System and method for multiple timing masters in a network
First Claim
1. A network node configured as a timing master in a ring bus network, the network node including:
- a first communication port configured for generating at least one frame comprising at least a preamble, a data field, and a time count field containing time count information, and for transmitting said at least one frame onto the ring bus network;
a second communication port configured for receiving said at least one frame, comparing a received time count field with said time count field generated by the first communication port, and signaling the presence of at least another timing master on the ring bus network, if the compared time count fields are not equal; and
wherein a propagation delay associated with the at least one frame traveling around the ring bus network is less than a length of said frame, so that the second communication port receives at least parts of said frame while the first communication port is transmitting said frame.
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Abstract
A communication system, network, interface, and port architecture are provided for transporting data across a ring network. A network node operating as a first timing master generates a set of frames, each frame having a preamble, a data field and a time count field, which represents a portion of the time information associated with the set of frames. This time information may include counted time units, like seconds, or a number of generated and transmitted over the network. As the individual frames of a set of frames are generated and sent on the network, they pass other network nodes and are forwarded through the ring bus to the first timing master which receives at least a portion of the set it is still generating. This enables a received time count field to be compared with a transmitted time count field of the same set. If the fields are identical, there is no other timing master on the bus. If there is another timing master on the bus, the additional timing master would overwrite the contents of the time count field propagating through the network; therefore, the received time count field would not be equal to the time count field being transmitted by the first timing master.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A network node configured as a timing master in a ring bus network, the network node including:
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a first communication port configured for generating at least one frame comprising at least a preamble, a data field, and a time count field containing time count information, and for transmitting said at least one frame onto the ring bus network; a second communication port configured for receiving said at least one frame, comparing a received time count field with said time count field generated by the first communication port, and signaling the presence of at least another timing master on the ring bus network, if the compared time count fields are not equal; and wherein a propagation delay associated with the at least one frame traveling around the ring bus network is less than a length of said frame, so that the second communication port receives at least parts of said frame while the first communication port is transmitting said frame. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method for detecting multiple timing masters on a ring bus network including the steps of:
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generating time count information associated with a set of frames, wherein the time count information is generated by counting time, bits, bytes or a number of generated frames; generating the set of frames, wherein each frame in the set includes at least a preamble for marking the beginning of the frame, a data field and a time count field representing a portion of the time count information; transmitting the generated frames on the ring bus network as the set of frames is being generated; receiving the transmitted frames after each frame travels around the ring bus network; comparing a time count field in a received frame with a time count field in a frame being transmitted; and detecting multiple timing masters on the ring bus network if the received time count field and the transmitted time count field are different. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10)
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11. A communication system comprising a plurality of nodes interconnected by a transmission line to form a network, wherein each of the plurality of nodes comprises:
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a first communication port configured for generating at least one frame comprising a preamble, a data field, and a time count field containing time count information, and for transmitting said at least one frame onto the transmission line for propagation through the network; and a second communication port configured for receiving said at least one frame, comparing a received time count field with said time count field generated by the first communication port, and signaling a presence of at least two timing masters on the network, if the compared time count fields are not identical. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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Specification