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:
Jul. 25, 2017
Filed:
Jan. 19, 2015
Pilz Gmbh & Co. KG, Ostfildern, DE;
Thorsten Godau, Ostfildern, DE;
Christian Adams, Ostfildern, DE;
Reinhard Sperrer, Ostfildern, DE;
Dietmar Seizinger, Ostfildern, DE;
PILZ GMBH & CO. KG, Ostfildern, DE;
Abstract
A method for synchronizing display elements of a plurality of subscribers of a distributed, bus-based control system is proposed. The subscribers comprise a message transmitter and a plurality of message receivers. The message receivers each comprise a respective display element, which can be toggled between a switched-on state and a switched-off state, and a control unit for producing a control signal for toggling the display element from one state to the other. The message transmitter sends a respective current bus message via the bus in defined recurring bus message time intervals. The respective bus message comprises a bus message counter that has a respective value from a defined value range. The counter value is changed in a predefined manner each time when a current bus message is sent. The message receivers receive the respective bus messages via the bus. The control units each evaluate the respective bus message counter in the same manner and take this as a basis for producing the control signal, so that the display elements are toggled between the switched-on state and the switched-off state in sync with one another and with a defined on/off period.