The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 09, 1996
Filed:
Sep. 22, 1994
Thomas L Skillman, Bellevue, WA (US);
Richard N Blair, Kent, WA (US);
Arthur J Boland, Issaquah, WA (US);
Yong-Long C Ling, Bellevue, WA (US);
Richard M Pier, Bellevue, WA (US);
The Boeing Company, Seattle, WA (US);
Abstract
A blackboard parallel processing system for carrying out a general processing task using a plurality of parallel processors. In one application of the blackboard processing system, a workstation (102), which is part of an an automated workstation manufacturing system (AWMS), includes a blackboard control unit (BCU) (106) on which four separate functions are implemented in separate identical modules. The BCU includes a database module (34) having access to a global database, which is available to each of the plurality of parallel processors, referred to as knowledge source processors (KSPs) (40). A trigger module (46) includes trigger patterns that are compared to the data developed from messages transmitted by the KSPs to initiate specific tasks according to a predefined sequence. A scheduler module (42) responds to the trigger signals, by transmitting a signal to initiate each task, either by a specified KSP or by the KSP that is the least loaded with previously assigned processing task. A communication module (38) serves as an interface between knowledge source operating systems in each of the KSPs. Applications running in each KSP are initiated in response to the signals provided by the BCU, producing data and using data available to each of the KSPs on the global database.