Link Adapters | Section |
1-1 Nomenclature
Names of specific OMRON products, as well as generic names for groups of OMRON products, are capitalized in this manual. Unit is also capitalized when it refers either specifically or generically to an OMRON product. For convenience, prefixes are omitted from model numbers of Link Adapters and Repeater Units. ª(P)ºin a model number indicates two Units, one with the P and one without. See the Appendix for a complete list of all products covered in this manual, along with their full model numbers. In addition, abbreviations are used for certain Units. In this manual, PC always means Programmable Controller; Master means Re- mote I/O Master Unit; and Slave means Remote I/O Slave Unit.
1-2 Link Adapters
Link Adapters are used to interconnect system devices such as host computers, PC Link Units, Host Link Units, and Remote I/O Units, and/or to convert between wire cable and optical fiber cable.
Using optical links between Units provides greater transmission distance and noise resistance. In addition, Link Adapters provide inputs to bypass a Unit which is improperly connected or which suffers a power interruption, thereby al- lowing other Units connected in series to continue operating normally.
Some Link Adapters can ensure that a System will not begin operating until, for example, a particular Subsystem has started up.
There are various models of Link Adapters to perform a variety of functions. For example, the Link Adapter generally used for connecting PC Link Systems is the AL001, but when optical cable is used it is replaced by combinations of the
Link Adapter
Link Adapters
The following diagram illustrates how Link Adapters can be used to connect sev- eral Units in a simple configuration.
Link
Adapter
Link
Adapter
Link
Adapter
Rack with
linkable Unit
Rack with
linkable Unit
Rack with
linkable Unit
Rack with
linkable Unit
2