Redundant multi-fiber optical ring network
First Claim
1. A control network, comprising:
- a plurality of network nodes; and
a pair of fiber optic rings connecting said network nodes in a loop configuration;
wherein a network node communicates with other network nodes by transmitting identical data in opposite directions over said pair of fiber optic rings;
wherein said network nodes comprise a plurality of master nodes and a plurality of slave nodes;
wherein said master nodes share concurrent control over said network nodes; and
wherein each of said master nodes controls a distinct, non-overlapping subset of said slave nodes.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A control network comprises multiple master nodes and multiple slave nodes, connected together in a loop configuration by at least one fiber optic cable. The master nodes share concurrent control over the network nodes by time multiplexing or other techniques. The control network may include two fiber optic rings which carry the same data simultaneously in opposite directions around the loop. A polling scheme may be used by the master nodes such that only one node transmits at a given time in both directions around the loop. The receiving node(s) propagate the transmissions and select between the transmissions based on time, error rate, or other factors. A hierarchical control network may be constructed with upper tier and lower tier fiber optic rings. Multiple master nodes may be used at any level of the ring, and some or all of the rings may include two fiber optics for bidirectional, redundant communication within the network.
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Citations
36 Claims
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1. A control network, comprising:
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a plurality of network nodes; and a pair of fiber optic rings connecting said network nodes in a loop configuration; wherein a network node communicates with other network nodes by transmitting identical data in opposite directions over said pair of fiber optic rings; wherein said network nodes comprise a plurality of master nodes and a plurality of slave nodes; wherein said master nodes share concurrent control over said network nodes; and wherein each of said master nodes controls a distinct, non-overlapping subset of said slave nodes. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A control network, comprising:
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a plurality of network nodes, said network nodes comprising a plurality of slave nodes, and a plurality of master nodes sharing concurrent control over said network nodes; and a pair of fiber optic rings connecting said network nodes in a loop configuration; wherein each of said master nodes controls a distinct, non-overlapping subset of said slave nodes; wherein a network node communicates with other network nodes by transmitting identical data in opposite directions over said pair of fiber optic rings; wherein each of said nodes comprises a receive arbiter for selecting between data received on both of said pair of fiber optic rings; and wherein said receive arbiter detects on which of said pair of fiber optic rings data was received first. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12)
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13. A control network, comprising:
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a plurality of network nodes, said network nodes comprising a plurality of slave nodes, and a plurality of master nodes sharing concurrent control over said network nodes; and a pair of fiber optic rings connecting said network nodes in a loop configuration; wherein each of said master nodes controls a distinct, non-overlapping subset of said slave nodes; wherein a network node communicates with other network nodes by transmitting identical data in opposite directions over said pair of fiber optic rings; and wherein said network nodes each comprise a synchronizing driver for effecting simultaneous transmissions over both of said pair of fiber optic rings. - View Dependent Claims (14)
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15. A method for configuring and operating a control network, comprising the steps of:
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connecting a plurality of network nodes in a loop configuration using a pair of fiber optic rings; configuring at least one of said network nodes as a master node; configuring a first plurality of said network nodes as slave nodes; configuring a second plurality of said network nodes as master nodes; sharing concurrent control by said master nodes over said network nodes; and communicating from one network node to other network nodes by transmitting identical data in opposite directions over said pair of fiber optic rings; wherein each of said master nodes controls a distinct, non-overlapping subset of said slave nodes. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A method for configuring and operating a control network, comprising the steps of:
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connecting a plurality of network nodes in a loop configuration using a pair of fiber optic rings, wherein each of said nodes comprises a receive arbiter for selecting between data received on both of said pair of fiber optic rings; configuring a first plurality of said network nodes as slave nodes; configuring a second plurality of said network nodes as master nodes; sharing concurrent control by said master nodes over said network nodes, wherein each of said master nodes controls a distinct, non-overlapping subset of said slave nodes; communicating from one network node to other network nodes by transmitting identical data in opposite directions over said pair of fiber optic rings; and detecting on which of said pair of fiber optic rings data was received first using said receive arbiter. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26)
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27. A method for configuring and operating a control network, comprising the steps of:
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connecting a plurality of network nodes in a loop configuration using a pair of fiber optic rings; configuring a first plurality of said network nodes as slave nodes; configuring a second plurality of said network nodes as master nodes; sharing concurrent control by said master nodes over said network nodes, wherein each of said master nodes controls a distinct, non-overlapping subset of said slave nodes; communicating from one network node to other network nodes by transmitting identical data in opposite directions over said pair of fiber optic rings; wherein said network nodes each comprise a synchronizing driver for effecting simultaneous transmissions over both of said pair of fiber optic rings. - View Dependent Claims (28)
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29. A control network, comprising:
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a plurality of network nodes; and a first fiber optic ring and a second fiber optic ring connecting said network nodes in a loop configuration; wherein the network nodes communicate according to a protocol wherein one network node transmits data at a given time; wherein a network node communicates with other nodes by concurrently transmitting identical data, in opposite directions, over said first fiber optic ring and said second fiber optic ring; wherein at least one non-transmitting network node receives data transmitted by the transmitting network node over both said first fiber optic ring and said second fiber optic ring; wherein said network nodes comprise a plurality of master nodes and a plurality of slave nodes; wherein said master nodes share concurrent control over said network nodes; and wherein each of said master nodes controls a distinct, non-overlapping subset of said slave nodes. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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30. A control network, comprising:
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a plurality of network nodes, said network nodes comprising a plurality of slave nodes, and a plurality of master nodes sharing concurrent control over said network nodes; and a first fiber optic ring and a second fiber optic ring connecting said network nodes in a loop configuration; wherein each of said master nodes controls a distinct, non-overlapping subset of said slave nodes; wherein the network nodes communicate according to a protocol wherein one network node transmits data at a given time; wherein a network node communicates with other nodes by concurrently transmitting identical data, in opposite directions, over said first fiber optic ring and said second fiber optic ring; wherein at least one non-transmitting network node receives data transmitted by the transmitting network node over both said first fiber optic ring and said second fiber optic ring; and wherein said at least one non-transmitting network node selects for further processing the earliest arriving data from said first fiber optic ring and said second fiber optic ring.
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36. A control network, comprising:
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a plurality of network nodes, said network nodes comprising a plurality of slave nodes, and a plurality of master nodes sharing concurrent control over said network nodes; and a first fiber optic ring and a second fiber optic ring connecting said network nodes in a loop configuration; wherein each of said master nodes controls a distinct, non-overlapping subset of said slave nodes; wherein the network nodes communicate according to a protocol wherein one network node transmits data at a given time; wherein a network node communicates with other nodes by concurrently transmitting identical data, in opposite directions, over said first fiber optic ring and said second fiber optic ring; wherein at least one non-transmitting network node receives data transmitted by the transmitting network node over both said first fiber optic ring and said second fiber optic ring; and wherein said network nodes each comprise a synchronizing driver for effecting simultaneous transmissions over both said first fiber optic ring and said second fiber optic ring.
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Specification