Heterogeneous Fieldbus Gateway for Faster Multi-Inverter Control
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The existing heterogeneous fieldbus communication systems face speed limitations and cost inefficiencies due to the need for expensive Ethernet-based communication equipment, particularly when monitoring or controlling multiple industrial devices, which restricts the number of devices that can be effectively managed and affects system competitiveness.
Innovation Solution
A gateway system where a master inverter with both Ethernet and serial communication modules processes and transmits commands directly to slave inverters without intervention from the control device, optimizing communication efficiency by reducing execution time and enabling more devices to be managed within the same cost framework.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If Ethernet-based fieldbus communication equipment is used, then communication speed and system competitiveness are improved, but system cost increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments communication functions into two parts: the control device uses expensive Ethernet communication for high-speed command transmission, while the slave devices use inexpensive serial communication for data transmission. The master inverter acts as an intermediary that bridges these two communication layers, allowing the system to achieve high-speed control where needed while keeping overall costs low.
Solution Approach 2:
The master inverter serves as an intermediary device between the Ethernet-based control device and the serial-based slave devices. It receives commands from the control device via Ethernet, processes them, and transmits to slave devices via serial communication, thereby enabling heterogeneous communication protocols to work together seamlessly.
2Ease of manufacture
If a gateway system is employed for communication between control systems, then system cost is reduced, but communication efficiency and speed are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The master inverter performs preliminary processing of commands received from the control device before transmitting them to slave devices. It pre-processes the data, determines which slave devices need to receive which commands, and prepares the transmission in advance, thereby reducing overall communication cycle time and improving efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables continuous communication operations by allowing the control device to send commands to the master inverter via high-speed Ethernet while the master inverter simultaneously manages serial communications with multiple slave devices. This overlapping of communication activities eliminates idle waiting time and maintains continuous useful action throughout the system.
Data Source
Figure 1~2A
Figure 2B~3A
Figure 3B~4
AI summary
A heterogeneous fieldbus-based gateway system includes a master inverter and a control device. The control device is configured to transmit, to the master inverter, a data indicating that the same monitoring or control command is to be transmitted to all of the master inverter and a plurality of slave inverters. When the master inverter determines based on the data that the control device transmits the same monitoring or control command to all of the master inverter and the plurality of slave inverters, the master inverter is configured to transmit a response to the command to the control device and to transmit the command to each of the slave inverters.