Turntable safety protection system and method based on EtherCAT bus

Abstract

The invention discloses a rotary table safety protection system and method based on an EtherCAT bus, and the system comprises an EtherCAT master station which is provided with a plurality of EtherCAT bus interfaces; the plurality of EtherCAT distributed slave stations are formed by connecting an EtherCAT bus coupler with an EtherCAT digital quantity I / O (Input / Output) terminal module; the EtherCAT digital quantity I / O terminal module comprises an input terminal and an output terminal; the plurality of photoelectric sensors are respectively mounted below the corresponding mechanical limiting stop blocks; the input terminal is connected with the photoelectric sensor and used for collecting signals of the photoelectric sensor. The signal of the photoelectric sensor is transmitted to the EtherCAT master station through the EtherCAT bus coupler, the actual working mode of the rotary table is obtained, the EtherCAT master station sends out a control instruction to the rotary table according to the actual working mode, and the rotary table executes rotary table electrification or rotary table hardware sudden stop. According to the invention, an independent safety protection system based on the EtherCAT bus is established and forms a double-channel safety protection system of the turntable equipment together with the turntable master control module, so that the reliability, the safety and the expansibility of the turntable system are improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of simulation equipment safety control technology, and in particular to a turntable safety protection system and method based on EtherCAT bus. Background Technology

[0002] With the development of aerospace product models, the performance requirements for the supporting experimental simulation turntables (hereinafter referred to as "turntables") are also gradually increasing. This performance improvement inevitably brings requirements such as more complex structures, more signals, and stronger driving capabilities to the turntable, which also poses new challenges to the turntable's safety functions. Traditional turntable safety solutions integrate the safety function as a module within the turntable's central control software. External photoelectric switch signals are connected via cables to a digital I / O card installed on the turntable's lower-level computer. The safety module periodically detects abnormal signals and triggers protection mechanisms.

[0003] However, as the turntable's degrees of freedom, operating modes, and peripherals increase, the number of acquired signals also grows, typically requiring multiple acquisition boards. This hinders the miniaturization of control cabinets, and the numerous multi-core cables are prone to aging and failure over time, leading to signal inefficiencies. Furthermore, the security module is coupled with the turntable's central control software system, and their signals are coupled, meaning a failure could cause a cascading failure, posing a serious safety hazard. Given these existing technological limitations, designing an independent and reliable safety protection system is essential.

[0004] The statements herein provide only background information in relation to this invention and do not necessarily constitute prior art. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of this invention is to provide a turntable safety protection system and method based on EtherCAT bus, so as to avoid the use of a large number of cables, make the electrical control structure of the turntable safety protection system clearer and simpler, and effectively reduce electrical interference while reducing costs.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, this invention provides a turntable safety protection system based on the EtherCAT bus. The turntable is equipped with several mechanical limit blocks and includes: an EtherCAT master station with multiple EtherCAT bus interfaces; multiple EtherCAT distributed slave stations, each consisting of an EtherCAT bus coupler connected to an EtherCAT digital I / O terminal module; the EtherCAT bus coupler is connected to the EtherCAT bus interfaces, forming an EtherCAT network between the EtherCAT distributed slave stations and the EtherCAT master station; the EtherCAT digital I / O terminal module includes input and output terminals; multiple photoelectric sensors are respectively installed below the corresponding mechanical limit blocks; the input terminals are connected to the photoelectric sensors for acquiring photoelectric sensor signals; the photoelectric sensor signals are transmitted to the EtherCAT master station via the EtherCAT bus coupler to obtain the actual operating mode of the turntable; the EtherCAT master station issues control commands to the turntable according to the actual operating mode, and the turntable performs turntable power-on or turntable hardware emergency stop.

[0007] In one embodiment, the turntable safety protection system based on the EtherCAT bus further includes: a turntable slave device that is communicatively connected to the EtherCAT master station. The turntable slave device is equipped with a turntable master control module, which is used to select and send the turntable's operating mode to the EtherCAT master station. The EtherCAT master station issues control commands or error statuses by comparing whether the received actual operating mode and the operating mode are consistent.

[0008] In one embodiment, the EtherCAT bus coupler uses a standard RJ45 interface to connect to the input terminal, the output terminal, and the EtherCAT bus interface, respectively.

[0009] In one embodiment, the turntable slave device communicates with the EtherCAT master station using the UDP protocol.

[0010] In one embodiment, the turntable safety protection system based on the EtherCAT bus further includes: a turntable control cabinet for installing the EtherCAT master station and the turntable slave computer, wherein the EtherCAT master station and the turntable slave computer are connected to the turntable via a network cable.

[0011] In one embodiment, the turntable master control module further includes a DO output terminal unit, which is connected to the turntable's power supply system and is used to output the turntable hardware emergency stop command to the power supply system to cut off the power supply in the power supply system.

[0012] In one embodiment, the EtherCAT master station is a PLC controller, and the EtherCAT bus interface is installed on the PLC controller.

[0013] In one embodiment, the turntable slave device is a computer.

[0014] This invention also provides a turntable safety protection method based on the EtherCAT bus, implemented using the EtherCAT bus-based turntable safety protection system described above, comprising: S1. Users install mechanical limit blocks on the turntable according to the usage scenario; S2. The EtherCAT distributed slave station collects the photoelectric sensor signal of the photoelectric sensor below the mechanical limit block and transmits it to the EtherCAT master station through the EtherCAT network; S3. The EtherCAT master station determines the actual working mode of the turntable based on the installation position of the mechanical limit block and enables the electrical protection function in the actual working mode, while ignoring electrical switch information that does not belong to the actual working mode. S4. The turntable slave computer selects the working mode and sends the working mode to the EtherCAT master station; S5. The EtherCAT master station determines whether the actual working mode and the usage working mode of the turntable are consistent. If the working modes are consistent, the EtherCAT master station sends a power-on command to the turntable. If the working modes are inconsistent, the EtherCAT master station sends an error status to the turntable master control module, and the turntable master control module provides prompt information to the user through the turntable slave device.

[0015] In one embodiment, the turntable safety protection method based on EtherCAT bus further includes: S6, when the turntable is powered on, the turntable safety protection system based on EtherCAT bus monitors the angle photoelectric limit signal in the photoelectric sensor signal according to a preset period and makes a judgment and protection; if the digital input of the collected angle photoelectric limit signal changes, a turntable hardware emergency stop command is issued.

[0016] Compared with the prior art, the turntable safety protection system and method based on EtherCAT bus provided by the present invention has at least the following beneficial effects: The present invention uses the EtherCAT network as the transmission channel for all I / O information, so that all information on the turntable is acquired by the EtherCAT digital I / O terminal module and transmitted to the EtherCAT master station through the EtherCAT bus coupler. Modular digital communication replaces one-to-one I / O connection, avoiding the production of a large number of cables, making the structure of the system's electrical control clearer and simpler, reducing costs and effectively reducing electrical interference.

[0017] Meanwhile, by setting up a turntable slave computer that communicates with the EtherCAT master station, the present invention forms a dual-channel security system, which further improves the security and protection of the turntable, avoids product damage caused by user operation errors, and improves the reliability, safety, and scalability of the turntable system. Attached Figure Description

[0018] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the turntable safety protection system based on the EtherCAT bus of the present invention. Figure 2 This is a flowchart illustrating the turntable safety protection method based on the EtherCAT bus of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0019] The following detailed description, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments, further illustrates the turntable safety protection system and method based on the EtherCAT bus proposed in this invention. The advantages and features of this invention will become clearer from the following description. It should be noted that the drawings are in a very simplified form and use non-precise proportions, intended only to facilitate and clearly illustrate the embodiments of this invention. Please refer to the drawings to make the objectives, features, and advantages of this invention more apparent and understandable. It should be understood that the structures, proportions, sizes, etc., depicted in the accompanying drawings are only for illustrative purposes and to enable those skilled in the art to understand and read them, and are not intended to limit the implementation conditions of this invention. Therefore, they have no substantial technical significance. Any modifications to the structure, changes in proportions, or adjustments to the size, without affecting the effects and objectives achieved by this invention, should still fall within the scope of the technical content disclosed in this invention.

[0020] Addressing the shortcomings of existing turntable safety protection technologies, this invention decouples the turntable safety module from the turntable's central control software, establishing an independent turntable safety protection system based on the EtherCAT bus. This system is specifically designed for external data interaction with the turntable and for performing functions such as power-on and hardware emergency stop. Figure 1As shown in the embodiment of the present invention, a turntable safety protection system 10 based on the EtherCAT bus is provided. The turntable 100 is equipped with mechanical limit blocks for mechanical positioning. The turntable safety protection system 10 includes: an EtherCAT master station 11, which is provided with multiple EtherCAT bus interfaces 111 for connecting to EtherCAT bus couplers; and multiple EtherCAT distributed slave stations 12, each of which is composed of an EtherCAT bus coupler 121 connected to an EtherCAT digital I / O terminal module 122. The EtherCAT bus coupler 121 is connected to the EtherCAT bus interface 111, and the EtherCAT distributed slave station 10 is connected to the EtherCAT bus interface 111 for mechanical positioning. An EtherCAT network is formed between the distributed slave station 12 and the EtherCAT master station 11; the EtherCAT digital I / O terminal module 122 includes an input terminal 1221 and an output terminal 1222; multiple photoelectric sensors 101 are respectively installed below the corresponding mechanical limit blocks; the input terminal 1221 is connected to the photoelectric sensor 101 and is used to collect the photoelectric sensor signal; the photoelectric sensor signal is transmitted to the EtherCAT master station 11 through the EtherCAT bus coupler 121 to obtain the actual working mode of the turntable, and the EtherCAT master station 11 issues control commands to the turntable 100 according to the actual working mode, and the turntable 100 performs turntable power-on or turntable hardware emergency stop.

[0021] In this embodiment, the EtherCAT network is used as the transmission channel for all I / O information. All information on the turntable 100 is collected by the EtherCAT digital I / O terminal module 122 and then transmitted to the EtherCAT master station 11 through the EtherCAT bus coupler. Modular digital communication replaces one-to-one I / O connection, avoiding the production of a large number of cables, making the structure of the system's electrical control clearer and simpler, reducing costs and effectively reducing electrical interference.

[0022] In some embodiments, the EtherCAT master station 11 is a PLC controller, on which the EtherCAT bus interface 111 is installed. The PLC controller is configured with the core code for running a bus safety protection system, which is used to issue control commands according to the actual operating mode. Further, as... Figure 1 As shown, the EtherCAT bus coupler 121 uses a standard RJ45 interface to connect to the input terminal 1221, the output terminal 1222, and the EtherCAT bus interface 111 respectively, realizing high-speed, high real-time, and high-synchronization photoelectric sensor signal acquisition. It also has the advantages of quick installation, convenient maintenance, and flexible expansion.

[0023] like Figure 1 As shown, the turntable safety protection system 10 provided in the embodiment of the present invention further includes: a turntable slave device 20 communicatively connected to the EtherCAT master station 11. The turntable slave device 20 is configured with a turntable master control module 21, which is used to select and send the operating mode of the turntable 100 to the EtherCAT master station 11. The EtherCAT master station 11 issues control commands or error statuses by comparing whether the received actual operating mode and the operating mode are consistent. Specifically, the turntable slave device 20 and the EtherCAT master station 11 communicate using the UDP protocol. The turntable slave device 20 sends the selected operating mode to the EtherCAT master station 11 via the UDP protocol. If the operating modes are consistent, the EtherCAT master station 11 sends a turntable power-on command to the turntable 100. If the operating modes are inconsistent, the EtherCAT master station 11 sends an error status to the turntable master control module 21 of the turntable slave device 20. The turntable master control module 21 provides prompt information to the user through the display interface of the turntable slave device 20. As an optional embodiment, the turntable slave device 20 is a computer. In other embodiments, the turntable slave device 20 can also be any of a microcontroller, a single-board computer, an embedded system, or a server. This embodiment, by setting up the turntable slave device 20 which is communicatively connected to the EtherCAT master station 11, forms a dual-channel security system, thereby improving the security protection of the turntable 100 and avoiding product damage caused by user error.

[0024] Furthermore, the turntable master control module 21 also includes a DO output terminal unit, which is connected to the power supply system of the turntable 100. The DO output terminal unit is used to output the turntable hardware emergency stop command to the power supply system to cut off the power supply. Specifically, when the operating mode is inconsistent or a limit switch is triggered, the turntable hardware emergency stop command is immediately sent to the power supply system through the DO output terminal unit to disconnect the power supply.

[0025] It should be noted that, in the embodiments of the present invention, the photoelectric sensor 101 has at least three uses: mechanical limit stop installation detection, angle photoelectric limit signal detection, and locking pin detection. The installation position obtained from the mechanical limit stop installation detection can be used to set the actual working mode of the turntable. The turntable master control module 21 and the turntable safety protection system 10 will set a series of safety restrictions on the turntable according to the actual working mode, including angle range, speed range, etc. The angle photoelectric limit signal detection is used as an emergency trigger for emergency stop in case of limit failure in the turntable master control software. The locking pin detection prevents the turntable from being forcibly rotated when the shaft system is in a mechanically locked state; in this case, no power-on (DO) output signal is given to the turntable, ensuring the safe operation of the turntable.

[0026] Furthermore, in order to achieve integrated design, the turntable safety protection system 10 provided in the embodiments of the present invention further includes: a turntable control cabinet 200, which is used to provide space for installing the EtherCAT master station 11 and the turntable slave computer 20, and the EtherCAT master station 11 and the turntable slave computer 20 are physically connected to the turntable 100 through a network cable.

[0027] Using the EtherCAT bus-based turntable safety protection system 10 provided in the above embodiments, embodiments of the present invention also provide an EtherCAT bus-based turntable safety protection method, such as... Figure 2 As shown, it includes the following steps: S1. The user installs mechanical limit blocks on the turntable according to the usage scenario; after the mechanical limit blocks are installed, the turntable safety protection system 10 based on the EtherCAT bus is powered on and enters the working state. S2. The EtherCAT distributed slave station 12 collects the photoelectric sensor signal of the photoelectric sensor 101 below the mechanical limit block and transmits it to the EtherCAT master station 11 in real time through the EtherCAT network to improve the response rate.

[0028] S3. The EtherCAT master station 11 determines the actual operating mode of the turntable 100 based on the installation position of the mechanical limit stop and activates the electrical protection function under that actual operating mode, while ignoring electrical switch information that does not belong to that actual operating mode. In a specific embodiment, the pitch axis of the turntable 100 has limit protection for two degrees of freedom: ±30° and ±90°. When the mechanical limit stop is installed at the ±90° degree of freedom limit position, the turntable safety protection system 10 based on the EtherCAT bus will automatically select the operating mode under that degree of freedom and ignore the fault signal received when the ±30° limit switch is received, so as to reduce electrical interference.

[0029] S4. The turntable slave device 20 selects the working mode and sends the working mode to the EtherCAT master station 11; S5. The EtherCAT master station 11 determines whether the actual working mode and the usage working mode of the turntable are consistent. If the working modes are consistent, the EtherCAT master station 11 sends a power-on command to the turntable 100, and the turntable 100 turns on the power supply to complete the power-on process. If the working modes are inconsistent, the EtherCAT master station 11 sends an error status to the turntable master control module 21 via UDP communication. The turntable master control module 21 provides a prompt message to the user through the turntable slave computer 20, prompting the user to check whether the installation mode of the mechanical limit block is consistent with the usage working mode. If they are inconsistent, the installation mode of the mechanical limit block needs to be adjusted to match the usage working mode selected by the turntable slave computer 20.

[0030] When the turntable 100 is powered on, the turntable safety protection system based on the EtherCAT bus runs in real time, such as... Figure 2 As shown, the turntable safety protection method further includes: S6, the turntable safety protection system 10 based on the EtherCAT bus monitors the angle photoelectric limit signal in the photoelectric sensor signal according to a preset period and makes a judgment and protection; if the digital input of the collected angle photoelectric limit signal changes, a turntable hardware emergency stop command is issued. In some embodiments, the change in the digital input of the collected angle photoelectric limit signal is due to the photoelectric sensor signal of the photoelectric sensor 101 being blocked when the turntable 100 moves to the position where the limit switch is installed, resulting in a reduction in its digital signal, thus triggering protection.

[0031] It should be noted that, in this document, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Unless otherwise specified, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes said element.

[0032] In the description of this invention, it should be understood that the terms "center," "height," "thickness," "upper," "lower," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," "outer," "axial," "radial," and "circumferential," etc., indicating orientation or positional relationships, are based on the orientation or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings and are only for the convenience of describing the invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation of the invention. In the description of this invention, unless otherwise stated, "a plurality of" means two or more.

[0033] In the description of this invention, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," "linking," and "fixing" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral part; they can refer to a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; they can refer to the internal communication of two components or the interaction between two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention according to the specific circumstances.

[0034] In this invention, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, "above" or "below" the second feature can include direct contact between the first and second features, or contact between the first and second features through another feature between them. Furthermore, "above," "over," and "on top" of the second feature includes the first feature being directly above or diagonally above the second feature, or simply indicates that the first feature is at a higher horizontal level than the second feature. "Below," "below," and "under" the second feature includes the first feature being directly below or diagonally below the second feature, or simply indicates that the first feature is at a lower horizontal level than the second feature.

[0035] Although the present invention has been described in detail through the preferred embodiments above, it should be understood that the above description should not be considered as a limitation of the present invention. Various modifications and substitutions to the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art after reading the above description. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention should be defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A turntable safety protection system based on an EtherCAT bus, a plurality of mechanical limit stops are arranged on the turntable, characterized in that, include: The EtherCAT master station is equipped with multiple EtherCAT bus interfaces. Multiple EtherCAT distributed slave stations, each of which consists of an EtherCAT bus coupler connected to an EtherCAT digital I / O terminal module; the EtherCAT bus coupler is connected to the EtherCAT bus interface, forming an EtherCAT network between the EtherCAT distributed slave stations and the EtherCAT master station; the EtherCAT digital I / O terminal module includes input terminals and output terminals. Multiple photoelectric sensors are installed below the corresponding mechanical limit blocks; The input terminal is connected to the photoelectric sensor for acquiring the photoelectric sensor signal; the photoelectric sensor signal is transmitted to the EtherCAT master station through the EtherCAT bus coupler to obtain the actual working mode of the turntable; the EtherCAT master station issues control commands to the turntable according to the actual working mode; the turntable performs turntable power-on or turntable hardware emergency stop.

2. The turntable safety protection system of claim 1, wherein, Also includes: The turntable slave device is communicatively connected to the EtherCAT master station. The turntable slave device is equipped with a turntable master control module, which is used to select and send the turntable's operating mode to the EtherCAT master station. The EtherCAT master station issues control commands or error statuses by comparing whether the received actual operating mode and the operating mode are consistent.

3. The turntable safety protection system of claim 1, wherein, The EtherCAT bus coupler uses a standard RJ45 interface to connect to the input terminal, the output terminal, and the EtherCAT bus interface respectively.

4. The turntable safety protection system of claim 2, wherein, The turntable slave computer communicates with the EtherCAT master station using the UDP protocol.

5. The turntable safety protection system of claim 2, wherein, Also includes: The turntable control cabinet is used to install the EtherCAT master station and the turntable slave computer. The EtherCAT master station and the turntable slave computer are connected to the turntable via network cables.

6. The turntable safety protection system of claim 2, wherein, The turntable master control module also includes a DO output terminal unit, which is connected to the turntable's power supply system and is used to output the turntable hardware emergency stop command to the power supply system to cut off the power supply in the power supply system.

7. The EtherCAT bus-based rotary table safety protection system of claim 1, wherein, The EtherCAT master station is a PLC controller, and the EtherCAT bus interface is installed on the PLC controller.

8. The turntable safety protection system based on EtherCAT bus according to claim 2, characterized in that, The lower-level machine of the turntable is a computer.

9. A safety protection method for a rotary table based on an EtherCAT bus, implemented by using the safety protection system for a rotary table based on an EtherCAT bus according to any one of claims 2-8, characterized in that, include: S1. Users install mechanical limit blocks on the turntable according to the usage scenario; S2. The EtherCAT distributed slave station collects the photoelectric sensor signal of the photoelectric sensor below the mechanical limit block and transmits it to the EtherCAT master station through the EtherCAT network; S3. The EtherCAT master station determines the actual working mode of the turntable based on the installation position of the mechanical limit block and enables the electrical protection function in the actual working mode, while ignoring electrical switch information that does not belong to the actual working mode. S4, the rotary table lower computer selects a use working mode, and sends the use working mode to the EtherCAT master station; S5, the EtherCAT master station judges whether the actual working mode of the rotary table and the use working mode are consistent, if the working modes are consistent, the EtherCAT master station sends a rotary table power-on instruction to the rotary table, if the working modes are inconsistent, the EtherCAT master station sends an error state to the rotary table general control module, and the rotary table general control module gives a prompt information to the user through the rotary table lower computer.

10. The turntable safety protection method of claim 9, wherein, Also includes: S6, when the rotary table is powered on, the rotary table safety protection system based on the EtherCAT bus monitors the angle photoelectric limit signal in the photoelectric sensor signal according to a preset period and judges and protects, if the digital input quantity of the collected angle photoelectric limit signal changes, a rotary table hardware emergency stop instruction is sent.

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