Method for replacing a control unit in a conveying device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10545488-B2
Application number	US-201615567734-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 20, 2016
Priority date	Apr 20, 2015
Publication date	Jan 28, 2020
Grant date	Jan 28, 2020

Abstract

The method according to the invention allows automatic detection of a defect in a control unit, as well as initial configuration of a replacement control unit with an individual bus address or additional parameters.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for replacing a defective control unit in a conveying device interconnected by a bus, said conveying device comprising a first control unit having a first bus address and at least one second control unit having a second bus address,
wherein the first control unit controls a first conveyor segment and the second control unit controls a second conveyor segment,
and the first control unit and the second control unit are interconnected via bus communication,
said method comprising the steps of:
(i) detecting the defect in the second control unit by means of the first control unit;
(ii) switching the first control unit into a configuration mode when the first control unit detects a defect in the second control unit;
(iii) integrating a third control unit into the bus communication after the first control unit has been put into the configuration mode;
(iv) transferring a configuration from the first control unit to the third control unit or from the third control unit to the first control unit; and
(v) storing the configuration transferred from the first control unit in the third control unit, or storing the configuration transferred from the third control unit in the first control unit.

2. The method pursuant to claim 1 , wherein steps (iv) and (v) further comprise the steps of:
(iv) transferring an individual bus address from the first control unit to the third control unit; and
(v) storing the individual bus address transferred from the first control unit in the third control unit.

3. The method pursuant to claim 1 , wherein the second control unit sends an activity signal via the bus communication and the first control unit receives the activity signal from the second control unit and the defect in the second control unit is detected in step (i) by the first control unit failing to receive the activity signal from the second control unit, in that the second control unit sends an activity signal at regular, predetermined intervals and a defective control unit is detected by the failure to receive the activity signal within the predetermined interval after receiving a preceding activity signal.

4. The method pursuant to claim 3 , wherein the first control unit is put into the configuration mode by the failure to receive the activity signal.

5. The method pursuant to claim 3 , wherein an error message is generated by the first control unit and transmitted via bus communication if the activity signal is not received in the first control unit.

6. The method pursuant to 2 , wherein the third control unit transmits a presence signal after being integrated into the bus communication, and the first control unit is put into the configuration mode by receiving the presence signal from the third control unit.

7. The method pursuant to claim 2 , wherein the third control unit is integrated, and wherein the second control unit is removed or the second control unit remains.

8. The method pursuant to claim 2 , wherein in step (v), the third control unit stores a second bus address only if the third control unit receives from the first control unit a message which contains the first bus address of the first control unit and an individual bus address to be allocated to the third control unit.

9. The method pursuant to claim 2 , wherein a third conveyor segment comprises a fourth control unit having a fourth bus address and the third control unit stores the individual bus address in step (v) only if the third control unit receives two messages,
wherein the first message has been sent from the first control unit and contains the first bus address of the first control unit to be allocated to the third control unit, and
the second message has been sent from the fourth control unit and contains the fourth bus address of the fourth control unit and the bus address to be allocated to the third control unit,
wherein the individual bus address to be allocated to the third control unit is identical in both messages.

10. The method pursuant to claim 2 , wherein the second bus address of the second control unit has been stored in the first control unit in a previous backup step and the first bus address of the first control unit has preferably been stored in the second control unit, and
the third control unit is configured by means of the stored bus address from the second control unit, said method comprising the following steps:
(a) transmitting the stored second bus address of the second control unit and said bus address being received by the third control unit;
(b) storing in the third control unit the second bus address of the second control unit received by the third control unit; and
(c) storing the first bus address of the first control unit in the third control unit.

11. The method pursuant to claim 10 , wherein a configuration of the second control unit has been stored in the first control unit in a previous backup step, a configuration of the first control unit has been stored in the second control unit, and the third control unit is configured by means of the configuration of the second control unit stored in the first control unit.

12. The method pursuant to claim 10 , wherein the bus address, either alone or in combination with the configuration of the second control unit, has been stored in a previous backup step in a control unit of a conveyor segment that is not immediately adjacent, and the bus address, either alone or in combination with the configuration of the control unit which is not immediately adjacent, has been stored in the second control unit.

13. The method pursuant to claim 10 , wherein the bus address, either alone or in combination with the configuration of the second control unit, has been stored in a previous backup step in a plurality of control units, and the bus addresses, either alone or in combination with the configurations of the plurality of control units, have been stored in the second control unit.

14. The method pursuant to claim 2 , wherein in a previous backup step, the second bus address of the second control unit, either alone or in combination with the configuration of the second control unit,
has been stored in a backup unit, has been stored in a programmable logic controller, or has been stored on a web server, and
wherein the individual bus addresses, either alone or in combination with the configurations of all the control units integrated in the bus communication, have been centrally stored in one unit.

15. The method pursuant to claim 1 , wherein the configuration includes the full operating software of a control unit.

16. The method pursuant to claim 1 , wherein the configuration includes one or more parts of the operating software of a control unit.

17. The method pursuant to claim 4 , wherein the configuration includes a unique version identifier, by means of which the up-to-dateness of the configuration can be determined, in that a unique version identifier is allocated to an individual firmware version or software version of the operating software of a control unit.

18. The method pursuant to claim 6 , wherein step (v) is carried out and step (vi) is added as follows:
(v) comparing the version identifier of the configuration of the first control unit with the version identifier of the configuration of the third control unit, preferably in the first or the third control unit;
(vi) if the version identifier of the first control unit is more up-to-date that the version identifier of the third control unit, then storing the configuration transferred from the first control unit;

Assignees

• Interroll Holding Ag

Inventors

• Henze Herbert
• Heinen Daniel

Classifications

• B65G13/07

  having endless driving elements · CPC title

• G06F8/65

  Updates (security arrangements therefor G06F21/57) · CPC title

• H04L43/10

  Active monitoring, e.g. heartbeat, ping or trace-route · CPC title

• H04L43/0817

  by checking functioning · CPC title

• G05B19/41845 Primary

  characterised by system universality, reconfigurability, modularity · CPC title