I / O station including APL I / O module

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to an I / O station comprising APL I / O modules for transmitting signals between a network (3) and a plurality of field devices (21) in an automation system (1). The I / O station comprises an I / O network interface (11) and a plurality of I / O modules (12), each I / O module (12) providing one or more I / O channels (20) connecting respective one or more field devices (21) of the plurality of field devices, whereby each field device is communicatively connected to the network via the I / O module (12) and the network interface (11). At least one of the I / O modules (12) is an APL I / O module (12b) that connects an APL field device (21b) of the plurality of field devices (21), and at least one I / O module is an APL I / O module (12a) that connects a non-APL field device (21a) of the plurality of field devices (21). The I / O station (10) is configured for tunneling data between at least one of the I / O modules (12) and the network (3).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an input-output (I / O) station including an advanced physical layer (APL) I / O module. Background Art

[0002] I / O stations, also called I / O systems, are used in industrial automation systems to connect field devices (such as sensors, actuators, etc.) in industrial equipment to the controller of the equipment. The I / O station typically includes a fieldbus communication interface (FCI) and an I / O module that connects the field devices, wherein the FCI interface is arranged to forward data between the module and the controller via a fieldbus or fieldbus network. Since the controller is digital and at least some of the field devices may be analog legacy devices (e.g., requiring 4-20mA signals), the I / O station can convert analog signals to digital signals and vice versa. Each I / O module can be any digital input (DI) module, digital output (DO) module, analog input (AI) module, or analog output (AO) module or a combination thereof.

[0003] To handle both analog devices and APL devices, the I / O station usually has two separate physical layers, with APL devices using an APL switch and an APL physical layer. Summary of the invention

[0004] It is an object of the present invention to provide an alternative way of connecting analog and APL field devices to an I / O station.

[0005] According to one aspect of the present invention, an I / O station is provided for sending signals between a network and a plurality of field devices in an automation system. The I / O station includes an I / O network interface and a plurality of I / O modules, each of which provides one or more I / O channels to connect one or more corresponding field devices in a plurality of field devices, whereby each field device is connected to the network through the I / O module and the network interface communication. At least one I / O module is an APL I / O module of an APL field device connecting a plurality of field devices, and at least one I / O module is a non-APL I / O module of a non-APL field device connecting a plurality of field devices. The I / O station is configured to tunnel data between at least one I / O module and a network.

[0006] According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automation system including a plurality of controllers, a plurality of I / O stations of the present disclosure, and a network through which the I / O stations are communicatively connected to the controllers.

[0007] According to another aspect of the present invention, in an embodiment of the I / O station of the present disclosure, a method for tunneling data between an I / O module (e.g., an APL I / O module) and a network is provided. The method includes sending a first payload from the I / O module to the network, including encapsulating the payload in the I / O module and decapsulating the payload in a network interface, and sending a second payload from the network to the I / O module, including encapsulating the payload in the network interface and decapsulating the payload in the I / O module.

[0008] According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer program product comprising computer executable components for causing the I / O station to perform an embodiment of the disclosed method when the computer executable components are executed on processing circuitry included in the I / O station.

[0009] The I / O station can tunnel data between the network and APL or non-APL modules, so the I / O station does not require separate APL and non-APL communication channels, such as an I / O bus.

[0010] It should be noted that any feature of any aspect may be applicable to any other aspect (if applicable). Similarly, any advantage of any aspect may be applicable to any other aspect. Other objects, features and advantages of the attached embodiments will become apparent from the following detailed disclosure, the attached dependent claims and the accompanying drawings.

[0011] In general, all terms used in the claims should be interpreted according to their ordinary meaning in the technical field, unless otherwise explicitly defined in this application. All references to "one / an / the element, device, component, means, step, etc." should be publicly interpreted as referring to at least one instance of an element, device, component, means, step, etc. Unless otherwise explicitly stated. Unless explicitly stated, the steps of any method disclosed in this protocol do not need to be performed in the exact order disclosed. The use of "first", "second", etc. for different features / components of the present disclosure is only intended to distinguish the features / components from other similar features / components, without giving the features / components any order or hierarchy. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] Embodiments will be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0013] Figure 1 is a schematic block diagram of an automation system according to some embodiments of the present invention.

[0014] Figure 2 is a schematic block diagram of an I / O station according to some embodiments of the present invention.

[0015] Figure 3is another schematic block diagram of an I / O station according to some embodiments of the present invention.

[0016] Figure 4 is a schematic flow chart of some embodiments of the method of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] Embodiments will now be described more fully below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which certain embodiments are shown. However, within the scope of the present disclosure, many other embodiments in different forms are also possible. On the contrary, the following embodiments are provided by way of example so that the present disclosure will be thorough and complete and will fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to those skilled in the art. Throughout the description, the same numbers refer to the same elements.

[0018] Two devices are referred to herein as being "communicatively connected," meaning that they are connected so that they can communicate with each other, such as wireless or non-wireless communication. Tunneling of data between APL I / O modules will be discussed below, which is probably the most common case, but data can equally well be tunneled to and from non-APL I / O modules via an APL physical layer (e.g., an I / O bus) instead.

[0019] Figure 1 An automation system 1 including a plurality of I / O stations 10 is shown. The I / O station may be embedded hardware and software for inputting physical signals from a process running in a plant (either directly from the process or through a field device) into digital values, and for outputting digital values ​​into physical signals of the process (either directly to the process or through a field device). However, for APL field devices, as described herein, such conversion may not be required, and therefore, according to the present disclosure, signals entering and exiting the APL field devices may be tunneled through the I / O station. The I / O station 10 is connected to a plurality of network devices via a network 3. The network may include one or more fieldbuses. The network may include or consist of an Ethernet physical layer, such as copper wire and / or optical fiber and / or wireless. The network 3 may be configured for communication according to an OPC Unified Architecture (OPC UA), Profinet, or Modbus TCP communication protocol (preferably OPC UA).

[0020] The network device may include any of one or more (e.g., multiple) controllers 2, one or more (e.g., only one) human-machine interfaces (HMIs) 5, and / or one or more (e.g., only one) engineering tools 6. The controller 2 may be embedded hardware and software that executes real-time plant process specific applications, such as reading signals from an I / O station 10, writing signals to an I / O station 10, and / or receiving commands from an HMI 5. Additionally or alternatively, the controller may be an embedded standalone controller or controller software running in a container as part of a larger computing unit, or controller software running in a cloud connected to an edge device. The HMI 5 may summon the state of the process to the operator based on data read from the controller 2 and / or the I / O station 10. The HMI 5 may additionally command the controller 2 to start an action. The engineering tool 6 may configure the binding and conversion of the I / O channels of the I / O station 10 and / or an application in the controller 2. The engineering tool 6 may be executed on a PC where the activity is not time-critical.

[0021] exist Figure 1 In the example of FIG. 1 , there are three I / O stations 10 and three controllers 2. However, there need not be a one-to-one relationship between the number of I / O stations and the number of controllers, and any one controller may be connected to any I / O channel in any I / O station. In some embodiments, at least one of the network devices 2, 5, and / or 6, such as at least one controller 2, may be communicatively connected to the I / O channels of at least two I / O stations 10 (i.e., connected so that they can, for example, communicate wirelessly or non-wirelessly).

[0022] exist Figure 1 In the example of FIG. 5 , the controller 2 is connected between the I / O station 10 and the HMI 5. For example, the HMI 5 can be connected directly to the station 10 without being connected through the controller. However, other topologies are also possible. The engineering tool 6 can be connected to any or all of the I / O stations 10 and / or any controller 2, for example, via the network 3. Typically, the engineering tool 6 is connected only when needed, but in some embodiments, it can be permanently connected.

[0023] Each I / O station 10 includes a plurality of I / O modules 12 that interface with the network 3 via an I / O network interface 11. The modules 12 may be connected to the network interface 11 via one or more I / O buses 13 within the station 10, and / or there may be point-to-point connections between the modules 12 and the network interface 11. Although only one I / O bus 13 may be required within the station 10, it may be advantageous to use two or more buses 13 to increase bandwidth and / or redundancy.

[0024] Figure 2 The diagram shows an I / O station 10 connected to a plurality of field devices 21, such as Figure 1A station 10 in the embodiment of the present invention. Each module 12 provides one or more I / O channels 20, wherein each channel 20 can be connected to a corresponding field device 21 (i.e., one device per channel, one channel per device). In one example, one of the modules 12 provides only one channel 20, and therefore may only be able to connect one field device 21. In another example, one of the modules 12 provides 16 channels 20, so that the module can connect up to 16 field devices 21. There may be unused channels 20 (i.e., channels to which no field device is connected), but each channel 20 to which a field device 21 is connected is connected to at least one network device, such as one or more controllers 2, via the network interface 11 and the network 3 for communication.

[0025] According to some embodiments of the present invention, at least one I / O module 12 is an APL I / O module 12b, which is configured to connect one or more (depending on the number of channels 20 provided by it) APL field devices 21b, and at least one I / O module 12 is a non-APL I / O module 12a, which is configured to connect one or more (depending on the number of channels 20 provided by it) non-APL, such as analog field devices 21a. In some embodiments of the present invention, at least one of the APL I / O modules 12b is configured to connect an Ethernet-based APL field device 21b.

[0026] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the I / O station 10 is configured for tunneling data between each of the at least one APL module 12b and the network 3, i.e., for tunneling data from the network (typically any network device) to the APL module and / or for tunneling data from the APL module to the network (typically any network device). The data may be any communication object, typically contained in one or more payloads sent between the network and the APL module. Tunneling is typically achieved by encapsulating the APL payload, i.e., adding a header and / or trailer compatible with the communication protocol used within the I / O station 10, for example, for communication via an I / O bus 13. Thus, in some embodiments of the present invention, tunneling comprises tunneling via an I / O bus 13 included in the I / O station 10. The same I / O bus 13 may be used for communication between the network 3 and at least one non-APL I / O module 12a. Therefore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the I / O station 10 is further configured to transmit data between each of the at least one non-APL I / O module 12a and the network 3 via the I / O bus 13. In some embodiments of the present invention, the tunneled APL payload is configured according to a fieldbus communication protocol (e.g., OPC UA).

[0027] In some embodiments of the invention, each of the at least one APL I / O module 12b includes a tunneling service 22 for encapsulating a payload from the APL I / O module and for decapsulating the payload to the APL I / O module. The payload includes data tunneled between the network and the APL module.

[0028] Additionally or alternatively, preferably additionally, in some embodiments of the present invention, the network interface 11 comprises a tunneling service 22 for encapsulating and decapsulating payloads to and from the APL I / O module 12b.

[0029] The module 12 and / or the network interface 11 may be mechanically connected to one or more substrates 26 within the station 10. In some embodiments, a single substrate 26 provides a slot for mechanically connecting the module 12 and the network interface 11. In other embodiments, this functionality is provided by multiple module substrates 26, with one module substrate 26 providing a slot for mechanically connecting the network interface 11.

[0030] Figure 3 is another schematic diagram of the I / O station 10, for example Figure 2 As discussed. The I / O station 10 includes a processing circuit 31, such as a central processing unit (CPU). The processing circuit 31 may include one or more processing units in the form of a microprocessor. However, other suitable devices with computing capabilities may be included in the processing circuit 31, such as an application-specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array, or a complex programmable logic device. The processing circuit 31 is configured to run one or more computer programs or software (SW) 33 stored in a memory 32 of one or more storage units (such as memory). The storage unit is regarded as a computer-readable device, which forms a computer program product together with the SW 13 stored thereon, as a computer executable component, and may be in the form of, for example, a random access memory (RAM), a flash memory or other solid-state memory or a hard disk, or a combination thereof. As required, the processing circuit 31 may also be configured to store data in the memory 32. In some embodiments, the processing circuit 31 is included in the network interface 11. In some embodiments, the processing circuit 31 is included in the substrate 26, such as a substrate that is mechanically connected to the network interface 11. In some embodiments, the memory 32 is included in the network interface 11. In some embodiments, the storage device 32 is included in the substrate 26, such as a substrate that is mechanically connected to the network interface 11.

[0031] Figure 4Some embodiments of the method of the present invention are illustrated. The method is for tunneling data in an I / O station 10 between an I / O module 12 and a network 3. The I / O module may be an APL I / O module 12b or a non-APL I / O module 12a, preferably an APL I / O module. The method includes sending a first payload from the input / output module 12 to the network 3, including encapsulating the payload in the I / O module and decapsulating the payload in the network interface 11. The method also includes sending a second payload from the network 3 to the I / O module 12, including encapsulating the payload in the network interface 11 and decapsulating the payload in the I / O module.

[0032] The present disclosure has mainly been described above with reference to a few embodiments. However, as is readily appreciated by a person skilled in the art, other embodiments than the ones disclosed above are equally possible within the scope of the present disclosure, as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. An I / O station (10) for transmitting signals between a network (3) and a plurality of field devices (21) in an automation system (1), the I / O station comprising: I / O network interface (11); as well as a plurality of I / O modules (12), each I / O module (12) providing one or more I / O channels (20), the one or more I / O channels (20) connecting one or more field devices (21) of the plurality of field devices, whereby each of the field devices is communicatively connected to the network (3) via the I / O module (12) and the I / O network interface (11); wherein at least one of the I / O modules (12) is an APL I / O module (12b) connected to an advanced physical layer APL field device (21b) among the plurality of field devices (21), and at least one of the I / O modules (12) is a non-APL I / O module (12a) connected to a non-APL field device (21a) among the plurality of field devices (21); and The I / O station (10) is configured to tunnel data between at least one of the I / O modules (12) and the network (3).

2. The I / O station of claim 1 , wherein each of at least one of the I / O modules (12) comprises a tunneling service (22) for encapsulating a payload from the I / O module and for decapsulating a payload to the I / O module.

3. An I / O station according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the network interface (11) comprises a tunneling service (22) for encapsulating a payload to each of the at least one I / O module (12) and for decapsulating a payload from the I / O module.

4. The I / O station according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the tunneling comprises tunneling through an I / O bus (13) comprised in the I / O station (10).

5. The I / O station according to claim 4, wherein the I / O station (10) is configured for sending data between each of the I / O modules (12) and the network (3) via the I / O bus (13).

6. The I / O station according to any of the preceding claims, wherein at least one of the I / O modules (12) is each APL module of the at least one APL module (12b).

7. The I / O station of claim 6, wherein the tunneling comprises tunneling a payload configured according to a fieldbus communication protocol, such as OPC Unified Architecture (OPC UA).

8. The I / O station according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the APL I / O module (12b) is configured for connecting an Ethernet-based APL field device (21b).

9. The I / O station according to any of the preceding claims, wherein at least one of the I / O modules (12) is each non-APL module of the at least one non-APL module (12a).

10. An automation system (1), comprising: Multiple controllers (2); A plurality of I / O stations (10) according to any one of the preceding claims; as well as A network (3) via which the I / O station (10) is communicatively connected to the controller (2).

11. A method for tunneling data between an I / O module (12), such as an APLI / O module (12b), and a network (3) in an I / O station (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 9, the method comprising: sending (S1) a first payload from the I / O module (12) to the network (3), comprising encapsulating (S1a) the payload in the I / O module and decapsulating (S1b) the payload in the network interface (11); as well as Sending (S2) a second payload from the network (3) to the I / O module (12) comprises encapsulating (S2a) the payload in the network interface (11) and decapsulating (S2b) the payload in the I / O module.

12. A computer program product (32) comprising computer executable components (33) for causing an I / O station (10) to perform the method according to claim 11 when the computer executable components are run on a processing circuit (31) comprised in an I / O station (10).

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