JP2002202803A - Programmable controller and unit for programmable controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a programmable controller of a baseless building block type which suitably increases the number of connected units. SOLUTION: In this programmable controller of the baseless building type which has units 20-1 to 20-n connected to one another by connectors 30-1 to 30-n, and also have power lines, passing through the respective units, by the connectors 30-1 to 30-n, the units have 1st substrates 22-1 to 22-n and 2nd substrates 21-1 to 21-n respectively; and the 1st substrates 22-1 to 22-n are interposed among the connectors 30-1 to 30-n and supplied with electric power directly from the power lines and the 2nd substrates 21-1 to 21-n are connected to the 1st substrates through connectors 31-1 to 31-n different from the mentioned connectors and supplied with electric power through the different connectors.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a programmable controller and a unit for a programmable controller, and more particularly, to an increase in the number of connected units.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a programmable controller (hereinafter, referred to as PLC) has a plurality of I / Os in a CPU unit.
It is configured by connecting an O unit and a plurality of advanced units.

The connection between the CPU unit, the I / O unit and the high-performance unit is as follows: 1) A base building block type in which the CPU unit is connected to the I / O unit and the high-performance unit via a base 2). 2. Description of the Related Art There is known a baseless building block type in which a CPU unit is directly connected to an I / O unit and an advanced function unit via a connector without using a base.

Since the baseless building block type PLC does not require a base, it can be expected to be reduced in size and cost can be expected, so that it is widely used in various facilities.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a conventional baseless building block type PLC.

In FIG. 4, a PLC of the baseless building block type has one CPU unit 1.
00 bus line 102 and n I / O units 20
Nos. 0-1 to 200-n are directly connected in serial form without passing through a base.

A PLC of this type includes a plurality of various units as described above. Among the plurality of units, a unit having two substrates and a unit having only one substrate are included. There is.

In the case of the above-described PLC of the baseless building block type, the board 101 of the CPU unit 100 and the sub board 201- of the I / O unit 200-1 are used.
1 is connected by a connector 300-1, and a connector 3 is connected between the sub-board 201-1 of the I / O unit 200-1 and the main board 202-1 of the I / O unit 200-1.
00-2.

The main board 202-1 of the I / O unit 200-1 and the sub board 2 of the I / O unit 200-2
01-2 is connected by connector 300-3, and I / O
A connector 3 is provided between the sub-board 201-2 of the unit 200-2 and the main board 202-2 of the I / O unit 200-2.
Connected at 00-4.

[0010] The connection is made in the same manner as described above.
Sub-substrate 201-n of O unit 200-n and this I / O
The unit 200-n is connected to the main board 202-n by a connector 300-2n.

Here, a connector for connecting the units,
That is, the board 101 of the CPU unit 100 and the I / O
A connector 300-1 for connecting the sub-board 201-1 of the unit 200-1 to the main board 202-1 of the I / O unit 200-1 and the sub-board 201-2 of the I / O unit 200-2. The connector 300-3 or the like for connecting between them is composed of, for example, an 80-pin connector.

A connector for connecting the sub-board and the main board in the unit, that is, the sub-board 201-1 of the I / O unit 200-1 and the I / O unit 2
The connector 300-2 for connecting the main board 202-1 to the sub-board 20-1 of the I / O unit 200-2.
1-2 and main board 20 of this I / O unit 200-2
2-2, the connector 300-4, the sub-board 201-n of the I / O unit 200-n and the I / O unit 2
The connectors 300-2n and the like connecting the 00-n main board 202-n and the like are constituted by, for example, 100-pin connectors.

In the case of the above example, the number of pins of the connectors 300-1, 300-3, and 300-5 for connecting the units and the connector 300-2 for connecting the sub-board and the main board in one unit. , 300-4, and 300-2n, the latter has a larger number of pins, but this is because signals are exchanged between the sub-board and the main board in one unit. This is because extra pins for signal transmission and reception are required.

However, in the above-described conventional baseless building block type PLC,
Since various units such as an I / O unit and a high-performance unit are directly connected via the connectors 300-1 to 300-2n, power loss due to contact resistance at the connectors 300-1 to 300-2n, specifically, Power loss in a power supply line in a bus line running in the connector is a major problem.

In particular, recently, a PL in which a large number of I / O units, high-performance units, and the like are connected to a CPU unit.
Considering the case where the demand for C is increasing, the connector 300
-1 to 300-2n due to power loss due to contact resistance,
There is a problem that the number of connected I / O units and the like is limited.

For example, in the conventional baseless building block type PLC shown in FIG.
The sub substrate 201-n of the O unit 200-n is "2n-
It is connected to the bus line 102 of the CPU unit 100 via 1 "connectors.
The main board 202-n of the unit 200-n is connected to the bus line 102 of the CPU unit 100 via "2n" connectors.

As a result, each of the connectors 300-1 to 300-
The power loss due to contact resistance at 2n is so large that it cannot be ignored, and therefore the number of connected I / O units and the like is limited.

[0018]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, the present invention
It is an object of the present invention to provide a baseless building block type programmable controller capable of increasing the number of connected units.

[0019]

According to a programmable controller of the present invention, there is provided a programmable controller of a baseless building type in which a plurality of units are connected by a connector and a power line passing through each unit is formed by the connector. At least one of the plurality of units has a single first board and at least one second board, and the first board is interposed between the connectors, and is connected to the first board. The power supply is performed directly from the power supply line, the second substrate is connected to the first substrate via another connector different from the connector, and the power supply to the second substrate is It is characterized in that it is performed via another connector.

A unit for a programmable controller according to the present invention is used in a baseless building type programmable controller in which a plurality of units are connected by a connector and a power line passing through each unit is formed by the connector. Having a single first substrate and at least one second substrate, wherein the first substrate is interposed between the connectors, and power is supplied to the first substrate directly from the power line. The second board is connected to the first board via another connector different from the connector, and the power supply to the second board is performed via the another connector. It is a feature.

Furthermore, the programmable controller unit according to the present invention is a programmable controller unit constituting a baseless building block type programmable controller, wherein a single first controller unit is provided.
And a first connector for connecting to the connector of the preceding programmable controller unit, and a connector of the subsequent programmable controller unit for the first board. And a board connector connected to the second board, and a power supply path to the first board is formed between the two connectors. In addition, power supply to the first substrate and the second substrate is performed via a branch path branched from the power supply path.

Here, regarding the plurality of units,
In some cases, the unit includes only the unit having the first substrate and the second substrate, and in other cases, such a unit and the unit having only one substrate coexist.

The above-mentioned units include all units in a programmable controller which are supplied with power from a unit having a power supply device. For example, it includes an advanced unit such as an input unit, an output unit, an input / output unit, which controls an interface between the CPU unit and an external device, and a communication unit which performs advanced processing independently of the CPU unit. When the CPU unit does not have a power supply, the above-mentioned unit includes a CPU unit without the power supply.

[0024]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, only an example of a two-substrate unit will be described.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a programmable controller according to the present invention.

The programmable controller (PLC) shown in FIG. 1 is connected directly to a bus line 12 of one CPU unit 10 by serially connecting n I / O units 20-1 to 20-n without passing through a base. , A so-called baseless building block type PLC, and its CPU unit 10 and I / O unit 20-
Each of PLCs 1 to 20-n constitutes this PLC
Unit.

Generally, in the case of this type of PLC, some CPU units include a power supply unit and some do not. In the case of a CPU unit not including a power supply unit, a power supply unit is provided separately from the CPU unit (see FIG. 3),
The CPU unit 10 of the PLC according to the present embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is an example that does not include a power supply device. Therefore, a power supply unit is separately provided in the PLC of this example, but the power supply unit is not shown in FIG.

The CPU unit 10 according to the present embodiment has a built-in board 11 and each of the I / O units 20-1 to 20-1.
20-n is a main substrate 22- as a single first substrate.
1, 22-2, 22-n, and sub-substrates 21-1, 21-2, 21-n as second substrates, respectively, and these substrates are processing units (not shown) corresponding to each unit. It has. More specifically, the board 11 of the CPU unit 10 includes a CPU unit processing unit (corresponding to the reference numeral 40 in FIG. 3) and the main boards 22-1 and 22-2 of the I / O units 20-1 to 20-n. , 22-n are the main substrate processing unit (corresponding to the reference numeral 41 in FIG. 3) and the I / O unit 2
Sub substrates 21-1, 21-2, 21-n of 0-1 to 20-n
Have sub-substrate processing units (corresponding to the reference numeral 42 in FIG. 3).

The connector 30-1 connects the board 11 of the CPU unit 10 and the main board 22-1 of the I / O unit 20-1, and connects the main board 22-1 of the I / O unit 20-1 to the main board 22-1. Main board 22- of the I / O unit 20-2
2 is connected by a connector 30-2. The same connection is made thereafter, and finally, the main board 22-n of the I / O unit 20-n and the main board of the preceding I / O unit are connected by the connector 30-n.

That is, in the case of the present embodiment, the coupling between a plurality of units such as the CPU unit 10 and the I / O units 20-1 to 20-n is performed by the connectors 30-1 and 30-.
2, 30-n, and the power supply lines (I / O units 20-1, 20-2, 20-n, etc.) through these connectors by these connectors 30-1, 30-2, 30-n. 3 (corresponding to the reference numeral 12a in FIG. 3).

The connectors 30-1, 30-2,.
The main board 22-1 of the I / O unit 20-1 includes a connector 30-1 and a connector 30-2.
And the main boards 22-2 and 22-n of the I / O units 20-2 and 20-n are also provided so as to be interposed between the connectors of the same type as the connectors 30-1 and 30-2. The main boards 22-1, 22
-2 and 22-n are configured to be supplied directly from a power supply line passing through each unit as described above.

Here, a connector for connecting the units,
That is, the connector 30-1 for connecting the board 11 of the CPU unit 10 and the main board 22-1 of the I / O unit 20-1, the main board 22 of the I / O unit 20-1
30-2, I / O unit 20-n that connects between I / O-1 and main board 22-2 of I / O unit 20-2
The connector 30-n or the like that connects the main board 22-n to the main board of the preceding I / O unit is, for example,
It consists of an 80-pin connector.

The main board 22- of the I / O unit 20-1
1 and the sub-board 21-1 of the I / O unit 20-1 are connected by a connector 31-1.
0-2 main board 22-2 and this I / O unit 20-
The second sub-board 21-2 is connected by a connector 31-2. The same connection is made thereafter, and finally, a connector 31-n is provided between the main board 22-n of the I / O unit 20-n and the sub-board 21-n of the I / O unit 20-n.
Connected by

That is, in the case of this embodiment, the sub-substrate 2
1-1, 21-2, and 21-n are connectors 30-1, 3
0-2, different connectors 31-1, 31-n different from 30-n
2, 31-n through the main boards 22-1, 22-2, 2
2-n, and this kind of sub-substrate 21-1,
The power supply to 21-2 and 21-n is configured to be performed via the other connectors 31-1, 31-2 and 31-n.

Here, a connector for connecting the main board and the sub-board, that is, the main board 22-1 of the I / O unit 20-1 and the sub-board 21-1 of the I / O unit 20-1 are connected to each other. Connector 31-1, connecting between I / O
A connector 31-2 for connecting between the main board 22-2 of the unit 20-2 and the sub board 21-2 of the I / O unit 20-2, the main board 22- of the I / O unit 20-n.
n and the connector 31-n for connecting the sub-board 21-n of the I / O unit 20-n to the sub-board 21-n are provided if there is a necessary number of pins for exchanging signals between the main board and the sub-board. Sufficient, the connector 30-1 for connecting the units described above,
It does not need 80 pins like the example of 30-2, 30-n,
For example, it can be composed of a 20-pin connector.

The bus lines of a general CPU unit include, for example, a power supply line, an address line, a data line, and a control line. Such a bus line configuration is used as the bus line 12 of the CPU unit 10 in the present embodiment. When adopted, for example, the bus line passing through the inside of the connector 30-1 is constituted by the above-described example line including the power supply line. Of the above example lines, the one affected by the contact resistance due to the connector connection is
This is a power supply line in the bus line passing through the inside of the connector.

According to the above configuration, for example, the I /
The main board 22-n of the O unit 20-n is connected to the CPU unit 10-n via "n" connectors 30-1 to 30-n.
Are connected to the bus line 12.

The sub-board 21-n of the I / O unit 20-n has "n + 1" connectors 30-1 to 30-30.
-n and 31-n are connected to the bus line 12 of the CPU unit 10.

Here, the contact resistance of each connector is R (Ω)
Then, in the PLC of the baseless building block type of this embodiment, the sum of the contact resistances of the connectors for the main board 22-n of the I / O unit 20-n of the last stage is R × n (Ω). Become. Further, the sum of the contact resistances of the connectors with respect to the sub-board 21-n of the I / O unit 20-n at the final stage is R × (n + 1) (Ω).
Becomes

On the other hand, in the conventional baseless building block type PLC shown in FIG. 4, similarly, if the contact resistance of each connector is R (Ω), the last stage I / O unit 200-n The total contact resistance of each connection with respect to the main substrate 202-n is R × 2n (Ω)
In addition, the total contact resistance of each connect with respect to the sub-board 201-n of the last stage I / O unit 200-n is R × (2n−1) (Ω).

Therefore, according to the baseless building block type PLC of this embodiment, the conventional baseless building block type PLC shown in FIG.
Compared with LC, for the main board 22-n, the contact resistance of the connector can be reduced to R × n / R × 2n = 1/2 (1), and for the sub board, R × (n + 1) / R × (2n−1) = (n + 1) / (2n−1) (2)

Thus, according to the baseless building block type PLC of this embodiment, the conventional baseless building block type PLC shown in FIG.
Compared with the LC, the power loss due to the contact resistance at the connector is small, so that more I / O units can be connected.

As is apparent from the above equation (2), the effect of the sub-board increases as the number of I / O units connected to the CPU unit 10 increases.

Furthermore, according to the PLC of the baseless building block type of this embodiment, each connector can be composed of an 80-pin connector and a 20-pin connector as in the above-described example. Compared with the conventional baseless building block type PLC shown in FIG. 4 which is composed of the above-mentioned connector and the 80-pin connector, the total number of pins of the connector is reduced, and the cost of the connector can be reduced.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a detailed configuration of a main part of the programmable controller according to the present invention shown in FIG.

In FIG. 2, I / O units 20-1 and I / O units of the programmable controller shown in FIG.
The board configuration of the O unit 20-2 and the arrangement configuration of the connector 30-1 and the connector 30-2 are shown.

In FIG. 2, the first I / O unit 2
0-1 is housed in the unit case 20-1a.
Here, reference numeral 21-1 in the figure indicates a sub-board of the I / O unit 20-1, and 22-1 indicates a main board of the I / O unit 20-1. Reference numeral 30-1 denotes a first connection connector connected to a connector (not shown) on the board 11 of the CPU unit in the preceding stage, and reference numeral 32-1 denotes a connector for the I / O unit in the subsequent stage. Reference numeral 31-1 denotes a second connection connector to be connected, and 31-1 denotes a main board 22-1 of the I / O unit 20-1 and the I / O unit 20-1.
1 shows a board connector for connecting the sub-board 21-1 of FIG. In this case, the two connectors 30-1, 3
A power supply path (the same member as the bus line indicated by the reference numeral 12a in FIG. 3) is formed between 2-1 and the power supply to the main board 21-1 and the sub board 22-1 is performed in such a manner. A branch path branched from the power supply path (reference numeral 1 in FIG. 3)
2b).

The unit case 20-1a has a C
A connector hole 20-1b for connecting to a connector (not shown) of the board 11 of the PU unit 10;
A connector hole 20-1c is provided for connection to the main board 22-2 of the / O unit 20-2.

Above and below the rear side of the unit case 20-1a, the unit case 20-2 of the subsequent I / O unit is placed.
a hook 20-1e for connection to the unit case 20a is formed, and holes 20-1d for connection to the unit case of the CPU unit at the front stage are provided above and below the unit case 20-1a. ing.

The second I / O unit 20-2 is also housed in the unit case 20-2a, like the first I / O unit 20-1. Here, reference numeral 21-2 in the figure denotes a sub-board of the I / O unit 20-2,
Reference numeral 22-2 denotes a main board of the I / O unit 20-2. Reference numeral 30-2 denotes a connector connected to the main board 22-1 of the preceding (first) I / O unit,
31-2 is a main board 22- of the I / O unit 20-2.
2 shows a connector for connecting the sub-board 2 to the sub-board 21-2 of the I / O unit 20-2.

The unit case 20-2a has the I
Connector hole 20-2b for connecting to the main board 22-1 of the I / O unit 20-1, and connector hole 20-2c for connecting to the main board of the subsequent I / O unit
Is provided.

Hook portions 20-2e for connecting to the unit case of the subsequent I / O unit are formed above and below the rear side of the unit case 20-2a, and the front side of the unit case 20-2a is formed. Above and below, I / O of the previous stage
A hole 20-2d for connecting to the unit case 20-1a of the unit 20-1 is provided.

In the above configuration, the I / O unit 20-
The main board 22-1 of the I / O unit 20-1 is connected to the board 11 of the CPU unit 10 at the preceding stage via the connector 30-1 and the connector hole 20-1b.
1-1 is a main board 22 of the I / O unit 20-1.
-1 and the connector 31-1.

The main board 22- of the I / O unit 20-2
2 is connected to the main board 21-1 of the preceding I / O unit through the connector 30-2, the connector hole 20-2b, and the connector hole 20-1c, and is connected to the sub-board 21- of the I / O unit 20-2. 2 is connected to a main board 22-2 of the I / O unit 20-2 via a connector 31-2.

The unit case 20-1a of the I / O unit 20-1 and the unit case 2 of the I / O unit 20-2
The connection with 0-2a is made by inserting the hook portion 20-1e of the I / O unit 20-1 into the hole 20-2d of the I / O unit 20-2 and fixing it.

FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 40 denotes a CPU unit processing section executed on the board of the CPU unit 10;
Is a main substrate processing unit executed on the main substrate 22-1,
42 is a sub-substrate processing unit executed on the sub-substrate 21-1;
Reference numeral 12a denotes a power supply line in the bus line 12, that is, a power supply path, 12b denotes a branch path branched from the power supply path, and reference numeral 50 denotes a power supply unit. That is, the programmable controller shown in FIG.
CPU unit 10 does not include a power supply device,
Because of this structure, a power supply unit 50 including a power supply unit is added to the CPU unit 10 as one of the PLC units. Other configurations are the same as those of the programmable controller shown in FIG. 1, and therefore, the same members are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Although FIGS. 1 and 3 show an example of a structure in which a connector is directly mounted on a substrate, this kind of connector structure is not limited to the example of the structure shown in FIGS. For example, a structure in which a connector is added to a cable connected to a board may be adopted.

[0058]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Since the second substrate in the unit is configured to be connected to the first substrate via another connector different from the connector for coupling the units, the connector between the former unit and the latter unit is connected. It is possible to reduce the power loss due to the number and the contact resistance of the connector, thereby providing the effect of increasing the number of connected units.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a programmable controller according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a detailed configuration of a main part of the programmable controller according to the present invention shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a conventional baseless building block type PLC.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 CPU unit 12 Bus line 12a Power supply line (power supply path) 12b Branch path 20-1 to 20-n I / O unit 21-1 to 21-n Sub board 22-1 to 22-n Main board 30-1 30-n connector 31-1 to 31-n connector 40 CPU unit processing unit 41 main substrate processing unit 42 sub substrate processing unit 50 power supply unit 100 CPU unit 200-1 to 200-n I / O unit 201-1 to 201- n Sub board 202-1 to 202-n Main board 300-1 to 300-n Connector (first connector) 301-1 to 301-n Connector (second connector) 400 Termination circuit

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing from the front page (72) Inventor Tomohisa Ishino 801 Fudo-term, Omron Co., Ltd., Fudom, OMRON Corporation

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A baseless building type programmable controller in which a plurality of units are connected by a connector and a power line passing through each unit is formed by the connector, wherein at least one of the plurality of units is a single unit. Having one first substrate and at least one second substrate, wherein the first substrate is interposed between the connectors, and power supply to the first substrate is performed directly from the power supply line; The second substrate is connected to the first substrate via another connector different from the connector, and power supply to the second substrate is performed via the another connector. Programmable controller. 2. A unit used in a programmable controller of a baseless building type in which a connection between a plurality of units is made by a connector and a power line passing through each unit is formed by the connector, wherein a single first substrate and a single first substrate are provided. And at least one second substrate, wherein the first substrate is interposed between the connectors, and power supply to the first substrate is directly performed from the power supply line. A programmable controller unit which is connected to the first board via another connector different from the connector, and supplies power to the second board via the another connector. 3. A unit for a programmable controller constituting a programmable controller of a baseless building block type, comprising: a single first substrate and at least one second substrate; A first connection connector connected to the connector of the programmable controller unit, a second connection connector connected to the connector of the subsequent programmable controller unit, and a connection to the second board. A board connector is provided, and a power supply path to the first board is formed between the two connection connectors; and a power supply to the first board and the second board is provided from the power supply path. A unit for a programmable controller, which is performed via a branched path.