JP2008210067A - Control device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a control device having a mechanism preventing unauthorized output from the control device in rewriting of a nonvolatile memory of the control device to allow suitable use as the control device for a boiler or the like. <P>SOLUTION: This control device 100 has: a microcomputer 10 having the rewritable nonvolatile memory 15 storing a program controlling equipment; an output part 27 outputting a control signal to the equipment; and an equipment-controlling power source 25 of the output part 27. A power supply line 26 to the output part 27 from the equipment-controlling power source 25 is through a control device side first connector 31. Power to the output part 27 from the equipment-controlling power source 25 can be supplied by connection of the control device side first connector 31 with a current carrying connector 32, and the nonvolatile memory 15 can be rewritten by removing the current carrying connector 32 from the control device side first connector 31, and connecting a writer side first connector 44 of an external writer 40 to the control device side first connector. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a control device having a nonvolatile memory and a microcomputer, and more particularly to a control device that has a mechanism for safely rewriting the nonvolatile memory and can be suitably used as a control device such as a boiler.

  Due to advances in electronic technology, electronic control devices using microcomputers are widely used in various machines and industrial fields. In such an electronic device, the control method is changed according to use conditions or seasonal conditions, or the control technology is improved. For example, a control program is stored in a rewritable nonvolatile memory built in the microcomputer, and the nonvolatile memory The control program is rewritten as necessary.

  This non-volatile memory rewrite is not performed properly due to various causes such as power interruption during rewrite work, communication failure during rewrite data transmission, defect in data file recording rewrite data, hang up of host computer, etc. There have been various proposals for safe rewriting. For example, in Patent Document 1, a main body is provided with a memory capable of electrically writing and erasing data and a control means for writing or erasing data in the memory, and information is externally attached to the main body. There has been proposed a portable electronic device having a signal pin for inputting a signal permitting writing / erasing of the data to an external connector for inputting. It is disclosed that data cannot be written to or erased from the memory unless an external connector is attached.

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-228667 includes a memory capable of electrically writing and erasing data and a microprocessor for writing data in the memory, and the data writing and erasing are connected to terminals of an external connector attached to the body. There has been proposed an electronic device to which a power line for erasing is connected. According to the present invention, the power supply voltage Vpp for programming and erasing data in the flash memory and the operating power supply voltage Vcc of the microprocessor and flash memory are supplied by the power supply unit in the main body as in the conventional electronic device. Since it is not supplied, it is disclosed that the program power supply voltage Vpp is loaded on the flash memory when the flash memory is rewritten, and the flash memory can be prevented from being rewritten inadvertently.

  Patent Document 3 discloses a controller that can safely rewrite a flash memory for a controller that controls a farm vehicle. That is, it is disclosed that a protective connector is normally attached to the writing connector on the controller side, and rewriting of the flash memory is performed by removing the protective connector and attaching the writing device side connector. . Further, it is disclosed that the output to the solenoid for controlling the farm vehicle is cut off during the writing.

JP 09-218826 A JP 07-114797 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-15508

  However, in such a conventional control device, when the rewriting is not performed normally or when an inadvertent output is output from the microcomputer during the rewriting operation, the device operates to impair safety. It cannot be said that it is definitely excluded. That is, in the control device proposed in Patent Document 1, it is possible to reliably write or erase data in the memory by detaching the external connector, but it cannot be said that inadvertent operation of the device is reliably prevented. Even in the control device proposed in Patent Document 2, even if the memory can be rewritten safely without being affected by the built-in program power supply voltage Vpp, inadvertent operation of the device is also reliably prevented. I can't say.

  In the control device disclosed in Patent Document 3, the output to the solenoid that controls the farm vehicle is cut off at the time of writing. However, if the microcomputer runs away due to illegal writing, the solenoid is disabled. There is a risk that prepared output will be made.

  In view of such conventional problems, the present invention can safely rewrite the nonvolatile memory, that is, has a mechanism for preventing unauthorized output from the control device in rewriting the nonvolatile memory of the control device, It aims at providing the control apparatus which can be used conveniently as control apparatuses, such as a boiler.

  A control device according to the present invention includes a microcomputer including a rewritable nonvolatile memory storing a program for controlling a device, an output unit that outputs a control signal to the device, and device control of the output unit A power supply wiring from the device control power supply to the output unit via a control device side first connector, and the power supply from the device control power supply to the output unit is The control device side first connector can be coupled with the energization connector, while the non-volatile memory can be rewritten by removing the energization connector from the control device side first connector and the external writer side first This is made possible by connecting a connector to the control device side first connector.

  In the above invention, the controller includes a controller-side second connector that is coupled to the writer-side second connector of the external writer and receives a rewrite signal of the nonvolatile memory, and the nonvolatile memory is rewritten by the controller-side first connector A rewrite mode signal instructing that the rewrite mode is in effect is sent from the external writer to the microcomputer via the writer side first connector coupled to the writer side, and the writer side coupled to the controller side second connector It is preferable that a rewrite signal from the external writer is sent to the nonvolatile memory via the second connector.

  The nonvolatile memory can be rewritten from the external writer via the writer-side first connector coupled to the controller-side first connector to the microcomputer with a rewrite mode signal instructing the rewrite mode. It is preferable that it is made possible by sending a rewrite signal from the external writer to the nonvolatile memory via the writer side first connector.

  According to the control device of the present invention, no inadvertent output is generated from the control device during the rewriting operation of the nonvolatile memory.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a control device according to the present invention. Moreover, FIG. 1 represents the normal use state of this control apparatus. As shown in FIG. 1, the control device 100 includes a device control power source 25 that supplies an output current (output signal) to an output unit 27 for controlling devices, and a CPU power source 21 that operates the microcomputer 10. Has two. For example, the voltage of the device control power supply 25 can be 12V, and the voltage of the CPU power supply 21 can be 5V.

  The output current output to the output unit 27 is supplied from the device control power supply 25 to the output unit 27 through the control device side first connector 31 provided in the control device 100 and the energization connector 32 attached thereto. To be supplied by. The device is operated and operated by the output current output from the output unit 27. Note that control of the device by the microcomputer 10 is performed by an ON / OFF signal to the NPN transistor 161 provided in the output control circuit 16.

  As described above, the current-carrying connector 32 is normally attached to the control device-side first connector 31, but can be detached from the control device-side first connector 31. When the energizing connector 32 is detached from the control device side first connector 31, power is not supplied to the output unit 27.

  The microcomputer 10 includes a non-volatile memory 15 that stores a control program, and constitutes a main part of the control device 100. The nonvolatile memory 15 stores a program for controlling, for example, a boiler damper device, a blower, a fuel ignition device, a fuel supply device, and the like. The microcomputer 10 is operated by being supplied with power from the CPU power supply 21 through the power supply circuit 17.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the control device 100 is a circuit that inputs the voltage of the device control power supply 25 as a divided signal in order to detect the situation where the output unit 27 is fed by the device control power supply 25. 18 is provided. Further, a circuit 19 for sending a rewrite mode signal from the control device side first connector 31 to the microcomputer 10 is provided. Further, the control device 100 is provided with a control device-side second connector 35, and a circuit 47 from the control device-side second connector 35 to the microcomputer 10 is provided to supply operating power to the microcomputer 10. ing. Further, a circuit 48 from the control device side second connector 35 to the microcomputer 10 is provided so that a signal or a rewrite signal can be transmitted to the microcomputer 10 via the control device side second connector 35. . The circuit 48 can be, for example, a serial transmission path. In the state shown in FIG. 1, the circuits 19, 47, and 48 are not connected.

  In the present control device 100, the non-volatile memory 15 is rewritten as follows. That is, first, the energizing connector 32 is detached from the control device side first connector 31. As a result, no output current is supplied to the output unit 27, so that unnecessary output during rewriting of the nonvolatile memory 15 can be reliably cut off, and safety is ensured. In this case, since the microcomputer 10 can detect that the output current is not supplied to the output unit 27 by the absence of the signal from the line 18, the operator can be notified that the output current is not supplied to the output unit 27. It can be made explicit.

  Next, in order to rewrite the non-volatile memory 15, as shown in FIG. 2, the writer side first connector 44 of the external writer 40 is attached to the controller side first connector 31, and the writer side second connector 45 is controlled. Attach to the device-side second connector 35. As a result, signals can be exchanged between the external writer 40 and the microcomputer 10.

  When the writer side first connector 44 is attached to the controller side first connector 31, a rewrite mode signal is transmitted from the external writer 40 to the microcomputer 10 through the circuit 19 so that the nonvolatile memory 15 can be rewritten. Is done. When the microcomputer 10 receives the rewrite mode signal, the nonvolatile memory 15 can be rewritten. Further, the power supply from the CPU power source 21 to the microcomputer 10 is cut off.

  When the writer-side second connector 45 is attached to the control device-side second connector 35, the microcomputer 10 is supplied with required power through the circuit 47. Through the circuit 48, a write signal can be transmitted from the external writer 40 to the microcomputer 10, and the nonvolatile memory 15 can be rewritten reliably.

  When rewriting of the non-volatile memory 15 is completed, it is checked whether or not the rewriting of the non-volatile memory 15 has been performed normally. If normal, the rewriting of the volatile memory 15 has been performed normally. indicate. After confirming this display, the operator removes the writer side first connector 44 and the writer side second connector 45 from the control device side first connector 31 and the control device side second connector 35, respectively, and controls the energizing connector 32. Attached to the first connector 31 on the apparatus side. As a result, the control device 100 can output to the device.

  Since rewriting of the non-volatile memory 15 of the present control device 100 is performed in this way, safety is ensured in the rewriting operation of the non-volatile memory 15. That is, in the case of malfunction of the microcomputer 10 due to an unexpected accident during the rewriting work, the writer side first connector 44 or the writer side second connector 45 is removed during the rewriting work of the nonvolatile memory 15, or the external Even when the writer 40 is hung up or when rewriting is not properly performed, the device is not inadvertently operated to ensure safety. Ensuring such safety is important for those that may cause explosions, human or physical damage, such as boiler control devices.

  The control device 100 according to the present invention has been described above. The control device 100 according to the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. The above-described example has an advantage that the control device-side first connector 31 and the control device-side second connector 35 are separately provided, and the state of the control device 100 can be identified at a glance. 3, as shown in FIG. 3, the control device side first connector 31 and the control device side second connector 35 can be combined and integrated. That is, the control device side first connector 311 has a configuration in which the control device side first connector 31 and the control device side second connector 35 are integrated, and the writer side first connector 441 is the writer side first connector 44. The writer side second connector 45 is integrated. Thereby, the control apparatus 100 can be made compact.

  Further, in this example, when the nonvolatile memory 15 is rewritten, the power supply from the CPU power supply 21 to the microcomputer is cut off, and the power supply from the external writer 40 to the microcomputer 10 is performed. If the stability and safety can be ensured, power can be supplied to the microcomputer from the CPU power source 21 at all times. In this case, there is no need to provide the circuit 47 for supplying power from the external writer 40 to the microcomputer 10, and there is an advantage that the power supply device of the external writer 40 can be simplified.

  The rewriting work of the non-volatile memory provided in the control device of the boiler was performed. FIG. 4 shows the configuration of the device when the nonvolatile memory 15 is rewritten. As shown in FIG. 4, the external writer 40 connected to the personal computer 110 is connected to the control device 100. For connection, after removing the energizing connector 32 attached to the control device side first connector 31 of the control device 100, the writer side first connector 44 of the external writer 40 is connected to the control device side first connector 31. Then, the writer side second connector 45 of the external writer 40 is connected to the control device side second connector 35 of the control device 100.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment when the control device 100 is used in a boiler. As shown in FIG. 5, the boiler 120 includes a boiler body 121, a blower 130, a damper 135, a fuel supply unit 140, and a control device 100. Further, a fuel temperature measuring device 143 for measuring the temperature of the fuel supplied to the boiler body 121 by the fuel supply means 140 is provided, and the air for measuring the temperature of the air blown to the boiler body 121 through the blower 130 and the bumper 135 is provided. A temperature measuring device 133 is provided. Note that the boiler body 121 of this example shows a case of a vertical boiler, in which fuel is burned by a burner 125 and water pipe 123 is heated by a flame 126 to generate water vapor.

  In the boiler 120 having such a configuration, the control device 100 manages data from the fuel temperature measurement device 143 and the air temperature measurement device 133, and controls the blower 130, the damper 135, the fuel supply means 140, and the like. ing. For example, the control device 100 calculates the optimal air volume and the fuel volume based on signals from the load side using water vapor (not shown), signals from the fuel temperature measuring device 143 and the air temperature measuring device 133, and the air ratio is The blower 130 is controlled to be constant. Further, at the time of starting the boiler, when the combustion is restarted from the stopped state of the boiler 120, the boiler 120 is started by performing a pre-purge operation for removing the exhaust gas remaining in the boiler. Next, the boiler 120 is operated by performing various operations such as an ignition operation, a low combustion position operation, and a high combustion position operation. In each of these operations, the control device 100 controls the damper 135. Such control of each device by the control device 100 is performed by a program stored in the nonvolatile memory 15. Then, for example, when the setting condition on the load side is changed due to modification of the steam facility or the like, the nonvolatile memory 15 is rewritten.

  In the rewriting operation, first, hardware version, current ROM version, and boiler setting data are collected. Here, the ROM version is the version of data stored in the nonvolatile memory 15, and the hardware version is composed of boiler model identification and software compatible identification data. It is stored in another non-volatile memory (not shown). When the collected hardware version / current ROM version data matches the target hardware version / ROM version data provided in the external writer 40, the rewriting operation is performed.

  Next, a rewrite mode signal is sent from the external writer 40 to the microcomputer 10 to set the operation mode of the microcomputer 10 to the rewrite mode, and then the boot program of the microcomputer 10 is started. As a result, the microcomputer 10 receives a signal from the external writer 40. After the boot program is activated, the personal computer 110 is operated to transmit a program (loader program) for writing data to the nonvolatile memory 15 to the microcomputer 10. While the loader program is running, a required rewrite program is transmitted from the external writer 40 to the microcomputer 10 to rewrite the nonvolatile memory 15.

  When rewriting of the nonvolatile memory 15 is completed, when the rewriting is normally completed, a display indicating that the rewriting has been normally completed is displayed on the personal computer 110. After confirming this display, the writer-side first connector 44 and the writer-side second connector 45 of the external writer 40 are removed from the control device 100, and the energization connector 32 is attached to the control device-side first connector 31 to complete the rewriting operation. To do.

It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of the control apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing in the case of performing the rewriting operation | work of a non-volatile memory in the control apparatus of FIG. It is explanatory drawing of the Example from which the form of the coupling connector of a control apparatus and an external writer differs. It is explanatory drawing in the case of performing rewriting work. It is explanatory drawing which shows the relationship between a control apparatus and a boiler.

Explanation of symbols

10 Microcomputer
15 Non-volatile memory
16 Output control circuit
17 Power supply circuit
18, 19 circuit
21 Power supply for CPU
25 Power supply for device control
26 Power supply wiring
27 Output section
31, 311 Controller side first connector
32 Power connector
35 Control device side second connector
40 External writer
44, 441 Writer side first connector
45 Writer side second connector
47, 48 circuits
100 control unit
110 PC
120 boiler
121 Boiler body
123 water pipe
125 flame
126 Burner
130 Blower
133 Air temperature measuring device
135 damper
140 Fuel supply means
143 Fuel temperature measuring device

Claims (4)

  A control device having a microcomputer provided with a rewritable nonvolatile memory storing a program for controlling a device, an output unit for outputting a control signal to the device, and a device control power source for the output unit The power supply wiring from the device control power supply to the output unit is via a control device side first connector, and the power supply from the device control power supply to the output unit is performed by the control device side first connector. The non-volatile memory can be rewritten by detaching the energizing connector from the control device side first connector and removing the writer side first connector of the external writer from the control device side first. A control device characterized by being made possible by coupling to a connector.   A controller-side second connector that is coupled to the writer-side second connector of the external writer and receives a rewrite signal of the nonvolatile memory, and the nonvolatile memory rewrite is coupled to the controller-side first connector. A rewrite mode signal instructing the rewrite mode is sent from the external writer to the microcomputer via the writer side first connector, and the writer side second connector coupled to the control device side second connector 2. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the control device is enabled by sending a rewrite signal from the external writer to the non-volatile memory.   The nonvolatile memory is rewritten by sending a rewrite mode signal instructing the rewrite mode from the external writer to the microcomputer via the writer side first connector coupled to the control device side first connector. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the control device is enabled by sending a rewrite signal from the external writer to the nonvolatile memory via the writer-side first connector.   The control device according to claim 1, wherein the device is a boiler.

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