Dual Optical Bus Industrial Network for Deterministic Data Transfer
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Solution Overview
Problem
Industrial communication networks face challenges with latency, non-determinism, speed limitations, redundancy, and security issues in transferring information between systems, especially over long distances and in environments prone to electromagnetic noise.
Innovation Solution
A communication network utilizing a pair of optical fibre buses to transfer information, where one bus carries the actual signal and additional CRC information, and the other bus carries a complementary signal, allowing for error detection and security through compliance with a single protocol, ensuring reliable and fast data transfer up to 10 Gbps without protocol conversion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If Ethernet based channels with copper wires are used for information transfer, then the implementation is simple and compatible with existing infrastructure, but the latency increases and the transfer becomes non-deterministic when traffic increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces electrical signal transmission through copper wires with optical signal transmission through optical fibres. This substitution eliminates electromagnetic interference and signal degradation issues inherent in electrical transmission, providing deterministic transfer characteristics while maintaining implementation feasibility through standardized optical interfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the fundamental transmission medium parameter from electrical conductors to optical waveguides. This parameter change enables transmission speeds up to 10 Gbps with deterministic latency characteristics, as optical signals are not affected by electromagnetic interference and can maintain signal integrity over long distances without regeneration.
2Speed
If optical transmission is used for information transfer, then the speed increases and electromagnetic noise interference is eliminated, but ensuring reliable and error free transfer requires additional error detection and validation mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the transmitted data stream into individual bits and transmits them sequentially over the optical fibre. Each bit is independently validated at the receiving end, allowing for precise error detection and correction without requiring complex overall system redesign. This segmentation approach enables simple parity bit validation for each data element.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the receiving system validates received optical signals and requests retransmission of any erroneous bits. This feedback loop ensures reliable error-free transfer by automatically correcting transmission errors without requiring complex forward error correction codes, maintaining simplicity while achieving high reliability.
3Adaptability or versatility
If wireless transfer is used for information transfer, then the implementation flexibility increases, but noise interference between radio wave signals and in-circuit electrical signals becomes a challenge
Solution Approach 1:
The patent substitutes wireless radio frequency transmission with wired optical fiber transmission. This substitution eliminates all electromagnetic interference issues inherent in wireless communication, as optical signals operate at frequencies unrelated to industrial electrical systems. The physical connection provides inherent shielding and immunity to electromagnetic noise while maintaining implementation flexibility through point-to-point connectivity options.
4Ease of manufacture
If copper wire channels are used for information transfer, then the existing infrastructure can be utilized, but the speed is limited and redundancy is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs optical fibre interfaces that can serve multiple functions: high-speed data transmission, long-distance communication, and inherent physical security through optical isolation. The optical infrastructure can be configured for point-to-point, point-to-multipoint, or ring topologies, providing universal applicability across different industrial communication scenarios while enabling speeds up to 10 Gbps.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite transmission infrastructure combining optical fibres with existing industrial networking protocols and interfaces. This composite approach allows integration with legacy systems while providing enhanced performance, using optical fibres as the physical layer medium while maintaining compatibility with higher-layer communication protocols through standardized optical transceivers.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution provides deterministic, secure, and reliable information transfer between industrial systems, reducing errors and security threats while maintaining high speed and low latency, even over long distances, by using complementary optical signals and CRC validation.
Implementation Method 1
an optical emitter of the first system generates a first optical signal corresponding to the information and a first Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) information associated with the information, and generates a second optical signal corresponding to a complement of the information
Implementation Method 2
an optical receiver of the second system receives the first optical signal and a second optical signal corresponding to a complement of the information from the first optical bus
Data Source
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AI summary
A communication network (100; 200) and method for transfer of information are disclosed. The communication network (100; 200) includes plurality of industrial systems (110, 160; 210, 220, 250, 280). Each system includes I/O board (120, 170; 212, 225, 255, 285) including I/O modules (130, 180; 235, 265, 295), at least one of an optical emitter (125; 215, 240, 270, 298) and an optical receiver (175; 230, 260, 290), and a processing module (140, 190; 245). The processing module (140, 190; 245) and the I/O board (120, 170; 212, 225, 255, 285) generate an optical signal corresponding to information and a Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) information. The network (100; 200) includes a first optical bus (150) and a second optical bus (155) coupled with the I/O boards (120, 170; 212, 225, 255, 285) for transferring the optical signal and complement of the optical signal between the systems.