Cascade control system and method for an instrument vacuum pump system

Abstract

The application discloses a kind of cascade control system and method of instrument vacuum pump system, the system includes multiple vacuum pumps, ion rules, front-stage rules, serial data collector, industrial integrated machine etc..Industrial integrated machine has data monitoring and data traceability function. Operator executes the start-stop of vacuum pump through industrial integrated machine and only needs mode activation, system self-checking, cascade start-stop operation. Compared with prior art, the serial data acquisition device is used in the application to replace PLC which needs power distribution cabinet power supply, so as to reduce the size of the equipment; the system self-checking, data traceability and human confirmation function are added; the man-machine interaction is enhanced in the automatic process, the operation threshold and the failure probability are reduced, and the management efficiency of the equipment is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a vacuum control system used in the field of instrument analysis, and in particular to a cascade control system of an instrument vacuum pump (vacuum pump, gauge, valve, etc.) and a control method thereof. Background Art

[0002] Vacuum instruments are widely used experimental and preparation instruments in the fields of materials and physical sciences. Their function is to allow experimenters to conduct scientific experiments under the vacuum conditions they provide. The establishment of the entire vacuum system requires a series of devices, such as pre-stage gauges, solenoid valves, mechanical pumps, molecular pumps, ion gauges, gate valves and other process-based operations. However, traditional technologies have the following shortcomings: (1) The establishment of vacuum conditions is usually completed by manual operation, and the specific start and stop time points of each device need to be determined based on human observation data. This not only consumes a certain amount of time and energy, but is also prone to damage to vacuum components due to misoperation, resulting in losses; (2) Each device is independent of each other, and there is no unified software and hardware integrated control platform, resulting in the inability to effectively store and trace key data.

[0003] Patent CN 101988487B has been published, entitled "Automatic Pumping System and Control Method for Vacuum Testing Instrument." Although the automatic linkage program flow of the pumping system is disclosed, the use of a PLC as a data acquisition device requires an additional power distribution cabinet. The disclosed control method also lacks a system self-check function, as some fault information prevents the equipment from executing the automatic control process. Furthermore, the entire program flow lacks manually determined prompts and examples of monitoring interfaces. Overall, the technical solution disclosed in this patent does not fully disclose the "automatic pumping system," but rather focuses more on the "control method." Therefore, this technical solution cannot effectively solve the problem of automatic linkage control of vacuum systems. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In order to improve the deficiencies of the above-mentioned prior art, the object of the present invention is to provide a cascade control system and method for an instrument vacuum pump system.

[0005] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention proposes a cascade control system of an instrument vacuum pump system, wherein the vacuum pump system is composed of a mechanical pump (8), a front-stage gauge (9), a solenoid valve (10), a molecular pump (12), and an ion gauge (4), wherein the front-stage gauge and the solenoid valve are installed on the body of the mechanical pump, the molecular pump is connected to the solenoid valve through a bellows (11), and the ion gauge is installed on the outer wall of the vacuum chamber (1), characterized in that: the cascade control system is based on an industrial all-in-one machine (5) and a serial data collector (6), wherein the serial data collector is connected to the serial communication interfaces of the mechanical pump, the molecular pump, the ion gauge, the front-stage gauge, and the solenoid valve through a serial cable (7); the industrial all-in-one machine performs data monitoring and data tracing of the components of the above vacuum pump system through the serial data collector, and outputs cascade start and stop operation commands for the mechanical pump, the molecular pump, and the ion gauge.

[0006] The above-mentioned cascade control system of an instrument vacuum pump system further comprises the following: the serial port data collector is embedded with a program for corresponding data acquisition and output, and different identification codes are assigned to each component of the vacuum pump system within the program; when each component is powered on, the serial port data collector participates in unified data acquisition and control output by the program.

[0007] The above-mentioned cascade control system of an instrument vacuum pump system, further, in data acquisition, uses the identification code of the corresponding component as the data header, and summarizes it into a message, and uniformly packages it and sends it to the industrial all-in-one machine. The industrial all-in-one machine distinguishes each other by the identification code, and parses and displays them separately; in control output, uses the identification code of the corresponding component as the data header to form the command sent by the industrial all-in-one machine, and outputs it to the designated component through the serial port data collector, which receives it and drives the internal execution.

[0008] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention also proposes a cascade control method for an instrument vacuum pump system, which is based on the above cascade control system and is characterized by comprising: cascade start and cascade stop of the vacuum pump system,

[0009] The steps of cascading startup include:

[0010] S1. After activating the cascade mode, the cascade control program pre-loaded in the industrial all-in-one machine begins to initialize.

[0011] S2. After activating the system self-check function, the cascade control program starts to detect whether there is a communication network interruption in the vacuum pump system components, whether there is any fault information that causes the system to be unable to start or stop, and displays the fault information in the data monitoring area of ​​the industrial all-in-one machine to prompt the operator.

[0012] S3. After activating the cascade start function, first issue a command to start the mechanical pump, and then display the running status of the mechanical pump in the data monitoring area of ​​the industrial all-in-one machine based on the data fed back by the serial port data collector.

[0013] S4. After the mechanical pump is successfully started, determine whether to issue a command to open the solenoid valve based on the vacuum degree measured by the front-stage gauge.

[0014] S5. Issue a command to turn on the molecular pump, and display the running status of the molecular pump in the data monitoring area of ​​the industrial all-in-one machine according to the data fed back by the serial port data collector.

[0015] S6. After the molecular pump speed approaches the set full speed, maintain it for two minutes to confirm.

[0016] S7. When the two-minute period is over, a command to start the ion gauge is issued, and the operating status of the ion gauge is displayed in the data monitoring area of ​​the industrial integrated machine based on the data fed back by the serial port data collector;

[0017] The step of stopping the cascade includes:

[0018] E1. After activating the cascade mode, the cascade control program pre-loaded in the industrial all-in-one machine begins to initialize.

[0019] E2. After activating the system self-check function, the cascade control program starts to detect whether there is a communication network interruption in the vacuum pump system components, whether there is any fault information that causes the system to be unable to start or stop, and displays the fault information in the data monitoring area of ​​the industrial all-in-one machine to prompt the operator.

[0020] E3. After activating the cascade stop function, first issue a command to stop the ion gauge, and then display the ion gauge operation status in the data monitoring area of ​​the industrial all-in-one machine based on the data fed back by the serial port data collector.

[0021] E4. After the ion gauge stops successfully, a command to stop the molecular pump is issued, and the running status of the molecular pump is displayed in the data monitoring area of ​​the industrial integrated machine according to the data fed back by the serial port data collector.

[0022] E5. After the molecular pump stops successfully, a command to stop the mechanical pump is issued, and the operating status of the mechanical pump is displayed in the data monitoring area of ​​the industrial integrated machine based on the data fed back by the serial port data collector.

[0023] The above-mentioned cascade control method of an instrument vacuum pump system further comprises three parts: a system status area at the top, a status monitoring area and function switching buttons in the middle, and an operation button area at the bottom.

[0024] The above-mentioned cascade control method of an instrument vacuum pump system, further, the system status area provides the system name, the current system alarm, the operating user name and the exit button; the status monitoring area parses the data according to the component status and displays the data in the form of indicator lights, digital display boxes or curve graphs; the function switching buttons include data monitoring and data tracing; and the operation button area includes four buttons for mode activation, system self-test, cascade start and cascade stop.

[0025] In the above-mentioned cascade control method for an instrument vacuum pump system, further, the data traceability is defined as a process record based on selecting a time period, displaying the operator's username and having a timestamp.

[0026] Compared with the traditional manual operation of establishing vacuum conditions and the PLC data acquisition method that relies on power distribution cabinets for power supply, the present invention has the following beneficial effects and advantages: (1) The manual operation of the traditional vacuum system establishment process is upgraded to a cascade control system of the vacuum pump system, which includes complete software and hardware and upper and lower control. (2) The monitoring and data tracing functions of the industrial all-in-one machine in the system are improved; and the embedded serial port data collector is used to replace the PLC, eliminating the need for separate manual controllers, power distribution cabinets, etc., which greatly reduces costs. (3) The industrial all-in-one machine integrates system self-test and pop-up prompt functions. This improvement in the control method makes the automatic control process safer.

[0027] In summary, the technical solution of the present invention solves the problems of low efficiency of independent operation of equipment and the inability to integrate and trace monitoring data, improves the utilization efficiency, management quality and control safety of vacuum instruments, and is a significant improvement over the existing technology. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] Figure 1 It is a simplified structural diagram of the cascade control system of the instrument vacuum pump of the present invention.

[0029] Figure 2 This is an example of the data monitoring UI interface of the industrial all-in-one machine in the system of the present invention.

[0030] Figure 3 This is an example of the data tracing UI interface of the industrial all-in-one machine in the system of the present invention.

[0031] Figure 4 It is a flow chart of the cascade startup of the system of the present invention.

[0032] Figure 5 It is a program flow chart of the cascade stop of the system of the present invention.

[0033] above Figure 1The corresponding meanings of the figures shown are: 1-vacuum chamber, 2-sample channel, 3-observation window, 4-ion gauge, 5-industrial all-in-one machine, 6-embedded serial data collector, 7-serial cable, 8-mechanical pump, 9-fore gauge, 10-solenoid valve, 11-bellows, 12-molecular pump. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] The specific implementation methods of the present invention will be further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings to make the technical solutions of the present invention easier to understand and grasp, thereby making a clearer definition of the protection scope of the present invention.

[0035] like Figure 1 As shown in the figure, from the perspective of hardware architecture, the present invention proposes a cascade control system for an instrument vacuum pump system. The conventional vacuum pump system is mainly composed of a mechanical pump 8, a pre-stage gauge 9, a solenoid valve 10, a molecular pump 12, and an ion gauge 4. As the cascade control system innovatively proposed in this application, it is based on an industrial all-in-one machine 5 and a serial data collector 6, wherein the serial data collector 6 is connected to the serial communication interfaces of the mechanical pump 8, the molecular pump 12, the ion gauge 4, the pre-stage gauge 9, and the solenoid valve 10 through a serial cable 7; the industrial all-in-one machine monitors and traces the data of each component of the above-mentioned vacuum pump system through the serial data collector, and outputs cascade start and stop operation commands for the mechanical pump, molecular pump, and ion gauge.

[0036] The detailed functions of the various components of the vacuum pump system and cascade control system in the figure are described as follows. The vacuum chamber is the main provider of the experimental environment. Only when the ultra-high vacuum inside is established can the surface of the material used as the experimental object be analyzed. The sample channel 2 on its side is the channel for the sample of the experimental object to enter and exit the vacuum chamber. It is also in a vacuum environment. How the sample is transferred in the channel can be achieved by conventional mechanical pushing devices such as slide rails and trays. It does not fall within the scope of protection requested by this application, so detailed illustrations and detailed descriptions are omitted. In addition, an observation window 3 can be optionally provided on the surface of the above-mentioned vacuum chamber 1 to observe the physical information such as the state and position of the sample in the chamber from the outside to the inside.

[0037] The ion gauge is installed on the outer wall of the vacuum chamber to detect the vacuum degree of the inner cavity, and its ultimate detection capability can reach 10E-11Pa. The mechanical pump 8 generally adopts a rotary mechanical pump or a molecular sieve adsorption pump to perform rough pumping on the vacuum system. The ultimate vacuum degree can reach 10E-2Pa, and serial communication is provided to the outside. The front-stage gauge 9 and the solenoid valve 10 are both installed on the body of the mechanical pump 8. The former is used to measure the vacuum degree reached by the mechanical pump; while the latter is connected to the passage between the mechanical pump and the molecular pump 12. When the mechanical pump reaches a certain vacuum degree, it is controlled to open and connect the two pumps. Here, the aforementioned passage is realized by connecting the bellows 11 between the mechanical pump and the molecular pump, and the molecular pump is used for vacuum fine pumping to obtain high vacuum, and the ultimate vacuum degree can reach 10E-8Pa.

[0038] In particular, the serial port data collector 6 is embedded with a program for data collection and output, and the program assigns different identification codes to each component of the vacuum pump system. When each component is powered on, the serial port data collector participates in the program's unified data collection and control output. Specifically, during data collection, the identification code of the corresponding component is used as the data header, and the message is aggregated into a message, which is then packaged and sent to the industrial integrated machine. The industrial integrated machine distinguishes each other by the identification code and performs separate parsing and display. During control output, the identification code of the corresponding component is used as the data header to form a command sent by the industrial integrated machine, which is output to the designated component through the serial port data collector, and the designated component receives and drives internal execution.

[0039] The above-mentioned industrial all-in-one machine 5 is an industrial computer with a high-performance CPU. It serves as the software monitoring center of the vacuum pump system, is used to display status information, provides a user operation platform, and has data monitoring, control output, and data tracing functions. Through the design of the system monitoring interface, such as Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, its interface mainly includes the following three parts.

[0040] 1. The system status area at the top provides the system name, current system alarm, operating user name and exit button. Among them, the current system alarm and operating user name will be stored in the local database according to the timestamp to facilitate later data tracing.

[0041] Second, the status monitoring area and function switching button in the middle. Here, the status monitoring area analyzes the data sent by the serial port data collector according to the identification code and displays it in the form of indicator lights, digital display boxes and curves. The function switching button includes data monitoring and data tracing, and the system defaults to displaying the data monitoring interface ( Figure 2 Click the data tracing function button to switch to Figure 3The interface shown in the figure is used to present the operator information, operation records, status information and other process records generated during the cascade operation in the form of timestamps, which is convenient for later tracing and viewing.

[0042] Button Name Trigger method Functional Description Mode Activation Mouse click After the button is activated, it means that the current system is in the linkage control stage System self-test Mouse click After the button is activated, the system starts to automatically eliminate any fault information that affects the start and stop of the equipment. Cascade Start Mouse click When the button is activated, the vacuum system Figure 4 The logic starts to start in sequence Cascade stop Mouse click When the button is activated, the vacuum system Figure 5 The logic starts and stops in sequence .

[0043] The cascade control method for a vacuum pump system (vacuum pump, gauge, valve, etc.) designed in the present invention is to upgrade the manual start and stop operation of the above-mentioned vacuum pump system to a cascade automatic start and stop operation, especially the cascade start and stop operation of the mechanical pump, molecular pump, and ion gauge. The process is described in detail as follows.

[0044] First, the cascade startup process, combined with Figure 4 The process shown includes:

[0045] S1. After establishing a communication link between the industrial integrated device and the serial data logger, press the "Mode Activation" button. The preloaded cascade control program in the industrial integrated device will begin initialization. The button background will be green, indicating that the system is currently in the linkage control stage.

[0046] S2. Press the "System Self-Check" button to activate the corresponding function. The cascade control program starts to detect whether there is a communication network interruption in the components of the vacuum pump system, whether there is any fault information that causes the system to be unable to start or stop. If there is no fault in the self-check, the background of the button will be green. If there is any fault in the self-check, the system will be Figure 2 The "Current Alarm Content" area at the top of the displayed interface scrolls and appears, prompting the operator to manually troubleshoot the problem.

[0047] S3. Press the "Cascade Start" button to activate the corresponding function, and start each device in sequence according to the internal process logic of the vacuum pump system. Specifically: S31. Issue a command to start the mechanical pump. The command is accompanied by the identification code of the corresponding component (or device). The command reaches the internal driver of the mechanical pump through the output channel of the serial port data collector, thereby starting the mechanical pump. Figure 2 The "Cascade Control Status" section in the central status monitoring area displays the text: "Mechanical Pump Starting." The cascade control program periodically checks the mechanical pump's operating status based on the serial data logger's input channel until the "Mechanical Pump Running" indicator turns green, indicating successful startup.

[0048] S32 (or S4), after the mechanical pump is successfully started, the cascade control program regularly monitors the vacuum degree of the fore-stage gauge installed on the mechanical pump, and the "cascade control status" displays the text: the vacuum degree of the fore-stage gauge + the actual detected value; when the value is less than the preset switching threshold, a command to open the solenoid valve is issued, thereby establishing a vacuum channel from the mechanical pump to the molecular pump.

[0049] S33 (or S5) issues a command to turn on the molecular pump (with an identification code). After the molecular pump's internal driver receives the command, the motor begins to gradually accelerate, and the "Cascade Control Status" displays the text: Molecular Pump Starting. The molecular pump operation indicator turns green, and the molecular pump speed is displayed digitally and in a curve.

[0050] S34 (or S6), after the molecular pump speed approaches the set full speed, a confirmation dialog box will pop up on the data monitoring interface, prompting you to wait for two minutes. When the confirmation button is clicked in the dialog box, a two-minute countdown will automatically begin. This is to allow the molecular pump to reach a relatively stable vacuum level. At this time, the "Cascade Control Status" will display the text: Waiting for two minutes, remaining time + value.

[0051] At step S35 (or S7), when the waiting time expires and the cascade control program issues a command to start the ion gauge, the "Cascade Control Status" display reads: "Ion Gauge Starting Up." Once startup is complete, the ion gauge's associated operating indicator turns green, and the ion gauge vacuum level is displayed digitally and as a graph. Simultaneously, the "Cascade Control Status" display reads: "Cascade Startup Process Completed."

[0052] Secondly, the cascade stopping process, combined with Figure 5 The process shown includes:

[0053] E1. After establishing a communication link between the industrial integrated device and the serial data logger, press the "Mode Activation" button. The preloaded cascade control program in the industrial integrated device will begin initialization. The button background will be green, indicating that the system is currently in the linkage control stage.

[0054] E2. Press the "System Self-Check" button to activate the corresponding function. The cascade control program starts to detect whether there is a communication network interruption in the components of the vacuum pump system, whether there is any fault information that causes the system to be unable to start or stop. If there is no fault in the self-check, the background of the button will be green. If there is any fault in the self-check, the system will be Figure 2 The "Current Alarm Content" area at the top of the displayed interface scrolls and appears, prompting the operator to manually troubleshoot the problem.

[0055] E3. Press the "Cascade Stop" button to activate the corresponding function, stopping each device sequentially according to the vacuum pump system's internal process logic. Specifically: E31. Issue a command to stop the ion gauge, along with the corresponding component (or device) identification code. The "Cascade Control Status" section in the central status monitoring area will display the text: "Ion Gauge Stopping." The ion gauge's operating status will be displayed in the industrial computer's data monitoring area based on data fed back from the serial data logger. The "Ion Gauge Running" indicator will turn gray, indicating a successful ion gauge stop.

[0056] After E32 (or E4) and the ion gauge have stopped successfully, a command to stop the molecular pump is issued. After the internal drive of the molecular pump receives the command, it gradually decelerates from full speed. Figure 2 The "Cascade Control Status" in the middle status monitoring area displays the text: the molecular pump is stopping; the running status of the molecular pump is displayed in the data monitoring area of ​​the industrial all-in-one machine based on the data feedback from the serial port data collector, and the gradually decreasing speed of the molecular pump is displayed in the form of digital display and curves until the "Molecular Pump Running" indicator light turns gray, indicating that the molecular pump has stopped successfully.

[0057] E33 (or E5), after the molecular pump stops successfully, the cascade control program sends out commands to stop the solenoid valve and the mechanical pump in sequence according to the command cycle. After the internal drive device of the mechanical pump receives the command, it starts to stop. Figure 2 The "Cascade Control Status" indicator in the central status monitoring area displays the text "Mechanical Pump Stopping." Based on the data fed back by the serial data logger, the industrial computer's data monitoring area displays the mechanical pump's operating status. The "Mechanical Pump Running" indicator turns gray, indicating that the mechanical pump has successfully stopped. At this point, the "Cascade Control Status" indicator displays the text "Cascade Stop Completed."

[0058] From the above introduction to the scheme and detailed description of the embodiment of the cascade control system and method of the instrument vacuum pump system of the present invention, it can be seen that this scheme has outstanding substantive features and significant progress: (1) The manual operation of the traditional vacuum system establishment process is upgraded to a cascade control system of the vacuum pump system, which includes complete software and hardware and upper and lower control. (2) The monitoring and data tracing functions of the industrial all-in-one machine in the system are improved; and the embedded serial port data acquisition device replaces the PLC, eliminating the need for a separate manual controller, power distribution cabinet, etc., which greatly reduces costs. (3) The industrial all-in-one machine integrates the system self-test and pop-up prompt functions. This improvement in the control method makes the automatic control process safer.

[0059] In addition to the above embodiments, the present invention may also have other implementation methods. Any technical solutions formed by equivalent replacement or equivalent transformation fall within the scope of protection required by the present invention.

Claims

1. A cascade control method for an instrument vacuum pump system, wherein the vacuum pump system is composed of a mechanical pump, a fore gauge, a solenoid valve, a molecular pump, and an ion gauge, wherein the fore gauge and the solenoid valve are installed on the body of the mechanical pump, the molecular pump is connected to the solenoid valve through a bellows, and the ion gauge is installed on the outer wall of the vacuum chamber. A cascade control system is formed based on an industrial all-in-one machine and a serial data collector, wherein the serial data collector is connected to the serial communication interfaces of the mechanical pump, molecular pump, ion gauge, fore gauge, and solenoid valve through a serial cable; the industrial all-in-one machine monitors and traces data of each component of the vacuum pump system through the serial data collector, and outputs cascade start and stop operation commands for the mechanical pump, molecular pump, and ion gauge, characterized in that include: Cascade start and cascade stop of the vacuum pump system, The steps of cascading startup include: S1. After activating the cascade mode, the cascade control program pre-loaded in the industrial all-in-one machine begins to initialize. S2. After activating the system self-check function, the cascade control program starts to detect whether there is a communication network interruption in the vacuum pump system components, whether there is any fault information that causes the system to be unable to start or stop, and displays the fault information in the data monitoring area of ​​the industrial all-in-one machine to prompt the operator. S3. After activating the cascade start function, first issue a command to start the mechanical pump, and then display the running status of the mechanical pump in the data monitoring area of ​​the industrial all-in-one machine based on the data fed back by the serial port data collector. S4. After the mechanical pump is successfully started, determine whether to issue a command to open the solenoid valve based on the vacuum degree measured by the front-stage gauge. S5. Issue a command to turn on the molecular pump, and display the running status of the molecular pump in the data monitoring area of ​​the industrial all-in-one machine according to the data fed back by the serial port data collector. S6. After the molecular pump speed approaches the set full speed, maintain it for two minutes to confirm. S7. When the two-minute period is over, a command to start the ion gauge is issued, and the operating status of the ion gauge is displayed in the data monitoring area of ​​the industrial integrated machine based on the data fed back by the serial port data collector; The step of stopping the cascade includes: E1. After activating the cascade mode, the cascade control program pre-loaded in the industrial all-in-one machine begins to initialize. E2. After activating the system self-check function, the cascade control program starts to detect whether there is a communication network interruption in the vacuum pump system components, whether there is any fault information that causes the system to be unable to start or stop, and displays the fault information in the data monitoring area of ​​the industrial all-in-one machine to prompt the operator. E3. After activating the cascade stop function, first issue a command to stop the ion gauge, and then display the ion gauge operation status in the data monitoring area of ​​the industrial all-in-one machine based on the data fed back by the serial port data collector. E4. After the ion gauge stops successfully, a command to stop the molecular pump is issued, and the running status of the molecular pump is displayed in the data monitoring area of ​​the industrial integrated machine according to the data fed back by the serial port data collector. E5. After the molecular pump stops successfully, a command to stop the mechanical pump is issued, and the operating status of the mechanical pump is displayed in the data monitoring area of ​​the industrial integrated machine based on the data fed back by the serial port data collector.

2. The cascade control method for an instrument vacuum pump system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The monitoring interface of the industrial all-in-one machine includes three parts: the system status area at the top, the status monitoring area and function switching buttons in the middle, and the operation button area at the bottom.

3. The cascade control method of an instrument vacuum pump system according to claim 2, characterized in that: The system status area provides the system name, current system alarm, operating user name and exit button; the status monitoring area parses data according to component status and displays the data in the form of indicator lights, digital display boxes or curve graphs; the function switching buttons include data monitoring and data tracing; and the operation button area includes four buttons: mode activation, system self-test, cascade start and cascade stop.

4. The cascade control method for an instrument vacuum pump system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The data traceability is defined as a process record based on a selected time period, displaying the operator's username and time stamp.

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