TWI414916B - I/o module, controlling system, and operating method of i/o module - Google Patents

Abstract

An I/O module which forming a function hardware circuit including: an information database, a hardware setting unit, and a microprocessor. The information database is stored at least one function describing information according to a plurality of function hardware circuits which the I/O module can be formed. The hardware setting unit is set to output an identification signal according to the present function hardware circuit of the I/O module. The microprocessor executes a firmware program and connects with the hardware setting unit for receiving the identification signal. The firmware program according to the identification signal loads the corresponding function describing information from the information database, and then enables the loaded function describing information to present a purpose function. Therefore, the present invention can achieve the purpose of automatically adjusting the function according to the diversity of hardware.

Description

Input/output module and its application control system and its operation method

The invention relates to an input/output module, in particular to an input/output module capable of automatically adjusting functions according to its own hardware difference and a control system thereof and a method for operating the same.

With the rapid development of technology, the development cycle of electronic products is increasingly demanding timeliness in response to market demand. Manufacturers engaged in R&D and production can understand that in the development process, in order to respond to the design of different hardware products, the firmware version will be different, and even there will be only some micro-function differences between different hardware products. And most of them are still the same function, but it is necessary to produce another version of the firmware to match. With more and more firmware versions, indirect problems will cause maintenance problems in the future, allowing developers to increase their work schedules and waste unnecessary time.

The same is true in the field of industrial control. Currently, industrial controllers, such as Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), are equivalent to computers and can be combined with different input/output modules. (I/O Module) for receiving (inputting) and transmitting (outputting) various types of electrical or electronic signals to control the machine equipment, manufacturing process, and other control modes through digital or analog input/output modules. Group of electronic systems. Therefore, in the field of industrial control, the input/output module can also be regarded as a product that works with the firmware.

Among them, it is assumed that different input/output modules have some similar functions, and when the developer has new functions to add or have errors to modify, all versions of the firmware must be modified. This is a waste of a lot of human resources in the invisible manufacturer of the input / output module, and it is easy to cause an error in the process of modifying a large number of different versions of the firmware. In addition, if there are some differences between different versions of the firmware after modification, the quality and stability between different input/output modules will also be inconsistent.

Therefore, there is indeed room for further improvement in the development and management of the firmware of the input/output module.

In view of the above, the technical problem to be solved by the present invention is that through the improvement of the input/output module, it can be operated with a firmware having a single architecture, and the firmware of the single architecture is designed to be input with the input. / The actual hardware difference of the output module is equipped with suitable function description information, so that the firmware of the same architecture can display different functions according to the hardware of different input/output modules.

In order to solve the above problems, according to an aspect of the present invention, an input/output module is provided, which is formed with a functional hardware circuit. The input/output module includes: an information database, a hardware setting unit, and a Microprocessing unit. The information database is configured to store at least one function description information according to a plurality of functional hardware circuits that can be formed by the input/output module, and the hardware setting unit is based on the function hardware circuit of the current input/output module. The setting generates an identification signal. The microprocessor unit executes a firmware program and connects to the hardware setting unit for receiving the identification signal. The firmware program will carry the corresponding function description information in the information database according to the identification signal, and enable the function description information carried to present a purpose function.

In order to solve the above problems, according to another aspect of the present invention, a control system is provided, which is an input/output module including the above solution, and the control system is capable of functioning according to the function of the input/output module. The circuit and the purpose function corresponding to the firmware program therein control at least one controlled device.

In order to solve the above problems, according to still another aspect of the present invention, an operation method of an input/output module is provided, the steps comprising: first, loading an information database, wherein the information database is based on an input/output module A plurality of functional hardware circuits that can be formed and correspondingly store at least one function description information. Then, an identification signal generated according to the function hardware circuit of the current input/output module is obtained, and then the corresponding function description information in the information database is carried according to the identification signal. Finally, enable the function description information carried to present a purpose function.

Therefore, the achievable effect of the present invention is that when the functional hardware circuit of the input/output module is changed in design, only the adjustment of the hardware setting unit is required, and the firmware program is configured accordingly. Presents functions that match the functional hardware circuitry. In this way, the firmware of the same architecture can be used together between different input/output modules, thereby reducing the burden on firmware management and reducing the troubles in firmware maintenance, allowing developers to develop. If you add or modify it, you don't have to waste time repetitively modifying all versions of the firmware.

The above summary, the following detailed description and the annexed drawings are intended to further illustrate the manner, the Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be described in the following description and drawings.

The input/output module of the present invention is used in the field of industrial control, and in practical applications, it is connected with a computer to form an industrial controller, for example, a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC), that is, the following The control system described in the embodiments is used to control an electronic system for controlling machine equipment, manufacturing process flows, and other control modules. In addition, in fact, for the difference of the overall control conditions (such as: different controlled objects), the input/output modules that are matched in the control system will also be different, and a control system may also be matched with multiple different Functional input/output modules to meet control needs.

The present invention is improved by the input/output module, so that it can be operated with a firmware with a single architecture, and the firmware is designed to change with the actual function of the input/output module. In order to automatically load the appropriate function description information, the same firmware can be displayed in different hardware of different input/output modules.

Please refer to the first figure, which is a block diagram of an application embodiment of the control system of the present invention. As shown in the figure, a control system 1 provided in this embodiment includes an input/output module 10 and a computer 11. The portion of the input/output module 10 includes an information database 101, a hardware setting unit 102, a micro processing unit 103, a peripheral circuit 104, and a connection interface unit 105. And in actual design, the input/output module 10 is designed to have different functional hardware circuits 100 according to different control functions, and the functional hardware circuit 100 therein is also shown as a broken line in the first figure. The peripheral unit 104 is connected by the micro processing unit 103 to combine the design. In addition, the computer 11 further includes: a communication interface unit 111, an interface database 112, and an operation setting unit 113.

First, the architecture of the input/output module 10 will be described first. The information database 101 is designed to store at least one function description information according to the plurality of functional hardware circuits 100 that can be formed by the input/output module 10. Among them, the function description information refers to a related program for describing a function action in the field of software design, and each function hardware circuit 100 can correspond to more than one function description information. Incidentally, the more functional hardware circuits 100 that the input/output module 10 can design, the more data is pre-stored in the information database 101, and the more applicable it is. Changes in the input/output module 10 in the future. Therefore, the preferred design state is that the hardware changes generated by the future input/output module 10 can be estimated in advance based on experience, and the related function description information is stored in advance.

The hardware setting unit 102 is configured to generate an identification signal according to the functional hardware circuit 100 actually designed by the current input/output module 10. Further, the hardware setting unit 102 can be designed, for example, by automatic setting or manual setting. Wherein, if the automatic setting is adopted, the hardware setting unit 102 can be designed as a single-wafer controller, and the single-chip controller can automatically generate different identification signals according to the difference of the actual designed functional hardware circuit 100; If the manual setting is adopted, the hardware setting unit 102 can be designed, for example, as a pin header, and the user can jump the pin according to the function hardware circuit 100 to output different identification signals. Of course, those skilled in the art should understand that the definition of the identification signal must be defined in advance, and the information database 101 also needs to be correspondingly designed to facilitate the query comparison.

The micro processing unit 103 is connected to the hardware setting unit 102 to receive the identification signal, and the micro processing unit 103 is designed to have a built-in memory (not shown) for storing a firmware program 1301. So, the micro processing order

When the device 103 is in operation, the firmware program 1301 is executed, so that the firmware program 1301 loads the corresponding function description information in the information database 101 according to the identification signal, and further enables the function description information to be presented. The purpose function is to respond to the function hardware circuit 100 of the input/output module 10. The firmware program 1301 queries the comparison information database 101 according to the definition of the identification signal to find the corresponding function description information for piggybacking. In addition, since some basic circuits and functions may be the same between different input/output modules 10, the firmware program 1031 is preset to have a basic function description information, so that the firmware 1031 can be operated. The basic function description information is directly enabled to present a basic function to cope with a basic circuit (not shown) common to the input/output module 10.

It is to be noted that the above information database 101 can be designed to be connected to the micro processing unit 103 by using an external connection as shown in the first figure. Of course, it can also be designed to be directly built in the micro processing unit 103, thereby saving. Space on the hardware.

The connection interface unit 105 is connected to the micro processing unit 103 and is used to connect the communication interface unit 111 of the computer 11 for transmitting signals between the micro processing unit 103 and the computer 11. The connection interface unit 105 and the communication interface unit 111 can be connected by using a wired or wireless connection, for example, through the Internet (wired/wireless), serial standard (RS-232, RS-422, Connections are made by metric protocols such as RS-432 or RS-485), General Interface Bus (GPIB), or IEEE 1394. In addition, in the connection setting, the input/output module 10 is directly connected to the computer 11 as shown in the first figure, or directly connected to the computer 11 (this state) The sample is not shown).

Next, the architecture of the computer 11 will be described. The communication interface unit 111 is a connection interface unit 105 for connecting the input/output module 10. The design principle of the interface database 112 is the same as that of the information database 101 described above, and it is necessary to separately store an operation interface according to the plurality of functional hardware circuits 100 that can be designed and formed according to the input/output module 10. Not shown).

The operation setting unit 113 is an interface for providing operations to the user, and generally adopts a graphic user interface (GUI) design to facilitate operation. The operation setting unit 113 is connected to the communication interface unit 111 and the interface database 112 for obtaining the identification signal received by the micro processing unit 103 of the input/output module 10 through the communication interface unit 111, and then mounting the interface according to the identification signal. The corresponding operation interface in the database 112 provides a corresponding operation interface for the user to operate in response to the functional hardware circuit 100 of the input/output module 10. Therefore, the user can perform operation setting through the operation interface mounted on the operation setting unit 113 to generate an operation program for the function hardware circuit 100 of the current input/output module 10 to control the input/output module 10. The role of operation.

In this way, the control system 1 can be used to control the related workflow by constructing the design by the input/output module 10 and the computer 11 and then matching the at least one controlled device 2 suitable for the connection. In the operation of the control system 1, since the functions of the operation setting unit 113 of the computer 11 and the function hardware circuit 100 of the input/output module 10 and the firmware program 1031 are mutually corresponding, the use is performed. The operation setting program can be set by the operation setting unit 113 of the computer 11, and the controlled device 2 can be controlled by the function function of the function hardware circuit 100 and the firmware program 1031 of the input/output module 10. In order to achieve the purpose of controlling the operation process.

In addition, if the actual controlled workflow requires additional input signals to be matched, the input/output module 10 can further connect at least one signal generating device 3 with the support of the functional hardware circuit 100 to receive the signal generated. An auxiliary control signal generated by the device 3 is used to complete the control of the workflow. The signal generating device 3 is not limited to a digital signal generating device or an analog signal generating device, such as a switch, a timer, or the like. Of course, the above-mentioned controlled device 2 and signal generating device 3 are also not limited to being local devices or remote devices.

In addition to the above-described architectural description of the control system 1, in order to further describe the present invention, the operation portion of the input/output module 10 will be separately described below, based on the above-described architecture of the input/output module 10. Referring to the second figure, a flow chart of an embodiment of an operation method of the input/output module of the present invention is shown. As shown in the figure, the present embodiment provides an operation method of an input/output module. First, an information database (S201) is loaded, wherein the information database is based on various functions that can be formed by the input/output module. The body circuit respectively stores at least one function description information. Then, an identification signal (S203) generated according to the functional hardware circuit of the current input/output module is obtained (S203), wherein the generation of the identification signal is described in the embodiment of the first figure, and details are not described herein again.

The information database is then queried according to the identification signal to determine whether the identification signal is stored in the information database (S205). If the result of the step (S205) is YES, it means that the pre-designed stored information database has relevant function description information conforming to the function hardware circuit of the current input/output module. Therefore, the firmware program executed in the input/output module carries the corresponding function description information in the information database according to the identification signal (S207). And the function description information carried in the device is re-enabled to present a purpose function (S209). At the same time, since the basic function description information is usually built in the firmware program to respond to the basic circuit of the input/output module, the basic function description information is also displayed together to present a basic function (S211). .

If the result of the step (S205) is no, it means that the pre-designed stored information database does not have the relevant function description information of the function hardware circuit of the current input/output module, or the judgment of the identification signal. An error has occurred. Thus, only the step (S211) is performed to simply display the basic function description information to present the basic functions. Thereby, the operation of the input/output module of the embodiment is completed.

In summary, when the functional hardware circuit of the input/output module is changed in design, only the adjustment of the hardware setting unit, the firmware of the input/output module, and the operation in the computer are required. The setting unit automatically performs the function and operation interface corresponding to the current hardware circuit of the function in response to the mounting. In this way, the firmware of the same architecture can be shared between different input/output modules, so that when developers add or modify development, there is no need to waste time on all versions of the firmware. Repetitive modifications to the program to ease the burden of firmware management and reduce the chance of error in firmware maintenance. In turn, the quality and stability of the input/output modules of different functions are relatively consistent.

However, the above description is only for the purpose of illustration and illustration of the embodiments of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Variations or modifications that may be readily conceived within the scope of the invention may be covered by the scope of the invention as defined in the following.

1. . . Control System

10. . . Input/output module

100. . . Functional hardware circuit

101. . . Information database

102. . . Hardware setting unit

103. . . Micro processing unit

1031. . . Firmware

104. . . Peripheral circuit

105. . . Connection interface unit

11. . . computer

111. . . Communication interface unit

112. . . Interface database

113. . . Operation setting unit

2. . . Controlled device

3. . . Signal generating device

S201~S211. . . Flow chart step description

The first figure is a block diagram of an application embodiment of the control system of the present invention; and

The second figure is a flow chart of an embodiment of an operation method of the input/output module of the present invention.

1. . . Control System

10. . . Input/output module

100. . . Functional hardware circuit

101. . . Information database

102. . . Hardware setting unit

103. . . Micro processing unit

1031. . . Firmware

104. . . Peripheral circuit

105. . . Connection interface unit

11. . . computer

111. . . Communication interface unit

112. . . Interface database

113. . . Operation setting unit

2. . . Controlled device

3. . . Signal generating device

Claims (14)

An input/output module is formed with a functional hardware circuit, the input/output module includes: an information database, which is respectively corresponding to a plurality of functional hardware circuits that can be formed by the input/output module Storing at least one function description information; a hardware setting unit is configured to generate an identification signal according to the function hardware circuit of the current input/output module; and a micro processing unit is configured to execute a firmware program and connect The hardware setting unit receives the identification signal; wherein the firmware program carries the corresponding function description information in the information database according to the identification signal, and enables the function description information carried to present a purpose Features. The input/output module of claim 1, further comprising: a peripheral circuit connected to the micro processing unit, and the peripheral circuit is combined with the micro processing unit to form the input/output module. Functional hardware circuit. The input/output module of claim 2, wherein the firmware program preset has a basic function description information, and the basic function description information is enabled to present a basic function. The input/output module of claim 2, wherein the information database is built in the micro processing unit. The input/output module of claim 2, further comprising: a connection interface unit connected to the micro processing unit and configured to connect to a communication interface unit of a computer for transmitting the micro processing unit And the signal between the computer. The input/output module of claim 5, wherein the connection interface unit is connected to the communication interface unit by a wired or wireless connection. A control system having an input/output module as described in claim 1, wherein the control system is based on the functional hardware circuit of the input/output module and the purpose function corresponding to the firmware program Control at least one controlled device. The control system of claim 7, further comprising a computer, the computer comprising: a communication interface unit connected to the input/output module; and an interface database according to the input/output module The functional hardware circuits can be formed to respectively store an operation interface; and an operation setting unit is connected to the communication interface unit and the interface database for obtaining the identification signal received by the micro processing unit. And the corresponding operation interface in the interface database is mounted according to the identification signal; wherein the operation setting unit generates an operation on the function hardware circuit setting of the current input/output module through the installed operation interface Program to control the controlled device. The control system of claim 8, wherein the input/output module further comprises: a peripheral circuit connected to the micro processing unit, and the peripheral circuit is combined with the micro processing unit to form the input/output The functional hardware circuit of the module; and a connection interface unit connecting the micro processing unit and the communication interface unit to transmit signals between the micro processing unit and the computer. The control system of claim 9, wherein the connection interface unit is connected to the communication interface unit by a wired or wireless connection. The control system of claim 9, wherein the firmware program preset has a basic function description information and enables the basic function description information to present a basic function. An operation method of an input/output module includes the steps of: loading an information database, wherein the information database is correspondingly stored according to a plurality of functional hardware circuits that can be formed by the input/output module; Function description information; obtaining an identification signal generated according to a function hardware circuit of the current input/output module; and carrying the corresponding function description information in the information database according to the identification signal; and enabling the carried Function description information to present a purpose function. The method for operating an input/output module according to claim 12, further comprising: determining whether the identification signal is stored in the information database; wherein if the result of the identification signal is negative, Presetting a basic function description information to present a basic function; wherein, if the result of the identification signal is determined to be YES, in addition to loading and enabling the corresponding function description information in the information database according to the identification signal And also enable the basic function description information. The method for operating an input/output module according to claim 12, wherein the identification signal is generated by a hardware setting unit.