Endress + Hauser Gmbh + Co. Kg

Michael Hübner

Armin Wernet

Romuald Girardey

Roland Dieterle

Dietmar Frühauf

Udo Grittke

Jürgen Becker

Katarina Paulsson

Axel Humpert

A field device is composed of a sensor, which works according to a defined measuring principle, and a control/evaluation unit, for a particular safety-critical application, conditions and evaluates, along at least two equivalent measuring paths, measurement data delivered by the sensor. The control/evaluation unit is implemented on an FPGA, provided with at least a first section and a second section. In each section, a digital measuring path, is dynamically reconfigurable. The sections are isolated from one another by permanently configured spacer regions, wherein the spacer regions are embodied in such a way, that a temperature and/or a voltage change in one of the sections has no influence on the other section or other sections, and, in the case of malfunction, no connection occurs between the sections. The control/evaluation unit, as a function of the particular defined safety-critical application, partially dynamically reconfigures the function modules in the measuring paths in such a manner, that the field device fulfills the required safety standard.

Field device for determining or monitoring a physical or chemical process variable

A field device, comprising a sensor, and a control/evaluation unit. The control/evaluation unit is implemented on an application-specific integrated circuit&#x2014;an ASIC&#x2014;which, in at least a first section and in a second section, is embodied as a dynamically reconfigurable logic chip. In each of the two sections, in each case, a measuring path composed of a plurality of function modules can be configured; wherein the individual sections are spaced apart from one another in such a manner, that a temperature and/or a voltage change in one of the sections has no influence on the other section or the other sections. The control/evaluation unit partially dynamically reconfigures the function modules in the measuring paths as a function of the particular defined safety-critical application, so that the field device fulfills the required safety standard.

Field device for determining or monitoring a physical or chemical variable

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Karlsruhe, Germany

Michael Hübner