Decentralized Safety Modules for Automation Network Complexity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current automation systems face complexity in project planning and programming due to strong dependencies between safety technology and control/network technology, leading to difficulties in handling and potential faulty operations, especially with the integration of safety functions into decentralized control systems.
Innovation Solution
The solution involves dividing safety functions into small, manageable, and verifiable module groups that operate as self-sufficient islands within the communication network, allowing for modularization and separation of safety functions from standard functions, enabling network-independent and control-independent decentralized safety modules to communicate fail-safely using a non-secure communication master with automatic routing based on a dynamically set routing table.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If safety technology is integrated into control and network technology, then automation functionality is improved, but project planning complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the automation system into separate functional islands: standard control islands and safety control islands. Each island operates independently with its own communication protocols and processing logic. This segmentation allows safety functions to be integrated into the automation system while maintaining separate verification and configuration processes, thereby reducing project planning complexity despite functional integration.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a safety controller as an intermediary component that bridges standard control systems and safety-critical actuators. This intermediary handles all safety-related communication and processing, isolating the complexity of safety technology from both the standard control system and the end devices. Project planners can work with standardized interfaces while the safety controller manages the complex safety protocols internally.
2Speed
If safety functions are decentralized to output level, then control responsiveness is improved, but system dependencies increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates self-contained safety control islands at the output level, where each island includes local safety controllers that process safety signals independently. This segmentation enables fast local response to safety events while preventing error propagation across the entire system. Each island's independence reduces system-wide dependencies even as responsiveness at the output level improves.
3Ease of manufacture
If modular safety modules are used, then installation simplicity is improved, but communication requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs safety control islands with universal communication interfaces that can interact with multiple types of standard controllers and field devices using common protocols. This universality allows modular safety modules to be installed simply with standardized connections while the islands themselves handle the complexity of safe communication protocols internally, eliminating the need for each module to implement multiple specialized communication protocols.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to communication between safety-related modules in the communication network of such an automation system. The invention aims to simplify the installation and configuration of safety-related modules in an automation network. To this end, the safety functions of a system are divided into small, manageable, locally confined, and easily verifiable module groups.