KR20200078776A - System for managing a plurality of ionizer - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an ionizer management system that monitors the performance of a plurality of ionizers, and in detail, efficiently and seamlessly monitors the performance of an ionizer in a manufacturing system requiring a large number of ionizers using a wireless network. It is related to the ionizer management system.
Specifically, the present invention is an ionizer management system for monitoring the performance of a plurality of ionizers, comprising: a plurality of sensor units; A plurality of slave modules; At least one master module; A gateway module; And a management server.

Description

An ionizer management system that monitors the performance of multiple ionizers{SYSTEM FOR MANAGING A PLURALITY OF IONIZER}

The present invention relates to an ionizer management system that monitors the performance of a plurality of ionizers or the constant voltage of a large object that is the target of static elimination of an ionizer. The present invention relates to an ionizer management system capable of efficiently and seamlessly monitoring the entire constant voltage.

In general, in the manufacturing process of electronic devices, LCDs, semiconductors, etc., in order to prevent problems such as fine dust adhering to the electronic devices, LCDs, and semiconductor wafers, or damage to devices due to static electricity, an electrostatic removal device, that is, an ionizer is used. It is common to install.

These ionizers can be roughly classified into a corona discharge type device and an X-ray radiation type device. Recently, the ionizer has overcome disadvantages such as sputtering caused by high voltage discharge, ozone gas generation, and inconvenience caused by ion balance adjustment. X-ray radiation devices, that is, X-ray ionizers are mainly used.

The X-ray ionizer is a device that neutralizes static electricity on the surface of a static elimination object by generating X-rays and emitting them to ionize gas molecules, and is mainly implemented by a method of irradiating soft x-rays. Since the X-ray ionizer does not generate fine dust and does not need to convect air, it has been spotlighted in a more suitable manner and has been developed in various ways.

These ionizers are operated in a large number in the manufacturing process of electronic devices, LCDs, semiconductors, etc. If the performance of some ionizers among such a large number of ionizers is deteriorated, a huge number of defective products may occur in the entire manufacturing process. As it can, it is necessary to continuously monitor whether the performance of numerous ionizers is maintained above an appropriate level, and for this, an ionizer management system is being developed.

1 is a schematic system configuration diagram of an ionizer management system according to the prior art.

As shown in FIG. 1, in the ionizer management system according to the prior art, a plurality of ionizer sensor units 1 are connected in series by a wired communication method (eg, RS-232, RS-485, etc.). , Each sensor column is configured to transmit the ionizer performance information to the server 4 through the gateway 3.

However, in the case of the ionizer management system according to the prior art, since the performance monitoring sensor units and the sensor unit and the gateway are connected by a serial wired communication method (2a), the wiring complexity due to the wired connection increases. Inconvenience has existed, and thus, excessive construction cost and construction time have been required, and there has been a problem that it is difficult to systematically and efficiently manage each node, the sensor unit and the gateway.

In addition, when the ionizer management system according to the prior art uses the serial wired communication method 2a, when one communication disconnection occurs on the communication path as shown in FIG. 1, the communication disconnection 2b occurs. There has been a problem in that the sensing information of the sensor units, which are lower nodes, cannot be transmitted to the server.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an ionizer management system that solves the problems of the prior art.

Specifically, an object of the present invention is to provide an ionizer management system capable of efficiently, systematically and without missing a large number of ionizers.

According to an embodiment of the present invention for solving the above-described problems, the present invention is an ionizer management system that monitors the performance of a plurality of ionizers, for each ionizer or in order to sense the performance of the ionizer A plurality of sensor units provided for each unit static elimination work space composed of two ionizers; A plurality of slave modules connected to or provided with each of the plurality of sensor units, the plurality of slave modules collecting, storing and managing detection data sensed by the electrostatic sensor unit through the slave communication unit; After grouping the plurality of slave communication units into at least one or more groups, a master communication unit connected to each of the grouped plurality of slave communication units by a wireless data communication method, and the plurality of wireless data received through the master communication unit At least one master module configured to store and manage the sensed data and to transmit the wireless data; And a gateway communication unit connected to each of the at least one master communication unit by a wireless data communication method, and a gateway module for storing and managing the plurality of detection data received by wireless data from each of the at least one master module through the gateway communication unit. and; It is connected to the gateway communication unit in a wireless or wired data communication method, the management server for transmitting the detection data received from the gateway module to the management terminal; Ionizer management to monitor the performance of a plurality of ionizer comprising a System.

Also, preferably, the network between the slave communication unit and the master communication unit is made of a mesh network, and one slave communication unit located below one master communication unit and another located below the one master communication unit. The network between one slave communication unit is characterized by comprising a mesh network.

In addition, preferably, the network between the master communication unit and the gateway communication unit is characterized in that consisting of a mesh network.

In addition, preferably, the communication between the slave communication unit, the master communication unit, and the gateway communication unit is characterized in that one of ZigBee (ZigBee) communication and Bluetooth (Bluetooth) communication is used.

Further, preferably, the mesh network, when determining a data communication path between one slave communication unit and the other slave communication unit, or data communication between one slave communication unit and the master communication unit corresponding to the one slave communication unit When determining a route, data communication is performed by determining another communication unit having the highest received signal strength as a priority communication path based on one communication unit and performing data communication, and receiving signals from the other communication unit on the priority communication path. When the strength is lowered or removed, it is characterized in that it is configured to re-determine another communication unit having the strongest received signal strength as a priority communication path based on the one communication unit to perform data communication.

In addition, preferably, the gateway module, after detecting the number of the at least one master module wirelessly connected to the lower portion of the gateway module through the gateway communication unit and the master communication unit, for the at least one master module , Requesting the transmission of the detection data by the number of master modules detected as being wirelessly connected to the lower part of the gateway module.

In addition, preferably, the master module, after detecting the number of the plurality of slave modules wirelessly connected to the lower portion of the master module through the master communication unit and the slave communication unit, for the plurality of slave modules, the It is characterized in that the transmission of the detection data is requested by the number of slave modules detected as being connected to a wireless communication under the master module.

In addition, preferably, the management server, the gateway module, the at least one master module and each of the plurality of slave modules, the group coordinates used in the grouping, and two coordinates consisting of an address number indicating the module It is characterized by specifying and managing by value.

According to the solution means of the above-described problem, the present invention is configured such that a plurality of slave modules connected to each sensor unit, at least one master module, and a gateway module are connected to each other through a wireless network to enable wireless data communication. In order to transmit sensing values from a large number of sensor units to the management server, wired wiring becomes unnecessary, thereby improving the ease of construction of the ionizer management system, and consequently the construction and/or construction cost of the ionizer management system and Construction time can be significantly reduced.

In addition, the present invention is a network between the slave communication unit and the master communication unit and one slave communication unit located below one master communication unit, and a network between another slave communication unit located below the one master communication unit. By being configured to consist of, even if there is a communication path with a communication disconnection or communication error between the slave communication unit and the master communication unit, the detection data detected from the sensor units, which are nodes located below the communication path, are not missed, and the mesh network is not omitted. It can be systematically managed by being delivered to the management server via the master module and gateway module through the reset communication path.

And, the present invention is configured to reset the communication path based on the received signal strength when resetting the communication path to the mesh network, so that the process of resetting the communication path to replace the problem communication path can be efficiently and quickly processed.

In addition, in the present invention, the management server specifies the gateway module, the at least one master module, and each of the plurality of slave modules as two coordinate values consisting of a group number used in the grouping and an address number indicating the corresponding module. By being configured to manage, even if the number of management objects of the ionizer management system increases significantly, it has the effect of systematically and efficiently managing the performance state of the ionizer.

1 is a schematic system configuration diagram of an ionizer management system according to the prior art.
2 is a schematic diagram of an ionizer process state related to an embodiment of the present invention,
3 is a schematic block diagram of an ionizer management system according to an embodiment of the present invention,
4 is a schematic diagram of a communication network of an ionizer management system according to an embodiment of the present invention,
5 is a schematic table showing a node registration and management method of the ionizer management system according to an embodiment of the present invention,
6 is a schematic diagram of a mesh network included in an ionizer management system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Advantages and features of the present invention, and methods for achieving them will be clarified with reference to embodiments described below in detail together with the accompanying drawings.

However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but may be implemented in various different forms, and only the embodiments allow the disclosure of the present invention to be complete, and are conventional in the art to which the present invention pertains. It is provided to fully inform the knowledgeable person of the scope of the invention, and the invention is only defined by the scope of the claims.

In addition, the terminology used herein is for describing the embodiments and is not intended to limit the present invention.

In the present specification, the singular form also includes the plural form unless otherwise specified in the phrase. As used herein, “comprises” and/or “comprising” does not exclude the presence or addition of other components than those mentioned.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used in the present specification may be used as meanings commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

2 is a schematic diagram of an ionizer 100 process state related to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of an ionizer management system 1000 according to an embodiment of the present invention. 4 is a schematic diagram of a communication network of the ionizer management system 1000 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a node registration management plan of the ionizer management system 1000 according to an embodiment of the present invention 6 is a schematic diagram of a mesh network (MN) included in the ionizer management system 1000 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in Figure 2, looking at the process state of the ionizer 100 related to an embodiment of the present invention, a fairly large number of ionizers 100 are operating to remove static electricity from the whole body 10 Can be seen.

Here, a plurality of sensor units 200 may be provided in the process of the ionizer 100 in order to detect that the performance of the ionizer 100 is deteriorated or a life is depleted.

In addition, as a further embodiment, the sensor unit 200 may be configured to periodically or in real time sense the constant voltage of the whole object, which is the object of static elimination of the ionizer.

At this time, the sensor unit 200 may be provided for each ionizer 100, as shown in FIG.

As a further embodiment, although not shown in the drawings, one sensor unit 200 may be provided for each unit static elimination work space 20 including a plurality of ionizers 100.

3 and 4, the ionizer management system 1000 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of sensor units 200 and a plurality of slave modules connected to each of the sensor units 200 300, at least one master module 400 for requesting transmission of detection data by grouping the plurality of slave modules 300, and requesting transmission of detection data to the at least one master module 400 It includes a gateway module 500 and a management server 600 that receives detection data from the gateway module 500.

2 to 4, the sensor unit 200 is configured to detect the amount of static charge or constant voltage present on the surface of the electrifier 10 to which the ionizer is to remove static electricity, and the electrifier ( It is preferably configured to measure the constant voltage for 10) in a non-contact manner.

As a further embodiment, the sensor unit 200 may be provided as a sensor for additionally collecting environmental information of the static electricity removal work space 20, for example, a temperature sensor and humidity for the static electricity removal work space 20 It may be configured to further include at least one of a sensor, a voltage sensor, and a current sensor.

3 to 6, the slave module 300 may be connected to each of the sensor units 200 or may be provided in one configuration in the sensor unit 200, and the slave module 300 is A plurality of ionizer management systems 1000 may be provided. For example, as illustrated in the drawing, 225 slave modules 300 may be provided (= 15 x 15).

The slave module 300 includes a slave communication unit connected or provided to each of the sensor units 200, and is configured to collect, store, and manage detection data sensed by the static electricity sensor unit 200 through the slave communication unit. do.

And, the slave module 300 (or the slave communication unit) is the lowest node in the entire system or in the entire network, and periodically collects, stores, and manages the sensed data sensed from the corresponding sensor unit 200, When the request of the master module 400 is configured to transmit the sensed detection data to the master module in a wireless data communication method.

As shown in FIG. 5, the slave module 300 is specified as a node designated as having a group number not '0' and an address not '0'.

Also, at least one master module 400 manages the plurality of slave communication units by grouping them into at least one group. For example, as shown in the drawing, 225 slave modules 300 are provided (= 15 x 15), 15 master modules 400 are provided, and each of the master modules 400 is 15 It may be configured to form a wireless communication network by grouping the slave module 300 of the.

Specifically, the master module 400 includes a master communication unit, and the master communication unit is configured to be connected to each of a plurality of grouped slave communication units in a wireless data communication method.

In addition, the master module 400 is configured to store and manage a plurality of the detection data received wireless data through the master communication unit, at the same time, the gateway module 500 to the detection data (s) in a wireless data method It is configured to transmit.

As shown in FIG. 5, the master module 400 is specified as a node designated as having a group number of not '0' and an address of '0'.

The master module 400 is an upper node of the slave module 300 and a lower node of the gateway module 500, acts as a relay, and collects detection data from the slave module 300 to collect the gateway module 500 ).

More specifically, the master module 400 is configured to periodically collect, store and manage the sensing data of the slave module 300, and thus collect, store and manage the detected data(s) of the gateway module 500 It can be configured to send in batches (eg, in packet mode) when there is a request to transmit.

In this way, the master module 400 is configured to store and manage periodically collected detection data(s) and then transmit them in bulk, so that the gateway module 500 is individually configured for each slave module 300 or sensor unit. This is because it is more advantageous in terms of communication packet and communication time than in the case of requesting detection data and collecting data.

Looking at the sensing data information request process of the master module 400, the master module 400, the plurality of slave modules wirelessly connected to the lower portion of the master module 400 through the master communication unit and the slave communication unit ( 300).

Subsequently, the master module detects the plurality of slave modules 300 so as to request the transmission of the detection data as much as the number of slave modules 300 detected as being wirelessly connected to the lower part of the master module 400. Execute the request process.

In addition, the gateway module 500 includes a first gateway communication unit connected to each of the at least one master communication unit in a wireless data communication method, and a second gateway communication unit connected to the management server 600 in a data communication method.

In addition, the first gateway communication unit is a wireless data communication module, and the gateway module 500 stores the plurality of detection data received wireless data from each of the at least one master module 400 through the first gateway communication unit. And management.

The second gateway communication unit may be a wired or wireless data communication module, for example, a Wi-Fi module.

The gateway module 500 is a system under the management server 600 or a network under the management server 600, that is, a top node in a single gateway network standard, and detects data(s) collected from each slave module 300. For example, it is configured to transmit the collected sensed data to the management server 600 as a desired destination using TCP/IP.

As shown in FIG. 5, the gateway module 500 is specified as a node designated as having a group number of '0' and an address of '0'.

Looking at the process of requesting the detection data information of the gateway module 500, the gateway module 500 may include the at least one master module wirelessly connected to the lower portion of the gateway module 500 through the gateway communication unit and the master communication unit ( 400).

Subsequently, the gateway module 500 transmits the detection data to the at least one or more master modules 400 as much as the number of master modules 400 detected as being wirelessly connected to the lower portion of the gateway module 500. Execute the detection data request process to request.

6, the network between the slave communication unit and the master communication unit is made of a mesh network (MN).

Referring to FIG. 6, a network between one slave communication unit located below one master communication unit and another slave communication unit located below the one master communication unit is formed of a mesh network (MN). That is, the slave modules 300 grouped by one master communication unit are configured to form a mesh network (MN) at a certain distance from each other.

As a further embodiment, the network between the master communication unit and the gateway communication unit may also be formed of a mesh network (MN).

In order to form a mesh network (MN), one of ZigBee communication, Bluetooth communication, UWB, and Z-wave is used between the slave communication unit, the master communication unit, and the gateway communication unit. .

For example, the slave communication unit and the master communication unit may include a Zigbee communication module or a Bluetooth communication module, and the first gateway communication unit may also include a Zigbee communication module or a Bluetooth communication module.

Here, ZigBee is a technology that extends the network, security layer, and network topology in IEEE 802.15.4, and supports various network configurations such as routing algorithms, Ad-hoc, Star, and Mesh networks. The ZigBee supports a GTS (Guaranteed Time Slot) data transmission mechanism to ensure QoS (Quality of Service) when the average power consumption has a low power characteristic of about 50 mW.

In addition, Bluetooth is a short-range wireless communication technology for realizing two-way short-range communication between portable devices at low cost without complicated cables. It uses radio frequencies in the 24 GHz ISM band and can implement wireless data communication even when there are obstacles. It is characterized by low-cost, low-power, and short-range wireless communication that allows data and voice to be communicated in the piconet, a point-to-multipoint network.

In addition, UWB is a wireless communication technology of the home entertainment network that replaces IEEE 1394.It is capable of manufacturing at a small and inexpensive size by enabling large-capacity transmission over 480 Mbps at short distances of up to 20 m and enabling communication without using a carrier. to provide. UWB is also characterized by being less susceptible to signal interference due to multiple paths.

In addition, Z-Wave is a wireless communication protocol with interoperability, and is a wireless RF-based communication technology designed for the purpose of residential space and HAVC control, lighting control, home appliance control, intrusion and fire detection, meter measurement, etc., Independent devices become intelligent network devices, enabling control and monitoring. Z-Wave is designed to enable individual network recognition, to avoid interference problems between networks, and to securely transmit signals by automatically selecting the transmission path of signals in routing.

In this way, the network between the slave communication unit and the master communication unit and one slave communication unit located below the one master communication unit and the other slave communication unit located below the one master communication unit is a mesh network (MN). By being configured to be made, even if there is a communication path with a communication disconnection or communication error between the slave communication unit and the master communication unit, detection data detected from the sensor units, which are nodes located below the communication path, are not missed and the mesh network (MN ) Can be systematically managed by being delivered to the management server 600 via the master module 400 and the gateway module through the reset communication path.

For example, referring to FIG. 6, when a communication failure occurs in a direct connection data communication path between the M1 master module 400 and the S3 slave module 300, the detection data of the S3 slave module 300 is the S4 slave module 300 and transmitted to the M1 master module 400 via the S1 slave module 300, or transmitted to the M1 master module 400 via the S1 slave module 300, or the S4 slave module 300 , May be transmitted to the M1 master module 400 via the S2 slave module 300 and the S1 slave module 300.

Preferably, according to the present invention, the mesh network (MN), when determining a data communication path among a plurality of data communication paths between one slave communication unit and another slave communication unit, or one slave communication unit and the one When determining the data communication path between the master communication units corresponding to the slave communication unit, the other communication unit having the strongest received signal strength based on one communication unit may be determined as the priority communication path to perform data communication.

Thereafter, the mesh network (MN) is another strongest received signal strength based on the one communication unit when the received signal strength from the other communication unit on the priority communication path is lowered or removed. The communication unit may be configured to re-determine a priority communication path to communicate data.

In this way, by reconfiguring the communication path based on the received signal strength when resetting the communication path to the mesh network (MN), it is possible to efficiently and quickly process the process of resetting the communication path to replace the problem communication path.

The management server 600 is connected to the second gateway communication unit in a wireless or wired data communication method, and may be configured to transmit detection data received from the gateway module 500 to the management terminal.

5, the management server 600, the gateway module 500, the at least one master module 400 and each of the plurality of slave modules 300, the group used for the grouping It can be specified and managed by two coordinate values consisting of a number and an address number indicating the corresponding module.

To this end, the management server 600 or each module is provided with a group setting switch and an address setting switch, and may preferably further include a display unit to visually output the set group number and address number.

The management server 600 specifies and manages each of the gateway module 500, the at least one master module 400, and the plurality of slave modules 300 with the two coordinate values, and simultaneously, You can also store and manage the actual location information for the.

Due to this, if the detection data of one slave module 300 is missing, it may be determined as a failure of the sensor unit 200 connected to the corresponding slave module 300, and the sensor unit 200 determined as a failure in this way ) Can be more easily grasped by the administrator, so that the management of the ionizer 100 and the sensor unit 200 can be efficiently and systematized.

As described above, the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiment shown in the drawings, but this is only for explaining the invention, and those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains various modifications or equivalents from the detailed description of the invention It will be understood that one embodiment is possible.

Therefore, the true scope of the present invention should be determined by the technical spirit of the claims.

1000: Ionizer management system
100: ionizer
200: sensor unit
300: slave module
400: master module
500: gateway module
600: management server

Claims (8)

An ionizer management system that monitors the performance of a plurality of ionizers or the constant voltage of a large object that is the target of static elimination of the ionizer,
A plurality of sensor units provided for each ionizer or for each unit static elimination work space composed of a plurality of ionizers in order to sense the performance of the ionizer or the constant voltage of the electrification object, which is a target of static elimination of the ionizer;
A plurality of slave modules connected to or provided with each of the plurality of sensor units, the plurality of slave modules collecting, storing and managing detection data sensed by the electrostatic sensor unit through the slave communication unit;
After grouping the plurality of slave communication units into at least one or more groups, a master communication unit connected to each of the grouped plurality of slave communication units in a wireless data communication method, and the plurality of wireless data received through the master communication unit At least one master module configured to store, manage and transmit the sensed data in a wireless data manner;
And a gateway communication unit connected to each of the at least one master communication unit through a wireless data communication method, and a gateway module for storing and managing the plurality of detection data received by wireless data from each of the at least one master module through the gateway communication unit. and;
It is connected to the gateway communication unit in a wireless or wired data communication method, the management server for transmitting the detection data received from the gateway module to the management terminal; Ionizer management to monitor the performance of a plurality of ionizer comprising a system. According to claim 1,
The network between the slave communication unit and the master communication unit, the ionizer management system for monitoring the performance of a plurality of ionizers, characterized in that consisting of a mesh network. According to claim 2,
The network between the master communication unit and the gateway communication unit, the ionizer management system for monitoring the performance of a plurality of ionizers, characterized in that consisting of a mesh network. The method of claim 2 or 3,
The slave communication unit, the master communication unit, and the gateway communication unit between each other, ZigBee (ZigBee) communication and Bluetooth (Bluetooth) communication using the communication method of the ionizer characterized in that the use of a plurality of ionizer management system. The method of claim 2 or 3,
The mesh network,
When determining a data communication path between one slave communication unit and another slave communication unit, or when determining a data communication path between one slave communication unit and a master communication unit corresponding to the one slave communication unit,
Based on one communication unit, the other communication unit having the strongest received signal strength is determined as a priority communication path to perform data communication, and the received signal strength from the other communication unit on the priority communication path is lowered or eliminated. If possible, an ionizer management system that monitors the performance of a plurality of ionizers, characterized in that it is configured to re-determine another communication unit having the strongest received signal strength as a priority communication path based on the one communication unit to perform data communication. . According to claim 1,
The gateway module,
After detecting the quantity of the at least one master module wirelessly connected to the lower portion of the gateway module through the gateway communication unit and the master communication unit,
Ionizer management to monitor the performance of a plurality of ionizers, characterized in that for requesting the transmission of the detection data for the at least one master module, the number of master modules detected as being wirelessly connected to the lower part of the gateway module. system. The method of claim 6,
The master module,
After detecting the number of the plurality of slave modules wirelessly connected to the lower portion of the master module through the master communication unit and the slave communication unit,
An ionizer management system for monitoring the performance of a plurality of ionizers, characterized by requesting the transmission of the detection data for the number of slave modules detected as being wirelessly connected to the lower part of the master module for the plurality of slave modules. . According to claim 1,
The management server,
The gateway module, each of the at least one master module and the plurality of slave modules, characterized in that the group number used for the grouping, and the plurality of characterized in that the management by specifying two coordinate values consisting of an address number indicating the module An ionizer management system that monitors the performance of two ionizers.

Images