Network Control Integration Without Communication Interruption
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Solution Overview
Problem
In the automation industry, modifying a total plant by adding or removing a control requires interrupting the communication network, which disrupts ongoing operations and involves complex reconfiguration of communication paths and wiring.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus that allow adding or removing a control from a network without interrupting communication by establishing new transmission connections with unique identifiers and deactivating existing ones simultaneously, enabling seamless integration or removal during operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a control is added or removed from a communication network, then the plant configuration is modified, but communication of the total plant must be interrupted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent establishes new transmission connections (third and fourth connections) between the control to be added and the adjacent controls (first and second controls) before deactivating the existing transmission connections (first and second connections). This preliminary setup ensures that communication paths are ready in advance, allowing seamless transition without interrupting the overall plant communication.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a control is added or removed from a communication network, then the plant configuration is modified, but complex reconfiguration of communication paths and wiring is required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the communication network into distinct transmission connections (first, second, third, and fourth connections) that can be independently activated or deactivated. By dividing the communication paths into separate segments, the system can modify one connection without affecting others, simplifying the reconfiguration process when adding or removing controls from the network.
3Reliability
If controls are connected in a communication line, then communication is established, but adding a control requires retaught of adjacent controls
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an identifier pair system as an intermediary mechanism that automatically manages communication relationships between controls. Instead of requiring manual retaught of adjacent controls, the identifier pairs (first-second, third-fourth, fifth-sixth) serve as automatic identifiers that establish communication paths without manual reconfiguration, reducing integration complexity while maintaining reliable communication.
Data Source
AI summary
To enable an addition or a removal of a control into or from a communication line without an interruption of the ongoing communication of the communication line, a method is provided of adding a control into a network of at least one first and one second control, which are provided for operating actuators, during an operation of the network, wherein the first and second controls are connected to one another in a communication line and communicate with one another via a first transmission connection of the first control and a second transmission connection of the second control; and wherein each control has an unambiguous identifier, comprising the steps of providing a third transmission connection and a fourth transmission connection between the control to be added and the first control to be connected upstream of the control to be added; providing a fifth transmission connection and a sixth transmission connection between the control to be added and the second control to be connected downstream of the control to be added; and activating the third to sixth transmission connections between the first and second controls and the control to be added on the simultaneous deactivation of the first and second transmission connections between the first and second controls and methods of removing a control from a network of at least one first and one second control and the control to be removed.