JP3435663B2 - Process control controller - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a process control controller, and in particular, an I / O module for inputting / outputting signals to / from various sensors and measuring instruments and a control unit for controlling the entire system are connected to a bus via a communication cable. Process control controller.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In this type of process control controller, as shown in FIG. 7, a plurality of I / O modules 12 for inputting / outputting signals to / from various sensors and measuring instruments, and through these I / O modules 12, A control unit 11 that controls the entire system by exchanging signals with various sensors and measuring devices is connected to a bus via a communication cable 2.

For example, in FIG. 7A, six connectors 21 are connected in parallel to the communication cable 2 by a bus,
A termination circuit 13 is provided at the end point. And
Connect these connectors 21 to the connector 1 of the control unit 11,
And by connecting with each connector 1 of five I / O modules, the control unit 11 and each I / O as a whole are connected.
The module 12 is connected to the bus.

Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 7 (a), when a new I / O module 12A is added to a process controller already connected by a communication cable 2, as shown in FIG. 7 (b). Then, a new communication cable 3 in which eight connectors 31 are connected in parallel to the bus is prepared. Then, the connector 31 of the communication cable 3, the control unit 11 and all the I / O modules 12, 12A
Connector 1 is connected to each.

[0005]

However, in such a conventional process control controller, it is necessary to prepare and connect a new communication cable each time the number of I / O modules connected changes due to expansion or the like. However, there is a problem that the burden required for the additional work is large and the additional work cannot be easily performed. The present invention is intended to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a process control controller that can be easily added.

[0006]

In order to achieve such an object, the process control controller according to the present invention comprises:
A communication cable that has a plurality of connectors that are electrically connected in parallel and that are spaced apart from each other in the longitudinal direction of the cable, and that connects the control unit and each I / O module to the bus via these connectors; / O module, and a storage box disposed adjacent to the / O module, and a termination circuit for electrically terminating the communication cable in the storage box,
A connector that is connected to the connector of the communication cable and electrically connects the communication cable and the terminating circuit, an unused connector of each connector of the communication cable, and a cable housing portion that houses the cable portion provided with these connectors. And are provided. Therefore, when the I / O unit is added, the unused connector accommodated therein is taken out from the storage box and connected to the I / O unit to be added.

Further, the storage box is provided with a first connector which is connected to the connector of the communication cable, and a second connector which is electrically connected in parallel with the connector, instead of the connector and the terminating circuit. It is a thing. Therefore, by connecting the extension communication cable to the second connector, the communication cable is extended through the storage box.

Further, the terminating circuit and connector of the storage box and the first and second connectors are exchangeably supported in the storage box. Therefore, by replacing these, it is possible to select the use of the storage box, that is, either the communication cable termination or the communication cable extension.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a process control controller according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
Shows before addition, and (b) shows after addition. In the figure, a plurality of I / O modules 12 for inputting / outputting signals to / from various sensors and measuring devices, and these I / O modules 1
A control unit 11 that controls the entire system by exchanging signals with various sensors and measuring devices via 2 is bus-connected via a communication cable 4.

The communication cable 4 includes six connectors 41 for connecting the control unit 11 and five I / O modules 12, and an I / O module 12 to be added in the future.
Connectors 4A to 4N for connecting A are provided. These additional connectors 4A to 4N are housed inside a housing box 14 that is installed alongside the I / O modules 12 and 12A.

The storage box 14 includes an additional connector 4
A cable housing portion 15 for housing A to 4N, a terminating circuit 13 connected to an end point of the communication cable 4, and any one of the extension connectors 4A to 4N, for example, the extension connector 4N and the terminating circuit 13 are connected. A connector 1A for performing the operation is provided. The termination circuit 13 is composed of a resistance element or a combination of a resistance element and a capacitance element.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a structural example of the storage box. The storage box 14 includes a box-shaped case 60 made of plastic resin and a cover 65.
Inside the case 60, two spaces are formed by the partition 61, one of which is used as the cable housing portion 15 for housing the additional connectors 4A to 4N, and the other is mounted with the termination circuit 13 and the connector 1A. It is used as a substrate storage unit 16 that stores the substrate 14A.

In particular, a guide groove 62 for supporting the board 14A is provided on the inner wall of the case 60 forming the board housing portion 16, and the wall portion of the case 60 forming the cable housing portion 15 is formed. Has a cable hole 63 for taking out an extension cable described later from the case 60.
Is provided. Further, the bottom of the case 60 is provided with a recess 69 for locking the case 60 on a DIN rail (not shown) described later.

On the other hand, a locking piece 66 having a locking claw 67 at its tip is provided on the side portion of the cover 65, and by fitting the locking claw 67 with the locking hole 64 of the case 60, The cover 65 is attached to the case 60. The terminal circuit 13 and the connector 1A are mounted on the board 14A,
A connector of the communication cable 4, for example, the connector 4N is connected to the connector 1A, and the communication cable 4 and the terminating circuit 13 are electrically connected via the connectors 1A and 4N.

In this case, in the actual process controller, the communication means connecting the control unit 11 and each I / O module is duplicated in consideration of reliability improvement. Therefore, in FIG. 3, two termination circuits 13 and two connectors 1A are mounted corresponding to the two communication cables 4. The substrate 17A is used in the second embodiment to be described later, and the description is omitted here.

As shown in FIG. 4, the storage box 14 having such a configuration is installed in the cabinet 75 along with each I / O module 12. Here, each I / O is attached to a DIN rail (not shown) fixed to the support member 71.
The O module 12 and the storage box 14 are closely attached to each other in a line, and the support member 71 is attached to the cabinet 7.
It is implemented in 5.

A tubular cable duct 72 is arranged on the support member 71 in parallel with each I / O module 12. There is a hole 73 on the side of this cable duct 72.
Is provided, and a terminal board (not shown) provided on the side of the I / O module 12 to which wiring from the sensor or the control device corresponds via the internal space of the cable duct 72 and the hole 73. Connected to.

The communication cable 4 is used for each I / O module 1
2 are sewn together, and the connector 41 of the communication cable 4 is connected to the connector 1 provided inside each I / O module 12. In addition, the connector 41 provided at the tip of the communication cable 4 is the cabinet 7
5 is connected to the connector 1 of the control unit 11 mounted in the unit 5.

On the other hand, the additional connectors 4A to 4M provided on the communication cable 4 and the cable portion in the section where these connectors 4A to 4M are provided are housed in the cable housing portion 15 inside the housing box 14. The connector 4N provided at the rear end of the communication cable 4 is connected to the connector 1A in the storage box 14.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing the mounting structure of the storage box. An engaging claw (not shown) is provided in the recess 69 at the bottom of the case 60, and the DIN rail 1 fixed to the support member 71 (see FIG. 4) by the engaging claw.
Locked at 8. Further, the case 60 includes a fastener 86 screwed to the DIN rail 18 and the I / O module 1.
It is sandwiched by 2 and.

The I / O module 12 is provided with a lid 81 that is openably and closably supported, and the lid 81 has a cutout portion on the side of the adjacent I / O module 12 and the side of the storage box 14. 82 is provided. Also, I
I / O module 12 adjacent to each other on the side of the case
Holes 83 on O module 12 side and storage box 14 side
Are provided, and the cutout portion 82 and the hole 83 are provided.
I / O module 1 to which communication cable 4 is adjacent via
2 and the storage box 14 are wired.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6, the storage box 1
In the cover 65 of No. 4, a slit 65A is provided on the side surface of the adjacent I / O module 12 side at a position facing the hole 83 of the I / O module 12, and the slit 65A penetrates to communicate. Cable 4 is storage box 1
4 is guided inside.

Therefore, before the addition of the I / O module 12A, the storage box 14 having such a configuration is used, and as shown in FIG. 1A, the extension connector 4A provided on the communication cable 4 is provided. Box 14 containing ~ 4M
The connector 4N at the rear end of the communication cable 4 is stored in the internal cable storage portion 15 and the storage box 14
It is connected to the internal connector 1A and is electrically connected to the terminal circuit 13 in advance.

When the I / O module 12A is to be expanded, the expansion connectors 4A and 4B housed in the cable housing section 15 are taken out and the I / O module 1 is installed.
Connect with connector 1 of 2A. As a result, without preparing a new communication cable, the communication cable used before the expansion can be used as it is, and the number of the connectors for the expansion can be set to I.
/ O modules can be added.

Therefore, the load required for the expansion work can be greatly reduced, and it is not necessary to separately provide a termination circuit, so that the I / O module can be easily expanded. Also,
The extra connector and the communication cable between the extra connector are not exposed to the outside, which can prevent the appearance of the interior of the cabinet from being deteriorated and prevent connection errors and accidents due to the exposure of the communication cable and the additional connector.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a process control controller according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and the same reference numerals are used for the same or equivalent parts as in FIG. 1 described above. The above-described first embodiment (see FIG. 1)
However, there is a limit to the number of I / O units that can be added using the same communication cable and the number of additional positions. In the present embodiment, I / O units can be expanded without being restricted by the number of expansion connectors or the arrangement intervals of expansion connectors.

That is, in this embodiment, the storage box 17 for extending and connecting the communication cable with another communication cable is provided. The storage box 17 is provided with a cable storage section 15 for storing an additional connector, and a connector 1B for connecting another communication cable instead of the terminating circuit 13.

The structure of the storage box 17 is almost the same as that of FIG. 3 described above, but a board 17A is used as a board on which the connector is mounted. That is, the termination circuit 13 is mounted on the board 14A used in the first embodiment in addition to the connector 1A, but the original communication cable 4 is connected to the board 17A used in the present embodiment. In addition to the connector 1B, a connector 1C for connecting the extension communication cable 5 is mounted.

In this case, in the actual process controller, the communication means connecting the control unit 11 and each I / O module is duplicated in consideration of reliability improvement. Therefore, two connectors 1B and 1C are mounted on the board 17A so as to correspond to the two communication cables 4.

Therefore, before the expansion of the I / O module 12A, the storage box 14 having such a configuration is used, and as shown in FIG. 1A, the expansion connector 4A provided on the communication cable 4 is installed. Box 14 containing ~ 4M
The connector 4N at the rear end of the communication cable 4 is stored in the internal cable storage portion 15 and the storage box 14
It is connected to the internal connector 1A and is electrically connected to the terminal circuit 13 in advance.

After that, when the I / O module 12A is added, as shown in FIG. 2, an extension storage box 17 is arranged in place of the original storage box 14, and the extension storage box 17 is placed in the cable storage section 15. The additional connectors 4A to 4M of the communication cable 4 are housed, and the connector 4N at the rear end of the communication cable 4 is connected to the connector 1B. Next, the connector 51 at the tip of the extension communication cable 5 is connected to the connector 1C of the storage box 14 and the additional I
The empty connector 51 of the communication cable 5 is connected to the connector 1 of the / O module 12A.

Then, the original (or new) storage box 14 is arranged adjacent to the I / O module 12A, and the unused connector connectors 5A to 5M of the communication cable 5 are used as future expansion connectors for the cable of the storage box 14. The connector 5N at the rear end of the communication cable 5 is connected to the connector 1A of the storage box 14 while being stored in the storage portion 15.

As a result, each I is connected via the communication cable 4.
/ O module 12 and control unit 11 are connected,
Further, each I / O module 12A and the control unit 11 which are added via the storage box 17 and the communication cable 5
Are connected, and finally the terminating circuit 13 of the storage box 14 is connected.
Will be connected.

Therefore, the I / O module can be expanded without being limited by the number of expansion connectors provided in advance on the original communication cable 4. Further, a new I / O module can be added to a position such as another DIN rail, which is apart from the original I / O module to some extent, for example, another DIN rail, and the I / O module can be added to an arbitrary place.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the substrate 14A according to the first embodiment and the substrate 1 according to the second embodiment.
By supporting 7A detachably (exchangeable), the use of the storage box, that is, either for communication cable termination or communication cable extension can be selected without removing the storage box. The work load when adding modules can be further reduced.

The terminating circuit 13 connected to the connector 1C may be provided so as to be connected to the connector 1C of the storage box 17. In addition, the termination circuit 1 is provided on the board 17A.
3 is mounted, and the terminating circuit 1 is a switch depending on the application.
It is also possible to select 3 connection / disconnection. As a result, the same configuration as that of FIG. 1B can be realized, it is not necessary to prepare the board 14A, and the board 17A can also be used for terminating the communication cable.

[0037]

As described above, according to the present invention, the I / O
A connector is provided in the storage box disposed adjacent to the module to electrically connect the terminal circuit provided in the storage box and the communication cable, and a cable storage portion is provided so that the Since the unused connectors and the cable part where these connectors are provided are housed inside, the communication cables that were used before the expansion can be used as they are without using a new communication cable. I / O modules can be added by the number of connectors.

Therefore, the load required for the expansion work can be greatly reduced, and it is not necessary to separately provide a termination circuit, so that the I / O module can be easily expanded. Also,
The extra connector and the communication cable between the extra connector are not exposed to the outside, which can prevent the appearance of the interior of the cabinet from being deteriorated and prevent connection errors and accidents due to the exposure of the communication cable and the additional connector.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a process control controller according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a process control controller according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a storage box.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a mounting mode of an I / O module and a storage box.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a mounting configuration of a storage box.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a wiring form of a storage box.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a conventional process control controller.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 ... Control unit, 12 ... I / O module, 12A
... I / O module (for expansion), 13 ... Termination circuit, 14
… Storage box (for termination), 15… Cable storage, 1
7 ... Storage box (for extension), 18, 19 ... DIN rail, 1 ... Connector, 1A, 1B, 1C ... Connector, 4 ...
Communication cable, 5 ... Communication cable (for extension).

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G05B 19/05

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A process control controller in which an I / O module for inputting and outputting various signals to and from various sensors and measuring devices and a control unit for controlling the entire system based on these signals are electrically connected in a process controller. A communication cable that has a plurality of connectors that are connected in parallel and that are spaced apart from each other in the longitudinal direction of the cable, and that connects the control unit and each I / O module by bus via these connectors; and an I / O module A storage box disposed adjacent to the storage box, the storage box having a terminal circuit for electrically terminating the communication cable, and a connector for connecting the communication cable and the terminal circuit to each other, which is connected to the connector of the communication cable. , Unused connectors among the connectors of the communication cable and the cable provided with these connectors. A process control controller, comprising: a cable housing portion that houses a cable portion therein. 2. The process control controller according to claim 1, wherein the storage box has a first connector connected to a connector of a communication cable instead of the connector and the terminating circuit, and electrically connected in parallel with the connector. Process control controller having a second connector formed by: 3. The process control controller according to claim 2, wherein the terminating circuit and the connector of the storage box and the first and second connectors are supported in the storage box so as to be exchangeable with each other. Control controller.