Patent ID: RE42017

Claim:
In an industrial system having a first safety subsystem, a control system comprising: (a) at least one control device capable of controlling operation of at least a portion of the industrial system including the first safety subsystem, wherein the at least one control device includes: (b) a memory in which is stored a muster safety control program, and (c) at least one input mechanism by which the at least one control device has received a configuration input; (d) wherein the master safety control program is executed by the control device to: (i) receive a configuration input; (ii) validate that information indicated by the configuration input matches the industrial system and first safety subsystem; (iii) modify itself based on the configuration input to generate a configured safety control program capable of being used to operate the industrial system in a safety-enhanced manner; and (iv) control the safety subsystem; and (e) wherein the master safety control program provides: (i) a control program capable of being used to operate a generalized industrial system in a safety-enhanced manner, the generalized industrial system having a predetermined maximum number of different types of possible safety subsystems and safety related interlocks associated with the types of possible safety subsystems of which the particular industrial system is a subset; and (ii) configuration program portions determining a safety system configuration mechanism for receiving the configuration input; and (iii) validation program portions determining a validation mechanism that can be used to confirm an accuracy of configuration information by communication with the safety subsystems.