EtherCAT Controller Protocol Monitoring
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional protocol monitors in FA networks require significant time and effort to detect abnormalities, as they need to be externally connected after trouble occurs, and rely on technician expertise, with limited ability to detect complex issues without reproducing the problem, and often necessitate additional hardware like switching hubs with mirror ports, increasing costs and complexity.
Innovation Solution
An FA controller with integrated abnormality diagnosis and protocol monitoring functions that can detect and store data locally, eliminating the need for external protocol monitors and switching hubs with mirror ports, allowing for instantaneous detection and storage of data for analysis, using a ring buffer to hold past data for monitoring without disrupting communication.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If an external protocol monitor is connected to the network to detect abnormalities, then abnormality detection capability is improved, but device complexity and cost increase due to additional hardware requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the protocol monitor function into the controller itself, combining two previously separate functions (controller and protocol monitor) into a single integrated device. This eliminates the need for external protocol monitors and mirror ports on switching hubs, directly resolving the technical contradiction by improving abnormality detection capability while reducing device complexity and hardware requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The controller is designed to perform multiple functions: both controlling the FA system and monitoring communication protocols. By making the controller universal and capable of protocol monitoring internally, the system eliminates the need for dedicated external monitoring hardware, thereby improving detection capability without increasing overall system complexity.
2Reliability
If data is continuously monitored and stored in a buffer, then abnormality analysis capability is improved, but memory usage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a ring buffer that pre-allocates memory space for storing communication data before abnormalities occur. The buffer is structured to automatically overwrite old data in a cyclic manner, ensuring that sufficient historical data is always available for analysis without requiring excessive memory allocation. This preliminary setup of the buffer structure resolves the contradiction by enabling comprehensive abnormality analysis while maintaining efficient memory usage.
3Quantity of substance
If the monitor data buffer overwrites old data continuously, then memory efficiency is improved, but data loss occurs when abnormalities happen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent sets a stop pointer in the ring buffer before abnormalities occur, preliminarily marking the position where data should be preserved. When an abnormality is detected, the buffer stops overwriting data at this predetermined position, ensuring that critical data surrounding the abnormality event is retained. This preliminary action of setting the stop pointer resolves the contradiction by preventing data loss during abnormalities while maintaining memory efficiency through controlled overwriting during normal operation.
Data Source
AI summary
This invention enables an abnormality analysis to be easily and reliably performed in the FA system of the EtherCAT (registered trademark). A controller has a protocol monitor function of operating in a monitor system program, and constantly monitors data communicated with a remote device. The controller has an abnormality diagnosis function of detecting abnormality, and thus holds the data monitored immediately before when abnormality is detected. As the protocol monitor function is incorporated, a protocol monitor does not need to be newly plugged into the network as an external device after the occurrence of abnormality, and the data that becomes the cause can be held from the abnormality that occurred first by monitoring from the beginning of the operation of the system and can be used for analysis.