Industrial control system with distributed motion planning

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9323235-B2
Application number	US-201213443591-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 10, 2012
Priority date	Apr 11, 2011
Publication date	Apr 26, 2016
Grant date	Apr 26, 2016

Abstract

An industrial control system provides motion control functions that may distribute motion planning tasks to capable motor drives and motion devices based on stored drive profiles. The profile-aware functions allow control programs to be used with motor drives that are both capable and incapable of executing a motion planning with automatic distribution of the planning tasks as appropriate. Coordination among different devices in the industrial control system when motion planning is distributed may be accommodated through peer-to-peer communication between drives and non-controller devices.

First claim

What I claim is:

1. An industrial controller comprising:
a network interface adapted to communicate with one or more connected motor drives;
an electronic computer communicating with the network interface and executing a program stored in non-transient storage medium to:
(1) receive a control program providing motion control instructions;
(2) execute the motion control instructions by calling a function executing to distribute motion planning tasks to motion planning capable motor drives, wherein the function is stored in the industrial controller independent of the control program so that the function can be called by different control programs, the function operable to:
(a) identify a motor drive associated with the motion control instruction; and
(b) determine whether the identified motor drive is capable of executing a motion planner, which provides a time series of motion data for controlling a motor when initiated by a motion command caused by execution of a motion control instruction, and if capable, transmit the motion command to the identified motor drives over the network interface to the identified drive, otherwise transmit the motion command to a motion planner in the industrial controller.

2. The industrial controller of claim 1 wherein the functions and motion planner are stored in firmware in the industrial controller.

3. The industrial controller of claim 2 wherein the network interface is adapted to implement connected messaging between the controller and the motor drives pre-allocating network communication capacity among connections and wherein the electronic computer executes the stored program to open connections between the controller and the drives for communication of motion commands or motion data.

4. The industrial controller of claim 3 wherein the electronic computer executes the stored program to allocate a first portion of the network communication capacity to communication with a motor drive capable of executing a motion planner less than a second portion of the network communication capacity allocated to communicate with a motor drive not capable of executing the motion planner.

5. The industrial controller of claim 4 wherein the first portion of the network communication capacity is periodic a first predefined interval of time and event driven according to triggered by a generation of the motion command and the second portion of the network communication capacity is periodic according to a second predefined interval of time less than the first predefined interval of time.

6. The industrial controller of claim 5 wherein the controller includes a drive profile indicating whether each motor drive includes a motion planner in firmware and then determining whether the identified motor drives capable of executing a motion planner refer to the drive profile.

7. The industrial controller of claim 6 wherein the motion planner sums generated motion profiles from motion commands to provide time series of motion data for controlling a motor being a summation of multiple motion profiles.

8. The industrial controller of claim 7 wherein the motion instructions include instructions for moving a motor between defined positions, instructions for moving a motor at a defined velocity, and instructions for moving a motor in coordination with another motor.

9. The industrial controller of claim 8 wherein the control program is a program generated using a programming language selected from the group consisting of relay ladder logic, structured text, and a sequential function chart.

10. A motor drive comprising:
a switching circuit for synthesizing power voltage to a motor;
a network interface for communicating with an industrial controller;
an electronic computer communicating with the switching circuit and the network interface and executing a program stored in non-transient storage medium to:
(1) receive a motion command from an industrial controller over the network interface, the motion command indicating execution of a motion instruction by the industrial controller;
(2) in response to the motion command, generate time series of motion data for the switching circuit using a motion planner; and
(3) after generation of the time series of motion data for the switching circuit using the motion planner communicate with the industrial controller a motion completion signal indicating completion of the motion command to the industrial controller.

11. The motor drive of claim 10 wherein the motion planner is stored in firmware in the motor drive.

12. The motor drive of claim 11 wherein the network interface is adapted to implement connected messaging between the motor drive and the controller pre-allocating network communication capacity among connections and wherein the electronic computer executes the stored program to receive a connections between the controller and the drive for communication of motion commands or motion data.

13. The motor drive of claim 12 wherein the motion planner sums generated motion profiles from motion commands to provide time series of motion data for controlling a motor being a summation of multiple motion profiles.

14. The motor drive of claim 12 wherein the electronic computer further executes the stored program to implement one-way connected messaging with another device to produce time series of motion data from the motor drive to the other device.

15. The motor drive of claim 14 wherein the other device is selected from the group consisting of: a controller, another motor drive, and an I/O module.

16. The motor drive of claim 12 wherein the connection is aperiodic to provide a short term data transfer rate as fast as a periodic data transfer rate of the time series of motion and a long term data transfer rate less than the periodic data transfer rate of the time series of motion.

17. The motor drive of claim 10 wherein the electronic computer further executes the stored program to load and execute instructions from a control program that are not motion instructions.

18. An output module comprising:
electrical outputs adapted for connection to external equipment;
a network interface for communicating with other devices;
an electronic computer communicating with the electrical outputs and the network interface and executing a program stored in non-transient storage medium to:
(1) receive over the network interface, motion data providing a time series of data values representing motion of a device;
(2) receive over the network interface an output camming command from an industrial controller over the network interface;
(3) in response to the ramming command, generate at an electrical output, cam data providing a time series of data values representing a cycle of desired motion of a device, the cam data based on the received motion data and a cam function held in the output module mapping motion data to cam data; and
(4) after generation of the cam data providing the time series of data values representing a cycle of desired motion of a device, send a completion signal to the industrial controller over the network interface indicating completion of the ramming command to the industrial controller.

19. The output module of claim 18 wherein the cam function is stored in firmware in the device.

20. The output module of claim 18 wherein the network interface is adapted to implement connected messaging between the output module and the industrial controller and wherein the electronic computer executes the stored program to open connections between the indus

Assignees

• Chaffee Mark
• Rockwell Automation Tech Inc

Inventors

• Chaffee Mark

Classifications

• G05B19/4188 Primary

  characterised by CIM planning or realisation · CPC title

• G05B19/042 Primary

  using digital processors (G05B19/05 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G05B2219/21012

  Configurable I-O · CPC title

• G05B19/056

  Programming the PLC · CPC title

• G05B2219/33105

  Identification of type of connected module, motor, panel · CPC title