Abstract: A circuit arrangement allows data, which are necessary for building up fault-tolerant structures, to be transmitted on standard ring-shaped bus systems. Its implementation requires a monitoring unit and input and output units which transmit or receive data for control. The circuit arrangement handles the task of detecting any faults which can become a danger for the process within a machine or plant. Due to its internal configuration, the circuit arrangement identifies any fault even before the detection of the fault and initiates a protected switch-off. In this arrangement, it is of no importance whether it is the external control unit or the bus system used which is responsible for the fault.

Abstract: A circuit arrangement allows data, which are necessary for building up fault-tolerant structures, to be transmitted on standard ring-shaped bus systems. Its implementation requires a monitoring unit and input and output units which transmit or receive data for control. The circuit arrangement handles the task of detecting any faults which can become a danger for the process within a machine or plant. Due to its internal configuration, the circuit arrangement identifies any fault even before the detection of the fault and initiates a protected switch-off. In this arrangement, it is of no importance whether it is the external control unit or the bus system used which is responsible for the fault.

Abstract: The present circuit arrangement allows data, which are necessary for building up fault-tolerant structures, to be transmitted on standard ring-shaped bus systems. Its implementation requires a monitoring unit and input and output units which transmit or receive data for control. The circuit arrangement handles the task of detecting any faults which can become a danger for the process within a machine or plant. Due to its internal configuration, the circuit arrangement identifies any fault even before the detection of the fault and initiates a protected switch-off. In this arrangement, it is of no importance whether it is the external control unit or the bus system used which is responsible for the fault.

Abstract: The invention relates to a safety-related automation system, and to a method for operating such a system. In order to provide a safety-related automation bus system which needs only a low level of hardware redundancy and can be flexibly matched to the respective requirements, the automation system comprises at least one safety analyzer, which is connected by means of an interface to the bus and monitors the data flow via the bus, the analyzer being set up for carrying out safety-related functions. The automation system is distinguished in that the standard control device drives at least one safety-related output, and the safety analyzer is designed for checking and/or for processing safety-related data in the bus datastream.

Abstract: The circuit configuration for storage management and for the execution of user programs in small control units using a microcontroller (2). A microcontroller (2) has a central processing unit, a volatile memory, a non-volatile memory and an interface. An additional non-volatile readable and writeable memory unit is configured as a serial memory unit and is,connected to the microcontroller as a separate unit via the interface. Different methods are described, for executing user programs using the circuit configuration. In a first method, the entire user program is read out from the separate memory and is serially interpreted by the microcontroller. In a second method, the entire user program is copied into and afterward directly interpreted by an internal memory of the microcontroller during the runup phase of the flow of control.

Abstract: A mini controller has an intelligent central unit; a storage unit, an operating unit and a display unit. The display unit is subdivided into a sign matrix with n*m sign locations, each sign location in turn being formed by an x*y pixel matrix. Each sign location is associated with a particular type of object, so that only particular types of objects can be input and processed at particular sign locations. Sign locations are provided for at least one object of the operand type, of the connection type and of the assignment type. The object types, the momentary operand states and the resulting connection states are stored in an object assignment table, so that logic-forming current paths can be created by inputting in rows and/or columns the operand, connection and assignment objects into their associated sign locations.