Laser control device, laser and control system

Abstract

The utility model provides a kind of laser control device, laser and control system, wherein, the laser control device includes PROFINET interface circuit and laser control circuit;The first end of interface circuit and the first end of laser control circuit are connected;The second end of interface circuit is used to be connected with ethernet interface;The second end of laser control circuit is used to be connected with the first end of the drive circuit of laser.The interface circuit of the application is directly embedded in laser hardware, i.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of industrial automation control technology, and in particular to a laser control device, a laser, and a control system. Background Technology

[0002] PROFINET is an open standard for industrial Ethernet. With the development of Industry 4.0, PROFINET, as a high-efficiency industrial Ethernet communication protocol, has been widely used in automated control systems to participate in the control and information exchange of various processing equipment in manufacturing scenarios. Among them, lasers, as high-precision processing tools, play an important role in industrial production and processing such as new energy welding, 3D printing, and laser cutting.

[0003] In current laser control systems, lasers need to be connected to the industrial bus through intermediate devices such as gateway conversion modules. These intermediate devices enable interaction between the laser and other devices on the network. As a result, existing laser compatibility is low and bus transmission solutions are costly. Utility Model Content

[0004] Therefore, it is necessary to provide a laser control device, a laser, and a control system to address the aforementioned technical problems, thereby solving the issues of low laser adaptability and high cost of bus transmission schemes in the prior art.

[0005] A laser control device includes: a PROFINET interface circuit and a laser control circuit; a first terminal of the PROFINET interface circuit is connected to a first terminal of the laser control circuit; a second terminal of the PROFINET interface circuit is used to connect to a Type 1 Ethernet interface supporting the PROFINET protocol; and a second terminal of the laser control circuit is used to connect to a first terminal of a laser drive circuit.

[0006] In one embodiment, the PROFINET interface circuit includes a single-chip interface element that integrates a controller, a PROFINET protocol station, a physical layer interface, and an input / output interface;

[0007] The physical layer interface of the single-chip interface element is used to connect to the first type of Ethernet interface; the input / output interface is used to connect to the first end of the laser control circuit.

[0008] In one embodiment, the first terminal of the PROFINET interface circuit and the first terminal of the laser control circuit are connected via a serial peripheral interface bus.

[0009] In one embodiment, the device further includes at least one physical layer module; a second terminal of the laser control circuit is connected to a first terminal of the physical layer module; and the second terminal of the physical layer module is connected to a Type II Ethernet interface supporting the PROFINET protocol.

[0010] In one embodiment, the physical layer interface of the single-chip interface element is multiple.

[0011] In one embodiment, the laser control circuit includes a microcontroller and a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) module; a first terminal of the microcontroller is connected to a first terminal of the PROFINET interface circuit; a second terminal of the microcontroller is connected to a first terminal of the FPGA module; and a second terminal of the FPGA module is connected to a first terminal of the laser drive circuit.

[0012] In one embodiment, the laser control circuit further includes a static memory controller; a first terminal of the static memory controller is connected to a second terminal of the microcontroller; and the second terminal of the static memory controller is connected to a first terminal of the field-programmable gate array module.

[0013] A laser comprising a laser control device as described in any of the above embodiments.

[0014] A PROFINET bus control system includes a main controller, a laser as described in the above embodiments, and a client; a first Ethernet interface of the main controller is connected to a second terminal of the PROFINET interface circuit in the laser; and a second Ethernet interface of the main controller is connected to a first Ethernet interface of the client.

[0015] In one embodiment, the system further includes a PROFINET device and a laser host computer; the first Ethernet interface of the main controller is connected to a physical layer interface of the PROFINET interface circuit; the first end of the PROFINET device is connected to another physical layer interface of the PROFINET interface circuit; and the first end of the laser host computer is connected to the second end of the physical layer module in the laser.

[0016] In summary, this utility model proposes a laser control device, a laser, and a control system. The laser control device includes a PROFINET interface circuit and a laser control circuit. The first terminal of the PROFINET interface circuit is connected to the first terminal of the laser control circuit. The second terminal of the PROFINET interface circuit is used to connect to a Type 1 Ethernet interface supporting the PROFINET protocol. The second terminal of the laser control circuit is used to connect to the first terminal of the laser's drive circuit. This application directly embeds the PROFINET interface circuit into the laser hardware, i.e., the laser control device. The laser control circuit can directly transmit information with the PROFINET interface circuit, connecting the laser control device to the PROFINET bus. This enables direct interaction between the laser containing the laser control device and other devices in the industrial Ethernet network, eliminating the need for protocol conversion gateways or intermediate devices for forwarding. This simplifies device wiring, reduces the cost of the PROFINET bus transmission scheme, and improves the laser's adaptability in industrial Ethernet. Attached Figure Description

[0017] The utility model will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0018] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a laser control device according to an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0019] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of a laser control device according to another exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0020] Figure 3 This is a block diagram of a laser according to an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0021] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of a PROFINET bus control system according to an exemplary embodiment of this application.

[0022] The reference numerals in the accompanying drawings are as follows:

[0023] 1. Laser control device; 2. PROFINET interface circuit; 21. Single-chip interface element; 3. Laser control circuit; 31. Microcontroller; 32. Field-programmable gate array module; 4. Drive circuit; 5. Physical layer module; 6. Laser; 7. Main controller; 8. Client; 9. PROFINET device; 10. Laser host computer. Detailed Implementation

[0024] To make the technical problems solved, technical solutions, and beneficial effects of this utility model clearer, the present utility model will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only for explaining the present utility model and are not intended to limit the present utility model. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of this utility model without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this utility model.

[0025] It should be understood that this invention can be embodied in various forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, providing these embodiments will make the disclosure thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of this invention to those skilled in the art. In the drawings, for clarity, the dimensions of layers and regions, as well as their relative dimensions, may be exaggerated. The same reference numerals denote the same elements throughout.

[0026] It should be understood that although the terms first, second, etc., may be used to describe various elements, modules, and / or ports, these elements, modules, and / or ports should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element, module, or port from another. Therefore, without departing from the teachings of this application, the first end discussed below may be referred to as the second end.

[0027] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the scope of this application. When used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are also intended to include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that the terms “comprising” and / or “including,” when used in this specification, identify the presence of the stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups. When used herein, the term “and / or” includes any and all combinations of the associated listed items.

[0028] In the description of this application, it should be noted that, unless otherwise expressly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," and "linking" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; they can refer to a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; and they can refer to the internal connection between two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this application based on the specific circumstances.

[0029] To fully understand this application, detailed structures and steps will be presented in the following description to illustrate the technical solutions proposed in this application. Preferred embodiments of this application are described in detail below; however, in addition to these detailed descriptions, this application may have other implementation methods.

[0030] Please refer to Figure 1-4 The laser control device 1 provided in this application includes: a PROFINET interface circuit 2 and a laser control circuit 3.

[0031] The first end of the PROFINET interface circuit 2 is connected to the first end of the laser control circuit 3;

[0032] The second end of the PROFINET interface circuit 2 is used to connect to a Class 1 Ethernet interface that supports the PROFINET protocol;

[0033] The second terminal of the laser control circuit 3 is used to connect to the first terminal of the drive circuit 4 of the laser 6.

[0034] For example, the PROFINET interface circuit 2 is a key component for enabling communication between the device and the PROFINET network. PROFINET is an industrial Ethernet protocol used for device-to-device communication in industrial automation.

[0035] The PROFINET interface circuit 2 receives instructions from the PROFINET-based industrial Ethernet, then parses the received instructions and transmits the parsed control information to the laser control circuit 3. The laser control circuit 3 then controls the drive circuit 4 of the laser 6 to perform the operation required by the instructions.

[0036] In one example, the PROFINET interface circuit 2 can be a single-chip interface element 21 that integrates a controller, a PROFINET protocol station, a physical layer interface, and input / output interfaces. For example, it could be any single-chip interface element supporting the PROFINET protocol, such as the Siemens ERTEC 200P-2 or TPS-1. It should be noted that this is merely an example of the single-chip interface element 21 and not a limitation thereof.

[0037] A PROFINET protocol station can integrate a PHY module. The PHY module is responsible for handling physical layer signal transmission, such as converting digital signals into electrical or optical signals suitable for transmission over physical media like cables, and performing signal encoding / decoding, clock synchronization, and other functions. This allows the laser device to achieve physical connection and data transmission with the PROFINET-based Ethernet network using the physical layer module (i.e., the PHY module) and its corresponding physical layer interface (i.e., the PHY interface). This enables the laser control device 1 to directly communicate with other PROFINET devices (PROFINET devices can be understood as devices that follow the PROFINET protocol, are used in industrial automation, and can achieve inter-device communication, control, and collaborative work in an industrial Ethernet environment) or network infrastructure through the physical medium, ensuring the normal operation of the entire PROFINET network.

[0038] The PHY interface can be understood as the interface used to connect the PHY module to other devices or components. It defines the electrical characteristics, mechanical characteristics, and signal transmission specifications, serving as the channel for the PHY module to interact with the outside world. For example, the common RJ45 interface is a type of PHY interface, specifying how a network cable connects to the PHY module and the signal transmission method on the network cable.

[0039] In addition, the single-chip interface element 21 can also integrate other functional elements besides the controller, PROFINET protocol station, physical layer interface and input / output interface as needed, and this application does not impose any restrictions.

[0040] The PHY interface of the single-chip interface element 21 is used to connect to Ethernet interfaces that support the PROFINET protocol in other devices. For ease of description, this application refers to the Ethernet interface connected to the PHY interface of the single-chip interface element as a first-class Ethernet interface. The number of first-class Ethernet interfaces can be one or more, and this application does not limit it.

[0041] In one example, the physical layer interface element 21 has multiple interfaces. This allows the laser 6 to establish communication connections with multiple PROFINET devices 9.

[0042] The laser 6, where the laser control device 1 is located, is connected to the industrial Ethernet via the PHY interface, enabling seamless interaction between the laser 6 and other devices. The input / output interface on the single-chip interface element 21 is connected to the first end of the laser control circuit 3 so that information transmitted from other devices to the laser 6 via the industrial Ethernet can be directly transmitted to the laser control circuit 3.

[0043] For example, multiple processing devices in a certain processing scenario can be added to an industrial Ethernet network based on the PROFINET bus as PROFINET devices, and a master controller (i.e., a Programmable Logic Controller, or PLC for short) 7 that can control these PROFINET devices can be added. The laser 6, as a PROFINET device in the network, can receive parameter configuration instructions sent by the master controller 7 through a single-chip interface element 21 embedded in the hardware. The single-chip interface element 21 parses the parameter configuration instructions, that is, it parses the parameters to be configured and the instruction identifier from the data frame that conforms to the PROFINET protocol specification, and then transmits the parsed information to the laser control circuit 3 through the input / output interface. The laser control circuit 3 responds to the instruction and configures the parameters of the laser 6.

[0044] In addition, the laser control circuit 3 can collect the operating status data of the laser 6 in real time through the drive circuit 4 of the laser 6, and then transmit these data to the single-chip interface element 21. The single-chip interface element 21 transmits these data to the PROFINET bus through the PROFINET protocol, so as to upload them to the main controller 7 through the PROFINET bus.

[0045] In one example, the structure of a data frame transmitted in the PROFINET bus is as follows:

[0046]

[0047] In summary, this utility model proposes a laser control device, a laser, and a control system. The laser control device includes a PROFINET interface circuit and a laser control circuit. The first end of the PROFINET interface circuit is connected to the first end of the laser control circuit. The second end of the PROFINET interface circuit is used to connect to a Type 1 Ethernet interface supporting the PROFINET protocol. The second end of the laser control circuit is used to connect to the first end of the laser's drive circuit. This application directly embeds the PROFINET interface circuit into the laser hardware, i.e., the laser control device. The laser control circuit can directly transmit information with the PROFINET interface circuit, connecting the laser control device to the PROFINET bus. This enables direct interaction between the laser containing the laser control device and other devices in the industrial Ethernet, eliminating the need for protocol conversion gateways or intermediate devices. This simplifies device wiring, reduces the cost of the PROFINET bus transmission scheme, and improves the laser's adaptability in industrial Ethernet. Furthermore, by reducing information relay between devices, the complexity and potential failure points of the PROFINET bus control system are reduced; the communication delay between the laser control device and main controllers such as PLCs is reduced, improving the laser's dynamic response capability and enabling real-time communication.

[0048] In some embodiments, the first end of the PROFINET interface circuit 2 and the first end of the laser control circuit 3 are connected via a serial peripheral interface (SPI) bus.

[0049] For example, the input / output interface (i.e., IO interface) of the single-chip interface element 21 and the IO interface of the microcontroller 31 in the laser control circuit 3 are connected via an SPI bus.

[0050] The microcontroller 31 interacts with the PROFINET interface circuit 2 via the SPI bus, reducing internal wiring. The single-chip interface element and the microcontroller use the SPI high-speed bus for transmission, which significantly improves the communication rate compared to the scheme of using an external module (e.g., using UART transmission).

[0051] In some embodiments, the laser control device 1 further includes at least one physical layer module 5 (e.g., a PHY module). This physical layer module 5 is a hardware module that implements physical layer functions, containing a series of complex circuits and functional units such as signal processing, encoding / decoding, and modulation / demodulation. It is a relatively complete functional entity responsible for converting upper-layer data into signals suitable for transmission over the physical medium and processing the received signals to recover the original data. For example, in Ethernet, the PHY module implements functions such as Manchester encoding and CRC checksum, and also performs electrical connections with the network medium and signal driving. The PHY module can be built based on an Ethernet PHY chip as the core chip, and the specific components included in the PHY module are not limited in this application.

[0052] The second end of the laser control circuit 3 is connected to the first end of the physical layer module 5; the second end of the physical layer module 5 is connected to an Ethernet interface that supports the PROFINET protocol. For ease of distinction, this Ethernet interface is referred to as a second type of Ethernet interface.

[0053] The second end of the physical layer module 5 is a PHY interface, such as an RJ45 interface. The laser host computer can directly connect to the microcontroller in the laser control circuit 3 through this interface so that the laser host computer can directly configure the parameters of the microcontroller.

[0054] In some embodiments, the laser control circuit 3 includes a microcontroller 31 and a field-programmable gate array module 32 (i.e., FPGA).

[0055] The first terminal of the microcontroller 31 is connected to the first terminal of the PROFINET interface circuit 2; the second terminal of the microcontroller 31 is connected to the first terminal of the field programmable gate array module 32; and the second terminal of the field programmable gate array module 32 is connected to the first terminal of the drive circuit 4 of the laser 6.

[0056] In this embodiment, the microcontroller and FPGA work together in the laser control circuit. The microcontroller is responsible for overall logic control and communication tasks, while the FPGA focuses on high-speed signal processing, real-time feedback control, and providing hardware flexibility, together achieving precise control and efficient operation of the laser.

[0057] It should be noted that in this embodiment, the first / second end of each component may correspond to multiple device pins, and is not limited to one. In one example, the driving circuit 4 may include a driver, an optocoupler, a digital-to-analog converter (ADC / DAC), an external control I / O interface and an electrical I / O interface corresponding to the optocoupler, and a data I / O interface corresponding to the ADC. The driver, optocoupler, and ADC are respectively connected to different pins corresponding to the second end of the FPGA.

[0058] In addition, a third terminal can be set on the microcontroller to connect to the SD storage device.

[0059] In some embodiments, the laser control circuit 3 further includes a static memory controller (FSMC); the first terminal of the static memory controller is connected to the second terminal of the microcontroller 31; and the second terminal of the static memory controller is connected to the first terminal of the field programmable gate array module 32.

[0060] Compared to directly connecting the microcontroller and FPGA, in this embodiment, the static memory controller (FSMC) can perform interface adaptation between the microcontroller and FPGA. When the communication protocols and signal standards between the microcontroller and FPGA are different, the FSMC can perform conversion and matching to enable smooth communication between the two. In addition, the FSMC provides a unified interface, enabling the microcontroller to interact with the FPGA as if it were accessing memory, thus achieving high-speed data transmission.

[0061] This application provides a laser 6, which includes the laser control device 1 described in any of the above embodiments.

[0062] The laser 6 can be equipped with multiple physical layer interfaces RJ45, so that each physical layer interface RJ45 of the laser control device 1 can be brought out to the outside of the laser 6 through these physical layer interfaces RJ45, so as to realize the connection between the laser control device 1 and external devices.

[0063] This application provides a PROFINET bus control system, which is an automation control system based on industrial Ethernet technology, used to achieve high-speed, real-time communication and collaborative control between industrial devices. In this embodiment, the system includes a main controller 7, a laser 6 as described in the above embodiments, and a client 8. The client 8 can be a PC used to configure the main controller 7.

[0064] The first Ethernet interface of the main controller 7 is connected to the second end of the PROFINET interface circuit 2 in the laser 6; the second Ethernet interface of the main controller 7 is connected to the first Ethernet interface of the client 8.

[0065] In one embodiment, the second end of the PROFINET interface circuit includes two physical layer interfaces RJ45, and the system also includes a PROFINET device 9 and a laser host computer 10;

[0066] The first Ethernet interface of the main controller 7 is connected to a physical layer interface of the PROFINET interface circuit 2; the first end of the PROFINET device is connected to another physical layer interface of the PROFINET interface circuit 2; and the first end of the laser host computer 10 is connected to the second end of the physical layer module 5 in the laser 6.

[0067] In one example, client 8 is connected to main controller 7. The client configures the generic site description file (GSD) of laser 6 in the main controller, and configures the control parameters (e.g., power setpoint and modulation frequency, etc.) and status feedback parameters (e.g., feedback power, temperature and fault codes, etc.) addresses of laser 6.

[0068] When implementing laser control, the main controller 7 sends commands to the laser 6 via the PROFINET bus, including commands for different application requirements such as power adjustment and frequency adjustment.

[0069] The PROFINET interface circuit 2 of the laser 6 parses the commands and drives the drive circuit 4 to perform the corresponding operations.

[0070] Laser 6 collects real-time operating status data (e.g., feedback power and temperature) and periodically uploads it to the main controller 7 via the PROFINET bus.

[0071] The main controller 7 dynamically adjusts commands based on feedback data to achieve closed-loop control.

[0072] The step of the main controller 7 sending commands to the laser can be achieved through the following process:

[0073] For example, the PLC updates the register address value according to control requirements, which is equivalent to setting the control target or parameters. After the update, the PLC sends instructions to the laser based on the GSD file. These instructions contain specific requirements for the laser's operation, such as the actions the laser should perform and the parameter settings for operation. The laser parses the instructions through the PROFINET interface circuit 2, and then transmits the parsed information to the microcontroller 31 of the laser control circuit 3. The microcontroller 31 drives the relevant devices in the drive circuit to perform corresponding operations, such as performing the "light emission" action. If the execution is successful and the expected effect is achieved, such as successful light emission, a control process from the PLC to the laser is completed.

[0074] In this embodiment, the laser establishes a communication connection with the main controller and other PROFINET devices through the network interface corresponding to the PROFINET interface circuit. This enables flexible networking of the PROFINET bus control system, eliminating the need for an additional relay gateway, improving bus transmission efficiency, and reducing the cost of the bus transmission scheme. Furthermore, the laser communicates with its host computer through a separate network interface, allowing the host computer to debug and configure the laser's parameters. Overall, this improves the laser's adaptability.

[0075] The above-described embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of this application, and are not intended to limit them. Although this application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some of the technical features. Such modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, and should all be included within the protection scope of this application.

Claims

1. A laser control device, characterized in that, The device includes a PROFINET interface circuit and a laser control circuit; The first terminal of the PROFINET interface circuit is connected to the first terminal of the laser control circuit; The second end of the PROFINET interface circuit is used to connect to a Type 1 Ethernet interface that supports the PROFINET protocol. The second terminal of the laser control circuit is used to connect to the first terminal of the laser drive circuit.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The PROFINET interface circuit includes a single-chip interface element that integrates a controller, a PROFINET protocol station, a physical layer interface, and input / output interfaces. The physical layer interface of the single-chip interface element is used to connect to the first type of Ethernet interface; The input / output interface is used to connect to the first end of the laser control circuit.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first end of the PROFINET interface circuit and the first end of the laser control circuit are connected via a serial peripheral interface bus.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The device further includes at least one physical layer module; The second terminal of the laser control circuit is connected to the first terminal of the physical layer module; The second end of the physical layer module is connected to a Type II Ethernet interface that supports the PROFINET protocol.

5. The apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that, The single-chip interface element has multiple physical layer interfaces.

6. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, The laser control circuit includes a microcontroller and a field-programmable gate array module; The first terminal of the microcontroller is connected to the first terminal of the PROFINET interface circuit; The second terminal of the microcontroller is connected to the first terminal of the field-programmable gate array module; The second terminal of the field-programmable gate array module is connected to the first terminal of the laser's driving circuit.

7. The apparatus according to claim 6, characterized in that, The laser control circuit also includes a static storage controller; The first terminal of the static storage controller is connected to the second terminal of the microcontroller; The second terminal of the static storage controller is connected to the first terminal of the field-programmable gate array module.

8. A laser, characterized in that, The laser includes a laser control device as described in any one of claims 1-7.

9. A PROFINET bus control system, characterized in that, The system includes a main controller, the laser as described in claim 8, and a client; The first Ethernet interface of the main controller is connected to the second end of the PROFINET interface circuit in the laser; The second Ethernet interface of the main controller is connected to the first Ethernet interface of the client.

10. The system according to claim 9, characterized in that, The system also includes PROFINET devices and the laser host computer; The first Ethernet interface of the main controller is connected to a physical layer interface of the PROFINET interface circuit. The first end of the PROFINET device is connected to another physical layer interface of the PROFINET interface circuit; The first end of the host computer of the laser is connected to the second end of the physical layer module in the laser.

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