Multi-protocol gateway with control in a process control system
First Claim
1. A system for enabling control of devices in a process control system, comprising:
- at least one first interface configured to support communication of first electronic data among the devices via at least one electronic data communications network according to a first electronic data communication protocol;
at least one second interface configured to support communication of second electronic data among the devices via the at least one electronic data communications network according to a second electronic data communication protocol; and
a device integrator processor, said processor comprising a primary module and a shadow module, the primary module and the shadow module each configured to couple to the electronic data communications network via the first and second interfaces, the primary processor module including a primary master core assigned to communicate with a first set of devices and a primary remote core assigned to communicate with a second set of devices, the shadow processor module including a shadow master core and a shadow remote core, each master core of the primary and shadow processor modules being related via a redundancy scheme and each remote core of the primary and shadow processor modules being related via a redundancy scheme that is different than the redundancy scheme between the primary master core and the shadow master core, the redundancy scheme between the primary master core and the shadow master core comprising tightly coupling the primary master core and the shadow master core to provide fault tolerant control to the devices, and the primary module configured to receive and transmit the first and second electronic data on the electronic data communications network according to the first and second electronic data communication protocols simultaneously to control communications on the electronic data communication network during operation of the system.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Controlling and communicating with separate sets of industrial process control devices via separate data protocols simultaneously with a single processing device that utilizes redundancy and task-splitting to increase availability. An exemplary system includes a device integrator processor configured to receive and transmit electronic data via a plurality of protocols simultaneously. In one form, the device integrator processor includes a primary module that primarily controls communications and synchronizes itself with a shadow module of the processor. In another form, the processor includes multiple cores that each control a set of devices. Moreover, the cores implement a redundancy scheme.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A system for enabling control of devices in a process control system, comprising:
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at least one first interface configured to support communication of first electronic data among the devices via at least one electronic data communications network according to a first electronic data communication protocol; at least one second interface configured to support communication of second electronic data among the devices via the at least one electronic data communications network according to a second electronic data communication protocol; and a device integrator processor, said processor comprising a primary module and a shadow module, the primary module and the shadow module each configured to couple to the electronic data communications network via the first and second interfaces, the primary processor module including a primary master core assigned to communicate with a first set of devices and a primary remote core assigned to communicate with a second set of devices, the shadow processor module including a shadow master core and a shadow remote core, each master core of the primary and shadow processor modules being related via a redundancy scheme and each remote core of the primary and shadow processor modules being related via a redundancy scheme that is different than the redundancy scheme between the primary master core and the shadow master core, the redundancy scheme between the primary master core and the shadow master core comprising tightly coupling the primary master core and the shadow master core to provide fault tolerant control to the devices, and the primary module configured to receive and transmit the first and second electronic data on the electronic data communications network according to the first and second electronic data communication protocols simultaneously to control communications on the electronic data communication network during operation of the system. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for enabling control of devices in a process control system, said method comprising:
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coupling a primary module of a device integrator processor to an electronic data communications network via at least one first interface and at least one second interface, the first and second interfaces configured to simultaneously support communication of first electronic data among the devices via the electronic data communications network according to a first electronic data communication protocol and second electronic data among the devices via the electronic data communications network according to a second electronic data communication protocol, the primary processor module including a primary master core assigned to communicate with a first set of devices and a primary remote core assigned to communicate with a second set of devices; coupling a shadow module of the processor to the electronic data communications network via the first and second interfaces, the shadow processor module including a shadow master core and a shadow remote core, each master core of the primary and shadow processor modules being related via a redundancy scheme and each remote core of the primary and shadow processor modules being related via a redundancy scheme that is different than the redundancy scheme between the primary master core and the shadow master core, the redundancy scheme between the primary master core and the shadow master core comprising tightly coupling the primary master core and the shadow master core to provide fault tolerant control to the devices; and controlling communications on the electronic data communications network by the primary module receiving and transmitting the first and second electronic data on the electronic data communications network. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification