Electronic system comprising electronic devices, circuit breaker comprising such a system, method for generating a deviation indicator in the event of incompatibility between devices and associated computer program product

• US 10,467,073 B2
• Filed: 02/26/2015
• Issued: 11/05/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/07/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Schneider Electric Industries SAS (Schneider Electric SE)
• Original Assignee: Schneider Electric Industries SAS (Schneider Electric SE)
• Inventors: Michel, Julien
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Thienvu V
• Assistant Examiner(s): Thomas, Lucy M
• Application Number:
  US14/632,100
• Publication Number:
  US 20150254120A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,713 Days
• Field of Search: 361 64
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/00 Error detection; Error correction; Monitoring error detection, correction or monitoring in information storage based on relative movement between record carrier and transducer G11B20/18; monitoring, i.e. supervising the progress of recording or reproducing G11B27/36; in static stores G11C29/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/16 Combinations of two or more digital computers each having at least an arithmetic unit, a program unit and a register, e.g. for a simultaneous processing of several programs coordinating program control therefor G06F9/52; in regulating and control system G05B
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/60 Software deployment
• CPC Class Codes: H02H 7/261 involving signal transmission between at least two stations transmission of signals in general H02H1/0061

Abstract

The electronic system according to the invention comprises a set of electronic devices, each electronic device comprising a memory and a communication module for communicating with one or more other devices of the set.

This electronic system comprises a module for verifying the compatibility of each device with the other complementary device(s) with which said device is adapted to communicate, and a module for generating at least one deviation indicator when an incompatibility is detected between two devices.

The memory comprises a compatibility table with said other complementary device(s), each compatibility table comprising a minimum required version number for each of the other complementary devices, and each verification module is adapted for comparing a version number of each other complementary devices with the minimum required version number.

Claims

1. An electronic system including a set of electronic devices, each electronic device comprising a memory and a communication module for communicating with one or more other complementary electronic devices of the set, the electronic system comprising:

a first electronic device of the set of electronic devices;

a second electronic device of the set of electronic devices configured to receive a request of delegation of compatibility verification from the first electronic device, the second electronic device including a verification module implemented by circuitry and configured to verify compatibility of the first electronic device with a third electronic device of the other complementary electronic device(s) with which said second electronic device is configured to communicate, the third electronic device also including a verification module; and

at least one generating module implemented by the circuitry and configured to generate at least one deviation indicator when an incompatibility is detected between two electronic devices, wherein

said each memory of said each electronic device comprises a compatibility table for defining compatibility with said other complementary electronic device(s), each compatibility table comprising at least one minimum required version number for each of said other complementary electronic device(s),

said verification module of the second electronic device is then configured to compare, for the first electronic device, a version number of the third electronic device, which itself includes a verification module, with the corresponding minimum required version number, and

the first electronic device includes a delegation module, without including a verification module, the delegation module being configured to delegate the compatibility verification to the second electronic device that includes the verification module, and the delegating module of the first electronic device is configured to send to said verification module of the second electronic device the version number contained in the compatibility table of the first electronic device.

2. The electronic system according to claim 1, wherein at least one electronic device of the set of electronic devices comprises at least one hardware function, and each corresponding compatibility table comprises, for said at least one hardware function, a minimum required version number for each of the other complementary electronic device(s).

3. The electronic system according to claim 1, wherein at least one electronic device of the set of electronic devices comprises at least one software function, and each corresponding compatibility table comprises, for each software function, a minimum required version number for each of the other complementary electronic device(s).

4. The electronic system according to claim 1, wherein said at least one generating module is configured to generate a unitary deviation indicator for each electronic device having an incompatibility with at least one other complementary electronic device.

5. The electronic system according to claim 1, wherein at least one generating module is configured to generate a global deviation indicator when two complementary electronic devices are incompatible.

6. The electronic system according to claim 1, wherein several compatibility levels are associated with at least one electronic device of the set of electronic devices, and each corresponding compatibility table comprises, for each compatibility level, a minimum required version number for each of said other complementary electronic device(s).

7. An electric circuit breaker comprising a triggering unit and the electronic system according to claim 1.

8. The electronic system according to claim 1, wherein each electronic device that includes a delegation module does not include a verification module.

9. The electronic system according to claim 1, wherein the compatibility table comprises a first minimum required version number of firmware for each of said other complementary electronic device(s), a second minimum required version number of hardware for each of said other complementary electronic device(s), and an indication of compatibility level associated with a combination of the first minimum required version number of firmware and the second minimum required version number of hardware.

10. A method for generating at least one deviation indicator for an electronic device when an incompatibility with at least one other electronic device of an electronic system is detected, the electronic system comprising a set of electronic devices, each electronic device comprising a memory and a communication module for communicating with one or more other complementary electronic devices of the set, the method comprising:

receiving, by a second electronic device of the set of electronic devices, a request of delegation of compatibility verification from a first electronic device of the set of electronic devices;

verifying, by a verification module included in the second electronic device, compatibility of the first electronic device with a third electronic device of the other complementary electronic device(s) with which said second electronic device is configured to communicate, the third electronic device also including a verification module;

generating at least one deviation indicator for the electronic device when an incompatibility with at least one other complementary electronic device is detected,

wherein the memory of each electronic device comprises at least one compatibility table for defining compatibility with said other complementary electronic device(s), each compatibility table comprising at least one minimum required version number for each of said other complementary electronic device(s);

during the verifying by the verification module of the second electronic device, comparing a version number for the first electronic device with the corresponding minimum required version number, wherein

the receiving receives the request of delegation from a delegation module included in the first electronic device, the delegation module delegating the verifying of the compatibility to the second electronic device that comprises the verification module; and

receiving, by said verification module of the second electronic device, the version number contained in the compatibility table of the first electronic device.

11. A non-transitory computer readable medium including a computer program product comprising software instructions which, when run by a computer, carry out the method according to claim 10 for generating at least one deviation indicator.

12. The method according to claim 10, wherein each electronic device that includes a delegation module does not include a verification module.

13. The method according to claim 10, wherein the compatibility table comprises a first minimum required version number of firmware for each of said other complementary electronic device(s), a second minimum required version number of hardware for each of said other complementary electronic device(s), and an indication of compatibility level associated with a combination of the first minimum required version number of firmware and the second minimum required version number of hardware.