US 11,924,312 B2
EtherCAT controllers
William Mahany, West Islip, NY (US); Ian Saturley, Warwickshire (GB); Lakshmi Narasimhan, Chennai (IN); Riyas Kattukandan, Kerala (IN); Ramya Kuppusamy, Karnataka (IN); and Robert Zakowicz, Chandler, AZ (US)
Assigned to Microchip Technology Incorporated, Chandler, AZ (US)
Filed by Microchip Technology Incorporated, Chandler, AZ (US)
Filed on Sep. 24, 2020, as Appl. No. 17/030,439.
Claims priority of application No. 201911043952 (IN), filed on Oct. 30, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2021/0136185 A1, May 6, 2021
Int. Cl. H04L 69/22 (2022.01); G06F 9/4401 (2018.01); H04J 3/06 (2006.01); H04L 12/10 (2006.01)
CPC H04L 69/22 (2013.01) [G06F 9/4418 (2013.01); H04J 3/0658 (2013.01); H04L 12/10 (2013.01)] 12 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An EtherCAT device configured to be included in an EtherCAT network with an EtherCAT master node, the EtherCAT device comprising:
a processor configured to operate in a sleep mode and in a normal operating mode; and
a network interface card (NIC) including circuitry configured to:
receive incoming EtherCAT packets from the EtherCAT network originally issued by the EtherCAT master node; and
while the processor is in the sleep mode:
parse the incoming EtherCAT packets;
determine whether a given incoming EtherCAT packet is a wake-on-LAN (WoL) packet by:
a determination that the given incoming EtherCAT packet includes an address of another EtherCAT device;
a determination that the given incoming EtherCAT packet includes a predetermined value within a payload;
a determination that the given incoming EtherCAT packet includes an address of the EtherCAT device;
a determination that the given incoming EtherCAT packet includes an address of another EtherCAT device; or
a determination that the given incoming EtherCAT packet includes an address of the EtherCAT master node;
based on a determination that the given incoming EtherCAT packet is a WoL packet, generate a wake signal to the processor; and
forward the given incoming EtherCAT packet to another node in the EtherCAT network.