JPH0313464B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a control device for a manifold type electromagnetic valve group that controls fluid pressure such as air pressure by arranging a large number of electromagnetic valves in series.

In fluid control systems, when a large number of solenoid valves are used in equipment or machinery, manifold-type solenoid valves are used in which solenoid valves are connected in series and integrated into a manifold in order to simplify piping work and reduce installation space. It is being In this case, conventionally, the individual solenoid valves were generally operated by turning on and off current to each solenoid constituting the solenoid valve. The control signal for on/off and the drive power line are common, and each solenoid that makes up the solenoid valve is directly driven by the power line at its respective rated voltage, such as 24V or 100V. It had been. Therefore, if 10 solenoid valves are arranged, 20 electric wires are required for one manifold, and in the case of a double solenoid, 40 electric wires are required for one manifold. For this reason, the cost of installing a large number of electric wires is high, and there are certain space constraints due to the arrangement of bundles of electric wires, and in some cases, the electric wires themselves generate heat and other peripheral equipment Inconveniences that had a negative impact were pointed out.

Additionally, manifolds are generally placed near cylinders, which is an environment that is unfavorable to electrical wires and their connections, such as mechanical vibrations, high temperatures, corrosive atmospheres, and electrical interference. Therefore, arranging a large number of connecting wires in such a location has the disadvantage that it is extremely likely to cause various failures.

Furthermore, if a bundle of heavy electric wires is used to connect the control unit and the manifold placed on the movable side of the robot, as in industrial robots, the robot's operating range will be limited by the weight of the electric wires. As the wires moved, the wires also moved, causing problems such as wire breakage.

Therefore, as a result of extensive research, the inventors of the present invention separated the line that transmits control signals from the line that supplies power, and furthermore, the on-off control of each solenoid valve, which occurs in parallel in time, was By converting the signal into a serial signal by time division and sending it through a single signal line, the number of signal lines can be reduced as much as possible, and the problems associated with the prior art described above can be avoided. It has been found that a manifold type solenoid valve can be obtained that can completely wipe out the air.

In this case, it is preferable to use an optical fiber as the signal line since there is no risk of electrical interference, but the same effect can be obtained by sending the signal using a coaxial cable. It has been found that by sending the signal back to the control device, the control device compares the output signal with the input signal, and performs control based on the comparison, thereby obtaining a manifold type electromagnetic valve that further improves control reliability.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to control a group of solenoid valves in one
The purpose is to provide a control method for a group of solenoid valves that uses only one signal transmission line and two power lines, which reduces the number of electric wires and improves operational reliability, and which is inexpensive to manufacture. do.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides means for periodically sample-holding parallel on/off switching control signals of a plurality of electromagnetic valves sent from a controller and converting them into serial signals; A means for transmitting a signal, and a means for regenerating the transmitted signal into a parallel switching control signal and sending it to the solenoid valve, and on/off switching from a controller stored on the solenoid valve side. It is characterized by supplying a control signal for switching the solenoid valve only when the on/off state of the signal changes.

Next, preferred embodiments of a control device for a manifold type electromagnetic valve group according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 is a controller for controlling n solenoids constituting individual solenoid valves in a solenoid valve group formed by connecting n solenoid valves in series and connected by one manifold. shows. From the controller 10, n signal lines 12 are led out and connected to the input side of a converter 14 that converts parallel signals into serial signals. The output side of the converter 14 is connected to a converter 16 (hereinafter referred to as an E/O converter) that converts an electrical signal into an optical signal, and this E/O converter 16
is connected via an optical fiber 18 to a converter 20 (hereinafter referred to as an O/E converter) that converts an optical signal into an electrical signal. The output side of the converter 20 is connected to a converter 22 that converts the series electric signal into a parallel electric signal, and the output side of the converter 22 is connected to an electromagnetic signal via n signal lines 24. Connected to the valve drive circuit 26.

In this case, n signal lines 28 are led out from the drive circuit 26 and connected to the solenoids of n electromagnetic valves constituting the electromagnetic valve group 30.

Next, the operation of the apparatus of the present invention configured as described above will be explained.

From the controller 10, on/off signals for individual electromagnetic valves are sent in parallel to the converter 14 via n signal lines 12. As mentioned above, this converter 1
At 4, the parallel signal is converted into a serial signal and turned into an optical signal and introduced into the E/O converter 16. In this case, as shown in Figure 2, first,
N parallel signals (1-bit signals) related to on/off output from the controller 10 are periodically sampled and held. Next, by sequentially sending out this held signal at every minute time ΔT, it is possible to derive the entire signal (n-bit signal) to the E/O converter 16 through one signal line during ΔT×n. It becomes possible. The ON/OFF signal serialized in this way is converted into an optical signal by the E/O converter 16, passes through the optical fiber 18, and reaches the O/E converter 20, where the optical signal is converted into a serial electric signal. is converted to The electrical signal is then read back every ΔT time by the converter 22 and regenerated into parallel signals. The regenerated control signal for each solenoid valve is amplified by the drive circuit 26 to a size suitable for operating the solenoid valve, and is sent to the solenoid valve group 30 to turn on and off as issued by the controller 10. Performs off operation.

Note that the parallel signal from the controller 10 may be sent periodically, but a memory is prepared on the solenoid valve side and the parallel signal is sent only when the command state of the controller 10 changes. The contents of the memory may be rewritten.

Next, FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the present invention.

In this case, n conductive wires 40 are connected to the detector 42 to each signal line 28 that outputs a control signal from the drive circuit 26 to the electromagnetic valve group 30. The output side of the detector 42 is connected to a converter 44 that converts an electrical parallel signal into a serial signal, where it is converted into a serial signal, and the electrical signal is introduced into a converter 45 that converts the electrical signal into an optical signal. be done. The signal converted into an optical signal is then sent to the controller 10 through the optical fiber 46. The controller 10 side is also provided with a converter 48 that converts an optical signal into an electrical signal, and a converter 50 that converts the serial electrical signal of the converter 48 into a parallel signal. Therefore, the returned signal is introduced into the controller 10, and the signal output to the solenoid valve group 30 and the returned signal are compared using a comparator (not shown), and as a result, each solenoid valve The operating status of the device can be easily checked.

According to the present invention, as described above, one signal line,
Since the manifold type solenoid valve group can be controlled using two power lines (three in total), the number of wires required to turn on and off the solenoid valve group is reduced, which improves noise resistance and makes maintenance easier. Management has become easier. Furthermore, since optical fiber is used as the signal line, safety and reliability can be significantly improved. Furthermore, various effects such as increased strength against mechanical stress and explosion-proof properties as well as simplification of design can be obtained.

Although the present invention has been described above with reference to preferred embodiments, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. For example, when transmitting signals, coaxial cables, bus cables, or twisted cables may be used instead of optical fibers. Of course, various modifications such as using cables can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The figures relate to the present invention; FIG. 1 is a block wiring diagram for sending a control signal from the control device to the solenoid valve drive circuit via an optical fiber; and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the control shown in FIG. 1. Figure 3, an explanatory diagram showing the mutual relationship between the device and the parallel-serial converter, shows another embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block wiring diagram in which a signal for confirming the energized/deenergized state of the solenoid valve is sent from the solenoid valve drive circuit to the control device via the solenoid valve drive circuit. 10... Controller, 12... Signal line, 14... Converter, 16... E/O converter, 18... Optical fiber, 20... O/E converter, 22...
Converter, 24... Signal line, 26... Solenoid valve drive circuit, 28... Signal line, 30... Solenoid valve group, 40...
... Conductor, 42 ... Detector, 44 ... Converter, 45
...Transducer, 46...Optical fiber, 4
8...Converter, 50...Converter.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Means for periodically sample-holding parallel on/off switching control signals of a plurality of electromagnetic valves sent from a controller and converting them into serial signals, and means for transmitting the serial signals. and means for regenerating the transmitted signal into a parallel switching control signal and sending it to the solenoid valve, the controller comprising: means for reproducing the transmitted signal into a parallel switching control signal and sending it to the solenoid valve;
A control device for a manifold type solenoid valve group, characterized in that it supplies a control signal to switch the solenoid valve only when the off state changes. 2. In the device according to claim 1,
The conversion means consists of a conversion means for converting an optical signal and an electric signal, and the transmission means is a control device for a manifold type electromagnetic valve group consisting of an optical fiber. 3. In the device according to claim 1,
The transmission means is a control device for a manifold type solenoid valve group that includes either a coaxial cable, a bus cable, or a twisted cable.