Communication Control System Multiplexed Paths
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional Industrial Ethernet does not adequately satisfy real-time and reliability requirements for process control in distributed control systems, and existing solutions struggle to implement open protocol communications while ensuring real-time properties and compatibility.
Innovation Solution
A communication control system with multiplexed communication paths, featuring high-priority and low-priority sections, address storage for MAC addresses, and a path diagnosing section for fault detection and switching, along with authentication mechanisms, to ensure real-time and reliable communications.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If Industrial Ethernet is used for open protocol communications, then compatibility and open architecture are improved, but real-time property and reliability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The communication control system divides communications into two priority levels: high-priority critical communications and low-priority open protocol communications. This segmentation allows the system to maintain real-time property for critical processes while supporting open protocol compatibility for non-critical communications, thereby resolving the contradiction between reliability and adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
Different communication paths are assigned different quality characteristics. The high-priority path is optimized for real-time performance with guaranteed bandwidth and low latency, while the low-priority path provides open protocol support. This local quality differentiation enables each communication type to operate under optimal conditions, resolving the trade-off between real-time property and open architecture.
2Device complexity
If a single communication path is used, then device complexity is reduced, but communication reliability deteriorates due to lack of redundancy
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges multiple communication paths (high-priority and low-priority) into a unified communication control architecture. This merging allows the system to maintain redundancy for reliability while managing complexity through integrated control mechanisms, including path diagnosis functions and automatic switching capabilities that monitor and manage both paths simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The communication control system incorporates path diagnosis functions that continuously monitor the status of communication paths and provide feedback for automatic switching. When failures are detected, the system automatically switches from the high-priority path to the low-priority path, ensuring communication continuity without requiring complex manual intervention or system reconfiguration.
3Reliability
If communication paths are multiplexed with high-priority and low-priority sections, then communication reliability is improved through redundancy, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The communication control system performs self-diagnosis and automatic path switching without requiring external intervention. The path diagnosis function continuously monitors communication path status and automatically triggers switching when failures are detected, reducing the operational complexity despite the presence of multiplexed paths. The system manages its own redundancy automatically, eliminating the need for complex external control mechanisms.
Data Source
AI summary
A communication control system is provided that performs communications satisfying a request for industrial applications and a request for open protocol communications at the same time. To this end, in the invention, a high-priority communication section performing critical communications to provide real time property and reliability, and a low-priority communication section performing communications based on an open standard protocol coexist in a same communication station.