WO2000022490A1

WO2000022490A1 - Packaging machine control

Info

Publication number: WO2000022490A1
Application number: PCT/US1999/024071
Authority: WO
Inventors: Randall C. Restle
Original assignee: R.A. Jones & Co., Inc.
Priority date: 1998-10-14
Filing date: 1999-10-13
Publication date: 2000-04-20
Also published as: AU1807700A

Abstract

The present invention provides a machine control (200) for packaging equipment (8) which combines a product with a package and includes a machine drive (61, 63) for transporting at least one of the product and the package. A first sensor (69) provides a first input signal representing an operating status of the machine drive, and a plurality of operable components (11, 13, 40, 43, 44) cooperate to combine the product with the package. At least one of the operable components has a desired operational state correlated to the operating status of the machine drive. The machine control further includes second sensors (45) for providing second input signals responsive to the operable components combining the product with the package; and a field programme logic device (212) having inputs for receiving the first and second input signals. The field programmable logic device samples the first and second input signals and provides output signals for controlling the operational states of the packaging equipment components, thereby causing the packaging equipment to combine the product with the package.

Description

PACKAGING MACHINE CONTROL

Background of the Invention

This invention relates to an improved machine control and more particularly to an improved higher speed machine control providing a more efficient machine operation The control further has the capability ot providing a comprehensive machine status anaK sis

In controlling machines it is important that control input signals representing monitored or sensed machine activities be read, analyzed and control output signals which operate devices on the machine be provided the shortest possible time The more quickh a control responds to changing machine operating conditions the faster and more efficiently and precisely the machine can be operated For example, assume a relatively slower control system is applied to a higher speed machine and a detected error condition input is used to provide a machine stop control output During the time required to sense the error condition send an input signal to the control system, process the input signal and send a machine stop output signal to a dev ice for stopping the machine the continued movements ot the machine after the occurrence ot the error condition can cause damage to the machine or scrap production However, if a taster control system can be used the machine can be stopped or other remedial action taken more quickly, so that damage and scrap is eliminated or minimized and the machine and process is operated more efficiently Thus, the more quickh machine operating parameters can be sensed, analyzed and a responsive control signals generated, the more precisely and efficiently a machine can be controlled

Accordingly it is desirable to significantly shorten the machine control processing time in order to provide improved and substantially more real time machine state sensing and control than is currently ottered by electronic controls such as a programmable logic control ( 'PLC") and related serial communications links

In the control of every automated machine or process machine or process conditions are monitored by sensors Those sensors provide input signals to a machine control which processes user defined programmed instructions representing a programmed model ot the desired machine or process operation and then provides output signals to actuators The actuators operate in a manner normalK causing the machine or process controlled by the actuators to follow the programmed model

Generally, referring to Fig 5, the sensors and input dev ices 520 are located in widely diverse locations and can be, tor example, push buttons pressure and temperature sensors mechanical, optical, magnetic or other proximity switches etc The actuators and output devices 522 are tvpicallv represented by relays solenoids, motors, etc Often, the various sensors 520 and actuators 522 on a machine or w ithin a process are connected by wires 524 to terminals on respective terminal blocks 526, 528 within a machine control panel 530 The terminals on the terminal blocks 526, 528 are connected to inputs ot respectiv e interface and signal conditioning circuits 532, 534, that in turn, are connected to input and output terminals ot a PLC 536 Thus, the input and output signals are provided on wires to and from respective input and output dev ices on the machine The input signals from the input devices 520 pass through the signal conditioning circuits 532 to the inputs ot the PLC 536 The PLC 536 serially executes programmed instructions w hich normally cause a scan ot the input terminals ot the PLC and provides current input signal states to the programmed model Based on the input signal states and the programmed model, the PLC generates new output signal states which are set on the output terminals ot the PLC Those signal states are passed through the signal conditioning circuits 534 to the output devices 522 The cycle time tor the logic controller to scan the inputs, process the logic and change the states of the outputs is in the range from 2-40 milliseconds ("ms")

The requirement of running individual wires between the logic controller and input and output machine devices is time consuming and expensive In addition, each wire requires two mechanical connections which are subject to failure, thereby reducing the reliability of the controller Consequently, more recent machines and processes utilize serial communications technology in which groups of wires from various sensors and actuators are run over relatively short distances to one ot several multiplexing devices The multiplexer reads the state of the various inputs and prov ides a serial bit stream that may be transferred over significant distances to a controller using only a single twisted pair, a coaxial or fiber optic cable At the location of the controller, a demultiplexer converts the serial bit stream into a series of parallel outputs which aie processed by the PLC The PLC provides new output signal states which are multiplexed serially transferred acioss the serial cable, demultiplexed and transferred by individual wires to the respective actuators

While the serial communications link has a substantial advantage in reducing the quantity and expense ot wiring l equired to pass electric signals between the machine devices and the control, the senal link has the disadvantage ot being slower than the hard wired system The time required tor multiplexing, transmission time and demultiplexing of the signals is in the range of 1-20 ms When that time is added to the 2-40 ms processing time ot the PLC control, the system with the serial communications link has the disadvantage of being relatively slow in view of the operating machine speeds as discussed below

While the above serial communication technology has provided a substantial advantage of cost reduction bv reducing wiring and substantial improvements in reliability, such serial communications technology presents significant problems w ith respect to process control In order to aid in illustrating the different problems, it will be appreciated that often, many processes are mechanically implemented in synchronization with a rotating shaft Various mechanical svstems are cued and synchiomzed with the rotating shaft such that one or more processes are fully executed during one revolution For example, a packaging machine for filling plastic pouches or bags with a liquid or solid material often includes one or more components powered by a rotating shaft During each rotation of the shaft, an empt> bag is prepared for a fill station, a bag is filled, a bag is sealed, and a bag is discharged During a subsequent rotation of the shaft, each ot the bags is simultaneously advanced from a current processing station to the next one

During a single fill cycle there are many activities that must be coordinated or synchronized with respect to the angular position of the rotating shaft, so that the fill cycle is accurately and reliably executed Furthei , during each shaft rotation, a conveyor supporting the pouch is moved through a linear displacement frequently referred to as a ' pitch" or the distance from one pouch to anothei , wherein one revolution of the shaft results in an incremental movement of each of pouches by one pitch For example it the pitch is 9 inches, the conveyor will move through an incremental displacement of 9 inches with each complete 360° rotation of the shaft, that is, the conveyor will move through 0 025 inch ot linear motion tor each degi ee ot shaft rotation Therefore, the speed with which the control can sense input signal states process a programmed model and provide output signal states to an actuator relative to the angular displacement ot the shaft is very important

Current PLC machine controls typically have a processing or scanning cycle in the range of from 2-40 ms During a scanning cycle, the PLC senses the states ot the input signals, processes the input signals through control logic and changes the state ot output signals Given a relatively short scanning cycle, for example, 10 ms, and a relatively slow shaft rotation of one revolution per second that provides, for example, 60 filled pouches per minute, the shaft turns 3 6° during each 10 ms control cycle During each 10 ms control cycle, the pouch conveyor travels approximately 0 09 inch, that is, approximately 1 % of its pitch at slower production rates For a machine having a higher production rate, tor example, 1200 pouches per minute, the rotating shaft turns approximately 20 revolutions per second and through an increment of 72° tor each 10 ms control cycle Thus, the pouch conveyor and other mechanisms move approximately 1 8 inches, or 20% of the pitch, in a 10 ms control cycle Such displacements after the occurrence ot an error condition during the seemingly short control cycle can cause machine damage and further, may result in substantial scrap production

To accommodate the inability ot the basic control to respond to specific situations requiring a rapid response, different special purpose devices must be used in conjunction with the PLC to permit the machine or process to be properly controlled The addition of such devices increases the cost and complexity of providing the machine or process control

Therefore, there is a need to provide a machine oi process control that is substantially taster in its operation to improve the ability ot the control to respond to higher machine and process speed requirements Further, there is a need to reduce the complexity ot the machine control so that it is less expensive and more reliable

There is a further need to improve the diagnostic capabilities ot controls so that the most current machine state information can be presented to the user so that error conditions and problems can be detected at the earliest possible

Summary of the Invention The present invention provides a machine control that is simpler, more reliable, less costly, extremely fast and provides significantly greater capability than prior machine controls Further, the machine control of the present invention provides significantly more comprehensive and more complete real time information to a user with respect to the current state of the machine operation Thus, operational machine and process conditions can be continuously monitored which permits small changes in machine operation to be observed before they become a problem Further, problems that do occur can be diagnosed and remedied more quickly than with prior art machine controls

The increased speed and comprehensive operator interface of the machine control of the present invention translates directly into significant cost savings tor the user

In accordance with the principles of the present invention and in accordance with the described embodiments, the present invention provides a machine control for packaging equipment tor combining a product with a package and including a machine drive tor ti ansporting at least one ot the product and the package A first sensor provides a first input signal representing an operating status of the machine drive, and a plurality of operable components cooperate to combine the product with the package At least one of the operable components has a desired operational state correlated to the operating status ot the machine drive The machine further includes second sensors tor providing second input signals responsive to the operable components combining the product with the package, and a central processor means consisting ot at least one field programmable logic device having inputs for receiving the first and second input signals The field programmable logic device samples the first and second input signals and provides output signals for controlling the operational states ot the packaging equipment components, thereby causing the packaging equipment to combine the product with the package In an alternative embodiment, the invention provides a method ot operating the above described packaging equipment using a field programmable logic device as a central processor means

By using the field programmable logic dev ice as a central processor, the output signals are produced almost contemporaneously with the input signals being received by the device with the advantage of providing a machine control having extraordinary responsi eness to changes in operating conditions ot the equipment

In a further embodiment ot the invention, a microprocessor is electrically connected to the field programmable logic device in the abo e-described machine control and monitors the input and output signal states being respectively received by and sent from the field programmable logic device By monitoring the input and output signal states, diagnostic data may be presented to the user to prov ide important information relating to the operational states of the machine and the process being performed by the machine Thus, the machine control has the advantage of permitting a user to more quickly and thoroughly diagnose and remedy problems, thereby optimizing the running time of the packaging equipment in production and reducing downtime and scrap costs,

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention w ill become more readily apparent during the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the drawings herein

Brief Description of the Drawings

Fig 1 is a perspective view ot a cartoning packaging machine Fig 2 is a diagrammatic plan view ot a portion ot the transport conveyor

Fig 3 is a schematic block diagram of a machine control in accordance with the principles of the present invention Figs 4A-4E are representations ot graphical displays created in accordance with the principles of the present invention

Fig 5 is schematic block diagram ot a prior art machine control

Detailed Description of the Invention

The machine control ot the present invention may be applied to any machine or equipment but for purposes ot illustration, the machine control will be described with respect to packaging machinery, tor example, a cartoning packaging machine as illustrated in Fig 1 The cartoner 8 includes a frame 10 which supports a carton feeder 11 , a carton transport conveyor 12, a product bucket conveyor 13 and product buckets 14 mounted on the conveyor and a barrel loader 15 An overhead tamper contmei 16 is employed tor product which must be compressed either vertically or horizontally or both in order to size them tor mtioduction into the cartoner The cartoner is surrounded by a series ot lower opaque guard panels 20 and guard windo s 21 which are capable ot being raised and lowered to expose the operating components ot the machine for repairs unclogging jams and the like In somewhat more detail, the feeder 11 has a frame 23 which supports a rotatable feed mechanism ot the type disclosed in U S Patent

No 4,429,864, which is assigned to the same assignee as the present application, and the entirety ot which is hereby incorporated by reference herein The feeder utilizes timers and time delays and also includes a pair of spaced parallel downstream chains 25 on which flat folded cartons or packages 26 are supported and gradually moved toward the rotary feeding device

Referring to Fig 2, the carton transport conveyor 12 has three elongated, parallel endless chains The outboard chains 29 support trailing transport lugs 30 The center chain 31 supports a leading transport lug 32 The center chain may be shifted with respect to the outboard chains in order to vary the spacing between the leading and trailing transport lugs in order to accommodate cartons 26 of differing lengths (the length ot the carton is the dimension in the machine direction) The cartons are ted in the flat folded condition onto the transport conveyor Returning to Fig 1 , prior to being captured between the leading and trailing transport lugs ot the conveyor 12, the carton is transported from the feeder bv a conveyor 33 During the traverse of conveyor 33, the carton flaps are separated by a flap separator 35 hich forces a lower flap downwardly into a position where it can be engaged by a stationary plough and turned and held at a 90° angle to the wall to which it is connected The flap separator 35 is driven from the main drive motor 61 (Fig 2) The carton 26 then moves through an air opener 36 which is operated by pneumatic solenoids and directs blasts ot air from either side ot the carton in a horizontal direction to force air between the upper and lower walls of the carton, thereby causing the carton to swing to an erect orientation betw een the leading and trailing lugs of the transport conveyor That air opener is disclosed in U S Patent No 3,728 945 issued April 24, 1973 w hich is assigned to the same assignee as the present application, and the entirety ot which is hereby incorporated bv reference herein

Immediately downstream of the air opener 36 are opposed flap spreaders 40 which are driven from the main drive motor 61 The flap spreaders carry lugs 41 which engage the leading flap ot the carton and swing it through 90° so that it can be captured by stationary rails and held in that attitude as the carton passes the barrel loader 15 The trailing flap is similarlv captured by the rails and held open As the carton passes the barrel loader, pusher heads 42 engage products in the product buckets and thrust them across the product buckets into the opened cartons After the carton 26 has been filled, it is conveyed past flap closers 43 which engage the railing flaps and swing them to a closed position One or more glue guns 44 and photodetectors 45 are mounted alongside the carton conveyor downstream of the flap closers 43 In response to the photodetectors 45 providing input signals in coincidence with angle data from the encoder 69, the machine control 200 operates the glue guns 44 to apply an appropriate pattern of glue to one of the flaps ot the carton When the glue is applied, ploughs (not shown) swing the flaps to a closed position and hold them there during the brief period required tor the glue to set

The product bucket convev or 13 consists of a pair of endless chains which support a series ot spaced product buckets 14 which convey products 48 past the open cartons The product buckets may be L-shaped or U- shaped depending upon the product to be filled into the carton and the need for imparting shaping to the product to enable it to conform dimensionallv to the size ot the carton The size ot the product bucket can be varied by adjusting the two chains relativ e to each other in accordance with the present invention The barrel loader 15 consists of a series of pusher heads 42 which are shdably supported on endless chains The pusher heads have cam followers which ride in a cam track As the pusher heads 42 are conveyed on the chains which support them, the cam track causes each pusher head to move across the pioduct bucket in a known manner where it engages the product 48 and thrusts it into an open carton 26 In the operation of the cartoner 8, the flat folded carton blanks are ted from the feeder 24 toward the transport conveyor The upper and lower flaps ot the carton are separated so as to permit air to be introduced betw een the upper and lower walls of the carton 26 An air opener blasts air to erect the carton 26 between the leading and trailing transport lugs 30 32 (Fig 2) As the cartons move downstream, the horizontal flaps are plowed up and down and the vertical flaps are swung through 90° on both sides of the cartoii to prepare the carton tor the introduction ot product Product which has been transteπed to the product buckets is confined by the overhead tamper confmer 16 as the products pass the barrel loader 15 There, the pusher heads 42 ot the barrel loader drive each product across the product bucket and into the carton opposite it as the product buckets and transport conveyors move alongside each other past the barrel loader After the product has been loaded into the cartons, the carton flaps have a pattern ot glue applied to them and are closed and held in a closed condition until the glue sets

Referring to Fig 2, the cartoner 8 has a main drive motor 61 which is connected through a sprocket 62 and chain 64 to a sprocket 58 on a drive shaft 63 tor the transport conveyor The main drive motor 61 is also connected to first operable components, for example, the product bucket conveyor 13, the carton feed system 11 , the flap spreaders 40 and the flap closers 43 and the other operable components Other operable components, for example, the glue gun 44, are not connected to the main drive motor 61 However all of the operable components operate in synchronism to combine the product with the package or carton The drive shaft 63 tor the transport conveyor carries two driving sprockets 66 which in turn carry the two outboard chains 29 which carry trailing transport lugs 30 The position of the transport lugs with respect to the main drive will be fixed and tor the present purposes form a convenient reference point Any reference point fixed with respect to the main drive system can be used as well A shaft position encoder 69 is connected by a chain and sprocket drive 70 to the shaft 63 and is driven thereby in synchronism with the mam di ive motoi 61 The shaft position encoder 69 provides an input signal to a machine control 200 which reflects an operating status of the machine drive, foi example, the position of a reference element such as the trailing lugs 30, oi a feature ot a carton 26, such as a leading or trailing edge, to the photodetector 45 and glue gun 44 The leading lugs 32 are mounted on the center chain 31 which passes over a sprocket 71 The sprocket

71 is fixed to a driving sprocket 72 which is in tui n connected by a chain 73 to a spiocket 74 fixed on a shaft 80 The shaft 80 which drives the center chain 31 and leading transport lugs 32 is driven through a phase adjusting system 81 by the drive shaft 63 tor the trailing transport lugs In normal operation, the shaft 63 and the shaft 80 are driven together on a one-to one relationship A phase adjusting system is provided to effect the linear adjustment of the center chain with respect to the outside chains, thereby adjusting the spacing between the leading and trailing transport lugs to accommodate different sizes of cartons

The shaft 80 carries a position indicator 85 which includes a disk 86 having registration spot thereon and a photoelectric eye 87 Clearly, any type ot sensor such as a magnetic sensor could be employed which generates an input signal indicating the position of the element, in this case the leading lug, relative to the reference position monitored by the indicator 69 The input signal from the sensor is provided to the machine control 200

Referring to Fig 3, a machine control 200 tor controlling the operation and process of the cartoning machine described in Figs 1 and 2 is illustrated Machine input dev ices 204 are diversely located on the machine and provide machine input signals on wires 205 to a machine input/output interface 206 Input devices 204 can be, for example, push buttons, photoelectric eyes and sensors, such as photodetector 45, pressure and temperature sensors, mechanical, optical, magnetic or other proximity switches, etc Sensors such as resolvers and encoders are also machine input devices but are typically provided to the machine control 200 through a different interface The machine I/O interface 206 in turn provides machine output signals on wires 207 to machine output devices 208 which are diversely located on the machine The actuators and output devices 208 are typically represented by relays, electric and pneumatic solenoids, such as a glue gun solenoid operating the glue gun 44, cylinders, electric and pneumatic motors, etc The input and output signals are respectively transmitted to and received from the machine control 200 by data cables 210, 21 1 Within the machine contiol 200, the machine input and output signals are principally processed by a field programmable logic device ("FPLD")

The FPLD is an integrated circuit chip having a collection of configurable gates and stoiage elements that are configured into a desired logic circuit by algorithms in a software design tool The resultant logic circuit operates as a hardware circuit in that its outputs change state substantially contemporaneously with changes in states on the inputs In contrast to an instruction based device, the outputs do not require the serial execution of programmed instructions in order to change state Therefore, changes ot states of the inputs ripple through the logic to the outputs almost instantaneously relative to other control functions and substantially more quickly than would occur with an instruction based device Examples ot FPLD's include field programmable gate arrays, enhanced programmable logic devices, programmable array logic and similar devices A FPLD may use antituse, SRAM,

EPROM or EEPROM technology and generally has the ability to solve sum ot products logic The FPLD 212 may tor example, be a model EPM 9400 commercially available from Altera of San Jose, California

The FPLD 212 functions with a microprocessor 218 which in turn communicates with a user input/output 220 Many commercially available microprocessors may be used, for example, the microprocessor 218 may be a model PIC 17C44 8 bit microprocessor commercially available from Microchip Tech of Chandler, Arizona The machine control 200 is unique in that at least a majority and often substantially all ot the input signals are processed by the FPLD 212 to produce substantially all ot the machine output signals Thus, the FPLD 212 and not the microprocessor 218 functions as the central control or processor tor the machine control 200 Further, the FPLD receives the input signals from and provides output signals to the machine I/O interface without an intervening programmed instruction machine cycle controller, for example, a PLC or microprocessor

In contrast to existing machine control architectures, the principal function of the microprocessor 218 is not to provide updated machine output signal states in response to changes in the machine input signal states Instead, the microprocessor 218 assists the FPLD 212 with various functions For example, the microprocessor 218 selects an appropriate clock signal from those provided by the FPLD 212, and the FPLD passes that clock signal to an FPLD interface 260 hich in turn controls the execution ot a scanning cycle The purpose ot the scanning cycle is to collect input signal states from the machine input devices 204 and transfer those states to the machine control and, at the same time transfer output signal states from the machine control to the machine output devices 208 The above scanning cycle is controlled by the interface 260 in response to a clock signal selected by the microprocessor 218 The interface 260 uses that clock signal to pro ide a scan clock signal and a scan capture signal Each scan cycle has a number ot scan clock pulses at least equal to the total number ot input signals and output signals being processed by the machine control 200 The scan capture signal provides a clock pulse once per scan cycle A start byte and/or an end byte may be associated with each scan cycle For example, if the integrity ot the scan cycle is to be checked, the microprocessor 218 can add a start byte as the serial data passes from shift register 254 through the interface 260 That same start byte will be read again as the data moves from shift register 240 through the interface 260 If the microprocessor does not read the same byte coming in that it sent going out, then the microprocessor determines that there has been a transmission error A similar integrity check can be made on the data as it passes through the FPLD 212

The microprocessor 218 further functions as an interface between the user input/output 220 and the FPLD 212 The user input/output 220 includes a computer, an associated keyboard, touch screen or other input device 272 and a display or other output device 274 The computer 270 may be implemented using various computer devices, for example, an industrialized PC commercially available troni Xycom of Saline, Michigan User defined conditions that are entered via the user input 220 as well as other conditions defined bv a manufacturer of the machine control 200 are stored in the EEPROM 275 Thus, the microprocessor 218 accesses the EEPROM 275 tor power on and default states during initialization ot the machine control 200

The machine I/O interface 206 contains input signal conditioning circuits 230, 232 which receive input signals from the machine input devices 204 The input signal conditioning circuits 230, 234 are commercially available devices from Opto 22 of Temecula, California and often include optically isolated circuits The circuits 230, 234 provide the necessary voltage levels and noise rejection so that the input signals are suitable for being clocked into parallel input/serial output shift registers 234, 236 ot respective input modules 231 , 233 in response to a scan capture signal The machine I/O interface 206 further includes an output signal conditioning circuit 238 which is similar in design and function to the input signal conditioning circuits 230, 232 Serial in parallel out shift register 240 of output module 235 receiv es the desired output signal states from the FPLD 212 Those signal states are then, in response to the scan capture signal, clocked into an output buffer store 242 which functions to hold those signals so that they may be appropriately used by the machine output devices 208

The shift register 234 ot input module 231 receives data via transceiver 237 and outputs data through transceiver 239 The input module 233 also has transceivers 241 , 243 tor respectively passing data to and receiving data from the shift register 236, and the output module 235 has transceivers 245, 247 tor respectively passing data to and receiving shift register 240 The transceivers 237, 241 , 245 are permanently wired to only receive data and transceivers 239, 243, 247 are permanently wired to only transmit data Thus, the modules 231 , 233 and 235 are daisy chained together, and any number ot input and output modules may be inserted in the daisy chain to accommodate the number of input and output signals being used Thus the serial data stream and clock signals transmitted over cable 210 are presented to the receiving transceivers 237, 241 , 245 in all of the respective input modules 231 , 233, 235 The receiv ing transmitters pick oft or process only those signal states that are associated with their internal shift registers Thus, input modules 231 and 233 ignore old input signal states coming from the

FPLD and are effective to insert new machine input signal states into the serial data stream, whereas, output module 235 reads the output signal states in the serial data stream and loads those signal states into the buffer store 242

The shift registers in each ot the modules 231 , 233, 235 may be implemented in a FPLD, tor example, a model no EPM7064LC44 commercially available from Altera Corp With such an FPLD, the number and configuration of respective shift registers in each module can be varied depending on the application, and further, the hardware can be programmed to be either an input module or an output module as required by the application The length ot each ot the shift registers is a matter of design choice, and the system requires a sufficient number ot shift registers, so that theie is a shift register bit tor at least all ot input and output signals Further, as will be appreciated, to make the design compatible with certain industry design standards, the number of input and/or output signals that can be handled by each module ot input and/oi output shift registers is often limited to groups of eight or sixteen signals

The FPLD 212 contains serial input/parallel output shift registers 250, 252 which together contain the same number of bits as the shift registers 234. 236 Further, the FPLD 212 has a parallel input/serial output shift register 254 that has the same number ot bits as the shift register 240 Transceiv er 257 receiving data from the FPLD 212 is permanently wired to transmit, and transceiver 258 is permanently w ired to receive data from the machine I/O interface 260 The machine I/O interface 206 is linked with the machine control 200 by a cable 210 connected between the transmitting transceiv er 257 and receiving transceivers 237, 241 , 245, and a cable 211 is connected between transmitting transceivers 247 and receiving transceiver 258 During a scan cycle, the output states in shift registers 232, 234 and 240 are seπallv clocked by the scan clock signal through transceiver 247, across cable 211 , through transceiver 258 and through interface 260 The input signal states are loaded into shift registers 250, 252, however, the output signal states being old data ai e not loaded into shift register 254 Simultaneously, the output states in shift registers 250, 252, 254 are serially clocked through interface 260, transceiver 257, across cable 210, to transceivers 237, 241 and 245 Since the input signal states represent old data, they are not clocked into shift registers 232, 234 However, the output signal states are new data from the FPLD and are loaded into the shift register 240

The current states of the machine input devices are transferred into the shift registers 250, 252 so that they may be processed by the machine logic 262 The machine logic 262 is a hardware logic circuit that has been designed into the FPLD 212 to prov ide the desired outputs 264 in response to the current state of the inputs 266 Thus, when a scan capture signal occurs, input signal states from the machine input devices 204 are transferred into shift registers 234, 236 of the machine I/O interface 206, and output states are transferred from shift register 240 to shift register 242 Simultaneously , output signal states from the machine logic 262 are transferred into the shift register 254 During the next scan cycle, the shift registeis 234, 236, 240, 250, 252, 254 are clocked at least a number ot times equal to the total number ot machine input and output signals, thereby transferring the input signal states in shift registers 234, 236 w ithin the machine I/O interface 206 to the shift registers 250, 252, within the FPLD 212 During the next scan capture signal, the output signal states from the machine logic 262 produced by the most recently received input signal states are transferred to the shift register 254 During a subsequent scan cycle, output states of the shift register 254 are serially transtei red to the shift register 240 within the machine I/O interface 206 With the next scan capture signal, the current output signal states are transferred to the output buffer store 242 to provide command signals to the machine output devices Thus, when a change of a machine input signal state is detected, a desired output signal is made available to the to the machine in only two scan cycles Scan cycles can be executed in 0 25 ms or less

As will be appreciated by those who are skilled in the art, additional transceivers may be used to transmit and receive other signals transferred across the cables 210 and 211 , for example, the scan clock signal and the scan capture signal Alternatively, fewer transceivers may be used by encoding and decoding the signals onto a single wire The transceivers 237-247, 257-258 may be implemented using generic model no 75176B that is commercially available from Motorola, National Semiconductor and others It will further be appreciated that each ot the cables 210, 211 may include other wires, for example, tor ground, power supply voltages and other signals in addition to wires tor the signal state data and the scan clock and capture signals

That scanning process operates continuously while power is applied to the machine control 200 to provide the desired control of the machine output devices 208 in response to signals from the machine input devices 204

It should be noted that once the input signal states have been provided to the machine logic within the FPLD 212, the resulting output signal states are clocked into the shift register 254 with a single clock pulse Thus, the output signal states are available to be transferred to the machine I/O interface 206 tor use by the machine output devices 208 Hence, the FPLD 212 pro ides output signals in a much shorter period of time than it the input signal states were being processed by a programmed instruction controller, tor example, a PLC or a microprocessoi Therefore, the machine control 200 has the advantage ot providing more capability with higher speed machines than is possible with currently available programmable logic controllers

Another function ot the microprocessor 218 is to assist the FPLD 212 with certain functions where appropriate For example, the machine logic 262 ot the FPLD 212 has the capability ot providing timer functions However, a relatively high frequency oscillator is normally provided with an FPLD, and if the timing period is relatively long, a significant number of devices on the FPLD 212 would be required to track the long timing period Therefore, it may be more efficient toi such timing functions to be performed within the microprocessor 218 In that situation, the machine logic 262 piovides a timer enable signal on one of the outputs 265 which is connected to a parallel input/parallel output shift register 280 The output from the shift register 280 is transferred over a bus 282 to the interface 260 and to the microprocessor 218 The microprocessor 218 then times the desired timing period and, at the end of that period, provides a timer done signal to the interface 260, which in turn, transfers the timer done signal over bus 284 to a parallel input/parallel output shift register 286 The shift register 286 then provides the timer done signal to the machine logic 262

A limit switch is a common machine input device and is used to track the travel of a moving element The element can be moving linearly or rotationally, tor example, a machine shaft 63 (Figs 2, 3) mechanically coupled to the main drive motor 61 The encoder 69 coupled to the rotating shaft 63 provides input signals to an encoder interface 294 Generally, the encoder 69 provides a first output representing one pulse tor every revolution of the shaft 63 In addition, the encoder 69 often provides two additional output signals in the form of two pulse trains that are 90° out of phase with each other Thus, an edge of each pulse within the pulse trains can be correlated to an angular displacement of the rotating shaft 63 and the pulse train frequency is directly correlated to the angular velocity of the shaft 63 Thus, the input signals from the encoder 69 represent the operating status ot the machine drive shaft 63 as it is operated by the mam motor 61

As previously discussed many process steps and machine operations must be directly coordinated with angular positions of the a rotating shaft 63 and or main dnve motor 61 For example, the product bucket conveyor 13 (Fig 1), the carton teed system 1 1 , the flap spreaders 40, the flap closers 43, the glue guns 44, etc must be synchronized with the carton 26 moving along the conveyor and hence, the main machine drive motor 61 Thus, a particular operation can be initiated by providing an appropriate machine output signal, for example, to operate the glue gun 44, in response to detecting that the rotating shaft 63 is at an angular position or within a range of angular positions Such a function is often referred to as a programmable limit switch and is determined by the user's design of the machine or process

The machine logic 262 has the capability ot providing a programmable limit switch by a monitoring the angular position of the rotating shaft 63 and providing the appropriate output states to the machine output devices 208 in response to the rotating shaft being at an angular position or within a range ot angular positions which define programmed limit switches Alternatively, the microprocessor 218 can monitor the angular position of the rotating shaft 63 and detect when the shaft 63 is at or within a range ot angular positions In that application, when the shaft reaches an angular position satisfying a programmed limit switch condition, the microprocessor 218 provides a limit switch signal to the interface 260, which in turn provides that limit switch signal to the machine logic 262 via a bus 284 and shift register 286 Once again, the machine control 200 has a significant advantage over programmed instruction logic controllers Once a limit switch condition is satisfied, that condition is immediately detected by -l ithe machine logic 262 and transferred to the shift register 240 during the next scan cycle Thus, there is no delay caused by the serial processing ot programmed instructions as exists with other controllers

As previously discussed with a machine hav ing a drive shaft w ith a nine inch pitch operating at 1200 revolutions per minute, during a 10 ms processing time, a programmed instruction logic controller would permit the product to move approximately 1 8 inches In contrast, with the machine control of Fig 2, a scan cycle can be executed in 0 25 ms Upon input signal states being clocked into shift registers 234, 236, one scan cycle is required tor resulting output signal states to be clocked into shift register 254, and a second scan cycle is required to transfer the output signal states to the shift register 240 Therefore, after an input state requiring a machine operation or other action is loaded into shift registers 234, 236, output signal states are available to the machine output devices 208 one-halt a millisecond later Thus the machine control of the present invention is 20 times taster than the control of the example discussed herein, and after detecting an input state condition, the product will move only 0 09 inches before the required output command is provided to the machine With the machine control 200, the only delay in the system is in the scan cycle requued to transfer the input and output signal states between the machine I/O interface 206 and the machine control 200 However, the scan cycle can be executed at rates that are 20 to 100 times taster than the processing time of prior art controls Thus, the machine control 200 provides a faster and more precise control of the machine output devices

The above advantage of eliminating the processing time ot programmed instruction machines by using the FPLD 212 an important feature of the machine control 200 With the FPLD 212, output machine devices can be operated to respond much more quickly to changes in state ot the machine input devices Further, all operations of the machine output devices are synchronized more accurately with motion of the product through the machine Thus, it is possible to operate a machine and execute processes at higher speeds than is possible with traditional machine controls In addition, in the event ot an error condition, potential damage to machine elements is minimized, and there is a significant reduction in the quantity of scrap product produced after an error condition has been detected

The microprocessor 218 has a further important function ot monitoring the states ot the input and output signals as they are transteπ ed between the machine I/O interface 206 and the FPLD 212 The states of the input and output signals pass through the interface 260 both when being transferred to and from the FPLD 212 As the input and output signal states enter the interface 260 on input line 290 and leave the interface 260 on output line 292, they are monitored by the microprocessor 218 Every eight bits, the interface 260 provides a byte interrupt to the microprocessor 218 In response to the interrupt, the microprocessor 218 reads eight bits of data entering the interface 260 on line 290 and eight bits of data leaving the interface 260 on line 292 and transfers that data over bus

216 to the SRAM 214 where it is stored Such monitoring permits the microprocessor 218 to perform many diagnostic functions and provide in real time a wide range of graphical displays representing the operational state of the machine Such displays provide significant real time operational data to the machine operator in a visual mode that provides a greater intuitive and rigorous understanding ot the machine operation than was previously available Further, the monitoring permits any input or output state signal to be overridden either upon entering or leaving the FPLD 212 The act of overriding an input or output signal state may occur either from programs running w ithin the microprocessor 218 or from a user input provided through the keyboard 272 and computer 270 In addition, by monitoring the output states leaving the FPLD 212, messages created from the machine logic 262 may be transferred to the display 274 for the benefit ot the user, tor example door open", "misfeed", etc As a result of such monitoring, the microprocessor maintains various tables in the SRAM 214 For example, the microprocessor 218 mav maintain a table ot all ot the machine states for each increment, tor example, degree, ot rotation of the shaft 63 In addition, the microprocessor 218 may maintain a table of the state ot each programmable limit switch toi each increment ot rotation ot the the rotating shaft 63 Further, the microprocessor may keep the state ot each ot the timers that have been programmed, as well as other data As will be appreciated, having the microprocessor 218 function as the memory controller for the SRAM 214 is a matter of design choice, and the FPLD 212 could also function as a memory controller tor the SRAM 214 and maintain the tables and data therein

The following is an example ot how the nucroprocessoi 218 monitoring the input and output states provides superior diagnostic capability Referring to Figs 1 and 2, as a carton moves past the glue gun 44, it is important that the glue gun be triggered by the presence of the carton itself and not other structure, for example, a lug on a bucket carrying the carton or other mov ing structure To qualify the carton and disqualify other structures, often times, during the setup ot the machine the machine is jogged past the photodetector 45 until the forward edge 47 of the canon is detected Upon sensing the forward edge, the angle ot the shaft 63 as detected by the encoder 69, is read by the microprocessor 218 and stored in the SRAM 214 The machine is further jogged until the trailing edge

49 is sensed by the photodetector 45 at which time the angular position of the shaft 63 is stored by the microprocessor 218 in SRAM 214

During normal operation, as the microprocessor 218 monitors the inputs being received from the machine I/O interface 206, when an input is received representing that the photodetector 45 has detected the forward edge of the carton, the microprocessor then reads the range ot angles stored in the SRAM 214 and compares that range ot angles with the angles currently being detected by the encoder 69 When the microprocessor 218 detects both a correspondence between the store angles and the currently measured angle and a detection of the front edge of the carton, the microprocessor 218 provides an output state signal through the interface 260 to the machine I/O interface 206 which is operative to energize a solenoid which opeiates the glue gun 44 The microprocessor 218 continues to monitor the input signal states until either the photodetector 45 detects the trailing edge of the carton or the angular values ot the signals provided by the encoder 69 exceed the range ot angular values stored in the SRAM 214 In either event, the microprocessor 218 changes the state ot the output signal being provided to the solenoid operating the glue gun 44, thereby terminating the operation ot the glue gun

A user can utilize the user input/output 220 to instruct the microprocessor 218 to provide a graphical display of the state of the photodetector 45 and angular position of the shaft 63 on display 274 Under normal operating conditions such a graphical display is illustrated in Fig 4A The display 402 represents the state of the photodetector 45, and the shaded area ot display 402 represents the detection of the leading and trailing edges of the carton 26 by the photodetector 45 The graphical display 404 represents the angular position of the shaft 63, and the shaded area represents the range of angular positions stored in the SRAM 214 during the setup procedure As can be readily observed by the operator during normal operation ot the packaging equipment, the photodetector 45 is detecting the leading and trailing edges ot the cartons at essentially the same time as the encoder 69 is detecting angular positions of the shaft 63 which correspond to the range of angular positions that were stored in the SRAM 214 during the setup procedure

After an extended period ot machine opeiation, it is possible that the position ot the photodetector 45 may shift on the machine, tor example, because a bracket mechanical Iv supporting the photodetector 45 on the machine frame 11 becomes loose In that situation, the photodetector moves from the position that it had during the setup process, and under those circumstances, the photodetector 45 will detect the leading and trailing edges of the carton at a different angular position For example, referring to Fig 4B, it may detect the leading and trailing edges 10° sooner or later than it did during the setup process, or referring to Fig 4C, it may detect the leading and trailing edges 10° later than it did during the setup process The net result is that the glue gun will be turned on tor a shorter period of time, thereby applying less glue to the carton Without the benefit ot the graphical displays of Figs 4B and 4C, it that condition is observed by the operator, the operator would normally utilize the user input/output 220 to lengthen the range ot angles ot the programmable limit switch which is stored in the SRAM 214 Lengthening that range of angels may or may not help resolve the situation With the machine control 200 ot the piesent invention, the operator can select the graphical display of Fig

4 to view the real time operations ot the photodetector 45 and the encoder 69 Referring to Figs 4B and 4C, if the loose bracket has moved so that the photodetector 45 detects the leading edge of the carton either 10° earlier or 10° later than desired, those conditions are readily observable Thus, the operator can readily determine that not only does an abnormal situation exist, but that it is the photodetector which is creating the problem Thus, remedial action can be accurately focused and accomplished very quickly

Fig 4D illustrates a situation in which in the above example the glue gun is operating intermittently Fig 4E illustrates another example of intermittent operation ot the glue gun 44 in which the operation is spurious and skewed Thus, the machine control 200 provides very clear diagnostic data with respect to the faulty operation ot the glue gun 44 Such a situation may be caused by dirt on the photodetector 45 or different surface finishes of the carton which are causing the photodetector to misread the carton features Absent graphical displays of the type illustrated in Figs 4D and 4E, it w ould be very difficult to analyze the situation simply be viewing the finished package

The machine control 200 has a unique control architecture in that the central processor tor the control 200 is a FPLD 212 which receives input signal states from machine input devices and provides output signals to machine output devices without those signals first being pi ocessed by a programmed instruction machine cycle controller or other microprocessor Thus, the machine control 200 operates at a very high speed and is very responsive to changes in the operating conditions on the machine In essence, the only time delay in the machine control 200 receiving an input signal and providing an output signal is a tune period of two scan cycles required to transfer signal states to and then from the FPLD 212 Such a control architecture has the advantages of providing a machine control 200 that is simpler, more reliable, less costly, extremely fast and provides significantly greater capability than prior machine controls, and such a control can be used with higher speed machines and processes than are possible with current machine controls

The FPLD 212 ot the machine control 200 is in electrical communication with a microprocessor 218 which monitors the input and output signal states as they enter and leave the FPLD 212 The microprocessor 218 can be used to provide certain functions to assist the FPLD 212 without slowing the scanning cycle or the responsiveness of the machine control 200 Thus, the microprocessor 218 functions in a subordinate role to the FPLD 212 However, the microprocessor 218 has the capability of overriding input or output signal states as machine operating conditions dictate but again without slowing the pi ocessing time or responsiveness of the machine control 200

The microprocessor 218 is also in communication with a user interface so that the input and output signal states can be presented to the user Through graphical displays ot the input and output signal states the user has available very comprehensive and complete real time information with respect to the current state ot the machine operation With the machine control 200, the user input/output 220 can monitor output signals and the input signals that have generated the output signals Thus, operational machine and process conditions can be continuously monitored which has the advantage ot permitting small changes in machine operation to be observed before they become a problem Further, problems that do occur can be diagnosed and remedied more quickly than with prior art machine controls The increased speed and responsiveness ot the machine control 200 and its comprehensive monitoring of all signal states translates directly into increased machine or process capabilities and significant cost savings for the user

While the invention has been illustrated by the description of a preferred embodiment and while the embodiment has been described in considerable detail, there is no intention to restrict nor in any way limit the scope ot the amended claims to such detail Additional advantages and modifications will readily appear to those who are skilled in the art For example, the machine control 200 is described as having a single FPLD 212 As will be appreciated, multiple FPLD's may be utilized to provide the same overall control architecture and function as that described with respect to the single FPLD 212 In addition, even though wire cables 210, 211 are described as interconnecting the machine control 200 with the machine I/O interface 206, other known signal transfer devices may be used to electrically interconnect the machine control 200 with the machine I/O interface 206, including wireless devices Further, it will be appreciated that the benefits of the present invention may be achieved by a majority of the input and output machine signals being routed to and logically processed by the FPLD 212

Therefore, the invention in its broadest aspects is not limited to the specific details shown and described Consequently, departures may be made from the details described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims which follow

Claims

What is claimed is

1 Packaging equipment of the ty pe combining a product with a package and comprising a machine drive 61 , 63 tor transporting at least one of the product and the package, a first sensor 69 providing a first input signal representing an operating status ot the machine drive, a pluiahty of operable components 11 , 13, 40, 43, 44 tor combining the product with the package, at least one of the operable components having an operational state correlated to the operating status of the machine drive, a second sensor 45 providing a second input signal in response to detecting the one ot the product and the package, and a central processor means 200 consisting ot at least one field programmable logic device 212 having inputs receiving the first and second input signals, the field programmable logic dev ice providing output signals in response to the input signals tor controlling the operational states ot the operable components, thereby causing the packaging equipment to combine the product ith the package

2 The apparatus ot claim 1 further comprising a conveyor 12 being displaced by the machine drive

3 The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the machine drive comprises a rotating shaft 63 and the first input signal represents rotational motion ot the rotating shaft

4 The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the output signals control the operational states of the at least one of the operable components as a function of changes in angular position of the rotating shaft equal to or less than approximately one degree of angular rotation independent ot an angular velocity of the rotating shaft

5 The apparatus of claim 1 w herein the field programmable logic device changes states of the output signals substantially simultaneously with changes in states ot the input signals on the inputs of the field programmable logic device

6 Packaging equipment ot the type combining a product with a package and comprising. a machine drive 61 , 63 for transporting at least one ot the product and the package; a first sensor 69 providing a first input signal representing an operating status of the machine drive; a plurality ot operable components 11 , 13, 40, 43, 44 tor combining the product with the package, at least one of the operable components having an operational state correlated to the operating status of the machine drive, a second sensor 45 providing a second input signal in response to detecting the one of the product and the package; and a field programmable logic device 212 having inputs receiving the first and second input signals without an intervening machine cycle controller, the field programmable logic device providing output signals in response to the input signals tor controlling the operational states ot the plurality ot operable components as a function of the operating status of the machine drive

7 Packaging equipment ot the type combining a product with a package and comprising: a machine drive 61 , 63 tor transporting at least one ot the product and the package; a first sensor 69 providing a first input signal representing an operating status of the machine drive; a plurality ot operable components 11 , 13, 40, 43, 44 tor combining the product with the package, at least one of the operable components having an operational state correlated to the operating status of the machine drive, a second sensor 45 providing a second input signal responsive to detecting the one of the product and the package; and a field programmable logic device 212 having inputs receiving a majority of the first and second input signals, the field programmable logic device providing output signals in response to the input signals for controlling the operational states of the plurality of operable components as a function of the operating status of the machine drive

8 A packaging method ot combining a pioduct with a package comprising operating a machine drive 61 , 63 ot packaging equipment 8, producing a first input signal representing an operating status of the machine drive, operating operable components 11 , 13, 40, 43, 44 through desired operating states as a function of the operating status of the machine drive, producing a second input signal in response to detecting one of the product and the package, leceiving the first and second input signals with a field programmable logic device 212 functioning as a central processor for the packaging equipment, producing output signals from the field pi ogi ammable logic device, communicating the output signals to the operable components, and changing the operational states of the operable components in response to the output signals to cause the operable components to combine the product with the package

9 The method of claim 8 further comprising serially communicating the first and second input signals to the field programmable logic device

10 The method of claim 8 further comprising communicating the first and the second input signals directly to the field programmable logic device without an intervening machine cycle controller

11 The method of claim 8 further comprising serially communicating the output signals from the field programmable logic device

12 The method of claim 8 further comprising initiating rotation of a shaft 63

13 The method of claim 12 further compnsing changing the operational states ot the operable components as a function ot changes in angular position ot the rotating shaft equal to or less than approximately one degree of angular rotation independent of an angular velocity ot the rotating shaft

14 The method ot claim 8 further comprising the field programmable logic device changing states of the output signals substantially simultaneously with changes in states of the input signals on the inputs ot the field programmable logic device 15 A packaging method ot combining a product with a package comprising operating a machine drive 61 , 63, producing a first input signal representing an operating status of the machine drive, driving operable components 11 , 13, 40, 43, 44 through desired operating states as a function of the operating status of the machine drive, producing a second input signal in response to detecting one ot the product and the package, communicating the first and the second input signals to a field programmable logic device 212 without processing the first and second input signals with an intervening machine cycle controller, producing output signals from the field programmable logic device, communicating the output signals to the operable components, and changing the operational states ot the operable components in response to the output signals to cause the operable components to combine the product v ith the package

16 A packaging method of combining a product with a package comprising operating a machine drive 61 , 63, producing a first input signal representing an operating status ot the machine drive, driving operable components 11 , 13, 40, 43, 44 through desired operating states as a function of the operating status of the machine drive, producing a second input signal in response to detecting the package, communicating a majority ot the first and the second input signals to a field programmable logic device 212, producing output signals from the field programmable logic device, communicating the output signals to the operable components, and changing the operational states of the operable components in response to the output signals to cause the operable components to combine the product with the package

17 Packaging equipment ot the ty pe combining a product with a package and comprising a machine drive 61 , 63 for transporting at least one of the product and the package, a first sensor 69 providing a first input signal representing an operating status of the machine drive, a plurality ot operable components 11 , 13, 40, 43, 44 for combining the product with the package, at least one of the operable components having an operational state correlated to the operating status of the machine drive, a second sensor 45 providing a second input signal in response to detecting the package, a field programmable logic dev ice 212 having inputs receiving the first and second input signals, the field programmable logic device providing output signals in l esponse to the input signals for controlling the operational states ot the operable components, thereby causing the packaging equipment to combine the product with the package, and a microprocessor 218 in electrical communications with the field programmable logic device, the microprocessor receiving and storing the output signals and generating diagnostic data contemporaneously with the packaging equipment combining the product w ith the package

18 The apparatus of claim 17 w herein the microprocessor further receives the first and second input signals from the field programmable logic device

19 The apparatus of claim 17 wherein the machine drive comprises a rotating shaft 63 and the first input signal is representative of angular shaft positions during rotational motion of the rotating shaft

20 The apparatus of claim 19 wherein the operable components have desired operational states correlated to respective angular positions ot the rotating shaft

21 The apparatus claim 17 wherein the microprocessor provides outputs to change the output signals produced by the field programmable logic device

22 The apparatus of claim 17 wherein the microprocessor provides outputs to change the input signals to the field programmable logic device

23 The apparatus of claim 17 wherein the microprocessor is electrically coupled to a display 274 and provides the first and second input signals and the output signals to the display tor providing visual displays of the first and second input signals and the output signals to a user

24 The apparatus ot claim 17 wherein the microprocessor is electrically coupled to a display and provides all of the first and second input signals and the output signals to the display for providing visual displays of all of the first and second input signals and the output signals to a user 25 A packaging method ot controlling packaging equipment 8 combining a product with a package comprising operating a machine driv e 61 , 63, producing a first input signal representing an operating status of the machine drive, operating operable components 11 , 13, 40, 45, 44 through desired operating states as a function of the operating status ot the machine drive, producing a second input signal in response to detecting the package, receiving the first and second input signals with a field programmable logic device 212 producing output signals from the field programmable logic device, communicating the output signals to the operable components, changing the operational states ot the operable components in response to the output signals to cause the packaging equipment to combine the product with the package, and communicating the output signals from the field programmable logic device to a microprocessor 218 operating independently ot the field programmable logic device

26 The method of claim 25 further comprising providing diagnostic data with the microprocessor contemporaneously with the operation of the machine drive

27 The method of claim 25 further comprising communicating the first and the second input signals to the field programmable logic device without processing the first and second input signals with an intervening machine cycle controller

28 The method of claim 25 further comprising communicating the first and second input signals from the field programmable logic dev ice to the microprocessor

29 The method of claim 25 further comprising using the microprocessor to change the state of one ot the output signals produced by the field programmable logic device

30 The method of claim 25 further comprising using the microprocessor to change the state of one of the input signals to the field programmable logic device

31 The method ot claim 25 further comprising using the microprocessor to provide diagnostic reports representing the diagnostic data

32 The method of claim 25 further comprising electrically connecting the microprocessor to a display 274 and providing the first and second input signals and the output signals to the display to create a display of the first and second input signals and the output signals to a user 33 The method of claim 25 further comprising electrically connecting the microprocessor to a display and providing all ot the first and second input signals and the output signals to the display to create a display of all of the tnst and second input signals and the output signals to a user

34 Packaging equipment of the type combining a product with a package and comprising a machine drive 61 , 63 for transporting at least one of the product and the package, a first sensor 69 providing a first input signal representing an operating status of the machine drive, a plurality ot operable components 11 , 13, 40, 43, 44 tor combining the product with the package, at least one ot the operable components having an operational state correlated to the operating status ot the machine drive, a second sensor 45 piov iding a second input signal in response to detecting the one ot the product and the package, a serial data link 211 having one end toi receiving the first and second input signals, a field programmable logic device 212 having inputs receiving the first and the second input signals from the serial data link, the field programmable logic device providing output signals to an opposite end ot the serial data link tor controlling the operational states ot the operable components as a function of the status of the machine drive