KROHNE IFC 090 i Converter FOUNDATION FIELDBUS - Manual (Page 7)

Supplementary Documentation Page 7 of 44
IFC090, IFC090 i with FF
Foundation Fieldbus Principles
IFC090 FF 01/2006
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3 Foundation Fieldbus Principles
The Foundation Fieldbus is a Local Area Network (LAN) for connecting field devices like sensors and actuators.
One of the main benefits of Foundation Fieldbus is line saving in comparison to the traditional 4 ... 20 mA
technology.
The different device functions are implemented in a block-based scheme within a User Application. In this block
scheme, a distinction is made between the following kinds of blocks (see Figure 1):
• Resource Block,
• Transducer Block(s) and
• Function
Block(s).
Figure 1: Foundation Fieldbus block scheme
3.1 Resource Block
Each FF device possesses exactly one Resource Block describing the specific features of the fieldbus device.
The Resource Block is not related to any functional process of the device, but contains data that are specific for
the device (e.g. device name, serial number, supported features, etc).
In addition, the Resource Block provides dynamic diagnostic data giving information on the current state of the
hardware.
A basic set of Resource Block parameters is specified by Fieldbus Foundation (see FF-891, 3.1). This set can
be extended by additional manufacturer specific parameters (the IFC090-FF possesses the Foundation
specified parameters only).