Flexible expandable automation device with hot-swappable I/O-units
US10963412B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 4, 2019 |
| Grant date | Mar 30, 2021 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 4, 2039 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F13/4247
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A flexible expandable automation device includes: a main control unit; and at least two I/O-units connected to the main control unit and to each other via an I/O-bus. The I/O-bus works according to a daisy-chain technique. The I/O-bus has a bus signal line and a daisy-chain-control-line. Each I/O-unit has a daisy-chain-control-IN-port for receiving a daisy-chain-control-signal as a daisy-chain-control-IN-signal and a daisy-chain-control-OUT port for delivering the daisy-chain-control-signal as a daisy-chain-control-OUT-signal to a next adjacent I/O-unit. Each I/O-unit has an I/O-module carrier and a pluggable and unpluggable I/O-module. The daisy-chain-control-IN-port and the daisy-chain-control-OUT-port are part of the I/O-module carrier. Each I/O-module-carrier has a hot-swap-control unit that, in case of an unplugged I/O-module creating an interrupted daisy chain, automatically bridges the interrupted daisy chain.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.