Rockwell Automation Technologies Incorporated

Chandresh R Chaudhari

Sivaram Balasubramanian

Kendal R Harris

Mark A Flood

Anthony Gerard Gibart

Daniel E Killian

Scott A Pierce

Raymond R Husted

Jonathan D Bradford

Kyle E Neet

David M Fort

Robert J Kretschmann

Gregory A Majcher

Bret S Hildebran

Sean P Overberger

Edward C Korsberg

Nicholas Stay

Neal R Krejci

Sivaram Balasubramania

Chad J Bohl

A system of communicating data over a high availability industrial control system is disclosed. The industrial control system includes a first data producer, a second data producer in communicative connection with the first data producer, a first data consumer, and a second data consumer in communicative connection with the first data consumer. The system further includes the first producer communicating the data over multiple connection paths from the first producer to the first consumer and the second consumer through intermediate modules, and the second producer communicating the data over multiple connection paths from the second producer to the first consumer and the second consumer through intermediate modules. Also disclosed is a method of communicating data over the high availability industrial control system.

System and method of communicating data over high availability industrial control systems

A first component of an industrial automation system includes an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM) storing data identifying the first component. The data identifying the first component is read from the EEPROM by a second component to which the first component is communicatively coupled to authenticate the first component. The first component lacks a processor and a microcontroller, and does not run firmware.

Systems and methods for authenticating industrial automation components

A system for communicating between redundant devices balances the desired attributes of a high availability (HA) control system and a safety control system. The system includes concurrent connections as a fault tolerant mechanism for industrial protocol connections at the transport layer. The concurrent connections establish multiple paths for redundancy from a data producer to a data consumer. Concurrent connections increase availability of the HA control and safety instrumented systems. More specifically, concurrent connections and architectural redundancies eliminate a single point of failure within the control system and further reduce safety connection timeouts during fault detection and/or recovery. Concurrent connections may be used to keep a HA system operational or to provide detection of a failure in a safety system. The industrial control network may be configured to function as a HA control system, as a safety control system, or with certain degrees of both HA and safety-related operation.

System and method of communicating safety data over high availability industrial control systems

A method and system for assigning slot addresses to modules in a fault tolerant industrial control system includes a pair of backplane switches on each base. Each backplane switch is configured to communicate between one backplane and the modules located on the base and to communicate between backplane switches located at adjacent bases. A backplane switch on a bank master base first assigns a base address and slot addresses to itself. The backplane switches on each additional base initiate transmission of a base address request. A base address response, including a base address and slot numbers for the adjacent base, is transmitted after a base has its own address assigned. Each base repeats the process in sequence along the bank, incrementing the base address by one and the slot address by the number of slots on the base and passing the new base and slot addresses along the bank.

Fault tolerant backplane slot assignment

A modular I/O system for an industrial automation network includes a network adapter including first and second adapter modules, wherein each adapter module is configured for connection with an industrial network. The I/O system further includes a first I/O device with first and second I/O modules each configured for operative connection to a controlled system for input/output of data with respect to the controlled system. The I/O system further includes first and second independent backplane data networks that connect each of the first and second adapter modules to each of the first and second I/O modules. The network adapter includes first and second removable backplane network switches and the first I/O device includes third and fourth removable backplane network switches that establish the backplane networks. The backplane network switches can be Ethernet gigabit switches.

Distributed modular input/output (I/O) system with redundant ethernet backplane networks for improved fault tolerance

A method and system for assigning slot addresses to modules in an industrial control system is disclosed. The modules are set up in a daisy chain topology. On power-up, a first module in the chain reads its slot address from a user configurable input or sets its slot address to a default value. The first module communicates to its immediate right neighbor using a special, one-hop message. The neighboring modules communicate to receive each other's information. The first module then sets an enable signal between the modules and sends a slot number to the neighbor in a firmware message. The neighbor checks if the enable signal is set and verifies that the slot number is a valid slot number. If so, then the neighboring module accepts the slot and repeats the same procedure to its next immediate neighbor, and so on until the last module.

Method and system for defining slot addresses

Growing community of inventors

Reminderville, OH, United States of America

Chandresh R Chaudhari