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US 10,191,458 B2Granted
Apparatus and method for interfacing a plurality of remote devices to a programmable logic controller (PLC)
Assignee3-CI Partnership
InventorsSteven Paul Cunningham, Logan S. Gunthorpe
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A configurable, connectorized system for providing RTU monitoring of field digital and analog parameters and transmitting data to the Central PLC system dramatically reduces the number of wire connections that must be made to connect sensors and actuators to a PLC system. The system is also extremely rugged and safe to be located in a hazardous environment.
Claims20
An apparatus for interfacing a plurality of remote devices to a programmable logic controller (PLC), the apparatus comprising:
- a plurality of input/output circuits, each of the input/output circuits having a connector for coupling to a particular one of the remote devices;
- a central controller;
- and
- an internal bus to which each of the input/output circuits and the central controller are coupled;
- wherein each input/output circuit communicates with the central controller via the internal bus regarding state changes of the particular remote device coupled to that input/output circuit;
- the central controller communicates with the programmable logic controller (PLC) through a communication path different than the internal bus regarding state changes of all the remote devices;
- the input/output circuits are coupled to the internal bus in a series starting with a first input/output circuit and finishing with a last input/output circuit;
- a power line of the internal bus provides power to each of the input/output circuits;
- the apparatus includes a plurality of switches intermediate each of the input/output circuits through which the power line of the internal bus is daisy chained;
- at a start of an initialization phase, the switches are configured such that only the first input/output circuit has power turned on, and the central controller assigns a unique address to the first input/output circuit;
- and
- during the initialization phase, each of the switches are configured one by one such that only a next input/output circuit in the series has power turned on and the central controller then assigns a unique address to the next input/output circuit, the initialization phase continuing until the last input/output circuit has been assigned a unique address;
- whereby, after the initialization phase is finished, the central controller can individually send commands to and receive data from each input/output circuit via the internal bus.
10 more elements
A method of interfacing a plurality of remote devices to a programmable logic controller (PLC), the method comprising:
- providing a plurality of input/output circuits, each of the input/output circuits having a connector for coupling to a particular one of the remote devices;
- providing a central controller for communicating with the programmable logic controller (PLC);
- providing an internal bus to which each of the input/output circuits and the central controller are coupled;
- communicating by each input/output circuit with the central controller via the internal bus regarding state changes of the particular remote device coupled to that input/output circuit;
- communicating by the central controller with the programmable logic controller (PLC) through a communication path different than the internal bus regarding state changes of all the remote devices;
- coupling the input/output circuits to the internal bus in a series starting with a first input/output circuit and finishing with a last input/output circuit;
- providing a power line of the internal bus for powering the input/output circuits;
- providing a plurality of switches intermediate each of the input/output circuits through which the power line of the internal bus is daisy chained;
- at a start of an initialization phase, configuring the switches such that only the first input/output circuit has power turned on;
- while only the first input/output circuit has power turned on, assigning by the central controller a unique address to the first input/output circuit;
- during the initialization phase, configuring each of the switches one by one such that only a next input/output circuit in the series has power turned on;
- while only a particular input/output circuit has power turned on, assigning by the central controller a unique address to the particular input/output circuit;
- continuing the initialization phase until the last input/output circuit has been assigned a unique address;
- and
- after the initialization phase is finished, individually sending commands to and/or receiving data from each input/output circuit by the central controller via the internal bus.
12 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.