Method and apparatus for interconnecting modules
First Claim
1. An industrial process control apparatus comprising:
- a plurality of processors and a plurality of input/output modules in which;
each processor has a unidirectional command line which is connected to a plurality of input/output modules;
each input/output module has a unidirectional response line which is connected to a plurality of processors;
each processor being arranged in operation to issue an identifier request to all of the input/output modules, and in which each input/output module is arranged in operation to respond with a response comprising a unique identifier via its response line;
such that each processor is able to identify the physical location of a respective input/output module having a particular unique identifier by identifying the response line upon which said response is received; and
each response from a respective input/output module including a termination adaptor identifier that is dependent upon a type of termination and a physical location of the respective input/output module relative to the termination adaptor identifier.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An industrial process control apparatus and method that includes a number of processors and a number of input/output modules. Each processor is connected to a plurality of the input/output modules by a unidirectional command line. Each input/output module is connected to a plurality of the processors by a unidirectional response line. The processors are arranged to issue an identifier request to all of the connected input/output modules and each input/output module is arranged to respond to the identifier request via the respective response line with a response that includes a unique identifier. Such a configuration allows each processor to identify the physical location of each respective input/output module.
24 Citations
18 Claims
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1. An industrial process control apparatus comprising:
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a plurality of processors and a plurality of input/output modules in which; each processor has a unidirectional command line which is connected to a plurality of input/output modules; each input/output module has a unidirectional response line which is connected to a plurality of processors; each processor being arranged in operation to issue an identifier request to all of the input/output modules, and in which each input/output module is arranged in operation to respond with a response comprising a unique identifier via its response line;
such that each processor is able to identify the physical location of a respective input/output module having a particular unique identifier by identifying the response line upon which said response is received; andeach response from a respective input/output module including a termination adaptor identifier that is dependent upon a type of termination and a physical location of the respective input/output module relative to the termination adaptor identifier. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. An apparatus for controlling operation of an industrial process control comprising:
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a plurality of processors; a plurality of input/output modules that are associated with a termination adaptor identifier associated with at least one of a type of termination and a physical location of the respective input/output module; a unidirectional command line connecting each of plurality of processors to each of the plurality of input/output modules; a unidirectional response line connecting each input/output module to each of the plurality of processors; and each input/output module associated with a termination adapter being configured to receive an identifier request from more than one of the plurality of processors and arranged to respond to the identifier request with a response that can include the respective termination adaptor identifier via its respective response line such that each respective processor is able to identify the physical location of a respective input/output module having a particular unique identifier and the redundancy of the input/output module by identifying the response line upon which said response is received. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14)
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15. A method of configuring an industrial process control comprising:
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connecting each of a number of processors to each of a number of signal modules with a unidirectional command line; connecting each of the number of signal modules to each processor with a unidirectional response line; connecting a termination assembly having a termination identity to each signal module; assigning a logical slot number and a logical group number to each signal module upon receipt of a response on a respective unidirectional response line associated with each signal module; and determining a redundancy and physical layout of the industrial process control based on the respective logical slot number, the respective logical group number, and the respective termination identity. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18)
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Specification