Virtual Placeholder Configuration for Distributed Input/Output Modules

• US 20080140888A1
• Filed: 05/30/2007
• Published: 06/12/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/30/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Schneider Automation Incorporated (Schneider Electric SE)
• Original Assignee: Schneider Automation Incorporated (Schneider Electric SE)
• Inventors: Brune, Torsten Joachim, Lee, Kenneth, Kress, Sascha Michael, Streubel, Michael, Blair, Richard, Dhayagude, Nitin, Van de Steeg, Kerry, Schaffner, Heinz
• Application Number:
  US11/755,706
• Publication Number:
  US 20080140888A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 710/104
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/054 Input/output
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/1101 Remote I-O
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/1126 Conversion table between original defined module address and actual physical address
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/1141 Modify manually, using keyboard configuration of module
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/1143 Base configuration contains all I-O modules, deselect not present modules
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/15002 Image table in I-O expansion module
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/067 Distributed or networked storage systems, e.g. storage area networks [SAN], network attached storage [NAS]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5077 Logical partitioning of resources; Management or configuration of virtualized resources specific details on emulation or internal functioning of virtual machines G06F9/455
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1097 for distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS]

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 using Virtual Placeholder objects.

Claims

1. An automation system comprising:

a network interface module;

a plurality of I/O modules comprising an I/O island;

and a translation table configured using Virtual Placeholders such that an I/O module in a physical slot X having node ID X is presented outside the I/O island as if that I/O module were located in slot Y.

2. A system for configuring a process image in an automation network having one or more optionally uninstalled I/O modules, the system 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 a consistent process image for each one of the plurality I/O modules whether or not physically present.

3. 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 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.