CTEK Automation Control Application APN007 - Manual (Page 6)

Application Note – Automation Control Application
APN007 25 July, 2014
1
Introduction:
Ctek's Automation Manager is an optional firmware application available for the Ctek
Z4200/Z4400 series SkyRouter. It provides the logic and control necessary to create
sophisticated automation applications that evaluate analog, digital, and pulse sensor inputs, and,
based on sensor inputs, and programming logic, control output devices.
The Automation Manager also provides a simple, GUI based rapid development environment
used to create and deploy applications using the Automation Manager
Theory of Operation
Figure 1 depicts the high-level operation of Ctek’s Automation manager. The text below figure 1
explains the flow of information through the Automation Manager.
Figure 1 – Theory of Operation
The Automation Manager is an intelligent controller, implemented in software that reacts to inputs
by controlling outputs. In their simplest form inputs are a sensors representation of a real world
value e.g. temperature, pressure, open, closed, etc. And, in their simplest form outputs are
control signals directed back into the real world to start motors, light lights or turn on heaters. The
class of inputs and outputs coming from the real world and directed back into the real world are
called physical inputs and outputs.
Inputs are connected to outputs by programs. A program can only be initiated by an input. On an
input the initiation of a program occurs as a result of the input reaching a defined state or
threshold. For digital inputs the thresholds are true and false while for analog, pulse, and numeric
inputs there can be many threshold values assigned to a single input, each capable of initiating its
own program. In summary physical inputs receive information from sensors and, at predefined
thresholds react to that information by initiating programs that control outputs.
There is another class of inputs and outputs that are known as virtual inputs and outputs or virtual
pins. Virtual pins exist only within the scope of the Automation Control software, they have no
physical connection. Virtual pins can be read and written to, modified by Boolean calculations