Gateway Diagnostic Driver for Disruptionless Field Message Capture
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional diagnostic techniques for industrial control systems require disrupting device communications or adding extra hardware to capture and debug messages, making them cumbersome and costly.
Innovation Solution
A diagnostic driver embedded within a gateway device captures electronic data messages from field devices without disrupting communications, using serial and Ethernet interfaces to transmit messages to a computing device for diagnosis, eliminating the need for physical disconnection or additional hardware.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If conventional diagnostic techniques are used to capture messages, then message capturing capability is improved, but communication disruption occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a diagnostic driver as an intermediary software component embedded within the gateway device. This driver acts as a mediator that can capture and analyze messages exchanged between the process control system and field devices without interrupting the normal communication flow. The diagnostic driver intercepts messages at the software level while allowing the communication channel to remain open and functional.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces physical/mechanical diagnostic methods (such as hardware sniffers requiring physical connection disruption) with a software-based diagnostic driver. This substitution eliminates the need for physical disconnection or hardware modification, allowing message capture to occur transparently through software intervention within the gateway device's existing communication stack.
2Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If extra hardware is added to capture messages, then diagnostic capability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the diagnostic functionality directly into the existing gateway device by embedding a diagnostic driver within its software architecture. Instead of adding separate hardware diagnostic equipment, the diagnostic capabilities are combined with the gateway's message routing and protocol handling functions, utilizing existing hardware resources for both operational and diagnostic purposes.
Solution Approach 2:
The gateway device is designed with multi-functionality, serving both as a message router for process control communications and as a diagnostic platform. The diagnostic driver enables the gateway to perform multiple functions: normal message forwarding, message capture, message analysis, and diagnostic data transmission to workstations, all through a single integrated device without requiring specialized hardware additions.
Data Source
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AI summary
Capturing messages exchanged with field devices in an industrial process without disrupting communication of the messages. A diagnostic driver embedded within a gateway device detects abnormal conditions in connections between the gateway device and the field devices. The diagnostic driver captures messages indicative of the abnormal condition without disrupting message communication. The driver is capable of transmitting captured messages, on demand, to a workstation computing device for diagnosis of the abnormal condition.