Method for monitoring a control system

US6941247B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Carl Zeiss Jena GmbH · DE

Inventors

• Uwe Voigt · Oberkochen, DE
• Gunter Moehler · Jena, DE
• Burkhard Goetz · Jena, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: Dec 7, 2000
• Grant date: Sep 6, 2005
• Expiry date: Dec 7, 2020

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G05B2219/25178
• WIPO field: Control
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

A method for monitoring a control system is disclosed comprising a plurality of control units, preferably for an optical measurement device or observation device. In a method of this type, it is provided that at least one control unit with master capability is incorporated in the communication between the control station and the rest of the control units and communicates with at least one of the control units for purposes of detecting status data and communicates with the control station for purposes of conveying the detected status data. In this way, polling for determining the current status is not the exclusive responsibility of the control station but, rather, can be taken over—at least partially or so as to be limited to determined processes—by the control unit with master capability enabled for this purpose. A control system for accomplishing the method is also disclosed.