WO2000003513A1

WO2000003513A1 - Internet connectivity for mass produced units without user interface

Info

Publication number: WO2000003513A1
Application number: PCT/DK1998/000325
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jørgen STAUNSTRUP
Original assignee: Danfoss A/S
Priority date: 1998-07-10
Filing date: 1998-07-10
Publication date: 2000-01-20
Also published as: AU8622798A; EP1097545A1

Abstract

To the manufacturer of mass produced units without a user interface, typically field level units, connection of these units to a communications network for enabling servicing, control and trackability is of interest. To provide this connection, a solution is described in which an interface comprising an ASIC is built into a mass produced unit, whereby the ASIC is incorporating selected portions of selected layers of the Internet Protocol. The mass produced unit is then allocated a unit address.

Description

INTERNET CONNECTIVITY FOR MASS PRODUCED UNITS WITHOUT USER INTERFACE

This invention is "concerned with Internet connectivity of industrial units.

The exponential growth of the Internet makes Internet connectivity a highly desirable feature for communications equipment such as Television sets, video cameras, fax machines and printers. With continuously increasing speed, TV set-top boxes are getting connected to the Internet, enabling the users to get more information faster. Household units connected to the Internet are also described by the term Internet Appliances.

WO 97/28499 describes Internet connectivity embedded in a set-top box for use when decoding cable TV. The set-top box uses a central processing unit with a read-only memory (ROM) , in which an Internet Basic Input Output System (IBIOS) is placed. This software comprises the Transfer Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) normally used for connection to the Internet, and a web browser used for browsing and visual interfacing to the Internet.

Another design solution for building Internet connectivity into apparatus comes from iReady Corporation, USA, which describes a circuit design (hardware design module also referred to as Intellectual Property or just IP) called an Internet Tuner for embedding into consumer electronics such as cellular phones, printers, fax and TV. For each application, this module is customised as a silicon design module, and can be implemented as an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) as stated in their press release, dated December 15, 1997 which can be found on the Internet address http://www.ireadyco.com/irnews_ebn.htm. This ASIC is directed towards audio-visual consumer electronics and hence is equipped with a graphical user interface by supporting http (hypertext transport protocol) and html (hypertext mark-up language) web formats.

In WO 97/20281 LSI Logic Corporation, USA, an integrated network browser chip is described, which can be built into e.g. PCs, video recorders and telephones. The chip incorporates all elements needed for an Internet connection, i.e. handling of protocols such as TCP/IP, processing power in the form of a microprocessor, serial and parallel inputs and outputs, memory, communication interface for the Internet and a graphical display interface for the browsing end user.

Common to the prior art describing embedded Internet solutions is, that the solutions are directed towards audio-visual consumer electronics and the end users of consumer electronics.

The Internet also gives interesting prospects as to e.g. servicing, control and regulation.

EP 0 825 506 A2 describes an intranet or Internet system for remote process control. Via a client PC, contact is established through use of TCP/IP protocol to a PC- server, which incorporates four software layers used for processing the communication between field devices and the client PC. The field devices, e.g. flow control valves, are intelligent devices equipped with microprocessors for communication and are connected to a digital field bus. From the client PC, data logging of the field bus devices can be inaugurated through the network PC server. The system described, however, requires a digital field bus for communication between the field devices and the PC server, field busses being expensive and often proprietary. Also, flexibility in installation of the field devices is lowered by the requirement that connection to the field bus must be available - an intranet is not sufficient. The problem to be solved with this invention is to provide Internet connectivity to mass produced industrial products, particularly sensors and actuators, without markedly increasing the cost, power consumption, or the size of the unit. The problem especially relates to the simple type of industrial products which are not operated manually.

The inventive solution to this problem as described in claim 1 is an interface comprising an ASIC, the interface being built into the mass produced unit, and the ASIC incorporating selected portions of selected communication protocols.

Mass produced industrial units, and particularly sensors and actuators, are typically simple and devoid of any graphical interface, as they are not normally intended for direct human interfacing.

With the invention of claim 1 the manufacturer has access to a low cost, low power, and low physical volume solution that makes it possible to connect even the simplest mass produced unit, e.g. a solenoid valve to the Internet. Such a solenoid valve does not normally need a graphical user interface, and normally it need not have the overhead of electronics seen in the field of consumer electronics.

Typically, mass produced units do not need to be equipped with the browsing function often related to the Internet. Therefore, by using a simplified, customised ASIC with just the elements needed for an Internet connection, Internet connectivity can be installed directly in/on the solenoid valve. Thus, the solenoid valve can deliver simple ON/OFF information through the net or alternatively, being allocated an IP-address, addressed from a remote PC enquiring on status or energy consumption. In the following, the term "unit address" will be used to describe the address of the mass produced unit on a communication network, this address in one version being identical to the IP-address.

The interface ASIC is minimised in cost, size and power consumption by only implementing selected protocol layers and from these selected layers, again implementing selected portions of the respective protocol. In this way, fewer gates are used which lowers the power consumption and size of the ASIC.

To a large extent, the simplicity of mass produced units according to this invention is achieved by exploiting that they interact with other technology and not directly with human operators. The embedded Internet solutions described in prior art are more expensive than necessary for mass produced units, because of the overhead making these solutions many times larger and power demanding.

The concept of mass produced industrial units that primarily interface with other technology and therefore have a very simple or no significant graphical interface or browsing function, ranges from simple on/off devices such as thermostatic contacts and relays to pressure transmitters, hydraulic valves, components for low level control and monitoring of burners or flow metering and electric motors with control electronics attached. Common to these units is that they have no or only a very low level of direct interface. In some cases, the invention will make it possible to omit a (direct) graphical user interface (display and buttons) on units normally equipped with such an interface, because access is now via the Internet or an intranet, hence lowering the price, space and power consumption of the units.

Typically, mass produced units are products supplied to Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) , building the units into their products. In terms of system control, mass produced industrial units are placed mainly on the field level and to a minor degree in the low performance end of the automation level (cf. Figure 7, that will be explained later).

As stated in claim 2, the ASIC built into the mass produced unit is designed with a minimum configuration using only four selected layers of the standard Internet Protocol, and at least the link layer protocol and the application layer protocol are implemented in portions, where the application layer protocol is implemented essentially without user interface functionality.

The Internet protocol is minimised by combining the lowest levels and by simplifying the upper levels. By leaving out the other levels of the standard Internet Protocol, the design of the ASIC can be reduced to less than 50000 gates. Furthermore, the ASIC is optimised to minimise power consumption for those applications where power is supplied by an external battery or some other low capacity energy source.

Claim 3 details the selected portions of the link layer protocol which can be omitted, and which can be implemented to achieve small size and low power consumption of the ASIC, still maintaining satisfactory communication performance.

Selecting the UDP protocol (User Datagram Protocol) for implementation in the network layer contributes to further miniaturisation of the interface ASIC. This is the essence of claim 4.

In mass produced industrial units, where space is vital or where no electronics is built into the unit, the ASIC can be placed in an electrical connector of the unit, as stated in claim 5. Hereby, the ASIC is encapsulated and protected, thus no further housing or mounting on the unit has to be developed. Preferably, the connector with the ASIC is mounted directly on the unit or integrated into it, but connection at the other end of the wire to a connector in the wall or in a cabinet is also possible. This solution makes it possible to retrofit existing industrial units with Internet connection.

In particular, this is the case if the Internet connection is made via the power supply wires as stated in claim 6. Communication through the power supply wires is a commonly known technique, and made by superimposing a carrier frequency containing the information on the 50/60 Hz supply frequency. This solution offers a large advantage, as the normally required communication wires can be omitted. Essentially this means, that a simple electrical device can be connected to the Internet, if the power supply line has a modulator-demodulator bridge connected to the net, and the simple electrical device correspondingly has a modulator/demodulator (transceivers) .

Claim 7 describes a solution to the situation, in which a huge number of mass produced units share one IP-address. To distinguish the individual units when addressing, the concept of a unit address consisting of an IP-address and an identifier is used. The identifier stored in the mass produced unit is compared in the application layer to the identifier of an incoming packet; only if they match, the mass produced unit will react.

Allotting a product identification code or serial number to a mass produced industry unit is a common way of keeping track of the unit. Selecting the serial number so that it matches the unit address allows even better tracking of the unit. This is the basic idea of claim 8 and, formulated in a wider sense, claim 9, which describes a method for making a mass produced unit trackable.

Claim 10 describes a system for tracking and logging data from a mass produced unit during manufacturing. The system incorporates a communications network with a remote server connected to the network, which server incorporates a product homepage or database to which the mass produced unit sends test information. The IP-address of the remote server is stored in the ASIC of the unit.

Description of the drawings

Figure 1 illustrates simple mass produced units connected to a communication network

Figure 2 shows the communication layers used in the inventive interface ASIC

Figure 3 is a block schematic of the ASIC Figure 4 illustrates a mass produced unit with a bar code attached and placed in two different domains

Figure 5 illustrates a bar code label, the bar code being identical to an IP-address

Figure 6 is an application example showing mass produced units with network connection in a refrigerator Figure 7 is another application example showing mass produced units connected to a communication network for building control

Figure 8 is yet another application example showing mass produced units used in a warehouse refrigeration system for keeping products fresh

Description of preferred embodiments of the invention

Figure 1 shows mass produced units 1 connected to a network 2 (the Internet or an intranet) that is accessed from a PC, a controller or another mass produced unit 3. The units 1 handle a minimal subset of Internet protocols on the one hand enabling them to communicate with browsers and other equipment connected to the Internet anywhere in the world, while on the other hand minimising the overhead to do so. Each unit comprises an ASIC which handles four protocol layers, see figure 2: a minimal application layer 4, the network layer (standard UDP layer (User Datagram Protocol)) 5, the link layer (IP layer, standard) 6, and a physical layer 7. Each of these layers is handled by a separate block implemented in the ASIC 8 (figure 3) .

The physical layer 7 handles the connection to the outside world including the physical connector. A number of different options are relevant, including: standard local area networks (LANs, e.g. Ethernet, token ring) , power lines, telephone lines and wireless communication. ASICs in accordance with the invention may handle only one of these options, for example, power line communication, or a number of selectable options in order to increase the production volume.

The link layer 6 handles the standard IP and ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) protocols as described in RFC 826 and RFC 791 (Request For Comments; Internet standards which can be accessed at the web-site http://ds.internic.net). The ARP protocol determines the unique physical address of a mass produced unit connected to a network. However, it is only necessary to implement reception and answering of ARP requests from other hosts. Since the mass produced unit is not going to maintain its own ARP cache, it is not necessary to include this in the ASIC. It is also possible to reduce the part of the IP protocol that needs to be implemented. Handling of IP options and fragmentation is not needed in the unit and, therefore, it need not be implemented, however the handling may be included in implementations based on standard circuit blocks (usually called intellectual property from third party vendors) or standard software (protocol stacks) . Below follows a list of required implementations in this layer:

- mapping of logical to physical addresses using ARP (RFC 826) if so required by the physical layer,

- IP-addressing (including unicast, broadcast and multicast) ,

- handling of the reverse address resolution protocol (RARP - RFC 903) if allocation of unit addresses is made dynamically,

- IP datagrams, however, fragmentation need not be included,

- the security option may be included, however, other options need not be included.

At the network layer 5 the interface ASIC implements the full standard UDP protocol (RFC 768) . The TCP protocol can also be used, but, contrary to the UDP, this does not include the broadcast capability making it possible to send to a large number of units simultaneously. UDP has this broadcast capability, because it provides a connectionless service.

The application layer 4 implements a minimal top- level functionality of the ASIC according to the invention, including simple operations to transmit and receive data securely and initialisation (both when power is turned off and when the unit is installed) . The application layer also implements the security preventing accidental or intentional misuse and the handling of address information (in applications where the IP-address is only part of the unique unit address) .

Figure 3 gives an overview of the ASIC 8 with distinct blocks for handling the physical layer, the link and network layers, and for implementing the application layer. In a version of the ASIC capable of handling multiple types of physical connections there will be a corresponding number of blocks (one for handling each type of connection) . The transmitter 9 and the receiver 10 handle conversion of packets as required by UDP/IP to a format required by the physical layer, e.g., serial transmission of bits. If the ARP protocol is used, it is handled by the receiver block. The protocol handling in block 11 implements the relevant parts of the IP and UDP protocols. A line 12, e.g. a telephone line, connects to the Internet, whereas a connection line 13 connects to a mass produced unit (possibly using existing standards such as RS232) , typically a sensor or an actuator. An ASIC capable of handling an Ethernet connection and with a minimal functionality at the application layer can be realised in less than 50000 logical gates.

An IP-address (in IPv4) has a format like 195.41.60.162 (which corresponds to the domain name Danfoss.com, that is a class C address) . Allotment of IP-addresses is for the time being made by the Internet organisation IANA (Internet Assigned Numbers Authority) against a fee. IP- addresses are formatted according to RFC rules. If a company is connected to the Internet it will get a domain name, which will correspond to the IP-address. Mass produced units connected to the company net could be provided with an IP-address corresponding to the company specific domain name.

Pure IP-addressing is not, however, feasible today for mass produced units which are fabricated in very large volume (hundreds of millions) . With the present version of the IP protocol (IPv4) the format given in the example above allows only 256 addresses in a class C domain; it is therefore not practical to allocate a separate, globally unique, IP-address to units produced in large volume. Future extensions of the Internet protocol, such as version 6 (IPv6) , will make it possible to use the global IP-address as unit address.

Today, several units will have to share one IP-address, and the data communicated must then contain additional address information specifying the unit uniquely. This effectively makes addressing part of the application layer. When many mass produced units are connected to a local net (an intranet) , the gateway (or router) connecting the local net and the global Internet can perform the mapping of the unit address (combined from the IP-address and the communicated data) to a unique address on the local net. In this way several mass produced units may share an IP-address, and they may all receive all data sent to all of them. Upon reception they will discover that some of the data is intended for another unit, so that it may just be discarded without any performance penalty.

In the future the number of IP-addresses will be so large, that practice gives no limitations: a density of more than 5*10²⁰ per square meter ensures that each mass produced unit can get its own address.

In accordance with the invention, each mass produced unit will have a unique identification called a unit address. The primary purpose of the unit address will be to form the Internet address IP number of the unit so that it may serve the identification of the unit in communications on the Internet. However, due to the uniqueness of the unit address, it may also serve as the serial number in manufacturing. It is also possible to envisage a third form of exploitation of the unit address where it is passed as a parameter to locate a product homepage (data on the individual unit reachable via the Internet, for example, production details, service record, maintenance etc. ) .

Such a third form of exploitation of the unit address is depicted in figure 4 which shows a typical mass produced unit, an electronic expansion valve 16, with a bar code label 17 representing the unit address. In a manufacturer domain 18 the unit has its own product homepage 19, identified by communicating the unique unit address to the manufacturer domain. The address is readable from the bar code label exemplified in figure 5.

Once the unit is exported to the domain 20 of an end user, the bar code label 17 applied to the unit still gives access to the product homepage 19, which gives all information about the product 16. The unit address is also placed in an Internet interface ASIC as described above, which is fitted in the control box 24 of the mass produced unit. The ASIC may include redirecting functionality such that by addressing the unit with this address and additional data, the unit will evoke a response from the product homepage 19 without using the manufacturer bar code label 17. This is indicated with a punctuated line 21 in figure 4, and connection to the product homepage goes via the Internet 25.

Extending the product homepage principle even further, the end user might apply a second bar code label 22 to the unit, which code addresses e.g. an internal factory homepage 23 set up and maintained by the end user. It would also be possible to provide space for electronically storing such an end user product homepage address in the Internet connectivity ASIC of the mass produced unit.

It would be advantageous in connection with the "product homepage" to use the Internet connectivity feature of the mass produced unit for in-house testing and tracking of the manufactured units. This could be done via a company intranet connecting a remote server and the mass produced unit, where the interface ASIC of the unit comprises an IP-address pointing to a remote product home page. E.g., the mass produced unit can send e-mails, reporting when production stations have been passed, or reporting the results of mechanical or electrical testing. Also, once the mass produced unit is installed at the end user's, a bar code attached to the unit can point to the remote product homepage, which fully identifies the product with information about type, structure, spare parts, date of production, service record, data sheet information and maybe incorporates test software for immediate execution.

The allocation of unit addresses can be made in a number of different ways depending on the mass produced unit, for example, static allocation in the final stages of production where the unit is given a serial number/bar code and the associated unit address, which is never changed in the units lifetime or static allocation at installation, where the unit is given a unit address that may be influenced by the customer (for example to ensure consistency with the customers own (intra)net). Dynamic allocation of the IP part of the unit address is also possible, for example using the reverse address resolution protocol (RARP - RFC 903) . The selection of a particular unit address allocation scheme depends on the nature of the mass produced unit and the relationship between the producer and end users. Typically, high end field level units will be allocated an address in the production stages to allow for remote servicing by the manufacturer.

It is expected, that within short time also private houses will have an intranet-like bus with own domain name, and possibly, the future will show product related domain names.

The invention will now be illustrated through different application examples.

A typical mass produced unit with no graphical user interface is a compressor for cooling in refrigerators and freezers as shown in figure 6. Such a compressor 26 is mounted in the cabinet of the refrigerator 27, connected to the power supply wires 28 and to the cooling system consisting of a condenser 29 and an evaporator 30. A thermostat or regulating unit 31 installed in the refrigerated room is set at a desired temperature by the user and regulates the on- and off periods of the compressor through measurement of the temperature by the sensor 34.

Recent years have shown a trend towards integration of control and compressor, and the illustrated compressor 26 is equipped with control electronics fitted in a box 32 which is mounted on the compressor cabinet. Placing an interfacing ASIC in the compressor control electronics, or alternatively in a connector of the compressor box, gives new control opportunities.

For example, it is possible to start the compressor of the refrigerator in ones summer cottage the day before arrival. This could be done by using a standard Internet browser, e.g. Internet Explorer® from Microsoft, by giving the unit address of the compressor and viewing an embedded homepage of the compressor on the PC screen. The data for such an embedded homepage could reside in the compressor control, in a memory in the ASIC or addressable by the ASIC and be in html format. A simple html page requires a minimum of memory (down to below 1 Kbyte) .

By manipulating simple graphical interface objects on such an embedded homepage, the remote user would be able to set a control profile of the compressor, the default being, for example, "Permanent control: fridge temp 6°C". This could be done by having the user check a selection box and then click a button marked "Start now" which would initiate a transmission of the control profile into the compressor. Also, this allows the refrigerator OEM to customise the compressor control to his needs. Depending on the physical characteristics of the cabinet or the type of coolant used, the OEM now gets direct access for selecting or downloading control profiles.

To ensure security and to prevent others from turning off the compressor through the Internet, access control must be made by prompting for a security code

(password) and validating this before allowing access to the compressor.

Connecting the compressor to the Internet can be made by means of a conventional communication wire or, preferably, via the power supply wire 28. Using the power supply wire means immediate and simple connection to the net, provided that a bridge 33 from the supply net to the Internet is installed.

Common techniques for communication on power supply wires do not allow high communication rates due to limited bandwidth. Communication rates at 9600 baud are typical and not sufficient for time critical control, but suffice for most status and data logging functions. New techniques however, as described in US 5,684,450, allow for up to ten times ISDN communication speed on the power supply wires by using modulation frequencies in the megahertz range.

Communication via the supply wires creates the opportunity of a very local net. As mentioned, the refrigerator is also equipped with an electronic thermostat 31 (type ETC as manufactured by the applicant) . If each of these units is equipped with the interface ASIC and allocated an IP-address, communication and system control can take place over these wires. Serial bus communication between system components in a refrigerator has been known for years, but actual application of the technology has been hindered by the prohibitive costs of communication wires and communication control. In this case, however, once a refrigerator is assembled and turned on, system identification can take place through handshaking, whereby the units exchange IP-addresses with each other. This procedure can also take place when a compressor has been replaced by another one. In this way, distributed intelligence is the result, as both compressor and electronic thermostat have control capability and shared access to control parameters like compressor speed, on and off times, cabinet temperature, set temperature, evaporator temperature etc.

Also in the field of servicing and fault finding the inventive, simple Internet connection with an ASIC can be used. Electrical drives, such as VLT® frequency converters manufactured by the applicant, are used for speed control of electrical induction motors. The drives incorporate a massive amount of control electronics, but only have a small LCD-display as interface and hence do not allow larger views.

Normally, this is compensated for by connecting the drive direct to a PC using dedicated drive software or by connecting the drive to a serial bus which interconnects drives and other field components. Typical field busses used in the drives area are the PROFIBUS or the INTERBUS S, and these busses can be bridged to the Internet.

Fitting a normal WWW-page into a small LCD-display is a problem already encountered by the mobile phone industry. The solution used by some manufacturers is modifying the HTML format into another format (called Tagged Text Markup Language, TTML) , which displays only those parts of a WWW page, which have been selected by e.g. the owner of a homepage. A similar principle could be used for industrial units with small LCDs.

Integrated drives with the frequency converter built into the motor are, for the time being, devoid of any graphical interface, which can be compensated for by building an interfacing Internet ASIC onto the frequency converter circuit board (PCB) . This PCB is normally mounted in a box on top of the motor, but is frequently also fitted inside the motor close to the rear shield.

A remote maintenance system is described in EP 0 822 473 where a central host computer monitors production units in remote factories via the Internet. Encountering an error situation, the remote host computers contact the central host computer, asking for counter measures. This in turn makes a table look up in a trouble database or alternatively alerts the operational personnel, which takes action. Using standard browser software, the remote installation is serviced.

In accordance with the invention, and in contrast to EP 0 822 473, remote servicing can be performed direct on field level units as integrated drives (electrical motor with built-in frequency converter) without first accessing a host computer on the local net, if the mass produced field level units are equipped with an interface ASIC according to the invention, mounted direct in the unit or in the connector. Through direct addressing from the manufacturer, the unit having a global IP-address can be checked, control software updated or parameter settings changed. Especially the parameterisation of a drive is a complicated matter, as more than 50 parameters can be set on field level units (more than 300 for automation level units) . For the service technician and the drives user, remote setting using a standard browser is a good alternative to time consuming travel. For the service technician on the spot, servicing and fault finding can be made via e.g. a lap top computer or by wirelessly IP-addressing the unit.

Building the interface ASIC into more sophisticated units in the automation level allows these units to act proactively, seeking out the information needed. An example is a weather compensator (e.g. the ECL 2000 manufactured by the applicant) used for climate control in buildings. The unit controls pumps, valves and flow according to the programmed profile and is typically connected to a serial bus with other controllers, see Figure 7. Figure 7 illustrates a typical hierarchy for plant or building controls. On top, illustrated by a central host 35, the management level is placed followed by an intermediate level often designated as the automation level, in which intelligent controllers 37 control the field units 39-42 on the lowest level of the hierarchy. A common bus used for building controls is the LONWorks® bus 36, which uses the BACnet protocol. Connected to this bus is the management level where EMS systems such as Danfoss Master 2000 or equivalent controls reside. It is, however, also possible to use the TCP/IP or UDP/IP protocol on the automation level and also for communication between the automation level and the lower field level, where pumps and valves are equipped with the interface ASIC.

Having access to the Internet gives the weather compensator the opportunity of fetching local meteorological data from e.g. the national meteorological institute or other weather stations and using these data in controlling the indoor climate. Default URL addresses can be installed in the unit or downloaded later on.

Super markets use cold counters for keeping food products fresh. Typical components used in the control are speed controlled compressors, temperature sensors, electronic or thermostatic expansion valves and solenoid valves. These units normally communicate via a serial bus with a central control unit (e.g. ADAP-K001® manufactured by Danfoss) . The bus could be the earlier mentioned LONWorks ® bus giving the opportunity of controlling and surveying the system. Connecting a PC to the bus system via a gateway and a modem is often done to visualise the system and to make data collection. Alternatively, the mass produced units on the field level: compressors, temperature sensors and valves, are equipped with the interface ASIC and connected direct to the Internet. Alternatively, in order to allow a subnet or LAN, a central gateway bridging to the Internet can be used as shown in Figure 8. Referring to the field level, the figure illustrates the mass produced units 43-46 typically used and located in a cold counter. These units communicate with each other on e.g. an Ethernet or power supply wire connection, using the TCP/IP or UDP/IP protocols, and communicates also with a central control unit 47 on the automation level. The control unit communicates with other automation devices via the LON bus, and via a gateway or router 48 it is connected through the Internet to a remote host 35.

Control and surveillance of the cold counter are made by the remote host, typically a PC. This PC monitors the system, and takes action if an alarm from a field unit is given. Also, the PC functions as data logger. If the temperature sensors periodically emit temperature data via an e-mail, or the compressor emits consumed electrical power or number of starts, the remote PC routes the data to a database, which then functions as a data source for statistical analyses on energy consumption, temperature fluctuation etc. In this example, the mass produced field units act as simple data emitting units, feeding data onto the Internet.

Claims

1. A mass produced unit having an interface for connecting the unit to a communications network using layered standard communication protocols, in particular the Internet Protocol, characterised in that the interface comprises an ASIC (8) built into the mass produced unit (1, 26, 31, 39, 40, 41, 42) and that the ASIC incorporates selected portions of selected layers of the communication protocols.

2. A mass produced unit according to claim 1, characterised in that the ASIC incorporates a selected physical layer protocol, a selected link layer protocol, a selected network layer protocol and a selected application layer protocol, and that at least the selected link layer protocol and the selected application layer protocol comprise selected portions of the protocols, and that the application layer protocol is implemented essentially devoid of user interface functionality.

3. A mass produced unit according to claim 2 , characterised in that the selected portion of the link layer protocol incorporated in the ASIC comprises subsets of the standard IP and ARP protocols in which handling of IP options and fragmentation is omitted in the IP protocol, and in which only reception and answering functions of ARP requests are implemented in the ARP protocol.

4. A mass produced unit according to claim 2, characterised in that the network layer protocol incorporated in the ASIC comprises the UDP protocol.

5. A mass produced unit according to claim 1, characterised in that the ASIC is physically mounted in an electrical connector (32) for connecting the mass produced unit to the communications network (2,25,38) the connector preferably being integral with the mass produced unit.

6. A mass produced unit according to claim 1, characterised in that the unit (26) comprises circuitry enabling the ASIC to communicate with the communications network via power supply wires (28) feeding the mass produced unit with energy.

7. A mass produced unit according to claim 1, characterised in that the unit (1) is responsive to being addressed by the communications network (2) with a unique unit address held in the ASIC, the unique unit address comprising a stored IP-address and a stored identifier following the IP-address, and a response being generated upon selected portions of the selected layers of the protocols below the application layer finding the stored IP-address matching an incoming IP- address, and the selected portion of the application layer protocol finding the stored identifier matching the incoming identifier received from the communications network.

8. A mass produced unit according to claim 1, characterised in that the unit (1) is marked with a unit address (5,17), which is identical to a unit address held in the ASIC of the mass produced unit.

9.A method for making a mass produced unit trackable, characterised in

- that the mass produced unit is manufactured for connection to a communications network

- that the mass produced unit is allocated a product identification code by the manufacturer

- that the mass produced unit is allocated a unit address by the manufacturer - that the allocated unit address is held in the mass produced unit and

- that the product identification code is identical to the allocated unit address. .

Claim 10. System for tracking and logging data from a mass produced unit during manufacturing and test, comprising

- a communications network using layered communication protocols, in particular the Internet protocol, - a communication interface in the unit for connecting the unit to the communications network, the interface including an ASIC (8) programmed to operate on selected portions of selected protocol layers (4,5,6,7), the ASIC comprising an IP-address pointing to a remote product homepage (19) , and

- a remote server for receiving and guiding manufacturing and test data from the mass produced unit to a product homepage, the homepage serving as a repository for manufacturing and test data of the unit and being selectable by a network message including the IP-address comprised in the ASIC.