Circuit breaker and firmware upgrading method thereof

Abstract

The invention discloses a circuit breaker. The system comprises an intelligent control unit and at least one accessory unit, and the intelligent control unit and the accessory units serve as network equipment to be accessed to the same bus network and communicate through the bus network. The intelligent control unit comprises a main control module and a measurement protection module used for realizing current measurement and protection functions, and the intelligent control unit only performs firmware upgrading on the main control module in a firmware upgrading process; the circuit breaker further comprises an interface unit which has data processing, forwarding and storing functions and is used for firmware upgrading of the circuit breaker. The interface unit is provided with at least three communication ports, the first communication port is accessed to a bus network, and the other two communication ports are respectively connected with the intelligent control unit and the upgrading server / upper computer. The invention further discloses a firmware upgrading method of the circuit breaker. According to the method and the device, error event information caused by communication interruption between the network equipment which is being subjected to firmware upgrading and other network equipment can be avoided.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a circuit breaker and a firmware upgrading method thereof. Background Art

[0002] Circuit breakers are used in power distribution networks to close and open circuits, and to automatically disconnect circuits when current or voltage in the circuit is abnormal, thereby protecting the safety of downstream electrical equipment. The intelligent control unit of a traditional intelligent circuit breaker usually includes a main control module and a measurement and protection module for realizing current measurement and basic protection functions. In order to increase the protection function, some intelligent circuit breakers are designed with a variety of expandable accessory units. The intelligent control unit and each accessory unit are connected to the same bus network as network devices and communicate through the bus network, thereby forming a circuit breaker bus network. When the firmware of the network device in the above-mentioned circuit breaker bus network is upgraded through the host computer or upgrade server, the original program of the upgraded network device will stop running, thereby interrupting the communication task between the device and other network devices in the bus network. At this time, the user-side monitoring platform will receive the error event information of the bus network and device abnormalities, causing the use of pre-processing solutions and measures, resulting in unnecessary economic losses. Summary of the invention

[0003] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art and provide a circuit breaker and a firmware upgrade method thereof, which can avoid the generation of error event information caused by communication interruption between a firmware upgrade network device and other network devices.

[0004] The present invention specifically adopts the following technical solutions to solve the above technical problems: A circuit breaker comprises an intelligent control unit and at least one accessory unit, wherein the intelligent control unit and the accessory units are connected to the same bus network as network devices and communicate through the bus network; the intelligent control unit comprises a main control module and a measurement and protection module for realizing current measurement and protection functions, and the intelligent control unit only performs firmware upgrade on the main control module during the firmware upgrade process; the circuit breaker also comprises an interface unit with data processing, forwarding and storage functions, which is used for the circuit breaker firmware upgrade; the interface unit has at least three communication ports, the first communication port is connected to the bus network, the second communication port is connected to the intelligent control unit, and the third communication port is used to connect to an upgrade server or a host computer.

[0005] Preferably, the interface unit is a display unit.

[0006] The firmware upgrade method of the circuit breaker comprises the following steps: S1. The interface unit receives and parses the firmware upgrade instruction sent by the upgrade server or the host computer, identifies the network device to be upgraded and obtains the communication ID of the network device to be upgraded in the bus network; S2, the interface unit monitors the communication between the network device to be upgraded and other network devices in the bus network for at least one communication cycle, and saves the monitored communication data; S3, the interface unit forwards the firmware upgrade instruction to the network device to be upgraded through the bus network, and forwards the upgrade ready instruction replied by the network device to be upgraded to the upgrade server or the host computer; S4, the interface unit receives the new firmware sent by the upgrade server or the host computer, and sends the new firmware to the network device to be upgraded through the bus network; S5, the interface unit uses the communication ID of the network device to be upgraded in the bus network and the stored communication data to replace the network device to be upgraded to perform bus communication with other network devices; S6. After the network device to be upgraded completes the firmware upgrade, it communicates with other network devices through the bus network again; the interface unit stops using the communication ID of the network device to be upgraded to send data to the bus network, and clears all saved data.

[0007] Preferably, when the network device to be upgraded is an intelligent control unit, the interface unit, while replacing the network device to be upgraded to perform bus communications with other network devices, also reads the measurement and protection data generated by the measurement and protection module in the intelligent control unit through the second communication port, and uses it to update the measurement and protection data in the communication data currently stored in the interface unit.

[0008] Preferably, the receiving unit stores the monitored communication data according to the communication object partitions.

[0009] Compared with the prior art, the technical solution of the present invention has the following beneficial effects: The intelligent control unit of the circuit breaker of the present invention and other network devices in the circuit breaker bus network forward updated firmware through the interface unit. In order to ensure that the normal communication of the bus network will not be interrupted due to the firmware upgrade of a certain device unit, the present invention monitors and records the communication data between the network to be upgraded and other network devices in the bus network through the interface unit, and then uses the communication ID of the device unit to be upgraded in the bus network and the data based on the monitored communication ID to replace the device to be upgraded to complete its communication task in the bus network during the firmware upgrade process, thereby ensuring that the communication of the bus network is not interrupted and avoiding the use of pre-processing solutions and measures caused by communication interruption error event information. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] Figure 1It is a basic structural block diagram of the circuit breaker of the present invention; Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the firmware upgrade principle of the intelligent control unit in a specific embodiment; Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the firmware upgrade principle of the MODBUS communication unit in a specific embodiment; Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the firmware upgrade principle of the accessory monitoring unit in a specific embodiment; Figure 5 An example of dividing the internal data area of ​​the interface unit in a specific embodiment; Figure 6 FIG. 4 is a complete flow chart of the circuit breaker firmware upgrade process in a specific embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0011] In order to ensure that the normal communication of the circuit breaker bus network will not be interrupted due to the firmware upgrade of a certain device unit, the present invention sets an interface unit to forward the updated firmware, monitors and records the communication data between the network to be upgraded and other network devices in the bus network through the interface unit, and then uses the communication ID of the device unit to be upgraded in the bus network and the data based on the monitored communication ID to replace the device to be upgraded to complete its communication task in the bus network during the firmware upgrade process, thereby ensuring that the communication of the bus network is not interrupted.

[0012] In order to facilitate public understanding, the technical solution of the present invention is described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings: The basic structure of the circuit breaker of the present invention is as follows: Figure 1 As shown, it includes an intelligent control unit and a group of accessory units. The intelligent control unit and the accessory units are connected to the same bus network as network devices and communicate through the bus network. The bus network can be a bus network such as CAN, MODBUS, Profibus, DeviceNet, etc.; wherein the intelligent control unit includes a main control module and a measurement and protection module for realizing current measurement and protection functions. The intelligent control unit only performs firmware upgrade on the main control module during the firmware upgrade process; Figure 1 As shown, the circuit breaker of the present invention also includes an interface unit with data processing, forwarding and storage functions, and the interface unit has at least three communication ports, the first communication port ( Figure 1 Port 3 in the figure is the bus communication port, which is connected to the bus network. The second communication port ( Figure 1 Port 2 in the Controller Area Network is connected to the Intelligent Control Unit, and the third communication port ( Figure 1 Port 1) is used to connect to the upgrade server or host computer.

[0013] When the above circuit breaker is performing a firmware upgrade, the interface unit forwards the updated firmware, and the receiving unit monitors and records the communication data of the upgraded network device, and then uses the communication ID of the device unit to be upgraded in the bus network and the data based on the monitored communication ID to replace the device to be upgraded to complete its communication task in the bus network during the firmware upgrade process; specifically, the following steps are included: S1. The interface unit receives and parses the firmware upgrade instruction sent by the upgrade server or the host computer, identifies the network device to be upgraded and obtains the communication ID of the network device to be upgraded in the bus network; S2, the interface unit monitors the communication between the network device to be upgraded and other network devices in the bus network for at least one communication cycle, and saves the monitored communication data; S3, the interface unit forwards the firmware upgrade instruction to the network device to be upgraded through the bus network, and forwards the upgrade ready instruction replied by the network device to be upgraded to the upgrade server or the host computer; S4, the interface unit receives the new firmware sent by the upgrade server or the host computer, and sends the new firmware to the network device to be upgraded through the bus network; S5, the interface unit uses the communication ID of the network device to be upgraded in the bus network and the stored communication data to replace the network device to be upgraded to perform bus communication with other network devices; S6. After the network device to be upgraded completes the firmware upgrade, it communicates with other network devices through the bus network again; the interface unit stops using the communication ID of the network device to be upgraded to send data to the bus network, and clears all saved data.

[0014] In order to ensure that during the firmware upgrade of the intelligent control unit, the interface unit can use real-time measurement and protection data to perform bus communication with other network devices; preferably, when the network device to be upgraded is an intelligent control unit, the interface unit, while replacing the network device to be upgraded to perform bus communication with other network devices, also reads the measurement and protection data generated by the measurement and protection module in the intelligent control unit through the second communication port, and uses it to update the measurement and protection data in the communication data currently stored in the interface unit.

[0015] Preferably, the receiving unit stores the monitored communication data according to the communication object partitions.

[0016] The technical solution of the present invention is further described below by a specific embodiment: The circuit breaker in this embodiment has two accessory units, one of which is a MODBUS communication unit, which is used for the circuit breaker to communicate with other devices through the MODBUS communication protocol; the other accessory unit is an accessory monitoring unit, such as a monitoring unit for monitoring the coil status; the two accessory units communicate with the intelligent control unit through the CAN bus network. When the circuit breaker is working normally, the intelligent control unit performs basic current measurement and three-stage protection functions, and communicates with the MODBUS communication unit and the accessory monitoring unit through the CAN bus network.

[0017] Upgrade the server or host computer. Take the computer as an example. When upgrading the firmware of the intelligent control unit, Figure 2 As shown, when the interface unit receives the intelligent control unit firmware upgrade instruction sent by the computer, the interface unit receives and parses the upgrade instruction, identifies the intelligent control unit, and obtains its communication ID; then Figure 5 As shown, temporary data area 1 and data area 2 are set up inside the interface unit, and the writing area of ​​circuit measurement value, protection setting value, system parameter value, historical record value, and circuit breaker information data is divided in data area 1 according to the address range defined by the communication protocol, and the writing area of ​​closing release, shunt release, undervoltage release, and electric operating mechanism data is divided in data area 2 according to the address range defined by the communication protocol; the interface unit monitors the communication data of at least one communication cycle between the intelligent control unit and the MODBUS communication unit, and records the data in data area 1, monitors the communication data of at least one communication cycle between the intelligent control unit and the accessory monitoring unit, and records the data in data area 2; then, the interface unit forwards the firmware upgrade command issued by the computer to the intelligent control unit through the CAN bus network, and the intelligent control unit replies to the computer with an upgrade ready command through the interface unit. , then erase the original firmware and enter the firmware update program; the interface unit forwards the intelligent control unit firmware update sent by the computer to the intelligent control unit in the bus network. At the same time, the interface unit uses the communication ID of the intelligent control unit in the bus network to replace the intelligent control unit to maintain communication with the MODBUS communication unit and the accessory monitoring unit, and uses the data in data area 1 to respond to the instructions of the MODBUS communication unit, and uses data area 2 to record the data sent by the accessory monitoring unit. In this process, the interface unit also receives the measurement and protection data generated by the measurement and protection module in the intelligent control unit through port 2 and updates the corresponding data in data area 1; after the intelligent control unit completes the firmware upgrade, it communicates with other devices through the CAN bus network again, and the interface unit stops using the intelligent control unit communication ID to send data to the CAN bus network and clears the data in the data area.

[0018] When the MODBUS communication unit is upgrading its firmware, Figure 3As shown, when the interface unit receives the MODBUS communication unit firmware upgrade instruction sent by the computer, the interface unit receives and parses the upgrade instruction, identifies the MODBUS communication unit and obtains its communication ID; then, a temporary data area 1 is opened inside the interface unit, and the writing area of ​​the circuit measurement value, protection setting value, system parameter value, historical record value, and circuit breaker information data is divided according to the address range defined by the communication protocol; then, the interface unit starts to monitor the communication data of at least one communication cycle between the MODBUS communication unit and the intelligent control unit, and records the data to the data area 1; the interface unit forwards the firmware upgrade instruction sent by the computer to the MODBUS communication unit through the CAN bus network, and the MODBUS communication unit The unit replies to the computer with the upgrade ready instruction through the interface unit, then erases the original firmware and enters the firmware update program; the interface unit forwards the MODBUS communication unit update firmware sent by the computer to the MODBUS communication unit in the CAN bus network. At the same time, the interface unit uses the communication ID of the MODBUS communication unit in the CAN bus network to replace the MODBUS communication unit to maintain communication with the intelligent control unit, and uses data area 1 to record the data sent by the intelligent control unit; after the MODBUS communication unit completes the firmware update, it communicates with the intelligent control unit again through the CAN bus network, the interface unit stops using the MODBUS communication unit communication ID to send data to the CAN bus network, and clears the data in the data area.

[0019] When the accessory monitoring unit is updating its firmware, Figure 4 As shown in the figure, when the interface unit receives the MODBUS communication unit firmware upgrade instruction sent by the computer, the interface unit receives and parses the upgrade instruction, identifies the accessory monitoring unit and obtains its communication ID; then, a temporary data area 2 is opened inside the interface unit, and the writing area of ​​the closing release, shunt release, undervoltage release, and electric operating mechanism data is divided according to the address range defined by the communication protocol; then, the interface unit starts to monitor the communication data between the accessory monitoring unit and the intelligent control unit, and records the data in data area 2; then, the interface unit forwards the firmware upgrade instruction sent by the computer to the accessory monitoring unit through the CAN bus network, and the accessory monitoring unit The unit replies with an upgrade ready instruction to the computer through the interface unit, then erases the original firmware and enters the firmware update program; the interface unit forwards the accessory monitoring unit update firmware sent by the computer to the accessory monitoring unit in the CAN bus network, and at the same time, uses the communication ID of the accessory monitoring unit in the CAN bus network to replace the accessory monitoring unit to maintain communication with the intelligent control communication unit, and uses the data in data area 2 to send to the intelligent control unit; after the accessory monitoring unit completes the firmware update, it communicates with the intelligent control unit through the CAN bus network again, the interface unit stops using the accessory monitoring unit communication ID to send data to the CAN bus network, and clears the data in the data area.

[0020] The complete process of the above circuit breaker firmware upgrade is as follows Figure 6 As shown; wherein, since the circuit breaker itself is provided with a display unit having data processing, forwarding and storage functions, there is no need to add an additional interface unit, but the display unit is directly used as the interface unit to upgrade the circuit breaker firmware, and information such as the upgraded network device and its firmware upgrade progress can also be displayed during the firmware upgrade process.

Claims

1. A circuit breaker, comprising an intelligent control unit and at least one accessory unit, wherein the intelligent control unit and the accessory units are connected to the same bus network as network devices and communicate through the bus network; the intelligent control unit comprises a main control module and a measurement and protection module for realizing current measurement and protection functions, and the intelligent control unit only performs firmware upgrade on the main control module during the firmware upgrade process; characterized in that The circuit breaker also includes an interface unit with data processing, forwarding and storage functions, which is used for upgrading the circuit breaker firmware; the interface unit has at least three communication ports, the first communication port is connected to the bus network, the second communication port is connected to the intelligent control unit, and the third communication port is used to connect to the upgrade server or host computer.

2. The circuit breaker according to claim 1, characterized in that: The interface unit is a display unit.

3. The method for upgrading the firmware of a circuit breaker according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: S1. The interface unit receives and parses the firmware upgrade instruction sent by the upgrade server or the host computer, identifies the network device to be upgraded and obtains the communication ID of the network device to be upgraded in the bus network; S2, the interface unit monitors the communication between the network device to be upgraded and other network devices in the bus network for at least one communication cycle, and saves the monitored communication data; S3, the interface unit forwards the firmware upgrade instruction to the network device to be upgraded through the bus network, and forwards the upgrade ready instruction replied by the network device to be upgraded to the upgrade server or the host computer; S4, the interface unit receives the new firmware sent by the upgrade server or the host computer, and sends the new firmware to the network device to be upgraded through the bus network; S5, the interface unit uses the communication ID of the network device to be upgraded in the bus network and the stored communication data to replace the network device to be upgraded to perform bus communication with other network devices; S6, after the network device to be upgraded completes the firmware upgrade, it communicates with other network devices through the bus network again; The interface unit stops using the communication ID of the network device to be upgraded to send data to the bus network, and clears all saved data.

4. The firmware upgrade method according to claim 3, characterized in that: When the network device to be upgraded is an intelligent control unit, the interface unit, while replacing the network device to be upgraded to perform bus communication with other network devices, also reads the measurement and protection data generated by the measurement and protection module in the intelligent control unit through the second communication port, and uses it to update the measurement and protection data in the communication data currently stored in the interface unit.

5. The firmware upgrade method according to claim 3, characterized in that: The receiving unit stores the monitored communication data according to the communication object partitions.

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