A communication adapter and control system for cluster control of constant temperature baths

Abstract

The present invention discloses a communication adapter for thermostatic bath cluster control, wherein the thermostatic bath comprises a thermostatic bath controller, and the communication adapter is connected to several thermostatic bath controllers and a host computer; the communication adapter communicates with the several thermostatic bath controllers according to the TTL serial port protocol; the communication adapter communicates with the host computer according to the Modbus‑RTU protocol; the communication adapter can convert the received communication instructions of the host computer from the Modbus‑RTU protocol into the TTL serial port protocol and then send them to several thermostatic bath controllers; and, according to the communication instructions of the host computer, the response information returned by the several thermostatic bath controllers is converted from the TTL serial port protocol into the Modbus‑RTU protocol and then transmitted back to the host computer. The communication adapter of the present invention implements the control and real-time monitoring functions of the host computer on multiple thermostatic baths at the same time by performing protocol conversion on the communication information of the thermostatic bath controller of the thermostatic bath and encapsulating it in the Modbus‑RTU protocol to communicate with the host computer.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of communications, and in particular to a communication adapter and a control system for thermostatic bath cluster control. Background Art

[0002] Thermostatic bath is a tank that can provide a stable temperature for liquid density media. It mainly uses high-performance microcomputer control, self-tuning PID adjustment and standard platinum resistance temperature measurement to achieve high-precision, small-fluctuation precise temperature control. It is suitable for chemical, physical, and biological laboratories that need to maintain a constant temperature. It is an essential equipment for laboratories such as medicine and health, chemical industry, food industry, metallurgical industry, colleges and universities, scientific research, genetic engineering, and polymer engineering.

[0003] With the advancement of science and technology, thermostatic control systems have become more and more complex. In actual applications, each thermostatic bath needs to be connected to an independent host computer to accurately control the temperature and collect, analyze and process data. If multiple thermostatic baths need to be controlled simultaneously for different experiments or process operations, more independent controllers and corresponding equipment are required, which greatly increases the cost and complexity. In addition, users are required to directly operate the equipment or conduct real-time monitoring on site, and remote access and control are impossible. This is very inconvenient for some experiments or process processes that require long-term monitoring and control. Summary of the invention

[0004] According to one aspect of the present invention, a communication adapter for cluster control of a thermostatic bath is provided, wherein the thermostatic bath comprises a thermostatic bath controller,

[0005] The communication adapter is connected to a plurality of thermostatic bath controllers and a host computer;

[0006] The communication adapter communicates with the plurality of thermostatic bath controllers according to the TTL serial port protocol;

[0007] The communication adapter communicates with the host computer according to the Modbus-RTU protocol;

[0008] The communication adapter can convert the communication instructions received from the host computer from the Modbus-RTU protocol to the TTL serial port protocol and send them to several of the thermostatic bath controllers; and, according to the communication instructions of the host computer, convert the response information returned by several thermostatic bath controllers from the TTL serial port protocol to the Modbus-RTU protocol and then transmit it back to the host computer.

[0009] In some implementations, the communication adapter includes a first register and a plurality of second registers.

[0010] In some embodiments, the process of converting the received communication instruction of the host computer from the Modbus-RTU protocol to the TTL serial port protocol and then sending it to the plurality of thermostatic bath controllers includes:

[0011] The first register is used to store the number of the controlled thermostatic bath controller specified in the communication instruction of the host computer;

[0012] The plurality of second registers are used to store character string instructions for controlling the thermostatic bath controller in the communication instructions of the host computer.

[0013] In some implementations, the number value stored in the first register is 0-N, where N is the number of thermostatic bath controllers, and each thermostatic bath controller is numbered within 1-N without duplication.

[0014] In some embodiments, the process of converting the received communication instruction of the host computer from the Modbus-RTU protocol to the TTL serial port protocol and then sending it to the plurality of thermostatic bath controllers includes:

[0015] If the value of the first register is 0, the communication adapter sends the string instruction in the second register to all thermostatic bath controllers;

[0016] If the value of the first register is any value from 1 to N, the communication adapter sends the string instruction in the second register to the thermostatic bath controller with the corresponding number.

[0017] In some embodiments, the process of converting the response information returned by the thermostatic bath controllers from the TTL serial port protocol to the Modbus-RTU protocol according to the communication instruction of the host computer and then transmitting it back to the host computer includes:

[0018] The first register is used to store the number of the second register containing the response information;

[0019] The second register is used to store response information returned by a plurality of thermostatic bath controllers.

[0020] In some implementations, the value of the first register is 1-M, where M is the number of the second registers, and each second register is numbered within 1-M without duplication.

[0021] In some embodiments, the process of converting the response information returned by the thermostatic bath controllers from the TTL serial port protocol to the Modbus-RTU protocol according to the communication instruction of the host computer and then transmitting it back to the host computer includes:

[0022] Read the value X of the first register, 1≤X≤M;

[0023] Starting from the first second register, the response information stored in the X second registers is read.

[0024] In some embodiments, it includes several first interfaces, and each thermostatic bath controller is connected to the communication adapter via a first interface; and also includes a second interface, and the communication adapter is connected to the host computer via the second interface.

[0025] According to another aspect of the present invention, a thermostatic bath control system is provided, comprising a host computer, several thermostatic baths, and a communication adapter as described in any one of the above items, wherein the thermostatic bath comprises a thermostatic bath controller, and the communication adapter is connected to the several thermostatic bath controllers and the host computer.

[0026] Beneficial effects of the present invention: The communication adapter of the present invention communicates with a host computer by converting the communication information of the thermostatic bath controller of the thermostatic bath into a Modbus-RTU protocol, thereby realizing the control and real-time monitoring functions of the host computer on multiple thermostatic baths at the same time. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of a thermostatic bath control system according to some embodiments of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the structure of a communication adapter at one angle according to some embodiments of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 3 This is a schematic structural diagram of a communication adapter from another angle according to some embodiments of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] For better understanding and implementation, 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 described embodiments 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 creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0031] The terms "including" and "having" and any variations thereof in the embodiments of the present invention are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. For example, a process, method, system, product or apparatus comprising a series of steps or modules is not necessarily limited to those steps or modules explicitly listed, but may include other steps or modules not explicitly listed or inherent to these processes, methods, products or apparatus.

[0032] This embodiment discloses a communication adapter 100 and a control system for thermostatic bath cluster control. Figure 1 As shown, the control system includes a host computer 200, several thermostatic baths and a communication adapter 100. The host computer 200 can be a PC, PLC, etc., and only one is set; there can be several thermostatic baths. In this embodiment, three thermostatic baths are taken as an example for explanation. Each thermostatic bath includes a thermostatic bath controller, that is, there are three thermostatic bath controllers 1#, 2#, and 3# in total for the three thermostatic baths. The communication mode of the thermostatic bath controllers 1#, 2#, and 3# is TTL serial communication, and its communication instructions are ASCII code character instructions, and end with carriage return and line feed (0x0D, 0x0A).

[0033] like Figures 1 to 3 As shown, the communication adapter 100 is connected to the host computer 200 and the thermostatic bath controllers 1#, 2#, and 3# of each thermostatic bath. Specifically, the communication adapter 100 includes a housing 110, a processor (not shown) disposed in the housing 110, and an interface module. The processor is connected to the interface module. The interface module includes a plurality of first interfaces 120 and a second interface 130. The number of the first interfaces 120 matches the number of the thermostatic bath controllers. Each thermostatic bath controller is connected to the communication adapter 100 through a first interface 120; the communication adapter 100 is connected to the host computer 200 through the second interface 130. More specifically, the first interface 120 is a network cable interface, and the number of the first interfaces 120 is three. The second interface 130 is a six-pin interface. When connected to the host computer 200, the RS-485 communication line and the power line are connected. The instructions of the host computer 200 are sent to the communication adapter 100 through the RS-485 communication line, and the processor analyzes and processes the instructions.

[0034] like Figures 1 to 3 As shown, the communication adapter 100 communicates with the thermostatic bath controllers 1#, 2#, and 3# according to the TTL serial port protocol; the communication adapter 100 communicates with the host computer 200 according to the Modbus-RTU protocol; the processor of the communication adapter 100 can convert the received communication instructions into a protocol and then send or return them. Specifically, the processor can be a microcontroller (MCU), that is, the communication adapter 100 can convert the received communication instructions of the host computer 200 from the Modbus-RTU protocol to the TTL serial port protocol through the processor and then send them to several (may be one or more) thermostatic bath controllers; and, according to the communication instructions of the host computer 200, the response information returned by several (may be one or more) thermostatic bath controllers is converted from the TTL serial port protocol to the Modbus-RTU protocol and then returned to the host computer 200. The communication adapter 100 encapsulates the instruction information of the thermostatic bath in the Modbus-RTU protocol, thereby realizing the temperature control and real-time monitoring function of the host computer 200 for multiple thermostatic baths at the same time.

[0035] Furthermore, the processor of the communication adapter 100 includes registers, and the used register addresses may range from 32 to 127, for a total of 96 registers, wherein the register with address 32 is referred to as a first register, and the registers with addresses from 33 to 127 are referred to as second registers.

[0036] Furthermore, the process of converting the received communication instruction of the host computer 200 from the Modbus-RTU protocol to the TTL serial port protocol and then sending it to several thermostatic bath controllers is also called the instruction sending mode of the communication adapter 100. In this mode, the first register (address 32) is used to store the number of the thermostatic bath controller to be controlled specified in the communication instruction of the host computer 200; the several second registers (addresses 33 to 127) are used to store the string instructions for controlling the thermostatic bath controller in the communication instruction of the host computer 200. Specifically, the number value stored in the first register is 0 to N, where N is the number of thermostatic bath controllers, and the number of each thermostatic bath controller is a non-repeating number within 1 to N. This embodiment takes three thermostatic bath controllers as an example, that is, N is 3, and the numbers of the three thermostatic bath controllers are 1#, 2#, and 3# respectively. If the value of the first register is 0, the communication adapter 100 sends the string instruction in the second register to all thermostatic bath controllers 1#, 2#, and 3#; if the value of the first register is any value from 1 to N, the communication adapter 100 sends the string instruction in the second register to the thermostatic bath controller with the corresponding number. For example, if the value of the first register is 2, the string instruction in the second register is sent to the specified thermostatic bath controller 2#. The value of the first register can also be 1 and 3, then the string instruction is sent to thermostatic bath controllers 1# and 3# at the same time. After receiving the string instruction, the thermostatic bath controller controls the thermostatic bath to perform the corresponding action, thereby realizing the control function of one or more thermostatic baths.

[0037] As shown in the example in the following table, the startup control of the first thermostatic bath is realized. The thermostatic bath startup instruction sent by the host computer 200 is: W GO 1. After receiving the instruction, the communication adapter 100 converts it from the Modbus-RTU protocol to a string instruction of the TTL serial port protocol. The value of the first register selects the thermostatic bath controller 1#. The second register stores the string instruction after the protocol conversion and sends it to the thermostatic bath controller 1#. The thermostatic bath controller controls the startup of the first thermostatic bath according to the instruction.

[0038]

[0039] Furthermore, the process of converting the response information returned by several thermostatic bath controllers from the TTL serial port protocol to the Modbus-RTU protocol and then transmitting it back to the host computer 200 according to the communication instruction of the host computer 200 is also called the response readback mode of the communication adapter 100. In this mode, the first register (address 32) is used to store the number of second registers containing response information; the second register (address 33 to 127) is used to store the response information returned by several thermostatic bath controllers. Specifically, the value of the first register is 1 to M, where M is the number of second registers, and the number of each second register is a non-repeating number within 1 to M. In this embodiment, the value of the number of second registers M is 95 (second register addresses 33 to 127). In the response read-back mode, if you want to read the response information returned by the thermostatic bath controller, you should first send a command to read a single register to read the value X of the first register (address 32), 1≤X≤M, X indicates how many second registers store the response information of the thermostatic bath controller, and then send a command to read multiple registers, starting from the first second register (address 33), read the values ​​of X second registers, thereby completing the read-back of the response information of the thermostatic bath controller.

[0040] As shown in the example in the following table, to realize the function of reading the stable set point of the first thermostatic bath, the host computer 200 first sends a read instruction "R SP".

[0041]

[0042] Then read the first register (register 32) to obtain the number of second registers containing corresponding information, and finally read the values ​​of the specified number of second registers to obtain the temperature set point data. As shown in the following table, the first register returns a value of 07, that is, the values ​​of 7 second registers are read starting from the first second register (register 33), and the temperature set value can be obtained from the returned string as +28.000℃. Then return the obtained temperature set value to the host computer 200, so as to realize the real-time monitoring function of the host computer 200 on the thermostatic bath.

[0043]

[0044] The communication adapter 100 of the present invention communicates with the host computer 200 by converting the communication information (string code) of the thermostatic bath controller of the thermostatic bath into the Modbus-RTU protocol, so that the code structure is clear and easy to understand, and easy to operate, thereby enabling the host computer 200 to simultaneously control and monitor multiple thermostatic baths in real time.

[0045] Further, such as Figure 2As shown, the communication adapter 100 is also provided with a reset function, and the communication adapter 100 also includes a reset button 140 and an indicator light 150, at least part of the reset button 140 and the indicator light 150 are exposed outside the housing 110, when the configured system parameters are forgotten and the adapter cannot be connected, the system default parameters can be reset through the reset button 140 on the communication adapter 100, and after the communication adapter 100 is powered on, the reset button 140 is pressed and held for more than two seconds, the indicator light 150 starts to flash, and the system parameters are restored to the default values.

[0046] The above are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, several modifications and improvements can be made without departing from the creative concept of the present invention, which all belong to the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A communication adapter for cluster control of a thermostatic bath, the thermostatic bath comprising a thermostatic bath controller, characterized in that: The communication adapter is connected to a plurality of thermostatic bath controllers and a host computer; The communication adapter communicates with the plurality of thermostatic bath controllers according to the TTL serial port protocol; The communication adapter communicates with the host computer according to the Modbus-RTU protocol; The communication adapter includes a first register and a plurality of second registers; The communication adapter can convert the received communication instructions of the host computer from the Modbus-RTU protocol into the TTL serial port protocol and then send it to the plurality of thermostatic bath controllers, wherein the first register is used to store the number of the thermostatic bath controller to be controlled specified in the communication instructions of the host computer; the plurality of second registers are used to store the string instructions for controlling the thermostatic bath controller in the communication instructions of the host computer; Furthermore, the communication adapter can convert the response information returned by several thermostatic bath controllers from the TTL serial port protocol to the Modbus-RTU protocol according to the communication instruction of the host computer and then transmit it back to the host computer.

2. The communication adapter according to claim 1, wherein: The number value stored in the first register is 0-N, where N is the number of thermostatic bath controllers, and each thermostatic bath controller is numbered within 1-N without duplication.

3. The communication adapter according to claim 2, wherein: The process of converting the received communication instruction of the host computer from the Modbus-RTU protocol to the TTL serial port protocol and then sending it to the plurality of thermostatic bath controllers includes: If the value of the first register is 0, the communication adapter sends the string instruction in the second register to all thermostatic bath controllers; If the value of the first register is any value from 1 to N, the communication adapter sends the string instruction in the second register to the thermostatic bath controller with the corresponding number.

4. The communication adapter according to claim 1, wherein: The process of converting the response information returned by the thermostatic bath controllers from the TTL serial port protocol to the Modbus-RTU protocol according to the communication instruction of the host computer and then transmitting it back to the host computer includes: The first register is used to store the number of the second register containing the response information; The second register is used to store response information returned by a plurality of thermostatic bath controllers.

5. The communication adapter according to claim 4, characterized in that: The value of the first register is 1-M, where M is the number of the second registers, and each second register is numbered within 1-M without duplication.

6. The communication adapter according to claim 5, characterized in that: The process of converting the response information returned by the thermostatic bath controllers from the TTL serial port protocol to the Modbus-RTU protocol according to the communication instruction of the host computer and then transmitting it back to the host computer includes: Read the value X of the first register, 1≤X≤M; Starting from the first second register, the response information stored in the X second registers is read.

7. The communication adapter according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: It includes a plurality of first interfaces, and each thermostatic bath controller is connected to the communication adapter via a first interface; It also includes a second interface, and the communication adapter is connected to the host computer through the second interface.

8. A thermostatic bath control system, comprising a host computer, a plurality of thermostatic baths, and a communication adapter as described in any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the thermostatic bath comprises a thermostatic bath controller, and the communication adapter is connected to the plurality of thermostatic bath controllers and the host computer.

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