Schneider Electric Usa, Inc.

Schneider Automation Gmbh

Nitin Dhayagude

Kenneth Lee

Richard Blair

Kerry Van De Steeg

Heinz Schaffner

Torsten Joachim Brune

Sascha Michael Kreβ

Michael Streubel

Sascha Michael Kress

A modular distributed I/O system for an industrial automation network that allows one or more modules of an island to be omitted without requiring reconfiguration of the system by maintaining a consistent I/O image representation of the distributed I/O network for various physical distributed I/O configurations, and managing reconfiguration changes using Virtual Placeholder objects.

Virtual placeholder configuration for distributed input/output modules

The invention described herein provides a system and method for distributing and applying a configuration file from a master device () to a slave device () in a distributed control system (). According to aspects of the invention, a configuration file is saved at a master device () and distributed to the slave device () via the data payload of a fieldbus protocol, such as the CANopen protocol. Aspects of the present invention may be used to further configure an I/O island or sub-network () that is attached to the slave device (). Further aspects of the present invention may be used to repair or replace failed devices in a distributed control system ().

Method and apparatus for distributing configuration files in a distributed control system

A modular distributed I/O system for an industrial automation network that allows one or more modules of an island to be omitted without requiring reconfiguration of the system by maintaining a consistent I/O image representation of the distributed I/O network for various physical distributed I/O configurations and managing reconfiguration changes remotely using Virtual Placeholder objects.

Remote virtual placeholder configuration for distributed input/output modules

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North Andover, MA, United States of America

Nitin Dhayagude