Time-Sensitive Fieldbus Gateway Without Time-Domain Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fieldbus systems face challenges in networking time-sensitive fieldbuses that are not fully compatible with each other, requiring reconfiguration of existing processes when new components are added, which is economically unviable.
Innovation Solution
A gateway mediates communication between time-sensitive fieldbuses by synchronizing their clock frequencies, allowing them to operate independently while maintaining time offset consistency, and acts as an interpreter to negotiate time slots for time-sensitive data transmission without aligning time domains.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If fieldbuses are fully synchronized with aligned time domains, then time-sensitive data transmission is reliable, but system complexity and reconfiguration requirements increase when adding new components
Solution Approach 1:
The gateway acts as an intermediary between fieldbuses with different time domains, performing time stamp conversion and coordinate transformation without requiring the fieldbuses themselves to be synchronized. This mediator approach enables reliable time-sensitive data transmission while avoiding the complexity of full system synchronization.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the parameter representation by converting time stamps between different time domain references. Instead of aligning the time domains themselves, the gateway transforms the time parameter values, allowing each fieldbus to maintain its independent time domain while still enabling accurate time-sensitive communication.
2Adaptability or versatility
If fieldbuses operate independently with different time domains, then system adaptability improves, but coordination of time-sensitive communication becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The gateway serves as a mediator that handles time slot negotiation between independent fieldbuses. It converts time requests and responses between different time domain references, allowing fieldbuses to operate independently while the gateway ensures proper coordination of time-sensitive communication slots.
Solution Approach 2:
The gateway creates a virtual representation of time slots and time stamps from one fieldbus in the context of another fieldbus's time domain. This copying and transformation of time information allows independent fieldbuses to coordinate their time-sensitive communications without direct synchronization.
3Adaptability or versatility
If existing fieldbus systems are reconfigured to add new components, then system compatibility improves, but productivity and economic viability decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The gateway as an intermediary enables new fieldbus components with different time domains to be added without reconfiguring existing fieldbus systems. The gateway handles all time domain conversions, allowing plug-and-play integration that maintains system compatibility while avoiding productivity loss from reconfiguration.
Solution Approach 2:
The gateway provides universal time domain conversion capabilities that work with multiple different fieldbus types and time domains. This multi-functional approach allows the system to accommodate various fieldbus configurations without requiring changes to existing systems, thereby maintaining productivity while improving adaptability.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a method for linking a first time-sensitive fieldbus (10) to a second time-sensitive fieldbus (20). The first time-sensitive fieldbus (10) has a first subscriber device (12, 14) and a first dedicated time domain (16), and the second time-sensitive fieldbus (20) has a second subscriber device (22, 24) and a second dedicated time domain (26), said first time domain (16) and second time domain (26) being frequency-synchronized. The first and second fieldbus (10, 20) are connected together by means of a gateway (30) in order to transmit data. The method has the following steps: determining a first cycle duration (TC1) of the first time domain (16) and a second cycle duration (TC2) of the second time domain (26) by means of the gateway (30) at a reference time (TRef); and determining a delay (58) between the first time domain (16) and the second time domain (26) by means of the gateway (30) at the reference time (TRef). The invention additionally relates to a corresponding system (1) and a corresponding gateway (30).