Communication device for switchboard supporting high-speed modbus record query

Abstract

The present invention relates to a communication device for a switchboard and may include: lower power devices of a power system; upper systems receiving information from the lower power devices and controlling the lower power devices; and a gateway performing Ethernet communication with the plurality of upper systems, performing serial communication with the lower power devices, asynchronously or synchronously collecting event data generated in the lower power devices, and synchronously or asynchronously transmitting data according to a request type of the upper system.

Description

Communication device for distribution panels supporting high-speed Modbus record queries

[0001] The present invention relates to a communication device for a distribution panel that supports high-speed Modbus record queries, and more specifically, to a gateway device that supports communication between an upper system and a lower power device.

[0002] In general, as digitalization and interconnectivity with IT systems become increasingly important in the power distribution sector, the communication support methods for devices installed in distribution panels are changing from low-speed serial-based communication to high-speed Ethernet-based communication.

[0003] However, for the sake of unit cost and application efficiency, a communication protocol conversion device (hereinafter referred to as a gateway) that converts serial low-speed communication such as RS-485 into Ethernet-based high-speed communication is mainly used.

[0004] When there is a request from the upper system, the gateway converts the data and transmits it to the lower power devices, and converts the responses from the lower power devices and transmits them to the upper system.

[0005] Figure 5 is a block diagram of a conventional communication device for a distribution panel.

[0006] Referring to FIG. 5, a conventional communication device for a distribution panel includes lower power devices (300) such as a distribution panel, a plurality of upper systems (100) that collect and control information of the lower power devices (300), and a gateway (200) that performs Ethernet communication with the plurality of upper systems (100) and serial communication with the lower power devices (300).

[0007] The above gateway (200) includes a transceiver (210) and a converter (220).

[0008] The conversion unit (220) can convert the standards between communication protocols when there are multiple types of communication protocols, and the transmission / reception unit (210) performs actual communication with the upper system (100) and the lower power device (300).

[0009] Below, the configuration and operation of a conventional communication device for a distribution panel having the above structure will be described in more detail.

[0010] First, the upper systems (100) can be understood as systems for collecting and controlling data of lower power devices (300), and the lower power devices (300) can be understood as power devices such as digital protection relays and digital power meters.

[0011] The gateway (200) relays communication between the upper system (100) and the lower power device (300), and allows connection of multiple upper systems (100) via Ethernet communication capable of high-speed communication of hundreds of Mbps with the upper system (100).

[0012] Additionally, multiple connections are possible with the lower power device (300) at a low speed of several tens of Kbps.

[0013] When multiple upper systems (100) generate multiple requests, a communication bottleneck occurs because the connection speed with the lower power device (300) that must respond to the requests is relatively slow.

[0014] In the past, in order to resolve communication bottlenecks, the number of accesses to the upper system (100) was limited.

[0015] That is, the number of upper systems (100) that can access the gateway (200) simultaneously is limited to prevent a bottleneck from occurring.

[0016] Additionally, the gateway (200) can provide a faster response to a request from the upper system (100).

[0017] That is, when the upper system (100) requests data, rather than actually transmitting the request to the lower power device (300) to collect the data and then transmitting it back to the upper system (100), an asynchronous method is used in which data from the lower power device (300) is collected in advance and then the pre-collected data is provided when the upper system (100) requests it.

[0018] In the case of updating in an asynchronous manner in a conventional structure like this, there was a limitation that only the specified data items of the specified lower power device (300) could be responded to, and that event data could not be read, and only point data could be read.

[0019] The problem that the present invention seeks to solve in consideration of the problems of the prior art as described above is to provide a communication device for a distribution panel that provides asynchronous communication between an upper system and a lower power device, and can process event data, which is important data in power control, along with basic point data.

[0020] The communication device for a distribution panel of the present invention may include a gateway that performs Ethernet communication with lower-level power devices of a power system, upper-level systems that receive information from the lower-level power devices and control the lower-level power devices, and performs serial communication with the lower-level power devices, and asynchronously or synchronously collects point data and event data generated from the lower-level power devices and transmits data synchronously or asynchronously depending on the type of request from the upper-level system.

[0021] In an embodiment of the present invention, the gateway collects and stores asynchronous point data and asynchronous event data from the lower power devices, and when the upper system requests asynchronous point data or asynchronous event data, the gateway can transmit the stored asynchronous point data or asynchronous event data.

[0022] In an embodiment of the present invention, when there is a request for synchronization point data from the upper system, the gateway can request point data from a lower power device and transmit the received point data and event data to the upper system.

[0023] In an embodiment of the present invention, the event data is stored in the gateway, and the stored event data can be asynchronously transmitted when a request for event data is made from a higher system.

[0024] In an embodiment of the present invention, the gateway can confirm an event data request from the upper system, and if there is no stored event data corresponding to the index of the request, initialize the stored event data.

[0025] In an embodiment of the present invention, initialization of stored event data can be performed by deleting stored event data in the gateway, requesting event data from a lower power device, and storing and transmitting the received event data to the upper system.

[0026] The present invention provides asynchronous communication between an upper system and a lower power device, and has the effect of improving responsiveness by enabling processing of event data, which is important data in power control, along with basic point data.

[0027] Figure 1 is a block diagram of a communication device for a distribution panel according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0028] Figures 2 to 4 are flowcharts each illustrating an embodiment of the present invention.

[0029] Figure 5 is a block diagram of a conventional communication device for a distribution panel.

[0030] - Explanation of symbols -

[0031] 10: Upper system 20: Gateway

[0032] 21: Transmitter and receiver 22: Controller

[0033] 23: Data collection device 24: Memory

[0034] 25: Protocol converter 26: State converter

[0035] 30: Sub-power unit

[0036]

[0037] To fully understand the structure and effects of the present invention, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but can be implemented in various forms and can be modified in various ways. However, the description of the present embodiments is provided to ensure that the disclosure of the present invention is complete and to fully inform those skilled in the art of the present invention of the scope of the invention. In the accompanying drawings, components are illustrated in an enlarged size for convenience of explanation, and the proportions of each component may be exaggerated or reduced.

[0038] Terms such as "first" and "second" may be used to describe various components, but the components should not be limited by these terms. These terms may only be used to distinguish one component from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, a "first component" may be referred to as a "second component," and similarly, a "second component" may also be referred to as a "first component." Furthermore, singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Terms used in the embodiments of the present invention may be interpreted as having meanings commonly known to those of ordinary skill in the art, unless otherwise defined.

[0039] Hereinafter, a communication device for a distribution panel according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0040]

[0041] Figure 1 is a block diagram of a communication device for a distribution panel according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0042] Referring to FIG. 1, the present invention includes a plurality of upper systems (10) that collect and control information of lower power devices (30) such as a distribution board, and a plurality of upper systems (10) that perform Ethernet communication with the plurality of upper systems (10) and perform serial communication with the lower power devices (30), and a gateway (20) that collects and stores point data and event data from the lower power devices (30) according to conditions of point data and event data input from the upper system (10), and transmits data synchronously or asynchronously according to a data processing method of the point data or event data input from the upper system (10).

[0043] Hereinafter, the configuration and operation of a communication device for a distribution panel according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention configured as described above will be described in more detail.

[0044] First, the present invention provides a gateway (20) for communication between an upper system (10) and a lower power device (30), but the gateway (20) is limited to performing Ethernet communication, which is a relatively high-speed and wide-bandwidth communication method, with the upper system (10), and performing serial communication, which is a relatively low-speed and narrow-bandwidth communication method, with the lower power device (30).

[0045] The gateway (20) connects the upper system (10) and the lower power device (30) that have different communication methods to enable communication.

[0046] The gateway (20) includes a transmitter / receiver (21), a controller (22), a data collection device (23), a memory (24), a protocol conversion device (25), and a state converter (26).

[0047] The controller (22) receives conditions of point data and event data and performs control according to a synchronous or asynchronous data processing method. The controller (22) may be a processor.

[0048] When initially setting up the gateway (20), conditions of point data and event data can be input to the controller (22).

[0049] The conditions of point data and event data may be data on “ID of sub-power device”, “request code (Function code)”, “address”, “length”, and “collection and initialization conditions”.

[0050] Collection and initialization conditions may be limited to event data.

[0051] When the gateway (20) operates with point data and event data input in this manner, the controller (22) collects data from the lower power device (30) using the data collection device (23) and the transmission / reception device (21).

[0052] The data collection device (23) may be a separate processor that collects data and stores it in memory (24).

[0053] The collected data is converted into a protocol through a protocol converter (25) and stored in memory (24).

[0054] The protocol conversion device (25) converts the communication protocol between the upper system (10) and the lower power device (30). That is, it converts the Ethernet communication protocol of the upper system (10) into a serial communication protocol that can be processed by the lower power device (30), and conversely, it converts the serial communication protocol of the lower power device (30) into the Ethernet communication protocol of the upper system (10).

[0055] After collecting point data and event data in this way, by converting the protocol and storing it in memory (24), the point data or event data stored in memory (24) can be transmitted with minimal delay when requesting point data or event data from the upper system (10).

[0056] When a request from the upper system (10) is received through the transceiver (21), the controller (22) checks whether the data request from the upper system (10) is synchronous point data, asynchronous point data, or event data.

[0057] In the above explanation, point data is assumed to be general data, not event data such as overvoltage or overcurrent.

[0058] The gateway (20) performs different data processing depending on the type of data request from the upper system (10), and this can be performed by changing the state according to the conditions of the point data and event data collected from the state converter (26) and the sequence of data requested from the upper system (10), and notifying the controller (22).

[0059] A specific example is as follows:

[0060]

[0061] <Processing Asynchronous Point Data>

[0062] Figure 2 is a processing flow diagram of asynchronous point data.

[0063] Referring to Fig. 2, when there is a request for asynchronous point data from the upper system (10) (S31), this is received through the transceiver (21) of the gateway (20) and provided to the controller (22).

[0064] The controller (22) checks whether there is asynchronous point data requested by the upper system (10) in the data stored in the memory (24) (S32).

[0065] At this time, if there is asynchronous point data (if there is a buffer value), the controller (22) generates a response packet including the asynchronous point data (S33) and transmits the response packet to the upper system (10) that requested the asynchronous point data through the transmission / reception device (21) (S35).

[0066] If, as a result of the verification in step S32, there is no asynchronous point data requested by the upper system (10) among the data stored in the memory (24) (if there is no buffer value), the controller (22) generates an error packet (S34) and transmits the error packet to the upper system (10).

[0067] The upper system (10) that receives the error packet recognizes that it has failed to receive the asynchronous point data and can request the synchronous point data again.

[0068]

[0069] <Processing synchronous point data>

[0070] Figure 3 is a processing flow diagram of synchronization point data.

[0071] Referring to FIG. 3, the upper system (10) requests collection of synchronous point data when the request for asynchronous point data fails as described above or when it is necessary to collect synchronous point data.

[0072] A request for collection of synchronous point data is received by the gateway (20) through the transceiver (21) (S41), and the state converter (26) changes the control state of the controller (22) according to the data sequence of the received request for collection of synchronous point data (S42).

[0073] The controller (22) provides a request from the upper system (10) to the lower power device (30) via serial communication (S43) and checks whether there is a response to the request (S44).

[0074] If there is a response value of synchronization point data from the lower power device (30), the controller (22) converts the response synchronization point data into a response packet capable of Ethernet communication (S45) and then transmits it to the upper system (10) via the transmission / reception device (21) (S47).

[0075] At this time, if there is no synchronization point data response value from the lower power device (30) for a set time, the controller (22) generates an error packet (S46) and transmits it to the upper system (10) via the transmission / reception device (21) (S47).

[0076] Through this process, synchronization point data can be collected.

[0077] If there is no synchronization point data response value from the lower power device (30) for a set period of time and an error packet is received by the upper system (10), the upper system (10) may request synchronization point data again or display a message to check whether power is not supplied to the lower power device (30). This status check request may also be performed by the gateway (20). For this processing, the gateway (20) may further include a notification means such as a display unit.

[0078] In the example above, requests from upper systems (10) can be processed in the order in which they are requested, but the order can be determined and processed according to the importance of the synchronization point data.

[0079] That is, priority synchronization point data, such as synchronization point data related to the operation of a circuit breaker, can be determined, and priority synchronization point data can be processed first compared to general synchronization point data.

[0080]

[0081] <Processing event data>

[0082] Figure 4 is a flowchart of the event data processing process using the present invention.

[0083] Referring to FIG. 4, the event data of the present invention is basically processed asynchronously, and can be processed synchronously only when it is determined that an initialization request is included in the event data request received from the upper system (10).

[0084] First, the gateway (20) receives an event data request from the upper system (10) (S501) and checks whether the event data request includes an initialization request (S502).

[0085] Initialization means deleting the event data of a specific lower power device (30) stored in the memory (24) and re-collecting the event data in order to transmit the event data received from the specific lower power device (30) to the upper system (10), and is performed through the following process.

[0086] The event data request of the upper system (10) includes an index value, and if the index value is different from the index value of the event data of the lower power device (30) stored in the memory (24), the controller (22) determines that the event data cannot be used and deletes the event data stored in the memory (24).

[0087] The above index value is data of a bit value set on the header side of the event data, and the index value may be a value set to distinguish event data updated in the lower power device (30). The index value may be a value updated in order, or a value related to the generation time of the event data.

[0088] In other words, if the index value included in the event data request is different from the index value of the event data stored in the memory (24), the controller (22) determines that initialization has been requested and deletes the event data stored in the memory (24).

[0089] As described later, after deleting the event data, an initialization operation is performed to recollect the event data and store it in memory (24) to provide the event data to the upper system (10).

[0090] If it is confirmed that there is an initialization request in the above step S502, the state converter (26) checks the event data request (S503), changes the settings of the controller (22) according to the request (S504), and the controller (22) requests the event data to the lower power device (30) through serial communication (S505).

[0091] Next, the controller (22) checks whether there is a response from the corresponding lower power device (30) (S506).

[0092] If there is a response, the event data of the lower power device (30) is stored in the memory (24) (S503), the event data is converted into a response packet (S508), and then transmitted to the upper system (10) via the transceiver (21) (S512), thereby providing a response according to the event data request of the upper system (10).

[0093] If there is no event data response from the lower power device (30) for the time set in step S506, an error packet is generated (S501) and transmitted (S512).

[0094] The upper system (10) that receives the error packet confirms that there is an error in receiving the event data and requests the event data again or displays an error if necessary.

[0095] If it is confirmed that there was no initialization request in step S502, it is checked whether the event data requested from the upper system (10) was stored in the memory (24) (S509).

[0096] If there is no stored event data, an error packet is generated and transmitted (S512) as in step S510. The upper system (10) that receives the error packet requests event data again, and this time, it deletes the stored event data by differentiating the index value and requests synchronous collection of event data.

[0097] If there is a stored event, the controller (22) generates a response packet (S511) and transmits it to the upper system (10) via the transceiver (21) (S512), thereby enabling asynchronous event data to be received and processed.

[0098]

[0099] In this way, the present invention can process event data asynchronously, and can continuously update and process it by enabling initialization in consideration of the collection point for asynchronous processing of event data.

[0100] This gateway (20) that communicates with the upper system (10) via Ethernet must transmit event data to multiple upper systems (10), and when providing event data synchronously, it takes a long time to provide the event data to the upper system (10) because the amount of event data is large, and data collection performance may be degraded due to the occurrence of traffic. However, the present invention has the feature of providing event data asynchronously, thereby reducing traffic and preventing deterioration of data collection performance.

[0101]

[0102] While the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, they are merely exemplary, and those skilled in the art will understand that various modifications and equivalent embodiments are possible. Therefore, the true scope of technical protection of the present invention should be defined by the following claims.

[0103] The present invention relates to a communication device that enables communication between a higher system and a lower system through a heterogeneous communication method using the laws of nature, and has industrial applicability.

Claims

1. Lower-level power devices of the power system; Upper systems that receive information from the lower power devices and control the lower power devices; and A communication device for a distribution panel, including a gateway that performs Ethernet communication with a number of upper-level systems and serial communication with the lower-level power devices, asynchronously or synchronously collects point data and event data generated from the lower-level power devices, and synchronously or asynchronously transmits point data or event data depending on the type of request from the upper-level system.

2. In paragraph 1, The above gateway is, Collect and store asynchronous point data and asynchronous event data from the above sub-power devices, A communication device for a distribution panel, characterized in that when the upper system requests asynchronous point data or asynchronous event data, it transmits stored asynchronous point data or asynchronous event data.

3. In paragraph 2, The above gateway is, When there is a request for synchronization point data from the above upper system, A communication device for a distribution panel, characterized in that it requests point data from a lower power device and transmits the received point data to the upper system.

4. In paragraph 3, The above event data is, stored in the above gateway, A communication device for a distribution panel, characterized in that it asynchronously transmits stored event data when a request for event data is made from a higher-level system.

5. In paragraph 1, The above gateway is, Check the event data request from the upper system above, and if there is no stored event data corresponding to the index of the request, A communication device for a distribution panel, characterized by initializing stored event data.

6. In paragraph 5, Initialization of saved event data, At the above gateway, Delete saved event data, A communication device for a distribution panel, characterized in that it requests event data from a lower power device, stores the received event data, and transmits it to the upper system.

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