JPH06131276A - Adapter for data transmission - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide the adapter which easily constitutes a LAN among plural data processors and is easily adaptive to a data processor employing any communication format without previously incorporating plural kinds of communication protocol in the adapter. CONSTITUTION:This adapter is equipped with an inter-device communication part 14 which is put in charge of data transmitting operation to data processors 10 and an inter-adapter communication part 16 which is put in charge of data transmission to adapters 22 so that the parts 14 and 16 can operate actively and independently of each other. Further, the inter-device communication part 14 is controlled by a program and the program 19 for the protocol corresponding to a connected data processor 10 is down-loaded from outside the adapter 22.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a relatively small LA.
The present invention relates to a data transmission adapter suitable for use in N connection.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an adapter of this type is generally one that simply converts a physical interface condition such as a signal level between a data processing device to be connected and a communication path. Therefore, for example, a personal computer (hereinafter, abbreviated as “personal computer”) is used as a master unit and a programmable logic controller (hereinafter, “P”) is used.
LC "is abbreviated. In a data transmission system for exchanging data with a slave unit such as), a communication procedure program provided in the master unit periodically polls the data of each slave unit and retrieves the data from the slave unit. In many cases, the slave unit has a passive configuration in which the slave unit itself does not actively transmit data by storing the data in the memory of the master unit.

[0003]

However, in the above-described data transmission system, since one master unit controls all data transmission, all slave units connected via the communication path are the same. As a result of being required to transfer data according to the communication procedure of, not only is it extremely difficult to connect between different models, but a special master unit dedicated for data communication is required.
There was a problem of lack of expandability of the entire system.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides an adapter which can easily configure an adapter corresponding to a data processing device to be connected and can also easily perform data transmission between the data processing devices. The purpose is to do.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a data transmission adapter according to the present invention includes a data processing device 10 as shown in FIG. An inter-device communication unit 14 that is connected to the data processing device 10 and sends and receives data to and from the data processing device 10.
The inter-adapter communication unit 16 that is connected to the communication path 12 and transmits / receives data to / from another adapter 22 that is connected via the communication path 12, the inter-device communication unit 14 and the inter-adapter communication unit 16 described above. Between the two communication units 14 and 16
Data storage unit 18 for passing data between
It has and.

Further, according to the present invention, among the units constituting the control circuit of the adapter 22, at least the above-mentioned inter-device communication unit 14 is of a program control type using, for example, a one-chip microcomputer, and a program required from the outside of the adapter is used. 1
9, the specific functions specific to the data processing device 10 to be connected, such as the communication protocol, can be individually changed for each adapter 22.

[0007]

With the configuration described above, the program 19 for inter-device communication is downloaded into the adapter 22 by using, for example, a general-purpose computer before the adapter 22 is used as a data transmission system. The program 19 is based on the protocol of the data processing device 10 to which the corresponding adapter 22 is to be connected, and is stored in a rewritable ROM such as a flash EEPROM so that the data processing device 10 can be stored in a special program. The adapter 22 including the inter-apparatus communication unit 14 is configured.

Therefore, each data processing apparatus 10 to which the adapter 22 is connected exchanges necessary data with the data storage section 18 through the inter-apparatus communication section 14. On the other hand, each adapter 2 connected via the communication path 12
For example, 2 constantly monitors a data change in the data storage unit 18, and when the data change is recognized, the corresponding data is sent to the data storage unit 18 in another adapter 22 via the inter-adapter communication unit 16. To update the stored contents. This update data is sent to the data processing device 10 to which the adapter 22 is connected via the inter-device communication unit 14, so that a series of data transmission operations between the data processing devices 10 via the communication path 12 can be performed. It ends.

[0009]

As described above, according to the present invention, at least the inter-device communication section 14 is of the program control type, and the program 19 of the protocol corresponding to the connected data processing device 10 can be downloaded from the outside of the adapter 22.
Even if the data processing device 10 adopts any communication format, the adapter 22 corresponding to it can be easily configured without preliminarily incorporating a plurality of communication protocols corresponding to various data processing devices 10 inside the adapter 22.

Further, by downloading the program 19 for implementing other functions as needed, the adapter 22 can be made more sophisticated and the data processing load on the data processing apparatus 10 side can be further reduced. .

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As shown in FIG. 4, the present invention will now be described with reference to three PLCs 24a, 24b, 2 provided as data processing devices.
The data of 4c is centrally managed by using one personal computer 26, and the control state in which each PLC 24 is controlled by one display control device 28 will be described based on an example. Of course, the type or the number of connected data processing devices can be changed as appropriate.

The data transmission adapter 22 according to the present invention
2, the first connector 34 is provided on one side surface 32 and the second side surface 36 is provided on the other side surface 36 of the flat body case 30 having a substantially rectangular planar shape as shown in FIG.
Each connector 38 is provided, and the control circuit 40 shown in FIG. 3 is incorporated therein.

The first connector 34 is an RS-232C standard often used for serial transmission of data in various data processing devices such as the personal computer 26, and is generally referred to as a "25-pin D-SUB connector". Among the so-called ones, by fixing the one provided with the male pin 42 to the case side surface 32, the connector 46 provided with the female pin 44 on the data processing device 10 side is
It can be attached and detached directly without using a connecting cable. Further, mounting screws 4 are provided on both sides of the first connector 34.
8 and the fixing screw 50 provided on the data processing device 10 side
The mounting state of the first connector 34 is fixed by screwing with.

The second connector 38 is of a type that is often used in telephones generally called a "modular type connector", and two jacks 52 are arranged side by side on the side surface 36 of the main body case 30. The six electrodes 54 of the jack 52, which are fixed, are connected in parallel to each other inside the main body case 30.

As the control circuit 40, a program control type using a one-chip microcomputer is used, and a CPU 56 for controlling the entire circuit and a ROM 58 for fixing and storing a program for performing the control or necessary data.
A RAM 60 for temporarily storing various data, and first and second serial data interfaces 62 and 64 (hereinafter abbreviated as “SIO”) for inputting / outputting data to / from the outside via an internal bus 66. They are connected in parallel.

The above-mentioned first SIO 62 is RS-232.
The circuit configuration is substantially the same as the conventional one that enables input / output of data according to the C standard, and the input / output terminal thereof is the above-mentioned first
It is connected to each pin 42 of the connector 34.

In the present embodiment, the second SIO 64 is an RS capable of connecting a plurality of adapters 22 in a bus format.
-485 standard is adopted. Specifically, it is provided with a balanced communication path 12 including two data output lines 70 from the driver 68 and two data input lines 74 from the receiver 72, and a maximum of 30 pairs ( In this embodiment, 5 sets of drivers / receivers are connected in parallel with each other.

FIG. 4 shows the data transmission adapter 2 described above.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing a specific usage state of No. 2, one for each connector 46 for serial data communication in a plurality of data processing devices to be mutually data-transmitted by A to E according to the present invention. The first connectors 34 of the five adapters 22 shown are directly connected and fixed. That is, the personal computer 26 is connected using the adapter A as a virtual master unit, and the first to third PLCs 24a, 24b, 24c are connected.
To each of the adapters B, C and E, and then to the adapter D
The display control device 28 is connected to.

Further, the jack 52 of the second connector 38 provided in each adapter A to E is provided with a modular plug 75 at both ends.
A communication cable 76 including the above is connected in series to form a communication path 12 and the both ends of the communication path 12 are terminated by predetermined resistors 78 to prevent reflection.
Further, a power supply unit 82 for converting the commercial AC power supply 80 into a low-voltage DC voltage is provided in the middle of the communication path 12, and the communication cable 76 is provided.
A DC drive voltage required for all the adapters 22 is supplied via two power supply lines 84 provided in parallel with the communication path 12.

On the other hand, the above-mentioned second connector 38 is provided with an electrode 54 for grounding and power supply, and a power supply line 84.
A DC voltage is sent to all the adapters 22 in parallel from the outside of the main body case 30 through the main body case 30, and a DC-DC converter 86 is provided inside the main body case 30 to supply a predetermined drive voltage to the entire control circuit 40. ing.

ROM 58 in control circuit 40 described above
A part or all of the above is electrically rewritable like a flash EEPROM, and a personal computer 2 for system development and management prior to its use.
The first connector 34 is connected to the connector 46 in FIG. 6, and various application programs required for each adapter 22 are downloaded in a HEX format of Intel, for example, using a predetermined installation tool.

That is, an inter-adapter communication program that enables mutual data transmission between the adapters 22,
Data processing device 1 to be connected via the first connector 34
0 and the adapter 22 by individually downloading the inter-device communication program based on the protocol that enables the data transmission or other necessary programs by using the basic communication function provided in advance in the adapter 22, respectively. The specific function or operating characteristic of the adapter 22 can be changed for each adapter 22.

It is possible to individually download the system parameter information, which will be described in detail later, into each adapter together with the various programs described above. However, it is expected that this type of system parameter information will change frequently as the system expands. Therefore, by centrally registering this information in advance in the virtual master device A in the adapter 22 and sending it to the plurality of slave devices B to E using the network line when the system is operating, It is preferable because the system can be easily changed.

Further, on the RAM 60, a storage area 88 for the shared data 20 commonly used by all the adapters 22 is set separately for each adapter 22, as illustrated in FIG. For example, in the present embodiment, it corresponds to the five adapters A to E connected via the communication path 12,
Five sets of shared data 20 of A to E are partitioned and stored as node information, and as shown in FIG. 6, a predetermined number of data (in this embodiment, 1 to 3 of each node information) are stored. By setting 3 data in advance, A1 to E3
15 data items are stored separately.

The above-mentioned system parameter information is provided with a transmission table 90 and a reception table 92 which are set in a one-to-one correspondence with all the shared data 20 described above. It is possible to individually change the settings of the data handled for each.

In the transmission table 90, the shared data 20
The memory address on the data processing device 10 to which the adapter 22 is connected and the number of bytes of data to be fetched from that address are set for each individual data constituting the. For example, in the case of the adapter B illustrated in FIG. 6A, the data B1 is set to 4 from the memory 93 of the PLC 24a.
An adapter B for extracting 8 bytes of data, 8 bytes of data B2, and 2 bytes of data B3 so that they can be stored in the storage area 88 and sent to another adapter 22 via the communication path 12. It is unique node information.

On the other hand, the reception table 92 is prepared in order to select only necessary data from the node information sent from the other adapter 22 via the communication path 12 and incorporate it in the inside. That is, based on the transmission table 90, the number of bytes in the data area that does not require data update is set to zero, or the corresponding item on the table 92 is not set, so that the number of bytes set from the received data is set. Only the required part of the shared data 20 is selected and updated.

Next, the operation of the adapter B shown in FIG. 4 will be described in more detail with reference to the explanatory views of FIGS. 5 and 6 (a) and the flowchart of FIG.

The PLC 24a connected to the adapter B is
Since the adapter B itself does not have an active access function, the adapter B side is configured to perform an active operation.
That is, one adapter 22 is loaded when various programs are loaded or after each adapter 22 is connected to the LAN.
In this embodiment, the system parameter information sent from the adapter A, which is virtually set as the master unit, via the communication path 12 by the broadcast communication is the step 10 in FIG.
When the data is received at 1, the transmission table 90 and the reception table 92 of FIG. 6A are set at step 102, and then individual data transfer operations by the inter-device communication program and the inter-adapter communication program are started.

In the inter-adapter communication, when it is confirmed in step 103 that the node information is sent from the other adapter 22 connected via the communication path 12 by the broadcast communication, the receiving table is received in step 104. 92,
It is determined whether the data is data used by the adapter B. For example, assuming that the data of the adapter A to A3 is transmitted as the node information, the reception table 92
Since it can be seen that 2 bytes are set, the data is sent to the storage address of the shared data and the corresponding data is updated in step 105.

Further, when it is determined in step 106 that the set time of, for example, about 100 milliseconds has elapsed, B1 is set.
-The node information of adapter B specified by B2 and B3 is
In step 107, another adapter 22 is transmitted through the communication path 12.
All the adapters 22 are configured so that the node information, that is, the shared data, always coincides with each other by simultaneous broadcast transmission.

On the other hand, the inter-device communication is performed by the P
Always check the management information on the LC24a side, and
If a change is recognized in step 9, PLC24 is set in step 110.
The node information of B1 to B3 is read from the predetermined address on the a side, and the management information inside the adapter 22 is updated in step 111.

In step 112, the old data 98 before update and the current shared data 20 are compared, and step 11
When it is determined that the change has occurred in step 3, the change information is sent to the PLC 24a side in step 114, and the data inside the PLC 24a is updated.

It is possible to configure all the adapters 22 shown by A to E using the ones that perform the above-mentioned active operation. However, in the present embodiment, the fact that the personal computer 22 and the display control device 28 themselves have an active access function to the adapter 22 is utilized, and the operation is illustrated in FIGS. 6B and 8. The passive type adapter 22 is used for both.

That is, the inter-adapter communication operates in substantially the same manner as the active adapter 22 described above. However, in the inter-device communication, when it is confirmed in step 120 that there is a data rewriting request from the personal computer 26 side, necessary node information is read in step 121, and step 12
At 2, the management information in the adapter 22 is forcibly rewritten with the data.

On the other hand, in step 123, the personal computer 2
When it is confirmed that there is a data read request from the 6 side, the corresponding data is sent to the personal computer 26 in step 124.

Data transmission between the adapters 22 is
Although it is configured that the data is updated periodically and forcibly at every set time regardless of whether or not the data is updated, the data may be transmitted only when the data update is confirmed. Moreover, the amount and range of data to be transmitted at a time can be changed as appropriate.

Besides the bus connection between the adapters 22, an arbitrary LAN connection such as a star connection or a ring connection can be made. In that case, it goes without saying that the shape of the socket and the communication standard are appropriately changed according to each connection method.

Further, instead of supplying power for the adapter 22 from the second connector 38 side via the communication cable 76, power may be supplied from the data processing device 10 side via the first connector 34, or may be built-in or separately. A dedicated power supply provided may be used. Further, the communication path 12 is not limited to a wired one, and can be wirelessly implemented in substantially the same manner.

[0040]

[Other Embodiments] FIG. 9 shows another embodiment of the data transmission system constructed by using the data transmission adapter 22 according to the present invention shown in FIGS. The adapter A connected to is the master 22a, and the remaining adapters B to E are the slaves 22b. Further, in each child device 22b, the data processing device 10 to which it is connected
While managing only the data required by the storage area 88b individually, the slave unit 22a is managed on the storage area 88a on the master unit 22a side.
All or part of the data on the b side is managed centrally.

That is, on the RAM 60 on the side of the slave unit 22b, management information consisting of data required for display by the display control device 28 or control for each PLC among data handled by the connected PLC 24 or display control device 28. A storage area 88b for storing a slave unit. Further, an inter-device communication program for periodically polling the I / O memory map in the PLC or the like or the internal memory 93 and reading the management information into the storage area 88b to update the management information when a change in the management information is recognized, When the data in the storage area 88b is updated, the base unit 2
2a to request data reception, or the base unit 2
It is provided with an inter-adapter communication program for sending necessary data to the master device 22a when there is a data transmission request from the 2a side.

On the other hand, the master unit 22a is provided with a storage area 88a on the master unit side having a capacity capable of storing at least the management information handled by all the slave units 22b. Further, when there is a request from the personal computer 26 side, an inter-device communication program that sends the corresponding data to the corresponding memory 100 provided in the personal computer 26, and if necessary, issues a request to the child device 22b to send the child device 22b. It is provided with an inter-adapter communication program for forcibly transmitting / receiving data to / from the slave unit 22b through the communication path 12 when necessary data is read from the storage area 88b on the side of 22b or when management information is changed. There is.

With this configuration, each data processing device 10
The data is exchanged between the slaves 22b not indirectly between the slaves 22b but indirectly through the master 22a.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a basic configuration of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an external shape of an adapter according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of a control circuit provided in the adapter.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a data transmission system configured by connecting adapters to a LAN.

5 is an explanatory diagram showing a data transfer state in the data transmission system shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a data update procedure,
(A) shows an active type, (b) shows a passive type, respectively.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure in an active adapter.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure in a passive type adapter.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a data transfer state in another data transmission system using the adapter according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 data processing device 12 communication path 14 inter-device communication part 16 inter-adapter communication part 18 data storage part 19 program 22 adapter 24 PLC 26 personal computer 28 display control device 34 first connector 38 second connector 40 control circuit 76 communication cable

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued Front Page (72) Inventor Tadashi Kodera 8-2-52 Nanko East, Suminoe-ku, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture Digital (72) Inventor Harutoshi Okasaka 8-2 Nanko East, Suminoe-ku, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture −52 Digital Inc.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A data transmission adapter, which is individually arranged for a plurality of data processing devices (10) and is LAN-connected via a communication path (12) to enable mutual data transmission. , An inter-device communication unit (14) that transmits and receives data to and from the data processing device (10), and another adapter (2) connected via a communication path (12).
2) Inter-adapter communication unit (1) that sends and receives data to and from
6), the above-mentioned inter-device communication section (14) and inter-adapter communication section (1
6) and a data storage section (18) for exchanging data between both communication sections (14) and (16), and at least the above-mentioned inter-apparatus communication section (14) is of a program control type, Programs required from outside the adapter (1
9) A data transmission adapter characterized by being able to download.