Claims
- 1. An I/O module for use with an industrial control system having a programmable logic controller for executing an industrial control program and communicating over a control-network with the I/O module, the I/O module comprising:
an I/O interface communicating electrical signals between the I/O interface and the industrial process; an Internet interface communicating electrical signals between the Internet interface and the Internet; a network interface communicating electrical signals between the network interface and the control-network; and a processing unit connected to the I/O interface, the Internet interface and the network interface and executing a stored program to pass data both between the Internet and the I/O interface and between the network interface and the I/O interface; whereby Internet control of the industrial process may be had through the I/O module without intervention of the programmable logic controller.
- 2. The I/O module of claim 1 wherein the programmable logic controller includes an Internet/control-network bridge having both an Internet connection and a control-network connection and wherein both the network interface and the Internet interface includes a media connection to the control-network and wherein the Internet interface communicates with the Internet through the control-network to the bridge and through the bridge to the Internet.
- 3. The I/O module of claim 2 wherein the control-network is an Ethernet network.
- 4. The I/O module of claim 1 wherein the Internet interface includes a media connection for attaching to a communications medium other than the control-network.
- 5. The I/O module of claim 4 wherein the communication medium is selected from the group consisting of: a conductive metal cable, a radio link, an infrared link, and an optical fiber.
- 6. The I/O module of claim 1 wherein the processing unit also executes the stored program to accept a write disable command from the programmable logic controller causing the stored program to controllably block data from passing between the Internet interface and the I/O interface.
- 7. The I/O module of claim 1 wherein the control-network is selected from the group consisting of ControlNet, DeviceNet, and Ethernet.
- 8. The I/O module of claim 1 including further an Internet filter module positioned between the I/O module and the Internet, the Internet filter module having a processing unit executing a stored program to accept a write disable command from the programmable logic controller causing the stored program to controllably block data from passing between the Internet and the I/O interface.
- 9. The I/O module of claim 8 wherein the I/O interface communicates with multiple independent I/O points and wherein the processor of the Internet filter module further executes the stored program to accept a write disable command from the programmable logic controller causing the stored program to controllably block data from passing between the Internet and the I/O interface with respect to selected I/O points.
- 10. An industrial control system comprising:
a control network; a programmable logic controller for executing an industrial control program and having an interface for communicating on the control network; a plurality of I/O modules communicating further including
(a) respective I/O interfaces communicating electrical signals between the I/O interface and the industrial process, at least one I/O module further including: (b) respective network interfaces communicating electrical signals between the network interface and the control-network; at least one I/O module further including:
(c) an Internet interface communicating electrical signals between the Internet interface and the Internet; whereby Internet control of the industrial process may be had through the I/O module without intervention of the programmable logic controller.
- 11. The industrial control system of claim 10 including further an Internet/control-network bridge having both an Internet connection and a control-network connection and wherein both the network interface and the Internet interface of the I/O module include a connection to the control-network and wherein the Internet interface communicates with the Internet through the control-network to the bridge and through the bridge to the Internet.
- 12. The industrial control system of claim 11 wherein the control-network is an Ethernet network.
- 13. The industrial control system of claim 10 wherein the Internet interface includes a media connection for attaching to a communications medium other than the control-network.
- 14. The industrial control system of claim 13 wherein the communication medium is selected from the group consisting of: a conductive metal cable, a radio link, an infrared link, and an optical fiber.
- 15. The industrial control system of claim 10 wherein the I/O module includes a processing unit which executes a stored program to accept a write disable command from the programmable logic controller causing the stored program to controllably block data from passing between the Internet interface and the I/O interface.
- 16. The industrial control system of claim 10 wherein the control-network is selected from the group consisting of ControlNet, DeviceNet, and Ethernet.
- 17. The industrial control system of claim 10 including further an Internet filter module positioned between the I/O modules and the Internet, the Internet filter module having a processing unit executing a stored program to accept a write disable command from the programmable logic controller causing the stored program to controllably block data from passing between the Internet and the I/O interface.
- 18. The industrial control system of claim 17 wherein the I/O interface communicates with multiple independent I/O points and wherein the processor of the Internet filter module further executes the stored program to accept a write disable command from the programmable logic controller causing the stored program to controllably block data from passing between the Internet and the I/O interface with respect to selected I/O points.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional patent application No. 60/285,291, filed on Apr. 20, 2001.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60285291 |
Apr 2001 |
US |