Interface device for connecting process controllers to OPC UA peer devices
AssigneeABB Schweiz AG
InventorsRoland Braun, Mario Hoernicke
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A system and method for connecting a process controller to one or more peer devices includes providing a process controller interface for bidirectional communication; using a peer device interface for bidirectional OPC UA communication with the peer devices; and providing a logic unit that determines one or more to-be-performed actions from the one or more inputs according to a predetermined logic; determines, according to the predetermined logic, one or more outputs which, when supplied to the process controller, and/or to the peer devices, cause the to-be-performed actions to be performed; and supply these outputs to the process controller, and/or to the one or more peer devices.
Claims18
An interface device for connecting at least one process controller to one or more peer devices, comprising:
- a process controller interface for bidirectional communication with the process controller;
- a peer device interface for bidirectional Open Platform Communication Unified Architecture (OPC UA) communication with the peer devices;
- and
- a logic unit that is configured to, in response to one or more inputs from the process controller, and/or from the one or more peer devices, meeting one or more predetermined conditions:
- determine one or more to-be-performed actions from the one or more inputs according to a predetermined logic;
- determine, according to the predetermined logic, one or more outputs which, when supplied to the process controller, and/or to the peer devices, cause the to-be- performed actions to be performed;
- and
- supply the one or more outputs to the process controller, and/or to the one or more peer devices:
- wherein the process controller interface comprises at least one I/O port that is mapped to a variable of the logic unit and wherein the process controller interface is configured to enable a process controller that has only I/O ports available for inputting and outputting of data and is thus purely data driven and is not aware of OPC UA communications, to communicate with the OPC UA peer devices by:
- upon a write request to the I/O port by the process controller, reading an input written to the I/O port by the process controller, and updating the value of the variable according to the input;
- and
- upon a read request to the I/O port by the process controller, and/or upon an update to the variable by the logic unit, supplying the value of the variable to the process controller by means of the I/O port.
A method for connecting at least one process controller to one or more peer devices using an interface device, the method comprising:
- providing a process controller interface for bidirectional communication with the process controller;
- providing a peer device interface for bidirectional OPC UA communication with the peer devices;
- and
- providing a logic unit that is configured to, in response to one or more inputs from the process controller, and/or from the one or more peer devices, meeting one or more predetermined conditions:
- determine one or more to-be-performed actions from the one or more inputs according to a predetermined logic;
- determine, according to the predetermined logic, one or more outputs which, when supplied to the process controller, and/or to the peer devices, cause the to-be-performed actions to be performed;
- and
- supply the one or more outputs to the process controller, and/or to the one or more peer devices;
- wherein the process controller interface comprises at least one I/O port that is mapped to a variable of the logic unit and wherein the process controller interface is configured to enable a process controller that has only I/O ports available for inputting and outputting of data and is thus purely data driven and is not aware of OPC UA communications, to communicate with the OPC UA peer devices by:
- upon a write request to the I/O port by the process controller, reading an input written to the I/O port by the process controller, and updating the value of the variable according to the input;
- and
- upon a read request to the I/O port by the process controller, and/or upon an update to the variable by the logic unit, supplying the value of the variable to the process controller by means of the I/O port.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.