I/O Switch Virtualization for Real-Time Industrial Process Control
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current industrial control systems face limitations in scalability, reconfigurability, reliability, and performance due to hardware-driven architectures, which restrict their ability to efficiently manage data and I/O operations, leading to issues with data archiving, communication resource utilization, and system responsiveness.
Innovation Solution
A multi-purpose hardware/software architecture decouples hardware from software, enabling dynamic simulation and run-time process control through a virtualized environment that cooperates with physical components, using an I/O Switch to abstract I/O operations and facilitate communication between virtual and physical nodes, thereby enhancing system resilience, responsiveness, and scalability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a hardware-driven architecture is used in industrial control systems, then system stability and reliability are maintained, but scalability and reconfigurability are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates virtual copies of physical I/O devices and control system components. Virtual I/O devices are software representations that mirror the functionality of physical hardware, allowing multiple virtual instances to be created from a single physical device. This enables scalable system expansion and flexible reconfiguration without adding corresponding physical hardware, directly resolving the contradiction between adaptability and hardware complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a virtualization layer as an intermediary between physical hardware and control software. This virtual I/O device layer acts as a mediator that decouples the hardware from the control logic, allowing independent optimization of each layer. The virtualization layer enables flexible software-based configuration while maintaining stable hardware interfaces, resolving the contradiction between adaptability and hardware complexity.
2Adaptability or versatility
If physical I/O devices are directly connected to controllers, then communication speed is maintained, but system flexibility and ease of reconfiguration are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates virtual representations of physical I/O devices that can be rapidly configured and reconfigured through software. These virtual devices maintain the communication interface characteristics of the physical hardware while allowing flexible software-based control. This enables fast system reconfiguration without physical hardware changes, resolving the contradiction between flexibility and communication speed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamic virtual I/O devices that can be created, modified, and destroyed on-demand through software control. The virtualization layer allows the system to dynamically allocate and reconfigure I/O resources without physical hardware changes, enabling rapid adaptation while maintaining stable communication pathways. This dynamic approach resolves the contradiction between flexibility and communication speed.
3Productivity
If centralized hardware devices are used for process control, then system reliability is improved, but system responsiveness to changes and upgrades is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the monolithic centralized control system into distributed virtual components. Each virtual I/O device and control function can be independently managed, updated, and scaled. This segmentation allows selective upgrades and changes without affecting the entire system, improving responsiveness while maintaining reliability through modular architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates virtual copies of control functions and I/O devices that can be independently updated and deployed. These virtual components allow rapid prototyping, testing, and deployment of new control strategies without risking the stability of the physical hardware. This resolves the contradiction between responsiveness to changes and system reliability.
4Adaptability or versatility
If virtualized components are introduced to improve scalability and reconfigurability, then adaptability is enhanced, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal virtualization layer that provides standardized interfaces and protocols for all virtual I/O devices. This universal approach allows different types of physical devices to be represented by common virtual device templates, reducing software complexity through standardization while maintaining high scalability and reconfigurability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements self-describing virtual I/O devices that automatically configure themselves based on their virtual device type and associated physical hardware. The virtualization layer includes automatic discovery, configuration, and mapping capabilities that reduce the need for manual software configuration, thereby reducing software complexity while maintaining high adaptability.
Data Source
AI summary
A Multi-Purpose Dynamic Simulation and run-time Control platform includes a virtual process environment coupled to a physical process environment, where components/nodes of the virtual and physical process environments cooperate to dynamically perform run-time process control of an industrial process plant and/or simulations thereof. Virtual components may include virtual run-time nodes and/or simulated nodes. The MPDSC includes an I/O Switch which delivers I/O data between virtual and/or physical nodes, e.g., by using publish/subscribe mechanisms, thereby virtualizing physical I/O process data delivery. Nodes serviced by the I/O Switch may include respective component behavior modules that are unaware as to whether or not they are being utilized on a virtual or physical node. Simulations may be performed in real-time and even in conjunction with run-time operations of the plant, and/or simulations may be manipulated as desired (speed, values, administration, etc.). The platform simultaneously supports simulation and run-time operations and interactions/intersections therebetween.