System and methodology providing optimized data exchange with industrial controller

• US 8,086,670 B1
• Filed: 05/24/2010
• Issued: 12/27/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/06/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rockwell Software Incorporated (Rockwell Automation, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Rockwell Software Incorporated (Rockwell Automation, Inc.)
• Inventors: Zink, Steven M., Baier, John Joseph, Grissom, Carmen D. Jr., Johnston, David A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Ramesh
• Assistant Examiner(s): Dunn, Darrin
• Application Number:
  US12/786,057
• Time in Patent Office: 582 Days
• Field of Search: 700/9, 700/21, 700/79, 700/96, 700/5, 711/156, 711/173, 709/214, 709/219, 709/203, 707/1, 707/705
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/054 Input/output

Abstract

The present invention relates to a system and methodology facilitating network communications between an industrial control system and a client application that interacts with a plurality of data items on the control system. The client application initiates a request or query to the industrial control system for an identification of selected data items of interest. Based on information received in the request, an aggregation component can be constructed by the client, wherein names and buffer allocations relating to the data items of interest are provided. The aggregation component is then installed by the client and updated in the industrial control system, thus providing information access to the client application when fresh or updated information is desired. Information is accessed via a communications packet that is generated from the data items identified in the aggregation component. Information transmitted to the control system can also be optimized by identifying the information via handle identifiers that are employed in place of explicit reference or tag names.

Claims

1. An industrial controller for use in an industrial control system, the control system having one or more clients configured to send queries to the controller via a network, the controller comprising:

a processor;

a memory communicatively coupled to said processor and configured to store an industrial control program, the program having a plurality of data items associated with the industrial control system, the memory being further configured to store at least one of names or tags, the at least one of names or tags being related to said data items; and

a communications interface configured to;

receive from a client a query of the at least one of names or tags;

provide to the client the at least one of names or tags;

receive from a client a quantity of aggregation components that are configured to aggregate data items related to at least a subset of the at least one of names or tags in said memory, wherein an aggregation component is configured to aggregate data items associated with the aggregation component into a single communications packet, wherein the quantity is selected for transmission of a minimum number of communications packets based upon an amount of the data items related to the at least a subset of the at least one of names or tags in said memory and a data limit per communications packet; and

transmit one or more communications packet that encapsulates the data items with related to the at least a subset of the at least one of names or tags.

2. The controller of claim 1, wherein the data items comprise input data associated with an input module, the input module being configured to interface at a device level with an industrial device.

3. The controller of claim 2, wherein the data items comprise output data associated with at least one of another controller or an output module, the output module being configured to interface at a device level with an industrial device.

4. The controller of claim 3, wherein the data items further comprise input data associated with an input module that interfaces at a device level with an industrial device.

5. The controller of claim 1, wherein the aggregation component is a data object having a data buffer, the data buffer comprising at least a subset of the data items, and wherein the aggregated data packet comprises a length and the data items in the data buffer.

6. The controller of claim 1, wherein the communications interface is further configured to receive a command from the client to remove the aggregation component from the controller.

7. The controller of claim 1, wherein the communications interface is further configured to receive a second aggregation component from a client.

8. The controller of claim 1, wherein the industrial controller is configured to remove an aggregation component on loss of connection with a client greater than a predetermined amount of time.

9. A method to facilitate data communications in an industrial control network, comprising:

storing an industrial control program in a memory of an industrial controller, the industrial control program having associated data items;

storing in the memory of the industrial controller at least one of names, tags or handles that correspond to the data items;

installing in the industrial controller a quantity of aggregation components that are configured to aggregate data items related to at least a subset of the at least one of names or tags in said memory, wherein an aggregation component is configured to aggregate data items associated with the aggregation component into a single communications packet, wherein the quantity is selected for transmission of a minimum number of communications packets based upon an amount of the data items related to the at least a subset of the at least one of names or tags in said memory and a data limit per communications packet; and

aggregating the data items into one or more communications packet.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising communicating the one or more communications packet to a client via the industrial control network.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein an aggregation component is a data object stored in the memory of the industrial controller.

12. The method of claim 9, further comprising installing one or more additional aggregation components to the industrial controller based upon an increase in the amount of the data items related to the at least a subset of the at least one of names or tags in said memory.

13. The method of claim 9, further comprising removing one or more aggregation components from the industrial controller based upon a decrease in the amount of the data items related to the at least a subset of the at least one of names or tags in said memory.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein the data items comprise output data associated with at least one of another controller or an output module, the output module being configured to interface at a device level with an industrial device.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the data items further comprise input data associated with an input module that interfaces at a device level with an industrial device.

16. A non-transitory computer readable medium having computer executable instructions stored thereon to facilitate data communications in an industrial control network, comprising:

storing an industrial control program in a memory of an industrial controller, the industrial control program having associated data items;

storing in the memory of the industrial controller at least one of names, tags, or handles that correspond to the data items;

installing in the industrial controller a quantity of aggregation components that are configured to aggregate data items related to at least a subset of the at least one of names or tags in said memory, wherein an aggregation component is further configured to aggregate data items associated with the aggregation component into a single communications packet, wherein the quantity is selected for transmission of a minimum number of communications packets based upon an amount of the data items related to the at least a subset of the at least one of names or tags in said memory and a data limit per communications packet; and

aggregating the data items into one or more communications packet.

17. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 16, further comprising communicating the one or more communications packet to a client via the industrial control network.

18. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein an aggregation component is a data object stored in the memory of the industrial controller.

19. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 18, further comprising installing one or more additional aggregation components to the industrial controller based upon an increase in the amount of the data items related to the at least a subset of the at least one of names or tags in said memory.

20. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 16, further comprising removing one or more aggregation components from the industrial controller based upon a decrease in the amount of the data items related to the at least a subset of the at least one of names or tags in said memory.