METHOD FOR ASSIGNING NETWORK ADDRESSES FOR FANS

• US 20120239206A1
• Filed: 03/19/2012
• Published: 09/20/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/18/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ebm-Papst Mulfingen GmbH & Company KG
• Original Assignee: Ebm-Papst Mulfingen GmbH & Company KG
• Inventors: Sauer, Thomas, Teuke, Klaus, Humm, Markus
• Granted Patent: US 9,065,858 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/276
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/695 using masks or ranges of addresses
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5038 for local use, e.g. in LAN or USB networks, or in a controller area network [CAN]
• 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

Abstract

A method of assigning network addresses for ventilators (3, 4, 5) in a network. Each ventilator (3, 4, 5) has a unique serial number in a serial number memory (8) and a network address in an adjustable network address memory (9). A control unit (1) automatically assigns network addresses to a plurality of ventilators (3, 4, 5). To begin with, all ventilators are assigned an identical start-address as network address, and serial number queries with a serial number mask are sent to the start-address. The serial number mask is comprised of definite and indefinite positions, and the ventilators (3, 4, 5) respond to the serial number mask subject to their serial number. The control unit (1) assigns unique network addresses to the ventilators (3, 4, 5) independently of the responses and/or modifies the serial number mask for further serial number queries.

Claims

1. A method of assigning network addresses for a plurality of ventilators (3, 4, 5) in a network and controlled by a control unit, wherein each of the ventilators (3, 4, 5) has a unique serial number in a serial number memory (8) and a network address, and wherein the control unit (1) automatically assigns the network addresses to each of the ventilators (3, 4, 5), the method comprising the steps of;

providing an adjustable network address memory (9) for each of the ventilators, assigning to all of the ventilators an identical start-address as the network address, sending serial number queries with a serial number mask are being sent to the network address, wherein the serial number mask has definite and indefinite positions, and the ventilators (3, 4, 5) responding to the serial number mask depending on their serial numbers, wherein the control unit (1), subject to the responses, assigns the ventilators (3, 4, 5) unique network addresses or modifies the serial number mask for further serial number queries.

3. A method according to claim 1, further comprising in that the control unit (1), following a received error-free response, assigns to one of the ventilators (3, 4, 5), by means of an address-assignment command, a unique network address based on the received serial number.

4. A method according to claim 3, further comprising in that the control unit (1), after the assignment of a network address by means of an address-assignment command, repeats the previous serial number query with the same serial number mask in order to identify additional of the ventilators (3, 4, 5) whose serial numbers match the serial number mask and assigns to the ventilators (3,4, 5) unique network addresses.

5. A method according to claim 1 further comprising in that the control unit (1), upon receiving an invalid response, sends an additional serial number query, with a modified serial number mask, to the start-address, the control unit (1) transforming the next indefinite position of the serial number mask, in the order of significance, into the definite position.

6. A method according to claim 5 further comprising in that the control unit (1), if it receives no response, sends another serial number query with a modified serial number mask to the start-address, the control unit (1) increasing the highest-order definite position of the serial number mask by one character of a serial number alphabet.

7. A method according to claim 6, characterized in that the control unit (1), if the last character in the alphabet has been reached at the highest-order definite position of the serial number mask, and the serial number mask does not have only one definite position, the highest-order definite position of the serial number mask is transformed into the indefinite position.

8. A method according to claim 6 further comprising in that the control unit (1) ends the process if the last character in the alphabet has been reached at the highest-order definite position of the serial number mask, and the serial number mask has only one definite position.

9. A method according to claim 1 further comprising providing a controller (7) of the ventilators (3, 4, 5), following a serial number query by the control unit (1), comparing the serial number mask contained in the serial number query with the serial number of the ventilator (3, 4, 5) stored in the serial number memory (8), and if all the definite positions of the serial number mask match the serial number, the controller sends the serial number to the control unit (1) as a response.

10. A method according to claim 1 further comprising in that the controller (7) of the ventilators (3, 4, 5), in response to an address assignment command of the control unit (1), reads out the serial number mask contained in the address assignment command and compares it with the serial number in the serial number memory (8), and if all the definite positions of the serial number mask match the serial number, writing a network address contained in the address assignment command into the network address memory (9).

11. A method according to claim 1 further comprising in that the control unit (1), to begin with, assigns to all the ventilators (3, 4, 5) an identical start-address as the network address.

12. A method according to one of the claim 1 further comprising in that during the manufacture of the ventilators (3, 4, 5), all ventilators (3, 4, 5) are assigned an identical start-address as the network address in the network address memory (9).

13. Ventilators (3, 4, 5) for use with a method according to claim 1.

14. A control unit (1) for use with a method according to claim 1.

2. A method according to claim 2, further comprising in that each of the ventilators (3, 4, 5) having the serial number which matches the definite positions of the serial number mask of the serial number query in the same positions, responds to the serial number query with a complete serial number.