US 11,226,603 B2Granted

Automation system for process automation and a corresponding method

AssigneeWAGO Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH

InventorStefan Van Lier

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Abstract

An automation system for process automation including at least one automation device which has at least one fieldbus interface for connection to a bus for transmitting process data, an arithmetic unit, a digital data memory and a data interface for transmitting program-flow-related event data; and an analysis device connected to the at least one automation device. The automation device is set up to run one or more computer programs with the aid of the arithmetic unit and to capture program flow events occurring during the running of the at least one computer program and to store them together with current time information as program-flow-related event data in the digital data memory, and wherein the arithmetic unit of the automation device is set up to continuously send the program-flow-related event data stored in the digital data memory to the analysis device connected via the data interface.

Claims18

Dependent claims

An automation system for process automation, the automation system comprising:

at least one automation device having at least one fieldbus interface for connection to a bus for transmitting process data;
an arithmetic unit;
a digital data memory;
and
a data interface for the transmission of program-flow-related event data;
and
an analysis device connected to the at least one automation device via the data interface and configured to receive and display the program-flow-related event data of the at least one automation device,
wherein the automation device is configured to run one or more computer programs with the aid of the arithmetic unit and to capture program flow events occurring in the running of the one or more computer programs and to store these together with current time information as program-flow-related event data in the digital data memory,
wherein the arithmetic unit of the automation device is configured to continuously transmit the program-flow-related event data stored in the digital data memory to the analysis device connected via the data interface, and
wherein for sequential events, the automation device is configured to exclusively detect and store a switch from a first state to a second state, or for parallel events, to both detect and store a switch from the first state to the second state and from the second state to the first state.

7 more elements

A method for monitoring at least one automation device in process automation, wherein at least one computer program is run on the at least one automation device, the method comprising:

capturing, by the at least one automation device, program flow events occurring during the running of the at least one computer program, the program flow events occurring within the computer program running on the automation device;
storing the captured program flow events together with current time information as program-flow-related event data in a digital data memory of the automation device;
continuously transmitting the program-flow-related event data stored in the digital data memory to an analysis device connected via a data interface of the automation device;
and
displaying the program-flow-related event data on a display of the analysis device,
wherein in sequential events, only a switch from a first state to a second state is detected and stored by the automation device, or in parallel events, both the switch of the first state to the second state as well as from the second state to the first state is detected and stored by the automation device.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 16/253,964Filed 22 Jan 2019
Priority: DE 10 2018 101 201.219 Jan 2018
Published: US 2019/0227508 A125 Jul 2019
Granted: 18 Jan 2022
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification6 codes

G05B 19/042
Program control other than numerical control, i.e. in sequence controllers or logic controllers: using digital processors
G06F 9/06
Arrangements for program control, e.g. control units: using stored programs, i.e. using an internal store of processing equipment to receive or…
G05B 2219/25006
Pc structure of the system: interface connected to fieldbus
G05B 2219/25112
Pc structure of the system: using firmware stored in processor