Machine controller for controlling the operation of a machine in a spinning mill, and electronic device and method for updating such a machine controller - Patents.com

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a machine controller (1) for controlling the operation of a machine (51) of a spinning factory (5). The machine controller (1) comprises a storage device (11) for storing an operating system code (111), a container daemon code (112), and a plurality of container images (113), and a processor section (12). The processor section (12) is configured to provide a running operating system (121) based on the operating system code (111), to provide a running container daemon (122) based on the container daemon code (112), and to provide a running container (123) based on the plurality of container images (113). The running operating system (121) includes an access function for accessing the machine (51) of the spinning factory (5). Each running container of the set of running containers (123) provides a service for controlling the operation of the machine (51) of the spinning factory (5). The running container daemon (122) simultaneously interfaces with the services of the set of running containers (123) to access functions of the running operating system (121) for controlling the operation of the machine (51) of the spinning factory (5) by the set of running containers (123). The machine controller (1) further includes an update service (13) for updating the container image (113) of the machine controller (1).

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a machine controller for controlling the operation of a machine in a spinning mill. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to a machine controller for controlling the operation of a machine in a spinning mill that is easy to update. The present disclosure further relates to an electronic device and method for updating such a machine controller. [Background technology]

[0002] A spinning mill comprises a number of machines, in particular textile machines, for converting natural and artificial fibres and their mixtures into yarns of the desired quantity and quality. Besides the textile machines, the spinning mill comprises further machines for running the spinning mill, such as robots for performing maintenance on the textile machines, air conditioning systems for controlling the temperature and / or humidity in the spinning mill, etc. The machines of the spinning mill comprise or are assigned machine controllers for controlling the operation of the machines of the spinning mill. Each machine of the spinning mill may comprise or be assigned at least one or several machine controllers, or a machine controller may control the operation of several machines of the spinning mill. A group of machine controllers may be assigned one or more superior machine controllers.

[0003] The machine controller includes a non-volatile storage device for storing program instructions, each of which is software, and one or more processors and volatile memories for loading and executing the program instructions, each of which is software, stored in the non-volatile storage device, which software control the operation of each of the spinning mill machines according to a predetermined control scheme, such as setting the rotation speed of the ring spinning machine according to quality parameters of the textile material, recording the doffing time, etc. The non-volatile storage device may be associated with a HDD (hard disk drive), SSD (solid state disk), etc. The processor and volatile memory may be associated with a CPU (central processing unit) and a RAM (random access memory) module, a GPU (graphics processing unit), a microcontroller, etc. In some embodiments, the program instructions, each of which is software, include an operating system code and an application program code. The operating system code may be associated with a UNIX operating system, a Linux operating system, a Windows operating system, a MacOS operating system, etc. The operating system code includes program instructions, each of which is software, related to functions for accessing the spinning mill machines, such as application programming interfaces (APIs), libraries, etc. The application program code includes functions for controlling the operation of the spinning mill machines based on functions provided by the operating system code, such as application programming interfaces (APIs), libraries, etc., such as reading quality parameters of the textile material based on functions of the operating system code for accessing sensors of the machine, setting the rotation speed based on functions of the operating system code for accessing actors of the machine, recording doffing time based on functions of the operating system code for accessing sensors or actors of the machine, etc.

[0004] Application programs for controlling the operation of spinning mill machines include a wide variety of functions, e.g. functions related to recipe management, user management, log collection, alert management, notification functions, shift functions, etc. The functions included in the application programs are interdependent, e.g. functions related to user management are required to properly assign recipe management rights to specific users. Due to the interdependence of the functions of the application programs, the application programs cannot be easily subdivided into several different application programs. Furthermore, application programs evolve over time, e.g. over several years, in order to improve the control of the operation of the spinning mill machines, e.g. with regard to updated recipe rules. Due to the conceivable difficulties in updating a running application program, updates of the application programs are performed manually and only when actually necessary. Furthermore, software developers also do not want to touch the "old code", since it is often difficult to evaluate the effect of the modifications.

[0005] DE 10 2007 052 ​​677 A1 relates to a method for operating a textile machine with several work stations, each of which comprises several individual components such as a yarn laying device, a yarn connecting or forming device and a yarn monitoring or cleaning device. Component-specific software is stored in each component, by which the component is controlled or regulated. A query of the components and the associated component-specific software regarding their compatibility via a central control device of the textile machine is carried out. If an incompatibility of the software and the component or the component and the job is found, the software is updated, if available from a database stored in a memory associated to the central control device.

[0006] US Patent Publication No. 2002095235 discloses a control system for a group of textile processing machines that includes a superordinate control console and separate machine-specific control consoles. The superordinate control console is utilized for input and display that does not require personal control and display confirmation, and the machine-specific control consoles are utilized only for input and display that requires personal control and display confirmation. The superordinate control console is connected to a communication network to allow external information to be called up or data to be transferred to the communication network (telephone service for problem lookup, technical support, updates).

[0007] China Patent No. 111880497 discloses a container-based intelligent manufacturing equipment control system, which includes a cloud server, local equipment, and an equipment supplier. According to this invention, the original centralized equipment control system is divided into mutually isolated lightweight containers, and the containers cooperate with each other to realize the complete function of the system, and high reusability of the containers is adopted, thereby reducing the computing resources occupied by the copies of the system, reducing the performance requirements of the server, and improving the stability of the system.

[0008] US2020233403 discloses an edge device for a network comprising a connection for one or more manufacturing devices and a processor adapted to execute a plurality of microservices each comprising an artifact adapted to access an analytical database. The analytical database is shared between the microservices. The edge device is adapted to access measurement information for the one or more manufacturing devices. The measurement information is stored in a measurement database separate from the analytical database.

[0009] Intro Docker October 2013 (https: / / www.slideshare.net / dotCloud / intro-docker-october-2013) discloses a shipping container system for code. The engine enables any payload to be encapsulated as a lightweight, portable, self-contained container that can be manipulated using standard operations and can run consistently on virtually any hardware platform. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0010] There may be a need for a machine controller for controlling the operation of a machine in a spinning mill that simplifies updates, as well as electronic devices and methods that enable simplified updates of such machine controllers.There may be a need for a machine controller for controlling the operation of a machine in a spinning mill that simplifies utilization of existing operating systems.There may be a need for a machine controller for controlling the operation of a machine in a spinning mill that simplifies adaptation to new releases of operating systems. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] Such a need may be met by the subject matter of the independent claims. Advantageous embodiments are defined in the dependent claims.

[0012] One aspect of the present invention relates to a machine controller for controlling the operation of a spinning mill machine. The machine controller comprises a storage device storing an operating system code, a container daemon code, and a plurality of container images, and a processor section. The processor section is configured to provide a running operating system based on the operating system code, provide a running container daemon based on the container daemon code, and provide a running container based on the plurality of container images. The running operating system includes an access function for accessing the spinning mill machine. Each running container of the set of running containers provides a service for controlling the operation of the spinning mill machine. The running container daemon simultaneously interfaces the services of the set of running containers with the access function of the running operating system to control the operation of the spinning mill machine by the set of running containers. The container daemon may be designed to interface the services of the container with the access function of a particular operating system, such as a particular release of Windows, macOS, Linux, etc. For example, in the case of an existing operating system, it is sufficient to provide a container daemon respectively designed to interface the container with the operating system, but the container may remain unchanged. For example, in the case of a new release of the operating system, it is sufficient to provide a respective updated container daemon for interfacing the container with the new release of the operating system, but the container may remain unchanged. The machine controller further includes an update service for updating the container image of the machine controller. This allows running containers to provide services independent of each other. For example, a service provided by one running container may be related to recipe management, while a service provided by another running container may be related to log collection. When an updated service such as updated recipe management or log collection is required, only the respective container image needs to be updated, which simplifies the update of the machine controller.For example, the update service may be an automatic update service that automatically stores updated container images as they are received to automatically provide updated running containers based on the updated container images.

[0013] In some embodiments, the update service enables a push and / or pull service for updating container images. The electronic device according to the present disclosure enables updated container images to be pushed from the electronic device to one or more machine controllers and / or updated container images to be pulled from the electronic device by one or more machine controllers. Thus, DevOPs practices (Dev: Development; Ops: Operations) are enabled. Furthermore, CI / CD practices (CI: Continuous Integration; CD: Continuous Delivery or Continuous Development) are enabled.

[0014] In some embodiments, the update service allows for stopping running containers, starting container images for providing the respective running containers, restarting running containers in particular after updating the respective container images, performing certain validations after starting the container images, and / or performing certain validations after restarting the running container images, for example allowing for updating container images while the respective running containers are still active, for example allowing for switching from an already running container to an updated running container.

[0015] In some embodiments, the update service is part of one or more of a running operating system, a running container daemon, and / or a running container. The update service may be implemented according to predetermined specifications.

[0016] In some embodiments, one or more of the further set of running containers provide services to operate and / or manage container images, container daemon code, operating system code, running containers, running container daemons, running operating systems, and / or machines in the spinning mill. For example, the running container image enables operating and / or managing a machine controller.

[0017] In some embodiments, one or more running containers provide services for basic machine control, recipe management, user management, log collection, alerts, notifications, shift services, or distributed processing. The services of the running containers can be adapted to various requirements for controlling the operation of the spinning mill machines.

[0018] In some embodiments, one or more running containers provide services to control the operation of a bale opener machine, a blowroom machine, a carding machine, a draw frame machine, a combing machine, a roving frame machine, a ring spinning machine, a compact spinning machine, a rotor spinning machine, an air jet spinning machine, an automation machine, a winding machine, or a texturing machine. It is possible to adapt the running container services to control various types of textile machinery in a spinning mill.

[0019] In some embodiments, the operating system is a UNIX, Linux, Windows, or MacOS operating system or kernel, or a virtualization thereof. It becomes possible to build the machine controller using widely available technology.

[0020] In some embodiments, the container daemon code and container images are compliant with the Open Container Initiative, Docker, Appc, LXD, CRI-O, Railcar, RKT, LXC, and / or CNCF, allowing the container daemon code and container images to be built using widely available technologies.

[0021] In some embodiments, the running container provides a service-oriented architecture and / or an event-driven architecture. It allows the machine controller to be flexibly designed according to a predefined architecture. Service-oriented architecture (SOA) is an architectural style that focuses on individual services rather than monolithic design (https: / / en.wikipedia.org / wiki / Service-oriented_architecture). Event-driven architecture (EDA) is a software architectural paradigm that facilitates the production, detection, consumption, and reaction of events (https: / / en.wikipedia.org / wiki / Event-driven_architecture).

[0022] The invention further relates to an electronic device for updating container images of machine controllers according to the present disclosure of machines in a spinning mill, the electronic device being configured to cooperate with one or more update services of the respective machine controllers and to access a container repository of the electronic device for updating the container images of the respective machine controllers, the electronic device simplifies the updating of the machine controllers as it allows updating multiple machine controllers.

[0023] In some embodiments, accessing the container repository of the electronic device is based on a version number of the container image, a type identifier of the respective machine controller, and / or a version number of the respective machine controller. The update of the machine controller can be adapted to various scenarios.

[0024] In some embodiments, the electronic device is configured to update the respective container image upon receiving updated container images in a container repository of the electronic device, allowing container images to be updated as soon as they are available.

[0025] In some embodiments, the electronic device is configured to update each container image upon request from the machine controller, for example by allowing checking for updates at regular time intervals.

[0026] The invention further relates to a method for updating container images of machine controllers of spinning mill machines, the method comprising the steps of: in an electronic device according to the present disclosure, cooperating with one or more update services of the machine controllers according to the present disclosure, and accessing a container repository of the electronic device to update a container image of each of the machine controllers.

[0027] In some embodiments, accessing the container repository of the electronic device is based on one or more of a version number of the container image, a type identifier of the respective machine controller, and a version number of the respective machine controller.

[0028] The invention can be better understood with the aid of the description of embodiments given as examples illustrated by the figures. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0029] [Figure 1] 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a machine controller for controlling the operation of a machine in a spinning mill; [Diagram 2] 1 shows a schematic representation of an electronic device for updating a machine controller for controlling the operation of a machine in a spinning mill. [Figure 2a] 2 shows a schematic diagram of an electronic device for updating a machine controller for controlling the operation of machines in an alternative configuration of a spinning mill; [Diagram 3]2 shows diagrammatically possible method steps for updating a machine controller for controlling the operation of a machine in a spinning mill; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0030] FIG. 1 shows a schematic representation of a machine controller 1 according to the present invention for controlling the operation of a machine 51 of a spinning mill 5. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the machine 51 relates to a ring spinning machine. However, the present disclosure is not limited to any particular type of machine of a spinning mill, but also relates to, for example, a bale opener machine, a blow room machine, a draw frame machine, a rowing frame machine, an air jet spinning machine, a robot, an air conditioning system, etc. In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 1, the machine controller 1 is located outside the machine 51 of the spinning mill 5 and is connected to the machine 51 of the spinning mill 5 via a signal line s. The signal line s may relate to a wired or wireless signal line for transmitting electronic signals and / or electronic messages between the machine 51 of the spinning mill 5 and the machine controller 1 for controlling the operation of the machine 51 of the spinning mill 5. In other embodiments (not shown in FIG. 1), the machine controller 1 is part of the machine 51 of the spinning mill 5 or is attached to the machine 51 of the spinning mill 5. In some embodiments, the textile machine 51 is part of a spinning mill 5, which typically comprises multiple textile and other machines, as shown by the dotted line in Figure 1. In some embodiments, the machine 51 of the spinning mill 5 is a textile machine that receives textile material from an upstream textile machine (not shown in Figure 1) and delivers processed textile material to a downstream textile machine (not shown in Figure 1).

[0031] 1, the machine controller 1 includes a storage device 11. The storage device 11 stores an operating system code 111, a container daemon code 112, and a number of container images 113. For example, the storage device 11 may be a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state disk (SSD), or the like, or any combination thereof, i.e., a non-volatile storage device. In some embodiments, the storage device 11 is located remotely from the machine controller 1, and the machine controller 1 accesses the remotely located storage device 11, for example, via a network.

[0032] In some embodiments, the operating system code 111 is associated with a UNIX operating system, a Linux operating system, a Windows operating system, a MacOS operating system, a kernel of such an operating system, any other operating system, or a virtualization thereof. When the operating system code is associated with a kernel, typical operating system functions such as networking may be provided by a running container 123 (running container 123 is further described below). Operating system virtualization is based on a hypervisor and / or a virtual machine that performs operating system virtualization / emulation to provide operating system functions. For example, a virtual machine may run on a Linux operating system, and within the virtual machine, a Windows operating system may run to provide Windows operating system functions, e.g., to run application programs designed for a Windows operating system. In some embodiments, the operating system is an operating system available as of the filing date of this disclosure. In some embodiments, the virtual machine is a virtual machine available as of the filing date of this disclosure. In some embodiments, the operating system code 111 is associated with a stripped down version that provides only the necessary access functions, particularly to avoid the need to update the operating system code 111. In some embodiments, operating system code 111 includes executable programs, libraries, configuration files, and the like.

[0033] In some embodiments, the container daemon code 112 and the container image 113 are associated with the Open Container Initiative, Docker, Appc, LXD, CRI-O, Railcar, RKT, LXC, or Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF). In other embodiments, the container daemon code 112 and the container image 113 are associated with any other technology that provides functionality as described in this disclosure. In some embodiments, the container daemon code 112 is associated with container daemon code available on the filing date of this disclosure. In some embodiments, the container image 113 is associated with container images available on the filing date of this disclosure. Each of the container images 113 is configured to provide services for controlling the operation of the machines 51 of the spinning mill 5, as described in more detail below. The container images may include different versions of a particular service. In some embodiments, the container daemon code 112 and / or the container image 113 include executable programs, libraries, configuration files, and the like. In some embodiments, the container image 113 is self-contained.

[0034] As shown in FIG. 1, the machine controller 1 includes a processor section 12. The processor section 12 is configured to provide a running operating system 121 based on the operating system code 111, to provide a running container daemon 122 based on the container daemon code 112, and to provide one or more running containers 123 based on one or more of the plurality of container images 113. In some embodiments, the processor section 12 includes one or more processors and volatile memory. In some embodiments, the one or more processors are associated with one or more CPUs (Central Processing Units), GPUs (Graphics Processing Units), microcontrollers, or the like, or combinations thereof. In some embodiments, the volatile memory is associated with a RAM (Random Access Memory) module. The processor section 12 is configured to load and execute the operation system code 111, the container daemon code 112, and the container images 113 to provide the running operating system 121, the running container daemon 122, and the running containers 123. For example, a running container 123 runs on and / or utilizes a running container daemon 122, which runs on and / or utilizes a running operation system 121.

[0035] The processor section 12 may include or be connected to further electronic circuitry, such as a network interface, logic boards, etc., to provide the functionality described in this disclosure. For example, electronic circuitry, such as a network interface, may provide functionality for connecting with machines 51 of the spinning mill 5 to access the machines 51, e.g., to access sensors and / or actors of the machines 51.

[0036] The running operating system 121 includes access functions for accessing the machine 51, in particular for accessing sensors and / or actors of the machine 51. For example, the running operating system 121 includes access functions for setting machine parameters of the machine 51, such as setting actor signals, e.g. for setting a rotation speed. For example, the running operating system 121 includes access functions for reading machine parameters of the machine 51, such as reading sensor signals, e.g. for reading a doffing time. In some embodiments, the operating system includes respective application programming interfaces (APIs), libraries, etc., that provide access functions for accessing the machine 51. In some embodiments, such APIs, libraries, etc. are designed according to the machine type of the machine 51. For example, other APIs, libraries, etc. may be included for controlling the operation of a draw frame machine rather than for controlling the operation of a ring spinning machine.

[0037] Each running container of the set of running containers 123 provides services for controlling the operation of the machines 51 of the spinning mill 5. The set of running containers 123 may include one or more running containers 123. Typically, the set of running containers 123 includes multiple running containers 123. In some embodiments, the services of the running containers 123 are related to recipe management, user management, log collection, alerts, notifications, shift services, and / or distributed processing. In some embodiments, the services of the running containers 123 are related to controlling the operation of a bale opener machine, a blowroom machine, a carding machine, a draw frame machine, a combing machine, a roving frame machine, a ring spinning machine, a compact spinning machine, a rotor spinning machine, an air jet spinning machine, an automation machine, a winding machine, and / or a texturing machine. For example, one of the running containers 123 may be related only to recipe management, and another of the running containers 123 may be related only to log collection. For example, a running container 123 may be shut down when not needed and restarted when needed. For example, a running container 123 related to log collection may be provided such that the log collection service is only provided when needed, for example at regular time intervals.

[0038] In some embodiments, one or more of the further set of running containers 123 provide services to operate and / or manage the container image 113, the container daemon code 112, the running container image 123, the running container daemon 122, the machine 51, etc. For example, the running container 123 may provide services in the form of a watchdog to periodically verify the state of the running container 123. For example, the running container 123 may provide services such as checking for available updates for the container image (e.g., forming a repository in the factory (edge) or in the Internet (cloud)), checking for known security threats by querying a database on the edge or cloud that contains known security threads, analyzing traffic between containers or between the container and the factory network to check network performance (throughput, round trip time, etc.), and / or scanning for open ports and / or analyzing open ports for security threats.

[0039] The running container daemon 122 simultaneously interfaces the services of the set of running containers 123 with the access functions of the running operating system 121 in order to control the operation of the machine 51 of the spinning factory 5 by the set of running containers 123. For example, one of the running containers 123 may be associated with a service for recipe management, and the running container daemon 122 interfaces the respective recipe management service with the access functions of the running operating system 121 in order to set an actor signal, e.g., to set a rotation speed. For example, one of the running containers 123 may be associated with a service for log collection, and the running container daemon 122 interfaces the respective log collection service with the access functions of the running operating system 121 in order to read a sensor signal, e.g., to read a doffing time.

[0040] As shown in FIG. 1, the machine controller 1 further includes an update service 13 for updating the container images 113 of the machine controller 1. The update service 13 allows updating one or more container images 113 at a time. In contrast to the prior art, which proposes updating the application program for the entire spinning mill machine controller, the update of the machine controller 1 is simplified, since the update is limited to a specific container image 113. For example, in case of improved recipe management, only the container image 113, including the services for recipe management, is updated, in contrast to the prior art, which requires updating the entire application program. By updating individual container images 113, the risk of undesired side effects is reduced. By updating individual container images 113, the need to touch "old code" is reduced. In some embodiments, the update service 13 cooperates with the electronic device 2 as described in the present disclosure to update the container images 113.

[0041] In some embodiments, the update service 13 enables a push service and / or a pull service for updating the container image 113. For example, the update service 13 cooperates with the electronic device 2 as described in this disclosure, which pushes updates of the container image 113 to the machine controller 1, e.g., as soon as an update is available (push service). For example, the update service 13 checks whether an update of the container image 113 is available in the electronic device 2 as described in this disclosure, and pulls the update, if applicable, e.g., at regular time intervals (pull service).

[0042] In some embodiments, the update service 13 may be capable of restarting a running container 123 after updating each container image 113. For example, the update service 13 may be capable of shutting down a running container 123, receiving each updated container image 113, storing the updated container image 113 in storage 11, and restarting the updated container image 113 to provide an updated running container 123.

[0043] In some embodiments, the update service 13 starts an updated container image 113 in parallel with each already running container 123, allowing switching from the already running container 123 to the updated running container 123 before shutting down the already running container 123 that is no longer needed. In other embodiments, the already running container 123 continues to run for a predetermined period of time, for example after receiving confirmation that the updated running container 123 is operating correctly, e.g., from a watchdog as described above, before shutting down the already running container 123, and switching back to the already running container 123 if there is a problem with the updated running container 123.

[0044] In some embodiments, the update service 13 is part of one or more of the running operating system 121, the running container daemon 122, and / or the running container 123. Some operating systems may include an update service that may be used to update the container image 113. The running container daemon 122 may detect incompatibilities between the running operating system 121 and the running container 123 and, if applicable, initiate an update of the container image 113. One or more of the running containers 113 may include functionality for updating the container image 113.

[0045] In some embodiments, the running container 123 provides a service-oriented and / or event-driven architecture, allowing flexibility in designing an environment with the running container 123 according to a predefined or desired architecture.

[0046] In a possible scenario, based on a first running operating system 121 (respectively a first operating system code 111), the machine controller 1 is suitably configured to control the operation of the machine 51 of the spinning factory 5, i.e. the set of container images 113 is suitably configured to provide a running container 123 providing the necessary services to control the operation of the machine 51, and the first container daemon code 112 is suitably configured to interface the running container 123 with the first operating system 121. To utilize a second running operating system 121' (respectively a second operating system code 111'), it is sufficient to provide a second container daemon code 112' for interfacing the running container 123 with the second running operating system 121', while the container code 113 of the running container 123 may remain unchanged. The second running operating system 121' may be related to an existing operating system. The second running operating system 121' may be related to a new release of an operating system. Thus, the utilization of existing operating systems and / or the adaptation to new releases of operating systems is simplified.

[0047] Fig. 2 shows diagrammatically an electronic device 2 for updating machine controllers 55, 56, 1.53, 1.54, 1.55, 1.56 for controlling the operation of machines 51, 52, 53, 54, 1.51, 1.52 of a spinning mill 5. In the typical configuration shown in Fig. 2, the spinning mill 5 comprises a ring spinning machine 51, an air jet spinning machine 54, two rowing frame machines 52, 53 and two draw frame machines 55, 56. However, the invention relates to any configuration of the spinning mill 5. For example, Fig. 2a shows a configuration of the spinning mill 5 further comprising winding machines 57, 58. The rowing frame machines 52, 53 and the draw frame machines 55, 56 receive the textile material from the upstream machines (not shown in Fig. 2, Fig. 2a) and deliver the processed textile material to the ring spinning machine 51 and the air jet spinning machine 54, which deliver the processed textile material to further downstream textile machines. For example, the ring spinning machine 51 delivers the processed textile material to the winding machines 57, 58 shown in Fig. 2a, which receive the textile material from the ring spinning machine 51 in a first form of transportable textile assembly, such as yarn wound on a cop, to produce a second form of transportable textile assembly, such as a larger bobbin with unwound yarn. The spinning plant 5 may include one or more upper machine controllers (not shown in Fig. 2, Fig. 2a), such as a control room computer, for controlling the operation of the machines 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58 of the spinning plant 5.

[0048] Figures 2, 2(a) show machine controllers 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58 included in respective machines 51, 52, 1.51, 1.52, 1.53, 1.54, 1.55, 1.56, 1.57, 1.58 of the spinning mill 5. However, the machine controllers 1.51, 1.52, 1.53, 1.54, 1.55, 1.56, 1.57, 1.58 may be located external to the machines 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58 and / or the machine controllers may be arranged to control the operation of machines in the spinning mill (not shown in Figures 2, 2a).

[0049] Machine controllers 1.51, 1.52, 1.53, 1.54, 1.55, 1.56, 1.57, 1.58 are configured as described in this disclosure, particularly as described in relation to FIG.

[0050] The electronic device 2 is connected to the machine controllers 1.51, 1.52, 1.53, 1.54, 1.55, 1.56, 1.57, 1.58 via a network n, which may relate to a wired or wireless network for transmitting electronic signals and / or messages between the electronic device 2 and the machine controllers 1.51, 1.52, 1.53, 1.54, 1.55, 1.56, 1.57, 1.58.

[0051] The electronic device 2 and the network n may relate to a computerized device and a computerized network. The computerized network may relate to a wired network, a wireless network, etc. The computerized network allows for the transmission of control signals, monitor signals, electronic messages, etc. between the electronic device 2 and the machine controller 1.51, 1.52, 1.53, 1.54, 1.55, 1.56, 1.57, 1.58. For example, the network n may relate to an IP (Internet Protocol) network, which allows for, for example, Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) streams and / or User Datagram Protocol (UDP) datagrams. The computerized device may relate to a microcontroller, a computer, etc. The computerized device may include one or more processors and program instructions stored in memory, which when executed by the one or more processors provide the functionality described in this disclosure. The electronic device may include a user interface, such as a graphical user interface (GUI), to allow display of information to an operator and / or to allow receipt of commands from the operator. For example, the electronic device 2 may relate to a control and monitoring device of a spinning mill.

[0052] In some embodiments, the electronic device 2 is located in the spinning mill 5 (EDGE). In some embodiments, the electronic device 2 is located on a server located on the Internet (CLOUD). In some embodiments, the electronic device 2 is associated with a distributed system and a container repository 213, as further described below, is located in the CLOUD, which is cached in the EDGE for distributing updates on the machine.

[0053] As shown in Figures 2, 2a, the electronic device 2 accesses the container repository 213. The container repository 213 may relate to a storage device of the electronic device 2, in particular a non-volatile storage device such as a HDD, SSD, etc. The container repository 213 may also relate to a database. The container repository 213 may be located remotely from the electronic device 2, for example in a data center of a customer, a supplier, a cloud server, etc., and access to the container repository 213 is made possible via a network (not shown in Figures 2, 2a).

[0054] The container repository 213 stores a plurality of container images. The electronic device 2 is configured to access one or more container images from the container repository 213 to update the container images for each of the machine controllers 1.51, 1.52, 1.53, .... For example, the electronic device 2 contacts the machine controller 1.51, requests information regarding a particular container image stored in the memory of the machine controller 1.51, and, if applicable, transmits an updated container image from the container repository 213 to the machine controller 1.51.

[0055] The container images stored in the container repository 213 and in the machine controllers 1.51, 1.52, 1.53, ... may include unique identification information to distinguish the container images, such as version number, image hash, machine information, machine controller information, interface specifications, etc. For example, the identification information may allow the container images to be distinguished with respect to updated features, bug fixes, etc. The container images may be designed with respect to a particular machine type, machine controller version, etc. The container image may be the same for all machines or a group of machines / models, etc. For example, a machine controller for controlling the operation of a bale opener may include different electronic circuitry than a machine controller for controlling the operation of a ring spinning machine, and a different container image is required to control the operation. For example, the machine controllers may differ in their storage and / or memory space, processor capabilities, etc., and a particular container image may require certain limitations, for example with respect to a minimum amount of memory, minimum processor capabilities, etc.

[0056] The electronic device 2 may access the container images stored in the container repository 213 based on verification of the version number, the type identifier of the respective machine controller, the version number of the respective machine controller, etc. Thus, the electronic device 2 allows adapting updates of the container images to the respective machine controller, container images already stored in the machine controller, etc.

[0057] In some embodiments, the electronic device 2 is configured to provide a push service and / or a pull service for updating container images of the machine controllers 1.51, 1.52, 1.53, .... For example, the electronic device 2 may detect an installation of an updated container image in the container repository 213, performed for example manually by a machine operator, and send the respective container image accordingly to the respective machine controller (push service). For example, an update service in the machine controller service may detect an idle running container, check and request a respective updated container image in the electronic device 2, and, if applicable, may shut down the idle running container and restart it to provide the updated running container (pull service).

[0058] 3 shows diagrammatically possible method steps for updating machine controllers 1.51, 1.52, 1.53, ... for controlling the operation of machines 51, 52, 53, ... of a spinning factory 5. The method comprises, in an electronic device 2 as described in the present disclosure, cooperating with one or more update services 13 of the machine controllers 1.51, 1.52, 1.53, ... as described in the present disclosure. The method further comprises, in the electronic device 2, accessing a container repository 213 of the electronic device 2 for updating container images of each of the machine controllers 1.51, 1.52, 1.53, .... [Explanation of symbols]

[0059] 1 Machine Controller 11 Storage device 111 Operating System Code 112 Container daemon code 113 Container Image 12 Processor Section 121 Running Operating System 122 running container daemons 123 running containers 13 Update Service 5. Spinning Mill 51, 52, 53, ... Spinning mill machines 1.51, 1.52, 1.53, ... Machine controllers for spinning mill machines 2 Electronic equipment 213 Container Repository

Claims

1. A machine controller (1) for controlling the operation of a machine (51) in a spinning factory (5), comprising: a storage device (11) for storing an operating system code (111), a container daemon code (112), and a plurality of container images (113); a processor section (12); Equipped with the processor section (12) is configured to provide a running operating system (121) based on the operating system code (111), a running container daemon (122) based on the container daemon code (112), and a running container (123) based on the plurality of container images (113), the running operating system (121) including an access function for accessing the machine (51) of the spinning factory (5), each running container of the set of running containers (123) providing a service for controlling the operation of the machine (51) of the spinning factory (5), the running container daemon (122) simultaneously interfacing the services of the set of running containers (123) with the access function of the running operating system (121) to control the operation of the machine (51) of the spinning factory (5) by the set of running containers (123), and the machine controller (1) further includes an update service (13) for updating the container image (113) of the machine controller (1). Machine Controller (1).

2. The machine controller (1) of claim 1, wherein the update service (13) enables one or more of a push service and a pull service for updating container images (113).

3. The machine controller (1) of claim 1, wherein the update service (13) enables one or more of stopping a running container (123), starting a container image (113) for providing each running container (123), in particular restarting a running container (123) after updating the respective container image (113), performing a predetermined verification after starting a container image (113), and performing a predetermined verification after restarting a running container image (123).

4. 2. The machine controller (1) of claim 1, wherein the update service (13) is part of one or more of the running operating system (121), the running container daemon (122), and the running container (123).

5. 2. The machine controller (1) of claim 1, wherein one or more of a further set of running containers (123) provide services for operating and managing one or more of a container image (113), a container daemon code (112), an operating system code (111), the running containers (123), the running container daemon (122), the running operating system (121), and one or more of the machines (51) of the spinning factory (5).

6. The machine controller (1) of claim 1, wherein one or more running containers (123) provide services for basic machine control, recipe management, user management, log collection, alerts, notifications, shift services, or distributed processing.

7. The machine controller (1) according to claim 1, wherein one or more running containers (123) provide services for controlling the operation of a bale opener machine, a blowroom machine, a carding machine, a draw frame machine, a combing machine, a roving frame machine, a ring spinning machine, a compact spinning machine, a rotor spinning machine, an air jet spinning machine, an automated machine, a winding machine, or a texturing machine.

8. 2. The machine controller (1) of claim 1, wherein the operating system (111) is a UNIX, Linux, Windows, or MacOS operating system or kernel, or a virtualization thereof.

9. 2. The machine controller (1) of claim 1, wherein the container daemon code (112) and the container image (113) are compliant with one or more of Open Container Initiative, Docker, Appc, LXD, CRI-O, Railcar, RKT, LXC, and CNCF.

10. The machine controller (1) of claim 1, wherein the running container (123) provides one or more of a service-oriented architecture and an event-driven architecture.

11. 11. An electronic device (2) for updating container images (113.51, 113.52, 113.53, ...) of machine controllers (1.51, 1.52, 1.53, ...) according to any one of claims 1 to 10 of machines (51, 52, 53, ...) of a spinning factory (5), the electronic device (2) being configured to cooperate with one or more update services (13) of each machine controller (1.51, 1.52, 1.53, ...) and to access a container repository (213) of the electronic device (2) to update the container images (113.51, 113.52, 113.53, ...) of each machine controller (1.51, 1.52, 1.53, ...).

12. The electronic device (2) of claim 11, wherein accessing the container repository (213) of the electronic device (2) is based on one or more of the version numbers of the container images (213; 113.51, 113.52, 113.53, ...), the type identifiers of the respective machine controllers (1.51, 1.52, 1.53, ...), and the version numbers of the respective machine controllers (1.51, 1.52, 1.53, ...).

13. The electronic device (2) of claim 11, wherein the electronic device (2) is configured to update each container image (113.51, 113.52, 113.53, ...) upon receiving an updated container image in the container repository (213) of the electronic device (2).

14. 12. The electronic device (2) according to claim 11, wherein the electronic device (2) is configured to update each container image (113.51, 113.52, 113.53, ...) upon request from a machine controller (1.51, 1.52, 1.53, ...).

15. 12. A method for updating container images (113.51, 113.52, 113.53, ...) of machine controllers (1.51, 1.52, 1.53, ...) of machines (51, 52, 53, ...) of a spinning factory (5), in an electronic device (2) according to claim 11, comprising: Cooperating with one or more update services (13) of a machine controller (1.51, 1.52, 1.53, ...) according to claim 1; accessing the container repository (213) of the electronic device (2) to update the container images (113.51, 113.52, 113.53, ...) of each of the machine controllers (1.51, 1.52, 1.53, ...); A method comprising:

16. 16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the step of accessing the container repository (213) of the electronic device (2) is based on one or more of the version numbers of the container images (21; 113.51, 113.52, 113.53, ...), the type identifiers of the respective machine controllers (1.51, 1.52, 1.53, ...), and the version numbers of the respective machine controllers (1.51, 1.52, 1.53, ...).

Images