Patent ID: 6701377
Filing Date: 2004-03-02
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
An automation system comprising:a first physical network (17) using a first communication protocol, at least one device connected to said first physical network (17), at least one second physical network (46, 52; 54) using a second communication protocol, said at least one second physical network connected to said first physical network by way of a first control device (25; 30) functioning as a gateway, at least one device connected to said at least one second physical network wherein said first physical network and said second physical network (17; 46, 52, 54) and said first communication protocol and said second communication protocol are different from each other, the first network is a routing network and the second network is a field bus, said first control device having a logic interface adapted for transparent data communication using said first communication protocol between at least one device (15, 20, 25, 30) connected to the first physical network (17) and at least one device (50, 58, 59; 54, 56, 57, 60) connected to the second physical network (46, 52, 54), wherein said transparent data communication consists of a subscriber connected to the second physical network (field bus) using the second communication protocol being adapted to process (understand) data coming from a subscriber connected to the first physical network using the first communication protocol so as to allow a person looking from outside the system to get an impression that there exists a connection via a homogenous network between the subscriber connected to the first physical network and the subscriber connected to the second physical network, said control device includes a memory device forte storage in particular of control programs, diagnosis data relating to the respective second network, and configuration data, said control device has a memory in which the IP-addresses of higher-order and/or subordinate control device and devices which are connected to at least one second network are stored, associated with the system is a device which can be called up, for the storage of the IP-addresses and/or virtual IP-addresses of all devices connected to the first and each second network, and the first and second control devices, data communication using a common protocol is permitted by way of the routing network and all field buses connected to the first and second networks, a specific server to transmit data in the first communication protocol all subscribers communicate with each other by using a TCP/IP-protocol regardless of whether they are connected directly to the first physical network using the TCP/IP-protocol or to the field bus using a separate communication protocol, field bus subscribers are integrated into a communication structure using a common communication protocol, control programs and configuration data are down-loaded onto the subordinate control devices (50, 90) by means of FTP-service from the higher-order industry-PC by way of the interbus (44) transmission of TCP/IP-data blocks by way of the interbus (44), interbus subscribers have IP-addresses, respectively, so as to allow interbus subscribers to be directly addressed by way of TCP/IP-service FTP, a respective subscriber in the network has a clear IP-address for integration of the field bus subscribers into a communication structure based on TCP/IP, the first physical network is the Ethernet, logic interfaces of the control device and the second control device are respectively designed for conversion of a data block in accordance with the TCP/IP-protocol into a data block in accordance with the second communication protocol, in particular the PCP (Peripheral Communication Protocol)-protocol.