CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is related to and claims the priority benefit of German Patent Application No. 10 2017 127 903.2, filed on Nov. 27, 2017 and International Patent Application No. PCT/EP2018/076833 filed on Oct. 2, 2018, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to an interface apparatus for performing data interchange, or exchange, between a fieldbus network and a cloud as well as to a fieldbus network with an interface apparatus. Moreover, the invention relates to a method for transferring requests for cloud services from a fieldbus network to a cloud.

BACKGROUND

In automation technology, field devices are often applied, which serve for registering and/or influencing process variables. Examples of such field devices include fill level measuring devices, mass flow measuring devices, pressure- and temperature measuring devices, etc., which as sensors register the corresponding process variables, fill level, flow, pressure, or temperature.

For logging, documentation and later evaluation of the data occurring within a fieldbus network, the fieldbus network, or individual field devices of the fieldbus network, can be provided with access to a cloud. In this way, selected parameters of the field devices as well as, for example, data for monitoring the device state can be written into the cloud. In such case, it is also possible to query individual parameters in fixed time intervals from a field device and to write such parameters into the cloud.

SUMMARY

An object of the invention is to provide an interface apparatus for data interchange, or exchange, between a field bus network and a cloud. The interface apparatus simplifies data transfer from devices of the field bus network via the interface apparatus to the cloud.

Advantageous further developments of the invention are set forth in the dependent claims.

An interface apparatus in accordance with forms of embodiment of the invention serves for performing data interchange, or exchange, between a fieldbus network and a cloud. The interface apparatus includes a first interface, via which the interface apparatus is connectable with at least one fieldbus component of the fieldbus network, and a second interface, via which the interface apparatus is connectable with the cloud. The first interface is embodied as an interface corresponding to an application programming interface of the cloud, wherein an interface definition of the first interface agrees with an interface definition of the application programming interface of the cloud. The interface apparatus is embodied to convert a request for a cloud service received via the first interface from a fieldbus component of the fieldbus network into a request addressed to the cloud for a cloud service and to transfer such via the second interface to the cloud.

The interface apparatus is embodied to orchestrate, for the fieldbus components of the fieldbus network, data interchange, or exchange, with the cloud. In order to access a cloud service, a fieldbus component sends a request for the cloud service to the interface apparatus. The interface apparatus receives the request via the first interface, converts the request into a request addressed to the cloud and transfers the request via the second interface to the cloud.

In such case, the first interface of the interface apparatus, to which the fieldbus components send the requests for cloud services, corresponds to the application programming interface of the cloud, which is also referred to as the API (Application Programming Interface) of the cloud. Thus, the interface apparatus provides within the fieldbus network a local copy of the application programming interface of the cloud, to which requests for cloud services can be directed exactly in the same manner as would be required in the case of the actual application programming interface of the cloud. For example, services in the form of Web services are callable via the application programming interface of the cloud and via the local copy of the application programming interface of the cloud provided by the interface apparatus. The interface definition of the first interface agrees with the interface definition of the application programming interface of the cloud. For a network component, the first interface is accessible in exactly the same manner and with the same syntax as the actual application programming interface of the cloud. Thus, requests for cloud services, which are directed to the first interface of the interface apparatus, do not differ as regards format and syntax from requests for cloud services sent directly to the cloud. The requests for cloud services directed to the interface apparatus are sent to the address of the interface apparatus, while, in contrast, requests for cloud services sent directly to the cloud are sent to the address of the cloud. Requests for cloud services directed to the interface apparatus differ thus in the destination address from requests for cloud services sent directly to the cloud.

Since the interface apparatus provides a first interface, which exactly agrees with the application programming interface of the cloud, the production of requests for cloud services is simplified for the network components. A fieldbus component of the fieldbus network needs only a single protocol stack for producing requests for cloud services, independently of whether the request is directed to the cloud or to an interface apparatus. This has the advantage that effort associated with maintenance and updating of the protocol stack is reduced. Moreover, the configuration of the network components is simplified. For example, a fieldbus component can for accessing Web services be provided with a correspondingly designed HTTP- or HTTPS protocol stack, with which calls for Web services can be produced selectively for the cloud or for the interface apparatus.

The interface apparatus enables that a total data interchange, or exchange, between the fieldbus components and the cloud can be orchestrated via the interface apparatus. Instead of constructing a plurality of data connections between the fieldbus components and the cloud, only one data connection is established between the interface apparatus and the cloud. This is especially advantageous as regards IT-security, because the monitoring of this one data connection, for example, by means of a firewall, requires significantly less administrative effort than the monitoring of a plurality of individual data connections. By funneling the data traffic to the cloud through one interface apparatus, IT-security is improved, wherein the effort for maintaining and updating the IT-security structures is lessened. Especially, it is no longer necessary to perform an updating of the security settings for each new device in the fieldbus network.

A fieldbus network in accordance with forms of embodiment of the invention includes a fieldbus, at least one fieldbus component connected to the fieldbus as well as at least one interface apparatus, such as above described, for performing data interchange, or exchange, with a cloud. In the case of such a fieldbus network, the entire data interchange, or exchange, with the cloud is conducted centrally via the interface apparatus.

A method in accordance with forms of embodiment of the invention serves for transferring requests for cloud services from a fieldbus network to a cloud. The fieldbus network includes a fieldbus, at least one fieldbus component connected to the fieldbus, as well as an interface apparatus. The interface apparatus includes a first interface, via which the interface apparatus is connectable with at least one fieldbus component of the fieldbus network, and a second interface for connection with the cloud, wherein the first interface is embodied as an interface corresponding to an application programming interface of the cloud and wherein an interface definition of the first interface agrees with an interface definition of the application programming interface of the cloud. The method includes receiving by the interface apparatus via the first interface a request sent from a fieldbus component to the interface apparatus for a cloud service, and converting the request for a cloud service received via the first interface by the interface apparatus into a request for a cloud service addressed to the cloud and transferring the request for a cloud service via the second interface to the cloud.

