The invention relates to communications, and particularly to communications between a frequency converter and a network apparatus.
The following background description art may include insights, discoveries, understandings or disclosures, or associations together with disclosures not known to the relevant art prior to the present invention but provided by the present disclosure. Some such contributions disclosed herein may be specifically pointed out below, whereas other such contributions encompassed by the present disclosure the invention will be apparent from their context.
Frequency converters are used to change frequency and magnitude of electricity supplied to a load. Frequency converters are being used for example in alternating current (AC) motor drives. In exemplary operation, a frequency converter receives AC current from an electrical power supply and converts the frequency of the received AC current to another frequency after which the AC current is supplied to an AC electric motor. Also further parameters, for example, a voltage level of the received AC current may be changed. The AC motors are used in various applications including for example fans and pumps. In many applications the use of frequency converters may provide significant energy savings compared to supplying electrical power having a constant frequency.
To facilitate service and maintenance of the frequency converter, frequency controller settings may be managed by a user of a remote support tool at a service centre, wherein the frequency controller settings are communicated from the service centre via a communications network. Due to the remote location of the service centre, the user of the remote support tool is not necessarily aware of the actual status or operating phase of the frequency converter. For example, the frequency converter may be running a critical operating phase during which the settings of the frequency converter should not be altered.
The following presents a simplified summary of features disclosed herein to provide a basic understanding of some exemplary aspects of the invention. This summary is not an extensive overview of the invention. It is not intended to identify key/critical elements of the invention or to delineate the scope of the invention. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts disclosed herein in a simplified form as a prelude to a more detailed description.
According to an aspect, there is provided the subject matter of the independent claims. Embodiments are defined in the dependent claims.
One or more examples of implementations are set forth in more detail in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.
Some embodiments provide a method, apparatus, system and a computer program product for communicating automation device parameters in a communications system, wherein the parameters are to be approved by a user of a local terminal device before they are communicated to the automation device.
In the following the invention will be described in greater detail by means of preferred embodiments with reference to the attached drawings, in which
The following embodiments are exemplary. Although the specification may refer to “an”, “one”, or “some” embodiment(s) in several locations, this does not necessarily mean that each such reference is to the same embodiment(s), or that the feature only applies to a single embodiment. Single features of different embodiments may also be combined to provide other embodiments. Furthermore, words “comprising” and “including” should be understood as not limiting the described embodiments to consist of only those features that have been mentioned and such embodiments may contain also features/structures that have not been specifically mentioned.
A general architecture of a communication system is illustrated in
A second user terminal 109 may be a remote terminal device located at a service center, for facilitating service and maintenance of the frequency converter 101. The remote terminal device 109 may facilitate different ways of how to communicate frequency converter parameters from the remote terminal device 109 to the frequency converter 101. The remote terminal device 109 may comprise e.g. a desktop computer, laptop computer, tablet computer, smartphone, mobile phone, etc. Any suitable technology that makes it possible to store frequency converter parameters into a service center database 111 may be utilized. For example, a cloud service (cloud computing) may be used via the internet 107 to store frequency converter parameters into the service center database 111.
In an embodiment, the local and remote terminal devices are capable of communicating with each other via the internet 107 by utilizing the cloud service. In an embodiment, the remote terminal device is configured to communicate the frequency converter parameters from the remote terminal device 109 to the local terminal device 105 for approval (instead of communicating them directly to the frequency converter). The frequency converter parameters are sent from the local terminal device to the frequency converter 101 via a communications link established between the local terminal device and the frequency converter only after the parameters have been reviewed and approved by the user of the local terminal device.
The frequency converter 101 comprises a control panel 103 capable of displaying a user interface of the frequency controller. A connection (not shown in
In an embodiment, the local terminal device 105 may also be used to approve, review and manage parameters which the frequency converter 101 is to store in a memory. The user may be offered, via a user interface on the local terminal device, a possibility to select specific parameters that the user wants to store in the memory of the frequency converter. The selection made by the user is stored in the memory and taken into account during operation or maintenance of the frequency converter.
The inductive power transfer may be based on electromagnetic induction between the energy transfer means and the display. The electromagnetic induction causes an electric current in the display such that the display is powered by the induced current from the energy transfer means. Since the display is powered wirelessly from the frequency converter, the enclosure may be manufactured and designed without openings for power cables of the display. Since there are no openings for the power cables of the display, the enclosure meets many different IP ratings without needing to redesign the enclosure. In this way also the same enclosure may be manufactured and used in frequency converters to meet different IP ratings.
The energy transfer means capable of inductive power transfer to a display installed to the installation position may follow a principle of an inductively coupled power transfer including a transmitter transfer head, e.g. transmitter coil L1, in the energy transfer means and a receiver transfer head, e.g. a receiver coil L2, in the display. Both transfer heads form a system of magnetically coupled inductors. An alternating current in the transmitter transfer head generates a magnetic field which induces a voltage in the receiver transfer head. This voltage can be used to feed electrical power to the display.
Let us now describe an embodiment of the invention with reference to
Referring to
The local terminal device 105 is configured to receive (block 203) the set of instructions related to the frequency converter(s), and display (block 203) information on the received set of instructions on a display of the local terminal device. The local terminal device 105 is configured to detect (block 204) a user input entered by a user of the local terminal device/a predetermined act performed by a user of the local terminal device, and, in response to the detecting, cause (block 205) transmission of control data to the frequency converter(s), if the user input indicates that the user of the local terminal device approves the execution of the set of instructions in the frequency converter. Herein, the local terminal device 105 may be configured to display (block 203), on the display of the local terminal device, a user interface related to the frequency converter(s), and the user input may comprise the user of the local terminal device touching at least one element displayed on the user interface.
Another option is that the local terminal device 105 is configured to display (block 203), on the display of the local terminal device, information related to the frequency converter(s), and the input may comprise the user of the local terminal device pressing an appropriate command button on the local terminal device. The control data 205 is to command the frequency converter(s) to execute the set of instructions in the frequency converter(s). The control data may be transmitted 205 directly from the local terminal device 105 to the frequency converter 101 via a communications link established between the local terminal device 105 and the frequency converter 101, e.g. via a Bluetooth connection, inductive connection, a wired connection, and/or by using near field communication (NFC). The local terminal device may also be configured to obtain and display local information on the frequency converter (e.g. a fault log, parameter settings, etc.), and prompt the local user to indicate whether or not the local user approves the local information.
The frequency converter 101 is configured to receive (block 206) the control data commanding the frequency converter to execute the set of instructions related to the frequency converter, and, in response to the receiving, execute (block 206) the set of instructions in the frequency converter 101. The frequency converter may be configured to acknowledge (block 207) the receipt/execution of the set of instructions, by transmitting an acknowledgement message to the local terminal device 105 (via the Bluetooth, inductive, NFC or wired connection).
The local terminal device 105 may be configured to transmit (block 208) an acknowledgement message the remote terminal device 109, if the user input indicates that the user of the local terminal device approves the execution of the set of instructions (message 208 may also be transmitted in response to receiving message 207 from the frequency converter). The local terminal device 105 may be configured to transmit a negative acknowledgement message to the remote terminal device, if the user input indicates that the user of the local terminal device rejects the execution of the set of instructions. One option is that the local terminal device 105 is configured to transmit a request message from to the remote terminal device, if the user input indicates that the user of the local terminal device rejects the execution of the set of instructions and/or requests further information on the set of instructions, the request message requesting further information relating to the set of instructions.
The remote terminal device may be configured to receive (block 209) the acknowledgement, negative acknowledgement or request message. Based on the request message, the remote terminal device may be configured to transmit further information related to the set of instructions and/or a modified set of instructions. This may be carried out automatically in the remote terminal device, or the remote terminal device may be configured to prompt the user of the remote terminal device to enter the further information and/or the modified set of instructions.
The local terminal device is configured to receive (not shown in
In an embodiment, the set of instructions may be modified (in block 204) in the local terminal device, in response to a respective modification input by the user of the local terminal device. In that case, the control data transmitted (block 205) to the frequency converter commands the frequency converter to execute the modified set of instructions.
The user of the local terminal device 105 may be a registered user of a frequency converter support application. An authentication procedure may be provided, requiring the user of the local terminal device to enter a specific authentication code on the local terminal device before allowing the local terminal device with access to the frequency converter support application loaded on the local terminal device.
The authentication procedure may require the local terminal device sending an authentication request to the remote terminal device, and receiving a positive authentication response from the cloud service.
The authentication procedure may also be carried out automatically between the local terminal device and the cloud service, e.g. in response to the user starting the frequency converter support application on the local terminal device.
Access rights and/or authentication codes regarding the frequency converter support application may be defined to be user-specific, terminal device specific, frequency converter specific, frequency converter group specific, site-specific etc.
Thus in an embodiment, the user of a remote terminal device may send, by means of the remote unit, information to a local terminal device regarding a frequency converter. The local device may be, for example, a mobile phone such as a smart phone operating on-site. The remote device may be, for example, a personal computer or other terminal device at a service center. A user of the local device may, based on the information received from the remote device, decide whether or not to accept the information sent from the remote device regarding the frequency converter and/or related devices or applications. The local device may comprise a user interface for receiving the acceptance and/or refusal of the user. Thus the user of the local device is able to control, for example, which settings made by the user of the remote device are taken into use in the frequency converter.
In an embodiment, the user of the local device, e.g. a customer or maintenance personnel, is able to establish a local connection with the frequency converter e.g. via Bluetooth, while also having a real-time communication connection with a support engineer that uses the remote device. The local user and the remote user may thus be engaged in a live diagnostic session by means of the frequency converter support application, e.g. a mobile application.
In an embodiment, the remote user is capable of receiving information on a frequency converter status. This may accomplished by sending a request message from the remote device to the local device. For example, information on various parameter sets, e.g. parameter groups, fault codes, location information and firmware versions may be requested and received in the remote device from the frequency converter via the local device. The user of the remote device may also send, via the local device, instructions sets to be executed locally in the frequency converter.
In an embodiment, the local user is able to verify and approve the instructions and executable scripts, for example, if the frequency converter is running a critical process which is not to be altered by executing erroneous instructions. Thus the local user is provided with an opportunity to review, reject and/or approve each individual instruction set/executable script sent by the remote user.
In an embodiment, communication and information flows between the local and remote device may be exchanged in a chronological order and visualized on a display of the local device. The exchanged information may comprise requests for information and instructions/scripts to be executed which are sent between the remote device and the local device. The user of the local device is given an option to review and to reject or approve each request. Each piece of information may be a collection of smaller tasks which may be examined by the local user by selecting a review option on the local device (see
Thus the local user is still able to control and change/modify the frequency converter settings/instructions (before sending them to the frequency converter for execution), even if the remote user has defined the settings and the instructions to be executed.
The user of the local device may be authenticated by the local device. For example, the local device may prompt the user to enter a predefined password and/or a user ID when a corresponding frequency converter control application is started on the local device. If the user fails to enter the correct password/user ID, the application is not started. This enables preventing an unauthorized access to the frequency converter settings.
An embodiment enables the local device directly to control the frequency converter settings, for example, if the control panel (or other user interface) of the frequency converter is missing for some reason.
In an embodiment, the control panel (or other user interface) may not be needed in the frequency converter. Instead, the frequency converter settings are controlled by the local mobile device. In that case, the same local device may be used for configuring the settings of one or more frequency converters.
In an embodiment, the frequency converter support application is implemented as a cloud service (cloud computing) via the internet. This may involve client-server computing implemented as a distributed network application including service providers (servers) and service requestors (clients).
As used herein, the term parameter may refer to any measured, setup or adjusted item/value relating to the frequency converter. Examples of such parameters include output current, motor speed, frequency, torque and temperature. Parameters may also be referred to as settings.
An embodiment relates to a drive system comprising a frequency converter as described above.
In an embodiment, the user interface of the frequency converter support application displayed on the local terminal device, may also be simultaneous displayed on a control panel display of the frequency converter. For example, the frequency converter may be configured to display an indicator on the display of the frequency converter, indicating that some sort of operation is ongoing (e.g. in case of a Bluetooth connection, a Bluetooth logo and/or some spinner).
In an embodiment, the local terminal device may be configured to communicate with a group frequency converters. The local terminal device may receive, from the remote device a set of instructions related to a group frequency converters. In that case, the user of the local device is able to select to which frequency converter(s) in the group the received set instructions are to be forwarded by the local device and which not.
In addition to a drive system/frequency converter, an embodiment may also be applicable to other automation devices such as AC/DC modules, DC/AC modules, programmable logic controllers, switches, motion controllers, motion drives, servo motors, soft starters, robotics, cars, heavy equipment, etc. Instead of a frequency converter, an embodiment is also applicable to any other automated power conversion device used for industrial automation at an industrial site.
An embodiment provides an apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory including a computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to carry out the procedures of the above-described (local) terminal device. The at least one processor, the at least one memory, and the computer program code may thus be considered as an embodiment of means for executing the above-described procedures of the terminal device.
The processing circuitry 10 may comprise the circuitries 10, 12, 14 as sub-circuitries, or they may be considered as computer program modules executed by the same physical processing circuitry. The memory 20 may store one or more computer program products 24 comprising program instructions that specify the operation of the circuitries 10, 12, 14. The memory 20 may further store a database 26 comprising definitions for frequency controller settings, for example. The apparatus may further comprise a radio interface 22 providing the apparatus with wireless communication capability with the network node. The radio interface may comprise a radio communication circuitry enabling wireless communications and comprise a radio frequency signal processing circuitry and a baseband signal processing circuitry. The baseband signal processing circuitry may be configured to carry out the functions of a transmitter and/or a receiver. In some embodiments, the radio interface may comprise a fixed communication circuitry enabling wired communications.
As used herein, the term ‘circuitry’ refers to all of the following: (a) hardware-only circuit implementations such as implementations in only analog and/or digital circuitry; (b) combinations of circuits and software and/or firmware, such as (as applicable): (i) a combination of processor(s) or processor cores; or (ii) portions of processor(s)/software including digital signal processor(s), software, and at least one memory that work together to cause an apparatus to perform specific functions; and (c) circuits, such as a microprocessor(s) or a portion of a microprocessor(s), that require software or firmware for operation, even if the software or firmware is not physically present.
This definition of ‘circuitry’ applies to all uses of this term in this application. As a further example, as used herein, the term “circuitry” would also cover an implementation of merely a processor (or multiple processors) or portion of a processor, e.g. one core of a multi-core processor, and its (or their) accompanying software and/or firmware. The term “circuitry” would also cover, for example and if applicable to the particular element, a baseband integrated circuit, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), and/or a field-programmable grid array (FPGA) circuit for the apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention.
The processes or methods described above in connection with
The present invention is applicable to cellular or mobile communication systems defined above but also to other suitable communication systems. The protocols used, the specifications of cellular communication systems, their network elements, and terminal devices develop rapidly. Such development may require extra changes to the described embodiments. Therefore, all words and expressions should be interpreted broadly and they are intended to illustrate, not to restrict, the embodiment.
It will be obvious to a person skilled in the art that, as the technology advances, the inventive concept can be implemented in various ways. The invention and its embodiments are not limited to the examples described above but may vary within the scope of the claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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15170653.8 | Jun 2015 | EP | regional |