Endress + Hauser Process Solutions Ag

Ingomar Sotriffer

Michael Mayer

Werner Luber

Jan Pflug

Michael Maneval

Vincent De Groot

Mike Sutter

An operator control unit for a field device used in automation technology includes a first operating system that includes an application program executable on the first operating system, and an emulation algorithm designed to execute, on the application program, application software executed on a second operating system. The application software has at least one communication protocol for coding/decoding telegrams transmitted to/from the field device and is designed to operate the field device, in particular to read, display and modify parameters of the field device, and/or to read and display measured values of the field device.

Operator control unit for a field device used in automation technology

The present disclosure relates to a system and method for determining or monitoring a process variable having a higher-level unit and a plurality of field devices. The field devices generate data and are connected to one another for communication, and the higher-level unit and the field devices are nodes corresponding to a distributed ledger or blockchain technology comprising transaction creation units. Each field device is assigned a transaction creation unit for creating transactions. A created transaction contains data from the field devices assigned to the transaction creation units. A block creation unit processes a created transaction to form a data block. Validation units check the data block and/or transactions for validity. The data block is valid if at least one predefined number of validation units validates the data block, wherein each node is assigned one of the validation units. The valid data block is stored in a distributed database.

System and method for determining or monitoring a process variable in an automation plant

A device access apparatus for a client-server system is described, wherein the device access apparatus is used to access components of a field bus network. The device access apparatus includes a general application that is installable on a server and configured to interchange data with the components of the field bus network. The device access apparatus also includes a device driver that is installable on a client and a communication proxy that is installable on the server that are configured to set up a data connection between the server and the client. The data connection is used to transmit data between the device driver and one of the components of the field bus network that is associated with the device driver. The communication proxy is configured to monitor data traffic on the data connection between the client and the server and detect errors in the data transmission.

Monitoring of the data transmission in a client/server-based device access system

Described is a method for changing the display mode of a device access software with which components of a fieldbus system can be accessed. The device access software includes a frame application and at least one software component integrated into the frame application, wherein between the frame application and the at least one software component an interface is provided. The method includes switching the frame application from a first display mode into a second display mode different from the first display mode and changing at least one parameter in the software components via the relevant interface, wherein the change of the at least one parameter effects a switching of the display mode from the first display mode into the second display mode.

Device access software with changeable display mode

The present disclosure relates to a framework application for device access software. The framework application can be installed on a host. At least one driver can be integrated into the framework application, said driver being designed for access to an associated field bus component of a field bus network. For each integrated driver, the framework application has a standard interface, via which data can be exchanged between the driver and the framework application. For at least some of the integrated drivers, the framework application has one or more proprietary interfaces in addition to the standard interface, via which proprietary interfaces data can be exchanged between the respective drivers and the framework application. Information regarding additional functionalities that are supported by the driver or by an associated field bus component can be transferred from the driver to the framework application via at least one of the proprietary interfaces.

Provision of information regarding additional functionalities of field bus components

A method for automatically registering a topology of a fieldbus network from a device access software. The device access software is installed in a host, which is in data connection with the fieldbus network, and the fieldbus network includes a plurality of field devices and gateway devices. The method includes scanning an address space of a field access device or a predetermined gateway device of the fieldbus network and determining gateway devices and field devices present in this address space. For each found gateway device, the method includes scanning an additional address space provided by the found gateway device and determining additional gateway devices and field devices present in the additional address space. The method is repeated until all gateway devices present in the fieldbus network in the region below the field access device or the predetermined gateway device are found or until a break condition is fulfilled.

Automated topology scan

The application relates to a data transmission system for a data exchange between a field bus system that includes at least one field device and device access software installed on a host. The data transmission system includes a coupler device connected to the field bus system and a generic communication driver integrated in the device access software. The data transmission system further includes a central data transmission path between the generic communication driver and the coupler device. The generic communication driver is configured to exchange data with device drivers integrated in the device access software and to transmit data received from the device drivers to the coupler device, and to forward data received from the coupler device to the respective device driver. The coupler device is configured to convert data traffic from a first format to a second format and from the second format to the first format.

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Gundelfingen, Germany

Ingomar Sotriffer