Redundant Industrial Communication Device Coupling HSR and PRP Networks
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Industrial automation systems face issues with data integrity and system failures due to communication link interruptions and message repetition, particularly in time-critical processes, which can lead to economically significant downtimes and system malfunctions.
Innovation Solution
A communication device with a signal processing unit, including a multiplexer and redundancy processing unit, connected to multiple transmitting and receiving units with identical addresses, enables efficient coupling of High-availability Seamless Redundancy (HSR) or Parallel Redundancy Protocol (PRP) network segments to non-redundant subnetworks, using a field programmable gate array (FPGA) and backplane switch for reduced complexity and cost.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If shock-prone media redundancy methods (MRP) are used to compensate for connection failures, then implementation effort is relatively low, but messages can be lost and fault conditions occur during reconfiguration
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements HSR/PRP redundancy mechanisms that pre-establish backup communication paths before failures occur. The system maintains multiple active transmission paths and pre-configures redundancy protocols, so when a failure occurs, the backup paths are already ready to take over immediately without message loss or fault conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the operational parameters from single-path transmission to multi-path simultaneous transmission. By transmitting messages through multiple paths concurrently with identical sequence numbers and using specific frame formats, the system ensures that at least one complete message copy reaches the destination even if one path fails.
2Reliability
If HSR or PRP protocols are used for seamless redundant transmission, then message duplication and filtering are required, but this increases device complexity and cost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs a communication device that can operate in multiple modes (HSR mode and PRP mode) using the same basic hardware architecture. The device universally handles both redundancy protocols through configurable signal processing units that can perform either simultaneous transmission or duplicate transmission depending on the selected mode, reducing overall device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the communication device into distinct functional units: transmitting units with identical addresses, signal processing units for path management, and filtering mechanisms. This segmentation allows each component to have a specialized, simplified function while the system as a whole provides complex redundancy capabilities.
3Ease of manufacture
If multiple transmitting and receiving units with identical addresses are used for redundant network coupling, then coupling effort and cost are reduced, but message filtering becomes more challenging
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms where receiving units send acknowledgments and status information back to transmitting units and network management. This feedback loop enables automatic detection of redundant messages, failure of transmission paths, and coordination between multiple transmitting units with identical addresses, simplifying the filtering process through active communication rather than passive detection.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces signal processing units as intermediary components between multiple transmitting units and the network. These intermediaries coordinate message transmission, assign sequence numbers, and manage the filtering of redundant messages, reducing the complexity directly at the transmitting units while maintaining overall system efficiency.
4Reliability
If communication link interruptions occur in industrial automation systems, then data integrity is compromised and system failures occur, but adding redundancy increases system complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple transmission paths and redundancy protocols into a unified communication device architecture. By combining HSR and PRP capabilities, multiple transmitting units with identical addresses, and integrated signal processing functions into a single device, the system achieves high data integrity while presenting a simplified interface and reducing overall system complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
The apparatus (1) has a signal processing unit (11) connected with transmission and reception units (102, 104, 106) through a coupling element (12) i.e. high-speed bus. The transmission and reception units comprise respective identical network addresses and respective identical apparatus identifier. A virtual local area network is associated with the signal processing unit. The signal processing unit enables parallel transmission of messages and detects received redundant messages of the transmission and reception units based on an identifier of the respective virtual local area network. The identical apparatus identifier is a MAC address. An independent claim is also included for a method for operating a communication apparatus.