Control cabinet monitoring device

• US 9,323,241 B2
• Filed: 02/09/2011
• Issued: 04/26/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/01/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rittal GmbH & Company KG (Friedhelm Loh, PhD)
• Original Assignee: Rittal GmbH & Company KG (Friedhelm Loh, PhD)
• Inventors: Hain, Markus, Rosenthal, Daniel, Prinz, Ulrich
• Primary Examiner(s): Everett, Christopher E
• Application Number:
  US13/261,401
• Publication Number:
  US 20130046398A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,903 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/042 using digital processors G05B19/05 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/25061 Configuration stored in central database
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/403 with centralised control, e.g. polling
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/02 Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]

Abstract

The invention relates to a control cabinet monitoring device, comprising a control device which is connected via a field bus to various sensors and/or actuators for monitoring and controlling various control cabinet functions, such as climate control, moisture control and access control. Flexible adaptation possibilities for different applications of control cabinets are offered in that at least one part of the sensors and/or actuators are direct connection sensors and/or direct connection actuators, each having a dedicated bus coupling circuit and being coupled by same to the field bus, and the control device has an initialization unit or can be connected to such a unit, via which the direct connection sensors and/or the direct connection actuators can be initialized before startup and automatically addressed and are subsequently connected via the control device for the exchange of data for operating purposes on the basis of individually allocated addresses.

Claims

1. A control cabinet monitoring device, comprising a control device which is connected via a field bus to various sensors and/or actuators for monitoring and controlling various control cabinet functions wherein at least one part of the sensors and or actuators are direct connection sensors and/or direct connection actuators, each having dedicated bus coupling circuit and being coupled by same to the field bus,

the control device comprises an initialization unit or can be connected to such a unit, via which the direct connection sensors and/or the direct connection actuators can be initialized before startup and automatically addressed thereby and are subsequently connected via the control device to exchange data for operating purposes which is based on individually allocated addresses,

each of said direct connection sensors and/or direct connection actuators as well as the initialization unit are provided with an enabling stage,

the direct connection sensors and/or direct connection actuators comprise a first direct connection sensor and/or direct connection actuator and succeeding direct connection sensors and/or direct connection actuators, and the succeeding direct connection sensors and/or direct connection actuators comprising at least a second direct connection sensor and/or direct connection actuator,

at the beginning of the initialization an enabling signal is on merely in the initialization unit, which signal can be recognized at an input side of the first direct connection sensors or direct connection actuators coupled to the field bus, while the enabling signal cannot be recognized by the succeeding direct connection sensors and/or direct connection actuators coupled to the field bus due to not connected enabling stage of said first direct connection sensor and/or direct connection actuator,

first direct connection sensor and/or direct connection actuator have an address and specific characteristic data stored therein, and are configured so that during this beginning of the initialization of said first direct connection sensor and/or direct connection actuator this beginning initialization can be accomplished with allocation of the address and notification of the specific characteristic data stored therein, and subsequent to the initialization and successful application via its enabling stage the enabling signal can be connected to the second direct connection sensor or direct connection actuator, whereupon the initialization of the second and correspondingly any further succeeding direct connection sensors and/or direct connection actuators is accomplished successively based on log in and start of normal operations of the first direct connection sensor or first direct connection actuator in normal operation, and

a predetermined order of direct connection sensors and/or direct connection actuators can be stored in said control device.

2. The control cabinet monitoring device of claim 1, wherein the field bus is configured as a CAN (Controller Area Network) bus.

3. The control cabinet monitoring device of claim 1, wherein the control device comprises at least one central unit which is coupled or can be coupled to the field bus, by which unit a configuration of the initialized direct connection sensors and/or direct connection actuators can be accomplished.

4. The control cabinet monitoring device of claim 3, wherein the initializing unit is part of the central unit and for initialization an initialization program is stored in said initialization unit.

5. The control cabinet monitoring device of claim 3, wherein the central unit is provided with further sensors and/or actuators and/or with terminals for connecting further sensors and/or actuators.

6. The control cabinet monitoring device of claim 1, wherein the direct connection sensors and/or direct connection actuators can be combined to form different function blocks operable by the control device.

7. The control cabinet monitoring device of claim 1, wherein the field bus is multimaster capable.

8. The control cabinet monitoring device of claim 1, wherein the field bus, in addition to two operating data lines provided for normal operation, possesses two supplemental signal lines for initialization.

9. The control cabinet monitoring device of claim 1, wherein each direct connection sensor and/or direct connection actuator comprises a non-initialization stage and a terminal resistor which can be switched on and off.

10. The control cabinet monitoring device of claim 1, wherein further bus users are connected to the field bus, such further bus users comprising at least one sensor connecting unit, one bus coupling unit and/or a further central unit.

11. A method for initializing a control cabinet monitoring device comprising sensors and/or actuators coupled to a field bus and a control device having an initialization unit, wherein

said sensors and/or actuators are directly coupled to the field bus at least partly as direct coupling sensors and/or direct coupling actuators,

the sensors and/or actuators comprise a first direct connecting sensor and/or direct connecting actuator and succeeding direct connecting sensors and/or direct connecting actuators, and the succeeding direct connecting sensors and/or direct connecting actuators comprise at least a second direct connecting sensor and/or direct connecting actuator, the method comprising

beginning an initialization, wherein only within the initialization unit an enabling signal and a non-initialization signal are brought into a voltage condition, while enabling signals in said direct connecting sensors and/or direct connecting actuators are not connected,

recognizing the enabling signal of the initialization unit by the first of said direct connecting sensors or direct connecting actuators at an input of the first of said direct connecting sensors and/or direct connecting actuators and switching on a terminal resistor,

subsequently, initialization data are exchanged between said initialization unit and said first direct connection sensor or direct connection actuator, an address being allocated by said initialization unit to said first direct connection sensor or direct connection actuator and specific characteristic data stored therein are notified to the initialization unit,

said initialization unit decides whether said first direct connection sensor or direct connection actuator may start normal operation on said field bus and is logged on, if necessary,

subsequently, when starting normal operation, said direct connection sensor or direct connection actuator switches on a supply of its sensor or actuator system and connects through the enabling signal to the succeeding direct connection sensor or direct connection actuator and enables the non-initialization signal, while recognizing the presence of at least one direct connection sensor or direct connection actuator by said non-initialization signal remaining at an initial voltage level, in particular ground level, and when detecting the presence of the terminal resistor switches off automatically based on the loci in and start of normal operations of the first direct connection sensor or first direct connection actuator in normal operation, and

wherein the second and any succeeding direct connecting sensors and/or direct connecting actuators are configured to optionally succeed, and the optionally succeeding direct connection sensors or direct connection actuators on the field bus are successively initialized in this way, respectively, and subsequently initialization is completed, a defined order of direct connection sensors and/or direct connection actuators connected to the field bus being stored, and

wherein no ignore instruction is sent to any of the direct connecting sensors and/or direct connecting actuators.

12. A control cabinet monitoring device, comprising a control device which is connected via a field bus to various sensors and/or actuators for monitoring and controlling various control cabinet functions wherein at least one part of the sensors and or actuators are direct connection sensors and/or direct connection actuators, each having dedicated bus coupling circuit and being coupled by same to the field bus,

the control device comprises an initialization unit or can be connected to such a unit, via which the direct connection sensors and/or the direct connection actuators can be initialized before startup and automatically addressed thereby and are subsequently connected via the control device to exchange data for operating purposes which is based on individually allocated addresses,

each of said direct connection sensors and/or direct connection actuators as well as the initialization unit are provided with an enabling stage,

the direct connection sensors and/or direct connection actuators comprise a first direct connection sensor and/or direct connection actuator and succeeding direct connection sensors and/or direct connection actuators, and the succeeding direct connection sensors and/or direct connection actuators comprising at least a second direct connection sensor and/or direct connection actuator,

at the beginning of the initialization an enabling signal is on merely in the initialization unit, which signal can be recognized at an input side of the first direct connection sensors or direct connection actuators coupled to the field bus, while the enabling signal cannot be recognized by the succeeding direct connection sensors and/or direct connection actuators coupled to the field bus due to not connected enabling stage of said first direct connection sensor and/or direct connection actuator,

first direct connection sensor and/or direct connection actuator have an address and specific characteristic data stored therein, and are configured so that during this beginning of the initialization of said first direct connection sensor and/or direct connection actuator this beginning initialization can be accomplished with allocation of the address and notification of the specific characteristic data stored therein, and subsequent to the initialization and successful application via its enabling stage the enabling signal can be connected to the second direct connection sensor or direct connection actuator, whereupon the initialization of the second and correspondingly any further succeeding direct connection sensors and/or direct connection actuators is accomplished successively based on log in and start of normal operations of the first direct connection sensor or first direct connection actuator in normal operation and enabling the non-initiation signal, and

a predetermined order of direct connection sensors and/or direct connection actuators can be stored in said control device.