Interface apparatus between TSN-devices and non-TSN-devices

A method for transmitting a second data packet from a sending input-buffer to a sending output-buffer, wherein the second data packet in the sending input-buffer is Time-Sensitive Network (TSN) compliant and the second data packet in the sending output-buffer has a non-TSN format, wherein the non-TSN format is one of:

• Profinet, EtherCat, Powerlink, Ethernet/IP, TTEthernet, and/or Modbus TCP protocol, the method comprising the steps of:
• analysing the second data packet, which has been retrieved from a TSN-compliant device, in the sending input-buffer, wherein the second data packet comprises at least a second data packet time and a second data packet priority level;
• acknowledging the second data packet according to the second data packet priority level;
• modifying the second data packet priority level from the second data packet according to the Priority Code Point (PCP);
• modifying the second data packet time from the second data packet according to the Precision Time Protocol (PTP);
• transmitting the second data packet to the sending output-buffer;
• and
• sending the second data packet to a non-TSN device.

An interface between a communication layer of a Time-Sensitive Network (TSN) device and a communication layer of a non-TSN device, wherein a format of the non-TSN device is one of:

• Profinet, EtherCat, Powerlink, Ethernet/IP, TTEthernet, and/or Modbus TCP protocol, the interface comprising at least one of:
• a receiving interface sub-device comprising a receiving input-buffer, a receiving output-buffer, and a first transforming sub-device, wherein the receiving interface sub-device is configured to transmit a first data packet from the receiving input-buffer to the receiving output-buffer by the first transforming sub-device, the first transforming sub-device being configured to execute a method for transmitting the first data packet from the receiving input-buffer to the receiving output-buffer, the first data packet in the receiving input-buffer having the non-TSN format and the first data packet in the receiving output-buffer being TSN-compliant, the method comprising the steps of:
• analysing the first data packet, which has been retrieved from the non-TSN device, in the receiving input-buffer;
• adding a first data packet time to the first data packet according to a Precision Time Protocol (PTP);
• adding a predefined first data packet priority level to the first data packet according to a Priority Code Point (PCP) of an 802.1Q tag;
• transmitting the first data packet to the receiving output-buffer;
• and
• sending the first data packet according to the first data packet priority level to the TSN device;
• and/or
• a sending interface sub-device comprising a sending input-buffer, a sending output-buffer, and a second transforming sub-device, wherein the sending interface sub-device is configured to transmit a second data packet from the sending input-buffer to the sending output-buffer by the second transforming sub-device, the second transforming sub-device being configured to execute a method for transmitting the second data packet from the sending input-buffer to the sending output-buffer, wherein the second data packet in the sending input-buffer is TSN-compliant and the second data packet in the sending output-buffer has the non-TSN format, the method comprising the steps of:
• analysing the second data packet, which has been retrieved from the TSN device, in the sending input-buffer, wherein the second data packet comprises at least a second data packet time and a second data packet priority level;
• acknowledging the second data packet according to the second data packet priority level;
• modifying the second data packet priority level from the second data packet according to the Priority Code Point, PCP;
• modifying the second data packet time from the second data packet according to the Precision Time Protocol, PTP,
• transmitting the second data packet to the sending output-buffer, and
• sending the second data packet to the non-TSN device.