Industrial Network Polling via OR-Line Arbitration and Priority Selection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional polling schemes in communication networks waste time by polling devices without data and do not prioritize critical data, leading to inefficiencies in communication latency and resource utilization.
Innovation Solution
A method utilizing a clock line and arbitration line with OR logic, where communication devices pull up or down the arbitration line based on data availability and priority, allowing the host device to detect and prioritize devices with data and high priority.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional polling scheme is used to poll all communication devices sequentially, then all devices can be contacted in order, but communication latency increases and time is wasted polling devices without data
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by implementing an arbitration phase before the actual data communication. During the arbitration phase, communication devices signal their data availability status and priority levels in advance, allowing the host device to prepare the polling sequence optimally. This preliminary arbitration determines which devices need to be polled and in what order, eliminating wasted time on devices without data while ensuring critical data is prioritized.
2Reliability
If traditional polling scheme treats all communication devices equally, then simple implementation is maintained, but critical data from high priority devices cannot be delivered promptly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by introducing priority levels specific to each communication device's data requirements. Instead of uniform treatment, each device is assigned a priority level (e.g., high, medium, low) based on the criticality of its data. The host device then uses these local priority attributes to differentiate polling behavior, ensuring high-priority critical data is transmitted promptly while maintaining manageable control complexity through structured priority handling.
3Loss of time
If host device polls all communication devices in each cycle, then complete data collection is ensured, but communication latency increases due to unnecessary polling
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies feedback by implementing a mechanism where communication devices actively signal their data availability status back to the host device during the arbitration phase. This feedback loop allows the host device to receive real-time information about which devices have data ready for transmission. Based on this feedback, the host device can intelligently determine the polling sequence, avoiding unnecessary polling of devices without data while ensuring complete data collection from devices that do have data available.
Data Source
AI summary
For polling communication devices in a communication system including a host device and communication devices. The host device is connected to the communication devices via a clock line for transmitting a clock signal to the communication devices and via an arbitration line implemented with “OR” logic for receiving arbitration signal transmitted by the communication devices. Each communication device is configured to pull up or down the arbitration line for sending an arbitration signal when the communication device is ready to send data to the host device. Each communication device is configured to pull down the arbitration line for sending an arbitration signal when the communication device has no data to send to the host device. The host device (HD) is able to: send a clock signal on the clock line during an arbitration cycle, causing the communication devices to send respective arbitration signals towards the arbitration line, during the arbitration cycle, receive a final signal corresponding to an addition of the arbitration signals, during the arbitration cycle, resulting from the “OR” logic applied to the arbitration signals, detect the communication devices ready to send data based on the “1” bit of the final signal, select, among the detected communication devices, the communication device associated with the highest priority in a priority table containing the priorities associated with the communication devices, and poll the selected communication device to receive data from the selected communication device during a communication cycle.