Industrial Control Program Allocation Across Multiple Controllers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing industrial control program development platforms require a one-to-one binding between the control project and the industrial controller at the outset, limiting flexibility and scalability, especially when the hardware implementation is uncertain or when similar control functionality needs to be applied across multiple controllers.
Innovation Solution
An integrated development environment (IDE) system that allows for decoupled development of industrial control programs as smart objects, which can be created and stored without initial binding to a specific controller, enabling a one-to-many relationship with industrial controllers, allowing for flexible assignment and reuse across multiple automation systems.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a one-to-one binding between control project and industrial controller is established at the outset, then the control program can be directly compiled and exported to the physical controller, but the flexibility and scalability are limited when hardware implementation is uncertain or when similar control functionality needs to be applied across multiple controllers
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a controller definition as an intermediary layer between the control project and the physical industrial controller. This controller definition serves as a virtual representation that allows the control program to be developed and compiled without being directly bound to a specific physical controller. The intermediary enables flexible assignment of the same control program to multiple different controllers while maintaining a clear mapping relationship through the controller definition layer.
2Productivity
If the control project is bound to a single industrial controller early in development, then the development workflow is simplified, but the ability to reuse control functionality across multiple automation systems is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a copying mechanism where a controller definition can be instantiated multiple times to represent different physical controllers. The control program is compiled against the controller definition rather than being directly bound to physical hardware. This allows the same control program to be copied and deployed to multiple controllers by creating multiple instances of the controller definition, each representing a different physical device while sharing the same control logic.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple controllers are supported in a single project, then scalability is improved, but the initial project setup and controller assignment complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the controller representation into two distinct parts: the controller definition (virtual template) and the controller instance (physical device representation). This segmentation allows the control program to be developed once against the controller definition and then assigned to multiple controller instances. Each controller instance maintains its own identity and mapping to physical hardware, while sharing the same control logic defined in the controller definition, thereby reducing the complexity of multi-controller project setup.
Data Source
AI summary
An industrial integrated development environment (IDE) supports decoupled development of industrial control programs without requiring the programs to be initially bound to a specific industrial controller. The IDE system allows industrial control programs to be defined as smart objects within an industrial control project. These smart objects can be created without an initial binding to an industrial controller, and can subsequently be assigned to selected industrial controllers after development of the control programs is complete, or while program development is in progress. A smart object can be reused and deployed to multiple industrial controllers, providing a simple means to implement common control functionality on multiple different automation systems. To allow for deployment of smart objects to selected controllers, the IDE system supports creation of a control project having a one-to-many relationship with industrial controllers, such that multiple controllers can be defined within a single project.