Fieldbus Foundation

Stephen B Mitschke

David A Glanzer

Ram Ramachandran

John Carl Gabler

Joseph D Duffy

L Jonas F Berge

Sergio Hideki Tateishi

William B Hawkins

Michael Von Le Suire

An apparatus, system and process is provided for communicating safety-related data, over an open system, from a sender to a receiver. Safety-related components, including function blocks, flexible function blocks, resource blocks and transducer blocks, as well as, safety-related objects are provided. Also, an extended safety-related protocol provides for authenticating communications between safety-related components over an existing black channel, such as one using a fieldbus Architecture.

System and method for implementing safety instrumented systems in a fieldbus architecture

A new and improved control system architecture using a combination of standard function blocks and new flexible function blocks eliminates the need for expensive and difficult to maintain custom control software and special I/O gateways for discrete/hybrid/batch and PLC applications. The end user builds application-specific flexible function blocks by configuring the number and type of inputs and outputs, and the block algorithm. Flexible function blocks and gateway flexible function block interconnect and interoperate with each other and with standard function blocks in a distributed control architecture.

Flexible function blocks

Growing community of inventors

Austin, TX, United States of America

Stephen B Mitschke