Motor control device, communication protocol setting method, and communication protocol setting program

Abstract

A motor control device (100) controls a motor on the basis of control information received via an industrial network. The motor control device (100) comprises: a communication processing unit (111) that performs communication via the industrial network using one of a plurality of types of communication protocols; and a communication protocol setting unit (112) that sets a communication protocol for use by the communication processing unit on the basis of information included in a communication frame (1) received in a state in which communication by the communication processing unit via the industrial network is not performed.

Description

Motor control device, communication protocol setting method, and communication protocol setting program

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a motor control device having a function of connecting to a communication network in an industrial system, a communication protocol setting method, and a communication protocol setting program.

[0002] A motor control device that controls a motor installed in a factory production line or the like receives control information from other control devices or the like via a communication network and controls the motor based on the received control information. A communication network used in an industrial system is called an industrial network.

[0003] There are multiple types of communication protocols used in industrial networks. For example, CC-Link (Control & Communication Link) (registered trademark), EtherCAT (Ethernet for Control Automation Technology) (registered trademark), EtherNet / IP (Ethernet Industrial Protocol) (registered trademark), PROFINET (Process Field Network) (registered trademark), etc. exist. Therefore, it is desirable that the motor control device be configured to be able to select an appropriate communication protocol according to the specifications, performance, etc. of the device that is the communication partner.

[0004] In response to such problems, for example, Patent Document 1 describes a communication adapter device provided with a protocol selection switch, and the communication protocol to be used can be set by a user operating this protocol selection switch.

[0005] International Publication No. 2010 / 116488

[0006] Generally, factory production lines are equipped with numerous motors and motor control devices. The communication adapter device described in Patent Document 1 is configured to have a physical switch, which the user operates to set the communication protocol to be used. Therefore, it is necessary to manually set the communication protocol for each device, which is time-consuming. In particular, when there are many devices that require communication protocol settings, the setting work takes a lot of time and places a heavy workload on the user.

[0007] This disclosure has been made in view of the above, and aims to provide a motor control device that can reduce the workload of selecting and setting a communication protocol from among several types of communication protocols.

[0008] To solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the objectives, this disclosure provides a motor control device that controls a motor based on control information received via an industrial network, comprising: a communication processing unit that performs communication via the industrial network using one of several types of communication protocols; and a communication protocol setting unit that sets the communication protocol to be used by the communication processing unit based on information contained in a communication frame received when the communication processing unit is not performing communication via the industrial network.

[0009] The motor control device described herein has the effect of reducing the workload of selecting and configuring a communication protocol from among several types of communication protocols.

[0010] Figure showing an example configuration of the motor control device according to Embodiment 1. Flowchart showing an example of operation of the motor control device according to Embodiment 1. Figure showing an example of how the motor control device according to Embodiment 1 displays the settings of the communication protocol. Figure showing an example configuration of the motor control device according to Embodiment 2. Figure showing an example configuration of the motor control device according to Embodiment 3.

[0011] The motor control device, communication protocol setting method, and communication protocol setting program according to embodiments of this disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

[0012] Embodiment 1. Figure 1 shows an example of the configuration of a motor control device 100 according to Embodiment 1. The motor control device 100 includes a network communication unit 110, an information storage unit 120, a storage unit 130, an application unit 150, and a display unit 160.

[0013] The motor control device 100 has a function to connect to an industrial network (not shown) and controls a motor (not shown) based on control information received via the industrial network. The motor control device 100 is also configured to support multiple types of communication protocols and uses one of these protocols to communicate via the industrial network.

[0014] The network communication unit 110 includes a communication processing unit 111 and a communication protocol setting unit 112.

[0015] The communication processing unit 111 sends and receives data with other devices connected via the industrial network. In this process, the communication processing unit 111 uses a pre-configured communication protocol.

[0016] The communication protocol setting unit 112 recognizes the communication protocol specified externally as the communication protocol to be used by the communication processing unit 111, and sets the specified communication protocol as the communication protocol to be used by the communication processing unit 111. The communication protocol to be used by the communication processing unit 111 is specified by a communication frame 1 transmitted from an external device, which is an external device. The external device can be any device that has a communication function. For example, the external device may be an industrial computer, a tablet terminal, or a smartphone. When the communication protocol setting unit 112 is set to operate in communication protocol setting mode, which is a mode for recognizing and setting communication protocols, it recognizes and sets the communication protocol to be used by the communication processing unit 111 for communication over the industrial network. That is, when the communication protocol setting unit 112 is set to operate in communication protocol setting mode, it analyzes the received communication frame 1 and recognizes the communication protocol to be used by the communication processing unit 111. The communication frame 1 that specifies the communication protocol to be used is received by the communication processing unit 111 using the communication protocol specified at that time. When the motor control device 100 is in its initial state, such as immediately after leaving the factory, the communication processing unit 111 receives the communication frame 1 using a predetermined communication protocol. Immediately after leaving the factory, it may be configured to operate in communication protocol setting mode.

[0017] The information storage unit 120 stores communication protocol setting information 121 and operation mode setting information 122.

[0018] The communication protocol setting information 121 is updated by the communication protocol setting unit 112. Specifically, it is updated when the communication protocol setting unit 112 recognizes the communication protocol used by the communication processing unit 111. This communication protocol setting information 121 indicates the communication protocol used by the communication processing unit 111. The communication protocol setting information 121 is referenced when the communication processing unit 111 is operating. That is, when the communication processing unit 111 performs communication via an industrial network, it refers to the communication protocol setting information 121 held by the information storage unit 120 and performs communication using the communication protocol indicated by the communication protocol setting information 121.

[0019] The operation mode setting information 122 indicates the operation mode of the network communication unit 110. Specifically, the operation mode setting information 122 indicates either a first operation mode, which is the normal operation mode in which the communication processing unit 111 performs communication using a communication protocol according to the communication protocol setting information 121, or a second operation mode, which is the communication protocol setting mode in which the communication protocol setting unit 112 analyzes the communication frame 1 and recognizes and sets the communication protocol to be used by the communication processing unit 111. In other words, the operation mode setting information 122 indicates whether the communication processing unit 111 or the communication protocol setting unit 112 is operating in the network communication unit 110.

[0020] The operating mode setting information 122 is set by the user. The operating mode setting information 122 may be configured using a physical switch such as a DIP (Dual In-line Package) switch, or it may be configured using parameters stored in non-volatile memory.

[0021] The storage unit 130 stores operation data 131 used by the communication processing unit 111 of the network communication unit 110 when it performs communication over an industrial network. The operation data 131 consists of multiple communication protocol stacks corresponding to each of the multiple communication protocols (communication protocols #1 to #N) that the communication processing unit 111 can use. The communication protocol stacks that make up the operation data 131 are, for example, modularized communication programs that correspond to any one of the communication protocols and are executed when the communication processing unit 111 performs communication over an industrial network. The communication protocol stacks that make up the operation data 131 may also be operation parameters for each communication protocol that are used when the communication processing unit 111 operates.

[0022] The communication protocol stack that constitutes the operation data 131 is read when the communication processing unit 111 is operating. That is, the communication processing unit 111 reads the communication protocol stack corresponding to the communication protocol indicated by the communication protocol setting information 121 held by the information storage unit 120 from the storage unit 130, and performs communication over the industrial network based on the read communication protocol stack.

[0023] The application unit 150 controls the motor to be controlled according to control information for motor control received via the industrial network.

[0024] The display unit 160 displays the status of the network communication unit 110, for example, the operating mode and the setting status of the communication protocol to be used.

[0025] According to the motor control device 100 of Embodiment 1, which has the configuration shown in Figure 1, the user can start the communication protocol recognition process by setting the operation mode setting information 122 to the communication protocol setting mode and enabling the operation of the communication protocol setting unit 112.

[0026] Next, the overall operation of the motor control device 100 will be described. Figure 2 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the motor control device 100 according to Embodiment 1.

[0027] First, the network communication unit 110 checks whether the operating mode is the communication protocol setting mode (step S11). Specifically, it checks whether the operating mode setting information 122 held in the information storage unit 120 indicates operation in the communication protocol setting mode.

[0028] In communication protocol setting mode (step S11: Yes), the communication protocol setting unit 112 checks whether or not a communication frame 1 has been received (step S12). If a communication frame 1 has not been received (step S12: No), the communication protocol setting unit 112 repeats the operation in step S12, i.e., checking whether or not a communication frame 1 has been received. If a communication frame 1 has been received (step S12: Yes), the communication protocol setting unit 112 analyzes the received communication frame 1 (hereinafter referred to as the received frame) (step S13) and sets the communication protocol (step S14).

[0029] In steps S13 and S14, the communication protocol setting unit 112 automatically recognizes the communication protocol by reading the information inserted in the received frame and sets it to the communication protocol to be used. Specifically, the communication protocol setting unit 112 reads an identifier (hereinafter simply referred to as "identifier") indicating the type of communication protocol inserted in the received frame. The identifier is not limited to information of a specific network layer. The communication protocol setting unit 112 may recognize the type of communication protocol by combining identifiers existing in multiple network layers. For example, the communication protocol setting unit 112 may recognize the communication protocol using only the Ethernet Type described in the header of the Ethernet® frame, or it may recognize the communication protocol by combining the Ethernet Type and the destination port number described in the IP header. The communication protocol setting unit 112 sets the communication protocol by rewriting the communication protocol setting information 121 in the information storage unit 120 based on the identifier. The communication protocol setting unit 112 may write the identifier read from the received frame directly to the information storage unit 120 as communication protocol setting information 121.

[0030] After setting the communication protocol in step S14, the communication protocol setting unit 112 presents the settings to the user (step S15) and checks whether or not there is an instruction to reconfigure (step S16).

[0031] In step S16, the communication protocol setting unit 112 presents the settings of the communication protocol to the user, for example, by displaying them on the display unit 160. Any presentation method is acceptable as long as the user can recognize the settings. For example, presentation may be made by sound, or by using both sound and display.

[0032] An example of a method of presentation by displaying on the display unit 160 will be described. Figure 3 is a diagram showing an example of a method by which the motor control device 100 according to Embodiment 1 displays the settings of a communication protocol.

[0033] Figure 3 shows an example where the display unit 160 uses a 3-digit 7-segment LED (Light Emitting Diode) for display. The communication protocol setting unit 112 presents the recognized communication protocol to the user by, for example, displaying 'C', 'L', and 'T' on the display unit 160 if the communication protocol is CC-Link IE TSN, and displaying 'E', 'C', and 'T' on the display unit 160 if the communication protocol is Ethernet. Alternatively, a single LED may be used to represent the communication protocol by color, blinking cycle, etc.

[0034] After the communication protocol setting unit 112 presents the communication protocol settings in step S15, the user confirms the presented content and determines whether the expected communication protocol has been set. If the expected communication protocol has not been set, the user instructs the communication protocol to be reset. The communication protocol setting unit 112 may receive the reset instruction in any way. For example, the communication protocol setting unit 112 may determine that a reset has been instructed when the user performs an operation to reset the power of the motor control device 100 without changing the operation mode setting information 122, or it may determine that a reset has been instructed when a certain period of time has elapsed after presenting the setting content in step S15 without receiving an operation from the user to confirm the setting, or it may provide an operation unit such as a switch for instructing a reset and determine that a reset has been instructed when this operation unit is operated.

[0035] If there is an instruction to reset (step S16: Yes), the process returns to step S12, and the communication protocol setting unit 112 waits for the next communication frame 1 to be received.

[0036] This allows the user to have the motor control device 100 re-execute the recognition process until it recognizes the expected communication protocol, and to set the expected communication protocol.

[0037] On the other hand, if there is no instruction to reset (step S16: No), the communication protocol setting unit 112 updates the operation mode setting information 122 to complete the communication protocol setting (step S17), and the operation of the network communication unit 110 in communication protocol setting mode ends. In step S17, the communication protocol setting unit 112 specifically modifies the operation mode setting information 122 so that the communication processing unit 111 performs communication using the communication protocol according to the communication protocol setting information 121. Note that the update of the operation mode setting information 122 may be performed according to instructions from the user. For example, the user may input the change content, and the operation mode setting information 122 may be modified according to the input change content.

[0038] Furthermore, if the system is not in communication protocol setting mode, i.e., in normal operation mode (step S11: No), the communication processing unit 111 checks whether or not a communication frame 1 has been received (step S18). If a communication frame 1 has not been received (step S18: No), the communication processing unit 111 repeats the operation in step S18, i.e., checking whether or not a communication frame 1 has been received. If a communication frame 1 has been received (step S18: Yes), the system performs data reception processing (step S19). Specifically, first, the communication processing unit 111 reads from the storage unit 130 the communication protocol stack corresponding to the communication protocol indicated in the communication protocol setting information 121 held by the information storage unit 120. Next, the communication processing unit 111 processes the received frame using the read communication protocol stack and passes the resulting application information to the application unit 150. The application information includes information for motor control, etc. The application unit 150 controls the motor, etc., according to the application information received from the communication processing unit 111. When the data reception processing is complete, the system returns to step S18.

[0039] The operation of the motor control device 100 has been described according to the flowchart shown in Figure 2, but some parts of this operation may be modified. For example, when a command to reset the communication protocol is received, the communication protocol setting unit 112 stores the information of the communication protocol recognized by analyzing the received frame immediately before receiving the command, and resumes the communication frame reception process. Subsequently, when the communication protocol setting unit 112 receives a communication frame, it analyzes this communication frame to recognize the communication protocol, compares the recognition result with the stored communication protocol information, and continues the communication protocol recognition process if the two are the same, and completes the communication protocol recognition process if the two are different. In other words, in the communication protocol reset operation, the process of receiving communication frames, analyzing the received frames, and recognizing the communication protocol continues until a communication protocol different from the communication protocol recognized before receiving the reset command is recognized. In this way, by creating a mechanism that does not recognize a communication protocol that has been recognized once in the next recognition process, the number of retries until the communication protocol expected by the user is recognized can be reduced.

[0040] As described above, the motor control device 100 according to Embodiment 1 includes a communication processing unit 111 that performs communication over an industrial network using one of several types of communication protocols, and a communication protocol setting unit 112 that analyzes the received frame and recognizes the communication protocol used by the communication processing unit 111. The motor control device 100 operates either the communication processing unit 111 or the communication protocol setting unit 112 according to the operation mode setting information 122. By making the communication processing unit 111 and the communication protocol setting unit 112 mutually exclusive in operation, the recognition process of the communication protocol can be executed at the timing intended by the user. The motor control device 100 also includes a display unit 160 that displays the result of the communication protocol setting. This allows the user to determine whether or not the recognition process by the communication protocol setting unit 112 needs to be re-executed. As a result, even in an industrial network where communication frames 1 of multiple types of communication protocols are mixed on the same trunk line, it is possible to set the communication protocol expected by the user in the motor control device 100. Furthermore, by connecting multiple motor control devices 100 to the same industrial network, it becomes possible to simultaneously recognize the communication protocol by distributing a communication frame 1 containing an identifier indicating the type of communication protocol from an external device. This reduces the effort and cost compared to manually setting the communication protocol to be used for each of the multiple motor control devices 100. The external device may be a controller that controls the motor control devices 100, or it may be an engineering tool for setting up the motor control devices 100.

[0041] In this embodiment, an example has been described in which the communication protocol setting unit 112 analyzes a single received frame to recognize the communication protocol. However, the communication protocol setting unit 112 may recognize the communication protocol by other means. For example, the communication protocol setting unit 112 may recognize the communication protocol based on information from one or more communication frames 1 received while the operation mode setting information 122 indicates a communication protocol setting mode. For example, the communication protocol may be recognized and set based on statistical quantities obtained from the received communication frame 1. An example of a method for recognizing the communication protocol based on statistical quantities obtained from the communication frame 1 is shown below.

[0042] The motor control device 100 is connected to an industrial network within the FA (Factory Automation) system. The industrial network uses both periodic and non-periodic communication between devices, and the motor control device 100 uses periodic communication to control the motor. In addition, generally, the motor control device 100 communicates at relatively short intervals compared to other devices in order to perform advanced motor control. Utilizing this characteristic, the communication protocol setting unit 112 can recognize communication protocols in an industrial network where communication frames 1 of multiple types of communication protocols coexist on the same trunk line. For example, the communication protocol setting unit 112 recognizes that among the communication protocols identified from the received frames, those with a high number of receptions or a short average reception interval are the communication protocols used by the motor control device 100.

[0043] An example of how the communication protocol setting unit 112 recognizes the communication protocol based on the number of times communication frame 1 has been received will be described.

[0044] The communication protocol setting unit 112 has a storage area for storing the reception counts of each of the plurality of communication protocols supported by the motor control device 100. The communication protocol setting unit 112 identifies the type of communication protocol by reading the identifier of the communication protocol inserted into the received communication frame 1. When the identified communication protocol is included in the plurality of communication protocols supported by the motor control device 100, the communication protocol setting unit 112 increments the reception count of that communication protocol. After repeating this operation, the communication protocol setting unit 112 recognizes the communication protocol with the highest reception count among the stored reception counts of each communication protocol as the communication protocol to be set in the motor control device 100.

[0045] Although the timing of recognizing the communication protocol by the communication protocol setting unit 112 is not specified, for example, the communication protocol setting unit 112 may recognize the communication protocol whose reception count exceeds the threshold as the communication protocol to be set in the motor control device 100 at the timing when the reception count of the communication frame 1 of any one communication protocol exceeds the threshold. Also, the communication protocol setting unit 112 may recognize the communication protocol with the highest reception count as the communication protocol to be set in the motor control device 100 at the timing when a certain period of time has elapsed since the first reception of the communication frame 1. Further, the communication protocol setting unit 112 may perform the recognition of the communication protocol at the timing when the communication protocol with the highest reception count changes. Specifically, when the communication protocol with the highest reception count changes, the communication protocol setting unit 112 recognizes the communication protocol with the highest reception count as the communication protocol to be set in the motor control device 100.

[0046] In this way, by the communication protocol setting unit 112 recognizing the communication protocol based on the information of the plurality of communication frames 1, in an industrial network configured such that communication frames 1 of a plurality of types of communication protocols are mixed on the same backbone, the probability that the communication protocol setting unit 112 misrecognizes the communication protocol can be reduced. Along with this, the number of executions of the communication protocol recognition operation is also reduced, and the time required for the motor control device 100 to recognize the communication protocol desired by the user can be shortened.

[0047] Embodiment 2. In the network configuration used in the FA system, a motor control device having a plurality of communication ports may be daisy-chain connected to form a network topology. Therefore, in this embodiment, a method for setting a communication protocol by the daisy-chain connected motor control devices will be described.

[0048] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the motor control devices 100a and 100b according to Embodiment 2. The motor control devices 100a and 100b have the same configuration as the motor control device 100 according to Embodiment 1. However, in FIG. 4, components not directly related to the description of this embodiment, specifically, components corresponding to the storage unit 130, the application unit 150, and the display unit 160 of the motor control device 100 are not described.

[0049] Also, although the motor control device 100a and the motor control device 100b are devices having the same configuration, different reference numerals are given because it is necessary to distinguish between them in the description. Further, the network communication units 110a and 110b have the same functions as the network communication unit 110 of the motor control device 100 described in Embodiment 1 and execute the same processing. The information storage units 120a and 120b hold the same information as the information storage unit 120 of the motor control device 100 described in Embodiment 1.

[0050] Figure 4 shows an example of a configuration in which two motor control devices, 100a and 100b, each equipped with two communication ports, are daisy-chained together. When the operating mode setting information 122a of motor control device 100a and the operating mode setting information 122b of motor control device 100b both indicate a communication protocol setting mode, when motor control device 100a receives a communication frame 1 at communication port 180a, the communication frame 1 is forwarded to the communication protocol setting unit 112a and communication port 190a. The communication protocol setting unit 112a reads the identifier of the communication protocol inserted in the received communication frame 1 and sets the communication protocol setting information 121a to indicate the communication protocol corresponding to the read identifier. Communication port 190a outputs the communication frame 1. Subsequently, motor control device 100b receives the communication frame 1 at communication port 180b, and the communication protocol setting unit 112b reads the identifier of the communication protocol inserted in the received communication frame 1 and sets the communication protocol setting information 121b to indicate the communication protocol corresponding to the read identifier.

[0051] Figure 4 shows an example of sending and receiving communication frames 1 between motor control devices 100a and 100b, but communication frames 1 can also be sent and received between motor control devices 100a or 100b and other devices. When sending communication frames 1 to other devices, the communication port settings of motor control devices 100a or 100b must be matched to the settings of the connected device. In particular, communication protocols used in industrial networks have specified communication port settings such as communication speed. For example, with Ethernet, it is necessary to set the communication speed to 100 Mbps and full-duplex communication.

[0052] In motor control devices 100a and 100b, when the operation mode setting information 122a and 122b indicates the normal operation mode, that is, when the operation of the communication processing units 111a and 111b is enabled, the settings of each communication port (communication ports 180a, 180b, 190a, 190b) are determined according to the communication protocol. For this reason, motor control devices 100a and 100b change the settings of each communication port to match the connected device only when the operation mode setting information 122a and 122b indicates the communication protocol setting mode, that is, when the operation of the communication protocol setting units 112a and 112b is enabled. The method of setting the communication ports is not specified, but for example, communication ports 180a, 180b, 190a, and 190b may be set by auto-negotiation, or the appropriate communication port setting may be searched for by repeatedly switching the communication port settings supported by the device (motor control devices 100a, 100b) and attempting to communicate. Furthermore, communication ports 180a and 190a and communication ports 180b and 190b may be configured in different ways.

[0053] In this way, by using the operation mode setting information 122a and 122b to make the operation of the communication processing units 111a and 111b and the operation of the communication protocol setting units 112a and 112b mutually exclusive, flexible communication port settings become possible without being restricted by a specific communication protocol.

[0054] As described above, according to the motor control devices 100a and 100b of Embodiment 2, in a daisy-chain connection of multiple motor control devices, it is possible to forward the communication frame 1, into which the communication protocol identifier has been inserted, to the subsequently connected motor control device. Therefore, the communication protocol of all connected motor control devices can be set at once, reducing the effort required to set the communication protocol for multiple motor control devices. In this embodiment, the received communication frame 1 is forwarded as is to another communication port (a communication port other than the communication port that received the communication frame 1), but it is also possible to perform a conversion process on the data contained in the received communication frame 1 and forward the communication frame 1 containing the converted data. For example, the motor control device may perform a process such as adding its own device information to the data to be forwarded.

[0055] Embodiment 3. Figure 5 shows an example of the configuration of the motor control device 100c according to Embodiment 3. In Figure 5, the same reference numerals are used for components that are common to the motor control device 100 according to Embodiment 1 shown in Figure 1. The components of the motor control device 100c that are given the same reference numerals as in Figure 1 will not be described.

[0056] As shown in Figure 5, the motor control device 100c includes a network communication unit 110c, an information storage unit 120c, a storage unit 130c, an application unit 150, and a display unit 160.

[0057] The network communication unit 110c includes a communication-related processing unit 113. In the normal operation mode, the communication-related processing unit 113 operates in the same way as the communication processing unit 111 of the motor control device 100 according to Embodiment 1, and in the communication protocol setting mode, it operates in the same way as the communication protocol setting unit 112 of the motor control device 100 according to Embodiment 1. That is, in the normal operation mode, the communication-related processing unit 113 operates as the communication processing unit 111 of the motor control device 100 according to Embodiment 1, and in the communication protocol setting mode, it operates as the communication protocol setting unit 112 of the motor control device 100 according to Embodiment 1.

[0058] The information storage unit 120c stores the execution operation specification information 123. The execution operation specification information 123 is information that specifies the operation to be performed by the network communication unit 110c. The execution operation specification information 123 indicates either operation in communication protocol setting mode or operation in normal operation mode, and also indicates the communication protocol to be used when operating in normal operation mode. In other words, the execution operation specification information 123 corresponds to information that combines the communication protocol setting information 121 and operation mode setting information 122 stored in the information storage unit 120 of the motor control device 100 according to Embodiment 1.

[0059] The storage unit 130c stores operation data 131 and communication protocol setting processing data 132. The operation data 131 stored in the storage unit 130c is used when the communication-related processing unit 113 operates in normal operation mode. That is, the operation data 131 is used when the communication-related processing unit 113 performs communication over an industrial network. The communication protocol setting processing data 132 is used when the communication-related processing unit 113 operates in normal protocol setting mode. That is, the communication protocol setting processing data 132 is used when the communication-related processing unit 113 sets the communication protocol used for communication over an industrial network. The communication protocol setting processing data 132 is, for example, a modularized program. The communication protocol setting processing data 132 may also be operation parameters used when the communication-related processing unit 113 operates in communication protocol setting mode.

[0060] Next, the operation of the motor control device 100c will be described. Note that only the differences in operation from the motor control device 100 in Embodiment 1 will be explained, and similar operations will be omitted.

[0061] The motor control device 100c differs from the motor control device 100 according to Embodiment 1 in some of the operations performed by the network communication unit 110c.

[0062] If the execution operation specification information 123 held by the information storage unit 120c indicates a normal operation mode, the communication-related processing unit 113 of the network communication unit 110c reads the communication protocol stack corresponding to the communication protocol indicated by the execution operation specification information 123 from the operation data 131 of the storage unit 130c, and operates according to the read communication protocol stack.

[0063] Furthermore, if the execution operation specification information 123 held by the information storage unit 120c indicates a communication protocol setting mode, the communication-related processing unit 113 of the network communication unit 110c reads the communication protocol setting processing data 132 from the storage unit 130c and operates according to the read communication protocol setting processing data 132. Specifically, the communication-related processing unit 113 checks the identifier of the communication protocol inserted in the received communication frame 1 and updates the execution operation specification information 123 in the information storage unit 120c. Specifically, the communication-related processing unit 113 modifies the execution operation specification information 123 so that it indicates the same communication protocol as the communication protocol indicated by the identifier of the communication protocol inserted in the received communication frame 1, and also indicates a normal operation mode. The timing at which the communication-related processing unit 113 updates the execution operation specification information 123 is the timing at which it detects that the communication protocol recognized based on the communication frame 1 matches the communication protocol expected by the user. The determination of whether or not the communication protocol recognized based on the communication frame 1 matches the communication protocol expected by the user is performed in the same manner as in Embodiment 1.

[0064] Thus, in this embodiment, the motor control device 100c, based on the execution operation specification information 123 indicating the operating mode and the communication protocol to be used when operating in the normal operating mode, has the communication-related processing unit 113 of the network communication unit 110c exclusively execute operation in the normal operating mode and operation in the communication protocol setting mode.

[0065] According to the motor control device 100c, the execution operation specification information 123 is updated upon completion of the communication protocol setting process and changes to indicate the normal operation mode, thus eliminating the need for a setting operation to switch from operation in the communication protocol setting mode to operation in the normal operation mode.

[0066] The operation to switch from the normal operation mode to the communication protocol setting mode is performed by changing the setting of the execution operation specification information 123. For example, the value indicating the communication protocol setting mode may be set as the initial value of the execution operation specification information 123, and the execution operation specification information 123 may be reset to the initial value. In general, opportunities to set the communication protocol for a motor control device are mostly during the assembly of an FA system and when a motor control device fails and needs replacing, and this is also true for the motor control device 100c according to this embodiment. For this reason, setting the operation mode of the network communication unit 110c in the initial state of the motor control device 100c to the communication protocol setting mode can reduce effort and cost.

[0067] As shown in this embodiment, by using execution operation specification information 123, which combines the communication protocol setting information 121 and the operation mode setting information 122 used in the motor control device 100 according to Embodiment 1, as setting information, it is possible to reduce the amount of setting information while reducing the effort and cost for the user.

[0068] Next, we will describe the hardware that implements the motor control devices 100, 100a, 100b, and 100c described in each embodiment. Since the motor control devices 100, 100a, 100b, and 100c can be implemented with similar hardware, we will describe an example of the hardware that implements the motor control device 100 according to Embodiment 1.

[0069] The motor control device 100 can be implemented using, for example, a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit, processing unit, arithmetic unit, microprocessor, microcomputer, also called a DSP (Digital Signal Processor)) or a system LSI (Large Scale Integration), memory such as RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), or flash memory (non-volatile or volatile semiconductor memory), a communication interface such as a network interface card, and a display device such as a liquid crystal panel.

[0070] The network communication unit 110 and application unit 150 of the motor control device 100 are realized by the processor executing programs for each of these units to operate. The programs for the network communication unit 110 and application unit 150 to operate are pre-stored in memory. The processor reads the programs from memory and executes them to operate as the network communication unit 110 and application unit 150.

[0071] The information storage unit 120 and storage unit 130 of the motor control device 100 are implemented using memory. The memory also holds the above-mentioned program and is used as temporary memory when the motor control device 100 performs various processes.

[0072] The display unit 160 of the motor control device 100 is implemented using a display device.

[0073] Alternatively, the motor control device 100 may be implemented using processing circuits such as FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) or ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit).

[0074] The above program is assumed to be pre-stored in the memory of the motor control device 100, but is not limited to this. The program may be supplied to the user in a state where it is written on a recording medium such as a CD (Compact Disc)-ROM or DVD (Digital Versatile Disc)-ROM, and the user may install it in the memory of the motor control device 100. Alternatively, the program may be provided to the user via a network such as the Internet.

[0075] The configurations shown in the above embodiments are merely examples, and it is possible to combine them with other known technologies, combine different embodiments, and omit or modify parts of the configuration without departing from the gist of the invention.

[0076] For example, while each embodiment described an example in which a communication protocol used for communication via an industrial network is selected and set from among several types of communication protocols, it is also possible to apply the above-described embodiments when replacing the industrial network with a general communication network and setting the communication protocol used by a device connected to the general communication network.

[0077] 1. Communication frame, 100, 100a, 100b, 100c. Motor control device, 110, 110a, 110b, 110c. Network communication unit, 111, 111a, 111b. Communication processing unit, 112, 112a, 112b, 112c. Communication protocol setting unit, 120, 120a, 120b, 120c. Information storage unit, 121, 121a, 121b. Communication protocol setting information, 122, 122a, 122b. Operation mode setting information, 123. Execution operation specification information, 130, 130c. Storage unit, 131. Operation data, 132. Data for communication protocol setting processing, 150. Application unit, 160. Display unit, 180a, 180b, 190a, 190b. Communication port.

Claims

1. A motor control device that controls a motor based on control information received via an industrial network, comprising: a communication processing unit that performs communication via the industrial network using one of a plurality of communication protocols; and a communication protocol setting unit that sets the communication protocol to be used by the communication processing unit based on information contained in a communication frame received when the communication processing unit is not performing communication via the industrial network.

2. The motor control device according to claim 1, comprising: an information storage unit that stores operation mode setting information indicating either a first operation mode in which the communication processing unit performs the communication over the industrial network, or a second operation mode in which the communication protocol setting unit performs an operation to recognize the communication protocol used by the communication processing unit; and communication protocol setting information indicating the communication protocol used by the communication processing unit in operation in the first operation mode; and a storage unit that stores a communication protocol stack for each of a plurality of types of communication protocols used in the communication over the industrial network, wherein the communication processing unit performs the communication over the industrial network using the communication protocol stack corresponding to the communication protocol indicated by the communication protocol setting information when the operation mode setting information indicates the first operation mode, and the communication protocol setting unit recognizes the communication protocol used by the communication processing unit based on the information included in the communication frame and updates the communication protocol setting information to reflect the recognition result.

3. The motor control device according to claim 1, comprising: an information storage unit that stores execution operation specification information indicating either a first operation mode in which the communication processing unit performs the communication over the industrial network, or a second operation mode in which the communication protocol setting unit performs an operation to recognize the communication protocol used by the communication processing unit, and indicating the communication protocol used by the communication processing unit in operation in the first operation mode; a storage unit that stores a communication protocol stack for each of a plurality of types of communication protocols used in the communication over the industrial network, and data for communication protocol setting processing; and a communication-related processing unit that operates as the communication processing unit using the communication protocol stack and operates as the communication protocol setting unit using the communication protocol setting processing data, wherein the communication-related processing unit performs the communication over the industrial network using the communication protocol stack corresponding to the communication protocol indicated by the execution operation specification information when the execution operation specification information indicates the first operation mode, and when the execution operation specification information indicates the second operation mode, it recognizes the communication protocol used when operating as the communication processing unit based on the information included in the communication frame, and updates the execution operation specification information to reflect the recognition result.

4. The motor control device according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the communication protocol setting unit, after recognizing the communication protocol to be used by the communication processing unit, sets the recognized communication protocol to be used by the communication processing unit when the specified conditions are met.

5. A motor control device according to any one of 2 to 4, further comprising a display unit that displays the result of the communication protocol recognition by the communication protocol setting unit.

6. The motor control device according to claim 5, characterized in that when the communication protocol setting unit receives a predetermined operation from the user while the display unit is displaying the recognition result, it again performs the process of recognizing the communication protocol to be used by the communication processing unit.

7. The motor control device according to any one of 2 to 6, characterized in that the communication protocol setting unit recognizes the communication protocol to be used by the communication processing unit based on statistical amounts obtained from the communication frame received during the second operating mode and the information contained in the received communication frame.

8. A motor control device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that it has multiple communication ports, and when the communication protocol setting unit receives a communication frame while it is operating, it forwards the received communication frame to a communication port other than the communication port that received the communication frame.

9. A communication protocol setting method for a motor control device that controls a motor based on control information received via the industrial network, wherein the motor control device is configured to operate in a first operating mode for performing communication over an industrial network using one of several types of communication protocols, and a second operating mode for setting the communication protocol used for the said communication, the method comprising: a first step of switching the operating mode to the second operating mode and receiving a communication frame; and a second step of setting the communication protocol used for the said communication in the first operating mode based on the information contained in the communication frame received in the first step.

10. A communication protocol setting program for a motor control device that controls a motor based on control information received via the industrial network, wherein the motor control device is configured to operate in a first operating mode for performing communication over an industrial network using one of several types of communication protocols, and a second operating mode for setting the communication protocol to be used for the said communication, the program comprising: causing a computer constituting the motor control device to perform a first step of switching the operating mode to the second operating mode and receiving a communication frame; and a second step of setting the communication protocol to be used for operation in the first operating mode based on the information contained in the communication frame received in the first step.

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