A DMX equipment networking and configuration system

Abstract

The present invention relates to a DMX device networking and configuration system, including a DMX controller and a DMX device. The DMX controller is connected to the DMX device in a daisy chain wiring mode, and the daisy chain wiring mode can be switched with a bus wiring mode; the system uses a fast automatic search method to search for devices and can perform automatic configuration. Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the advantages of fast search, automatic system configuration, and switching between daisy chain and bus modes at any time according to needs, and is flexible and convenient.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a DMX device, and in particular to a DMX device networking and configuration system. Background Art

[0002] DMX is a lighting control protocol. With the improvement of people's living standards and the development of lighting industry technology, the requirements for lighting are getting higher and higher, and the application of DMX is becoming more and more extensive. When wiring DMX on-site, the flexibility of the wiring method is poor. Once the wiring is completed, if the mode needs to be changed, it needs to be modified again, and the process is very troublesome.

[0003] At the same time, when DMX is wired on site, various configurations need to be performed on the lighting equipment, including configuration address, dimming mode, maximum brightness, minimum brightness, color temperature range, etc. At present, DMX widely uses RDM commands for configuration. When configuring, you need to search for the device first, and then configure each device one by one according to the needs, which is very time-consuming and prone to errors. Summary of the invention

[0004] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a DMX device networking and configuration system in order to overcome the defects of the prior art.

[0005] The purpose of the present invention can be achieved by the following technical solutions:

[0006] A DMX device networking and configuration system comprises a DMX controller and DMX devices. The DMX controller is connected to the DMX devices in a daisy chain wiring mode, and the daisy chain wiring mode can be switched with a bus wiring mode. The system uses a fast automatic search method to search for devices and can perform automatic configuration.

[0007] Preferably, the DMX controller is connected to a plurality of DMX devices via an RS-485 bus, the DMX devices include an MCU, an isolation circuit and an RS-485 transceiver connected in sequence, or the DMX devices include an MCU and an RS-485 transceiver connected in sequence, and the RS-485 transceiver is connected to the DMX controller via an RS-485 bus.

[0008] Preferably, the DMX controller is connected to multiple DMX devices in a daisy chain manner.

[0009] Preferably, the DMX controller is connected to the first DMX device among the multiple DMX devices, and the remaining DMX devices are connected in sequence; the DMX device is provided with two DMX interfaces, one of the DMX interfaces of the first DMX device is connected to the DMX controller, and the other DMX interface is connected to the next DMX device, and the two DMX interfaces of the remaining DMX devices are respectively connected to adjacent DMX devices.

[0010] Preferably, the DMX device comprises an MCU, a first RS-485 transceiver, a second RS-485 transceiver, and / or an isolation circuit, wherein the isolation circuit comprises a first isolation circuit and a second isolation circuit.

[0011] The MCU is directly connected to the first RS-485 transceiver and the second RS-485 transceiver respectively;

[0012] Or the MCU is connected to the first isolation circuit and the second isolation circuit respectively, the first isolation circuit is connected to the first RS-485 transceiver, and the second isolation circuit is connected to the second RS-485 transceiver.

[0013] Preferably, the DMX device is provided with a switching circuit for switching between a bus wiring mode and a daisy chain wiring mode.

[0014] Preferably, the system is configured as follows:

[0015] 1) Send a broadcast command to exit MUTE mode, so that all DMX devices on the bus enter discoverable mode;

[0016] 2) Send a broadcast command to switch the DMX device hardware to daisy chain mode;

[0017] 3) Send a discovery command to search for DMX devices;

[0018] 4) Since the first DMX device is directly connected to the DMX controller, the subsequent devices need to be forwarded step by step before they can be sent to the DMX controller. Therefore, the DMX controller receives the feedback data of the first device first; the DMX controller only needs to send and receive once to obtain the UID of the first device and the UIDs of subsequent devices;

[0019] 5) The DMX controller reads the information of the first DMX device and configures it according to the UID of the first DMX device;

[0020] 6) If the UIDs of other DMX devices are obtained, the information of these DMX devices is also configured;

[0021] 7) The DMX controller sends a MUTE command to the configured DMX device to put it into MUTE state;

[0022] 8) The DMX controller sends a command to the configured DMX device to switch it to bus mode;

[0023] 9) The DMX controller sends a discovery command again to search for DMX devices, and configures the DMX devices according to the feedback, and repeats steps 7), 8), and 9) until there is no DMX device feedback.

[0024] Preferably, a starting address is set in the configuration software. When the first DMX device is searched, the set starting address is configured to the first DMX device, and then the starting address of the second DMX device is calculated according to the footprint value and the starting address of the first DMX device; after the second DMX device is searched, it is configured according to the starting address of the second DMX device calculated previously, and the starting address of the third DMX device is calculated according to the starting address and footprint value of the second DMX device, and so on, the address configuration of all devices can be completed.

[0025] Preferably, the parameters that need to be configured for each device are listed or pre-set in the order of device routing on the interface, and during or after the search, the device is configured using the listed or set parameters, wherein the parameters that need to be configured include the DMX start address.

[0026] Preferably, the parameters to be configured are saved in a file in the order of device routing, and the file is imported before searching. During or after searching, the parameters imported from the file are used to configure the device.

[0027] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following advantages:

[0028] 1) When wiring, the daisy chain mode can be used, and the daisy chain and bus modes can be switched at any time as needed, which is flexible and convenient;

[0029] 2) Improved the speed of address search, saved debugging time, and accelerated project progress;

[0030] 3) Automatic configuration can be achieved, eliminating the trouble of configuring one by one, saving time and effort, and being less prone to errors. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0031] Figure 1 This is a typical RS-485 transceiver circuit diagram;

[0032] Figure 2 This is a typical wiring diagram of MCU and RS-485 transceiver;

[0033] Figure 3 This is a typical wiring diagram of an isolated MCU and RS-485 transceiver;

[0034] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of RS-485 communication networking using bus mode;

[0035] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of a device with two DMX interfaces;

[0036] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the daisy chain wiring method of DMX devices;

[0037] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of a DMX device interface with a switching circuit. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0038] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work should fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0039] The invention discloses a DMX equipment networking and configuration system, which realizes flexible DMX networking and rapid automatic configuration by modifying equipment hardware, equipment software (firmware) and control software.

[0040] DMX uses RS-485 bus for communication, so RS-485 transceiver is generally used, so that the CMOS signal or TTL signal of MCU can be converted by RS-485 transceiver and communicate with RS-485 bus. Figure 1 shown.

[0041] exist Figure 1 In the transceiver schematic, A and B are connected to the RS-485 bus, and R, RE, DE, and D are connected to the MCU. Since reception and transmission are not performed at the same time, RE and DE are respectively effective at low level and high level when the device is designed. In this way, in some cases, the two signals can be connected together to implement a control signal to switch input and output. R is the output of the transceiver that converts the RS-485 signal into a COMS or TTL level, which is used to connect to the UART input signal (RXD) of the MCU. D is the input of the transceiver that converts the CMOS or TTL level into an RS-485 signal, which is used to connect to the UART output signal (TXD) of the MCU. The typical wiring diagram of the MCU and the RS-485 transceiver is shown below. Figure 2In actual applications, signal isolation is sometimes required. In this case, the typical RS-485 application circuit structure is as follows: Figure 3 shown.

[0042] DMX communication can use bus mode, and its wiring diagram is as follows Figure 4 DMX communication can also use daisy chain mode. In this case, the DMX device needs to have two DMX interfaces, such as Figure 5 The wiring diagram of daisy chain wiring is as follows: Figure 6 shown.

[0043] In practical applications, only one of the bus and daisy chain methods can be selected. Once the wiring is completed, it is very troublesome to modify it. Figure 5 On the basis of, add a switching circuit (the switching circuit can use a physical switch, relay, etc.), such as Figure 7 As shown. In this way, when wiring, follow the daisy chain wiring. When the switching circuit is Figure 7 When the state is shown, the actual effect is bus mode. If the microcontroller controls the switching circuit to switch to another state, it is daisy chain mode. Therefore, the switching circuit can be controlled by sending commands to the DMX device to achieve different modes, which is very convenient to use.

[0044] In addition, by modifying the firmware and control software, you can quickly configure the DMX device, for example, configure the DMX address, dimming strategy, etc.

[0045] For the bus connection mode, when searching for devices according to the RDM protocol, the address segment segment search is required, which takes a long time. The present invention uses the following method to search:

[0046] 1. Send a broadcast command (DISC_UN_MUTE) to exit MUTE mode, so that all devices on the bus enter discoverable mode;

[0047] 2. Send a broadcast command to switch the device's hardware to daisy-chain mode;

[0048] 3. Send a discovery command (DISC_UNIQUE_BRANCH) to search for devices;

[0049] 4. Since the first device is directly connected to the controller, the subsequent devices need to be forwarded step by step before they can be sent to the controller. Therefore, the controller receives the feedback data of the first device first. Since the data is not sent to the controller at the same time, but transmitted one packet at a time, there will be no data conflict. The data received by the controller is correct data, so the UID of the first device can be obtained with only one send and receive.

[0050] 5. The controller reads the information of the first device and configures it according to the UID of the first device;

[0051] 6. If the UIDs of other devices are obtained, configure the information of these devices as well (optional);

[0052] 7. The controller sends a MUTE command (DISC_MUTE) to the configured device to put it into MUTE state;

[0053] 8. The controller sends a command to the configured device to switch it to bus mode;

[0054] 9. The controller sends the discovery command (DISC_UNIQUE_BRANCH) again to search for devices, configure the devices based on the feedback, and repeat steps 7, 8, and 9 until there is no device feedback.

[0055] When searching in this way, each time a DISCORVARY command is issued, as long as there are devices that have not been found, there will be correct feedback immediately and the device UID will be obtained. In the existing method, if there is more than one device on the bus, a conflict will occur, resulting in the inability to obtain the device UID. The address range must be continuously narrowed and the device UID can only be obtained after multiple attempts. Therefore, the search speed is greatly improved.

[0056] In addition, in the existing method, the configuration of each device is performed manually one by one. In order to quickly configure, this patent adopts the following method for configuration:

[0057] If you only configure the starting address and use the address in sequence, you can set a starting address in the configuration software. When the first device is searched, the set starting address is configured to the first device, and then the starting address of the second device is calculated based on the footprint value and starting address of the first device; after the second device is searched, it is configured according to the previously calculated starting address of the second device, and the starting address of the third device is calculated based on the starting address and footprint value of the second device. By analogy, the address configuration of all devices can be completed.

[0058] If the configuration addresses are not in order or other parameters need to be configured, the parameters that need to be configured for each device (including the DMX start address) can be listed or pre-set in advance on the interface according to the order of device routing. During the search process or after the search, the listed or set parameters can be used to configure the device. Since the configuration parameters are pre-set, the configuration process does not need to be operated one by one, which saves debugging time and improves assembly debugging efficiency.

[0059] You can also save the parameters to be configured in a file according to the order of device routing, and import the file before searching. During or after the search, use the parameters imported from the file to configure the device.

[0060] The above is only a specific embodiment of the present invention, but the protection scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any technician familiar with the technical field can easily think of various equivalent modifications or replacements within the technical scope disclosed by the present invention, and these modifications or replacements should be included in the protection scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention shall be based on the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A DMX device networking and configuration system, characterized in that: It includes a DMX controller and a DMX device, wherein the DMX controller is connected to the DMX device in a daisy chain wiring mode, and the daisy chain wiring mode and the bus wiring mode are switchable with each other; The system is configured as follows: 1) Send a broadcast command to exit MUTE mode, so that all DMX devices on the bus enter discoverable mode; 2) Send a broadcast command to switch the DMX device hardware to daisy chain mode; 3) Send a discovery command to search for DMX devices; 4) Since the first DMX device is directly connected to the DMX controller, the subsequent DMX devices need to be forwarded step by step before they can be sent to the DMX controller. Therefore, the DMX controller first receives the feedback data of the first DMX device; the DMX controller only needs to send and receive once to obtain the UID of the first DMX device and the UIDs of subsequent DMX devices; 5) The DMX controller reads the information of the first DMX device and configures it according to the UID of the first DMX device; 6) If the UIDs of other DMX devices are obtained, the information of these DMX devices is also configured; 7) The DMX controller sends a MUTE command to the configured DMX device to put it into MUTE state; 8) The DMX controller sends a command to the configured DMX device to switch it to bus mode; 9) The DMX controller sends a discovery command again to search for DMX devices, and configures the DMX devices according to the feedback, and repeats steps 7), 8), and 9) until there is no DMX device feedback.

2. A DMX device networking and configuration system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The DMX controller is connected to a plurality of DMX devices via an RS-485 bus, the DMX devices include an MCU, an isolation circuit and an RS-485 transceiver connected in sequence, or the DMX devices include an MCU and an RS-485 transceiver connected in sequence, and the RS-485 transceiver is connected to the DMX controller via the RS-485 bus.

3. A DMX device networking and configuration system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The DMX controller is connected to multiple DMX devices in a daisy chain manner.

4. A DMX device networking and configuration system according to claim 3, characterized in that: The DMX controller is connected to the first DMX device among the multiple DMX devices, and the remaining DMX devices are connected in sequence; the DMX device is provided with two DMX interfaces, one of the DMX interfaces of the first DMX device is connected to the DMX controller, and the other DMX interface is connected to the next DMX device, and the two DMX interfaces of the remaining DMX devices are respectively connected to adjacent DMX devices.

5. A DMX device networking and configuration system according to claim 4, characterized in that: The DMX device includes an MCU, a first RS-485 transceiver, a second RS-485 transceiver, and / or an isolation circuit, wherein the isolation circuit includes a first isolation circuit and a second isolation circuit. The MCU is directly connected to the first RS-485 transceiver and the second RS-485 transceiver respectively; Or the MCU is connected to the first isolation circuit and the second isolation circuit respectively, the first isolation circuit is connected to the first RS-485 transceiver, and the second isolation circuit is connected to the second RS-485 transceiver.

6. A DMX device networking and configuration system according to claim 5, characterized in that: The DMX device is provided with a switching circuit for switching between a bus wiring mode and a daisy chain wiring mode.

7. A DMX device networking and configuration system according to claim 1, characterized in that: Set a starting address in the configuration software. When the first DMX device is searched, configure this set starting address to the first DMX device, and then calculate the starting address of the second DMX device according to the footprint value and starting address of the first DMX device; after the second DMX device is searched, configure it according to the starting address of the second DMX device calculated before, and calculate the starting address of the third DMX device according to the starting address and footprint value of the second DMX device, and so on. The address configuration of all DMX devices can be completed.

8. A DMX device networking and configuration system according to claim 7, characterized in that: On the interface, the parameters that need to be configured for each DMX device are listed or pre-set in the order of device routing. During or after the search, the DMX device is configured using the listed or set parameters.

9. A DMX device networking and configuration system according to claim 8, characterized in that: Save the parameters to be configured in a file according to the order of device routing, import the file before searching, and use the parameters imported from the file to configure the DMX devices during or after the search.

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