Method and apparatus for allocating network subscriber device addresses in a profinet IO network

• US 20060173955A1
• Filed: 01/26/2006
• Published: 08/03/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 01/28/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Phoenix Contact GmbH & Company KG
• Original Assignee: Phoenix Contact GmbH & Company KG
• Inventors: Lessman, Gunnar
• Granted Patent: US 7,949,754 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/0423 Input/output
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/25009 Profinet-I-O, producer-consumer mode
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/25119 Dipswitches dipschalter
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/25296 Identification module, type connected I-O, device
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/25428 Field device
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/604 Address structures or formats
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/622 Layer-2 addresses, e.g. medium access control [MAC] addresses
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/00 Network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/50 Address allocation

Abstract

The invention relates to a method and an apparatus for allocating subscriber device addresses in a Profinet IO network. It is an object of the invention to demonstrate a novel, further way of ensuring the allocation of station identifiers, which are needed in Profinet IO systems and on the basis of which the subsequent automatic subscriber addressing is performed by ascertaining and associating logical and physical addresses, in a simple and error-resistant manner. The invention thus provides for the development of a Profinet IO compatible subscriber device having a selector switch such that the station identifier is obtained directly from the respective setting of the selector switch in combination with a firmly prescribed group identifier which is specific to a respective particular group of subscriber devices.

Claims

1. A Profinet compatible device having at least one address selector switch, designed to prescribe a station identifier from a respective setting of the address selector switch in combination with a second identifier, which is firmly prescribed for the device and which is associated with a specific device group which includes the device, for allocating at least one network subscriber device address based on the station identifier.

2. The device as claimed in claim 1, having a firmly prescribed identifier for identifying a device which is associated with a specific group of sensors, actuators, bus couplers or I/O servers for the peripheral area of an installation.

3. The use of an address selector switch for a Profinet IO compatible device for prescribing a station identifier from a respective setting of the address selector switch in combination with a second identifier, which is firmly prescribed for the device, for a specific device group for subsequently allocating network subscriber device addresses using the station identifier.

4. The use of an address selector switch as claimed in claim 3, in the style of a rotary selector switch or a DIP switch.

5. A method for prescribing a station identifier on a Profinet IO compatible subscriber device, comprising the following steps:

at least one selector switch arranged directly on the device is set to a desired selector position, in response to the selector position a station identifier associated with the device is automatically generated by combining an identifier element resulting from the selector position with a second identifier element, which is firmly prescribed for the device, for a specific device group, and

at least one network subscriber device address based on the station identifier is allocated.