Siemens Aktiengesellschaft

Siemens Aktiengesell Schaft

Ulrich Sinn

Gottfried Rieger

Christoph Weiler

Janos Gila

Karl-Heinz Krause

Wolfgang Konrad

Michael Kasper

Karl Glas

Frank Langenfelder

Juergen Kroener

Matthias Rebellius

For wireless communication in the industrial environment, there is, inter alia, an iWLAN protocol, which meets the requirements but provides no time synchronization in the data transmission. According to the invention, an additional—ideally wireless—channel is used for the synchronization. In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, a simple radio system is used for this. Pulses or telegrams for time synchronization are initiated directly from a unit, which is designed as hardware and which is responsible for the time synchronization and which has a highly accurate clock, or supplied on the side to be synchronized of such a unit. The radio system can be designed very simply and unidirectionally. The transmission process is started without delay in order to prevent variable delays.

Method and apparatus for simple time synchronization of a communication in industrial settings

A method for operating a radio communication system for an industrial automation system, which includes at least one base station and a plurality of subscriber stations, wherein at predefined transmission times the base station cyclically polls datagrams to be transmitted by the subscriber stations, where the base station predefines for the subscriber stations the transmission times, within a polling cycle, for transmitting the datagrams to be transmitted, where the transmission times are each determined from a preceding transmission time by adding a polling cycle duration and subtracting a delay time, while the at least one datagram to be transmitted prior to the preceding transmission time is already in the corresponding subscriber station and ready for transmission, and where the subscriber stations transmit information to the base station regarding the corresponding delay time to determine the transmission times.

Method for operating a radio communication system for an industrial automation system, radio communication system, base station and subscriber station

A radio communication system including a coordinator unit and at least one communications terminal configured for the radio communication system in which access to the radio resource is performed in accordance with time-division multiplexing, where the radio resource is divided into determinate time frames, the coordinator unit assigns to the at least one communications terminal, at least one useful data transmission time slot whose temporal position is determined in sequential time frames with respect to the beginning of the particular time frame, and the individual time frames are structured such that they contain a synchronization time slot, at least one useful data transmission time slot of equal length and one additional dynamic time slot.

Radio communication system, coordinator unit and communications terminal

An HMI system with a mobile control and monitoring device for automation components of a technical system is provided. The HMI system includes means for a contactless data transmission between the mobile control and monitoring device and the automation components, a manual device for triggering or blocking security relevant operations of the technical system and means for locating the mobile control and monitoring device. Evaluation means are provided for managing an active operational area which activate the automation components for security-relevant operations of the technical system via the mobile control and monitoring device solely when the manual device is released and the locating means detect that the mobile control and monitoring device is located inside the active operational area. Is he manual device placed directly on the housing of the technical system, an operator has to approach such that he/she enters the active operational area in a secure manner.

Mobile control and monitoring system

There is described a method for enabling the operation of automation components of a technical system via a mobile control and monitoring device. In a first step, the control and monitoring device receives a first identification from a first transponder device, with the first transponder device being attached to the technical system, with the first transponder device having been activated by the automation components and with the first identification having been transmitted via a wireless communication connection from the automation components to the mobile control and monitoring device. In a further step the communication connection between the control and monitoring device and the automation components is deactivated. The mobile control and monitoring device sends a carrier signal and following that receives the carrier signal modulated by the first transponder device. A first distance between the control and monitoring device and the first transponder device is then determined from the modulated carrier signal. In addition, a first radio-determined identification from the first transponder device is determined from the modulated carrier signal. Following the reception of the modulated carrier signal, the communication connection is reactivated. If the first distance is shorter than a predetermined first distance and if the radio-determined first identification corresponds to the first identification, the operation of the automation components is enabled.

Method for enabling the operation of automation components of a technical system via a mobile control and monitoring device

The HMI system is provided with a mobile control and monitoring device for automation components of a technical system. It comprises means for contactless data transmission between the mobile control and monitoring device and the automation components, a manual device for triggering or blocking security relevant operations of the technical system and means for locating the mobile control and monitoring device. Evaluation means are provided for managing an active operational area and which activate the automation components for security-relevant operations of the technical system via the mobile control and monitoring device solely when the manual device is released and the locating means detect that the mobile control and monitoring device is located inside the active operational area, the advantage thereof being that manual triggering of security-relevant operations by an operator is the condition upon which they can be activated via the mobile control and monitoring device. If the manual device is placed directly on the housing of the technical system, for example, an operator has to approach in such a way that he/she enters the active operation are in a secure manner.

The invention relates to a connectivity box () and a method for connecting a mobile device (), in particular an operator panel for an automation system, to a permanently installed infrastructure (), the connectivity box () possessing an identity (ID) which is transmitted to the mobile device (). The connection of the mobile device () is implemented for example via a cable which is plugged into the connectivity box (). In this arrangement the existing signal lines () are used for transmitting the identity (ID) or, as the case may be, the box address. The lines are looped through for standard communication. However, when a mobile device () is connected, the lines are separated and connected to a control logic () on the mobile device side. By this means the identity (ID) of the connectivity box () is transmitted to the mobile device ().

Non-interacting transmission of identification information on communication lines

A method and a system for transmitting data over a switchable network, especially Ethernet, in the field of industrial installations, in which real-time critical data and non real-time critical data is transmitted. The switchable data network has at least one wireless transmission link between at least two users, especially a transmitter and a receiver. When a communication interface is created by way of a coupling unit of the data network between cyclically clocked communication connections differing in performance, the data is forwarded according to a 'store and forward' method. The method and system enable a parallel transmission of real-time critical and non real-time critical data.

Method and system for transmitting data via switchable data networks

A method and a system for the automated control of a technical installation () having a plurality of installation components () that are interconnected by data transmission in order to carry out process steps. Control commands (S) which are generated by a central control device () are fed to these components in accordance with process control signals (P) that are sent to the device. Process control signals (P) that are generated in a mobile operator unit () are wirelessly transmitted to interfaces () and are forwarded by the latter to the control device (). The installation components () for which the system considers the process control signals (P) received from the mobile operator unit () during the generation of the corresponding control commands (S) are released using a local characteristic value (O) for the mobile operator unit ().

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Erlangen, Germany

Ulrich Sinn