JP6408277B2 - Data collection device and industrial network system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an industrial network system for exchanging data periodically or aperiodically between one or more master controllers and a plurality of input / output devices under the control of the master controller.

  As a network system for periodically exchanging data between a master controller and a plurality of input / output devices, for example, PLC (Programmable Logic Controller), FA (Factory Automation), device control controller field network, network for measurement or control There exists a system etc. (refer patent document 1). 15 and 16 show general configurations of various slave devices, data collection devices, data management devices, and the like on such a network.

  In EtherCAT (registered trademark), which is real-time Ethernet (registered trademark), a master controller and a slave device to be controlled constitute a ring topology. This slave device has two Ethernet ports. A ring topology is configured by sequentially connecting the Ethernet ports of the slave devices. However, the master controller may have only one Ethernet port. In a field network system using a master controller with one Ethernet port, a slave device farthest from the master controller loops back the packet internally, so that the packet is finally returned to the Ethernet port of the master controller. Therefore, for example, even when a line topology is physically configured, a logical ring topology is obtained by paying attention to a packet communication path.

  In EtherCAT, exchange of input / output data between a master controller and a slave device is performed, for example, as follows. First, the master controller sends a datagram for data exchange including output data to the field network. The slave device captures output data set at a predetermined position of the datagram, or sets input data at a predetermined position of the datagram. Then, when this datagram makes a round of the field network on the ring, the exchange of input / output data between the master controller and all the slave devices is completed.

  The input / output data exchanged in this way is held in the internal memory of the master controller, and is then updated (overwritten) with the exchanged input / output data. Further, the data management device acquires the input / output data held in the internal memory of the master controller via the field network at a predetermined timing, and stores it in the file memory or the like. Based on the input / output data stored in the file memory, etc., the data management device can monitor the cause by analyzing the cause when an abnormality occurs, predicting a failure based on the analysis of the accumulated input / output data, or updating the current value of the input / output data Perform analysis processing including monitoring.

JP 2000-216798 A

  The data management device having the above configuration needs to acquire input / output data held in the internal memory of the master controller from the master controller via the field network. However, as the acquisition period increases and input / output data increases, a large load is applied to the network interface, CPU, or field network of the master controller. And this load has the subject that it influences the control period of a master controller, the periodicity of a said field network, or timeliness.

  The input / output data acquisition cycle by the data management device is generally longer than the input / output data update cycle by the master controller. Furthermore, the data exchange cycle in the field network and the update cycle of input / output data by the master controller are required to be further increased in the future. Therefore, as a means for filling the gap (periodic time difference) between the acquisition cycle of the data management device and the update cycle of the master controller, a method of intermediately storing input / output data in a nonvolatile memory provided in the master controller is also seen. In this case, there is a problem that the load on the CPU of the master controller and the load on the memory resource further increase.

  Also, since the input / output data acquisition method by the data management device depends on the manufacturer or model of the master controller, input / output data acquisition and response analysis in the data management device for each master controller of different manufacturer or model There is a problem that some software modifications are required.

  Furthermore, in order for the data management apparatus to perform more advanced data collection, analysis, and analysis, for example, in the case of a manufacturing apparatus, clock information used for control, manufacturing instructions, or recipe information for setting processing conditions ( Command, setting value, etc.) are required in synchronization with the input / output data. However, the above-described conventional master controller does not provide a function of transmitting all the required information as a response to a single request command from the data management apparatus. That is, there is a problem that it is not guaranteed that the input / output data acquired from the master controller by the data management device is completely synchronized with the control cycle of the master controller.

  One of the main objects of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems. Data input is exchanged on the field network without increasing the load of the field network and the resource of the master controller. The main object is to provide a data collection device capable of collecting output data.

(1) A data collection device according to the present invention is connected to a real-time Ethernet network to which a master controller and a plurality of slave devices are connected. The master controller periodically exchanges MAC frames including input / output data with the slave device recognized as being connected to the real-time Ethernet network, and does not recognize the data collection device. The data collection device is configured to receive all the MAC frames transmitted from the master controller to the slave device and all the MAC frames transmitted from the slave device to the master controller at a position where the data can be received. is connected to an Ethernet network over work, and and the real-time Ethernet network to the first communication unit does not transmit data, the second communication unit connected to the data management device, extracted from the MAC frame received via the first communication unit A data processing unit for storing the input / output data in a storage unit and transmitting the input / output data stored in the storage unit to the data management device through the second communication unit.

  According to the above configuration, the master controller and the slave device operate without being aware that the data collection device is connected to the real-time Ethernet network. In addition, in the real-time Ethernet network, there is no increase in traffic due to the connection of the data collection device. As a result, input / output data exchanged on the real-time Ethernet network can be collected without increasing the load on the real-time Ethernet network and the load on the master controller resource.

  Also, on the real-time Ethernet network, by separating the slave device control function by the master controller and the data collection function by the data collection device, the control period by the master controller is increased (= I / O data exchange cycle is increased) In addition, there is an effect that the data collection speed of the data collection device can be increased (the data collection cycle can be increased).

  (2) Preferably, the data processing unit directs output data set in the MAC frame by the master controller from the master controller to the slave device among the MAC frames received through the first communication unit. And the input data set in the MAC frame by the slave device is extracted from the MAC frame transmitted from the slave device toward the master controller.

  (3) More preferably, the MAC frame includes the input / output data for all of the slave devices. The input / output data includes a working counter that is incremented by the slave device that has accessed the data. The data processing unit receives the output data in which the working counter is set to 0 and the input data in which the working counter is set to 1 or more from the MAC frame received by the first communication unit. Extract.

  According to the above configuration, input data and output data can be extracted from the MAC frame at appropriate timing.

(4) Preferably, the MAC frame includes the input / output data for each of all the slave devices. The master controller, for each of the recognized slave devices, a device identifier for identifying the slave device, a logical address of the input / output data to be accessed by the slave device in the MAC frame, and the input / output data The MAC frame including the network configuration information including the data size is transmitted. The data processing unit stores the network configuration information in the storage unit in response to receiving the MAC frame including the network configuration information through the first communication unit, and includes the input / output data. In response to receiving a MAC frame through the first communication unit, the input / output data extracted from the MAC frame based on the logical address and the data size is associated with a device ID of the corresponding slave device. Store in the storage unit.

  According to the above configuration, since the data structure of the input / output data in the MAC frame can be specified based on the network configuration information, the input / output exchanged on the real-time Ethernet network without depending on the manufacturer or model of the master controller. Data can be collected.

  (5) Preferably, the data processing unit receives the input / output data stored in the storage unit in response to receiving the transmission request for the input / output data from the data management device through the second communication unit. The data is converted into a predetermined format, and the converted input / output data is transmitted to the data management device through the second communication unit.

  (6) Preferably, the data processing unit converts the input / output data stored in the storage unit into a predetermined format in response to the arrival of a predetermined transmission timing. The input / output data is transmitted to the data management device through the second communication unit.

  According to each of the above configurations, the collected input / output data can be transmitted to the data management device at a desired timing.

  (7) Preferably, the data collection device includes a dummy slave unit to which no substantial operation associated with the exchange of the input / output data with the master controller is assigned. The master controller transmits the clock information used in the master controller or recipe information defining the operating conditions of the slave device in the MAC frame as output data to the dummy slave unit. Then, the data processing unit extracts the clock information or the recipe information from the MAC frame in response to receiving the MAC frame through the first communication unit.

  As in the above configuration, the clock data or recipe information that is completely synchronized with the control cycle of the input / output data (sensor, actuator information), etc., which has been difficult with the conventional system because the data collection device also has a slave function. Can be collected easily. As a result, it is possible to cause the data management apparatus to perform data management and data analysis of input / output data using these pieces of information.

  (8) An industrial network system according to the present invention includes the data collection device described above, the master controller, and the plurality of slave devices. The plurality of slave devices include dummy slaves to which no substantial operation associated with the exchange of the input / output data with the master controller is assigned. The master controller transmits clock information used in the master controller or recipe information defining operating conditions of the slave device in the MAC frame as output data to the dummy slave. Then, the data processing unit extracts the clock information or the recipe information from the MAC frame in response to receiving the MAC frame through the first communication unit.

  According to the present invention, input / output data exchanged on the real-time Ethernet network can be collected without increasing the load on the real-time Ethernet network and the load on the master controller resource.

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an industrial network system 100. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a data structure of a MAC frame transmitted / received in the industrial network system 100. FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the data collection apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is an example of a network configuration information table. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the input / output management information set in the registers of the slave devices 22 to 24. FIG. 6 shows an example of the data structure of various commands. (A) APWR command or FPWR command, (B) shows an LRD command, (C) shows an LWR command, and (D) shows an LRW command. FIG. 7 is a flowchart of the data collection process. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of the input / output record stored in the nonvolatile memory 13 of the data collection device 10. FIG. 9 is a flowchart of the data transmission process. FIG. 10 is an example of commands transmitted and received between the data collection device 10 and the data management device 50. (A) is a collected data batch request command, (B) is a collected data individual request command, ( C) shows a collected data batch / individual response command. FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a data collection apparatus 10A according to the second embodiment. FIG. 12 is a block diagram of a data collection device 10B according to the third embodiment. FIG. 13 is an example of output data included in the data area of the LWR command for the dummy slave unit 60. FIG. 14 is a configuration diagram of an industrial network system 100 according to a modification of the third embodiment. FIG. 15 is an example of a conventional industrial network system. FIG. 16 shows another example of a conventional industrial network system.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described. The embodiment described below is merely an example of the present invention, and it is needless to say that the embodiment of the present invention can be changed as appropriate without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[Embodiment 1]
With reference to FIG. 1, the structure of the industrial network system 100 which concerns on Embodiment 1 is demonstrated. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an industrial network system 100 according to the first embodiment. An industrial network system 100 shown in FIG. 1 includes a data collection device 10, a master controller 21, a plurality of slave devices 22, 23, 24, a repeater 30, and a switch 40. The data collection device 10 is connected to the data management device 50. The network topology of the industrial network system 100 may be a logical ring topology as will be described later, and the physical topology is not limited to the example of FIG.

  In the first embodiment, the network constituting the industrial network system 100 is an Ethernet CAT that is an example of a real-time Ethernet network (or an industrial Ethernet or Ethernet base field network). In the first embodiment, an example in which only one master controller 21 is connected to the industrial network system 100 will be described. However, a plurality of master controllers 21 may be connected to one industrial network system 100. For example, the master controller 21 is identified by a master ID that identifies the master controller 21. Furthermore, the number of slave devices 22, 23, 24 connected to the industrial network system 100 is not limited to three.

  The repeater 30 has a plurality of ports 31, 32, 33,. The master controller 21, the data collection device 10, and the switch 40 are connected to the ports 31, 32, and 33 of the repeater 30. The repeater 30 has a function of sending data received through one of the plurality of ports 31 to 33 to all other ports 31 to 33. That is, the repeater 30 transmits the data received from the master controller 21 through the port 31 to the data collection device 10 and the switch 40 through the ports 32 and 33. In addition, the repeater 30 transmits data received from the switch 40 through the port 33 to the master controller 21 and the data collection device 10 through the ports 31 and 32.

  The switch 40 has a plurality of ports 41, 42, 43, 44,. The repeater 30 and the slave devices 22 to 24 are connected to the ports 41 to 44 of the switch 40. The switch 40 has a function of sending data received through one of the plurality of ports 41 to 44 to other predetermined ports 41 to 44. The combination of the data reception port and the transmission port may be preset in the switch 40, or may be specified by a MAC address included in the data.

  The switch 40 according to the present embodiment transmits data received from the repeater 30 through the port 41 to the slave device 22 through the port 42. In addition, the switch 40 transmits data received from the slave device 22 through the port 42 to the slave device 23 through the port 43. Further, the switch 40 transmits data received from the slave device 23 through the port 43 to the slave device 24 through the port 44. Further, the switch 40 transmits data received from the slave device 24 through the port 44 to the repeater 30 through the port 41.

  The industrial network system 100 according to the first embodiment operates when a MAC (Media Access Control) frame including input / output data is periodically exchanged between the master controller 21 and the slave devices 22 to 24. It is. As will be described later, the slave devices 22 to 24 may indicate sensors or motors themselves, may indicate I / O terminals that control the sensors or motors, or may include both. However, the slave devices 22 to 24 according to the first embodiment are commonly mounted with an ESC (EtherCAT Slave Controller).

  As an example, the slave device 22 is a sensor (an example of an input device) that transmits input data to the master controller 21. The input data in this case is, for example, a detection value (temperature, rotation speed, rotation speed, etc.) detected by the sensor. As another example, the slave device 23 is a motor (an example of an output device) that rotates based on output data received from the master controller 21. The output data in this case is, for example, data for specifying the rotation speed or rotation amount of the motor. As yet another example, the slave device 24 is a motor (an example of an input / output device) that rotates based on output data from the master controller 21 and transmits status information to the master controller 21 as input data. However, specific examples of the slave devices 22 to 24 are not limited to these.

  FIG. 2 is an example of a data structure of a MAC frame (also referred to as a MAC datagram or the like) exchanged between the master controller 21 and the slave devices 22 to 24. In the destination address, the MAC address of the transmission destination device of the MAC frame is set. In the transmission source address, the MAC address of the transmission source device of the MAC frame is set. In TYPE, information for identifying a higher-level protocol (EtherCAT in the first embodiment) is set. The data portion includes input / output data 1 for the slave device 22, input / output data 2 for the slave device 23, and input / output data 3 for the slave device 24. An FCS (Frame Check Sequence) is set with a CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check) or the like for detecting an error in the MAC frame. Details of the data structure of the input / output data 1 to 3 will be described later.

  The EtherCAT network shown in FIG. 1 has a logical ring topology. Therefore, the MAC frame transmitted from the master controller 21 circulates in the logical ring topology, and returns to the master controller 21 through all the slave devices 22 to 24. The data collection device 10 according to the first embodiment collects MAC frames that are periodically exchanged between the master controller 21 and the slave devices 22 to 24.

[Data Collection Device 10]
As shown in FIG. 1, the data collection device 10 is connected directly downstream of the master controller 21 in the logical ring topology (or upstream of all the slave devices 22 to 24). More specifically, the data collection device 10 can receive all MAC frames transmitted from the master controller 21 to the slave devices 22 to 24 and all MAC frames transmitted from the slave devices 22 to 24 to the master controller 21. At a certain position, it is connected to the EtherCAT network. As a result, the data collection apparatus 10 has two opportunities to receive a MAC frame that circulates in the logical ring topology, that is, the forward path and the return path. Then, the data collection device 10 captures output data in the forward path of the MAC frame and captures input data in the backward path of the MAC frame.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the data collection apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment. 3 includes a data processing unit 11, a volatile memory 12, a nonvolatile memory 13, a first communication unit 14, a second communication unit 15, and a user interface unit 16. . The data processing unit 11 and the volatile memory 12 constitute an MCU (Micro Control Unit). The volatile memory 12 and the nonvolatile memory 13 are examples of a storage unit.

  The data processing unit 11 edits, processes, or converts data received through the first communication unit 14 and stores the data in the volatile memory 12 or the nonvolatile memory 13. The data processing unit 11 edits, processes, or converts data stored in the volatile memory 12 or the nonvolatile memory 13 and transmits the data to the data management device 50 through the second communication unit 15. The volatile memory 12 is, for example, a RAM (Random Access Memory). The nonvolatile memory 13 is, for example, an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory) or a HDD (Hard Disk Drive).

  The first communication unit 14 is connected to the EtherCAT network. The first communication unit 14 according to the first embodiment includes an Ethernet interface that includes a communication connector to which an Ethernet cable extended from the port 32 of the repeater 30 is connected, and a reception circuit that receives data transmitted through the Ethernet cable. It is.

  The receiving circuit of the first communication unit 14 is a circuit that can be configured by a known technique defined by Ethernet. The first communication unit 14 according to the first embodiment does not join or participate in the data collection device 10 in the industrial network system 100. In other words, the first communication unit 14 receives a MAC frame flowing on the EtherCAT network without performing any electrically active operation on the EtherCAT network and without sending any data (that is, Only the receiving circuit) is activated. The first communication unit 14 may have a transmission circuit depending on the specifications of the communication controller to be used. However, in practice, it is not necessary to mount the transmission circuit.

  The second communication unit 15 is an interface for connecting the data collection device 10 to the data management device 50. Although the specific example of the 2nd communication part 15 is not specifically limited, For example, an Ethernet interface may be sufficient and a USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface may be sufficient. The data collection device 10 and the data management device 50 may be connected via the Internet.

  The user interface unit 16 includes, for example, a display unit (output interface) that displays information to the user, and an operation unit (input interface) that receives support from the user. The display unit is, for example, a display panel or an indicator. The operation unit is, for example, a touch sensor, a push button, a changeover switch, or the like.

[Operation of Industrial Network System 100]
The master controller 21 includes network configuration information for managing the slave devices 22 to 24 connected to the industrial network system 100, and input / output data transmitted / received between the slave devices 22 to 24 (that is, the slave device 22). ˜24 I / O data). FIG. 4 is an example of a network configuration information table including a plurality of network configuration information. Each row of the network configuration information table corresponds to network configuration information corresponding to one slave device.

  As shown in FIG. 4, for example, the network configuration information includes a node number, a device ID, a logical address, an input size, and an output size. In the example of FIG. 4, the node number # 1 indicates the network configuration information of the slave device 22, the node number # 2 indicates the network configuration information of the slave device 23, and the node number # 3 indicates the network configuration information of the slave device 23. Shall.

  The node number is a number assigned to the corresponding slave device in the industrial network system 100. The device ID is an example of a device identifier that uniquely identifies the corresponding slave device. On the other hand, no device ID is assigned to the data collection device 10. A logical address is an example of a logical address indicating the position of input / output data to be accessed by a corresponding slave device in a MAC frame including a plurality of input / output data. The input size is the size of input data assigned to the corresponding slave device. The output size is the size of the output data assigned to the corresponding slave device.

  The network configuration information is usually edited or generated by management software that operates on a PC called a configurator (not shown), and is downloaded to the master controller 21. Alternatively, the master controller 21 may recognize the slave devices 22 to 24 connected to the industrial network system 100 and automatically generate network configuration information. In this case, the master controller 21 uploads the generated network configuration information to the configurator described above.

  Further, the master controller 21 updates the network configuration information when a change occurs in the configuration of the industrial network system 100 (for example, the slave devices 22 to 24 are removed or a new slave device is connected). . Further, the master controller 21 is a slave device 22 that requires the latest network configuration information when the industrial network system 100 is started up (that is, before input / output data is exchanged) and when the configuration of the industrial network system 100 is changed. To 24 may have a function of notifying the network configuration information.

  In the industrial network system 100, input / output data that is periodically exchanged between the master controller 21 and the slave devices 22 to 24 is a logical address assigned to each slave device 22 to 24 in the virtual space (0x00000000). (0x0000000 to 0). The mapping between the logical address and the physical memory address is managed by a register (0x0600 ~) in the memory management unit in the slave devices 22-24.

  Therefore, the master controller 21 sends a write command shown in FIG. 6A to the registers of the slave devices 22 to 24 shown in FIG. 5 before the industrial network system 100 shifts to the operation state (operational). Use to write input / output management information. More specifically, the master controller 21 transmits a MAC frame including a write command for input / output management information to each of the slave devices 22 to 24. Then, the slave devices 22 to 24 that have received the MAC frame from the master controller 21 set the input / output management information included in the write command in the register.

  The APWR (Auto-incremental Physical Write) command (or the FPWR (Configured-address Physical write) command) shown in FIG. 6 is an example of a write command. Since the data structure of the APWR command and the FPWR command is defined by EtherCAT, detailed description thereof is omitted. A part of the input / output management information written in the registers of the slave devices 22 to 24 is information included in the network configuration information shown in FIG. 4, for example.

  Next, the master controller 21 generates input / output data to be transmitted to each of the slave devices 22 to 23 registered in the network configuration information table based on the procedure defined in the industrial network system 100. The slave device registered in the network configuration information table indicates a device that is recognized by the master controller 21 as being connected to the EtherCAT network. The data collection device 10 is not registered in the network configuration information table shown in FIG. That is, the master controller 21 according to the first embodiment does not recognize that the data collection device 10 is registered in EtherCAT.

  The master controller 21 generates input / output data based on attributes (input, output, data size, etc.) of the slave devices 22 to 24 registered in the latest network configuration information table. And the master controller 21 sends out the MAC frame containing the produced | generated input / output data to the industrial network system 100 based on the period information scheduled by the configurator, for example. The schedule generally represents a data update cycle time.

  To exchange input / output data between the master controller 21 and the slave devices 22 to 24, an LRD (Logical Read) command, an LWR (Logical Write) command, or an LRW (Logical Read / Write) issued by the master controller 21 is used. ) Command is used. The LRD command, LWR command, and LRW command shown in FIGS. 6B to 6D are examples of input / output commands. The master controller 21 transmits a MAC frame including an input / output command to each of the input / output data 1 to 3 shown in FIG.

  The LRD command shown in FIG. 6B is a command for causing the slave device 22 to set input data to be acquired by the master controller 21. The LWR command shown in FIG. 6C is a command for causing the slave device 23 to acquire the output data set by the master controller 21. The LRW command shown in FIG. 6D is a command for causing the slave device 24 to acquire output data set by the master controller 21 and causing the slave device 24 to set input data to be acquired by the master controller 21. The data structure of the input / output command is defined by EtherCAT.

  For example, the master controller 21 includes an LRD command in which “0” is set in the WKC (working counter) in the input / output data 1 for the slave device 22 which is an example of the input device. Further, the master controller 21 includes, for example, an LWR command in which output data is set in the data area and “0” is set in WKC in the input / output data 2 for the slave device 23 which is an example of an output device. Further, the master controller 21 includes, for example, an LRW command in which output data is set in the data area and “0” is set in WKC in the input / output data 3 for the slave device 24 which is an example of the input / output device.

  The slave device 22 sets the input data in the data area of the input / output data 1 included in the MAC frame received from the master controller 21 and sets (ie, increments) WKC to “1”, and the MAC frame is slaved. Transmit to device 23. Further, the slave device 23 reads the output data from the data area of the input / output data 2 included in the MAC frame received from the slave device 22, sets “1” to the WKC, and transmits the MAC frame to the slave device 24. To do. Further, the slave device 24 reads the output data from the data area of the input / output data 3 included in the MAC frame received from the slave device 23, sets the input data in the data area, and sets “2” in the WKC. Then, the MAC frame is transmitted to the master controller 21. Through this series of processing, input / output data is exchanged between the master controller 21 and the slave devices 22 to 24.

[Data collection processing]
A data collection process for collecting MAC frames exchanged between the master controller 21 and the slave devices 22 to 24 will be described with reference to FIGS. The data collection process shown in FIG. 7 is executed by the data processing unit 11 of the data collection apparatus 10.

  First, the data processing unit 11 of the data collection device 10 confirms the TYPE setting value of the MAC frame in response to receiving the MAC frame through the first communication unit 14 (S11) (S12). Then, the data processing unit 11 determines whether a write command (APWR command / FPWR command) is included in the MAC frame in response to the value indicating EtherCAT being set to TYPE (S12: Yes). (S13). On the other hand, the data processing unit 11 discards the MAC frame in response to a value indicating a protocol other than EtherCAT being set in TYPE (S12: No) (S17).

  Next, the data processing unit 11 converts the input / output management information included in the write command into network configuration information to be nonvolatile in response to the write command included in the received MAC frame (S13: Yes). Stored in the memory 13 (S14). That is, the data processing unit 11 can complete the network configuration information shown in FIG. 4 by executing this processing for the write commands for all the slave devices 22 to 24.

  Further, the data processing unit 11 stores the input / output data in the nonvolatile memory 13 in response to the input / output command being included in the received MAC frame (S13: No & S15: Yes) (S16). On the other hand, the data processing unit 11 discards the MAC frame in response to receiving the MAC frame not including the write command and the input / output command (S13: No & S15: No) (S17).

  In step S16, the data processing unit 11 extracts output data from the MAC frame transmitted from the master controller 21 toward the slave device 22, and from the MAC frame transmitted from the slave device 24 toward the master controller 21. Extract input data. More specifically, the data processing unit 11 extracts output data from the LWR command and the LRW command in which “0” is set in the WKC. Further, the data processing unit 11 extracts input data from the LRD command in which “non-zero” is set in WKC and the LWR command in which “2” is set in WKC.

  In step S16, the data processing unit 11 converts the input / output data extracted from the MAC frame into the format shown in FIG. 8 based on the network configuration information shown in FIG. More specifically, the data processing unit 11 specifies network configuration information including the logical address of the input / output command. Then, the data processing unit 11 includes the device ID, input data size, and output data size of the specified network configuration information, input / output data extracted from the MAC frame, and a time stamp (or MAC frame) included in the MAC frame. Is associated with the time stamp indicating the time at which the data is received and stored in the nonvolatile memory 13. Hereinafter, each line in FIG. 8 is referred to as an input / output record.

  The collection of input / output data exchanged between the master controller 21 and the slave devices 22 to 24 is completed by executing the above-described processing on all commands in the received MAC frame. Note that the data processing unit 11 adds a new input / output record to the non-volatile memory 13 when there is room in the storage area of the input / output record. On the other hand, when the storage area of the input / output record is full, the data processing unit 11 overwrites the oldest input / output record with the latest input / output record. The oldest input / output record is specified by, for example, a time stamp.

  Whether the data collection device 10 stores the input / output data based on the data collection conditions (the collection start condition, the collected data accumulation range, etc.) set by the configurator, the data management device 50, or the user. May be judged. Examples of the collection start condition include a real time clock, change or coincidence of input / output data, and the like. Examples of the data accumulation condition include storing input / output data traced back to the past from the latest input / output data to the allowable memory capacity.

  Furthermore, storing the input / output data extracted from the MAC frame is not limited to the nonvolatile memory 13. The data processing unit 11 stores, for example, a memory that stores input / output data based on a download setting received from the configurator through a receiving circuit or a user setting through a hardware switch (not shown) provided in the data collection device 10. Volatile memory 12 or non-volatile memory 13) may be selected.

[Data transmission processing]
Next, a data transmission process for transmitting input / output data collected by the data collection device 10 to the data management device 50 will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10. The data transmission process shown in FIG. 9 is executed by the data processing unit 11 of the data collection device 10.

  First, the data processing unit 11 of the data collection device 10 receives the collected data batch request command shown in FIG. 10A from the data management device 50 through the second communication unit 15 (S21: Yes & S22: Yes). The collected data batch response command including the input / output data stored in the nonvolatile memory 13 is transmitted to the data management device 50 through the second communication unit 15 (S23). The collected data batch request command is a command for requesting transmission of input / output data to all the slave devices 22 to 24 included in the industrial network system 100. The collected data batch request command is a command for transmitting input / output data to all the slave devices 22 to 24 included in the industrial network system 100.

  The collected data batch request command shown in FIG. 10A includes a master ID for identifying the master controller 21 and a command ID indicating that the command is a collected data batch request command. As shown in FIG. 10C, the collected data batch response command includes a master ID, a command ID for identifying the collected data batch response command, and a response corresponding to the number of input / output data included in the command. It includes the number of slaves and one or more input / output data corresponding to the number of responding slaves. Furthermore, each input / output data includes, for example, a device ID, an input data size, input data, an output data size, and output data among data included in the input / output record.

  Further, the data processing unit 11 receives the collected data individual request command shown in FIG. 10B from the data management device 50 through the second communication unit 15 (S22: No & S24: yes), The collected data individual response command including the specified input / output data is transmitted to the data management device 50 through the second communication unit 15 (S25). The collected data individual request command is a command for requesting transmission of only input / output data to a specific slave device included in the industrial network system 100. The collected data individual response command is a command for transmitting only the input / output data requested by the collected data individual request command.

  The collected data individual request command shown in FIG. 10B includes a master ID, a command ID for identifying the collected data individual request command, a requested slave number corresponding to the number of input / output data to be transmitted, and a requested slave number. And one or more device IDs corresponding to. The collected data individual response command is different from the collected data batch response command in that a command ID for identifying the collected data individual response command is set in the data structure shown in FIG. Furthermore, the data processing unit 11 includes the input / output data associated with the device ID included in the collected data individual request command in the collected data individual response command. That is, the number of request slaves of the collected data individual request command and the number of response slaves of the collected data individual response command match.

  The data collection device 10 operates in the server mode with respect to the data management device 50 in steps S23 and S25. Further, the data processing unit 11 may transmit the input / output data included in the latest input / output record stored in the nonvolatile memory 13 to the data management device 50 in steps S23 and S25. Alternatively, the input / output record may include a transmission flag indicating whether or not the data has been transmitted to the data management device 50. Then, the data processing unit 11 may transmit the input / output data extracted from the input / output record in which “OFF (indicating non-transmission)” is set in the transmission flag to the data management device 50. In this case, the number of input / output data included in the collected data batch response command and the number of input / output data included in the collected data individual response command are an integral multiple of the number of response slaves.

  Furthermore, the data processing unit 11 sends a collected data batch response command or a collected data individual response command that matches the conditions through the second communication unit 15 in response to satisfying the set transmission condition (S21: No & S26: Yes). The data is transmitted to the data management device 50 (S27). As described above, the data processing unit 11 of the data collection device 10 voluntarily collects the collected data batch request response or the collected data individual request response using, for example, a preset timing (for example, a cycle or an event) as a trigger condition. You may transmit to the management apparatus 50. At this time, the data collection device 10 operates in the client mode with respect to the data management device 50.

[Effects of Embodiment 1]
According to the above configuration, the master controller 21 and the slave devices 22 to 24 operate without being aware that the data collection device 10 is connected to the EtherCAT network. In addition, there is no increase in traffic associated with the data collection device 10 being connected to the EtherCAT network. As a result, input / output data exchanged on the real-time Ethernet network can be collected without increasing the load on the real-time Ethernet network and the resource load on the master controller 21.

  In the industrial network system 100, the control function of the slave devices 22 to 24 by the master controller 21 and the data collection function by the data collection device 10 are separated, so that the control period of the master controller 21 is increased (= input). In addition to the speeding up of the output data exchange cycle, there is an effect that the data collection speed by the data collection device 10 (speeding up of the data collection cycle) can be increased.

  Further, according to the above configuration, since the data structure of the input / output data in the MAC frame can be specified based on the network configuration information, it is exchanged on the EtherCAT network without depending on the manufacturer or model of the master controller 21. I / O data can be collected. Furthermore, the data processing unit 11 checks the WKC of each input / output command and determines whether to extract or discard the input / output data included in the input / output command. Can be extracted from.

  Further, according to the above configuration, the collected input / output data is transmitted to the data management device 50 in response to receiving the collected data batch / individual request command or satisfying the set transmission condition. As a result, the collected input / output data can be transmitted to the data management device 50 at a desired timing.

[Embodiment 2]
Next, with reference to FIG. 11, the data collection apparatus 10A according to the second embodiment will be described. In addition, the same reference number is attached | subjected to the structure which is common in Embodiment 1, and detailed description is abbreviate | omitted, and it demonstrates centering on difference with Embodiment 1. FIG.

  As illustrated in FIG. 11, the data collection device 10A according to the second embodiment includes a first communication unit 14, a data processing unit 11A, and a data management unit 50A. That is, the data collection device 10A according to the second embodiment has the functions of the data collection device 10 and the data management device 50 according to the first embodiment. The data collection device 10A according to the second embodiment is configured by, for example, a general PC (Personal Computer).

  First, when the MAC frame transmitted / received by the industrial network system 100 can be received by the Ethernet interface that is standardly installed in the PC, the Ethernet interface is changed to the first without adding new hardware and changing the configuration. It can be used as the communication unit 14. On the other hand, if the MAC frame cannot be received, the dedicated first communication unit 14 (hardware and software) may be added to the PC.

  The data processing unit 11A according to the second embodiment can be realized by layered software such as a reception driver, a frame analysis / extraction PG, and an API (Application Programming Interface) as illustrated in FIG. More specifically, the data processing unit 11A acquires the MAC frame received by the first communication unit 14 by the reception driver, and extracts the input / output data by the frame analysis / extraction PG.

  Furthermore, the data management unit 50A according to the second embodiment is realized by SCADA (Supervision Control And Data Acquisition) or a user program. That is, the data management unit 50A according to the second embodiment is realized by general-purpose data collection software such as SCADA or dedicated software designed as a user program. Then, the SCADA or user program functioning as the data management unit 50A acquires the input / output data collected by the data processing unit 11A through the API and stores it in the storage unit 17.

  Also with the above configuration, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained. Also, by integrating the functions of the data collection device 10 and the data management device 50 according to the first embodiment, it is possible to realize input / output data analysis and the like in real time.

[Embodiment 3]
Next, a data collection device 10B according to Embodiment 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. In addition, the same reference number is attached | subjected to the component which is common in Embodiment 1, 2, and detailed description is abbreviate | omitted and it demonstrates centering on difference. The data collection device 10B according to the third embodiment is different from the data collection devices 11 and 11A according to the first and second embodiments in that a dummy slave unit 60 is provided.

  The master controller 21 according to the third embodiment has network configuration information of the dummy slave unit 60. That is, the master controller 21 recognizes that the dummy slave unit 60 is connected to the industrial network system 100. Then, the master controller 21 converts the clock information used in the master controller 21 or recipe information that defines the operation conditions of the slave devices 22 to 24 (hereinafter referred to as “additional necessary information”) into a dummy slave. It is included in the MAC frame as output data for the unit 60. That is, the master controller 21 may include the master ID, clock information, recipe information, and other information shown in FIG. 13 in the data area of the LWR command for the dummy slave unit 60.

  Also, as shown in FIG. 12, the dummy slave unit 60 according to the third embodiment includes an MCU 61, an external volatile memory 62, an external nonvolatile memory 63, a transmission / reception circuit 64, a communication connector 65, a user interface, and the like. Part 66. Then, the MCU 61 of the dummy slave unit 60 receives the MAC frame transmitted by the slave device 24 through the communication connector 65 and the transmission / reception circuit 64, increments the WKC of the output data included in the MAC frame, The MAC frame is transmitted to the master controller 21 through the transmission / reception circuit 64.

  For example, the dummy slave unit 60 functions as a slave device to which no substantial operation associated with the exchange of input / output data with the master controller 21 is assigned. That is, the dummy slave unit 60 does not need to execute processes other than those described above in response to receiving a MAC frame including output data. In other words, the dummy slave unit 60 does not need to have a full function as a general slave device. In other words, the dummy slave unit 60 only needs to have a function of receiving output data from the master controller 21. For example, the dummy slave unit 60 only needs to be able to receive output data of 8/16/32/64/128 bytes.

  Only the current values of the input / output data for the slave devices 22 to 24 may lack information necessary for data management and data analysis by the data management device 50. Therefore, the first communication unit 14B of the data collection device 10B according to the third embodiment acquires the MAC frame transmitted toward the dummy slave unit 60 through the communication connector 65 of the dummy slave unit 60. Thereby, the data collection device 10B can collect additional necessary information mapped as output data for the dummy slave unit 60, together with input / output data for the slave devices 22 to 24.

  In the third embodiment, the example in which the dummy slave unit 60 is integrated with the data collection device 10B has been described. However, as shown in FIG. 14, the dummy slave 25 having the function of the dummy slave unit 60 may be connected to the port 45 of the switch 40. In this case, the effects of the third embodiment can be obtained by connecting the data collection devices 10 and 10A according to the first and second embodiments to the industrial network system 100.

  In the first to third embodiments, Ethernet CAT has been described as an example of the real-time Ethernet network, but the specific configuration of the network applied to the industrial network system 100 is not limited to this. For example, Profinet, EthernetIP, MODBUS TCP, etc. may be used.

  In the description of the first to third embodiments, what is described as “to part” may be “to circuit”, “to device”, “to device”, and “to module”. ~ Process ". That is, what is described as the “˜unit” may be realized only by software, only hardware such as an element, a device, a board, and wiring, or a combination of software and hardware.

10, 10A, 10B ... data collection device 11, 11A ... data processing unit 12 ... volatile memory 13 ... non-volatile memory 14, 14B ... first communication unit 15 ... second Communication unit 21 ... Master controllers 22, 23, 24 ... Slave device 25 ... Dummy slave 50 ... Data management device 60 ... Dummy slave unit 100 ... Industrial network system

Claims (7)

A data collection device connected to a real-time Ethernet (registered trademark) network to which a master controller and a plurality of slave devices are connected,
The master controller periodically exchanges MAC frames including input / output data with the slave device recognized to be connected to the real-time Ethernet (registered trademark) network, and recognizes the data collection device. Without
The data collection device comprises:
Connect to the real-time Ethernet (registered trademark) network at a location where all the MAC frames transmitted from the master controller to the slave device and all the MAC frames transmitted from the slave device to the master controller can be received. And a first communication unit that does not send data to the real-time Ethernet (registered trademark) network;
A second communication unit connected to the data management device;
The input / output data extracted from the MAC frame received through the first communication unit is stored in a storage unit, and the input / output data stored in the storage unit is transmitted to the data management device through the second communication unit. A data processing unit ,
The data processing unit includes the MAC frame received through the first communication unit.
The output data set in the MAC frame by the master controller is extracted from the MAC frame transmitted from the master controller to the slave device,
The input data set in the MAC frame by the slave device is extracted from the MAC frame transmitted from the slave device toward the master controller,
The MAC frame includes the input / output data for each of all the slave devices,
The input / output data includes a working counter that is incremented by the slave device that has accessed the data,
The data processing unit extracts the output data in which the working counter is set to 0 and the input data in which the working counter is set to 1 or more from the MAC frame received by the first communication unit. Data collection device. A data collection device connected to a real-time Ethernet (registered trademark) network to which a master controller and a plurality of slave devices are connected,
The master controller periodically exchanges MAC frames including input / output data with the slave device recognized to be connected to the real-time Ethernet (registered trademark) network, and recognizes the data collection device. Without
The data collection device comprises:
Connect to the real-time Ethernet (registered trademark) network at a location where all the MAC frames transmitted from the master controller to the slave device and all the MAC frames transmitted from the slave device to the master controller can be received. And a first communication unit that does not send data to the real-time Ethernet (registered trademark) network;
A second communication unit connected to the data management device;
The input / output data extracted from the MAC frame received through the first communication unit is stored in a storage unit, and the input / output data stored in the storage unit is transmitted to the data management device through the second communication unit. A data processing unit ,
The MAC frame includes the input / output data for each of all the slave devices,
The master controller, for each of the recognized slave devices, a device identifier for identifying the slave device, a logical address of the input / output data to be accessed by the slave device in the MAC frame, and the input / output data Transmitting the MAC frame including network configuration information including the data size of
The data processing unit
In response to receiving the MAC frame including the network configuration information through the first communication unit, the network configuration information is stored in the storage unit,
The input / output data extracted from the MAC frame based on the logical address and the data size in response to receiving the MAC frame including the input / output data through the first communication unit, and the corresponding slave device The data collection device which is stored in the storage unit in association with the device ID . In response to receiving the transmission request for the input / output data from the data management device through the second communication unit, the data processing unit converts the input / output data stored in the storage unit into a predetermined format. converted, the data collecting device according to claim 1 or 2 transmits the converted the input data to the data management device through the second communication unit. In response to the arrival of a predetermined transmission timing, the data processing unit converts the input / output data stored in the storage unit into a predetermined format, and the converted input / output data is converted into the input / output data. data acquisition apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, transmitted to the data management device through the second communication unit. A data collection device connected to a real-time Ethernet (registered trademark) network to which a master controller and a plurality of slave devices are connected,
The master controller periodically exchanges MAC frames including input / output data with the slave device recognized to be connected to the real-time Ethernet (registered trademark) network, and recognizes the data collection device. Without
The data collection device comprises:
Connect to the real-time Ethernet (registered trademark) network at a location where all the MAC frames transmitted from the master controller to the slave device and all the MAC frames transmitted from the slave device to the master controller can be received. And a first communication unit that does not send data to the real-time Ethernet (registered trademark) network;
A second communication unit connected to the data management device;
The input / output data extracted from the MAC frame received through the first communication unit is stored in a storage unit, and the input / output data stored in the storage unit is transmitted to the data management device through the second communication unit. A data processing unit ,
The data collection device includes a dummy slave unit to which no substantial operation associated with the exchange of the input / output data with the master controller is assigned,
The master controller transmits the clock information used in the master controller or recipe information defining the operating conditions of the slave device as output data for the dummy slave unit included in the MAC frame,
The data processing device, wherein the data processing unit extracts the clock information or the recipe information from the MAC frame in response to receiving the MAC frame through the first communication unit. The data collection device includes a dummy slave unit to which no substantial operation associated with the exchange of the input / output data with the master controller is assigned,
The master controller transmits the clock information used in the master controller or recipe information defining the operating conditions of the slave device as output data for the dummy slave unit included in the MAC frame,
Wherein the data processing unit, said in response to receiving the MAC frame through the first communication unit, the data collection according to any one of 4 the clock information or the recipe information from the claim 1 to be extracted from the MAC frame apparatus. An industrial network system comprising the data collection device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, the master controller, and the plurality of slave devices.
The plurality of slave devices include dummy slaves to which no substantial operation associated with the exchange of the input / output data with the master controller is assigned,
The master controller transmits the clock information used in the master controller or recipe information defining the operating conditions of the slave device as output data for the dummy slave included in the MAC frame,
The industrial network system, wherein the data processing unit extracts the clock information or the recipe information from the MAC frame in response to receiving the MAC frame through the first communication unit.

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