This motor control device is provided with a motor control unit which, on the basis of an operation command signal for driving the motor and a feedback signal from the encoder corresponding to motor operation, generates a command value relating to operation of the motor in accordance with a prescribed feedback method such that operation of the motor follows the operation command signal. Interruption processing of the drive signal is performed on the basis of the comparison result of a prescribed feedback value, which is calculated from the feedback signal from the encoder, and a control calculation value, which, comparable with a prescribed feedback value, is calculated during the process of generation of the command value by the motor control unit. By means of this configuration, it is possible to improve safety performance of the motor control device without hampering the safety performance of the encoder.

A digital protection system includes a process protection system having at least two channels and a reactor protection system having at least two trains. The process protection system includes, in one channel, first and second comparative logic controllers of different types that are mutually independent of each other and that respectively receive process variables as inputs and each outputting comparison logic results. The reactor protection system includes, in one train, first and second concurrent logic controllers of different types that are mutually independent from each other and that respectively receive the comparison logic results as inputs and each outputting concurrent logic results. The reactor protection system includes initiation circuits, each circuit including a plurality of relays connected in series and a plurality of relays connected in parallel. One series-connected relay is controlled by one of the two different concurrent logic results, and one parallel-connected relay is controlled by the other.

A system and method of configuring monitor blocks and effect blocks associated with a process control system for a process plant includes causing a display device to display a graphical user interface, the graphical user interface indicating a first monitor block, a second monitor block, and an effect block. The system and method further includes enabling a user to input configuration data via the input device, including: (i) configuring one of the outputs of the first monitor block to serve as one of the inputs of the second monitor block, (ii) configuring an additional one of the outputs of the first monitor block and one of the outputs of the second monitor block to serve as inputs to the effect block, and (iii) designating at least one of the plurality of cells of each of the first monitor block, the second monitor block, and the effect block as a trigger associated with the respective input/output pair for the respective cell and corresponding to a condition in the process plant.

The invention provides a dynamic risk analyzer (DRA) that periodically assesses real-time or historic process data, or both, associated with an operations site, such as a manufacturing, production, or processing facility, including a plant's operations, and identifies hidden near-misses of such operation, when in real time the process data appears otherwise normal. DRA assesses the process data in a manner that enables operating personnel including management at a facility to have a comprehensive understanding of the risk status and changes in both alarm and non-alarm based process variables. The hidden process near-miss data may be analyzed alone or in combination with other process data and/or data resulting from prior near-miss situations to permit strategic action to be taken to reduce or avert the occurrence of adverse incidents or catastrophic failure of a facility operation.

Systems, methods, and devices are disclosed herein for the integrated design and deployment of process control logic and power control logic in the context of industrial automation environments. In an implementation a computer displays, in an integrated design environment, representations of process control logic for controlling manufacturing devices an industrial automation process and of power control logic for controlling electrical devices in the industrial automation process. The computer further deploys the process control logic and the power control logic to a programmable logic controller (PLC) that controls the industrial automation process.

A method of operating a device that interacts with a physical environment includes determining to take an action on the physical environment wherein the action is based on an output of a computing task, generating a risk level that estimates a risk of physical harm associated with taking the action within the physical environment, obtaining a performance indicator of a communication network between the device and a remote computing device, and determining, based on the risk level and the performance indicator, whether to offload the computing task to the remote computing device or to perform the computing task locally. Related devices are also disclosed.

An execution environment for executing an event-oriented control program of a programmable logic controller, wherein the control program comprises a plurality of functional modules to be successively executed, is configured to execute the functional modules in an event-controlled manner on the occurrence of activation events that are each associated with the individual functional modules. In this respect, the individual activation events of the functional modules to be successively executed form an event chain. The execution environment comprises a monitoring module for monitoring an execution duration of the functional modules of the event chain, wherein the monitoring module is configured to check the execution duration for an exceeding of a predefined time duration.

A web jam detector and associated method are provided for detecting a jam of feedstock material in a scrap chopper. A web detection bar, mounted to the scrap chopper, includes a plurality of web detection fingers. The plurality of web detection fingers are made of an electrically conductive material, are electrically connected to and extend outwardly from the web detection bar, and are positioned to contact the feedstock material when the scrap chopper is in a closed position. A web jam detection circuit is electrically connected to the web detection bar. In operation, the web jam detection circuit supplies direct current electricity to the web detection bar and generates feedback signals based on a voltage of the web detection bar. The feedback signals are indicative of the presence or absence of the feedstock material at the plurality of web detection fingers.

A safety system includes: a memory; a processor connected to the memory and configured execute a safety program; a first communication unit configured to communicate data with one or more safety components via a first transmission line; and a second communication unit configured to communicate data with one or more safety components via a second transmission line. The second communication unit and the first communication unit independently of each other perform processing involved in communicating data. In the memory, a first data area that holds data communicated by the first communication unit and a second data area that holds data communicated by the second communication unit are arranged independently of each other.

To provide a monitoring device, a machine tool, and a monitoring system capable of collecting data efficiently required for examining an alarm. A monitoring device is connected to multiple machine tools through a network. The monitoring device comprises: a monitoring unit that monitors the occurrence of an alarm in the machine tools; an acquisition unit that acquires a set of measurement target data items responsive to an alarm from a database on the occurrence of the alarm; and a collection unit that sets the set of measurement target data items in the multiple machine tools, and collects data measured by following the setting.