CN110968841A

CN110968841A - Activation method, device and system of programmable logic controller

Info

Publication number: CN110968841A
Application number: CN201811147046.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 颜文俊; 关鹏; 吕慧
Original assignee: Omron Shanghai Co ltd
Current assignee: Omron Shanghai Co ltd
Priority date: 2018-09-29
Filing date: 2018-09-29
Publication date: 2020-04-07
Anticipated expiration: 2038-09-29
Also published as: WO2020063328A1; JP7156499B2; JP2021533503A; CN110968841B

Abstract

A method, apparatus and system for activation of a programmable logic controller, the method comprising: reading an identification code of the PLC from the PLC; sending the identification code of the PLC to server equipment, and when the identification code is in an inactivated state, the server equipment generates an activation code corresponding to the identification code, returns the activation code and marks the identification code in an activated state; receiving the activation code returned by the server equipment; and sending the activation code to the PLC for storage. According to the method, the PLC is activated firstly, so that the PLC obtains a unique activation code, further, the PLC is verified before being operated, the PLC is operated under the condition that the verification is passed, and the PLC which is not activated and fails in verification cannot work normally, so that the use of cloning the PLC is inhibited, and the damage of the cloned PLC product to the interests of qualified manufacturers is reduced.

Description

Activation method, device and system of programmable logic controller

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC), and in particular, to a method, an apparatus, and a system for activating a PLC.

Background

A Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) is a digital arithmetic operation electronic system designed specifically for use in an industrial environment. It uses a programmable memory, in which the instructions for implementing logical operation, sequence control, timing, counting and arithmetic operation are stored, and utilizes digital or analog input and output to control various mechanical equipments or production processes.

With the widespread use of PLC, the phenomenon of cloning PLC products has appeared on the market, resulting in the loss of interest of genuine manufacturers of PLC products. In order to solve the problem, a genuine manufacturer of the PLC product selects a Micro Control Unit (MCU) supporting a read protection function of an internal Read Only Memory (ROM) as a controller of the PLC, and protects the firmware program of the PLC from being acquired by a third party by burning the firmware program of the PLC in the ROM inside the MCU.

It should be noted that the above background description is only for the sake of clarity and complete description of the technical solutions of the present invention and for the understanding of those skilled in the art. Such solutions are not considered to be known to the person skilled in the art merely because they have been set forth in the background section of the invention.

Disclosure of Invention

The inventor finds that the existing method cannot completely prevent the occurrence of the cloning phenomenon.

In order to solve the above problems, embodiments of the present invention provide a method, an apparatus, and a system for activating a programmable logic controller, so as to reduce the occurrence of cloned PLC products in the market and suppress the damage of the cloned PLC products to the interests of genuine manufacturers.

According to a first aspect of the embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a method for activating a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC), applied to a management device, wherein the method includes:

reading an identification code of the PLC from the PLC; sending the identification code of the PLC to server equipment, and when the identification code is in an inactivated state, the server equipment generates an activation code corresponding to the identification code, returns the activation code and marks the identification code in an activated state;

receiving the activation code returned by the server equipment; and sending the activation code to the PLC for storage.

According to a second aspect of the embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a method for activating a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC), applied to a server device, wherein the method includes:

receiving an identification code of the PLC from the management apparatus;

checking the activation state of the identification code according to factory data of the PLC;

when the identification code is in an inactivated state, generating an activation code corresponding to the identification code, sending the activation code to the management equipment, and marking the identification code as an activated state;

and when the identification code is in an activated state, sending the activation code corresponding to the identification code to the management equipment.

According to a third aspect of the embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a method for operating a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC), applied to the PLC, wherein the method includes:

receiving an identification code reading request from a management apparatus;

sending the identification code of the PLC to the management equipment;

receiving an activation code corresponding to the identification code from the management device;

and saving the activation code.

According to a fourth aspect of the embodiments of the present invention, there is provided an activation apparatus of a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) configured in a management device, wherein the apparatus includes:

a first reading unit that reads an identification code of the PLC from the PLC;

the first sending unit is used for sending the identification code of the PLC to server equipment, and the server equipment generates an activation code corresponding to the identification code when the identification code is in an inactivated state, returns the activation code and marks the identification code in an activated state;

a first receiving unit, which receives the activation code returned by the server device; and the first sending unit sends the activation code to the PLC for storage.

According to a fifth aspect of the embodiments of the present invention, there is provided an activation apparatus of a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) configured in a server device, wherein the apparatus includes:

a receiving unit that receives an identification code of the PLC from the management apparatus;

a checking unit for checking the activation state of the identification code according to factory data of the PLC;

the processing unit generates an activation code corresponding to the identification code and sends the activation code to the management equipment when the identification code is in an inactivated state, and marks the identification code in an activated state; and when the identification code is in an activated state, sending the activation code corresponding to the identification code to the management equipment.

According to a sixth aspect of an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an operating device of a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC), configured to the PLC, the device including:

a receiving unit that receives an identification code reading request from a management apparatus;

a transmission unit that transmits the identification code of the PLC to the management apparatus;

the receiving unit also receives an activation code corresponding to the identification code from the management device;

a saving unit that saves the activate code.

According to a seventh aspect of embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a PLC system, wherein the PLC system includes: a management device comprising the apparatus of the fourth aspect, a PLC comprising the apparatus of the sixth aspect, and a server device comprising the apparatus of the fifth aspect.

According to a further aspect of embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a computer-readable program, wherein when the program is executed in a management apparatus, the program causes a computer to execute the method of the foregoing first aspect in the management apparatus.

According to other aspects of embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a storage medium storing a computer-readable program, wherein the computer-readable program causes a computer to execute the method of the foregoing first aspect in a management device.

According to a further aspect of embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a computer readable program, wherein when the program is executed in a PLC, the program causes a computer to execute the method of the aforementioned third aspect in the PLC.

According to other aspects of embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a storage medium storing a computer-readable program, wherein the computer-readable program causes a computer to execute the method of the foregoing third aspect in a PLC.

According to a further aspect of embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a computer-readable program, wherein when the program is executed in a server apparatus, the program causes a computer to execute the method of the foregoing second aspect in the server apparatus.

According to other aspects of embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a storage medium storing a computer-readable program, wherein the computer-readable program causes a computer to execute the method of the foregoing second aspect in a server apparatus.

The invention has the beneficial effects that: the PLC is activated firstly to obtain a unique activation code, the PLC is further verified before being operated, the PLC is operated under the condition that the verification is passed, the PLC which is not activated and fails in verification cannot work normally, in addition, the activation code can be managed on the server equipment, after the activation code is changed on the server equipment, only 1 PLC can be updated by the method of the embodiment of the invention, all the PLCs which are not updated with the activation code are regarded as clone PLCs, and cannot work normally through the verification, so that the use of the clone PLCs is inhibited, and the benefit damage of clone PLC products to certified manufacturers is reduced.

Specific embodiments of the present invention are disclosed in detail with reference to the following description and drawings, indicating the manner in which the principles of the invention may be employed. It should be understood that the embodiments of the invention are not so limited in scope. The embodiments of the invention include many variations, modifications and equivalents within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Features that are described and/or illustrated with respect to one embodiment may be used in the same way or in a similar way in one or more other embodiments, in combination with or instead of the features of the other embodiments.

It should be emphasized that the term "comprises/comprising" when used herein, is taken to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps or components but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps or components.

Drawings

Elements and features described in one drawing or one implementation of an embodiment of the invention may be combined with elements and features shown in one or more other drawings or implementations. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, and may be used to designate corresponding parts for use in more than one embodiment.

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the embodiments of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention. It is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the invention, and that for a person skilled in the art, other drawings can be derived from them without inventive effort. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a PLC system of embodiment 1;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of an activation method of the PLC of embodiment 2;

FIG. 3 is another schematic view of the PLC activation method of embodiment 2;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of an activation method of the PLC of embodiment 3;

FIG. 5 is another schematic view of the PLC activation method of embodiment 3;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of an activation method of the PLC of embodiment 4;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of an activation flow of a PLC;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of the online operation of a genuine PLC;

FIG. 9 is a schematic of the on-line operation of cloning PLCs;

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of an activate code update for a genuine PLC.

FIG. 11 is a schematic view of an activation device of the PLC of embodiment 5;

FIG. 12 is a schematic view of an activation device of the PLC of embodiment 6;

fig. 13 is a schematic diagram of an activation device of the PLC of embodiment 7.

Detailed Description

The foregoing and other features of embodiments of the present invention will become apparent from the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the following description and drawings, particular embodiments of the invention are disclosed in detail as being indicative of some of the embodiments in which the principles of the embodiments of the invention may be employed, it being understood that the embodiments of the invention are not limited to the embodiments described, but, on the contrary, are intended to cover all modifications, variations, and equivalents falling within the scope of the appended claims.

In the embodiments of the present invention, the terms "first", "second", and the like are used for distinguishing different elements by name, but do not denote a spatial arrangement, a temporal order, or the like of the elements, and the elements should not be limited by the terms. The term "and/or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed terms. The terms "comprising," "including," "having," and the like, refer to the presence of stated features, elements, components, and do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and elements.

In embodiments of the invention, the singular forms "a", "an", and the like include the plural forms and are to be construed broadly as "a" or "an" and not limited to the meaning of "a" or "an"; furthermore, the term "comprising" should be understood to include both the singular and the plural, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Further, the term "according to" should be understood as "at least partially according to … …," and the term "based on" should be understood as "based at least partially on … …," unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

Various embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. These embodiments are merely exemplary and are not intended to limit embodiments of the present invention.

Example 1

The present embodiment provides a PLC system.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a PLC system of the present embodiment, which includes a management apparatus 100, a PLC200, and a server apparatus 300, as shown in fig. 1. The management apparatus 100 is connected to the PLC200 through a control interface on the PLC200, the management apparatus 100 is connected to the server apparatus 300 through a network, and the PLC200 is not directly connected to the server apparatus 300.

In this embodiment, the management device 100 may be a computer device, on which a program for activating or verifying the PLC200 is stored, the program may be implemented by software or firmware, and in addition, the management device 100 may also be other entities capable of activating or verifying the PLC200, such as an industrial personal computer, and the like, without being limited to the computer device. In this embodiment, the management apparatus 100 further stores a software program required by the PLC200, and when the PLC200 is activated and the verification is passed, the management apparatus 100 downloads the software program to the PLC200 to manage the PLC 200. The process of the above activation or authentication will be explained in the following embodiments.

In this embodiment, the server device 300 may be a cloud server, and is installed at a manufacturer of the PLC200, and is maintained and managed by the manufacturer of the PLC200, but the embodiment is not limited thereto, and the server device 300 may be other server devices instead of the cloud server. In this embodiment, the server apparatus 300 may manage information about the PLCs 200 produced by the manufacturer, for example, store the identification codes of the respective PLCs 200 and their activation states, and when receiving an identification code activation request from the management apparatus 100, the server apparatus 300 may screen the identification codes that submitted the activation request, and an invalid identification code cannot be activated, and an activated identification code cannot be activated again.

In this embodiment, for a valid identification code, the server device 300 may determine the activation state of the identification code by retrieving the relevant information of the PLC200, generate an activation code corresponding to the identification code to transmit to the management device 100 in the case that the identification code is in an inactivated state, and mark the identification code as an activated state; if the identification code is in an activated state, that is, if the activation code corresponding to the identification code is already generated for the identification code, the server device 300 may send the activation code corresponding to the identification code to the management device 100, and the management device 100 may verify the PLC.

In this embodiment, the activation code may be a message containing a random key generated according to the identification code, but this embodiment does not limit this. In addition, in this embodiment, the server device 300 may update the random key according to a certain event, for example, an event such as a period of time or a download project, and further regenerate the activation code. In one embodiment, the random key is updated only once, that is, the activate code is updated only once, so that the problem of inconvenient management due to an excessive number of updates is avoided.

Optionally, in this embodiment, when the identification code is in an activated state, the server device 300 may simultaneously send information about whether there is a change request to the management device 100, where a no change request indicates that the activation code corresponding to the identification code has not changed, and a change request indicates that the activation code corresponding to the identification code has changed. The updating of the activate code will be explained in the following embodiments.

In this embodiment, the PLC200 is an industrially used programmable logic controller including a CPU or MPU, and can store an application program having a unique identification code. In this embodiment, the identification code may be a message generated by including production and manufacturing related data such as a device type, a version, a serial number, a unique ID, and a factory date. However, the present embodiment is not limited to this, and the identification code may be a message generated by including any one or any combination of the above-mentioned production and manufacturing related data, or may be a message generated by including data other than the above-mentioned production and manufacturing related data, and is used to uniquely identify the PLC 200.

In this embodiment, only activated and validated PLC200 can be used normally, thereby inhibiting the use of cloned PLC and reducing the harm of cloned PLC products to the interests of the genuine producer.

The management apparatus 100, the server apparatus 300, and the PLC200 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to embodiments 2 to 7.

Example 2

The present embodiment provides an activation method of a PLC, which is applied to the management apparatus 100.

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of an activation method of the PLC of the present embodiment, and as shown in fig. 2, the activation method of the PLC includes:

step 201: reading an identification code of the PLC from the PLC;

step 202: sending the identification code of the PLC to server equipment, and when the identification code is in an inactivated state, the server equipment generates an activation code corresponding to the identification code, returns the activation code and marks the identification code in an activated state;

step 203: receiving the activation code returned by the server equipment; and sending the activation code to the PLC for storage.

In the present embodiment, the management apparatus 100 may transmit the identification code read from the PLC to the server apparatus 300 to activate or authenticate the PLC 200. After receiving the identification code, the server device 300 may determine whether the identification code is in an activated state or an inactivated state by retrieving information about each PLC 300 stored therein, and if the identification code is in an inactivated state, generate a corresponding activation code according to the identification code and return the activation code to the management device 100, complete activation of the PLC200, and mark the identification code as an activated state.

In this embodiment, the server device 300 performs only one activation operation for each identification code, and the activated identification code is already marked as an activated state by the server device and cannot be activated again. Thus, for the cloned PLC, since the cloned PLC has the same identification code as the genuine PLC, the identification code has been activated and is not activated again, thereby inhibiting the use of the cloned PLC.

In this embodiment, the server apparatus 300 stores the identification code and the activation status of the PLC200 shipped from the factory, and therefore, for the identification code having the activation request, the server apparatus 300 can also determine whether it is valid based on the stored information, and perform the determination of the activation status and the subsequent processing only for the valid identification code, and therefore, for the clone PLC that may use the invalid identification code, the activation operation is not performed for the clone PLC, and the use of the clone PLC is also suppressed.

In this embodiment, the activation operation may be completed by the user through the management device 100 after the PLC is shipped from the factory, or may be completed by the manufacturer through the management device 100 before the PLC is shipped from the factory.

In this embodiment, if the identification code received by the server device 300 is in an activated state, the server device 300 may also send the activation code corresponding to the identification code to the management device 100, and the activation code is verified by the management device 100 and only the verified activation code can be used, thereby suppressing the use of the cloned PLC.

In one embodiment, the verification operation described above can be performed by the management device 100, for example, the management device 100 reads an activation code saved by the PLC200 from the PLC200, compares the activation code received from the server device 300 with the activation code read from the PLC200, and if the two are identical, the verification passes, otherwise the verification fails.

In another embodiment, the verification operation may be performed by the PLC200, for example, the management apparatus 100 sends the activation code acquired from the server apparatus 300 to the PLC200, the PLC200 compares the activation code stored therein with the activation code received from the management apparatus 100, if the two are identical, the verification is passed, and verification success information is generated and returned to the management apparatus 100, otherwise, verification failure information is generated and returned to the management apparatus 100. Thus, the management apparatus 100 can determine whether the authentication is successful based on the received information.

In this embodiment, as mentioned above, the activate code may be updated at least once. In one embodiment, if the server device 300 does not update the activation code corresponding to the identification code, it may send the activation code and the "no change request" information to the management device 100 at the same time for the above-described verification.

In another embodiment, if the server device 300 updates the activation code corresponding to the identification code, it may simultaneously transmit a new activation code and the "change request with" information to the management device 100. Upon receiving such information, the management apparatus 100 can transmit a new activation code to the PLC200 for updating, transmit information indicating whether the activation code has been changed to the server apparatus 300, and change the information indicating whether the activation code has been changed by the server apparatus, for example, change the request for change of the activation code corresponding to the identification code to "no change request", whereby the server apparatus 300 does not perform such an operation for updating the activation code again. Because only one PLC for storing the original activation code performs the update operation of the activation code, the PLC which is possibly provided with the original activation code corresponding to the identification code by a malicious means cannot pass the verification in the subsequent activation code verification operation, and the use of the clone PLC is further inhibited.

In the present embodiment, the management apparatus 100 may acquire the new activation code (original activation code) stored therein from the PLC200 after receiving the new activation code and the information "change request" from the server apparatus 300, and may transmit the new activation code to the PLC200 to update if the new activation code received from the server apparatus 300 does not match the original activation code stored in the PLC 200. Therefore, repeated updating of the activation code is avoided, and the use of the cloned PLC is further inhibited.

Fig. 3 is another schematic diagram of the activation method of the PLC of the present embodiment, illustrating the operation of the management apparatus 100, as shown in fig. 3, the method including:

step 301: acquiring an identification code of the PLC from the PLC;

step 302: transmitting the identification code of the PLC to the server device 300;

step 303: receiving an activation code corresponding to the identification code from the server device 300;

step 304: and sending the activation code to the PLC for storage, or verifying the activation code.

In the present embodiment, after the verification passes, the management apparatus 100 may download the software program to the PLC, whereby the PLC can be normally used. In case of a failure of the verification, the PLC cannot be normally used. The embodiment of fig. 3 exemplifies the case where the identification code is a valid identification code, and in the case where the identification code is an invalid identification code, the server apparatus 300 may return the information on "identification code invalid", thereby also suppressing the use of the clone PLC.

By the method of this embodiment, the server device 300 stores relevant information of the factory PLC, and after the factory PLC leaves, the management device 100 activates the PLC to obtain the activation code, and the activation is performed only once, and the inactivated PLC cannot be normally used; before the PLC is normally used, the PLC is required to be verified, and the PLC failed in verification cannot be normally used, so that the use of the cloned PLC is inhibited.

Example 3

The present embodiment provides an activation method of a PLC, which is applied to the server apparatus 300.

Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of an activation method of the PLC of the present embodiment, and as shown in fig. 4, the activation method of the PLC includes:

step 401: receiving an identification code of the PLC from the management apparatus 100;

step 402: checking the activation state of the identification code according to factory data of the PLC;

step 403: when the identification code is in an inactivated state, generating an activation code corresponding to the identification code, sending the activation code to the management device 100, and marking the identification code as an activated state; and when the identification code is in the activated state, sending the activation code corresponding to the identification code to the management device 100.

In this embodiment, as described above, the server device 300 stores information (such as the aforementioned factory data) related to the PLC that is shipped from the factory, checks the activation state of the identification code according to the received identification code activation request, generates an activation code corresponding to the identification code and returns the activation code to the management device 100 when the identification code is in an inactive state, and the management device 100 may transmit the activation code to the PLC for storage, thereby completing activation of the PLC; when the identification code is in an activated state, that is, the activation code corresponding to the identification code is generated, the server device 300 sends the activation code to the management device 100, the management device 100 can verify the activation code, and the PLC can be normally used only when the verification is passed. Thus, the use of cloned PLC is suppressed.

Since the server device 300 modifies the activation state of the identification code of the PLC to the activated state after performing the above activation operation on the identification code, that is, only one activation operation is performed on the same identification code, the inactivated PLC cannot be normally used, and the use of the cloned PLC is suppressed. In addition, the management apparatus 100 verifies the PLC before it is used, and only the verified PLC can be normally used, thereby inhibiting the use of the cloned PLC. The verification method is as described in example 2, and the description thereof is omitted here.

In this embodiment, as described above, if the server device 300 can update the activation code once, and if the identification code is in the activated state, and if the activation code is not updated, the server device 300 can send the activation code and the information of no change request to the management device 100, and the management device 100 can verify the PLC; if the activation code is updated, the server apparatus 300 may transmit a new activation code and information of a change request to the management apparatus 100, and the management apparatus 100 transmits the new activation code to the PLC, thereby completing the update of the activation code.

In this embodiment, after the activation code update is completed, the management device 100 sends the activation code changed information to the server device 300, and the server device can modify the activation code change request corresponding to the identification code into a no-change request, so that the server device 100 performs only one update operation on the activation code with the same identification code, and the activation code stored in the un-updated PLC is not consistent with the new activation code, thereby failing to pass the verification and further inhibiting the use of the cloned PLC.

In this embodiment, before step 402, the server device 300 may check whether the identification code is valid, and only perform subsequent operations on the valid identification code. Thereby inhibiting the use of cloned PLCs with invalid identification codes.

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of the PLC activation method of the present embodiment, illustrating the operation of the server apparatus 300, as shown in fig. 5, the method including:

step 501: receiving an identification code of the PLC from the management apparatus 100;

step 502: judging whether the identification code is a valid identification code, if so, executing a step 503, otherwise, executing a step 509;

step 503: judging whether the identification code is in an inactivated state, if so, executing step 504, otherwise, executing step 505;

step 504: generating an activation code corresponding to the identification code, sending the activation code to the management device 100, and modifying the activation state of the identification code;

step 505: judging whether the activation code is changed, if so, executing step 506, otherwise, executing step 509;

step 506: transmitting the new activation code and the information having the change request to the management apparatus 100;

step 507: receiving the changed information of the activation code sent by the management device 100, and modifying the change request of the activation code corresponding to the identification code into a no-change request;

step 508: transmitting the activation code and the information of the no change request to the management apparatus 100;

step 509: the information related to the generation of the invalid identification code is returned to the management device 100.

Example 4

The embodiment provides an activation method of a PLC, which is applied to the PLC 200.

Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of an activation method of the PLC of the present embodiment, and as shown in fig. 6, the activation method of the PLC includes:

step 601: receiving an identification code reading request from the management apparatus 100;

step 602: transmitting the identification code of the PLC to the management apparatus 100;

step 603: receiving an activation code corresponding to the identification code from the management device 100;

step 604: and saving the activation code.

In the present embodiment, the PLC200 transmits its own identification code to the management apparatus 100 according to the request of the management apparatus 100, the management apparatus 100 transmits the identification code to the server apparatus 300, the server apparatus 300 generates an activation code corresponding to the identification code and returns the activation code to the management apparatus 100, and the management apparatus 100 transmits the activation code to the PLC200, thereby completing the activation of the PLC.

In this embodiment, the server apparatus modifies the state of the identification code to the activated state after generating the activation code corresponding to the identification code, and then does not perform activation operation on the same identification code any more, thereby suppressing the use of the clone PLC.

In this embodiment, the PLC200 is also authenticated by the management apparatus 100 before being used formally.

In one embodiment, the verification operation is completed on the management apparatus 100, and the PLC200 may also receive an activation code reading request from the management apparatus 100, transmit the saved activation code to the management apparatus 100, compare the activation code with the activation code received from the server apparatus by the management apparatus 100, and if both are identical, consider the verification to be successful, otherwise consider the verification to be failed.

In another embodiment, the verification operation is completed on the PLC200, and the PLC200 may further receive the activation code received by the management apparatus 100 from the server apparatus 300 from the management apparatus 100, compare the activation code with the own saved activation code, and if the two are identical, consider the verification successful, and generate verification successful information to transmit to the management apparatus 100; otherwise, the authentication is considered to be failed, and authentication failure information is generated and sent to the management device 100. In either way, the PLC that failed validation cannot be used normally, thereby inhibiting the use of cloned PCL.

The activation method of the PLC of the present embodiment has been described above in terms of the management device 100, the server device 300, and the PLC200 according to embodiments 2 to 4, and is described below in terms of several specific examples. In the following example, a computer device in which computer tool software is installed is taken as the management device 100 of the present embodiment, and an official cloud server of a legal PLC manufacturer is taken as the server device of the present embodiment, but as described above, the present embodiment is not limited thereto.

Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of an activation process of the genuine PLCs, which each PLC needs to perform before first use, as shown in fig. 7, the process includes:

step 701: a user operator uses computer tool software to activate the PLC;

step 702: computer tool software sends a request to the PLC, and reads the identification code for activation;

step 703: the PLC returns an identification code for activation to the computer tool software, wherein the identification code is unique;

step 704: the computer tool software sends a request to the cloud server, submits the identification code of the PLC and applies for activating the PLC;

step 705: the cloud server checks factory data of the PLC according to the identification code of the PLC, determines the activation state of the identification code, generates an activation code corresponding to the identification code when the identification code is in an inactivated state, namely the PLC is used for the first time, returns the activation code to the computer tool software, and marks the identification code as the activated state;

step 706: the computer tool software sends a request to the PLC to download the activation code;

step 707: the PLC stores the activation code obtained from the computer tool software and returns the completed information to the computer tool software;

step 708: the computer tool software returns information to the user operator that the activation has been completed.

Through the flow of fig. 7, the activation of the PLC is completed. Because the activation operation of the same identification code is only performed once, for the cloning PLC, if the same identification code is used for applying for activation to the cloud server, and the cloud server determines that the identification code is in an activated state by checking the outbound database of the identification code, the activation operation of the identification code is not performed again, so that the use of the cloning PLC is avoided. And, for an invalid identification code, the cloud server may return information related to the invalid identification code, thereby also avoiding the use of a clone PLC using the invalid identification code.

Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of an on-line operation flow of the genuine PLC, as shown in fig. 8, the flow including:

step 801: the user operator uses computer tool software to perform operations such as online downloading programs and the like;

step 802: computer tool software sends a request to the PLC, and reads the identification code for activation;

step 803: the PLC returns an identification code for activation to the computer tool software, wherein the identification code is unique;

step 804: the computer tool software sends a request to the cloud server, submits the identification code of the PLC and applies for inquiring the PLC;

step 805: the cloud server checks factory data of the PLC according to the identification code of the PLC, determines the activation state of the identification code, returns the activation code of the identification code to the computer tool software when the identification code is in the activated state, namely the activation code of the identification code is generated, and optionally, can also return information without change request to the computer tool software when the activation code is not changed;

step 806: the computer tool software sends a request to the PLC and inquires an activation code stored by the PLC;

step 807: the PLC returns the stored activation code to the computer tool software;

step 808: the computer tool software verifies the activation code; downloading a user program and the like to the PLC under the condition that the verification is passed;

step 809: the PLC returns the completed information to the computer tool software;

step 810: the computer tool software displays the information of the completion of the download to the user operator.

In step 808, the verification can also be done on the PLC, as previously described, and the description is omitted here.

Through the flow of fig. 8, the activation of the PLC is completed, and the PLC can be normally used.

Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of the online operation flow of the cloning PLC, as shown in fig. 9, step 901-. Thereby inhibiting the use of cloned PLC.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of an activate code update operation flow of the genuine PLC, as shown in FIG. 10, the flow includes:

step 1001: the user operator uses computer tool software to perform operations such as online downloading programs and the like;

step 1002: computer tool software sends a request to the PLC, and reads the identification code for activation;

step 1003: the PLC returns an identification code for activation to the computer tool software, wherein the identification code is unique;

step 1004: the computer tool software sends a request to the cloud server, submits the identification code of the PLC and applies for inquiring the PLC;

step 1005: the cloud server checks factory data of the PLC according to the identification code of the PLC, determines the activation state of the identification code, and returns a new activation code (& & &) of the identification code and information of a change request to the computer tool software when the identification code is in the activated state but the activation code of the identification code is changed;

step 1006: the computer tool software sends a request to the PLC and inquires an activation code stored by the PLC;

step 1007: the PLC returns the saved activation code to the computer tool software;

step 1008: since the information acquired from the cloud server shows that the activation code has changed, the computer tool software downloads a new activation code (& & &) and a user program and the like to the PLC;

step 1009: the PLC stores a new activation code (& & &) and a user program and the like and returns completed information to the computer tool software;

step 1010: the computer tool software sends a notice to the cloud server to inform the cloud server that the activation code has been changed;

step 1011: the cloud server changes the change request of the activation code from the presence to the absence and returns corresponding information to the computer tool software;

step 1012: the computer tool software displays the information of the completion of the download to the user operator.

Through the flow of fig. 10, the cloud server can update the activation code, thereby further inhibiting the use of cloned PLCs.

Example 5

The embodiment provides an activation device of a PLC, which corresponds to the computer tool software of fig. 7-10, configured in the management apparatus 100, and since the principle of the device to solve the problem is similar to the method of embodiment 2, the specific implementation thereof can refer to embodiment 1 and embodiment 2, and the description of the same contents will not be repeated.

Fig. 11 is a schematic diagram of an activation device of a PLC of the present embodiment, and as shown in fig. 11, the activation device 1100 of the PLC of the present embodiment includes: a first reading unit 1101, a first sending unit 1102, and a first receiving unit 1103. The first reading unit 1101 reads an identification code of the PLC from the PLC; a first sending unit 1102 sends the identification code of the PLC to a server device, and the server device generates an activation code corresponding to the identification code when the identification code is in an inactive state, returns the activation code, and marks the identification code in an active state; the first receiving unit 1103 receives the activation code returned by the server device; the first sending unit 1102 sends the activate code to the PLC for saving.

In this embodiment, as shown in fig. 11, the activation device 1100 of the PLC of this embodiment further includes:

a verification unit 1104, in which the server device returns the activation code corresponding to the identification code and information of no change request if the identification code is in an activated state and the activation code corresponding to the identification code is not changed; the first receiving unit 1103 receives the activation code and the information of no change request returned by the server device, and the verification unit 1104 verifies the PLC.

In one embodiment, as shown in fig. 11, verification unit 1104 includes a second reading unit 11041 and a comparison unit 11042, and second reading unit 11041 reads an activate code stored by the PLC from the PLC; the comparison unit 11042 compares the activation code received from the server apparatus with the activation code read from the PLC, and if both are identical, the verification is passed, otherwise the verification fails.

In another embodiment, as shown in fig. 11, the verification unit 1104 includes a second sending unit 11043 and a second receiving unit 11044, the second sending unit 11043 sends the activation code received from the server device to the PLC, the PLC compares the stored activation code with the activation code received from the server device, if the two are consistent, the verification success information is returned, otherwise, the verification failure information is returned; the second receiving unit 11044 receives the verification success information or the verification failure information returned by the PLC, and if the verification success information is received, the verification passes, and if the verification failure information is received, the verification fails.

In this embodiment, when the identification code is in an activated state and the activation code corresponding to the identification code is changed, the server device returns a new activation code and information of a change request; the first receiving unit 1103 receives the new activation code and the information with the change request returned by the server device; the first sending unit 1102 sends the new activate code to the PLC for updating; the first receiving unit 1103 sends the information that the activation code has been changed to the server device, and the server device changes the request for changing the activation code corresponding to the identification code to a request for no change.

In this embodiment, the first reading unit 1101 reads the activate code saved by the PLC from the PLC before the first sending unit 1102 sends the new activate code to the PLC, and the first sending unit 1102 sends the new activate code to the PLC for updating if the activate code does not match the new activate code.

In the present embodiment, the activation device 1100 of the PLC may be implemented by a controller and a memory, for example, which stores a computer program for implementing the method of embodiment 2, and executes the method of embodiment 2 under the control of the controller.

The present embodiment further provides a management device, which is configured with the activation apparatus 1100 of the PLC, and in addition, the management device may further have conventional components of other management devices, such as an input device (keyboard), an output device (display), a connection interface, and the like.

Through the interaction of the device or the management equipment of the embodiment, the server equipment and the PLC, the PLC can be activated or verified, and the use of cloning the PLC is restrained.

Example 6

The present embodiment provides an activation apparatus for a PLC, which is configured in a server device 300, and since the principle of the apparatus for solving the problem is similar to the method of embodiment 3, the specific implementation thereof can refer to embodiment 1 and embodiment 3, and the description of the same contents will not be repeated.

Fig. 12 is a schematic diagram of an activation device of a PLC of the present embodiment, and as shown in fig. 12, an activation device 1200 of a PLC of the present embodiment includes: a receiving unit 1201, a checking unit 1202, and a processing unit 1203, the receiving unit 1201 receiving an identification code of the PLC from the management apparatus; the checking unit 1202 checks the activation state of the identification code according to factory data of the PLC; when the identification code is in an inactive state, the processing unit 1203 generates an activation code corresponding to the identification code and sends the activation code to the management device, and marks the identification code as an activated state; and when the identification code is in an activated state, sending the activation code corresponding to the identification code to the management equipment.

In this embodiment, when the identification code is in an activated state, if the activation code corresponding to the identification code is not changed, the processing unit 1203 may send the activation code and information of no change request to the PCL activation system.

In this embodiment, when the identification code is in the activated state, if the activation code corresponding to the identification code is changed, the processing unit 1203 may send a new activation code and information that there is a change request to the management device. In this embodiment, the receiving unit 1201 may also receive information that an activation code has been changed from the management apparatus; the processing unit 1203 changes the change request of the activation code corresponding to the identification code into no change request.

In the present embodiment, the activation device 1200 of the PLC may be implemented by a controller and a memory, for example, the memory stores a computer program for implementing the method of embodiment 3, and the method of embodiment 3 is executed under the control of the controller.

The present embodiment further provides a server device, where the server device is configured with the activation apparatus 1200 of the PLC, and in addition, the server device also has conventional components of other server devices, such as an input device (keyboard), an output device (display), a connection interface, and the like.

Through the interaction between the device or the server equipment and the management equipment, the PLC can be activated or verified, and the use of cloning the PLC is restrained.

Example 7

The present embodiment provides an activation device for a PLC, which is configured in a PLC200, and since the principle of the device for solving the problem is similar to the method of embodiment 4, the specific implementation thereof can refer to embodiment 1 and embodiment 4, and the description of the same contents will not be repeated.

Fig. 13 is a schematic diagram of an activation apparatus of a PLC of the present embodiment, and as shown in fig. 13, an activation apparatus 1300 of a PLC of the present embodiment includes: reception section 1301, transmission section 1302, and storage section 1303. The receiving unit 1301 receives an identification code reading request from the management apparatus; the transmitting unit 1302 transmits the identification code of the PLC to the management apparatus; the receiving unit 1301 further receives an activation code corresponding to the identification code from the management apparatus; the saving unit 1303 saves the activation code.

In this embodiment, the receiving unit 1301 also receives an activation code reading request from the management apparatus; the sending unit 1301 further sends the saved activation code to the management apparatus, and the management apparatus compares the activation code with the activation code received from the server apparatus, and if the two are consistent, the verification is considered to be successful, otherwise, the verification is considered to be identification.

In this embodiment, as shown in fig. 13, the activation device of the PLC of this embodiment further includes:

the verification unit 1304, the receiving unit 1301 further receives an activation code corresponding to the identification code from the management device; the device further comprises: the verification unit 1304 compares the received activation code with the stored activation code, if the two are consistent, the verification is successful, verification success information is generated, and the verification success information is sent to the management device; otherwise, the verification is considered to be failed, and verification failure information is generated and sent to the management equipment.

In the present embodiment, the PLC activation device 1300 may be implemented by a controller and a memory, for example, the memory stores a computer program for implementing the method of embodiment 4, and the method of embodiment 4 is executed under the control of the controller.

The present embodiment further provides a PLC configured with the activation device 1300 of the PLC, and in addition, the PLC may further have conventional components of other PLCs, such as an input device (keyboard), an output device (display), a connection interface, and the like.

Through the interaction of the device or the PLC and the management equipment, the activation or the verification of the PLC can be completed, and the use of cloning the PLC is restrained.

The above apparatuses and methods according to the embodiments of the present invention may be implemented by hardware, or may be implemented by hardware in combination with software. Embodiments of the present invention relate to a computer-readable program that, when executed by a logic unit, enables the logic unit to implement the above-described devices or constituent components, or to implement various methods or steps described above. The embodiment of the invention also relates to a storage medium for storing the program, such as a hard disk, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a DVD, a flash memory and the like.

The methods/apparatus described in connection with the embodiments of the invention may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. For example, one or more of the functional block diagrams and/or one or more combinations of the functional block diagrams illustrated in fig. 11-13 may correspond to individual software modules of a computer program flow or individual hardware modules. These software modules may correspond to the steps shown in fig. 2, 4, and 6, respectively. These hardware modules may be implemented, for example, by solidifying these software modules using a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA).

A software module may reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. A storage medium may be coupled to the processor such that the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium; or the storage medium may be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The software module may be stored in the memory of the device or in a memory card that is insertable into the device. For example, if the apparatus employs a relatively large capacity MEGA-SIM card or a large capacity flash memory device, the software module may be stored in the MEGA-SIM card or the large capacity flash memory device.

One or more of the functional blocks and/or one or more combinations of the functional blocks described in the figures can be implemented as a general purpose processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any suitable combination thereof designed to perform the functions described in connection with the embodiments of the invention. One or more of the functional blocks and/or one or more combinations of the functional blocks described in connection with the figures may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP communication, or any other such configuration.

While the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that these descriptions are illustrative and not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Various modifications and alterations of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art based upon the spirit and principles of this invention, and such modifications and alterations are also within the scope of this invention.

Claims

1. An activation method of a programmable logic controller is applied to a management device, wherein the method comprises the following steps:

reading an identification code of a programmable logic controller from the programmable logic controller; sending the identification code of the programmable logic controller to server equipment, wherein the server equipment generates an activation code corresponding to the identification code when the identification code is in an inactivated state, returns the activation code and marks the identification code in an activated state;

receiving the activation code returned by the server equipment; and sending the activation code to the programmable logic controller for storage.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the server device returns the activation code corresponding to the identification code and information of no change request if the identification code is in an activated state and the activation code corresponding to the identification code is not changed; the method further comprises the following steps:

receiving the activation code and the information of the no-change request returned by the server equipment; and verifying the programmable logic controller.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein verifying the programmable logic controller comprises:

reading an activation code saved by the programmable logic controller from the programmable logic controller;

and comparing the activation code received from the server equipment with the activation code read from the programmable logic controller, if the two codes are consistent, the verification is passed, and otherwise, the verification fails.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein verifying the programmable logic controller comprises:

sending the activation code received from the server device to the programmable logic controller, comparing the stored activation code with the received activation code from the server device by the programmable logic controller, and if the two are consistent, returning verification success information, otherwise, returning verification failure information;

and receiving the verification success information or the verification failure information returned by the programmable logic controller, wherein if the verification success information is received, the verification is passed, and if the verification failure information is received, the verification is failed.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the server device returns a new activation code and information of a change request if the identification code is in an activated state and the activation code corresponding to the identification code is changed, the method further comprising:

receiving the new activation code and the information with the change request returned by the server equipment;

sending the new activation code to the programmable logic controller for updating;

and sending the changed information of the activation code to the server equipment, and changing the change request of the activation code corresponding to the identification code into a no-change request by the server equipment.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein prior to sending the new activate code to the programmable logic controller, the method further comprises:

and reading the activation code saved by the programmable logic controller from the programmable logic controller, and sending the new activation code to the programmable logic controller for updating when the activation code is inconsistent with the new activation code.

7. An activation method of a programmable logic controller is applied to a server device, wherein the method comprises the following steps:

receiving an identification code of the programmable logic controller from the management device;

checking the activation state of the identification code according to factory data of the programmable logic controller;

8. The method of claim 7, wherein when the identification code is in an activated state, if the activation code corresponding to the identification code is not changed, the activation code and information of no change request are sent to the management device.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein when the identification code is in an activated state, if the activation code corresponding to the identification code is changed, a new activation code and information of the change request are sent to the management device.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving information that an activation code has been changed from the management device;

and changing the change request of the activation code corresponding to the identification code into a no-change request.

11. An operation method of a programmable logic controller is applied to the programmable logic controller, wherein the method comprises the following steps:

receiving an identification code reading request from a management apparatus;

sending the identification code of the programmable logic controller to the management equipment;

and saving the activation code.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving an activation code read request from the management device;

and sending the saved activation code to the management equipment, comparing the activation code with the activation code received from the server equipment by the management equipment, and if the activation code is consistent with the activation code received from the server equipment, considering that the verification is successful, otherwise, considering that the verification is failed.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the method further comprises:

comparing the received activation code with the stored activation code, if the received activation code is consistent with the stored activation code, considering that the verification is successful, generating verification success information and sending the verification success information to the management equipment; otherwise, the verification is considered to be failed, and verification failure information is generated and sent to the management equipment.

14. An activation apparatus of a programmable logic controller, configured to a management device, wherein the apparatus comprises:

a first reading unit that reads an identification code of a programmable logic controller from the programmable logic controller;

the first sending unit is used for sending the identification code of the programmable logic controller to server equipment, and the server equipment generates an activation code corresponding to the identification code when the identification code is in an inactivated state, returns the activation code and marks the identification code in an activated state;

a first receiving unit, which receives the activation code returned by the server device; and the first sending unit sends the activation code to the programmable logic controller for storage.

15. The device of claim 14, wherein the server device returns the activation code corresponding to the identification code and information of no change request if the identification code is in an activated state and the activation code corresponding to the identification code is not changed;

the first receiving unit receives the activation code and the information of no change request returned by the server equipment; the device further comprises:

a verification unit that verifies the programmable logic controller.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the authentication unit comprises:

a second reading unit that reads the activation code saved by the programmable logic controller from the programmable logic controller;

and the comparison unit is used for comparing the activation code received from the server equipment with the activation code read from the programmable logic controller, if the activation code is consistent with the activation code, the verification is passed, and otherwise, the verification fails.

17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the authentication unit comprises:

the second sending unit is used for sending the activation code received from the server equipment to the programmable logic controller, the programmable logic controller compares the stored activation code with the received activation code from the server equipment, if the two activation codes are consistent, verification success information is returned, and if not, verification failure information is returned;

and the second receiving unit is used for receiving the verification success information or the verification failure information returned by the programmable logic controller, passing the verification if the verification success information is received, and failing the verification if the verification failure information is received.

18. The device of claim 14, wherein the server device returns a new activation code and information of a change request if the identification code is in an activated state and the activation code corresponding to the identification code is changed;

the first receiving unit receives the new activation code and the information with the change request returned by the server equipment;

the first sending unit sends the new activation code to the programmable logic controller for updating;

the first receiving unit sends the information that the activation code is changed to the server device, and the server device changes the change request of the activation code corresponding to the identification code into a no-change request.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein,

the first reading unit reads the activation code stored by the programmable logic controller from the programmable logic controller before the first sending unit sends the new activation code to the programmable logic controller, and the first sending unit sends the new activation code to the programmable logic controller for updating when the activation code is inconsistent with the new activation code.

20. An activation apparatus of a programmable logic controller, configured in a server device, wherein the apparatus comprises:

a receiving unit that receives an identification code of the programmable logic controller from the management apparatus;

the checking unit is used for checking the activation state of the identification code according to factory data of the programmable logic controller;

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the processing unit sends the activation code and no change request information to the management device if the activation code corresponding to the identification code has not changed while the identification code is in an activated state.

22. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the processing unit sends a new activation code and information of a change request to the management device if the activation code corresponding to the identification code is changed when the identification code is in an activated state.

23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein,

the receiving unit further receives information that an activation code has been changed from the management apparatus;

and the processing unit changes the change request of the activation code corresponding to the identification code into a no-change request.

24. An operating device of a programmable logic controller, configured to the programmable logic controller, wherein the device comprises:

a transmission unit that transmits the identification code of the programmable logic controller to the management device;

a saving unit that saves the activate code.

25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein,

the receiving unit further receives an activation code reading request from the management apparatus;

the sending unit also sends the saved activation code to the management device, the management device compares the activation code with the activation code received from the server device, if the activation code and the activation code are consistent, the verification is considered to be successful, otherwise, the verification is considered to be failed.

26. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the receiving unit is further to receive an activation code corresponding to the identification code from the management device; the device further comprises:

the verification unit compares the received activation code with the stored activation code, if the two activation codes are consistent, the verification is successful, verification success information is generated, and the verification success information is sent to the management equipment; otherwise, the verification is considered to be failed, and verification failure information is generated and sent to the management equipment.

27. A programmable logic controller system, wherein the programmable logic controller system comprises: a management device comprising the apparatus of any of claims 14-19, a programmable logic controller comprising the apparatus of any of claims 24-26, and a server device comprising the apparatus of any of claims 20-23.