Patent ID: 7643888

Claim:
A control apparatus comprising: a data input/output unit; a program execution unit; a data transmission unit; a common memory; and a CPU, wherein: the common memory includes a storing area and three ports which can be accessed by the data input/output unit, the program execution unit, the CPU, and the data transmission unit, the storing area including a transmission data area and a received data area which store global variables accessible by control module, the global variables being transmitted and received by the data transmission unit, and an input local data area and an output local data area which store local variables accessed by the data input/output unit, the program execution unit and the CPU; the data input/output unit is operable independently of the CPU and the program execution unit to acquire control target information from a control target for the control apparatus, to store the acquired control target information in the input local data area of the common memory, and to output, to the control target, output control information stored in the output local data area of the common memory; the program execution unit is operable independently of the data input/output unit and the data transmission unit to execute a control program for controlling the control target to generate output control information for the control target, using the control target information stored in the input local data area of the common memory, and to store the generated output control information in the transmission data area included in the common memory; the data transmission unit is operable independently of the CPU and the program execution unit to transmit, to another control apparatus, the output control information stored in the transmission data area included in the common memory, to receive control information from said another control apparatus, and to store the received control information in a received data area included in the common memory and corresponding to said another control apparatus; the CPU reads the control target information from the input local data area of the common memory and stores the control target information in the output local data area of the common memory.