System to design and/or update programs for the operator interface of machines and/or plants that comprises at least one first calculation device dedicated to the management of a machine and/or plant, which contains at least one application program to manage the human-machine interface (HMI) of the machine and/or plant, and a second calculation device to execute a software, or development environment, to create a project file, wherein on the first calculation device and on the second calculation device respective communication programs are installed, suitable to transfer the project to the first calculation device, where the application program for the management of the HMI interface displays the project by means of a suitable OPC UA standard information model, by means of which it is possible to make modifications to the project dynamically, without interrupting the execution of the human-machine interface program, and so that every modification to the project, and therefore to the human-machine interface program, is immediately displayed and used by the human-machine interface.

A safety control device comprises: at least one input module having a number of input interfaces; at least one output module having a number of output interfaces; and a computing unit that includes: a programmable processor; a read-only memory to store an operating program for the processor with program code in machine-readable form for providing a function library with a number of functions of the safety control device; and a non-volatile, overwritable storage medium. A number of function activation codes are stored downloadably in the storage medium, and each of the function activation codes is capable of being assigned a function of the function library such that by logically linking the function activation codes to their associated functions of the function library only those functions of the function library can be activated whose function activation codes are stored in the storage medium.

Techniques include systems, computerized methods, and computer readable media for creating a graphical program in a graphical program development environment. A spreadsheet node having an input terminal in the graphical program is instantiated. The spreadsheet node is associated with a spreadsheet that specifies a list of functions to be executed in a computing device, and the input terminal is connected to the first terminal of the first node, indicating a data connection between the first terminal of the first node and the input terminal of the spreadsheet node. The input terminal of the spreadsheet node is associated with a first cell in the spreadsheet, indicating that the first cell in the spreadsheet be populated with any data received by the input terminal. A human readable file is generated specifying the graphical program, including the spreadsheet node.

A method of performing failover for programmable logic controllers (PLCs) in an automation environment and controlling a physical system includes an input/output module receiving sensor inputs from field devices and creating a copy of the sensor inputs for a first group of PLC in a first PLC bank. The input/output module transfers the copy the sensor inputs to each PLC in the first group of PLCs and receives processing results from each PLC in the first group of PLCs in response to transferring the copy of the sensor inputs. The input/output module determines whether there are any inconsistencies between the processing results received from each PLC in the first group of PLCs. If there are any inconsistencies between the processing results received from each PLC in the first group of PLCs, a failover control process is initiated by sending a failover control message to a second input/output module.

A control device (110) for controlling at least one collimator is disclosed, wherein the collimator has a plurality of parts being designed for collimating and shaping rays, wherein the rays are generated for treating a predefined body part of a patient, wherein the control device (110) comprises a programmable logic controller (112), a plurality of controller nodes (114), a plurality of device controllers (118), and a plurality of real-time bus interfaces (116). Herein, the programmable logic controller (112) is designated as a first master device (122) with respect to each of the controller nodes (114), wherein the programmable logic controller (112) is designed for superordinate control of the plurality of parts of the collimator. Further, each of the controller nodes (114) is designated as a first slave device (124) with respect to the programmable logic controller (112), wherein the controller node (114) is designated as a second master device (126) with respect to at least one corresponding device controller (118), wherein the controller node (114) is designed for controlling at least one corresponding part of the collimator, wherein the controller node (114) is connected to the programmable logic controller (112) by one of the real-time bus interfaces (116). Further, each of the device controllers (118) is designated as a second slave device (128) with respect to a corresponding controller node (114), wherein each of the device controllers (118) is designed for controlling at least one of an actuator (130) and a sensor (132), wherein the actuator (130) is designed for adjusting a corresponding part of the collimator, and wherein the sensor (132) is designed for providing data related to position and/or velocity information with respect to the corresponding part of the collimator, wherein the device controller (118) is connected to the corresponding controller node (114) by one of the real-time bus interfaces (116).

A control device (110) for controlling at least one collimator is disclosed, wherein the collimator has a plurality of parts being designed for collimating and shaping rays, wherein the rays are generated for treating a predefined body part of a patient, wherein the control device (110) comprises a programmable logic controller (112), a plurality of controller nodes (114), a plurality of device controllers (118), and a plurality of real-time bus interfaces (116). Herein, the programmable logic controller (112) is designated as a first master device (122) with respect to each of the controller nodes (114), wherein the programmable logic controller (112) is designed for superordinate control of the plurality of parts of the collimator. Further, each of the controller nodes (114) is designated as a first slave device (124) with respect to the programmable logic controller (112), wherein the controller node (114) is designated as a second master device (126) with respect to at least one corresponding device controller (118), wherein the controller node (114) is designed for controlling at least one corresponding part of the collimator, wherein the controller node (114) is connected to the programmable logic controller (112) by one of the real-time bus interfaces (116). Further, each of the device controllers (118) is designated as a second slave device (128) with respect to a corresponding controller node (114), wherein each of the device controllers (118) is designed for controlling at least one of an actuator (130) and a sensor (132), wherein the actuator (130) is designed for adjusting a corresponding part of the collimator, and wherein the sensor (132) is designed for providing data related to position and/or velocity information with respect to the corresponding part of the collimator, wherein the device controller (118) is connected to the corresponding controller node (114) by one of the real-time bus interfaces (116).

An apparatus includes: a process control system; at least one process module; and a process module logic entity associated with the at least one process module. The process control system communicates with the at least one process module via a process module interface. The process module logic entity provides a control logic of the at least one process module.

Project format, suitable to define functions and/or characteristics of an operator interface device or of a PLC of an operating machine, more generally of an industrial device. The project format comprises a base layer and a plurality of additional layers disposed in order on the base layer from the oldest to the newest.

The junction device includes a first error detection means that detects a transmission error by monitoring the periodic reception of a first communication frame, and a state switching means that switches, when a transmission error is detected by the first error detection means, a state of the junction device to either a first state in which the signal output from all of the functional units connected to the junction device is disabled or a second state in which the signal output from some of the functional units connected to the junction device is continuously updated based on the configuration of each functional unit connected to the junction device.

Disclosed systems and methods for enabling data to be transmitted between program modules based on compliance with rules, the method comprising: monitoring, by a security module executable by a processor, an interaction between a first program module and a second program module to determine whether the interaction complies with at least one rule, wherein the first program module is a source of data being exchanged with the second program module which is a recipient of the data, when the interaction does not comply with the at least one rule, modifying the data being exchanged between the source and the recipient of the data, and when the interaction complies with the at least one rule, allowing the data to be transmitted to the recipient.