US 12,292,724 B2
Modular control device with redundant channel units
Udo Müller, Ostfildern (DE); Winfried Gruber, Ostfildern (DE); Richard Veil, Ostfildern (DE); Johannes Digel, Ostfildern (DE); Stephan Raidt, Ostfildern (DE); and Jürgen Riecker, Ostfildern (DE)
Assigned to Pilz GmbH & Co. KG, Ostfildern (DE)
Filed by Pilz GmbH & Co. KG, Ostfildern (DE)
Filed on Jan. 28, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/586,999.
Claims priority of application No. 102021102169.3 (DE), filed on Jan. 29, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2022/0244694 A1, Aug. 4, 2022
Int. Cl. G06F 11/16 (2006.01); G05B 9/03 (2006.01); G05B 19/042 (2006.01)
CPC G05B 19/0425 (2013.01) [G05B 9/03 (2013.01); G06F 11/16 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A head module for a modular control device, the head module comprising:
a plurality of redundant channel units, wherein each of the channel units includes a processing unit and a plurality of failure revelation units; and
a bus disconnection unit configured to shut down a communication bus, wherein:
the failure revelation units are configured to monitor a state of the channel units,
the processing units are configured to continuously stimulate the failure revelation units,
at least one of the processing units is coupled to signal wires of the communication bus to provide a communication link to one or more peripheral modules of the modular control device, and
the failure revelation units are further configured to control, based on the stimulation and the monitoring, the bus disconnection unit to disconnect the signal wires of the communication bus in order to shut down the communication bus in a fail-safe manner.