PLC Calendar Scheduling for User-Friendly Machine Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Industrial automation systems, particularly those using Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC), are complex and costly to set up and manage, especially for small enterprises, and lack user-friendly scheduling capabilities for events like daily or weekly tasks, holidays, and weekends.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for scheduling automation processes that utilize a parser module for parsing calendar data, a clock module for monitoring time instances, and a task module for processing task data to generate machine control data, allowing for user rights differentiation and interaction with calendar data across multiple devices using the iCalendar format.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a PLC application checks internal date and time to schedule tasks, then scheduling functionality is achieved, but programming complexity increases and user-friendliness decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a calendar data structure as an intermediary between the PLC's time-keeping functionality and the scheduling requirements. This calendar data (using standard formats like iCalendar) serves as a mediator that stores scheduling information in a user-friendly format, eliminating the need for complex programming while maintaining full scheduling capabilities. The system parses this intermediate calendar data to execute scheduled tasks.
2Adaptability or versatility
If centralized ERP or SCADA systems are used for machine control, then comprehensive control capability is achieved, but system cost and setup difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the scheduling functionality from complex centralized systems like ERP or SCADA and implements it as a standalone, lightweight solution within the PLC. By taking out only the essential scheduling capability and implementing it through simple calendar data parsing, the system achieves comprehensive control for scheduling tasks without the overhead, cost, and complexity of full centralized systems.
3Adaptability or versatility
If machine PLC applications are customized for each customer's specific scheduling requirements, then customer-specific functionality is achieved, but machine builder's management complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal scheduling mechanism using standard calendar data formats that can accommodate any customer-specific scheduling requirements without customization. The same PLC application with calendar parsing capability can handle diverse scheduling scenarios (daily tasks, weekly schedules, holiday-based scheduling, complex patterns) universally, eliminating the need for machine builders to create and manage multiple customized applications for different customers.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and a method for scheduling an automation process controlling a machine. The system including a parser module for parsing calendar data, the calendar data comprising calendar events including clock data and task data. The system further including a clock module for monitoring time instances and triggering the parser module to parse the calendar data to retrieve the task data of a calendar event that is identified by clock data corresponding to a time instance; and a task module for processing the task data of the calendar event to obtain machine control data for execution on a machine.