JP7680251B2 - Multi-point physical quantity control system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a system that controls physical quantities at multiple points and is composed of a master module and one or more slave modules, and to a technology for transmitting a set value (control target information) from the master module to the slave module.

For example, in temperature control of hot press molding of carbon fiber reinforced plastics used in the exterior walls of aircraft fuselages, a master module is connected to one or more slave modules to control the heat source of multiple heating points on the target workpiece. 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 multiple slave modules connected to it based on the received control conditions. Each of the slave modules that receives these signals then controls the control target based on the received signal (Patent Document 1).

JP 62-176295 Publication

In the conventional system shown in FIG. 9, a reference point for control was set for controlling a physical quantity (temperature) at multiple points. A conventional example of a series of operations between a master module and a slave module connected by a serial communication path (hereinafter sometimes referred to as a serial bus) is described with reference to FIG. 15. After power is turned on, the master module outputs reply prompting information with a slave ID to search for a slave module connected to the master module. The slave module responds if the signal is addressed to the master module. The slave module searches for a slave module by waiting for a predetermined time and if there is no response, incrementing the slave ID by one and outputting reply information ("slave search" in FIG. 15). After completing the slave search, the master module sets control target information based on the measurement results of the physical quantity measurement unit connected to the master module, and outputs the control target information to the searched slave modules one by one. The slave module that receives the control target information addressed to the master module responds with the measurement results as a response. The slave module starts control according to the control target information after a predetermined time has elapsed since receiving the control target information.

Using FIG. 13, we will explain the control when a specific point is set as the reference point of the initial physical quantity. FIG. 13 is an example of a temperature rise process in which it is important to control the temperature of the processed material according to a temperature profile, and the figure shows the temperature profile and the initial temperatures of three points on the processed material. When a specific point, for example one of the points that the master module is responsible for, is set as the reference point, the temperature (physical quantity) of the reference point is PV1. However, there is a possibility that there are points with a lower temperature than PV1 among all points including the slave module. These are the points that the slave modules that show temperatures PV2 and PV3 in FIG. 13 are responsible for. The master module sets the control target information based on PV1. In the example of FIG. 13, the control target information is the temperature target that all points aim for on the temperature profile. The control target information set based on PV1 is, for example, a temperature (on the temperature profile) higher than PV1. Control (PID control, etc.) is started with the point PV1 in the temperature profile as the starting point. The points showing temperatures PV2 and PV3 start from a point lower than PV1 and perform PID control, etc. Points where the initial temperature indicated PV2 or PV3 have been out of the control target information for a long time, and it takes time for them to match the control target information. In particular, as in the above example, processing equipment has become larger to process large workpieces such as the exterior walls of aircraft fuselages, and physical quantity control has become more advanced with advances in material technology, leading to a demand to set the reference point for physical quantity control at an arbitrary point, rather than limiting it to the point handled by the master module.

In the present invention, when the master module determines the control target information to be sent to the slave module at the start of control in order for the system consisting of a master module and one or more slave modules to start controlling physical quantities at multiple points, the master module obtains measurement results of the physical quantities at multiple points under the management of the slave module and determines the control target information based on the measurement results. The slave module receives the control target information output from the master module, and after receiving control start command information from the master module, starts controlling the physical quantities of its own controlled object. The object is to provide a multiple-point physical quantity control system that performs program operation control with efficient time management to control the physical quantities of the object and bring the measurement results of each point closer to the control target information.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides:
As a first invention,
A multi-point physical quantity control system comprising a master module and one or more slave modules which cooperate with the master module and are physical quantity controllers of a controlled object,
The master module is
An activation command receiving unit (AA);
a reply prompting information output unit (AB) for outputting reply prompting information, which is information for prompting a reply from the slave module to a communication line with the slave module in order to determine a slave module to cooperate with the reply prompting information output unit (AB) when a start command is received;
a reply receiving unit (AC) for receiving a reply from a slave module in response to the reply prompting information, the reply including a measurement result of a physical quantity at a physical quantity measurement point of a control target object that each slave module is responsible for, and a slave ID that uniquely identifies the slave module;
a control target information output unit (AD) for outputting control target information, which is information for determining a physical quantity control target for each slave module based on the measurement result included in the received reply, and control start command information, which is information indicating a command for each slave module to start control of its own control target,
The slave module is
A start command receiving unit (BA),
a slave ID holding unit (BB) for holding a slave ID that uniquely identifies itself;
A physical quantity measuring unit (BD) for measuring a physical quantity at a measurement point of a control object;
a physical quantity control information output unit (BE) that outputs physical quantity control information (e.g., information for determining the amount of current for heating, etc.) which is information for controlling the physical quantity of a control target object based on control target information;
a reply prompting information receiving unit (BF) for receiving reply prompting information from the master module;
a reply output unit (BG) that outputs a reply including a measurement result of a physical quantity at a measurement point of a control object that is in charge of the reply output unit (BG) when reply prompting information is received, and a slave ID;
A control target information receiving unit (BH) for receiving control target information;
A control target information storage unit (BJ) for storing the control target information;
an output command unit (BM) for causing a physical quantity control information output unit (BE) to output the first physical quantity control information after startup when control start command information is received;
The present invention provides a multi-point physical quantity control system configured to have:

Furthermore, as a second invention, based on the first invention,
A multi-point physical quantity control system is provided in which the control target information output from the master module to the slave modules is the same for all slave modules.

Furthermore, as a third invention, based on either the first or second invention,
The master module also has a physical quantity measurement section (AE) that measures the physical quantity of the measurement point of the controlled object,
A multi-point physical quantity control system is provided, which has a physical quantity control information output unit (AF) that outputs physical quantity control information (e.g., information for determining the amount of current for heating, etc.) which is information for controlling the physical quantity of a controlled object based on control target information.

Furthermore, the present invention provides a method for operating the master module and the slave module of a multi-point physical quantity control system, which is a computer corresponding to the multi-point physical quantity control system of the present invention.

Furthermore, we also provide an operating program that can be read into each of the master module and slave module of the multi-point physical quantity control system, which is a computer, corresponding to the multi-point physical quantity control system of the present invention. Each operating program may also be recorded on a recording medium.

In the present invention, when a system consisting of a master module and one or more slave modules outputs control target information to a slave module in order to start controlling physical quantities at multiple points, the master module outputs control target information based on the measurement results of the physical quantities of the object to be controlled by the slave module. The slave module that receives the control target information output from the master module starts control after receiving control start command information transmitted from the master module. If the control start command information is transmitted simultaneously with the control target information, control can start immediately after reception. Since each slave module controls the physical quantities of the object after receiving the control target information, time management until control of the physical quantities starts can be performed efficiently.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of a multi-point physical quantity control system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a flow chart showing a process flow of a multi-point physical quantity control system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a hardware configuration diagram of a master module of a multi-point physical quantity control system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a hardware configuration diagram of a slave module of a multi-point physical quantity control system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of a multi-point physical quantity control system according to a third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing the process flow of a multi-point physical quantity control system according to a third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a hardware configuration diagram of a master module of a multi-point physical quantity control system according to a third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a hardware configuration diagram of a slave module of a multi-point physical quantity control system according to a third embodiment of the present invention. Schematic diagram 1 showing an example of the configuration of a multi-point physical quantity control system Schematic diagram 2 showing a configuration example of a multi-point physical quantity control system Temperature distribution at the beginning of using the multi-point physical quantity control system of the present invention Example 1 of temperature control using the multi-point physical quantity control system of the present invention Example 2 of temperature control using the multi-point physical quantity control system of the present invention FIG. 1 is an illustration of a PV (measured value) start in a multi-point physical quantity control system according to the prior art. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of PV (measured value) start in a multipoint physical quantity control system according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is an illustration of the operation of a conventional multi-point physical quantity control system. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the multi-point physical quantity control 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.

<Embodiment 1> Mainly claim 1
<Overview of control system including multi-point physical quantity control system>

Figure 9 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a processing example in which a workpiece is heated in a heating furnace using a heater, as an example of a control system including a multiple-point physical quantity control system. Using Figure 9, a case in which temperature is controlled as an example of a physical quantity controlled by a control system including the multiple-point physical quantity control system of the present invention will be described. Note that other examples of physical quantities include pressure, flow rate (liquid, gas, powder, etc.), voltage, current, magnetic flux, magnetic field, charge, electric field, capacitance, accelerating voltage of an electron beam, light exposure, ultraviolet exposure, radiation exposure, concentration of an aqueous solution, wavelength, frequency (or vibration frequency), etc.

In Figure 9, the processed part (0908) is placed in a heating furnace (0909), and the processed part (0908), which is the object to be controlled, is heated by multiple heaters (0906) connected to the slave module, and the temperature of each part of the processed part (0908) is measured as an example of a physical quantity by multiple thermometers (0907) connected to the slave module. In the example of Figure 9, four thermometers are connected to the slave module, and the output of the four heaters is controlled. The thermometers measure the voltage due to the electromotive force of a thermocouple, or the voltage at a constant current using a resistance thermometer or thermistor, and obtain the temperature by converting it. The heater is controlled by outputting a control signal (e.g., a current of about 4 to 20 mA, a voltage pulse of about DC 12 V, etc.) output from the slave module to a thyristor regulator or solid state relay (not shown in FIG. 9) installed between the slave module and the heater, and controlling the amount of heat by phase control using a thyristor regulator that receives the output current from the slave module and changes the voltage output amount for each half cycle of the AC voltage supplied to the heater, or by turning the heater on and off via a solid state relay. FIG. 9 is an example of a control system that determines whether the temperature, which is a physical quantity obtained by measurement, is within a predetermined temperature range and controls the output of the heater (0906). The multi-point physical quantity control system of the present invention is not limited to the heating processing example shown in FIG. 9, and can be used in various types of control systems that control various other physical quantities.

In the example of Figure 9, the master module (0902) can be responsible for one or more slave modules connected to itself via a serial communication path (RS-485). In the RS-485 serial communication standard, the upper limit of devices that can be connected to one path is 32. Therefore, the maximum number of slave modules that can be connected to a serial communication path to which a higher-level control device and the master module are connected is 30 (when no other devices such as recorders are connected). The slave module controls physical quantity control means such as multiple heaters, and receives measured values from physical quantity measurement units such as multiple thermometers. It is also possible to configure the master module to be responsible for controlling some of the heaters and thermometers, and to set control target information based on the combined measurement results of the slave modules and the points managed by the master module when setting control target information (Figure 10).

Various settings, start-up commands, inquiries about operation status, etc. are sent from a higher-level control device (0901) such as a PC or PLC to the master module (0902) via a LAN line (Ethernet) or a serial communication path (serial bus). Conversely, the master module (0902) sends to the higher-level control device (0901) the measurement results of the physical quantity (temperature) of each point of the controlled object (processed member (0908)) and information indicating the status of the master module and slave module (such as physical quantity control information output by each slave module). When the master module is connected to a LAN line (Ethernet), the LAN line is connected to a public Internet line via a connection device equipped with a firewall, etc., and the higher-level control device is connected to the public Internet line, the above communication can be performed from a PC working remotely from, for example, an office or management office on the factory premises, or a home outside the manufacturing site, which is away from the vicinity of the manufacturing equipment where the master module is installed.

<Example of physical quantity control: Physical quantity Temperature: Example of heating process>
The example of the heating process in Fig. 9 will be described below. A series of operations from power-on will be outlined with reference to Fig. 16.

<Power on>"Start" in the top row of Figure 16
When the master module and multiple slave modules are installed as part of a control panel for processing equipment at a manufacturing site, turning on the main power switch of the control panel will simultaneously turn on the power to the master module and multiple slave modules.

<Searching for slave modules: Output of reply prompt information from master module>
<Figure 16 Slave search>
As shown in FIG. 9, slave module 1 (0903) to slave module n (0905) start measuring time after being powered on, and if no communication from the master module is received after the start-up standby time (e.g., 5 seconds, which can be set as appropriate) has elapsed, during which the slave module waits for communication from the master module after startup, the slave module starts operating in standalone mode. The master module (0902) starts measuring time after startup. Immediately after startup, in order to search for the slave module connected to the master module, reply prompting information, which is a communication for prompting a reply, is output by specifying the slave ID through the serial communication path (serial bus). The master module also has a post-startup standby time (e.g., 5 seconds, which can be set as appropriate) until it starts outputting the control target information to the slave module, which will be described later. The master module performs the slave search during the post-startup standby time. The post-startup standby time can be determined as appropriate based on the communication interval for outputting reply prompting information, the time to wait for a response (timeout), and the number of connected devices.

In the master module slave search shown in FIG. 16, reply prompting information is first sent, which includes the slave ID, 2, which is the number following the master module's device management number 1. If a slave module with a slave ID of 2 is connected, the reply prompting information is addressed to the slave module, so the slave module receives it, responds, and transitions to slave mode, a mode in which the slave module operates under the command of the master module. If the reply prompting information is not addressed to the slave module (does not include the slave ID of the slave module), the slave module receives it but does not respond. Even if the reply prompting information is addressed to another device, it is clear that it is a communication from the master module, so if a slave module receives reply prompting information addressed to another device while on standby, it transitions to slave mode.

If the master module waits for a certain period of time (e.g. 100 ms, can be set appropriately) and there is no response from the slave module corresponding to the transmitted slave ID, it determines that the slave module corresponding to that slave ID is not connected. Then, it increments the slave ID by 1 and outputs reply prompting information. It outputs reply prompting information in sequence while incrementing the slave ID by one up to the maximum number of connections that can be connected depending on the type of serial communication path (serial bus) (e.g. RS-485 can connect up to 32 units, including other devices such as higher-level control devices and recorders). It is preferable to configure it to retain the number of the slave ID that has returned a response. If reply prompting information is sent and the slave ID of the slave module that has responded is not retained, it can also be configured to transmit all slave IDs while increasing them in sequence from 2 to the maximum number of connections when transmitting to the slave module. Alternatively, the slave IDs of the slave modules to be connected may be registered in the master module, and reply prompting information may be transmitted in sequence to the initially registered slave IDs. It can also be configured to leave the slave IDs that have responded and erase the registration of the slave IDs that have not responded.

<Searching for slave modules: Slave module compatibility>
A slave module that receives reply prompting information addressed to itself or another device from the master module (0902) within the waiting time after startup transitions to slave mode. If reply prompting information addressed to itself or another device cannot be received, for example because the master module is not connected, each slave module starts operating in standalone mode after the waiting time after startup has elapsed. If the master module is connected after starting standalone operation, the slave module may continue to operate in standalone mode, or may be configured to transition to slave mode upon receiving reply prompting information from the master module.

When the slave module receives reply prompting information from the master module (0902), it replies to the master module (0902) with a slave ID that uniquely identifies itself and the physical quantity of the object it is responsible for controlling (the temperature measured by the thermometer in FIG. 13) as a response through a serial communication path (serial bus). If the import of the physical quantity measurement results has not yet started, null data or an appropriate value is returned as the measurement result. The master module does not use the measurement result attached to the reply prompting information as false information during the post-startup wait time from startup. As described above, communication between the master module (0902) and the slave module uses a serial communication path (serial bus) such as RS-485 of the Modbus RTU protocol. With RS-485, which is the electrical specification to which the Modbus RTU protocol conforms, the communication speed at the maximum transmission distance is approximately 100 kbps. Modbus is a serial communications protocol developed by Modicon in 1979 for its programmable logic controllers (PLCs). It has become the de facto standard communications protocol in the industrial world and is currently the most common means of connecting industrial electronic devices.

It is preferable to configure the master module to output reply prompting information periodically and continuously, because if a slave module is connected after control has started (including when a previously connected device is started up later), it can be added under the control of the master module. The reply prompting information output period is preferably set to a period (e.g., 1 s, but not limited to this period) that allows the reply prompting information to be received at least once, preferably multiple times such as 4 or 5 times, within the waiting time after the slave module is started up. If there are multiple serial communication paths between the master module and the slave module, or between the slave modules, the reply prompting information can be configured to be output using a serial communication path other than the communication that requires real-time performance, such as physical quantity measurement results. If a slave module is added to a serial communication path to which the master module is not connected, it will start operating standalone after the startup waiting time has elapsed.

<Collection of physical quantity measurement results> Figure 16, middle section: "PV measurement started"
The PV (Process Variable) in the description of "PV measurement start" in FIG. 16 refers to a value (measurement result) obtained from an input signal from a sensor such as obtaining a temperature (physical quantity) from the electromotive force of a thermocouple (sensor) connected to the slave module.
Each slave module (and the master module if it itself has a physical quantity measurement unit) starts measuring physical quantities after a post-startup standby time has elapsed after startup (power-on). The master module provisionally outputs initially held control target information to each slave module based on the slave ID found in the slave module search. The purpose is to collect the physical quantity measurement results returned by each slave module as a response. If another slave module is additionally connected and started after each slave module has started measuring physical quantities, the physical quantity measurement starts after the startup standby time has elapsed (e.g. 5 s) in the same manner as above, regardless of whether the operation is started in slave mode or standalone mode.

<Master module for setting and outputting physical quantity control target information, and outputting control start command information>
<Figure 16 Master module SV determination Control start>
After each slave module starts measuring the physical quantity after the waiting time after startup, the master module (0902) outputs the control target information initially held to each slave module, and after waiting a sufficient time (e.g., 100 ms) to obtain physical quantity (temperature) data of a plurality of control points as a response, sets control target information (set target temperature in the example of FIG. 9) for physical quantity control (temperature control) based on the physical quantity (temperature) data of each point returned from the slave module, and outputs it to the slave module via a serial communication path (serial bus) together with control start command information. In the system example of FIG. 9, each slave module manages four thermometers (the measurement result acquisition channels of each thermometer are denoted as CH1 to CH4) and outputs for four heater control.

There are several possible methods for setting initial control target information based on the physical quantity at each point. For example, important points are determined for each controlled object (processed part) from among multiple predefined physical quantity measurement points and used as the reference point, or the maximum, minimum, or average physical quantity among multiple points (or all points) of all physical quantity measurement points are used as the reference. In the following, an example is described in which the point showing the lowest temperature is used as the reference point for a heating process that goes through a temperature profile of heating, maintaining a constant temperature, and cooling in order to maintain a high temperature for a certain period of time, and control according to the temperature profile is important. In cooling processing, for example, the point showing the initial maximum temperature is suitable as the reference point, and the reference point varies depending on the controlled object and the physical quantity to be controlled, so there is no limit to how the reference point is taken in the following example in which the minimum temperature is used as the reference point.

Figure 11 shows the initial temperature distribution of CH1 to CH4 of n slave modules 1 to 3. Although not shown in Figure 11, the initial temperatures of slave modules 4 to n are described as being higher than temperature T22 in Figure 11. In Figure 11, the lowest temperature is temperature T22 of CH2 of slave module 2. A heating process is being performed that goes through a temperature profile of temperature increase, temperature maintenance, and temperature decrease as shown in Figure 12a. In the measurement results (temperatures) from multiple measurement points, temperature T22 of CH2 of slave module 2 is the lowest temperature among the controlled objects (workpieces). If control for processing is started based on another fixed reference point (a point with an initial temperature higher than T22) as in the conventional case, it takes time for the point CH2 of slave module 2 to be controlled according to the temperature profile, as described above with reference to Figure 13. If the lowest temperature T22 in the measurement results is used as the reference, control begins from 0:12, which is the temperature of T22 in the temperature profile shown in Figure 12b (0:12, temperature T22 becomes the new 0:00 point for starting control, the horizontal axis time shown in parentheses in the figure). The processing time can be shortened by the time of 0:12. Furthermore, as shown in Figure 14, if the initial lowest temperature (PV3) is used as the reference point, the temperature convergence of each point (points indicating initial temperatures PV1, PV2, PV3) to the temperature profile will also be faster. Therefore, even in the examples of Figures 11 and 12, it is thought that control can be achieved in line with the temperature profile more quickly by using the initial lowest temperature T22 as the reference.

Additional explanations for Figures 13 and 14. Figure 13 shows another temperature profile during conventional heating processing, where the reference physical quantity (temperature) measurement point was a fixed point. In the example of Figure 13, the temperature PV1 value is the temperature of the reference point, and there are other points of temperature PV2 and PV3 lower than PV1. When the control target information (SV) is determined based on temperature PV1, control begins with temperature PV1 in the temperature profile as the starting point, as shown in the graph at the bottom of Figure 13. PV1 changes in temperature almost in line with the temperature profile, but PV2 and PV3, which are temperatures lower than PV1, take time to reach a temperature close to the temperature profile after being strongly heated and overshooting significantly in an attempt to approach the temperature profile.

The case where control target information can be determined from all the measurement results of physical quantities that can be measured in the entire system including the slave module, as in the present invention, is explained with the example of FIG. 14. The temperature profile shown in the upper graph of FIG. 14 is the same as the temperature profile in the upper graph of FIG. 13. When determining the control target information (SV), the value of PV3, which is the lowest temperature, is used as the standard. Control is started from the point where the temperature PV3 is reached on the temperature profile. At the points showing PV1 or PV2, which are higher than PV3, the heater output is reduced (cooled if a cooler is present) or heating is not performed until the temperature approaches the temperature on the temperature profile, but once the temperature profile is reached, the control is almost in line with the temperature profile. The control in the present invention can control in line with the temperature profile more than conventional control.

The control target information output from the master module to the slave modules may be different for each slave module, or may be the same as in the embodiment described below. When the same control target information is output to all slave modules, the control target information holding unit of each slave module is provided with a control target information correction information holding means for holding control target information correction information, which is information for correcting the control target information based on the correction information of the physical quantity measuring means and physical quantity control means managed by each slave module, and a control target information correction means for correcting the control target information output from the master module based on the control target correction information. In this way, the control target information can be corrected to correct the variations in the physical quantity measuring means and physical quantity control means managed by each slave module.

The control target information can be output to the slave modules in the form of a temperature profile all at once, or the master module can be configured to hold a temperature profile and periodically output control target information (the immediate target temperature) for each point it is responsible for to each slave module. In the latter case, the slave module that receives the control target information (target temperature) adjusts and outputs physical quantity control information (information for controlling heaters, etc.) at its own discretion so that the target temperature is reached. Alternatively, a temperature profile can be held in the master module and each slave module before starting a series of physical quantity controls, and each slave module can be configured to either refer to the control target information output from the master module to control the physical quantity of the point it is responsible for, or to control the physical quantity independently using the control target information based on the temperature profile held in the module. If a temperature profile is held in the master module and slave module in advance, in the event that the master module does not start and the slave module operates standalone, the slave module operating standalone can independently control the physical quantity using the control target information based on the temperature profile held in the slave module.

<Slave module receiving control target information>
In response to receiving the control target information and control start command information to which the slave module has been assigned, the slave module returns data including the slave ID of the slave module itself and the physical quantity of the controlled object (temperature in the example of FIG. 9) to the master module (0902) through the RS-485 serial communication path (serial bus) of the Modbus RTU protocol. The slave module receives communication addressed to other devices but does not respond. After receiving a response from the slave module, the master module outputs the control target information and the control start command information to the next slave module in order to prevent communication congestion on the serial communication path (serial bus). If the master module cannot receive a response to the control target information and the control start command information from the slave module that responded to the first response prompting information after startup even after a certain period of time (e.g., 5 ms) has elapsed, the master module may be configured to, for example, transmit the information to the slave module again, and if there is still no response, to take measures to deal with an abnormal state, such as outputting an error message to a higher-level control device.

<Start of physical quantity control> Fig. 16 Slave module SV determination Start of control Receiving and holding the control target information output from the master module is the SV determination in the figure. By receiving the control start command information output simultaneously with the control target information, the slave module outputs physical quantity control information for controlling the physical quantity (temperature) of the controlled object for which it is responsible based on the received control target information (start of control). Each slave module starts physical quantity control with a time variance within a time range (at most about 100 ms) that is considered to be reached when the master module has completed transmitting the control target information and the control start command information to all slave modules. The master module outputs a control start command to the slave ID of the slave module under its own control, which is acquired by the slave search, so that the slave module can reliably start control.

<Physical quantity control> Lower part of Fig. 16 After the slave module starts physical quantity control according to the control target information (SV), the master module periodically outputs a signal for querying the physical quantity measurement result. The signal from the master module can output the control target information. An example of the period is 100 ms. As an example, the control target information (SV: target temperature in the example of Fig. 9) is output to each slave module every 100 ms, and each slave module outputs a current, voltage, pulse signal, etc. for PID control, etc., as physical quantity control information to a thyristor regulator or solid state relay connected to the slave module and performing physical quantity control, in accordance with the received control target information (SV) addressed to the slave module. The thyristor regulator or the like that receives the physical quantity control information from the slave module adjusts the output of a means (such as a heater) that changes a physical quantity such as temperature that it manages, based on the physical quantity control information. The slave module that receives a periodic query signal (which may include control target information) from the master module returns the measurement result of the physical quantity (e.g., temperature) as a response. The reply from the slave module may be configured to include physical quantity control information. Such control is performed until a series of physical quantity controls, for example, a temperature profile in a heating process, is completed.

The above is an explanation of an example of using the multi-point physical quantity control system of the present invention, from startup to the end of a series of processes.

In the example of FIG. 9, each slave module outputs a current (e.g., DC 4 to 20 mA) to phase-control the heater output to the thyristor regulator (not shown in FIG. 9) connected to the slave module in order to achieve the received control target information (target temperature). The thyristor regulator, which receives an instruction from the slave module in the form of a DC current value or the like, phase-controls the AC voltage supplied to the connected heater and starts heating while controlling the output. Note that the output may be for controlling other heater output control means, and is not limited to the control of the thyristor regulator by DC current or the use of a thyristor regulator. In the following explanations in this specification, heater output control may be expressed as "the slave module adjusts the heater output, controls the heater output" to mean "the heater output is controlled by a thyristor regulator or solid-state relay according to the output from the slave module."

Each of the parts described below can be realized as a combination of hardware and software. Specifically, if a computer is used, the hardware components include a CPU, main memory, bus, or secondary storage device (non-volatile memory such as flash memory or SSD, storage media such as CD or DVD, and a drive for reading these media), an input device used to input information, a PLC, a recorder, a printer or display device, and other external peripheral devices, as well as interfaces for these external peripheral devices, communication interfaces, driver programs and other application programs for controlling these hardware, and user interface applications. Then, the CPU performs calculations according to the program deployed on the main memory to process and store data input from input devices and other interfaces and stored in memory or a hard disk, and to generate commands for controlling the above hardware and software. Alternatively, the functional blocks of this device may be realized by dedicated hardware.

In the following description of this specification, following the configuration examples shown in Figures 9 and 10, the master module of the system of the present invention controls physical quantities at multiple points while communicating with a higher-level control device connected via a LAN line (Ethernet) or a serial communication path. Note that the configuration may also be limited to a master module, a slave module, and a controlled object (e.g., a thermometer, a heater, etc.). Only when changing the settings of the master module, etc., can the settings be changed by connecting to the higher-level control device via a LAN line (Ethernet) or a serial communication path. The effects of the present invention can be obtained in the same way even if the master module is not constantly connected to the higher-level control device.

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).

<Overview of embodiment 1>

This is a multi-point physical quantity control system consisting of a master module and one or more slave modules that cooperate with the master module and are physical quantity controllers of the object to be controlled. The master module transmits control target information, which is a control target for the physical quantity, and a control start command, which is a command to start physical quantity control, to the slave module, and the slave module is configured to start control upon receiving the control start command received together with the control target information.
<Functional Configuration of First Embodiment>

1 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a multi-point physical quantity control system according to the present embodiment. As shown in the figure, the multi-point physical quantity control system of the present invention comprises a master module (0101) which is composed of an activation command receiving unit (AA) (0102), a reply prompting information output unit (AB) (0103), a reply receiving unit (AC) (0104), and a control target information output unit (AD) (0105);
The slave module (0110) is composed of a start command receiving unit (BA) (0111), a slave ID holding unit (BB) (0112), a physical quantity measuring unit (BD) (0114), a physical quantity control information output unit (BE) (0115), a reply prompting information receiving unit (BF) (0116), a reply output unit (BG) (0117), a control target information receiving unit (BH) (0118), a control target information holding unit (BJ) (0119), and an output command unit (BM) (0121).

<Embodiment 1: Master module startup command receiving unit (AA) (0102)>
The start-up command receiving unit (AA) (0102) of the master module is configured to receive a start-up command for starting up the master module.

Examples of a start-up command include turning on a physical power switch, or a master module waiting in sleep mode receiving a start-up command from a higher-level control device. If the master module and slave module are mounted in the same control panel rack, it can also be configured so that power supply to the master module and slave module begins simultaneously by turning on the main power supply for the rack.

<Embodiment 1: Master module, reply prompting information output unit (AB) (0103)>
The reply promotion information output unit (AB) (0103) of the master module is configured to output reply promotion information, which is information for promoting a reply from the slave module to the communication line with the slave module in order to determine the slave module that will cooperate with the master module when a startup command is received.

As described above, after starting, the master module starts by outputting reply prompting information to the slave module with the slave ID set to 2, which is the next number after its own device management number 1. After receiving a reply from the slave module, the master module increments the slave ID by 1 and outputs reply prompting information. If a reply from the slave module is not received after waiting a certain period of time (e.g., 5 ms), the master module considers the slave ID to be unconnected, increments the slave ID by 1, and continues outputting reply prompting information. If a reply is received, the master module increments the slave ID by 1 and outputs reply prompting information without waiting after receiving the response. The master module outputs reply prompting information in order, with the maximum number of devices that can be connected to the serial communication path (serial bus) in use as the maximum value of the slave ID, and searches for the connected slave module. The master module may also be configured to hold the slave IDs of the slave modules (or devices connected to other serial communication paths, such as recorders) that are to be connected before starting, and output reply prompting information for the held slave IDs in a predetermined order, such as in ascending order of slave ID values.

The reply prompting information that is output first after startup can be configured to include initial identification information that identifies it as the first. By informing the slave modules that they are the first, the slave modules can independently shift the timing of their use of the serial communication path (serial bus) to prevent signal collisions. For example, the timing of the slave module's reply to the initial reply prompting information can be determined based on a random number generated by a random number generator provided in the slave module. This is because the master module can take its time to wait for replies from all slave modules, since control of the physical quantity has not yet begun at the time of this reply. Note that the signal called reply prompting information may be the first one, or subsequent signals from the master module may be called such.

The communication between the master module and the slave module can be configured to include a serial number so that the relationship between questions and answers (responses) between the master module and the slave module, and between commands and obedience results, etc., can be made clear. The serial number and the slave ID allow the master module to execute communication processing and control processing more reliably. The slave module can also be configured to manage IDs for each physical quantity control point and transmit physical quantity measurement results associated with the physical quantity control point ID in communication with the master module. In some cases, the communication between the slave module and the master module can be configured to communicate information only about some physical quantity control points, rather than information about all physical quantity control points that the slave module is responsible for. In other words, there are physical quantity control points that require more careful attention and points that can be relatively ignored, and by distinguishing between these and communicating, the amount of communication (traffic) can be reduced. In this way, the slave module can be configured to rank each physical quantity control point that it is responsible for and perform processing and reporting according to the ranking.

<Embodiment 1: Master module reply receiving unit (AC) (0104)>
The reply receiving unit (AC) (0104) of the master module is configured to receive a reply from the slave module in response to the reply prompting information, the reply including the measurement result of the physical quantity at the physical quantity measurement point of the controlled object that each slave module is responsible for, and a slave ID that uniquely identifies the slave module.

The master module identifies the slave module that will cooperate with itself based on the received slave ID. As described above, it is preferable to configure it to hold the slave ID that is replying to the received response. It is also possible to hold different flags (e.g., 1 and 0) for slave IDs that have replied and slave IDs that have not. If the master module already holds the slave IDs of the slave modules (or other connected devices) that are to be connected before startup, it can be configured to continue holding the slave IDs of slave modules that have responded and erase slave IDs that have not responded and could not be received. Alternatively, it may be configured to hold different flags (e.g., 1 and 0).

<Embodiment 1: Master module control target information output unit (AD) (0105)>
The control target information output unit (AD) (0105) of the master module is configured to output control target information, which is information for determining a physical quantity control target for each slave module based on the measurement result included in the received reply, and control start command information, which is information indicating a command for each slave module to start controlling its own control object.

Based on the physical quantities of the measurement points of the controlled objects of each slave module received from the slave modules, the master module determines the control target information as described above and outputs it to the slave modules.

<Embodiment 1: Master Module (0101)>
The master module (0101) is configured to receive the measurement results of physical quantities from the slave modules, formulate control target information, and output it to the slave modules.

In response to a request from a higher-level control device, the master module returns the measurement results of each physical quantity measurement point and the output physical quantity control information returned by the slave module in response to itself, in association with information identifying each physical quantity measurement point (information associating a slave ID with information identifying one or more physical quantity measurement points for each slave module). The above information may be obtained as a response by making an inquiry to the slave module via the master module. The master module and slave module are connected by an RS-485 serial communication path (serial bus) of the Modbus RTU protocol, as described above.

<Embodiment 1: Slave module start command receiving unit (BA) (0111)>
The start-up command receiving unit (BA) (0111) of the slave module is configured to receive a start-up command for starting up the slave module.

Examples of a wake-up command include turning on a physical power switch, sending a signal to a slave module waiting in sleep mode to start up, or receiving a reply prompt from a master module.

<Embodiment 1: Slave module slave ID holding unit (BB) (0112)>
The slave ID holding unit (BB) (0112) of the slave module is configured to hold a slave ID that uniquely identifies itself.

A separate slave ID is assigned and stored for each slave module connected to one master module. A slave module that is connected to and capable of communicating with one master module has a slave ID that is the master module's device management number 1 on the connected serial communication path (serial bus) and a number that does not overlap with the slave IDs of other slave modules. When the master module outputs a communication with a slave ID attached, only the slave module corresponding to the slave ID responds to the received communication. By transmitting measurement results to the master module in association with the slave ID, the master module can receive and manage the measurement results by distinguishing between each slave module.

The ID of the slave module may be set from an external device through communication, but it can also be configured so that it can be set manually by touching the slave module directly. This is because the ID of the slave module is very important information. In addition, it is preferable to configure it so that it cannot be set or to output a warning if it conflicts with an already set ID, so that there is no inconsistency with other slave modules. In addition, it is preferable to configure it so that it cannot be changed during operation once it is set. For example, it can be configured so that the ID setting button cannot be touched while the slave module housing is in operation (during physical quantity control processing). When the system of the present invention is used to control processing equipment at a factory manufacturing site, the influence of noise is large, so it is preferable to set the slave ID using a mechanical dial switch rather than a configuration in which it is written to electronic memory (a configuration in which it is written to non-volatile memory in advance or written to RAM after startup).

<Embodiment 1: Slave module physical quantity measurement unit (BD) (0114)>
The physical quantity measurement unit (BD) (0114) of the slave module is configured to measure the physical quantity of a measurement point of the controlled object.

Examples of physical quantities of the object to be controlled include temperature, pressure, and ultraviolet radiation dose, as described above. The physical quantity measurement unit is preferably configured to manage the lifespan of the sensor it uses. Lifespan management can be based on the length of time the sensor has been used since it was first installed, or based on the time history (rate of change, acceleration of change) of the voltage and current of the sensor. This information can be reported to the master module periodically, or can be configured to be reported a predetermined period before the recommended replacement time. The slave module can also be configured to have an automatic sensor calibration function. It can also be configured to provide a reference physical quantity to the sensor and update the calibration information it holds based on the reference physical quantity. The lifespan management also includes failure judgment. It is preferable to configure the sensor to be able to detect a failure such as a broken wire in a thermocouple for measuring temperature, which is an example of a physical quantity.

<Embodiment 1: Slave module physical quantity control information output unit (BE) (0115)>
The physical quantity control information output unit (BE) (0115) of the slave module is configured to output physical quantity control information (e.g., information for determining the amount of current for heating, etc.) which is information for controlling the physical quantity of the controlled object based on the control target information.

Examples of physical quantity control information include the amount of current to a heater to control temperature, the opening degree of a pressurizing valve to control pressure, and the amount of current to increase the brightness of an ultraviolet lamp. In addition to temperature, physical quantities include pressure, flow rate (for liquids, gases, powders, etc.), voltage, current, magnetic flux, magnetic field, charge, electric field, capacitance, accelerating voltage of an electron beam, light exposure, ultraviolet exposure, radiation exposure, concentration of an aqueous solution, wavelength, and frequency (or vibration frequency).

If the slave module does not directly have a current source for controlling physical quantities such as a heater or ultraviolet lamp, it can be configured to output a current, voltage, or pulse signal for operating a thyristor regulator, solid-state relay, electromagnetic relay, photocoupler, etc. connected to the slave module as described above, so as to control physical quantities such as current, voltage, opening and closing of a solenoid valve or shutter via a thyristor regulator, solid-state relay, electromagnetic relay, photocoupler, etc.

<Embodiment 1: Slave module reply prompting information receiving unit (BF) (0116)>
The reply prompting information receiving section (BF) (0116) of the slave module is configured to receive reply prompting information from the master module.

Receives the signal output by the master module when searching for a slave module that can link with the device itself. Only the slave module that matches the slave ID currently communicating with the master module responds to the received communication; other devices receive the communication but do not respond.

<Embodiment 1: Slave module reply output unit (BG) (0117)>
The reply output unit (BG) (0117) of the slave module is configured to output a reply including the measurement result of the physical quantity at the measurement point of the controlled object that it is responsible for and the slave ID when it receives reply prompting information.

When a slave module receives communication from the master module, it can be configured to send back a response including its own slave ID and the measurement results of the physical quantities of the object that it controls. It can also be configured so that the response includes physical quantity control information used to control the physical quantities. This is because, after control begins, most communication between the master module and the slave modules will be to obtain the physical quantity measurement results of the slave modules. Even without including a measurement result request command, if a command is sent to each slave module, the measurement results can be received as a response from each slave module.

The reply output unit (BG) can be configured to be used not only for replying in response to reply prompting information received from the master module, but also for any other communication with the master module. The measurement result of the physical quantity to be included in the response to the first reply prompting information after startup may be NULL if measurement of the physical quantity has not yet started, or a predetermined initial value may be returned as the measurement result. If measurement has started, the measurement result may be returned. However, since it is unclear whether measurement of the physical quantity has started at the point responsible for the slave module at the time of the response return, it is better for the master module to discard the measurement result of the physical quantity included in the response received from the slave module (the response to the first reply prompting information after startup).

<Embodiment 1: Slave module control target information receiving unit (BH) (0118)>
The control target information receiving section (BH) (0118) of the slave module is configured to receive the control target information.

The control target information is sent from the master module to each slave module with a slave ID attached. If the control target information differs for each slave module, the slave ID is attached when sending it, and the appropriate slave module receives it. If the slave ID matches its own ID, the signal is acquired as meaningful information and processed, but if they do not match, the signal is not processed as meaningful information even if it is received, and no response is made.

<Embodiment 1: Slave module control target information storage unit (BJ) (0119)>
The control target information storage unit (BJ) (0119) of the slave module is configured to store the control target information.

The received control target information is stored and referred to as appropriate when controlling the physical quantities of the controlled object, to determine the physical quantity control information. If there is variation in the measuring means for the physical quantities of each point of the controlled object managed by each slave module, or if there is variation in the physical quantity control means, then as long as the same control target information is output to each slave module as in the embodiment described below, the control target information may be corrected as described above.

<Embodiment 1: Slave module output command unit (BM) (0121)>
The output command unit (BM) (0121) of the slave module is configured to make the physical quantity control information output unit (BE) output the first physical quantity control information after startup when control start command information is received.

When control start command information is received, it starts physical quantity control of the controlled object. For example, in a heating process, it receives control target information (target set value) from the master module, and after receiving control start command information, it causes the physical quantity control information output unit (BE) to output a signal (such as direct current) to a thyristor regulator or the like connected to itself to adjust the heater output.

<Embodiment 1: Slave Module (0110)>
The slave module (0110) is configured to output measurement results of physical quantities from a controlled object under its management as a response to communication from the master module, receive control target information from the master module, and output physical quantity control information to the controlled object based on the control target information.

As shown in Figure 9, the slave modules are equipped with multiple thermometers (for measuring physical quantities) and multiple heaters (for controlling physical quantities), and the slave modules and the slave modules and the master module are connected via serial communication paths (serial buses) that conform to the RS-485 standard of the Modbus RTU protocol.

<Processing flow of embodiment 1>
Fig. 2 shows a process flow of the multi-point physical quantity control system of the embodiment 1. The left side shows the process flow in the master module which is a computer (calculator), and the right side shows the process flow in the slave module which is also a computer (calculator). In Fig. 2, it is assumed that the communication between the master module and the slave module uses a serial communication path (serial bus) of the RS-485 standard of the Modbus RTU protocol.

The operation of the master module, which is a computer, is as follows:
The start-up command receiving step (aa) (SA0201) receives a start-up command to start the master module,
A reply prompting information output step (ab) (SA0202) performs a process of outputting reply prompting information, which is information for prompting a reply from the slave module to a communication line with the slave module in order to determine a slave module to be linked with the reply prompting information output step when a start command is received,
The reply receiving step (ac) (SA0203) performs processing to receive a reply from a slave module in response to the reply prompting information, the reply including the measurement results of the physical quantities at the physical quantity measurement points of the controlled object handled by each slave module and a slave ID that uniquely identifies the slave module.The control target information output step (ad) (SA0204) performs processing to output control target information, which is information for determining physical quantity control targets for each slave module based on the measurement results included in the received reply, and control start command information, which is information indicating a command for each slave module to start controlling its own controlled object.

The operation method of each slave module, which is a computer, is as follows:
A start-up command receiving step (ba) (SB0201) receives a start-up command for starting a slave module. A slave ID holding step (bb) (SB0202) holds a slave ID that uniquely identifies the slave module.
The physical quantity measurement step (bd) (SB0203) performs a process of measuring a physical quantity of a measurement point of the controlled object,
A reply prompting information receiving step (bf) (SB0204) performs a process of receiving the reply prompting information output from the reply prompting information output step (ab) (SA0202) of the master module,
A reply output step (bg) (SB0205) performs processing for outputting a reply including a measurement result of a physical quantity at a measurement point of a control object that the device is responsible for and a slave ID to a reply receiving step (ac) (SA0203) of the master module when reply prompting information addressed to the device itself is received,
A control target information receiving step (bh) (SB0206) performs a process of receiving the control target information output from the control target information output step (ad) (SA0204) of the master module,
A control target information holding step (bj) (SB0207) performs a process of holding the control target information addressed to the device itself,
In the output command step (bm) (SB0208), when control start command information is received, a process is performed to output the first physical quantity control information after startup to a physical quantity control information output step (be) (SB0209),
The physical quantity control information output step (be) (SB0209) performs processing to output physical quantity control information (e.g., information for determining the amount of current for heating, etc.), which is information for controlling the physical quantity of the object to be controlled based on the control target information.
This is an operating method for causing a multi-point physical quantity control system, which is a computer, 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 master module of the multi-point physical quantity control system of this embodiment. As shown in Figure 3, the master module includes a CPU (0301), a non-volatile memory (0302) (e.g., ROM, SSD, etc.), a main memory (0303), an Ethernet communication I/F (0304) (interface is abbreviated as I/F in Figure 3) for connection with a control PC or a recorder, a general-purpose serial communication interface I/F1 (0305) for connection with a control module, etc., a user I/F (0306), a bus controller (0309) for controlling a communication I/F (0311) with an internal bus (0310), a controller DMAC (0308) 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 (0307) 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). Additionally, a system with a multi-core CPU and/or sufficient cache memory is preferable, as it makes it easier to prevent operational delays due to memory shortages.

In addition to the OS (operating system) and device drivers, non-volatile memory also contains
a start-up command receiving program that receives a start-up command for starting the master module;
a reply prompting information output program for outputting reply prompting information, which is information for prompting a reply from the slave module to a communication line with the slave module in order to determine a slave module to cooperate with the reply prompting information output program when a start command is received;
a reply receiving program for receiving a reply from a slave module in response to the reply prompting information, the reply including a measurement result of a physical quantity at a physical quantity measurement point of a controlled object managed by each slave module and a slave ID for uniquely identifying the slave module;
Various programs and specific port numbers are recorded, such as a control target information output program that outputs control target information, which is information for determining a physical quantity control target for each slave module based on the measurement result included in the received reply, and control start command information, which is information indicating a command for each slave module to start controlling its own control target. Then, each program is deployed 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 a work area of the main memory, and are retained in the non-volatile memory, or are output to a higher-level control device by executing the program via an Ethernet communication interface or a serial communication interface.

Figure 4 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of each slave module of the multi-point physical quantity control system of this embodiment. As shown in Figure 4, the system includes a CPU (0401), a non-volatile memory (0402) (e.g., ROM, SSD, etc.), a main memory (0403), a general-purpose serial communication interface I/F1 (0404) for connecting to a control module, a user I/F (0405), a bus controller (0408) for controlling a communication I/F (0410) with an internal bus (0409), a controller DMAC (0407) 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 control system I/F (0411) which is an interface between a physical quantity measurement result input (0412) and a physical quantity control information output (0413), and a system bus (0406) for transmitting and receiving signals between them. The CPU can be a customized dedicated CPU, and dedicated firmware can be used instead of an OS (operating system). Also, a system with a multi-core CPU and/or sufficient cache memory is preferable, as it is easier to prevent operational delays due to memory shortages.

In addition to the OS (operating system) and device drivers, non-volatile memory also contains
Various programs and specific port numbers are recorded in the slave module, such as a startup command receiving program that receives a startup command to start up the slave module, a slave ID holding program that holds a slave ID that uniquely identifies the slave module, a physical quantity measurement program that measures a physical quantity of a measurement point of a controlled object, a physical quantity control information output program that outputs physical quantity control information (e.g., information that determines the amount of current for heating, etc.) that is information for controlling the physical quantity of the controlled object based on control target information, a reply prompting information receiving program for receiving reply prompting information from the master module, a reply output program that outputs a reply including the measurement results of the physical quantities at the measurement points of the controlled object that the master module is responsible for and the slave ID when reply prompting information addressed to the master module is received, a control target information receiving program that receives control target information, a control target information holding program that holds the control target information addressed to the master module, and an output command program that causes a physical quantity control information output unit (BE) to output the first physical quantity control information after startup when control start command information is received. Then, each program is expanded and executed, and information and data obtained via the interface are stored in non-volatile memory, and the stored information and data are processed by executing the program in the work area of the main memory, and retained in the non-volatile memory, or a response is output to the master module by executing the program via the serial communication interface.
<Effects of First Embodiment>

According to the multi-point physical quantity control system of this embodiment, the master module can formulate control target information based on the physical quantities of the controlled object under the management of the slave module, so that time management until control of the physical quantity begins can be performed efficiently. After the master module outputs the control target information and control start command information to the slave module, the slave module begins control.

<Embodiment 2> Mainly Claim 2: The control target information output to the slave module is the same <Outline of embodiment 2>

Embodiment 2 is based on embodiment 1, and is configured so that the control target information output by the master module to the slave modules is the same for all slave modules.

<Functional Configuration of Second Embodiment>
The functional configuration of the second embodiment, which is based on the first embodiment, is similar to the configuration of the first embodiment shown in FIG.

<Embodiment 2: Master module control target information output unit (AD)>
The control target information output unit (AD) of the master module is configured to output the same control target information to each slave module. When the physical quantities of all control points are within a controllable range for one control target based on the physical quantity control information, the same control target information can be output to each slave module.

When the master module outputs the same control target to all slave modules, the control target information holding section of each slave module is provided with a control target information correction information holding means for holding control target information correction information, which is information for correcting the control target information based on the correction information of the physical quantity measuring means and physical quantity control means managed by each slave module, and a control target information correction means for correcting the control target information output from the master module based on the control target correction information. In this case, the control target information can be corrected to correct for variations in the physical quantity measuring means and physical quantity control means managed by each slave module.

<Processing flow of embodiment 2>
The process flow of the second embodiment, which is based on the first embodiment, is almost the same as the process flow of the first embodiment shown in FIG.
In the method for operating a master module which is a computer (calculator), the difference is that the control target information output step (ad) (SA0204) performs a process of outputting the same control target information together with control start command information as control target information which is information for setting physical quantity control targets for each slave module based on the measurement results included in the received reply.

Second Embodiment Hardware Configuration
The hardware configuration of the second embodiment based on the first embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 for both the master module and the slave module.

<Effects of Second Embodiment>
When the master module transmits the same control target information to all slave modules, the master module corrects the physical quantities and physical quantity control information of the points assigned to each slave module, eliminating the need to output different control target information to each slave module (or for each point assigned to a slave module). If each slave module has correction information for its assigned points and is configured to correct the control target information, the master module can entrust the slave module with the correction of variations in each slave module or the points assigned to each slave module.

<Embodiment 3>
<Outline of embodiment 3> Mainly claim 3: The master module is also responsible for the physical quantity measurement point

Embodiment 3 is based on either embodiment 1 or embodiment 2 and is a multi-point physical quantity control system consisting of a master module and one or more slave modules that cooperate with the master module and are physical quantity controllers of a control object, and is configured so that not only the slave modules but also the master module have a control object.
<Functional Configuration of Third Embodiment>

Fig. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of a multi-point physical quantity control system according to the third embodiment based on the first embodiment. As shown in Fig. 5, the multi-point physical quantity control system of the present invention includes a master module (0501) that is composed of an activation command receiving unit (AA) (0502), a reply prompting information output unit (AB) (0503), a reply receiving unit (AC) (0504), and a control target information output unit (AD) (0505), and further includes a physical quantity measuring unit (AE) (0506) and a physical quantity control information output unit (AF) (0507),
The slave module (0510) is composed of a start command receiving unit (BA) (0511), a slave ID holding unit (BB) (0512), a physical quantity measuring unit (BD) (0514), a physical quantity control information output unit (BE) (0515), a reply prompting information receiving unit (BF) (0516), a reply output unit (BG) (0517), a control target information receiving unit (BH) (0518), a control target information holding unit (BJ) (0519), and an output command unit (BM) (0521). Since the components other than the physical quantity measuring unit (AE) (0506) and the physical quantity control information output unit (AF) (0507) of the master module are the same as those of the other embodiments described above, only the physical quantity measuring unit (AE) (0506) and the physical quantity control information output unit (AF) (0507) of the master module will be described below. The same effect can be obtained even if the second embodiment is used as a basis.

<Embodiment 3: Master module physical quantity measurement unit (AE) (0506)>
The physical quantity measurement unit (AE) (0506) of the master module is configured to measure the physical quantity of a measurement point of the controlled object.

An example of this embodiment will be described using the example of heating processing shown in FIG. 10. Four thermometers (1007) for measuring the physical quantities of the processed member (1008), which is the object to be controlled, are also connected to the master module (1002), and four heaters (1006) for controlling the physical quantities are connected. The measurement results at the physical quantity measurement points managed by the master module are combined with the measurement results from the slave modules to determine the control target information. Note that the number of connections for measuring physical quantities (temperature) and the number of connections for controlling the physical quantities are not limited to the example in FIG. 10.

<Third embodiment: Master module: physical quantity control information output unit (AF) (0507)>
The physical quantity control information output unit (AF) (0507) of the master module is configured to output physical quantity control information (e.g., information for determining the amount of current for heating, etc.) which is information for controlling the physical quantity of the controlled object based on the control target information.

<Processing flow of embodiment 3>
Fig. 6 shows the process flow of the multi-point physical quantity control system of the present embodiment 3 based on the embodiment 1. The same effect can be obtained even when the embodiment 2 is used as a base. The left side shows the process flow in the master module which is a computer (calculator), and the right side shows the process flow in the slave module which is also a computer (calculator). In Fig. 6, it is assumed that the communication between the master module and the slave module uses a serial communication path (serial bus) of the RS-485 standard of the Modbus RTU protocol.

The operation of the master module, which is a computer, is as follows:
The start-up command receiving step (aa) (SA0601) receives a start-up command for starting the master module,
The physical quantity measurement step (ae) (SA0602) performs a process of measuring a physical quantity of a measurement point of the controlled object,
A reply prompting information output step (ab) (SA0603) performs a process of outputting reply prompting information, which is information for prompting a reply from the slave module to a communication line with the slave module in order to determine a slave module to cooperate with the slave module when a start command is received,
The reply receiving step (ac) (SA0604) performs a process of receiving a reply from a slave module in response to the reply prompting information, the reply including a measurement result of a physical quantity at a physical quantity measurement point of the control object handled by each slave module and a slave ID for uniquely identifying the slave; the control target information output step (ad) (SA0605) performs a process of outputting control target information, which is information for determining a physical quantity control target for each slave module based on the measurement result included in the received reply, and start command information, which is information indicating a command for each slave module to start control of its own control object;
The physical quantity control information output step (af) (SA0606) performs processing to output physical quantity control information (e.g., information for determining the amount of current for heating, etc.), which is information for controlling the physical quantity of the object to be controlled based on the control target information.

The operation method of each slave module, which is a computer, is as follows:
A start-up command receiving step (ba) (SB0601) receives a start-up command for starting a slave module. A slave ID holding step (bb) (SB0602) holds a slave ID that uniquely identifies the slave module.
The physical quantity measurement step (bd) (SB0603) performs a process of measuring the physical quantity of a measurement point of the controlled object,
A reply prompting information receiving step (bf) (SB0604) performs a process of receiving the reply prompting information output from the reply prompting information output step (ab) (SA0603) of the master module,
A reply output step (bg) (SB0605) performs processing for outputting a reply including a measurement result of a physical quantity at a measurement point of a control object that the device is responsible for and a slave ID to a reply receiving step (ac) (SA0604) of the master module when reply prompting information addressed to the device itself is received,
A control target information receiving step (bh) (SB0606) performs a process of receiving the control target information output from the control target information output step (ad) (SA0605) of the master module,
A control target information holding step (bj) (SB0607) performs a process of holding the control target information addressed to the own device,
In the output command step (bm) (SB0608), when control start command information is received, a process is performed to output the first physical quantity control information after startup to a physical quantity control information output step (be) (SB0609),
The physical quantity control information output step (be) (SB0609) performs processing to output physical quantity control information (e.g., information for determining the amount of current for heating, etc.), which is information for controlling the physical quantity of the object to be controlled based on the control target information.
This is an operating method for causing a multi-point physical quantity control system, which is a computer, to execute such a series of processes.

<Embodiment 3: Hardware>

Figure 7 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a master module of the multi-point physical quantity control system of this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 7 , the device 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. 7 ) for connection with a control PC, a recorder, etc., 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 the CPU) during internal bus transmission, and a control system I/F (0712) which is an interface for a physical quantity measurement result input (0713) and a physical quantity control information output (0714), and a system bus (0707) for transmitting and receiving signals between them. The CPU can be a customized dedicated CPU, and dedicated firmware can be used instead of an OS (operating system). Also, a system with a multi-core CPU and/or sufficient cache memory is preferable, as it is easier to prevent operational delays due to memory shortages.

In addition to the operating system and device drivers, non-volatile memory also contains
a start-up command receiving program that receives a start-up command for starting the master module;
a reply prompting information output program for outputting reply prompting information, which is information for prompting a reply from the slave module to a communication line with the slave module in order to determine a slave module to cooperate with the reply prompting information output program when a start command is received;
a reply receiving program for receiving a reply from a slave module in response to the reply prompting information, the reply including a measurement result of a physical quantity at a physical quantity measurement point of a controlled object managed by each slave module and a slave ID for uniquely identifying the slave module;
Various programs and specific port numbers are recorded, such as a control target information output program that outputs control target information, which is information for determining a physical quantity control target for each slave module based on the measurement result included in the received reply, and control start command information, which is information indicating a command for each slave module to start controlling its own control object, a physical quantity measurement program that further measures the physical quantity of a measurement point of the control object, and a physical quantity control information output program that outputs physical quantity control information (e.g., information for determining the amount of current for heating, etc.), which is information for controlling the physical quantity of the control object based on the control target information. Then, each program is deployed and executed, and information and data acquired via the interface are stored in a nonvolatile memory, and the stored information and data are processed by executing the program in a work area of the main memory, and are retained in the nonvolatile memory, or are output to a higher-level control device by executing the program via an Ethernet communication interface or a serial communication interface.

8 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of each slave module of the multi-point physical quantity control system of this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 8, the system includes a CPU (0801), a non-volatile memory (0802) (e.g., ROM, SSD, etc.), a main memory (0803), a general-purpose serial communication interface I/F1 (0804) for connecting to a control module, a user I/F (0805), a bus controller (0808) for controlling a communication I/F (0810) with an internal bus (0809), a controller DMAC (0807) 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 control system I/F (0811) which is an interface between a physical quantity measurement result input (0812) and a physical quantity control information output (0813), and a system bus (0806) for transmitting and receiving signals between them. The CPU can be a customized dedicated CPU, and dedicated firmware can be used instead of an OS (operating system). Also, a system with a multi-core CPU and/or sufficient cache memory is preferable, as it is easier to prevent operational delays due to memory shortages.

In addition to the operating system and device drivers, non-volatile memory also contains
Various programs and specific port numbers are recorded, such as a startup command receiving program that receives a startup command to start up the slave module, a slave ID holding program that holds a slave ID that uniquely identifies the program, a physical quantity measurement program that measures a physical quantity of a measurement point of a controlled object, a physical quantity control information output program that outputs physical quantity control information (e.g., information that determines the amount of current for heating, etc.) that is information for controlling the physical quantity of the controlled object based on control target information, a reply prompting information receiving program for receiving reply prompting information from the master module, a reply output program that outputs a reply including the measurement results of the physical quantities at the measurement points of the controlled object that the program is responsible for and the slave ID when reply prompting information addressed to the program is received, a control target information receiving program that receives control target information, a control target information holding program that holds the control target information addressed to the program, and an output command program that causes the physical quantity control information output program to output the first physical quantity control information after startup when control start command information is received. Then, each program is expanded and executed, and information and data obtained via the interface are stored in non-volatile memory, and the stored information and data are processed by executing the program in the work area of the main memory, and retained in the non-volatile memory, or a response is output to the master module by executing the program via the serial communication interface.
<Effects of Third Embodiment>

According to the multi-point physical quantity control system of this embodiment 4, when the master module itself controls a control object, the physical quantity of the control object of the master module can also be used as data when setting the control target information. Even if the same number of slave modules are used, it is possible to control control objects at more locations.

Claims (9)

A multi-point physical quantity control system comprising a master module and one or more slave modules which cooperate with the master module and are physical quantity controllers of a controlled object,
The master module is
An activation command receiving unit (AA);
A time length measuring unit (AH) for measuring time length;
a reply prompting information output unit (AB) for outputting reply prompting information, which is information for prompting a reply from the slave module to a communication line with the slave module in order to determine a slave module to cooperate with the reply prompting information output unit (AB) when a start command is received;
a reply receiving unit (AC) for receiving a reply from a slave module in response to the reply prompting information, the reply including a measurement result of a physical quantity at a physical quantity measurement point of a control target object that each slave module is responsible for, and a slave ID that uniquely identifies the slave module;
After startup, when a predetermined startup standby time measured by the time length measurement unit (AH) has elapsed, a predetermined provisional value is output to the slave module as control target information (described later),
a control target information output unit (AD) which selects , based on the measurement results of the physical quantities at the physical quantity measurement points included in the responses from the slave modules in response to the outputted control target information, a physical quantity at which the physical quantity at each physical quantity measurement point reaches a target of a common physical quantity processing profile, and outputs control target information which is information indicating a target of the physical quantity for controlling the physical quantity for each slave module based on the selected physical quantity, and control start command information which is information indicating a command for each slave module to start controlling its own control target;
having
The slave module is
A start command receiving unit (BA),
a slave ID holding unit (BB) for holding a slave ID that uniquely identifies itself;
A physical quantity measuring unit (BD) for measuring a physical quantity at a measurement point of a control object;
a physical quantity control information output unit (BE) that outputs physical quantity control information (e.g., information for determining the amount of current for heating, etc.) which is information for controlling the physical quantity of a control target object based on control target information;
a reply prompting information receiving unit (BF) for receiving reply prompting information from the master module;
a reply output unit (BG) that outputs a reply including a measurement result of a physical quantity at a measurement point of a control object that is in charge of the reply output unit (BG) when reply prompting information is received, and a slave ID;
A control target information receiving unit (BH) for receiving control target information;
A control target information storage unit (BJ) for storing the control target information;
an output command unit (BM) for causing a physical quantity control information output unit (BE) to output the first physical quantity control information after startup when control start command information is received;
A multipoint physical quantity control system configured to have: A multi-point physical quantity control system as described in claim 1, in which the control target information output by the master module to the slave modules is the same for all slave modules. The master module also has a physical quantity measurement section (AE) that measures the physical quantity of the measurement point of the controlled object,
a physical quantity control information output unit (AF) for outputting physical quantity control information (e.g., information for determining an amount of current for heating, etc.) which is information for controlling the physical quantity of a controlled object based on control target information. A method for operating a multi-point physical quantity control system, which is a computer including a master module and one or more slave modules which cooperate with the master module and are physical quantity controllers of a controlled object, comprising the steps of:
The operation of the master module, which is a computer, is as follows:
A start command receiving step (aa);
A time length measurement step (ah) for measuring a time length;
a reply prompting information output step (ab) of outputting reply prompting information, which is information for prompting a reply from the slave module to a communication line with the slave module in order to determine a slave module to cooperate with the reply prompting information output step (ab) when the start command is received;
a reply receiving step (ac) of receiving a reply from a slave module in response to the reply prompting information, the reply including a measurement result of a physical quantity at a physical quantity measurement point of the controlled object managed by each slave module and a slave ID that uniquely identifies the slave module;
After startup, when a predetermined startup waiting time measured in the time length measurement step (ah) has elapsed, a predetermined provisional value is output to the slave module as control target information (described later);
a control target information output step (ad) of selecting, based on the measurement results of the physical quantities at the physical quantity measurement points included in the responses from the slave modules in response to the outputted control target information, a physical quantity at which the physical quantity at each physical quantity measurement point reaches a target of a common physical quantity processing profile as a criterion, and outputting control target information which is information indicating a target of the physical quantity for controlling the physical quantity for each slave module based on the selected physical quantity, and control start command information which is information indicating a command for each slave module to start controlling its own control target,
The operation method of the slave module, which is a computer, is as follows:
A start command receiving step (ba);
a slave ID storage step (bb) of storing a slave ID that uniquely identifies the slave device itself;
A physical quantity measuring step (bd) of measuring a physical quantity of a measurement point of a control object;
a physical quantity control information output step (be) of outputting physical quantity control information (e.g., information for determining the amount of current for heating, etc.) which is information for controlling the physical quantity of the controlled object based on the control target information;
a reply prompting information receiving step (bf) for receiving reply prompting information from the master module;
a reply output step (bg) of outputting a reply including a measurement result of a physical quantity at a measurement point of a controlled object that is managed by the reply output step when reply prompting information is received, and a slave ID;
a control target information receiving step (bh) of receiving control target information;
a control target information holding step (bj) for holding the control target information;
an output command step (bm) for causing a physical quantity control information output step (be) to output the first physical quantity control information after startup when control start command information is received;
A method of operating a multipoint physical quantity control system, the method being a computer configured to include: A method for operating a multi-point physical quantity control system that is a computer as described in claim 4, in which the control target information output by the master module to the slave modules is the same for all slave modules. The operation method of the master module, which is a computer, also includes a physical quantity measurement step (ae) for measuring the physical quantity of a measurement point of a controlled object,
and a physical quantity control information output step (af) of outputting physical quantity control information (e.g., information for determining an amount of current for heating, etc.) which is information for controlling the physical quantity of the controlled object based on the control target information. An operating program readable by a multi-point physical quantity control system, which is a computer including a master module and one or more slave modules which cooperate with the master module and are physical quantity controllers for a controlled object, comprising:
The operating program that can be read by the master module, which is a computer, is
A start command receiving step (aa);
A time length measurement step (ah) for measuring a time length;
a reply prompting information output step (ab) of outputting reply prompting information, which is information for prompting a reply from the slave module to a communication line with the slave module in order to determine a slave module to cooperate with the reply prompting information output step (ab) when the start command is received;
a reply receiving step (ac) of receiving a reply from a slave module in response to the reply prompting information, the reply including a measurement result of a physical quantity at a physical quantity measurement point of the controlled object managed by each slave module and a slave ID that uniquely identifies the slave module;
After the start-up, when the predetermined start-up waiting time measured in the time length measurement step (ah) has elapsed, a predetermined provisional value is output to the slave module as control target information to be described later,
a control target information output step (ad) of selecting, based on the measurement results of the physical quantities at the physical quantity measurement points included in the responses from the slave modules in response to the outputted control target information, a physical quantity at which the physical quantity at each physical quantity measurement point reaches a target of a common physical quantity processing profile as a criterion, and outputting control target information which is information indicating a target of the physical quantity for controlling the physical quantity for each slave module based on the selected physical quantity, and control start command information which is information indicating a command for each slave module to start controlling its own control target,
The operating program that can be read by the slave module, which is a computer, is
A start command receiving step (ba);
a slave ID storage step (bb) of storing a slave ID that uniquely identifies the slave device itself;
A physical quantity measuring step (bd) of measuring a physical quantity of a measurement point of a control object;
a physical quantity control information output step (be) of outputting physical quantity control information (e.g., information for determining the amount of current for heating, etc.) which is information for controlling the physical quantity of the controlled object based on the control target information;
a reply prompting information receiving step (bf) for receiving reply prompting information from the master module;
a reply output step (bg) of outputting a reply including a measurement result of a physical quantity at a measurement point of a controlled object that is managed by the reply output step when reply prompting information is received, and a slave ID;
a control target information receiving step (bh) of receiving control target information;
a control target information holding step (bj) for holding the control target information;
an output command step (bm) for causing a physical quantity control information output step (be) to output the first physical quantity control information after startup when control start command information is received;
An operating program readable by a multipoint physical quantity control system, the multipoint physical quantity control system being a computer configured to have: An operating program that can be read by a multi-point physical quantity control system, which is a computer according to claim 7, in which the control target information output by the master module to the slave modules is the same for all slave modules. The operating program readable by the master module, which is a computer, is a physical quantity measurement step (ae) for measuring the physical quantity of the measurement point of the controlled object;
and a physical quantity control information output step (af) of outputting physical quantity control information (e.g., information for determining an amount of current for heating, etc.) which is information for controlling a physical quantity of a control target object based on control target information.

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