Drive with server

• US 9,584,585 B2
• Filed: 10/01/2013
• Issued: 02/28/2017
• 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:
  US14/043,106
• Publication Number:
  US 20140091737A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,246 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 system, comprising:

a motor drive;

a drive module integrated with the motor drive;

drive control circuitry of the drive module configured to generate control signals during operation;

a plurality of power electronic switches of the motor drive configured to be switched in response to the control signals generated by the drive control circuitry to control application of power to an electric motor;

a communication port of the motor drive;

an add-on component configured to communicatively couple with the communication port of the motor drive, wherein the add-on component comprises a server module configured to communicate with the drive module via the communication port and to serve user-viewable pages to external network clients via a communication link.

2. The motor drive system of claim 1, wherein the user-viewable pages are stored on the motor drive and comprise data indicative of operation of the drive module.

3. The motor dive system of claim 1, wherein the communication link comprises an Ethernet link.

4. The motor drive system of claim 1, wherein the server module stores executable programs in the motor drive and enables execution of the executable programs by the external network clients.

5. The motor drive system of claim 4, wherein the server module enables at least one of the executable programs to be transferred to the motor drive from at least one of the external network clients.

6. The motor drive system of claim 1, comprising a user-access terminal communicatively coupled to the communication link.

7. The motor drive system of claim 6, wherein the user-access terminal comprises a browser configured to view the user-viewable pages.

8. The motor drive system of claim 1, wherein the server module comprises a PCMCIA card and a network port configured to couple with an internet-type communications medium to form the communication link.

9. The motor drive system of claim 1, wherein the drive module comprises one or more microprocessors configured to generate the control signals.

10. The motor drive system of claim 1, comprising the electric motor, wherein the electric motor comprises a medium voltage AC motor.

11. The motor drive system of claim 1, wherein the server module comprises a web server and stores or has access to a plurality of web pages that the sever module is configured to serve as the user-viewable pages.

12. A motor drive system, comprising:

a motor drive comprising a motor drive module;

drive control circuitry of the motor drive module configured to generate control signals;

a plurality of solid state switches of the motor drive that are switched 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;

a communications port of the motor drive;

an add-on component configured to be communicatively coupled with the motor drive via the communications port of the motor drive; and

a server module of the add-on component, wherein the server module is configured to communicate at least one user-viewable page to a remote terminal via a network communications medium.

13. The motor drive system of claim 12, wherein communicative coupling of the add-on component and the motor drive module enables components of the server module and the drive module to be configured or upgraded together in a single coordinated operation.

14. The motor drive system of claim 13, wherein the motor drive is configured for stand-alone operation for control of the electric motor.

15. The motor drive system of claim 13, comprising executable programs stored in the motor drive or the add-on component, wherein the server module is configured to enable execution of the executable programs by the remote terminal.

16. The motor drive system of claim 12, comprising a plurality of motor drives in communication with the server module via the network communications medium, wherein each of the plurality of motor drives is configured to control a separate electric motor.

17. A method of operating a motor drive, comprising:

controlling a plurality of solid state switches with control signals generated by drive control circuitry of a motor drive module to regulate current and voltage applied to an electric motor;

retaining an add-on component in communicative engagement with the motor drive via a communications port of the motor drive;

maintaining a user-viewable page in a memory of the motor drive or the add-on component; and

serving the user-viewable page from a server module of the add-on component to a remote terminal via a network communications medium.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein serving the user-viewable page from the server module to the remote terminal comprises serving a webpage to a user access terminal with a browser, wherein the webpage comprises operational data from the motor drive module.

19. The method of claim 17, comprising receiving instructions from the remote terminal and executing an executable program on the motor drive or the server module based on the instructions.

20. The method of claim 17, comprising receiving an executable program from the remote terminal via the server module and storing the executable program on the motor drive.