Input/output control unit, programmable logic controller, and inspection system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11061839-B2
Application number	US-201816959737-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 7, 2018
Priority date	Feb 7, 2018
Publication date	Jul 13, 2021
Grant date	Jul 13, 2021

Abstract

An input/output control unit (120) includes a storage, an input/output controller (126), an analog signal input interface (129), and a pulse signal input interface (127A). The input/output controller (126) includes a pulse signal input block (1411) to generate a trigger signal, an A/D conversion block (1431) to generate wafer thickness information by analog-to-digital conversion of an analog signal, a logger block (1501) to, in synchronization with the trigger signal, store the wafer thickness information a preset table A in the storage, a counter block (1461) to continuously generate, from the digital signal, count value information indicating a count value and output the generated information, and a logger block (1502) to, in synchronization with the trigger information, store the count value information, in association with the wafer thickness information, in a table TB in the storage (124).

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An input/output control unit comprising:
a storage;
an input/output controller;
a first input interface to be connected to a first device and output to the input/output controller a first signal input by the first device; and
a second input interface to be connected to a second device and output to the input/output controller a second signal input by the second device,
the input/output controller comprising
a trigger outputter to generate a trigger signal,
a first logger block to store, in synchronization with the trigger signal, first information in preset first storage areas in the storage, the first information being based on the first signal, and
a second logger block to store, in synchronization with the trigger signal, second information in preset second storage areas in the storage in association with the first information, the second information being based on the second signal, wherein
the first signal is an analog signal,
the second signal is a pulse signal, and
the input/output control unit further comprises
a digital information generation block to generate, as the first information, digital information indicating a digital value corresponding to a signal level of the first signal by analog-to-digital conversion of the first signal, and
a counter block to generate, as the second information, count information indicating the count value obtained by counting pulses included in the second signal, and output the generated information.

2. The input/output control unit according to claim 1 , wherein
the input/output controller comprises general-purpose circuit blocks, and is reconfigurable by changing combinations and order of use of the general-purpose circuit blocks, and
general-purpose circuit blocks that function as the trigger outputter, the digital information generation block, the first logger block, the counter block, and the second logger block are selectable from among the general-purpose circuit blocks.

3. The input/output control unit according to claim 2 , further comprising:
a third input interface to be connected to a third device and output to the input/output controller a third signal input by the third device, wherein
the trigger outputter comprises a trigger block to output the third signal as the trigger signal.

4. The input/output control unit according to claim 2 , wherein the trigger outputter further comprises
a counter block to function as a ring counter, and
a comparison operation block to output the trigger signal every time a count value indicated by the count information output by the counter block matches a preset count threshold for the count value.

5. The input/output control unit according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a third input interface to be connected to a third device and output to the input/output controller a third signal input by the third device, wherein
the trigger outputter comprises a trigger block to output the third signal as the trigger signal.

6. The input/output control unit according to claim 1 , wherein the trigger outputter further comprises
a counter block to function as a ring counter, and
a comparison operation block to output the trigger signal every time the count value indicated by count information output by the counter block matches a preset count threshold for the count value.

7. The input/output control unit according to claim 1 , wherein
the first storage areas are specified by consecutive physical addresses, and the second storage areas are specified by consecutive physical addresses, and
a first relative address represented by a value of difference between the physical address of a value of difference between a physical address of the first storage area in which the first information is included and a start physical address of the first storage areas is equal to a second relative address represented by a value of difference between a physical address of the second storage area in which the second information associated with the first information is stored and a start physical address of the second storage areas.

8. The input/output control unit according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a determination criterion information storage to store, in association with the second information associated with the first information, determination criterion information that indicates a preset determination criterion with respect to a numerical value indicated by the first information; and
a determiner to obtain the first information from the first storage areas and the second information from the second storage areas, and determine, based on the determination criterion information, whether a numerical value indicated by the obtained first information satisfies the determination criterion.

9. The input/output control unit according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a third input interface to be connected to a third device and output to the input/output controller a third signal input by the third device, wherein
the trigger outputter comprises a trigger block to output the third signal as the trigger signal.

10. The input/output control unit according to claim 1 , wherein the trigger outputter further comprises
a counter block to function as a ring counter, and
a comparison operation block to output the trigger signal every time a count value indicated by the count information output by the counter block matches a preset count threshold for the count value.

11. A programmable logic controller comprising:
an input/output control unit comprising a storage, an input/output controller, a first input interface to be connected to a first device and output to the input/output controller a first signal input by the first device, and a second input interface to be connected to a second device and output to the input/output controller a second signal input by the second device, and
a CPU unit capable of accessing the storage,
the input/output controller comprising
a trigger outputter to generate a trigger signal,
a first logger block to store, in synchronization with the trigger signal, first information in preset first storage areas in the storage, the first information being based on the first signal, and
a second logger block to store, in synchronization with the trigger signal, second information, in association with the first information, in preset second storage areas in the storage, the second information being based on the second signal, wherein
the CPU unit comprises a determiner to obtain the first information from the first storage areas and the second information from the second storage areas of the storage, and determine, based on determination criterion information that indicates a preset determination criterion with respect to a numerical value indicated by the first information, whether a numerical value indicated by the obtained first information satisfies the determination criterion.

12. The programmable logic controller according to claim 11 , wherein after pieces of digital information and pieces of second information that are necessary for determination by the determiner are stored in the first storage areas and the second storage areas, the CPU unit obtains together the pieces of first information from the first storage areas and the pieces of second information from the second storage areas.

13. An inspection system comprising:
a first device;
a second device; and
a programmable logic controller comprising
an input/output control unit comprising a storage, an input/output controller, a first input interface to be connected to a first device and output to the input/output controller a first sig

Assignees

• Mitsubishi Electric Corp

Inventors

• Yamashita Kohei
• Ukena Satoru

Classifications

• G06F13/20 Primary

  for access to input/output bus · CPC title

• G05B19/058

  Safety, monitoring · CPC title

• G01B11/26

  for measuring angles or tapers; for testing the alignment of axes · CPC title

• G01B11/06

  for measuring thickness {; e.g. of sheet material (thickness measurement by thermal means G01B21/085)} · CPC title

• G01D5/36

  Forming the light into pulses · CPC title