Efficient replacement of I / O modules

Abstract

Method and arrangement for replacing I / O-Modules of devices or I / O-Module-devices of a Building Automation System connected by a Single Pair Ethernet (SPE) datalink (e.g., Multi- drop Datalink or Daisy-chain Datalink), the Building Automation System comprising one or more Building Automation Controllers.

Description

[0001] EFFICIENT REPLACEMENT OF I / O MODULES

[0002] FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0003] The present invention relates to a method and to an arrangement for replacing of I / O-Modules of devices or I / O-Module- devices of a Building Automation System connected by a Single Pair Ethernet ( SPE ) datalink .

[0004] BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

[0005] I / O-Modules ( input / output modules or I / O module devices ) are devices interfacing with the physical world and used to integrate peripheral devices such as sensors and actuators into a Building Automation System . Multiple I / O-Modules can be connected to one Building Automation Controller via an I / O-Bus .

[0006] Each I / O Module needs an unambiguous I / O-Module-Address which is used by the Building Automation Controller to address the I / O-Module via the I / O-Bus . Thus the Building Automation Controller communicates via I / O-Bus with I / O-Modules to read and command physical I / Os . Typically I / O-Modules are mounted side by side in a consecutive sequence on one or more DIN-Rails in a control cabinet . I / O-Modules are characteri zed and identified by an I / O-Module-Type and a logical I / O-Module-Address .

[0007] In case of an I / O-Module failure a service technician has to fix the problem by using an engineering or commissioning tool .

[0008] Further known solutions to solve the problem of I / O-Module failure : - If only one I / O-Module of an I / O-Module-Type fails at a time, then the new I / O-Module could be accepted if the I / O-Module-Type matches even without configuration of the I / O-Module-Address .

[0009] - The I / O-Module-Address of the new I / O Module could be configured via a commissioning tool, e.g., with a Mobile Phone and Mobile App . This procedure would require a connection such as Bluetooth, NFC, or USB between the I / O-Module and the commissioning tool. This solution would require extra hardware and add costs to the I / O- Module .

[0010] - The I / O-Module assignment can be based on a pre-engineered Serial-Number information which is e.g., printed on the I / O-Module (e.g. QR-Code) . The Serial-Number of the new I / O-Module can be collected during I / O-Module replacement and can be transferred via a commissioning tool to alter the Serial-Number information of the I / O- Module representation in the Building Automation Controller. Assignment of the new I / O-Module is then done based on the Serial-Number and matching I / O-Module-Type. This solution requires a commissioning tool and extra work for the installer.

[0011] - The newly discovered I / O-Module can be manually assigned to the engineered logical I / O-Module via a commissioning tool by selecting the engineered I / O-Module via the commissioning tool and for instance pushing a button on the replaced physical I / O-Module. Pushing a button on the new I / O-Module will trigger a specific identification message to initiate the assignment of the physical I / O- Module to the selected engineered I / O-Module, if the I / O-Module-Type matches. This solution requires a tool and extra user interaction by the service technician. In case of replaced I / O-Modules in a remote cabinet, even two persons may be required to do the job: one at the controller to operate the commissioning tool and one person at the I / O-Module to push the button.

[0012] All known solutions to solve the problem of I / O-Module failure are time-consuming and expensive.

[0013] The objective of the invention is to provide an efficient mechanism for replacing of I / O-Modules, for example, in the field of building automation.

[0014] SUMMARY OF INVENTION

[0015] A first aspect of the invention is a method for replacing I / O-Modules of devices or I / O-Module-devices of a Building Automation System, wherein the I / O-Modules of devices or 1 / 0- Module-devices being connected by a Single Pair Ethernet dat- alink, the method comprising:

[0016] (51) discovering a new and / or replaced I / O-Module on the I / O-Bus via node discovery procedure by a Building Automation Controller of the Building Automation System;

[0017] (52) initiating a position measurement with each discovered new and / or replaced I / O-Module on the respective I / O-Bus line by the Building Automation Controller;

[0018] (53) assigning a I / O-Module-Address to the newly discovered I / O-Module by the Building Automation Controller according to the detected position of the newly discovered I / O-Mod- ule ;

[0019] (54) configuring the newly discovered I / O-Module by the Building Automation Controller.

[0020] A second aspect of the invention is an arrangement for replacing I / O-Modules of devices or I / O-Module-devices of a Building Automation System, wherein the I / O-Modules of devices or I / O-Module-devices being connected by a Single Pair Ethernet datalink, wherein a Building Automation Controller is configured to discover a new and / or replaced I / O-Module on the I / O-Bus via node discovery procedure ; wherein the Building Automation Controller is configured to initiate a position measurement with the discovered new and / or replaced I / O-Module on the respective I / O-Bus line ; wherein the Building Automation Controller is configured to assign a I / O-Module-Address to the newly discovered I / O- Module according to the detected position of the newly discovered I / O-Module ; wherein the Building Automation Controller is further configured to configure the newly discovered I / O-Module .

[0021] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] The above mentioned and other concepts of the present invention will now be addressed with reference to the drawings of the preferred embodiments of the present invention . The shown embodiments are intended to illustrate , but not to limit the invention . The drawings contain the following figures , in which like numbers refer to like parts throughout the description and drawings and wherein :

[0023] FIG 1 illustrates an exemplary I / O Subsystem topology prior to I / O-Module replacement ,

[0024] FIG 2 illustrates exemplary controller lists of engineered and discovered I / O-Modules prior to I / O-Mod- ule replacement ,

[0025] FIG 3 illustrates an exemplary I / O Subsystem topology after I / O-Module replacement , FIG 4 illustrates exemplary controller lists of engineered and discovered I / O-Modules after I / O-Module replacement and discovery,

[0026] FIG 5 illustrates exemplary controller lists of engineered and discovered I / O-Modules after position measurement and assignment , and

[0027] FIG 6 illustrates an exemplary flowchart of a method for replacing I / O-Modules of devices or I / O-Module-de- vices of a Building Automation System connected by a Single Pair Ethernet ( SPE ) datalink .

[0028] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0029] I / O module stands for Input / Output module , which is a device ( I / O module device ) that acts as the interfacebridge between a computer system such as a Building Automation Controller at one end and an I / O device or peripheral device , such as a printer, webcam, scanner, actuator, sensor, controller, gateway, edge device , etc .

[0030] Exemplary functions of an I / O module or I / O-module-device are : sensing, actuating, controlling, timing, processor communication, device communication, data buf fering, error correction, error reporting .

[0031] FIG 1 illustrates an exemplary I / O Subsystem topology prior to I / O-Module replacement . The illustration according to FIG 1 illustrates an exemplary arrangement Method for replacing I / O-Modules Ml - Mn of devices or I / O-Module-devices of a Building Automation System, wherein the I / O-Modules Ml - Mn of devices or I / O-Module-devices being connected by a Single Pair Ethernet SPE-P1 - SPE-P3 , SPE-W1 , SPE-W2 datalink, wherein a Building Automation Controller C is configured to discover a new and / or replaced I / O-Module Ml - Mn on the I / O-Bus via node discovery procedure; wherein the Building Automation Controller C is configured to initiate a position measurement with the discovered new and / or replaced I / O-Module Ml - Mn on the respective 1 / 0- Bus line; wherein the Building Automation Controller C is configured to assign a I / O-Module-Address MA: 1 - MA:N to the newly discovered I / O-Module Ml - Mn according to the detected position of the newly discovered I / O-Module Ml - Mn; wherein the Building Automation Controller C is further configured to configure the newly discovered I / O-Module Ml - Mn.

[0032] The Controller C comprises suitable processing means, memory means, and interfaces to be connected to the I / O-Modules Ml - Mn and to an IP backbone network IPB. The IP backbone network IPB is configured to connect different LANs or subnetworks in the same building, in different buildings, or in a campus environment .

[0033] Advantageously a suitable commissioning tool CT is connected to the IP backbone network IPB to communicate to the Controller C .

[0034] An I / O-Module Ml - Mn comprises:

[0035] - A respective I / O-Module-Address MA, MA: 1 - MA:N, which is assigned during commissioning.

[0036] - A respective node ID, e.g. MAC address, which is factory defined .

[0037] - A respective I / O-Module Type, which is factory defined.

[0038] - A respective Module Position, which is determined or measured during commissioning. Typically, the I / O-Modules Ml - Mn are mounted side by side in a consecutive sequence on one or more DIN-Rails DR in a control cabinet . Within a DIN-Rail DR the I / O-Modules Ml - Mn are connected by means of a pluggable inter-module connection SPE-P1 - SPE-P3 for Single Pair Ethernet SPE .

[0039] By means of suitable inter-module connectors IMC, IMC1 - IMC4 the I / O-Modules Ml - Mn of di f ferent DIN-Rails DR are connected . The inter-module connectors IMC, IMC1 - IMC4 provide the connection of a SPE pluggable inter-module connection to a SPE wired connection SPE-W1 , SPE-W2 , e . g . in case of line breaks , sub islands .

[0040] Advantageously the inter-module connectors IMC, IMC1 - IMC4 are plug-in connectors , typically passive devices with no electronics .

[0041] In the exemplary illustration according to FIG 1 the exemplary control cabinet CC comprises two DIN rails DI , D2 . DIN rail DI comprises the I / O-Modules Ml - M4 , DIN rail D2 comprises the I / O-Modules M5 - M9 . The exemplary detached cabinet DC comprises the DIN rail D3 with the I / O-Modules MI O - Mn . DIN rail DI and DIN rail D2 are interconnected by SPE wired connection SPE-W1 by means of inter-module connectors IMC1 and IMC2 . DIN rail D2 and DIN rail D3 are interconnected by SPE wired connection SPE-W2 by means of inter-module connectors IMC3 and IMC4 .

[0042] The Single Pair Ethernet ( SPE ) datalink can be a multidrop network or a multidrop I / O-Bus . The multidrop network or the multidrop I / O-Bus can be speci fied according to IEEE Standard 10BASE-T1S . 10BASE-T1S Single Pair Ethernet ( SPE ) PHY devices and MAC-PHY devices can communicate via the multidrop network or via the multidrop I / O-Bus . 10BASE-T1S is a fully standardized Ethernet PHY (Physical-

[0043] Layer-Transceiver respectively physical transmission layer for sending and receiving protocols based on the OSI model) , that can connect a 802.3 Clause 4-compliant MAC to a single balanced pair of conductors at the speed of 10 Mbit / s (at MAC / PLS) .

[0044] "PHY" is an abbreviation for "physical layer", it is an electronic circuit, usually implemented as an integrated circuit, required to implement physical layer functions of the OSI model in a network interface controller.

[0045] A PHY connects a link layer device (also known as "MAC" as an acronym for medium access control) to a physical medium such as an optical fiber or copper cable.

[0046] The Single Pair Ethernet (SPE) datalink can also be a daisychain network or a daisy-chain I / O-Bus. The daisy-chain network or a daisy-chain I / O-Bus can be specified according to IEEE Standard 10BASE-T1L.

[0047] 10BASE-T1S and 1OBASE-T1L are standardized in IEEE Std 802.3cg-2019, they are variants of 10 megabit per second Ethernet over single twisted pair. 10BASE-T1S originated in the automotive industry and is especially useful short-distance applications where substantial electrical noise can occur. 10BASE-T1L is useful especially for long-distance Ethernet, supporting connections up to 1 km in length. 10BASE-T1S and 10BASE-T1L are useful to implement applications in Internet of things environments.

[0048] Advantageously the I / O-Modules Ml - Mn are visualized on the Controller C and / or in a tool, e.g. a commissioning tool CT with its position on a DIN Rail DR1 - DR3 and / or with the I / O-Module-Type MT, MT : A, MT : B,MT : C and / or I / O-Module-Address MA, MA: 1 - MA:N by suitable output means, e.g. monitor connected to the tool or display of the tool.

[0049] For example, in a Building Automation System a Building Automation Controller C communicates via I / O-Bus with I / O-Modules Ml - Mn to read and command physical I / Os. Therefore, advantageously only one Building Automation Controller C is allowed per I / O Bus and I / O-Subsystem. The association between an I / O-Module Ml - Mn and the Building Automation Controller C is unambiguous and given by the I / O-Bus. I / O-Modules are mounted side by side in a consecutive sequence on one or more DIN-Rails DR1 - DR3 in a control cabinet CC . I / O-Modules Ml - Mn are characterized and identified by an I / O-Module-Type MT, MT: A, MT:B, MT : C and a logical I / O-Module-Address MA, MA: 1 - MA:N. For practical reasons, the I / O-Module-Address MA, MA: 1 - MA:N is typically the I / O-Module position number MP on the DIN Rail DI - D3. I.e., the I / O-Module closest to the Building Automation Controller C has I / O-Module-Address 1, and the last I / O-Module in the I / O-Subsystem has I / O-Module-Address N. In the Engineering System, each I / O-Module Ml - Mn is characterized by its engineered I / O-Module-Type MT:A, MT:B, MT : C and the engineered logical I / O-Module-Address MA: 1 - MA:N.

[0050] In the Engineering System each I / O-Module Ml - Mn is also characterized by its engineered I / O-Module-Type and the engineered logical I / O-Module-Address. During the installation of the I / O-Modules Ml - Mn, the installer configures the correct logical I / O-Module-Address per I / O-Module.

[0051] Advantageously only one Building Automation Controller C is allowed per I / O Bus and I / O-Subsystem. Therefore, the association between an I / O-Module and the Building Automation Controller C is unambiguous and given by the I / O-Bus. In the exemplary illustration according to FIG 1 the I / O-Mod- ules M2, M4, and M13 are indicated to be broken or defect I / O-Modules (DM) .

[0052] In case of an I / O-Module failure during normal runtime of the system, the service technician replaces the broken I / O-Mod- ules M2, M4, and M13 with a respective new I / O-Module of the same I / O-Module-Type and plugs the original mechanical address key of the defect I / O-Module to the new I / O-Module. The Building Automation Controller C discovers the new I / O-Mod- ules M2, M4, and M13 with the same I / O-Module-Address, the same I / O-Module-Type but a different Serial-Number. The new I / O-Module M2, M4, and M13 gets assigned automatically to the corresponding engineered logical representation of the I / O- Module if both I / O-Module-Type and I / O-Module-Address match. Afterwards the system is fully operational again.

[0053] The service technician just needs a respective new I / O-Module M2, M4, and M13 and a screwdriver. There is no need to use an engineering / commissioning tool to fix the problem. Therefore, even low-skilled people can repair the system. So far, an electro-mechanical address decoder was required per I / O-Mod- ule. In the next generation of I / O-Modules the pluggable mechanical address key will be replaced by an electronic solution to save costs and space of the I / O-Module.

[0054] New communication technologies such as Single Pair Ethernet (SPE) Datalinks provide features like topology discovery and node position detection which can be used to automatically determine the position of the I / O-Module Ml - Mn on the I / O- Bus . Therefore, it is possible for a Building Automation Controller C to detect and memorize the position of each I / O- Module Ml - Mn on a DIN Rail DR1 - DR3 or an I / O-Bus during commissioning based on the topology discovery and / or node position detection features of modern SPE Datalinks (MAC and PHY) .

[0055] The memorized I / O-Module position is used by the Building Automation Controller C to simplify the I / O-Module replacement workflow if pluggable mechanical address keys are no longer supported. If one or multiple I / O-Modules fail at a time, the Building Automation Controller C will know that I / O-Modules at position x, y, z, ... are no longer operational and the Building Automation Controller C will periodically scan the I / O-Bus for new I / O-Modules (discovery procedure) .

[0056] If one or multiple defect I / O-Modules M2, M4, M13 get replaced, the Building Automation Controller C discovers the new I / O-Modules in a short time and initiates the position detection procedure with each newly discovered I / O-Module.

[0057] If the I / O-Module-Type of the new I / O-Module at position x matches with the already engineered and expected I / O-Module- Type of the defect I / O-Module at position x, the new I / O-Mod- ule gets automatically assigned and the I / O-Module-Address of the new I / O-Module will be configured automatically by the Building Automation Controller.

[0058] If multiple I / O-Modules are replaced, then the Building Automation Controller C repeats the procedure for positions y, z, ... etc.

[0059] Based on the memorized I / O-Module position information multiple defect I / O-Modules of the same I / O-Module-Type can be easily replaced at a time without an engineering or commissioning tool. The service technician just needs new I / O-Mod- ules and a screwdriver to fix the problems. Therefore, even low-skilled people can repair the system. As mentioned before Single Pair Ethernet (SPE) is another set of IEEE 802.3 physical media standards to communicate Ethernet messages over a twisted pair cable. IEEE 802.3cg, for example, defines the 10BASE-T1S technology with 10Mbps multidrop transmission medium and 10BASE-T1L with a 10Mbps daisychain link. And just like wired and wireless Ethernet networks, there is an Ethernet MAC and PHY (Datalink) for each SPE standard.

[0060] The following SPE technologies are known currently:

[0061] - Multidrop communication: all nodes are connected to the same bus cable.

[0062] - Daisy-chain topology: Each node contains two PHYs and a switch.

[0063] Multidrop Datalink

[0064] SPE datalinks for a multidrop network, such as 10BASE-T1S, provide topology discovery and node position detection features. These features can automatically determine the position of an I / O-Module Ml - Mn on an I / O-Bus. Therefore, it is possible to configure the I / O-Module-Address automatically based on the topology discovery and communication node position detection. The Controller can initiate the discovery and position detection procedure, and the results are available either on the Controller C or on the I / O Modules Ml - Mn from where the Controller C can read those values for further processing .

[0065] Procedure with a multidrop I / O-Bus (e.g. 10BASE-T1S) :

[0066] A) The Building Automation Controller C discovers new / replaced I / O-Modules M2, M4, M13 on the I / O-Bus via node discovery procedure. After the discovery is completed a list of new I / O-Modules M2, M4, M13 with their respective node ID (e.g., PHY-ID or MAC-Address) is known. At this point, the Building Automation Controller C knows the new / replaced 1 / 0- Modules M2, M4, M13 on the I / O-Bus but not the position.

[0067] B) The Building Automation Controller C initiates a position measurement with each new discovered I / O-Module M2, M4, M13 on the same I / O-Bus line. The PHY of the Building Automation Controller C will send a specific signal to the PHY of the I / O-Module which is addressed by the node ID to trigger the position measurement between the Controller C and the respective I / O-Module M2, M4, M13. Afterward, the measured propagation delay can be queried from the PHY of the I / O-Module via node ID. The propagation delay can be mapped to a cable distance on the I / O-Bus (10BASE-T1S network) . Even if the measured position has only an accuracy of a few cm (< width of physical I / O-Module) it is possible to determine the position of the new I / O-Module on the I / O-Bus. For instance, if the measured position has an exemplary accuracy of < 5 cm it is possible to determine the sequence of the I / O-Modules on an I / O-Bus .

[0068] C) The Building Automation Controller C assigns the respective I / O-Module-Address MA: 2, MA: 4, MA: 13 to the respective replaced I / O-Module M2, M4, M13 according to the detected position. Afterwards the new I / O-Module M2, M4, M13 will be configured by the Building Automation Controller C and will be fully operational.

[0069] D) The new I / O-Modules M2, M4, M13 can be visualized on the Controller C or in a tool CT with its position on the DIN Rail DR1 - DR3 and with the I / O-Module-Type or address etc.

[0070] Daisy-chain Datalink SPE Datalinks for a daisy-chain network, such as 10BASE-T1L, provide features like discovering neighbor nodes. The Controller C can initiate the neighbor discovery procedure, and the results are available on the I / O Modules Ml - Mn from where the Controller C can read those values for further processing .

[0071] Procedure with a daisy-chain I / O-Bus (e.g. 10BASE-T1L) :

[0072] Each node is able to detect the MAC-Address of the two neighboring nodes (one on the left and one on the right) in the daisy chain topology. In addition the PHYs of each node are able to detect the cable length between nodes. With this information it is possible to determine the entire network topology and cable distances between nodes by the Building Automation Controller C.

[0073] A) The Building Automation Controller C searches new and / or replaced I / O-Modules M2, M4, M13 on the I / O Bus via specific discovery procedures. After the discovery is completed a list of new I / O-Modules M2, M4, M13 with their MAC- Address will be known. Advantageously all new and / or replaced I / O-Modules M2, M4, M13 will be searched by the Building Automation Controller C.

[0074] B) The Building Automation Controller C initiates a daisy-chain topology discovery for the I / O-Bus (for a part of the I / O-Bus or for the entire I / O-Bus) . Each node can detect the node ID of the two neighboring nodes (one on the left and one on the right side) in the daisy chain topology. With this information, it is possible to determine the entire network topology and node sequence in the topology by the Building Automation Controller. Hence, the Building Automation Controller C knows the positions of new / replaced I / O-Modules M2, M4, M13.

[0075] C) The Building Automation Controller C assigns the respective I / O-Module-Address MA: 2, MA: 4, MA: 13 to the respective replaced I / O-Modules M2, M4, M13 according to the detected position. Afterwards the new I / O-Modules M2, M4, M13 will be configured by the Building Automation Controller C and will be fully operational. D) The new I / O-Modules M2, M4, M13 can be visualized on the Controller C or in a tool C with its position on the DIN Rail DR1 - DR3 and with the I / O-Module-Type or address etc.

[0076] FIG 1 illustrates an arrangement of I / O-Modules of a Building Automation System connected by a Single Pair Ethernet (SPE) datalink (e.g., Multidrop Datalink or Daisy-chain Datalink) , the Building Automation System comprising one or more controllers. If the Building Automation System comprising a plurality of controllers a topology discovery of the network is required .

[0077] FIG 2 illustrates exemplary lists of engineered I / O-Modules (LEM) and of discovered I / O-Modules prior to I / O-Module replacement (LDMPMR) . The lists LEM, LDMPMR are generated and hosted by the controller C. In FIG 2 the exemplary lists LEM, LDMPMR are represented as tables. The table LEM comprises two columns with the headers I / O-Module-Address (MA) and I / O-Mod- ule-Type (MT) . The lines below the headers represent exemplary I / O-Modules Ml - Mn. The table LDMPMR comprises six columns with the headers I / O-Module-Address (MA) , I / O-Module- Type (MT) , Serial-Number (SN) , Node ID (ID) , Module-Position (MP) , and Module-Status (MS) . The lines below the headers represent exemplary I / O-Modules Ml - Mn. In the exemplary table LDMPMR the exemplary I / O-Module with the I / O-Module-Ad- dress "2" and "4" have the Module-Status "missing". In the exemplary table LDMPMR the exemplary I / O-Module with the I / O- Module-Address "1" and "3" have the Module-Status "operational" .

[0078] In case the Single Pair Ethernet (SPE) datalink is a multidrop network or a multidrop I / O-Bus, for instance according to IEEE Standard 10BASE-T1S the Building Automation Controller C discovers I / O-Modules Ml - Mn on the I / O-Bus via node discovery and registration procedure. After the discovery is completed a list of I / O-Modules Ml - Mn with their node ID (e.g., PHY-ID or MAC Address) is known.

[0079] In case the Single Pair Ethernet (SPE) datalink is a daisychain I / O-Bus, for instance according to IEEE Standard 10BASE-T1L the Building Automation Controller C discovers all I / O-Modules Ml - Mn on the I / O-Bus via specific discovery procedures. After the discovery is completed a list of I / O- Modules Ml - Mn with their node ID (e.g., PHY-ID or MAC address) is known.

[0080] In FIG 2 the list (table) LEM illustrates the list of engineered exemplary I / O-Modules Ml - Mn and the list (table) LDMPMR illustrates the list of discovered exemplary I / O-Mod- ules Ml - Mn prior to I / O-Module replacement.

[0081] In FIG 2 the arrows from the I / O-Modules Ml - M4 of the table LDMPMR to the I / O-Modules Ml - M4 of the table LEM indicate the assignment (AS) of discovered I / O-Modules according to an ordering regarding the distance of the I / O-Modules from the controller C.

[0082] FIG 3 illustrates an exemplary I / O Subsystem topology after I / O-Module replacement. See FIG 1 for the description and meaning of reference signs.

[0083] FIG 4 illustrates exemplary controller lists of engineered I / O-Modules (LEM) and of discovered I / O-Modules after discovery proceedings of new or replaced I / O-Modules (LDMADM) . The lists LEM, LDMADM are generated and hosted by the controller C. In FIG 4 the exemplary lists LEM, LDMADM are represented as tables. The table LEM comprises two columns with the headers I / O-Module-Address (MA) and I / O-Module-Type (MT) . The lines below the headers represent exemplary I / O-Modules Ml - Mn. The table LDMADM comprises six columns with the headers I / O-Module-Address (MA) , I / O-Module-Type (MT) , Serial-Number (SN) , Node ID (ID) , Module-Position (MP) , and Module-Status (MS) . The lines below the headers represent exemplary 1 / 0- Modules Ml - Mn. In the exemplary table LDMADM the exemplary I / O-Module with the I / O-Module-Address "2" and "4" have the Module-Status "missing". In the exemplary table LDMADM the exemplary I / O-Module with the I / O-Module-Address "1" and "3" have the Module-Status "operational". In the exemplary table LDMADM the exemplary I / O-Modules with the I / O-Module-Address "?" have the Module-Status "unassigned".

[0084] In FIG 4 the arrows from the I / O-Modules Ml - M4 of the table LDMADM to the I / O-Modules Ml - M4 of the table LEM indicate the assignment (AS) of discovered new or replaced I / O-Modules according to an ordering regarding the distance of the I / O- Modules from the controller C.

[0085] FIG 5 illustrates exemplary controller lists of engineered I / O-Modules (LEM) and of discovered I / O-Modules after position measurement and assignment of new or replaced I / O-Mod- ules (LDMAPMA) .

[0086] The lists LEM, LDMAPMA are generated and hosted by the controller C. In FIG 5 the exemplary lists LEM, LDMAPMA are represented as tables. The table LEM comprises two columns with the headers I / O-Module-Address (MA) and I / O-Module-Type (MT) . The lines below the headers represent exemplary I / O-Modules Ml - Mn. The table LDMAPMA comprises six columns with the headers I / O-Module-Address (MA) , I / O-Module-Type (MT) , Serial-Number (SN) , Node ID (ID) , Module-Position (MP) , and Module-Status (MS) . The lines below the headers represent exemplary I / O-Modules Ml - Mn.

[0087] In the exemplary table LDMAPMA the exemplary I / O-Module with the I / O-Module-Address "1", "2", "3", and "4" have the Module-Status "operational". In the exemplary table LDMAPMA the exemplary I / O-Modules with the I / O-Module-Address "?" have the Module-Status "removed".

[0088] In FIG 5 the arrows from the I / O-Modules Ml - M4 of the table LDMAPMA to the I / O-Modules Ml - M4 of the table LEM indicate the assignment (AS) of discovered new or replaced I / O-Modules according to an ordering regarding the distance of the I / O- Modules from the controller C, after position measurement and assignment of new or replaced I / O-Modules.

[0089] FIG 6 illustrates an exemplary flowchart of a method for replacing I / O-Modules (Ml - Mn) of devices or I / O-Module-de- vices of a Building Automation System, wherein the I / O-Mod- ules (Ml - Mn) of devices or I / O-Module-devices being connected by a Single Pair Ethernet (SPE-P1 - SPE-P3, SPE-W1, SPE-W2) datalink, the method comprising:

[0090] (51) discovering a new and / or replaced I / O-Module (Ml - Mn) on the I / O-Bus via node discovery procedure by a Building Automation Controller (C) of the Building Automation System;

[0091] (52) initiating a position measurement with each discovered new and / or replaced I / O-Module on the respective I / O-Bus line by the Building Automation Controller (C) ;

[0092] (53) assigning a I / O-Module-Address (MA: 1 - MA:N) to the newly discovered I / O-Module (Ml - Mn) by the Building Automation Controller (C) according to the detected position of the newly discovered I / O-Module (Ml - Mn) ;

[0093] (54) configuring the newly discovered I / O-Module (Ml - Mn) by the Building Automation Controller (C) .

[0094] Advantageously assigning the I / O-Module-Addresses (MA: 1 - MA:N) to the newly discovered I / O-Module (Ml - Mn) is according the respective measured distance of the newly discovered I / O-Module (Ml - Mn) to the Controller (C) . Advantageously in case the newly discovered I / O-Module (Ml - Mn) is replacing a former I / O-Module (Ml - Mn) , the configuring of the newly discovered I / O-Module (Ml - Mn) is according to parameters of the former I / O-Module (Ml - Mn) .

[0095] The controller and the Building Automation System comprising suitable processing means, storing means, communication means, I / O means to perform the method steps for addressing and commissioning of I / O-Modules of devices or I / O-Module-de- vices of a Building Automation System connected by a Single Pair Ethernet (SPE) datalink.

[0096] Scenario: Multidrop network, or a multidrop I / O-Bus, especially according to IEEE Standard 10BASE-T1S

[0097] In case the Single Pair Ethernet (SPE-P1 - SPE-P3, SPE-W1, SPE-W2) datalink is a multidrop network, or a multidrop 1 / 0- Bus, especially according to 10BASE-T1S Standard, advantageously the discovering of the new and / or replaced I / O-Module (Ml - Mn) is performed based on the topology discovery and / or communication node position detection.

[0098] Advantageously to measure the position of the I / O-Modules (Ml - Mn) , the physical interface PHY of the Building Automation Controller (C) sends a specific signal to the physical interface PHY of the I / O-Module (Ml - Mn) which is addressed by the node ID to trigger the position measurement between the Building Automation Controller (C) and the respective I / O- Module (Ml - Mn) , wherein a measured propagation delay is queried from the physical interface PHY of the I / O-Module (Ml - Mn) via the node ID, wherein the propagation delay is mapped to a cable distance on the I / O-Bus. Optionally to determine the sequence of the I / O-Modules (Ml - Mn) on an I / O-Bus the measured position has an accuracy of < 5 cm .

[0099] Optionally to determine the sequence of the I / O-Modules (Ml - Mn) on an I / O-Bus the accuracy of the position measurement or the distance measurement is < of the width of an I / O-Module (Ml - Mn) . This increases the quality of the position measurement or the distance measurement . Applying findings of the Nyquist-Shannon sampling theorem .

[0100] Optionally to determine the sequence of the I / O-Modules (Ml - Mn) on an I / O-Bus the measured position has as accuracy the width, especially the physical width, of an I / O-Module (Ml - Mn) .

[0101] Optionally, the position of the respective I / O-Modules (Ml - Mn) on an I / O-Bus could also be determined on the basis of a measured lead resistance or cable resistance .

[0102] Advantageously the controller ( C ) is located at one of the ends of the bus line , in case the Building Automation System comprising one controller ( C ) .

[0103] Advantageously in case the Building Automation System comprising one controller ( C ) and said controller ( C ) is not located at one of the ends of the bus line , a suitable topology discovery is performed in addition to the position measurement .

[0104] Advantageously in case the Building Automation System comprising a plurality of controllers ( C ) a suitable topology discovery is performed in addition to the position measurement . Optionally the network or the I / O-Bus comprises an coordinator. The coordinator can be on the automation station (e.g. building management station) or on an I / O-Module that is part of the local bus line (e.g. as branch connection module) . The controller then triggers the distance measurement on the coordinator and an I / O module of the same bus line or the same bus section. The coordinator can be implemented or integrated in the automation station or on a branch connection module. A detached cabinet and a branch connection module can be connected via LAN. An automation station is configured to find the respective coordinator of the respective bus line.

[0105] Scenario: Daisy-chain network or a daisy-chain I / O-Bus, especially according to IEEE Standard 10BASE-T1L

[0106] In case the Single Pair Ethernet (SPE-P1 - SPE-P3, SPE-W1, SPE-W2) datalink is a daisy-chain network or a daisy-chain I / O-Bus, especially according to 10BASE-T1L Standard, the discovering of the I / O-Modules (Ml - Mn) on the I / O-Bus is performed by suitable discovery procedures for daisy-chain networks, initiated by the Building Automation Controller

[0107] (C) .

[0108] Advantageously the Building Automation Controller (C) initiates a daisy-chain topology discovery for the entire I / O-Bus, wherein each node detects the node ID of its two direct neighboring nodes in the daisy chain topology, wherein the physical interfaces PHYs of each node detect the cable length between the nodes. The Building Automation Controller (C) determines based on the cable length between the nodes the entire network topology and the respective cable distances between the nodes.

[0109] Advantageously a newly discovered I / O-Module (Ml - Mn) is visualized on the Controller (C) and / or in a tool by suitable output means . Advantageously a newly discovered I / O-Module (Ml - Mn) is visualized on the Controller (C) and / or in a tool (CT) with its position on a DIN Rail (DR) and / or with the I / O-Module- Type (MT, MT : A, MT : B,MT : C) and / or I / O-Module-Address (MA, MA: 1 - MA:N) by suitable output means.

[0110] The newly discovered I / O-Modules (Ml - Mn) are fully operational after respective configuration.

[0111] Exemplary advantages of the invention:

[0112] - Costly pluggable address keys and the address decoder on the I / O-Module are no longer needed.

[0113] - It is possible to replace multiple I / O-Modules of the same I / O-Module-Type at a time easily by low skilled people without tool support.

[0114] Method and arrangement for replacing I / O-Modules of devices or I / O-Module-devices of a Building Automation System connected by a Single Pair Ethernet (SPE) datalink (e.g., Multidrop Datalink or Daisy-chain Datalink) , the Building Automation System comprising one or more Building Automation Controllers .

[0115] Reference Signs

[0116] C Controller

[0117] CT Commissioning Tool

[0118] CC Control Cabinet

[0119] DC Detached Cabinet

[0120] Ml - Mn 1 / O-Module

[0121] ID, ID:x, ID:y, ID:z Node ID

[0122] MA, MA: 1 - MA:N I / O-Module Address

[0123] MT, MT:A, MT:B, MT : C I / O-Module Type

[0124] MP I / O-Module Position

[0125] MS Module Status

[0126] DM Defect I / O-Module

[0127] IPB IP Backbone

[0128] DR1 - DR3 DIN Rail

[0129] IMC, IMC1 - IMC4 Inter-Module Connector

[0130] SPE Single Pair Ethernet

[0131] SPE-P, SPE-P1 - SPE-P3 SPE pluggable inter-module connection

[0132] SPE-W, SPE-W1, SPE-W2 SPE wired connection

[0133] LEM List of Engineered I / O-Modules

[0134] LDMPMR List of Discovered I / O-Modules prior to I / O-Module replacement

[0135] LDMADM List of Discovered I / O-Modules after discovery of new or replaced I / O-Modules

[0136] LDMAPMA List of Discovered I / O-Modules after position measurement and assignment

[0137] SN Serial Number

[0138] AS Assignment

[0139] SI - S4 Method Step

Claims

CLAIMS1. A Method for replacing I / O-Modules (Ml - Mn) of devices or I / O-Module-devices of a Building Automation System, wherein the I / O-Modules (Ml - Mn) of devices or I / O-Module-devices being connected by a Single Pair Ethernet (SPE-P1 - SPE-P3, SPE-W1, SPE-W2) datalink, the method comprising:(51) discovering a new and / or replaced I / O-Module (Ml - Mn) on the I / O-Bus via node discovery procedure by a Building Automation Controller (C) of the Building Automation System;(52) initiating a position measurement with each discovered new and / or replaced I / O-Module on the respective I / O-Bus line by the Building Automation Controller (C) ;(53) assigning a I / O-Module-Address (MA: 1 - MA:N) to the newly discovered I / O-Module (Ml - Mn) by the Building Automation Controller (C) according to the detected position of the newly discovered I / O-Module (Ml - Mn) ;(S4) configuring the newly discovered I / O-Module (Ml - Mn) by the Building Automation Controller (C) .

2. The Method according to claim 1, wherein assigning the I / O-Module-Address (MA: 1 - MA:N) to the newly discovered I / O- Module (Ml - Mn) is according the respective measured distance of the newly discovered I / O-Module (Ml - Mn) to the Controller (C) .

3. The Method according to claim 1 or to claim 2, wherein in case the newly discovered I / O-Module (Ml - Mn) is replacing a former I / O-Module (Ml - Mn) , the configuring of the newly discovered I / O-Module (Ml - Mn) is according to parameters of the former I / O-Module (Ml - Mn) .

4. The Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the Single Pair Ethernet (SPE-P1 - SPE-P3, SPE-W1,SPE-W2) datalink is a multidrop network, or a multidrop 1 / 0-Bus, especially according to 10BASE-T1S Standard, wherein discovering of the new and / or replaced I / O-Mod- ule (Ml - Mn) is performed based on the topology discovery and / or communication node position detection.

5. The Method according to claim 4, wherein to measure the position of the I / O-Modules (Ml - Mn) , the physical interface PHY of the Building Automation Controller (C) sends a specific signal to the physical interface PHY of the I / O-Module (Ml - Mn) which is addressed by the node ID to trigger the position measurement between the Building Automation Controller (C) and the respective 1 / 0- Module (Ml - Mn) , wherein a measured propagation delay is queried from the physical interface PHY of the I / O-Module (Ml - Mn) via the node ID, wherein the propagation delay is mapped to a cable distance on the I / O-Bus.

6. The Method according to claim 5, wherein the measured position has an accuracy of < 5 cm to determine the sequence of the I / O-Modules (Ml - Mn) on an I / O-Bus.

7. The Method according to claim 5, wherein the accuracy of the position measurement is <of the width of an I / O-Module (Ml - Mn) to determine the sequence of the I / O-Modules (Ml -Mn) on an I / O-Bus.

8. The Method according to claim 5, wherein the measured position has as accuracy the width of an I / O-Module to determine the sequence of the I / O-Modules (Ml - Mn) on an I / O-Bus.

9. The Method according to one of the claims claim 4 to 8,wherein the controller (C) is located at one of the ends of the bus line, in case the Building Automation System comprising one controller (C) .

10. The Method according to one of the claims claim 4 to 9, wherein in case the Building Automation System comprising one controller (C) and said controller (C) is not located at one of the ends of the bus line, a suitable topology discovery is performed in addition to the position measurement11. The Method according to one of the preceding claims 1 to 9, wherein the Building Automation System comprising a plurality of controllers (C) a suitable topology discovery is performed in addition to the position measurement.

12. The Method according to one of the claims 1 to 3, wherein the Single Pair Ethernet (SPE-P1 - SPE-P3, SPE-W1, SPE-W2) datalink is a daisy-chain network or a daisy-chain I / O-Bus, especially according to 10BASE-T1L Standard, wherein discovering of the I / O-Modules (Ml - Mn) on the I / O-Bus is performed by suitable discovery procedures for daisy-chain networks, initiated by the Building Automation Controller (C) .

13. The Method according to claim 12, wherein the Building Automation Controller (C) initiates a daisy-chain topology discovery for the entire I / O-Bus, wherein each node detects the node ID of its two direct neighboring nodes in the daisy chain topology, wherein the physical interfaces PHYs of each node detect the cable length between the nodes.

14. The Method according to claim 13, wherein based on the cable length between the nodes the entire network topology and the respective cable distancesbetween nodes are determined by the Building Automation Controller (C) .

15. The Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the newly discovered I / O-Module (Ml - Mn) is visualized on the Controller (C) and / or in a tool by suitable output means .

16. The Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the newly discovered I / O-Module (Ml - Mn) is visualized on the Controller (C) and / or in a tool (CT) with its position on a DIN Rail (DR) and / or with the I / O-Module-Type (MT,MT:A,MT:B,MT:C) and / or I / O-Module-Address (MA, MA: 1 -MA:N) by suitable output means.

17. The Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the newly discovered I / O-Module (Ml - Mn) is fully operational after configuration.

18. An arrangement Method for replacing I / O-Modules (Ml - Mn) of devices or I / O-Module-devices of a Building Automation System, wherein the I / O-Modules (Ml - Mn) of devices or 1 / 0- Module-devices being connected by a Single Pair Ethernet(SPE-P1 - SPE-P3, SPE-W1, SPE-W2) datalink, wherein a Building Automation Controller (C) is configured to discover a new and / or replaced I / O-Module (Ml - Mn) on the I / O-Bus via node discovery procedure; wherein the Building Automation Controller (C) is configured to initiate a position measurement with the discovered new and / or replaced I / O-Module (Ml - Mn) on the respective I / O-Bus line; wherein the Building Automation Controller (C) is configured to assign a I / O-Module-Address (MA: 1 - MA:N) to the newly discovered I / O-Module (Ml - Mn) according to the detected position of the newly discovered I / O-Module (Ml - Mn) ;wherein the Building Automation Controller (C) is further configured to configure the newly discovered I / O-Module(Ml - Mn) .

19. The arrangement according to claim 18, wherein the Single Pair Ethernet (SPE-P1 - SPE-P3, SPE- Wl, SPE-W2) datalink is a multidrop network, or a multidrop I / O-Bus, especially according to 10BASE-T1S, or the Single Pair Ethernet (SPE-P1 - SPE-P3, SPE-W1, SPEWS) datalink a daisy-chain network or a daisy-chain I / O-Bus, especially according to 10BASE-T1L.

20. The arrangement according to claim 18 or claim 19, wherein the new and / or replaced I / O-Module (Ml - Mn) is visualized on the Controller (C) and / or in a tool (CT) with its position on a DIN Rail (DR) and / or with the I / O-Module-Type (MT, MT: A, MT:B, MT:C) and / or I / O-Module-Address (MA, MA: 1 -MA:N) by suitable output means.

Images