Control system, display device, control-use host computer, and data transmission method

• US 7,716,354 B2
• Filed: 12/28/2004
• Issued: 05/11/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/27/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Schneider Electric Japan Holdings Ltd. (Schneider Electric SE)
• Original Assignee: Digital Electronics Corporation (Schneider Electric SE)
• Inventors: Yoshida, Minoru, Ii, Nobuhiro, Shinohara, Akio, Morigaki, Yuichi, Kato, Satoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Hu; Jinsong
• Application Number:
  US11/023,168
• Publication Number:
  US 20050114535A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,960 Days
• Field of Search: 709/220, 709/221, 709/222, 709/230, 709/232, 370/466, 370/468
• US Class Current: 709/230
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/0421 Multiprocessor system
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/052 Linking several PLC's
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/4185 characterised by the network communication
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/25012 Two different bus systems
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/31087 Transmission device between workcell and central control
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/31088 Network communication between supervisor and cell, machine group
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/31227 External network for proces data, internal network for transport, handling only
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/31369 Translation, conversion of protocol between two layers, networks
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/02 Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]

Abstract

A control system including control devices with each control device including a control unit and a display device connected with the control unit via a dedicated communication line and being capable of display corresponding to a control state of the control unit. The display device includes a communication port connected with a control unit and a communication port connected with a data processing device, and a data processing section. Further, the data transmission method includes a dedicated protocol communication transmitting data with a processing device and a common protocol communication transmitting data with another processing device. In addition, the control-host computer used in the control system includes a control unit controlling a control target and a display device.

Claims

1. A data transmission method, applied when data is transmitted between a display device and a control unit and between said display device and a data processing device, said display device being provided between said control unit and said data processing device, said control unit transmitting data according to a dedicated protocol, and said data processing device transmitting data according to a common protocol, said method comprising:

dedicated protocol communicating including transmitting data between said display device and said control unit according to the dedicated protocol; and

common protocol communicating including transmitting data between said data processing device and said display device according to the common protocol,

wherein in said common protocol communicating, communication is conducted between said display device and said data processing device via a common communication line.

4. A data transmission method as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:

communication protocol converting including converting the common protocol into the dedicated protocol, the communication protocol converting comprising;

holding special information of said control unit extracted from the dedicated protocol and information that is common among the common protocols corresponding to the special information, in a form of a conversion table; and

converting common information sent from said data processing device into special information of said control unit, referring to said conversion table.

5. The data transmission method as set forth in claim 4, said communication protocol converting comprising:

holding information about a data transfer format of transfer information transmitted between said control unit and said display device,

converting command data using the common information supplied from said data processing device, into the special information corresponding to the command data, by using said conversion table, and

converting the converted special information into transfer information specialized for said control unit, by substituting the converted special information for undefined information portions of the data transfer format information.

6. The data transmission method as set forth in claim 5, wherein

and in said dedicated protocol communicating, communication is conducted between said display device and said control unit via a dedicated communication line.

2. A storage medium storing a program that causes a computer to function as a display device provided between a control unit and a data processing device so as to transmit data to said control unit according to a dedicated protocol and transmit data to said data processing device according to a common protocol, said storage medium storing said program that causes said computer to execute:

dedicated protocol communicating including transmitting data to said control unit according to a communication protocol specialized for said control unit;

common protocol communicating including transmitting data to said data processing device according to a communication protocol common to the data processing device that is connected with said display device; and

communication protocol converting including converting the common protocol into the dedicated protocol; and

as a program for execution of said communication protocol conversion, said program that causes the said computer to execute sub-steps of;

holding special information of said control unit extracted from the dedicated protocol and information that is common among said common protocols corresponding to the special information, in a form of a conversion table; and

converting common information sent from said data processing device into special information of said control unit, referring to said conversion table.

3. A storage medium storing a program that causes a computer to function as a display device provided between a control unit and a data processing device so as to transmit data to said control unit according to a dedicated protocol and transmit to said data processing device according to a common protocol, said storage medium storing said program that causes said computer to execute:

dedicated protocol communicating including transmitting data with said control unit according to a communication protocol specialized for said control unit;

data sending including, prior to said dedicated protocol communicating, sending a protocol determination command from said display device to said control unit, the protocol determination command being used for selecting, from among a group of protocols, a communication protocol to be used for data transmission between said control unit and said display device possessed by itself and sending out preset data according to the selected communication protocol; and

protocol determining including waiting for a response from said control unit, and determining a communication protocol to which a predetermined response is obtained, as a communication protocol to be used for the data transmission between said control unit and said display device.