Bus Node Segmentation for Safety Data Isolation in Automation Systems
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing automation systems face challenges in efficiently distinguishing and processing both non-safety-related and safety-related data packets, leading to increased complexity and costs due to stringent safety standards for all components.
Innovation Solution
A field unit with a bus node that differentiates between non-safety-related and safety-related data packets, processing the former directly and forwarding the latter unchanged, along with a safety module designed to process safety-related data packets, allowing for separate handling and transmission without modifying the data content, thus avoiding stringent safety requirements for the bus node.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If all components in the automation system are designed to meet stringent safety standards for processing safety-related data packets, then safety reliability is improved, but device complexity and manufacturing costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the processing of safety-related and non-safety-related data packets by introducing a dedicated safety module that handles only safety-related communications. The bus node identifies safety-related packets and routes them to the safety module, which is the only component required to meet stringent safety standards. This segmentation allows the bus node and other function modules to remain simpler while maintaining overall system safety reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The safety module acts as an intermediary component between the bus node and safety-related function modules. It receives safety-related data packets from the bus node, processes them according to safety standards, and forwards them to the appropriate function modules. This intermediary approach isolates the complexity of safety compliance to a single component while allowing the rest of the system to operate with reduced complexity.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the bus node processes and modifies safety-related data packets, then data transmission flexibility is improved, but safety data integrity may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The processing and modification of safety-related data packets is extracted from the bus node and transferred to the safety module. The bus node's role is limited to identifying safety-related packets through protocol analysis and routing them to the safety module without modifying their content. This extraction ensures that safety data integrity is maintained while the bus node retains flexibility in handling non-safety-related packets.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the bus node is designed to handle both safety-related and non-safety-related data packets with full safety compliance, then system universality is improved, but manufacturing costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments safety compliance requirements to apply only to the safety module, while the bus node and other function modules can be manufactured with standard components and processes. The bus node maintains universality by being able to handle both safety-related and non-safety-related packets, but does so without incurring the full cost of safety-certified manufacturing for all components.
4Device complexity
If safety-related data packets are processed through the same path as non-safety-related packets, then system simplicity is maintained, but safety isolation and reliability are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the data packet processing paths by introducing a dedicated safety module that handles only safety-related packets. The bus node identifies safety-related packets through protocol analysis and routes them separately to the safety module, creating isolated processing paths. This segmentation maintains relative system simplicity while achieving the necessary safety isolation through dedicated hardware resources.
Data Source
AI summary
A field unit with a bus node which is designed for signal conversion between an external bus protocol and an internal bus protocol for communication with at least one function module, in such a way that a sequential transmission of data packets is made along an internal bus system and also including function modules which are designed for processing of data packets and for signal transmission with at least one downstream function component wherein the bus node is so designed for a differentiation of data packets of the higher-level control device that in the bus node a processing of non-safety-related data packets to the internal bus system and onwards transmission of safety-related data packets to the internal bus system is effected, and wherein at least one function module connected to the internal bus system is designed as a safety module for processing of safety-related data packets.