Distributed encoder system

Abstract

The application relates to a distributed encoder system. The system comprises: a plurality of encoder sensors configured to output encoded sensing signals; a plurality of bus encoder modules, one of which is connected with one or more of the encoder sensors, configured to receive the encoded sensing signals of the connected encoder sensors, pre-process the encoded sensing signals to obtain encoded sampling signals, and publish the encoded sampling signals onto an industrial real-time bus; and a plurality of processing nodes, each of which is connected with a plurality of the bus encoder modules through the industrial real-time bus and obtains the encoded sampling signals of the encoder sensors from the industrial real-time bus to perform processing operations based on the obtained encoded sampling signals. The system can meet the requirements of high-precision cooperation and deterministic control.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the fields of industrial automation and motion control technology, and in particular to a distributed encoder system. Background Technology

[0002] In the fields of industrial automation and motion control technology, there is a need for precise data synchronization in control systems. For example, in high-performance motion control systems, it is necessary to acquire the high-precision position of motors or loads in real time to achieve precise positioning and multi-axis synchronization. To achieve data synchronization, it is necessary to communicate with the components (such as drivers or controllers) that need to use the data through encoder sensors. The encoder sensors encode the data provided by the relevant components (such as the high-precision position information of motors or loads) and then provide it to the components that need to use the data.

[0003] In related technologies, to transmit data from encoder sensors to drivers or controllers that require the data, the encoder sensor connected to the sensor component typically communicates with the driver or controller using analog signals or a dedicated digital interface. However, this data transmission method in related technologies is difficult to meet the requirements of high-precision coordination and deterministic control. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Therefore, it is necessary to provide a distributed encoder system to address the aforementioned technical problems and meet the needs of high-precision collaborative and deterministic control in industrial automation control.

[0005] In a first aspect, this application provides a distributed encoder system, comprising:

[0006] Multiple encoder sensors, wherein the encoder sensors are configured to output encoded sensing signals;

[0007] Multiple bus encoder modules, one of which is connected to one or more encoder sensors, is configured to receive the encoded sensing signals of the connected encoder sensors, preprocess the encoded sensing signals to obtain encoded sampling signals, and publish the encoded sampling signals to an industrial real-time bus;

[0008] Multiple processing nodes are connected to multiple bus encoder modules via the industrial real-time bus, and obtain the encoded sampling signals of the encoder sensors from the industrial real-time bus to perform processing operations based on the acquired encoded sampling signals.

[0009] In one embodiment, the distance between the bus encoder module and one or more of the connected encoder sensors is less than or equal to a preset distance threshold.

[0010] In one embodiment, the bus encoder module is arranged adjacent to or integrated with one of the one or more encoder sensors connected to it.

[0011] In one embodiment, the location of the bus encoder module is determined based on the location of one or more encoder sensors connected to the bus encoder module.

[0012] In one embodiment, the bus encoder module is disposed inside or outside the housing of one of the one or more encoder sensors connected to the bus encoder module.

[0013] In one embodiment, the bus encoder module is further configured to receive a global clock synchronization signal via the industrial real-time bus and perform time synchronization processing based on the global clock synchronization signal.

[0014] In one embodiment, the bus encoder module is further configured to receive a data upload instruction from the processing node via the industrial real-time bus, acquire a target encoding sampling signal from a target encoder sensor corresponding to the data upload instruction, and send the acquired target encoding sampling signal to the sender of the data upload instruction.

[0015] In one embodiment, the bus encoder module is further configured to perform delay compensation processing on the encoded sampling signal to obtain a delayed-compensated encoded sampling signal, and to publish the delayed-compensated encoded sampling signal to the industrial real-time bus.

[0016] In one embodiment, the processing node is further configured to obtain the encoded sampling signal of the encoder sensor from the industrial real-time bus, perform delay compensation processing on the encoded sampling signal to obtain a delayed-compensated encoded sampling signal, and perform processing operations on the delayed-compensated encoded sampling signal.

[0017] In one embodiment, the bus encoder module includes:

[0018] A data acquisition unit, connected to one or more of the encoder sensors, is used to receive the encoded sensing signals of the connected encoder sensors and preprocess the encoded sensing signals to obtain encoded sampling signals.

[0019] The protocol processing unit, connected to the data acquisition unit, is used to encapsulate the encoded sampling signal into a data frame and publish the data frame to the industrial real-time bus.

[0020] In one embodiment, the bus encoder module further includes:

[0021] The clock synchronization unit is used to receive the global clock synchronization signal through the industrial real-time bus and perform time synchronization processing based on the global clock synchronization signal.

[0022] In one embodiment, the bus encoder module further includes:

[0023] The diagnostic unit is used to acquire the module status of the bus encoder module and send the module status to the target processing node through the industrial real-time bus.

[0024] In one embodiment, the plurality of processing nodes include one or both of a controller, a driver, and a vision unit.

[0025] The distributed encoder system described in the above embodiment connects one or more encoder sensors to multiple bus encoder modules. Each bus encoder module is connected to a processing node via an industrial real-time bus. This allows the bus encoder modules to acquire and obtain the coded sensing signals from the connected encoder sensors. After preprocessing these signals to obtain coded sampling signals, the signals are published to the industrial real-time bus for use by the processing nodes. In this approach, the encoder sensors do not need to directly provide coded sensing signals to the processing nodes. Instead, the signals are provided to the bus encoder modules, which then preprocess and publish them to the industrial real-time bus. This avoids the problems of long transmission distances and reduced accuracy associated with direct connections between encoder sensors and processing nodes. Furthermore, by publishing the coded sampling signals from the bus encoder modules to the industrial real-time bus, each processing node can obtain the corresponding coded sampling signals from the industrial real-time bus and perform control processing accordingly. This allows a single encoder sensor data source to serve multiple processing nodes simultaneously, further meeting the requirements for high-precision collaborative and deterministic control. Attached Figure Description

[0026] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application or related technologies, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments of this application or related technologies will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, other related drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0027] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a distributed encoder system in one embodiment;

[0028] Figure 2This is a schematic diagram of another distributed encoder system.

[0029] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of yet another distributed encoder system;

[0030] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a bus encoder module in one embodiment. Detailed Implementation

[0031] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this application clearer, the following detailed description is provided in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative and not intended to limit the scope of this application.

[0032] It should be noted that the terms "first," "second," etc., used in this application can be used to describe various elements, but these elements are not limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish the first element from the second element. The terms "comprising" and "having," and any variations thereof, used in this application, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion. The term "multiple" used in this application refers to two or more. The term "and / or" used in this application refers to one of the embodiments, or any combination of multiple embodiments.

[0033] Currently, in the fields of industrial automation and motion control technology, when outputting high-precision position information of related components, such as motors or loads, through encoder sensors, analog signals or dedicated digital interfaces are typically used to communicate with drivers or controllers. However, in complex industrial environments, especially when transmitting analog signals or high-frequency pulses over long distances, signal attenuation, susceptibility to electromagnetic interference, or the introduction of noise can easily occur, leading to timing errors. Severe signal attenuation and interference affect control accuracy and system stability. Dedicated digital interfaces, on the other hand, require each encoder sensor to be independently wired to the control cabinet, resulting in a large number of cables, limited installation space, difficult maintenance, and high cable and installation costs. Furthermore, encoder sensors are "hard-wired" bound to specific drivers or network sites, making system configuration inflexible. When the number of axes increases or the layout changes, a large number of cables need to be redesigned and laid, making engineering implementation difficult and time-consuming. When there are multiple stations in the entire automation system that need to use the same encoder sensor data, such as when other devices in the system, such as vision systems, auxiliary controllers, or data analysis nodes, need to obtain the same encoder data, it is necessary to set up a master station for indirect data forwarding. This results in insufficient real-time performance, dependence on the master station, and easy introduction of uncontrollable communication delays and scheduling jitter, leading to data asynchrony between multiple nodes and making it difficult to meet the requirements of high-precision collaboration and deterministic control.

[0034] Research has shown that in industrial automation and motion control scenarios, by setting up multiple bus encoder modules connected to other processing nodes via an industrial real-time bus, and linking encoder sensors within the automation system to these modules, the system can acquire and transmit coded sensing signals from each encoder sensor. After preprocessing these signals to obtain coded sampling signals, these signals are then published to the industrial real-time bus. This method avoids the problem of analog signals being susceptible to electromagnetic interference and resulting in accuracy degradation during long-distance transmission. It also eliminates the need for dedicated digital interfaces, avoiding complex wiring and shielding issues, thus improving scalability and reducing costs. By publishing the coded sampling signals from the bus encoder modules to the industrial real-time bus, these modules become network nodes in the automation system's network architecture. Each processing node can then obtain the corresponding coded sampling signals from the industrial real-time bus and perform control processing accordingly, further meeting the requirements for high-precision collaborative and deterministic control.

[0035] Based on this, refer to Figure 1 As shown, some embodiments provide a distributed encoder system, wherein the system includes:

[0036] Multiple encoder sensors 100, the encoder sensors 100 being configured to output encoded sensing signals;

[0037] Multiple bus encoder modules 200, one of the bus encoder modules 200 is connected to one or more of the encoder sensors 100, and is configured to receive the encoded sensing signals of the connected encoder sensors 100, preprocess the encoded sensing signals to obtain encoded sampling signals, and publish the encoded sampling signals to an industrial real-time bus.

[0038] Multiple processing nodes 300 are connected to multiple bus encoder modules 200 via the industrial real-time bus, and obtain the encoded sampling signals of the encoder sensor from the industrial real-time bus to perform control operations based on the acquired encoded sampling signals.

[0039] An encoder sensor is a measuring device that converts mechanical displacement (including rotational or linear motion) into a recognizable electrical signal. It can detect changes in the position, velocity, direction, or angle of a moving object, providing precise feedback information to the control system and enabling high-precision motion control and positioning.

[0040] The specific type of encoder sensor 100 is not limited, such as it can be a grating ruler, rotary encoder, etc. The signal type of the encoded sensing signal output by encoder sensor 100 is not limited, such as it can be an incremental signal, absolute signal, sine signal, cosine signal, etc. This application embodiment does not impose specific limitations.

[0041] The bus encoder module 200 is connected to the encoder sensor 100. It receives the encoded sensing signal output by the encoder sensor 100 and preprocesses the encoded sensing signal to obtain an encoded sampling signal for use by the processing node. The encoded sampling signal obtained after preprocessing by the bus encoder module 200 can be actively published to the industrial real-time bus. For example, based on the sampling period of the encoder sensor 100, the corresponding encoded sampling signal can be published to the industrial real-time bus. Alternatively, the obtained encoded sampling signal can be stored and, based on instructions from the processing node 300, published to the industrial real-time bus as needed, thus enabling on-demand transmission of the encoded sampling signal.

[0042] Processing node 300 is a node that needs to obtain data provided by the encoder sensor and perform decision-making or control based on the data provided by the encoder sensor. Some possible types of processing nodes may include, but are not limited to, controllers, drivers, vision units, etc. This application does not impose specific limitations on this in the embodiments.

[0043] It is understood that the processing node 300 may include multiple nodes, so that different processing nodes can perform different decision-making or control functions. In some examples, the multiple processing nodes may include one or two of the following: a controller, a driver, and a vision unit.

[0044] The industrial real-time bus is a communication network bus with hard real-time capabilities in an industrial environment. It enables reliable, real-time, and efficient data exchange between automated devices (such as PLCs, sensors, actuators, controllers, robots, HMIs, etc.). The specific type of industrial real-time bus is not limited. In the relevant embodiments of this application, the industrial real-time bus can be an industrial Ethernet bus, and the form of the industrial Ethernet bus is not limited, for example, it can be twisted-pair cable or fiber optic cable.

[0045] The network architecture of network nodes in an automation system can be formed by connecting multiple bus encoder modules and multiple processing nodes through an industrial real-time bus. Each bus encoder module and each processing node can be a network node in this network architecture.

[0046] The form of this network architecture is not limited. In some examples, hierarchical network structures can be formed based on these network nodes, such as... Figure 2As shown, the bus encoder module 200 can be connected to two processing nodes 300 via an industrial real-time bus. Each processing node connected to the bus encoder module 200 can be further cascaded with another processing node 300. It is understood that... Figure 2 The example shown is only an illustration with processing nodes connected to both sides of the bus encoder module 200. In actual applications, the network architecture can be arranged according to actual needs, with more bus encoder modules 200 and processing nodes 300, and other connection methods.

[0047] In other examples, such as Figure 3 As shown, each encoder sensor 100 is connected to the bus encoder module 200, and each bus encoder module 200 and each processing node 300 are connected to the industrial real-time bus, thereby enabling the deployment of the network architecture of each bus encoder module 200 and each processing node 300 based on the industrial real-time bus.

[0048] The distributed encoder system based on this embodiment uses multiple bus encoder modules to connect one or more encoder sensors. Each bus encoder module is connected to a processing node via an industrial real-time bus. This allows the bus encoder modules to acquire and obtain the coded sensing signals from the connected encoder sensors. After preprocessing these signals to obtain coded sampling signals, the signals are published to the industrial real-time bus for use by the processing nodes. In this approach, the encoder sensors do not need to directly provide coded sensing signals to the processing nodes. Instead, the signals are provided to the bus encoder modules, which then preprocess and publish them to the industrial real-time bus. This avoids the problems of long transmission distances and reduced accuracy associated with direct connections between encoder sensors and processing nodes. Furthermore, by publishing the coded sampling signals from the bus encoder modules to the industrial real-time bus, each processing node can obtain the corresponding coded sampling signals from the industrial real-time bus and perform control processing accordingly. This allows a single encoder sensor data source to serve multiple processing nodes simultaneously, further meeting the requirements for high-precision collaborative and deterministic control.

[0049] In this case, when connecting the encoder sensor 100 to the bus encoder module 200, the encoder sensor 100 can be connected to the bus encoder module 200 that is closest to the encoder sensor 100 among multiple bus encoder modules 200, in order to solve the original problems of long-distance transmission and interference from high-voltage batteries in the electrical cabinet.

[0050] The method of connecting the encoder sensor 100 to the bus encoder module 200 that is closest to the encoder sensor 100 among a plurality of bus encoder modules 200 is not limited. In some embodiments, the distance between the bus encoder module 200 and one or more of the connected encoder sensors 100 is less than or equal to a preset distance threshold.

[0051] The specific value of the preset distance threshold is not limited and can be determined in conjunction with the automation system in which the distributed encoder system is located. For example, in some examples, the distance between each encoder sensor 100 can be determined based on the location of each encoder sensor 100, and the setting position of the bus encoder module 200 can be determined based on the distance, so that the position of the bus encoder module 200 can be set based on the position of each encoder sensor 100, so that each encoder sensor 100 can connect to the bus encoder module 200 closest to it.

[0052] In other examples, after clustering the locations of each encoder sensor 100, one or more corresponding bus encoder modules 200 can be set for each encoder sensor 100 in each cluster category, so that each encoder sensor 100 can be connected to the nearest bus encoder module 200, but this is not limited to this.

[0053] Accordingly, by setting encoder sensors 100 whose distance between bus encoder modules 200 is less than or equal to a preset distance threshold to be connected to the bus encoder module 200, each encoder sensor 100 can be connected to the nearest bus encoder module 200, which can further simplify the setting of the connection relationship between the bus encoder module 200 and the encoder sensor.

[0054] The specific location of the bus encoder module 200 is not limited, as long as each encoder sensor 100 connected to it can be connected to the bus encoder module 200, so that the encoded sensing signals of each encoder sensor 100 can be transmitted to the industrial real-time bus for digital transmission via the bus encoder module 200, and other processing nodes can obtain them from the bus encoder module 200.

[0055] For example, in some embodiments, the bus encoder module 200 can be configured as a standalone hardware module, and its location is not limited, as long as the encoder sensor 100 can be connected to the bus encoder module 200 closest to it among multiple bus encoder modules 200. The bus encoder module 200 is provided with multiple interfaces, and each interface is connected to each encoder sensor 100 via cables.

[0056] In other embodiments, the bus encoder module 200 may be disposed adjacent to or integrated with one of the one or more encoder sensors 100 connected to it. In other examples, the placement of the bus encoder module 200 may be determined based on the location of the one or more encoder sensors 100 that need to be connected to the bus encoder module 200, in order to balance signal interference between the bus encoder module 200 and the plurality of encoder sensors 100.

[0057] In some alternative embodiments, the bus encoder module 200 is disposed inside or outside the housing of one of the encoder sensors 100 connected to the bus encoder module 200.

[0058] The encoder sensor housing refers to the external structural component used to encapsulate and protect the core internal components of the encoder sensor. Therefore, by placing the bus encoder module within the encoder sensor housing, the connection setup between the bus encoder module and the encoder sensor can be further simplified.

[0059] When the bus encoder module 200 is connected to multiple encoder sensors 100, the bus encoder module 200 can be disposed inside or outside the housing of one of the encoder sensors 100. In some examples, it can be disposed on the housing of the encoder sensor 100 to simplify the connection between the bus encoder module 200 and each encoder sensor 100. The specific configuration can be based on actual technical needs, and this application embodiment does not make specific limitations in this regard.

[0060] In some embodiments, the bus encoder module is further configured to receive a global clock synchronization signal via the industrial real-time bus and perform time synchronization processing based on the global clock synchronization signal.

[0061] A global clock synchronization signal is a signal used to establish a unified time reference throughout a distributed system or a multi-device network. This signal can be a physical signal or a logical signal.

[0062] After receiving the global clock synchronization signal, the bus encoder module can perform time synchronization processing based on the global clock synchronization signal. The specific time synchronization processing method can be the same as that already existing in related technologies, and this application embodiment does not specifically limit it.

[0063] Accordingly, the bus encoder module can also receive a global clock synchronization signal through the industrial real-time bus and perform time synchronization processing based on the global clock synchronization signal, thereby achieving time consistency at the bus level.

[0064] In some embodiments, the bus encoder module is further configured to receive a data upload instruction from the processing node via the industrial real-time bus, acquire a target encoding sampling signal from a target encoder sensor corresponding to the data upload instruction, and send the acquired target encoding sampling signal to the sender of the data upload instruction.

[0065] Different processing nodes need to obtain the corresponding encoder sensor's encoded sampling signal and process it accordingly. In some cases, the encoder sensor's encoded sampling signal needs to be transmitted to the processing node periodically. Therefore, the bus encoder module can periodically publish the corresponding encoded sampling signal to the industrial real-time bus based on the sampling frequency of the data collected from the encoder sensor. The processing node can then periodically extract the corresponding encoded sampling signal from the industrial real-time bus.

[0066] In other scenarios, the processing node only needs to acquire data from the encoder sensor when certain triggering conditions are met. Therefore, the processing node can send a data upload command to the corresponding bus encoder module via the industrial real-time bus as needed. This data upload command may include the target encoder sensor identifier. After receiving the data upload command, the bus encoder module acquires the target encoded sampling signal of the target encoder sensor corresponding to the target encoder sensor identifier, and publishes the acquired target encoded sampling signal to the industrial real-time bus, so as to send it to the sender of the data upload command, i.e., to the processing node that issued the data upload command.

[0067] Accordingly, the processing node can also send a data upload command to the bus encoder module to instruct the bus encoder module to upload the target encoding sampling signal of the specified target encoder sensor. Based on the data upload command, the bus encoder module can obtain the target encoding sampling signal of the target encoder sensor corresponding to the data upload command, and send the obtained target encoding sampling signal to the sender of the data upload command, thereby enabling the acquisition of encoder sensor data on demand.

[0068] In some embodiments, the bus encoder module is further configured to encapsulate the coded sampling signals of each of the encoder sensors into corresponding data frames and then publish them to the industrial real-time bus.

[0069] In this embodiment, a bus encoder module can be connected to one encoder sensor or to two or more encoder sensors. Therefore, when connected to two or more encoder sensors, the encoded sampling signals of different encoder sensors can be encapsulated into corresponding data frames and published to the industrial real-time bus. In some specific examples, the encapsulated data frames may contain the identifier or type information of the corresponding encoder sensor, so that the processing node can extract the data frames corresponding to the encoded sampling signals of the corresponding encoder sensors from the industrial real-time bus as needed.

[0070] Accordingly, after acquiring the encoded sampling signals of each encoder sensor, the bus encoder module can encapsulate the encoded sampling signals of each encoder sensor into corresponding data frames and publish them. This allows data acquisition to be performed on demand when the encoder sensor data required by different processing nodes is different, which helps to further improve data synchronization efficiency.

[0071] In some embodiments, the bus encoder module is further configured to perform delay compensation processing on the encoded sampling signal to obtain a delayed-compensated encoded sampling signal, and to publish the delayed-compensated encoded sampling signal to the industrial real-time bus.

[0072] The bus encoder module can perform delay compensation processing on the encoded sampling signal in any way, as long as it can perform delay compensation on the encoded sampling signal, such as prediction compensation, abnormal prediction, loss compensation, etc. As long as it can eliminate the delay difference caused by bus length and network topology, this application embodiment does not impose specific restrictions on this.

[0073] Accordingly, after obtaining the encoded signal, the bus encoder module can perform delay compensation processing on the encoded sampling signal before publishing it to the industrial real-time bus. This allows the bus encoder module to perform delay compensation processing in advance, thereby improving data synchronization performance.

[0074] In some embodiments, the processing node is further configured to obtain the encoded sampling signal of the encoder sensor from the industrial real-time bus, perform delay compensation processing on the encoded sampling signal to obtain a delayed-compensated encoded sampling signal, and perform processing operations on the delayed-compensated encoded sampling signal.

[0075] The processing node can perform delay compensation processing on the encoded sampling signal in any way, as long as it can perform delay compensation on the encoded sampling signal, such as prediction compensation, anomaly prediction, loss compensation, etc. As long as it can eliminate the delay difference caused by bus length and network topology, this application embodiment does not impose specific restrictions on this.

[0076] Accordingly, after obtaining the encoded signal, the bus encoder module does not need to perform delay compensation processing on the encoded sampling signal. Instead, the processing node obtains the encoded sampling signal from the industrial real-time bus and then performs delay compensation processing on the encoded sampling signal to improve data synchronization performance.

[0077] In some embodiments, reference Figure 4 As shown, the bus encoder module includes:

[0078] The data acquisition unit 401 is connected to one or more of the encoder sensors and is used to receive the encoded sensing signals of the connected encoder sensors and preprocess the encoded sensing signals to obtain encoded sampling signals.

[0079] The protocol processing unit 402, connected to the data acquisition unit 401, is used to encapsulate the encoded sampling signal into a data frame and publish the data frame to the industrial real-time bus.

[0080] The data acquisition unit 401 is responsible for receiving the raw coded sensing signal from the encoder sensor, preprocessing the obtained raw coded sensing signal when necessary, and further processing the preprocessed coded sensing signal to obtain a coded sampling signal. For example, in some examples, the coded sampling signal may include high-resolution absolute or incremental digital position values. The preprocessing method is not limited; some examples may include, but are not limited to, delay prediction compensation for fixed delays, anomaly prediction compensation, loss compensation, and smoothing compensation when sampling jumps or fails, but are not limited to these.

[0081] The protocol processing unit 402 is responsible for processing bus data frames received from the industrial real-time bus. It can encapsulate the data to be sent (such as encoder sensor data, module status information of the bus encoder module, etc.) into data frames and then send them through the industrial real-time bus. The data frames may or may not contain the target receiver identifier, thus enabling one-to-one or one-to-many message transmission. This allows the receiving ends (each processing node) to obtain encoder sensor data without polling or mutual coordination, and without relying on the master station. Furthermore, transmission via a high-real-time industrial real-time bus (such as an industrial Ethernet bus) enables lossless, interference-resistant long-distance distributed transmission with microsecond-level transmission times.

[0082] Accordingly, the bus encoder module can connect to one or more encoder sensors via a data acquisition unit to acquire and obtain the encoded sensing signals of the connected encoder sensors, and preprocess the acquired encoded sensing signals to obtain encoded sampling signals. The protocol processing unit then encapsulates the preprocessed encoded sampling signals into data frames and publishes them to the industrial real-time bus.

[0083] refer to Figure 4 As shown, in some embodiments, the bus encoder module includes:

[0084] The clock synchronization unit 403 is used to receive the global clock synchronization signal through the industrial real-time bus and perform time synchronization processing based on the global clock synchronization signal.

[0085] As can be seen, the clock synchronization unit provided in this application embodiment can receive a global clock synchronization signal through the bus, enabling the bus encoder module to sample each encoder sensor. The bus encoder module can maintain synchronization with the global clock of the automation control system through network communication via the industrial real-time bus. For example, nanosecond-level synchronization can be achieved in specific examples based on the solution of this application.

[0086] refer to Figure 4 As shown, in some embodiments, the bus encoder module includes:

[0087] The diagnostic unit 404 is used to obtain the module status of the bus encoder module and send the module status to the target processing node through the industrial real-time bus.

[0088] The target processing node is a processing node used to obtain the module status of the bus encoder and perform relevant fault diagnosis and / or fault repair based on the module status of the bus encoder.

[0089] The specific type of module status is not limited. In some examples, the module status may include, but is not limited to: connection status with encoder sensors, network port connection status, and network status. The type of network status is not limited. For example, some examples may include message error monitoring, network load query, alarm statistics, etc., but are not limited to these.

[0090] Based on the embodiments described above, detailed examples are provided below.

[0091] The distributed encoder system provided in this application embodiment can realize the distributed transmission and synchronization of high-precision measurement data in long-distance, complex network topology and multi-node real-time control scenarios. It can achieve lossless, low-latency and high-synchronization transmission of encoder sensor data and support concurrent and real-time access of the same encoder data by multiple nodes in the network.

[0092] In the automation system described in this application embodiment, multiple encoder sensors, multiple bus encoder modules, and multiple processing nodes are provided. Wherein:

[0093] Each encoder sensor is connected to the nearest bus encoder module among multiple bus encoder modules, allowing the encoder sensor to be directly connected to the nearest bus encoder module. Thus, the raw signal of the encoder sensor can be acquired and digitized with high precision at the bus encoder end, without the need to be connected to a traditional electrical cabinet, fundamentally eliminating the interference problem of long-distance transmission of analog signals.

[0094] Bus encoder modules can be directly installed near an encoder sensor, or they can be integrated into the housing of an encoder sensor for convenient connection. One bus encoder module can connect to one or more encoder sensors.

[0095] A processing node is a network station connected via an industrial real-time bus. It can be directly or indirectly connected to a bus encoder module. In some examples, the processing node can be a controller, driver, vision unit, etc., but it is not limited to these.

[0096] The bus encoder modules and processing nodes, as well as the processing nodes themselves, can be connected via an industrial real-time bus. The medium type of the industrial real-time bus is not limited; it can be, for example, twisted-pair cable or fiber optic cable. The industrial real-time bus connects the bus encoder modules and processing nodes, thus connecting all network stations (master and slave stations) to form a unified communication network. Both the bus encoder modules and processing nodes are network stations within this communication network.

[0097] As can be seen from the above, based on the network architecture configuration of this application embodiment, the bus encoder module is configured as an active data publisher on the industrial real-time bus, making the data of the encoder sensor a shared resource on the industrial real-time bus network. Any one or more stations within the industrial real-time bus network can obtain the data of the same encoder sensor from the bus encoder module on demand and in real time, realizing one encoder data source serving multiple data receivers. Moreover, this process does not require forwarding processing operations from the master station, does not depend on the master station, and frees up the computing power of the master station.

[0098] refer to Figure 4 As shown, the bus encoder module provided in this application embodiment includes: a data acquisition unit 401, a protocol processing unit 402, a clock synchronization unit 403, and a diagnostic unit 404.

[0099] The data acquisition unit 401 is connected to one or more of the encoder sensors and is used to receive the encoded sensing signals of the connected encoder sensors and preprocess the encoded sensing signals to obtain encoded sampling signals.

[0100] The protocol processing unit 402, connected to the data acquisition unit, is used to encapsulate the encoded sampling signal into a data frame and publish the data frame to the industrial real-time bus.

[0101] The clock synchronization unit 403 is used to receive the global clock synchronization signal through the industrial real-time bus and perform time synchronization processing based on the global clock synchronization signal.

[0102] The diagnostic unit 404 is used to obtain the module status of the bus encoder module and send the module status to the target processing node through the industrial real-time bus.

[0103] Based on the specific example above, the processing principle and workflow of the distributed encoder system in a specific application can be described as follows:

[0104] After the network initialization and synchronization of the industrial real-time bus network are completed, the network topology of the automation system and global clock synchronization can be completed. Through this process, the bus encoder module 200 can be added to the network topology of the automation system.

[0105] Subsequently, each bus encoder module 200 autonomously samples each encoder sensor 100 connected to it synchronously to obtain the encoded sensing signal of each encoder sensor 100, and preprocesses each encoded sensing signal to obtain the preprocessed encoded sampling signal.

[0106] For the pre-processed encoded sampling signals of each encoder sensor 100, the bus encoder module 200 encapsulates the encoded sampling signals of each encoder sensor 100 into data frames when the timed transmission time is reached, and publishes the data frames to the industrial real-time bus, or sends them to the designated processing node 300 through the industrial real-time bus, so as to realize one-to-one or one-to-many point-to-point data transmission.

[0107] After one or more processing nodes 300 obtain the required encoded sampling signals from one or more encoder sensors from the industrial real-time bus, they perform the necessary calculations and processing on the received encoded sampling signals to complete the relevant processing procedures.

[0108] The bus encoder module 200 periodically acquires its own module status, performs anomaly detection based on the module status, and sends the module status to the target processing node through the industrial real-time bus when an anomaly is detected, thereby realizing the reporting of anomalies during self-check.

[0109] One or more processing nodes can also actively detect the status of the bus encoder module. For example, if no data is received from the bus encoder module within a preset period, or if the CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check) check of the data reported by the bus encoder module is incorrect, it can be determined that the bus encoder module is abnormal. A query command can be issued to the bus encoder module, or other operations can be performed. This application embodiment does not specifically limit this.

[0110] The distributed encoder system based on the embodiments of this application described above can achieve the following beneficial effects: it can support long-distance lossless transmission; it can be deployed in a distributed cabinet, allowing multiple encoders to access the bus network nearby, simplifying wiring, reducing costs, and shortening time; it can decouple from the master station, improving master station performance; it can achieve encoder data communication from a single source to multiple receivers, enabling multiple stations to synchronously read encoder data, ensuring clock synchronization, bus transmission, and real-time performance; the dual-sided compensation mechanism of delay compensation for the bus encoder module and the processing unit ensures highly reliable and continuous control data flow; it is applicable to complex topologies, with the bus encoder module serving as an independent network device, facilitating status monitoring, fault diagnosis, and online replacement; and it has strong scalability, allowing new stations to be added with simple configuration to obtain encoder data in real time, making system expansion flexible, convenient, and highly compatible.

[0111] It should be noted that all information and data involved in this application (including but not limited to data used for analysis, stored data, and displayed data) are information and data authorized by the user or fully authorized by all parties, and the acquisition, transmission, storage, use, and processing of the relevant data comply with the relevant provisions of national laws and regulations. In the embodiments of this application, certain existing industry solutions such as software, components, and models may be mentioned. These should be considered exemplary, and their purpose is merely to illustrate the feasibility of implementing the technical solution of this application, but does not imply that the applicant has already used or necessarily used such a solution.

[0112] The technical features of the above embodiments can be combined in any way. For the sake of brevity, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this application.

[0113] The embodiments described above are merely illustrative of several implementation methods of this application, and while the descriptions are specific and detailed, they should not be construed as limiting the scope of this patent application. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can make various modifications and improvements without departing from the concept of this application, and these all fall within the protection scope of this application. Therefore, the protection scope of this application should be determined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A distributed encoder system, characterized by, The system includes: Multiple encoder sensors, wherein the encoder sensors are configured to output encoded sensing signals; Multiple bus encoder modules, one of which is connected to one or more encoder sensors, is configured to receive the encoded sensing signals of the connected encoder sensors, preprocess the encoded sensing signals to obtain encoded sampling signals, and publish the encoded sampling signals to an industrial real-time bus; Multiple processing nodes are connected to multiple bus encoder modules via the industrial real-time bus, and obtain the encoded sampling signals of the encoder sensors from the industrial real-time bus to perform processing operations based on the acquired encoded sampling signals.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein, The distance between the bus encoder module and one or more of the encoder sensors connected to it is less than or equal to a preset distance threshold.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein, Includes any one of the following: First item: The bus encoder module is arranged adjacent to or integrated with one of the one or more encoder sensors connected to it. Second item: The location of the bus encoder module is determined based on the location of one or more encoder sensors connected to the bus encoder module; Third item: The bus encoder module is disposed inside or outside the housing of one of the one or more encoder sensors connected to the bus encoder module.

4. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The bus encoder module is also configured to receive a global clock synchronization signal through the industrial real-time bus and perform time synchronization processing based on the global clock synchronization signal.

5. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The bus encoder module is further configured to receive a data upload command from the processing node via the industrial real-time bus, acquire a target encoding sampling signal from the target encoder sensor corresponding to the data upload command, and send the acquired target encoding sampling signal to the sender of the data upload command.

6. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The bus encoder module is further configured to perform delay compensation processing on the encoded sampling signal to obtain a delayed-compensated encoded sampling signal, and to publish the delayed-compensated encoded sampling signal to the industrial real-time bus.

7. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The processing node is also configured to obtain the encoder sensor's encoded sampling signal from the industrial real-time bus, perform delay compensation processing on the encoded sampling signal to obtain a delayed-compensated encoded sampling signal, and perform processing operations on the delayed-compensated encoded sampling signal.

8. The system of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein, The bus encoder module includes: A data acquisition unit, connected to one or more of the encoder sensors, is used to receive the encoded sensing signals of the connected encoder sensors and preprocess the encoded sensing signals to obtain encoded sampling signals. The protocol processing unit, connected to the data acquisition unit, is used to encapsulate the encoded sampling signal into a data frame and publish the data frame to the industrial real-time bus.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein, The bus encoder module also includes: A clock synchronization unit is used to receive a global clock synchronization signal through the industrial real-time bus and perform time synchronization processing based on the global clock synchronization signal. and / or The diagnostic unit is used to acquire the module status of the bus encoder module and send the module status to the target processing node through the industrial real-time bus.

10. The system of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein, The plurality of processing nodes include one or both of a controller, a driver, and a vision unit.

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