Communication Quality Monitoring Method, System and Storage Medium for Working Equipment

Abstract

The present invention discloses a communication quality monitoring method, system and storage medium for a working device. The communication quality monitoring method includes: obtaining a running cycle number variable of a control program and a communication quantity feedback variable of a controlled device; calculating a difference between the running cycle number variable and the communication quantity feedback variable every predetermined time; judging the stability degree of the change of the difference, where the stability degree includes a first stability degree, a second stability degree and a third stability degree with gradually increasing change degrees; and correcting a control strategy of the control program when the change of the difference is in the second stability degree. Implementing the present invention can timely evaluate the communication quality between the control side and the controlled device, execute corresponding actions according to the corresponding communication quality level, so as to improve the control effect on the controlled device, reduce the influence brought by the decline of communication quality, and also helps users discover problems earlier, thus helping to handle potential risks as early as possible.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of communication technologies, and in particular, to a communication quality monitoring method, system, and storage medium for working devices. Background Art

[0002] In fields such as industry, production, and construction, many working devices are often required. Taking a tower crane (also known as a tower hoist) as an example, the tower crane has a large working range and can achieve lifting, amplitude variation, and slewing. It is mainly used for the vertical transportation of materials and the installation of components in multi-story and high-rise building construction. During the working process, the tower crane controller needs to obtain various status information (such as data of multiple motor encoders, wind speed, gravity, etc.), and needs to control multiple target devices (such as frequency converters, etc.) in a timely manner. The control scenario is complex, and the working environment is easily interfered.

[0003] In the prior art, the tower crane controller and many controlled devices such as frequency converters generally use 485 bus communication. However, due to the weak anti-interference ability of the 485 bus itself and the large number of interference factors in the working environment of the tower crane, communication failures are likely to occur between the tower crane controller and the controlled devices in actual work, such as packet loss and other situations that reduce communication quality, which in turn affects the control of the controlled devices by the tower crane controller. Considering the high safety operation requirements of the tower crane, safety accidents may occur in extreme cases.

[0004] For the above problems, it is urgent for those skilled in the art to improve and solve them technically. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In view of this, embodiments of the present invention aim to provide a communication quality monitoring method, system, and storage medium for working devices, which can timely evaluate the communication quality between the control side and the controlled devices, and perform corresponding actions according to the corresponding communication quality level (or communication stability degree), improve the control effect on the controlled devices, and also help users discover problems earlier, and generally effectively reduce the risks brought by the decline in communication quality.

[0006] In a first aspect, the communication quality monitoring method for working devices provided by embodiments of the present invention includes: obtaining a running cycle count variable of a control program and a communication quantity feedback variable of a controlled device; calculating a difference between the running cycle count variable and the communication quantity feedback variable every predetermined time; judging the stability of the change of the difference, where the stability includes a first stability degree, a second stability degree, and a third stability degree with an increasing change degree in sequence; and correcting the control strategy of the control program when the change of the difference is in the second stability degree.

[0007] Further, the first stability level is that the change in the difference is stable and does not exceed a first predetermined value; the second stability level is that the difference becomes larger and then stabilizes and does not exceed a second predetermined value; the third stability level is that the difference continues to increase and exceeds a third predetermined value, and / or the difference continues to increase and the duration of the increase exceeds a predetermined time value.

[0008] Further, the method further includes: when the change in the difference is at the first stability level, keeping the control strategy of the control program unchanged.

[0009] Further, the method further includes: when the change in the difference is at the third stability level, issuing a reminder indication.

[0010] Further, the method further includes: when the change in the difference is at the second stability level or the third stability level, obtaining the number of lost packets and the number of incorrect packets in communication with the controlled device; within a predetermined time range, counting the number of lost packets and the number of incorrect packets; forming a data record according to the predetermined time range, the total number of lost packets and the total number of incorrect packets and storing it.

[0011] In a second aspect, the communication quality monitoring system for a working device provided by an embodiment of the present invention includes a controller and a controlled device. Among them, the controller includes: an acquisition unit for acquiring the number-of-operation-cycle variable of the control program and the communication quantity feedback variable of the controlled device; a calculation unit for calculating the difference between the number-of-operation-cycle variable and the communication quantity feedback variable every predetermined time; a judgment unit for judging the stability level of the change in the difference, and the stability level includes a first stability level, a second stability level and a third stability level with increasing change degrees in sequence; an execution unit for correcting the control strategy of the control program when the change in the difference is at the second stability level.

[0012] Further, the controller is a tower crane controller, and the controlled device is a frequency converter on the tower crane.

[0013] Further, the controller and the controlled device communicate through a 485 bus.

[0014] Further, the system further includes: a data unit for obtaining the number of lost packets and the number of incorrect packets in communication with the controlled device when the change in the difference is at the second stability level or the third stability level; a statistics unit for counting the number of lost packets and the number of incorrect packets within a predetermined time range; a document unit for forming a data record according to the predetermined time range, the total number of lost packets and the total number of incorrect packets and storing it.

[0015] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a storage medium for operating equipment, on which a computer program is stored. When the computer program is executed by a processor, it implements the functions described in the units in the controller of any of the aforementioned communication quality monitoring systems, or implements any of the aforementioned tower crane limiting methods.

[0016] After adopting the technical solutions of the various embodiments of the present invention, the communication quality between the control side and the controlled device can be evaluated in a timely manner, and corresponding actions can be performed according to the corresponding communication quality level (or communication stability) to improve the control effect on the controlled device and reduce the impact of the decline in communication quality. It also helps users discover problems earlier, thereby helping to deal with potential risks as early as possible. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] Figure 1 A flow chart of a method for monitoring communication quality of operating equipment provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0018] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the composition framework of a communication quality monitoring system for operating equipment provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0019] Figure 3 for Figure 2 The frame diagram of the controller in the communication quality monitoring system shown;

[0020] Figure 4 for Figure 2 The figure shows a simplified processing flow chart of the communication quality monitoring system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of them. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention. It should be noted that, in the absence of conflict, the embodiments in this application and the features in the embodiments can be combined with each other in any way.

[0022] The following combination Figure 1 、 Figure 2 、 Figure 3 and Figure 4 Description. Figure 1 As shown, an embodiment of the present invention provides a communication quality monitoring method for operating equipment, which is used for the operating equipment to monitor the communication quality between itself and the controlled device. For example, a tower crane controller monitors the communication quality between the frequency converters of each axis of the tower crane and the tower crane controller. The frequency converters of each axis include: a lifting frequency converter, a slewing frequency converter and an amplitude variable frequency converter.

[0023] The method includes the steps of: S101 obtaining the running cycle count variable of the control program and the communication quantity feedback variable of the controlled device; S102 calculating the difference between the running cycle count variable and the communication quantity feedback variable every predetermined time; S103 judging the stability degree of the difference change, which can include the first stability degree, the second stability degree and the third stability degree with the change degree increasing in sequence; S105 correcting the control strategy of the control program for the controlled device when the difference change is at the second stability degree. In the specific implementation process, this method can be executed in a programmed manner, for example, it can be executed through the program in the controller in the communication quality monitoring system below; this working device can be a tower crane or the like.

[0024] As an implementation manner, the first stability degree can be determined as: the difference change is small, relatively stable and each difference does not exceed the first predetermined value (a relatively small value can be set). Correspondingly, the second stability degree can be determined as: the difference generally increases from small to large, stabilizes after increasing and each difference does not exceed the second predetermined value (greater than the first predetermined value). Correspondingly, the third stability degree can be determined as: the difference continuously increases and the increased difference exceeds the third predetermined value (greater than or equal to the second predetermined value), and / or, the difference continuously increases and the continuous time is long and exceeds the predetermined time value.

[0025] In the above method, in the first stability degree, since the difference change is small, it indicates that the communication quality with the controlled device is relatively good. In this case, no intervention is required and the current control strategy for the controlled device is maintained, that is, when it is judged that the difference change is at the first stability degree, the control strategy of the control program for the controlled device remains unchanged (see step S104 shown in Figure 1 ). In addition, in the third stability degree, since the difference change increases more or the continuous time is longer, it indicates that the communication quality with the controlled device is very poor. In this case, it may seriously affect the timely control of the controlled device and further cause safety risks. Therefore, active intervention is required, and the way of issuing a reminder instruction can be adopted to enable the user to timely perceive this situation through an external information receiving unit (such as a panel or an alarm), that is, when the difference change is at the third stability degree, a reminder instruction is issued (that is, see step S106 shown in Figure 1 ). Of course, the way of issuing a reminder instruction is only one implementation manner, and other measures that are helpful for the user to timely perceive can also be adopted. It should be noted that in the second stability degree, since the communication quality has declined but still remains stable to a certain extent, it indicates that the communication may be temporarily interfered, and in this case, the control of the controlled device is not greatly affected. Therefore, the way of correcting the control strategy can be adopted to correspondingly reduce the influence of this situation on the control effect.

[0026] In addition, to better measure and reflect the degree of decline in communication quality, the above method may further include: when it is determined that the change in the difference is at the second stability level or the third stability level, the number of packet losses and the number of incorrect packets in the communication with the controlled device can be obtained; within a predetermined time range, the number of packet losses and the number of incorrect packets are counted; a data record is formed and stored according to the predetermined time range, the total number of packet losses, and the total number of incorrect packets. After adopting this method, the communication quality situation within the concerned time period (predetermined time range) can be specifically quantified. The data formed by the predetermined time range, the total number of packet losses, and the total number of incorrect packets can be stored in the form of a document and extracted for reading when the user needs it. In this way, the user can judge the communication quality situation based on the total number of packet losses and incorrect packets within a certain time period, and can also judge the trend and possible reasons for the communication quality based on the data changes in multiple time periods.

[0027] Combined with Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, the communication quality monitoring system for the working device in the embodiment of the present invention may include a controller and a controlled device. In the embodiment of the present invention, the working device is exemplified by a tower crane, that is, the controller is a tower crane controller, and the controlled device is a frequency converter. The frequency converter and the tower crane controller can communicate using a 485 bus.

[0028] As Figure 3 shown, the controller (tower crane controller) may include an acquisition unit, a calculation unit, a judgment unit, and an execution unit. Among them, the acquisition unit can be used to acquire the variable of the number of operating cycle times of the control program and the variable of the communication quantity feedback of the controlled device; the calculation unit can be used to calculate the difference between the variable of the number of operating cycle times and the variable of the communication quantity feedback every predetermined time; the judgment unit can be used to judge the stability degree of the change in the difference, and the stability degree can include a first stability degree, a second stability degree, and a third stability degree with increasing change degrees in sequence; the execution unit can be used to correct the control strategy of the control program when the change in the difference is at the second stability level.

[0029] On this basis, the tower crane controller may further include a data unit, a statistics unit, and a document unit. Among them, the data unit can be used to obtain the number of packet losses and the number of incorrect packets in the communication with the controlled device when the change in the difference is at the second stability level or the third stability level; the statistics unit can be used to count the number of packet losses and the number of incorrect packets within a predetermined time range; the document unit can be used to form and store a data record in the form of a predetermined time range, the total number of packet losses, and the total number of incorrect packets.

[0030] It should be noted that in the communication quality monitoring system of the invention embodiment, the descriptions, applications, specific quantification of communication quality and its advantages of each stability level can be referred to the relevant descriptions of the foregoing communication quality monitoring method embodiments. In addition, the corresponding functions at the second stability level or the third stability level can also be implemented by the execution unit.

[0031] As an implementation method, the control function of the tower crane controller can be implemented based on a soft PLC (virtual Programmable Logic Controller, a virtualized programmable logic controller, also simply referred to as vPLC). It should be noted that for various traditional working devices including tower cranes, multiple status information needs to be obtained and multiple target devices need to be controlled in a timely manner, and the control scenario is complex. To meet the requirements of reliability and flexibility, a PLC (hard PLC) is generally used. Later, with the development of the industry, those skilled in the art found that the hard PLC itself has some deficiencies: it is difficult to build an open hardware architecture; workers must undergo a long period of professional training to master the programming method of a certain product. Later, with the formulation and implementation of the IEC61131-3 standard in the industrial control field, the soft PLC has developed rapidly. The soft PLC uses a general operating system and a PC as the software and hardware platform, and uses software to implement the control function of the traditional hardware PLC, that is, the control function of the PLC is encapsulated in the software and runs in the PC environment; such a control system not only realizes the same functions as the hardware PLC, but also has various advantages of the PC. Therefore, considering this situation, this method in the invention embodiment combines the latest situation of the industry and makes corresponding improvements and integrations on this basis.

[0032] Combined with Figure 4 As shown, during the working process, the soft PLC system in the tower crane controller can communicate with the frequency converter through 485. The types of mutual communication can include control words, status words, speed commands, speed feedback commands, communication quantity feedback variables, etc. After the soft PLC collects the corresponding information, it can judge the quality of the communication (corresponding to the stability level of the difference change) after processing, and then make corresponding controls according to the quality of the communication. For example, when the communication is normal, that is, the communication quality is good (the difference change is at the first stability level), the soft PLC maintains normal control over the frequency converter. When the communication quality is slightly poor (the difference change is at the second stability level, there is a certain number of packet losses but it is not serious), the soft PLC correspondingly corrects the control strategy for the frequency converter to reduce the impact caused by poor communication quality. When the communication quality is very poor (the number of packet losses is relatively serious, the difference change is at the third stability level), the soft PLC sends a reminder indication to the external information presentation device (if any) so that the user can perceive it in time, or the user takes other measures to intervene when this situation occurs.

[0033] To better understand the principles and processes of the embodiments of the present invention, the following further explains in combination with specific scenarios:

[0034] In terms of communication quality monitoring, during the actual working process, the soft PLC system in the tower crane controller communicates with other devices of the tower crane through 485, such as the frequency converter (controlled device) for controlling the motor, the encoder for reading position information, and other limit sensors. A program cycle consistent with the communication cycle can be set in the soft PLC. A variable K is set in this program, and this variable K can be incremented according to the number of program cycles. The frequency converter feeds back the communication quantity feedback variable P every once in a while. Thus, the soft PLC can compare K and P. ① If the communication is normal and the frequency converter normally receives the 485 signal, the communication quantity feedback variable K of the frequency converter will increase correspondingly. Since the soft PLC needs to continuously send communication messages during operation, K also increases steadily. Since K and P are in the same time period, during normal communication, the difference between the values of K and P is very small, and the difference value R is basically stable (corresponding to the first stability level), indicating that the communication quality is good and no intervention is required. ② If the communication fluctuates, the value of P will be less than the value of K, and the value of R will increase. If the value of R becomes basically stable or stable after changing to a certain extent (corresponding to the second stability level), this means that the communication quality has deteriorated somewhat. This situation is likely that the communication has fluctuated briefly and the communication is likely to resume normal later. At this time, some simple measures can be taken to correct the control of the soft PLC. ③ If the value of R continues to increase and the duration T is relatively long (corresponding to the third stability level), it means that the communication quality is very poor at this time. In this case, the control of the soft PLC on the tower crane frequency converter may be untimely or the control fails. In this case, it is necessary to prompt the user to pay attention or require the user to take corresponding measures to make preparations for protection and avoidance in advance.

[0035] In terms of communication quality quantification and presentation, timely and appropriate quantification and presentation are helpful to provide timely reference and decision-making for the system or users. The main indicators of poor 485 communication quality are packet loss and packet error, both of which will affect the correctness of 485 data. When the communication quality deteriorates, by obtaining the number of packet losses and the number of packet errors (which can be obtained through the communication and feedback of test packets) and making statistics, the qualification status of 485 communication quality can be obtained; in the soft PLC, the packet loss error (number of packet losses) and the packet error error (number of packet errors) can be statistically counted through function blocks, and are respectively represented as error5 (packet error) and error8 (packet loss); and a timer T is set internally for timing; in this way, within the unit time T, the number of error5 and the number of error8 can be counted, and thus the communication quality can be quantified; T, error5, and error8 can be cleared periodically and keep the three synchronized; cleared simultaneously, accumulated simultaneously, and finally the results are output to a document and stored. This document can be expressed as: start time, end time, number of error5, number of error8; when provided to the user or system, it is easy to judge the communication quality between the soft PLC and the tower crane frequency converter.

[0036] It should be noted that in the above embodiments, for the sake of convenience of description, the scenario of tower crane operation is adopted, that is, the controller is described as the tower crane controller and the controlled device is described as the frequency converter. However, in other embodiments, it is not limited to being applied to tower cranes or limited to the communication quality assessment between the tower crane controller and the frequency converter.

[0037] Based on the above, by using the communication quality monitoring method and the communication quality monitoring system of the embodiments of the present invention, the communication quality between the control side and the controlled device can be evaluated in a timely manner, and corresponding actions can be taken according to the corresponding communication quality level (or communication stability degree) to improve the control effect on the controlled device, reduce the impact brought by the deterioration of communication quality, and also help users discover problems earlier, thus helping to handle potential risks as early as possible.

[0038] In addition, the embodiments of the present invention also provide a computer-readable storage medium that can be used in a working device (such as a tower crane), on which a computer program is stored, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, it can implement the methods described in the previous embodiments or the functions implemented by the aforementioned tower crane controller control logic or soft PLC. Since the communication monitoring method and the communication monitoring system of the previous embodiments have the aforementioned technical effects, this computer storage medium also has corresponding technical effects, which will not be elaborated here.

[0039] It should be noted that the computer-readable medium can be a computer-readable signal medium or a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage medium can be, for example, but not limited to, an electrical, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any combination of the above. More specific examples (non-exhaustive list) of the computer-readable storage medium include: an electrical connection with one or more wires, a portable computer disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the above. In this document, the computer-readable storage medium can be any tangible medium that contains or stores a program that can be used by or in conjunction with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

[0040] In addition, the computer-readable signal medium can include a data signal propagated in a baseband or as part of a carrier wave, which carries the computer-readable program code. Such a propagated data signal can take various forms, including - but not limited to - electromagnetic signals, optical signals, or any suitable combination of the above. The computer-readable signal medium can also be any computer-readable medium other than the computer-readable storage medium, which can send, propagate, or transmit a program for use by or in conjunction with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

[0041] In addition, the program code contained on the computer-readable medium can be transmitted by any suitable medium, including - but not limited to - wireless, wire, optical cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination of the above.

[0042] In addition, the computer program code for performing the operations of the present invention can be written in one or more programming languages or combinations thereof. The programming languages include object-oriented programming languages - such as Java, Smalltalk, C++, and also include conventional procedural programming languages - such as the "C" language or similar programming languages. The program code can be executed entirely on the user's computer, partially on the user's computer, executed as an independent software package, partially on the user's computer and partially on a remote computer, or entirely on a remote computer or server. In the case of a remote computer, the remote computer can be connected to the user's computer through any type of network - including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN) - or can be connected to an external computer (for example, by using an Internet service provider to connect through the Internet).

[0043] The specific embodiments described above further elaborate on the object, technical solution, and beneficial effects of the present invention. It should be understood that the above are only specific embodiments of the present invention and are not used to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements, 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 method for monitoring the communication quality of an operating device, characterized in that: The method comprises: Obtaining a variable for the number of operating cycles of the control program and a variable for the number of communication feedbacks of the controlled device; Calculating the difference between the operating cycle number variable and the communication quantity feedback variable at predetermined intervals; Determining a stability level of the difference change, the stability levels including a first stability level, a second stability level, and a third stability level with increasing degrees of change; When the difference change is at a second stable level, a control strategy of the control program is corrected.

2. The communication quality monitoring method according to claim 1, wherein: The first stability level is: the difference changes stably and does not exceed a first predetermined value; The second stability level is: the difference becomes larger and then stabilizes and does not exceed a second predetermined value; The third stability level is: the difference value continues to increase and exceeds a third predetermined value, and / or the difference value continues to increase and the duration exceeds a predetermined time value.

3. The communication quality monitoring method according to claim 1, wherein: The method further includes: when the difference change is at a first stable level, maintaining the control strategy of the control program unchanged.

4. The communication quality monitoring method according to claim 1, wherein: The method further includes issuing a reminder when the difference change is at a third stable level.

5. The communication quality monitoring method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The method further comprises: When the difference value changes to a second stable level or a third stable level, obtaining a number of packet losses and a number of packet errors in communication with the controlled device; Count the number of packet losses and packet errors within a predetermined time range; Data records are generated and stored according to the predetermined time range, total number of lost packets and total number of error packets.

6. A communication quality monitoring system for operating equipment, characterized in that: The system includes a controller and a controlled device, wherein the controller includes: An acquisition unit, used to acquire a variable of the number of operating cycles of the control program and a variable of the number of communication feedbacks of the controlled device; a calculation unit, configured to calculate the difference between the operating cycle number variable and the communication quantity feedback variable at predetermined intervals; a judging unit, configured to judge a stability level of the difference change, wherein the stability levels include a first stability level, a second stability level, and a third stability level with increasing degrees of change; An execution unit is configured to correct a control strategy of the control program when the difference change is at a second stable level.

7. The communication quality monitoring system according to claim 6, wherein: The controller is a tower crane controller, and the controlled device is a frequency converter on the tower crane.

8. The communication quality monitoring system according to claim 6, wherein: The controller and the controlled device communicate via a 485 bus.

9. The communication quality monitoring system according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein: The system further comprises: a data unit, configured to obtain a number of packet losses and a number of packet errors in communication with the controlled device when the difference value changes to a second stable level or a third stable level; A statistics unit, used to count the number of packet losses and packet errors within a predetermined time range; The document unit is used to form and store data records according to a predetermined time range, the total number of lost packets and the total number of error packets.

10. A storage medium for an operating device, having a computer program stored thereon, characterized in that: When the computer program is executed by a processor, the computer program implements the functions of each unit in the controller of the communication quality monitoring system according to any one of claims 6 to 9, or implements the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

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