Control method and system of industrial controller with cascade expansion function

Abstract

The invention discloses a control method and system for an industrial controller with a cascade expansion function, and the method comprises the steps: carrying out the hardware initialization and basic configuration, switching on a power supply of the industrial controller, carrying out the starting and self-inspection of a core controller, enabling a main control mainboard to detect an installed function module board through a plurality of male and female interfaces, and carrying out the parameter adaption of a customized function module. Cascading expansion setting and cooperative control enable cascading devices to perform physical connection and identification, and a main controller performs dynamic allocation and task scheduling according to total resources of a cascading system. According to the invention, through mutual cooperation of the main control mainboard and the plurality of interfaces, a standardized cascade architecture and compatible control software, development of new codes from zero in each expansion is prevented, the development period is shortened, on the other hand, the flexibility and expandability of the industrial control system are improved, and the development cost is reduced. The real-time performance and the stability of the cascade system are guaranteed, and powerful support is provided for rapid landing of complex industrial scenes.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the field of industrial controllers, in particular to a control method and system of an industrial controller with cascading expansion function. BACKGROUND

[0002] Industrial controllers generally refer to core devices in the field of industrial automation for realizing device control, process scheduling and data interaction, usually integrating hardware units such as microprocessors, communication interfaces and control modules, which can drive motors, sensors, actuators and other peripherals to work cooperatively through preset programs or real-time instructions. They are widely used in intelligent manufacturing, robot control and precision machining scenarios.

[0003] Industrial controllers can usually be cascaded and expanded, but the hardware architecture of the existing industrial controllers is usually deeply bound with the control software. When the control scale needs to be expanded through cascading, such as expanding from an E3000 single controller to an E6000 multi-controller cascading system, due to differences in communication protocols, resource allocation logic and interface definitions of different controllers, the existing control software cannot directly adapt to the cascading scenario, which leads developers to develop a new set of codes for the new cascading topology, including reconstructing communication links, designing cross-device resource scheduling algorithms, and adapting multi-controller collaboration logic, resulting in a long development cycle and affecting the use of industrial controllers. SUMMARY

[0004] The purpose of the present application is to provide a control method and system of an industrial controller with cascading expansion function to solve the problems raised in the background.

[0005] To achieve the above purpose, the present application provides the following technical solution: a control method of an industrial controller with cascading expansion function, comprising the following specific steps: Step one: hardware initialization and basic configuration, turn on the power of the industrial controller, start and self-check the core controller RK3588, and activate the communication interface and configure the parameters; Step two: function module identification and configuration, the main control board detects the installed function module board through multiple male and female interfaces, automatically identifies the function module board, and adapts the parameters of the self-defined function module; Step three: cascading expansion setting and collaborative control, physically connect and identify the cascading devices, and the main controller dynamically allocates and schedules tasks according to the total resources of the cascading system, then performs data interaction and state monitoring, sets dynamic energy consumption regulation and predictive maintenance, and sets cross-level data compression and self-healing mechanism; Step four: operation and maintenance, including real-time control and logic execution, fault diagnosis and redundancy switching, and parameter optimization and function upgrade.

[0006] Preferably, the startup and self-test of the core controller RK3588 in step one specifically includes: The core processor boots the pre-installed Linux system, while the microcontroller performs a real-time control module self-test, automatically detecting the connection status between the PCIe 3.0 interface and the programming logic chip to ensure smooth high-speed communication. If a hardware anomaly is detected, including loose interfaces and chip failures, an error message will be output via the ETH0 Ethernet interface or the USB 3.0 debug port.

[0007] Preferably, the communication interface activation and parameter configuration in step one specifically includes automatically activating all communication interfaces and loading default parameters, initializing the HDMI 2.1 interface to 1080P and 60Hz output mode for connecting to the monitoring screen to display device status, configuring the RS485 / RS232 interface to the industry standard mode of 9600 baud rate and 8 data bits, setting up four independent Ethernet interfaces ETH0, ETH1, ETH2 and ETH3, assigning static IPs by default, and supporting wired network connections for expanding network topology.

[0008] Preferably, the functional module board in step two includes an encoding module, an I / O module, and an ADDA module. The automatic identification of the functional module board in step two specifically includes reading the ID information and function identifier built into the functional module board, and performing two-way authentication, including hardware authentication and protocol authentication. After successful authentication, the module communication port is automatically allocated, and a visual icon is generated on the control interface. Then, resources are automatically allocated according to the module type. The parameter adaptation of the custom functional module in step two specifically includes importing the driver program of the custom functional module through software, automatically parsing the function instructions supported by the custom functional module, and the function instructions include the signal acquisition frequency of special sensors and the control logic of custom actuators.

[0009] Preferably, the physical connection and identification of cascaded devices in step three specifically includes connecting a new control motherboard through the ETH0-ETH3 Ethernet interface when cascading expansion is required. After enabling cascading mode, the master controller sends a handshake signal to the slave controller based on the custom SLD-BUS protocol. After the slave controller responds, the master controller automatically reads its hardware configuration, including the number of interfaces and the core processor model, and assigns a unique slave address.

[0010] Preferably, the dynamic allocation and task scheduling in step three specifically include the main controller being responsible for visual control and global logic scheduling, and the slave controller focusing on multi-axis motion control. The main controller uses a programming logic chip to parse the mixed protocol data sent by the slave in real time, convert it into a unified internal data frame format, and then distribute it to the corresponding functional modules to build a distributed resource pool system. The core resources of the main and slave controllers, including the real-time computing power of the microcontroller, the inference capability of the core processor, and the axis control channel of the AXIS interface, are set as dynamically allocated resource units. When a surge in visual tasks is detected, the main controller automatically incorporates part of the core processor computing power of the slave into the resource pool, realizes distributed loading of model parameters through the PCIe 3.0 high-speed link, and in the multi-axis control scenario, the axis control tasks are split into the AXIS interfaces of different slaves according to the complexity of the motion trajectory, and nanometer-level synchronization of cross-device axis groups is realized through the fly-read and fly-write mechanism of the ECAT protocol. The data interaction and status monitoring in step three specifically include enabling a two-way data transmission mechanism, with the main controller sending control commands to the slave controller via WiFi or Ethernet, the slave controller providing real-time feedback on the execution status, all data being processed at high speed through a programming logic chip, and the cascaded system topology diagram, load rate of each module, and fault alarm information being viewed on an HDMI screen. The predictive maintenance in step three includes deploying a federated learning framework on the main controller, with the core processors of each slave device acting as edge nodes to analyze local sensor data in real time. This includes multi-axis linkage scenarios and time-series prediction of the communication quality of cascaded links. In the multi-axis linkage scenario, abnormal vibration characteristics are identified through a transfer learning model, triggering an early warning 5-10 minutes before a fault occurs. The main controller automatically adjusts motion parameters. For time-series prediction of the communication quality of cascaded links, if it is determined that the failure rate of a certain link exceeds 5% within the next 3 minutes, dynamic topology reconstruction is initiated in advance, and data transmission is switched to a backup channel.

[0011] Preferably, the energy consumption control in step three specifically includes the main controller collecting the power consumption data of each slave device in real time, and generating an energy consumption optimization scheme based on the task load intensity, specifically including: When the system is under light load, it automatically switches the core processor of the idle slave device to hibernation core mode and shuts down the power supply of unused ETH interface and USB port; When a slave device is detected to have no task interaction for 10 consecutive minutes, deep power saving is triggered. The microcontroller cuts off the power supply to non-core modules, retaining only the wake-up channels of ETH0 and RS485. At the same time, the resource information of the device is marked as awake and stored in the resource pool.

[0012] Preferably, the self-healing mechanism in step three specifically includes a three-level self-healing process triggered when a slave device is detected to be offline. This process includes level one, level two, and level three self-healing. Level one self-healing involves enabling the slave device's backup communication interface and quickly restoring the connection through real-time interruption of the microcontroller. Level two self-healing involves migrating the slave device's task to a hot standby device by the master controller if interface switching fails, achieving seamless takeover through dynamic reallocation of resources. Level three self-healing involves automatically updating the topology mapping table for unrecoverable faults, removing the faulty device from the resource pool, and issuing audible and visual alarms via the HDMI screen and remote terminal, while simultaneously pushing fault location information.

[0013] Preferably, the real-time control and logic execution in step four specifically includes a microcontroller responsible for the real-time control algorithm, driving the actuator through the ECAT or AXIS interface, a core processor processing complex logic, and adjusting the control strategy according to preset rules. When the vision module detects workpiece offset, the main controller immediately sends a compensation command to the slave controller to correct the position through multi-axis collaborative correction. The fault diagnosis and redundancy switching in step four specifically includes monitoring the operating status of each module and cascaded device. If a slave controller goes offline, the master controller automatically enables the redundant path by switching to the backup Ethernet interface. If an I / O module fails, the master controller blocks the fault channel and alarms. Detailed fault logs are read through the RS232 debugging port. The parameter optimization and function upgrade in step four specifically include supporting online modification of control parameters, with the changes taking effect immediately, and updating the controller firmware and module drivers via USB 3.0 to expand new functions.

[0014] A control system for an industrial controller with cascading expansion capabilities includes: The core control module includes a main processor unit, a real-time control unit, and a programming logic unit. The main processor unit is the core and is responsible for the system's global logic, human-computer interaction, complex algorithms, running the Linux system, and providing API interfaces. The real-time control unit is a microcontroller used to process real-time tasks and communicate with the main processor through an internal bus. The programming logic unit is a programming logic chip used to implement high-speed data forwarding, hardware synchronization, and signal conditioning, and supports user-defined logic. The communication interface module includes an industrial bus submodule, a general communication submodule, and a high-speed interface submodule. The industrial bus submodule includes an ECAT master interface and an SLD-BUS protocol controller. The general communication submodule includes integrated HDMI 2.1, RS485 / 232, four Ethernet interfaces, and WiFi to provide diverse data interaction channels. The high-speed interface submodule includes PCIe 3.0, USB 3.0, and USB 2.0 for high-speed peripherals of the vision module and storage devices. The functional expansion module includes a motion control submodule, an I / O control submodule, and a customized submodule. The motion control submodule supports multi-axis linkage and linear sensor interfaces, and is compatible with pulse-type and bus-type drivers. The I / O control submodule includes 16 digital inputs and 16 digital outputs, supports dry contact and wet contact switching, and has optically isolated inputs. The customized submodule is an expansion unit based on male and female interfaces and supports self-developed driver programs. The cascading management module includes a topology management unit, a resource scheduling unit, and a synchronization and redundancy unit. The topology management unit is responsible for the discovery, authentication, and topology drawing of cascading devices, and supports a maximum of 32 levels of cascading. The resource scheduling unit is used to implement global resource pooling management and dynamically allocate computing power, interface, and bandwidth resources. The synchronization and redundancy unit is used to provide high-precision spatiotemporal synchronization and multi-path redundancy switching. The human-machine interaction and operation and maintenance module includes a local interaction unit, a remote operation and maintenance unit, and a log and diagnostic unit. The local interaction unit includes an HDMI display interface and an RS232 debugging port for on-site configuration and troubleshooting. The remote operation and maintenance unit supports a web server and monitors system status and updates firmware through a cloud platform. The log and diagnostic unit records device operating data and provides a fault code library, and supports one-click export of diagnostic reports.

[0015] The technical effects and advantages of this invention are as follows: This invention, through the cooperation of a main control motherboard and multiple interfaces, and through a standardized cascading architecture and compatible control software, avoids the need to develop new code from scratch for each expansion, thereby shortening the development cycle. On the other hand, it enhances the flexibility and scalability of the industrial control system. Users can flexibly add or remove cascading devices according to production needs without worrying about software and hardware compatibility issues. At the same time, it ensures the real-time performance and stability of the cascading system, providing strong support for the rapid implementation in complex industrial scenarios. Attached Figure Description

[0016] Fig. 1 This is a schematic diagram of the industrial controller control method of the present invention.

[0017] Fig. 2 This is a block diagram of the industrial controller control system of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0018] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0019] This invention provides, for example Figs. 1-2 The control method of an industrial controller with cascading expansion function shown includes: Step 1: Hardware Initialization and Basic Configuration. Connect the industrial controller power supply. The core processor is an RK3588, an ARM architecture multi-core design supporting the entire system. The microcontroller is an STM32F429IIT6, responsible for real-time control and data algorithm processing. The programming logic chip is a PG2L50H. The core controller RK3588 performs startup and self-test, including a first-level check. The RK3588 boots the Linux system kernel. Linux is an open-source Unix-like operating system with multi-user, multi-tasking, multi-threading, and multi-CPU support. As the pre-installed system on the RK3588 processor, Linux provides the underlying operating environment for the industrial controller and manages the hardware. Resources (such as CPU, memory, storage, and interfaces) are used to coordinate the orderly operation of various components, support the running of complex control software and applications, and handle the global logic in industrial control, such as task scheduling, data aggregation and analysis, and human-machine interface operation. With its multi-tasking capabilities, it can simultaneously handle multiple tasks such as visual recognition, network communication, and equipment monitoring, ensuring the efficient operation of the industrial controller in complex scenarios. Its open-source nature allows for customized modifications and optimizations based on specific industrial control needs, adapting to different hardware modules and communication protocols, enhancing the controller's flexibility and scalability. Simultaneously, the microcontroller uses an internal timer to perform hardware reset and secondary verification of the real-time control module. The FPGA (PG2L50H) communicates with the RK3588 via a PCIe 3.0 interface. The system sends link detection frames to verify the bit error rate of the high-speed communication channel. A three-level verification process is performed, traversing all physical interfaces (HDMI 2.1, RS485 / 232, ETH0-ETH3, etc.). Interfaces without connected devices are marked as dormant. For connected devices, the system reads their EDID information or device descriptor and activates the communication interface and configures parameters. If any step fails verification, the system issues a tiered alarm via a buzzer (a long beep indicates a core fault, intermittent beeps indicate an interface abnormality) and writes the fault code to the microcontroller's non-volatile memory. Based on the first-level verification result, the system performs interface parameter initialization. This includes forcibly loading preset parameters (ECAT period 1ms, axis control pulse frequency 1MHz) for deterministic interfaces (such as ECAT and AXIS00-5), and using default and adaptive modes for general interfaces (such as ETH and WiFi): ETH0 is assigned a management IP by default, other ETH interfaces automatically obtain addresses via DHCP, and WiFi prioritizes connection to pre-configured industrial-grade APs. Configurable interfaces (such as RS485) allow users to lock parameters via control software, generating a parameter verification code after locking to prevent unauthorized modification. Step 2: Functional module identification and configuration. The main control motherboard detects the installed functional module boards through multiple male and female interfaces, automatically identifies the functional module boards, and adapts parameters for custom functional modules. Step 3: Cascade expansion settings and collaborative control enable physical connection and identification of cascaded devices. The main controller dynamically allocates and schedules tasks based on the total resources of the cascaded system, then performs data interaction and status monitoring, and sets up dynamic energy consumption control and predictive maintenance, as well as cross-level data compression and self-healing mechanisms. Step 4: Operation and maintenance, including real-time control and logic execution, fault diagnosis and redundancy switching, and parameter optimization and function upgrades. Furthermore, the startup and self-test of the core controller RK3588 in step one specifically includes the core processor RK3588 starting the pre-installed Linux system, while the microcontroller F429IIT6 performs a real-time control module self-test, automatically detecting the connection status between the PCIe 3.0 interface and the programming logic chip PG2L50H to ensure the high-speed communication link is unobstructed. If a hardware abnormality is detected, including loose interface and chip failure, an error message is output through the ETH0 Ethernet interface or USB 3.0 debug port.

[0020] Furthermore, the communication interface activation and parameter configuration in step one specifically includes automatically activating all communication interfaces and loading default parameters. The HDMI 2.1 interface is initialized to 1080P and 60Hz output mode for connecting to the monitoring screen to display device status. The RS485 / RS232 interface is configured to the industrial standard mode of 9600 baud rate and 8 data bits. Four independent Ethernet interfaces, ETH0, ETH1, ETH2 and ETH3, are set up and assigned static IPs by default, and wired network connections are supported for expanding network topology. At the same time, users can modify the interface parameters through the control software to adapt to the needs of specific industrial scenarios.

[0021] Specifically, the functional module boards in step two include encoding modules, I / O modules, and ADDA modules. Automatic identification of these functional module boards in step two involves reading their built-in ID information and function identifiers, and performing two-way authentication. This two-way authentication includes hardware authentication and protocol authentication. Hardware authentication verifies whether the module's electrical characteristics (such as operating voltage and maximum current) match the motherboard's power supply capabilities. Protocol authentication, for SLD-BUS custom modules, verifies module legitimacy through an encrypted handshake (based on AES-128). Modules that fail authentication are restricted to read-only mode (only providing status feedback, not receiving control commands). After successful authentication, a communication port is automatically assigned to the module, and a visual icon is generated on the control interface. Resources are then automatically allocated according to the module type. If a motion control module is detected, the ECAT interface is activated and a real-time Ethernet protocol is configured. To achieve high-precision synchronization with the bus driver, if the vision control module is detected, a 5Gbps bandwidth is allocated via the USB 3.0 interface for high-speed image data transmission. Step two involves parameter adaptation of the custom function module, specifically importing the driver program for the custom function module into the software, automatically parsing the function instructions supported by the custom function module, including the signal acquisition frequency of special sensors and the control logic of customized actuators. For SLD-BUS protocol extension modules, the communication baud rate and address code need to be manually configured in the software to ensure compatibility with other modules from the system. After configuration, the system generates a module function list and stores it in the local database, dynamically allocating system resources according to the module type, including the ECAT space occupied by the motion control module. Channels 0-3 are reserved with AXIS00-2 interfaces, which are bound to the microcontroller's timer. The vision control module has exclusive access to the USB 3.0 controller, allocates two NPU cores of the RK3588 (2 TOPS computing power), and locks the HDMI 2.1 output buffer (for real-time image display). The extended I / O module is mapped to the virtual I / O space of the master controller through address offset (e.g., the IN0 of slave 1 is mapped to the master address 0x4000), and supports cross-module linkage (e.g., the master OUT1 triggers the slave IN3 interrupt).

[0022] Furthermore, the physical connection and identification of cascaded devices in step three specifically includes the following: When cascading expansion is required, such as expanding an E3000 to an E6000, a new control motherboard is connected via the ETH0-ETH3 Ethernet interface. After enabling cascading mode, the master controller sends a handshake signal to the slave controller based on a custom SLD-BUS protocol. After the slave controller responds, the master controller automatically reads its hardware configuration, including the number of interfaces and the core processor model, and assigns a unique slave address. After enabling cascading mode, the master controller executes a three-step process of discovery, handshake, and configuration. In the discovery phase, a timestamped probe frame (TTL=3) is broadcast via ETH. When the slave controller responds, it carries its own capability vector (including the number of axis controllers, the number of I / O points, and the computing power value). In the handshake phase, the master controller sorts the slaves according to their capabilities, generates a cascading priority (slaves with stronger capabilities are assigned core tasks first), and communicates this priority via SLD-BUS. The protocol exchanges keys, establishes an encrypted communication channel, and during the configuration phase, automatically generates a topology table (including physical connection paths, communication delays, and redundant nodes). It supports hybrid topologies of star, chain, and tree topologies. Users can drag and drop to adjust the topology diagram via the HDMI interface. The dynamic allocation and task scheduling in step three specifically include the master controller being responsible for vision control and global logic scheduling, while the slave controllers focus on multi-axis motion control. The master controller uses the FPGA programming logic chip to parse the hybrid protocol data sent by the slave devices in real time, converts it into a unified internal data frame format, and then distributes it to the corresponding functional modules, constructing a distributed resource pool system. The core resources of the master and slave controllers, including the real-time computing power of the microcontroller, the inference capability of the core controller RK3588, and the axis control channels of the AXIS interface, are set as dynamically allocated resource units. When a surge in vision tasks is detected, the master controller automatically incorporates part of the core controller RK3588 computing power of the slave devices into the resource pool via PCIe3.A high-speed link enables distributed loading of model parameters. Furthermore, in multi-axis control scenarios, based on the complexity of the motion trajectory, axis control tasks are split across the AXIS interfaces of different slave devices, via ECAT. The protocol's fly-read / fly-write mechanism achieves nanometer-level synchronization across device axis groups. Step three, data interaction and status monitoring, specifically includes enabling a bidirectional data transmission mechanism. The master controller sends control commands to the slave controllers via WiFi or Ethernet, and the slave controllers provide real-time feedback on the execution status. All data is processed at high speed through the PG2L50H programming logic chip. The cascaded system topology diagram, load rate of each module, and fault alarm information are viewed on the HDMI screen. Predictive maintenance in step three includes deploying a federated learning framework on the master controller. The core processors of each slave device, RK3588, act as edge nodes, analyzing local sensor data in real time, including multi-axis linkage scenarios and time-series prediction of communication quality for cascaded links. In multi-axis linkage scenarios, abnormal vibration characteristics are identified through a transfer learning model, triggering an early warning 5-10 minutes before a fault occurs. The master controller automatically adjusts motion parameters. Time-series prediction of communication quality for cascaded links involves initiating dynamic topology reconstruction in advance when the failure rate of a link exceeds 5% within the next 3 minutes, switching data transmission to a backup channel. Energy consumption control in step three specifically includes the master controller collecting data from each slave device in real time. The system uses power consumption data and task load intensity to generate energy efficiency optimization schemes. Specifically, when the system is under light load, it automatically switches the idle slave device's core processor (RK3588) to sleep mode, shuts down power to unused ETH interfaces and USB ports, and triggers deep power saving when a slave device is detected to have no task interaction for 10 consecutive minutes. This involves the microcontroller cutting off power to non-core modules, retaining only the ETH0 and RS485 wake-up channels, and marking the device's resource information as awake and storing it in the resource pool. The self-healing mechanism in step three includes a three-level self-healing process when a slave device is detected to be offline: Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3. Level 1 self-healing involves enabling the slave device's backup communication interface and quickly restoring the connection via real-time interrupts from the microcontroller. Level 2 self-healing involves the master controller migrating the slave device's tasks to a hot standby device if interface switching fails, achieving seamless takeover through dynamic reallocation from the resource pool. Level 3 self-healing involves automatically updating the topology mapping table for unrecoverable faults, removing the faulty device from the resource pool, and issuing audible and visual alarms via the HDMI screen and remote terminal, while simultaneously pushing fault location information.

[0023] Furthermore, the real-time control and logic execution in step four specifically include a microcontroller responsible for the real-time control algorithm, driving the actuator through the ECAT or AXIS interface, a core processor RK3588 processing complex logic, and adjusting the control strategy according to preset rules. When the vision module detects workpiece offset, the main controller immediately sends a compensation command to the slave controller to correct the position through multi-axis collaborative correction. The fault diagnosis and redundancy switching in step four specifically include monitoring the operating status of each module and cascaded device. If a slave controller goes offline, the main controller automatically enables the redundant path by switching to the backup Ethernet interface. If an I / O module fails, the main controller blocks the fault channel and issues an alarm. Detailed fault logs are read through the RS232 debugging port. The parameter optimization and function upgrade in step four specifically include supporting online modification of control parameters, which takes effect immediately after modification, and updating the controller firmware and module drivers via USB 3.0 to expand new functions.

[0024] A control system for an industrial controller with cascading expansion capabilities includes: The core control module includes a main processor unit, a real-time control unit, and a programming logic unit. The main processor unit is the core, based on the RK3588, and is responsible for the system's global logic, human-computer interaction, complex algorithms, running the Linux system, and providing API interfaces. The implementation control unit is a microcontroller, which is used to process real-time tasks and communicate with the main processor through an internal bus. The programming logic unit is a programming logic chip PG2L50H, which is used to realize high-speed data forwarding, hardware synchronization, and signal conditioning, and supports user-defined logic. The communication interface module includes an industrial bus submodule, a general communication submodule, and a high-speed interface submodule. The industrial bus submodule includes an ECAT master interface and an SLD-BUS protocol controller. The general communication submodule includes integrated HDMI 2.1, RS485 / 232, four ETH Ethernet interfaces, and WiFi to provide diverse data interaction channels. The high-speed interface submodule includes PCIe 3.0, USB 3.0, and USB 2.0 for high-speed peripherals of the vision module and storage devices. The functional expansion module includes a motion control submodule, an I / O control submodule, and a customized submodule. The motion control submodule supports multi-axis linkage and linear sensor interfaces, and is compatible with pulse-type and bus-type drivers. The I / O control submodule includes 16 digital inputs and 16 digital outputs, supports dry contact and wet contact switching, and the inputs are optically isolated. The customized submodule is an expansion unit based on male and female interfaces and supports the development of custom drivers. The cascading management module includes a topology management unit, a resource scheduling unit, and a synchronization and redundancy unit. The topology management unit is responsible for the discovery, authentication, and topology drawing of cascading devices, supporting a maximum of 32 levels of cascading. The resource scheduling unit is used to implement global resource pooling management and dynamically allocate computing power, interface, and bandwidth resources. The synchronization and redundancy unit is used to provide high-precision spatiotemporal synchronization and multi-path redundancy switching. The Human-Machine Interaction and Maintenance Module includes a local interaction unit, a remote maintenance unit, and a log and diagnostic unit. The local interaction unit includes an HDMI display interface and an RS232 debugging port for on-site configuration and troubleshooting. The remote maintenance unit supports a web server and monitors system status and updates firmware through a cloud platform. The log and diagnostic unit records device operating data and provides a fault code library, and supports one-click export of diagnostic reports.

[0025] The RK3588, also known as the Rockchip 3588, is a multi-core ARM processor that supports the entire system of a device. It is responsible for booting the Linux kernel, global logic processing, human-machine interaction, and complex algorithms (such as visual recognition), making it the core processing unit of an industrial controller. The STM32F429IIT6, from STMicroelectronics, is a microcontroller responsible for real-time control and data algorithm processing. It uses an internal timer to reset the hardware of the real-time control module and handles real-time tasks such as PID regulation and pulse output. The PG2L50H, from Ziguang, is a programmable logic device (FPGA) that enables high-speed communication with the RK3588 via a PCIe 3.0 interface. It performs high-speed data forwarding, hardware synchronization, and signal conditioning, and also supports Verilog... The code includes custom logic. PCIe 3.0, or Third Generation Peripheral Component Fast Interconnect, is a high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard. Its function is to establish a high-speed communication channel between the FPGA (PG2L50H) and RK3588 for high-speed data transmission, ensuring efficient data interaction. HDMI 2.1, or High Definition Multimedia Interface 2.1, is used for high-definition audio and video signal transmission and can connect to a monitoring screen to display device status, allowing users to intuitively understand the controller's operation. RS485, a serial communication standard, supports multi-point communication, has strong anti-interference capabilities, and is commonly used for data transmission between devices in industrial control. It allows users to lock parameters through control software to ensure communication stability. RS232, a serial communication interface standard, is used for point-to-point short-distance device connections (such as debugging terminals) to achieve data transmission between devices, providing interface support for controller debugging and data interaction. ETH0-ETH3, or Ethernet interfaces 0 to 3, support wired network connections. ETH0... The system assigns a default management IP address, while others automatically obtain addresses via DHCP. Its multi-port design allows for scalable network topology, suitable for gateway or switch applications, ensuring network communication between the controller and other devices. ECAT, or Ethernet Control Automation Technology, is a real-time industrial Ethernet protocol. Its function is to achieve high-precision synchronous control, suitable for connecting bus drivers, ensuring the synchronization of equipment actions in motion control scenarios. Its preset cycle is 1ms. AXIS00-5, or Multi-Axis Motion Control Interface 0 to 5, supports precision motion control. Its axis control pulse frequency is preset to 1MHz, used to connect actuators such as motors to achieve precise control of multi-axis motion. SLD-BUS, or SLD Bus, is a custom network port-based motion controller protocol.The functions of USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 are for expanding other modules of the Eplink controller, playing a role in functional module authentication and cascaded device communication, ensuring normal communication between custom modules and cascaded devices. USB 3.0 provides high-speed data transmission, connecting high-speed peripherals such as vision modules, allocating bandwidth in the vision control module to ensure high-speed image data transmission, and can also be used to update controller firmware and module drivers. USB 2.0 is used for connecting medium- and low-speed peripherals (such as keyboards and mice), providing the controller with a universal peripheral expansion interface for easy user operation and device connection. IP addresses are used to identify devices in the network. ETH0 is assigned a management IP by default, while other ETH interfaces automatically obtain IPs via DHCP, ensuring the controller's unique identification and normal communication in the network. DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) automatically assigns IP addresses to ETH interfaces, simplifying the network configuration process and allowing other ETH interfaces to access the network without manual IP configuration, improving network efficiency. The convenience of placement; WiFi, or Wireless Fidelity, is a wireless network technology that provides wireless networking capabilities, suitable for IoT or remote control scenarios. It prioritizes connection to pre-configured industrial-grade APs to ensure the controller's wireless communication function; AES-128, or 128-bit Advanced Encryption Standard, is used in the protocol authentication of SLD-BUS custom modules to confirm the module's legitimacy through an encrypted handshake, ensuring the security of module communication and preventing unauthorized access; NPU, or Neural Processing Unit, is used in vision control modules. The RK3588's NPU core handles complex algorithms such as visual recognition, improving the efficiency and speed of visual data processing; TTL, or Time to Live, is used during the cascaded device discovery phase. The TTL of the probe frame broadcast by ETH is set to 3 to limit the propagation range of the probe frame in the network, avoiding broadcast storms and ensuring stable network operation; CRC, or Cyclic Redundancy Check, is used to check the status code when the slave device executes the command, detecting whether errors occur during data transmission and ensuring data integrity and accuracy.

[0026] Finally, it should be noted that the above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art can still modify the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments or make equivalent substitutions for some of the technical features. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A control method of an industrial controller having a cascade expansion function, characterized by, The method comprises the following specific steps: Step one: hardware initialization and basic configuration, turn on the power of the industrial controller, the core controller starts and self-checks, and activates the communication interface and configures the parameters; Step two: function module identification and configuration, the main control board detects the installed function module board through multiple male and female interfaces, automatically identifies the function module board, and performs parameter adaptation on the self-defined function module; Step three: cascade expansion setting and cooperative control, the cascade equipment is physically connected and identified, the main controller dynamically allocates and schedules tasks according to the total resources of the cascade system, then data interaction and state monitoring are performed, and energy consumption dynamic regulation and predictive maintenance are set, cross-level data compression is set, and a self-healing mechanism is set; Step four: operation and maintenance, including real-time control and logic execution, fault diagnosis and redundancy switching, and parameter optimization and function upgrade.

2. The control method of an industrial controller having a cascade expansion function according to claim 1, characterized by, The core controller in step one starts and self-checks, specifically including: The core processor starts the pre-installed Linux system, and the microcontroller performs real-time control module self-checking, automatically detects the connection state of the PCIe3.0 interface and the programming logic chip, so that the high-speed communication link is smooth; If a hardware exception is detected, the hardware exception includes interface loosening and chip failure, error information is output through the ETH0 Ethernet interface or the USB3.0 debugging port.

3. The control method of an industrial controller having a cascade expansion function according to claim 1, characterized by, The communication interface activation and parameter configuration in step one specifically includes automatically activating all communication interfaces and loading default parameters, the HDMI2.1 interface is initialized to 1080P and 60Hz output mode, used for connecting a monitoring screen to display device state, the RS485 / RS232 interface is configured as 9600 baud rate and 8-bit data bit industrial standard mode, four independent Ethernet interfaces ETH0, ETH1, ETH2 and ETH3 are set, and default static IP is allocated, and wired network connection is supported, used for expanding network topology.

4. The control method of an industrial controller having a cascade expansion function according to claim 1, characterized by, The function module board in step two includes an encoding module, an I / O module and an ADDA module, and the automatic identification of the function module board in step two specifically includes reading the ID information and function identifier built-in the function module board, and performing bidirectional authentication, bidirectional authentication hardware authentication and protocol authentication, after the authentication is passed, automatically allocating module communication ports, and generating visual icons on the control interface, then automatically allocating resources according to the module type, and the parameter adaptation of the self-defined function module in step two specifically includes importing the driver program of the self-defined function module through software, automatically analyzing the supported function instructions of the self-defined function module, the function instructions including the signal acquisition frequency of special sensors and the control logic of customized actuators.

5. The control method of an industrial controller having a cascade expansion function according to claim 1, characterized by, The physical connection and identification of the cascade equipment in step three specifically include connecting a new control mainboard through ETH0-ETH3 Ethernet interfaces when cascade expansion is needed, after enabling the cascade mode, the main controller sends a handshake signal to the slave controller based on the self-defined SLD-BUS protocol, after the slave controller responds, the main controller automatically reads its hardware configuration, including the number of interfaces and the core processor model, and allocates a unique slave address.

6. The control method of an industrial controller having a cascade expansion function according to claim 1, characterized by, The dynamic allocation and task scheduling in step three specifically include that the master controller is responsible for visual control and global logic scheduling, and the slave controller focuses on multi-axis motion control. The master controller analyzes the mixed protocol data sent by the slave in real time through the programmable logic chip, converts it into a unified internal data frame format, and then distributes it to the corresponding functional modules. A distributed resource pool system is constructed, and the core resources of the master and slave controllers, including the real-time computing power of the microcontroller, the inference ability of the core controller, and the axis control channel of the AXIS interface, are set as dynamic allocation resource units. When a surge of visual tasks is detected, the master controller automatically includes part of the core controller computing power of the slave into the resource pool. Through the PCIe3.0 high-speed link, model parameter distributed loading is realized. In the multi-axis control scene, according to the complexity of the motion trajectory, the axis control task is split to the AXIS interfaces of different slaves. Through the fly read and fly write mechanism of the ECAT protocol, nanoscale synchronization of cross-device axis groups is realized. The data interaction and state monitoring in step three specifically include enabling a bidirectional data transmission mechanism. The master controller sends control instructions to the slave controller through WiFi or Ethernet, and the slave controller feeds back the execution status in real time. All data is processed at high speed through the programmable logic chip, and the system topology graph, module load rate, and fault alarm information can be viewed through the HDMI screen. The predictive maintenance in step three includes that the master controller deploys a federated learning framework, and the core processors of each slave serve as edge nodes to analyze local sensor data in real time, including time series prediction of the communication quality of the multi-axis linkage scene and the cascade link. The multi-axis linkage scene uses a transfer learning model to identify abnormal vibration characteristics and triggers a warning 5-10 minutes before a fault occurs. The master controller automatically adjusts the motion parameters, and the time series prediction of the communication quality of the cascade link involves starting dynamic topology reconstruction and switching data transmission to a backup channel when it is determined that the failure rate of a link will exceed 5% in the next 3 minutes.

7. The control method of an industrial controller having a cascade expansion function according to claim 1, characterized by, The energy consumption regulation in step three specifically includes that the master controller collects power consumption data from each slave in real time and generates an energy consumption optimization scheme based on task load intensity. Specifically, it includes: When the system is in a light load state, the core processor of an idle slave is automatically switched to a sleep core mode, and the unused ETH interface and USB port power supply are turned off. When it is detected that a slave has no task interaction for 10 consecutive minutes, deep energy saving is triggered. The microcontroller cuts off the power supply of non-core modules, leaving only the ETH0 and RS485 wake-up channels. At the same time, the resource information of the device is marked as a wake-up state and stored in the resource pool.

8. The control method of an industrial controller having a cascade expansion function according to claim 1, wherein, The self-recovery mechanism in the third step specifically includes triggering a three-level self-recovery process when detecting that a slave is offline, including a first-level self-recovery, a second-level self-recovery and a third-level self-recovery, the first-level self-recovery is to enable the standby communication interface of the slave, and the connection is quickly restored through the real-time interruption of the microcontroller, the second-level self-recovery is to migrate the task of the slave to the hot standby device if the interface switching fails, and to realize seamless takeover through dynamic reallocation of the resource pool, and the third-level self-recovery is to automatically update the topology mapping table for the fault that cannot be recovered, to exclude the fault device from the resource pool, and to issue sound and light alarm through the HDMI screen and the remote terminal, and to push the fault positioning information.

9. The control method of an industrial controller having a cascade expansion function according to claim 1, characterized by, The real-time control and logic execution in the fourth step specifically includes that the microcontroller is responsible for real-time control algorithm, drives the actuator through the ECAT or AXIS interface, the core processor processes complex logic, and adjusts the control strategy according to the preset rule, when the visual module detects that the workpiece deviates, the main controller immediately sends a compensation instruction to the slave controller, and corrects the position through multi-axis cooperation; The fault diagnosis and redundancy switching in the fourth step specifically includes monitoring the running state of each module and cascaded device, if a slave controller is offline, the main controller automatically enables the redundant path by switching to the standby Ethernet interface, if the I / O module fails, the main controller shields the fault channel and alarms, and reads detailed fault log through the RS232 debugging port; The parameter optimization and function upgrade in the fourth step specifically include supporting online modification of control parameters, which takes effect immediately after modification, and updating the controller firmware and module driver through USB3.0 to extend new functions.

10. The control system of claim 1, wherein, It comprises: The core control module comprises a main processor unit, a real-time control unit and a programming logic unit, the main processor unit is the core, which is responsible for system global logic, human-computer interaction, complex algorithm, runs Linux system and provides API interface, the implementation control unit is a microcontroller, which is used for processing real-time tasks and communicating with the main processor through an internal bus, and the programming logic unit is a programming logic chip, which is used for realizing high-speed data forwarding, hardware synchronization and signal conditioning, and supporting user-defined logic; The communication interface module comprises an industrial bus submodule, a general communication submodule and a high-speed interface submodule, the industrial bus submodule comprises an ECAT master interface and a protocol controller, the general communication submodule comprises an HDMI2.1, RS485 / 232, four Ethernet interfaces and WiFi, which are used for providing diversified data interaction channels, and the high-speed interface submodule comprises a PCIe3.0, a USB3.0 and a USB2.0, which are used for high-speed peripherals of the visual module and the storage device; A function expansion module, which includes a motion control submodule, an I / O control submodule, and a customization submodule, the motion control submodule is used to support multi-axis linkage and linear sensor interface, and compatible pulse type and bus type drivers, the I / O control submodule includes 16-way digital input and 16-way digital output, supports dry contact and wet contact switching, and input with optical coupling isolation, and the customization submodule is used to expand units based on male and female interfaces, and supports self-developed driver programs; A cascade management module, which includes a topology management unit, a resource scheduling unit, and a synchronization and redundancy unit, the topology management unit is used to be responsible for discovery, authentication, and topology mapping of the cascade device, supports maximum 32-level cascade, the resource scheduling unit is used to realize global resource pooling management, dynamically allocates computing power, interface, and bandwidth resources, and the synchronization and redundancy unit is used to provide high-precision space-time synchronization and multi-path redundancy switching; A human-computer interaction and operation and maintenance module, which includes a local interaction unit, a remote operation and maintenance unit, and a log and diagnosis unit, the local interaction unit includes an HDMI display interface and an RS232 debugging port, is used for on-site configuration and fault troubleshooting, the remote operation and maintenance unit is used to support a Web server, and monitors system status and updates firmware through a cloud platform monitoring system, and the log and diagnosis unit is used to record device running data and provide a fault code library, and supports one-key export of a diagnosis report.

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