Ethernet-based EtherCAT bus controller and motor equipment

Abstract

The utility model discloses an Ethernet-based EtherCAT bus controller and motor equipment, and relates to the technical field of power electronics, the EtherCAT bus controller comprises a microprocessor, an Ethernet module, an EtherCAT module and a stepping motor module; the microprocessor is respectively connected with the Ethernet module, the EtherCAT module and the stepping motor module, communicates with an upper computer through the Ethernet module, receives an input control instruction, and is also used for analyzing the control instruction and issuing obtained control data to the EtherCAT module or the stepping motor module; the EtherCAT module is further connected with at least one slave station motor, and the EtherCAT module is used for controlling the working state of the slave station motor in response to the control data; the stepping motor module is further connected with at least one stepping motor, and the stepping motor module is used for responding to the control data to control the working state of the stepping motor. The system provided by the utility model has strong compatibility.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of motor control, in particular to an Ethernet-based EtherCAT (Ethernet Control Automation Technology) bus controller and motor equipment. Background Art

[0002] When industrial equipment is running, many motors are generally set up to drive the equipment. For simple equipment structures, stepper motors are generally used to control the working state of the motor through pulse signals. The control of this structure is simple and convenient, but when controlling multiple motors, it is difficult to ensure the synchronous motion control of multiple motors.

[0003] The existing bus-controlled stepper motors can realize synchronous control of multiple motors, but cannot support traditional stepper motors, thus increasing the cost of the equipment.

[0004] In summary, how to make the motor control device have good compatibility has become a problem to be solved urgently in this field. Utility Model Content

[0005] The main purpose of the utility model is to provide an EtherCAT bus controller and motor equipment based on Ethernet, aiming to solve the technical problem of poor compatibility of conventional motor control equipment.

[0006] To achieve the above object, the utility model provides an Ethernet-based EtherCAT bus controller, the Ethernet-based EtherCAT bus controller comprising: a microprocessor, an Ethernet module, an EtherCAT module and a stepper motor module;

[0007] The microprocessor is connected to the Ethernet module, the EtherCAT module and the stepper motor module respectively. The microprocessor communicates with the host computer through the Ethernet module and receives the control instructions input by the host computer. The microprocessor is also used to parse the control instructions and send the control data obtained by the parsing to the EtherCAT module or the stepper motor module.

[0008] The EtherCAT module is also connected to at least one slave motor, and the EtherCAT module is used to control the working state of the slave motor in response to the control data;

[0009] The stepper motor module is also connected to at least one stepper motor, and the stepper motor module is used to control the working state of the stepper motor in response to the control data.

[0010] Optionally, the Ethernet module includes a network interface, a network isolation transformer and an Ethernet controller chip;

[0011] The microprocessor is connected to the Ethernet controller chip;

[0012] The Ethernet controller chip is connected to the network interface through the network isolation transformer;

[0013] The network interface is connected to the Ethernet.

[0014] Optionally, the microprocessor includes an EtherCAT master station, and the EtherCAT module includes: at least one EtherCAT slave station;

[0015] The EtherCAT master runs in the microprocessor;

[0016] The microprocessor is connected to the EtherCAT slave stations, and each of the EtherCAT slave stations is connected to a slave motor.

[0017] Optionally, the EtherCAT module further comprises: a physical layer chip and an external network isolation transformer;

[0018] The physical layer chip is connected to the microprocessor and the EtherCAT slave station respectively;

[0019] The external network isolation transformer is connected to the network interface and the physical layer chip respectively.

[0020] Optionally, the stepper motor module comprises: an FPGA unit;

[0021] The FPGA unit is connected to the microprocessor and connected to at least one stepper motor;

[0022] The FPGA unit is used for bus communication with the microprocessor.

[0023] Optionally, the FPGA unit is also used to control lower-level hardware devices through a connected isolation amplifier circuit.

[0024] Optionally, the Ethernet-based EtherCAT bus controller further includes: a serial port;

[0025] The serial port is connected to the microprocessor, and the serial port is used to provide communication between the connected host computer and the microprocessor.

[0026] Optionally, the Ethernet-based EtherCAT bus controller further includes: a CAN module;

[0027] The CAN module is connected to the microprocessor, and the CAN module is used to connect to external devices.

[0028] In addition, to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the utility model also provides a motor device, including the Ethernet-based EtherCAT bus controller as described above.

[0029] Optionally, the motor device further includes at least one of the slave motors and / or at least one of the stepping motors.

[0030] In the technical solution of the utility model, an Ethernet-based EtherCAT bus controller connected between the thermistor and the controller is designed. The Ethernet-based EtherCAT bus controller can complete the control setting based on Ethernet by setting a microprocessor, an EtherCAT module and a stepper motor module, and can simultaneously support motors connected to the EtherCAT bus and traditional stepper motors based on pulse control. On the premise of ensuring the synchronous operation of multiple motors, it can support traditional stepper motors, thereby having strong compatibility. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0031] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the utility model or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the utility model. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on the structures shown in these drawings without paying creative work.

[0032] Figure 1 This is a module schematic diagram of the Ethernet-based EtherCAT bus controller of the utility model;

[0033] Figure 2 It is an overall schematic diagram of the Ethernet-based EtherCAT bus controller of the utility model.

[0034] Description of Figure Numbers:

[0035] Label name Label name 10 microprocessor 20 Ethernet Module 30 EtherCAT Module 40 Stepper Motor Module 201 Network Interface 202 Network isolation transformer 203 Ethernet controller chip 301 Physical layer chip 302 External network isolation transformer 401 FPGA Unit 50 Serial Port 60 CAN Module

[0036] The realization of the purpose, functional features and advantages of the present invention will be further described in conjunction with the embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the utility model to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the utility model. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the utility model, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the utility model, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the utility model.

[0038] It should be noted that if the embodiments of the present invention involve directional indications (such as up, down, left, right, front, back...), the directional indications are only used to explain the relative position relationship, movement status, etc. between the components under a certain specific posture (as shown in the accompanying drawings). If the specific posture changes, the directional indication will also change accordingly.

[0039] In addition, if there are descriptions involving "first", "second", etc. in the embodiments of the utility model, the descriptions of "first", "second", etc. are only used for descriptive purposes and cannot be understood as indicating or suggesting their relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Therefore, the features defined as "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of the features. In addition, the technical solutions between the various embodiments can be combined with each other, but they must be based on the ability of ordinary technicians in the field to implement them. When the combination of technical solutions is contradictory or cannot be implemented, it should be deemed that such a combination of technical solutions does not exist and is not within the scope of protection required by the utility model.

[0040] Reference Figure 1 As shown, Figure 1 The utility model provides a module schematic diagram of an Ethernet-based EtherCAT bus controller 10, wherein the Ethernet-based EtherCAT bus controller includes: a microprocessor 10, an Ethernet module 20, an EtherCAT module 30 and a stepper motor module 40;

[0041] The microprocessor 10 is connected to the Ethernet module 20, the EtherCAT module 30 and the stepper motor module 40 respectively. The microprocessor 10 communicates with the host computer through the Ethernet module 20 and receives the control instructions input by the host computer. The microprocessor 10 is also used to parse the control instructions and send the parsed control data to the EtherCAT module 30 or the stepper motor module 40;

[0042] The EtherCAT module 30 is also connected to at least one slave motor, and the EtherCAT module 30 is used to control the working state of the slave motor in response to the control data;

[0043] The stepper motor module 40 is also connected to at least one stepper motor, and the stepper motor module 40 is used to control the working state of the stepper motor in response to the control data.

[0044] It should be noted that, in this embodiment, the microprocessor 10 is preferably an ARM (Advanced RISC Machines, RISC microprocessor 10).

[0045] In this embodiment, when the controller is running, ARM acts as the main CPU (Central Processing Unit) to accept control instructions sent from Ethernet or serial port 50, then parses the control instructions, runs the motion planning algorithm, and controls the bus motor through EtherCAT; or sends the planning data to the stepper motor module 40 through the parallel bus to control the action of the stepper motor; ARM sends the data to the host computer or HMI (Human Machine Interface) through Ethernet or serial port 50.

[0046] Further, in a feasible embodiment, the Ethernet module 20 includes a network interface 201, a network isolation transformer 202 and an Ethernet controller chip 203;

[0047] The microprocessor 10 is connected to the Ethernet controller chip 203;

[0048] The Ethernet controller chip 203 is connected to the network interface 201 via the network isolation transformer 202;

[0049] The network interface 201 is connected to the Ethernet.

[0050] In this embodiment, please refer to Figure 2 ARM is the core of the whole system and the main CPU of the controller. ARM performs motion planning. If the control instruction is for the EtherCAT slave, the data is transmitted to the slave through the EtherCAT network port to control the speed and position of the slave motor. If the control instruction is for the stepper motor, the pulse signal is sent to the stepper motor through the FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array). Ethernet is connected to ARM and communicates with the PC (personal computer) or HMI through Ethernet. Ethernet first passes through the RJ45 interface, then through the network isolation transformer 202 (M3380) interface, and is connected to the W5500 network chip 203. After chip decoding, the data is connected to ARM.

[0051] Further, in a feasible embodiment, the microprocessor 10 includes an EtherCAT master station, and the EtherCAT module 30 includes: at least one EtherCAT slave station;

[0052] The EtherCAT master runs in the microprocessor 10;

[0053] The microprocessor 10 is connected to the EtherCAT slave stations, and each of the EtherCAT slave stations is connected to a slave motor. The EtherCAT module 30 also includes: a physical layer chip 301 and an external network isolation transformer 302;

[0054] The physical layer chip 301 is connected to the microprocessor 10 and the EtherCAT slave station respectively;

[0055] The external network isolation transformer 302 is connected to the network interface 201 and the physical layer chip 301 respectively.

[0056] In this embodiment, the EtherCAT master station runs in the ARM, and the ARM communicates with the slave station through the PHY (physical layer chip 301) to exchange data. ARM communicates with the PHY (IP101GR) through the RMII interface, and the PHY is connected to the RJ45 through the M3380L (model of the external network isolation transformer). M3380L is the external network isolation transformer 302. Improve the anti-interference effect of the controller and make the EtherCAT bus communication more stable. (RMII (Reduced Media Independent Interface) simplifies the media independent interface and is another implementation in the IEEE 802.3u standard in addition to the MII interface).

[0057] Further, in a feasible embodiment, the stepper motor module 40 includes: an FPGA unit 401;

[0058] The FPGA unit 401 is connected to the microprocessor 10 and is connected to at least one stepping motor;

[0059] The FPGA unit 401 is used for bus communication with the microprocessor 10 .

[0060] Furthermore, the FPGA unit 401 is also used to control lower-level hardware devices through the connected isolation amplifier circuit.

[0061] In this embodiment, ARM and FPGA use a 16-bit parallel FSMC bus for communication. It is used to write planning data to FPGA, operate input and output signals, etc. The FSMC bus is a 16-bit parallel bus interface, including a 16-bit data bus and a 24-bit address bus, supporting data bus and address bus multiplexing. FSMC_D0 to FSMC_D15 are data buses and are also multiplexed as low 16-bit address buses. FSMC_A15 to FSMC_A23 are the high 8 bits of the address bus. FPGA has high real-time performance. The PWM wave of the frequency planned by ARM is sent to the stepper motor through FPGA to control the position and speed of the stepper motor. The FPGA pin output is a 3.3V single-ended signal, which needs to be converted to a differential signal output by a differential chip to control the stepper motor. The FPGA pin is output to AM26LS31, which is converted to a 5V differential pair signal by AM26LS31 and output to the stepper motor. Improve anti-interference performance. The input is photoelectrically isolated. After level conversion, the 24V signal is converted into a 3.3V signal that the FPGA pin can accept and input to the FPGA pin. The FPGA collects the corresponding signal and ARM reads it through the parallel bus. After the FPGA pin is isolated and amplified, the 3.3V signal of the FPGA pin is converted into a 24V signal output to operate the solenoid valve, cylinder and other actuators.

[0062] Further, in a feasible embodiment, the Ethernet-based EtherCAT bus controller further includes: a serial port 50;

[0063] The serial port 50 is connected to the microprocessor 10 , and is used to provide communication between the connected host computer and the microprocessor 10 .

[0064] In this embodiment, the serial port 50 can be used to connect to a host computer so that the user can perform control operations.

[0065] Further, in a feasible embodiment, the Ethernet-based EtherCAT bus controller further includes: a CAN module 60;

[0066] The CAN module 60 is connected to the microprocessor 10 , and the CAN module 60 is used to connect to external devices.

[0067] In this embodiment, CAN is used for expansion modules. When the controller peripheral IO is insufficient or analog functions are required, the corresponding peripherals can be expanded through CAN. After the serial port 50 comes out from the ARM pin, it is isolated by the serial port 50 isolation chip UN3088 and then connected to the peripheral. After CAN is led out from ARM, it passes through the XL1050 isolation chip and is connected to the peripheral.

[0068] The utility model also provides a motor device, the motor device includes an Ethernet-based EtherCAT bus controller, the structure of the Ethernet-based EtherCAT bus controller can refer to the above embodiment, and will not be repeated here. As a matter of course, since the motor device of this embodiment adopts the technical solution of the Ethernet-based EtherCAT bus controller, the motor device has all the beneficial effects of the Ethernet-based EtherCAT bus controller.

[0069] In a feasible embodiment, the motor device further includes at least one slave motor and / or at least one stepper motor, and the motor is connected to an Ethernet-based EtherCAT bus controller and responds to control of the Ethernet-based EtherCAT bus controller.

[0070] It should be noted that, in this article, the terms "include", "comprises" or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or system including a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or system. In the absence of further restrictions, an element defined by the sentence "comprises a ..." does not exclude the existence of other identical elements in the process, method, article or system including the element.

[0071] The serial numbers of the above-mentioned embodiments of the present invention are only for description and do not represent the advantages or disadvantages of the embodiments.

[0072] Through the description of the above implementation methods, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the above-mentioned embodiment methods can be implemented by means of software plus a necessary general hardware platform, and of course by hardware, but in many cases the former is a better implementation method. Based on such an understanding, the technical solution of the utility model in essence or the part that contributes to the prior art can be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium (such as ROM / RAM, magnetic disk, optical disk) as described above, including a number of instructions for a terminal device (which can be a mobile phone, a computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute the methods described in each embodiment of the utility model.

[0073] The above are only preferred embodiments of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the patent scope of the present invention. Any equivalent structure or equivalent process transformation made using the contents of the specification and drawings of the present invention, or directly or indirectly applied in other related technical fields, are also included in the patent protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An Ethernet-based EtherCAT bus controller, characterized in that: The Ethernet-based EtherCAT bus controller includes: a microprocessor, an Ethernet module, an EtherCAT module and a stepper motor module; The microprocessor is connected to the Ethernet module, the EtherCAT module and the stepper motor module respectively. The microprocessor communicates with the host computer through the Ethernet module and receives the control instructions input by the host computer. The microprocessor is also used to parse the control instructions and send the control data obtained by the parsing to the EtherCAT module or the stepper motor module. The EtherCAT module is also connected to at least one slave motor, and the EtherCAT module is used to control the working state of the slave motor in response to the control data; The stepper motor module is also connected to at least one stepper motor, and the stepper motor module is used to control the working state of the stepper motor in response to the control data.

2. The Ethernet-based EtherCAT bus controller according to claim 1, characterized in that: The Ethernet module includes a network interface, a network isolation transformer and an Ethernet controller chip; The microprocessor is connected to the Ethernet controller chip; The Ethernet controller chip is connected to the network interface through the network isolation transformer; The network interface is connected to the Ethernet.

3. The Ethernet-based EtherCAT bus controller according to claim 2, characterized in that: The microprocessor includes an EtherCAT master station, and the EtherCAT module includes: at least one EtherCAT slave station; The EtherCAT master runs in the microprocessor; The microprocessor is connected to the EtherCAT slave stations, and each of the EtherCAT slave stations is connected to a slave motor.

4. The Ethernet-based EtherCAT bus controller according to claim 3, characterized in that: The EtherCAT module also includes: a physical layer chip and an external network isolation transformer; The physical layer chip is connected to the microprocessor and the EtherCAT slave station respectively; The external network isolation transformer is connected to the network interface and the physical layer chip respectively.

5. The Ethernet-based EtherCAT bus controller according to claim 3, characterized in that: The stepper motor module comprises: an FPGA unit; The FPGA unit is connected to the microprocessor and connected to at least one stepper motor; The FPGA unit is used for bus communication with the microprocessor.

6. The Ethernet-based EtherCAT bus controller according to claim 5, characterized in that: The FPGA unit is also used to control lower-level hardware devices through the connected isolation amplifier circuit.

7. The Ethernet-based EtherCAT bus controller according to claim 1, characterized in that: The Ethernet-based EtherCAT bus controller also includes: a serial port; The serial port is connected to the microprocessor, and the serial port is used to provide communication between the connected host computer and the microprocessor.

8. The Ethernet-based EtherCAT bus controller according to claim 1, characterized in that: The Ethernet-based EtherCAT bus controller also includes: a CAN module; The CAN module is connected to the microprocessor, and the CAN module is used to connect to external devices.

9. A motor device, characterized in that: The motor device comprises an Ethernet-based EtherCAT bus controller as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. The motor device according to claim 9, characterized in that The motor device further comprises at least one of the slave motors and / or at least one of the stepping motors.

Images