Electronic data communications system having data consumer defining data transmission structure
AssigneeAllen-Bradley Company, Inc.
InventorThomas M. Keeley
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Multiple processing units connected along a communication link to form an industrial controller may arrange for efficient block transfer of data by isochronous methods by forwarding to a data producer a connection message including the desired data structure having the variables necessary to be transmitted in a predefined order. Upon receipt of the data structure, the data producer may program itself to collect the data into the structure and forward the data on a periodic basis dictated by the connection message to the data consumer. Changes in the data structure may thus be accommodated efficiently in a manner that is invisible to the user.
Claims10
An industrial controller controlling industrial equipment, the industrial controller comprising:
- a data producing module and a first data consuming module connected by a communications link;
- the first data consuming module having memory and a processor executing a program stored in memory to:
- (i) receive an application program from a user, the application program requiring data held by the data producer;
- (ii) select a transmission structure for the required data, the transmission structure defining an order in which the required data will be transmitted;
- (iii) transmit a connection message over the communications link to the data producing module indicating the required data, the transmission structure and a reporting frequency;
- the data producing module having memory and a processor executing a program stored in memory to:
- (i) receive data from the industrial equipment and store the data in the memory of the data producing module;
- (ii) receive the connection message over the communications link;
- (iii) program itself to collect the required data in the transmission structure from the memory of the data producing module at the reporting frequency;
- and
- (iv) execute the program on a periodic basis according to the reporting frequency and transmit the required data in the transmission structure over the communications link to the first data consuming module.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.