An instrument communication bus converter and conversion device based on BLE Bluetooth

Abstract

The present invention belongs to the field of communication technologies, and particularly relates to an instrument communication bus converter and a conversion device based on BLE Bluetooth. The converter is powered by a lithium battery, can be conveniently and quickly inserted into the instrument communication interface, and realizes wireless interconnection of instrument devices anytime and anywhere. As a slave device, the converter can automatically pair with a control terminal and complete registration, and then waits in a low-power mode to receive instrument operation and read / write instructions sent by the control terminal. After converting them into corresponding interface instructions, the instructions are then forwarded to the instrument communication interface to achieve remote control of the instrument.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the field of communication technology, and in particular relates to an instrument communication bus converter and a conversion device based on BLE Bluetooth. Background Art

[0002] The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present invention and do not necessarily constitute prior art.

[0003] The current instrument control communication buses mainly include GPIB, VME-based VXI, PCI-based PXI, LAN-based LXI, RS232 and other wired methods and WiFi, GPRS, ZigBee, Bluetooth and other wireless methods. Among the wired methods, VXI and PXI are rarely used on a single instrument due to their application scenario limitations, while LXI is more often used in high-end instruments. GPIB and RS232 are currently the most commonly used connection methods in instrument communication because they have been widely accepted and used by various instrument vendors for a long time, and are also communication interfaces that can be seen in various single test equipment. However, for wired communication methods, because each device requires a physical cable connection, the flexibility and mobility are poor, and it is difficult to achieve handheld smart device control. As for wireless communication methods, considering the interference of wireless communication to many test instruments, wireless function is generally not installed inside the instrument as the preferred function, but is more realized by external modules developed by users according to their own needs. Among them, WiFi is a method with more local area network applications. Its disadvantages are high cost, high power consumption and low security. Unplugged WiFi modules are difficult to use for a long time and require frequent charging or battery replacement. GPRS is mainly used in some data collection fields or real-time monitoring fields with wide area network communication needs. Its disadvantages are high price, low security and dependence on base stations. ZigBee is the mainstream technology of the Internet of Things. Its disadvantages are low data transmission rate, lack of support for handheld smart devices, and high time cost due to development difficulty. Bluetooth is only used in a small number of testing fields due to high power consumption and few network nodes. Summary of the invention

[0004] In order to solve at least one technical problem existing in the above-mentioned background technology, the first aspect of the present invention provides an instrument communication bus converter based on BLE Bluetooth, which realizes the wireless transmission of GPIB and RS232 interface information, and in view of the low concurrency of instrument control, controls the connection status of master and slave devices in a transaction-dominated connection manner, breaking through the limitation on the number of network nodes, and combining the characteristics of BLE low power consumption, fast connection, high security and low cost.

[0005] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention adopts the following technical solution:

[0006] An instrument communication interface converter based on BLE Bluetooth, comprising: a converter body, one end of the converter body is provided with an RS232 interface, and the other end is provided with a GPIB interface. Inside the converter body, there are a TTL to RS232 module, a BLE Bluetooth module, a GPIB controller module, a ROM, and multiple bus transceiver modules. The BLE Bluetooth module is respectively connected to the TTL to RS232 module and the GPIB controller module. The GPIB controller module is connected to multiple bus transceiver modules. One end of the RS232 interface is connected to the TTL to RS232 module, and the other end is connected to the communication interface of the instrument. One end of the GPIB interface is connected to the bus transceiver module, and the other end is connected to the communication interface of the instrument. The TTL to RS232 module and the GPIB controller module are used to realize the wireless interconnection between instrument devices by controlling the conversion between the data obtained from the communication interface of the measuring instrument and the data of the UART interface and DIO interface of the BLE Bluetooth module.

[0007] To solve the above problems, a second aspect of the present invention provides an instrument communication interface conversion device based on BLE Bluetooth, which uses the BLE Bluetooth method to replace wired or other wireless connections to realize the conversion and interconnection of instrument communication buses.

[0008] To achieve the above object, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions:

[0009] An instrument communication interface conversion device based on BLE Bluetooth, comprising a control terminal and multiple converters. The converters are connected to corresponding instruments. The converters are used to automatically pair with the control terminal and complete registration. The control terminal is used to send instrument operation and read / write instructions to the converters. The converters convert them into corresponding interface instructions and then forward them to the communication interfaces of the instruments.

[0010] The advantage of the above solution is that it uses the BLE Bluetooth method to replace wired or other wireless connections to realize the conversion and interconnection of instrument communication buses.

[0011] The beneficial effects of the present invention are:

[0012] 1. Using the BLE Bluetooth method to replace wired or other wireless connections to realize the conversion and interconnection of instrument communication buses. Using BLE Bluetooth technology, the module is small, light in weight, and has a fast connection speed, which can realize the rapid construction of test systems in more application scenarios and better meet the requirements of military high mobility applications.

[0013] 2. Based on the transaction-led connection method, it solves the problem of few Bluetooth connections and can realize the construction of a larger test system.

[0014] 3. The BLE Bluetooth has low power consumption. Coupled with the setting of not maintaining the connection, it can ensure continuous use for a longer time.

[0015] 4. The BLE Bluetooth has higher security and stronger anti-interference ability. Coupled with the MAC address whitelist mode of the master device, it can ensure the safe operation of the test system.

[0016] 5. The BLE Bluetooth's friendly support for mobile devices allows the use of smaller control terminals, further enhancing mobility. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] The accompanying drawings forming a part of this invention are used to provide a further understanding of the invention. The schematic embodiments and descriptions thereof of the invention are used to explain the invention and do not constitute an improper limitation of the invention.

[0018] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the appearance of the converter in an embodiment of the invention;

[0019] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the principle of the converter in an embodiment of the invention;

[0020] Figure 3 is a registration flowchart in an embodiment of the invention;

[0021] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the test process in an embodiment of the invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0022] The present invention will be further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0023] It should be noted that the following detailed description is illustrative and is intended to provide further explanation of the present invention. Unless otherwise specified, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by those of ordinary skill in the technical field to which the present invention belongs.

[0024] It should be noted that the terms used herein are only for describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the exemplary embodiments of the present invention. As used herein, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the singular forms are also intended to include the plural forms. In addition, it should be understood that when the terms "comprising" and / or "including" are used in this specification, they indicate the presence of features, steps, operations, devices, components, and / or combinations thereof.

[0025] In the present invention, terms such as "inside", "above", etc. indicating the orientation or positional relationship are based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only relationship terms determined for the convenience of describing the structural relationship of each component or element of the present invention and do not specifically refer to any component or element of the present invention and should not be construed as a limitation of the present invention.

[0026] In the present invention, terms such as "connected" and "linked" should be understood in a broad sense, which may mean a fixed connection, an integral connection or a detachable connection; it may be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium. For relevant scientific research or technical personnel in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be determined according to specific circumstances, and it should not be construed as a limitation to the present invention.

[0027] Term Explanation

[0028] BLE: The full name is Bluetooth Low Energy, which is a low-power Bluetooth technology. It is a personal area network technology designed and sold by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group, aiming at emerging applications in the fields of healthcare, sports fitness, beacons, security, home entertainment, etc. Compared with classic Bluetooth, low-power Bluetooth aims to significantly reduce power consumption and cost while maintaining the same communication range. It uses 3 broadcast channels instead of the 16 - 32 channels used by classic Bluetooth technology, reduces peak power, has shorter data packets, fast connection and disconnection, etc. to achieve low power consumption. A button battery can be used for 1 to 2 years; it uses the AES-128 CCM encryption algorithm for data packet encryption and authentication to ensure the security of data transmission; it uses adaptive frequency hopping technology to improve the anti-interference ability in the 2.4GHz frequency band; the BLE5.0 standard adds a low-power coding physical layer, in addition to cyclic redundancy check (CRC), there is also convolutional coding and mapping, which improves the redundancy and reduces the chance of error to ensure the correctness of data; the startup connection only takes 3ms, which improves the connection speed; the BLE module itself is used for the development of wearable devices, so the module is small and the developed devices are very portable. Based on the above advantages, BLE technology is very suitable for developing instrument bus replacement technology, and its characteristics are also very suitable for applications in the military test field.

[0029] Currently, the existing solutions for instrument communication in a wireless manner include an automatic test system based on WiFi, a test system and method based on ZigBee, and a wireless intelligent sensor based on Bluetooth. The two closest ones are the latter two. The test system and method based on ZigBee uses a ZigBee wireless communication module as a medium to connect the test control terminal and the test instrument to form a wireless test network. The advantage is that it can support the connection of up to 255 test devices at most, and the disadvantage is that it does not support the development of mobile intelligent devices and has a relatively large development difficulty. The wireless intelligent sensor based on Bluetooth adds a 7cm * 4cm Bluetooth adapter to the sensor to transmit real-time data. This solution is relatively early, and the disadvantages are that the adapter is large, the number of nodes is small, and the power consumption is high. Later, due to power consumption problems, Bluetooth has basically rarely been used in the field of instrument interconnection adapters.

[0030] Embodiment 1

[0031] To meet the needs of integrating most instruments in the market that only have GPIB or RS232 bus interfaces, the present invention has developed a converter that converts the data on the GPIB or RS232 bus of the instrument into a BLE signal for interaction with the control terminal.

[0032] As Figure 1 - Figure 2 shown, this embodiment provides an instrument communication interface converter based on BLE Bluetooth, including: a converter body, one end of the converter body is provided with an RS232 interface, and the other end is provided with a GPIB interface. Inside the converter body, there are a TTL to RS232 module, a BLE Bluetooth module, a GPIB controller module, a ROM, and multiple bus transceiver modules. The BLE Bluetooth module is respectively connected to the TTL to RS232 module and the GPIB controller module. The GPIB controller module is connected to multiple bus transceiver modules. One end of the RS232 interface is connected to the TTL to RS232 module, and the other end is connected to the RS232 interface of the measuring instrument. One end of the GPIB interface is connected to the bus transceiver module, and the other end is connected to the GPIB interface of the measuring instrument; the TTL to RS232 module and the GPIB controller module are used to realize the conversion between the data obtained through the communication interface of the measuring instrument and the data of the UART interface and DIO interface of the BLE Bluetooth module, so as to realize the wireless interconnection between instrument devices.

[0033] Specifically, the TTL to RS232 module is used to convert the data obtained from the communication interface of the measuring instrument into a UART signal, and the GPIB controller module is used to convert the data obtained from the communication interface of the measuring instrument into an 8-bit DIO signal. After being processed by the BLE Bluetooth chip, these are then forwarded to the control terminal through the corresponding Bluetooth connection. Wireless interconnection between instrument devices is achieved through BLE signals.

[0034] The function of the TTL to RS232 module is to convert the output of the UART interface of the BLE Bluetooth module into an RS232 output, which is actually the conversion from TTL level to 232 level; the GPIB controller module is a management chip between the single-chip microcomputer and the bus interface to simplify GPIB development and is used in conjunction with the bus transceiver.

[0035] The advantage of the above technical solution is that the TTL to RS232 module and the GPIB controller module are used to realize the mutual conversion between the data of the UART interface and DIO interface of the BLE Bluetooth chip and the data of the communication interface of the measuring instrument. The BLE Bluetooth chip, as middleware, is responsible for receiving, processing, and forwarding the communication data of the measuring instrument interface and the Bluetooth wireless connection, thereby realizing the wireless interconnection between measuring instruments.

[0036] The converter is powered by a lithium battery and can be conveniently and quickly inserted into the instrument communication interface to achieve wireless interconnection of instrument devices anytime and anywhere.

[0037] The converter body is also provided with a power switch and a register / deregister button.

[0038] The BLE Bluetooth module is also connected to the LED module, and the LED module is used to display the prompt information of the entire communication.

[0039] It can be understood that in other embodiments, the TTL to RS232 module, the BLE Bluetooth module, the GPIB controller module, and the bus transceiver module can be set by those skilled in the art according to the specific working conditions. For example, the TTL to RS232 module can use MAX3232, the BLE Bluetooth module can use CC2640R2, the GPIB controller module can use NAT7210, and the bus transceiver module can use SN75161, which will not be elaborated here.

[0040] Embodiment 2

[0041] As Figure 3 shown, this embodiment provides an instrument communication interface conversion device based on BLE Bluetooth, including a control terminal and a plurality of converters. The converters are connected to the corresponding instruments. The converters are used to automatically pair with the control terminal and complete registration. The control terminal is used to send instrument operation and read / write instructions to the converters. The converters convert them into corresponding interface instructions and output them to the corresponding communication interfaces of the measuring instruments to achieve remote control of the instruments.

[0042] The converters convert them into corresponding interface instructions and output them to the corresponding communication interfaces of the measuring instruments. Specifically: the currently available interfaces of the BLE Bluetooth module output the instructions to the TTL to 232 module through the UART interface and then forward them to the RS232 interface, or output them to the NAT7210 GPIB control module through the GPIO interface and then to the GPIB interface.

[0043] When the control terminal has no tasks, it only grasps the instrument status according to the instrument registry and does not establish a substantial connection, while the converters remain in the standby state; when a test task needs to be executed, the control terminal will call the instrument requirements according to the task and send status update instructions to the converters of all instruments in turn. After receiving the status update requests sent by all converters and all of them are "available", it will start to execute the test task. If the updated status is not received within the timeout period, relevant instrument unavailable information will be popped up, and the status of the instrument registry will be changed to "unavailable".

[0044] When performing a task, the control terminal gradually completes each subtask according to the test task process. In each subtask, the control terminal sequentially sends operation instructions to the converters of relevant instruments one by one. When data needs to be received, it enters a blocking state. The converter forwards the instructions to the relevant instruments and receives the status information or test data returned by the instruments. After the information or test data is ready, the converter directionally broadcasts the device name, and the control terminal establishes a connection and receives the relevant data.

[0045] The converter is used to automatically pair with the control terminal and complete registration, including:

[0046] The converter is used to send a response to the "IDN?" instruction to all interfaces, bundle the interface numbers with information returned and the instrument information obtained as the device name with its own MAC address, and compare it with the device name stored in the memory ROM. If they are inconsistent, update the ROM, set its own status as unregistered, non-directionally broadcast the device name, and connect to the control terminal to initiate a registration request. The control terminal stores the device name in the instrument registry and marks the status as "available", while the converter will self-mark as the registered state.

[0047] If the connection attempt fails three times, the converter will enter the standby state and stop broadcasting. At this time, the "Registration / De-registration" button can be pressed briefly to try pairing and connecting again.

[0048] If the comparison result of the device names is the same, it is judged whether its own status is registered. If it is registered, it directionally broadcasts the device name and requests the control terminal to update the status. If it is not registered, it non-directionally broadcasts the device name and initiates a registration request.

[0049] When the control terminal receives a registration request, it first retrieves the registry, searches for and deletes the registration information of the converter with the same MAC address to ensure the one-to-one correspondence between the converter and the instrument registry.

[0050] To ensure security, the connection and communication between the control terminal and the converter are based on pairing and binding. To prevent unauthorized devices from binding to the master device, the control terminal can establish a MAC address whitelist, and the control terminal only pairs and binds with the converters within the whitelist.

[0051] When the converter shuts down, if it is in the unregistered state, it directly shuts down. If it is in the registered state, it first directionally broadcasts the device name, updates the registry status information to "unavailable" to the control terminal, and then completes the shutdown.

[0052] When the converter is in the registered state, pressing the "Registration / De-registration" button for a long time will directionally broadcast the device name and send a de-registration request to the control terminal. The control terminal deletes the converter from the registry and disconnects the connection, and the converter self-marks as the unregistered state.

[0053] After the converter is successfully connected to the control terminal and completes registration, it will disconnect and enter the standby state. In the standby state, the "IDN?" command will be sent to the instrument every 30 seconds to confirm the normal connection status with the instrument. If the correct instrument information is not received, the converter will declare the status as "unavailable" to the control terminal.

[0054] As Figure 4 shown, taking the test process as an example to illustrate the working principles of the control terminal, the converter, and the corresponding instrument.

[0055] The control terminal is used to select the corresponding instrument according to the set tasks. The set tasks include multiple subtasks, and each subtask is completed by multiple instruments cooperating with each other. The subtasks run in parallel, and the same instrument runs in a blocking manner. That is, for the same instrument, no matter how many subtasks call it, if the subtask being executed has not been completed, the instrument is in a blocked state, and other subtasks that call it will also enter the blocked state.

[0056] In the subtask, each interaction between the control terminal and the test instrument is a transaction, and each transaction includes steps such as establishing a connection, sending instructions or data, confirming instructions or data, and disconnecting the connection. Due to the fact that BLE Bluetooth only supports a maximum of 7 connections, and considering the low real-time requirements and less demand for parallel operations in the test field, the present invention adopts a connection method dominated by transactions to achieve multi-instrument interconnection without a maximum connection number limit. That is, a connection is established only when it is necessary to interact with the instrument, and the connection is immediately disconnected after the interaction is completed.

[0057] The above are only the preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not used to limit the present invention. For those skilled in the art, the present invention can have various changes and modifications. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present invention shall be included within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A BLE-based instrument communication interface conversion device, It is characterized in that It includes a control terminal and a plurality of converters, wherein the converters are connected to corresponding instruments, and the converters are used to automatically pair with the control terminal and complete registration, and the control terminal is used to send instrument operation and read-write instructions to the converters, and the converters convert them into corresponding interface instructions and then forward them to the communication interface of the instrument; The converter includes two states: power on and relationship. When the converter is powered on, the converter is used to send a response instruction to all interfaces, and bundle the number corresponding to the interface with information returned and the acquired instrument information with its own MAC address as the device name, and compare it with the device name stored in the memory; When the converter is shut down, if the converter is in an unregistered state, it will be shut down directly. If it is in a registered state, the device name will be broadcasted first, and the registration status information of the control terminal will be updated to "unavailable" before the shutdown is completed. If the comparison result of the device name is consistent, the converter is used to determine whether its own status has been registered. If it has been registered, the device name is broadcasted in a direction and the status is requested to be updated from the control terminal. If it has not been registered, the device name is broadcasted in a non-directed manner and a registration request is initiated. If the comparison result of the device name is inconsistent, the converter updates the device name and sets its own status to unregistered, broadcasts the device name in a non-directional manner, and connects to the control terminal to initiate a registration request. The control terminal stores the device name in the instrument registration table and marks the status as "available", and the converter marks itself as registered; When the control terminal receives the registration request, it first searches the registration table, finds and deletes the registration information of the converter with the same MAC address, and ensures a one-to-one correspondence between the converter and the instrument registration table; To ensure security, the connection and communication between the control terminal and the converter is based on pairing and binding. To prevent unauthorized devices from binding with the main device, the control terminal can establish a MAC address whitelist. The control terminal is used to pair and bind with the converters in the MAC address whitelist. The control terminal is used to select a corresponding instrument according to a set task, wherein the set task includes multiple subtasks, each subtask is completed by multiple instruments in cooperation with each other, the subtasks are run in parallel, and the same instrument is run in a blocking manner; The converter is interconnected with the instrument in a transaction-dominated connection mode. The connection is established only when interacting with the instrument, and the connection is immediately disconnected after the interaction is completed.

2. A BLE-based instrument communication interface converter using the conversion device as claimed in claim 1, It is characterized in that include: Converter body, one end of the converter body is provided with an RS232 interface, and the other end is provided with a GPIB interface. Inside the converter body, there are a TTL to RS232 module, a BLE Bluetooth module, a GPIB controller module, a ROM, and multiple bus transceiver modules. The BLE Bluetooth module is respectively connected to the TTL to RS232 module and the GPIB controller module. The GPIB controller module is connected to multiple bus transceiver modules. One end of the RS232 interface is connected to the TTL to RS232 module, and the other end is connected to the communication interface of the instrument. One end of the GPIB interface is connected to the bus transceiver module, and the other end is connected to the communication interface of the instrument. The TTL to RS232 module and the GPIB controller module are used to realize the wireless interconnection between instrument devices through the conversion between the data obtained by controlling the communication interface of the measuring instrument and the data of the UART interface and DIO interface of the BLE Bluetooth module.

3. A kind of instrument communication interface converter based on BLE Bluetooth as described in claim 2, characterized in that, the converter body is also provided with a power-on / off key and a register / deregister button.

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