1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a user interface, and more particularly to a cloud human-machine interface (HMI) system.
2. Description of Related Art
Human-machine interface (HMI) is commonly used as a medium to exchange information between humans and machines. Data retrieved from machines may, for example, be interpreted as numeric digits, symbols, text, graphic or curve, so that humans can recognize operation status of the machines. The operation data may further be stored in HMI storage as historical data for future reference, and alarm or abnormal conditions may be set to facilitate automatic HMI tracking machine status and notifying the operator through visual display or message. Humans may issue commands that are then sent to the machines by HMI based on machine status.
Each machine demands one HMI 1, and each HMI 1 requires one set of LCD 11 and touch panel 12. Moreover, as the HMI 1 is normally disposed near or in the machine to be monitored/controlled, the operator typically must go to each machine and operate dedicated HMI installed near or in each machine.
Some machine operation environments require extended temperature ranges, such as −20° C. The LCDs 11 and touch panels 12 as commonly made, however, can only endure zero to 50° C. operation temperatures. Therefore it is difficult for HMI 1 to operate in −20° C. environment without the LCDs 11 and touch panels 12 of the conventional HMI 1 being manufactured in a more advanced process to meet their requirements for below zero environments.
A need has thus arisen to propose a novel cloud HMI system for overcoming the disadvantages of the conventional HMI 1.
In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the embodiment of the present invention to provide a cloud human-machine interface (HMT) system to substantially lower costs by eliminating components such as LCDs and touch panels. The embodiment also enables an operator to remotely monitor and control multiple machines and switch among the multiple machines, through a single interactive panel without subjection to harsh environments.
According to one embodiment, a cloud human-machine interface (HMI) system includes an interactive panel, at least one cloud HMI server, and a network. The interactive panel is configured to execute user interface tasks. The cloud HMI server is configured to execute communication interface tasks and background tasks. The interactive panel and the cloud HMI server are connected via the network.
The cloud HMI server 22 and the interactive panel 21 may be connected via a network 23 such as Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11) or Ethernet. The network 23 in general may be a wired computer network or a wireless computer network. As shown in
Each communication interface mentioned above has its specific use. Specifically speaking, USB and SD slots may be configured to receive, for example, a thumb drive/disk as extended storage. RS-232/485 and CAN buses may be configured to communicate with, for example, the machine controller 24 to exchange data and send commands. In the embodiment, the Ethernet of each cloud HMI server 22 includes two Ethernet interfaces: one to communicate with the interactive panel 21 and the other to connect with the machine controller 24. Either or both of the HDMI interfaces may act as a direct video output interface of the cloud HMI server 22 to transmit audio and video signals.
The cloud HMI server 22 also includes a data server (D-server) module 222 configured to be responsible for alarm logging, data logging, macro function and providing an interface for a cloud HMI software application (App) located in the interactive panel 21 to read log data from the cloud HMI server 22. The cloud HMI server 22 may further include a web server 223 that is used to provide a web interface, via which an engineer can configure system settings. The web server 223 may also process upload/download commands to/from the interactive panel 21.
The cloud HMI App mentioned above, in the embodiment, constructs a graphical user interface (GUI) 210 on the interactive panel 21 to handle foreground components of a project, and then display data of the machine controller 24 and log data from the cloud HMI server 22 in visual format. The cloud HMI App also controls the machine controller 24 via the COM module 221. As used herein, the process of transferring a custom design visual interface from the cloud HMI server 22 to the interactive panel 21 is called an upload and the custom design visual interface is called a project.
In the embodiment, according to that shown in
The device control protocol is in charge of conducting protocol conversion between the machine controller 24 and the GUI (or the interactive panel) 210. The device control protocol accepts commands from the GUI 210 or D-server 222, and converts the commands, which are then sent to the machine controller 24. The commands may, for example, be categorized into two classes: setting and reading registers/coil. After the machine controller 24 replies, the device control protocol converts data and then sends them (e.g., the converted data) to the GUI 210 or the D-server 222.
The log data access protocol defines how the GUI 210 accesses alarm and data (including accessible objects, length, etc.) maintained by the cloud HMI server 22. The log data access protocol also defines how a response is generated and the content of the response for data update event(s).
According to the cloud HMI system 2 (
As user projects (i.e., custom design visual interfaces) are stored in the cloud HMI servers 22, and then transferred (i.e., uploaded) to requesting interactive panels 21, the (normally difficult) synchronization among the custom design visual interfaces on the interactive panels 21 may thus be eliminated according to an aspect of the embodiment. Different characteristics of the machine controllers 24 may thus be transparent to the interactive panel 21.
As mentioned above, one single interactive panel 21 can monitor and control multiple cloud HMI servers 22, one of which may be selected by clicking one “slot” 62 as shown in
According to the embodiment discussed above, as one interactive panel 21 may be connected to multiple cloud HMI servers 22 to manipulate several machines, LCDs and touch panels may therefore be saved, compared with a conventional. system (e.g.,
As HMI servers are commonly installed to endure relatively extreme environments, such as those less than optimal for LCDs and touch panels, the system 2 as disclosed in the embodiment can offer a more suitable solution, e.g., for harsh environments. By operation of the invention the LCDs 211 and touch panels 212 are no longer disposed in the cloud HMI servers 22 that come near the machines subjected to harsh environments. To the contrary, in a conventional system (
Furthermore, in the embodiment, the interactive panel 21 is connected with the cloud HMI server 22 by the uploading of project (i.e., custom design visual interface(s)), and the cloud HMI server 22 is selected by switching among slots. To the contrary, in a conventional system, a dedicated project is downloaded into HMI 1 (
Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention, which is intended to be limited solely by the appended claims.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/728,523 (Att. Docket WE8742PR), filed on Nov. 20, 2012 and entitled “CloudHMI,” the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61728523 | Nov 2012 | US |