WO2010083850A1

WO2010083850A1 - Configuration and display module for bus-networked subscribers

Info

Publication number: WO2010083850A1
Application number: PCT/EP2009/000402
Authority: WO
Inventors: Georg Reidt
Original assignee: Moeller Gmbh
Priority date: 2009-01-23
Filing date: 2009-01-23
Publication date: 2010-07-29

Abstract

The invention relates to an arrangement for configuring subscribers in a bus having at least one master subscriber to which a predetermined number of slave subscribers (T1,... Tn) can be connected. The invention proposes introducing a configuration module (CFG) equipped with mechanical adjusting means (10) giving the master information about configuration of the subscribers on the bus at the beginning of the configuration process. The configuration is transmitted by data telegram, comprising the total number of subscribers (T1,... Tn) that can be connected to the bus and the sequence of present and non-present subscribers.

Description

Configuration and display module for bus-networked subscribers

The invention relates to an arrangement for the configuration of subscribers in a bus with at least one master subscriber, to which a predetermined number of slave subscribers can be connected.

In bus systems, such as e.g. Fieldbuses CANopen, Profibus DP or Devicenet are networked with so-called field devices or bus users. The connection of the subscribers is usually made via data cable, which is connected from subscriber to subscriber, and in most cases represents a line structure. A system can consist of a number of slaves (subscribers) and at least one to several masters. Participants exist. The data exchange between the individual subscribers is realized via a defined protocol. Basic elements in these protocol definitions are usually request, response, error and command PDUs (PDU = protocol description unit), which serve to realize the explicit data exchange between certain subscribers. A central element here is that the slaves have a unique identifier, so that the transmitter and the receiver (s) can be determined in the corresponding PDUs for data exchange. This is solved in the above-mentioned fieldbus systems so that each fieldbus participant gets notified a unique node address. These possible node addresses have a certain range (e.g., in CANopen 1 to 128). In this case, a node address in the entire bus system may only be assigned to a single participant.

The assignment of a node address for a bus subscriber is usually carried out via a mechanical switch or via a data interface with the aid of a software tool in conjunction with a PC on the device. In the first case, the device usually has an 8-pin DIL switch (binary coded address setting) or one to two rotary switches for decimal (0 to 9) or hexadecimal (0 to F) address setting. The address can thus be easily set on the device and read at any time without special tools at a bus station.

The second possibility provides that the address is assigned with the aid of a software tool. The corresponding bus users then no longer have an address switch, but rather a data interface to which it is possible, for example, to connect a PC or a configuration tool. The previously set address in the software tool or in the configuration tool can then be read into the bus station via the data interface and saved retentively. The second option has the part that address switches can be saved. The disadvantage may be that the set node address can not be readily read or checked by the bus user from the outside. The address setting methods described above apply to fieldbus systems in which the node addresses of the bus nodes are logically assigned. This means that the order in which the devices (subscribers) are connected to the fieldbus is independent and can be performed as required. However, the node address must be assigned manually to each individual device.

Another possibility is to automatically set the node address assignment and setting, e.g. via a master participant.

Such a method is already known from DE 199 35 192 Al. In this method, the physical position of the bus subscribers in the line structure of the bus is responsible for which address the respective node is assigned by the master. That the master in this case determines which node addresses and which order of node addresses will be assigned (e.g., 1, 2, 3, 4, ... or 1, 4, 7, 10, ...). For example, a system for networking industrial switchgear shown in DE 102006 030706 A1 could address the subscribers in the ascending order from 1 to 16.

There are, for example, industrial switchgear, which are equipped with, among other things, bus-networked systems and components and have a certain basic functionality. These switchgear can e.g. be designed in the form of a cabinet in which the bus components are installed. Such systems are typically developed by a panel builder and assembled, installed and commissioned at the customer site. If a system is to be functionally expanded over time, the system will be equipped with new electrical components at the customer's site. This could be, for example, fieldbus devices as bus subscribers. If a fieldbus system exists in the system in which the node addresses of the field devices are made logically (i.e., the setting takes place directly on the device), a previously reserved and free node address is selected when retrofitting the field device. All other node addresses are retained, so that the higher-level control software and the defined memory areas and assigned destination addresses can be retained. It is only necessary to process the data or the memory areas of the new subscriber, which of course are assigned to the reserved node address.

However, there are also bus systems in which the slave users are automatically assigned a node address during the configuration process by the master. One advantage of such systems is that the slaves do not require any explicit setting options for a node address (eg DIP switch, rotary switch, data interface, etc.). Such a method is described, for example, in the already mentioned DE 199 35 192 A1. Since the address assignment runs automatically and for systems with different number of participants must work, this process of a certain legality. One possibility is that the subscribers networked in a line structure, in terms of their physical location as viewed from the master, are addressed consecutively from 1 to n, where n represents the total number of subscribers connected to the bus.

If a fieldbus component or fieldbus device is subsequently installed in such a system, the addresses of all subsequent fieldbus users are shifted by one. The following example illustrates this relationship on a system with 8 participants:

Consider a bus system in which the address assignment of the subscribers is automatically assigned by a master. The addressing of the 8 slave subscribers is carried out in ascending order from 1 to 8 (AdI to Ad8) by the master.

The existing system will now be extended by a new ninth participant between participant T4 and participant T5. The new subscriber T9 must now first be integrated into the system via the master.

In a new configuration process, the participants are again addressed in the same order by the master. Since there are now nine subscribers on the bus, these are now addressed from 1 to 9. This results in the following assignment:

The new configuration of the bus system causes the new subscriber T9 receives the corresponding node address of the physical position 5 in the bus network and increase the addresses of the underlying nodes by one (relative to the old address). In the data mapping in the master, this also results in an incorrect assignment of the data for the subscribers T5 to T8 and the subscribers T9 even obtains the data assignment previously subscribed to subscriber T5 since the data of the respective slave subscribers are naturally linked to the unique node address. The new addressing of the bus subscribers will always proceed according to the same scheme, in which it numbers all subscribers from 1 in ascending to n, since the master has no information about the installation position of the new subscriber (s). If you want to adapt the configuration in the master to the new conditions, this would be possible via a device (eg a PC) that is connected to the master for data processing purposes. This first alternative requires the availability of an optional device or PC and its operation. Furthermore, a data interface for the device or PC interface would have to be present on the master.

A second alternative is that electrical switches are formed in the master whose switch positions the master evaluates before the configuration process. This second alternative means additional hardware and space in the master, which also requires additional costs for the master. If no configuration option were needed in a system, i. the master would always linearly address from 1 to n in ascending order, so the device would be unnecessarily oversized functionally

Arrangements for the configuration of subscribers in a bus with at least one master subscriber to which a predetermined number of slave subscribers can be connected are known (US 2004/0030459 A1, DE 4211650 A1). For this purpose, a configuration module which can be interrogated by the master at the beginning of a configuration process is inserted in the bus, which provides information about a configuration of the subscribers on the bus.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an arrangement with which the extension of a bus system with other participants with simple means and settings is possible.

The solution of the problem can be found in the main claim, wherein in further claims further advantageous embodiments are formulated.

The essence of the invention is that in the bus at the beginning of a configuration process queried by the master, equipped with mechanical adjustment means configuration module (also called "CFG participant") is inserted, which provides information in the form of a data telegram about configuration of the participants on the bus , The configuration module provides information about the total number of nodes that can be connected to the bus and about the sequence of existing and non-existent nodes on the bus.

In the configuration module inserted in the bus, setting means are provided for each slave subscriber position, and it is adjustable whether or not a slave subscriber is physically present at a possible slave subscriber position. The arrangement presented here makes it possible to generate gaps in the automatic slave subscriber addressing, so that additional subscribers (devices) can optionally be installed later on the bus system without node addresses and thus data areas in the master of the subsequent subscribers shifting. The target configuration (ie the number of stations connected to the bus and the corresponding node address) is not made directly at the master but via the configuration module. Plug-in connections for connection to the bus are available on the configuration module. This could be, for example, a connection for the bus input and a connection for the bus output. This allows the configuration module to be installed anywhere in the bus system.

The configuration can be specified by mechanical adjustment means on the configuration module.

The setting means consist of selector switches, the number of which specifies the total number of subscribers connectable to the bus and their switch position, the order of existing and non-existent subscribers on the bus. The selector switches are binary switches, with a first switch position for the transmission of presence and a second switch position for transmitting the absence of a subscriber.

Preferred embodiments are formulated in subclaims which may be claimed individually or collectively.

The principle of the invention is to provide the master information via selector switch, how many participants and what gaps in the addressing of the slave subscribers are present, whereby the target configuration for the Slaveteilnehmeradressierung is defined on the bus structure. The information is conveyed by the position of the selection switch, which results from the respective ON or OFF position. The simplest design of selector switches for node addresses can be DIP switches.

With a configuration module equipped with additional functions, the communication activity with the master can be extended. Such an extension may consist in that the configuration module is provided with a data interface and adjustment means (or switch elements) for various states and / or parameters are arranged on the configuration module. As a setting means, a switch (eg a rotary switch) can be provided, via which information (states, settings or parameter transfers) can be transmitted to the master. Such information can be, for example, the change from one operating mode to another, which the master should adopt, or a certain behavior which the master should have in bus operation in the event of a fault. Status messages and indication of state changes could be made by optical means (such as LEDs or LCD display) on the configuration module. For example, if one wanted to display the binary status of each subscriber from the bus, the configuration module could query the corresponding data via a PDU, evaluate it and display it via the optical means.

The configuration module is equipped with a preferred embodiment so that it can send and receive data telegrams from the bus and process. The communication functionality is bidirectional.

Furthermore, the optical display means are to be assigned to the received and processed data in such a way that they serve to display status messages.

A data interface on the configuration module makes it possible to connect an intelligent external device (as an interface module). Such a device may consist of a PC, a PDA, a mobile phone or similar intelligent electronic system. The transmitted data would then be evaluated, displayed and / or further processed in the external device.

Primarily, the invention for the permanent operation and use of the configuration module with master and SIa ves is provided on the bus, so that the master can query the configuration specification via the configuration module after each power on. However, it is also possible for the configuration module to be switched on only temporarily to allocate a configuration to the bus. In this case, the master will retentively save the default configuration from the configuration module. This property is implemented in the master logic in advance for this purpose. The primary configuration is changed only when a configuration module is temporarily reconnected to a new preset compared to the old saved preset.

The invention will be explained in detail below, for which several figures are used.

The figures show in detail:

FIG. 1: the configuration module,

FIG. 2: a bus system with 16 subscribers, FIG. 3: a bus system for 16 subscribers with 5 currently connected subscribers, FIG. 4: 4 further subscribers are inserted into the bus system according to FIG. 3 and FIG. 5: a configuration module with data interface and further presetting and display means.

According to the invention, a configuration module is inserted into the bus structure, so that the master can retrieve information from the configuration module after switching on the power supply. According to FIG. 1, an input and an output are located at the configuration module CFG as bus connections BV. The configuration module can be inserted anywhere on the bus; it will not counted as a participant on the bus. As selector switch 10 16 DIP switches are available. The number of switches determines the total number of users that can be connected to the bus, with 16 (in FIG. 1) representing the total number (n = 16) of the possible slave subscribers. From the switch position results in the presence or absence of a participant on the bus. The assignment applies: switch ON = participant present; Switch OFF = subscriber not available. Thus, a target configuration specification for the controlling master is made in a simple manner, wherein the latter firstly receives information about the number of slave subscribers and, secondly, information about possible address gaps.

At the beginning of a configuration, the master will not start directly with the addressing of the slave participants, but first asks via a unique PDU whether a configuration module is present on the bus. The PDU is defined in the protocol definition of the bus system as a data telegram (data frame) with a unique identifier and is used only for querying the confguration module. If the master receives a response to this request (also as a PDU), it is known that a configuration module is available on the bus.

In the absence of an answer, it is clear that no configuration module is connected to the bus. In this case, every time the power is turned on, the master will detect that this situation exists and start the automatic addressing configuration process, addressing each slave in turn. This would again be done by a method of the prior art.

The principle according to the invention will now be explained in more detail in FIG. For this purpose, again the example is used, which was described above, which consists of a master and initially of 8 participants. In the bus system, the slave subscribers are arranged in a line structure. In addition, a CFG configuration module was connected last to the bus system. However, it is also possible that it is placed at any other location in the bus system. The CFG configuration module here has 16 DIP switches in the example, which means that the master can address and operate up to 16 subscribers.

As mentioned, resulting from the switch position, the presence or absence of a participant on the bus. There are 8 participants (Tl to T8) on the bus. The ascending numbering of the switch positions ON indicates how the subscribers T1 to T8 are addressed consecutively by the master. Valid values indicate only the switches that have the switch ON.

On the CFG configuration module, 16 DIP switches have the numbers 1 to 4 and the numbers 6 to 9 set to ON. The position of DIP switch No. 5 and the positions of switches No. 10 to 16 means OFF respectively that one participant can be inserted at each of the physical positions on Bus No. 5 and No. 10 through 16.

If a further (ninth) subscriber is now inserted at the physical position in Bus No. 5, ie between fourth and fifth subscriber, only DIP switch No. 5 needs to be switched from OFF to ON.

After inserting the ninth party, the sum of the switch positions is ON nine, and the new address order given by the master upon re-configuration of the bus system is 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9.

The following diagram shows the assignment after the insertion of the new subscriber T9 and the reconfiguration of the bus by the master with CFG subscriber:

Due to the previously defined gap for the address 5, the installation of the subscriber T9 at position 5 (with address 5) is subsequently possible without the addresses and thus also the data areas for the subscribers T5 to T8 shifting in the master.

In Figures 3 and 4, another example of simplicity and flexibility of the configuration will be demonstrated.

In Fig. 3 is a bus system with a master, with the configuration module CFG and with five slaves. In total, 16 participants (without counting the configuration module) should be connectable to this bus. There are 16 DIP switches on the configuration module, but they are not shown graphically (even in their positions). Dashed representation of participants in the gaps 2 to 4, 7 to 10 and 13 to 16 indicates that further participants can be integrated at these points.

If four further subscribers (T6 to T9) are now inserted in positions 4, 9, 13 and 14 in this system, the switches 4, 9, 13 and 14 must be switched to ON on the configuration module. The new configuration is shown in FIG. 4. The master can query this configuration via a PDU or a data telegram from the configuration module. FIG. 5 shows a configuration module CFG-S with further setting and display options, thereby expanding the functionality between the configuration module and the master. On the configuration module CFG-S (as shown in FIG. 5), an adjustment means is arranged as a rotary switch 22. States and / or parameters that are transmitted to the master can be set via the rotary switch 22. It has already been mentioned that such information relates, for example, to the change from a first to a different mode of operation which the master is to assume or a specific behavior which the master should have in the event of a fault in bus operation. Status changes may be indicated by optical means 12 (such as LEDs or LCD display) on the configuration module. Another optical means 20 is used to display the operating status of the configuration module CFG-S.

The data interface 24 on the CFG-S configuration module makes it possible to communicate with a smart device 30 via a data line 26. The transmitted data can be evaluated, displayed and / or further processed in the external device 30 (a PC, a PDA, a mobile telephone or a similar electronic system).

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

AdI ... adn participant address

BV bus connection (input, output)

Tl ... Tn subscribers (slaves)

CFG configuration module

CFG-S configuration module with data interface

10 mechanical adjustment means (DIP switch)

12 optical display means

20 optical display means (LED)

22 mechanical adjustment means (rotary switch)

24 data interface

26 data line

30 external device (electronic system)

Claims

claims

1. Arrangement for the configuration of subscribers in a bus with at least one master subscriber to whom a predetermined number of slave subscribers (Tl, ... Tn) is connectable, wherein in the bus at the beginning of a configuration process queried by the master configuration module ( CFG, CFG-S), which provides information about a configuration of the subscribers on the bus, characterized in that the configuration module (CFG, CFG-S) is equipped with mechanical setting means (10) for configuration, wherein the setting means consist of selection switches ( 10), the number of which determines the total number of subscribers (Tl,... Tn) connectable to the bus and whose switch position determines the order of existing subscribers (Tl,... Tn) on the bus.

2. Arrangement for bus configuration according to claim 1, characterized in that the configuration module (CFG, CFG-S) provides information about the total number of connectable to the bus subscriber (Tl, ... Tn) and the order of existing and non-existing participants on the bus.

3. Arrangement for the bus configuration according to claim 2, characterized in that the configuration is transmitted in the form of a data telegram via the bus.

4. Arrangement for bus configuration according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that in the master of the configuration module (CFG, CFG-S) predetermined configuration can be stored.

5. Arrangement for bus configuration according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the selection switches are binary switches (10), wherein a first switch position for

Transmission of presence and a second switch position for transmitting the absence of a subscriber is used.

6. Arrangement for bus configuration according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the configuration module (CFG, CFG-S) in addition to the selection switches (10) further adjustment means (22) are provided for transmitting settings or parameters to the master ,

7. Arrangement for the bus configuration according to claim 6, characterized in that with the further adjustment means (22) a selection of parameters, in particular for operating mode or for behavior in case of error for the master can be predetermined.

8. Arrangement for bus configuration according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that the further adjustment means of parameters as a rotary switch (22) are formed.

9. Arrangement for bus configuration according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the configuration module can send and receive data telegrams from the bus.

10. Arrangement for bus configuration according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the configuration module (CFG, CFG-S) optical display means (12, 20) are provided which serve the display of status messages.

11. Arrangement for bus configuration according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the configuration module (CFG, CFG-S) a data interface (24) for a data line (26) to an external electronic system (30) is arranged.

12. Arrangement for bus configuration according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the configuration module (CFG, CFG-S) comprises plug-in connections (BV) for the connection to the bus.