"Profiplug" is a device projected and produced by T&T Systems. It converts transmitted data from devices in MODBUS RTU standard into data in Profibus DP standard, enabling the access of measurement results into Profibus DP network.
Profiplug gets required data from a Modbus RTU slave device, storing them and making them available to the Profibus Master. This one cyclically takes those data and makes them available for the high level software. Moreover the profiplug is able to send some data (e.g. configuration parameters) from the master to the slave device. The communication engines (both Profibus and Modbus) are completely indipendent; in this way the performance of the Profibus side is not limited by the lower speed of the Modbus side.
The device is small, cheap, easy to install and to use. It is provided with a user-friendly configuration software. A step by step procedure allows an easy and fast connection with a wide range of Modbus RTU slave devices.
DRIVER FOR PCI-ISA boards
T&T Systems recently created two WDM drivers to interface a TSN-151PM/ISA profibus master and a TSN150/PCI ETN master to industrial PCs having Windows 2000/XP O.S.
The WDM drivers makes all the functions of the boards available on computers having Windows 2000/XP Operative system (also using static and dynamic DLL). they fully supports the WDM Plug and Play, the IOCTL functions (to send and receve commands) and interface to the High Level software through a provided DLL.
TSN-150PM/ISA, produced by Tecnint HTE as well, is a passive profibus DP master for PC_ISA bus. It can be connected with decentralised Profibus DP slave I/O modules and, using a dualported-RAM, can be set up by PC.
Using ISA devices on Windows 2000/XP is not easy because the Operative System doesn't support them. For this reason the driver, beside its ordinary functions, defines and manages the memory zone used by the board. Moreover it manages the access to the PC-side dual ported RAM, making the memory access by the High Level software always safe.
Considering that the board doesn't communicate its physical properties to the O.S,the driver does it, simulating a Plug and Play and making the device visible to Windows.
As the driver for TSN150, also this one supports the IOCTL instructions and interfaces with static and dynamic libraries.
Together with the driver a test program is provided, to check all the functions.
