Abstract: A field device for determining or monitoring a physical or chemical, process variable, comprising: a sensor, which works according to a defined measuring principle; and a control/evaluation unit. The control/evaluation unit is realized on a partially dynamically reconfigurable FPGA component, which is constructed from a plurality of FPGA blocks units. Each FPGA block unit comprises a plurality of logic blocks. Global resources or global function blocks are associated with each FPGA block unit or groups of FPGA block units. At least a first section and a second section are provided on the FPGA-component. The sections comprise FPGA block units and corresponding global resources global function blocks. In each section a digital measuring path comprising a plurality of software based and/or hardware based, function modules, is partially dynamically reconfigurable.

Abstract: A field device for determining or monitoring a process variable in process automation. The field device includes: sensor, which works according to a defined measuring principle; and a control/evaluation unit, which conditions and evaluates measurement data delivered by the sensor along at least two equal valued measuring paths as a function of a safety standard required in a particular safety-critical application. The control/evaluation unit is embodied, at least partly, as a reconfigurable logic chip, with a plurality of partially dynamically reconfigurable, function modules. The control/evaluation unit so configures the function modules in the measuring paths as a function of the defined safety-critical application, that the field device is correspondingly designed to the required safety standard.

Abstract: Field device for determining or monitoring a physical or chemical process variable, wherein the field device is composed of a sensor, which works according to a defined measuring principle, and a control/evaluation unit, which, as a function of a safety standard required for the particular safety-critical application, conditions and evaluates, along at least two equivalent measuring paths, measurement data delivered by the sensor. The control/evaluation unit is implemented on an FPGA, on which are provided at least a first section and a second section, wherein, in each section, a digital measuring path, which is composed of a plurality of software-based and/or hardware-based function modules, is dynamically reconfigurable.

Abstract: A field device for determining or monitoring a physical or chemical variable, comprising a sensor, which works according to a defined measuring principle, and a control/evaluation unit, which, as a function of a required safety standard for a particular safety-critical application, conditions and evaluates along at least two equivalent measuring paths measurement data delivered by the sensor. The control/evaluation unit is implemented on an application-specific integrated circuit—an ASIC—which, in at least a first section and in a second section, is embodied as a dynamically reconfigurable logic chip. In each of the two sections, in each case, a measuring path composed of a plurality of function modules can be configured; wherein the individual sections are spaced apart from one another in such a manner, that a temperature and/or a voltage change in one of the sections has no influence on the other section or the other sections.

Abstract: A configurable field device for automation technology with a partially dynamically reconfigurable logic chip FPGA, in which function modules are dynamically configured during runtime, and to a method for operating the configurable field device.

Abstract: A system for the flexible configuration of function modules. The system includes the following components a plurality of logic cells in a fixedly wired FPGA/standard ASIC structure, wherein the logic cells are so configurable by means of configuration registers, that they execute basic logic functions; a switch matrix having a plurality of memory cells, via which different logical connections of the logic cells in defined complex connections are configurable by means of the configuration registers; and a control unit, which partially dynamically so configures the logic cells and the switch matrix via an internal bus and via the configuration registers by means of a configuration bit stream, that the fixedly wired FPGA/ASIC structure behaves functionally as a partially dynamically reconfigurable logic chip.