Symbolic Data Access for Industrial Automation Device Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Industrial automation systems face challenges in coordinating and controlling diverse industrial automation devices with different data formats and communication protocols, leading to increased complexity and inefficiency in data access and processing.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of symbolic data operations using symbol and template object instances allows for standardized, flexible data access and control across devices, reducing the need for traditional class, instance, and attribute lookup operations by encoding addressing paths and providing efficient access to data through labels understandable by both machines and software.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If traditional class, instance, and attribute lookup operations are used to access data from diverse industrial automation devices, then data access can be achieved, but device complexity and computing resource requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a symbolic data access layer that acts as an intermediary between the control system and diverse industrial automation devices. This layer uses standardized symbol objects and template objects to represent device data, eliminating the need for complex device-specific lookup operations. The symbolic representation translates various device data formats into a unified structure, reducing system complexity while maintaining ease of data access.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter representation from traditional class-instance-attribute hierarchies to symbolic data structures with standardized templates. This parameter transformation allows data from different device types and protocols to be accessed through consistent symbolic references, reducing the complexity associated with handling diverse device architectures.
2Adaptability or versatility
If diverse industrial automation devices with different data formats are integrated into the system, then system versatility increases, but data access efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal symbolic data access mechanism that can interface with multiple types of industrial automation devices simultaneously. Template objects define standardized data structures that can represent various device data formats, allowing a single access method to work across different device types, protocols, and manufacturers, thereby maintaining both versatility and efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates symbolic copies of device data in a standardized format through template objects. Instead of accessing raw device-specific data structures directly, the system works with templated symbolic representations that capture the essential data characteristics while eliminating format-specific complexity, thus improving access efficiency without sacrificing device diversity support.
3Use of energy by moving object
If symbolic data operations with template objects are implemented, then computing resources for data access are reduced, but initial system setup complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary action by pre-defining template objects that encapsulate common data structures for various device types. During system setup, these templates are configured once and then reused repeatedly for data access operations. This upfront investment in template creation reduces the computational burden during runtime data access, as the system no longer needs to perform complex real-time data structure analysis.
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments of this present disclosure may include systems that perform operations including receiving a first symbol instance from an industrial automation device. The first template object instance may characterize a dataset accessible to the industrial automation device. Symbol object instances may inherit a categorization with respect to categories associated with the industrial automation device including an identity, a state, a runtime status, a maintenance status, sustainability information, or any combination thereof. The operations may include identifying a type of the industrial automation device based on the first symbol instance and generating template data based on the type of the industrial automation device and the first symbol instance. The template data may include values associated with the dataset and the categories associated with the first symbol instance. The operations may also include sending a control signal to the industrial automation device based on the template data.