Abstract:
A network adapter ( 12 ) for connecting a motor drive ( 11 ) to a network ( 13 ) comprises a microelectronic CPU ( 17 ) for executing a control program ( 22 ) and a program memory ( 20 ) for storing the control program ( 22 ). The control program ( 22 ) includes instructions for generating screen displays including configuration screen displays ( 50, 60 ) for selecting a plurality of specific fault conditions to be monitored at the motor drive ( 11 ), and the screen displays include locations ( 45, 67 ) for entering a network address for sending an e-mail message ( 71 ) in response to a fault condition. The control program ( 22 ) includes further instructions for generating the e-mail message ( 71 ) to the entered network address in response to occurrence of at least one of the selected faults. A method of practicing the invention is also disclosed.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     NOT APPLICABLE  
       STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH  
       [0002]     NOT APPLICABLE  
       TECHNICAL FIELD  
       [0003]     The fields of the invention are electronic motor controls known as motor drives and computer networks which can be connected to such motor drives.  
       BACKGROUND ART  
       [0004]     In factory automation and other commercial applications requiring control of motors, the control electronics is packaged in a unit known as a “motor drive.” This unit may have a microelectronic CPU as well as other circuitry mounted on one or more circuit boards. This unit also typically has a keyboard for entering commands and data, and a display for reading out status data concerning the motor.  
         [0005]     Such status data may include diagnostic and condition data, which would signal a technical problem with the motor or its control system, and such a technical problem shall be referred to herein as a “fault.” The term “fault” in this instance refers to a problem or condition including alarm conditions, rather than being limited to electric voltage or current faults, although it also includes such problems.  
         [0006]     In the prior art, it has been known to generate e-mail messages to a personal computer as a result of problems with a motor or other electrical device. Examples are provided in Johnson et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,553,336; Sandelman et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,147,601 and Conkright et al., U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2003/0126258, published Jul. 3, 2003.  
         [0007]     In these systems, a mail server computer is configured to generate e-mail messages, faxes or other messages in response to various types of malfunction conditions. Often, these systems envision a local area wireless network coupled to a wide area network, such as the Internet.  
         [0008]     In the environment of motor drives, a lower cost, more convenient solution with greater flexibility is desired in lieu of the systems described above.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0009]     The invention relates to a method and a circuit in the form of a network adapter card that can be attached to a motor drive unit and set up using standard computer hardware and software. This avoids the need to provide custom software for an Internet/Intranet server as seen in the prior art.  
         [0010]     The invention provides a device that can be configured with a Web browser interface that can be opened on a computer connected to the motor drive through an Intranet-type (private) Ethernet network. Although Ethernet is a preferred network, other types of networks might also be employed.  
         [0011]     The Ethernet adapter card is provided with a computer program that will generate a sequence of browser configuration screens, as well as generating an e-mail message to a computer address on the network when a fault of the type being monitored occurs.  
         [0012]     In addition, the invention provides additional monitoring features such as a live, refreshable status screen of motor operation, all within a familiar Web browser interface.  
         [0013]     It is one object of the invention to provide a solution to motor fault monitoring that does not require specialized software or configuration of servers on the network.  
         [0014]     It is another object of the invention to provide a low-cost convenient solution to adding e-mail fault messaging capability. Adapter cards are required to connect the motor drives to an Ethernet network and by customizing such adapter cards, a low-cost convenient solution is provided.  
         [0015]     These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description that follows and from the drawings which illustrate embodiments of the invention, and which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0016]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a network incorporating a motor drive network adapter of the present invention;  
         [0017]      FIG. 2  is a detailed block diagram of the motor drive network adapter of the present invention seen in  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0018]      FIG. 3  is a home page display generated in a browser window on a personal computer seen in  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0019]      FIG. 4  is a configuration of e-mail fault reporting screen display generated in a browser of the personal computer seen in  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0020]      FIGS. 5 and 6  are two portions of a screen display window called up through the screen display in  FIG. 4 ;  
         [0021]      FIG. 7  is an alternate configuration screen display to that shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 ; and  
         [0022]      FIG. 8  is a e-mail fault reporting message received on a personal computer such as seen in  FIG. 1 ; and  
         [0023]      FIG. 9  is a live status motor monitoring window called up through the home page screen display seen in  FIG. 3 .  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0024]      FIG. 1  shows a system that incorporates the present invention including an electric motor  10  to be controlled by an electronic known as a motor drive  11 . It should also be understood that a generator could be controlled, and that the term “electric machine” shall be used to mean either an electric motor or an electric generator. The motor drive  11  is provided with an Ethernet adapter module  12 , which can be internal or external. Ethernet adapter cards are well known add-on cards in the computer arts for allowing computers to communicate on Ethernet networks. A typical Ethernet adapter card  14  is provided here for interfacing a conventional personal computer  15  to the Ethernet network  13 . This network  13  includes at least one SMTP (simple mail transfer protocol) server (not shown). A particular feature of the present invention is that it operates in co-operation with commercially available, off-the-shelf, computer equipment  15 ,  16 , running a conventional application type of computer program  16 . In the preferred embodiment, this is an Internet browser type of program, although in other embodiments, application programs with an e-mail component might be used. In the present example, the Ethernet network  13  operates like the Internet, except that for security reasons, it preferred to be an Intranet or private network, not accessible to users outside the company. The invention is provided in a customized or value-added Ethernet adapter  12  for the motor drive  11 .  
         [0025]     Referring to  FIG. 2 , the Ethernet adapter  12  more particularly includes a microelectronic CPU  17  that is connected through an address bus  18 , a data bus  19  and a control bus  28  to other circuitry on a circuit board. The CPU  17  is aided in communicating and controlling the other circuitry by a decode/chip enable circuit in the form of a logic array circuit  23 . The circuitry to be controlled includes a program memory  20  in the preferred form of a flash ROM of 2 Megabytes, a static RAM (SRAM)  21 , an Ethernet interface port  24  and a drive communication port  25 . The Ethernet interface port  24  provides serial data through a connector  26  to the Ethernet network  13 . The drive communication port  25  provides serial data through a connector  27  to the motor drive  11 . This communication could also be carried on as parallel data in other embodiments, particularly where the adapter was integrated with the circuitry in the motor drive  11 .  
         [0026]     The adapter  12  is provided with a control program  22 , which is stored in the program memory  20 . The control program  22  includes program instructions, usually in a compiled form, to be executed by the CPU  17  to carry out the operations to be described. In particular, the control program  22  includes instructions for generating screen displays in a general purpose Internet browser application  16  operating on a personal computer  15  connected to the network adapter through the network  13  as shown in  FIG. 1 .  
         [0027]     Referring next to  FIG. 3 , when the motor drive is addressed at a network address such as 10.91.97.69 as seen in  FIG. 3 , a home page  31  is displayed in a browser window  30  on a screen of the personal computer  15 . Each page includes a command portion  37  reserved for hypertext links to other screen displays. In the home page portion  31  the drive  11  is identified by model number (PowerFlex 70), and electrical rating size (480V, 8.0A) in line  32 . Below is a line  33  showing a general status and below that are two display lines (display fields)  34  showing the direction of rotation as commanded and as actually occurring. Below that on the home page  31  is a process display area  35  showing the electrical parameters of operation such as dc bus volts, amps and frequency (Hz). Below that is a hypertext link  36  to an auto-refresh status screen to be described later herein.  
         [0028]     When it is desired to configure or select the faults to be reported with this system, the link entitled, “Configure E-mail Notification” is selected in the command portion  37  of the screen display  30 .  
         [0029]     This causes the network adapter  12  to send the personal computer  15 , suitable data to displaying the screen display window  40  seen in  FIG. 4 . This window  40  includes the configure e-mail notification page  41  along with the command area  37 . The first four lines or fields  42  of this page  41  provide a combination of four check box and radio button selections to enable the sending of e-mail messages for any fault or for selected faults, as well as when the fault is cleared.  
         [0030]     The next four lines or fields  43  of this page  41  provide a combination of four check box and radio button selections to enable the sending of e-mail messages for any alarm or for selected alarms, as well as when an alarm condition is cleared. For purposes of the claims herein, it shall be considered that the term “faults” includes alarm conditions.  
         [0031]     The next two lines or fields  44  of this page  41  provide two check box selections to select sending an e-mail message when the drive  11  takes a communication fault action or when the drive  11  takes an idle fault action.  
         [0032]     The area  45  below that includes data entry boxes for entering an SMTP server address on the network and an e-mail address for the personal computer to which a message will be sent in response to a fault condition, as well as an e-mail subject line for the message.  
         [0033]     Assuming that that the first line and the third line, the “only selected faults” line, are checked in the first four lines or fields  42  of page  41 , and the “selected faults” hypertext link is activated, then the network adapter  12  sends data to the web browser  16  so that the screen display  50  seen in  FIGS. 5 and 6  is called up and displayed on the personal computer  15 . The display  50  contains a long list, in two columns, of check boxes and legends denoting a code number and a fault condition name for each fault. Some fault code numbers have not been assigned as shown by the legend “no fault.” Assuming that boxes for code numbers 3, 7, 38 to 43 were checked, the e-mail messages would be sent when any of these faults occurred. E-mail messages would not be sent if faults occurred for boxes that have not been checked. In particular, it is noted that code number “81” in  FIG. 6  has been checked.  
         [0034]      FIG. 7  shows a configuration screen display  60  which is an alternative to that in  FIG. 4 , which is called up when the configure Email notification link is selected in area  37  of the screen display  30  in  FIG. 3 . This screen display  60  includes fields  61 - 67 , including data entry boxes for entering specific faults for generating the e-mail messages in field  61 , a check box  62  for sending a message when the fault is cleared, data entry box fields  63  for selecting warning conditions, a check box field  64  for sending a message when a warning condition is cleared, check box fields  65  and  66  for sending e-mails for other events and data entry boxes for entering the network address where the messages are to be sent.  
         [0035]      FIG. 8  illustrates an e-mail message  71  that is sent by the adapter  12  when a fault represented by code “81” occurs. This message  71  is displayed in a window  70  in a Lotus Notes application program running on the personal computer  15 . The sending of the e-mail from the adapter  12  to the computer  15  is carried out by executing instructions in the control program  22  in  FIG. 2 , as are the other operations described above.  
         [0036]      FIG. 9  illustrates an additional feature of the home page  31  seen in  FIG. 3 . If link  36  is selected the screen display and window  80  is displayed on a screen of the personal computer  15 . This screen  81  is automatically and rapidly refreshed to present a live picture of motor operating conditions.  
         [0037]     To summarize, the invention provides a method and circuit in form of a network adapter card that can be attached to a motor drive unit and set up using standard computer hardware and software. This avoids the need to provide software for an Internet/Intranet server as seen in the prior art.  
         [0038]     The invention provides a device that can be configured with a Web browser interface that can be opened on a computer connected to the motor drive through an Intranet-type (private) Ethernet network. Although Ethernet is a preferred network for its high speed of data transfer and usability in both industrial and office environments, other types of networks might also be employed.  
         [0039]     The adapter card is provided with a computer program that will generate a sequence of browser configuration screens, as well as generating an e-mail message to a computer address on the network, when a fault of the type being monitored occurs.  
         [0040]     In addition, the invention provides additional monitoring features such as a live, refreshable status screen of motor operation, all within a familiar Web browser interface.  
         [0041]     The invention provides a solution to motor fault monitoring that does not require specialized software or configuration of servers on the network.  
         [0042]     This has been a description of several preferred embodiments of the invention. It will be apparent that various modifications and details can be varied without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention, and these are intended to come within the scope of the following claims.