Machine Safety Runtime for Dynamic Logic Unit Deployment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current safety engineering solutions for machine monitoring are inflexible and costly, requiring specialized hardware and software that limits the integration of safety and automation functions, and fails to adapt to changing hardware landscapes, which is incompatible with modern IoT technologies and safety standards.
Innovation Solution
A safety device with a runtime environment that dynamically allocates and configures logic units across computing nodes, using containerization and orchestration to provide a flexible and adaptable safety monitoring system that can run on various hardware, integrating safety and automation functions while maintaining high safety standards.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If specialized safety hardware and software are used, then safety reliability is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the safety system into separate safety functions that can be independently deployed as logic units on different computing nodes. This modular segmentation allows complexity to be distributed rather than concentrated, maintaining reliability through functional separation while managing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a universal runtime environment that can execute multiple safety logic units across different hardware platforms. This multi-functionality allows the same software infrastructure to support various safety functions and hardware configurations, reducing the need for specialized hardware while maintaining safety reliability.
2Reliability
If fixed hardware architectures are used, then safety certification is easier, but adaptability to changing hardware landscapes deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs dynamic logic unit deployment that can adapt to different hardware configurations at runtime. The system can dynamically allocate and migrate safety logic units across computing nodes based on available resources and requirements, providing hardware adaptability while maintaining safety through consistent logical execution.
Solution Approach 2:
The runtime environment acts as an intermediary layer between the safety logic units and the underlying hardware. This mediator abstracts hardware-specific details, allowing safety functions to remain hardware-agnostic while still executing on diverse platforms, thus bridging the gap between certification requirements and hardware flexibility.
3Reliability
If safety functions are separated from automation functions, then safety reliability is improved, but system integration and resource efficiency deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges safety logic units and automation logic units into a single unified runtime environment that executes on the same infrastructure. This combining allows both safety and automation functions to coexist and share resources efficiently, reducing system integration complexity while maintaining safety reliability through logical separation of functions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses virtualization to create isolated execution environments (containers) for safety logic units within the shared runtime environment. This copying approach allows safety functions to run in isolated copies that maintain their reliability requirements while sharing the underlying hardware and software infrastructure with automation functions.
4Reliability
If redundant safety systems are implemented, then safety reliability is improved, but resource utilization and cost deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic resource allocation where redundant safety logic units can be deployed on-demand based on the actual safety requirements of different machine functions. The system can dynamically scale the number and distribution of redundant safety instances across computing nodes, optimizing resource utilization while maintaining necessary safety reliability levels.
Solution Approach 2:
The system allows dynamic adjustment of safety parameters such as the number of redundant logic units, their distribution across hardware, and their execution priorities. By changing these parameters based on actual operational requirements, the system maintains safety reliability while optimizing resource utilization and avoiding permanent over-provisioning.
Data Source
AI summary
A safety device is provided for monitoring at least one machine that has at least one sensor for generating sensor data on the machine and a processing unit for the sensor data that is connected at least indirectly to the sensor and to the machine and that is configured as a runtime environment having at least one computing node and to allow at least one logic unit to run on the computing node, wherein at least one logic unit comprises a safety functional unit for a safety relevant evaluation of the sensor data to output in the case of a safety relevant event a safety signal to the machine for triggering a safety response, In this respect, the processing unit is furthermore configured to generate and resolve logic units and/or to assign them to a computing node.