A wireless communication system and method for two-machine joint lifting of shipbuilding gantry cranes

Abstract

The present invention provides a wireless communication system and method for linking two cranes in a shipbuilding gantry crane, relating to the field of crane technology. The communication system includes a single-machine hardware configuration unit, a main control unit, a wired local area network unit, a two-machine wireless communication unit, and a network routing switching unit. The present invention primarily utilizes the design of single-machine hardware configuration, software programming, a wired local area network, two-machine wireless communication, and network routing switching units to achieve an anti-interference, secure, and stable two-machine remote communication linking control function for a shipbuilding gantry crane. The industrial control operating conditions of shipbuilding gantry cranes are achieved by utilizing the characteristics and capabilities of 5G, such as ultra-large bandwidth, ultra-high speed, low latency, high reliability, strong anti-interference capability, and ultra-large connectivity.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of cranes, and in particular to a wireless communication system and a communication method for two-machine linkage of a shipbuilding gantry crane. Background Art

[0002] Shipbuilding gantry cranes are widely used in the shipbuilding industry, primarily for lifting, turning over, and loading large sections within dry docks. They are a crucial type of lifting equipment for shipbuilding companies. Due to their high deadweight, heavy lifting capacity, high height, and wide span, safety, stability, and integrity are paramount priorities in equipment management. To improve the efficiency and lifting capacity of shipbuilding gantry cranes, two cranes must be linked together for lifting operations. During this process, control and coordination between the cranes are crucial. Wireless communication is used between the two cranes for remote control and linked lifting, allowing one person to operate both cranes, thus enhancing their lifting capacity.

[0003] Currently, most domestic shipyards and dock cranes use industrial network bridges for wireless communication, with frequency bands covering multiple open communication channels. However, with the introduction of 4G and 5G electronic devices, signals transmitted in open communication channels are subject to interference from other signals. Each signal has its own interference signal. In actual measurements, the number of spurious signals received by a shipbuilding crane at a certain shipping company was as high as over 20,000, and as low as over 100.

[0004] However, current wireless communication methods between shipbuilding gantry cranes have certain drawbacks. First, industrial network bridges can only use public, open networks for wireless communication, which are subject to significant signal interference, severely impacting the stability of wireless communication. A communication failure can cause the shipbuilding gantry crane to abruptly stop mid-operation, and the swaying of the sections can cause significant impact loads on the main girder structure, posing a significant safety hazard and potentially causing the crane to become unstable and overturn. Second, both industrial network bridge and microwave communications are point-to-point and have limited functionality. Industrial network bridge communication equipment has limitations on installation angles and operating distances. Errors in installation accuracy can affect wireless communication stability. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In view of this, the purpose of the present invention is to propose a wireless communication system and communication method for two-machine linkage of shipbuilding gantry cranes, so as to solve the technical problem that the wireless communication method between existing shipbuilding gantry cranes is interfered by public open network signals, making the wireless communication unstable.

[0006] The technical means adopted in the present invention are as follows:

[0007] A wireless communication system for two linked cranes in a shipbuilding gantry crane, comprising:

[0008] A stand-alone hardware configuration unit, comprising a PLC, comprising a power supply, a CPU module, an interface module, and analog and digital IO modules. The power supply, CPU module, interface module, and analog and digital IO modules are respectively provided with a distributed IO module group, a variable frequency drive device, and an encoder, and the distributed IO module group is connected to the main PLC site;

[0009] The main control unit includes an Ethernet communication data module, an online data sending module, an online mechanism position comparison module and an online abnormal state detection module.

[0010] A wired local area network unit includes a PLC programmable controller, a CMS crane management system, a variable frequency drive device, a human-machine interface touch screen, a wind speed detection instrument, and a video monitoring system. The PLC programmable controller, the CMS crane management system, the variable frequency drive device, the human-machine interface touch screen, the wind speed detection instrument, and the video monitoring system are connected to a data switch via Ethernet communication for data exchange and jointly use the VRRP protocol to form an industrial control network.

[0011] A two-machine wireless communication unit adopts a 5G communication method.

[0012] Furthermore, in the stand-alone hardware configuration unit, the distributed IO module group is connected to the main PLC site via optical fiber and PROFIBUS-DP bus communication.

[0013] Furthermore, the PLC is a large or medium-sized PLC product from Siemens or ABB.

[0014] Furthermore, the variable frequency drive device adopts DP bus communication or Ethernet communication.

[0015] Furthermore, the 5G communication method includes:

[0016] Use a private network for independent deployment or choose a public network integration mode;

[0017] SA networking is used to adapt to industrial manufacturing scenarios. Base stations within the factory area are connected to the provincial core network through municipal transmission lines. The core network exchanges signaling with base stations within the park to manage and control 5G devices within the park. Macro base stations are used in outdoor scenarios, and digital indoor distribution systems are used in indoor application scenarios to ensure that the base station signal strength received by business application scenarios meets business needs.

[0018] MEC deployment plan: A new edge MEC is built in the mobile equipment room, connected to the mobile regional 5G core network, and internal services can use dedicated channels.

[0019] Each shipbuilding gantry crane is equipped with a CPE terminal device and a managed digital switch, which is connected to the shipbuilding gantry crane's industrial control network system via an Ethernet cable. 5G communication base stations are added within the factory area, and wireless communication between the CPE and the base station is achieved via omnidirectional antennas.

[0020] The control data between each shipbuilding gantry crane is transmitted to the regional UPF core network through the SPN slice packet network. After the data flow is locally distributed, it is then sunk back to the network edge to transmit data and instructions to other shipbuilding gantry cranes.

[0021] Activate DNN to allocate exclusive communication channels for wireless communication of shipbuilding gantry cranes.

[0022] Furthermore, it also includes a network routing switching unit, which uses industrial bridge equipment to form a hot backup with 5G communication, with 5G communication as the main network and industrial bridge communication as the backup network. When the 5G communication network fails, it automatically switches to the industrial bridge communication network through the routing detection function of the managed switch.

[0023] The present invention further provides a wireless communication method for two-machine linkage of shipbuilding gantry cranes, which is implemented based on any of the above-mentioned wireless communication systems for two-machine linkage of shipbuilding gantry cranes, and includes the following steps:

[0024] Set one crane as the master and the other as the slave;

[0025] Data communication between the host and slave devices is carried out via Ethernet;

[0026] When the transmission and reception time of communication data exceeds 500ms, the communication establishment fails, otherwise the communication establishment succeeds;

[0027] After successful communication establishment, the host and cluster machines exchange complete machine data, and the refresh time is less than 100ms;

[0028] The position data of each mechanism of the two cranes are compared in real time. When a single machine fails, protection is activated, communication between the two machines times out, the positions of the two machines exceed the limit, or the status of the two machines are inconsistent, the main control module will perform protective shutdown control.

[0029] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following advantages:

[0030] 1. The present invention provides a method for wireless communication online control of a shipbuilding gantry crane using 5G communication private network technology, which can improve the communication quality of this operating condition, ensure data integrity, real-time performance, low latency and other characteristics.

[0031] 2. Ensure industrial information security through the resources of communication operators and ensure the anti-interference ability of wireless communications through exclusive communication channels.

[0032] 3. Two different forms of communication are in hot standby mode, with 5G communication as the main mode and industrial bridge communication as the auxiliary mode. Routing detection is used to automatically switch the network to protect the crane from being affected when a problem occurs in one of the networks, thereby improving the inherent safety of the equipment.

[0033] Based on the above reasons, the present invention can be widely promoted in the fields of cranes and the like. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0034] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative labor.

[0035] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the master-slave crane transmission principle of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] In order to enable those skilled in the art to better understand the solutions of the present invention, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the embodiments described are only 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 making creative efforts should fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0037] It should be noted that the terms "first", "second", etc. in the description and claims of the present invention and the above-mentioned drawings are used to distinguish similar objects and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that the numbers used in this way can be interchanged where appropriate, so that the embodiments of the present invention described herein can be implemented in an order other than those illustrated or described herein. In addition, the terms "including" and "having" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. For example, a process, method, system, product or device that includes a series of steps or units is not necessarily limited to those steps or units clearly listed, but may include other steps or units that are not clearly listed or inherent to these processes, methods, products or devices.

[0038] like Figure 1As shown, the present invention provides a wireless communication system for two-machine linkage of shipbuilding gantry cranes, including a single-machine hardware configuration unit, a main control unit, a wired local area network unit, a two-machine wireless communication unit, and a network routing switching unit.

[0039] Standalone hardware configuration unit: The shipbuilding gantry crane's electrical control system utilizes an AC variable-frequency speed regulation system. Due to the large number of mechanisms and the relatively high number of operational instructions, the PLC uses large or medium-sized Siemens or ABB products. Essential components include a power supply, CPU module, interface module, and analog and digital I / O modules. Each mechanism is equipped with a distributed I / O module group, connected to the master PLC via optical fiber and PROFIBUS-DP bus communication. This DP fieldbus network also includes each mechanism's variable-frequency drive (a multi-drive system with common DC bus feedback consisting of rectifier and inverter components) and encoders. The variable-frequency drive can communicate using either DP bus or Ethernet (depending on the drive's communication interface).

[0040] Main control unit: It mainly uses the software platform that comes with the PLC programmable controller to write programs for the logic control functions of the crane stand-alone and online. The programming language can use ladder diagrams, function blocks, etc. Among them, the programs involving online communication remote control include Ethernet communication data program blocks, online data sending programs, online position comparison programs of various mechanisms, and online abnormal status detection programs. The main control idea is to set any one of the cranes as the host and the other as the cluster machine. The Ethernet data of the two machines communicate. When the transmission and reception of communication data exceeds 500ms, the communication is not established successfully. After the communication is successfully established, the host and cluster machines exchange the whole machine data, and the refresh time is less than 100ms (the specific parameters are affected by the performance of the PLC). The position data of each mechanism of the two cranes are compared in real time. When a single machine fails, the protection is activated, the communication between the two machines times out, the position of the two machines exceeds the limit, or the status of the two machines is inconsistent, the program performs protection shutdown control.

[0041] Wired local area network unit: including PLC programmable controller, CMS crane management system, variable frequency drive device, human-machine interface touch screen, wind speed detection instrument and video monitoring system of each mechanism. The above hardware is connected to the data switch through Ethernet communication for data exchange and jointly uses the VRRP protocol to form an industrial control network.

[0042] Two-machine wireless communication unit: The two-machine wireless communication method of this invention mainly adopts 5G communication method, mainly utilizing the characteristics and capabilities of 5G such as ultra-large bandwidth, ultra-high speed, low latency, high reliability, strong anti-interference ability, and ultra-large connection to realize industrial control working conditions such as shipbuilding gantry cranes.

[0043] When choosing a 5G network, you can use a private network for independent deployment or a public network integration mode, that is, a public network dedicated mode for terminal mutual access. The former is completely isolated and independent, with extremely high reliability and privacy, while the latter is cost-effective and has a short network construction cycle, both of which can meet usage requirements.

[0044] SA networking is used for industrial manufacturing scenarios, supporting network slicing, low access latency, and a simple network architecture. Base stations within the factory are connected to the provincial core network via dedicated transmission lines from prefecture-level cities. The core network then exchanges signaling with base stations within the industrial park to manage and control 5G devices within the park. Macro base stations are used for outdoor scenarios, while a digital indoor distribution system is employed for indoor applications to ensure that the base station signal strength received by business applications meets business requirements.

[0045] MEC deployment plan: A new edge MEC is built in the mobile equipment room, connected to the mobile regional 5G core network, enabling internal services to use dedicated channels, ensuring data security, and realizing wireless private networks with large bandwidth and low latency capabilities.

[0046] CPE terminal equipment and managed digital switches are added to each shipbuilding gantry crane, which is connected to the shipbuilding gantry crane's industrial control network system via Ethernet cables. 5G communication base stations are added within the factory area, and wireless communication is carried out between the CPE and the base station via omnidirectional antennas. This ensures that wireless communication is not affected by the equipment installation accuracy, as well as the distance and position between the shipbuilding gantry cranes.

[0047] The control data between shipbuilding gantry cranes is transmitted to the regional UPF core network through the SPN slice packet network, realizing local diversion of the data flow, and then sinking back to the network edge to transmit the data and instructions to other shipbuilding gantry cranes.

[0048] By launching services such as DNN and leveraging the inherent advantages of mobile operators, the wireless communication of shipbuilding gantry cranes is allocated exclusive communication channels to ensure industrial information security and anti-interference, avoid data intrusion, and prevent uncontrollable accidents of shipbuilding gantry cranes, thereby ensuring equipment safety.

[0049] Network routing switching unit: This optional feature significantly increases the communication security of the shipbuilding gantry crane. To reduce the risk of communication failures on the shipbuilding gantry crane due to malfunctions and damage to the communication network, hardware, and wiring, an industrial network bridge is used to form a hot backup with 5G communication. 5G communication is the primary network, with the industrial network bridge serving as a backup. In the event of a 5G network failure, the managed switch's routing detection function automatically switches to the industrial network bridge.

[0050] Since the PLCs of the two communicating shipbuilding gantry cranes must be fixed in the same network segment during network configuration, wireless hot backup cannot be achieved with only one-layer physical switching. This function needs to be implemented through three-layer physical switching.

[0051] The serial numbers of the above embodiments of the present invention are for description only and do not represent the advantages or disadvantages of the embodiments.

[0052] In the above embodiments of the present invention, the description of each embodiment has its own focus. For parts that are not described in detail in a certain embodiment, reference can be made to the relevant descriptions of other embodiments.

[0053] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed technical content can be implemented in other ways. Among them, the device embodiments described above are only exemplary. For example, the division of the units can be a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of units or modules, which can be electrical or other forms.

[0054] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the present embodiment.

[0055] In addition, the functional units in the various embodiments of the present invention may be integrated into a single processing unit, each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into a single unit. The aforementioned integrated units may be implemented in the form of hardware or software functional units.

[0056] If the integrated unit is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present invention is essentially or the part that contributes to the prior art or all or part of the technical solution can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, server or network device, etc.) to perform all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present invention. The aforementioned storage medium includes: U disk, read-only memory (ROM, Read-Only Memory), random access memory (RAM, Random Access Memory), mobile hard disk, magnetic disk or optical disk and other media that can store program code.

[0057] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, rather than to limit it. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the above embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions described in the above embodiments, or replace some or all of the technical features therein with equivalents. However, these modifications or replacements do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A wireless communication system for two linked shipbuilding gantry cranes, characterized in that: include: A stand-alone hardware configuration unit, comprising a PLC, comprising a power supply, a CPU module, an interface module, and analog and digital IO modules. The power supply, CPU module, interface module, and analog and digital IO modules are respectively provided with a distributed IO module group, a variable frequency drive device, and an encoder, and the distributed IO module group is connected to the main PLC site; The main control unit includes an Ethernet communication data module, an online data sending module, an online mechanism position comparison module and an online abnormal state detection module. A wired local area network unit includes a PLC programmable controller, a CMS crane management system, a variable frequency drive device, a human-machine interface touch screen, a wind speed detection instrument, and a video monitoring system. The PLC programmable controller, the CMS crane management system, the variable frequency drive device, the human-machine interface touch screen, the wind speed detection instrument, and the video monitoring system are connected to a data switch via Ethernet communication for data exchange and jointly use the VRRP protocol to form an industrial control network. A two-machine wireless communication unit, wherein the two-machine wireless communication unit adopts a 5G communication method; A network routing switching unit uses an industrial bridge device to form a hot backup with 5G communication, with 5G communication as the main network and the industrial bridge communication as the backup network. When the 5G communication network fails, the routing detection function of the managed switch is used to automatically switch to the industrial bridge communication network; The 5G communication methods include: Use a private network for independent deployment or choose a public network integration mode; SA networking is used to adapt to industrial manufacturing scenarios. Base stations within the factory area are connected to the provincial core network through municipal transmission lines. The core network exchanges signaling with base stations within the park to manage and control 5G devices within the park. Macro base stations are used in outdoor scenarios, and digital indoor distribution systems are used in indoor application scenarios to ensure that the base station signal strength received by business application scenarios meets business needs. MEC deployment plan: A new edge MEC is built in the mobile equipment room, connected to the mobile regional 5G core network, and internal services can use dedicated channels. Each shipbuilding gantry crane is equipped with a CPE terminal device and a managed digital switch, which is connected to the shipbuilding gantry crane's industrial control network system via an Ethernet cable. 5G communication base stations are added within the factory area, and wireless communication between the CPE and the base station is achieved via omnidirectional antennas. The control data between each shipbuilding gantry crane is transmitted to the regional UPF core network through the SPN slice packet network. After the data flow is locally distributed, it is then sunk back to the network edge to transmit data and instructions to other shipbuilding gantry cranes. Activate DNN to allocate exclusive communication channels for wireless communication of shipbuilding gantry cranes.

2. The wireless communication system for two linked shipbuilding gantry cranes according to claim 1, characterized in that: In the stand-alone hardware configuration unit, the distributed IO module group is connected to the main PLC site through optical fiber and PROFIBUS-DP bus communication.

3. The wireless communication system for two linked shipbuilding gantry cranes according to claim 1, characterized in that: The PLC is a large or medium-sized PLC product from Siemens or ABB.

4. The wireless communication system for two linked shipbuilding gantry cranes according to claim 1, characterized in that: The variable frequency drive device adopts DP bus communication or Ethernet communication.

5. A wireless communication method for two-machine linkage of shipbuilding gantry cranes, implemented based on the wireless communication system for two-machine linkage of shipbuilding gantry cranes according to claims 1-4, characterized in that: The steps include: Set one crane as the master and the other as the slave; Data communication between the host and slave devices is carried out via Ethernet; When the transmission and reception time of communication data exceeds 500ms, the communication establishment fails, otherwise the communication establishment succeeds; After successful communication establishment, the host and cluster machines exchange complete machine data, and the refresh time is less than 100ms; The position data of each mechanism of the two cranes are compared in real time. When a single machine fails, protection is activated, communication between the two machines times out, the positions of the two machines exceed the limit, or the status of the two machines are inconsistent, the main control module will perform protective shutdown control.

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