Tool recognition with profinet

• US 9,170,578 B2
• Filed: 05/26/2008
• Issued: 10/27/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/01/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Phoenix Contact GmbH & Company KG
• Original Assignee: Phoenix Contact GmbH & Company KG
• Inventors: Lessmann, Gunnar
• Primary Examiner(s): Tsai, Henry
• Assistant Examiner(s): BARTELS, CHRISTOPHER A.
• Application Number:
  US12/514,120
• Publication Number:
  US 20100094433A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,710 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/0423 Input/output
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/25009 Profinet-I-O, producer-consumer mode
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/25057 Configuration stored in distributed database for real time use
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/25061 Configuration stored in central database
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/25428 Field device
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/31134 PCD profinet component description, field device description module

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for activating an automation station in the automation apparatus of an industrial application. The invention provides a method for activating an automation station in the automation apparatus of an industrial application, in which the automation station comprises a plurality of Profinet-compatible devices to which an unambiguous symbolic name is provided for identification, and wherein an identification of the automation station connected to the automation apparatus for operation is performed based on the symbolic names of the Profinet-compatible devices, and the Profinet-compatible devices are driven by the automation apparatus after connection of the automation station in functional dependence on the identified automation station.

Claims

1. A method for activating an automation station at an automation apparatus of an industrial application, the method comprising:

providing each Profinet-compatible device, in a plurality of Profinet-compatible devices that constitute the automation station, in advance of the assignment of physical and logical network addresses, with an unambiguous symbolic name, wherein the unambiguous symbolic name is for subsequent unambiguous addressing of the Profinet-compatible devices by means of said physical and logical network addresses;

connecting the automation station to the automation apparatus;

transferring each unambiguous symbolic name from the Profinet-compatible devices to said automation apparatus;

identifying the automation station connected to the automation apparatus for operation, based on the transferred unambiguous symbolic names of the Profinet-compatible devices; and

driving the Profinet-compatible devices by the automation apparatus after connection of the automation station, in functional dependence on the identified automation station, and by addressing each respective Profinet-compatible device in the plurality by means of a specific and unambiguous Media Access Control (MAC) address being said physical network address for the respective Profinet-compatible device, as well as an Internet Protocol (IP) address unambiguously assigned to this physical address as said logical network address.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

storing, before activation of the automation station, each unambiguous symbolic name and for each unambiguous symbolic name a logical assignment specification to an automation station, in a configuration unit that is assignable to the automation apparatus;

physically coupling the automation station to the automation apparatus for activation; and

identifying a first Profinet-compatible device comprised by the coupled automation station, by the automation apparatus on the basis of the unambiguous symbolic name of the first Profinet-compatible device, using the data stored in the configuration unit;

wherein the performing of the identification of the automation station is on the basis of the assignment specification stored for the symbolic unambiguous name.

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising:

storing, before activation of the automation station, a logical assignment specification to the automation station and to a group of additional selected Profinet-compatible devices comprised by this automation station for each unambiguous symbolic name in the configuration unit assignable to the automation apparatus; and

simultaneously performing, by the identifying of the first Profinet-compatible device, an identification of the group of selected additional Profinet-compatible devices comprised by this automation station.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the Profinet-compatible devices autonomously initiate a report procedure after the coupling of the automation station to the automation apparatus, and the activation of the automation station is completed only after all the Profinet-compatible devices comprised by the automation station have passed through this report procedure.