AUSTIN, Tex. - this year, InduSoft secured a patent for a "Method and system for communicating between an embedded device and relational databases"
This patent, filed October 5th, 2005, encompasses the communication of the InduSoft Web Studio SCADA software between an embedded device and a remote database. In addition to SCADA software, InduSoft Web Studio also provides communication between human machine interface, supervisory control, data acquisition, and B2B applications and remote databases.
The inventors of the communication capabilities the patent encompasses are Teodoro; Jose Lourenҫo, and Terezinho; Fabio de Souza, among others. Fabio Terezinho is currently the head of consulting services at InduSoft. According to Terezinho, "The technology developed and patented by InduSoft created a layer of abstraction between the HMI/SCADA application and the databases. The result was a unique interface with unprecedented flexibility. With this feature, which is unique to Indusoft, it is extremely easy for customers to integrate their SCADA/HMI applications with virtually any standard SQL relational databases, like MS SQL Server, Oracle, MySQL, SYBASE, or even Historians like OSI-PI. Even HMIs running Windows Embedded CE or mobile devices can save and retrieve data from external databases in an intuitive and seamless manner. Typical applications include OEE dashboards, statistical process control (SPC), recipe management, and store-and-forward among many others." The InduSoft Web Studio HMI and SCADA software was recently updated to bring it to version 7.0.
The method covered by the patent (U.S. Patent No, 7,840,594 B2) describes an API (application program interface) that interfaces an application that is requesting access to a database that has been pre-determined. This database is one that operates on an operating system, but does not operate as a database driver program. Communications are then translated with the API, and a protocol stack formats the resulting commands and data into communication signals for a specific protocol. Another protocol stack receives the header formatted communications signals, removes header data, and generates database communications signals. This is received, and then a plurality of database formatted SQL commands are generated. The database formatted SQL commands are then interfaced with the predetermined database.
