Patent attributes
A universal input/output device for an industrial automation control system includes a housing, a power supply for connecting to a voltage source, an input/output circuit for communicating with an industrial process, and a network adapter circuit for communicating data to and from a data network. The device also includes a backplane communication circuit for sending backplane data upstream and downstream along a backplane, and a device setup control circuit. The device setup control circuit performs an initialization process to configure said device as one of: (i) a stand-along block I/O device; (ii) a network adapter module of a modular I/O device; or (iii) an I/O module of a modular I/O device. The configuration method is automatic and based upon data being received into the device.
