Bridge for an industrial control system using data manipulation techniques
First Claim
1. A control system comprising:
- (a) a first communication module transmitting data in accordance with a first communication protocol;
(b) a second communication module receiving data in accordance with a second communication protocol; and
(c) a bridge disposed between the first and second communication modules to provide an interface therebetween, the bridge including;
(i) a first network interface receiving a first and second redundant message from the first communication module, wherein the second message is encoded in a predetermined manner with respect to the first message;
(ii) a processor capable of converting the first and second messages from the first communication protocol to the second communication protocol if the first communication protocol differs from the second communication protocol; and
(iii) a second network interface transmitting the first and second converted messages to the second communication module.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A bridge usable in a highly reliable industrial control system provides an interface between a producer module transmitting redundant messages in accordance with a communication protocol and a consumer module receiving the messages in accordance with a different communication protocol. The bridge includes a first network interface receiving two messages from the producer, a microprocessor capable of converting the messages from the producer communication protocol to consumer communication protocol, and a second network interface transmitting the messages to the consumer. One of the messages is reversible altered with respect to the other message. The altered message is uninverted in the consumer module, and compared to the other message to ensure that no transmission errors have occurred.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. A control system comprising:
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(a) a first communication module transmitting data in accordance with a first communication protocol;
(b) a second communication module receiving data in accordance with a second communication protocol; and
(c) a bridge disposed between the first and second communication modules to provide an interface therebetween, the bridge including;
(i) a first network interface receiving a first and second redundant message from the first communication module, wherein the second message is encoded in a predetermined manner with respect to the first message;
(ii) a processor capable of converting the first and second messages from the first communication protocol to the second communication protocol if the first communication protocol differs from the second communication protocol; and
(iii) a second network interface transmitting the first and second converted messages to the second communication module. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A bridge for interfacing a first communication module operating on a first communication protocol and a second communication module operating on a second communication protocol in a control system, the bridge comprising:
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a first network interface receiving two messages from the first communication module in accordance with the first communication protocol, wherein one of the messages has been decoded in a predetermined manner with respect to the other message;
a processor receiving the messages from the first interface;
a second network interface receiving the messages from the processor and transmitting the messages to the second communication module, wherein the second communication module decodes the encoded message and compares the decoded message to the other message to determine whether a transmission error has occurred. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16)
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17. A method of communicating between two modules of a control network operating on different network protocols, the steps comprising:
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(A) transmitting two messages from a first communication module to a first network interface of a bridge operating a first communication protocol, wherein one of the messages has been encoded in a predetermined manner with respect to the other message;
(B) transmitting both messages from the first network interface to a microprocessor of the bridge;
(C) transmitting both messages from the microprocessor to a second network interface of the bridge operating on a second communication protocol; and
(D) transmitting both messages from the second network interface to a second communication module operating on the second communication protocol, wherein the second network interface decodes the encoded message and subsequently compares the messages to determine whether a transmission error has occurred. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification