Programmable logic controller with programmable high-speed digital processing

A PLC-based system comprising:

• a plurality of input/output nodes configured and arranged for receiving at least one analog signal,
• a programmable PLC-processor circuit adapted to control the PLC in response to user-defined tasks and to provide an input-process-output cycle in which input signals at the nodes are scanned and processed to provide an output at the nodes, the input-process-output cycle being repeated at a rate that does not exceed a maximum scan rate;
• a programming input node configured and arranged to communicate with an external source for receiving at least one high-speed signal processing parameter from an external source;
• an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) coupled to at least one of the plurality of input/output nodes and configured and arranged for converting the at least one analog signal to a digital signal;
• and
• programmable signal processing circuitry coupled to the ADC and to the programming input node and including a digital signal processor (DSP) circuit, the programmable signal processing circuitry being configured and arranged to oversample and process the converted digital signal and to provide an output signal as a function of the oversampled and processed converted digital signal and the at least one high-speed signal processing parameter.