JP6201457B2 - Drive equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a drive device such as an inverter or a servo that performs drive control of a device to be controlled.

  Drive devices using power electronics such as servos and inverters are frequently used for drive control of fans, pumps, and manufacturing equipment in industrial facilities such as factories. In addition, it is common practice to connect these drive devices to a network together with an external controller that functions as a host device to construct an industrial system such as a safety control system (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The network used in the industrial system is based on Ethernet (registered trademark) used in homes and offices, but with the addition of cable and connectors for noise suppression and durability improvement. The connectors themselves are often compatible with those in general Ethernet (registered trademark). The difference between the network for industrial systems and the general Ethernet (registered trademark) used in offices and homes is that the data signal flowing in the former includes specifications specialized for industrial systems. As an example of specifications specific to industrial systems, there are command signals (hereinafter referred to as control commands) given to controlled devices and data areas for transmitting and receiving status responses from the devices, re-transmission functions and communication intervals. Various functions such as a function for guaranteeing or a function for operating the connected devices in synchronization with each other can be cited. Since these specifications are also included in the in-vehicle network for automobiles, the network for industrial systems and the in-vehicle network are collectively referred to as “industrial network” below. Distinguish from Ethernet (registered trademark).

  Data signals that flow through an industrial network include control commands, setting signals for making various settings for drive devices, or status responses. This is the same for any industrial network. is there. However, the detailed specifications of data signals flowing through the industrial network (code format and configuration, data arrangement, meaning, communication order, etc.) differ depending on the manufacturer or organization of the industrial network developer and are not shared. Although the communication standards that define these detailed specifications have been internationally standardized by international standardization organizations such as IEC (hereinafter, such communication standards are referred to as “international standards”), each manufacturer has actually developed it independently. Each communication network technology is an international standard, and the number of registrations in such an international standard exceeds 20. Conventionally, a developer of a drive device has been required to separately develop products corresponding to the specifications of each network technology. However, in recent years, communication chips corresponding to a plurality of network technologies (ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) and microcomputers, communication chips corresponding to each network technology through microcomputer processing) have begun to circulate. By using such a communication chip, it has become possible to develop a drive device that supports a plurality of network technologies.

JP 2011-188623 A

  However, even if a drive device is developed using a communication chip corresponding to a plurality of network technologies, the communication chip is a data signal format specific to the drive device (that is, a communication standard defined by the drive device developer, It does not correspond to a standard that has not been standardized (hereinafter simply referred to as “unique standard”), and is a data signal format delivered from a communication chip (that is, a data signal format conforming to any network technology). In addition, a program for controlling the operation of the control unit (microcomputer) of the drive device for each network technology (that is, a program for mutual conversion between the specifications in the network technology and the specifications in the specific standard, specifically, so-called Firmware) had to be developed. The development of dedicated firmware for each network technology has caused the development process to be complicated and the development period to be prolonged, leading to increased development costs. In addition, there is a problem that it takes a lot of time to write different firmware for each destination of the product in the storage unit of the drive device and to manage the version of the firmware.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a drive device that can cope with various industrial network technologies without rewriting firmware.

  In order to solve the above problem, the present invention provides the following table and conversion unit in a drive device having a control unit that controls a device to be controlled in accordance with a given first control command. This table stores data for converting the second control command received from the host device via the network into the first control command. The conversion unit converts the second control command received via the network into a first control command according to the stored contents of the table, and gives the first control command to the control unit. As a specific example of the drive device, a power conversion device that controls the operation of an electric motor (including a main circuit unit that converts DC power supplied from a DC power source into AC power and supplies the AC power to a motor to be controlled. Examples of the unit include a drive device that controls the operation of the main circuit unit according to a given command signal) and a servo.

  Specific examples of the table include a table in which each command value in the second control command is associated with each command value in the first control command, or for each type of command value included in the second control command. A table in which data representing a conversion formula for converting the command value into the command value in the first control command is stored. For example, when the latter mode is adopted, the conversion unit may be made to execute a process of converting each command value according to the above conversion formula. An example of the first control command is a control command defined by a function specific to the device to be controlled, and a specific example of the second control command is a control command defined by network technology. It is done. In the present invention, even if the specification of the standard to which the control command transmitted from the host device is transmitted via the network is different from the specification of the standard of the control command given to the control unit, the difference between the two is stored in the above table. It is absorbed by the processing of the conversion unit based on the content. Therefore, it is possible to cope with various industrial networks without rewriting the firmware of the control unit simply by rewriting the stored contents of the table. As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a drive device that can be used for various industrial networks without rewriting the firmware. The drive device development cost, firmware design cost, Management effort and cost can be reduced.

  In general, in industrial network technology, multiple states are defined as the operating state of the device to be controlled. These multiple states are defined by the developer of the device to be controlled (or the drive device that controls the operation). It does not necessarily match the operating state in the specific specification, and the state value specifying each state basically does not match. Conventionally, the firmware performs a mutual conversion between a state value that specifies a state in a standard such as an international standard and a state value that specifies a state in the specific specification. Therefore, as a more preferable aspect of the present invention, an aspect in which the conversion unit performs the mutual conversion between the state value in the network technology and the state value in the specific specification based on the stored contents of the table can be considered. More specifically, in the table, the first state representing the state corresponding to the second state value in the specific specification in association with each second state value representing each state in the standard. Stores data representing a conversion formula for conversion to a value. Then, the conversion unit converts the second state value included in the second control command received via the network into the first state value with reference to the stored contents of the table, and sends it to the control unit. The first control command to be given is generated.

  As a transmission mode of the control command in the industrial network, there is a mode in which the transmission is performed as a fixed period signal with a constant time interval. Therefore, the conversion unit stores the first control command generated according to the received fixed-cycle signal, and when the subsequent fixed-cycle signal is lost, it is based on the stored control command. Then, a process for generating a new control command and giving it to the control unit may be executed. Specifically, the received fixed-cycle signal is stored, and when a signal loss occurs in the fixed-cycle signal, the command value included in the stored control command, or the estimated fluctuation from the command value The conversion unit is caused to execute a process of generating a first control command including a command value including a minute and giving the first control command to the control unit. According to such an aspect, it is possible to avoid a problem in controlling the device to be controlled even when a lack of a control command transmitted from the host device as a periodic signal occurs.

  By the way, in the drive device, as the operation state of the device to be controlled (that is, the electric motor), a first state indicating that the device is operated while limiting the output so that the output is lower than the rated value. In some cases, a second state indicating that the system is operating without adding the restriction is defined. Here, the first state is a state designated when the temperature of the electric motor is excessively high, and is a state defined for ensuring safety. Therefore, if the operating state of the device to be controlled is the first state, adjust the command value included in the stored control command so that the output of the device does not exceed the rated value. You may make the said conversion part perform the process which produces | generates a new control command. This is to fulfill the purpose of defining the first state.

  Further, the first generated based on the stored control command while the number of constant-cycle signals continuously lost under the situation where the operating state of the device to be controlled is the second state is less than or equal to the predetermined number. A control command is given to the control unit, and a first control command is generated that causes the operating state of the device to be controlled to transition to the first state when the number of constant-cycle signals that have been continuously lost exceeds a predetermined value. Then, the processing given to the control unit may be executed by the conversion unit. As described above, the signal loss of the fixed-cycle signal often occurs due to noise or the like, and the occurrence of frequent noise is a concern for some failure. Thus, when there is a concern about the occurrence of a failure, it is considered preferable from the viewpoint of ensuring safety to suppress the output of the control target device just in case.

It is a figure which shows the structural example of the power converter device 2 which is one Embodiment of the drive apparatus of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the input signal given to the power converter device 2 via a network. It is a figure which shows an example of the output signal sent out from the power converter device 2 to a network. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the communication signal processing part 220 contained in the control board 20 of the same power converter device 2, and the flow of the signal in a communication signal processing part. 3 is a flowchart showing a flow of operation of the communication signal processing unit 220. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the fixed period signal processing part 2240 of the communication signal processing part 220. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the data arrangement | sequence definition table in this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the data conversion table in this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the conversion type | formula definition table in this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the state transition definition by the side of a network. It is a figure which shows an example of the state transition definition by the side of a power converter device. It is a figure which shows an example of the conversion map table in this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the conversion method table in this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the complementation aspect according to an operating state.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a power conversion device 2 that is an embodiment of a drive device of the present invention. The power conversion device 2 is mounted on a vehicle such as an automobile (including an electric vehicle) and used for a power source of the vehicle or a power source attached to the vehicle (that is, a fan, a pump, a mower, a belt conveyor, etc.). Drive control of the electric motor 3 functioning as an electric motor) is performed. The power converter 2 is a VCU (Vehicle
It is connected to an in-vehicle network such as CAN (Control Area Network) together with an external controller 5 such as Control Unit) and other drive devices 6. The power source 1 is a DC power source such as a storage battery, and supplies DC power to the power converter 2. The power converter 2 converts the DC power supplied from the power source 1 into three-phase AC power and supplies it to the electric motor 3. More specifically, the power conversion device 2 detects the current value of each phase applied to the electric motor 3 under the control of the external controller 5, as a result of detection by the speed / position sensor 4 (that is, the rotational speed of the rotor of the electric motor 3 and The current value of each phase is adjusted so that the rotational speed (or torque) instructed by the external controller 5 can be obtained.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the power converter 2 includes a main circuit unit 10, a control board 20, and a current sensor 30. The main circuit unit 10 converts the DC power supplied from the power source 1 into three-phase AC power and gives it to the motor 3 under the control of the control board 20. The current sensor 30 detects the current value of each phase of the three-phase AC power supplied from the main circuit unit 10 to the electric motor 3 and supplies it to the control board 20.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the control board 20 includes a communication I / F unit 210, a communication signal processing unit 220, a control unit 230, and a safety CPU 240. The communication I / F unit 210 is connected to the above-described in-vehicle network. The communication I / F unit 210 receives various signals transmitted from the external controller 5 via the in-vehicle network and supplies them to the communication signal processing unit 220, while sending the output signal of the communication signal processing unit 220 to the in-vehicle network. To do. The controller 230 is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing).
Unit) and a storage unit (not shown in FIG. 1) in which firmware is written. The control unit 230 executes a process for controlling the operation of the main circuit unit 10 in accordance with the firmware according to a signal given from the communication signal processing unit 220. The safety CPU 240 executes safety processing for ensuring safety in response to a safety signal given from the communication signal processing unit 220 when a failure having a serious influence on humans occurs.

The communication signal processing unit 220 is, for example, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated).
Circuit) and a communication chip composed of a microcomputer. The communication signal processing unit 220 generates various signals to be given to the control unit 230 or the safety CPU 240 based on an input signal received from the in-vehicle network via the communication I / F unit 210, while various outputs of the control unit 230 or the safety CPU 240. Based on the signal, an output signal to be output to the in-vehicle network via the communication I / F unit 210 is generated. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a data format of an input signal given from the in-vehicle network via the communication I / F unit 210. As shown in FIG. 2, the input signal includes various control commands such as an operation mode, a position command, and a speed command. The communication signal processing unit 220 generates various control commands to be given to the control unit 230 so that the driving state of the electric motor 3 is specified by the control command. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data format of an output signal output to the in-vehicle network via the communication I / F unit 210. As shown in FIG. 3, the output signal includes control data, the current value of the operation mode, the current position of the rotor of the electric motor 3, the current value of the rotation speed, and the like. The external controller 5 that has received the output signal via the in-vehicle network can inform the driver of the state of the vehicle by notifying the driver of the vehicle of various current values indicated by the output signal. .

  As described above, the specifications of signals transmitted and received between the external controller 5 and the power conversion device 2 via the in-vehicle network vary depending on the in-vehicle network standard and the mounting form by the vehicle manufacturer. The data format shown in FIG. 3 is merely an example of specifications defined by the network developer or vehicle manufacturer. Further, the control command given from the communication signal processing unit 220 to the control unit 230 is based on a specification unique to the power conversion device 2 that is different from the above specification. Conventionally, the developer of the power conversion device 2 has dealt with the difference between a plurality of types of network standards and the difference between each of the standards and the specific specifications by developing different firmware for each type of in-vehicle network. . On the other hand, in the present embodiment, by devising the communication signal processing unit 220, the firmware of the control unit 230 does not differ depending on the standard or manufacturer of the in-vehicle network, and the differences among the multiple types of standards or those standards The feature is that the difference between each of the standards and the specific specification can be absorbed. Hereinafter, the communication signal processing unit 220 that clearly shows the features of the present embodiment will be mainly described.

  FIG. 4A is a functional block diagram for explaining the function of the communication signal processing unit 220. As shown in FIG. 4A, the communication signal processing unit 220 includes a reception unit 2210, a data acquisition unit 2220, a data separation unit 230, a fixed cycle signal processing unit 2240, an aperiodic signal processing unit 2250, and a data combining unit 2260. , A data storage unit 2270, and a transmission unit 2280. Of the functional blocks shown in FIG. 4A, the reception unit 2210, the data acquisition unit 2220, the data storage unit 2270, and the transmission unit 2280 are realized by an ASIC. On the other hand, the data separation unit 2230, the fixed-cycle signal processing unit 2240, the non-fixed-cycle signal processing unit 2250, and the data combining unit 2260 are realized by software processing using a microcomputer.

  FIG. 4B is a diagram illustrating a process flow when an input signal from the in-vehicle network is received via the communication I / F unit 210. FIG. 5 illustrates an operation of the communication signal processing unit 220 in this case. It is a flowchart which shows the flow. As shown in FIG. 4B, the input signal from the in-vehicle network is received by the receiving unit 2210 (FIG. 5: Step SA100), and the receiving unit 2210 gives the input signal to the data acquiring unit 2220. The data acquisition unit 2220 analyzes the input signal given from the reception unit 2210, acquires if it is destined for this apparatus and gives it to the data separation unit 2230, while if not destined for this apparatus, the input Discard the signal. In addition, the data acquisition unit 2220 simultaneously executes a process of giving a synchronous interrupt signal to the control unit 230 when acquiring the input signal given from the reception unit 2210 as being directed to the apparatus and giving it to the data separation unit 2230. To do.

  The reason why the data acquisition unit 2220 performs the selection (in other words, the reason for providing the data acquisition unit 2220) without directly giving the input signal received by the reception unit 2210 to the data separation unit 2230 is as follows. In applications such as a servo drive, synchronous control such as starting operation or adjusting movement of a plurality of drive devices connected to a network at a certain timing is important. As an example of a method for realizing such synchronization control, a signal indicating the destination drive device is included in the signal to be sent to the network, and the destination drive device acquires the signal, while other For example, the drive device may discard the signal even if the signal is acquired. The data acquisition unit 2220 is provided to cope with such synchronization control. Therefore, the data acquisition unit 2220 may be omitted when there is no need to consider synchronous control.

  The data separation unit 2230 analyzes the input signal given from the data acquisition unit 2220 and specifies the type of the signal (in this embodiment, one of a periodic signal, a non-periodic signal, and a safety signal) ( FIG. 5: Step SA110), processing for separating each signal (FIG. 5: Step SA120) is performed. The periodic signal is a signal that periodically arrives at a constant time interval via the in-vehicle network (in other words, a signal that the external controller 5 periodically transmits). In the present embodiment, the operation mode and the electric motor 3 is used to transmit control commands such as state setting, speed command and position command. The control command transmitted as the periodic signal via the in-vehicle network is a control command defined in the standard of the provider of the in-vehicle network (that is, the developer of the vehicle on which the power conversion device 2 is mounted). . The non-periodic signal is a signal that is transmitted as needed as necessary, and is used for transmission of an operation mode and an operation state in the present embodiment. The safety signal is a signal for notifying the occurrence of a failure or for instructing the safety CPU 240 to execute a safety process.

  For example, the data separation unit 2230 determines that the input signal given from the data acquisition unit 2220 is a safety signal when safety data other than a predetermined value (eg, all 0) is set, and the input signal Is directly supplied to the safety CPU by serial communication or the like (step SA130). When the safety data of the input signal given from the data acquisition unit 2220 is the predetermined value, the data separation unit 2230 determines whether the input signal includes setting data (non-periodic signal). To do. Then, the data separation unit 2230 determines that the input signal is a fixed-cycle signal when the setting data (non-fixed-cycle signal) is not included, and gives it to the fixed-cycle signal processing unit 2240. Determines that the input signal is a non-periodic signal and supplies it to the non-periodic signal processing unit 2250.

  The fixed-cycle signal processing unit 2240 performs fixed-cycle signal processing (FIG. 5: step SA140) on the fixed-cycle signal given from the data separation unit 2230 (that is, the control command defined by each network technical specification in the international standard). Then, it is converted into a control command in the specifications specific to the power conversion device 2 and given to the control unit 230 (FIG. 5: Step SA150). That is, the fixed-cycle signal processing unit 2240 serves as a conversion unit that converts a control command defined in the network technical specifications into a control command defined in the specifications specific to the power conversion device 2. On the other hand, the non-periodic signal processing unit 2250 performs non-periodic signal processing (FIG. 5: step SA160) on the non-periodic signal supplied from the data separation unit 2230 and provides the signal to the control unit 230 (FIG. 5: step SA150). . The above is the flow of processing when an input signal is received from the in-vehicle network via the communication I / F unit 210.

  FIG. 4C is a diagram illustrating a processing flow when a signal is output to the in-vehicle network via the communication I / F unit 210. As shown in FIG. 4C, the fixed period signal output from the control unit 230 is given to the data combining unit 2260 through the processing by the fixed period signal processing unit 2240, and is output from the control unit 230. Is provided to the data combining unit 2260 through processing by the non-periodic signal processing unit 2250. In addition, a safety signal output from the safety CPU 240 is also input to the data combining unit 2260. The data combining unit 2260 converts the signal supplied from the fixed-cycle signal processing unit 2240, the signal supplied from the non-fixed-cycle signal processing unit 2250, and the safety signal into a preset communication standard (in this embodiment, power conversion). A new signal is generated by rearranging the data array (in this embodiment, the data array shown in FIG. 3) in accordance with the communication specifications in the in-vehicle network installed in the vehicle on which the device 2 is mounted, and the signal is converted into data This is given to the storage unit 2270. The data storage unit 2270 detects the timing of communication by the transmission unit 2280 and gives the signal to the transmission unit 2280, and the transmission unit 2280 receives the signal received from the data storage unit 2270 via the communication I / F unit 210. To send.

  The feature of the present embodiment is that the periodic signal processing unit 2240 and the processing performed by the periodic signal processing unit 2240 are processing when the periodic signal is given from the data separation unit 2230. Appear in Hereinafter, the configuration of the fixed-cycle signal processing unit 2240 and the fixed-cycle signal processing will be described in detail.

  FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram of the periodic signal processing unit 2240. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the fixed-cycle signal processing unit 2240 includes functional units such as a signal replacement conversion unit 2241, a state transition control unit 2242, and a fixed-cycle signal monitoring unit 2243. Each functional unit shown in FIG. 6 is a software module that is realized by the microcomputer of the communication signal processing unit 220 according to a program stored in a storage unit (not shown).

  The signal replacement conversion unit 2241 executes processing for converting an input signal (a control command given from an in-vehicle network, a control command defined by each network technical specification in the international standard) into a control command in a specification unique to the power converter 2. To do. More specifically, the signal replacement conversion unit 2241 is based on the stored contents of a table for converting a data array representing various command values in the network technical specification into a data array of command values in the specific specification. The control command given from the separation unit 230 is converted into a control command in the specific specification. In the present embodiment, as the above table, a data array definition table 2244a (see FIG. 7), a conversion data table 2244b (see FIG. 8), and a conversion formula table 2244c (see FIG. 9) are stored in the storage unit of the communication signal processing unit 220. Stored in advance.

  In the data array definition table 2244a, as shown in FIG. 7, the meaning of each data (data name in FIG. 7), the data size, and the identification ID of each data are arranged in the order of data in the control command of the network technical specification. Stored. In the conversion data table 2244b, as shown in FIG. 8, the meaning of the data (data name in FIG. 8), the data size, the data size of the conversion destination (corresponding to the identification ID) are associated with the identification ID. The data size of the data corresponding to the identification ID in the specific specification) and the conversion formula ID of the conversion formula representing a specific conversion method from the data in the network technical specification are stored. The conversion formula table 2244c stores data representing the conversion formula in association with the conversion formula ID, as shown in FIG. For example, when the position command is a conversion target, the signal replacement conversion unit 2241 identifies the identification ID (201 in this embodiment) corresponding to the position command from the stored contents of the data array definition table 2244a, and the position The conversion formula ID (600 in the present embodiment) of the command conversion formula and the data size after conversion are specified with reference to the conversion data table 2244b. Then, the signal replacement conversion unit 2241 includes a difference (endian), a unit difference, a minimum / maximum value difference, a ratio difference, a signal position difference between the position command in the network technology specification and the position command in the specific specification. The difference between the intervals is applied to the above conversion formula for conversion. The same applies to the speed signal and torque signal. Note that the substance of the function cited in the above conversion formula is stored in the conversion formula function library 2244d. The conversion function library 2244d is also stored in the storage unit of the communication signal processing unit 220.

  By the way, the control command given to the periodic signal processing unit 2240 includes a state for controlling the driving state of the vehicle (in other words, the operating state of the electric motor 3) in addition to various commands such as position, speed, and torque. Transition information (hereinafter referred to as state value) is also included. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the control data corresponds to the state value. How many types of states are defined as the operating state of the device to be controlled, and how transitions between states are defined are different for each in-vehicle network (in other words, for each network technical specification). In general, the definition in the technical specification and the definition in the specification specific to the power converter 2 do not match. In the present embodiment, six types of states shown in FIG. 10 are defined on the in-vehicle network side (international standard or vehicle manufacturer's specifications), and five types of states shown in FIG. Is defined. In FIG. 11, the “OFF” state refers to a state where power is not supplied to the motor 3 (or DC power is not supplied to the power converter 2), and the “prepared” state refers to driving of the motor 3. It means a state in which various parameters for control are set in the power conversion device 2. The “operable” state refers to a state in which the electric motor 3 can be operated at an output of 150% of the rated value, and the “minor failure” state refers to an excessively high temperature of the electric motor 3. Therefore, in order to ensure safety, it means a state in which the electric motor 3 is operated while limiting the output to a rated value or less. The “serious failure” state refers to a state in which the operation of the electric motor is stopped due to some failure.

  The state transition control unit 2242 is for absorbing the difference between the definition of the state in the specifications on the in-vehicle network side and the definition of the state in the specification specific to the power conversion device 2, and taking consistency between them. Conventionally, the difference between the two is absorbed by the firmware of the control unit 230. In contrast, in the present embodiment, the difference is absorbed by the state transition control unit 2242. For this reason, it is not necessary to prepare the firmware of the control unit 230 for each type of in-vehicle network, and the firmware of the control unit 230 only needs to correspond to the state definition in the specific specification.

  The state transition control unit 2242 assigns the state specified by the input signal (the state defined in the network technical specifications, in this embodiment, one of the states appearing in the state transition shown in FIG. 10) to the power converter 2. Based on the state transition table 2245, a process for converting into a state (any one of the states appearing in the state transition shown in FIG. More specifically, the state transition table in FIG. 6 includes a conversion map table shown in FIG. 12 and a conversion method table shown in FIG. These tables are also stored in the storage unit of the communication signal processing unit 220. The state transition control unit 2242 has an identifier (hereinafter referred to as state transition) of a conversion formula (that is, a conversion formula according to a state value included in the fixed-cycle signal) corresponding to the state of the transition destination designated by the fixed-cycle signal. The conversion ID) is obtained by searching the conversion map table, and the state after the transition is specified with reference to the conversion method table according to the conversion formula indicated by the state transition conversion ID. As illustrated in FIG. 13, the conversion method table includes data representing the contents of the conversion method in association with the state transition conversion ID and execution conditions for the conversion method (in this embodiment, conditions relating to internal variables of the power conversion device 2). ) Is stored. If a plurality of execution conditions are set, conversion processing between complicated state transitions becomes possible, and it is possible to determine which state transition should be selected by applying to the execution conditions.

  The periodic signal monitoring unit 2243 is provided in a signal transmission path from the signal replacement conversion unit 2241 to the control unit 230 as shown in FIG. The periodic signal is a signal that arrives at a constant period, but it may occur that the signal does not arrive (signal omission) at a timing that should originally arrive due to the influence of noise or the like. And when such a signal omission occurs, there is a possibility that the drive control of the electric motor 3 may be hindered. The periodic signal monitoring unit 2243 is provided to cope with such signal loss. The fixed-cycle signal monitoring unit 2243 stores the fixed-cycle signal (control command in the specification specific to the power conversion device 2) given from the signal replacement conversion unit 2241 and starts measuring the time, and the fixed time interval (that is, the fixed cycle) If the subsequent periodic signal is not received even after the monitoring time corresponding to the signal and the arrival interval has elapsed, it is determined that the signal loss of the periodic signal has occurred. When it is determined that the signal loss of the periodic signal has occurred, the periodic signal monitoring unit 2243 supplements the control command given to the control unit 230 based on the stored control command.

  More specifically, the fixed-cycle signal monitoring unit 2243 has a ring buffer (not shown) that stores the fixed-cycle signal supplied from the signal replacement conversion unit 2241, and since the reception of the previous fixed-cycle signal. If the subsequent periodic signal is not received even after the monitoring time corresponding to the period of the periodic signal has elapsed, it is determined that a signal loss has occurred. When signal loss occurs, the fixed-cycle signal monitoring unit 2243 estimates and complements the signal content of the fixed-cycle signal that would otherwise have arrived based on the stored content of the ring buffer. For example, when the operation mode of the electric motor 3 is the speed command mode, the fixed period signal specifying the same speed as the previous time is complemented, and when the operation mode is the position command mode, the displacement from the previous specified position is estimated, For example, the periodic signal that specifies the position after the displacement is complemented.

  In a more preferable aspect, the complementary aspect may be varied depending on the operating state of the electric motor 3. For example, when the operating state of the motor 3 is “operable”, a fixed-cycle signal generated from the stored contents of the ring buffer is output as it is, and the operating state of the motor 3 is “light failure”. The command value is adjusted and output so that the rotation speed (or torque) of the motor 3 does not exceed the rated value (the command value indicated by the periodic signal estimated from the stored contents of the ring buffer is equal to the rated value). In the case of exceeding the value, a smaller value may be used without using the estimated value). As described above, the “minor failure” is a state in which the motor 3 is operating at a reduced output so that the temperature decreases because the temperature of the electric motor 3 exceeds a predetermined threshold value. It is because it is not preferable to ensure safety.

  Moreover, in another preferable aspect, when the signal loss of the fixed cycle signal occurs continuously a plurality of times, the fixed cycle signal monitoring unit 2243 performs a process of changing the operating state of the electric motor 3 according to the number of occurrences. It may be executed. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 14, when the operating state is “operable”, the operating state is maintained when the number of consecutive signal loss occurrences is equal to or less than the threshold Th (ie, Complements based on the stored contents of the ring buffer), and a periodic signal that changes the operating state to “light failure” when the number of consecutive signal loss occurrences exceeds the threshold Th (“light failure as control data”) The control signal 230 is generated and given to the control unit 230 is executed by the fixed-cycle signal monitoring unit 2243. Further, when the operating state is “minor failure”, if the number of consecutive signal loss occurrences is equal to or less than the threshold Th, the operation state is maintained, and the number of consecutive signal loss occurrences is less than the threshold Th. When it exceeds, the fixed cycle signal monitoring unit 2243 may execute the process of generating a fixed cycle signal that causes the operating state to transition to “serious failure” and giving it to the control unit 230. In general, signal loss often occurs due to noise or the like, but the fact that signal loss occurs continuously may cause some failure.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the control unit 230 is always given a control command defined by the specifications specific to the power converter 2, and therefore it is necessary to prepare the firmware of the control unit 230 for each type of in-vehicle network. Absent. In addition, the difference between the specific specification and the specification on the in-vehicle network side is absorbed by the stored contents of the data array definition table 2244a, conversion data table 2244b, conversion formula table 2244c, and state transition table 2245. By updating the stored contents of these tables, it becomes possible to support various international standards. That is, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to make the power conversion device 2 compatible with various industrial networks without rewriting the firmware of the control unit 230. In the above embodiment, each table is stored in the storage unit of the communication signal processing unit 220 (the storage unit in which the control program of the microcomputer of the communication signal processing unit 220 is stored). The above tables may be stored in the storage unit.

Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, it goes without saying that the following modifications may be added to this embodiment.
(1) In the above embodiment, when the operating state of the electric motor 3 is “operable”, if the number of fixed-cycle signals exceeding the threshold Th is continuously lost, the operating state is changed to “light failure”. In the case where the same operating state is a minor failure, if the number of fixed-cycle signals exceeding the same threshold Th is continuously lost, the operating state is changed to a major failure. However, a threshold for determining whether to transition from the “operable” state to the “minor failure” state and a threshold for determining whether to transition from the “minor failure” state to the “major failure” state Need not be the same, and may be different values.

(2) The application target of the present invention is not limited to a power conversion device that performs drive control of a motor of an automobile or a device mounted on the automobile, and may be a power conversion device installed in a factory or the like. The application target of the present invention is not limited to a power converter such as an inverter, and may be a servo. In short, the present invention can be applied to any drive device that is connected to an industrial network and controls the operation of a device to be controlled in accordance with a control command given via the industrial network.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Power source, 2 ... Power converter device, 3 ... Electric motor, 4 ... Speed / position sensor, 5 ... External controller, 6 ... Other drive apparatus, 10 ... Main circuit part, 20 ... Control board, 30 ... Current sensor, 210 ... Communication I / F unit, 220 ... Communication signal processing unit, 230 ... Control unit, 240 ... Safety CPU, 2210 ... Reception unit, 2220 ... Data acquisition unit, 2230 ... Data separation unit, 2240 ... Fixed-cycle signal processing unit, 2241 Signal replacement conversion unit 2242 State transition control unit 2243 periodic signal monitoring unit 2244a Data array definition table 2244b Conversion data table 2244c Conversion formula table 2245 State transition table 2250 Non-periodic Signal processing unit, 2260... Data combination unit, 2270... Data storage unit, 2280.

Claims (4)

A control unit that controls the device to be controlled in accordance with the given first control command;
A table storing data for converting the second control command received from the host device via the network into the first control command;
A conversion unit that converts the second control command received via the network into the first control command according to the stored content of the table and provides the control unit, and
The first control command is a control command defined in a specification unique to the control unit, and the second control command is a control command defined in a standard,
In the specific specification, a plurality of states are defined as the operating state of the device to be controlled, and in the standard, a plurality of states are defined as the operating state of the device to be controlled.
A plurality of types of states defined in the specifications specific to the control unit, a first state indicating that the device to be controlled is operating while being limited so that its output falls below a rated value; And a second state that indicates that it is operating without adding the restriction,
The second control command is transmitted from the host device as a periodic signal transmitted at a predetermined time interval,
The conversion unit stores a first control command generated according to the received fixed-cycle signal, and is included in the stored first control command when a signal omission occurs in the fixed-cycle signal. Or a command value that includes an estimated variation from the command value is generated, and when the operating state of the device to be controlled is the first state, A drive device characterized in that a command value included in a newly generated first control command is adjusted so that an output of the device to be controlled does not exceed a rated value and is supplied to the control unit. The table stores data representing a conversion formula for converting the command value into a command value in the first control command for each type of command value included in the second control command. The drive device according to claim 1, wherein the unit converts each command value according to the conversion formula to convert the second control command into the first control command. The first control command given from the conversion unit to the control unit includes a first state value designating one of a plurality of states in the specific specification, and is transmitted by the host device. The second control command includes a second state value that specifies one of a plurality of states in the standard,
  The table is associated with each second state value representing each of a plurality of types of states in the standard, and the second state value is converted into a first state value representing a state corresponding to the specific specification. Stores data representing the conversion formula for conversion,
  The conversion unit converts the second state value included in the second control command received via the network into a first state value with reference to the stored contents of the table, and converts the second state value to the control unit. Generating a first control command to be given,
  The control unit controls the device to be controlled so as to be in a state indicated by a first state value included in a first control command given from the conversion unit.
  The drive device according to claim 2, wherein:   The conversion unit stores the first control command stored while the number of constant-period signals continuously missing is equal to or less than a predetermined number in a situation where the operation state of the device to be controlled is the second state. A new first control command generated based on the above is given to the control unit, and the operating state of the device to be controlled is triggered by the fact that the number of constant-cycle signals that have been continuously lost exceeds the predetermined value. A new first control command for transitioning to the first state is generated and given to the control unit
  The drive device according to claim 1, wherein:

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