Patent ID: 6501368
Filing Date: 2002-12-31
Classification: B60W,G05B

Abstract:
A control apparatus comprising:a plurality of sources of input signals; a plurality of controlled elements; a communication bus; and a plurality of separate control modules each having: connection to the communication bus for transmitting communications on and receiving communications from the bus; a plurality of input terminals arranged for receiving at least one input from a respective one of said plurality of sources of input signals; a plurality of output terminals at least one of which is arranged for connection to a respective one of the controlled elements; a plurality of switches each associated with a respective one of the output terminals for effecting control of the respective controlled element; a processor programmable so as to actuate the switches in response to data from the input terminals and in response to said communications on the communication bus in accordance with a predetermined program stored in the module; the modules each having a different function such that each receives input from a different one or more of the sources of input data and each effects control of a different one or more of the controlled elements; wherein said predetermined program is the same in each of the modules and includes a base program and an operating program portion having respective sub-portions thereof with each sub-portion arranged to control the function of the respective module in which the program is stored; and wherein the modules and the predetermined program therein are arranged such that, at a predetermined condition of the apparatus, the processor of each module emits to the communication bus a signal indicative of the operating program portion stored in the respective module, such that there is effected a comparison of the emitted signals, and such that, in the event that the emitted signal of one of the modules is different from that of the others, a selected one of the others is arranged to download the operating program portion from said selected one to said different one.