Apparatus for self-diagnosis of substantially sporadic faults in serial transmission systems

US6324658A · kind A · utility

Assignee

• PHOENIX CONTACT GMBH & CO. KG · DE

Inventors

• Jurgen Jasperneite · Steinheim, DE
• Detlev Kuschke · Salzkotten, DE
• Dietmar Schnonherr · Lemgo, DE
• Joachim Schmidt · Schlangen, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: Nov 29, 1998
• Grant date: Nov 27, 2001
• Expiry date: Nov 29, 2018

Classification

• Technology area (CPC H): Electricity
• CPC primary: H04L43/50
• WIPO field: Digital communication
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

An apparatus for self-diagnosis of substantially sporadic faults in a serial network which connects a number of subscribers together to a central diagnosis apparatus is characterised in that arranged decentrally at each subscriber (Tln1, . . . Tlnn; FIG. 5) at given fault-relevant locations in its protocol stack are fault detectors (FD) which transmit their test results to a diagnosis and report manager (DRM) which from the individual test results of all fault detectors produces a fault picture which it preaddresses for transmission thereof insofar as, for each fault picture to be transmitted to a central diagnosis apparatus (DE) for the purposes of evaluation there, it generates an address (ID-ADR) by means of which it actuates an ID-transmitting-receiving buffer memory (FDSEP) in which it provides for intermediate storage of the fault pictures associated with the addresses and reads them out again in time-displaced relationship for their transmission to the central diagnosis apparatus by way of the transmission network (UN).