Sick Ag

Detlef Fehrer

Edgar Stadler

Sebastian Heidepriem

Urs Vollmer

A system is described for the diagnosis and/or for the parameterization of devices forming sensors, actuators or controls and connected to a bus system, with device parameters being able to be read out of the device and/or being able to be transmitted into the device and well as device parameters read out and/or to be transmitted being able to be displayed visually by a display unit using said system. The system includes a communication engine for the communication, i.e. for the reading out and/or transmission of device parameters, of the system with the device and a visualization engine separate from the communication engine for the visualization of the device parameters by the display unit. The communication engine and the visualization engine are connected to one another via device-independent interfaces for the exchange of data. Furthermore, the communication engine is made independently of the display unit used.

Parameterization and diagnostic system for field devices

An electronic apparatus forming a sensor, an actuator or a control is described comprising a control engine and an integrated bus interface via which the apparatus can be connected to a data bus for the communication of the apparatus with at least one further apparatus connected to the data bus and forming a sensor, an actuator or a control. The communication, i.e. the transmission and/or the reception of data via the data bus, takes place via any desired predetermined communication protocol. The control engine includes an application-specific engine and a bus protocol-specific engine which are decoupled from one another and exchange application-specific data via a pre-determined, standardized interface. The bus protocol-specific engine is made for the transmission and/or the reception of data via the bus interface. The application-specific section is made for the control of the apparatus independently of the bus protocol used. Data received via the standardized interface can be converted into the bus protocol and/or data received via the bus interface can be converted into corresponding application-specific data by the bus protocol-specific engine.

Electronic apparatus for a bus system

An electronic apparatus forming a sensor, an actuator or a control is described comprising a control engine and an integrated bus interface. The apparatus can be connected via the bus interface to a data bus for the communication of the apparatus with at least one further apparatus forming a sensor, an actuator or a control and connected to the data bus. Furthermore, the apparatus includes a device-specific definition engine in which parameters required for the communication, function and/or configuration of the electronic apparatus are stored, with the device-specific definition engine being present in a device-specific format and the parameters being able to be accessed via the control engine. In accordance with the invention, a universal definition engine is provided which is present in a device-independent, standardized format and in which all the parameters of the electronic apparatus required for the communication, function and configuration and additional parameters characterizing the electronic apparatus are stored. Furthermore, the device-specific definition engine can be generated automatically from the universal definition engine.

Growing community of inventors

Gundelfingen, Germany

Detlef Fehrer