Partial Fieldbus Reconfiguration for Multi-Protocol Connectivity

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Solution Overview

Problem

Industrial automation systems face challenges in providing cost-effective fieldbus connectivity as automation systems become more complex and fieldbus standards proliferate, necessitating efficient and flexible fieldbus connectivity services to adapt to changing requirements.

Innovation Solution

A method and network device that utilize a flexible fieldbus communications interface with a static and dynamic portion, allowing partial reconfiguration to adapt to different fieldbus protocols, enabling rapid swapping of fieldbus instances and offloading compute-intensive tasks to hardware, thereby reducing the need for full reconfiguration.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If the flexible fieldbus communications interface is entirely reconfigured to implement a different fieldbus protocol, then the device can adapt to new protocol requirements, but the reconfiguration time increases and productivity decreases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveprotocol adaptabilityVSAvoidreconfiguration speed

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The fieldbus communications interface is divided into a static portion and a reconfigurable portion. The static portion contains protocol-agnostic functionality that remains unchanged, while the reconfigurable portion is dedicated to protocol-specific implementation details. This segmentation allows the system to switch protocols by reconfiguring only the reconfigurable portion, significantly reducing reconfiguration time compared to complete reconfiguration.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Instead of reconfiguring the entire fieldbus communications interface when switching protocols, the system performs partial reconfiguration only of the reconfigurable portion. This partial action approach maintains protocol adaptability while minimizing the scope of reconfiguration work, thereby improving reconfiguration speed and system productivity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #16Partial or excessive action

2Reliability

If the flexible fieldbus communications interface is entirely reconfigured for each protocol, then protocol compliance is ensured, but development costs increase due to repeated configuration work

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveprotocol complianceVSAvoiddevelopment cost

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

By segmenting the interface into static and reconfigurable portions, the system ensures protocol compliance through dedicated reconfigurable portions while avoiding redundant configuration of static portions. This reduces development effort and costs when implementing multiple protocol support.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The static portion of the interface is designed to be universal and protocol-agnostic, serving multiple protocol types without modification. This multi-functionality reduces development costs by eliminating the need to recreate protocol-independent functionality for each new protocol implementation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

3Adaptability or versatility

If compute-intensive fieldbus tasks are processed in software, then flexibility is maintained, but processing speed and performance decrease

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesoftware flexibilityVSAvoidprocessing speed

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The system replaces software-based processing with hardware-based processing for compute-intensive fieldbus tasks. The reconfigurable portion of the interface can be configured to implement protocol stacks in hardware, providing accelerated processing speed while maintaining adaptability through reconfigurability. This substitution of hardware for software resolves the contradiction between flexibility and processing speed.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Data Source

PatentEP4625078A1Fieldbus connectivity services

Publication Date: 2025.10.01 ABB (SCHWEIZ) AG

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AI summary

There is provided a method of providing fieldbus connectivity. The method comprises, by a network device for an industrial automation system: obtaining fieldbus connectivity requirements specifying a required fieldbus protocol type using which the network device is to communicate; loading, from a library, a fieldbus connectivity service, wherein the fieldbus connectivity service comprises fieldbus stack software and a fieldbus stack hardware configuration for implementing a protocol stack which conforms to the required fieldbus protocol type; using the fieldbus stack hardware configuration to carry out partial reconfiguration of a flexible fieldbus communications interface, wherein the flexible fieldbus communications interface comprises a portion which remains unaltered during the partial reconfiguration; binding the fieldbus stack software to a portion of the flexible fieldbus communications interface that was partially reconfigured using the fieldbus stack hardware configuration; and using the protocol stack which conforms to the required fieldbus protocol type to provide fieldbus connectivity at the network device.