Schneider Electric Granted U.S. Patent for Web-Enabled PLC Design

The U.S. Patent Office has granted Patent No. 6,061,603 to Schneider Electric on its design for a programmable logic controller (PLC) that can link to the World Wide Web using an Ethernet interface. The patent was granted May 9, 2000 and covers Schneider Electric's TRANSPARENT FACTORY web automation architecture, which creates an open e-manufacturing environment with seamless communication between manufacturing, facility and business systems.

The patented design couples an Ethernet interface module with a web server on a PLC. The interface translates the industry standard Ethernet, TCP/IP and HTTP protocols used on the Internet into data recognizable to a PLC. The embedded web server allows almost instantaneous transfer of data to and from factory-floor equipment.

"Embedding a web server into the PLC allows information to travel directly across the backplane of the PLC," said Richard Baker, who headed the project design team. "The performance and cost advantages of this approach are infinitely superior to the PC-based web servers offered by most automation companies." PC-based web servers require information to travel between the PLC and the PC, through the multiple factory-floor and enterprise networks found in most plants, making them unsuitable for time-sensitive information.

For more information on the new patent, contact Richard Baker at 978/975-9789.

Edited by: Jerry R. Borland, P.E.