Collaborative automation system and method for the control thereof

US8214068B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Schneider Electric Automation GmbH · DE

Inventors

• Armando Walter Colombo · Hinte, DE
• Axel Bepperling · Frankfurt, DE
• Ronald Schoop · Seligenstadt, DE
• Rui Milagaia · Lisboa, PT
• Marco Mendes · Manchester, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Apr 29, 2008
• Grant date: Jul 3, 2012
• Expiry date: Nov 4, 2028

Classification

• Technology area (CPC Y): Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
• CPC primary: Y02P90/02
• WIPO field: IT methods for management
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

The invention relates to a collaborative automation system (PS), comprising devices providing divided production and control services (D) such as transport and processing machines (M) with associated device agents (ST-AG, MA-AG), products with associated product agents (WP-AG), and a coordination unit (CO) providing a communication platform (SKP); the invention further relates to a method for the control of such a system. In order to obtain a dynamic detection and calling of processes in a loosely coupled production structure and infrastructure, the invention provides for devices (ST, MA, WP) providing the production and control services to be associated with a DPWS-based web service (ST-WS; MA-WS), wherein device functions are implemented into the DPWS-based web service as device service and agent functions. The communication platform (SKP) is designed as a uniform, DPWS-oriented SOA platform. The devices (ST, MA, WP) providing production and control services communicate via an integrated DPWS-based web service (ST-WS; MA-WS) and via a single communication platform (SKP), wherein device functions are implemented as device services (ST-WS; MA-WS) and agent functions describing devi…