A compact industrial vision edge controller device with multimodal interface and scalable computing power

Abstract

This utility model discloses a compact industrial vision edge controller device with a multimodal interface and scalable computing power. The lower frame serves as the base of the device, on which a control motherboard is placed. A detachable first computing power expansion card, a second computing power expansion card, and a storage expansion card are mounted on one side of the control motherboard. An upper frame is located above the control motherboard, and a heat dissipation guiding component is provided between the upper frame and the control motherboard. The heat dissipation guiding component is fixed to the upper frame with countersunk screws and is in contact with high-heat components on the control motherboard. This utility model, through a highly integrated interface design, covers gigabit Ethernet ports, USB 3.0, GMSL2, HDMI, industrial bus (RS232 / RS485 / CAN), and isolated DI / DO interfaces, allowing direct connection to various industrial equipment. Computing power can be configured on demand by connecting to the computing power expansion cards via BTB connectors. The single motherboard integration and BTB connector design reduce the size, and the heat dissipation guiding component and upper frame fins optimize heat dissipation.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of edge controller technology, specifically a compact industrial vision edge controller device with multimodal interface and scalable computing power. Background Technology

[0002] With the advancement of Industry 4.0 and intelligent manufacturing, industrial vision edge controllers, as core equipment for production line intelligence, need to process multimodal sensor data (such as industrial cameras, infrared cameras, LiDAR, etc.) in real time in harsh industrial environments and run complex AI algorithms. However, existing products have three major shortcomings:

[0003] 1. Fixed and Insufficient Interface Configuration: To control cost and size, most controllers have a very limited number and variety of external interfaces. Providing only two Gigabit Ethernet ports and one or two USB ports is insufficient for complex scenarios. For example, high-precision defect detection requires simultaneous access to four GigE Vision cameras, one GMSL2 vehicle camera, and industrial bus devices. Existing products require additional switches and interface converters, increasing integration complexity and cost, introducing signal delay and failure risks, and reducing system reliability.

[0004] 2. Lack of flexibility in computing power configuration: Computing power is mostly fixed in design. For example, a high-end product has a computing power of 275 TOPS, which leads to wasted computing power and inflated costs when used for simple code reading tasks. Mid-to-low-end products only have a computing power of 6-21 TOPS, which cannot handle real-time AI inference of multiple high-resolution video streams. When the complexity of the algorithm model in the application scenario increases or the processing tasks increase and upgrades are needed, the only option is to replace the entire device, which is costly and cumbersome. Although some products support PCIe expansion AI accelerator cards, they face new structural problems.

[0005] 3. The Conflict Between Structure and Performance: To address the issues of insufficient interfaces and computing power expansion, some designs employ a baseboard plus a core board, with external computing power expansion cards (such as GPU cards or dedicated AI accelerator cards) and I / O expansion cards connected via standard PCIe slots. Alternatively, other devices with corresponding functions can be externally connected. While this approach theoretically achieves modularization of computing power and interfaces, it faces significant challenges in compact edge environments. First, standard PCIe slots and expansion cards themselves occupy a large amount of physical space, making it difficult to miniaturize the entire system. Second, the connection between the device's motherboard and the PCIe expansion card typically requires multiple physical contact points, such as slots and gold fingers. For high-speed signal transmission (such as PCIe 3.0 / 4.0), this introduces significant signal attenuation, impedance mismatch, and timing delays, especially in industrial environments with electromagnetic interference, making it difficult to guarantee communication stability. This non-direct connection "splicing" method is actually difficult to meet the high-speed and high-bandwidth data interaction requirements between the SoC and the AI ​​computing power expansion module, which limits the effective use of the expanded computing power, increases structural complexity, and reduces performance stability. Utility Model Content

[0006] The purpose of this invention is to overcome or at least partially solve the above problems by proposing a compact industrial vision edge controller device with a multimodal interface and scalable computing power.

[0007] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention adopts the following technical solution: a compact industrial vision edge controller device with multimodal interface and scalable computing power, comprising a lower frame, a control motherboard, a first computing power expansion card, a second computing power expansion card, a heat dissipation guiding component, a left frame, a right frame, an upper frame, a front frame, and a rear frame;

[0008] The lower frame serves as the base of the device, on which the control motherboard is placed. A detachable first computing power expansion card, a second computing power expansion card, and a storage expansion card are installed on one side of the control motherboard. An upper frame is provided above the control motherboard. A heat dissipation guiding component is provided between the upper frame and the control motherboard. The heat dissipation guiding component is fixed to the upper frame by countersunk screws and is in contact with the high-heat components on the control motherboard. The left and right sides of the lower frame and the upper frame are connected and fixed by the left and right side frames, respectively, and the front and rear sides are closed by the front and rear frames, respectively.

[0009] Each structure is assembled into a whole through a detachable connection method, realizing multimodal interface integration and flexible expansion of computing power.

[0010] In a preferred embodiment, the control motherboard is equipped with a SoC chip, which has built-in basic AI computing power. The control motherboard is also equipped with a first BTB connector female and a second BTB connector female. The first computing power expansion card is equipped with a first BTB connector male that interfaces with the first BTB connector female via a PCIe bus. The second computing power expansion card is equipped with a second BTB connector male that interfaces with the second BTB connector female via a PCIe bus. The first computing power expansion card is also equipped with a first computing power chip, and the second computing power expansion card is equipped with a second computing power chip. This allows users to choose not to insert, insert one or two computing power expansion cards to achieve on-demand configuration of computing power.

[0011] In a preferred embodiment, the control motherboard integrates a multi-mode interface, including three USB 3.0 ports, four Gigabit Ethernet ports, four GMS L2 ports, two USB 3.0 Type-C / OTG ports, two HDMI ports, one isolated RS232 port, one isolated RS485 port, one isolated CAN bus port, three isolated DI ports, and two isolated DO ports. The lower frame has an opening on the front side for leading out the multi-mode interface of the control motherboard, and the lower frame has comb-shaped heat dissipation fins to increase the heat dissipation area.

[0012] In a preferred embodiment, the control motherboard is provided with an M.2 connector, and the storage expansion card is connected to the SoC chip via a SATA bus; the control motherboard is also provided with memory chips, program memory, a 24V DC power interface, a reset button and indicator lights, the memory chips and program memory are both connected to the SoC chip, the reset button communicates with the SoC chip via a reset circuit, and the indicator lights are driven by the SoC chip via an indicator light circuit.

[0013] In a preferred embodiment, the upper frame is provided with heat dissipation fins, and the surfaces of the first computing chip, the second computing chip, the SoC chip and the storage expansion card are all covered with thermally conductive silicone pads, which are attached to the heat dissipation guiding components or the upper frame.

[0014] In a preferred embodiment, the front frame is provided with a circular opening for exposing the reset button, as well as a grounding screw hole and multiple screw holes, which are respectively fixed to the upper frame, the lower frame and the whole machine; the rear frame is provided with multiple screw holes for fixing to the upper frame, the lower frame and the device; the left and right frames are provided with a locking structure adapted to the lower frame and the upper frame.

[0015] In a preferred embodiment, the control motherboard is equipped with an interface isolation circuit. The RS232 interface, RS485 interface, CAN interface, DI interface, and DO interface are all connected to the SoC chip through the interface isolation circuit. The control motherboard is also equipped with a MIPI to GMSL interface circuit, a USB 3.0 HUB circuit, and a PCIe to Gigabit Ethernet interface circuit. The GMSL2 interface signal is sent to the SoC chip through the MIPI to GMSL interface circuit. The USB 3.0 HUB circuit expands one USB 3.0 Host interface of the SoC chip into three USB 3.0 interfaces. The PCIe to Gigabit Ethernet interface circuit realizes the expansion of the Gigabit Ethernet port.

[0016] Compared with existing technologies, this utility model provides a compact industrial vision edge controller device with multimodal interfaces and scalable computing power. Through a highly integrated interface design, it covers gigabit Ethernet ports, USB 3.0, GMSL2, HDMI, industrial bus (RS232 / RS485 / CAN) and isolated DI / DO interfaces, which can be directly connected to various devices such as industrial cameras, vehicle cameras, LiDAR, and PLCs without the need for additional external expansion components such as switches and interface converters.

[0017] This utility model controller has a built-in SoC chip with AI processing capabilities, providing basic computing power to meet the needs of low to medium load applications. At the same time, by reserving two high-speed expansion interfaces on the SoC main system board, it supports flexible insertion and removal of 0-2 computing power expansion cards. Users can initially select the basic configuration as needed. When upgrading business in the future, there is no need to replace the entire controller. Only additional computing power expansion cards need to be purchased to improve performance, thus solving the contradiction of "computing power redundancy" or "computing power insufficiency" in traditional controllers.

[0018] This invention adopts a single motherboard integrated design, replacing the traditional bulky PCIe slot with a miniaturized BTB connector, making the stacking thickness of the core computing unit (SoC + 2 computing power expansion cards) extremely small; achieving a highly compact overall design. The compact structure can be adapted to the narrow installation space at the edge of industrial production lines, equipment cabinets, etc., breaking through the limitation of traditional expansion controllers being difficult to deploy due to their large size. At the same time, the integrated design mode reduces the number of internal connection cables and connectors, reduces the connector size, reduces the risk of failure due to loose connections or signal interference, and improves the overall stability and reliability. Attached Figure Description

[0019] Figure 1 This is an exploded perspective view of the present invention;

[0020] Figure 2 This is an exploded perspective view of the present invention.

[0021] Figure 3 This is a circuit block diagram of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the multimodal interface distribution of this utility model;

[0023] Figure 5 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the rendering and coloring of this utility model;

[0024] In the diagram: 1. Bottom frame; 2. Control motherboard; 21. SoC chip; 22. Storage expansion card; 23. First BTB connector female; 24. Second BTB connector female; 3. First computing power expansion card; 31. First BTB connector male; 32. First computing power chip; 4. Second computing power expansion card; 41. Second BTB connector male; 42. Second computing power chip; 5. Heat dissipation guide component; 6. Left frame; 7. Right frame; 8. Top frame; 9. Front frame; 10. Rear frame. Detailed Implementation

[0025] The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0026] This specific embodiment is merely an explanation of the present utility model and is not intended to limit the present utility model. After reading this description, those skilled in the art can make creative modifications to this embodiment as needed, but as long as they are within the scope of the claims of the present utility model, they are protected by patent law.

[0027] This utility model discloses a compact industrial vision edge controller device with a multimodal interface and scalable computing power, which solves the technical problems in the prior art. The overall concept is as follows:

[0028] Example 1:

[0029] Please see Figures 1-5 A compact industrial vision edge controller device with multimodal interface and scalable computing power includes a lower frame 1, a control motherboard 2, a first computing power expansion card 3, a second computing power expansion card 4, a heat dissipation guiding component 5, a left frame 6, a right frame 7, an upper frame 8, a front frame 9, and a rear frame 10.

[0030] The lower frame 1 serves as the base component, with comb-shaped heat dissipation teeth on the upper surface to increase the heat dissipation area; the front opening corresponds to the position of the multi-mode interface of the control motherboard 2 for interface lead-out; two screw holes are provided on each side, two screw holes are provided on the rear side, and four screw holes are provided on the bottom side for device fixing; the material is made of high thermal conductivity aluminum alloy, which helps heat dissipation while ensuring structural strength.

[0031] The control motherboard 2 is the core of the circuit, and its SoC chip 21 has built-in basic AI computing power, which is the core of data processing and system control. The first BTB connector female 23 and the second BTB connector female 24 respectively interface with the male connectors of the first and second computing power expansion cards, realizing high-speed data transmission through the PCIe bus and supporting computing power expansion. The M.2 connector allows the storage expansion card 22 to be connected through the SATA bus for storing business data. The memory chip and program memory provide the system with running memory and program storage space, respectively. The 24V DC power interface is converted into the power required by the power circuit for the various components on the board. The reset button realizes the device reset through the reset circuit. The indicator lights are driven by the SoC chip 21 to indicate operating information such as PWR power, RUN operation, STA1 / STA2 status, etc.

[0032] In terms of interface circuitry, the MIPI to GMSL interface circuit converts four GMSL2 camera signals into MIPI CSI signals and sends them to the SoC; the USB 3.0 HUB circuit expands the SoC's one USB 3.0 Host interface into three USB 3.0 interfaces, supporting the USB 3 Vision standard; of the four Gigabit Ethernet ports, GE0 / GE1 are directly brought out by the SoC, while GE2 / GE3 are expanded via a PCIe to Gigabit Ethernet port circuit, all supporting the GigE Vision standard; two USB 3.0 Type-C / OTG interfaces and two HDMI interfaces are directly brought out by the SoC, used for data interaction and video display respectively; the thermistor interface is connected to the SoC through a temperature sampling circuit for ambient temperature monitoring; the RS232 / RS485 / CAN / DI / DO interfaces are connected to the SoC via an interface isolation circuit to achieve high-voltage isolation, improving safety and reliability in industrial environments.

[0033] The first computing power expansion card 3 and the second computing power expansion card 4 are both independent single boards. The first BTB connector male socket 31 of the first computing power expansion card 3 is connected to the first BTB connector female socket 23 of the control motherboard 2, and the second BTB connector male socket 41 of the second computing power expansion card 4 is connected to the second BTB connector female socket 24. The first computing power chip 32 and the second computing power chip 42 provide AI computing power for the expansion cards respectively, and work together with the SoC chip 21 through the PCIe bus to meet the high-load AI inference requirements. The expansion cards adopt a modular design, and disassembly and assembly only require plugging and unplugging connectors and tightening / removing screws, making operation convenient.

[0034] The storage expansion card 22 is connected to the control motherboard 2 via an M.2 connector and communicates with the SoC chip 21 via a SATA bus. It is used to store system programs, algorithm models, business data, etc., and supports flexible selection of different capacities to meet various storage needs.

[0035] The heat dissipation guiding component 5 adopts a high thermal conductivity structural component and is fixed to the upper frame 8 by three countersunk screws. The lower surface is in close contact with the thermally conductive silicone pads on the surfaces of the SoC chip 21, the first computing chip 32, the second computing chip 42, and the storage expansion card 22 on the control motherboard 2, so as to quickly conduct the heat generated by the high-heat components to the upper frame 8, and then dissipate it through the heat dissipation fins of the upper frame 8. The unique shape design is adapted to the position distribution of each high-heat component to ensure efficient and smooth heat dissipation path.

[0036] The left frame 6 and the right frame 7 are symmetrical structures used to connect the lower frame 1 and the upper frame 8. They are fixed by locking and screws to enhance the overall structural stability of the device.

[0037] The upper frame 8 is the top component of the device. The lower surface has a groove that fits into the left frame 6 and the right frame 7. There are 6 screw holes on both sides to fix it to the front frame 9 and the rear frame 10. The upper surface is equipped with dense heat dissipation fins, which greatly increases the heat dissipation area and quickly dissipates the heat conducted by the heat dissipation guiding component 5. Together with the heat dissipation guiding component 5, it forms an efficient heat dissipation system to ensure that the core components work at a suitable temperature.

[0038] The front frame 9 encloses the front side of the device, with a circular opening to expose the reset button of the control motherboard 2, and a grounding screw hole for grounding the device. It also has multiple screw holes to fix the device to the upper frame 8, the lower frame 1, and the whole machine. The rear frame 10 encloses the rear side of the device, with screw holes to fix the device to the upper frame 8, the lower frame 1, and the device, while also providing a flow channel for heat dissipation airflow.

[0039] Its detailed connection methods are well-known technologies in this field. The following mainly introduces the working principle and process, and the specific work is as follows:

[0040] In use, the multimodal sensor is connected through the corresponding interface of the control motherboard 2. The data is converted by the interface circuit and sent to the SoC chip 21. The SoC chip 21 uses its built-in basic computing power to complete basic data preprocessing. If higher computing power is required, the data is distributed to the first computing chip 32 and the second computing chip 42 through the PCIe bus for parallel AI inference. After the processing results are integrated by the SoC, the control commands are output to the actuator through the industrial bus (RS232 / RS485 / CAN) or digital DO interface, or the video is displayed through the HDMI interface, realizing the complete process of "data acquisition-processing-decision-control".

[0041] The heat generated by the SoC chip 21, the first computing chip 32, the second computing chip 42, and the storage expansion card 22 during operation is transferred to the heat dissipation guide component 5 through the thermal conductive silicone pad on the surface. The heat dissipation guide component 5 evenly conducts the heat to the upper frame 8. The heat dissipation fins of the upper frame 8 come into contact with the air and dissipate the heat through natural convection and thermal radiation. The comb-shaped heat dissipation teeth of the lower frame 1 help dissipate and control the heat on the back of the motherboard 2, forming an all-round heat dissipation system to prevent the components from degrading or malfunctioning due to overheating.

[0042] The controller integrates a SoC chip with AI processing capabilities, providing basic computing power for low- to medium-load applications. Simultaneously, two high-speed expansion interfaces are reserved on the SoC main system board, allowing for the connection of up to two modular computing power expansion cards. When computing power expansion is needed, users can choose not to insert, insert one, or insert two computing power expansion cards, depending on application requirements, thus achieving "on-demand configuration" of computing power. This design allows users to purchase a basic controller at a low initial cost, and only need to purchase additional computing power expansion cards to upgrade performance in the future, effectively protecting the initial investment.

[0043] The assembly steps of this utility model are as follows:

[0044] S1. Attach a thermal pad to the back of the control motherboard 2, then place the control motherboard 2 in the lower frame 1 and align the external interfaces.

[0045] S2. Align and insert the first BTB connector male socket 31 of the first computing power expansion card 3 with the first BTB connector female socket 23 of the control motherboard 2, and tighten the screws on the first computing power expansion card 3; install the second computing power expansion card 4 in the same way.

[0046] S3. Align and insert the storage expansion card 22 with the M.2 connector on the control motherboard 2, and tighten the screws on the storage expansion card 22.

[0047] S4. Apply thermally conductive silicone pads of appropriate thickness to the first computing power chip 32 on the first computing power expansion card 3, the second computing power chip 42 on the second computing power expansion card 4, the SoC chip 21 on the control motherboard 2, and the storage expansion card 22 on the control motherboard 2.

[0048] S5. Place the left frame 6 and the right frame 7 on the corresponding positions to the left and right of the lower frame 1, respectively;

[0049] S6. Fix the heat dissipation guide component 5 to the upper frame 8 with 3 countersunk screws, and then place the upper frame 8 on the control motherboard 2 with thermal conductive silicone pads attached.

[0050] S7. Place the front frame 9 and the rear frame 10 on the front and rear sides of the device respectively, and then tighten them with screws onto the corresponding screw holes of the upper frame 8 and the lower frame 1. The device is now installed.

[0051] The above description of the embodiments is provided to facilitate understanding and use of the present invention by those skilled in the art. It is obvious to those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made to the embodiments, and the general principles described herein can be applied to other embodiments without creative effort. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. Any improvements and modifications made by those skilled in the art based on the disclosure of the present invention without departing from the scope of the present invention should be within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A compact industrial vision edge controller device with multi-modal interface and scalable compute, characterized by: It comprises a lower frame (1), a control mainboard (2), a first computing power expansion card (3), a second computing power expansion card (4), a heat dissipation guide assembly (5), a left side frame (6), a right side frame (7), an upper frame (8), a front frame (9), and a rear frame (10). The lower frame (1) serves as the base of the device, and the control mainboard (2) is placed thereon. The control mainboard (2) is provided with a detachable first computing power expansion card (3), a second computing power expansion card (4), and a storage expansion card (22) on one side. An upper frame (8) is arranged above the control mainboard (2). A heat dissipation guide assembly (5) is arranged between the upper frame (8) and the control mainboard (2). The heat dissipation guide assembly (5) is fixed to the upper frame (8) by means of a countersunk screw and is in contact with the high-heat elements on the control mainboard (2). The left and right sides of the lower frame (1) and the upper frame (8) are connected and fixed by the left side frame (6) and the right side frame (7), respectively. The front side and the rear side are closed by the front frame (9) and the rear frame (10), respectively. Each structure is assembled into a whole through a detachable connection mode, realizing multi-modal interface integration and computing power expansion.

2. The compact industrial vision edge controller device with multi-modal interface and scalable computational power of claim 1, wherein: The control mainboard (2) is provided with a SoC chip (21) having built-in basic AI computing power. The control mainboard (2) is also provided with a first BTB connector female seat (23) and a second BTB connector female seat (24). The first computing power expansion card (3) is provided with a first BTB connector male seat (31) that is connected to the first BTB connector female seat (23) through a PCIe bus. The second computing power expansion card (4) is provided with a second BTB connector male seat (41) that is connected to the second BTB connector female seat (24) through a PCIe bus. The first computing power expansion card (3) is also provided with a first computing power chip (32). The second computing power expansion card (4) is provided with a second computing power chip (42), supporting user selection of no insertion, insertion of one or two computing power expansion cards to realize on-demand configuration of computing power.

3. The compact industrial vision edge controller device with multi-modal interface and scalable computational power of claim 2, wherein: The control mainboard (2) integrates multi-modal interfaces, including three USB3.0 interfaces, four gigabit network interfaces, four GMSL2 interfaces, two USB3.0 Type-C / OTG interfaces, two HDMI interfaces, one isolated RS232 interface, one isolated RS485 interface, one isolated CAN bus interface, three isolated DI interfaces, and two isolated DO interfaces. The lower frame (1) is provided with an opening on the front side for leading out the multi-modal interfaces of the control mainboard (2), and the lower frame (1) is provided with comb-shaped heat dissipation teeth to increase the heat dissipation area.

4. The compact industrial vision edge controller device with multi-modal interface and scalable computational power of claim 3, wherein: The control mainboard (2) is provided with an M.2 connector, and the storage expansion card (22) is connected to the SoC chip (21) through a SATA bus. The control mainboard (2) is also provided with memory particles, a program memory, a 24V DC power supply interface, a reset button, and an indicator light. The memory particles and the program memory are connected to the SoC chip (21). The reset button communicates with the SoC chip (21) through a reset circuit. The indicator light is driven by the SoC chip (21) through an indicator light circuit.

5. The compact industrial vision edge controller device with a multi-modal interface and scalable computational power of claim 4, wherein: The upper frame (8) is provided with heat dissipation fins, and the surfaces of the first computing chip (32), the second computing chip (42), the SoC chip (21) and the storage expansion card (22) are attached with heat-conducting silica gel pads, which are attached to the heat dissipation guide assembly (5) or the upper frame (8).

6. The compact industrial vision edge controller device with a multi-modal interface and scalable computational power of claim 5, wherein: The front frame (9) is provided with a circular hole for exposing a reset button, and is also provided with a grounding screw hole and a plurality of screw holes for fixing the upper frame (8), the lower frame (1) and the whole machine; the rear frame (10) is provided with a plurality of screw holes for fixing the upper frame (8), the lower frame (1) and the device; the left side frame (6) and the right side frame (7) are provided with clamping structures adapted to the lower frame (1) and the upper frame (8).

7. The compact industrial vision edge controller device with a multi-modal interface and scalable computational power of claim 6, wherein: The control mainboard (2) is provided with an interface isolation circuit, and the RS232 interface, the RS485 interface, the CAN interface, the DI interface and the DO interface are connected to the SoC chip (21) through the interface isolation circuit; the control mainboard (2) is also provided with an MIPI to GMSL interface circuit, a USB3.0 HUB circuit and a PCIe to gigabit network interface circuit, the GMSL2 interface signal is sent into the SoC chip (21) through the MIPI to GMSL interface circuit, the USB3.0 HUB circuit expands one USB3.0 Host interface of the SoC chip (21) into three USB3.0 interfaces, and the PCIe to gigabit network interface circuit realizes gigabit network interface expansion.

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