Safety networking protocol and method

• US 10,432,754 B2
• Filed: 09/16/2015
• Issued: 10/01/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/16/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Profire Energy, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Profire Energy, Inc.
• Inventors: Fisher, Patrick David, Northcott, Benjamin Ryan, Dublanko, Curtis Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Truong, Lan Dai T
• Application Number:
  US14/856,444
• Publication Number:
  US 20170078455A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,476 Days
• Field of Search: 709232, 709202, 709218, 709223, 709224, 709227
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/03 Protocol definition or specification protocol conformance testing H04L1/244
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/326 in the transport layer [OSI layer 4] H04L69/16 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 40/18 Network protocols supporting networked applications, e.g. including control of end-device applications over a network

Abstract

A distributed networking system and protocol is provided to a networking system with a modular design. The distributed networking system may include a networking system, modules, control module, user interface module, input/output module, network module, data transmission network, hybrid modules and composite modules. A method to interface with accessories of a system with a modular design using the distributed networking system and protocol is also provided.

Claims

1. A protocol for communicating data via a network of a distributed networking system, the protocol comprising:

information about modules addressable via the protocol and communicably connected to the network of the distributed networking system, the modules comprising a control module;

a descriptor providing at least part of the information about the modules;

a safety protocol to communicate safety data within a safe state environment compliant with a safety standard, the safe state environment managed by the control module; and

an appliance grouping to logically associate the control module with one or more additional control modules as an appliance to direct the control module and at least one of the one or more additional control modules of the appliance to accomplish related tasks, wherein one or more of the safe state environment and reliability of the distributed networking system is improvable via the one or more additional control modules provided by the appliance;

wherein the protocol is operable via a transport layer of the network;

wherein at least part of the network is a safety network that is compliant with the safety standard of the safe state environment managed by the control module, the safety network to facilitate reliable communication between the modules and substantially prevent unsafe failure conditions in compliance with the safety standard;

wherein the safety data is encapsulated via the safety protocol within the safety network, the safety protocol comprising error detection to verify the safety data and to substantially prohibit acceptance of unsafe data within the safety network.

2. The protocol of claim 1, wherein the modules addressable via the protocol further comprise:

an interface module communicably connectable with the control module to facilitate interaction with the distributed networking system; and

an I/O module communicably connected with the control module for at least partially interfacing with an accessory, the I/O module being operable in a sensing configuration and a directing configuration, wherein interfacing with the accessory while operating in the sensing configuration comprises receiving sensory data from the accessory, and wherein interfacing with the accessory while operating in the directing configuration comprises providing operational instruction to the accessory;

wherein the control module addressable by the protocol further comprises a safety core to communicate the data and affect operation of at least part of the modules, the control module substantially managing the safe state environment by verifying compliance with the safety standard and in compliance among the modules.

3. The protocol of claim 2, wherein the network comprises a first network section between the interface module and the control module, wherein the network comprises a second network section between the control module and the I/O module, and wherein the protocol is discretely operable on the first network section and the second network section.

4. The protocol of claim 3, wherein at least part of the data is communicable over the first network section, and wherein at least part of the data is communicable over the second network section in compliance with the safety standard.

5. The protocol of claim 3, wherein the control module is communicable with the interface module via the first network segment, at the control module selectively broadcasting to the interface module, and wherein one or more I/O modules are communicable with the control module via the second network section.

6. The protocol of claim 2, wherein the safety standard comprises redundant analysis of the data via the safety core that comprises voting logic to verify the safety data.

7. The protocol of claim 1, wherein communication of the data via the network includes transmission of the data via a network module communicably connected among the modules to relay the data, wherein the data relayed via the network module is not altered by the network module, and wherein the protocol is not altered by the network module.

8. The protocol of claim 1, further comprising power distribution aspects for distributing power from the control module to at least part of the modules without altering the data communicated via the protocol.

9. The protocol of claim 1, wherein the safety standard is at least substantially SIL3 compliant.

10. The protocol of claim 1, wherein the safety protocol is encapsulated in a reliability protocol to analyze the data for corruption, wherein retransmission is requested via the reliability protocol for the data that is received with the corruption.

11. The protocol of claim 1, wherein the distributed networking system is operable with a firmware comprising embedded instructions to control the modules, the firmware being identifiable via the descriptor, wherein the firmware comprises a version field of the descriptor to identify a version of the firmware, wherein the firmware is modifiable to an alternative version that differs from the version identified by the version field via the network, and wherein the firmware is selectively transmitted via the network.

12. A protocol for communicating data over a network for a distributed networking system, the protocol comprising:

information about modules communicably connected to the network for the distributed networking system, the modules comprising;

a control module, and

an I/O module communicably connected with the control module for at least partially interfacing with an accessory connected to the distributed networking system, the I/O module being operable in a sensing configuration and a directing configuration, wherein interfacing with the accessory while operating in the sensing configuration comprises receiving sensory data from the accessory, and wherein interfacing with the accessory while operating in the directing configuration comprises providing operational instruction to the accessory;

a descriptor providing at least part of the information about the modules;

a safety protocol to communicate safety data within a safe state environment compliant with a safety standard, the safe state environment implemented by the control module; and

an appliance grouping to logically associate the control module with one or more additional control modules as an appliance to direct the control module and at least one of the one or more additional control modules of the appliance to accomplish related tasks, wherein the safe state environment, reliability, or both that safe state environment and reliability of the distributed networking system is improvable via redundancy provided by the appliance;

wherein the protocol is operable via a transport layer of the network;

wherein at least part of the network is a safety network that is compliant with the safety standard of the safe state environment implemented by the control module, the safety network to facilitate reliable communication between the modules and substantially prevent unsafe failure conditions in compliance with the safety standard;

wherein the safety data is encapsulated via the safety protocol within the safety network, the safety protocol comprising error detection to verify the safety data and to substantially prohibit acceptance within the safety network of data that is analyzed with the error detection and determined to be unsafe data;

wherein the control module further comprises a safety core to communicate the safety data and affect operation of at least part of the modules, the control module substantially implementing the safe state environment by verifying compliance with the safety standard of the safety data communicated via the safety network;

wherein the network comprises;

a first network section between an interface module and the control module; and

a second network section between the control module and the I/O module through which at least part of the safety data is communicable via the safety network;

wherein the protocol is discretely operable on the first network section and the second network section.

13. The protocol of claim 12, wherein the protocol facilitates self-diagnostics to at least partially detect the unsafe failure conditions within the network.

14. The protocol of claim 12, wherein communication of the safety data via the network includes transmission of the safety data via a network module communicably connected among the modules to relay the safety data, wherein the safety data relayed via the network module is not altered by the network module, and wherein the protocol is not altered by the network module.

15. The protocol of claim 12, wherein the distributed networking system is operable with a firmware, wherein the firmware comprises embedded instructions to control the modules, wherein the firmware is identifiable via the descriptor, wherein the firmware comprises a version field of the descriptor to identify a version of the firmware, and wherein the firmware is modifiable to an alternative version that differs from the version identified by the version field via the network.

16. The protocol of claim 12, wherein the modules further comprise an interface module communicably connectable with the control module to facilitate interaction with the distributed networking system, and wherein the I/O module comprises the accessory.

17. A method for communicating data via a distributed networking system comprising:

providing information about modules communicably connected to the distributed networking system via a network, the modules comprising a control module;

providing at least part of the information about the modules via a descriptor;

creating a safe state environment compliant with a safety standard managed by the control module, the creating a safe state environment comprising;

communicating safety data encapsulated by a safety protocol within a safety network to facilitate reliable communication and substantially prevent unsafe failure conditions in compliance with the safety standard;

enhancing error detection within the safety network to substantially prohibit acceptance of data that is determined to be unsafe within the safety network; and

verifying compliance of the data communicated over the safety network using a safety core of the control module; and

logically associating the control module with one or more additional control modules as an appliance to direct the control module and at least one of the one or more additional control modules of the appliance to accomplish related tasks, wherein one or more of the safe state environment and the reliability of the distributed networking system is improvable via redundancy provided by the appliance;

wherein the distributed networking system is operable with a firmware comprising embedded instructions to control the modules that is identifiable via the descriptor.

18. The method of claim 17:

wherein the modules further comprise;

an interface module to communicate with the control module to facilitate interaction with the distributed networking system, and

an I/O module to communicate with the control module for at least partially interfacing with an accessory connected to the distributed networking system, the I/O module being operable in a sensing configuration and a directing configuration, wherein interfacing with the accessory while operating in the sensing configuration comprises receiving sensory data from the accessory, and wherein interfacing with the accessory while operating in the directing configuration comprises providing operational instruction to the accessory;

wherein the network further comprises;

a first network section between the interface module and the control module, and

a second network section between the control module and the I/O module;

wherein the protocol is discretely operable on the first network section and the second network section;

the method further comprising;

communicating at least part of the data over the first network section without strict adherence to the safety standard,

communicating at least part of the data over the second network section in compliance with the safety standard to facilitate the reliable communication and substantially prevent the unsafe failure conditions.

19. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

redundantly analyzing the data via the safety core comprising voting logic; and

verifying the data that is analyzed via the voting logic.