Slave Bus Unit Addressing by Release Signal Sequencing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing master-slave bus systems face challenges in flexible and efficient address assignment for multiple slave units, with predetermined address patterns and complex procedures, especially when slaves are distant, leading to high complexity and effort in addressing and communication.
Innovation Solution
A slave unit for a master-slave bus system with a bus interface, control inputs and outputs, and an address memory that stores a collective broadcast address and individual unit addresses, allowing flexible address assignment through a release signal that enables units to be addressed in the order they are wired, with separate circuitry for input and output processing and generation, enabling independent operation and flexible address allocation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If manual or semi-automatic address assignment methods are used with predetermined patterns, then address allocation can be performed, but the process requires high effort and lacks flexibility for arbitrary addresses
Solution Approach 1:
The slave units automatically determine their own addresses through the handshaking protocol between master and slave, eliminating the need for manual address configuration. The slave unit with input impedance Zo receives the address signal and automatically configures itself, while other slaves with impedance Z1 remain in high-impedance state and ignore the signal.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the input impedance parameter of slave units dynamically during address assignment. The targeted slave unit switches from high impedance state to low impedance state (Zo) to receive the address, while others maintain high impedance. This parameter change enables automatic address differentiation without manual intervention.
2Ease of operation
If control lines are looped through all slaves with switches for addressing, then addressing control is possible, but the design becomes complex and problematic for distant slaves
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the addressing control function from the physical control line topology. Instead of requiring control lines to physically loop through all slaves with switches, the system uses impedance-based selection where the addressed slave unit is identified by its unique impedance characteristic, eliminating the need for complex switching networks.
Solution Approach 2:
The mechanical switching system on control lines is replaced with an electrical impedance-based selection mechanism. The master unit identifies slaves through their input impedance characteristics rather than mechanical switches, simplifying the control line configuration and enabling addressing of distant slaves without complex routing.
3Reliability
If complex commands or signal sequences are transmitted via control lines for addressing, then slave control during addressing is achieved, but the system complexity increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The slave units are pre-configured with specific input impedance characteristics before addressing begins. The targeted slave unit is set to low impedance state in advance, allowing the master to simply transmit the address signal without complex control sequences. This preliminary configuration simplifies the addressing signal transmission while maintaining reliable slave control.
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
The invention relates to a unit for a bus system, a master-slave bus system with such units, and a method for assigning individual unit addresses to units of a bus system, wherein, by using a release signal which is passed from unit to unit, only one unit is in an assignment mode at any given time, in which an individual unit address is assigned to the unit in assignment mode, so that the unique individual address can be assigned to the units of the bus system one after the other in the order of their wiring.