Siemens Aktiengesellschaft

Christian Hock

Frank Volkmann

Markus Erlmann

Jörn Peschke

Karl-Heinz Deiretsbacher

Stefan Elsterer

Franz-Josef Götz

Jürgen Schmitt

Gerald Kaefer

Thomas Edelmann

In automation-engineering installations, there is a need to exchange process information between different devices. For this, OPC Unified Architecture (OPC UA) from OPC Foundation has become established as a standard protocol. However, rather than transmit requested OPC-UA subscriptions via the conventional OPC-UA session channel, the invention sets up a separate TSN data communication by means of which that subscription information is transmitted.

Providing process values in a process system having a real-time requirement

A method and apparatus for energy-optimized data transmission by OPC UA protocol in radio networks is disclosed. When OPC UA communication is operated in a mobile device, e.g. as mobile access to part of a plant for maintenance, monitoring, parameterization, transmission is frequently implemented by the OPC UA's own request-response based communication behavior. Since the device is rarely able to switch off the transmitter, the battery of the device is very quickly discharged. This poses a problem, particularly in the case of devices that are intended to respond promptly to infrequent warnings or events. However, when a client device is intended to provide notification in relation to one event only, the previous polling, i.e. the periodic interrogation is dispensed with and an alternative notification through means inherent in the mobile network is used. This method uses, for example, a mobile push service supplied by the network provider.

Method and apparatus for energy-optimized data transmission using the OPC UA protocol in radio networks

A method for providing clients with access to a service of a server in a network using an OPC-UA, the server service making available varying values of at least one variable to the clients, wherein a client registers for the server service by sending a subscription request for the server service to the server which sets up a subscription structure including a unique subscription ID as well as a TCP/IP multicast group associated with the subscription structure and including a unique multicast address, and there server communicates the multicast address and the subscription ID to every client submitting a subscription request to register for the server service, the server additionally sends each change in value of each variable of the server service to the multicast address over a network via a multicast message so that all clients registered for the server service receive the same multicast message.

Providing clients access to a server service using an OPC unified architecture (OPC-UA)

A method for optimizing repeated write access by a client to at least one variable in a server via OPC UA, wherein a call method for repeated write access is provided on the server, the call method includes notification of an access time interval and at least one variable for the repeated write access, the client calls the call method on the server, the server is notified of an access time interval and the at least one variable for the repeated write access in the process, where the server creates a data structure for the repeated write access and maintains said data structure during the access time interval, values of the at least one variable which are to be written are transmitted to the server by the client during the access time interval, and the server allocates each value transmitted by the client to the associated variable.

Write access to a variable in a server

A method for communication between two clients via a server in a network using OPC Unified Architecture (OPC-UA), wherein a virtual server object that provides a server functionality to a first of two clients is implemented in the server by making available to the first client a virtual address space in an address space of the server, and a process for generating and modifying virtual server nodes in said virtual address space. The server allows the second client to access virtual server nodes in the virtual address space and informs the first client each time that the second client accesses a virtual server node in the virtual address space.

Communication between two clients via a server

A method for controlling an electric machine or electric unit by actuating a component of the electric machine or unit using a predicate and by automatically examining the component in regard to the performance of the predicate to permit examination of an automated system for possible errors in a simply manner, wherein the predicate contains an expected value of a (physical) quantity of the component, and wherein in the examination of the component, a check is performed to determine whether the expected value actually arises when the predicate is performed such that erroneous situations can be detected by a runtime system without explicit programming being necessary therefor.

Method for controlling an electric machine and control device

A method for interchanging data between two devices in a network which utilizes a communication protocol with an interface based on an Object Linking and Embedding for Process Control Unified Architecture (OPC-UA) standard to interchange the data, wherein the communication protocol includes a priority allocation function which can allocate to the data at least two different priority values, and the data are interchanged based on the allocated priority values, such that the data interchangeable between the two devices in a predetermined period of time with a prescribed probability.

Method and apparatus for interchanging data between two devices in an automation network

In one aspect, method for bidirectional asynchronous data communication between a client and a server over the Internet via a hypertext transfer protocol based on a request/response paradigm is provided. With the aid of a single communication channel, a communication sequence is initiated by the client, such that the two partners are able to exchange data asynchronously and bidirectionally. After the client has established the connection via a request the client sends data to the server as a further request, while the server sends data to the client as a response to the last request. If the server has no data to send, then after a timeout time it sends a dummy response in order to keep the channel open. If the server receives a new request, then it terminates the old one and sends any data remaining to be sent as a response to the new request.

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Fürth, Germany

Christian Hock