A device and method for burning an EtherCAT slave device description file

Abstract

The present invention is applicable to the field of EtherCAT, and provides a burning device and burning method for an EtherCAT slave device description file. The burning device includes a microcontroller and a touch screen display and a PHY chip electrically connected to the microcontroller respectively, and also includes a flash memory and a first network interface electrically connected to the PHY chip. The flash memory is electrically connected to the microcontroller or built into the microcontroller; the software in the microcontroller integrates the EtherCAT master station, and the bus protocol stack adopts the open source EtherCAT master station SOME. The solution of the present invention is low in cost, small in size, lightweight, easy to carry, simple to use, and does not require complex configuration. Since the bus protocol stack adopts the open source EtherCAT master station SOME, it is automatically upgraded after connection, the upgrade speed is fast, and the production test efficiency is improved. In addition, since it has a touch screen, the operation process can be simplified, intuitively visible, and no external display screen is required.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the field of EtherCAT, and in particular relates to a device and a method for burning an EtherCAT slave device description file. Background Art

[0002] When mass-producing EtherCAT slave devices, it's necessary to burn the EtherCAT Slave Information (ESI) file. This file, in XML format, is typically scanned and connected to the EtherCAT slave by the EtherCAT master. Burning the EtherCAT slave description file requires tedious configuration operations. Burning takes a long time, which delays batch operations and impacts production efficiency. EtherCAT master devices are based on PCs and real-time operating systems, typically using industrial computers (IPCs), which are expensive, bulky, and heavy. They typically require an external display for human-computer interaction, taking up space, requiring complex wiring, and making them inconvenient to carry around. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The present invention aims to provide a device and method for burning EtherCAT slave device description files, aiming to solve the problems of complicated configuration operation, long burning time, inconvenient movement and high cost in burning EtherCAT slave device description files by scanning and connecting EtherCAT slave devices through an EtherCAT master device.

[0004] In a first aspect, the present invention provides a device for burning an EtherCAT slave device description file, comprising a microcontroller and a touch display and a PHY chip electrically connected to the microcontroller respectively, and also comprising a flash memory and a first network interface electrically connected to the PHY chip, wherein the flash memory is electrically connected to the microcontroller or is built into the microcontroller; the software in the microcontroller integrates the EtherCAT master station, and the bus protocol stack adopts the open source EtherCAT master station SOEM; when burning the EtherCAT slave device description file, the first network interface is first connected to the EtherCAT slave device that has already burned the EtherCAT slave device description file, and the EtherCAT slave device description file is read from the EtherCAT slave device through the mailbox read and write EEPROM function of the EtherCAT master station in the microcontroller, and the read EtherCAT slave device description file is saved in the flash memory; when the first network interface is connected to the EtherCAT slave device to be burned, the microcontroller reads the EtherCAT slave device description file from the flash memory and writes it to the EtherCAT slave device to be burned through the mailbox read and write EEPROM function of the EtherCAT master station.

[0005] In a second aspect, the present invention provides a device for burning EtherCAT slave device description files, comprising a microcontroller and a touch display screen, a PHY chip, an EtherCAT slave controller and a memory, each electrically connected to the microcontroller; further comprising a flash memory, a second network interface and a first network interface electrically connected to the PHY chip; the flash memory is electrically connected to the microcontroller or built into the microcontroller; the second network interface and the memory are electrically connected to the EtherCAT slave controller, respectively; the software in the microcontroller integrates the EtherCAT master station, and the bus protocol stack adopts the open source EtherCAT master station SOEM; when burning the EtherCAT slave device description file, the burning device is connected to the EtherCAT master station device through the second network interface as an EtherCAT slave device, and the EtherCAT master station device burns the EtherCAT slave device description file into the memory through the EtherCAT slave controller; when the first network interface is connected to the EtherCAT slave station device to be burned, the microcontroller reads the EtherCAT slave device description file from the memory and writes it into the EtherCAT slave station device to be burned through the first network interface.

[0006] In a third aspect, the present invention provides a method for burning an EtherCAT slave device description file, comprising:

[0007] S101, EtherCAT slave device description file burning device is powered on and initialized;

[0008] S102, running the SOEM bus protocol stack, and the EtherCAT master station integrated by the software in the microcontroller scans the information of the EtherCAT slave station device to be burned through the bus register instruction;

[0009] S103, reading the EtherCAT slave device description file from the EtherCAT slave device to which the EtherCAT slave device description file has been burned and storing the file in a flash memory, or reading the EtherCAT slave device description file from the EtherCAT master device and storing the file in a memory;

[0010] S104, recording the operation instructions and timestamp via the SD card and displaying them via the touch screen;

[0011] S105, the touch screen receives the input burning command, and the protocol stack reads the control register and status register of the EEPROM of the EtherCAT slave device to be burned to confirm that the EEPROM is not in a busy state;

[0012] S106, writing the EtherCAT slave device description file into the corresponding address of the EEPROM of the EtherCAT slave device to be burned through the control register and the status register;

[0013] S107. After the writing is successful, the flag bit of the EEPROM of the EtherCAT slave device is read, the status is displayed on the touch screen, and the process is recorded on the SD card.

[0014] In the present invention, since the burning device includes a microcontroller and a touch screen display and a PHY chip electrically connected to the microcontroller, and also includes a flash memory and a first network interface electrically connected to the PHY chip, the flash memory is electrically connected to the microcontroller or is built into the microcontroller; the software in the microcontroller integrates the EtherCAT master station, and the bus protocol stack adopts the open source EtherCAT master station SOME. Therefore, the solution is low-cost, small in size, lightweight, easy to carry, simple to use, and does not require complex configuration. Since the bus protocol stack adopts the open source EtherCAT master station SOME, it automatically upgrades after connection, the upgrade speed is fast, and production testing efficiency is improved. In addition, due to the touch screen display, the operation process can be simplified and intuitively visible, and no external display screen is required. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of a device for burning EtherCAT slave device description files provided by one embodiment of the present invention.

[0016] Figure 2 Schematic diagram of a device for burning EtherCAT slave device description files provided by another embodiment of the present invention.

[0017] Figure 3 The present invention provides a flowchart of a method for burning an EtherCAT slave device description file provided by an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0018] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and beneficial effects of the present invention more clearly understood, the present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention.

[0019] In order to illustrate the technical solution of the present invention, specific embodiments are provided below.

[0020] See also Figure 1 The device for burning EtherCAT slave device description files provided by one embodiment of the present invention includes a microcontroller 11, a touch screen display 12 and a PHY chip 13 electrically connected to the microcontroller 11, a flash memory and a first network interface 14 electrically connected to the PHY chip 13, the flash memory being electrically connected to the microcontroller 11 or being built into the microcontroller 11; the software in the microcontroller 11 is integrated with an EtherCAT master station, and the bus protocol stack adopts an open source EtherCAT master station (SimpleOpenSource EtherCAT When burning the EtherCAT slave device description file, the first network interface 14 is first connected to the EtherCAT slave device that has been burned with the EtherCAT slave device description file, and the EtherCAT slave device description file is read from the EtherCAT slave device through the mailbox read and write EEPROM function of the EtherCAT master station in the microcontroller 11, and the read EtherCAT slave device description file is saved in the flash memory. When the first network interface 14 is connected to the EtherCAT slave device to be burned, the microcontroller 11 reads the EtherCAT slave device description file from the flash memory and writes it into the EtherCAT slave device to be burned through the mailbox read and write EEPROM function of the EtherCAT master station.

[0021] In one embodiment of the present invention, the microcontroller 11 is also used to verify whether the EtherCAT slave device description file burned into the EtherCAT slave device is correct. The microcontroller 11 can use a single-chip microcontroller with an M7 or M4 core, and the software uses the FreeRTOS open source system. SPI communication is used between the microcontroller 11 and the touch screen display 12. The touch screen display 12 is used to display one or any combination of the manufacturer's logo, company and product information, firmware version number, real-time burning time, number of successful burning, number of failed burning, cumulative number of burning, burning progress bar, burning time, and the operating status of the burning device. RMII communication is used between the microcontroller 11 and the PHY chip 13, and the mode of the PHY chip 13 is set through the IO port of the microcontroller 11.

[0022] See also Figure 2 Another embodiment of the present invention provides a device for burning EtherCAT slave device description files and Figure 1 Compared with the EtherCAT slave device description file burning device shown in the figure, the difference is that: the EtherCAT slave device description file burning device provided by another embodiment of the present invention also includes a second network interface 21 and an EtherCAT slave controller 22 and a memory 23 respectively electrically connected to the microcontroller, and the second network interface 21 and the memory 23 are respectively electrically connected to the EtherCAT slave controller 22; when burning the EtherCAT slave device description file, the burning device is connected to the EtherCAT master device via the second network interface 21 as an EtherCAT slave device, and the EtherCAT master device burns the EtherCAT slave device description file into the memory 23 via the EtherCAT slave controller 22. When the first network interface is connected to the EtherCAT slave device to be burned, the microcontroller reads the EtherCAT slave device description file from the memory 23 and writes it into the EtherCAT slave device to be burned via the first network interface.

[0023] In another embodiment of the present invention, the device for burning EtherCAT slave device description files may further include an RTC circuit 24, an SD card driver circuit 25, and a battery 26, each electrically connected to a microcontroller. The RTC circuit 24 is configured to preserve real-time time upon power failure and to timestamp system operations. The device for burning EtherCAT slave device description files may further include a sound output module electrically connected to the microcontroller to provide prompts for relevant information, such as the start and end of an operation.

[0024] Memory 23 can be an EEPROM, etc. SPI communication is used between the SD card driver circuit 25 and the microcontroller; the SD card driver circuit 25 is connected to an SD card to record operation history and system operating status, such as the time of programming, the number of programs programmed, and the software version programmed. This facilitates production information management and version tracing when resolving after-sales product issues.

[0025] IIC communication is used between the microcontroller and the memory 23. SPI and interrupt communication are used between the microcontroller and the EtherCAT slave controller 22.

[0026] See also Figure 3 , a method for burning an EtherCAT slave device description file provided by an embodiment of the present invention includes:

[0027] S101, EtherCAT slave device description file burning device is powered on and initialized;

[0028] S102: Running the SOEM bus protocol stack, the software-integrated EtherCAT master in the microcontroller scans information of the EtherCAT slave devices to be programmed through bus register instructions, such as the number of EtherCAT slave devices, the ID of the EtherCAT slave device, the type of the EtherCAT slave device, the operating status of the EtherCAT slave device, etc.

[0029] S103, reading the EtherCAT slave device description file from the EtherCAT slave device to which the EtherCAT slave device description file has been burned and storing the file in a flash memory, or reading the EtherCAT slave device description file from the EtherCAT master device and storing the file in a memory;

[0030] S104, recording the operation instructions and timestamp via the SD card and displaying them via the touch screen;

[0031] S105, the touch screen receives the input burning command, and the protocol stack reads the control register and status register of the EEPROM of the EtherCAT slave device to be burned to confirm that the EEPROM is not in a busy state;

[0032] S106, writing the EtherCAT slave device description file into the corresponding address of the EEPROM of the EtherCAT slave device to be burned through the control register and the status register;

[0033] S107. After the writing is successful, the flag bit of the EEPROM of the EtherCAT slave device is read, the status is displayed on the touch screen, the process is recorded on the SD card, and a prompt is given through the sound output module.

[0034] In the present invention, since the burning device includes a microcontroller and a touch screen display and a PHY chip electrically connected to the microcontroller, and also includes a flash memory and a first network interface electrically connected to the PHY chip, the flash memory is electrically connected to the microcontroller or is built into the microcontroller; the software in the microcontroller integrates the EtherCAT master station, and the bus protocol stack adopts the open source EtherCAT master station SOME. Therefore, the solution is low-cost, small in size, lightweight, easy to carry, simple to use, and does not require complex configuration. Since the bus protocol stack adopts the open source EtherCAT master station SOME, it automatically upgrades after connection, the upgrade speed is fast, and production testing efficiency is improved. In addition, due to the touch screen display, the operation process can be simplified and intuitively visible, and no external display screen is required.

[0035] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions and improvements made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included in the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A device for burning EtherCAT slave device description files, characterized in that: The system comprises a microcontroller, a touch screen and a PHY chip electrically connected to the microcontroller, a flash memory and a first network interface electrically connected to the PHY chip, wherein the flash memory is electrically connected to the microcontroller or built into the microcontroller; the software in the microcontroller integrates an EtherCAT master station, and the bus protocol stack adopts the open source EtherCAT master station SOEM; when burning the EtherCAT slave device description file, the first network interface is first connected to the EtherCAT slave device with the EtherCAT slave device description file burned, and the EEPROM read and write function of the EtherCAT master station mailbox in the microcontroller is used to read and write data from the EtherCAT slave device. The device reads an EtherCAT slave device description file and saves the read EtherCAT slave device description file in a flash memory. When the first network interface is connected to the EtherCAT slave device to be burned, the SOEM bus protocol stack is run. The software-integrated EtherCAT master station in the microcontroller scans the information of the EtherCAT slave device to be burned through bus register instructions. The touch screen receives the input burning instruction. The microcontroller reads the EtherCAT slave device description file from the flash memory and writes it to the EtherCAT slave device to be burned through the EEPROM read and write function of the EtherCAT master station's mailbox.

2. The burning device according to claim 1, wherein The microcontroller is also used to verify whether the EtherCAT slave device description file burned into the EtherCAT slave device is correct.

3. The burning device according to claim 1, wherein: The microcontroller uses an M7 or M4 core microcontroller, and the software uses the FreeRTOS open source system.

4. The burning device according to claim 1, wherein SPI communication is used between the microcontroller and the touch screen, and RMII communication is used between the microcontroller and the PHY chip. The mode of the PHY chip is set through the IO port of the microcontroller.

5. A device for burning EtherCAT slave device description files, characterized in that: The system comprises a microcontroller and a touch screen, a PHY chip, an EtherCAT slave controller and a memory electrically connected to the microcontroller, a flash memory, a second network interface and a first network interface electrically connected to the PHY chip, the flash memory is electrically connected to the microcontroller or built into the microcontroller, the second network interface and the memory are electrically connected to the EtherCAT slave controller respectively; the software in the microcontroller integrates the EtherCAT master station, and the bus protocol stack adopts the open source EtherCAT master station SOEM; when burning the EtherCAT slave device description file, the burning device is connected to the EtherCAT slave device through the second network interface The EtherCAT master device burns the EtherCAT slave device description file into the memory through the EtherCAT slave controller. When the first network interface is connected to the EtherCAT slave device to be burned, the SOEM bus protocol stack is run. The software-integrated EtherCAT master in the microcontroller scans the information of the EtherCAT slave device to be burned through the bus register instruction. The touch screen receives the input burning instruction. The microcontroller reads the EtherCAT slave device description file from the memory and writes it into the EtherCAT slave device to be burned through the first network interface.

6. The burning device according to claim 5, characterized in that The device for burning the EtherCAT slave device description file also includes an RTC circuit, an SD card drive circuit, and a battery, which are electrically connected to the microcontroller respectively; the RTC circuit is used to save the real-time time when the power is off and record the time stamp for the system operation.

7. The burning device according to claim 5, characterized in that The burning device for the EtherCAT slave device description file further includes a sound output module electrically connected to the microcontroller.

8. The burning device according to claim 6, wherein: The memory is EEPROM; SPI communication is used between the SD card driver circuit and the microcontroller; the SD card driver circuit is connected to the SD card to record the operation history and system operating status; IIC communication is used between the microcontroller and the memory; SPI and interrupt communication are used between the microcontroller and the EtherCAT slave controller.

9. A method for burning a device for burning an EtherCAT slave device description file, characterized in that: include: S101, EtherCAT slave device description file burning device is powered on and initialized; S102, running the SOEM bus protocol stack, and the EtherCAT master station integrated by the software in the microcontroller scans the information of the EtherCAT slave station device to be burned through the bus register instruction; S103, reading the EtherCAT slave device description file from the EtherCAT slave device to which the EtherCAT slave device description file has been burned and storing the file in a flash memory, or reading the EtherCAT slave device description file from the EtherCAT master device and storing the file in a memory; S104, recording the operation instructions and timestamp via the SD card and displaying them via the touch screen; S105, the touch screen receives the input burning command, and the protocol stack reads the control register and status register of the EEPROM of the EtherCAT slave device to be burned to confirm that the EEPROM is not in a busy state; S106, writing the EtherCAT slave device description file into the corresponding address of the EEPROM of the EtherCAT slave device to be burned through the control register and the status register; S107. After the writing is successful, the flag bit of the EEPROM of the EtherCAT slave device is read, the status is displayed on the touch screen, and the process is recorded on the SD card.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein The information of the EtherCAT slave device to be burned includes one or any combination of the number of EtherCAT slave devices, the ID of the EtherCAT slave device, the type of the EtherCAT slave device, and the operating status of the EtherCAT slave device.

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