Bus Coordinator Non-Volatile Serial Number Storage
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing bus arrangements in automation technology face challenges in efficiently addressing participants during system restarts and segment exchanges without re-addressing, especially when serial numbers are not stored in non-volatile memory, leading to potential errors and incorrect participant identification.
Innovation Solution
A bus arrangement with a coordinator that stores unique serial numbers from participants in non-volatile memory, allowing for direct addressing and error detection, and enables participant activation and reactivation through a daisy chain or reverse activation methods, ensuring continuous operation and segment exchange without re-addressing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If serial numbers are stored in volatile memory only, then the system can operate with simpler memory architecture, but the system cannot reliably address participants during restarts without re-addressing
Solution Approach 1:
The coordinator stores serial numbers in non-volatile memory in advance during the configuration phase, so that during system restarts the serial numbers are already available for immediate addressing without requiring re-addressing procedures
Solution Approach 2:
The serial numbers are copied from the participants into the coordinator's non-volatile memory during configuration, creating a redundant copy that persists across power cycles and enables reliable addressing without re-addressing
2Ease of operation
If the coordinator directly connects to all participants via bus lines, then addressing becomes simpler, but the system loses the ability to enable/disable individual segments
Solution Approach 1:
The bus system is segmented into multiple independent sections where each participant can be individually enabled or disabled through the daisy-chain connection structure, while the coordinator maintains addressing capability through non-volatile storage of serial numbers
Solution Approach 2:
The non-volatile memory acts as an intermediary that stores serial numbers, allowing the coordinator to address participants indirectly through stored identifiers rather than direct physical connections, thereby enabling segment isolation while maintaining addressing simplicity
3Measurement precision
If re-addressing is performed during every system restart, then participant identification remains accurate, but system downtime and operational interruption increase
Solution Approach 1:
Serial numbers are stored in non-volatile memory during the configuration phase before normal operation begins, so that during restarts the coordinator can immediately retrieve stored serial numbers for accurate participant identification without performing time-consuming re-addressing procedures
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the memory retention parameter from volatile to non-volatile, allowing serial numbers to persist across power cycles and eliminating the need for re-addressing during restarts, thereby maintaining identification accuracy while reducing downtime
4Ease of manufacture
If segment exchanges are performed without non-volatile storage, then the system can use simpler memory components, but errors and incorrect participant identification occur
Solution Approach 1:
The coordinator stores serial numbers in non-volatile memory in advance during configuration, so that when segments are exchanged during operation, the serial numbers remain available for correct participant identification without requiring re-addressing
Solution Approach 2:
The non-volatile memory enables the system to service itself during segment exchanges by automatically retaining serial number information, eliminating the need for external re-addressing intervention and preventing identification errors
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A~2B
Figure 2C~2D
AI summary
The invention relates to a bus assembly (10) comprising a coordinator (13) having a non-volatile memory (53), a first subscriber (11) having a first serial number, a second subscriber (12) having a second serial number, and a bus (14). Furthermore, the bus assembly (10) comprises a field bus (60), which is connected to the further bus connection (59). The bus (14) comprises a first signal line (17), which couples the first subscriber (11) and the coordinator (13), a second signal line (18), which connects the second subscriber (12) to the first subscriber (11), and at least one bus line (12), which connects the coordinator (13) to the first and the second subscribers (11, 12). The coordinator (13) is designed, in a configuration phase K, to establish a connection to the first subscriber (11), to query the first serial number, and to store the first serial number in the non-volatile memory (53), and to establish a connection to the second subscriber (12), to query the second serial number, and to store the second serial number in the non-volatile memory (53). Preferably, each subscriber in the system has a unique serial number (which is stored, for example, during the production process of an integrated circuit, such as an ASIC) and then can still be addressed by means of said serial number if the signal line (17, 18, 19) fails. This occurs in a telegram, which is transmitted by means of the bus system, and only the subscriber in question can use this information for itself and then react thereto. The unique serial number of each addressed subscriber is stored together with the subscriber address of the subscriber in the coordinator in a remanent manner. By means of the two combined addressing methods, bus segments can be replaced during operation. In this case, a daisy chain formed from the signal lines (17, 18, 19) is used, and the device ID (manufacturer, device) is read out and compared. In one embodiment, the coordinator detects a failure of a subscriber in the operating phase and stores information about the failure of the subscriber in the non-volatile memory.