RU103636U1 - MODULAR DISTRIBUTED CONTROL SYSTEM - Google Patents

Abstract

 1. A modular distributed control system, including interacting controllers and groups of peripheral equipment with sensors and actuators equipped with microcontrollers, characterized in that it is equipped with a mother device containing a computer, a power source, as well as an external and internal input-output subsystem, at the same time, these controllers are installed on the internal input-output bus of the parent device and interact with slave microcontrollers each through its own nnuyu interference-bus with separate address space. ! 2. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that as a subsystem of the external input-output system is used such as Ethernet, or USB, or Wi-Fi, or G3, or G4.

Description

The utility model relates to devices for telemetry and program control and can be used as an access control system, building automation system, fire alarm, process control system, building integrity control system, monitoring and control systems for energy networks, etc.

A modular engineering system is known for a power plant with many interacting plant parts that perform various functions in a common automation system for controlling automation devices, for which automation devices are connected to each other and to the control unit via a data bus that transmits important data for the installation in which the automation devices in accordance with the technological structure of the installation are combined into units that work independently of each other, and each The working block corresponds to the functional chain (1-n), covering many partial functions, and the partial functions of the functional chain are connected through a common data line that transmits only data important for the working block, and each partial function covers many subsystems with controlled installation components (see application RU 94021650, class G05B 15/02, publ. 12/20/1997). The disadvantages of this system are the complexity of the settings, the narrowness of the functionality that limits the variety of peripheral equipment, and the low reliability of monitoring the state of the object and controlling actuators.

Known modular engineering control system for technological processes, containing a personal electronic computer (PC) and a group of interacting with it interconnected digital interface controllers connected via a local area network to each other, each of which is connected to peripheral equipment in one of the zones of the complex including sensors, as well as actuators and sirens, workstations and servers connected through a local area network a PC, each controller contains a central processor module for controlling functional modules and actuators, and functional modules with a configurable structure for processing signals from sensors and generating control signals for actuators connected via a VME-bus system bus, a function module with a configurable structure contains a VME-bus interface circuit, input mezzanines and output mezzanines of variable quantity and structure, with union of the first group through the connector with the signal processing circuit and the control, and through a second group of connectors - external inputs and outputs of the functional module, respectively, for connecting external sensors and actuators (see. Patent RU 2279117, G05B 15/02, publ. 06/27/2006). The disadvantages of this system are the complexity of the settings, the narrowness of the functionality due to the fact that it has fixed settings that do not allow configuration changes without rebooting, and low reliability of controlling actuators, since system resources are not shared at different levels, which leads to conflicts, as well as bulkiness and unjustified complexity.

Closest to the proposed utility model in technical essence is a modular distributed control system, including interacting controllers and groups of peripheral equipment with sensors and actuators equipped with microcontrollers (see patent RU 85010, class G06F 9/00, publ. 20.07. 2009). A disadvantage of the known system is that each of these controllers can actually only service a logically limited object, for example, a room with one door, one temperature sensor, etc. and are not able to directly exchange data with other controllers, and, therefore, the system is not autonomous, bulky, expensive, limited in function and inconvenient when integrated into a higher-level automatic control system.

The objective of the utility model is to eliminate these drawbacks. The technical result consists in increasing the reliability and expanding the functionality of the system. The problem is solved, and the technical result is achieved by the fact that a modular distributed control system, including interacting controllers and groups of peripheral equipment with sensors and actuators equipped with microcontrollers, is equipped with a mother device containing a computer, a power source, as well as external and internal subsystems input-output, while these controllers are installed on the internal input-output bus of the parent device and interact with microcontrollers each through its own noise-resistant bus with a separate address space. At the same time, a system such as Ethernet or USB or Wi-Fi or G3 or G4 can be used as an external I / O subsystem.

The drawing shows a diagram of the proposed control system.

The hardware architecture of a modular distributed control system consists essentially of three levels:

1 ^{the first} level is a parent device comprising a computer, a power source, and the external input-output subsystem Ethernet type or USB or Wi-Fi or G3 or G4 and subsystem internal IO for connecting equipment 2 ^level, built in the computer ( the mother computer can be equipped with a clock to provide autonomous switching of operating modes according to a given algorithm);

^2nd level represents a set zone and special controllers (in the drawing - K1, K2 ... Kn) fitted to the internal bus IO parent device and comprising a microcomputer, an interface with the IO bus parent device and an input-output interface noiseproof tires for connection of microcontrollers of the ^3rd level;

^3rd level is a set of microcontrollers mounted directly on sensors and actuators of peripheral equipment (terminal devices).

All controllers and computers have standard equipment: processor, input-output system, permanent, operational and non-volatile memory.

The software architecture is also divided into 3 levels corresponding to the hardware:

^1st level - an operating system that includes a user interface, a visual script interpreter, a subsystem for exchanging messages with lower-level devices, a subsystem for exchanging messages with high-level devices, and an I / O subsystem;

^2nd level - software for zone and special controllers (microcomputers), including an input-output subsystem (I / O), a subsystem for exchanging messages with higher-level devices, a subsystem for exchanging messages with lower-level devices, and a subsystem for executing scripts;

^3rd level - microcode for control / monitoring microcontrollers.

Thus, the utility model proposes to lower all differences in the functional purpose of peripheral equipment to the level of addressable microchips, and to make the controllers hardware-identical, realizing their specific functions at the software level. Moreover, combining them with a common bus makes it possible to freely exchange information, implement joint scenarios, replace controller functions in the event of malfunctions and overloads, etc. Moreover, all these manipulations are carried out by loading into the i-th controller of the ^2nd level software and / or scripts from the j-th controller. The ^1st level parent device is necessary in order to be able to give a command to change the system configuration, i.e. the parent device serves as a script bank, a store of accumulated information and the transceiver of the system as a whole (for communication with a user or a higher level automatic control system). In this case, for ^Level 2 controllers parent device is not critical: the functions and interaction scenarios, which are caused by installed software, they can perform independently. The mother device is necessary only when it is necessary to change the operating mode, transmit information to the top, coordinate with the user or other automatic control systems, etc.

The result is a kind of unified computer, a kind of computer network, but architecturally adapted to the tasks of an automatic control system, divided into many hardware-identical and autonomous modules, each of which is capable of performing a unique function defined by software, which allows to increase reliability and performance system. The possibilities of such an architecture are vast. For example, through a bus on the same network, addressable microchips can be installed on turnstiles and built into smoke detectors. The system allows using one command on the mother device to rebuild the entire system on an ACS, quickly increasing the number of checkpoints, for example, due to the temporary restriction of the fire alarm function, giving its controllers to the ACS. It is also possible to make the ACS switch from the "check for entry" mode to the "evacuation" mode by a fire alarm signal.

In a preferred embodiment, the system is a wall-mounted or industrial 19-inch construct, supplemented by the necessary modules and controlling the terminal devices via external microcontrollers connected to the main construct through the noise-resistant bus. The user interface is based on WEB technology and allows you to manage the system, as well as to configure it using any WEB browser, including using the touch screen. The intuitiveness of the interface, the presence of ready-made configuration templates and scripts, as well as the configuration and script wizard allow you to run and easily configure the system for a user who does not have special skills.

The advantages of the proposed system are:

- flexibility of hardware and software platform;

- universality of application;

- implementation of functions specific to a specific task at the program level;

- the presence of a single API for modifying and expanding the software;

- the implementation of installation and operation does not require special skills;

- completeness and autonomy (with full functionality, a managing server, etc. is not required);

- reliability, fault tolerance, due to the lack of a single point of failure;

- the ability to change the hardware and software configuration without stopping the entire system;

- the ability to remote control.

Claims (2)

1. A modular distributed control system, including interacting controllers and groups of peripheral equipment with sensors and actuators equipped with microcontrollers, characterized in that it is equipped with a mother device containing a computer, a power source, as well as an external and internal input-output subsystem, at the same time, these controllers are installed on the internal input-output bus of the parent device and interact with slave microcontrollers each through its own nnuyu interference-bus with separate address space. 2. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that as a subsystem of the external input-output system is used such as Ethernet, or USB, or Wi-Fi, or G3, or G4.