System of multiple, nanosecond-synchronised, distant, low-consumption, galvanically insulated meters for measuring high-frequency analogue signals and associated operating method

Abstract

The present invention relates to an electronic system for measuring high-frequency analogue signals (up to a tenth of a MHz), formed by multiple measuring apparatuses (1), a hub apparatus (2) and a fibre-optic connection between the hub apparatus and each measuring apparatus, in a star topology. The meters may several kilometres away from the hub apparatus. The system is characterised in that it comprises an operating process that allows scheduled measurements to be taken simultaneously in all the measuring devices (1), with nanosecond precision, and the measurement data to be transmitted in real time, by means of the fibre-optic connection (3), to the hub apparatus (2) for subsequent analysis.

Description

[0001]

[0002] MULTIPLE METER SYSTEM ON HIGH FREQUENCY ANALOG SIGNALS, SYNCHRONIZED IN NANOSECONDS, DISTANT, WITH VERY LOW CONSUMPTION AND GALVANICLY ISOLATED, AND ASSOCIATED PROCESS FOR ITS OPERATION.

[0003] TECHNICAL SECTOR

[0004] The present invention belongs to the field of electronic engineering, electronic systems for measuring analog signals, digital data transmission systems, IoT (Internet of Things) systems, and systems for time synchronization in distributed measuring equipment.

[0005] The main object of the present invention is an electronic system for measuring high frequency analog signals (up to tens of MHz), consisting of multiple measuring devices (1 ), a concentrating device (2) and an interconnection over optical fiber between it and each of those, with star topology. The meters can be separated by distances of several kilometers from the concentrating device (2). This system is characterized by having an operating process, distributed in the measuring devices (1 ) and the concentrating device (2), which allows scheduled measurements to be carried out on all the measuring devices (1 ) at the same time, with a precision of nanoseconds and transmitting in real time and by means of the optical fiber interconnection (3), the measurement data to the concentrated device (2) for subsequent analysis.

[0006] Likewise, the system's operating process is characterized by having very low average consumption in the measuring devices (2) so that they can remain operational for several years using as a source of energy any system independent of the electrical network, such as a small battery.

[0007] Due to its characteristics, the system described in this invention fits into those commonly associated with IoT (Internet of Things) technologies, and specifically industrial IoT or IloT. Its main application is the creation of massive monitoring networks, which require real-time measurements of industrial assets in operation over long periods of time.

[0008] BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Comprised of interconnected sensors and devices that measure, collect, and send data to centralized systems, industrial asset monitoring networks or infrastructures are one of the tools needed to transform the way industrial processes operate, making them more flexible, scalable, efficient, and resilient.

[0010] The deployment of monitoring networks offers numerous advantages when applied to predictive or proactive maintenance strategies for monitored assets. The objective of these strategies is to keep assets operational for as long as possible, detecting failures and their probable location in the shortest possible time and / or anticipating a potential failure based on the continuous measurement and collection of a large number of aggregated measurements while the asset is in operation, in order to extract meaningful patterns, trends, and actionable insights related to the phenomena generated by the measured signals. This makes it possible to schedule corrective maintenance actions without affecting the production or service delivery process.

[0011] Industrial infrastructures sometimes comprise a large number of assets that can be the source and cause of failures. In this situation, it is desirable to use systems and solutions that allow for the permanent deployment of numerous electronic measuring devices in remote locations with the necessary capabilities to perform different types of measurements on the assets. Furthermore, it is desirable that this deployment be feasible, not only in relation to a CAPEX objective or constraints but also in relation to OPEX, i.e., a measuring system that is easy to implement, highly reliable, and requires little or no maintenance.

[0012] Likewise, it is desirable in this context that the measuring devices have the technical and electronic features to cover a wide variety of types of signals to be measured and a high sensitivity in detecting signals within a wide range of operating frequencies, which should be at least up to 20 MHz. This feature will be better to the extent that this device is highly immune to electromagnetic noise in the environment, of relatively simple design and with a pseudo-passive character, that is, its consumption is comparable to zero given that the power / consumption ratio allows it to operate for years without operator intervention.

[0013] Measuring systems for high frequency analog signals (up to tens of MHz) are commonly used and do not represent a technical problem today. In relation to the measuring device (1), they are all based on analog-to-digital converters (ADC) and have a common characteristic: high energy consumption, which is assumed in the applications for which they are used, an aspect that gives them low operating autonomy and / or dependence on the electrical grid. It is desirable that these devices have a very low average consumption in order to have a great operating autonomy when they are powered, for example, by a small battery or by means of residual energy capture (Harvesting).

[0014] This low power consumption is usually achieved because these systems perform brief, sporadic measurements, allowing for very low average power consumption. In any case, the state of the art indicates that combining low power consumption with high-frequency analog signal measurement (up to tens of MHz) is not always feasible, so they are limited to low-frequency measurements (below 1 MHz).

[0015] An example of the state of the art of these devices are those described in patent US2010188239A1 - published on July 29, 2010, entitled "Monitoring electrical assets for fault and efficiency correction" and which protects a device for monitoring an electrical asset in an electrical infrastructure and which may have a sensor coupled to the electrical asset to obtain corresponding data of at least one of the voltage, current and phase angle waveforms and in the low frequency order, therefore understood as low frequency. In relation to its operating autonomy and power supply, it will be obtained by extracting energy directly from the asset through direct coupling, inductive coupling, capacitive coupling or by any other means known to those skilled in the art, as long as this energy is available.The arrangement of meters in multiple locations within an infrastructure with interconnected or related assets would occasionally allow measurements to be obtained from different meters (at least two, and preferably more than two) of the same, more or less complex signal, with components across a wide high-frequency range and whose origin could be the same. This circumstance would allow calculations to be performed using, for example, Time of Flight (ToF) techniques of varying complexity, and facilitate a possible location of the source of the measured signal(s) or other forensic calculations and analyses. To this end, it is not only desirable but necessary that all meters involved perform their measurements in synchronization with each other, and that the synchronization process be efficient in terms of the required accuracy, energy consumption, and ease of implementation in the measuring devices.

[0016] The precision of this synchronization would determine the system's ability to determine the probable location of the signal's origin. This precision must allow for the comparison of signals and phenomena occurring simultaneously. This simultaneity is understood in the field of electromagnetic signals and, therefore, signals that propagate at speeds close to the speed of light (200 meters per microsecond for travel over optical fiber or coaxial cable). To obtain location determinations on the order of meters, applying, for example, "time-of-flight" ToF techniques, synchronized measurements on the order of nanoseconds must be achieved.

[0017] The current state of the art provides several possibilities for synchronized equipment that could be used, such as the Network Time Protocol (NTP), the Precision Time Protocol (PTP) originally standardized by IEEE standard 1588 (entitled "Standard for a Precision Clock Synchronization Protocol for Networked Measurement and Control Systems"), White Rabbit (WR), IEEE standard 802.1AS also known as Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN), and the Inter-Range Instrumentation Group (IRIG) time codes series of standards. These various time synchronization methods respond to the varied needs of industries, and the choice of synchronization method depends on factors such as accuracy requirements, network architecture, and the specific challenges of a particular application.In general, most of them provide sub-microsecond precision (except for WR, which provides nanoseconds) and require generally complex and manageable implementation architectures in relation to the intended application or system, high power consumption, and effective operating modes on Ethernet-type networks. Similarly, the aforementioned synchronization mechanisms assume that data timestamps are performed on the distributed element.

[0018] In the case of timing systems based on GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite Systems), improvements in accuracy and ease of implementation can be achieved at the cost of added complexity to the measuring device and additional power consumption.

[0019] An example of the state of the art in relation to the synchronization of distributed measurement equipment is that described in patent US2013170507A1, published on July 4, 2013, entitled “Time Synchronization for Network Testing Equipment”, which protects an improved clock synchronization mechanism for devices that is adapted to large-scale distributed systems for monitoring and testing communication networks, based on the PTP / IEEE 1588 protocol.

[0020] Another example of the state of the art for synchronizing measuring devices is that described in patent US2010188239A1 , previously referenced, which protects a device for monitoring an electrical asset in an electrical infrastructure and which may have a sensor coupled to the electrical asset with GPS synchronization or with a local timer, previously synchronized with GPS or without this synchronization and with admissible synchronization drifts for the application expected of them. Likewise, this implementation determines that the time stamping of a certain measurement must be carried out on the device itself.

[0021] It is therefore desirable that synchronization provide high intrinsic accuracy, without the need for distributed time-synchronized clocks, such that all deployed measuring devices perform / initiate measurements at the same instant (with nanosecond accuracy), that in the same process the measurements are obtained by a central system to which all measuring devices would be connected, and that in the central system all measurements are time-stamped in UTC time, either with local time or GNSS / GPS. In other words, all measurements would be relatively comparable with nanosecond accuracy and absolutely comparable on the UTC time scale, with time-stamping.

[0022] EXPLANATION OF THE INVENTION

[0023] The main feature of the invention is to address the challenge of combining high frequency measurements, which entail high energy consumption, with an average consumption in the order of milliwatts to be compatible with power supply from a small battery, while at the same time performing measurements with measuring vapors with a precision of nanoseconds so that "time of flight" (ToF) techniques with accuracies of a few meters can be applied for signals to be measured with electromagnetic propagation.

[0024] In an alternative embodiment, the battery power supply may be supplemented or replaced by any high-availability, high-autonomy power source, such as power from small solar or wind power systems.

[0025] The system is arranged in a “star” configuration as shown in Figure 1, where there is a central element, here called concentrating device (2), which communicates through a “point to point” fiber optic interconnection (3) with each of the measuring devices (1) that are connected to it. The meters will be in charge of making the measurements and the concentrating device (2) will give the order to the meters to start a measurement, it will collect the measurements from all the meters, using the synchronization mechanism that was implemented in all the meters.

[0026] In an alternative embodiment, the point-to-point interconnection topology using individual optical fibers between the meters and the concentrating device (2) can be carried out using point-to-point connections by different wavelengths on the same and single optical fiber, using passive optical multiplexing and extraction / insertion equipment.

[0027] In order for the interconnection between each meter and the concentrating device (2) to have sufficient bandwidth, the interconnection between them is made of optical fiber, which also provides galvanic isolation between each meter and the rest of the system. By using optical fiber, the measuring devices (1) can be separated from the concentrating device (2) by meters to tens of kilometers, depending on the optical fiber technology to be used. As described in the section "Preferred embodiment of the invention", this implementation is perfectly compatible with average consumptions in the order of milliwatts, indicated previously.

[0028] In order to achieve the operation of the invention, its symbolic structure is described by blocks, as shown in figure 2, for the measuring devices (1). In figure 2, the data flows are marked in black continuous lines, the control flows are marked in black dot-dash lines and the clocks are marked in black dotted lines (for simplicity, not all interconnections are drawn, only the fundamental ones).

[0029] In the data flow there are two very different paths:

[0030] • Data flow from the concentrating device (2) to the measuring device (1). The information, optical and in digital format, enters through the optical fiber input block of the measuring device (14), an optical-electrical input conversion block of the measuring device (15) is made, they pass through a deserializing block of the measuring device (16) that, in addition, can recover the fundamental clock on which the transmission is being carried out given that the concentrating device (2) is going to use a transmission protocol that offers this possibility (this transmission protocol, with the capacity to transmit synchronism, can be any of the standards that are commonly used. A possible solution is indicated in the section “Preferred embodiment of the invention”). The message decoding block of the measuring device (18) already has the clean and error-free information that the microcontroller of the measuring device (19) can use to operate conveniently.The message decoding block of the measuring device (18), also has direct control over the signaling / data switching block of the measuring device (8), which will be discussed later, in this way the control over said switching is carried out without intervention of the microcontroller of the measuring device (19) and therefore it is very fast. Since the deserializing block of the measuring device (16) also recovers the synchronism of the concentrating device (2), it can be used to be sent to the secondary clock generator block of the measuring device (17) which feeds all the elements that later intervene in the transmission process and which will be discussed in the other data flow. The microcontroller of the measuring device (19), is constantly fed from the power block of the measuring device (22), but in a Sleep Stage (100) (which will be discussed later) its consumption is ultra low.The time spent in this phase is controlled by the same microcontroller of the measuring device (19). The precision of the duration of this rest state is important since it is what can guarantee that all the meters leave the rest state at the same time. For this reason the microcontroller of the measuring device (19) has a clock block of the microcontroller of the measuring device (20), which, in addition to being low consumption, must have a time drift compatible with which all the measuring devices (1 ) leave the Rest State (100) at the same time, within a range of milliseconds. The features are specified in the section “Preferred embodiment of the invention”.The microcontroller of the measuring device (19) is also responsible for ordering the process of switching on the power regulator control block of the measuring device (23) on the power regulator block of the measuring device (24) when a measurement is to be made and the measuring device (1 ) stops at an Active State (101 ). When the switching on of all the elements of the meter that intervene in the measurement has finished, the microcontroller of the measuring device (19) configures:

[0031] - the conditioning of the analog signal of the measuring device (5) through an analog signal conditioning control block of the meter of the measuring device (9)

[0032] - control of the ADC block of the measuring device (6) via the ADC control block of the measuring device (10)

[0033] - configuration of the messages from the signal generator block of the measuring device (7) that must be sent in each situation and moment.

[0034] Finally, to prevent the meter from going out of control, for example, due to a bad configuration from the concentrator device (2), the measuring device (1) has a cyclic reset block (21), independent of the microcontroller of the measuring device (19). This reset can be configured so that its periodicity ranges from several hours to several days.

[0035] • Data flow from the measuring device (1 ) to the concentrating device (2). The information, optical and in digital format, is placed in the optical fiber output block of the measuring device (13), having previously passed through the electrical-optical conversion block of the measuring device output (12). The previous step was the signaling block of the measuring device (11 ). The signaling / data switching block of the measuring device (8) decides whether the data flow, upstream, comes from the ADC block of the measuring device (6) or from the message configurator of the signaling generator block of the measuring device (7).Yes The data flow comes from the ADC block of the measuring device (6) this will have obtained them in analog format from the analog signal conditioning block of the measuring device (5) which can come from one or several analog inputs of the analog input block of the measuring device (4) according to the embodiment of the invention that is to be implemented. When the signaling / data switching block of the measuring device (8) is configured so that the information comes from the message configurator of the signaling generator block of the measuring device (7), then the information will have a signaling format and when it reaches the concentrating device (2) it can be interpreted as such.From Figure 2, it can also be observed that the clocks of the ADC block of the measuring device (6), of the message configurator of the signaling generator block of the measuring device (7), of the signaling / data switching block of the measuring device (8) and of the signaling block of the measuring device (11), are generated by the secondary clock generator block of the measuring device (17) and all of them are multiples or submultiples of the same clock. This reference clock is obtained from the deserializing block of the measuring device (16), and this clock is implicit in the synchronism obtained from the transmission protocol by which the concentrator device (2) communicates with the meters.Since clock linking covers everything from sampling the analog signal to its signaling, the data received by the concentrating device (2) from all the meters are made with a single clock, derived from the synchronization received by all the meters from the concentrating device (2) itself. This is an important quality, since the drift due to differences between clocks in the meters is zero. All measurements received from all the analog channels of all the meters are comparable both relatively and absolutely on the time scale.

[0036] In order to achieve the functioning of the invention, its symbolic structure is described by blocks, as shown in Figure 3, for the concentrator apparatus (2). In Figure 3, the data flows are marked in black continuous lines, the control flows are marked in black dotted lines and the clocks are marked in black dotted lines.

[0037] • Data flow from the measuring device (1) to the concentrating device (2). The information, optical and in digital format, enters through the optical fiber input block of the concentrating device (25), passes through an input optical-electrical conversion block of the concentrating device (26), and passes through a deserializing block of the concentrating device (27). The transmission protocols are the same from the concentrating device (2) to the meter as from the meter to the concentrating device (2) (not the transmission frequency, which may be different, and the particular case that has been implemented is discussed in the “Preferred embodiment of the invention” section). In any case, the protocol makes it possible to recover the clock in the deserializing block of the concentrating device (27), as well as the decoding of messages / data through the message / data decoding block of the concentrating device (28).As can be seen, these blocks mentioned are similar to the information reception blocks of the measuring device (1 ), already discussed previously. These blocks constitute what is called here the reception block of the concentrating device (29), which will be connected through the optical fiber interconnection (3) with the measuring device (1 ). It can be seen in figure 3, that there are several reception block of the concentrating device (29), each of which can be connected by means of an optical fiber interconnection (3) with a measuring device (1 ). The maximum number of meters that can be connected depends on the specific embodiment being implemented and a possible case is addressed in the section “Preferred embodiment of the invention”.

[0038] The data collected by each reception block of the concentrating device (29) are introduced into the sample packing block of the concentrating device (30). This packing is done sample by sample, in such a way that each data packet contains all the samples from all the meters in all their measurement channels at a specific time.

[0039] The sample packing block of the concentrating apparatus (30) also detects the start of arrival of measurement data from each meter and, as indicated above, determines when a measurement begins and the arrival delay of the measurement data from each meter. This is very important since it is the basis for correcting time offsets due to the length of the optical fiber interconnection (3) and for establishing a single, absolute time base for all meters. The data reflecting the calculation of these offsets are available in the sample packing block of the concentrating apparatus (30) and can be read by the microprocessor block of the concentrating apparatus (40) when the measurement process is complete.

[0040] The data flow towards the concentrating apparatus (2) is completed with the insertion of the data into memory through the memory block of the concentrating apparatus (37) of sufficient capacity and speed (in the section “Preferred embodiment of the invention” the sizing and its characteristics are addressed based on the case). In order to facilitate and make viable the data flow towards the memory block of the concentrating apparatus (37) it is established that several direct memory access (DMA) processors will be used, specifically the DMA for inputting measurements to memory (36) is responsible for transferring the information available in the sample packing block of the concentrating apparatus (30) to the memory block of the concentrating apparatus (37). The control and supervision of this DMA will be done by the microprocessor block of the concentrating apparatus (40).

[0041] • Data flow from the concentrating device (2) to the measuring device (1 ). The information, optical and in digital format, exits through the optical fiber output block of the concentrating device (31 ), having previously passed through the electrical-optical conversion block of the concentrating device output (32). The previous step has been the data signaling block of the concentrating device (33). As can be seen, these blocks are similar to the information emission blocks that the meter has, already discussed. These three blocks constitute what is called here the emission block of the concentrating device (34), which will be connected through the optical fiber interconnection (3) with the measuring device (1 ). It can be seen in figure 3, that there are several emission blocks of the concentrating device (34), each of which can be connected by means of an optical fiber interconnection (3) with a measuring device (1 ).The maximum number of meters that can be connected depends on the specific embodiment implemented, and a possible case is discussed in the section “Preferred Embodiment of the Invention.”

[0042] The information transmitted through each transmission block of the concentrating device (34) is identical and is formed in the signal generating block of the concentrating device (35), that is, all the meters receive the same information. The information transmitted will allow the meters to carry out the measurement and, although it is discussed later, it consists of:

[0043] A time reference indicating when the next measurement will be taken

[0044] Immediate start signal of measurement

[0045] Information regarding the configuration of the analog stages of each meter

[0046] This block also develops the network protocol that then allows the meters to recover the transmission clock.

[0047] The signal generator block of the concentrating apparatus (35), in order to carry out its time-related functions, relies on the synchronization block of the concentrating apparatus (41), which uses a measurement schedule supplied to it from the microprocessor block of the concentrating apparatus (40) and the external time signal block of the concentrating apparatus (43) to determine a universal time. The signal generator block of the concentrating apparatus (35) also needs a clock provided by the clock generator block of the concentrating apparatus (42). This clock is essential since the entire transmission of the concentrating apparatus (2) is based on it, but it is recovered by the measuring devices (1) and, therefore, it is the one that will be used for sampling and transmitting the analog signals, so it will also be used for alignment in the sample packaging block of the concentrating apparatus (30).

[0048] Once the measurement data has been established in the memory block of the concentrating device (37), it will be available through the external access interface block of the concentrating device (39). The DMA block for accessing the external interface of the concentrating device (38) facilitates access to this information with minimal intervention by the microprocessor block of the concentrating device (40).

[0049] The memory block of the concentrating device (37) also serves as a status and control area for the concentrating device (2), such that an area of ​​the memory is reserved for this function and the microprocessor block of the concentrating device (40) will write the status of the measurements and other information of interest in it. On the other hand, the DMA block for accessing the external interface of the concentrating device (38), also accessing this memory area, will be able to consult the status of the measurements and order the mode and manner of carrying out the following measurements.

[0050] After discussing the structure of the elements that make up this invention, we will now go on to explain the process that allows the invention to have its distinctive characteristics.

[0051] The process is based on a series of states that the measuring device (1) and the concentrating device (2) will go through, as well as a series of messages exchanged between them. These states, as well as their transitions and messages, are described below and illustrated in Figure 6.

[0052] The messages exchanged are: • Beacon Message (301 ): This message is emitted by the concentrating device (2) and indicates to the measuring devices (1 ) how much time remains (in milliseconds) until the next measurement is performed. This information is constantly updated. Most of the time, this message will not be useful since the meters will be in the standby state (100) and, therefore, will not respond to it, but if any meter leaves the standby state (100), said meter will be able to interpret this beacon message (301 ) and determine for itself if it has been activated at the correct time, in which case it will remain in the active state (101 ); or, on the contrary, if the measurement is to be performed later, it will return to the standby state (100), but knowing exactly when it should be activated again. This message also contains information on the configuration of all the meters and, although they all receive it, each one uses the one that is relevant to it.

[0053] • NOW Message (302): This message is emitted by the concentrating device (2) and indicates to the measuring devices (1) that at that instant they must begin to send the measurement information, as it is being captured at that instant by the ADC block of the measuring device (6).

[0054] • FC Message (303): This message is emitted by each measuring device (1) and indicates to the concentrating device (2) that this meter is active and available to send measurement data.

[0055] • Measurement Data Message (304): This message is emitted by each measuring device (1). The concentrator device (2) identifies this message as measurement data.

[0056] The states of the measuring device (1) are as follows:

[0057] • Active State (101 ): State of the measuring device (1 ) where the measurement will be performed and where energy consumption is high (in this state the meter will remain for a short time).

[0058] • Standby State (100): State of the measuring device (1) in which it will be waiting to take a new measurement, the consumption is very low (the meter should spend most of its time in this state).

[0059] • Warm-up Phase (102): This is the first phase of the active state (101). It is entered from the resting state according to the transition (200) indicated in Figure 6. This transition is generated by two ways:

[0060] - timing of the meter itself. The duration of this timing was set by the Faro message (301 ) the last time this meter (1 ) was active.

[0061] - by activating the cyclic reset (21 ).

[0062] In this phase, the hardware elements of the measuring device (1) are activated, configured and verified.

[0063] • Lighthouse Reading Phase (103): This is the second phase of the active state (101 ). It is entered from the warm-up phase (102) according to an automatic transition (201 ) that occurs if the entire warm-up phase (102) has been correct. In this phase, the Lighthouse message (301 ) is read, so that the measuring device (1 ) can determine if an imminent measurement is going to be made, for which it will wait to receive the NOW message (302), in which case the transition (204) will occur or, on the contrary, the measurement is not imminent and the transition (202) is automatically generated, so it will go to the idle state.

[0064] (100). During the entire beacon reading phase (103) the meter is also emitting the FC message (303) in such a way that the concentrating device (2) can know that this meter is ready and operational to receive the YA message (302).

[0065] • Measurement Emission Phase (104): It is the third phase of the active state

[0066] (101 ). It is entered into from the beacon reading phase (103), if and only if, the measuring device (1 ) receives a YA message (302). In this phase the meter stops emitting the FC message (303) and begins to emit measurement data messages (304). The concentrator device (2) recognizes this change of messages and acts as indicated below. The measurement emission phase (104) ends automatically with the generation of the transition (203) to return to the idle state (100). The generation of the transition (203) is determined by the content of the YA message (303), which contains the duration of the measurement emission phase (104).

[0067] The states of the concentrating apparatus (2) are as follows:

[0068] • Beacon Emission State (105): State of the concentrating device (2) where all measuring devices (1 ) are sent the amount of time, in milliseconds, remaining until they perform the next measurement, which is done by issuing the beacon message (301 ). The time indicated in the beacon message is constantly recalculated and sent updated. The time is calculated based on a measurement schedule managed by the central processing block (58) and the external time signal block of the concentrating device (43), therefore, it is updatable and manageable by the user of the system. The concentrating device (2) leaves this state when the transition (205) occurs. This transition (205) is generated either automatically when it coincides with the time scheduled to perform the measurement, or, additionally, in accordance with the external time signal block of the concentrating device (43)

[0069] • YA Message Emission State (106): State of the concentrating device (2) where the order to start emitting the measurement data is sent to all the measuring devices (1), by means of the YA message (302). This message is sent only once and will be the temporary reference for all the measurement data emitted by each of the meters. The concentrating device (2) leaves this state (106) automatically by means of the transition (206) when the time it needs to emit the message has elapsed.

[0070] • Read Measurement State (107): State of the concentrating device (2) where reception of measurement data messages (304) is expected from all the measuring devices (1 ). In this state, the reception of the type of message sent by each meter is monitored. At the beginning of the state, FC messages (303) must be received from all of them, since no meter will have had time to send measurement data messages (304). In principle, the closest meter (in optical fiber interconnection distance), called M1 , will be the first to get measurement data messages to reach the concentrating device (2). This instant will be the one that marks the reference time for the rest of the meters. The time it takes for the measurement data messages (304) to arrive from the rest of the meters, called Mj, will be a linear function with respect to the increase in distance (in meters of optical fiber) from meter M1 to each meter Mj.In this reading measurement state (107) the concentrating device (2), from the arrival of data from M1, enters the information it receives from all the meters (M1 and all the Mj) into the memory block of the concentrating device (37). It should be noted that the information for the meters that are still sending FC messages (303) is also entered into the memory, but this information is marked as such and will subsequently be used to calculate the delay time between meters and, in turn, compensate for it in order to have a unified time base for all the samples arriving from all the meters.

[0071] The concentrator device (2) leaves this state (107) automatically by the transition (207) when the time indicated in the NOW message (302) that the measurement would last has elapsed. The transition (207) returns the concentrator device (2) to the beacon message emission state (105) and the cycle can begin again.

[0072] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0073] To complement the description being made and in order to help better understand the characteristics of the invention, a set of drawings is attached as an integral part of said description, in which the following has been represented for illustrative and non-limiting purposes:

[0074] Figure 1. - Shows the basic architecture of the invention.

[0075] Figure 2. - Shows the architecture of the measuring device (1) of the invention.

[0076] Figure 3. - Shows the architecture of the concentrating apparatus component (2) of the invention.

[0077] Figure 4.- Shows the composition of the measuring device (1) for the preferred embodiment of the invention

[0078] Figure 5. - Shows the composition of the concentrating apparatus (2) for the preferred embodiment of the invention

[0079] Figure 6. - Shows the processes and operating states of the measuring device (1) and the concentrating device (2), their interaction and transitions between their states.

[0080] PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

[0081] There are multiple ways to implement the invention, since the different intended usage conditions require different embodiments. Below, an embodiment is proposed aimed at achieving meters with an average consumption on the order of milliwatts, powered by a battery with a lifespan of more than 10 years, and that perform measurements lasting in the order of tens of milliseconds, with a frequency of several minutes. These usage conditions are suitable, for example, for asset and facility status monitoring systems in various fields, such as mechanical, electrical, chemical, energy, etc., where a low-maintenance system is desired, and in which the signals to be monitored are minimally dependent on the exact moment at which the specific measurement is taken. The details of the embodiment proposed here are shown in Figures 4 and 5.

[0082] Figure 4 shows the implementation of the measuring device (1). Several electronic components are integrated, which are described below:

[0083] • The meter has four analog inputs in the analog input block of the meter (4). The analog signal conditioning of the meter (5) is carried out, for each analog input of the analog input block of the meter (4), by means of a low noise differential amplifier model LTC6403 (44), followed by a variable gain amplifier model AD8330 (45), which achieves a bandwidth of 20 MHz,

[0084] • Next, the ADC block of the measuring device (6) is attacked, specifically a four-channel 12-bit ADC, with a sampling frequency of 50 MSPS and signaled digital output (46), model AD9633.

[0085] • The blocks: signaling / data switch of the measuring device (8), signaling generator of the measuring device (7), signaler of the measuring device (11), de-signaler of the measuring device (16), decoding of messages of the measuring device (18) and generator of secondary clocks of the measuring device (17), have been integrated into an FPGA of the measuring device, model M2GL010T (47), which allows the implementation of the mentioned blocks.

[0086] • One of the transceivers of the FPGA of the measuring device (47) is used to connect an SFP+ module (48) in which the following blocks are integrated: electrical-optical conversion block for the output of the measuring device (12), optical fiber output block of the measuring device (13), optical fiber input block of the measuring device (14) and optical-electrical conversion block for the input of the measuring device (15). The SFP+ (48) can be any of the multiple ones that exist in the market, but they must be equal in characteristics to those available in the concentrator device (2) (which as mentioned later also have SFP+).

[0087] • The microcontroller block of the measuring device (19) is implemented through an 8-bit microcontroller model, specifically the EFM8 model (50) of the “Sleepy Bee” series. Within this microcontroller, and through one of its SPI interfaces (51), the ADC control block of the measuring device (10) is implemented. With another SPI interface (52), the control block for conditioning the analog signal of the meter of the measuring device (9) is implemented through a DAC (digital analog converter), specifically with the MCP48FVB08 model (53), which, with its eight outputs, allows controlling 4 analog channels. This block also implements the control block for the power supply regulators of the measuring device (23).

[0088] • The clock block of the measuring device microcontroller (20) is implemented through the SÍT1533 model oscillator (54) of 32.768 kHz with a frequency stability of 20 ppm. This can guarantee, for example, that for a rest state time (100) of 10 minutes, differences less than 12 milliseconds.

[0089] • The cyclic reset block (21) has been implemented in this embodiment using a low-consumption CPLD, specifically the SLG46824V model (49).

[0090] With these components, powered by a 3.6V source, the meter can consume around 20 microamps in its idle state, and around 500 milliamps in its active state. As an example of use: by considering an operating mode such that the active state is around 0.01% of its idle state (which is equivalent to being active for 100 milliseconds every 500 seconds), an average consumption of 120 microamps (430 microwatts) is achieved. This, for a 3.6V lithium battery, standard size D, with a capacity of around 13 Ah (Ampere hours), achieves an estimated lifespan of approximately 12 years. These conditions of use can be compatible with many monitoring systems, while achieving maintenance that can be considered negligible, as far as battery replacement is concerned.Of course, this mode of use is only one of the possible ones of this realization and the measuring device (1) is configurable since its working guidelines are constantly marked from the concentrating device (2).

[0091] Figure 5 shows the embodiment of the concentrating device (2). Several electronic components are integrated, which are described below:

[0092] • Arria 10 (55): Most of the elements that make up the concentrator device (2) have been integrated into an Arria 10 model FPGA. The Arria 10 model can have up to 24 transceivers compatible with the transmission that is emitted and received from the meters. Of these 24 transceivers, up to 22 of them can be used in this embodiment, since the other 2 are reserved for the PCI-express (PCIe) interface as detailed later.Within the Arria 10 the following blocks have been instantiated: deserializer of the concentrating device (27), message / data decoder of the concentrating device (28), sample packer of the concentrating device (30), data flag of the concentrating device (33), signal generator of the concentrating device (35), DMA of Measurement Input to Memory (36), DMA of access to external interface of the concentrating device (38), microprocessor block of the concentrating device (40), synchronization of the concentrating device (41), clock generator of the concentrating device (42) and external access interface of the concentrating device (39). A PCI-e has been chosen as an external interface, which is commonly available in many processor systems. The DDR Memory Access Manager (56) is also integrated within the Arria 10. Said DDR memory is mentioned below.Finally, the external access interface block of the concentrator device (39) has implemented a two-lane PCIe (57) type interface (PCIe x2).

[0093] • SFP+(48): The 22 transceivers mentioned above are connected to the same number of SPF+ (48) compatible with those installed in the measuring devices (1 ). The following blocks are housed in these SFP+: optical fiber input of the concentrating device (25), optical-electrical conversion input of the concentrating device (26), optical fiber output of the concentrating device (31 ) and electrical-optical conversion output of the concentrating device (32).

[0094] • Concentrator device memory block (37): The concentrator device (2) also has a DDR type memory, not counting the one that the central processing block (58) will have. The dimensioning of this depends on the measurement needs, taking into account the length (in samples) of the measurement and the number of meters. As an example, with 1 gigabyte of DDR memory and the 22 meters operating with the 4 channels each, up to more than 5 million samples can be available in each of the meters.

[0095] • The central processing block (58): A PC-type system has been implemented for this function, but any other system with a PCIe interface in master (Root) mode can be used.

[0096] • Optionally, there is an input for an external time signal through the external time signal block of the concentrating device (43), such as GPS, which allows the concentrating device (2) to unify its time base with respect to a universal system (for example, UTC), also with nanosecond precision through the PPS (Pulse Per Second) signal that these GPS systems already usually provide.

[0097] The optical fiber interconnection (3) used in this embodiment must be in accordance with the SFP+ (48) installed in the measuring device (1) and in the concentrating device (2). The choice of all of them will depend on the distance separating each meter from the concentrating device (2), for which the specifications of the SFP+ manufacturers must be followed. The market offers solutions to reach distances of tens of kilometers, being compatible with the energy consumptions raised above.

[0098] To further specify this implementation, we now move on to defining some parameters of some of the critical components that justify the operational nature of the implementation:

[0099] • The following usage criteria are used: N=22 meters connected to the concentrating device (2), ADC operating with Ch=4 channels at a sampling rate S=50 MSPS (mega samples per second) and with a resolution B=12 bits.

[0100] • The bit coding system is chosen with the condition set out in previous paragraphs, that the receiver of the coding can extract the clock from the transmitter. 8B10B coding is chosen because it is in common use and is available as a feature in the transceivers that incorporate both the FPGA of the measuring device (47) of the meter and the Arria 10 of the concentrating device (55). This coding has an efficiency R= 80%.

[0101] • Memory access speed: Vm=N-Ch-SB=22-4-50M- 12=52800 Mbps = 6600 MBps (Megabytes per second). There are multiple solutions, but as an example, with a DDR4-1600 memory with a 64-bit bus a speed of 12800 MBps (>6600 MBps) is already achieved and also with a DDR4-1866 with a 32-bit bus a speed of 7500 MBps is achieved (>6600 MBps)

[0102] • Transmission speed (Vm) from a measuring device (1 ) to the concentrating device (2): It is sized to allow the data generated by the measuring device (1 ) to be sent without loss of information according to the conditions mentioned above. Vm=Ch-SB / R= 4-50M- 12 / 0.8=3 Gbps (Gigabits per second). This speed is compatible with the transceivers that incorporate both the FPGA block of the measuring device (47) of the meter and the Arria 10 (55). This Vm speed is also compatible with the SFP+ standard (48) that can support up to 10 Gpbs.

[0103] • Transmission speed (Ve) from the concentrating device (2) to the measuring devices (1): It is sized so that the reference clock for the meter can be easily recovered. With Vc=2 Gbps, the 8B10B encoding recovers a 200 MHz clock from which the 50 MHz clock for the ADC block of the measuring device (6) is directly derived.

[0104] As can be seen, the system is perfectly feasible with technologies available today, based on commercial components and, in many cases, on well-established and widely used standards in the field.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. Process for controlling the cyclical evolution of operating states of a system of multiple measuring devices (1), connected to a concentrating device (2), comprising the following states and transitions: a.A Beacon Broadcast state (105) in the concentrating device (2), in which the concentrating device (2) periodically broadcasts a Beacon Message (303) containing information, updated in each broadcast period, of the time remaining, in milliseconds, until the start of the next measurement, time that is recalculated for each broadcast period, based on the time programmed for the execution of the next measurement, time stored internally in the memory of the concentrating device (2) and that is updatable and manageable by the user of the system, and an external time signal reference that the concentrating device (2) has, and whose message will be received and interpreted by the measuring devices (1) when they leave a Rest State (100), b.A Message Emission NOW state (106) in the concentrating device (2), to which it passes through a transition (205) from a Beacon Emission state (105) of the concentrating device (2), which transition is generated automatically when the planned time instant for carrying out the measurement has arrived, and in which Message Emission NOW state (106), the concentrating device (2) sends, simultaneously, a single Message NOW (302) to all the measuring devices (1), which message provides them with the time information, in milliseconds, of the duration of the measurement, c.A Read Measurement state (107), in the concentrating device (2), to which it passes through a transition (206) from a Message Emission NOW state (106), which transition is automatically generated once the emission of the NOW Message (302) has finished, and from whose Read Measurement state (107) the concentrating device (2) leaves to pass to a Beacon Emission state (105), through a transition (207), which is automatically generated once the duration of the measurement has elapsed, starting again the emission of the Beacon Message (301), which at this moment contains the updated value of the time remaining until the next measurement, time obtained from the measurement time programming. stored internally in the memory of the concentrating device (2), d. A Rest State (100) of the measuring devices (1), with very low consumption in the order of 20 microamps, in which state they can remain for a time in the order of minutes, the same in all of them, waiting to perform the next measurement, time that each measuring device (1) has previously stored the last time it was in an Active State (101), through the information contained in a Beacon Message (301), which is broadcast by the concentrating device (2), e.An Active State (101) in the measuring devices (1), with a consumption in the order of hundreds of milliamps, in which state they may remain for a time in the order of milliseconds, the same in all of them, and within which time all the measuring devices (1) will carry out a measurement, send the measurement data to the concentrating device (2) and finally, update in their memory the time in which they must remain in the Rest State (100), waiting for the next measurement to be carried out, and whose state comprises, in turn, three consecutive phases: a Warm-up Phase (102), a Lighthouse Reading Phase (103) and a Measurement Emission Phase (104), f.A Warm-up Phase (102) in the measuring devices (1), the first phase of an Active State (101), to which all the measuring devices (1) pass simultaneously and autonomously, with millisecond precision, by means of a transition (200), from a Rest State (100), which transition is generated by two ways: i. by timing in each measuring device (1), timing that was fixed in each of them through the information contained in a Beacon Message (301), broadcast by the concentrating device (2) when it is in a Beacon Emission state (105), and that was interpreted and stored by each measuring device (2) the last time it was in Active State (100), i. or by the activation of the cyclic reset (21), g.A Lighthouse Reading Phase (103) in the measuring devices (1), second phase of an Active State (101), to which all the measuring devices (1) pass simultaneously and autonomously, by means of a transition (201), from the Warm-up Phase (102), which transition is generated automatically if the Warm-up Phase (102) has been correct, and in. whose Beacon Reading Phase (103), each measuring device (1), detects the presence of the Beacon Message (301) broadcast by the concentrating device (2), reads it and obtains a time value, in milliseconds, remaining to perform a measurement such that: i. if this time is greater than a few tens of milliseconds, or the reading of the Beacon Message (301) has not been correct, the transition (202) is generated and the measuring device (1) returns to a Rest State (100), in which case the measuring device (1), upon returning to a Rest State (100), will do so with a rest time equal to the time value contained in a most recent correct Beacon Message (301), i. if this time is less than a few tens of milliseconds, the measuring device (1) waits to receive a NOW Message (302) from the concentrating device (2), h. A Measurement Emission Phase (104) in the measuring devices (1), third phase of an Active State (101), to which all the measuring devices (1) pass, by means of a transition (204), from the Faro Reading Phase (103), which transition is generated if and only if the measuring device (1) has received and interpreted a NOW Message (302), emitted by the concentrating device (2), message containing the information of the duration of the measurement, and from which Measurement Emission Phase (104) each measuring device (1) leaves to pass to a Rest State (100), by means of a transition (203), which is generated automatically once the duration time of the measurement has elapsed, 2. Process according to claim 1, characterized in that in the final part of the time in which each measuring device (1) is in a Measurement Emission Phase (104) and instants before each measuring device (1) passes to a Rest State (100) by means of a transition (203), each of them reads the Beacon Message (301), which at that instant is being emitted by the concentrating device (2) in a Beacon Emission state (105), and which confines the value of the time remaining, in milliseconds, until the start of the next measurement, time that is stored in each measuring device (1), and that will be the time, equal for all of them with millisecond resolution, in which they will remain in Rest State (100), 3. Process according to claim 1, characterized in that in the Beacon Reading Phase (103) in the measuring devices (1), in addition to reading the information contained in the Beacon Message (301) broadcast by the concentrating device (2), each measuring device (1) initiates the repeated emission of an FC message (303) towards the concentrating device (2) such that, if this message is received and interpreted correctly by the concentrating device (2) which is in a Read Measurement state (107), it determines that the measuring device (1) is operational and, therefore, it must wait for the reception of its measurement data, and if it is not received, the concentrating device (2) determines that the measuring device (1) is not operational and, therefore, it will not take it into account, 4. Process according to claims 1 and 3, characterized in that the YA Message (302) that the concentrating apparatus (2) emits in a state of Emission YA Messages (106) to all the measuring apparatus (1), represents for all of them the temporal reference, with nanosecond precision, of the start of the emission, such that once this message has been correctly received in all the measuring apparatus (1) that are operative, and all of them already located in a phase of Emission of Measurement (104), they stop emitting the FC messages (303) and begin, simultaneously, to emit each one of them a Measurement Data message (304) towards the concentrating apparatus (2), followed by the measurement data of each measuring apparatus (1) and that the concentrating apparatus (2) begins to store, in an orderly manner, in its internal memory, 5. Measuring device (1) specifically designed to carry out the process of claim 1, characterized in that it comprises: • A fiber optic input block of the measuring device (14), • An optical-electrical input conversion block of the measuring device (15), • A deserializing block of the measuring device (16) that performs the functions of data deserialization and clock recovery of the concentrating device (2) from which it receives, • A secondary clock generator block of the measuring device (17), from the clock recovered in the deserializing block of the measuring device (16), to synchronize the functional blocks involved in the process transmission, • A microcontroller block of the measuring device (19), to control the blocks • A message decoding block of the measuring device (18), to provide error-free information to the microcontroller of the measuring device (19), • A clock block of the microcontroller of the measuring device (20), • A signaling / data switching block of the measuring device (8), controlled directly by the message decoding block of the measuring device (18) without intervention of the microcontroller block of the measuring device (19), • A power regulator control block for the measuring device (23), implemented in the microcontroller of the measuring device (19), to have the on / off control of the different power supplies in relation to the states in which the meter is, • A block of power regulators for the measuring device (24), • An analog signal conditioning block of the measuring device (5), • An analog signal conditioning control block of the measuring device (9) for high frequency signals, to configure the operating parameters of the measuring circuits of the analog input block of the measuring device (4), • An analog-to-digital conversion block or ADC block of the measuring device (6), • An ADC control block of the measuring device (10), • A power supply unit for the measuring device (22), to provide an autonomous power source, such as a small battery, • A signaling / data switching block of the measuring device (8), controlled directly by the message decoding block of the measuring device (18), without intervention of the microcontroller of the measuring device (19), • A signal generator block of the measuring device (7) to be sent to the concentrating device through the signal / data switching block of the measuring device (8), • A cyclic reset block (21), independent of the block control microcontroller of the measuring device (19) to provide a safety mechanism in the event of loss of control, • A signalling block of the measuring device (11), • A fiber optic output block of the measuring device (13), • An electrical-optical conversion block for the output of the measuring device (12).

6. Measuring device (1), according to claim 5, characterized in that the secondary clock generator block of the measuring device (17) generates all the clocks that are responsible for sampling the analog signal and transmitting and signaling the information to a concentrating device (2), which will be multiples or submultiples of the recovered clock and that allow the system as a whole to operate with a single clock and have a precision of nanoseconds.

7. Concentrating apparatus (1) specifically designed to carry out the process of claim 1, characterized in that it comprises: • A receiving block of the concentrating apparatus (29) for each data receiving channel of each measuring apparatus (1) interconnected with the concentrating apparatus (2) which in turn comprises, An optical fiber input block of the concentrating apparatus (25), An optical-electrical input conversion block of the concentrating apparatus (26), A de-signaling block of the concentrating apparatus (27), A message / data decoder block of the concentrator apparatus (28), • A transmission block from the concentrating device (34) for each data transmission channel from the concentrating device to each meter connected to it, which in turn comprises, An optical fiber output block of the concentrating apparatus (31), An electrical-optical conversion block of the concentrating apparatus output (32), A data signal block of the concentrator apparatus (33), • A microprocessor block of the concentrating apparatus (40), • A sample packing block of the concentrating apparatus (30), to structure the samples received from the meters before their memory insertion, • A memory block of the concentrating apparatus (37), to store the information arranged in each reception block of the concentrating apparatus (29) and the status and control information of the concentrating apparatus, • A direct memory access block (DMA) for entering measurements into memory (36) and for managing the transfer of information available in the sample packing block of the concentrating device (30) to the memory block of the concentrating device (37), with control of this block carried out through the microprocessor block of the concentrating device (40), • A signaling generation block of the concentrating device (35), to develop the protocol to be used in the transmission / coding between concentrating device (2) and measuring devices (1) that allows the clock recovery by the measuring devices (1), through the de-alerizing block of the measuring device (16) and to send to each transmission block of the concentrating device (34), the signaling and control information to the measuring devices (1), this information being the same for all these blocks (34) and related to the operating mode of the system, including a time reference indicating when the next measurement will be performed, an immediate measurement start message and information related to the configuration of the analog stages of each meter for the analog signal conditioning block of the measuring device (5), • A synchronizer block of the concentrating device (41), to provide synchronization functions to the signaling generator block of the concentrating device (35), • An external time signal block from the concentrating device (43), in UTC format for the signal generator block of the concentrating device (35), • A clock generator block of the concentrating apparatus (42) for the signal generator block of the concentrating apparatus (35) and the sample packing block of the concentrating apparatus (30), • A DMA block for accessing the external interface of the concentrating device (38), • An external access interface block of the concentrator apparatus (39).

8. Concentrating apparatus (2), according to claim 7, characterized in that the sample packing block of the concentrating apparatus (30) comprises a block for processing the information sample by sample in such a way that each data packet will contain all the samples from all the meters arranged through four inputs of the analog input block (4) at a specific time instant, and performs the detection of the start of arrival of the measurement data from each meter, and determines in a precise manner, based on the instant in which it previously ordered the measurement to be carried out, the delay / lag of arrival of the data from each meter, directly related to the length of the optical fiber interconnection (3) (which may be different for each meter), these lags being subsequently used by the microprocessor block of the concentrating apparatus (40) to establish a single time base for all measurements.

9. Electronic system comprising one or more measuring devices (1) according to claim 5, a concentrating device (2) according to claim 7 and an optical fiber interconnection (3) between it and each of the former, with star topology, characterized in that all the measuring devices (1) carry out measurements of high frequency analog signals (up to tens of MHz) in a synchronized manner with a precision of nanoseconds and all of them transmit the measurement data in real time to the concentrating device (2), 10. Measuring device (1) according to claim 5, characterized in that it comprises: • The analog signal conditioning block (5) for each analog input block of the measuring device (4), low noise differential amplifier model LTC6403 (44), followed by a variable gain amplifier model AD8330 (45), with a bandwidth of 20 MHz, • The ADC block of the measuring device (6) comprises a four-channel 12-bit ADC (Analog Digital Converter), with a sampling frequency of 50 MSPS, and a signaled digital output) model AD9633, (46), • The switching blocks for signaling / data of the measuring device (8), signaling generator of the measuring device (7), signaling of the measuring device (11), de-signalizer of the measuring device (16), decoder of messages of the measuring device (18) and generator of secondary clocks of the measuring device (17) included within an FPGA of the measuring device model M2GL010T (47), • The measuring device optical fiber input blocks (14), measuring device optical-electrical input conversion block (15), measuring device optical fiber output block (13) and measuring device electrical-optical output conversion block (12) comprised within an SFP+ module / interface (48), • The microcontroller block of the measuring device (19) comprises an 8-bit microcontroller, model EFM8 (50) of the “Sleepy Bee” series and a digital analog converter DAC model MCP48FVB08 (53) and which performs the functions of the ADC control block of the measuring device (10), analog signal conditioning control of the measuring device (9) and control of the power supply regulators of the measuring device (23), • The clock block of the microcontroller of the measuring device (20) comprises a SÍT1533 component (54) with a time drift compatible with all the measuring devices (1) leaving the rest state (100) at the same time within a range of milliseconds, • The cyclic reset block (21) comprises a low-consumption CPLD, model SLG46824V (49), • Information transmission / coding system through 8B10B coding.

11. Concentrating apparatus (2) according to claim 7, characterized in that it comprises: • The concentrator device de-signalizer blocks (27), concentrator device message / data decoder (28), concentrator device sample packing block (30), concentrator device data signaler (33), concentrator device signal generator (35), DMA for inputting measurements to memory (36), DMA for accessing the external interface of the concentrator device (38), concentrator device microprocessor (40), concentrator device synchronizer (41), concentrator device clock generator (42) and concentrator device external access interface (39) included within an FPGA, Arria 10 (55), which has 24 interfaces for transceivers. compatible with the protocol and coding used to transmit and receive from the meters, of which up to 22 will be used to perform the interconnection by optical fiber (3) with other measuring devices (1), • The external access interface block of the concentrator device (39), of the two-lane PCIe (57) type (PCIe x2), included within the two remaining interfaces of the Arria 10 FPGA (55), • The optical fiber input blocks of the concentrating device (25), optical-electrical input conversion block of the concentrating device (26), optical fiber output block of the concentrating device (31) and electrical-optical output conversion block of the concentrating device (32) included within SFP+ modules (48), • The memory block of the concentrating device (37), comprised of DDR type memory circuits, • The UTC external time signal input block (43) comprising a physical interface for optionally integrating an external clock signal, • Information transmission / coding system through 8B10B coding.

12. Concentrating apparatus (2), characterized in that it comprises all the elements of claim 11 and: • A central processing block (58), comprising a PC type system or any other system with a PCIe interface in master (Root) mode, incorporating a PCIe interface block (57).

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