Beckhoff Automation Gmbh

Thorsten Bunte

Thomas Rettig

Erik Vonnahme

Dirk Janssen

Holger Büttner

Hans Beckhoff

Johannes Beckhoff

Guido Beckmann

Karl Weber

Holger Buettner

Armin Pehlivan

Clemens Maier

Thomas Morscher

Christopher Pohl

Peter Kastler

Christoph Zech

Benjamin Koch

Michael Jäger

Peter Fischer

An automation system has a plurality of subscribers including a first primary unit, first distributor, second primary unit, second distributor, and at least another subscriber unit. First and second transmitting/receiving devices of the first and second distributor are connected via a ring-shaped data bus. In a first mode, the first distributor forwards telegrams received from the first primary unit to the first transmitting/receiving device, and forwards telegrams received by the second transmitting/receiving device to the first primary unit. The second distributor also forwards first telegrams received by the first transmitting/receiving device to the second transmitting/receiving device. In a second mode, the second distributor forwards telegrams received by the second primary unit to the second transmitting/receiving device, and the second distributor forwards telegrams received by the first transmitting/receiving device to the second primary unit. The first distributor also forwards telegrams received by the second transmitting/receiving device to the first transmitting/receiving device.

Automation system having a subscriber structure, distributor and method for telegram transmission

An arm module includes a housing with a first connection side controllably rotatable relative to a second connection side, about an axis of rotation. The first connection side has a rotatable first connection device. The second connection side has a second connection device fixed to the housing, with a rotation-compatible data transmission device for transmitting data signals along at least one transmission path between the first and second connection sides. The transmission path includes at least one wireless transmission sub-path for wireless transmission of data signals, and at least one wire-guided transmission sub-path for wire-guided transmission of data signals. The rotation-compatible data transmission device includes at least one first wireless transmission unit and at least one second wireless transmission unit, interconnected via the transmission path and arranged to wirelessly transmit and receive data signals along the wireless transmission sub-path. An industrial robot can have a plurality of such arm modules.

Arm module for a modular robot arm of an industrial robot

An automation network comprises at least one primary subscriber, at least one switch, and at least one network subscriber. The primary subscriber comprises primary ports, the switch comprises switching ports, and the subscriber comprises subscriber ports, each comprising a transmitter and a receiver. The primary subscriber is configured to output first and second telegrams to first and second switching ports via first and second primary ports and first and second primary communication paths. The switch is configured to forward the first telegram to a first port of a network subscriber via a first subscriber communication path, and to forward the second telegram to a second port of a network subscriber via a second subscriber communication path. In an error mode, the switch and network subscriber are configured to return the first and/or second telegrams to the primary subscriber via the first and/or second primary port.

Automation network and method for transmitting data in an automation network

In an automation communication network, a distribution node is provided with a plurality of input/output interfaces, each connected to a network segment having at least one subscriber. The network segments are each assigned segment telegrams for processing by the subscriber. The segment telegrams have a data field with sequence information indicating the priority of a subsequent segment telegram. The distribution node is configured to receive the segment telegram on an input/output interface and transmit it according to a routing specification on a further input/output interface. The distribution node blocks the input/output interface on which the segment telegram has been transmitted for further transmission if the telegram sequence information indicates a priority for the subsequent segment telegram with the same routing specification, which is higher than the priority of other telegrams intended for transmission on the input/output interface, in order to send the subsequent segment telegram on the blocked input/output interface.

Data transmission method, segment telegram and automation communication network

A method is described for operating a communication network with a plurality of subscribers. Data exchange between the subscribers takes place in the form of telegrams, which comprise data sections. The subscribers interpret an end portion of the telegrams as a check value for the absence of errors in preceding data sections. The telegrams are processed in pass-through, so that the telegrams are forwarded to a respective next subscriber while being received. If an error is detected when receiving a telegram, the subscribers send the telegram to the next subscriber with a characterizing data section at the end, so that the telegram has an end portion representing an invalid check value. The telegram is characterized by the characterizing data section, which is part of the end portion, so that the telegram is not to be considered as an initial error but as a subsequent error.

Method for operating a communication network, communication network and subscriber for a communication network

A method for processing telegrams in an automation network provides a master subscriber to at least partially encrypt and output telegrams, respectively, to another subscriber. The other subscriber comprises an input port, a receiving logic connected to the input port, a decryption unit connected to the receiving logic, and a processing unit connected to the decryption unit and the receiving logic. The receiving logic is configured, when a telegram at least partially encrypted by the master subscriber is present at the input port, to forward an encrypted portion of the telegram to the decryption unit. The decryption unit is configured to decrypt the encrypted portion of the telegram with a key, and to forward the encrypted portion to the processing unit for processing. If an unencrypted telegram is present at the input port, the receiving logic is configured to forward the unencrypted telegram to the processing unit for processing.

Method for processing telegrams in an automation network, automation network, and subscribers

A method for synchronizing time in an Ethernet-based network having a master network subscriber, a first segment and a second segment. Each segment has at least one network subscriber. The second segment is connected to the first segment by a first network distributor, arranged in the second segment. The method comprises steps for sending out a synchronization telegram addressed to the second segment by the master network subscriber, the synchronization telegram being of the first type; receiving the synchronization telegram by the first network distributor, for conversion into a second type; forwarding the synchronization telegram to a network distributor of the second segment, by the first network distributor; reading out a synchronization value stored in the synchronization telegram by the first network distributor of the second segment; and adjusting a speed of a local system time of the network distributor of the second segment, using the synchronization value.

Method for synchronizing time in an ethernet-based network

A network distributor has a plurality of input-output ports, a processor unit, and a memory unit. The ports connect network subscribers via a data line network, where the network subscribers include protocol subscribers to process telegrams as protocol telegrams. The processor unit receives telegrams via one port and outputs telegrams via another port, which is stored in a routing table in the memory unit. The processor unit further determines whether a telegram is a protocol telegram received via a port for which no port identifier is stored in the memory unit, and to discard the telegram if so. Checking and discarding of telegrams can be subject to a precondition, where fulfillment of the precondition leads to an exception from discarding the telegram.

Transmission of telegrams by a network distributor in an automation network

A method for synchronizing time in an Ethernet-based network having a master network subscriber and a slave network subscriber includes sending out a first telegram via the master network subscriber, where the slave subscriber receives the first telegram at a first receipt time value of a local system time and stores the first receipt time value. The method can also include reading out the first receipt time value via the master subscriber, sending out a second telegram by the master subscriber, where the slave subscriber receives the second telegram at a second receipt time value of the local system time and stores the second receipt time value, and reading out the second receipt time value via the master network subscriber. A speed parameter of the local system time can be calculated from the receipt time values via the master network subscriber, and transmitted to the slave subscriber.

A method of operating a network subscriber comprises receiving an input-data stream containing an input-transmission frame according to a field-bus protocol, where the input-data stream is received in chronologically successive data units having a defined processing width, decoding fields of the input-transmission frame by a plurality of field-processing units arranged in series, each field-processing unit decoding a predetermined field of the input-transmission frame, and generating an output-data stream comprising an output transmission frame according to the field-bus protocol from the input-data stream.

Method for operating a network subscriber and network subscriber

A communications network having a master subscriber M and at least one slave subscriber. At least one distribution node CU, CU, CU, CUis provided which has a plurality of input/output interfaces, each of which is connected to a network segment, the master subscriber M arranged in a first network segment Mand the slave subscriber arranged in a second network segment S, S, S, S, S. Data is exchanged between the master subscriber M and the slave subscriber in the form of telegrams initiated by the master subscriber. The telegrams to be sent from the slave subscriber to the master subscriber are each assigned control data containing a forwarding time information when the corresponding telegram is to be output from the distribution node via the input/output interface in the direction of the first network segment comprising the master subscriber, the forwarding time information determined by the master subscriber M.

Data transmission method and communications network

A distribution node for an automation network comprises at least two input/output interfaces for transmitting and receiving real-time-relevant and non-real-time-relevant data packets, and a switching device connected to the input/output interfaces. The switching device forwards data packets received via an input/output interface via a further input/output interface using a switching table, where the switching table contains at least a data packet identifier and a transmission time in a data transfer cycle for each real-time-relevant data packet. Inter alia, the switching device can detect a data packet identifier on reception of a real-time-relevant data packet, and output the real-time-relevant data packet at the transmission time allocated to the detected data packet identifier in the switching table via an input/output interface as a transmission interface.

Distribution node, automation network, and method for transmitting real-time-relevant and non-real-time-relevant data packets

Data transmission in a communication network is performed via a transmission path with which a master participant and at least one slave participant communicate. The master participant outputs messages on the data transmission path with which the slave participants exchange data on the fly. The messages output by the master participant contain datagrams which comprise a control data field and a payload field, where the control data field has a command field and an address field. In the case that at least one message has at least one datagram which is a write datagram in which the command field defines the data transmission procedure to be performed by a slave participant with the payload field as a write procedure, at least the control data field of a further datagram is arranged between the control data field of the write datagram and the payload field of the write datagram.

Data transmission method, communication network and master participant

In an automation-communication network, at least one distribution node comprises input/output interfaces each connected to at least one network segment. In a first network segment a first subscriber and in a second network segment a second subscriber are arranged. Data are exchanged between the first and the second subscriber by telegrams realized as scheduled telegrams and unscheduled telegrams. The distribution node receives an unscheduled telegram on an input/output interface and sends an unscheduled telegram on a further input/output interface. The distribution node determines a transmission duration for transmission of the unscheduled telegram. The distribution node transmits the unscheduled telegram. Prior to transmission, the distribution node deposits a first telegram information in a data field. The distribution node fragments the unscheduled telegram if the telegram cannot be transmitted within a time slot. Prior to transmission of the unscheduled telegram, the distribution node enters a second telegram information into the data field.

Data transmission method and automation-communication network

A communications network comprises a plurality of participants. A first participant transmits a message repeating sequence of N&#x2265;2 successive messages to a second participant. An action which can be performed by the second participant is assigned to each message in the sequence. The first participant begins to transmit one of the N messages at N successive transmission times T_I (I=O, . . . , N&#x2212;1). Each of the N messages contains a field defining a waiting time. The second participant selects one message from among the messages in the sequence which are successfully received by the second participant as a useful message, measures a time elapsed since reception of the useful message, and performs the action assigned to the useful message when the elapsed time has reached the assigned waiting time.

Growing community of inventors

Gütersloh, Germany

Thorsten Bunte