JPH0526209A - Control system for actuator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To speed up and smoothen controlling by connecting a controller of a block body integrated with a plurality of actuators to a network which transmits energizing and attenuating conditions of respective actuators to the other controller. CONSTITUTION:A control signal is sent from a main controller 50 through an optical fiber or a conductor 48, and then received by a communication device 46 of a manifold unit 40. In case that there exists an address signal in relation to the manifold unit 40 of its own, the signal is taken in together with a data signal. In case that the address signal is not related to the unit 40, the signal is sent to the other manifold unit through a communicating circuit 52. A specified computing process is performed on the signal introduced into a sequence controller 44 of the manifold unit 40, and then control signals are supplied to solenoid valves 42a to 42g based on an address signal. Thus, the displacement operation of an actuator 54 and the opening of a valve 70 by means of a positioner 70 are carried out. On the other hand, detection signals of the movement and position are taken in and stored, and then sent to the main controller 50 by the communicating device 46.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a control system for an actuator, and more specifically, for example, a controller having information storing, judging, recognizing and controlling functions in a manifold itself which is provided with solenoid valves as actuators. And an actuator control system configured to control individual actuators connected to the manifold itself and to transmit control signals to other manifolds.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a fluid control system, when a large number of solenoid valves are used in a device or a machine, a manifold may be configured and combined into one block in order to simplify piping work and narrow an installation space. Often done. In this case, it is general that the solenoid coils of the solenoid valves connected to the manifold are individually wired from the controller. FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of such a conventional technique.

That is, in the conventional example, the solenoid valve drive control signal from the controller 2 is sent to the solenoid valves 8a to 8d connected to the solenoid valve manifold 6 via the individual wirings 4a to 4d and the like. The fluid introduced from the fluid supply conduit 10 urges the actuator 12 and the positioner 14 by the opening / closing operation of the solenoid forming the solenoid valve. Therefore, in the actuator 12, the piston 16 moves, and the piston rod 18 pushes the work 20. The displacements of the piston 16 and the work 20 are detected by the position detection sensors 22 and 24 and the limit switch 26, respectively, and are fed back to the controller 2.
On the other hand, the biasing of the positioner 14 opens the valve 28 and the fluid from the conduit 30 is introduced into the container 32. Container 32
Then, the liquid level gauge 34 constantly detects the liquid level, and the signal is fed back to the controller 2.

[0004]

The above is one embodiment showing an extremely simple mutual relationship between the solenoid valve manifold and the controller. In any case, in the prior art, the controller directly sends a control signal to each actuator side. ing. Therefore, it takes time to exchange control signals and the like, and when the actuators try to work in cooperation with each other, there is no way for the actuators to quickly confirm the work state.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a control system for an actuator in which a controller is attached to the actuator, the status signal of the actuator is constantly grasped by the controller, and communication with other controllers is possible.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a controller in a block body integrated with a plurality of actuators, and the controller controls the biasing of each actuator. It is characterized in that it is connected to a network that conveys the deenergized state to other controllers.

[0007]

Since it is possible to send the operation state signal of its own actuator to another controller, communication is performed quickly and the control associated therewith is performed at a good timing.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The actuator control system according to the present invention will now be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings by way of preferred embodiments.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 40 indicates a manifold, and a plurality of solenoid valves 42a to 42g are connected in series to the manifold 40. The manifold 40
Further, a sequence controller 44 and a communication device 46 are attached to the communication controller 46, and the communication device 46 is connected to the main controller 50 via an optical fiber 48, for example. Communication device 4
6 further has a circuit 52 for communication with a communication device attached to another manifold (not shown).

Therefore, in this embodiment, the solenoid valve 42a is
Is connected to an actuator 54 that constitutes a cylinder,
The piston rod 58 connected to the piston 56 of the actuator 54 faces the work 60 on the outside. The limit switch 62 is arranged in relation to the work 60, and its output side is connected to the sequence controller 44. The output side of the position detection switches 64a and 64b of the piston 56 arranged at both ends of the actuator 54 is also connected to the sequence controller 44 in the same manner as described above.

On the other hand, the solenoid valve 42b includes a positioner 66.
Connect to. The shaft 68 of the positioner 66 is
It is attached to an opening / closing mechanism (not shown) of the valve 70. A fluid conduit 72 connecting to the valve 70 faces a container 74. A liquid level gauge 76 is provided on the side wall of the container 74, and the output side of the liquid level gauge 76 is connected to the sequence controller 44. A conduit 78 is connected to the bottom of the container 74, and an electromagnetic valve 80 is provided in the conduit 78.
In this case, the solenoid valve 88 is energized by the sequence controller 44. In the figure, reference numeral 84 is a power supply system, and reference numeral 86 is a fluid supply system for supplying a predetermined fluid to the manifold 40.

The manifold 40 as a unit configured as described above can be connected and connected to another manifold via an attached communication device 46, and control signals and the like can be exchanged between the manifolds. This embodiment is shown in FIG. According to this embodiment, the first manifold unit 40a is connected to the main controller 50, and is also connected to the second manifold unit 40b and the like via the lead wire 52a of the communication device 46a owned by itself. The second manifold unit 40b is connected to the third manifold unit 40c and the fourth manifold unit 40d, and so on. Although the manifold units can be continuously connected in this manner, only one main controller 50 is required even with such a configuration.

Next, the internal structure of the manifold unit configured as described above will be described below with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6.

First, as can be seen from FIG. 4, each of the sequence controllers 44 constituting the manifold has at least four control modules 90a to 90.
have d. The control modules 90a to 9
0d are respectively assigned to the address setters 92a to 92a.
The address of the driver or the input port can be set via 2d, and therefore the control signal sent via the bus line 94 which is finally connected to the optical fiber 48 is selected based on the address to select the driver or the input port. On the other hand, various signals obtained from the driver and the input port are sent to other manifolds and the main controller 50.

For example, the control module 90a
Is a driver 96a for energizing or deactivating the solenoid valve group (A).
To 96d, a control signal is sent based on the address. In this case, the control states for the individual solenoid valves of the respective drivers 96a to 96d are signalized, and this signal is
The bus line 9 is received by the control module 90a.
4, and is sent from the communication device 46 to the main controller 50 or another manifold unit via the second control module 98.

The control module 90b has input ports 100a to 10 connected to the actuator 54 and the like.
Information is exchanged with 0d. That is, the actuator detection signal and the manifold state detection signal (B)
Are input ports 100a to 100d based on addresses determined in association with individual actuators and the like.
From the control module 90b to the bus line 94 and the second control module 98 as described above.
And is sent from the communication device 46 to the main controller 50 or another manifold unit.

Further, the control module 90c
Sends a control signal of the peripheral device obtained by the bus line 94 to the drivers 102a to 102d based on the address, and each driver 102a to 102d sends a signal to the peripheral device control signal generator 104 and this signal. Is sent to the main controller 50 or another manifold unit via the bus line 94 and the second control module 98.

Furthermore, the control module 90
The reference numeral d designates the detection signals (D) of the peripheral devices such as the limit switch 62 and the liquid level gauge 76 for the individual input ports 104a to 104a.
It is received via 4d, and an address is added to this to be sent to the main controller 50 or another manifold unit.

Next, the control module 90a
To 90d and the control module 98 will be described with reference to FIGS. As is clear from the figure, the two control modules have substantially the same structure. That is, the control modules 90a to 90d have the microprocessor 110 and the memory 112, and further have the input / output circuit 114 connected to the address setters 92a to 92d, respectively. On the other hand, the control module 98 is the microprocessor 11
6, a memory 118, and a communication input / output circuit 120. The input / output circuit 120 includes the communication device 4
Signals are exchanged with the main controller 50 or another manifold unit via 6.

The actuator control system according to the present invention is basically constructed as described above,
Next, its operation and effect will be described.

The main controller 50 is in a state in which a predetermined voltage / current and fluid are supplied from the power supply system 84 and the fluid supply system 86 through the respective manifold units.
From the optical fiber or the conductor 48 to send a control signal. In this case, the main controller is preferably a programmable controller, and thus the output signal also comprises an address signal and a data signal, which are sent to the first manifold unit as a serial signal. This signal, once received by the communication device 46,
If there is an address signal related to its own manifold unit that is taken into the communication input / output circuit of the control module 90, it is taken together with the data signal and sent to the control module 90 in the next stage, while an address unrelated to its own manifold unit. If it is a signal, this is sent to another manifold unit via the communication circuit 52, and so on.

Therefore, the signal introduced into the control module 90 is subjected to predetermined arithmetic processing in the microprocessor 110, the signal information is temporarily stored in the memory 112, and the signal is electromagnetically transmitted via a serial / parallel converter (not shown). The control signals are sent to the valves 42a to 42g based on their respective addresses. As a result, each of the solenoid valves controls the opening / closing of the built-in valve.
The displacement operation of the actuator 54 and the valve opening operation of the valve 70 by the positioner 66 are performed.

On the other hand, the piston 5 in the actuator 54
The movement of 6 is detected by the position detection switch 64a or 64b, and the movement of the workpiece 60 is also detected by the limit switch 62. These detection signals are
The sequence controller 44, that is, the control module 90 once captures it, records it in the memory 112, and sends it to another manifold unit and the main controller 50 via the bus line 94. In this case, the control module 90 uses the microprocessor 11
The address setter 92 is added to the detection signal after the arithmetic processing by 0.
An address signal is added to the control module 98 via an address signal and the address signal is sent to the control module 98, and these signals are led to the outside via the communication device 46. It goes without saying that the detection signal of the liquid level gauge 76 is processed in the same manner.

[0024]

As is apparent from the above, according to the present invention, each actuator is provided with an arithmetic processing function and a storage function, and these functions receive and record signals from other manifold units. Since the controller is also provided, the control can be performed extremely quickly and smoothly, especially when one work is performed on the actuator and the work in relation to each other. That is, by accumulating actuator information related to other controllers, it is possible to achieve a judgment and self-recognition function within a predetermined range with respect to the control of its own actuator.

Further, according to the present invention, simplification of a complicated wiring circuit between the main controller and the controller is promoted,
Along with this, remarkable effects such as reduction of wiring occupation area and reduction of wiring cost can be obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between a solenoid valve manifold and a controller according to a conventional technique.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between a controller, an actuator and a controller according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a plurality of manifolds shown in FIG. 2 are arranged.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a signal transmission / reception state of each solenoid valve manifold unit.

FIG. 5 is an internal explanatory diagram of a control module.

FIG. 6 is an internal explanatory diagram of a control module.

[Explanation of symbols]

40 ... Manifold unit 42 ... Solenoid valve 44 ... Sequence controller 46 ... Communication device 48 ... Optical fiber 50 ... Main controller 52 ... Communication circuit 54 ... Actuator 56 ... Piston 58 ... Piston rod 60 ... work 62 ... Limit switch 64 ... Position detection switch 66 ... Positioner 68 ... Shaft 70 ... Opening / closing mechanism 72 ... Fluid conduit 74 ... Container 76 ... Level gauge 78 ... conduit 80 ... Solenoid valve 84 ... Power supply system 86 ... Fluid supply system 90 ... Control module 92 ... Address setting device 94 ... Bus line 96 ... driver 98 ... Control module 100 ... Input port 102 ... driver 104 ... Input port 110 ... CPU 112 ... Memory 114 ... Input / output circuit 116 ... Microprocessor 118 ... Memory 120 ... Input / output circuit

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A controller is provided in a block body integrated with a plurality of actuators, and the controller is connected to a network for transmitting the energized / deenergized state of each actuator to another controller. A control system for an actuator. 2. The control system for an actuator according to claim 1, wherein the actuator is a solenoid valve.