JP7678696B2 - Module System - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a module system consisting of a higher-level control device, one master module, and one or more slave modules, and to a technology for transmitting signals between modules via an internal bus that is selected according to the signal.

For example, in temperature control of hot press molding of carbon fiber reinforced plastics used in the exterior walls of aircraft fuselages, one master module is linked to multiple slave modules to control the heat sources of multiple targets. The master module receives control conditions for controlling the temperature of the multiple heating points to be controlled from a higher-level control device such as a PC or PLC (programmable logic controller), and transmits control signals (target temperature, manipulated variable, etc.) to the multiple slave modules connected to it based on the received control conditions. Then, each of the slave modules that receives these signals controls the controlled targets based on the received signals (Patent Document 1).

When controlling multiple heaters for the above temperature control and monitoring with thermometers, it is necessary to exchange commands and data quickly and reliably.

Currently, communication formats widely used for control devices include RS-485. RS-485 is a multi-point serial connection in a bus format that supports multi-drop, and specifies the electrical specifications of the physical layer. It has been improved to eliminate the shortcomings of the older, widely used RS-232C (one-to-one connection, short distance), and was developed after the RS-422, an improved version of RS-232C (one-to-10 connection possible, long distance compatible). RS-485 allows for many-to-many connections of up to 32-to-32, and like RS-422, has a maximum communication distance of up to 1200m and a maximum transmission speed of 10Mbps (due to the differential signaling method, the transmission speed decreases as the distance increases, and the transmission speed at the maximum distance is about 100kbps). Also, like RS-422, it uses a single-pulse differential signal on a twisted pair wire, and the common mode voltage, which is the average voltage of the twisted pair wire, is allowed to have a wide range of -7V to +12V, making it highly resistant to noise. For this reason, it has long been widely used for communication with control devices that are placed near noise sources such as manufacturing equipment.

On the other hand, Ethernet communication used for Internet lines is a method of packetizing data with a header and sending it, which is suitable for sending large amounts of data. However, the standard Ethernet communication does not guarantee communication speed or delay time due to its specifications. When watching videos on the Internet, the speed sometimes slows down or the image quality deteriorates because there are many users using the line or some users are communicating with large amounts of data. If communication fails due to noise, the communication may be retried, resulting in delays. When a master module used to control manufacturing equipment and the slave module are connected to each other via an Ethernet communication path, if multiple slave modules communicate with the master module at the same time, the packet transmission may interfere with each other and be canceled, or communication may fail due to noise and be delayed by retrying, or if another user who sends and receives large amounts of data is connected to the Ethernet communication path, the data communication speed may slow down, resulting in poor real-time performance. For this reason, serial communication such as RS-485, which is resistant to noise and has excellent real-time performance, has been adopted between the master module and the slave module.

Modbus is a communication protocol that uses RS-485 for the physical layer (electrical specifications) and is widely used in industry. Modbus is a serial communication protocol that was developed by Modicon in 1979 for the company's programmable logic controllers (PLCs). It has become the de facto standard communication protocol in the industrial world, and is now the most common method for connecting industrial electronic devices. There are two types of Modbus protocol: Modbus RTU and Modbus ASCII, and later Modbus/TCP, which uses Ethernet as the physical layer, was added.

In the manufacturing process such as temperature control of the molding hot press described above, one master module and multiple slave modules are connected to control the heat sources of multiple targets. A conventional example is shown in FIG. 9. A host control device (0901) such as a PC or PLC is connected to a communication module (0910) via Ethernet. The communication module (0910) converts between Ethernet communication signals and general-purpose serial communication signals (Modbus RTU). The communication module (0910) and the master module (0902) are connected via a serial communication path and communicate with each other using general-purpose serial communication signals. The master module (0902) and slave module 1 (0903) to slave module n (0905) are cascade-connected using a serial communication path (serial communication I/F1: RS-485) and an internal bus (serial communication I/F2) that is faster than the serial communication I/F1. The maximum speed for RS-485 is 10 Mbps, but the maximum speed for the Modbus RTU protocol, which uses RS-485 as the physical layer, is 115.2 kbps. The physical layer of the internal bus is RS-485, but since it is configured to connect only short distances between modules consisting of a master module and one or more slave modules, the transmission speed is increased to 1 Mbps or more based on Modbus RTU (maximum 115.2 kbps). In Figure 9, the serial communication path is indicated by a dotted line, and the Ethernet communication path is indicated by a thick solid line.
The slave module and the master module (0902) are the same model, but the master/slave can be switched by a switch setting. One is set as the master and the other is set as the slave.

Multiple heaters (0906) and thermometers (0907) are attached to the workpiece (0908) inside the heating furnace (0909). Some of the heaters and thermometers are controlled/monitored by the master module (0902) itself. The remaining heaters and thermometers are controlled by slave module 1 (0903) through slave module n (0905), which are managed by the master module (0902). The higher-level control device (0901) sends commands to the master module (0902) via the communication module (0910) and receives responses from the master module.

Patent document 1 discloses a technology in which, in a module system consisting of one master module as described above and one or more slave modules, the master module acquires a command signal for a slave module and selects an internal bus to which the command signal should be transmitted in accordance with the acquired command signal.

Patent application No. 2019-225845

In FIG. 9, in order to absorb and adjust the differences due to factors such as the structure and composition distribution of the workpiece (0908), the temperature distribution in the heating furnace (0909), the output variation of each heater, and the error of each thermometer, the heater heating output of each slave module must be adjusted based on the setting profile stored in the master module, otherwise the workpiece cannot be heated according to the desired temperature distribution and temperature profile. Therefore, each slave module transmits the measurement results of the thermometers it manages and the output instruction values to the heaters to the master module at any time, and the master module takes into consideration the overall situation so that the workpiece has the desired temperature distribution and temperature profile, and transmits commands to each slave module so that each heater can realize PID control based on automatic control theory after considering the interactions of each heater. If the master module cannot complete the control, it may be configured to transmit data to a higher-level control device and ask for commands.

During these communications, it is preferable that signals be transmitted between the internal signal processing system of the master module and the internal signal processing system of the slave module quickly and reliably. In the example of FIG. 9 described above, many slave modules and the master module repeatedly send and receive data and commands at intervals of less than one second. Since control is basically performed by feedback control, quickly feeding back information indicating the current temperature of the controlled object from the internal signal processing system of the slave module to the internal signal processing system of the master module, and quickly transmitting the corresponding operation amount from the internal signal processing system of the master module to the internal signal processing system of the slave module, contributes to the realization of precise control with excellent responsiveness. For the above-mentioned real-time characteristics (responsiveness, reliability), it is preferable to use the above-mentioned high-speed serial communication (internal bus).

As described above, the master module has the basic temperature profile for the heating process of the processed workpiece using multiple heaters, as shown in Fig. 9. The master module issues commands to the slave modules regarding the control of each heater. Each slave module has differential value information specific to each control point, which is derived from the heating furnace, heater arrangement, etc., and the shape and material of the processed workpiece. When processing workpieces with different shapes and materials is started, a reference temperature profile is sent in advance from the upper control device to the master module, and the slave modules are also instructed to change settings, such as correcting the differential value information.
When switching to a workpiece having a different structure, shape, or material, setting changes can be sent via a relatively slow serial communication path (relatively slow internal bus, general-purpose serial communication) without using the high-speed internal bus described above.

In cases where the heating process has started with the old settings without being able to rewrite to the new settings, or in cases where some heaters break during the heating process, it may be necessary to change the settings during the process, such as revising the temperature profile of the master module and correcting the difference value of the slave module. If a high-speed internal bus is used to transmit the setting data between the master module and the slave module, it will cause delays in the control of the functional parts (heater control and temperature data collection, etc.), which will impair real-time performance, and this is a major disadvantage. For this reason, it is preferable to use a relatively slow bus transmission path (a relatively slow internal bus, a general-purpose serial communication path, etc.). In addition, as described above, the transmission path of the setting data from the upper control device to the master module is not recommended for transferring the setting data, because communication regarding the control of the heater or thermometer from the master module via the communication module to request commands, and the transmission of commands from the upper control device to the master module, takes priority. In order to transmit the setting data, it was necessary to directly connect a PC (0911) to the maintenance terminal (0912) of the master module installed on a control panel near the manufacturing site, and perform the settings.

In Patent Document 1, the command signal sent to the master module is identified and the internal bus path to be used is selected. When a higher-level device (higher-level control device in this application) is connected to a LAN (Ethernet) or the like, a data conversion device is placed and connected between the higher-level device and the master module, and converts between the TCP/IP protocol used on the higher-level device side and the serial communication signal (Modbus RTU, etc.) used between the master module and the slave module. The data conversion device converts the data into two types of data format depending on the port number and sends it to the master module. The master module must identify the content of the command signal it receives and select the internal bus to use. There is also no mention of technology for transferring setting data and communicating measurement data such as temperature with the master module and multiple higher-level control devices (PCs and PLCs) in parallel.

The present invention provides a module system that can transmit and receive signals in parallel by determining and selecting an appropriate bus transmission path based on the content of a signal when the signal is transmitted from a higher-level control device to a slave module via a master module.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides, as a first invention,
Upper control device (AA) and
One master module (BA) connected to the host control device (AA) via an Ethernet communication path, which receives commands from the host control device (AA) and outputs responses to the host control device (AA);
one or more slave modules (CA) connected to a master module (BA) via serial communication paths, which are multiple types of bus transmission paths available at different transmission speeds, and managed and operated by the master module (BA) with various physical quantity setting values and various control parameters when executing a function to be described later, each having a functional part control function for realizing one or more functions, and serially connected to each other via the multiple types of bus transmission paths;
A modular system comprising:
The upper control device (AA) is
a master module command output unit (AB) for outputting a command to the master module (BA);
a master module response acquisition unit (AC) for acquiring a response from the master module (BA);
a slave module command output unit (AD) for indirectly outputting a command to the slave module (CA) via the master module (BA);
a slave module response acquisition unit (AE) for indirectly acquiring a response from the slave module (CA) via the master module (BA);
The device has a master module (BA) and an upper control device Ethernet communication unit (AF) for performing Ethernet communication with the master module (BA),
The master module (BA) is
A master module Ethernet transceiver unit (BB) for transmitting and receiving Ethernet communication signals to and from an upper control device (AA);
a discrimination unit (BC) that discriminates whether a signal received by the master module Ethernet transceiver unit (BB) is addressed to itself or to a slave module; a protocol conversion unit (BD) that converts the received Ethernet communication signal into a serial communication signal with the slave module (CA) when the discrimination result by the discrimination unit (BC) is that the signal is addressed to the slave module (CA), and converts a serial communication signal received from the slave module (CA) into an Ethernet communication signal as necessary;
a transmission line utilization discrimination unit (BE) for discriminating whether the signal is of a type that should utilize a bus transmission line that is available at a relatively high speed or a bus transmission line that is available at a relatively low speed when the discrimination result of the discrimination unit (BC) indicates that the signal is destined for a slave module (CA);
A bus transmission/reception unit (BF) converts a serial communication signal according to the result of the determination by the transmission line determination unit (BE) and transmits it to the slave module (CA) via the determined bus transmission line, and receives the result according to the transmission from the slave module (CA) via the same bus transmission line. If the result of the determination by the determination unit (BC) is that the signal is addressed to the master module (BA),
A processing unit (BG) that performs processing based on the received Ethernet communication signal;
The present invention provides a module system having a

Furthermore, as a second invention,
Upper control device (AA) and
One master module (BA) connected to the host control device (AA) via an Ethernet communication path, which receives commands from the host control device (AA) and outputs responses to the host control device (AA);
A module system comprising one or more slave modules (CA) connected to a master module (BA) via serial communication paths which are multiple types of bus transmission paths available at different transmission speeds, and managed and operated by the master module (BA) with various physical quantity setting values and various control parameters for executing the functions described below, the modules having a functional part control function for realizing one or more functions, and serially connected to each other via the multiple types of bus transmission paths,
The upper control device (AA) is
a master module command output unit (AB) for outputting a command to the master module (BA);
a master module response acquisition unit (AC) for acquiring a response from the master module (BA);
a slave module command output unit (AD) for indirectly outputting a command to the slave module (CA) via the master module (BA);
a slave module response acquisition unit (AE) for indirectly acquiring a response from the slave module (CA) via the master module (BA);
The device has a master module (BA) and an upper control device Ethernet communication unit (AF) for performing Ethernet communication with the master module (BA),
The master module (BA) is
A master module Ethernet transceiver unit (BB) for transmitting and receiving Ethernet communication signals to and from an upper control device (AA);
a receiving port number acquisition unit (BH) that acquires a receiving port number of a packet formed by an Ethernet communication signal received by a master module Ethernet transmitting/receiving unit (BB);
a receiving port number determination unit (BJ) for determining whether the acquired receiving port number is a predetermined receiving port number;
a first discrimination unit (BK) which discriminates whether the Ethernet communication signal received by the master module Ethernet transceiver unit (BB) is addressed to itself or to a slave module when the result of judgment by the receiving port number judgment unit (BJ) is determined to be a specified port number; a second discrimination unit (BM) which discriminates whether the Ethernet communication signal received by the master module Ethernet transceiver unit (BB) is addressed to itself or to a slave module when the result of judgment by the receiving port number judgment unit (BJ) is determined not to be the specified port number; a protocol conversion unit (BD) which converts the received Ethernet communication signal into a serial communication signal with the slave module (CA) when the results of judgment by the first discrimination unit (BK) and second discrimination unit (BM) are that it is addressed to the slave module (CA), and converts a serial communication signal received from the slave module (CA) into an Ethernet communication signal as necessary;
a first bus transmission line selection unit (BN) which selects a bus transmission line available at a relatively low speed when the result of the determination by the first determination unit (BK) is that the destination is a slave module (CA); and a second bus transmission line selection unit (BP) which selects a bus transmission line available at a relatively high speed when the result of the determination by the second determination unit (BM) is that the destination is a slave module (CA);
a bus transmission/reception unit (BF) that transmits a serial communication signal converted according to the selection result in the first bus transmission path selection unit (BN) and the second bus transmission path selection unit (BP) to the slave module (CA) via the determined bus transmission path, and receives a result according to the transmission from the slave module (CA) via the same bus transmission path; and when the determination result in the first determination unit (BK) and the second determination unit (BM) is destined for the master module (BA),
A processing unit (BG) that performs processing based on the received Ethernet communication signal;
A modular system having a

Furthermore, the present invention provides an operating method for a module system that is a computer, which comprises an operating method for an upper control device (AA) that is a computer corresponding to the module system of the first or second invention of the present invention, and an operating method for a master module (BA) that is a computer.

Furthermore, an operating program that can be read into an upper control device (AA) that is a computer corresponding to the module system of the first invention or the second invention of the present invention;
The present invention also provides an operating program that can be read into a module system, which is a computer, comprising an operating program that can be read into a master module (BA), which is a computer, for receiving commands from a higher-level control device (AA) and managing the module system itself or a slave module.
Furthermore, each of the operation programs may be recorded on a recording medium.

With this invention, when a signal from a higher-level control device is transmitted to a slave module via a master module, the appropriate bus transmission path can be determined and selected based on the content of the signal, allowing the signals to be transmitted in parallel.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of a module system according to a first embodiment. FIG. 1 is a flow chart showing a process flow of the module system according to the first embodiment. 1 is a hardware configuration diagram of a host control device of a module system according to a first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a hardware configuration diagram of a master module of a module system according to a first embodiment. FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of a module system according to a second embodiment. FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing the process flow of the module system according to the second embodiment. FIG. 11 is a hardware configuration diagram of a master module of a module system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of use of the module system of the present invention; Schematic diagram showing an example of the use of a conventional module system An example of temperature control in a control system using a module system. FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a common packet. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of data shaping when transmitting from a higher-level control device to a slave module via a master module. FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of an example of allocation of utilization bus transmission paths according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a connection example between a master module and a slave module in the module system of the present invention;

The following describes embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the present invention should not be limited to these embodiments, and may be implemented in various forms without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

<Overview of control system including module system>

Figure 8 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a control system including a module system. In Figure 8, a processed workpiece (0808) is placed in a heating furnace (0809), heated by multiple heaters (0806), and the temperature of each part of the processed workpiece is measured by a thermometer (0807). This is an example of a control system that determines whether the measured temperature is within a predetermined temperature range and controls the output of the heater (0806). The module system of the present invention is not limited to the example of heating processing shown in Figure 8, and can be used in various other types of control systems. Note that the difference between this and the conceptual control system diagram of Figure 9, which shows the prior art, is the presence or absence of a communication module.

A PC (0801a) or a PLC (0801b) is connected to the LAN line (Ethernet) (0800) as a higher-level control device, and a master module (0802) is similarly connected to the LAN line (0800). The master module (0802) and the higher-level control device (0801) communicate with each other via the LAN line (Ethernet), including commands and responses. The master module (0802) can manage one or more slave modules. The slave module controls multiple heaters and receives measurements from multiple thermometers. The master module may be responsible for controlling some heaters and thermometers. In addition, although not shown in FIG. 8, a general-purpose serial communication path (RS-485 of the Modbus RTU protocol) can also be used to connect another device, such as a recorder, to the end of the slave module n (0805) and send commands to it from the higher-level control device (0801a) to control it.

During heat processing, the master module (0802) periodically outputs a request for temperature data, and slave module 1 (0803) to slave module n (0805) transmit the temperature data they have acquired as a response to the master module (0802) via a serial communication path (including a bus transmission path; the same applies below. In some cases, a parallel bus may also be used.) If the temperature data is configured so that the master module can recognize that it is within a planned control range, the master module may be configured to perform continuous temperature control of the slave modules based on that recognition.

A serial communication path (internal bus) is used to connect the master module (BA) and slave module (CA) for communication of temperature data, etc., as described above. This is because, when controlling machining, etc., it is important to have real-time communication, that is, to ensure that communication is always performed at a fixed time, as described above.
As the serial communication path, a general-purpose serial communication path (RS-485 serial bus of Modbus RTU protocol), an internal bus which is a high-speed serial bus of physical layer RS-485 based on Modbus RTU protocol, and an internal bus which is relatively slower than the high-speed internal bus can be used. The high-speed internal bus is as fast as 1 Mbps or more, and is used to connect master modules and slave modules, and between slave modules. The general-purpose serial communication path has a maximum speed of 115.2 kbps, but in addition to the master module and slave module, other recorders with a general-purpose serial communication path can be connected to record data, and commands can also be given from higher-level connected devices via the master module.

In Figure 8, in order to absorb and adjust the differences due to factors such as the structure and composition distribution of the workpiece (0808), the temperature distribution in the heating furnace (0809), the output variation of each heater, and the error of each thermometer, the heater output of each slave module must be adjusted based on the setting profile of the master module, otherwise the workpiece cannot be heated according to the desired temperature distribution and temperature profile. Therefore, each slave module applies its own difference information to the temperature profile of the specified master module and performs heating according to the settings of each slave module. The results from the thermometer managed by each slave module are sent to the master module, which converts the serial communication signal to an Ethernet communication signal and sends it to the upper control device (AA). The master module (BA) also sends the information of the thermometer managed by itself to the upper control device. In this case, it can be sent as an Ethernet communication signal without signal conversion.

The following relationship can be taken as an example of the control relationship between the master module and the slave module. Note that the following examples are not limited to these.

<Master-slave control relationship, slave-independent state type>
The master module has the original set temperature profile. For example, the profile is such that the temperature is increased at a constant rate, maintained for a certain time, lowered a little, and then maintained at the constant temperature for a specified time again, and then lowered back to the original temperature. Each slave module holds its own difference information with respect to the settings of the master module. The slave module applies its own difference information based on the temperature profile held by the master module to correct the temperature profile of the master module. Each slave module does not have its own temperature profile, but holds only difference information, and performs control corrected by the difference information by referring to the temperature profile held by the master module as needed. Each slave module may be configured to hold its own temperature profile. Based on each temperature profile, each slave performs PID control of each heater under its control based on automatic control theory.

In FIG. 8, in order to absorb and adjust the differences due to factors such as the structure and composition distribution of the workpiece (0808), the temperature distribution in the heating furnace (0809), the output variation of each heater, and the error of each thermometer, the heater output value of each slave module must be corrected based on the setting profile of the master module, otherwise the workpiece cannot be heated according to the desired temperature distribution and temperature profile. Therefore, each slave module applies its own difference information to the temperature profile of the specified master module, and performs heating according to the setting temperature profile of each slave module. The results from the thermometer managed by each slave module are sent to the master module, which converts the serial communication signal to an Ethernet communication signal and sends it to the upper control device (AA). The master module (BA) also sends the information of the thermometer managed by itself to the upper control device. In this case, it can be sent as an Ethernet communication signal without signal conversion.

When switching to a workpiece with a different structure, shape, or material, setting changes can be sent via a relatively slow internal bus or a general-purpose serial communication path rather than using the high-speed internal bus connecting the master module and slave module.

In cases where the heating process has started with the old settings without being able to rewrite to the new settings, or in cases where some heaters break during the heating process, it may be necessary to not only revise the temperature profile of the master module but also to correct the difference values of the slave modules during the process. The temperature profile is revised by determining the time to revise based on the temperature data collected while maintaining real-time performance, and sending the setting data to the master module and/or slave module. If a high-speed internal bus is used to send the setting data, there is a large disadvantage as it causes delays in the control of functional components (heater control and temperature data collection, etc.) and impairs real-time performance. For this reason, it is preferable to use a slower bus transmission line (a relatively slower internal bus, a general-purpose serial communication path, etc.) rather than the high-speed internal bus used to control the functional components.

FIG. 10 shows, from the top, an example of the current set temperature profile of the master module with respect to temperature control. The second row shows an example of the current set temperature profile of the master module after the revision. The vertical axis of each graph shows temperature, and the horizontal axis shows time. In the second row, the dotted line shows the same temperature profile as the first row before the revision. This shows the case where the need to change the temperature rise profile is realized at point A on the time axis, a revised version of the temperature profile is sent, and it is applied from point B. The heater control and the acquisition of temperature information continue between points A and B while maintaining real-time performance. For necessary work, the revised version of the temperature profile is sent from the upper control device to the master module (BA) via an Ethernet line, and the correction of the difference information to the slave module is transmitted via the master module (BA) via a relatively slow bus transmission path (relatively slow internal bus, general-purpose serial communication path, etc.). Until the setting data is transmitted and applied, the temperature data and heater output value instructions continue in parallel using a high-speed internal bus, etc.

Each of the components described below can be realized by a combination of hardware and software. Specifically, if a computer is used, the components include a CPU, main memory, non-volatile memory such as a flash memory or SSD, storage media such as CDs or DVDs and read drives for those media, a direct memory access controller (DMAC), an internal bus, an external bus, cache memory, buffer memory, a bus controller, a buffer memory controller, a cache memory controller, an input device used for inputting information, a PLC, a recorder, a PC, various sensors (temperature, humidity, gas concentration, flow rate, pressure, magnetism, illuminance, etc.), a printer or display device, and other hardware components such as other external peripheral devices, as well as interfaces for those external peripheral devices, various communication interfaces, LEDs, various switches (dip switches, toggle switches, etc.), a USB interface, a Bluetooth (registered trademark) interface, a tablet terminal, a mobile PC, a smartphone, an Ethernet cable, driver programs and other application programs for controlling those hardware, and user interface applications. Then, the CPU performs calculations according to the program deployed in the main memory, processing and storing data input from input devices and other interfaces and stored in the memory or hard disk, and generating commands to control the above hardware and software. Alternatively, the functional blocks of this device may be realized by dedicated hardware.

In addition, each embodiment described in this specification can be realized not only as an operating method, but also as a device, part or all of which can be realized. Furthermore, part of such a device can be configured as software. Furthermore, software products used to cause a computer to execute such software, and recording media on which such products are fixed, are naturally included in the technical scope of each embodiment described in this specification (the same applies throughout this specification).

<Embodiment 1> Mainly claim 1
<Overview of First Embodiment>

This is a module system consisting of a master module connected to a higher-level control device via a LAN (Ethernet (registered trademark)) line, and one or more slave modules connected to the master module via a serial communication path.The system is configured so that a high-speed bus transmission path is used for transmission of signals between the internal signal processing system of the master module, which requires real-time performance, and the internal signal processing system of the slave module, and a relatively slow bus transmission path is selected for transmission of commands to the master module and/or slave module, such as revising setting values.
<Functional Configuration of First Embodiment>

Figure 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a module system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the module system of the present invention has a master module command output unit (AB) (0101), a master module response acquisition unit (AC) (0102), a slave module command output unit (AD) (0103), a slave module response acquisition unit (AE) (0104), and a host control device Ethernet communication unit (AF) (0105) constituted by a host control device (AA) (0100), a master module Ethernet transmission/reception unit (BB) (0151), a discrimination unit (BC) (0152), a protocol conversion unit (BD) (0153), a transmission path used discrimination unit (BE) (0154), a bus transmission/reception unit (BF) (0155), and a processing unit (BG) (0156) constituted by a master module (BA) (0150), and a slave module (CA) (0170). The master module (BA) and slave module (CA) are equipped with a general-purpose serial communication path (RS-485 serial bus based on the Modbus RTU protocol) and multiple internal buses with different speeds as bus transmission paths.

Each of the functional blocks constituting the module system described below can be realized by hardware, software, or both. Specifically, if a computer is used, the following may be used: a CPU, main memory, GPU, image memory, graphic board, bus, or secondary storage device (hard disk, non-volatile memory, storage media such as CDs and DVDs, and read drives for these media, etc.), input devices such as operation buttons used for inputting information, a mouse, a touch panel, an electronic pen used solely for touching a touch panel, a joystick or a joystick-like pointer position input device, a printer, and other hardware components such as an interface for the external peripheral devices, a temperature sensor, a gyro sensor, an acceleration sensor, a rotation detection sensor, a processing device for the signals of these sensors, an image file processing circuit, a speaker, a microphone, an audio file processing circuit, a communication interface, an encryption device, a biometric authentication device such as a fingerprint authentication device, a palm print authentication device, or a retina authentication device, a driver program for controlling the hardware, and other application programs. In particular, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a personal computer, a server device in a data center, a wired/wireless network, and an interface are used.

The CPU performs calculations according to the programs deployed in the main memory, processing and storing data input from input devices and other interfaces and held in memory and hardware, and generating commands to control the hardware and software. Here, the above programs may be realized as multiple modularized programs, or two or more programs may be combined into one program.

The present invention can also be partially configured as software. Furthermore, storage media on which such software is recorded are naturally included within the technical scope of the present invention (this is not limited to this embodiment, but is the same throughout this specification).

<Description of Configuration of First Embodiment>
<Embodiment 1: Master module command output unit (AB) (0101)>
The master module command output section (AB) (0101) of the higher level control device (AA) is configured to output commands to the master module (BA).

The upper control device (AA) outputs commands to the master module (BA) via Ethernet communication signals . Ethernet communication signals are generally based on the TCP/IP protocol. The packets of communication protocols such as Modbus/TCP, which are formulated for specific applications while conforming to the TCP/IP protocol, each have their own format for the data retention format within the payload, but the data frames are the same as those of the TCP/IP protocol, and these packets are called common packets.

Figure 11(a) shows a "TCP/IP packet," and Figure 11(b) shows a "Modbus/TCP packet" as an example of a common packet.

As shown in FIG. 11(a), a TCP/IP packet consists of a TCP header and a payload. The TCP header stores "management information" related to transmission, such as the source port number, destination port number, sequence number, and acknowledgment number. The payload stores the "data body."

As shown in FIG. 11(b), Modbus/TCP packets also contain a "data body" with a "Modbus application header," which is the header of the Modbus protocol, added within the payload of the data frame of the TCP/IP packet.

When the higher-level control device (AA) outputs a command to the master module (BA) or slave module (CA), it attaches a device management number for identification purposes. For example, the master module (BA) is numbered #1, and the slave module (CA) is numbered #2, #3, or any other number greater than one. This is used by the discrimination unit (BC) (0152) of the master module (BA), described below, to determine whether the command is addressed to the master module or the slave module. The device management number is recorded as the unit ID included in the Modbus application header.

<First embodiment: Master module response acquisition unit (AC) (0102)>
The master module response acquisition unit (AC) (0102) of the higher level control device (AA) is configured to acquire a response from the master module (BA).

<Embodiment 1: Command output unit (AD) for slave module (0103)>
The slave module command output section (AD) (0103) of the higher level control device (AA) is configured to indirectly output commands to the slave module (CA) via the master module (BA).

Similar to the above-mentioned master module command output unit (AB) (0101), when the higher-level control device (AA) outputs a command to the slave module (CA), it outputs an equipment management number (or, in some cases, a decipherable destination port number) such as a number equal to or greater than two, such as #2 or #3, for identification purposes.

<First embodiment: Slave module response acquisition unit (AE) (0104)>
The slave module response acquisition unit (AE) (0104) of the higher-level control device (AA) is configured to indirectly acquire a response from the slave module (CA) via the master module (BA). In other words, information as a response from the slave module to the higher-level control device is transmitted via the master module that can directly communicate with the higher-level control device.

<Embodiment 1: Upper control device Ethernet communication unit (AF) (0105)>
The upper control device Ethernet communication unit (AF) (0105) of the upper control device (AA) is configured to perform Ethernet communication with the master module (BA).

The command with the device management number attached, output from the master module command output unit (AB) and slave module command output unit (AD) of the higher-level control device (AA), is sent to the master module (BA) as an Ethernet communication signal. It also receives a response signal by the Ethernet communication signal sent from the master module (BA), and outputs the response to the master module response acquisition unit (AC) or slave module response acquisition unit (AE) according to the device management number attached to the signal.

<Embodiment 1: Upper control device (AA) (0101)>
The upper level control device (AA) (0101) is configured to issue commands to the master module (BA) connected via an Ethernet communication path and receive responses.

The module system of the present invention is likely to be installed in the control panel of the manufacturing equipment at the manufacturing site in many cases. It is used in such a way that commands are output to the module system and data is received from a higher-level control device (AA) in a management room or other location that is separate from the control panel of the manufacturing equipment and connected via an Ethernet communication path or the like. A desktop PC or a notebook PC can be used as the higher-level control device (AA). The received data can be conveniently used to create documents or for analysis.

When the host control device is not a dedicated PC for the device but a PC used by an engineer or worker that is intermittently connected, it is advisable to set up a server on the Ethernet to which the host control device and the master module are connected, and set up a database in the server that continuously records the history of communications sent and received between the host control device and the master module, the access history of the host control device, commands to the functional components under the control of the master module and slave module, and status information of the functional components. When engineers or workers replace their PCs when working in shifts, or when accessing from a location other than the normal control room due to teleworking, it is possible to view the past status history and the history of commands issued.

<Embodiment 1: Master module Ethernet transceiver (BB) (0151)>
The master module Ethernet transceiver (BB) (0151) of the master module (BA) is configured to receive an Ethernet communication signal from a higher-level control device. The master module Ethernet transceiver is configured to be able to execute processing independently of the bus transceiver (BE) described later. In other words, the processing of one of them is not restricted or is restricted only very little when the other is in the process of transmitting or receiving. "Extremely little" refers to a case where the utilization efficiency of the hardware resources of the CPU, MPU, and communication-dedicated LSI is restricted. However, such a restriction is only generated when a very special condition (for example, a large amount of processing data generated due to an unexpected programming error) is satisfied, and is configured not to occur in general processing.

<Embodiment 1: Discrimination unit (BC) (0152)>
The discrimination unit (BC) (0152) of the master module (BA) is configured to discriminate whether the Ethernet communication signal received by the master module Ethernet transceiver unit (BB) (0151) is addressed to itself or to the slave module (CA).
The device control number attached to the signal output from the higher-level control device (AA) determines whether the signal is addressed to the master module itself or to a slave module.

If the device management number is written as a unit ID in the Modbus application header in the payload of the common packet of the Ethernet communication signal, the unit ID is read and it is determined whether it is addressed to the master module (BA) itself or to one or more slave modules. If it is addressed to a slave module, the subsequent processing is carried out in the protocol conversion unit described below. If it is addressed to the master module itself, the subsequent processing is carried out in the processing unit described below.

<Embodiment 1: Protocol Conversion Unit (BD) (0153)>
The protocol conversion unit (BD) (0153) of the master module (BA) is configured to convert the received Ethernet communication signal into a serial communication signal with the slave module when the discrimination result in the discrimination unit (BC) is that the signal is addressed to a slave, and to convert the serial communication signal received from the slave module (CA) into an Ethernet communication signal as necessary.

Modbus/TCP can be used as the Ethernet communication signal, and Modbus RTU can be used for serial communication such as RS-485. Figure 12(a) shows a common packet, and as shown in Figure 12(b), a local packet consisting of a "Modbus application header" and a "data body" is obtained from the common packet. Then, as shown in Figure 12(c), the "Modbus application header", which is the header of the local packet, is removed except for the unit ID contained therein. The unit ID is added to the beginning of the data body as an address. If the downstream protocol is Modbus RTU (Remote Terminal Unit) mode, a CRC is added, and if it is Modbus ASCII (American Standard Code Information Interchange) mode, it is converted to ASCII code and an LRC is added.

As shown in FIG. 12(d), the data is then shaped into a Modbus protocol message frame, which is a serial communication protocol packet used for communication with a slave module. The "address" corresponds to the "unit ID" included in the Modbus application header. The function code sets the function that the master module is to have the slave module execute. The "data" stores data related to the function code. The data shaped in this way becomes the shaped data to be transmitted from the master module to the slave module. Although the Modbus protocol is used in this example, in the case of other protocols, the header can be removed according to the protocol and the data can be shaped into the serial communication protocol data format used for communication with the slave module. When converting the protocol for a response from the slave module to a higher-level control device, the above steps are reversed.

<Embodiment 1: Utilized Transmission Path Determination Unit (BE) (0154)>
<Basic configuration>
The transmission path utilization discrimination unit (BE) (0154) of the master module (BA) is configured to discriminate, when the discrimination result of the discrimination unit (BC) indicates that the signal is destined for the slave module (CA), whether the signal is of a type that should utilize a bus transmission path that is available at a relatively high speed, or whether the signal is of a type that should utilize a bus transmission path that is available at a relatively low speed.

As for the serial communication bus, the RS-485 serial bus of the Modbus RTU protocol, which is a general-purpose serial communication path, a higher-speed internal bus connecting the master module and the slave module and between the slave modules themselves, and a relatively slow internal bus can be used. Modbus is a serial communication protocol formulated by Modicon in 1979 for their programmable logic controllers (PLCs). It has become the de facto standard communication protocol in the industrial world, and is currently the most common means of connecting industrial electronic devices. The sending of monitoring data and the output and exchange of feedback from functional components such as heaters and thermometers controlled and monitored by the slave module and/or master module require real-time performance, so a high-speed available internal bus is selected, and a relatively slow transmission path (internal bus, general-purpose serial communication path) is selected for transmission of settings changes to the slave module. It is possible to determine in advance that a high-speed internal bus will be assigned for sending monitoring data from functional components that require real-time communication content, as well as for outputting and receiving feedback, as described above, and that a slower transmission path will be assigned for sending data to change parameter settings for each slave module, such as during maintenance, when speed is not as important.

<Other configurations>
The "use transmission line discrimination unit" has the above basic functions, but the module system is configured to have a use transmission line discrimination rule that holds the rule used for discrimination, inside or outside the use transmission line discrimination unit. That is, the module system is configured to further have a use transmission line discrimination rule storage means or a use transmission line discrimination rule storage unit. Here, the "use transmission line discrimination rule" is configured to use the rule to discriminate the use transmission line when it is determined that an Ethernet communication signal (means information content composed of an Ethernet communication signal; the same applies below) received from the master module is addressed to a slave module. The content of this rule may be a rule that records the use transmission line type in association with the type of signal (command, etc.) to the slave module (preferably recorded in an Ethernet packet header or a protocol for the use transmission line (Modbus RTU, etc.) packet header), or a rule that discriminates the transmission line to be used according to a transmission line type identifier recorded in the header of an Ethernet packet or the header of a transmission line dedicated signal in the payload of an Ethernet packet. Alternatively, the rule may be a rule that discriminates the transmission line to be used according to the amount of signals that must be transmitted. Alternatively, the rule may monitor the congestion state of each transmission path and determine the transmission path to be used depending on the congestion state. Alternatively, the rule may determine the transmission path to be used depending on the device management number or slave type (such as a type determined depending on the functional parts managed by the slave) of the destination slave, or may associate the destination port number of the Ethernet processing of the master module specified in the Ethernet packet with the transmission path type. Of course, the rule may be one that determines the transmission path to be used by using these in combination.

<Embodiment 1: Bus Transmitter/Receiver (BF) (0155)>
The bus transmitter/receiver (BF) (0155) of the master module (BA) is configured to transmit the converted serial communication signal to the slave module (CA) via a bus transmission path, and receive the result according to the transmission from the slave module (CA) via the same bus transmission path. As the bus for serial communication, an internal bus, an RS-485 serial bus of Modbus RTU protocol, etc. can be used.

The master module bus transceiver unit (BE) is configured so that it can execute processes independently of the master module Ethernet transceiver unit (BB) described above. In other words, the fact that one of them is transmitting or receiving does not restrict the processing of the other, or restricts it very little. "Very little" refers to cases where the efficiency of use of hardware resources such as the CPU, MPU, and communications-dedicated LSI is restricted. However, such restrictions only arise when very special conditions are met (for example, a large amount of processing data is generated due to an unexpected programming error), and are configured so that they do not arise in general processing.

<Embodiment 1 Processing Section (BG) (0156)>
The processing unit (BG) (0156) of the master module (BA) is configured to directly carry out processing based on the received Ethernet communication signal when the discrimination result in the discrimination unit (BC) indicates that the signal is addressed to the master.

It modifies the temperature profile held by the master module, transmits the modified profile to the slave module, and performs other processes such as controlling the heaters connected to it.

<Embodiment 1: Master Module (BA) (0150)>
The master module (BA) (0150) is configured to receive commands from a higher-level control device (AA) connected via an Ethernet communication path and output responses, and is also configured to be connected via a serial communication path, which is a bus transmission path, to one or more slave modules (CA) that are serially connected to other slave modules (CA) and to directly manage them.

<Embodiment 1: Slave module (CA) (0170)>
The slave module (CA) (0170) is one or more slave modules serially connected to other slave modules (CA) via a bus transmission path, and is configured to have a function for controlling functional components.

The functional component control function refers to a function that manages one or more thermometers or controls heaters, for example (but is not limited to this function). One control method is one in which each slave module has differential information and performs PID control of each heater it manages based on the temperature profile of the master module, as in the above-mentioned "master-slave control relationship, slave independent state type."

When multiple higher-level control devices and the master module communicate at the same time,
The master module receives communication from the upper control device via Ethernet.
a received signal identification information storage unit which stores, in association with each other, packet identification information for identifying a received signal, a source IP address included in an IP header of the received communication, a device management number of a destination slave module, and information on a data body including an instruction;
This can be achieved by configuring the master module Ethernet transceiver unit to output the data contained in the slave module's response and the slave module's device management number to the source IP address obtained by the received identification information search unit, the master module Ethernet transceiver unit having a received identification information search unit that compares the data content with the slave module's device management number stored in the received signal identification information storage unit and the data body including the command, and searches for the IP address of the higher-level control device that is the source of the command.

When engineers or workers change PCs when working in shifts, or when accessing the master module via LAN from a location other than the normal control room due to teleworking, the past status history and the history of issued commands can be viewed. In this case, a security authentication unit is installed at the Ethernet communication inlet of the master module, and it is configured so that workers with access authority, administrators with management authority, and members of the systems department can access it after being authenticated. The system references the access authority information stored in association with user information stored by authentication means such as passwords, biometric authentication, or magnetic records, ICs, or wireless tags built into employee ID cards, and determines whether or not the user has access authority, and performs authentication.

Once authenticated, the module system of the present invention can be used according to the access rules that indicate the access range according to the access authority held. For example, the access rules include guest authority to only view the history information stored in the database to check the status, the current status of the master module and/or slave module, general authority to perform routine processing tasks, and administrator authority without restrictions (not limited to this classification). Once authenticated, a session ID is issued for communication between the PC used at the time of access and the master module. While communication continues, a session ID is attached to the communication, indicating that the access has been authenticated. Even if processing work is ongoing, communication can be terminated when the worker is replaced due to a day/night shift change. In that case, the session ID is discarded, and a different session ID is issued to the worker who starts accessing in place. Teleworkers who work from home outside the security-controlled area of a factory or the like, or people on business trips outside the factory, can connect to the factory's internal LAN line via a VPN server, access the security authentication unit of the master module, and obtain authentication.

<Processing flow of embodiment 1>
Figure 2 shows the process flow of the module system of embodiment 1. The part on the left surrounded by a dashed line shows the process flow in the upper control device (AA), and the part on the right surrounded by a dashed line shows the process flow in the master module (BA). The slave module (CA) is located at the bottom right, communicating with the master module (BA) via a serial communication path. The process within the slave module (CA) is not shown.
In the upper control device (AA),
First, a process is performed to determine whether a command is to be issued to the master module or to the slave module (SA0201).
When the upper control device (AA) sends a command to the master module (BA),
The step (ab) of outputting a command to the master module (SA0202) outputs a command to the master module (BA),
When the higher-level control device (AA) transmits a command to the slave module (CA), a slave module command output step (ad) (SA0203) performs processing to indirectly output the command to the slave module (CA) via the master module (BA), and a higher-level control device Ethernet communication step (af) (SA0204) performs processing to communicate via Ethernet with the master module (BA),
The master module response acquisition step (ac) (SA0205) performs a process of acquiring a response from the master module (BA),
The slave module response acquisition step (ae) (SA0206) performs processing to indirectly acquire a response from the slave module (CA) via the master module (BA).

In the master module (BA),
The master module Ethernet transmission/reception step (bb) (SB0201) performs processing to receive an Ethernet communication signal from the upper control device (AA),
The determination step (bc) (SB0202) performs a process of determining whether the Ethernet communication signal received in the master module Ethernet transmission/reception step (bb) (SB0201) is addressed to itself or to the slave module (CA),
If the determination result in the determination step (bc) (SB0202) is that the signal is destined for the master module, a processing step (bg) (SB0203) performs processing based on the received Ethernet communication signal, and outputs the processed result to a master module Ethernet transmission/reception step (bb) (SB0208) as necessary.
If the determination result in the determination step (bc) (SB0202) is that the message is addressed to a slave module,
A protocol conversion step (bd) (SB0204) converts the received Ethernet communication signal into a serial communication signal with a slave module,
A transmission line utilization discrimination step (be) (SB0205) performs a process of discriminating whether the signal is of a type that should utilize a bus transmission line that can be used at a relatively high speed or a bus transmission line that can be used at a relatively low speed when the discrimination result in the discrimination step (bc) (SB0202) indicates that the signal is destined for a slave module (CA) or not,
A bus transmission/reception step (bf) (SB0206) transmits the converted serial communication signal to the slave module (CA) via a bus transmission path, and receives a result corresponding to the transmission from the slave module (CA) also via the bus transmission path.
The protocol conversion step (bd) (SB0207) converts the serial communication signal received from the slave module (CA) into an Ethernet communication signal as necessary.
The master module Ethernet transmission/reception step (bb) (SB0208) performs processing for transmitting an Ethernet communication signal to the higher-level control device (AA).
This is an operating method for causing the module system to execute such a series of processes.

<Embodiment 1 Hardware>

Figure 3 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the upper control device (AA) of the module system of this embodiment. As shown in the figure, it is considered that the upper control device (AA) will often use a PC or the like, and has a configuration similar to that of a PC. It is composed of a "CPU", a "chipset" consisting of a north bridge and a south bridge, "non-volatile memory", "main memory", "I/O controller", "USB, IEEE 1394, LAN terminal, etc.", "BIOS", "PCI slot", "real-time clock", etc.

The various programs and data (information) stored in the non-volatile memory are expanded into the main memory when the system is started, and the programs are configured to perform calculations using the data in sequence by the CPU upon receiving execution commands.

As shown in FIG. 3, the non-volatile memory of the upper control device (AA) contains, in addition to the OS (operating system) and device drivers, a master module command output program, a master module response acquisition program, a slave module command output program, a slave module response acquisition program, and an upper control device Ethernet communication program, and holds data such as master module commands, master module responses, slave module commands, and slave module responses. These are expanded into the main memory when the system is started on the computer, and upon receiving a start command, the CPU sequentially performs calculations using the programs and data, and exchanges commands and responses with the master module or with the slave module via the master module. The non-volatile memory of the upper control device (AA) may also contain a control program that manages and displays information about the control system that uses the master module, as well as other business software programs.

4 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the master module (BA) of the module system of this embodiment. As shown in the figure, the master module includes a CPU (0401), a non-volatile memory (0402) (e.g., ROM, SSD, etc.), a main memory (0403), an Ethernet communication I/F (0404) (interface is abbreviated as I/F in FIG. 4) for connecting to a control PC, a recorder, etc., a general-purpose serial communication interface I/F1 (0405) for connecting to a control module , etc., a user I/F (0406), a bus controller (0409) for controlling a communication I/F (0411) with an internal bus (0410), a controller DMAC (0408) for performing a DMA method (a method of transferring data to and from a memory without going through a CPU) during internal bus transmission, and a system bus (0407) for transmitting and receiving signals between them. A customized dedicated CPU can be used as the CPU, and dedicated firmware can be used instead of an OS (operating system). Furthermore, a system having a multi-core CPU and/or sufficient cache memory is preferable, as this makes it easier to prevent operational delays due to memory shortages.

In addition to the operating system and device drivers, non-volatile memory also contains
A master module Ethernet transmission/reception program that transmits and receives Ethernet communication signals to and from higher-level control devices;
a discrimination program for discriminating whether the received Ethernet communication signal is addressed to itself or to a slave module (CA);
a processing program for directly processing the received Ethernet communication signal when the determination result in the processing program indicates that the signal is addressed to a master;
a protocol conversion program that converts the received Ethernet communication signal into a serial communication signal with a slave module when the discrimination result of the discrimination program indicates that the signal is addressed to a slave, and converts a serial communication signal received from the slave module (CA) into an Ethernet communication signal as necessary;
a transmission line utilization discrimination program for discriminating whether the signal is of a type that should utilize a bus transmission line that is available at a relatively high speed or a bus transmission line that is available at a relatively low speed when the discrimination result of the discrimination unit program indicates that the signal is destined for a slave module (CA);
The converted serial communication signal is transmitted to the slave module (CA) via the serial communication I/F or the internal bus via the bus controller, and the result according to the transmission from the slave module (CA) is received via the serial communication I/F or the bus transmission path. Various programs and specific port numbers are recorded. Then, each program is expanded and executed, and information and data acquired via the interface are stored in a non-volatile memory, and the stored information and data are processed by executing the program in the work area of the main memory, and are retained in the non-volatile memory, or are output to the upper control device (AA) by executing the program via the Ethernet communication interface.
<Effects of First Embodiment>

According to the module system of this embodiment, the conventional communication module and master module are integrated, so that the upper control device (AA) and the master module (BA) are connected by a high-speed Ethernet communication path. The master module has two types of bus transmission paths: a serial communication path of RS-485 specifications, multiple internal buses with different speeds, and a general-purpose RS-485 serial bus of Modbus RTU protocol. It is possible to distinguish and allocate the high-speed bus transmission path for communication between the master module and the slave module that requires real-time performance, such as control and monitoring of functional parts, and to use a relatively slow transmission path for communication that does not require real-time performance, such as other setting changes. Therefore, setting changes can be made without interfering with the control and monitoring of functional parts. In addition, by sending setting data via the Ethernet communication path, setting changes can also be made from a location away from the target device.

<Embodiment 2>
<Outline of embodiment 2> Mainly claim 4
In the first embodiment, the signal sent from the higher-level control device (AA) and received by the master module (BA) is first determined to be for the master module or the slave module, and then, if it is for the slave module, the signal is shaped by protocol conversion, and then the bus transmission path to be used is determined. On the other hand, in the second embodiment, the order of determination is reversed from that of the first embodiment, and the transmission path to be used is determined by referring to the destination port number included in the TCP header of the TCP/IP protocol signal output from the higher-level control device (AA), and then, whether it is for the master module or the slave module is determined by referring to the unit ID, and if it is for the slave module, the protocol is converted and the signal is transmitted to the corresponding slave module via the selected bus transmission path. Hereinafter, the term "receiving port number" may be written to mean the destination port number in this specification.

The selection and determination of the bus transmission path in this embodiment will be explained using the table in Figure 13. The left column shows cases where the specified receiving port number (e.g. 502) is selected, and the right column shows cases where the receiving port number is not the specified receiving port number (e.g. other than 502). After sorting by the receiving port number, the device management number (unit ID in the Modbus application header) is used to assign the signal to a master module (device management number 1), slave module (device management number 2 onwards), or other device (device management number 2 onwards). If the receiving port number is a specified receiving port number (e.g. 502) and the signal is destined for a slave module or other device, a relatively slow bus transmission path (e.g. Moddbus RTU) is assigned. If the receiving port number is a specific number other than the specified receiving port number (e.g. other than 502) and the signal is destined for a slave module, a relatively high-speed bus transmission path is assigned.

As shown in the configuration example in FIG. 14, a PC (1401) or a PC (1402) is connected as a higher-level control device via an Ethernet (1400). A master module (1403) is also connected to the Ethernet (1400) and transmits and receives signals to and from the PC, which is a higher-level control device. When the master module receives a signal from a higher-level control device with a predetermined receiving port number (e.g., 502) as the destination port number (receiving port number) in the TCP header, the master module determines that the signal should use a relatively slow bus transmission path (1408) based on the receiving port number, and determines whether the signal is addressed to the master module, a slave module, or another device based on the unit ID in the Modbus application header. If the signal is addressed to a slave module or another device, the shaped data is sent to a slave module 1 ( 1404 ), a slave module 2 (1405), a slave module n (1406), a recorder, a PLC, or the like (1407) using a bus transmission path such as an RS-485 serial bus of the Modbus RTU protocol. The PLC connected via RS-485 can communicate with slave modules etc. using the Modbus RTU protocol.

In this specification, 502 is given as an example of a specified receiving port number, but conversely, a specific number other than 502 may be used as the specified receiving port number, and 502 may be used as a receiving port number that is not the specified receiving port number.

<Functional Configuration of Second Embodiment>
5 is a functional block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the module system according to the second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, in the module system according to the second embodiment of the present invention, the configuration of the upper control device (AA) is the same as that of the first embodiment, and the master module (BA) (0550) has a master module Ethernet transceiver (BB) (0551), a receiving port number acquisition unit (BH) (0557), a receiving port number determination unit (BJ) (0558), a first determination unit (BK) (0559), a second determination unit (BM) (0560), a protocol conversion unit (BD) (0553), a first bus transmission path selection unit (BN) (0561), a second bus transmission path selection unit (BP) (0562), a bus transceiver (BF) (0555), a processing unit (BG) (0556), and a slave module (CA) (0570). The master module (BA) and slave module (CA) are provided with a general-purpose serial communication path (RS-485 serial bus of Modbus RTU protocol) and multiple internal buses of different speeds as relatively slow and relatively fast bus transmission paths.

<Description of Configuration of Second Embodiment>
The higher level control device (AA) has the same configuration as in the first embodiment, and therefore the description thereof will be omitted. An example of the configuration of the master module will be described below with reference to FIG.

Second Embodiment Configuration of Master Module
<Embodiment 2: Master module Ethernet transceiver (BB) (0551)>
The master module Ethernet transceiver unit (BB) (0551) is configured to transmit and receive Ethernet communication signals to and from the upper control device (AA).

It is configured to receive Ethernet communication signals from a higher-level control device. The master module Ethernet transceiver is configured to be able to execute processing independently of the bus transceiver (BE) described below. In other words, the fact that one of them is transmitting or receiving does not restrict the processing of the other, or restricts it very little. "Very little" refers to cases where the efficiency of utilization of hardware resources such as the CPU, MPU, and communications-dedicated LSI is restricted. However, such restrictions arise only when very special conditions are met (for example, the generation of a large amount of processing data due to an unexpected programming error), and are configured not to arise in general processing.

<Embodiment 2: Receiving port number acquisition unit (BH) (0557)>
The receiving port number acquisition unit (BH) (0557) is configured to acquire the receiving port number of a packet formed by an Ethernet communication signal received by the master module Ethernet transmitting/receiving unit (BB).

The master module obtains the receiving port number (which corresponds to the destination port number) contained in the TCP header of the signal received from the higher-level control device (AA). The receiving port number is written as the destination port number next to the source port number in the TCP header. The receiving port number determination unit (BJ), which will be described later, determines whether the obtained receiving port number is the specified number.

<Second embodiment: Receiving port number determination unit (BJ) (0558)>
The receiving port number determination unit (BJ) (0558) is configured to determine whether the acquired receiving port number is a predetermined receiving port number.

For example, a well-known port number is specified as the predetermined number. One example of a well-known port number is when the payload contains data of the Modbus protocol, and the destination port number (receiving port number) is set to 502, which is a well-known port number that means the Modbus protocol. As mentioned above, Modbus is a serial communication protocol that was formulated by Modicon in 1979 for its programmable logic controllers (PLCs). It has become the de facto standard communication protocol in the industrial world, and is currently the most common means for connecting industrial electronic devices. In addition to the predetermined receiving port number, any number that is not reserved in the TCP/IP protocol (e.g., dynamic/private port numbers (49152 to 65535), etc., or others) can be used as an appropriate port number for the module system of the present invention. Multiple predetermined receiving port numbers can also be used. For example, a receiving port number information storage means for storing information on multiple specified receiving port numbers can be provided in the receiving port number determination unit (BJ), and when there are multiple relatively slow bus transmission paths available, a relatively slow bus transmission path can be assigned to each specified receiving port number. For example, if the number is "502", a general-purpose serial communication path (such as RS-485) is assigned, and if the number is "55555", an internal bus (low speed) is assigned.

<Embodiment 2: First discrimination part (BK) (0559)>
The first discrimination unit (BK) (0559) is configured to discriminate whether the Ethernet communication signal received by the master module Ethernet transceiver unit (BB) is addressed to itself or to a slave module when the result of the judgment by the receiving port number judgment unit (BJ) is determined to be a specified port number.

An example of the predetermined port number is 502 (a well-known port number indicating the Modbus protocol) as described above. Depending on whether the signal received at the predetermined port number is addressed to a slave module or a master module, the subsequent processing is divided into processing the received signal within the master module (BA) or processing for output to the slave module. The determination of whether it is addressed to the master module or the slave module is made by referring to the unit ID (= device management number) included in the Modbus application header. For example, if it is 1, it is determined to be addressed to the master module, and if it is 2 or later, it is determined to be addressed to the slave module. In addition, recorders and PLCs other than the master module and slave module may be connected to the bus transmission path, which is a general-purpose serial communication path. It is sufficient that the number of master modules and slave modules, including the number of units, is within the number that can be connected to the bus transmission path, and the device management numbers do not overlap. Communication can be performed with recorders, PLCs, etc. via the bus transmission path. Alternatively, it can be configured to refer to the command stored in the data body of the received signal and determine whether it is addressed to the master module, the slave module, or a recorder or PLC connected to the bus transmission path. In that case, a command correspondence information storage means may be provided to store command correspondence information, which is information showing the correspondence between commands and destinations, and the stored command may be compared with the command included in the data body to determine the destination.

A configuration can also be made in which a receiving port number other than 502 is specified as the predetermined port number. In addition, a plurality of predetermined port numbers can also be used. For example, in the case where a plurality of predetermined port numbers are used and a plurality of relatively slow bus transmission paths are provided, a usable bus transmission path corresponding port number holding means for holding a correspondence with a usable relatively slow bus transmission path for each predetermined port number is provided in the first determination unit, and the corresponding bus transmission path is selected by a first bus transmission path selection unit described later, and communication including a command is output to the slave module. For example, if "502" is assigned, a general-purpose serial communication path (RS-485, etc.) is assigned, and if "55555" is assigned, an internal bus (low speed) is assigned. In addition, in the case of a command to the master module, the master module itself performs the corresponding processing in a processing unit described later.

<Embodiment 2: Second discrimination unit (BM) (0560)>
The second discrimination unit (BM) (0560) is configured to discriminate whether the Ethernet communication signal received by the master module Ethernet transceiver unit (BB) is addressed to itself or to a slave module when the result of the judgment by the receiving port number judgment unit (BJ) is determined to be not the specified port number.

As mentioned above, examples of port numbers that are not predetermined include dynamic and private port numbers (49152 to 65535). If a number other than 502 is set as the predetermined port number, the receiving port number may be 502 as a case where the port number is not predetermined. Depending on whether the signal received on a port number other than the predetermined port number is addressed to a slave module or a master module, the subsequent processing is divided into processing the received signal within the master module (BA) or processing for output to the slave module. Alternatively, it is possible to refer to the command stored in the data body of the received signal and determine whether the signal is addressed to the master module or the slave module, or, if other devices (such as a recorder or PLC) are connected to the bus transmission line, whether the signal is addressed to other devices. In that case, a command correspondence information storage means may be provided that stores command correspondence information, which is information indicating the correspondence between the command and the destination, and the destination may be determined by comparing the stored command with the command included in the data body.

<Embodiment 2: Protocol Conversion Unit (BD) (0553)>
The protocol conversion unit (BD) (0553) is configured to convert the received Ethernet communication signal into a serial communication signal with the slave module (CA) when the discrimination result by the first discrimination unit (BK) and the second discrimination unit (BM) is that the signal is addressed to the slave module (CA), and to convert the serial communication signal received from the slave module (CA) into an Ethernet communication signal as necessary.

Because the master module and slave module, and between the slave modules, are connected by a bus transmission path (serial communication path) that is resistant to noise, the signal from the upper control device (AA) to the slave module must be shaped into a data format for serial communication in order to be put on the bus transmission path. The master module processes the data as is within its own device. As mentioned above, the Modbus protocol has become a common protocol for connecting industrial electronic devices. The electrical specification of Modbus is RS-485 serial communication, so it is resistant to noise. The Ethernet communication signal (Modbus/TCP), which is the signal between the upper control device and the master module, and the shaping of the Modbus protocol when sending to the slave module are explained below. Note that even if the first discrimination unit determines that the destination is not the slave module but another recorder or PLC, the signal is shaped in the same way as the signal addressed to the slave module.

Modbus/TCP can be used as an Ethernet communication signal, and Modbus RTU can be used for serial communication such as RS-485. Figure 12(a) shows a common packet, and as shown in Figure 12(b), a local packet consisting of a "Modbus application header" and a "data body" is obtained from the common packet. Then, as shown in Figure 12(c), the "Modbus application header", which is the header of the local packet, is removed except for the unit ID contained therein. The unit ID is added to the beginning of the data body as an address. If the downstream protocol is Modbus RTU (Remote Terminal Unit) mode, a CRC is added, and if it is Modbus ASCII (American Standard Code Information Interchange) mode, it is converted to ASCII code and an LRC is added.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 12(d), the data is shaped into a serial communication protocol packet used for communication with the slave module, for example, a message frame of the Modbus protocol. The "address" corresponds to the "unit ID" included in the Modbus application header. The function code sets the function that the master module causes the slave module to execute. The "data" stores data related to the function code. The data shaped in this way becomes the shaped data to be transmitted from the master module to the slave module. Although the Modbus protocol is shown in this example, in the case of other protocols, the header can be removed according to the protocol and the data can be shaped into the data format of the serial communication protocol used for communication with the slave module. When converting the protocol for a response from the slave module to a higher-level control device, the above steps are reversed.

<Second embodiment: First bus transmission path selection unit (BN) (0561)>
The first bus transmission path selection unit (BN) (0561) is configured to select a bus transmission path that is available at a relatively low speed when the discrimination result in the first discrimination unit (BK) is that the destination is a slave module (CA).

If the port number included in the TCP header of the signal received from the higher-level control device (AA) is a specified number (e.g. 502) and is destined for the slave module, a relatively slow bus transmission path is selected to be used to output the protocol-converted signal. For example, a relatively slow bus transmission path is used for data that does not require real-time performance, such as parameters for changing settings.

For example, when there are multiple bus transmission paths available at relatively low speeds, it is possible to configure the system so that a relatively low-speed bus transmission path is assigned to each of the predetermined reception port numbers. For example, if the number is "502", a general-purpose serial communication path (RS-485, etc.) is assigned, and if the number is "55555", an internal bus (low speed) is assigned. It is also possible to configure the system so that a reception port number other than 502 is specified as the predetermined port number. In addition, when multiple predetermined port numbers are used and multiple relatively low-speed bus transmission paths are provided as described above, for example, the first determination unit is provided with an available bus transmission path corresponding port number holding means 1 that holds the correspondence with the available relatively low-speed bus transmission paths for each of the predetermined port numbers, and the first bus transmission path selection unit selects the corresponding bus transmission path and outputs the communication including the command to the slave module. Alternatively, when there are multiple bus transmission paths available at relatively low speeds, it is also possible to configure the system so that a relatively low-speed bus transmission path is assigned to each command by referring to the command stored in the data body of the received signal. In this case, a bus-instruction correspondence information holding means 1 may be provided to hold bus-instruction correspondence information, which is information indicating the correspondence between instructions and bus transmission paths, and the held instructions may be compared with instructions contained in the data body to identify the bus transmission path.

<Second embodiment: Second bus transmission path selection unit (BP) (0562)>
The second bus transmission path selection unit (BP) (0562) is configured to select a relatively high-speed available bus transmission path (e.g., RS-485) when the discrimination result by the second discrimination unit (BM) is that the destination is the slave module (CA).

If the port number included in the TCP header of the signal received from the higher-level control device (AA) is not a specified number and is addressed to the slave module, a relatively high-speed available bus transmission path (such as a high-speed internal bus) is selected to be used to output the protocol-converted signal. For example, a relatively high-speed bus transmission path is used to obtain temperature data from each measurement point during heating processing in real time.

For example, when there are multiple bus transmission paths available at relatively high speeds, it is also possible to configure the system so that a relatively high-speed bus transmission path is assigned to each of multiple receiving port numbers that are not a specified number. It is also possible to configure the system so that 502 is specified as the port number that is not a specified number. In addition , when multiple receiving port numbers are used as described above and multiple relatively high-speed bus transmission paths are provided, for example, the second determination unit is provided with an available bus transmission path corresponding port number holding means 2 that holds the correspondence with the available relatively high-speed bus transmission path for each receiving port number, and the corresponding bus transmission path is selected by the second bus transmission path selection unit, and communication including the command can be output to the slave module. Alternatively, when there are multiple bus transmission paths available at relatively high speeds, it is also possible to configure the system so that a relatively high-speed bus transmission path is assigned to each command by referring to the command stored in the data body of the received signal. In that case, it is also possible to provide a bus-command correspondence information holding means 2 that holds bus-command correspondence information, which is information showing the correspondence between the command and the bus transmission path, and to identify the bus transmission path by comparing the held command with the command included in the data body.

<Embodiment 2: Bus Transmitter/Receiver (BF) (0555)>
The bus transmission/reception unit (BF) (0555) is configured to transmit a serial communication signal converted in accordance with the selection results in the first bus transmission path selection unit (BN) and the second bus transmission path selection unit (BP) to the slave module (CA) via the identified bus transmission path, and to receive a result in accordance with the transmission from the slave module (CA) also via the bus transmission path.

The protocol-converted signal addressed to the slave module is output through a transmission path according to the selection result. An internal bus or an RS-485 serial bus of Modbus RTU protocol can be used as the bus for serial communication. The master module's bus transceiver unit (BF) is configured to be able to execute processes independently of the master module Ethernet transceiver unit (BB) described above. In other words, the fact that one of them is transmitting or receiving does not restrict the processing of the other, or restricts it only very little. "Very little" refers to cases where the efficiency of use of the hardware resources of the CPU, MPU, and communication-dedicated LSI is restricted. However, such restrictions only arise when very special conditions are met (for example, a large amount of processing data is generated due to an unexpected programming error), and are configured not to arise in general processing.

In the configuration example of the module system of the present invention shown in FIG. 8, in either embodiment 1 or 2 described above, communication of inquiry and response of temperature data is performed between the PLC of the higher-level control device 2 (0801b) and the master module (0802) via an Ethernet communication path, and a relatively high-speed internal bus is used between the master module and the slave module, and temperature data of the point in charge of the slave module is sent to the master module as a response. In parallel, communication of change of setting parameters is sent from the PC of the higher-level control device 1 (0801a) to the master module (0802), and if it is addressed to a slave module, it is shaped by the master module and sent to the corresponding slave module. In the module system of the example of the present invention in FIG. 8, change of setting parameters can be performed in parallel with temperature data management for heating processing.

<Embodiment 2 Processing section (BG) (0556)>
The processing unit (BG) (0556) is configured to perform processing directly based on the received Ethernet communication signal when the discrimination results of the first discrimination unit (BK) and the second discrimination unit (BM) are destined for the master module (BA).

The master module processes signals such as commands to be processed by itself. Examples of commands to the master module include modifying the temperature profile held by the master module and transmitting the modified profile to the slave module, as well as controlling the heater connected to the master module.

<Embodiment 2: Master Module (BA) (0550)>
The master module (BA) (0550) is configured to receive commands from a higher-level control device (AA) connected via an Ethernet communication path and output responses, and is also configured to be connected via a serial communication path, which is a bus transmission path, to one or more slave modules (CA) that are serially connected to other slave modules (CA) and to directly manage them.

<Embodiment 2: Slave module (CA) (0570)>
The slave module (CA) (0570) is one or more slave modules serially connected to other slave modules (CA) via a bus transmission line, and is configured to have a function for controlling functional components.

<Processing flow of embodiment 2>
Fig. 6 shows the process flow of the module system of the second embodiment. The part on the left surrounded by the dashed line shows the process flow in the upper control device (AA), and the part on the right surrounded by the dashed line shows the process flow in the master module (BA). The slave module (CA) is located at the bottom right, communicating with the master module (BA) via a serial communication path. The process within the slave module (CA) is not shown. The process flow of the upper control device (AA) is the same as that of the first embodiment.
In the upper control device (AA),
First, a process is performed to determine whether a command is to be issued to the master module or to the slave module (SA0601).
When the upper control device (AA) sends a command to the master module (BA),
The step (ab) of outputting a command to the master module (SA0602) outputs a command to the master module (BA),
When the higher-level control device (AA) transmits a command to the slave module (CA), a slave module command output step (ad) (SA0603) performs processing to indirectly output the command to the slave module (CA) via the master module (BA), and a higher-level control device Ethernet communication step (af) (SA0604) performs processing to communicate via Ethernet with the master module (BA),
The master module response acquisition step (ac) (SA0605) performs processing to acquire a response from the master module (BA),
The slave module response acquisition step (ae) (SA0606) performs processing to indirectly acquire a response from the slave module (CA) via the master module (BA).

In the master module (BA),
The master module Ethernet transmission/reception step (bb) (SB0601) performs processing to receive an Ethernet communication signal from the upper control device (AA),
The receiving port number acquisition step (bh) (SB0602) performs a process of acquiring the receiving port number of the packet constituted by the Ethernet communication signal received in the master module Ethernet transmitting/receiving step (bb) (SB0601),
A receiving port number determination step (bj) (SB0603) performs a process of determining whether the acquired receiving port number is a predetermined receiving port number,
When it is determined that the result of the determination in the receiving port number determination step (bj) (SB0603) is a predetermined port number, a first determination step (bk) (SB0604) performs a process of determining whether the Ethernet communication signal received in the master module Ethernet sending/receiving step (bb) is addressed to itself or to a slave module,
If it is determined in the receiving port number determination step (bj) (SB0603) that the port number is not the predetermined port number, a second determination step (bm) (SB0605) performs a process of determining whether the Ethernet communication signal received in the master module Ethernet sending/receiving step (bb) is addressed to itself or to a slave module,
When the determination results in the first determination step (bk) (SB0604) and the second determination step (bm) (SB0605) are that the signal is addressed to the slave module (CA), a protocol conversion step (bd) (SB0606) converts the received Ethernet communication signal into a serial communication signal with the slave module (CA), and converts, as necessary, a serial communication signal received from the slave module (CA) into an Ethernet communication signal,
When the determination result in the first determination step (bk) (SB0604) is that the signal is addressed to the slave module (CA), a first bus transmission path selection step (bn) (SB0607) performs a process of selecting a bus transmission path that is available at a relatively low speed,
When the determination result in the second determination step (bm) (SB0605) is that the signal is addressed to the slave module (CA), a second bus transmission path selection step (bp) (SB0608) performs a process of selecting a relatively high-speed bus transmission path that can be used,
A bus transmission/reception step (bf) (SB0609) transmits a serial communication signal converted in accordance with the selection results in the first bus transmission path selection step (bn) (SB0607) and the second bus transmission path selection step (bp) (SB0608) to the slave module (CA) via the determined bus transmission path, and receives a result corresponding to the transmission from the slave module (CA) via the same bus transmission path;
The protocol conversion step (bd) (SB0610) converts the serial communication signal received from the slave module (CA) into an Ethernet communication signal as necessary, and outputs the converted signal to the master module Ethernet transmission/reception step (bb);
If the results of the determination in the first determination step (bk) (SB0604) and the second determination step (bm) (SB0605) indicate that the signal is destined for the master module (BA), a processing step (BG) (SB0611) performs processing based on the received Ethernet communication signal, and outputs the processed result to the master module Ethernet transmission/reception step (bb) as necessary.
The master module Ethernet transmission/reception step (bb) (SB0612) performs processing for transmitting an Ethernet communication signal to the higher-level control device (AA).
This is an operating method for causing the module system to execute such a series of processes.

<Embodiment 2 Hardware>

An example of the hardware configuration of the upper control device (AA) of the module system of this embodiment 2 is the same as that of embodiment 1 (Figure 3). Therefore, a description thereof will be omitted.

7 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the master module (BA) of the module system of the second embodiment. As shown in the figure, the master module includes a CPU (0701), a non-volatile memory (0702) (e.g., ROM, SSD, etc.), a main memory (0703), an Ethernet communication I/F (0704) (interface is abbreviated as I/F in FIG. 4) for connection with a control PC or a recorder, a general-purpose serial communication interface I/F1 (0705) for connection with a control module, etc., a user I/F (0706) , a bus controller (0709) for controlling a communication I/F (0711) with an internal bus (0710), a controller DMAC (0708) for performing a DMA method (a method of transferring data to and from a memory without going through a CPU) during internal bus transmission, and a system bus (0707) for transmitting and receiving signals between them. The CPU can be a customized dedicated CPU and a dedicated firmware can be used instead of an OS (operating system). Furthermore, if the system is configured with a multi-core CPU and/or sufficient cache memory, operational delays due to insufficient memory can be prevented.

In addition to the OS (operating system) and device drivers, the non-volatile memory also contains the master module Ethernet transmission/reception program that transmits and receives Ethernet communication signals to and from higher-level control devices,
a reception port number acquisition program for acquiring a reception port number of a packet formed by an Ethernet communication signal received by the master module Ethernet transmission/reception program;
a receiving port number determination program for determining whether the acquired receiving port number is a predetermined receiving port number;
a first determination program for determining whether an Ethernet communication signal received by the master module Ethernet transmission/reception program is addressed to itself or to a slave module when the reception port number determination program determines that the port number is a predetermined port number;
a second determination program for determining whether the Ethernet communication signal received by the master module Ethernet sending/receiving program is addressed to itself or to a slave module when the result of the determination by the receiving port number determination program is not a predetermined port number;
a protocol conversion program that converts the received Ethernet communication signal into a serial communication signal with the slave module (CA) when the first discrimination program and the second discrimination program determine that the signal is addressed to the slave module (CA), and converts a serial communication signal received from the slave module (CA) into an Ethernet communication signal as necessary; and
a first bus transmission line selection program for selecting a bus transmission line that is available at a relatively low speed when a result of the determination in the first determination program indicates that the bus is destined for a slave module (CA);
a second bus transmission path selection program for selecting a bus transmission path that is relatively high speed and available when a result of the determination in the second determination program indicates that the bus is destined for a slave module (CA);
a bus transmission/reception program that transmits a serial communication signal converted in accordance with a selection result in the first bus transmission path selection program and the second bus transmission path selection program to the slave module (CA) via a determined bus transmission path, and receives a result in accordance with the transmission from the slave module (CA) via the same bus transmission path;
a processing program for directly processing the received Ethernet communication signal when the first and second discrimination programs determine that the signal is addressed to a master module (BA);
The converted serial communication signal is transmitted to the slave module (CA) via the serial communication I/F or the internal bus via the bus controller, and the result according to the transmission from the slave module (CA) is received via the serial communication I/F or the bus transmission path. Various programs and specific port numbers are recorded. Then, each program is expanded and executed, and information and data acquired via the interface are stored in a non-volatile memory, and the stored information and data are processed by executing the program in the work area of the main memory, and are retained in the non-volatile memory, or are output to the upper control device (AA) by executing the program via the Ethernet communication interface.
<Effects of Second Embodiment>

When transmitting a signal from a higher-level control device to a slave module via a master module, the master module selects an appropriate bus transmission path by referring to the port number included in the header of the received signal, and then determines whether the signal is addressed to the master module itself or to a slave module. If the signal is addressed to the master module, it is processed as is, and if the signal is addressed to the slave module, the data format is reformatted and output to the slave module. This eliminates the need to determine the contents (commands) of the received signal, and by receiving signals on different port numbers, the master module can receive signals in parallel and send them to the slave module or process them itself.

0100 Upper control device (AA)
0101 Master module command output section (AB)
0102 Master module response acquisition unit (AC)
0103 Slave module command output section (AD)
0104 Slave module response acquisition unit (AE)
0105 Upper control device Ethernet communication part (AF)
0150 Master Module (BA)
0151 Master module Ethernet transceiver (BB)
0152 Discrimination section (BC)
0153 Protocol conversion unit (BD)
0154 Transmission line utilization discrimination unit (BE)
0155 Bus Transmitter/Receiver (BF)
0156 Processing section (BG)
0170 Slave module (CA)

Claims (6)

Upper control device (AA) and
One master module (BA) connected to the host control device (AA) via an Ethernet communication path, which receives commands from the host control device (AA) and outputs responses to the host control device (AA);
one or more slave modules (CA) connected to a master module (BA) via serial communication paths, which are multiple types of bus transmission paths available at different transmission speeds, and managed and operated by the master module (BA) with various physical quantity setting values and various control parameters when executing a function to be described later, each having a functional part control function for realizing one or more functions, and serially connected to each other via the multiple types of bus transmission paths;
A modular system comprising:
The upper control device (AA) is
a master module command output unit (AB) for outputting a command to the master module (BA);
a master module response acquisition unit (AC) for acquiring a response from the master module (BA);
a slave module command output unit (AD) for indirectly outputting a command to the slave module (CA) via the master module (BA);
a slave module response acquisition unit (AE) for indirectly acquiring a response from the slave module (CA) via the master module (BA);
The device has a master module (BA) and an upper control device Ethernet communication unit (AF) for performing Ethernet communication with the master module (BA),
The master module (BA) is
A master module Ethernet transceiver unit (BB) for transmitting and receiving Ethernet communication signals to and from an upper control device (AA);
a discrimination unit (BC) that discriminates whether an Ethernet communication signal received by a master module Ethernet transceiver unit (BB) is addressed to itself or to a slave module; a protocol conversion unit (BD) that converts the received Ethernet communication signal into a serial communication signal with the slave module (CA) when the discrimination result by the discrimination unit (BC) is that the signal is addressed to the slave module (CA), and converts a serial communication signal received from the slave module (CA) into an Ethernet communication signal as necessary;
a utilization transmission line discrimination rule storage unit that stores utilization transmission line discrimination rules that are rules used to discriminate utilization transmission lines;
a transmission line utilization discrimination unit (BE) for discriminating whether the signal is of a type that should utilize a bus transmission line that is available at a relatively high speed or a bus transmission line that is available at a relatively low speed when the discrimination result of the discrimination unit (BC) is destined for a slave module (CA) based on one or more of a protocol packet header for the transmission line utilization, a signal attribute, a transmission line type identifier, a congestion state of each transmission line, an amount of signals to be transmitted, an equipment management number or type of the slave module, a transmission line type associated with a destination port number of an Ethernet process of a master module specified in an Ethernet packet , and a transmission line utilization discrimination rule;
A bus transmission/reception unit (BF) converts a serial communication signal according to the result of the determination by the transmission line determination unit (BE) and transmits it to the slave module (CA) via the determined bus transmission line, and receives the result according to the transmission from the slave module (CA) via the same bus transmission line. If the result of the determination by the determination unit (BC) is that the signal is addressed to the master module (BA),
A processing unit (BG) that performs processing based on the received Ethernet communication signal;
A module system having Upper control device (AA) and
One master module (BA) connected to the host control device (AA) via an Ethernet communication path, which receives commands from the host control device (AA) and outputs responses to the host control device (AA);
A method for operating a module system which is a computer, comprising: a master module (BA) connected to the master module (BA) via serial communication paths which are multiple types of bus transmission paths available at different transmission speeds; a module which is managed and operated by the master module (BA) with various physical quantity setting values when executing a function described below and various control parameters when executing the function; a functional part control function which realizes one or more functions; and one or more slave modules (CA) which are serially connected to each other via the multiple types of bus transmission paths,
The operation method of the upper control device (AA), which is a computer, is as follows:
a step (ab) of outputting a command to a master module (BA);
a step (ac) of acquiring a response from the master module (BA);
a slave module command output step (ad) for indirectly outputting a command to the slave module (CA) via the master module (BA);
a slave module response acquisition step (ae) of indirectly acquiring a response from the slave module (CA) via the master module (BA);
A master module (BA) and an upper control device Ethernet communication step (af) for performing Ethernet communication with the master module (BA),
The operation of the Master Module (BA), which is a computer, is as follows:
A master module Ethernet transmission/reception step (bb) for transmitting and receiving Ethernet communication signals to and from an upper control device (AA);
a determination step (bc) of determining whether the signal received by the master module Ethernet transmission/reception step (bb) is addressed to itself or to a slave module; and a protocol conversion step (bd) of converting the received Ethernet communication signal into a serial communication signal with the slave module (CA) when the determination result in the determination step (bc) is that the signal is addressed to the slave module (CA), and converting, as necessary, a serial communication signal received from the slave module (CA) into an Ethernet communication signal;
a utilization transmission line discrimination rule storage step for storing a utilization transmission line discrimination rule which is a rule used for discriminating a utilization transmission line;
a transmission line usage discrimination step (be) for discriminating whether the signal is of a type that should utilize a bus transmission line that is available at a relatively high speed or a bus transmission line that is available at a relatively low speed when the discrimination result in the discrimination step (bc) indicates that the signal is destined for a slave module (CA) based on one or more of a protocol packet header for the transmission line usage, a signal attribute, a transmission line type identifier, a congestion state of each transmission line, an amount of signals to be transmitted, an equipment management number or type of the slave module, a transmission line type associated with a destination port number of the Ethernet processing of the master module specified in the Ethernet packet, and a transmission line usage discrimination rule;
a bus transmission/reception step (bf) of transmitting a serial communication signal converted according to the result of the determination in the transmission path determination step (be) to the slave module (CA) via the determined bus transmission path, and receiving a result according to the transmission from the slave module (CA) via the same bus transmission path; and if the result of the determination in the determination step (bc) is addressed to the master module (BA),
A processing step (BG) that performs processing based on the received Ethernet communication signal;
A method of operating a module system that is a computer having the above-mentioned components. Upper control device (AA) and
One master module (BA) connected to the host control device (AA) via an Ethernet communication path, which receives commands from the host control device (AA) and outputs responses to the host control device (AA);
one or more slave modules (CA) connected to a master module (BA) via serial communication paths, which are multiple types of bus transmission paths available at different transmission speeds, and managed and operated by the master module (BA) with various physical quantity setting values and various control parameters when executing a function to be described later, each having a functional part control function for realizing one or more functions, and serially connected to each other via the multiple types of bus transmission paths;
An operating program that can be loaded into a module system that is a computer comprising:
The operating program that can be loaded into the upper control device (AA), which is a computer, is
a step (ab) of outputting a command to a master module (BA);
a step (ac) of acquiring a response from the master module (BA);
a slave module command output step (ad) for outputting a command to the slave module (CA);
a slave module response acquisition step (ae) of acquiring a response from the slave module (CA);
A master module (BA) and an upper control device Ethernet communication step (af) for performing Ethernet communication with the master module (BA),
The operating program that can be loaded into the master module (BA), which is a computer, is
A master module Ethernet transmission/reception step (bb) for transmitting and receiving Ethernet communication signals to and from an upper control device (AA);
a determination step (bc) of determining whether the signal received by the master module Ethernet transmission/reception step (bb) is addressed to itself or to a slave module; and a protocol conversion step (bd) of converting the received Ethernet communication signal into a serial communication signal with the slave module (CA) when the determination result in the determination step (bc) is that the signal is addressed to the slave module (CA), and converting, as necessary, a serial communication signal received from the slave module (CA) into an Ethernet communication signal;
a utilization transmission line discrimination rule storage step for storing a utilization transmission line discrimination rule which is a rule used for discriminating a utilization transmission line;
a transmission line usage discrimination step (be) for discriminating whether the signal is of a type that should utilize a bus transmission line that is available at a relatively high speed or a bus transmission line that is available at a relatively low speed when the discrimination result in the discrimination step (bc) indicates that the signal is destined for a slave module (CA) based on one or more of a protocol packet header for the transmission line usage, a signal attribute, a transmission line type identifier, a congestion state of each transmission line, an amount of signals to be transmitted, an equipment management number or type of the slave module, a transmission line type associated with a destination port number of the Ethernet processing of the master module specified in the Ethernet packet, and a transmission line usage discrimination rule;
a bus transmission/reception step (bf) of transmitting a serial communication signal converted according to the result of the determination in the transmission path determination step (be) to the slave module (CA) via the determined bus transmission path, and receiving a result according to the transmission from the slave module (CA) via the same bus transmission path; and if the result of the determination in the determination step (bc) is addressed to the master module (BA),
A processing step (BG) that performs processing based on the received Ethernet communication signal;
A program that can be loaded into a module system, which is a computer having the above-mentioned configuration. Upper control device (AA) and
One master module (BA) connected to the host control device (AA) via an Ethernet communication path, which receives commands from the host control device (AA) and outputs responses to the host control device (AA);
A module system comprising one or more slave modules (CA) connected to a master module (BA) via serial communication paths which are multiple types of bus transmission paths available at different transmission speeds, and managed and operated by the master module (BA) with various physical quantity setting values and various control parameters for executing the functions described below, the modules having a functional part control function for realizing one or more functions, and serially connected to each other via the multiple types of bus transmission paths,
The upper control device (AA) is
a master module command output unit (AB) for outputting a command to the master module (BA);
a master module response acquisition unit (AC) for acquiring a response from the master module (BA);
a slave module command output unit (AD) for indirectly outputting a command to the slave module (CA) via the master module (BA);
a slave module response acquisition unit (AE) for indirectly acquiring a response from the slave module (CA) via the master module (BA);
The device has a master module (BA) and an upper control device Ethernet communication unit (AF) for performing Ethernet communication with the master module (BA),
The master module (BA) is
A master module Ethernet transceiver unit (BB) for transmitting and receiving Ethernet communication signals to and from an upper control device (AA);
a receiving port number acquisition unit (BH) for acquiring a receiving port number , which is a destination port number included in a TCP header of a packet formed by an Ethernet communication signal received by a master module Ethernet transmitting/receiving unit (BB);
a receiving port number determination unit (BJ) for determining whether the acquired receiving port number is a predetermined receiving port number;
a first discrimination unit (BK) which discriminates whether the Ethernet communication signal received by the master module Ethernet transceiver unit (BB) is addressed to itself or to a slave module when the result of judgment by the receiving port number judgment unit (BJ) is determined to be a specified port number; a second discrimination unit (BM) which discriminates whether the Ethernet communication signal received by the master module Ethernet transceiver unit (BB) is addressed to itself or to a slave module when the result of judgment by the receiving port number judgment unit (BH) is determined not to be the specified port number; a protocol conversion unit (BD) which converts the received Ethernet communication signal into a serial communication signal with the slave module (CA) when the results of judgment by the first discrimination unit (BK) and second discrimination unit (BM) are that it is addressed to the slave module (CA), and converts a serial communication signal received from the slave module (CA) into an Ethernet communication signal as necessary;
a first bus transmission line selection unit (BN) which selects a bus transmission line available at a relatively low speed when the result of the determination by the first determination unit (BK) is that the destination is a slave module (CA); and a second bus transmission line selection unit (BP) which selects a bus transmission line available at a relatively high speed when the result of the determination by the second determination unit (BM) is that the destination is a slave module (CA);
a bus transmission/reception unit (BF) that transmits a serial communication signal converted according to the selection result in the first bus transmission path selection unit (BN) and the second bus transmission path selection unit (BP) to the slave module (CA) via the determined bus transmission path, and receives a result according to the transmission from the slave module (CA) via the same bus transmission path; and when the determination result in the first determination unit (BK) and the second determination unit (BM) is destined for the master module (BA),
A processing unit (BG) that performs processing based on the received Ethernet communication signal;
A module system having Upper control device (AA) and
One master module (BA) connected to the host control device (AA) via an Ethernet communication path, which receives commands from the host control device (AA) and outputs responses to the host control device (AA);
A method for operating a module system which is a computer, comprising: a master module (BA) connected to the master module (BA) via serial communication paths which are multiple types of bus transmission paths available at different transmission speeds; a module which is managed and operated by the master module (BA) with various physical quantity setting values when executing a function described below and various control parameters when executing the function; a functional part control function which realizes one or more functions; and one or more slave modules (CA) which are serially connected to each other via the multiple types of bus transmission paths,
The operation method of the upper control device (AA), which is a computer, is as follows:
a step (ab) of outputting a command to a master module (BA);
a step (ac) of acquiring a response from the master module (BA);
a slave module command output step (ad) for indirectly outputting a command to the slave module (CA) via the master module (BA);
a slave module response acquisition step (ae) of indirectly acquiring a response from the slave module (CA) via the master module (BA);
A master module (BA) and an upper control device Ethernet communication step (af) for performing Ethernet communication with the master module (BA),
The operation of the Master Module (BA), which is a computer, is as follows:
A master module Ethernet transmission/reception step (bb) for transmitting and receiving Ethernet communication signals to and from an upper control device (AA);
a receiving port number acquisition step (bh) for acquiring a receiving port number , which is a destination port number included in a TCP header of a packet formed by an Ethernet communication signal received by the master module Ethernet transmitting/receiving step (bb);
a receiving port number determination step (bj) of determining whether the acquired receiving port number is a predetermined receiving port number;
a first determination step (bk) of determining whether the Ethernet communication signal received by the master module Ethernet transmitting/receiving step (bb) is addressed to itself or to a slave module when the determination result in the receiving port number determination step (bj) is determined to be a predetermined port number; a second determination step (bm) of determining whether the Ethernet communication signal received by the master module Ethernet transmitting/receiving step (bb) is addressed to itself or to a slave module when the determination result in the receiving port number determination step (bj) is determined not to be the predetermined port number; and a protocol conversion step (bd) of converting the received Ethernet communication signal into a serial communication signal with the slave module (CA) when the determination results in the first determination step (bk) and second determination step (bm) are addressed to the slave module (CA), and of converting a serial communication signal received from the slave module (CA) into an Ethernet communication signal as necessary;
a first bus transmission line selection step (bn) of selecting a bus transmission line available at a relatively low speed when the determination result in the first determination step (bk) is that the bus is destined for a slave module (CA); and a second bus transmission line selection step (bp) of selecting a bus transmission line available at a relatively high speed when the determination result in the second determination step (bm) is that the bus is destined for a slave module (CA);
a bus transmission/reception step (bf) of transmitting a serial communication signal converted according to the selection results in the first bus transmission path selection step (bn) and the second bus transmission path selection step (bp) to the slave module (CA) via the determined bus transmission path, and receiving a result according to the transmission from the slave module (CA) via the same bus transmission path; and if the determination results in the first determination step (bk) and the second determination step (bm) are destined for the master module (BA),
a processing step (bg) of directly processing the received Ethernet communication signal;
A method of operating a module system that is a computer having the above-mentioned components. Upper control device (AA) and
One master module (BA) connected to the host control device (AA) via an Ethernet communication path, which receives commands from the host control device (AA) and outputs responses to the host control device (AA);
An operation program readable by a module system, which is a computer, comprising one or more slave modules (CA) connected to a master module (BA) via serial communication paths which are multiple types of bus transmission paths available at different transmission speeds, and managed and operated by the master module (BA) with various physical quantity setting values when executing a function described below and various control parameters when executing the function, the operation program having a functional part control function for realizing one or more functions and serially connected to each other via the multiple types of bus transmission paths,
The program that can be read and operated by the upper control device (AA), which is a computer, is
a step (ab) of outputting a command to a master module (BA);
a step (ac) of acquiring a response from the master module (BA);
a slave module command output step (ad) for indirectly outputting a command to the slave module (CA) via the master module (BA);
a slave module response acquisition step (ae) of indirectly acquiring a response from the slave module (CA) via the master module (BA);
A master module (BA) and an upper control device Ethernet communication step (af) for performing Ethernet communication with the master module (BA),
The program that can be read and operated by the master module (BA), which is a computer, is
A master module Ethernet transmission/reception step (bb) for transmitting and receiving Ethernet communication signals to and from an upper control device (AA);
a receiving port number acquisition step (bh) for acquiring a receiving port number , which is a destination port number included in a TCP header of a packet formed by an Ethernet communication signal received by the master module Ethernet transmitting/receiving step (bb);
a receiving port number determination step (bj) of determining whether the acquired receiving port number is a predetermined receiving port number;
a first determination step (bk) of determining whether the Ethernet communication signal received by the master module Ethernet transmitting/receiving step (bb) is addressed to itself or to a slave module when the determination result in the receiving port number determination step (bj) is determined to be a predetermined port number; a second determination step (bm) of determining whether the Ethernet communication signal received by the master module Ethernet transmitting/receiving step (bb) is addressed to itself or to a slave module when the determination result in the receiving port number determination step (bj) is determined not to be the predetermined port number; and a protocol conversion step (bd) of converting the received Ethernet communication signal into a serial communication signal with the slave module (CA) when the determination results in the first determination step (bk) and second determination step (bm) are addressed to the slave module (CA), and of converting a serial communication signal received from the slave module (CA) into an Ethernet communication signal as necessary;
a first bus transmission line selection step (bn) of selecting a bus transmission line available at a relatively low speed when the determination result in the first determination step (bk) is that the bus is destined for a slave module (CA); and a second bus transmission line selection step (bp) of selecting a bus transmission line available at a relatively high speed when the determination result in the second determination step (bm) is that the bus is destined for a slave module (CA);
a bus transmission/reception step (bf) of transmitting a serial communication signal converted according to the selection results in the first bus transmission path selection step (bn) and the second bus transmission path selection step (bp) to the slave module (CA) via the determined bus transmission path, and receiving a result according to the transmission from the slave module (CA) via the same bus transmission path; and if the determination results in the first determination step (bk) and the second determination step (bm) are destined for the master module (BA),
a processing step (bg) of directly processing the received Ethernet communication signal;
A program that can be read and operated by a module system that is a computer having the above-mentioned configuration.

Images