Industrial Communication Unit Timing via Input Symbol Clock
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Solution Overview
Problem
Communication units in industrial automation systems face challenges in synchronizing with a global clock, leading to potential desynchronization and inefficiencies in time-based operations.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a timer within the communication unit that extracts a time value from the input symbol clock in the data stream, allowing the unit to operate synchronously with a global clock even when its internal clock is unsynchronized, ensuring consistent timing across series-connected units.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If communication units use their own internal clock generator for operation, then each unit can operate independently with its own system clock, but the units become desynchronized with the global clock leading to timing inconsistencies
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a timer as an intermediary component that receives the global clock signal from the data stream and generates time values that mediate between the unsynchronized internal clock and the global clock. This timer acts as a bridge, allowing the communication unit to operate with its internal clock while still providing synchronized time references for protocol operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent separates the clocking functions into distinct components: the internal clock generator continues to provide the system clock for digital circuits, while the timer separately processes the global clock from the data stream to generate time values. This segmentation allows independent operation while achieving synchronization for time-critical functions.
2Reliability
If the internal clock generator is synchronized to the global clock, then timing consistency is improved, but the complexity of clock synchronization and potential signal interference increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the synchronization function from the internal clock generator and places it in a separate timer component. The timer extracts the global clock signal from the incoming data stream and uses it to generate time values, leaving the internal clock generator to operate independently without synchronization complexity.
3Reliability
If a timer is added to extract time values from the input symbol clock, then synchronization with global clock is achieved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The timer component performs multiple functions: it extracts the global clock from the data stream, generates synchronized time values, and provides these time values to the communication unit for protocol operations. This multi-functionality justifies the addition of the timer component while maximizing its utility.
4Device complexity
If communication units operate with unsynchronized internal clocks, then device simplicity is maintained, but time-based control accuracy deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The timer serves as a mediator that provides accurate time values derived from the global clock to the communication unit, allowing time-based control operations to be precise even though the internal clock remains unsynchronized. The timer translates the global clock into usable time values for control functions.
Data Source
AI summary
A communication unit (S1, S2) for industrial automation for use in a communication system (10) of series-connected communication units (M, S1, S2). The communication unit includes a first input (E1), a first output (A1), and an internal clock generator (TG) which is adapted to provide an internal clock signal as system clock for clocking the communication unit (S1, S2), and wherein the communication unit (S1, S2) is configured to receive, via the input (E1), a serial input data stream with payload data. The communication unit (S1, S2) has a timer (ZG) for providing a time value, the timer (ZG) being adapted to provide the time value based on an input symbol clock included in the input data stream.