A logistics conveying distributed airborne variable frequency IO all-in-one machine system

Abstract

This invention relates to a distributed airborne variable frequency I / O integrated system for logistics conveying, applied in the field of logistics conveying control technology. It includes: integrating remote I / O and frequency converters into a single integrated unit to achieve local data acquisition and remote control of the logistics conveyor system. Each logistics conveying device is equipped with one integrated unit. The forward and reverse control commands of the frequency converter are connected internally within the integrated unit, eliminating the need for wiring. This allows for factory pre-installation and plug-in quick connection. Compared to existing solutions that centralize the frequency converter and remote I / O in a control cabinet, the field wiring of this invention only requires connecting serial cables between devices and wiring the network hub to the main control CPU, significantly reducing the workload on-site and thus improving the efficiency of on-site wiring and debugging, and reducing the on-site error rate.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of logistics conveying control technology, and specifically to a distributed airborne variable frequency I / O integrated system for logistics conveying. Background Technology

[0002] Since its invention, remote distributed I / O control mode has been widely used in the field of industrial control. Since the 21st century, with the rapid development of automated logistics technology in China, various distributed I / O modules have also been widely used in the automated logistics industry. However, due to the late start of domestic automation control and other comprehensive reasons, airborne distributed I / O product brands are only from foreign manufacturers such as Germany and Japan.

[0003] Currently, the control mode commonly used in automated logistics warehousing conveyor systems is distributed I / O plus frequency converters for the slow start and stop functions of the conveyor motors. There are many brands of frequency converters, which are generally concentrated in the electrical control cabinet. The number of frequency converters that can be accommodated in the electrical control cabinet often varies, and the cabinets vary in size. If the size is uniform, there will be wasted space and it is impossible to achieve standardization. At the same time, since the I / O and frequency converters in a certain area are concentrated in the control cabinet, it is impossible to pre-install them as standard at the factory. The cables need to be laid on site, and the lines all need to be connected from the electrical control cabinet. The lines are relatively long, and the on-site construction wiring workload is large and relatively difficult. It usually exceeds the overall installation level of the on-site installation team, resulting in a high wiring error rate and rework and rectification costs. A small number of sites use the German Pepperl+Fuchs ASI bus or Japanese Mitsubishi CC-Link bus on-board I / O control mode. However, this type of solution still requires the use of frequency converters, and the wiring work of connecting the I / O points and the control signal lines of the frequency converters cannot be avoided. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of this, the purpose of this invention is to provide a distributed onboard variable frequency I / O integrated system for logistics conveying, to solve the problems in existing methods where distributed I / O and frequency converters are used separately for the slow start and slow stop functions of the conveyor motor. There are many brands of frequency converters, which are generally concentrated in the electrical control cabinet. The number of frequency converters that can be accommodated in the electrical control cabinet often changes, and the cabinets vary in size. If the size is uniform, there will be wasted space and it is impossible to achieve standardization. At the same time, since the I / O and frequency converters in a certain area are concentrated in the control cabinet, it is impossible to achieve factory standard pre-installation. On-site cables need to be laid on-site, and the lines need to be connected from the electrical control cabinet. The lines are relatively long, and the on-site construction wiring workload is large and the difficulty is relatively high.

[0005] According to a first aspect of the present invention, a distributed airborne variable frequency I / O integrated machine system for logistics transportation is provided, the system comprising:

[0006] An all-in-one machine, which integrates a remote I / O module and a frequency converter;

[0007] The signal input port of the all-in-one machine is connected to the sensor of the conveyor to realize sensor signal acquisition. The signal transmission port of the all-in-one machine is connected to the conversion gateway module to send the acquired sensor signal to the conversion gateway module. The conversion gateway module is used to integrate the received sensor signal and send it to the controller.

[0008] After receiving the sensor signal, the controller sends a control command to the conversion gateway module. The conversion gateway module sends the control command to the signal receiving end of the integrated machine. The integrated machine forwards the received control command to the internal frequency converter, and the frequency converter drives the field motor to operate according to the control command.

[0009] Preferably,

[0010] The controller connects to one or more conversion gateway modules, each conversion gateway module connects to multiple all-in-one machines, and the multiple all-in-one machines are connected in series with each other via Ethernet protocol and then connected to one conversion gateway module.

[0011] Preferably,

[0012] The conversion gateway module receives sensor signals from multiple integrated machines connected in series, integrates the sensor signals, and sends them to the controller at fixed intervals.

[0013] Preferably,

[0014] The controller sends control commands to the conversion gateway module at fixed intervals, and the conversion gateway module distributes the control commands to each integrated machine connected in series.

[0015] Preferably,

[0016] The signal transmission between the all-in-one machine and the conversion gateway module, as well as between the conversion gateway module and the controller module, uses TCP / IP as the underlying transmission protocol.

[0017] Preferably,

[0018] When the all-in-one machine sends sensor signals to the conversion gateway module, it also sends its own unique ID. The conversion gateway module binds the sensor signals sent by multiple all-in-one machines connected in series with the corresponding IDs and then sends them to the controller.

[0019] Preferably,

[0020] The controller generates control commands based on sensor signals through logical judgment, binds the generated control commands with the IDs of the received sensor signals, and sends them to the conversion gateway module. The conversion gateway module forwards the control commands to the corresponding all-in-one machine based on the IDs bound to the received control commands.

[0021] Preferably,

[0022] Each of the aforementioned conversion gateway modules can connect up to 128 all-in-one machines in series.

[0023] The technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present invention may include the following beneficial effects:

[0024] This application integrates remote I / O and frequency converter into a single unit, enabling local data acquisition and remote control of the logistics conveyor system. Each logistics conveyor is equipped with one unit, and the forward and reverse control commands of the frequency converter are connected internally within the unit, eliminating the need for wiring. This allows for factory pre-installation and plug-in quick connection. Compared to existing solutions that centralize the frequency converter and remote I / O in a control cabinet, the field wiring of this invention only requires connecting the serial cables between devices and wiring the network hub to the main control CPU, greatly reducing the workload on-site and thus improving the efficiency of on-site wiring and debugging and reducing the error rate.

[0025] It should be understood that the above general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only, and are not intended to limit the invention. Attached Figure Description

[0026] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

[0027] Figure 1 This is a system schematic diagram of a distributed airborne variable frequency I / O integrated machine system for logistics transportation, according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0028] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the internal layout of an all-in-one machine according to another exemplary embodiment;

[0029] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of a signal transmission process according to another exemplary embodiment;

[0030] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the series connection of multiple all-in-one machines according to another exemplary embodiment;

[0031] In the attached diagram: 1-All-in-one machine, 2-Conversion gateway module, 3-Controller, 101-Remote IO module, 102-Inverter. Detailed Implementation

[0032] Exemplary embodiments will now be described in detail, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. When the following description relates to the drawings, unless otherwise indicated, the same numerals in different drawings denote the same or similar elements. The embodiments described in the following exemplary embodiments do not represent all embodiments consistent with the present invention. Rather, they are merely examples of apparatuses and methods consistent with some aspects of the invention as detailed in the appended claims.

[0033] Example 1

[0034] Figure 1 This is a system schematic diagram illustrating a distributed airborne variable frequency I / O integrated machine system for logistics transportation according to an exemplary embodiment, such as... Figure 1 As shown, the system includes:

[0035] The all-in-one machine 1 integrates a remote I / O module 101 and a frequency converter 102.

[0036] The signal input port of the integrated machine 1 is connected to the sensor of the conveyor to realize sensor signal acquisition. The signal transmission port of the integrated machine 1 is connected to the conversion gateway module 2 to send the acquired sensor signal to the conversion gateway module 2. The conversion gateway module 2 is used to integrate the received sensor signal and send it to the controller 3.

[0037] After receiving the sensor signal, the controller 3 sends a control command to the conversion gateway module 2. The conversion gateway module 2 sends the control command to the signal receiving end of the integrated machine 1. The integrated machine 1 forwards the received control command to the internal frequency converter 102. The frequency converter 102 drives the field motor to operate according to the control command.

[0038] It is understood that this application integrates the driver 102 and the remote I / O module into a single unit 1, which inherits the PLC control input, motor power output, and other related parameters. The internal layout of the single unit 1 is shown in the attached figure. Figure 2 As shown, a distributed control method is adopted, and signal transmission control is carried out via Ethernet. This allows the device to be mounted on the conveyor body, minimizing the wiring distance between the integrated machine 1 and the sensors and motors. The conveyor motors and sensors can be directly connected to the mounted integrated machine 1 to achieve distributed signal acquisition and drive control.

[0039] The integrated unit 1 is installed on the side of the conveyor near the motor. The motor cable and the sensors on the conveyor body can be directly connected to the terminals of the integrated unit 1. Two network cables are also provided for series connection with other integrated units 1. Multiple integrated units 1 can be connected in series as slave stations via an Ethernet switch to a conversion gateway module 2. Each conversion gateway module 2 can connect up to 128 integrated units 1 in series, as shown in the attached diagram. Figure 4 As shown, by connecting 128 integrated units 1 in series, only a few conversion gateway modules 2 need to be connected to the controller 1 to realize the signal acquisition and action output of the entire conveying system. The gateway conversion module 2 collects sensor signals through Ethernet. Compared with the existing ASI bus and CClink bus technologies, the underlying network of this embodiment adopts an Ethernet architecture. Compared with carrier or TTL signal transmission methods, Ethernet has stronger anti-interference capabilities. Moreover, this embodiment not only has remote distributed IO function, but also integrates the function of frequency converter 102 into the integrated unit 1 according to the characteristics of the conveying equipment. It has higher adaptability to conveying equipment in the logistics industry and reduces the wiring work from the remote IO module 101 to the frequency converter 102.

[0040] As attached Figure 3 As shown, the integrated machine 1 acquires sensor signals through the connection line with the sensor of the conveyor, sends the sensor signals to the conversion gateway module 2, and then the conversion gateway module 2 sends the sensor signals to the controller 1. The controller 1 can be a main control PLC or other type of control module. The controller 1 performs logical judgment based on the received sensor signals, generates control commands, and sends the control commands to the conversion gateway module 2. The conversion gateway module 2 then sends them to the integrated machine 1. The integrated machine 1 sends the control commands to the frequency converter 102 through the internal line. The frequency converter 102 controls the corresponding motor operation through the external line.

[0041] It is worth emphasizing that in this embodiment, when the conversion gateway module 2 sends sensor signals to the controller 1, and when the controller 1 sends control commands to the conversion gateway module 2, the transmission is performed at a fixed period. By periodically sending data, timely data updates and transmission can be ensured, data latency can be reduced, and the system's response speed and overall efficiency can be improved. Periodic communication can reduce unnecessary communication requests because data is sent at fixed time intervals, avoiding frequent data transmission, thereby reducing network load and communication costs. The periodic communication mode makes the system design simpler and more predictable because the timing of sending and receiving data is fixed, reducing the complexity of the system design. With a fixed data transmission frequency, the system's resource usage can be better managed, avoiding system overload caused by frequent data transmission, thereby improving the system's stability and reliability.

[0042] In this embodiment, the integrated units 1 are connected in series using Ethernet protocol and RJ45 hardware interface. The signal response time can be controlled within 20ms. Multiple integrated units 1 are connected to a conversion gateway module 2. The controller 1 only needs to establish a connection with the conversion gateway module 2 to complete signal interaction. It does not need to interact with each integrated unit 1, which reduces the number of wires for the controller 1 and reduces the network communication pressure of the controller 1. The frequency converter 102 and the remote IO module 101 are integrated into one unit and wired nearby, saving a lot of on-site wiring work. On-site, only series power supply wiring and network wiring need to be considered, thus realizing factory pre-installation and enabling single-unit standard configuration to be directly installed on-site with the main body of the machinery.

[0043] Each conversion gateway module 2 is connected in series with 128 integrated machines 1. In order to ensure that the control commands of the controller 1 can be accurately sent to the corresponding integrated machines 1 and to avoid the confusion of control signals, this application sets a unique ID or identifier for each integrated machine 1. After receiving the sensor signal, the integrated machine 1 binds the sensor signal with its own unique ID and sends it to the series-connected conversion gateway module 2. The unique ID can be used as the header of the sensor signal. The conversion gateway module 2 sends the ID corresponding to each integrated machine 1 and the sensor data to the controller 1. The controller 1 performs logical judgment based on the sensor signal of each integrated machine 1 to generate control commands. The controller 1 binds the control commands with the corresponding ID and then sends them to the conversion gateway module 2. The conversion gateway module 2 distributes the control commands to the corresponding integrated machines 1 according to the ID bound to the control commands. The inverter 102 in the integrated machine 1 realizes the drive control of the corresponding motor.

[0044] In this embodiment, the transmission of signals / control commands between the all-in-one machine 1 and the conversion gateway module 2, and between the conversion gateway module 2 and the controller 3, all adopt the TCP / IP protocol as the underlying transmission protocol. The TCP / IP protocol provides a standard framework and rule set for network communication, enabling devices from different manufacturers and operating systems to seamlessly exchange and communicate data. The TCP / IP protocol ensures reliable data transmission through a series of mechanisms. The TCP protocol establishes a connection through three phases: connection establishment, data transmission, and connection release. It uses a three-way handshake to establish a connection and uses acknowledgment and retransmission mechanisms to handle data packet loss or corruption, thereby ensuring data integrity and order. It supports the collaborative work of various types of networks (such as LANs and WANs) and supports emerging technologies such as wireless networks. Its layered structure makes each layer independent yet mutually cooperative, improving the system's flexibility and scalability, and has a high degree of adaptability to the solution in this embodiment.

[0045] Of course, other Ethernet protocols such as Profinet and Ethernet can also be used for communication.

[0046] The airborne integrated distributed I / O of this application adopts the TTL multi-terminal serial port to TCPIP Ethernet scheme for underlying communication technology, which breaks the foreign technology monopoly in terms of control mode and system scheme, and proposes a system that is more suitable for distributed control of logistics conveyor lines.

[0047] It is understood that the same or similar parts in the above embodiments can be referred to each other, and the contents not described in detail in some embodiments can be referred to the same or similar contents in other embodiments.

[0048] It should be noted that in the description of this invention, the terms "first," "second," etc., are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance. Furthermore, in the description of this invention, unless otherwise stated, "a plurality of" means at least two.

[0049] Any process or method description in the flowchart or otherwise herein can be understood as representing a module, segment, or portion of code comprising one or more executable instructions for implementing a particular logical function or process, and the scope of the preferred embodiments of the invention includes additional implementations in which functions may be performed not in the order shown or discussed, including substantially simultaneously or in reverse order depending on the functions involved, as will be understood by those skilled in the art to which embodiments of the invention pertain.

[0050] It should be understood that various parts of the present invention can be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof. In the above embodiments, multiple steps or methods can be implemented in software or firmware stored in memory and executed by a suitable instruction execution system. For example, if implemented in hardware, as in another embodiment, it can be implemented using any one or a combination of the following techniques known in the art: discrete logic circuits having logic gates for implementing logical functions on data signals, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) having suitable combinational logic gates, programmable gate arrays (PGAs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), etc.

[0051] Those skilled in the art will understand that all or part of the steps of the methods in the above embodiments can be implemented by a program instructing related hardware. The program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, and when executed, the program includes one or a combination of the steps of the method embodiments.

[0052] Furthermore, the functional units in the various embodiments of the present invention can be integrated into a processing module, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into a module. The integrated module can be implemented in hardware or as a software functional module. If the integrated module is implemented as a software functional module and sold or used as an independent product, it can also be stored in a computer-readable storage medium.

[0053] The storage media mentioned above can be read-only memory, disk, or optical disk, etc.

[0054] In the description of this specification, references to terms such as "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "example," "specific example," or "some examples," etc., indicate that a specific feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the invention. In this specification, the illustrative expressions of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples.

[0055] Although embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described above, it is understood that the above embodiments are exemplary and should not be construed as limiting the present invention. Those skilled in the art can make changes, modifications, substitutions and variations to the above embodiments within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A distributed airborne variable frequency I / O integrated system for logistics conveying, characterized in that, The system includes: The integrated machine is an airborne integrated machine installed on a conveyor; the integrated machine integrates a remote I / O module and a frequency converter. The signal input port of the all-in-one machine is connected to the sensor of the conveyor to realize sensor signal acquisition. The signal transmission port of the all-in-one machine is connected to the conversion gateway module to send the acquired sensor signal to the conversion gateway module. The conversion gateway module is used to integrate the received sensor signal and send it to the controller. After receiving the sensor signal, the controller sends a control command to the conversion gateway module. The conversion gateway module sends the control command to the signal receiving end of the integrated machine. The integrated machine forwards the received control command to the internal frequency converter. The frequency converter drives the field motor to operate according to the control command. The controller connects to one or more conversion gateway modules, each conversion gateway module connects to multiple all-in-one machines, and the multiple all-in-one machines are connected in series with each other via Ethernet protocol and then connected to one conversion gateway module.

2. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The conversion gateway module receives sensor signals from multiple integrated machines connected in series, integrates the sensor signals, and sends them to the controller at fixed intervals.

3. The system according to claim 2, characterized in that, The controller sends control commands to the conversion gateway module at fixed intervals, and the conversion gateway module distributes the control commands to each integrated machine connected in series.

4. The system according to claim 3, characterized in that, The signal transmission between the all-in-one machine and the conversion gateway module, as well as between the conversion gateway module and the controller module, uses TCP / IP as the underlying transmission protocol.

5. The system according to claim 4, characterized in that, When the all-in-one machine sends sensor signals to the conversion gateway module, it also sends its own unique ID. The conversion gateway module binds the sensor signals sent by multiple all-in-one machines connected in series with the corresponding IDs and then sends them to the controller.

6. The system according to claim 5, characterized in that, The controller generates control commands based on sensor signals through logical judgment, binds the generated control commands with the IDs of the received sensor signals, and sends them to the conversion gateway module. The conversion gateway module forwards the control commands to the corresponding all-in-one machine based on the IDs bound to the received control commands.

7. The system according to claim 6, characterized in that, Each of the aforementioned conversion gateway modules can connect up to 128 all-in-one machines in series.

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