Remote virtual placeholder configuration for distributed input/output modules
AssigneeSchneider Electric USA, Inc.
InventorsRichard A. Blair, Nitin Dhayagude, Kenneth S. Lee, Kerry Van de Steeg, Heinz Schaffner, Torsten Joachim Brune, Sascha Kreβ
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Abstract
A modular distributed I/O system for an industrial automation network that allows one or more modules of an island to be omitted without requiring reconfiguration of the system by maintaining a consistent I/O image representation of the distributed I/O network for various physical distributed I/O configurations and managing reconfiguration changes remotely using Virtual Placeholder objects.
Claims20
A system for configuring a process image in an automation network having one or more optionally uninstalled modules comprising:
- an island having a network interface module, the island further including a plurality of connections for I/O modules;
- and
- configuration software run by the network interface module that provides for each one of the plurality I/O modules whether or not physically present;
- and
- means for modifying the I/O module configuration remotely using remote virtual placeholder objects,
- wherein said configuration software is configured to create a logical island model of said plurality of I/O modules comprising the I/O island, and generate a translation table that provides a correlation between the node addresses of the physical island and the node addresses of the logical island model, wherein said translation table is configured using virtual placeholder objects such that an I/O module in a physical slot X having node ID X appears in the logical island model as if that I/O module were located in slot Y, such that said configuration software maintains a consistent process image for various physical distributed I/O configurations having one or more I/O modules physically removed from the system.
A method of configuring a process image of an island to indicate optionally uninstalled I/O modules comprising the steps of:
- providing an island having a network interface module and a plurality of ports, each of the plurality of ports capable of connection to an I/O module;
- connecting a plurality of I/O modules to select ports of the plurality of ports;
- and,
- creating a process image of the island that indicates whether an I/O module is physically present and not present using virtual placeholders;
- modifying the I/O module configuration remotely from a master controller,
- wherein said process image includes a logical island model of said plurality of I/O modules comprising the I/O island, wherein the logical island model includes a translation table that provides a correlation between the node addresses of the physical island and the node addresses of the logical island model, wherein said translation table is configured using virtual placeholder objects such that an I/O module in a physical slot X having node ID X appears in the logical island model as if that I/O module were located in slot Y, such that configuration software maintains a consistent process image for various physical distributed I/O configurations having one or more I/O modules physically removed from the system.
A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable program instructions stored thereon that when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform steps comprising:
- providing an island having a network interface module and a plurality of ports, each of the plurality of ports capable of connection to an I/O module;
- connecting a plurality of I/O modules to select ports of the plurality of ports;
- and,
- creating a process image of the island that indicates whether an I/O module is physically present and not present using virtual placeholders;
- modifying the I/O module configuration remotely from a master controller,
- wherein said process image includes a logical island model of said plurality of I/O modules comprising the I/O island, wherein the logical island model includes a translation table that provides a correlation between the node addresses of the physical island and the node addresses of the logical island model, wherein said translation table is configured using virtual placeholder objects such that an I/O module in a physical slot X having node ID X appears in the logical island model as if that I/O module were located in slot Y, such that configuration software maintains a consistent process image for various physical distributed I/O configurations having one or more I/O modules physically removed from the system.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.