Low-code industrial control method and device

Abstract

The application discloses a kind of low code industrial control method and equipment, method includes: based on standardization CSV configuration mode, communication object is configured, obtains communication object configuration file;Based on standardization CSV configuration mode and standardization JSON parameter, process node is configured, obtains process node configuration file;Communication object configuration file and process node configuration file are parsed, obtain the communication instance corresponding to industrial equipment, and node instance for controlling industrial equipment, process configuration file includes the node order between multiple node instances;Communication instance converts the control logic of node instance into control instruction according to node order, and through control instruction, industrial equipment is dynamically controlled and process start-stop management is carried out.The present application can reduce the configuration complexity, improve the configuration efficiency, scalability and debugging efficiency.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of industrial automation control technology, and in particular to a low-code industrial control method and equipment. Background Technology

[0002] The core requirement of industrial automation control systems is to achieve efficient collaboration between "equipment communication, process execution, and status monitoring." Existing technologies mostly construct control flows using AOE (Directed Acyclic Graph) topology structures or rely on "visual flowchart drawing + dedicated parser" as the core, using graphical tools to transform process logic into control commands. However, both methods have the following problems: 1. The AOE network solution requires defining complex topology relationships and event conditions, resulting in high configuration complexity; 2. In complex industrial scenarios, the flowchart solution requires repeated drag-and-drop configuration, resulting in low configuration efficiency. 3. The flowchart solution is deeply coupled with the hardware. When replacing the controller with a different brand or model, the core code needs to be modified according to the controller protocol and the instruction conversion logic needs to be adjusted, which makes expansion difficult. 4. Process changes require regenerating and deploying the executable file, resulting in low debugging efficiency.

[0003] Therefore, existing low-code industrial control methods suffer from problems such as high configuration complexity, low configuration efficiency, low scalability, and low debugging efficiency. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In order to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art, the purpose of this invention is to provide a low-code industrial control method and device, which can reduce configuration complexity, improve configuration efficiency, scalability and debugging efficiency.

[0005] This invention is implemented according to the following scheme: A low-code industrial control method is provided, including: Based on the standardized CSV configuration method, the communication object is configured to obtain the communication object configuration file; Based on standardized CSV configuration methods and standardized JSON parameters, process nodes are configured to obtain process node configuration files; The communication object configuration file and the process node configuration file are parsed to obtain a communication instance corresponding to the industrial equipment and a node instance for controlling the industrial equipment. The process configuration file includes the node order among multiple node instances. The communication instance converts the control logic of the node instance into control commands according to the node sequence, and uses the control commands to perform dynamic process control and process start / stop management on the industrial equipment.

[0006] Compared with existing technologies, the beneficial effects of the low-code industrial control method of the present invention are as follows: Using CSV files as the configuration carrier, leveraging the text-editable, batch-processable, and version-controllable characteristics of CSV files, it aligns with the common Excel / Notepad operation habits of industrial engineers, eliminating the need for complex topology relationships and event condition definitions found in traditional AOE network solutions, effectively reducing configuration complexity. Simultaneously, by separating the configuration communication objects from process nodes, communication parameters are reused, reducing redundant configuration and eliminating the need for flowchart solutions, effectively improving configuration efficiency. Furthermore, the use of standardized JSON parameters eliminates the need to modify core code according to different controller protocols, effectively improving scalability. Finally, dynamic process control and process start / stop management of industrial equipment are achieved through control commands, enabling process changes without the need to regenerate and redeploy execution files, effectively improving debugging efficiency.

[0007] Optionally, after obtaining the communication object configuration file and the process node configuration file, the control method further includes: Verify the communication object configuration file and the process node configuration file to obtain the verification result; When the verification result is successful, the communication object configuration file and the process node configuration file are parsed. If the verification result is that the verification fails, the communication object and the process node are reconfigured respectively until the verification result is that the verification passes.

[0008] Optionally, the communication object configuration file includes the communication object name, and the process node configuration file includes the associated object name and the execution function node; Verification of the communication object configuration file and the process node configuration file includes: The integrity of the parameters in the communication object configuration file and the process node configuration file is verified. Verify whether the name of the communication object and the name of the associated object exist; The validity of the JSON format of the process node configuration file is verified; The JSON parameters of the process node configuration file are validated to ensure they meet protocol requirements. The existence of the function called by the execution function node is verified.

[0009] Optionally, the communication object configuration file and the process node configuration file are parsed to obtain a communication instance corresponding to the industrial equipment, and a node instance for controlling the industrial equipment, including: The communication object configuration file is parsed to obtain the communication type and the name of the communication object used to indicate the industrial equipment. The communication instance is obtained based on the communication type; The process node configuration file is parsed to obtain the associated object name; The node instance is obtained based on the communication object name and the associated object name.

[0010] Optionally, the communication instance includes a communication type, and the node instance includes a node type and node configuration parameters; The communication instance converts the control logic of the node instance into control commands, including: The communication instance converts the node configuration parameters according to the protocol type corresponding to the communication type to obtain protocol data; Based on the node type, determine the control logic of the node instance; The communication instance obtains the control command based on the equipment parameters of the industrial equipment, the protocol data, and the control logic.

[0011] Optionally, the node type includes read data, write data, read until, and execute function.

[0012] Optionally, when the node type of the node instance is write data and the node configuration parameters of the node instance are empty, the protocol data is obtained according to the node order and the output parameters of the previously executed node instance.

[0013] Optionally, when the node type of the node instance is an executed function, the next node instance to be executed is determined based on the return value of the node instance, including: If the return value of the node instance is a first preset value, then the next node instance to be executed is determined according to the node order; if the return value of the node instance is a second preset value, then the output parameters of the node instance are parsed to determine the next node instance to be executed.

[0014] Optional, also includes: The process of dynamic process control and process start / stop management of the industrial equipment based on the control commands is monitored.

[0015] A computer device is also provided, including a processor and a memory, wherein the memory stores at least one instruction, at least one program, code set or instruction set, and the processor loads and executes the at least one instruction, at least one program, code set or instruction set to implement the low-code industrial control method described above. Attached Figure Description

[0016] Figure 1 This is a flowchart of the control method of the present invention; Figure 2This is a schematic diagram of the ModbusTCP communication object configuration parameter table of the present invention; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the configuration parameter table for the Snap7 communication object of the present invention; Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the configuration format table corresponding to the four node types of this invention. Detailed Implementation

[0017] The preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the preferred embodiments described herein are for illustration and explanation only and are not intended to limit the present invention.

[0018] In the following description, when referring to the accompanying drawings, unless otherwise indicated, the same numbers in different drawings represent the same or similar elements. The embodiments described in the following exemplary embodiments do not represent all embodiments consistent with this application. Rather, they are merely examples of apparatuses and methods consistent with some aspects of this application as detailed in the appended claims. In the description of this application, it should be understood that the terms "first," "second," "third," etc., are used only to distinguish similar objects and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence, nor should they be construed as indicating or implying relative importance. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this application according to the specific circumstances.

[0019] See Figure 1 As shown, a low-code industrial control method of the present invention includes: S1: Based on the standardized CSV configuration method, the communication object is configured to obtain the communication object configuration file; the present invention configures the communication object through the standardized CSV configuration method to obtain a communication object configuration file (CSV) with a fixed format to ensure that the parameter configuration is unambiguous.

[0020] In one embodiment of the present invention, when configuring a communication object, the configuration is performed in the format of communication type, communication object name, communication parameter 1, communication parameter 2, ..., wherein the communication object is a communication instance that communicates with industrial equipment, and the communication object name is used to identify the communication instance; see also Figure 2 The table shown is the configuration parameter table for the Modbus TCP communication object. The IP address, port, slave ID, and communication cycle (ms) are all communication parameters corresponding to the MT_PLC communication object. See also... Figure 3 The table shown is a configuration parameter table for the Snap7 communication object. The communication series, IP address, port, and communication period (ms) are all communication parameters corresponding to the S7_Sensor communication object.

[0021] S2: Based on standardized CSV configuration and standardized JSON parameters, process nodes are configured to obtain process node configuration files. This invention configures process nodes using a standardized CSV configuration method to obtain process node configuration files (CSV) with a fixed format, ensuring that parameter configuration is unambiguous. Furthermore, this invention also configures process nodes based on standardized JSON parameters to address the differences in data formats between different protocols, enabling process nodes to transmit request data to communication objects via JSON. In the future, the data format can be adapted according to the protocol type of the communication object, eliminating the need for engineers to modify the core code based on the protocol type of different communication objects, effectively improving scalability.

[0022] In one embodiment of the present invention, the process node includes four types of nodes: write data, read data, read until, and execute function. These four types of nodes can cover most industrial control scenarios. When configuring the process node, only the node name, node description, node type, associated object name / function name, and node configuration parameters need to be filled in. No engineer needs to write code. The associated object name is used to find the communication instance and then interact with the device through the communication instance.

[0023] See Figure 4 The table shown below illustrates the configuration format for the four node types. For the "Write Data" node type, the JSON request is its configuration parameter; for the "Read Data" node type, the JSON request is its configuration parameter; for the "Read Until" node type, the JSON target data is its configuration parameter; and for the "Execute Function" node type, optional parameters are its configuration parameters.

[0024] The following example, "temperature sensor triggers PLC action," illustrates the configuration format for each node type: (1) The configuration format for the node type "Write Data" is as follows: The PLC is activated upon detecting an excessively high temperature, triggering the cooling valve and writing data to MT_PLC: {"Type":1,"StartAddress":100,"Length":1,"Value":1} MT_PLC is the name of the associated object. This process node finds the communication instance MT_PLC by the name of the associated object when the temperature exceeds the limit, so as to start the cooling valve. {"Type":1,"StartAddress":100,"Length":1,"Value":1} is a JSON request, which means to write the value 1 to the coil register at address 100. (2) The configuration format for the node type "Read Data" is as follows: Read sensor values, read temperature sensor data, read data, S7_Sensor, {"Type":"float","Address":"M100"} Here, S7_Sensor is the name of the associated object. This process node finds the communication instance S7_Sensor by the name of the associated object in order to read the data of the temperature sensor. {"Type":"float","Address":"M100"} is a JSON request, which means to read the floating-point value from the register at address M100. (3) Read the configuration format corresponding to this node type until it is: Waiting for the valve to close, waiting for the cooling valve to close signal, reading until MT_PLC, {"Type":1,"StartAddress":101,"Length":1,"Value":0} Here, MT_PLC is the name of the associated object. This process node continuously reads data related to the cooling valve status address in the communication instance MT_PLC until the cooling valve close signal (specified value) is read. {"Type":1,"StartAddress":101,"Length":1,"Value":0,"Timeout":5000} is JSON target data, which means continuously reading the value in the coil register at address 101 until the value read is the specified value 0. This type of process node includes a polling mechanism, which continuously reads data through the communication interface and compares it with the Value in the JSON target data. If the JSON target data is configured with a timeout of "Timeout":5000, the polling will stop and an error will be reported when the specified data is not read within that time.

[0025] (4) The configuration format corresponding to the node type "execution function" is as follows: Determine the temperature; check if the temperature is greater than 50°C. Execute the function `CheckTemp, 50`. Here, CheckTemp is the name of the function being called. This process node executes a function named CheckTemp, which is used to determine whether the temperature exceeds 50℃. 50 is an optional parameter for this function.

[0026] This invention achieves communication parameter reuse by separating the configuration of communication objects and process nodes, reducing redundant configuration, eliminating the need for flowchart schemes, and effectively improving configuration efficiency.

[0027] In one embodiment of the present invention, after obtaining the communication object configuration file and the process node configuration file, the control method further includes: verifying the communication object configuration file and the process node configuration file to obtain a verification result; when the verification result is a successful verification, parsing the communication object configuration file and the process node configuration file; when the verification result is a failed verification, reconfiguring the communication object and the process node respectively until the verification result is a successful verification.

[0028] In one embodiment of the present invention, the communication object configuration file includes a communication object name, and the process node configuration file includes an associated object name and an execution function node; verifying the communication object configuration file and the process node configuration file includes: This invention validates the completeness of parameters in the communication object configuration file and the process node configuration file. Specifically, it verifies the completeness of required parameters in the CSV format; it verifies the existence of the communication object name and associated object name, specifically checking for the existence of communication instances with the same name and associated communication instances; it verifies the validity of the JSON format in the process node configuration file, specifically verifying the syntax of the JSON request and JSON target data node configuration parameters to avoid syntax errors that could prevent proper control of industrial equipment; it verifies that the JSON parameters in the process node configuration file conform to protocol requirements to avoid invalid requests; and it verifies the existence of functions called by the execution function node to avoid calling non-existent functions that could lead to uncontrollable industrial equipment. By validating the communication object configuration file and the process node configuration file, this invention pre-verifies the configuration validity of the two CSV files, reducing execution-stage failures.

[0029] S3: Parse the communication object configuration file and process node configuration file to obtain the communication instance corresponding to the industrial equipment, and the node instance used to control the industrial equipment. This includes: parsing the communication object configuration file to obtain the communication type and the name of the communication object used to indicate the industrial equipment; obtaining the communication instance based on the communication type; parsing the process node configuration file to obtain the node instance, and associating the corresponding communication instance based on the associated object name.

[0030] Specifically, after the system imports the communication object configuration file, it creates a communication instance corresponding to the communication type and passes the communication parameters to the instance for initialization. Subsequent process nodes only need to use the communication object name and associated object name to operate the corresponding communication object (industrial equipment) to read / write data, without having to repeatedly configure the communication parameters.

[0031] In one embodiment of the present invention, the process configuration file is stored in CSV format, where each line of text corresponds to the configuration of a process node. When parsing the process configuration file, node instances are created sequentially according to the line order of multiple process nodes in the process configuration file. The line order is the node order among the obtained multiple node instances. The node order is the default path when the multiple node instances are executed, which is used to indicate the initial execution order of the multiple node instances. When the process is executed subsequently, the execution of each node instance is scheduled according to the node order. However, the node order can be jumped through the return value of the node instance of the execution function, thereby realizing complex process control.

[0032] In one embodiment of the present invention, a node instance is obtained based on the communication object name and the associated object name. Among multiple communication object names, the communication instance with the same associated object name is bound to the node instance to establish a communication association between the process node and the corresponding industrial equipment, ensuring that the control logic of the node instance can be used to accurately control the corresponding industrial equipment. At the same time, this binding method allows the same communication instance to be bound to multiple different node instances, realizing the reuse of communication instances. There is no need to repeatedly create communication connections for each process node, effectively reducing system resource consumption and improving process execution efficiency.

[0033] In one embodiment of the present invention, a communication instance includes a communication type and communication parameters, and a node instance includes a node type and node configuration parameters. The communication instance converts the control logic of the node instance into control instructions, including: the communication instance converting the format of the node configuration parameters according to the protocol type corresponding to the communication type to obtain protocol data; determining the control logic of the node instance according to the node type; and the communication instance obtaining control instructions according to the equipment parameters, protocol data, and control logic of the industrial equipment.

[0034] S4: The communication instance converts the control logic of the node instance into control instructions according to the node order, and performs dynamic process control and process start-stop management on the industrial equipment through the control instructions, including: determining the execution order of multiple node instances according to the node order, and the industrial equipment executing the control logic of multiple node instances in sequence according to the execution order.

[0035] In one embodiment of the present invention, the node type of a node instance corresponds one-to-one with four types of process nodes: write data, read data, read until, and execute function. When the node type of a node instance is write data and the node configuration parameters of the node instance are empty, protocol data is obtained according to the node order and the output parameters of the previously executed node instance. By combining the execute function node instance and the write data node instance with empty JSON parameters, intermediate data can be flexibly processed and written with low code without manual configuration.

[0036] In one embodiment of the present invention, when the node type of a node instance is an executable function, the next node instance to be executed is determined based on the return value of the node instance, including: If the return value of the node instance is the first preset value, then the next node instance to be executed is determined according to the node order; if the return value of the node instance is the second preset value, then the output parameters of the node instance are parsed to determine the next node instance to be executed; where the first preset value is 0 and the second preset value is 1.

[0037] Specifically, the return value of the execution function determines the execution order of multiple node instances. If it returns 0, the next node instance is executed in the execution order (node ​​order). If it returns 1, it jumps to the node instance specified by its output parameter. If it returns other values, the process stops. This enables complex process control such as loop detection and conditional execution in industrial equipment control logic.

[0038] Taking the industrial scenario of "temperature sensor triggering PLC action" as an example, in this scenario, the data writing node depends on reading the temperature sensor data and the execution function's judgment on whether the temperature exceeds the limit. The reading node depends on reading the cooling valve closing signal, and the execution function node also depends on reading the temperature sensor data.

[0039] Therefore, the execution order of the data reading node instance is the first node in the entire process, followed by the execution function, data writing, and reading until the node instance is executed in sequence. The data reading node serves as the starting point of the process, with no prerequisites, and is used to read the temperature sensor value. The execution function node depends on the temperature value of the data reading node, and the process direction is determined by the return value. When it returns 0, the data writing node is executed; when it returns 1, it jumps back to the data reading node for loop detection. The data writing node depends on the "temperature exceeds the limit" judgment result of the execution function node and sends a command to the MT_PLC to start the cooling valve. The reading until the node depends on the cooling valve start action of the data writing node and continuously reads the cooling valve closing signal until the cooling valve is detected to be closed, thus forming a complete process of data reading, condition judgment, action execution, and status confirmation.

[0040] In one embodiment of the present invention, process start-stop management is used to configure hot update processes. Specifically, when it is necessary to modify the control logic of a process, the currently running process can be stopped, and the modified process node configuration file can be re-imported without interrupting the communication connection of the industrial equipment. The node instance is recreated based on the modified process node configuration file, and the communication instance re-converts the control logic of the new node instance into control instructions. The process update can be completed without restarting, realizing rapid iterative debugging of the control logic.

[0041] In one embodiment of the present invention, the control method further includes: monitoring the process of dynamic process control and process start-stop management of industrial equipment based on control commands, including: displaying the connection status (connected / not connected) of each communication object and the execution status (waiting / in progress / completed / failed) of each node, and marking the specific fault cause for connection abnormalities or node execution failures, realizing real-time status monitoring of nodes through visualization, and realizing rapid location of configuration errors or communication failures; recording the execution time, input and output parameters, and error information of each node, and supporting the export of logs to text files, using detailed log records to facilitate subsequent traceability and analysis of node failures.

[0042] The present invention provides a low-code industrial control system comprising: a configuration layer for separately configuring communication objects and process nodes to obtain communication object configuration files and process node configuration files respectively; a parsing layer for verifying the communication object configuration files and process node configuration files, and parsing the communication object configuration files and process node configuration files after successful verification to obtain communication instances and node instances; an execution layer for the communication instances to convert the control logic of the node instances into control instructions, and for performing dynamic process control and process start / stop management of industrial equipment through the control instructions, and for realizing data interaction through the communication connection of the execution layer with external industrial equipment; and a monitoring layer for monitoring the node execution process.

[0043] The computer device of the present invention includes a processor and a memory. The memory stores at least one instruction, at least one program, code set, or instruction set, wherein the at least one instruction, at least one program, code set, or instruction set is loaded and executed by the processor to implement the above-described control method.

[0044] The processor can be a central processing unit (CPU), or other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc.

[0045] The memory can be used to store the computer program or module. The processor implements various functions of the control method by running or executing the computer program or module stored in the memory and calling data stored in the memory. The memory may mainly include a program storage area and a data storage area. The program storage area may store the operating system, at least one application program required for a function, etc.; the data storage area may store data created based on the use of the mobile phone, etc. In addition, the memory may include high-speed random access memory, and may also include non-volatile memory, such as hard disk, RAM, plug-in hard disk, smart media card (SMC), secure digital (SD) card, flash card, at least one disk storage device, flash memory device, or other volatile solid-state storage device.

[0046] The above are merely preferred embodiments of this application and are not intended to limit this application. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of this application should be included within the protection scope of this application.

Claims

1. A low-code industrial control method, characterized by, include: Based on the standardized CSV configuration method, the communication object is configured to obtain the communication object configuration file; Based on standardized CSV configuration methods and standardized JSON parameters, process nodes are configured to obtain process node configuration files; The communication object configuration file and the process node configuration file are parsed to obtain a communication instance corresponding to the industrial equipment and a node instance for controlling the industrial equipment. The process configuration file includes the node order among multiple node instances. The communication instance converts the control logic of the node instance into control commands according to the node sequence, and performs dynamic process control and process start / stop management on the industrial equipment through the control commands.

2. The low-code industrial control method of claim 1, wherein, After obtaining the communication object configuration file and the process node configuration file, the control method further includes: Verify the communication object configuration file and the process node configuration file to obtain the verification result; When the verification result is successful, the communication object configuration file and the process node configuration file are parsed. If the verification result is that the verification fails, the communication object and the process node are reconfigured respectively until the verification result is that the verification passes.

3. The low-code industrial control method of claim 2, wherein, The communication object configuration file includes the communication object name, and the process node configuration file includes the associated object name and the execution function node; Verification of the communication object configuration file and the process node configuration file includes: The integrity of the parameters in the communication object configuration file and the process node configuration file is verified. Verify whether the name of the communication object and the name of the associated object exist; The validity of the JSON format of the process node configuration file is verified; The JSON parameters of the process node configuration file are validated to ensure they meet protocol requirements. The existence of the function called by the execution function node is verified.

4. The low-code industrial control method of claim 1, wherein, The communication object configuration file and the process node configuration file are parsed to obtain a communication instance corresponding to the industrial equipment, and a node instance for controlling the industrial equipment, including: The communication object configuration file is parsed to obtain the communication type and the name of the communication object used to indicate the industrial equipment. The communication instance is obtained based on the communication type; The process node configuration file is parsed to obtain the associated object name; The node instance is obtained based on the communication object name and the associated object name.

5. The low-code industrial control method of claim 1, wherein, The communication instance includes a communication type, and the node instance includes a node type and node configuration parameters; The communication instance converts the control logic of the node instance into control commands, including: The communication instance converts the node configuration parameters according to the protocol type corresponding to the communication type to obtain protocol data; Based on the node type, determine the control logic of the node instance; The communication instance obtains the control command based on the equipment parameters of the industrial equipment, the protocol data, and the control logic.

6. The low-code industrial control method of claim 5, wherein, The node types include read data, write data, read until, and execute function.

7. The low-code industrial control method of claim 6, wherein, When the node type of the node instance is write data and the node configuration parameters of the node instance are empty, the protocol data is obtained according to the node order and the output parameters of the previously executed node instance.

8. The low-code industrial control method of claim 6, wherein, When the node type of the node instance is an executed function, the next node instance to be executed is determined based on the return value of the node instance, including: If the return value of the node instance is a first preset value, then the next node instance to be executed is determined according to the node order; if the return value of the node instance is a second preset value, then the output parameters of the node instance are parsed to determine the next node instance to be executed.

9. A low-code industrial control method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Also includes: The process of dynamic process control and process start / stop management of the industrial equipment based on the control commands is monitored.

10. A computer device, characterized in that, The computer device includes a processor and a memory, the memory storing at least one instruction, at least one program, code set, or instruction set, wherein at least one instruction, at least one program, code set, or instruction set is loaded and executed by the processor to implement a low-code industrial control method as described in any one of claims 1 to 9.

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