TWI790424B - Smart industrial automation data acquisition module and internet of things erection method - Google Patents

Abstract

A smart industrial automation data acquisition module and an internet of things erection method are provided. The smart industrial automation data acquisition module includes a plurality of device communication interfaces, a processing unit and a plurality of service communication interfaces. The device communication interfaces are used to connect at least one sensing device. The communication types of the device communication interfaces are not the same. The processing unit is connected to the device communication interfaces. These service communication interfaces are connected to the processing unit. These service communication interfaces are used to connect a backend service. The communication types of the service communication interfaces are not the same. The processing unit selects one of the device communication interfaces to connect to the sensing device according to a device communication setting configuration. The processing unit further selects one of the service communication interfaces to connect with the backend service according to a service communication setting configuration.

Description

Intelligent industrial automation data acquisition device and Internet of things erection method

The present disclosure relates to a data collection device and a method for setting up the Internet of Things, and in particular relates to a data collection device for intelligent industrial automation and a method for setting up the Internet of Things.

Generally speaking, the Internet of Things can be divided into three layers: sensors, communication networks, and applications. The first layer includes sensors and similar devices. For various applications, sensors or other devices collect information. The second layer consists of the communication network. There are many ways for a sensor to communicate with a cloud or backend service. Developers must consider communication distance, signal coverage, data plan, battery life, etc. to make a choice. Different locations and different environments require different solutions, so flexibility is important to the design.

The third layer is composed of applications. After the information is sent to the cloud or back-end service, the user interface will display the results or perform more information analysis. analysis. There are many application programming interfaces (APIs) between cloud/backend services and applications. Developers can follow the defined API to control the information.

Typically, developing an IoT object may take six months to a year to plan and set up the design of the first, second and third layers of the IoT. This development method is time-consuming and cannot cope with rapid changes in technology.

This disclosure relates to an intelligent industrial automation data acquisition device and a method for setting up the Internet of Things, which can quickly set and program the communication interface of the device and the service communication interface to achieve intelligent connection.

According to the first aspect of the present disclosure, a Smart Industrial Automation Data Acquisition Module (Smart IDAM) is proposed. The intelligent industrial automation data acquisition device includes several device communication interfaces, a processing unit and several service communication interfaces. The device communication interfaces are used to connect at least one sensing device. The communication types of these device communication interfaces are not exactly the same. The processing unit is connected to these device communication interfaces. These service communication interfaces are connected to the processing unit. These service communication interfaces are used to connect to a backend service. The communication types of these service communication interfaces are not exactly the same. The processing unit selects one of the device communication interfaces to connect with the sensing device according to a device communication setting configuration. The processing unit is more based on A service communication setting configuration selects one of these service communication interfaces to connect with the backend service.

According to the second aspect of the present disclosure, a method for setting up the Internet of Things is proposed. The method for erecting the Internet of Things includes the following steps. An intelligent industrial automation data acquisition device is provided. The intelligent industrial automation data acquisition device includes several device communication interfaces and several service communication interfaces. The communication types of these device communication interfaces are not exactly the same. The communication types of these service communication interfaces are not exactly the same. A device communication setting configuration is obtained through a graphical user interface. Obtain a service communication setting configuration with a graphical user interface. One of the device communication interfaces is selected to connect with a sensing device according to the device communication setting configuration. Select one of the service communication interfaces to connect with a backend service according to the service communication setting configuration.

In order to have a better understanding of the above and other aspects of the present disclosure, the following specific embodiments are described in detail in conjunction with the attached drawings as follows:

100: Intelligent Industrial Automation Data Acquisition Device (Smart IDAM)

110: device communication interface

120: processing unit

130: Service communication interface

140: encryption unit

150: storage unit

300: solar panel

400: LoRa sensor circuit board

500:Dashboard

600: Graphical user interface

610: System setting page

620: Serial communication protocol setting page

630: Sensor setting page

700, 700A, 700B, 700C: sensing device

800: LoRaWAN gateway

900: backend service

910: Presentation Layer State Transition Application Programming Interface (Restful API)

920: Message queue telemetry transmission interface (MQTT Interface)

930: LoRaWAN network server

940:Database server

950:Web server

960: MQTT message transfer station (MQTT Broker)

C1: Device communication setting configuration

C2: Service communication setting configuration

S110, S120, S130, S140, S150: steps

FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of an intelligent industrial automation data acquisition device according to an embodiment.

Figure 2 illustrates the operation of the intelligent industrial automation data acquisition device.

FIG. 3 illustrates a system setting page of a graphical user interface according to an embodiment.

FIG. 4 illustrates a serial communication protocol (Modbus) setting page of a graphical user interface according to an embodiment.

FIG. 5 illustrates a sensor setting page of a graphical user interface according to an embodiment.

FIG. 6 shows a flow chart of a method for setting up the Internet of Things according to an embodiment.

FIG. 7 shows a schematic diagram of a LoRa sensor circuit board according to an embodiment.

Figure 8 shows the application scenario of the real-time weather monitoring system.

Fig. 9 shows the application scenario of the intelligent water quality monitoring station according to an embodiment.

Figures 10A and 10B illustrate an application scenario of a smart building according to an embodiment.

Fig. 11 shows the application scenario of the smart water meter according to an embodiment.

In order to shorten the development cycle and reduce the complexity of the Internet of Things, while maintaining flexibility and ensuring the stability of communication between each platform and interface, this implementation proposes a Smart Industrial Automation Data Acquisition Module (Smart Industrial Automation Data Acquisition Module, Smart IDAM) 100, which can quickly set and program device communication interface and service communication interface to achieve intelligent connection.

Please refer to FIG. 1 , which shows a schematic diagram of an intelligent industrial automation data acquisition device 100 according to an embodiment. Smart Industrial Automation Data The acquisition device 100 includes several device communication interfaces 110 , a processing unit 120 , several service communication interfaces 130 , an encryption unit 140 and a storage unit 150 . The device communication interface 110 is used for connecting at least one sensing device 700 . The sensing device 700 is, for example, a wireless camera, a smart water meter, a smart lamp, a sweeping robot, and the like. The communication types of these device communication interfaces 110 are not completely the same. The device communication interface 110 includes at least two of Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter/Bluetooth (UART/BT), LoRa interface (LoRa P2P) or RS485 interface.

The processing unit 120 is connected to the device communication interface 110 . The processing unit 120 is, for example, a chip, a circuit board, or a circuit with functions of data calculation, signal processing, and control. The service communication interface 130 is connected to the processing unit 120 . The service communication interface 130 is used to connect with a backend service 900 , and then allow users to read or control information through the dashboard 500 . The service communication interface includes at least two of a LoRaWAN interface, a WiFi interface, an LTE 4G interface and an NBIoT interface.

The backend service 900 includes a presentation layer state conversion API (Restful Application Programming Interface, Restful API) 910, a message queue telemetry transmission interface (Message Queuing Telemetry Transport Interface, MQTT Interface) 920, a LoRaWAN network server 930, a database server A device 940, a web server 950 and an MQTT message transfer station (MQTT Broker) 960. The service communication interface 130 is connected with the LoRaWAN network server 930 through the LoRaWAN gateway (LoRaWAN Gateway) 800 . The communication types of these service communication interfaces 130 are not completely the same.

The processing unit 120 selects one of the device communication interfaces 110 to connect with the sensing device 700 according to a device communication setting configuration C1, and the processing unit 120 further selects one of the service communication interfaces 130 to connect with the sensing device 700 according to a service communication setting configuration C2. Backend service 900 connections.

For example, by connecting the sensing device 700 via RS485/ModBus, a SCADA-like system can be set up by using the graphical user interface 600 to complete the configuration of the intelligent industrial automation data acquisition device 100 within a few minutes. The intelligent industrial automation data acquisition device 100 supports technologies such as WiFi, NBIoT, LTE 4G, and LoRaWAN for uploading data. If the user needs to use Wi-Fi, NB-IoT, or 4G, the intelligent industrial automation data acquisition device 100 can provide data through the presentation layer state conversion application programming interface (Restful API) 910 or message queue telemetry transmission interface (MQTT Interface) 920 . If using LoraWAN, the intelligent industrial automation data acquisition device 100 can send the payload to the LoraWAN gateway 800 , and then let the LoraWAN gateway 800 transmit the data to the LoRaWAN network server 930 .

If the user wants to use functions such as GPS and motion detection, he can use I2C or UART to connect more types of sensing devices 700 .

In addition, the intelligent industrial automation data acquisition device 100 can also support a custom API to upload data to a dedicated platform. The intelligent industrial automation data acquisition device 100 can use the I2C interface to connect the encryption unit 140 and the storage unit 150 to enhance data security function and data backup. The encryption unit 140 is, for example, a chip, a circuit or a circuit board with an encryption function. The storage unit 150 is, for example, a memory and a hard disk with a data backup function.

Please refer to FIG. 2 , which illustrates the operation of the intelligent industrial automation data acquisition device 100 . The sensing device 700A is, for example, a PM2.5/PM10 sensor, the sensing device 700B is, for example, a pressure sensor, and the sensing device 700C is, for example, a carbon monoxide sensor. After the sensing devices 700A, 700B, and 700C collect data, they are transmitted to the intelligent industrial automation data collection device 100 . The intelligent industrial automation data collection device 100 uploads data to the backend service 900 through the LoraWAN gateway 800 or the base station 400 .

Please refer to FIG. 3 , which illustrates a system setting page 610 of a GUI 600 according to an embodiment. After installing the software on the computer, if the user connects the intelligent industrial automation data acquisition device 100 to the computer through the USB interface, the graphical user interface 600 will pop up automatically. The GUI 600 includes a system setting page 610 . The system setting page 610 is used to set the service communication setting configuration C2.

In the system setting page 610, the user needs to select the desired uploading method. In the “DEVICE NAME” field, its content will be uploaded to the backend service 900 to be displayed on the dashboard 500 .

In the "SERVER IP ADDRESS" column, the user fills in the backend service network address.

In the "UPLINK TYPE" field, the user can choose LoRaWAN, WiFi, LTE 4G, NBIoT and other upload methods.

In the "DEVICE UUID" column, the user fills in the universally unique identification code (UUID) of the intelligent industrial automation data acquisition device 100 .

Please refer to FIG. 4 , which illustrates a serial communication protocol (Modbus) setting page 620 of the graphical user interface 600 according to an embodiment. The GUI 600 further includes a serial communication protocol setting page 620 . "MODBUS POLLING INTERVAL" is used to set the polling interval, "MODBUS POLLING TIMEOUT" is used to set the polling timeout, and "MODBUS CYCLE INTERVAL" is used to set the cycle interval. Wherein, the polling timeout of different devices may be different, and the user needs to set the maximum value of all polling timeouts.

Please refer to FIG. 5 , which illustrates a sensor setting page 630 of the graphical user interface 600 according to an embodiment. The GUI 600 includes a sensor setting page 630 . The sensor setting page 630 is used to set the device communication setting configuration C1. In the sensor setting page 630, the user can add the sensing device 700 through the following steps.

1. Click "Add Device" to add sensing device 700.

2. Set the serial communication protocol account, baud rate and device name through "Modbus ID", "Baudrate" and "Device Name".

3. Click “+” to add a new variable for the sensing device 700 .

4. If the sensing device needs more variables, you can click "+" multiple times.

5. Modify the variable name, ModBus address, variable type, maximum value, minimum value, and ratio through "Name", "Address", "Type", "Max Value", "Min Value", "Scale", and "Unit" ,unit. Wherein, if the value obtained from Modbus is 523 and the scale (Scale) is 10, the value will become 52.3.

6. Click “Download Device Info” to download the device communication setting configuration C1 to the intelligent industrial automation data acquisition device 100 .

As mentioned above, the establishment of the Internet of Things can be successfully completed through the intelligent industrial automation data acquisition device 100 . Please refer to FIG. 6 , which shows a flowchart of a method for setting up the Internet of Things according to an embodiment. In step S110, an intelligent industrial automation data collection device 100 is provided. The intelligent industrial automation data acquisition device 100 is, for example, the content of Fig. 1 and its related paragraphs.

In step S120 , the device communication setting configuration C1 is obtained through the graphical user interface 600 . This step is, for example, obtaining the device communication setting configuration C1 through the sensor setting page 630 in FIG. 5 .

In step S130 , the service communication setting configuration C2 is obtained through the graphical user interface 600 . This step is, for example, obtaining the service communication setting configuration C2 through the system setting page 610 in FIG. 3 . The above step S120 and step S130 can be exchanged in order.

In step S140, one of the device communication interfaces 110 is selected to connect with the sensing device 700 according to the device communication setting configuration C1. In step S150, one of the service communication interfaces 130 is selected to connect with the backend service 900 according to the service communication setting configuration C2. The above step S140 and step S150 can be performed in exchange order or at the same time.

Furthermore, in the aforementioned LoRaWAN gateway 800 , the LoRaWAN gateway 800 collects data from each sensing device 700 and then sends it to the cloud or backend service 900 . This is a great solution for developers who want to build a private cloud. LoRa coverage can be from 1 km to 10 km, depending on the environment and altitude where the LoRaWAN Gateway 800 is located.

Not all sensing devices 700 are capable of supporting radio frequencies, so developers can utilize the smart industrial automation data collection device 100 to connect the sensing devices 700 to the cloud or backend services 900 .

Please refer to FIG. 7 , which shows a schematic diagram of a LoRa sensor circuit board 400 according to an embodiment. In some environments, it may not be possible to directly connect the sensing device 700 to the smart industrial automation data acquisition device 100 using a cable. At this time, the LoRa sensor circuit board 400 can be used to convert the signal of UART, I2C or RS485 (Modbus) into LoRa. Then, the LoRa sensor circuit board 400 can communicate with the intelligent industrial automation data acquisition device 100 through the LoRa interface. The intelligent industrial automation data acquisition device 100 can then send data through Wi-Fi, 4G-LTE or NB-IoT. Therefore, a developer can flexibly install the sensing device 700 .

Also, the power supply may not be available in some cases. At this point solar panels can be used to generate energy. The solar energy can be converted into 12V or 24V electrical energy, and the electrical energy is stored in the battery. The solar panel 300 (illustrated in FIG. 8 ) can be connected to the intelligent industrial automation data acquisition device 100 through the RS485 interface. Developers can display the power status on the dashboard 500 after acquiring data from the intelligent industrial automation data acquisition device 100 .

Various application scenarios of the present invention are further described below. Please refer to Figure 8, which shows the application scenario of the real-time weather monitoring system. Real-time weather monitoring systems are an important tool for monitoring climatic conditions on your farm. Farmers can receive instant warnings of extreme weather conditions through the real-time weather monitoring system to save time and money. When the intelligent industrial automation data acquisition device 100 is applied to a real-time weather monitoring system, the sensing device 700 that can be used is, for example, an ambient light sensor (Ambient Light Sensor), a wind speed sensor (Wind Speed Sensor), a wind direction sensor ( Wind Direction Sensor), air humidity/temperature/rainfall sensor (Air Humidity/Temperature/Rainfall Sensor), soil humidity sensor (Soil Humidity Sensor), NH3 sensor, soil pH sensor (PH Sensor For Soil), PM2.5 sensor, PM10 sensor, carbon dioxide sensor, ozone sensor, oxygen sensor, atmospheric pressure sensor, etc.

Please refer to FIG. 9, which shows the application scenario of the intelligent water quality monitoring station according to an embodiment. Monitoring water quality is a complex, time-consuming procedure. Through the intelligent industrial automation data acquisition device 100, an intelligent water quality monitoring station can be quickly set up. When the intelligent industrial automation data acquisition device 100 is applied to an intelligent water quality monitoring station, the sensing device 700 that can be used is, for example, a pH sensor, a DO sensor, an EC sensor, a temperature sensor, and a turbidity sensor , dissolved oxygen sensor, ORP sensor, salinity sensor, chlorophyll sensor, COD sensor, BOD sensor, TSS sensor, cyanobacteria sensor, NH3 sensor, NH4 sensor detector etc.

Please refer to Figures 10A and 10B, which illustrate the application scenarios of an intelligent building according to an embodiment. LoRa is a communication technology with high signal strength, long data transmission distance and low power consumption. Since LoRa does not require permission, users can develop their own high-security private network without paying data transaction fees use. LoRa has been used by many users to develop wireless systems for houses, warehouses and factories.

But the sensing devices 700 used in smart buildings are all capable of supporting LoRa, and some sensing devices still have battery life issues. To solve these problems, developers can use the intelligent industrial automation data acquisition device 100 of the present invention to connect these sensing devices 700 .

Fig. 10A is an embodiment of a smart home, and Fig. 10B is an embodiment of a smart factory. In the smart home of FIG. 10A, many sensing devices 700 can be installed in each smart home. In smart homes, SOS buttons can be installed for elderly residents. If they need help, they just need to press the SOS button. Through these sensing devices 700, insurance companies, security agencies and community boards can manage the safety of each resident. They can also provide residents with services that allow them to remotely control shades, thermostats and power plugs. Once the smart industrial automation data collection device 100 collects data from each household, it can use LoRa technology to send the data to the LoRaWAN gateway 800, which can be located in the center of the community or on the roof of the building.

In the smart factory shown in Figure 10B, the smart industrial automation data acquisition device 100 can support the development of Industry 4.0 (Industry 4.0). By monitoring the current, it is easy to identify whether the machine is running. Additionally, the health of each machine can be simplified by analyzing temperature and vibration conditions. The smart power monitoring system can also monitor the power consumption and power supply in each area of the factory, ensuring that there is always a stable power supply.

Please refer to FIG. 11 , which shows an application scenario of a smart water meter according to an embodiment. Governments want to invest in smart water meters, but the biggest challenge facing governments is budgetary issues. In addition to buying new meters, there are installation and operating costs. In order to solve this problem, a sensing device 700 with intelligent reading function can be directly added to the existing water meter. After capturing the water level value, it is sent to the cloud or back-end service 900 through the intelligent industrial automation data acquisition device 100 of the present invention. In this way, the government does not need to purchase new meters and pay for them to be installed.

To sum up, although the present disclosure has been disclosed above with embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present disclosure. Those with ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which this disclosure belongs may make various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of this disclosure. Therefore, the scope of protection of this disclosure should be defined by the scope of the appended patent application.

100: Intelligent Industrial Automation Data Acquisition Device (Smart IDAM)

110: device communication interface

120: processing unit

130: Service communication interface

140: encryption unit

150: storage unit

500:Dashboard

600: Graphical user interface

700: Sensing device

800: LoRaWAN gateway

900: backend service

910: Presentation Layer State Transition Application Programming Interface (Restful API)

920: Message queue telemetry transmission interface (MQTT Interface)

930: LoRaWAN network server

940:Database server

950:Web server

960: MQTT message transfer station (MQTT Broker)

C1: Device communication setting configuration

C2: Service communication setting configuration

Claims (12)

An intelligent industrial automation data acquisition device (Smart Industrial Automation Data Acquisition Module, Smart IDAM), including: a plurality of device communication interfaces for connecting at least one sensing device, and the communication types of these device communication interfaces are not completely the same; A processing unit connected to the device communication interfaces; and a plurality of service communication interfaces connected to the processing unit, the service communication interfaces are used to connect to a backend service, and the communication types of the service communication interfaces are incomplete same; wherein the processing unit further provides a graphical user interface, the graphical user interface includes a sensor setting page and a system setting page, the sensor setting page is used to set a device communication setting configuration, The system setting page is used to set a service communication setting configuration, and the sensor setting page is different from the system setting page; wherein, the processing unit selects one of the device communication interfaces and the device communication setting configuration according to the device communication setting configuration. The sensing device is connected, and the processing unit further selects one of the service communication interfaces to connect with the backend service according to the service communication setting configuration. As the intelligent industrial automation data acquisition device described in claim 1, wherein the processing unit further provides a graphical user interface, the graphical user interface includes a serial communication protocol (Modbus) setting page, the The serial protocol setting page is used to set the polling interval, polling timeout and cycle interval. The intelligent industrial automation data acquisition device as described in Claim 1 further includes: an encryption unit for encrypting a received information. The intelligent industrial automation data acquisition device as described in claim 1 further includes: a storage unit for temporarily storing a received information. The intelligent industrial automation data acquisition device as described in claim 1, wherein the communication interfaces of these devices include at least one of a Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter (UART), a LoRa interface and an RS485 interface two. The intelligent industrial automation data acquisition device as described in claim 1, wherein the service communication interfaces include at least two of a LoRaWAN interface, a WiFi interface, an LTE 4G interface, and an NBIoT interface. A method for setting up the Internet of Things, comprising: providing an intelligent industrial automation data acquisition device, the intelligent industrial automation data acquisition device includes a plurality of device communication interfaces and a plurality of service communications Interface, the communication types of these device communication interfaces are not exactly the same, and the communication types of these service communication interfaces are not exactly the same; use a graphical user interface to obtain a device communication setting configuration; use the graphical user interface Obtain a service communication setting configuration, wherein the graphical user interface further includes a system setting page and a sensor setting page; according to the device communication setting configuration, the sensor setting page is set to select these One of the device communication interfaces is connected with a sensing device; and the system setting page is configured according to the service communication setting configuration to select one of the service communication interfaces to be connected with a backend service. The method for setting up the Internet of Things as described in claim item 7, wherein the graphical user interface includes a serial communication protocol (Modbus) setting page, and the serial communication protocol setting page is used to set a polling interval (polling interval), a round Polling timeout and cycle interval. The method for setting up the Internet of Things as described in Claim 7 further includes: encrypting a piece of received information. The method for setting up the Internet of Things as described in Claim 7 further includes: temporarily storing a received information. The method for erecting the Internet of Things as described in Claim 7, wherein the device communication interfaces include at least two of a Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter (UART), a LoRa interface, and an RS485 interface. The method for setting up the Internet of Things as described in claim 7, wherein the service communication interfaces include at least two of a LoRaWAN interface, a WiFi interface, an LTE 4G interface, and an NBIoT interface.

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