Actuator, assembly and arrangement

Abstract

The invention relates to an actuator (1) in automation technology for actuating a fitting such as a valve, comprising: a motor (10) such as an electric motor or a fluid motor; a transmission (20); an output (30) for actuating the fitting; an electronic operating circuit (40) for operating the motor; wherein the transmission (20) is designed to transmit a force or a torque to the output; a communication assembly (50) having at least one communication connection (51), and in particular at least two communication connections (51), wherein the at least one communication connection (51) is designed to receive a respective optical, near-infrared, ultraviolet or electrical, in particular modular and / or pluggable, transceiver (100) for wired communication, wherein the actuator has a communication control device (60).

Description

[0001] Actuator, assembly and arrangement

[0002] The invention relates to an actuator for automation technology, an assembly comprising such an actuator and a transceiver or transmit / receive device, and an arrangement with several electrical devices, wherein at least one of the electrical devices is an assembly.

[0003] Actuators for actuating valves have transceivers for transmitting data, as shown, for example, in US20230220928A1, where the transceivers shown therein are configured to exchange data between a control unit and a sensor of the actuator.

[0004] Transceivers are also used in actuators to exchange data with the actuator's environment. Various problems can arise in this process, impairing communication between an actuator and another communication device.

[0005] The object of the invention is to detect such impairments.

[0006] The problem is solved by an actuator according to independent claim 1, by an assembly according to independent claim 9, and by an arrangement with several electrical devices, wherein at least one of the electrical devices is an assembly, according to independent claim 15.

[0007] An actuator according to the invention for automation technology for actuating a fitting such as a valve comprises: a motor such as an electric motor or a fluid motor; a gearbox; an output for actuating the fitting; an electronic operating circuit for operating the motor; wherein the gearbox is configured to transmit a force or torque to the output;a communication assembly with at least one communication port, and in particular at least two communication ports for communication with external devices, wherein the at least one communication port is configured to accommodate an optical, near-infrared, ultraviolet or electrical, in particular modular and / or pluggable, transceiver for wired or wireless communication, wherein the actuator has a communication control device configured to check communication with external devices.

[0008] In this way, it can be determined, for example, whether communication between the actuator and external devices, or between external devices in a network, is working, whether there are incompatibilities, or whether communication is deteriorating.

[0009] The communication module includes, for example, a circuit board on which a communication circuit is arranged. The communication circuit is designed to ensure communication between the communication ports and / or between a communication port and the electronic operating circuit.

[0010] In one embodiment, the communication control device is designed to

[0011] To collect information for a reliability test of communication between the actuator and external devices and / or a compatibility test of communication between the actuator and external devices, and / or for a compatibility test between two external communication partners and / or for a diagnosis of at least one transceiver, wherein the communication control device is, for example, configured to evaluate the information or to send it to an external electronic device such as a computer or a control center for evaluation.

[0012] Ensuring compatibility can include, for example, checking a manufacturer's part number or the type identifier of the transceivers used and issuing a warning message if there is no compatibility.

[0013] A reliability check can be performed, for example, by checking the maximum data transmission rate, the presence of data packet errors, the data transmission volume, or the utilization of a maximum data transmission rate.

[0014] A communication circuit may also be provided, which is designed to ensure communication between the electronic operating circuit and the at least one communication port. The communication circuit may be arranged on a circuit board.

[0015] The communication module can have a PHY sub-circuit for each communication port, wherein the PHY sub-circuit provides or comprises a physical coding sublayer.

[0016] In one embodiment, the communication module can have at least two communication ports, with the communication circuit being set up to ensure communication between the communication ports.

[0017] In one embodiment, the communication control device is configured to monitor and / or check at least one, and in particular at least two, and preferably at least three of the following quantities or parameters of the at least one transceiver:

[0018] Transceiver temperature,

[0019] Duration of a temperature limit being exceeded by the transceiver, electrical transmit and / or receive power, time course of the electrical transmit and / or

[0020] Receive power, electrical voltage and / or electrical current at a transceiver component, maximum data transmission rate, presence of data packet errors, data transmission volume.

[0021] Utilization of a maximum data transfer rate,

[0022] Wavelength of a transmission signal;

[0023] Article or serial number of a transceiver component for the purpose of identifying a nominal transmission rate and / or a supported Ethernet standard.

[0024] In one embodiment, the communication control device or the electronic operating circuit is configured to calculate or detect the following based on the testing or monitoring of the listed quantities or parameters: a remaining service life or remaining operating time of the transceiver;

[0025] Signal attenuation;

[0026] Presence of a pipe crush or an insufficient bending radius in a pipe section;

[0027] Presence of contamination at contact between a conductor and an associated coupler;

[0028] The presence of an installation or design error;

[0029] Distance between two participants. In one embodiment, the transceiver and / or the communication control device is configured to adapt a transmit and receive power to a state of the transceiver and / or transmission link, wherein the adaptation is based on measured values ​​of the listed quantities or parameters.

[0030] Adjustments can be made with regard to the lifespan of the transceiver or with regard to stable communication.

[0031] In one embodiment, when the transceiver reaches a critical temperature, the transmit and receive power is reduced in order to reduce electrical power consumption.

[0032] In one embodiment, the transceiver is configured to send out signal pulses in case of a fault, so that, based on the signal propagation time of reflections of the signal pulses, a statement can be made about the distance and / or type of a line fault.

[0033] In one embodiment, the communication control device is part of the communication assembly or the electronic operating circuit.

[0034] In one configuration, the electronic operating circuit and the communication module are set up to exchange data using a data protocol such as Profinet, Modbus TCP, Ethernet / IP.

[0035] In one embodiment, the actuator has a

[0036] Housing arrangement with at least one housing on , wherein motor, gearbox , output, electronic operating circuitry and communication connections are arranged in the housing arrangement .

[0037] An assembly according to the invention comprises: an actuator according to one of the preceding claims; at least one optical, near-infrared, ultraviolet or electrical, in particular modular and / or pluggable transceiver, wherein the transceiver is connected to a communication port of the actuator.

[0038] In one configuration, the transceiver is a fiber optic transceiver.

[0039] In one embodiment, the transceiver includes a SEP or SFP+ module, in particular according to specification INF-80741, for example, dated May 12, 2001.

[0040] SEP and SFP+ modules are standardized modules for network connections that are easy and quick to replace.

[0041] In one embodiment, the transceiver is configured to convert between the physical implementation of bit transmission and / or data security on the line and the physical implementation of bit transmission and / or data security of the communication module.

[0042] This refers to the physical layer as well as the

[0043] Data link layer according to the OS I model

[0044] In one embodiment, the physical implementation of bit transmission and / or security is achieved through one of the following:

[0045] Characteristics:

[0046] Interpretation of communication distance

[0047] Transmit and / or receive power

[0048] Fiber type of optical waveguide

[0049] Electrical data transmission

[0050] Electromagnetic, especially optical, data transmission

[0051] Wavelength and / or frequency of the transmission

[0052] Network standards such as 100Base-LX, 1000Base-LX, or 10Base-T1L (SPE / APL) etc.

[0053] In an arrangement according to the invention with several electrical devices such as actuators, wherein at least one of the electrical devices is an assembly according to the invention, the actuators each form a communication assembly with at least two communication connections and preferably at least three communication connections and a communicative network, wherein a topology of the network is a ring, or a line or a mesh network, wherein the at least one actuator according to one of the preceding claims is configured to receive and evaluate diagnostic data from at least one further actuator of the network, wherein an evaluation provides, in particular, information on at least one of the following points:

[0054] Presence of vulnerabilities in the network, cause of the vulnerabilities, type of vulnerability.

[0055] The invention thus makes it possible to significantly increase communicative security in applications, especially in networks of actuators, and to detect the risk of failure of individual communication participants at an early stage.

[0056] The invention is described below using exemplary embodiments.

[0057] Fig. 1 shows an exemplary schematic assembly according to the invention comprising an actuator for automation technology and a transceiver;

[0058] Fig. 2 shows an exemplary schematic arrangement with assemblies according to the invention, which form a network.

[0059] Fig. 1 shows an exemplary schematic assembly 200 according to the invention comprising an exemplary actuator 1 according to the invention for automation technology and a transceiver 100;

[0060] The actuator 1 comprises a motor 10, which can be an electric motor or a fluid motor. The motor is configured to apply a torque or force to an output 30, with an intermediate gearbox 20 being configured to convert the torque or force appropriately. The output 30 is configured to actuate an actuator of a fitting, such as a valve. An electronic operating circuit 40 is configured to operate the motor 10. A housing 70 with at least one housing chamber 71 is configured to house actuator components.

[0061] According to the invention, the actuator has a communication module 50 with at least one communication port 51, here by way of example two communication ports 51 for communication with external devices, wherein the at least one communication port 51 is configured to accommodate one optical, near-infrared, ultraviolet or electrical, in particular modular and / or pluggable, transceiver 100 for wired communication. The communication module can have a circuit board 52 with a communication circuit 53, wherein the at least one communication port is arranged on the circuit board 52. The communication circuit 53 is configured to ensure communication between transceivers 100 and / or between a transceiver 100 and the electronic operating circuit.The at least one transceiver of the module 200 is configured to convert between the physical implementation of the bit transmission and / or security on the line and the physical implementation of the bit transmission and / or security of the communication module.

[0062] This refers to the physical layer and the data link layer according to the OS I model.

[0063] A physical implementation of bit transmission can be characterized by one of the following features:

[0064] Interpretation of communication distance

[0065] Transmit and / or receive power

[0066] Fiber type of optical waveguide; Electrical data transmission

[0067] Electromagnetic, especially optical, data transmission.

[0068] Because the transceiver is designed to convert between an external communication environment and the internal communication environment of the communication module, changes to a communication standard, transmission path, and / or transmission path requirements do not necessitate a modification or replacement of the actuator or its communication module. This ensures the future-proofing of the actuators.

[0069] In one embodiment, the communication module, as shown here, has a PHY sub-circuit 54 for each communication port 51, wherein the PHY sub-circuit provides or comprises a physical coding sublayer. The pluggable transceiver 100 is configured to provide a medium-dependent physical layer, so that a physical interface, or PHY, is formed by the PHY sub-circuit and the transceiver. The separation of the PHY, or physical interface, between the PHY sub-circuit and the transceiver is achieved by a "Physical Medium Attachment Sub-layer".

[0070] The number of communication ports is not limited to two; for example, three or four or even more than four communication ports may be provided for a communication module 50.

[0071] The electronic operating circuit 40 and the communication module 50 can be configured to exchange data using a data protocol such as Profinet, Modbus TCP, Ethernet / IP.

[0072] The Transceiver 100 can have a fiber optic transceiver module, or be of the fiber optic type, where fiber optic stands for optical fiber. The Transceiver 100 can have an SFP or SFP+ module, in particular according to specification INF-80741, for example, dated May 12, 2001.

[0073] According to the invention, an electronic communication control device 60 is further provided, which is configured to detect the state of communication flows and / or communication participants. The communication control device can be, as shown here by way of example, a component of the communication assembly or of the electronic operating circuit 40.

[0074] This includes, for example, collecting information for a reliability check and / or compatibility check of the communication of the actuator 1 with external devices, and / or for a compatibility check between two external communication devices and / or for a diagnosis of the at least one transceiver 100, wherein the communication control device is, for example, configured to evaluate the information or to send it to an external electronic device such as a computer or a control center for evaluation.

[0075] The communication control device 60 is, for example, configured to monitor and / or check at least one, and in particular at least two, and preferably at least three of the following quantities or parameters of the at least one transceiver 100:

[0076] Transceiver temperature,

[0077] Duration of a temperature limit being exceeded by the transceiver, electrical transmit and / or receive power of the transceiver, time course of the electrical transmit and / or receive power, electrical voltage and / or electrical current at a transceiver component, maximum data transmission rate, presence of data packet errors, data transmission volume.

[0078] Utilization of a maximum data transfer rate,

[0079] Wavelength of a transmission signal;

[0080] Part number or serial number of a transceiver component for the purpose of identifying a nominal transmission rate and / or a supported Ethernet standard.

[0081] In this way it can be determined whether communication participants are within an arrangement 300 ( Fig. 300).

[0082] 2) fit together, and whether a physical state of the assembly 200 and / or the arrangement 300 (see Fig. 2) of assemblies 200 according to the invention allows stable communication.

[0083] For example, an increased temperature of the transceiver 100, caused by high transmission power and / or high ambient temperatures, can lead to increased wear of electronic transceiver components. This can negatively affect the maximum data transmission rate, for example, because the signal amplitude of a transmitted signal drops.

[0084] Therefore, the communication device can be configured, for example, to reduce transmit and receive power when the transceiver 100 reaches a critical temperature, in order to reduce the electrical power consumption of the transceiver, provided the transmission signal quality is of a sufficient minimum standard. In this way, exceeding the critical temperature can be avoided or limited in duration. Other quantities or parameters listed above can also be used to adjust transmit and receive power. Adjustment can also involve increasing transmit and receive power, for example, if a condition improvement occurs in a transceiver 100 and / or assembly 200 and / or arrangement 300.

[0085] The communication control device 60 or the electronic operating circuit 40 can be configured to calculate or detect the following based on testing or monitoring of the quantities or parameters or from reflections of signal pulses: a remaining lifetime or operating time of the transceiver 100; signal attenuation;

[0086] Presence of a pipe crush or an insufficient bending radius in a pipe section;

[0087] Presence of contamination at contact between a conductor and an associated coupler;

[0088] The presence of an installation or design error;

[0089] A distance between two communication participants.

[0090] The Transceiver 100 can be configured to send signal pulses in the event of a fault, in order to make a statement about the distance and / or type or presence of a line fault such as signal attenuation; presence of a line pinch or an insufficient bending radius in a line section; presence of contamination at contact between a line and an associated coupler via a signal propagation time.

[0091] Fig. 2 shows an exemplary schematic arrangement 300 according to the invention with several electrical devices, such as actuators 1, wherein at least one of the electrical devices is an assembly according to the invention, and wherein the electrical devices form a network 310. The network can, for example, have a line topology as shown here, which can be converted into a ring topology by connecting the ends (dashed lines). Other network topologies, such as a mesh network, can also be established.

[0092] A communication control device 60 of at least one assembly 200 according to one of the preceding claims is configured to receive and evaluate diagnostic data from at least one other actuator of the network, wherein an evaluation provides, in particular, information on at least one of the following points: the presence of vulnerabilities in the network, and the cause of the vulnerabilities. By analyzing the above-mentioned quantities and parameters, a statement can be made about the state of the network. In particular, an assembly can be configured to request diagnostic and / or evaluation data from other assemblies of the network in order to base its own analysis on a broader data foundation and to determine or locate the cause of errors or impairments more precisely.

[0093] / Reference symbol list

[0094] Reference symbol list

[0095] 1 actuator

[0096] 10 Motor

[0097] 20 gearboxes 30 outputs

[0098] 40 electronic operating circuit

[0099] 50 Communication module

[0100] 51 Communication port

[0101] 52 circuit boards

[0102] 53 Communication Circuit

[0103] 54 PHY section circuit

[0104] 60 Communication control device

[0105] 70 Housing arrangement

[0106] 71 cases

[0107] Transceiver

[0108] module

[0109] arrangement

[0110] network

[0111] / Patent claims

Claims

Patent claims 1. An actuator (1) for automation technology for actuating a fitting such as a valve, comprising: a motor (10) such as an electric motor or a fluid motor; a gearbox (20); an output (30) for actuating the fitting; an electronic operating circuit (40) for operating the motor; wherein the gearbox (20) is configured to transmit a force or torque to the output;wherein the actuator has a communication module (50) with at least one communication port (51), and in particular at least two communication ports (51) for communication with external devices, wherein the at least one communication port (51) is configured to accommodate an optical, near-infrared, ultraviolet or electrical, in particular modular and / or pluggable, transceiver (100) for wired or wireless communication, wherein the actuator has a communication control device (60), characterized in that the communication control device (60) is configured to; To collect information for a reliability check of a communication of the actuator ( 1 ) with external devices and / or for a compatibility check of a communication of the actuator ( 1 ) with external devices, and / or for a compatibility check between two external communication devices and / or for a diagnosis of the at least one transceiver ( 100 ), wherein the communication control device or the electronic operating circuit is, for example, configured to evaluate the information or to send it to an external electronic device such as a computer or a control center for evaluation.

2. Actuator according to claim 1, wherein the communication control device (60) or the electronic operating circuit is configured to monitor and / or check at least one and in particular at least two and preferably at least three of the following quantities or parameters of the at least one transceiver (100): Transceiver temperature, Duration of a temperature limit being exceeded by the transceiver, Electrical transmit and / or receive power of the transceiver, time course of the electrical transmit and / or receive power, electrical voltage and / or electrical current at a transceiver component, maximum data transmission rate, presence of data packet errors, data transmission volume. Utilization of a maximum data transfer rate, Wavelength and / or frequency of a transmission signal; Part number or serial number of a transceiver component for the purpose of identifying a nominal transmission rate and / or a supported Ethernet standard.

3. Actuator according to claim 2, wherein the communication control device (60) or the electronic operating circuit (40) is configured to calculate or detect, based on testing or monitoring of the quantities or parameters or from reflections of signal pulses, the following: a remaining lifetime or remaining operating time of the transceiver (100); Signal attenuation; Presence of a pipe crush or an insufficient bending radius in a pipe section; Presence of contamination at contact between a conductor and an associated coupler; The presence of an installation or design error; A distance between two communication participants.

4. Actuator according to one of claims 2 or 3, wherein the transceiver (100) and / or communication control device (60) is configured to adapt a transmit and receive power to a state of the transceiver and / or transmission link, wherein the adaptation is based on measured values ​​of the quantities or parameters .

5. Actuator according to claim 4, wherein the communication device is configured to reduce transmit and receive power, particularly while maintaining a specified transmission quality, when the transceiver (100) reaches a critical temperature, in order to reduce electrical power consumption by the transceiver.

6. Actuator according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the communication control device (60) is part of the communication assembly (50) or the electronic operating circuit (40).

7. Actuator according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the electronic operating circuit (40) and the communication module (50) are configured to exchange data using a data protocol such as Profinet, Modbus TCP, Ethernet / IP.

8. Actuator according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the actuator (1) has a housing arrangement (70) with at least one housing, wherein motor (10), gearbox (20), output (30), electronic operating circuit (40), and communication assembly (50) are arranged in the housing arrangement.

9. Assembly (200) comprising an actuator (1) according to one of the preceding claims; at least one optical, near-infrared, ultraviolet or electrical, in particular modular and / or pluggable transceiver (100) , wherein the at least one transceiver (100) is connected to a communication port (51) of the actuator.

10. Assembly according to claim 9, wherein the transceiver (100) comprises an optical fiber transceiver module or is of the optical fiber type, and / or wherein the transceiver provides or comprises a medium-dependent physical layer or Physical Medium Dependent Sublayer .

11. Assembly according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the transceiver (100) comprises an SFP or SFP+ module, in particular according to specification INF-80741, for example, dated May 12, 2001.

12. Assembly according to one of claims 9 to 11, wherein the transceiver (100) is configured to send signal pulses in the event of a fault in order to make a statement about the distance and / or type of a line fault via a signal propagation time of reflections of the signal pulses.

13. Assembly according to one of claims 9 to 12, wherein the transceiver (100) is configured to convert between the physical implementation of the bit transmission and / or the data link layer on the line and the physical implementation of the bit transmission and / or the data link layer of the communication assembly.

14. Assembly according to claim 13, wherein a physical implementation of the bit transmission layer and / or the data link layer is characterized by one of the following features: Interpretation of communication distance Transmit and / or receive power Fiber type of optical waveguide Electrical data transmission Electromagnetic, especially optical, data transmission Wavelength and / or frequency of the transmission Network standards such as 100Base-LX, 1000Base-LX, or 10Base-T1L (SPE / APL) etc.

15. Arrangement (300) with several electrical devices such as actuators (1), wherein at least one of the electrical devices is an assembly according to one of claims 10 to 14, wherein the actuator (1) of the assembly (200) has a communication assembly (50) with at least two communication ports (51) and preferably at least three communication ports (51), wherein the electrical devices form a communicative network (310), wherein a topology of the network is a ring, or a line or a mesh network, wherein an actuator (1) of the at least one assembly (200) according to one of the preceding claims is configured to receive and evaluate diagnostic data from at least one other electrical device of the network, wherein an evaluation provides in particular information on at least one of the following points: Presence of vulnerabilities in the network, cause of the vulnerabilities, type of vulnerability. / Summary

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