Multi-node subscriber message

Abstract

This disclosure relates to multi-node subscriber messages. A responder node in a serial communication system is configured to receive the header portion of a subscriber message frame having an identifier field that specifies that the responder node will send response data to the command node. During the response portion of the subscriber message frame, the responder node sends response data as well as additional response data from at least one other responder node specified by the identifier field.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention generally relates to communication protocols, and more specifically to serial communication protocols, such as the Local Interconnect Network (LIN) protocol. Background Technology

[0002] Some applications, particularly automotive applications, can utilize serial communication networks configured to communicate using protocols such as the Local Interconnect Network (LIN) protocol. For example, such serial communication networks can be used to implement motor control, battery management, power conversion, or other automotive systems.

[0003] In traditional serial communication networks, a command node can request data from one of a plurality of responder nodes by sending a subscriber message frame that includes a header portion and a response portion. The header portion includes a protected identifier field that identifies one of the responder nodes that has sent data in response. If the protected identifier field of the subscriber message frame corresponds to a specific responder node, that identified responder node sends response data during the response portion of the same subscriber message frame. In such conventional communication networks, to solicit and receive response data from multiple responder nodes in a serial communication system, the command node sends a dedicated subscriber message frame to each of the multiple responder nodes.

[0004] In some examples, traditional serial data protocols may not be suitable for applications operating at relatively high speeds and / or employing a large number of responder nodes. This necessitates other forms of communication that may be more expensive / complex to implement than serial communication systems and / or consume more energy (e.g., Ethernet, coaxial, etc.). There is a need for improved technologies that enable serial communication to support a wider range of applications. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In some aspects, the method includes receiving, by a responder node, a header portion of a subscriber message frame having an identifier field that specifies that the responder node will send response data to the commanding node. The method also includes sending response data by the responder node during the response portion of the subscriber message frame, as well as additional response data from at least one other responder node specified by the identifier field.

[0006] In some aspects, the method includes sending a header portion of a subscriber message frame having an identifier field that specifies multiple responder nodes of a communication network to send response data. The method also includes receiving response data from the multiple responder nodes specified by the identifier field in the response portion of the subscriber message frame.

[0007] In some aspects, the communication system includes a command node configured to send a header of a subscriber message frame having an identifier field specifying that a plurality of responder nodes will send response data to the command node. The system also includes a plurality of responder nodes configured to send response data to the command node in the responder portion of the subscriber message frame.

[0008] In some aspects, the responder node is configured to receive a header of a subscriber message frame having an identifier field that specifies that the responder node will send response data to the command node. The responder node is also configured to send response data as part of a response message frame that includes additional response data from at least one other responder node specified by the identifier field of the subscriber message frame.

[0009] In some aspects, the command node is configured to send a subscriber message frame with a header that includes an identifier field specifying multiple responder nodes of the communication network to send response data. The command node is also configured to receive response data from the multiple responder nodes specified by the identifier field in the response portion of the subscriber message frame. Attached Figure Description

[0010] Figure 1 This is a block diagram illustrating an example of a serial communication system.

[0011] Figure 2 This is a block diagram depicting an example of a subscriber message frame according to some embodiments.

[0012] Figure 3 This is a block diagram depicting an example of a subscriber message frame having response data including one or more additional checksum bits, according to some embodiments.

[0013] Figure 4 This is a flowchart illustrating an example of a method for operating a responder node of a communication system to attach response data according to some embodiments.

[0014] Figure 5 This is a flowchart illustrating an example of a method for operating a responder node of a communication system using a serial communication protocol according to some embodiments.

[0015] Figure 6 This is a flowchart illustrating an example of a method for operating a command node of a communication system using a serial communication protocol according to some embodiments. Detailed Implementation

[0016] Figure 1 This is a block diagram illustrating an example of a serial communication system 100. (As shown...) Figure 1As shown, the system includes multiple responder nodes 120 coupled via a communication bus 112 to communicate with a command node 110. The communication bus 112 may include one or more conductors and is shared by the respective nodes 110, 120 of the system 100 for communication. The system 100 can be implemented using a relatively low-cost / low-power communication protocol, such as a serial communication protocol. In a non-limiting example, the system 100 may be configured to use a Local Interconnect Network (LIN) protocol for communication.

[0017] exist Figure 1 In the example, system 100 includes N responder nodes 120A-120D, each of which is coupled to a command node 110 for communication. For simplicity, Figure 1 The example illustrates a system 100 with N=4 responder nodes. In other examples, system 100 may include any number of responder nodes of N. For example, system 100 may include a number of responder nodes from N=1 up to N=127, or even more.

[0018] exist Figure 1 In the example, the command node 110 is configured to communicate with the responder node 120 by sending messages to it. For example, the command node 110 may send a publisher message 130 to send a command or other data to each of the responder nodes 120. In some examples, the publisher message 130 from the command node 110 is unidirectional, meaning that the responder node 120 may store data received via the publisher message 130 or execute a command received in the publisher message 130, but may not send a message in response to the publisher message 130 from the command node 110.

[0019] In a traditional example of a serial communication network, to solicit response data from multiple responder nodes, the command node sends a different subscriber message frame with a unique header portion to each of the responder nodes, which then sends response data during the response portion of each corresponding subscribed message frame. As an example, according to a traditional implementation of a serial communication protocol, to receive response data from M responder nodes, the command node can send the same number of M subscriber message frames to solicit and receive response data from the M responder nodes during the responder portion of each of the corresponding M subscriber message frames.

[0020] Figure 1 The system 100 depicted is uniquely configured such that the command node 110 can solicit and receive responses from multiple responder nodes using the same subscriber message frame 170, instead of sending different subscriber message frames to each responder node as in a conventional serial communication implementation.

[0021] according to Figure 1 For example, command node 110 sends a subscriber message frame 170 with a header portion specifying a plurality of responder nodes 120 to send response data in response. The plurality of responder nodes 120 may include a total of N responder nodes 120A-120D in system 100, or fewer than N responder nodes in system 100. In response to receiving the header portion, the plurality of responder nodes send response data 168A-168D during the response portion of subscriber message frame 170. For example, during the response portion of subscriber message frame 170, each of the plurality of responder nodes may append response data 168A-168D as well as response data from at least one other responder node. In some examples, responder nodes 120 may append response data 168A-168D in the order defined by the header portion of subscriber message frame 170.

[0022] In some examples, through the operations described above, the command node 110 of system 100 can solicit and receive response data 168A-168D from multiple nodes 120 more efficiently than in a conventional serial communication system; that is, the command node 110 can solicit and receive response data 168A-168D with fewer messages and / or fewer data bits. Therefore, system 100 can be implemented to support applications configured to operate at relatively high speeds and / or to support a greater number of responder nodes than a conventional serial communication system can support.

[0023] Figure 2 This is a block diagram depicting an example of a subscriber message frame 270 according to some embodiments. Figure 2 The subscriber message frame 270 shown is typically associated with Figure 1 The subscriber message frame 170 depicted in the text corresponds to the one that can be used by the command node 110 of the system 100 to solicit response data 168A-168D from the multiple responder nodes 120 of the system 100.

[0024] like Figure 2 As shown, subscriber message frame 270 includes a header portion 250 and a response portion 260. (As...) Figure 2 As shown, as an example, header portion 250 is sent from command node 110 to N responder nodes 120A-120D of system 100, for example via communication bus 112. Figure 2 As shown, the header includes a separator field 251, a synchronization field 252, and an identifier field 254. The separator field 251 is configured to indicate the start of the frame 270 in communication and may include a start-of-frame (SOF) bit and / or other bits indicating other data or commands. Figure 2As shown, the header portion 250 also includes a synchronization field 252, which may include one or more bits used by the responder nodes 120A-120D to synchronize with the clock of the command node 110. Figure 2 As shown, the header section 250 also includes an identifier field 254.

[0025] exist Figure 2 In the example, the identifier field 254 is uniquely configured to specify the order in which multiple responder nodes of system 100 send response data 168A-168D during the response portion 260 of subscriber message frame 270, and the order in which the responder nodes should send the response data 168A-168D. (See reference) Figure 1 For example, the plurality of responder nodes indicated by identifier field 254 may include all N responder nodes 120A-120D of system 100. In other examples, the plurality of responder nodes may correspond to fewer than N responder nodes 120A-120D in total in system 100.

[0026] like Figure 2 As shown, the response portion 260 of the subscriber message frame 270 includes multiple data slots 262A-262D. The multiple slots 262A-262D may include the same or different numbers of bits, and each slot is associated with one or more responder nodes 120 identified by the identifier field 254. In some examples, each of the multiple slots 262A-262D includes one byte of data, i.e., eight binary bits of data. In other examples, each of the multiple slots 262A-262D may have more or fewer data bits. For example, in some examples, each of the slots 262A-262D may include two or more bytes of data.

[0027] In some examples, each of the identified responder nodes may include memory configured to store configuration data that maps different values ​​of the identifier field 254 to different actions of the corresponding responder node. In some examples, each of responder nodes 120A-120D includes configuration data that maps the values ​​of the identifier field 254 to identify which of the responder nodes 120A-120D should send response data and the order in which the identified responder nodes should send response data.

[0028] In some examples, configuration data is stored in the memory of each of the N responder nodes 120A-120D of system 100 and accessed by each corresponding responder node to define communication. For example, when a corresponding responder node is initialized as part of the setup and / or reset routine of system 100, the configuration data may be one or more configuration files from memory portions loaded into each of the N responder nodes 120A-120D. In some examples where system 100 is configured to communicate using the LIN serial communication protocol as described above, such configuration files may include LIN description files (LDF) or other types of configuration files loaded into the memory of the N corresponding responder nodes 120A-120D.

[0029] In some examples, more than one value for the identifier field 254 may be included in the configuration data of each corresponding responder node 120A-120D, which is mapped to different groups of responder nodes to send response data and / or different orders in which the corresponding responder nodes should send response data.

[0030] For reference Figure 1 As an example, a first value for the identifier field 254 can be mapped to the order in which responder nodes 120A and 120B append response data 168A, 168B in the response portion 260 of the first subscriber message frame 270, and / or the order in which responder nodes 120A and 120B should append response data 168A, 168B. A second value for the identifier field 254 can be mapped to the order in which responder nodes 120C and 120D append response data 168C, 168D in the response portion 260 of the second subscriber message frame 270, and / or the order in which responder nodes 120C and 120D should append response data 168C, 168D. Therefore, the command node 110 can use different values ​​for the identifier field 254, which is stored in configuration data, to solicit response data from different groups of multiple responder nodes. As a non-limiting example, a system with sixteen responder nodes may include configuration data having four distinct identifier field 254 values, each identifier field 254 value mapped to a grouping and / or sequence of four of the sixteen responder nodes to send response data. According to this example, the command node 110 can solicit response data from the sixteen responder nodes by sending four distinct subscriber message frames and receiving response data during the response portion of each of the four distinct subscriber message frames.

[0031] In another non-limiting example, a system with the same number of sixteen responder nodes may include configuration data with two different identifier field 254 values, each identifier field 254 value mapping to a group of eight responder nodes. According to this example, the command node 110 can solicit response data from the sixteen responder nodes by sending two different subscriber message frames and receiving response data appended by the eight responder nodes during the response portion of each of the two different subscriber message frames. Still in other examples, the command node 110 may be configured to solicit response data from the responder nodes of a system with a different number of N responder nodes, where the N responder nodes have the same or different groups.

[0032] As described above, the identifier field 254 can also specify (i.e. map to) the order in which each responder node should attach response data relative to other responder nodes during the response portion 260 of frame 270, for example, relative to the order in slots 268A-268D of the response portion 260 of frame 270.

[0033] In some examples, the configuration data associated with the value of a specific identifier field 254 is unique for each responder node. For example, the identifier field 254 value may be mapped to configuration data that identifies responder nodes that precede other responder nodes in sequence (e.g., such that each node appends its response data after appending the response data of the previous node), and / or that a particular responder node is the first in the sequence (e.g., such that a particular responder node should append its response data in the first time slot 262A of the response portion 260 of subscriber message frame 270).

[0034] Figure 2 The image shows a non-limiting example of the order specified by the identifier field 254 of subscriber message frame 270. According to this example, the identifier field 254 can specify... Figure 1 Each of the N responder nodes 120A-120D depicted will send response data 168A-168D.

[0035] In some examples, the value of identifier field 254 can be mapped to unique configuration data for each responder node 120A-120D. According to... Figure 2In the example shown, the value of identifier field 254 can be mapped to configuration data stored in responder node 120B, indicating that responder node 120B is the first in sequence. The value of identifier field 254 can also be mapped to configuration data stored in responder node 120A, specifying that responder node 120A follows node 120B. The value of identifier field 254 can also be mapped to configuration data stored in responder node 120C, which follows node 120A. The value of identifier field 254 can also be mapped to configuration data stored in responder node 120D, which follows responder node 120C.

[0036] In some examples, when header portion 250 is received by responder nodes 120A-120D, each responder node 120A-120D may append response data in timeslots 262A-262D of response portion 260 according to an order defined by mapping the identifier field 254 value to configuration data for the corresponding responder node. According to the non-limiting example described above, since responder node 120B is the first in sequence, responder node 120B may append response data 168B in the first timeslot 262A of response portion 260. Once response data 168B has been appended to the first timeslot 262A, responder node 120A may append response data 168A to the second timeslot 262B of response portion 260. Once response data 168A has been appended to timeslot 262B, responder node 120C may append response data 168C to the third timeslot 262C of response portion 260. Once the response data 168C has been appended to time slot 262C, the responder node 120D can append the response data 168C to the fourth time slot 262D of the response section 260.

[0037] For example Figure 2 As shown, the responder portion 260 of the subscriber message frame 270 includes one or more checksum bits 269. (As...) Figure 2 As shown, checksum bit 269 can follow the response data 168A-168D in time slots 262A-262D of the response portion 260. In some examples, each of the responder nodes 120A-120D identified as sending response data as part of the subscriber message frame 270 may have had response data appended sequentially to the last responder node. Figure 2In the example, responder node 120D outputs checksum bit 269 afterward. In some examples, command node 110 may monitor checksum bit 269 at the end of each subscriber message frame 270 after the appended response data 168A-168D has been attached, to detect any mismatch between checksum bits 269 from each of the responder nodes 120A-120D. If a mismatch is detected, command node 110 may determine that a transmission error has occurred. In some examples, command node 110 may mitigate the transmission error by retransmitting subscriber message frame 270 or by taking another action, such as resetting (e.g., including reloading configuration data) one or more responder nodes of system 100.

[0038] Figure 3 This is a block diagram depicting an example of a subscriber message frame 370 having response data 168A-168D from multiple responder nodes 120A-120D, including one or more additional checksum bits 363A-363D, according to some embodiments. Figure 3 The example is basically similar to Figure 2 The example illustrates a subscriber message frame 370 with a header portion 250 and a response portion 260. The response portion 260 includes multiple time slots 262A-262D, which correspond to response data 168A-168D from each responder node 120A-120D according to an order specified by the identifier field 254 (e.g., configuration data mapped to each responder node in the specified order).

[0039] Figure 3 Examples and Figure 2 The difference in the example is that the response data 168A-168D from each responder node 120A-120D includes additional checksum bits 363A-363D. For example, as Figure 3 As shown, as part of appending response data 168B to time slot 262A, responder node 120B appends one or more checksum bits 363B, which can be used to verify that response data 168B has been effectively communicated. Similarly, as part of appending response data 168A to time slot 262B, responder node 120A outputs checksum bit 363A, which can be used to verify that response data 168A has been effectively communicated. As part of appending response data 168C to time slot 262C, responder node 120C outputs checksum bit 363C, and as part of appending response data 168D to time slot 262D, node 120D outputs checksum bit 363D. Checksum bits 363C and 363D can similarly be used to verify that response data 168C and 168D have been effectively communicated. Figure 3As shown in the example, each responder node 120A-120D designated to send response data 168A-168D can also append one or more checksum bits 269 after the response data 168D, which is the last in sequence, is appended by the responder node 120D, as described above regarding... Figure 2 As stated. Figure 3 For example, (multiple) additional checksum bits 363A-363D can be used individually, or in addition to (multiple) checksum bits 269, to detect any mismatches in order to determine whether any transmission errors have occurred when communicating with subscriber message frame 370.

[0040] Figure 4 This is a flowchart illustrating an example of a method for attaching response data 168A-168D to responder nodes 120A-120D of an operating communication system 100 according to some embodiments. Figure 4 As shown, at 401, the method includes receiving a header portion 250 of a subscriber message frame 270, which indicates the order of response data 168A-168D in the subscriber message frame 270 from a plurality of responder nodes. The header portion 250 may include an identifier field 254 having a value mapped to stored configuration data indicating the order in which each of the plurality of responder nodes appends the response data 168A-168D. The configuration data may be unique for each of the plurality of responder nodes and sequentially identifies previous responder nodes. According to these examples, a responder node may append response data after the response data has been sequentially appended by previous responder nodes.

[0041] For example Figure 4 As shown, the method also includes a monitoring communication bus 112 for monitoring response data to be sequentially output by the preceding responder nodes. The response data may be appended during the response portion 260 of the subscriber message frame 270 and may correspond to multiple time slots 262A-262D of the subscriber message frame 270.

[0042] like Figure 4 As shown, at position 402, responder nodes 120A-120D monitor bus 112 for response data from (multiple) previous responder nodes. Figure 4 As shown, at 403, if a responder node detects that response data from sequentially preceding responder nodes has been appended via bus 112, the responder node appends the response data to the response data from the preceding responder nodes during the response portion 260 of the subscribed message frame 270.

[0043] Figure 5This is a flowchart illustrating an example of a method for operating responder nodes 120A-120D of a communication system 100 using a serial communication protocol according to some embodiments. Figure 5 As shown, at 501, the method includes receiving a header portion 250 of a subscriber message frame 270, which specifies that responder node 120A will send response data. For example, header portion 250 may include an identifier field 254 having values ​​mapped to configuration data stored in responder node 120A that specifies the order in which responder node 120A appends response data to subscriber message frame 270 relative to other previous response data from other responder nodes. In some examples, the values ​​of identifier field 254 are mapped sequentially to one or more previous nodes, and the responder node appends response data after previous response data from said one or more previous nodes has been appended as part of response portion 260 of subscriber message frame 270.

[0044] In some examples, the method further includes sending one or more checksum bits 269 at the end of the subscriber message frame 270. In some examples, responder node 120A is one of a plurality of responder nodes, and the method further includes each of the plurality of responder nodes sending (a plurality of) checksum bits 269 at the end of the subscriber message frame 270. In some examples, the method further includes the command node 110 identifying a transmission error if (a plurality of) checksum bits 269 from at least one of the plurality of responder nodes indicate a checksum mismatch.

[0045] In some examples, the method may include appending additional checksum bits 363A-363D as part of response data from multiple responder nodes. In some examples, the method includes sending multiple first checksum bits 363B from responder node 120B as part of response data 168B, and sending multiple second checksum bits 363A, 363C-364D from at least one other responder node 120A, 120C-120D as part of other response data. In some examples, identifier field 254 is mapped to multiple responder nodes to send response data, and response message frame 270 includes multiple data slots 262A-262D corresponding to the response data 168A-168D of responder nodes 120A-120D. In some examples, each of the multiple data slots 162A-162D includes one byte of data.

[0046] In some examples, responder node 120A is part of a communication system 100 comprising N responder nodes 120, and identifier field 254 specifies all of the fewer than N responder nodes 120 that send response data as part of subscriber message frame 270. In some examples, identifier field 254 includes a value mapped to a profile that identifies the multiple responder nodes 120 used to send response data 168A-168D. In some examples, the value of identifier field 254 is mapped to a profile that specifies the order of response data 168B from responder node 120B relative to other response data 168B-168D in subscriber message frame 270.

[0047] Figure 6 This is a flowchart illustrating an example of a method for operating a command node 110 of a communication system 100 using a serial communication protocol according to some embodiments. Figure 6 As shown, at 601, the method includes sending a header portion 260 of a subscriber message frame 270 having an identifier field 254, which specifies a plurality of responder nodes 120A-120D to send response data 168A-168D. Figure 6 As shown, at 602, the method further includes receiving response data 168A-168D from a plurality of responder nodes 120A-120D specified by an identifier field 254 in the response portion 260 of the subscriber message frame 270. In some examples, the identifier field 254 specifies the order of the response data 168A-168D from the plurality of responder nodes 120A-120D.

[0048] In some examples, the method further includes receiving one or more checksum bits 163A-163D from multiple responder nodes as part of response data 168A-168D. In some examples, the method further includes receiving response data 168A-168D from multiple responder nodes 120A-120D in multiple data slots 262A-262D within the subscriber message frame 270. In some examples, the system includes N responder nodes 120A-120D, and an identifier field 254 specifies that all of fewer than N responder nodes 120A-120D are to send response data 168A-168D as part of the subscriber message frame 270. In some examples, the identifier field 254 includes a value mapped to a configuration file specifying multiple responder nodes 120A-120D to send the subscriber message frame 270. In some examples, the configuration file specifies the order in which multiple responder nodes 120A-120D are appended to the subscriber message frame 270. Terms and Conditions

[0049] Clause 1. A method comprising: receiving, by a responder node, a header portion of a subscriber message frame having an identifier field specifying the responder node to send response data to a commander node; and by the responder node sending the response data and other response data from at least one other responder node specified by the identifier field during the response portion of the subscriber message frame.

[0050] Clause 2. The method according to Clause 1, wherein the identifier field is mapped to the order of response data from the responder node relative to other response data in the subscriber message frame.

[0051] Clause 3. The method according to Clause 2, wherein the response data is sequentially following the previous response data, and the method further includes appending the response data after the previous response data has been output as part of the response portion of a subscriber message frame.

[0052] Clause 4. The method according to any one of Clauses 1-3 further includes: sending one or more checksum bits at the end of the subscriber message frame.

[0053] Clause 5. The method according to Clause 4, wherein the responder node is one of a plurality of responder nodes specified by an identifier field to send response data, and further comprising: at the end of a subscriber message frame, each of the plurality of responder nodes sending one or more checksum bits.

[0054] Clause 6. The method described in Clause 5 further includes: if the checksum bit from at least one of the plurality of responder nodes indicates a checksum mismatch, the commanding node identifies a transmission error.

[0055] Clause 7. The method according to any one of Clauses 4-6 further comprises: sending a first checksum bit as part of response data from a responder node; and sending a second checksum bit as part of other response data from at least one other responder node.

[0056] Clause 8. The method according to any one of Clauses 1-7, wherein the identifier field is mapped to a plurality of responder nodes to send response data, and the response portion of the subscriber message frame includes a plurality of data slots corresponding to the response data of the plurality of responder nodes.

[0057] Clause 9. The method described in Clause 8, wherein each of the plurality of data slots comprises at least one byte of data.

[0058] Clause 10. The method according to any one of Clauses 1-9, wherein the responder node is part of a communication system comprising a number of N responder nodes, and the identifier field specifies all of the fewer than N responder nodes that send response data as part of a subscriber message frame.

[0059] Clause 11. The method according to any one of Clauses 1-10, wherein the identifier field includes a value mapped to configuration data that identifies a plurality of responder nodes to send response data.

[0060] Clause 12. The method according to Clause 11, wherein configuration data is mapped to the order of response data from the responder node relative to other response data in the subscriber message frame.

[0061] Clause 13. A method comprising: transmitting a header portion of a subscriber message frame having an identification field specifying a plurality of responder nodes of a communication network for transmitting response data; and receiving response data from the plurality of responder nodes specified by the identifier field in a response portion of the subscriber message frame.

[0062] Clause 14. The method according to Clause 13, wherein the identifier field specifies the order of response data from multiple responder nodes.

[0063] Clause 15. The method according to any one of Clauses 13 and 14 further includes: receiving one or more checksum bits from a plurality of responder nodes as part of the response data.

[0064] Clause 16. The method according to any one of Clauses 13-15 further includes: receiving response data from multiple responder nodes in multiple data slots of a subscriber message frame.

[0065] Clause 17. The method according to any one of Clauses 13-16, wherein the communication network comprises a number of N responder nodes, and the identifier field specifies all of the fewer than N responder nodes that send response data as part of a subscriber message frame.

[0066] Clause 18. The method according to any one of Clauses 13-17, wherein the identifier field includes a value mapped to a configuration file that specifies a plurality of responder nodes that will send subscriber message frames.

[0067] Clause 19. The method according to Clause 18, wherein the configuration file specifies the order in which multiple responder nodes are appended to the subscriber message frame.

[0068] Clause 20. A communication system comprising: a command node configured to send a header of a subscriber message frame having an identifier field specifying that a plurality of responder nodes will send response data to the command node; and a plurality of responder nodes configured to send response data to the command node in a responder portion of a subscriber message frame.

[0069] Clause 21. A responder node configured to: receive a header of a subscriber message frame having an identifier field specifying that the responder node will send response data to the commander node; and send the response data as part of a response message frame, the response message frame including additional response data from at least one other responder node specified by the identifier field of the subscriber message frame.

[0070] Clause 22. A command node configured to: send a user message frame having a header including an identifier field specifying a plurality of responder nodes of a communication network to send response data; and receive response data from the plurality of responder nodes specified by the identifier field in the response portion of a subscriber message frame.

[0071] Although the invention has been described with reference to illustrative embodiments, this description is not intended to be limiting. Various modifications and combinations of the illustrative embodiments, as well as other embodiments of the invention, will be apparent to those skilled in the art based on the description. Therefore, the appended claims are intended to cover any such modifications or embodiments.

Claims

1. A method comprising: The responder node receives the header portion of a subscriber message frame containing an identifier field, which specifies that the responder node will send response data to the command node. as well as During the response portion of the subscriber message frame, the responder node sends the response data and other response data from at least one other responder node specified by the identifier field.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the identifier field maps to the order of the response data from the responder node relative to the other response data in the subscriber message frame.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the response data is in the order stated to follow the previous response data, and the method further comprises: The response data is appended after the previous response data has been output as part of the response portion of the subscriber message frame.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: One or more checksum bits are sent at the end of the subscriber message frame.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the responder node is one of a plurality of responder nodes specified by the identifier field to send response data, and further comprises: At the end of the subscriber message frame, each of the multiple responder nodes sends one or more checksum bits.

6. The method according to claim 5, further comprising: If the checksum bit indicating a checksum mismatch comes from at least one of the plurality of responder nodes, the command node identifies a transmission error.

7. The method of claim 4, further comprising: The responder node sends a first checksum bit as part of the response data; as well as A second checksum bit is sent from the at least one other responder node as part of the other response data.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the identifier field is mapped to a plurality of responder nodes to send response data, and the response portion of the subscriber message frame includes a plurality of data slots corresponding to the response data of the plurality of responder nodes.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein each of the plurality of data time slots comprises at least one byte of data.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the responder node is part of a communication system comprising N responder nodes, and the identifier field specifies all responder nodes (less than N) to send response data as part of the subscriber message frame.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the identifier field includes a value mapped to configuration data that identifies a plurality of responder nodes to send the response data.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the configuration data is mapped to the order of the response data from the responder node relative to other response data in the subscriber message frame.

13. A method comprising: Send the header portion of a subscriber message frame that has an identifier field, the identifier field specifying multiple responder nodes of the communication network to send response data; as well as In the response portion of the subscriber message frame, the response data is received from the plurality of responder nodes specified by the identifier field.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the identifier field specifies the order of the response data from the plurality of responder nodes.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising: Receive one or more checksum bits from the plurality of responder nodes as part of the response data.

16. The method of claim 13, further comprising: The response data is received from the plurality of responder nodes in multiple data slots within the subscriber message frame.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the communication network comprises N responder nodes, and the identifier field specifies all responder nodes among fewer than the N responder nodes to send the response data as part of the subscriber message frame.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein the identifier field includes a value mapped to a configuration file specifying that the plurality of responder nodes will send the subscriber message frame.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the configuration file specifies the order in which the response data is appended to the plurality of responder nodes in the subscriber message frame.

20. A communication system, comprising: Commander node is configured to send a header of a subscriber message frame with an identifier field that specifies that multiple responder nodes will send response data to the commander node. as well as Multiple responder nodes are configured to send response data to the commander node in the responder portion of the subscriber message frame.

21. A responder node configured as follows: Receive the header of a subscriber message frame with an identifier field, the identifier field specifying that the responder node will send response data to the commander node; and The response data is sent as part of a response message frame, which includes additional response data from at least one other responder node specified by the identifier field of the subscriber message frame.

22. A command generator node, configured as follows: Send a subscriber message frame with a header including an identifier field that specifies multiple responder nodes in the communication network to send response data; and Receive response data from the plurality of responder nodes specified by the identifier field in the response portion of the subscriber message frame.

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