Industrial Controller Timing for Precise Control-Cycle Data Collection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing industrial equipment control systems face challenges in achieving high time measurement accuracy for data collection, leading to errors and inefficient resource utilization due to reliance on dedicated calendar ICs with low time measurement precision and long read cycles.
Innovation Solution
A controller with a built-in time measurement function that counts a time counter value synchronized with the control clock, eliminating the need for dedicated circuits like calendar ICs, allowing for precise time measurement and data synchronization during control cycles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a dedicated calendar IC is used for time measurement, then the time measurement function is provided, but the time measurement accuracy is low and read cycles are long
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the time measurement function from the dedicated calendar IC and implements it using the controller's existing control clock and counter resources. This eliminates the need to read from slow calendar IC registers and enables high-precision time measurement using the controller's native timing resources, directly resolving the contradiction between having a time measurement function and achieving high accuracy with fast read cycles.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent makes the controller's control clock and counter resources serve dual purposes: both for control cycle generation and for high-precision time measurement. By utilizing existing high-speed timing resources for multiple functions, the system achieves accurate time measurement without relying on slow dedicated calendar IC reads, thereby resolving the contradiction between time measurement capability and measurement speed/accuracy.
2Measurement precision
If a dedicated calendar IC is used for time measurement, then the time measurement function is provided, but processing resource consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the controller's control clock and counter resources serve dual purposes: both for control cycle generation and for high-precision time measurement. By utilizing existing high-speed timing resources for multiple functions, the system achieves accurate time measurement without requiring additional dedicated circuits or increasing processing resource consumption, thus resolving the contradiction between measurement precision and resource usage.
Solution Approach 2:
The controller uses its own internal control clock and counter resources to perform time measurement, eliminating the need for external dedicated calendar ICs and their associated read operations. This self-service approach provides high-precision time measurement while minimizing processing resource consumption by utilizing already-available internal timing resources.
3Productivity
If data acquisition is performed at control cycles, then control commands are transmitted regularly, but time synchronization errors occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent preliminarily establishes time synchronization by using the control clock to generate precisely synchronized control cycles for data acquisition. By pre-synchronizing the timing of control commands with the control clock before data acquisition begins, the system maintains both high productivity through regular control cycles and high time synchronization accuracy without conflicts.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback by using the counter to monitor and record the timing of control cycles with high precision. This feedback mechanism ensures that each data acquisition operation is accurately timestamped and synchronized with the control clock, maintaining both efficient regular data collection and precise time synchronization accuracy throughout the measurement process.
Data Source
AI summary
A controller includes a port via which a control command is output to an industrial equipment at every control cycle, a clock configured to generate a control clock based on which the control cycle is generated, and a time counter configured to count a time counter value at every cycle that is equal to the control cycle.