Intelligent gateway and application thereof

Abstract

The invention discloses an intelligent gateway, which comprises a main control processing module, a power management module, an ETH1 interface module, an ETH2 interface module, an RS485 interface module and a CAN interface module, and is characterized in that the main control processing module respectively provides two paths of Ethernet communication interfaces, one path of RS485 communication interface and one path of CAN communication interface through the ETH1 interface module, the ETH2 interface module, the RS485 interface module and the CAN interface module; according to the invention, conversion of various communication modes can be realized, so that the problem that communication interfaces among different control devices and communication devices are inconsistent is solved, various communication link interfaces are selected, various forms of communication protocol stacks are supported, and the problem that communication protocols among different control devices and communication devices are inconsistent is solved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of ship automatic control technology, specifically relating to an intelligent gateway and its application. Background Technology

[0002] In fields such as ship automatic control and electrical instrumentation, control devices often need to form control networks through communication links to issue corresponding commands and collect data status based on the control node where the device is located. However, the communication interfaces of data acquisition and control devices from different manufacturers are different, and their network protocol stacks are also different, which often leads to layers of restrictions when the control system is networked, and the information transmission is not smooth.

[0003] Currently, when encountering inconsistent communication interfaces or network protocol stacks in the field of ship automatic control, two approaches are often taken: one is to unify the network design and restrict equipment selection, which limits design flexibility and reduces the range of design options; the other is to develop new control equipment, but the functional and interface requirements of each control node are different, and the development of new control equipment requires a large investment of manpower and resources. Summary of the Invention

[0004] To address the above problems, one of the objectives of this invention is to provide an intelligent gateway that enables data communication between different communication interfaces or different network protocol stacks, while taking into account both device flexibility and compatibility.

[0005] The technical solution adopted by this invention to solve its technical problem is as follows: an intelligent gateway, including a main control processing module and a power management module, an ETH1 interface module, an ETH2 interface module, an RS485 interface module, and a CAN interface module respectively connected to the main control processing module. The main control processing module provides two Ethernet communication interfaces, one RS485 communication interface, and one CAN communication interface to the outside world through the ETH1 interface module, ETH2 interface module, RS485 interface module, and CAN interface module respectively. The ETH1 interface module is interconnected with the main control processing module through the RGMII / MDIO interface, and is converted into a first Ethernet electrical interface through a network PHY and a network transformer. The ETH2 interface module is interconnected with the main control processing module through the RGMII / MDIO interface, and is converted into a second Ethernet electrical interface through a network PHY and a network transformer. The RS485 interface module is interconnected with the main control processing module through the UART interface, and is converted into an RS485 communication interface through an RS485 transceiver and isolation circuit. The CAN interface module is interconnected with the main control processing module through the SPI interface, and is converted into a CAN communication interface through a CAN transceiver and isolation circuit.

[0006] The aforementioned intelligent gateway has a power management module responsible for inputting an external DC 24V power supply, generating analog signal power and digital signal power, and controlling the startup sequence of the digital signal power.

[0007] The aforementioned intelligent gateway uses a high-performance ARM processor as its main control module to complete data processing and communication with external devices.

[0008] The second objective of this invention is to provide the aforementioned intelligent gateway for network control. The ETH1 and ETH2 interface modules select Modbus TCP, UDP, or EtherNet / IP network protocols for communication network conversion. The ETH1 and ETH2 interface modules simultaneously serve as the source and destination communication interfaces: when the ETH1 interface module receives a data stream, it converts it to the ETH2 interface module for transmission, or vice versa. The ETH1 and ETH2 interface modules can be configured with the required protocol stack depending on the devices connected in the application environment.

[0009] The third objective of this invention is to provide the aforementioned intelligent gateway for network control, wherein the ETH1 interface module or the ETH2 interface module and the RS485 interface module select Modbus RTU, ASCII, or freeport communication protocols for network communication; when the ETH1 interface module or the ETH2 interface module receives data streams as the source communication interface, it selects Modbus TCP, UDP, or EtherNet / IP network protocols for communication network conversion, converting the data streams to be sent by the RS485 interface module; or when the RS485 interface module receives data streams as the source communication interface, it converts the data streams to be sent by the ETH1 interface module or the ETH2 interface module.

[0010] The fourth objective of this invention is to provide the aforementioned intelligent gateway for network control, wherein the ETH1 interface module or the ETH2 interface module communicates with the CAN interface module. When the ETH1 interface module or the ETH2 interface module receives data streams as the source communication interface, the ETH1 interface module and the ETH2 interface module select Modbus TCP, UDP or EtherNet / IP network protocols for communication network conversion, and convert the data streams to be transmitted by the CAN interface module. Alternatively, when the CAN interface module receives data streams as the source communication interface, the data streams are converted to be transmitted by the ETH1 interface module or the ETH2 interface module.

[0011] The fifth objective of this invention is to provide the above-mentioned intelligent gateway for network control, wherein the RS485 interface module and the CAN interface module communicate in a network, and when the RS485 interface module receives data stream as the source communication interface, it selects Modbus RTU, ASCII or freeport communication protocol to switch to the CAN interface module for transmission, or when the CAN interface module receives data stream as the source communication interface, it switches to the RS485 interface module.

[0012] The beneficial effects of this invention are: the intelligent gateway of this invention can realize data communication conversion between multiple communication interfaces according to the interface conversion relationship, and has multiple communication link interfaces such as Ethernet, RS485, and CAN. It can effectively solve the problems of inconsistent communication links between control devices and inconsistent network protocol stacks between communication interfaces, and greatly improve the compatibility and applicability of the control system.

[0013] This invention can improve the compatibility and flexibility of marine automatic control systems and is applicable to various control and communication equipment on ships. Attached Figure Description

[0014] Figure 1 This is a hardware architecture diagram of the intelligent gateway of the present invention; Figure 2 A schematic diagram of four applications of intelligent gateways.

[0015] The labels for each figure are as follows: 1—Main control processing module, 2—Power management module, 3—ETH1 interface module, 4—ETH2 interface module, 5—RS485 interface module, 6—CAN interface module. Detailed Implementation

[0016] The present invention will now be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0017] Reference Figure 1 As shown in the first embodiment, the present invention discloses an intelligent gateway, including a main control processing module 1 and a power management module 2, an ETH1 interface module 3, an ETH2 interface module 4, an RS485 interface module 5, and a CAN interface module 6, which are respectively connected to the main control processing module 1. The main control processing module 1 provides two Ethernet communication interfaces, one RS485 communication interface, and one CAN communication interface to the outside world through the ETH1 interface module 3, ETH2 interface module 4, RS485 interface module 5, and CAN interface module 6, respectively. The main control processing module 1 uses a high-performance ARM processor as the main controller. According to the configuration of the interface communication conversion relationship and the configuration of the network protocol stack adaptability, it realizes the network conversion of different forms of communication interfaces, completes data processing, and communicates with external devices.

[0018] The ETH1 interface module 3 is interconnected with the main control processing module 1 via the RGMII / MDIO interface, and is converted into a first Ethernet electrical interface via a network PHY and network transformer. The ETH2 interface module 4 is interconnected with the main control processing module 1 via the RGMII / MDIO interface, and is converted into a second Ethernet electrical interface via a network PHY and network transformer. The RS485 interface module 5 is interconnected with the main control processing module 1 via the UART interface, and is converted into an RS485 communication interface via an RS485 transceiver and isolation circuit. The CAN interface module 6 is interconnected with the main control processing module 1 via the SPI interface, and is converted into a CAN communication interface via a CAN transceiver and isolation circuit. The power management module 2 is responsible for inputting an external DC 24V power supply, managing and distributing the external power supply, generating analog and digital signal power supplies, controlling the startup sequence of the digital signal power supplies, and enabling data transmission and reception for various types of communication interfaces.

[0019] The control software adapted to this invention comprises a hardware layer, a service layer, and an application layer. The hardware layer controls and manages the hardware. The service layer provides hardware interface drivers, a network protocol stack, and services required for application development. The application layer mainly consists of application programs and configuration interfaces, which perform relevant control functions based on the configuration settings.

[0020] This invention's intelligent gateway can achieve data communication conversion between multiple communication interfaces based on interface conversion relationships. The main application steps are: 1. Select the source and target communication interfaces according to the actual application scenario, and complete the external cable connection according to the interface definitions. 2. Complete the communication configuration and debugging of the source interface according to the protocol stack, baud rate, and other parameters used by the source communication interface. 3. Complete the communication configuration and debugging of the target interface according to the protocol stack, baud rate, and other parameters used by the target communication interface. This completes the communication network conversion configuration and application.

[0021] Reference Figure 2 The above mainly includes the following four application methods.

[0022] (a) illustrates the communication network conversion between ETH1 interface module 3 and ETH2 interface module 4. These two interfaces are compatible with different protocol stacks. The Ethernet interface is compatible with common network protocols such as Modbus TCP, UDP, and EtherNet / IP. Ethernet communication data can be converted to another protocol stack format and exchanged with external devices through another Ethernet interface. Both ETH1 interface module 3 and ETH2 interface module 4 can be used as source / target communication interfaces. Depending on the application, if data needs to be received from ETH1 interface module 3 and then converted to ETH2 interface module 4 for transmission, then ETH1 interface module 3 serves as the source interface, and ETH2 interface module 4 is the target interface. The protocol stacks for ETH1 interface module 3 and ETH2 interface module 4 can be selected and configured according to the different devices connected in the application environment.

[0023] (b) describes the communication network conversion between ETH1 interface module 3 or ETH2 interface module 4 and RS485 interface module 5. The Ethernet interface is compatible with common network protocols such as Modbus TCP, UDP, and EtherNet / IP; the RS485 interface can be configured with parameters such as baud rate, data bits, stop bits, and parity as needed, and the software is compatible with common communication protocols such as Modbus RTU, ASCII, and freeport. If the data stream needs to be received from RS485 interface module 5 and converted to be sent via Ethernet interface, the source communication interface is RS485 interface module 5, and the target communication interface is Ethernet interface ETH1 interface module 3 / ETH2 interface module 4; if the data stream needs to be received from Ethernet interface and converted to be sent via RS485 interface module 5, the source communication interface is Ethernet interface ETH1 interface module 3 / ETH2 interface module 4, and the target communication interface is RS485 interface module 5.

[0024] (c) describes the communication network conversion between ETH1 interface module 3 or ETH2 interface module 4 and CAN interface module 6. The Ethernet interface is compatible with common network protocols such as Modbus TCP, UDP, and EtherNet / IP; any Ethernet interface can be converted into a CAN communication interface / RS485 communication interface: if the data stream needs to be received from CAN interface module 6 and converted into an Ethernet interface for transmission, then the source communication interface is CAN interface module 6, and the target communication interface is Ethernet interface ETH1 interface module 3 / ETH2 interface module 4; if the data stream needs to be received from Ethernet interface and converted into a CAN interface module 6 for transmission, then the source communication interface is Ethernet interface ETH1 interface module 3 / ETH2 interface module 4, and the target communication interface is CAN interface module 6.

[0025] (d) illustrates the communication network conversion between RS485 interface module 5 and CAN interface module 6. The RS485 interface can be configured with parameters such as baud rate, data bits, stop bits, and parity check mode as needed, and the software is compatible with common communication protocols such as Modbus RTU, ASCII, and freeport. The CAN interface can be configured with parameters such as baud rate, frame type, and frame format as needed, and data communication between the CAN and RS485 communication interfaces can be mutually converted. If the data stream needs to be received from CAN interface module 6 and converted to RS485 interface for transmission, the source communication interface is CAN interface module 6, and the target communication interface is RS485 interface module 5; conversely, if the data stream needs to be received from RS485 interface and converted to CAN interface for transmission, the source communication interface is RS485 interface module 5, and the target communication interface is CAN interface module 6.

[0026] The aforementioned network conversion methods and network protocol stacks can be adapted as needed. When a data source needs to forward data to multiple network interfaces, intelligent gateways can be combined to meet the corresponding requirements.

[0027] The specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative examples of the spirit of the invention. Those skilled in the art to which this invention pertains may make various modifications or additions to the described specific embodiments or use similar methods to substitute them, without departing from the spirit of the invention or exceeding the scope defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. An intelligent gateway, characterized in that: The system includes a main control processing module (1) and a power management module (2), an ETH1 interface module (3), an ETH2 interface module (4), an RS485 interface module (5), and a CAN interface module (6) connected to the main control processing module (1). The main control processing module (1) provides two Ethernet communication interfaces, one RS485 communication interface, and one CAN communication interface to the outside world through the ETH1 interface module (3), ETH2 interface module (4), RS485 interface module (5), and CAN interface module (6), respectively. The ETH1 interface module (3) communicates with the main control processing module through the RGMII / MDIO interface. The modules (1) are interconnected and converted into the first Ethernet electrical interface via the network PHY and network transformer. The ETH2 interface module (4) is interconnected with the main control processing module (1) via the RGMII / MDIO interface and converted into the second Ethernet electrical interface via the network PHY and network transformer. The RS485 interface module (5) is interconnected with the main control processing module (1) via the UART interface and converted into RS485 communication via the RS485 transceiver and isolation circuit. The CAN interface module (6) is interconnected with the main control processing module (1) via the SPI interface and converted into CAN communication via the CAN transceiver and isolation circuit.

2. The intelligent gateway according to claim 1, characterized in that, The power management module (2) receives an external DC 24V power supply, generates analog signal power and digital signal power, and controls the startup sequence of the digital signal power.

3. The intelligent gateway according to claim 1, characterized in that, The main control processing module (1) uses an ARM processor to complete data processing and communication with external devices.

4. The intelligent gateway as described in claim 1 for network control, characterized in that, The ETH1 interface module (3) and the ETH2 interface module (4) select Modbus TCP, UDP or EtherNet / IP network protocols for communication network conversion. The ETH1 interface module (3) and the ETH2 interface module (4) serve as the source communication interface and the target communication interface at the same time: when the ETH1 interface module (3) receives a data stream, it converts it to the ETH2 interface module (4) to send it, or when the ETH2 interface module (4) receives a data stream, it converts it to the ETH1 interface module (3) to send it.

5. The intelligent gateway as described in claim 1 for network control, characterized in that, The ETH1 interface module (3) or ETH2 interface module (4) and RS485 interface module (5) select Modbus RTU, ASCII or free port communication protocol for communication network. When the ETH1 interface module (3) / ETH2 interface module (4) receives data stream as the source communication interface, it selects Modbus TCP, UDP or EtherNet / IP network protocol for communication network conversion and converts it to RS485 interface module (5) for transmission. Alternatively, when the RS485 interface module (5) receives data stream as the source communication interface, it converts it to ETH1 interface module (3) / ETH2 interface module (4) for transmission.

6. The intelligent gateway as described in claim 1 for network control, characterized in that, The ETH1 interface module (3) or the ETH2 interface module (4) communicates with the CAN interface module (6). When the ETH1 interface module (3) or the ETH2 interface module (4) receives the data stream as the source communication interface, the ETH1 interface module (3) and the ETH2 interface module (4) select Modbus TCP, UDP or EtherNet / IP network protocol to perform communication network conversion and convert it to the CAN interface module (6) for transmission. Alternatively, when the CAN interface module (6) receives the data stream as the source communication interface, it converts it to the ETH1 interface module (3) or the ETH2 interface module (4) for transmission.

7. The intelligent gateway as described in claim 1 for network control, characterized in that, The RS485 interface module (5) communicates with the CAN interface module (6) via a network. When the RS485 interface module (5) receives data streams as the source communication interface, it selects ModbusRTU, ASCII, or freeport communication protocol to switch to the CAN interface module (6) for transmission. Alternatively, when the CAN interface module (6) receives data streams as the source communication interface, it switches to the RS485 interface module (5).

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