摘要:
Low voltage logic circuitry is used to permit an entire subsystem of an industrial controller to be placed within a hazardous environment (20) to receive a high speed serial link (28) and undertake the control of multiple control points without expensive and awkward long cable runs and electrically isolating circuits for each cable run. Energy and bandwidth limiting on the high speed link allows power levels commensurate with high data rates yet intrinsic safety of the media allowing it to freely pass in and out of the hazardous area. A mixture of intrinsically safe and non-intrinsically safe equipment (24' and 24) on the same logical rack is allowed through a bus isolator (92) providing isolated data communication in backplane fashion between modules while wholly isolating power transmission along the backplane.
摘要:
A method and apparatus for measuring the amount of free water contained within a substance includes a waveguide (64) having front and back sides (66, 68) disposed opposite each other. The waveguide (64) defines a chamber (74) for propagating a microwave signal therethrough. The waveguide (64) has an end (78) perpendicular to the front and back sides (66, 68) which forms a short within the chamber. The front and back sides (66, 68) each have an aperture (80) for passing a substance therethrough. A microwave signal in the frequency range of 10-25 gigahertz is directed through the chamber (74) wherein the generated microwave signal is reflected back from the short of the end (78). The generated and reflected signals form a ratio which is used by a microprocessor (60) along with the measurement from an adjacent sensor (12) that provides a dielectric constant measurement corresponding to the density of the substance in order to determine a weight of the substance compensated for free water.
摘要:
An industrial control system (10) associates an autonomous control unit (16 a-d) with each piece of equipment (14 a-d) in an industrial process, the autonomous control units (16 a-d) having a model of the equipment's (14 a-d) operation and data indicating constraints on the equipment's (14 a-d) operation. A product to be produced is abstracted as a set of machine (14 a-d) independent steps and performance of these steps bid upon by the autonomous control units (16 a-d) according constraints models and internal goals. Bids having conflicting requirements may generate counterbids until a completed plan for the production of the product is generated.
摘要:
Low voltage logic circuitry is used to permit an entire subsystem of an industrial controller to be placed within a hazardous environment (20) to receive a high speed serial link (28) and undertake the control of multiple control points without expensive and awkward long cable runs and electrically isolating circuits for each cable run. Energy and bandwidth limiting on the high speed link allows power levels commensurate with high data rates yet intrinsic safety of the media allowing it to freely pass in and out of the hazardous area. A mixture of intrinsically safe and non-intrinsically safe equipment (24' and 24) on the same logical rack is allowed through a bus isolator (92) providing isolated data communication in backplane fashion between modules while wholly isolating power transmission along the backplane.