Patent ID: 8405400

Claim:
A device ( 12 ) for detecting interruptions in a ring bus, comprising: a first interface ( 22 ) connectable to a first free end of a line ( 18 ) of the ring bus and configured to transmit data from the device ( 12 ) to a daisy chain connection of bus elements ( 14 ) of the ring bus, a second interface ( 24 ) connectable to a second free end of the line ( 18 ) of the ring bus and configured to detect a creeping interruption in the line ( 18 ) of the ring bus; wherein at the second interface ( 24 ), the device ( 12 ) includes a voltage measuring unit ( 16 ) that measures the voltage in the ring bus after the device ( 12 ) has triggered a bus element ( 14 ) via the first interface ( 22 ) and, based on the measured voltage, the device ( 12 ) determines the presence of the creeping interruption in the line ( 18 ) of the ring bus; wherein the device ( 12 ) determines the creeping interruption in the line ( 18 ) of the ring bus by comparing resistance changes from one bus element to the next with a predetermined threshold value and wherein a resistance change that exceeds the threshold value is interpreted as the creeping interruption.