of the controlled device to data values and controls switch timing and sequence Mapping of the machine states allows the microcomputer to control the data lines such that a desired machine state is virtu alized According to the preferred embodiments the microcomputer is programmed to execute control rou tines which require virtualization of a sequence of ma chine states thus automating operation of the con trolled device For example the microcomputer can be programmed to execute a radio scanning management routine such that a user may step through scanned chan nels automatically without using keystrokes normally necessary to operate the device directly The mi crocomputer may also be programmed so that the chan nel is changed only when the receiver activity detection line indicates that the receiver is inactive Clearly an unlimited number of control routines applicable to all electronic devices with switches are available using the device of the invention The ste
16. logging mode and device driver parameters data output port address control output port address data input port address reset instruction latch instruction and timing parameters The frequency settletime parameter causes the con trolled radio device to pause for a brief period typically around 0 050 seconds after tuning to a frequency but before commencing other procedures This brief pause is helpful in situations wherein the tuning circuits re quire time to converge to a frequency or when other delays occur The minimum duration parameter slows down the scan speed so that frequencies are monitored for the minimum duration even if no signal is present The default value for this parameter is zero The maxi mum duration parameter limits the maximum time a particular frequency will be monitored This parameter may be set at zero for sampling or at 99 for an unlimited duration The delay parameter causes scanning to pause on a frequency after completion of a reception to deter mine if a new signal is detected during the delay period This is useful for monitoring two way communications which may have periodic interruptions The default value for this parameter is 2 0 seconds Priority frequen cies are user designated priority channels Lastly log ging mode refers to whether a computer record is kept of scanning activity The data output port address control output port address and data input port address are parameters 10 20
17. map and outputting data values corresponding to a sequence of desired machine states to said data selector and C feedback means for obtaining feedback from the electronic device wherein said processing means is responsive to said feedback means and wherein a sequence of events is altered based on preestab lished rules when a predetermined signal is re ceived from the feedback means 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 8 2 A universal controller for controlling an external electronic device having a switch matrix of X lines and Y lines comprising A a first plurality of switches each having a first terminal adapted to be connected to the X lines of said external electronic device and a second termi nal connected to a common line B a second plurality of switches each having a first terminal adapted to be connected to the Y lines of said external electronic device and a second termi nal connected to said common line C control means for controlling said first plurality of switches and said second plurality of switches so as to virtualize a desired machine state of the exter nal electronic device 1 wherein said control means comprises a first data selector which controls said first plurality of switches and a second data selector which con trols said second plurality of switches and stor age means for storing a machine state virtualiza tion map 2 wherein said machine sta
18. ontrol Handbook Catalogue pp D 62 D 64 1990 Micromint BCC180 brochure Catalog of Embedded Controllers pp 16 17 1991 Crosspoint Switches Seek Bandwidth EDN Mar 21 1991 p 3 Morgan Don Understanding the GPIB Dr Dobb s Journal pp 48 50 52 53 and 92 Apr 1991 Liebson Steve The Handbook of Microcomputer Inter facing 2nd Edition pp 144 179 Tandy Corporation Realistic Service Manual PRO 2006 Programmable Scanner Catalogue No 20 145 9145 pp 5 17 and 77 78 1990 Primary Examiner Roy N Envall Jr Assistant Examiner Thomas E Brown Attorney Agent or Firm Evenson McKeown Edwards amp Lenahan 57 ABSTRACT A machine state virtualizer is an apparatus for control ling an electronic device having a switch matrix of X lines and Y lines sometimes referred to as crosspoint switches with a microcomputer The device includes a plurality of switches which interconnect specified X lines and Y lines of the electrical device A microcom puter references a machine state virtualization map and outputs data corresponding to a desired machine state The output data is then decoded and used to control the plurality of switches so as to virtualize the desired ma chine state of the electronic device The microcomputer utilizes sequences and rules for implementing a defined device control objective 3 Claims 6 Drawing Sheets X SWITCH ARRAY 4 X SWITCH DEVICE SELECTOR 2 MICRO CO
19. ork Exemplary component values are included in the discussion of this preferred embodiment However determination of these values in this or a similar circuit would be apparent to one skilled in the art is a connector which is attached for instance to a parallel port of an IBM PC compatible microcom puter includes ten lines seven of which are data lines one of which is an input output control one of which is ground and the last of which RAD reads a signal from another connector CN3 discussed below A resistor pack RP1 preferably having a resistance of 2 2 kOhm is provided to pull up the voltage on the data and I O lines A second connector CN2 is provided through which the device is connected to the X Y switch matrix of the device being controlled In this embodiment CN2 in cludes eight Y signal lines four X signal lines and a ground line The third connector CN3 provides power and access to other external signals According to this embodi ment CN3 is provided with five lines a TP1 line a receiver activity detection RAD line voltage in Vin voltage regulated Vreg and ground GND The TP1 line allows external access to or from the switch matrix as will be discussed in more detail below The receiver activity detection line allows the microcomputer to monitor receiver activity via a buffer U6 preferably a 4049 hex inverting buffer which captures a signal input from the receiver on this line V
20. ps necessary to develop a machine state data map will now be discussed with specific reference to the Radio Shack PRO2006 scanning radio a consumer radio device not designed to facilitate external mi crocomputer control First the number of X and Y lines utilized by the device s front panel keypad are deter mined from examination of the device and or documen tation Second an interconnection strategy is developed to assign X Y lines of the radio to the switch arrays of the Machine State Virtualizer As in the preferred em bodiments discussed above all X lines are preferably connected to switches controlled by one data selector while all Y lines are preferably connected to switches controlled by another data selector Third a data value is assigned to each data line according to the necessary 5 442 542 5 circuitry In the specific implementation of the first preferred embodiment discussed above three data lines are used to control eight switches corresponding to the Y signal lines and four data lines are used to control four switches corresponding to the X signal lines leav ing 12 outputs unused The feedback device is con nected to an available receiver circuit which indicates radio signal detect status and in turn makes such data available to the Machine State Virtualizer Lastly a map is developed which correlates X Y switch intersec tions to data values The map is adjusted for any remaining data lines which may be ne
21. rns of parallel data However such a control design is not acceptable for situations wherein control of large numbers of states is necessary for control of analog applications or for control of more complex switch strategies such as non standard states and time sensitive requirements In certain specialized fields there are standards and conventions governing the interaction among various devices engineered to conform to these standards For example IEEE 488 is a recognized standard for inter device communication Other examples of such stan dards are MIDI which is used for control of musical instruments and the proprietary CI V standard pub lished by ICOM America for the control of radio de vices Most devices which are part of such a configura tion are generally also controllable through switches and similar means Unfortunately these existing stan dards and the associated control schemes require spe cialized engineering of the electrical device and adher ence to rigorous pre set standards Basic multiplexer techniques have been developed for applications such as the computer data control bus audio video switching and telephonic switching how ever such devices and the necessary software and pro cesses have not been developed for general device and process control Because of the lack of a universal standard for device control and because of the multiplicity of machine functions intended users and disparate design strate
22. te virtualization map correlates X line and Y line intersections of said electronic device to data values corresponding to a machine state 3 wherein said control means further comprises processing means for processing a control rou tine instruction by referencing said machine state virtualization map and outputting data values corresponding to a sequence of desired machine states to said first data selector and said second data selector and D feedback means for obtaining feedback from the electronic device wherein said processing means is responsive to said feedback means and wherein a sequence of events is altered based on preestab lished rules when a predetermined signal is re ceived from the feedback means 3 A method of controlling an electronic device hav ing a switch matrix of X lines and Y lines comprising the steps of A inputting information indicative of a desired ma chine state of the electronic device B referencing a machine state virtualization map which correlates X line and Y line intersections of the electronic device to data values corresponding to machine states to determine data values corre sponding to said desired machine state C decoding said data values D virtualizing keystrokes determinative of the de sired machine state by interconnecting the X lines and Y lines under control of the decoded data val ues E receiving feedback from the electronic device and F altering a sequen
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