Micromotion Gmbh

Thomas C Green

Allan L Samson

Paul J Hays

Michael John Zolock

Jeffrey S Walker

An apparatus and method for deterministically communicating data between multiple nodes in a fashion that is consistent with the Controller Area Network ('CAN') communications protocol. The system applies to multiple nodes that functional blocks within an operating system environment and to multiple nodes that are each connected to a serial bus. The system utilizes standard CAN error checking, bus arbitration and message formatting and therefore uses standard CAN controllers and transceivers. One node on the bus is selected as the master node. The master node issues a periodic synchronization signal which defines time divisions within which the operations of each node and communications over the CAN bus are organized. Data, particularly real-time data, is transmitted between nodes on the CAN bus during a known time division. Standard CAN bus arbitration is used to ensure that real-time data is transmitted over the CAN bus prior to the transmission of non-real-time data. This ensures that real-time data is, if appropriate, transmitted during each time division.

Deterministic serial bus communication system

A memory protection system in a multi-tasking system for preventing a currently running application from writing data to a memory segment storing data for a second application. The memory protection system transmits m upper address defining a memory segment of the currently running application to the memory from a memory register. The memory protection system detects when a currently running application generates an invalid address and disables the data operation to prevent the corruption of data in a memory segment storing data for the currently running application. The system verifies that the m upper address bits in the memory register after the application is completed are equal to m upper address bits of the memory segment of the completed application.

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Thomas C Green