Construction machine using the method of controlling communications among electronic devices

• US 7,068,675 B1
• Filed: 04/07/2000
• Issued: 06/27/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/09/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Komatsu Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Komatsu Ltd.
• Inventors: Shitaya, Yoshiyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Chau
• Assistant Examiner(s): Moore, Ian N.
• Application Number:
  US09/544,202
• Time in Patent Office: 2,272 Days
• Field of Search: 370466- 7, 370/282, 370/487, 370/470, 370/471, 370/472, 370/473, 370/437, 370/438, 370/489, 370/490, 701/33, 701/69, 710/119
• US Class Current: 370/439
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 9/26 Indicating devices E02F5/145 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/31174 Load, use different protocols, formats, emulators for different systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/22 using redundant apparatus to increase reliability
• 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 69/14 Multichannel or multilink protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/18 Multiprotocol handlers, e.g. single devices capable of handling multiple protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/40 for recovering from a failure of a protocol instance or entity, e.g. service redundancy protocols, protocol state redundancy or protocol service redirection management of faults, events, alarms or notifications in data switching networks H04L41/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A plurality of electronic control devices for carrying out communications by using at least one of a plurality of different types of communication protocols are connected by a multiplex transmission serial communication line which supports communications by a plurality of different frame formats, and one of frame formats is allocated to one type of the communication protocols.

Claims

1. A method of controlling communications among a plurality of electronic devices in a construction machine, which comprises steps of:

connecting first and second electronic devices of the plurality of electronic devices through a multiplex transmission serial communication line, the multiplex transmission serial communication line supporting communications by a plurality of different communication protocols, the first and second electronic devices respectively using at least one of different first and second communication protocols, and the first and second electronic devices being arranged within a construction machine;

allocating a first frame format to the first communication protocol of the first electronic device and a second frame format to the second communication protocol of the second electronic device, the first and second frame formats having a different header length;

transmitting information from the first and second electronic devices along the multiplex transmission serial communication line using the first and second communication protocols of the first and second electronic devices with the allocated first and second frame formats; and

identifying the first and second communication protocols in communications on the multiplex transmission serial communication line by the different header length of the first and second frame formats, thereby enabling coexistence of the communications by the plurality of different communication protocols on the multiplex transmission serial communication line.

2. A construction machine, which comprises:

first and second electronic devices being arranged within the construction machine and including devices for monitoring the construction machine, controlling the construction machine, or displaying information about the construction machine;

the first and second electronic devices respectively using at least one of different first and second communication protocols;

a multiplex transmission serial communication line connecting the first and second electronic devices, the serial communication line supporting the at least one of different first and second communication protocols; and

an electronic circuit, which allocates a first frame format to the first communication protocol of the first electronic device and a second frame format to the second communication protocol of the second electronic device, the first and second frame formats having a different header length, and which identifies the first and second communication protocols communicating on the multiplex transmission serial communication line by the different header lengths of the first and second frame formats, thereby enabling coexistence of communications among the electronic devices by a plurality of different communication protocols on the multiplex transmission serial communication line including the at least one of different first and second communication protocols.

3. An electronic circuit in a construction machine, which comprises:

first and second electronic devices being arranged within the construction machine and including devices for monitoring the construction machine, controlling the construction machine, or displaying information about the construction machine;

the first and second electronic devices respectively using at least one of different first and second communication protocols;

the electronic devices being connected through a multiplex transmission serial communication line which supports communications by a plurality of different communication protocols including the at least one of different first and second communication protocols; and

means for allocating a first frame format to the first communication protocol of the first electronic device and a second frame format to the second communication protocol of the second electronic device, the first and second frame formats having a different header length, and for identifying the first and second communication protocols communicating on the multiplex transmission serial communication line by the different header lengths of the first and second frame formats, thereby enabling coexistence of communications among the electronic devices by the plurality of different communication protocols on the multiplex transmission serial communication line including the at least one of different first and second communication protocols.