WO2005101749A1

WO2005101749A1 - System and process for transmitting and evaluating data in a bus system having a ring topology

Info

Publication number: WO2005101749A1
Application number: PCT/EP2005/051638
Authority: WO
Inventors: Werner Harter; Eberhard Boehl
Original assignee: Robert Bosch Gmbh
Priority date: 2004-04-13
Filing date: 2005-04-13
Publication date: 2005-10-27
Also published as: EP1738532A1; DE102004018316A1; CN1943177A; JP2007533226A

Abstract

System and process for transmitting and evaluating data, with at least two subscribers which participate in the evaluation, as well as corresponding subscribers. Data are transmitted in data frames and at least one position in the data frame is associated with each of the subscribers which participate in the evaluation. Data are transmitted over a plurality of transmission paths, each transmission path forming a ring, a coupling unit being provided for each ring in each of the subscribers which participate in the evaluation in order to couple the data concerning the present subscriber which participates in the evaluation to the at least one position in the data frame provided for that purpose, while the remaining data in the data frame positions to which no data are coupled concerning said subscriber are retransmitted without being processed.

Description

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR TRANSMITTING AND EVALUATING DATA IN A BUS SYSTEM WITH RINGTOPO OGIE

PRIOR ART The invention is based on a system and a method for transmitting and evaluating data and at least two participants involved in the evaluation and a corresponding participant in accordance with the preamble of the independent claims. Such a system is known from WO 02/49271 A2, which shows a ring network in which the individual subscribers are connected by two rings, each with the opposite direction of transmission. In addition to the use of such redundant, rm-shaped data paths in the opposite direction, in other voting or evaluation systems, the data in rmg-shaped networks are transmitted multiple times in the same direction by means of redundant additional connections via individual nodes, as is shown, for example, in DE 103 07 749 AI. In such a voting system or also in the case of an opposing voting structure as in WO 02/49271 A2 mentioned above, the data in the ring-shaped network are transmitted multiple times in the same or opposite direction across individual nodes by means of redundant additional connections. In order to feed the data into such a network, the entire data frame in which the data is transmitted, that is to say the entire frame, is temporarily stored in the network node and is generally only sent out again two frames later, as is the case, for example, in the MOST implementation is provided (see MOST Network Transceiver, OS 8104, DS 8104 EP 4 from Oasis, Silicon Systems, January 2003). In a voting system for time-critical In real-time applications, this delay in the data in the network limits the number of network nodes, even if the delay per subscriber, that is to say per node, is limited to a single buffered frame. The duration of such a data frame or frame is approximately 22 μs at a transmission rate of 22.5 Mbit / s and 64 bytes per frame. With eight network nodes, i.e. nodes, it then takes at least 182 μs for a buffered frame or 364 μs for two data frames until the data has been transmitted to all nodes in the network. The necessary transfer of several data and the exchange of intermediate and final results necessary for voting, i.e. an evaluation of the data, therefore leads to an unacceptable duration of the voting or evaluation process for a node or

Number of participants of more than four participants.

Especially in distributed, security-relevant systems or networks, data exchange between the participants involved is necessary, which still leads to secure decisions or evaluations even in the event of an error. H. the error must be recognized reliably and appropriate measures must be taken to avoid a loss of security or a system failure. Such distributed, safety-relevant systems are known, for example, from the vehicle sector as X-by-wire systems. The most important task is to ensure the functional safety of such systems.

The task thus arises to further increase the error safety with regard to the systems known from the prior art in the context of the increased safety-relevant requirements by largely minimizing the delays mentioned above.

Advantages of the invention

For this purpose, the method and the at least one participant and the system for the transmission and evaluation of data with at least two participants involved in the evaluation assume that the data are transmitted in data frames and that each participant in the evaluation is assigned at least one position in the data frame is, the data are transmitted in several transmission paths, each of which forms a ring. Advantageously, one coupling unit per ring is provided in each participant involved in the evaluation in order to achieve the Coupling data of the respective participant involved in the evaluation into the at least one position in the data frame provided for this purpose, the remaining data being passed on unprocessed in the positions of the data frame into which no coupling occurs in this participant. In other words, according to the invention, only the node or subscriber concerned enters data in the relevant area of the data frame and all other data or positions into which such coupling does not take place are not changed by the subscriber and without the usual delay in the state the technology can be forwarded directly through a bypass. This advantageously ensures that the voting data or evaluation data is transmitted to all other participants or nodes in the network regardless of the number of nodes in the network during such a data frame

The coupling unit advantageously contains a counter, by means of which the position provided for the data of the subscriber in the data frame is determined.

The coupling unit expediently additionally contains a multiplex module, by means of which, depending on a counter reading of the aforementioned counter, the data is coupled in or forwarded according to the position in the data frame. In a special embodiment, the coupling unit can be accommodated in a control unit described later.

The data are advantageously transmitted in binary form as bits, so that at least one bit memory element is provided per ring, by means of which the data to be coupled in is synchronized in the data frame; in particular, it is used for a 5 flip-flop module.

In an expedient embodiment, an input and an output are provided per ring in each subscriber and such a bit memory element is assigned to each output. For better synchronization of the coupling process, an input and an output can also be provided for each O ring in each subscriber and such a bit memory element can be assigned to each of these inputs and each output.

This makes it possible to improve the synchronization with regard to the 5 data transmission during coupling in various degrees. According to the invention, this method is advantageously used in a system which maps the transmission paths in a first ring and a second ring, each with the opposite transmission direction.

It is also expedient to provide participants, in particular at least one participant who is not involved in the evaluation itself, but nevertheless couples special data, for example as control information, into a predefinable position in the data frame. Such a coupling unit can also be provided here, with all other data, in particular the data in the positions of the data frame, being passed on directly and unchanged for the participants involved in the voting.

In a preferred embodiment, a main subscriber is provided who carries out the evaluation himself and in turn contains or is connected to at least one clock cycle, this clock unit specifying a clock cycle for the transmission of the data for all rings, that is to say all the transmission paths.

Further advantages and advantageous refinements of this partial bypass proposed according to the invention in an evaluation or voting structure result from the description and from the features of the claims.

drawing

The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the figures shown in the drawing. It shows

1 shows a system according to the invention with the corresponding voting structure.

Figure 2 shows the system when a line break occurs.

Figure 3 shows the system when a participant fails.

The internal structure of each subscriber is shown in FIG. 4 and the structure of a subscriber with its own time base, that is to say a clock unit, is shown in FIG. 5.

Figure 6 shows an example of a frame structure according to the invention. FIG. 7 shows a master-slave combination in a system according to the invention.

Figure 8 shows the failure of the master in the master-slave combination.

FIG. 9 shows master failure or failure of the entire master-slave combination and additional Backπip master, and

FIG. 10 shows the failure of the master or the master-slave combination with a second error occurring at the same time, such as, for example, selection of a connection or a subscriber with additional backup masters and formation of subsystems.

FIG. 11 shows again in FIGS. 11a and 11b a system according to the invention with the corresponding voting structure according to FIG. 1 in FIG. 1a, the participants involved in the evaluation being identified by the hatching.

FIG. 11b shows a further data frame according to the invention, which represents the transmission of the data, in particular of the participants involved in the evaluation, and of the control information.

FIG. 12 once again shows the coupling units in a subscriber in a simplified manner in the case of an opposite ring structure.

The invention will now be explained in more detail using the exemplary embodiments.

Description of the design examples

Figure 1 shows a struktur ^ otmg structure with a master-slave combination 100 with a master 103 and a slave 104. In addition, another six participants are shown as slaves, so in particular without their own clock unit from 105 to 110. The connection of the participants 103 to 110 takes place in two opposite rings R1 and R2, so that two redundant ring-shaped data paths, namely R1 and R2, are used in the opposite direction for data transmission. The master-slave combination 100 can additionally increase the reliability by providing two redundant clock units 101 and 102 in addition to a master and a slave that can take over the master functions. However, only one clock unit can also be provided here is initially assigned to the master, that is to say not contained in it, and in the event of a failure passes the clock information on to the slave 104 in order to maintain operation. It is then necessary that the master 103 and the slave 104 are arranged as neighbors and in close proximity in order to be able to transmit the clock information without problems.

In FIG. 2, only a master 200 with a clock unit 201 is shown instead of the master-slave combination 100. According to the invention, the use of the master-slave combination 100 or a sole master 200 is optional and interchangeable. If an error now occurs in the system, for example an interruption in the line as shown here between subscribers 107 and 108, the data transmission in the system can be maintained by redirecting information in the corresponding subscribers. I.e. Even if all connections between two nodes or participants are interrupted, there is still a secure data exchange between all nodes. But this is only due to the fact that, according to the invention, the data of both rings R1 and

R2 are always evaluated and processed in each participant and, contrary to the state of the art, there is no simple transmission of the data in one participant. The same situation is shown in FIG. 3, only on the condition that an entire subscriber, here subscriber 107, fails. However, as already described in FIG. 2, data transmission can also be maintained here, precisely here in the event of a node or subscriber failing for the remaining subscribers.

FIG. 4 now shows the structure of a subscriber in which cross connections between the rings are realized.

These cross connections are shown in FIG. 4 as connection 1, 400V1 and as connection 2, 400V2. The subscriber or node has a first input 400E1 and a first output 400A1 as well as a second input 400E2 and a second output 400A2. In principle, the two transmission paths corresponding to the rings R1 and R2 can be implemented via these inputs and outputs. According to the invention, however, a control unit 401 or 402 corresponding to each transmission path is now provided, in which status information is generated. This status information contains, for example, network information regarding the failure of a node or subscriber or else. FeMerinformation or the defect status of a cut connection between two participants. Accordingly, every participant is everyone Control unit 401 or 402 is able to generate such Staras information itself. This Starasinformation can then be exchanged between the rings via the corresponding connection 400V1 or 400V2. This is done by coupling the Staras information using an egg coupling unit 406, in particular into the data frame, which is described in more detail in FIG. 6. 407 serves to determine the exact position of the status information in the frame, which can be done, for example, via a counting device that counts bits or bytes.

The same applies to the other direction with coupling unit 409 and detection unit 410. An evaluation unit 405 is also provided or for the other direction 408 for evaluating the Staras information coming in via the inputs in the frame. These units 405, 406 and 407 can be provided both in the control unit and outside. This also applies to the other direction, for the elements 408, 409 and 410. The evaluation unit 405, now or in the opposite direction 408, is used to evaluate the Staras information and is designed such that when

Evaluation of the status information results in an error, for example the failure of a connection or a subscriber or other errors in the network, a transmission of data on one ring, i.e. the regular connection, here 400R1 can be prevented and instead coupling can take place via connection 400V1 , The activation of this connection 400V1 can now take place directly via the control input 401ST1 of the switching element 403, so that on the one hand special status information can be fed into the corresponding position in the transmission frame in the opposite direction as well as any other data distortion or in the case of a gross error the complete redirection of the Information from the regular route 400R1 can be made via the connection 40OV1. It is then about the

Control connection 401ST2 to switchover element 404 prevents transmission via 400R1 if the error has occurred in the ring R1. This is done in the same way for the other direction via control unit 402 and evaluation unit 408. Here, connection 400V2 is now at least partially activated via control input 402ST1, that is to say transmission of status information or other data up to the whole

Data redirection corresponding to the detection element 410 and likewise the regular forwarding in the ring R2 via 400R2 can be prevented by the control input 402ST2 of the switching element 403. According to the invention, a connection can additionally be provided between the control units, shown here in dashed lines, in order to make such measures between the control units dependent on corresponding ones Errors or the importance of the errors, which can be entered in a priority table.

FIG. 5 now shows the same function for a subscriber with clock unit 511, with control units 501 and 502, evaluation units 505 and 508, detection units 507 and 510, Einkorjpel units 506 and 509, switching elements 503 and 504, the corresponding control inputs 501ST2 and 501ST1 as well as 502ST2 and 502ST1 are provided to activate the connections 500V1 or 500V2, in order to enable data to be coupled into the various rings or to switch input 500E1 to output 500A2 or input 500E2 to output 500A1. This subscriber differs primarily in that it contains a clock unit 511 and can thus act as a master or backup master in the system. Otherwise, the function of the parts mentioned corresponds to that already described in FIG. 4. A connection of the two control units 501 and 502 can also be provided here for tuning.

A frame for data transmission is provided by way of example in FIG. 6, so that all data are transmitted in synchronous frames ... Fra es, a specific data area being assigned to each node involved in the voting. The proposed frame starts here with a preamble P, which marks the beginning of the frame. Then the Staras information, which can comprise from one bit to one byte or more bytes, is represented by S. DT1, D-T2 to DTN corresponds to the data areas of the respective participants T1, T2 to TNT, that is to say in the figures previously 103 to 110 and 200, respectively, who are involved in the voting. With CI further control information is provided and with LI l-xx) p information and -EOF indicates the end of frame. According to FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, status information can now be obtained by evaluating a ring corresponding to the respective evaluation unit 406, 408, 506 or 508 and transferring the information to the opposite ring in a special status area S with corresponding evaluation of this status information in the next node in each case or subscriber errors are recognized and correction data are thus coupled in or completely switched over to the respective connection in the event of a subscriber defective status or a line between the subscribers. I.e. for example with reference to FIG. 4 or FIG. 5, that the information, in particular the Staras information, is received and evaluated from one direction via the input E2, that is to say 400E2 or 500E2, into the account unit and, on the other hand, in the opposite direction via the input El, ie 400E1 or 500E1, also enters control unit 501 or 401 and is evaluated there, as described in FIG. 4. Errors, in particular interruptions in lines between two nodes or nodes, can thus be automatically detected, in exactly the same way as the complete tear-off of both rings at this point or the complete failure of a node. One participant acts as

Master and specifies the clock of its clock unit for the entire network, i.e. the entire system. As already described, the clock unit can be implemented redundantly and in the event of a master subscriber error, any node that has access to such a clock-generating element, that is to say to such a clock unit, can take over the function. Depending on the severity of the error, as already described in FIGS. 2 and 3, either a complete switchover of the data stream, that is to say a diversion from one ring to the other ring, or a bypass can be implemented in less severe cases. I.e. In addition to passing, a correction can also be made by coupling information from the other control unit of the opposite circle, as already described.

According to FIG. 6, the information or the data of the system is transmitted in a predetermined length. For example, 32, 64 or 128 bytes or any other frame length can be used. Each frame starts with one

Preamble P and the data are coded in such a way that ^" clock recovery can take place, for example, using a PLL. Data transmission can take place on an electrical physical layer, such as LVDS, low voltage differential signaling using UTP unshared twisted pairs or STP shealded twisted pairs or any other electrical or optical transmission. For all active nodes or participants, ie those who participate in the voting, frame positions DT1, DT2 to DTN are provided according to the respective participant. The length depends on the predeterminable number of participants or nodes Due to the synchronous work of all nodes or participants, ie using the same clock frequency of the same clock, it is possible to bypass all information or the entire data that was not generated by the participant concerned of such a bypass requires ... two or three flip-flops or ^ comparable memories and delay elements in order to match the new data, which can be integrated by each participant, with the amount of data to be bypassed at this particular structure in To be able to synchronize frames. This means that, regardless of the amount of data to be inserted or the data to be inserted by the subscriber concerned, the entire data block or the entire data is only delayed for two or three cycles at each node and thus appears almost simultaneously for all receiving subscribers. If a specified frame position is used for each participant's data, no address overhead is required. This means that the entire data rate or the entire frame can be used almost completely for useful information. Combined with the simultaneous transmission of all nodes, there is a very short data exchange period, even for complex procedures.

At this point, the voting procedure or the evaluation process should be briefly described again. To carry out a voting, every participant must be able to perform simple arithmetic, logical and comparison operations. For example, a simple or small processor in each voting unit can be used to carry out these tasks. This small processor can then represent or be contained in the control unit in order to control the data flow, to evaluate the status information and to check the correct operation of the participants, as described in FIGS. 4 and 5. The different participants in the system carry out the evaluation procedure, i.e. the voting, independently of one another. Each participant receives input variables, for example from sensors, and uses them for a calculation or calculation process. Depending on the different types of sensors that are necessary for security systems, the input variables of the participants can differ in a tolerable order of magnitude. However, in order to start from the same input variables, all input variables could be exchanged, evaluated and replaced at the beginning of the evaluation procedure of the voting depending on the respective calculation. The calculation is then carried out as a second step and the results are exchanged. Then the voting can be carried out in each participant and the evaluation results can also be exchanged. The actuators can then be influenced by evaluating these volume results in order to achieve the desired system reaction. Participants who produce unacceptable results at the end of the voting procedure can be excluded from the evaluation. This enables the participants, especially those who remain after the expulsion, to act in an adapted manner without a significant influence on the global system behavior. Information about the different phases Separating this evaluation process from one another can also be included in the Staras information, namely the type of data that is transmitted as well as the validity of this data. Also the system status and the number of active participants as well as the status of these participants with regard to voting. This means that each participant can evaluate the status of each other participant, and if there are differences, errors can be easily identified. This is possible because each participant can receive all the information of all other participants, even if they have been excluded from the voting process. In this way, a participant who has already been excluded can be re-included in the voting process if there is renewed agreement with a result of the evaluation, for example by a master decision. To this

In particular, transient errors in participants that only lead to a temporary exclusion of the participant can be detected and controlled. In addition to being usable for voting, the structure is also suitable for other data exchange processes, e.g. suitable as a connection between different bus systems (gateway).

The incoming data information must be checked in each participant, for example for code errors, preambles, number of bytes, the frame, the EOF byte, etc. In the event of a lack of system activity or an error in the frame structure or other emerging errors, in particular of the predecessor node or participant this, as described above, can be excluded. For this reason the] -Λ »p information LI is introduced after the control information CI in order to transmit information from one ring, that is to say one transmission direction on the other ring or the other transmission direction, to make the subscriber accessible from both transmission directions or both Rings Rl, R2 to determine. With it everyone can

Non-master participants, since they receive the same information as the master participant, also monitor them and act independently in the event of unexplained master decisions. This means that a master can be actively excluded from the system, as can a faulty non-master; either with a bypass or by redirection without risking serious security risks in the system, so that the highest possible functionality always occurs with one or more errors. This is described again in more detail below with reference to FIGS. 7 to 10.

FIG. 7 again shows a system structure with a master SIave arrangement 700, a master 103 and a non-master subscriber 104. In block 701 there are redundant ones Clock units 702 and 703 shown that either the master 103 or the. Non-masters 104 can be assigned and can thus specify the clock for the system, i.e. the rings R1 and R2 with the subscribers 105 to 110 and 103 and 104. By implementing this master-slave combination 700 with several clock generators or clock units 702 and 703 and spatial proximity between the

Master and the non-master is uch possible a simple replacement of the master in case of failure a ^~ with a replacement of the existing data paths, as described in FIG. 8 If the master 103 fails, a connection can be established from subscriber 104 to subscriber 110 with regard to ring 1 on the one hand, and a connection between subscriber 110 and subscriber 104 with respect to ring 2 by bypassing the defective master 103. In the event of a complete failure of the master-slave combination, or even a simple Masters as illustrated in Figure 9. 200 having clock unit 105 to 110, as shown, maintained ^ι wverden trotzdLem an operation of the remaining participants, if a backup master, here 107b, the access to a further timing unit .900 owns, are maintained. Such replacement masters or backup masters can also be provided multiple times in the system, so that safety scaling or error scaling is also possible here. For example, by using two backup masters, as described in FIG. 10, 105b and 110b with access to the clock units 1001 and 1002 with simultaneous failure of the master 200 and the connection between the subscribers 107 and 108, the formation of subsystems can take place which in turn can continue to maintain a certain basic function. If three or more participants are still contained in such a subsystem, the voting, that is to say the evaluation, can also continue to be carried out, specifically for the functions which are controlled by these participants. In the case of a further two remaining participants, at least a partial evaluation can be carried out by comparing the functionalities for equality. Depending on the clock units used in the system, i.e. the number and the arrangement, scaling can take place within the framework of fail-safe or fail-safe by being able to predefine potential sub-networks.

With this solution according to the invention, a system for safety-critical applications with high real-time requirements can thus be represented. Especially in the case of a sliding master in the event of a master failure, high settling times, in particular the PLL on the new system frequency, ie the new clock, had to be expected. Due to the possibility of avoiding this sliding master and the use of the This can be avoided by using the same clock for both rings or transmission paths. At the same time, complete security can be achieved, since in the present structure, with the corresponding function, complete data exchange is guaranteed when all connections between two subscribers are interrupted or even a total failure of a subscriber, in particular the master. The invention can thus be advantageously used for all safety-critical applications, in particular in X-by-wire systems and especially wherever an evaluation, ie a voting, is carried out.

For such an evaluation is shown again in FIG. 11a according to FIG. 1, the participants involved in the evaluation, here 103, 110, 106 and 107, by means of. the sclirafϊur have been identified. A corresponding data frame based on FIG. 6 is shown in FIG. 11b with a preamble P, control information S and the data positions of the participants 103, 106, 107 and 110 shown with DT 103, DT 106, DT 107 and DT 110 and the control forrriation CI , which in particular shows the network status, further control information relating to the data frame itself in a field SF and the end of frame EOF. The SF field can also be omitted and this information could also be located in the EOF field. Likewise, according to the invention, the Staras information of the field S and the other positions in the data frame CI and SF can be as desired at the beginning or at

End in the data frame.

As shown, a data area of this data frame for transmitting the data is now assigned to each participant involved in the voting or evaluation in the evaluation or voting structure. In this area only the person concerned

Participant data. Furthermore, the participant can enter in the common fields such as status information S or status information regarding the frame SF or also CI and EOF data depending on the specifications or agreement in the system.

All other data, in particular the data corresponding to the positions of the other participants in the data frame, are not changed and can therefore be passed on immediately by bypass without delay. For this purpose, such a coupling unit with a bypass function is shown schematically again in FIG. 12 in the respective transmission direction. The principle of this coupling unit can already be found in FIGS. 4 and 5 and is only shown once here with regard to the bypass Functionality is shown in a simpler and adapted manner, wherein individual functions can also be contained in the control units of FIGS. 4 and 5 or in other components of these figures.

In FIG. 12, a subscriber is shown at 1200 with regard to the bypass function mentioned and the coupling unit. An input 1200 El and 1200 E2 are shown corresponding to the respective direction of transmission. The outputs 1200 AI and 1200 A2 are also shown according to the respective ring. Coupling units for each transmission direction are shown with 1201 and 1202. These coupling units 1201 and 1202 each contain a counter 1203 and 1204, respectively

Multiplexer or multiplex module 1205 or 1206 and a bit memory element, in particular a flip-flop module 1207 or 1208. Optionally, for better synchronization, another bit memory element can also be a flip-flop module, each represented on the input side as blocks 1209 and 1210 , be provided.

With such a coupling element and the guaranteed bypass function, it is now also possible to add further, in particular many nodes or participants, to the network, especially those that do not themselves contribute any data for voting or evaluation, but for example important tax information as Participant data DT can be transmitted in the control information field S or SF. Such participants who are not involved in the evaluation can then also receive all information about the evaluation process and about the network stalus and would in principle be able to intervene in their turn.

Thus, as shown in FIG. 11 a, all safety-critical components can be one

Systems can be networked without impairing data transmission with the high amount of data required for voting, i.e. evaluation. For this purpose, according to the invention, a multiplex module 1205 and 1206 and a synchronization flip-flop 1207 and 1208 are introduced in each network node, the multiplex module in each case either the data from the input 1200 El or 1200 E2, possibly via a further synchronization function. Flop directly to output 1200 AI or 1200 A-2 or feeds data from the network node, i.e. the subscriber itself as subscriber data DT, here via the additional input, with the essential feature that this multiplexer uses a counter, in particular byte or bit - Counter is controlled, i.e. a counter module, here 1203 or 1204 and in different nodes or participants with different meter readings the bypass can be activated. In nodes that are not involved in the voting, all data are immediately forwarded unchanged. An exception here is only the control frame component SF or S, provided control information is to be sent and / or other, for example, global network and status information. The partial bypass according to the invention is also possible for MOST applications, in particular if only certain data bytes in the frame are to be replaced. Control is possible via an implemented routing engine in the MOST system.

All data is transmitted in synchronous frames, with everyone involved in the voting

A certain data area in the frame is assigned to nodes. For a slave, the clock is recovered from the data, so that an additional clock line can be omitted. An additional reset line can also be dispensed with, since the control information can be transmitted in S and / or SF. The system works fully synchronously and can therefore be triggered in time. In contrast to the slave

Nodes in which the directly forwarded data are only synchronously delayed by one or two clocks must temporarily store the data of a frame arriving at the master, since incoming and outgoing frames are not synchronized with one another, but rather depend on the respective network delay, i.e. the total network delay. Therefore, the voting data in the

Master nodes or main participants sent out again exactly one frame later.

Thus, the main subscriber or master sends a data frame with a constant number of bytes, and the subscriber uses the clock that has been recovered from the data. Each participant who takes part in the voting process is assigned data areas or positions in the data frame. He only enters data in the area assigned to him. The other data is bypassed. It is also conceivable according to the invention that each network node, ie subscriber, can also enter data in a plurality of data areas, in particular also in the control frame area S and / or SF.

The solution according to the invention enables the use of the system mentioned with high real-time requirements in safety-critical applications. The voting data, interim results and voting results can be exchanged very quickly, even with high data volumes and many connected participants.

Claims

Expectations

1. System for the transmission and evaluation of data and at least two participants involved in the evaluation, the data being transmitted in data frames and each participant involved in the evaluation being assigned at least one position in the data frame, the data being in a plurality of transmission paths, each form a ring are characterized in that in each participant participating in the evaluation there is one coupling unit per ring in order to couple the data of the respective participant involved in the evaluation into the at least one position provided for this purpose in each case, the remaining data in the positions of the data frame into which no coupling occurs in this subscriber are forwarded unprocessed.

2. System according to claim 1, characterized in that the coupling unit contains a counter by which the position provided in the data frame for the data of the subscriber is determined.

3. System according to claim 2, characterized in that the coupling unit contains a multiplex module, by means of which, depending on a counter reading of the counter, the data is coupled in or forwarded according to the position in the data frame.

4. System according to claim 1, characterized in that the data are transmitted in binary form as bits and that at least one bit storage element is provided per ring, through which the data to be coupled is synchronized in the data frame.

5. System according to claim 4, characterized in that one input and one output is provided per ring in each participant and that each output is assigned a bit storage element.

6. System according to claim 4, characterized in that an input and an output is provided per ring in each participant and that each input and each output is assigned a bit storage element.

7. System according to claim 1, characterized in that the transmission paths form a first ring and a second ring, each with the opposite direction of transmission.

8. System according to claim 1, characterized in that at least one is not at the

Evaluation of actuated participants is provided, which couples special data as control information into a predefinable position in the data frame.

9. System according to claim 1, characterized in that at least one participant involved in the evaluation is provided, who couples special data as control information into a predefinable position in the data frame.

10. System according to claim 1, with a main participant who performs the evaluation and contains at least one clock unit which specifies a clock for the transmission of the data for all rings.

11. Participant in a system for the transmission and evaluation of data, the data being transmitted in data frames and the participant participating in the evaluation, in that the participant involved in the evaluation is assigned at least one position in the data frame, the data being in several Transmission paths that each form a ring are characterized in that one coupling unit per ring is provided in each participant involved in the evaluation in order to couple the data of the participant involved in the evaluation into the at least one position in the data frame provided for this purpose, the other data in the Positions of the data frame into which no coupling occurs in this subscriber are forwarded unprocessed.

12. Method for the transmission and evaluation of data in a communication system with at least two participants involved in the evaluation, the data being transmitted in data frames and each participant involved in the evaluation being assigned at least one position in the data frame, the data being in a plurality of transmission paths , which each form a ring, are characterized in that in each participant involved in the evaluation, the data of the respective participant involved in the evaluation are coupled into the at least one position provided for this purpose in the data frame of the respective ring, the remaining data in the Positions of the data frame into which no coupling takes place are forwarded unprocessed.