JP2006209581A - Control system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make a change in firmware unnecessary even when specifications of a control target device are changed. <P>SOLUTION: A part 2 to be controlled consists of the control target device 23 by a control part 1, a control data storage device 22 storing control data by which the control part controls the control target device, and an interface information storing part 21 storing interface information between the control data storage device and the control target device, and a CPU 10 of the control part. The control part reads the interface information storing part at the time of starting, accesses the control data storage device by the interface information of the control data storage device to acquire the control data, and accesses the control target device by the interface information of the control target device to control the control target device by the control data. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a control system that controls a device constituted by a panel or a module by firmware of a control unit, and more particularly to a control system that eliminates the need to change firmware even if the specification of a panel or module that is a device to be controlled changes. .

  FIG. 7 shows a general configuration of this type of control system (not related to the literature known invention). This monitoring control system includes a control unit 1-1 having a CPU 10-1 and a controlled unit 2-1 including two control target devices 22-1, 23-1. The CPU 10-1 is connected to the control target device 22-1 via the interface unit 12-1, and is connected to the control target device 23-1 via the interface unit 13-1.

  The CPU 10-1 performs centralized control of the control target devices 22-1 and 23-1 with built-in firmware. Specific examples of such a control system include an access radio that performs point-to-point communication between base stations, and a personal computer in which a personal computer body controls input / output devices.

  By the way, the specifications of the devices to be controlled 22-1 and 23-1 may be changed for the purpose of downsizing the device, reducing the price, and reducing the power consumption. In this case, when a newly designed control target device is connected to the control unit 1-1, the firmware is newly designed and the firmware of the control unit 1-1 is updated.

  As an example of this type of prior art, there is known a technique that eliminates the need to change the firmware of the printer body even if the specifications of the operation panel of the printer are changed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this technique, various operation panels that can be selectively attached to a printer main body are provided with an identification code sending means, and the identification code sending means sends an identification code in response to an identification code request from the printer main body. When the printer main body receives the identification code, the control mode setting means built in sets the control mode corresponding to the identification code.

JP-A-1-299043 (first page-second page, FIG. 1)

  In the prior art shown in FIG. 7, since the firmware of the control unit 1-1 is designed every time the controlled unit 2-1 is designed, the firmware version of the control unit 1-1 and the controlled unit are controlled. There is a problem that it is necessary to manage with the version combination in Part 2-1.

  Further, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, even if the specification of the operation panel of the printer is changed, it is not necessary to change the firmware of the printer main body. However, this technique requires a single device to be controlled (operation panel). However, it does not correspond to the case where any of the specifications of a plurality of devices to be controlled is changed.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to use the firmware in the control unit as it is even when any of the specifications of a plurality of devices to be controlled is changed, thereby being aware of the combination of firmware and hardware versions. It is to provide a control system that can be operated without any problems.

  The control system of the present invention is a control system that controls the controlled unit (2 in FIG. 1) by the firmware of the control unit (1 in FIG. 1). The controlled unit is the final control target by the control unit and is a panel or At least one controlled device (23 in FIG. 1) having a module configuration and control data for the control unit to control the device to be controlled are stored, and at least one control data storage device (FIG. 1) having a panel or module configuration is stored. 22) and an interface information storage unit (21 in FIG. 1) that stores interface information between the control data storage device, the device to be controlled, and the CPU (10 in FIG. 1) of the control unit.

  The control unit reads the interface information storage unit at startup, accesses the control data storage device by the interface information of the control data storage device, acquires the control data, and accesses the control target device by the interface information of the control target device However, it is controlled by control data.

  According to the present invention, the interface information storage unit of the controlled unit stores interface information between the control unit, the control target device, and the control data storage device, and the control unit uses the interface information to control the control data storage device. Since the control data is obtained from the control data and the control target device is controlled by the control data, monitoring control can be performed without being aware of the hardware version of the controlled unit. Even when the device is changed, there is an effect that it is not necessary to change the firmware in the control unit. Thereby, the firmware version management of the control unit and the hardware of the controlled unit can be simplified.

  The control system of the present invention is a control system that controls a controlled unit by firmware of the control unit. The controlled unit is a final control target by the control unit, and is controlled with at least one controlled device having a panel or module configuration. Unit stores control data for controlling the control target device, and stores at least one control data storage device having a panel or module configuration, and interface information between the control data storage device and the control target device and the CPU of the control unit Interface information storage unit.

  The control unit reads the interface information storage unit at startup, accesses the control data storage device by the interface information of the control data storage device, acquires the control data, and accesses the control target device by the interface information of the control target device However, it is controlled by control data.

  The interface information storage unit stores interface information between the control data storage device and the CPU in the first predetermined area, and stores interface information between the control target device and the CPU of the control unit in the second predetermined area. is doing.

  The control data storage device stores different control data for each temperature range, and the CPU incorporating the temperature sensor reads out the control data corresponding to the recognized temperature from the control data storage device, and controls by the control data Control the target device.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing Embodiment 1 of the control system of the present invention. In this control system, the control unit 1 performs centralized control of a plurality of control target devices 23 of the controlled unit 2, but only one control target device 23 is shown for simplification of the drawing. The controlled unit 2 is provided with a control data storage device 22 and an interface information storage unit 21 for the control target device 23 and the control data storage device 22 in a one-to-one correspondence with the control target device 23.

  The interface storage unit 21, the control data storage device 22, and the control target device 23 are connected to the CPU 10 of the control unit 1 through the interface unit 11, the interface unit 12, and the interface unit 13, respectively, and are centrally controlled. The interface unit 14 is a spare interface unit.

  The control target device 23 is a final control target by the control unit 1, and the control data storage device 22 stores control data for the control unit 1 to control the control target device 23. The interface information storage unit 21 stores interface information between the control data storage device 22 and the control target device 23 and the CPU 10.

  The interface information includes the number, interface conditions, connection destinations, device types, data conditions, error detection methods, data lengths, and spare areas for the control data storage device 22 and the control target device 23, and the format is predetermined. Need to be.

  The interface condition in the interface information is that the interfaces 12 to 14 of the devices 22 and 23 are of the address / data bus system, the parallel system, or the serial system, and the connection destination is the devices 22 and 23 of the interface units 12 to 12. 14 is connected to which device type means whether the devices 22 and 23 are, for example, an EEPROM, a DA converter, an AD converter, or the like.

  The data condition refers to the data bus width in the address / data bus method or the parallel method, the start / stop bit in the serial method, the number of data, and the like. The error detection method means whether the error detection method when the CPU 10 reads the devices 22 and 23 is a checksum, even parity, odd parity, no check, etc., and the data length means the number of bytes of one data. . The spare area is a blank provided for other than the above interface information.

  FIG. 3 shows an example of interface information when there is one control data storage device 22 and one control target device 23. In this example, the number of devices is 2, and the interface information area of the first device stores the control data storage device 22, and the interface information area of the second device stores each interface information of the control target device 23. ing.

  The interface unit 11 between the CPU 10 and the interface information storage unit 21 has predetermined interface conditions such as a method of connecting by an address / data bus, a three-wire CLK synchronization method using a clock, a chip select, and a data signal. Need to be.

  FIG. 5 shows an example of control data stored in the control data storage device 22. This control data is for the CPU 10 having a built-in temperature sensor to control the control target device 23 by the control data corresponding to the sensed temperature. FIG. 5 shows that control data is stored in increments of 10 degrees Celsius. Note that the checksum indicates that the writing reliability is improved by performing a checksum when writing the control data to the control data storage device 22.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 1, FIG. 3, and FIG.

  At startup, the control unit 1 reads interface information from the interface information storage unit 21 mounted on the controlled unit 2 via the interface unit 11 connected to the CPU 10. The control unit 1 obtains information that the number of target devices is two from the information 100 on the number of target devices shown in FIG.

  Based on this information, interface information 110 to 116 is obtained from the interface information area of the first device, and interface information 120 to 126 is obtained from the interface information area of the second device.

  Of the interface information 110 to 116, the interface condition 110 is the address / data bus method, the connection destination 111 is the interface unit 12, the device type 112 is the EEPROM, the data condition 113 is 8 bits, the error detection method 114 is the checksum, and the data length 115 Indicates 10 × 8 bits. Since the control data storage device 22 is connected to the interface unit 12, it can be seen that the interface information 110 to 116 relates to the control data storage device 22.

  Of the interface information 110 to 116, the interface condition 120 is the parallel method, the connection destination 121 is the interface unit 13, the device type 122 is the DA converter, the data condition 123 is 16 bits, the error detection method 124 is no error detection, and the data length 125 indicates 1 × 16 bits. Since the controlled device 23 is connected to the interface unit 13, it can be seen that the interface information 120 to 126 relates to the controlled device 23.

  As a result of the above, the controlled unit 2 is mounted with the control target device 23 which is a DA converter and the control data storage device 22 having an EEPROM function for storing control data for controlling the control target device 23 according to the temperature condition. You can see that

  The CPU 10 reads temperature data from the temperature sensor, and reads control data for controlling the DA converter from the control data storage device 22 under this temperature condition. At this time, the CPU 10 accesses the control data storage device 22 according to the interface information 110 to 116 described above. For example, if the data of the temperature sensor indicates 25 degrees Celsius, the control data (305 in FIG. 5) in the control data storage device 22 at 20 to 30 ° C. is read.

  The CPU 10 accesses the control target device 23 according to the interface information 120 to 126 described above, and controls the control target device 23 using the control data read from the control data storage device 22. If the temperature sensor data changes, the above procedure is repeated corresponding to the temperature, and the control of the control target device 23 corresponding to the temperature is performed.

  Next, the operation when the control data storage device 22 of the controlled unit 2 is changed to the control data storage device 32 as shown in FIG. Will be explained. As shown in FIG. 6, the control data stored in the control data storage device 32 covers from minus 10 degrees Celsius to plus 70 degrees Celsius in the same manner as in FIG. 5, but it is understood that the control data is in increments of 20 degrees Celsius. .

  The control data storage device 32 is connected to the interface unit 14. Then, the stored contents of the interface information storage unit 21 are changed as shown in FIG. Referring to FIG. 4, it can be seen that new interface information 210 to 216 is stored in the interface information area of the first device. The interface information of the second device is the same as in FIG.

  Comparing the interface information 110 to 116 and the interface information 210 to 216, the interface condition 110 was the address / data bus method, whereas the interface condition 210 was the serial method and the connection destination 111 was the interface unit 12. On the other hand, the connection destination 211 is the interface unit 14 and the data length 115 is 10 × 8 bits, whereas the data length 215 is 6 × 8 bits.

  The operation procedure is the same as above. That is, at the time of activation, the control unit 1 reads interface information from the interface information storage unit 21 mounted on the controlled unit 2 via the interface unit 11 connected to the CPU 10. The control unit 1 obtains information that the number of target devices is two based on the information 100 on the number of target devices shown in FIG.

  Based on this information, interface information 210 to 216 is acquired from the interface information area of the first device, and interface information 120 to 126 is acquired from the interface information area of the second device. In this case, since the control data storage device 32 is connected to the interface unit 14, it can be seen that the interface information 210 to 216 relates to the control data storage device 32.

  The CPU 10 reads temperature data from the temperature sensor, and reads control data for controlling the DA converter from the control data storage device 32 under this temperature condition. At this time, the CPU 10 accesses the control data storage device 32 in accordance with the interface information 210 to 216 described above. For example, if the temperature sensor data indicates 25 degrees Celsius, the control data (402 in FIG. 6) of the control data storage device 32 at 10 to 30 ° C. is read.

  The CPU 10 accesses the control target device 23 according to the interface information 220 to 226 described above, and controls the control target device 23 using the control data read from the control data storage device 32. If the temperature sensor data changes, the above procedure is repeated corresponding to the temperature, and the control of the control target device 23 corresponding to the temperature is performed.

  As described above, the control data storage device 22 is changed to the control data storage device 32 and the controlled unit 2 is used as the controlled unit 3 for the purpose of downsizing, cost reduction, and power consumption of the apparatus. In the case of a new design, in the present invention, the information of the control data storage device is stored in the interface information storage unit 21, and the CPU 10 of the control unit 1 reads out the information of the control data storage device. Since the configuration can be known, it is not necessary to newly design the firmware of the control unit 1 every time the controlled unit 2 is designed. Further, it is not necessary to manage the firmware version of the control unit 1 and the combination of the controlled unit 2.

  In the above description, the control data storage device is changed. However, the same applies to the case where the control target device 23 is changed. In this case, the interface information storage unit 21 may store the interface information of the new control target device. Furthermore, when the control data storage device and the control target device are changed at the same time, the interface information storage unit 21 may store the new control data storage device and the interface information of the control target device.

  The above is an example of a control system with one controlled unit and one controlled device per controlled unit for the sake of simplicity. However, a plurality of controlled units and a plurality of controlled objects per controlled unit are described. A control system in which a device or a control data storage device exists can be described in the same manner. In the present invention, the interface information storage unit and the control data storage device are provided on the controlled unit side in order to avoid an increase in the burden on the control unit side. This is a measure.

  A plurality of controlled units are provided when the load is too large for one controlled unit. A plurality of control target devices are provided for one controlled unit when it is necessary to use a plurality of control target devices in combination. A plurality of control data storage devices are provided for one controlled unit when the control data is used in multiple layers.

The block diagram which shows one Example of the control system of this invention Block diagram of the control system when the control data storage device of FIG. 1 is changed The figure which illustrates the interface information memorize | stored in the interface information storage part The figure which illustrates the interface information corresponding to the control data storage device of FIG. The figure which illustrates the control data which control data storage device 22 of Drawing 1 memorizes The figure which illustrates the control data which control data storage device 32 of Drawing 3 memorizes Block diagram showing an example of the prior art

Explanation of symbols

1 Control unit 2, 3 Controlled unit 10 CPU
11-14 Interface unit 21 Interface information storage unit 22, 32 Control data storage device 23 Control target device

Claims (3)

In a control system for controlling the controlled part by the firmware of the control part,
The controlled part is
At least one control target device having a panel or module configuration that is a final control target by the control unit;
The control unit stores control data for controlling the device to be controlled, and at least one control data storage device having a panel or module configuration;
The control data storage device and the control target device and an interface information storage unit storing interface information between the CPU of the control unit,
The control unit reads the interface information storage unit at startup, accesses the control data storage device according to the interface information of the control data storage device, acquires the control data, and interface information of the control target device And controlling the device to be controlled by the control data. The interface information storage unit stores interface information between the control data storage device and the CPU in a first predetermined area, and between the control target device and the CPU of the control unit in a second predetermined area. The control system according to claim 1, wherein interface information is stored. The control data storage device stores different control data for each temperature range;
The CPU having a built-in temperature sensor reads control data corresponding to the recognized temperature from the control data storage device, and controls the device to be controlled by the control data. Item 3. The control system according to Item 2.

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