An access device

Abstract

The application discloses an access device, and relates to the technical field of communication. The device is used for accessing a FF instrument to a high-order Ethernet system on a field side, and comprises the following: a physical layer TRUNK interface connected to an APL power switch, which is used for supplying power to the access device and accessing the access device to the high-order Ethernet system on the field side; a micro control unit used for realizing conversion and processing of high-order Ethernet protocol data and foundation fieldbus data; an FF interface circuit used for encoding or decoding the foundation fieldbus data; an FF power regulator circuit used for acquiring power of the APL power switch through the physical layer TRUNK interface, modulating the power into power meeting a foundation fieldbus standard, and supplying power to an FF network segment protection circuit; and the FF network segment protection circuit used for being connected to the FF instrument. The application realizes access of the FF instrument to the high-order Ethernet system, that is, access to an advanced physical layer of Ethernet, and solves the problem of ecological loss of the advanced physical layer of Ethernet.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to an access device for connecting Foundation Fieldbus (FF) instruments to a high-order Ethernet system. Background Technology

[0002] Foundation Fieldbus (FF) is an industrial communication protocol used to connect various devices and systems in industrial automation systems. It is a low-cost, low-bandwidth industrial communication protocol primarily used to connect various field devices, such as sensors, actuators, and controllers. FF is widely used in various industrial automation systems, including manufacturing, energy, and transportation.

[0003] With the development of science and technology, Foundation Fieldbus suffers from problems such as complex and difficult redundancy implementation, limited data transmission distance, and poor anti-interference capability. Therefore, current technology includes Ethernet Advanced Physical Layer (Ethernet-APL), which supports all high-order Ethernet protocols. By adjusting the physical layer, high-order Ethernet protocols can achieve high-speed data transmission, strong anti-interference capability, and long-distance data transmission.

[0004] However, since Ethernet-APL technology is still in its early stages, there are currently very few types of APL instruments that are compatible with Ethernet-APL to choose from, resulting in a lack of Ethernet-APL ecosystem and affecting the engineering implementation, troubleshooting, and other operations of automation systems based on Ethernet-APL high-order Ethernet protocols. Summary of the Invention

[0005] To address the aforementioned issues, this application provides an access device for connecting Foundation Fieldbus (FF) instruments to a high-order Ethernet system. This addresses the lack of an Ethernet-APL ecosystem and leverages the advantages of Ethernet-APL to resolve problems such as the complexity and difficulty of implementing FF redundancy, limited data transmission distance, and poor anti-interference capabilities.

[0006] The embodiments of this application disclose the following technical solutions: In a first aspect, this application provides an access device for connecting Foundation Fieldbus (FF) instruments to a high-order Ethernet system. The device includes: a physical layer TRUNK interface, a microcontroller unit (MCU), an FF interface circuit, an FF power regulator circuit, and an FF network segment protection circuit. The physical layer TRUNK interface is used to connect to an advanced physical layer APL power switch to power the access device and connect the access device to the high-order Ethernet system. The MCU is connected to the physical layer TRUNK interface and the FF interface circuit respectively, and is used to realize the conversion and processing of high-order Ethernet protocol data and Foundation Fieldbus data. The FF interface circuit is connected to the MCU and the FF network segment protection circuit respectively, and is used to encode or decode Foundation Fieldbus data; The FF power regulator circuit is connected to the FF network segment protection circuit. It is used to obtain power from the APL power switch through the physical layer TRUNK interface and modulate the power to conform to the Foundation Fieldbus standard to power the FF network segment protection circuit. The FF network segment protection circuit is connected to the FF interface circuit and the FF power regulator circuit respectively, and is used to connect to the FF instrument to enable the FF instrument to access the high-order Ethernet system.

[0007] Optionally, the MCU includes: a data processing module, an FF user layer management module, an FF communication stack module, and an FF link layer management module; The data processing module is connected to the physical layer TRUNK interface and the FF user layer management module respectively. It is used to receive high-order Ethernet protocol data input through the physical layer TRUNK interface and send it to the FF user layer management module, or receive high-order Ethernet protocol data sent by the FF user layer management module and send it to the high-order Ethernet system through the physical layer TRUNK interface. The FF user layer management module is connected to the data processing module and the FF communication stack module respectively. It is used to convert the received high-order Ethernet protocol data into the corresponding Foundation Fieldbus data and send it to the FF communication stack module, or to convert the received Foundation Fieldbus data into the corresponding high-order Ethernet data and send it to the data processing module. The FF communication stack module is connected to the FF user layer management module and the FF link layer management module respectively, and is used to manage the communication connection between the FF user layer management module and the FF link layer management module; The FF link layer management module is connected to the FF communication stack module and the FF interface circuit respectively. It is used to receive the decoded Foundation Fieldbus data sent by the FF interface circuit and send it to the FF communication stack module, or receive the Foundation Fieldbus data sent by the FF communication stack module and send it to the FF interface circuit, so that the FF interface circuit can encode the Foundation Fieldbus data.

[0008] Optionally, the MCU further includes: an FF instrument online management module; the FF instrument online management module is connected to the FF communication stack module; The FF meter online management module is used to read the configuration information of the FF meter when the FF meter connected to the FF network segment protection circuit goes online, and to store the configuration information of the FF meter.

[0009] Optionally, the MCU further includes: an FF instrument alarm management module; the FF instrument alarm management module is connected to the FF communication stack module; The FF meter alarm management module is used to receive and store alarm information sent by the FF meter connected to the FF network segment protection circuit; and when the alarm information of the FF meter is received, it automatically confirms the alarm information of the FF meter.

[0010] Optionally, the FF user layer management module is further used for: Based on the FF instrument function block configuration information downloaded from the high-order Ethernet system, a scheduling table for reading FF instrument function block data is generated; based on the scheduling table, the operation of the FF instrument function block connected to the FF network segment protection circuit is scheduled, and the data of the FF instrument function block connected to the FF network segment protection circuit is read and stored.

[0011] Optionally, the physical layer TRUNK interface includes at least two; The APL power switch connection includes: At least two physical layer TRUNK interfaces are connected to the APL power switch to provide redundant power supply for the access device.

[0012] Optionally, the data processing module is specifically used for: The system receives high-order Ethernet protocol data input through the at least two physical layer TRUNK interfaces, filters out redundant data in the high-order Ethernet protocol data through a redundancy filtering mechanism, and sends the high-order Ethernet protocol data with the redundant data filtered out to the FF user layer management module, or receives high-order Ethernet protocol data sent by the FF user layer management module and sends it to the high-order Ethernet system through the at least two physical layer TRUNK interfaces.

[0013] Optionally, the FF segment protection circuit includes a TRUNK interface and a SPUR interface, and the FF segment protection circuit is specifically used for: The TRUNK interface of the FF segment protection circuit is used to connect to the FF interface circuit and the FF power regulator circuit respectively. The SPUR interface is used to connect FF instruments to enable FF instruments to access high-order Ethernet systems.

[0014] Optionally, the SPUR interface has a short-circuit protection indicator light; The short-circuit protection indicator light is used to illuminate when a short circuit occurs in the SPUR interface, so as to alert the user that a short circuit has occurred in the SPUR interface.

[0015] Optionally, the FF interface circuit includes: an FF physical layer modem chip and an FF physical layer interface circuit; The FF physical layer modem chip is used to perform Manchester encoding or Manchester decoding on Foundation Fieldbus data. The FF physical layer interface circuit is used to send Manchester-encoded Foundation Fieldbus data to the FF instrument connected to the FF segment protection circuit, or to send Manchester-decoded Foundation Fieldbus data to the MCU.

[0016] Compared with existing technologies, this application has the following advantages: By using the access device, the FF instrument is connected to the high-order Ethernet system, that is, connected to the Ethernet advanced physical layer, which solves the problem of the lack of Ethernet-APL ecosystem, and can solve the problems of complex and difficult implementation of FF redundancy, limited data transmission distance and poor anti-interference ability by leveraging the advantages of Ethernet-APL. Attached Figure Description

[0017] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0018] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an access device provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the structure of a plurality of physical layer TRUNK interfaces 110 provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a microcontroller unit 120 provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of another microcontroller unit 120 provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an FF interface circuit 130 provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 6This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an FF segment protection circuit 150 provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0019] First, to facilitate understanding of the overall technical solution, some terms used in the description will be explained: Foundation Fieldbus (FF) is an industrial communication protocol primarily used in industries such as petrochemicals and chemicals, and has a long history. FF fieldbus is suitable for closed-loop control systems with real-time requirements. FF instruments offer rich self-diagnostic information and a robust alarm mechanism; furthermore, it boasts powerful user-level functionality, supporting the deployment of standard control and logic function blocks to FF instruments, enabling flexible communication between the host system and instruments through configuration.

[0020] Ethernet Advanced Physical Layer (Ethernet-APL) is an extension of the Single Pair Ethernet (SPE) specification based on the 10BASET-1L standard, supporting all high-order Ethernet communication protocols. By adapting the physical layer, it meets the requirements for reliable operation of process-related equipment. These requirements include high-speed, Ethernet-based communication, safe operation in potentially explosive environments, and the ability to install cables up to 1000m long.

[0021] As described in the background section, due to the nascent stage of Ethernet-APL technology, the types of APL instruments currently available that are compatible with Ethernet-APL are limited. Furthermore, because Ethernet-APL technology supports all high-level Ethernet protocols, APL instrument vendors tend to prioritize the high-level Ethernet protocols that are most advantageous or commonly used for them. For example, in Europe, APL instrument vendors often prioritize the Profinet protocol, while in North America, they often prioritize the HART-IP protocol. This further restricts the compatibility and interoperability of APL instruments. Consequently, the Ethernet-APL ecosystem is incomplete, specifically lacking diagnostic tools for the advanced physical layer of Ethernet, which affects the engineering implementation and troubleshooting of automation systems based on high-level Ethernet protocols like Ethernet-APL.

[0022] This application provides an access device for connecting FF instruments to a high-order Ethernet system. The device includes: a physical layer TRUNK interface, a microcontroller unit, an FF interface circuit, an FF power regulator circuit, and an FF segment protection circuit. The physical layer TRUNK interface connects to an APL power switch to power the access device and connects it to the corresponding high-order Ethernet system. The microcontroller unit converts and processes high-order Ethernet protocol data and Foundation Fieldbus data. The FF interface circuit encodes or decodes Foundation Fieldbus data. The FF power regulator circuit obtains power from the APL power switch through the physical layer TRUNK interface and modulates the obtained power to conform to the Foundation Fieldbus standard, powering the FF segment protection circuit. The FF segment protection circuit connects to the FF instrument to enable its access to the high-order Ethernet system. This access device enables FF instruments to access the high-order Ethernet system, i.e., access to the advanced physical layer of Ethernet, solving the problem of the lack of an Ethernet-APL ecosystem. Furthermore, it leverages the advantages of Ethernet-APL to address the challenges of complex and difficult FF redundancy implementation, limited data transmission distance, and poor anti-interference capabilities.

[0023] To enable those skilled in the art to better understand the present application, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present application, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0024] The following is combined with Figures 1-6 This application provides a detailed description of an access device. This access device connects FF instruments to a high-order Ethernet system, integrating the FF instruments into the high-order Ethernet system at the field side (Foundation field side). This addresses the lack of an Ethernet-APL ecosystem and ensures the normal implementation of engineering projects, troubleshooting, and other operations for automation systems based on the Ethernet-APL high-order Ethernet protocol.

[0025] Among them, FF instruments include: various network components, diagnostic and debugging tools, FF measurement transmitters and FF valve positioners, etc.

[0026] like Figure 1 The schematic diagram shown in this application embodiment provides an access device 100, which includes: a physical layer TRUNK interface 110, a microcontroller unit 120, an FF interface circuit 130, an FF power regulator circuit 140, and an FF network segment protection circuit 150.

[0027] The physical layer TRUNK interface 110 is connected to the Ethernet Advanced Physical Layer Power Switch (APL Power Switch) and the microcontroller 120, respectively; the microcontroller 120 is connected to the physical layer TRUNK interface 110 and the FF interface circuit 130, respectively; the FF interface circuit 130 is connected to the microcontroller 120 and the FF segment protection circuit 150, respectively; and the FF power regulator circuit 140 is connected to the FF segment protection circuit 150.

[0028] The functions and composition of each part of the access device 100 are described below.

[0029] The physical layer TRUNK interface 110 connects to the APL power switch to power the entire access device 100 and connects the access device 100 to the corresponding high-order Ethernet system (i.e., the host system's I / O control network).

[0030] A TRUNK interface is an interface used to connect multiple physical network devices, such as switches and routers. By using a TRUNK interface, multiple network devices can share a single physical line, thereby reducing network costs and improving network performance.

[0031] In one possible implementation, the number of physical layer TRUNK interfaces 110 is at least two, and each of the at least two physical layer TRUNK interfaces 110 is connected to an APL power switch to achieve network redundancy in the high-order Ethernet system and to provide redundant power supply to the access device 100. For ease of understanding, the following will be combined with... Figure 2 To illustrate, we will take two physical layer TRUNK interfaces 110, namely physical layer TRUNK interface 111 and physical layer TRUNK interface 112, as an example.

[0032] Physical layer TRUNK interface 111 and physical layer TRUNK interface 112 are both connected to the APL power switch, achieving bus redundancy and providing redundant power supply to the access device 100. This network redundancy in the high-order Ethernet system improves the fault tolerance of the access device 100. For example, if there is only one physical layer TRUNK interface 110 (e.g., physical layer TRUNK interface 111), a failure of physical layer TRUNK interface 111 will prevent the FF instrument from being connected to the high-order Ethernet system. However, if there are two physical layer TRUNK interfaces 110 (e.g., physical layer TRUNK interface 111 and physical layer TRUNK interface 112), even if one physical layer TRUNK interface 111 fails, the other physical layer TRUNK interface 112 can still function normally, without affecting the access of the FF instrument.

[0033] Furthermore, at least one of the two physical layer TRUNK interfaces 110 can also be cascaded with the physical layer TRUNK interface 110 of another access device 100.

[0034] The microcontroller unit (MCU) 120 is used to convert and process high-order Ethernet protocol data and Foundation Fieldbus data. The microcontroller unit (MCU) is a chip that integrates a processor, memory, input / output interfaces, and a programming interface.

[0035] Specifically, for ease of understanding, the following will be combined with... Figure 3 This application provides a detailed description of a microcontroller unit 120 provided in its embodiments.

[0036] like Figure 3 As shown, the microcontroller unit 120 includes: a data processing module 121, an FF user layer management module 122, an FF communication stack module 123, and an FF link layer management module 124. The data processing module 121 is connected to the physical layer TRUNK interface 110 and the FF user layer management module 122; the FF user layer management module 122 is connected to the data processing module 121 and the FF communication stack module 123; the FF communication stack module 123 is connected to the FF user layer management module 122 and the FF link layer management module 124; and the FF link layer management module 124 is connected to the FF communication stack module 123 and the FF interface circuit 130. The data processing module 121 is connected to the physical layer TRUNK interface 110, and the FF link layer management module 124 is connected to the FF interface circuit 130, thereby enabling the microcontroller unit 120 to be connected to both the physical layer TRUNK interface 110 and the FF interface circuit 130.

[0037] The data processing module 121 receives high-order Ethernet protocol data input through the physical layer TRUNK interface 110 and sends it to the FF user layer management module 122; or receives high-order Ethernet protocol data sent by the FF user layer management module 122 and sends it to the high-order Ethernet system through the physical layer TRUNK interface 110. The data processing module 121 realizes the interaction (reception and transmission) of high-order Ethernet data between the microcontroller unit 120 and the physical layer TRUNK interface 110 (i.e., with the high-order Ethernet system).

[0038] In one possible implementation, when the physical layer TRUNK interface 110 includes at least two, the data processing module 121 is specifically used to: receive high-order Ethernet protocol data input through at least two physical layer TRUNK interfaces 110, filter out redundant data in the high-order Ethernet protocol data through a redundancy filtering mechanism, and send the high-order Ethernet protocol data with the redundant data filtered out to the FF user layer management module 122; or receive high-order Ethernet protocol data sent by the FF user layer management module 122 and send it to the high-order Ethernet system through at least two physical layer TRUNK interfaces 110.

[0039] Redundancy filtering is a method for processing or controlling redundant data in a system. Redundant data usually refers to multiple identical or similar data in a system that may interfere with or confuse the system. The goal of redundancy filtering is to identify and remove this redundant information in order to maintain the stability and efficiency of the system.

[0040] The FF user layer management module 122 converts received high-order Ethernet protocol data into corresponding Foundation Bus data and sends it to the FF communication stack module 123; or converts received Foundation Fieldbus data into corresponding high-order Ethernet data and sends it to the data processing module 121. The high-order Ethernet protocol data received by the FF user layer management module 122 is sent by the data processing module 121, and the Foundation Fieldbus data received by the FF user layer management module 122 is sent by the FF communication stack module 123. Therefore, the FF user layer management module 122 implements the mutual conversion between high-order Ethernet protocol data and Foundation Fieldbus data.

[0041] In one possible implementation, the FF user layer management module 122 is further configured to generate a scheduling table for reading FF instrument function block data based on the FF instrument function block configuration information downloaded from the high-order Ethernet system; based on the scheduling table, schedule the operation of the FF instrument function blocks connected to the FF segment protection circuit 150, read and store the FF instrument function block data connected to the FF segment protection circuit 150, thereby realizing the synchronization of the FF instrument mapping function block data stored by the FF user layer management module 122 and the actual FF instrument data, which can simplify the process of the high-order Ethernet system (host system) reading the corresponding FF instrument data and improve the speed of the high-order Ethernet system reading the corresponding FF instrument data.

[0042] Among them, the FF communication stack module 123 is used to manage the communication connection between the FF user layer management module 122 and the FF link layer management module 124.

[0043] Furthermore, the FF communication stack module 123 is specifically used for user-level encoding and decoding of Foundation Fieldbus data. For example, when the FF communication stack module 123 receives Foundation Fieldbus data sent by the FF link layer management module 124, it performs user-level decoding on the Foundation Fieldbus data and then sends it to the FF user layer management module 122. Similarly, when the FF communication stack module 123 receives Foundation Fieldbus data sent by the FF user layer management module 122, it performs user-level encoding on the Foundation Fieldbus data and then sends it to the FF link layer management module 124.

[0044] Furthermore, the FF communication stack module 123 can also be used to manage the virtual communication relationship (VCR) between the FF user layer management module 122 and the FF link layer management module 124.

[0045] Virtual Communication Relationship (VCR) is a relationship that communicates virtually. It typically involves communicating via the internet or other digital networks without requiring physical contact or actual face-to-face interaction.

[0046] The FF link layer management module 124 receives decoded Foundation Fieldbus data sent by the FF interface circuit 130 and sends it to the FF communication stack module 123; or receives Foundation Fieldbus data sent by the FF communication stack module 123 and sends it to the FF interface circuit 130, so that the FF interface circuit 130 can encode the Foundation Fieldbus data. It should be noted that the encoding and decoding of the Foundation Fieldbus data by the FF interface circuit 130 is physical layer encoding and decoding.

[0047] Furthermore, the FF link layer management module 124 is also used to force the access device 100 to schedule the FF meter connected to the FF segment protection circuit 150 of the master LAS (Level Assignment System).

[0048] In one possible implementation, the microcontroller unit (MCU) 120 further includes: an FF instrument online management module 125 and an FF instrument alarm management module 126. Specifically, as... Figure 4 As shown, the FF instrument online management module 125 is connected to the FF communication stack module 123, and the FF instrument alarm management module 126 is connected to the FF communication stack module 123.

[0049] The FF meter online management module 125 is used to read and store the configuration information of the FF meter when the FF network segment protection circuit 150 connects to the online system. The FF meter configuration information includes at least key information about the FF meter upon online connection, such as manufacturer, meter model, and meter identifier. By reading and storing the FF meter's configuration information upon online connection, the high-order Ethernet system (host system) can quickly and readily obtain the necessary FF meter configuration information.

[0050] It should be noted that the FF meter can be online when it is connected to the FF network segment protection circuit 150, or when the access device 100 is powered on and started. Furthermore, when the FF meter is removed from the FF network segment protection circuit 150, the FF meter online management module 125 will delete the configuration information of the removed FF meter.

[0051] The FF meter alarm management module 126 receives and stores alarm information from FF meters connected to the FF network segment protection circuit 150; and automatically acknowledges the alarm information received from the FF meters. Storing the alarm information allows the Ethernet high-order system to quickly retrieve it. Furthermore, automatically acknowledging the alarm information prevents the FF meters from continuously retransmitting alarm information.

[0052] The above combination Figure 3 and Figure 4 The specific composition of the microcontroller unit 120 has been described in detail. The following section will introduce an access device 100 provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0053] The FF interface circuit 130 is used to encode or decode Foundation Fieldbus data. It should be noted that the encoding and decoding of Foundation Fieldbus data by the FF interface circuit 130 is physical layer encoding and decoding.

[0054] Specifically, see below. Figure 5 The specific structure of the FF interface circuit 130 is described in detail below. The FF interface circuit 130 includes: an FF physical layer modem chip 131 and an FF physical layer interface circuit 132.

[0055] The FF physical layer modem chip 131 is used to perform Manchester encoding or Manchester decoding of Foundation Fieldbus data. Specifically, the FF physical layer modem chip 131 integrates a Manchester encoder and a decoder to achieve Manchester encoding and decoding of Foundation Fieldbus data. It should be noted that Manchester encoding and decoding belong to physical layer encoding and decoding.

[0056] The FF physical layer interface circuit 132 is used to send Manchester-encoded Foundation fieldbus data to the FF instrument connected to the FF segment protection circuit 150, or to send Manchester-decoded Foundation fieldbus data to the microcontroller unit 120. Specifically, the FF physical layer interface circuit 132 is a standard FF interface module or an FF instrument physical layer interface circuit.

[0057] The above combination Figure 5 The specific composition of the FF interface circuit 130 has been described in detail. The following is a description of an access device 100 provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0058] The FF power regulator circuit 140 is used to obtain power from the APL power switch through the physical layer TRUNK interface 110, and modulate the obtained power into a power supply that conforms to the Foundation Fieldbus standard to power the FF segment protection circuit 150, thereby enabling the power supply of the FF instruments connected to the FF segment protection circuit 150.

[0059] In one possible implementation, when the number of physical layer TRUNK interfaces 110 is at least two, the FF power regulator circuit 140 is specifically used to redundantly obtain power through at least two physical layer TRUNK interfaces 110 and modulate the power to conform to the Foundation Fieldbus standard to power the FF segment protection circuit 150.

[0060] The FF segment protection circuit 150 is used to connect to the FF instrument to enable the FF instrument to access the high-order Ethernet system and to protect the connected FF instrument.

[0061] To make it easier to understand, the following will be combined with... Figure 6 The structure of the FF segment protection circuit 150 is described in detail below. The FF segment protection circuit 150 includes a TRUNK interface and a SPUR interface. There are two TRUNK interfaces and four SPUR interfaces. It should be noted that this application does not specifically limit the number of TRUNK interfaces and SPUR interfaces. Figure 6 The following description uses two TRUNK interfaces and four SPUR interfaces as an example.

[0062] The TRUNK interface A is connected to both the FF interface circuit 130 and the FF power regulator circuit 140. The SPUR interface is used to connect FF instruments, enabling them to access a high-order Ethernet system. Furthermore, the FF power regulator circuit 140 modulates the acquired power supply to conform to the Foundation Fieldbus standard, supplying power to the SPUR interface.

[0063] A SPUR (Service Processor User Interface Routing) interface is a communication interface used to connect different devices or systems and allow them to communicate and transmit data.

[0064] In one possible implementation, the SPUR interface has a short-circuit protection indicator light, which illuminates when a short circuit occurs in the SPUR interface to alert the user.

[0065] The short circuit protection indicator light can be illuminated in various ways, including: the short circuit protection indicator light is red, the short circuit protection indicator light flashes rapidly, or the short circuit protection indicator light is constantly on. This application does not impose any specific limitations, as long as it can alert the user that a short circuit has occurred at the SPUR interface.

[0066] In one possible implementation, the FF segment protection circuit 150 reserves a TRUNK interface B, which can be cascaded with an FF segment protection circuit that meets the Foundation Bus standard.

[0067] This application provides an access device for connecting FF instruments to a high-order Ethernet system. The device includes: a physical layer TRUNK interface 110, a microcontroller unit 120, an FF interface circuit 130, an FF power regulator circuit 140, and an FF segment protection circuit 150. The physical layer TRUNK interface 110 connects to an APL power switch, thereby powering the entire access device and connecting it to the corresponding high-order Ethernet system. The microcontroller unit 120 is used to convert and process high-order Ethernet protocol data and Foundation Fieldbus data. The FF interface circuit 130 is used to encode or decode Foundation Fieldbus data. The FF power regulator circuit 140 obtains power from the APL power switch through the physical layer TRUNK interface 110 and modulates the obtained power to conform to the Foundation Fieldbus standard, powering the FF segment protection circuit 150. The FF segment protection circuit 150 is connected to the FF instrument to enable the FF instrument to access the high-order Ethernet system. Through this access device, the FF instrument is connected to the high-order Ethernet system, i.e., accessing the advanced physical layer of Ethernet, solving the problem of the lack of an Ethernet-APL ecosystem.

[0068] Furthermore, it enables FF instruments to access high-level Ethernet systems, solving the current limitations of APL instruments in terms of compatibility and interoperability.

[0069] Furthermore, the advantages of Ethernet-APL can solve the problems of complex and difficult implementation of FF redundancy, limited data transmission distance, and poor anti-interference capability. Moreover, the application of the access device provided in this application embodiment makes the overall cost lower than that of a complete Ethernet-APL solution.

[0070] Furthermore, it enables FF instruments to be connected to a high-level Ethernet system on the field side, achieving higher transmission rates and lower communication latency compared to traditional Foundation Fieldbus communication.

[0071] It should be noted that the various embodiments in this specification are described in a progressive manner, and the same or similar parts between the various embodiments can be referred to mutually. Each embodiment focuses on describing the differences from other embodiments. In particular, for the device embodiments, since they are basically similar to the method embodiments, the description is relatively simple, and the relevant parts can be referred to the description of the method embodiments. The device and system embodiments described above are merely illustrative. The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components indicated as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the modules can be selected to achieve the purpose of the solution in this embodiment according to actual needs. Those skilled in the art can understand and implement this without creative effort.

[0072] The above description is merely one specific embodiment of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. An access device, characterized in that, The device is used to connect Foundation Fieldbus (FF) instruments to a high-order Ethernet system, and includes: a physical layer TRUNK interface, a microcontroller unit (MCU), an FF interface circuit, an FF power regulator circuit, and an FF segment protection circuit. The physical layer TRUNK interface is used to connect to an advanced physical layer APL power switch to power the access device and connect the access device to the high-order Ethernet system. The MCU is connected to the physical layer TRUNK interface and the FF interface circuit respectively, and is used to realize the conversion and processing of high-order Ethernet protocol data and Foundation Fieldbus data. The FF interface circuit is connected to the MCU and the FF network segment protection circuit respectively, and is used to encode or decode Foundation Fieldbus data; The FF power regulator circuit is connected to the FF network segment protection circuit. It is used to obtain power from the APL power switch through the physical layer TRUNK interface and modulate the power to conform to the Foundation Fieldbus standard to power the FF network segment protection circuit. The FF network segment protection circuit is connected to the FF interface circuit and the FF power regulator circuit respectively, and is used to connect to the FF instrument to enable the FF instrument to access the high-order Ethernet system.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The MCU includes: a data processing module, an FF user layer management module, an FF communication stack module, and an FF link layer management module; The data processing module is connected to the physical layer TRUNK interface and the FF user layer management module respectively. It is used to receive high-order Ethernet protocol data input through the physical layer TRUNK interface and send it to the FF user layer management module, or receive high-order Ethernet protocol data sent by the FF user layer management module and send it to the high-order Ethernet system through the physical layer TRUNK interface. The FF user layer management module is connected to the data processing module and the FF communication stack module respectively. It is used to convert the received high-order Ethernet protocol data into the corresponding Foundation Fieldbus data and send it to the FF communication stack module, or to convert the received Foundation Fieldbus data into the corresponding high-order Ethernet data and send it to the data processing module. The FF communication stack module is connected to the FF user layer management module and the FF link layer management module respectively, and is used to manage the communication connection between the FF user layer management module and the FF link layer management module; The FF link layer management module is connected to the FF communication stack module and the FF interface circuit respectively. It is used to receive the decoded Foundation Fieldbus data sent by the FF interface circuit and send it to the FF communication stack module, or to receive the Foundation Fieldbus data sent by the FF communication stack module and send it to the FF interface circuit, so that the FF interface circuit can encode the Foundation Fieldbus data.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that, The MCU also includes: an FF instrument online management module; the FF instrument online management module is connected to the FF communication stack module; The FF meter online management module is used to read the configuration information of the FF meter when the FF meter connected to the FF network segment protection circuit goes online, and to store the configuration information of the FF meter.

4. The apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that, The MCU also includes: an FF instrument alarm management module; the FF instrument alarm management module is connected to the FF communication stack module; The FF meter alarm management module is used to receive and store alarm information sent by the FF meter connected to the FF network segment protection circuit; and when the alarm information of the FF meter is received, it automatically confirms the alarm information of the FF meter.

5. The apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that, The FF user layer management module is also used for: Based on the FF instrument function block configuration information downloaded from the high-order Ethernet system, a scheduling table for reading FF instrument function block data is generated. Based on the scheduling table, the operation of the FF instrument function block connected to the FF network segment protection circuit is scheduled, and the data of the FF instrument function block connected to the FF network segment protection circuit is read and stored.

6. The apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that, The physical layer TRUNK interface includes at least two; The APL power switch connection includes: At least two physical layer TRUNK interfaces are connected to the APL power switch to provide redundant power supply for the access device.

7. The apparatus according to claim 6, characterized in that, The data processing module is specifically used for: The system receives high-order Ethernet protocol data input through at least two physical layer TRUNK interfaces, filters out redundant data in the high-order Ethernet protocol data through a redundancy filtering mechanism, and sends the high-order Ethernet protocol data with the redundant data filtered out to the FF user layer management module, or receives high-order Ethernet protocol data sent by the FF user layer management module and sends it to the high-order Ethernet system through at least two physical layer TRUNK interfaces.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The FF segment protection circuit includes a TRUNK interface and a SPUR interface, and the FF segment protection circuit is specifically used for: The TRUNK interface of the FF segment protection circuit is used to connect to the FF interface circuit and the FF power regulator circuit respectively. The SPUR interface is used to connect FF instruments to enable FF instruments to access high-order Ethernet systems.

9. The apparatus according to claim 8, characterized in that, The SPUR interface has a short-circuit protection indicator light; The short-circuit protection indicator light is used to illuminate when a short circuit occurs in the SPUR interface, so as to alert the user that a short circuit has occurred in the SPUR interface.

10. The apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The FF interface circuit includes: an FF physical layer modulation and demodulation chip and an FF physical layer interface circuit; The FF physical layer modem chip is used to perform Manchester encoding or Manchester decoding on Foundation Fieldbus data. The FF physical layer interface circuit is used to send Manchester-encoded Foundation Fieldbus data to the FF instrument connected to the FF segment protection circuit, or to send Manchester-decoded Foundation Fieldbus data to the MCU.

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