Patent ID: 6505247
Filing Date: 2003-01-07
Classification: G05B,H04L

Abstract:
A method for transferring real-time data in an industrial automation system comprising:a hardware device generating a first plurality of data elements and a second plurality of data elements; receiving each of the first plurality of data elements and the second plurality of data elements; assigning a first timestamp to the first plurality of data elements; assigning a second timestamp to the second plurality of data elements; assigning a first quality value to the first plurality of data elements; assigning a second quality value to the second plurality of data elements; wherein the first plurality of data elements, the first timestamp, and the first quality value compose a first block of data elements; wherein the second plurality of data elements, the second timestamp, and the second quality value compose a second block of data elements; a server process determining which of the data elements of the second block are different from their counterparts in the first block; the server process determining whether the second timestamp for the second block is different from the first timestamp for the first block; the server process determining whether the second quality value for the second block is different from the first quality value for the first block; and the server process providing the first block of data elements and the second block of data elements to the one or more clients, wherein the first block and the second block are generated by the same hardware device, wherein the second block is provided to the clients after the first block, wherein the server process providing the second block to one or more clients comprises the server process providing as the second block only those second plurality of data elements which have changed, the second timestamp if changed, and the second quality value if changed.