CHAPTER THREE

I/O PROCESSING
This chapter continues the discussion of inputs and outputs from Chapter 2
and is a brief consideration of the processing of the signals from input and
output devices.
Input/Output Units
The input/output (I/O) unit provides the interface between the PLC
controller and the outside world and must therefore provide the necessary
signal conditioning to get the signal to the required level and also to
isolate it from possible electrical hazards such as high voltages.

Input signals from sensors and outputs required for actuating devices can
be:
• Analog. A signal for which the size is related to the size of the quantity
being sensed.
• Discrete. Essentially just an on/off signal.
• Digital. A sequence of pulses.
The CPU, however, must have an input of digital signals of a particular
size, normally 0 to 5 V. The output from the CPU is digital, normally 0 to 5
V. Thus there is generally a need to manipulate input and output signals
so that they are in the required form.
A- Input Units

1- Sourcing and Sinking

The terms sourcing and sinking refer to the manner in which DC

devices are interfaced with the PLC.

With sourcing, an input device receives current from

the input module, that is, the input module is the
source of the current.

With sinking, an input device supplies current to the

input module, that is, the input module is the sink for
the current.
2- Basic input unit circuits
The figures show the basic input unit circuits for DC and AC inputs.
Optoisolators are used to provide protection. With the AC input unit, a
rectifier bridge network is used to rectify the AC so that the resulting
DC signal can be provided to the optoisolator to give the input signals to
the CPU of the PLC. Individual status lights are provided for each input to
indicate when the input device is providing a signal.
3- Analog input

When analog signals are inputted to a PLC, the input channel needs to
convert the signal to a digital signal using an analog-to-digital
converter.
A single analog input signal
gives rise to on/off output
signals along perhaps eight
separate wires. The eight
signals then constitute the
so-termed digital word
corresponding to the analog
input signal level.
With such an 8-bit converter there are 28 =256 different digital values
possible; these are 0000 0000 to 1111 1111, that is, 0 to 255.
The term resolution is used for the smallest change in analog voltage
that will give rise to a change in 1 bit in the digital output. With an 8-bit
ADC, if, say, the full-scale analog input signal varies between 0 and 10 V,
a step of one digital bit involves an analog input change of 10/255 V or
about 0.04 V. This means that a change of 0.03 V in the input will produce
no change in the digital output. The number of bits in the output from an
analog-to-digital converter thus determines the resolution.
Example:

To illustrate this idea, consider a thermocouple used as a sensor with a

PLC and giving an output of 0.5 mV per oC. What will be the accuracy
(in degrees) with which the PLC will activate the output device if
the thermocouple is connected to an analog input with a range of 0 to 10 V
DC and using a 10-bit analog-to-digital converter? With a 10-bit converter,
there are 210 = 1024 bits covering the 0 to 10 V range. Thus a change of
1 bit corresponds to 10/1023 V or about 0.01 V, that is, 10 mV. Hence the
accuracy with which the PLC recognizes the input from the thermocouple
is ±5mV or ±10 oC.

Conversion from analog to digital takes time (typically a few

milliseconds). For most industrial systems, signals from a plant rarely
vary so fast that this presents a problem.
B- Output Units

1- Sourcing and Sinking

When the output unit provides the current for the output device it is said to
be sourcing, and when the output device provides the current to the output
unit it is said to be sinking.
2- Basic output unit circuits

Outputs are specified as being of relay type, transistor type, or triac

type.

 With the relay type, the signal from the PLC output is used to operate
a relay and is able to switch currents of the order of a few amperes in
an external circuit.
 The relay not only allows small currents to switch much larger currents
but also isolates the PLC from the external circuit.
 Relays are, however, relatively slow to operate
 Relay outputs are suitable for AC and DC switching.
 The transistor type of output uses a transistor to switch current
through the external circuit.
 It gives a considerably faster switching action.
 It is strictly for DC switching
 It can be destroyed by overcurrent and high reverse voltage. For
protection, either a fuse or built-in electronic protection is used.
 The Triac outputs, with optoisolators for isolation, can be used to control
external loads that are connected to the AC power supply.
 It is strictly for AC operation.
 It is very easily destroyed by overcurrent. Fuses are virtually always
included to protect such outputs.
3- Analog output
Analog outputs are frequently required and can be provided by digital-to-
analog converters (DACs) at the output channel.

The input to the converter

is a sequence of bits with
each bit along a parallel
line.

When the digital input changes, the analog output changes in a stepped
manner. For example, if we have an 8-bit converter, the output is made
up of voltage values of 28 = 256 analog steps. Suppose the output range
is set to 10 V DC. One bit then gives a change of 10/255 V or about
0.04 V.
Analog output modules are usually provided in a number of outputs, such
as 4 to 20 mA, 0 to +5 V DC, and 0 to +10 V DC, and the appropriate
output is selected by switches on the module.
Analog modules generally have outputs in two forms, one for which all
the outputs from that module have a common voltage supply and one that
drives outputs with their own individual voltage supplies.
Signal Conditioning
External signal conditioning is often used to bring analog signals to a
common range and so allow a standard form of analog input channel to be
used.

1- Transform current to voltage

Many sensors have a common standard output

signal of 4 to 20 mA. A simple resistance (250 Ω) is
used to convert the current to a 1 to 5 V input
signal.

2- Reducing Voltage Levels

A potential divider can be used to reduce
a voltage from a sensor to the required
level; the output voltage level Vout is:
3- Increasing Voltage Levels

Amplifiers can be used to increase the voltage level. The figure shows
the basic form of the circuits that might be used with a 741 operational
amplifier with (a) being an inverting amplifier and (b) a noninverting
amplifier.
 4- Amplify voltage difference

Often a differential amplifier is

needed to amplify the difference
between two input voltages. The output
voltage Vout is:

As an illustration of the use of signal conditioning, the figure shows the

arrangement that might be used for a strain gauge sensor. The sensor is
connected in a Wheatstone bridge and the out-of-balance potential difference
amplified by a differential amplifier before being fed via an analog-to-digital
converter unit.
5- Converting voltage signal to on/off

The output of an operational amplifier saturates at about ± 12 V, such

outputs typically being reached with inputs of about ±10 μV. Based on this
idea an Op-Amp Comparator can be used as the basis for on/off control
systems. Thus we might have a reference voltage and compare the voltage
from a sensor with it and so obtain an on/off output depending on whether
the voltage from the sensor is above or below the reference voltage.
Remote Connections

When there are many inputs or outputs

located considerable distances away from
the PLC, though it would be possible to
run cables from each such device to the
PLC, a more economic solution is to
use input/output modules in the
vicinity of the inputs and outputs and
use just a single core cable to connect
each over the long distances to the PLC.

The cables used for communicating data between remote input/output

modules and a central PLC are typically twisted-pair cabling, often routed
through grounded steel conduit to reduce electrical “noise”. Coaxial
cable enables higher data rates to be transmitted and does not require
the shielding of steel conduit. Fiber-optic cabling has the advantage of
resistance to noise, small size, and flexibility and is now becoming
more widely used.
Distributed Systems

Often PLCs figure in an hierarchy of communications. Thus at the lowest

level we have input and output devices such as sensors and motors
interfaced through I/O interfaces with the next level. The next level
involves controllers such as small PLCs or small computers, linked through
a network, with the next level of larger PLCs and computers exercising
local area control. These in turn may be part of a network, with a large
mainframe company computer controlling all.
Processing Inputs
A PLC is continuously running through its program and updating it as a
result of the input signals. Each such loop is termed a cycle.

At the start of each program cycle:

1. The CPU scans all the inputs and copies their
status into the input addresses in RAM.
2. The program is executed, the stored input data is
read from RAM and the logic operations are
carried out.
3. The resulting output signals are stored in the
reserved output section of RAM.
4. At the end of each program cycle all the outputs
are transferred from RAM to the appropriate
output channels.
5. The outputs then retain their status until the
next updating.
 The time taken to complete a cycle of scanning inputs and updating
outputs according to the program instructions is called cycle time.
 A typical cycle time is on the order of 10 to 50 ms. This means that the
inputs and outputs are updated every 10 to 50 ms and thus there can be a
delay of this order in the system reaction.
 The result is that, any input must be present for longer than the
cycle time in order to be watched by the PLC.

Example:
Consider a PLC with a cycle time of 40 ms. What is the maximum
frequency of digital impulses that can be detected?
- The maximum frequency will be if one pulse occurs every 40 ms, that is,
a frequency of 1/0.04 = 25 Hz.

The cycle or scanning time for a PLC, i.e. its response speed, is determined
by:
1. The CPU used.
2. The size of the program to be scanned.
3. The number of inputs/outputs to be read.
4. The system functions that are in use; the greater the number, the
slower the scanning time.
I/O Addresses

The PLC has to be able to identify each particular input and output. It
does this by allocating addresses to each input and output.
With a small PLC this is likely to be just a number, prefixed by a letter to
indicate whether it is an input or an output. Thus for the Mitsubishi PLC
we might have inputs with addresses X400, X401, X402, and so on and
outputs with addresses Y430, Y431, Y432, and so on.

With larger PLCs that have several racks of input and output channels.
Each rack can have a number of modules, and each one deals with a number
of inputs and/or outputs. For example, we might have an input with address
I:012/03. This would indicate an input, rack 01, module 2, and terminal 03.
With the Siemens, the inputs and outputs are arranged in groups of
eight. Each such group is termed a byte, and each input or output within
a group of eight is termed a bit. Thus I0.1 is an input at bit 1 in byte 0,
and Q2.0 is an output at bit 0 in byte 2.