An I/O system having redundant removable and/or replaceable components. Each of the removable/replaceable components can be removed by displacement parallel to a common axis. An I/O device having an I/O base with a lock-out toggle to prevent installation of one or more I/O modules to the I/O base unless a ground screw has been secured to supporting structure.

Various systems and methods are provided for implementing a software defined industrial system. In an example, self-descriptive control applications and software modules are provided in the context of orchestratable distributed systems. The self-descriptive control applications may be executed by an orchestrator or like control device, configured to: identify available software modules adapted to perform functional operations in a control system environment; identify operational characteristics that identify characteristics of execution of the available software modules that are available to implement a control system application; select a software module for execution based on the operational configuration and the operational characteristics identified in the manifest; and cause the execution of the selected software module in the control system environment based on an application specification for the control system application.

A control device includes an arithmetic processing part, a programmable circuit part, and an abnormality notification part. The programmable circuit part includes a storage part, an abnormality detection part, and an abnormality recording part. The storage part stores a configuration data. The abnormality detection part detects a soft error of the storage part. The abnormality recording part records information of the soft error detected by the abnormality detection part. The abnormality notification part determines whether information of a new soft error is recorded in the abnormality recording part, and when determining that information of a new soft error is recorded, notifies the arithmetic processing part of occurrence of the new soft error.

An apparatus is provided for detecting fault conditions in the energy supply of a load. The apparatus comprises a fail-safe input-output (I/O) module circuit and a diagnostic circuit coupled to the fail-safe input-output (I/O) module circuit. The fail-safe input-output (I/O) module circuit includes a first switch coupled to a first resistor divider and a first output that supplies a DC supply voltage to the load via a first wiring to reduce a first voltage of the first output down to a first readback diagnostic output and a second switch coupled to a second resistor divider and a second output that supplies the DC supply voltage to the load via a second wiring to reduce a second voltage of the second output down to a second readback diagnostic output. The diagnostic circuit is to provide a first readback measurement signal from the first readback diagnostic output and provide a second readback measurement signal from the second readback diagnostic output. The apparatus is configured to provide the first readback measurement signal and the second readback measurement signal for the first output and the second output with and without the load such that when the first and second switches are open or OFF the first voltage at the first output with the load and the second voltage at the second output with the load indicate a NOT broken wire condition with respect to the first and second wirings while the first voltage at the first output without the load and the second voltage at the second output without the load indicate a broken wire condition with respect to the first and second wirings.

A control device for industrial machines includes a plurality of signal input-output circuits configured such that pulse widths of pulse signals output from the signal input-output circuits are different from each other. The control device detects a fault when a pulse signal output from one of the signal input-output circuits has a pulse width different from the pulse width set to the one of the signal input-output circuits.

An input-output device includes an input circuit unit including an input-signal-setting storing unit that stores a plurality of ON conditions of the input signal and an input circuit that determines whether any one of the ON conditions of the stored input signal holds, a computing unit including an output-signal-setting storing unit that stores information in which the ON conditions of the input signal, output ports for outputting an output signal, and specifications of the output signal are associated and an output-signal selecting unit that generates, on the basis of a determination result of the input circuit and the stored information, an output command indicating the output ports and the specifications of the output signal, and an output circuit unit including an output circuit that outputs, to the output ports indicated by the output command, the output signal according to the specifications indicated by the output command.

Various systems and methods for implementing a software defined industrial system are described herein. For example, an orchestrated system of distributed nodes may run an application, including modules implemented on the distributed nodes. In response to a node failing, a module may be redeployed to a replacement node. In an example, self-descriptive control applications and software modules are provided in the context of orchestratable distributed systems. The self-descriptive control applications may be executed by an orchestrator or like control device and use a module manifest to generate a control system application. For example, an edge control node of the industrial system may include a system on a chip including a microcontroller (MCU) to convert IO data. The system on a chip includes a central processing unit (CPU) in an initial inactive state, which may be changed to an activated state in response an activation signal.

Various systems and methods may be used to implement a software defined industrial system. For example, an orchestrated system of distributed nodes may run an application, including modules implemented on the distributed nodes. The orchestrated system may include an orchestration server, a first node executing a first module, and a second node executing a second module. In response to the second node failing, the second module may be redeployed to a replacement node (e.g., the first node or a different node). The replacement mode may be determined by the first node or another node, for example based on connections to or from the second node.

A PLC maintenance support device according to the present invention includes a signal identification tag reader for reading a signal address from a signal identification tag attached to an input and output signal cable of a PLC to identify the signal address of the input and output signal cable, a transmitter for transmitting the signal address identified by the signal identification tag reader to the PLC, a receiver for receiving the on or off state of a signal corresponding to the transmitted signal address from the PLC, and a monitor for displaying the received on or off state of the signal.

Disclosed are a PLC system, and a method for controlling an input/output refresh period thereof. A PLC system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure comprises: a memory for storing an integrated operation program in which an input/output refresh run command is added and compiled through a program supporter; and a central processing unit which sequentially performs arithmetical processing of a plurality of control programs included in the integrated operation program, to control an operation of a plurality of expansion modules, wherein when arithmetical processing of at least one control program among the plurality of control programs has been completed, the central processing unit outputs processing result data of the at least one control program for which arithmetical processing has been completed, according to an input/output refresh run command which is additionally input.