Motor drive with integrated server module

• US 8,554,877 B2
• Filed: 01/11/2006
• Issued: 10/08/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/19/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies Incorporated (Allen-Bradley Co., Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies Incorporated (Allen-Bradley Co., Inc.)
• Inventors: Davis, Wayne R.
• Primary Examiner(s): EDWARDS, LINGLAN E
• Application Number:
  US11/329,625
• Publication Number:
  US 20070043457A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,827 Days
• Field of Search: 709/219
• US Class Current: 709/219
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/4185 characterised by the network communication
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/31186 TCP-IP internet protocol
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/31457 Factory remote control, monitoring through internet
• CPC Class Codes: H02P 29/0241 the fault being an overvoltage
• CPC Class Codes: H02P 31/00 Arrangements for regulating or controlling electric motors not provided for in groups H02P1/00 - H02P5/00, H02P7/00 or H02P21/00 - H02P29/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/02 Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]

Abstract

The present invention relates to a drive system that includes a module that operates as a server, where at least sometimes the module is at least one of directly integrated with another module that operates as a drive and fully integrated to include the drive. The server allows for communications with one or more terminals via an internet-type communications medium, while the drive is for controlling, monitoring and/or otherwise interacting with at least one motor, electromechanical machine, or other appropriate type of machine/process. In at least some embodiments, the server is capable of providing web pages, executable programs and/or other information including, for example, information in accordance with an FTP protocol onto the internet for receipt by the terminals. The terminals communicate commands and other information via the internet back to the server, which in turn can influence the drive and the controlled machine/process.

Claims

1. A motor drive comprising:

a drive module integrated in the motor drive, the drive module comprising;

drive control circuitry that generates control signals in operation; and

a plurality of power electronic switches that are switched in operation in response to the control signals generated by the drive control circuitry to control application of power to an electric motor; and

a server module integrated in the motor drive with the drive module and in communication with the drive module via at least one internal communication link in operation, the server module in operation storing user-viewable pages including data indicative of operation of the drive module and communicating the stored user-viewable pages from the motor drive to a user-access terminal via at least one additional communication link;

wherein the drive control circuitry further comprises at least one interface configured to communicate with a separate programmable controller, but the motor drive is configured for stand-alone operation for control of the electric motor;

wherein the server module in operation stores executable programs in the motor drive, enables execution of the stored executable programs by the user-access terminal via the motor drive, and enables at least one of the executable programs to be transferred to the motor drive from the user-access terminal; and

wherein the integration of the server module and the drive module enables components of both the server module and the drive module to be configured together in a single operation and/or upgraded together in a single coordinated operation.

2. The motor drive of claim 1, wherein the server module comprises at least one of a web server (HTTP) and an FTP server that engages in communications via an internet-type communications medium.

3. The motor drive of claim 2, wherein the internet type communications medium includes at least one of the internet, an intranet, and another medium on which are communicated signals employing internet-type protocol information in accordance with an OSI standard.

4. The motor drive of claim 1, wherein the drive module includes a first control device and the server module includes a second control device.

5. The motor drive of claim 4, wherein the first and second control devices are in direct communication with one another by way of at least one of a dual port random access memory device, a shared memory bus, and another shared bus.

6. The motor drive of claim 5, wherein the first and second control devices each include at least one of a central processing unit, a field programmable gate array, programmable logic device, and a microprocessor.

7. The motor drive of claim 4, wherein the server module additionally includes at least one of a random access memory device, a flash memory device, and a dual port random access memory device.

8. The motor drive of claim 4, wherein the server module includes an Ethernet port by which the first module is coupled to an internet-type communications medium.

9. The motor drive of claim 8, wherein the server module additionally includes an RS232 port.

10. The motor drive of claim 4, wherein the drive module comprises a microprocessor module that controls firing of the power electronic switches of the drive module.

11. The motor drive of claim 1, comprising a single central processing unit capable of performing both server operations and drive operations.

12. The motor drive of claim 11, wherein the server module comprises a microprocessor that controls firing of the power electronic switches of the drive module.

13. The motor drive of claim 1, wherein the drive module power electronic switches are sized to control a medium voltage AC motor.

14. The motor drive of claim 1, wherein the drive module power electronic switches are sized to control at least one of a high voltage AC motor, a low voltage AC motor, and a DC motor.

15. The motor drive of claim 1, wherein the server module comprises a web server and in operation stores or has access to a plurality of web pages that the server module sends onto an internet-type communications medium.

16. The motor drive of claim 15, wherein the web server in operation receives at least one command off of the internet-type communications medium provided via the user-access terminal that received at least one of the web pages.

17. The motor drive of claim 16, wherein the command relates to an operational status of the motor drive.

18. The motor drive of claim 1, wherein the server module in operation transmits binary executables implemented by way at least one of a .NET Framework and a .NET Compact Framework.

19. The motor drive of claim 1, wherein the server module in operation at least one of stores and transmits other information in addition to executable program information and web page information.

20. The motor drive of claim 1, wherein files are transferred via the server module onto an internet-type communications medium through the use of an FTP protocol.

21. The motor drive of claim 1, wherein the server module interacts with the drive module to obtain at least one of diagnostics information, setup information, motor configuration information, and motor performance information.

22. The motor drive of claim 1, wherein the server module in operation communicates to the drive at least one of the commands provided during a customer support operation, commands provided during a product support operation and commands intended to determine characteristics of motor operation.

23. The motor drive of claim 1, wherein the server module includes a web server that in operation transmits web pages onto an internet-type communications link for receipt by at least one remote terminal.

24. The motor drive of claim 1, wherein the server module in operation communicates with a programmable logic controller.

25. The motor drive of claim 1, wherein the server module comprises a circuit board that is plugged into the drive module.

26. The motor drive of claim 25, wherein the drive module is operable without the server module, as well as with a non-server module in place of the server module.

27. The motor drive of claim 1, wherein the drive module and the server module are at least one of positioned within a shared housing, formed on a single microchip, and situated in proximity to one another.

28. The motor drive of claim 1, wherein the drive module controls the operation of the motor by switching conductive states of the power electronic switches.

29. The motor drive of claim 28, wherein the drive module controls the operation of the motor by way of pulse width modulation of the power electronic switches.

30. The motor drive of claim 1, wherein the drive module operates to switch conductive states of the power electronic switches of the drive module to create a controlled alternating current power flow to the motor.

31. The motor drive of claim 30, wherein feedback is received by the drive module that pertains to at least one of a tachometer operation, a motor performance, a motor fault, or a motor configuration, and

wherein the drive module is further configured to regulate operation of the motor based upon the feedback.

32. A motor drive comprising:

a motor drive module integrated in the motor drive, the motor drive module comprising;

drive control circuitry that generates control signals in operation; and

a plurality of solid state switches that are switched in operation via a pulse width modulated control regime in response to the control signals generated by the drive control circuitry to control current and voltage to an electric motor; and

a server module integrated in the motor drive with the motor drive module such that the server module is in communication with the motor drive module in operation, the server module in operation storing at least one user-viewable page and communicating the stored at least one user-viewable page from the motor drive via a network communications medium for receipt by a remote monitoring and/or control terminal;

wherein the drive control circuitry further comprises at least one interface configured to communicate with a separate programmable controller, but the motor drive is configured for stand-alone operation for control of the electric motor;

wherein the server module in operation stores executable programs in the motor drive, enables execution of the stored executable programs by the remote monitoring and/or control terminal via the motor drive, and enables at least one of the executable programs to be transferred to the motor drive from the remote monitoring and/or control terminal; and

wherein the integration of the server module and the drive module enables components of both the server module and the drive module to be configured together in a single operation and/or upgraded together in a single coordinated operation.

33. The motor drive of claim 32, wherein the server module and the drive module comprise separate physical supports integrated with one another.

34. The motor drive of claim 32, wherein the server module and the drive module comprise a single central processing unit.

35. The motor drive of claim 32, wherein the server module and the drive module are indirectly in communication with one another.

36. The motor drive of claim 35, wherein the server module is directly integrated with an adapter module, and wherein the adapter module is indirectly in communication with the drive module.

37. The motor drive of claim 36, wherein the adapter module comprises at least one of a 20-COMM-E module and a dedicated server module.

38. The motor drive of claim 36, wherein the adapter module comprises a 20-COMM-E module that in operation communicates with the drive module via a CAN-DPI communications link.

39. The motor drive of claim 38, wherein the 20-COMM-E module comprises multiple HTML pages that in operation gather information about the 20-COMM-E module and configure the operation of the 20-COMM-E module, and wherein the 20-COMM-E module in operation sends an email message when a fault occurs with respect to the drive module.

40. The motor drive of claim 39, wherein the network communications medium includes an internet-type communications medium and the server module is in communication with the drive module by way of the internet-type communications medium.

41. The motor drive of claim 32, wherein the server module in operation provides information onto the network communications medium via an FTP protocol.

42. The motor drive of claim 41, wherein in operation the server module lists files capable of being provided onto the network communications medium via the FTP protocol in a displayed field.

43. The motor drive of claim 32, wherein the network communications medium includes an internet-type communications medium and the server module in operation provides a first web page via the internet-type communications medium that includes at least one selectable item by which a user can determine at least one of an access level and a filter level.

44. The motor drive of claim 32, further comprising a second motor drive in communication with the server, wherein the first and second drives are configured for controlling first and second motors, respectively.

45. The motor drive of claim 32, wherein the drive module operates to switch conductive states of the power electronic switches of the drive module alternating current power flow to the motor.

46. The motor drive of claim 45, wherein the drive module is operated in a closed loop manner based upon feedback indicative of operation of the motor.

47. A method of operating a motor drive including a drive module comprising drive control circuitry that generates control signals and a plurality of solid state switches controlled in response to the control signals generated by the drive control circuitry to regulate current and voltage applied to a motor, and including a server module that is integrated in the motor drive with the drive module, the method comprising:

via the server module that is integrated in the motor drive with the drive module that comprises the drive control circuitry and the plurality of solid state switches controlled to regulate current and voltage applied to the motor;

storing a web page in a memory of the motor drive accessible by the server module;

accessing the stored web page;

sending the stored web page from the server module onto an internet-type communications medium for receipt by a terminal;

receiving a communication arriving from the terminal at the server module via the internet-type communications medium;

storing executable programs in the motor drive, enabling execution of the stored executable programs by the terminal via the motor drive, and enabling at least one of the executable programs to be transferred to the motor drive from the terminal; and

through the integration of the server module and the drive module, enabling components of both the server module and the drive module to be configured together in a single operation and/or upgraded together in a single coordinated operation; and

switching conductive states of the plurality of solid state switches of the drive module to control power flow to the motor;

wherein the drive control circuitry further comprises at least one interface configured to communicate with a separate programmable controller, but the motor drive is configured for stand-alone operation for control of the electric motor.

48. The method of claim 47, wherein the communication is a request for information, and further comprising:

transmitting information according to an FTP protocol via the internet-type communications medium in response to the communication.

49. The method of claim 48, wherein the information comprises at least one of diagnostics, fault, configuration, and performance information for at least one of the drive module and the motor.

50. The method of claim 48, comprising listing files capable of being provided via the internet-type communications medium via the FTP protocol in a displayed field.

51. The method of claim 47, comprising transmitting at least one web page from the server module that includes HTML code for the display of at least one tab, button, field, hyperlink, and other selectable item.

52. The method of claim 47, wherein the server module at least one of receives data from the drive module, provides a command to the drive module, and provides information to the drive module.

53. The method of claim 47, wherein the communication relates to a user selection of at least one of a home tab, an alarms tab, a display tab, a diagnostics tab, a setup tab, and a utility tab.

54. The method of claim 47, wherein the communication relates to a user selection of language, a user selection of at least one of an access level and a filter level, and a user desire to view information located at another IP address.

55. The method of claim 54, wherein the communication relates to at least one of a user selection of an access level from among a plurality of different levels, and a user selection of one of a read only option and a read/write option.

56. The method of claim 47, wherein the communication relates to a user selection of at least one of a parameter group and a parameter type, and wherein the page includes instructions intended to cause the display of at least one of a listing of parameter groups and a listing of parameter types.

57. The method of claim 56, wherein the communication relates to a user specification of a parameter value, and wherein the web page includes HTML code intended to cause the listing of a field in which a user-specified parameter value can be entered.

58. The method of claim 47, wherein the drive module controls the operation of the motor by pulse width modulation of the power electronic switches.

59. The method of claim 47, wherein the motor drive is operated in a closed loop manner based upon feedback indicative of operation of the motor.