Device for controlling drives in machine tools or production machines

• US 20050055120A1
• Filed: 08/27/2004
• Published: 03/10/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 08/28/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Siemens AG
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: Heinemann, Gerhard, Heidl, Thomas, Becker, Arnd
• Granted Patent: US 7,110,850 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/108
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/406 characterised by monitoring or safety G05B19/19 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/408 characterised by data handling or data format, e.g. reading, buffering or conversion of data

Abstract

A device for controlling drives of machine tools or production machines is disclosed, whereby the device includes a permanent storage medium associated with the device and a trace module that records actual process values after the trace module is triggered. The actual process values are permanently stored on the permanent storage media in form of files in a standard file format. The device makes it possible to permanently store actual process values recorded by a trace functionality, in particular by a trace module, in the device for controlling drives in a standard data format.

Claims

1. A device for controlling drives of machine tools or production machines comprising:

a permanent storage medium associated with the device; and

a trace module that records actual process values after the trace module is triggered,

wherein the actual process values are permanently stored on the permanent storage media in form of files having a standard file format.

2. The device of claim 1, further including a device controller that controls the device, wherein a time when the trace module is triggered or parameters present in the device controller at the time when the trace module is triggered are stored in the storage medium.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein file names of the stored files are generated automatically or by a programmable algorithm.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein the stored data are protected from deletion or changes.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein the storage medium is a flash card.

6. The device of claim 1, further including a diagnostic/startup device that is connected externally to the device, said diagnostic/startup device triggering the trace module.

7. The device of claim 1, further comprising a supervisory controller including a motion program that triggers the trace module.

8. The device of claim 7, wherein a plurality of the devices are connected with each other or with the supervisory controller, each of the devices including a trace module, wherein the trace modules of the devices are triggered synchronously.

9. The device of claim 2, further comprising a function generator capable of being triggered, wherein the function generator supplies to the device controller test signals stored on the storage medium in the form of files in a standard file format stored, said device controller adding the test signals to the actual process values.

10. The device of claim 9, wherein the function generator is triggered synchronously with the trace module.

11. The device of claim 9, further comprising a diagnostic/startup device connected externally to the device, said diagnostic/startup device triggering the function generator.

12. The device of claim 9, further comprising a supervisory controller, wherein an application program executed on the supervisory controller triggers the function generator.

13. The device of claim 12, wherein a plurality of the devices are connected with each other or with the supervisory controller, each of the devices including a function generator, wherein the function generators of the devices are triggered synchronously.

14. The device of claim 1, further comprising an evaluation unit, wherein the storage medium stores process reference values in form of files in a standard format, and wherein the evaluation unit compares the process reference values with the actual process values of the device and evaluates the process reference values using evaluation functions.

15. The device of claim 14, wherein the stored files with the process reference values are generated externally and downloaded to the permanent storage medium.

16. The device of claim 14, wherein the evaluation unit provides a user with a quality parameter representing a result of the evaluation.

17. The device of claim 1, further comprising a supervisory automation plane or an Internet service, wherein a quantity selected from the group consisting of the actual process values, process reference values, test signals, parameters present in a device controller and/or results of an evaluation of the actual process values and the process reference values is provided to the supervisory automation plane or Internet service.

18. The device of claim 1, further comprising a function generator capable of being triggered, wherein the storage medium stores parameter sets for configuring the trace module or the function generator.

19. The device of claim 1, wherein the standard file format is a file format based on FAT 16 format, FAT 32 format, NTFS format or ASCII format.