Introduction of Programmable controllers
From a simple heritage, these remarkable systems have evolved to not only replace electromechanical devices, but to solve an ever-increasing array of control problems in both process and nonprocess industries. By all indications, these microprocessor powered giants will continue to break new ground in the automated factory into the 1990s.
HISTORY
In the 1960s, electromechanical devices were the order of the day ass far as control was concerned. These devices, commonly known as relays, were being used by the thousands to control many sequential-type manufacturing processes and stand-along machines. Many of these relays were in use in the transportation industry, more specifically, the automotive industry. These relays used hundreds of wires and their interconnections to effect a control solution. The performance of a relay was basically reliable - at least as a single device. But the common applications for relay panels called for 300 to 500 or more relays, and the reliability and maintenance issues associated with supporting these panels became a very great challenge. Cost became another issue, for in spite of the low cost of the relay itself, the installed cost of the panel could be quite high. The total cost including purchased parts, wiring, and installation labor, could range from $30~$50 per relay. To make matters worse, the constantly changing needs of a process called for recurring modifications of a control panel. With relays, this was a costly prospect, as it was accomplished by a major rewiring effort on the panel. In addition these changes were sometimes poorly documented, causing a second-shift maintenance nightmare months later. In light of this, it was not uncommon to discard an entire control panel in favor of a new one with the appropriate components wired in a manner suited for the new process. Add to this the unpredictable, and potentially high, cost of maintaining these systems as on high-volume motor vehicle production lines, and it became clear that something was needed to improve the control process – to make it more reliable, easier to troubleshoot, and more adaptable to changing control needs.
That something, in the late 1960s, was the first programmable controller. This first ‘revolutionary’ system wan developed as a specific response to the needs of the major automotive manufacturers in the United States. These early controllers, or programmable logic controllers (PLC), represented the first systems that 1 could be used on the factory floor, 2 could have there ‘logic’ changed without extensive rewiring or component changes, and 3 were easy to diagnose and repair when problems occurred.
It is interesting to observe the progress that has been made in the past 15 years in the programmable controller area. The pioneer products of the late 1960s must have been confusing and frightening to a great number of people. For example, what happened to the hardwired and electromechanical devices that maintenance personnel were used to repairing with hand tools? They were replaced with ‘computers’ disguised as electronics designed to replace relays. Even the programming tools were designed to appear as relay equivalent presentations. We have the opportunity now to examine the promise, in retrospect, that the programmable controller brought to manufacturing.
All programmable controllers consist of the basic functional blocks shown in Fig. 10. 1. We’ll examine each block to understand the relationship to the control system. First we look at the center, as it is the heart ( or at least the brain ) of the system. It consists of a microprocessor, logic memory for the storage of the actual control logic, storage or variable memory for use with data that will ordinarily change as a function power for the processor and memory. Next comes the I/O block. This function takes the control level signals for the CPU and converts them to voltage and current levels suitable for connection with factory grade sensors and actuators. The I/O type can range from digital (discrete or on / off), analog (continuously variable), or a variety of special purpose ‘smart’ I/O which are dedicated to a certain application task. The programmer is shown here, but it is normally used only to initially configure and program a system and is not required for the system to operate. It is also used in troubleshooting a system, and can prove to be a valuable tool in pinpointing the exact cause of a problem. The field devices shown here represent the various sensors and actuators connected to the I/O. These are the arms, legs, eyes, and ears of the system, including push buttons, limit switches, proximity switches, photosensors, thermocouples, RTDS, position sensing devices, and bar code reader as input; and pilot lights, display devices, motor starters, DC and AC drives, solenoids, and printers as outputs.
No single attempt could cover its rapidly changing scope, but three basic characteristics can be examined to give classify an industrial control device as a programmable controller.
(1) Its basic internal operation is to solve logic from the beginning of memory to some specified point, such as end of memory or end of program. Once the end is reached, the operation begins again at the beginning of memory. This scanning process continues from the time power is supplied to the time it it removed.
(2) The programming logic is a form of a relay ladder diagram. Normally open, normally closed contacts, and relay coils are used within a format utilizing a left and a right vertical rail. Power flow (symbolic positive electron flow) is used to determine which coil or outputs are energized or deenergized.
(3) The machine is designed for the industrial environment from its basic concept; this protection is not added at a later date. The industrial environment includes unreliable AC power, high temperatures (0 to 60 degree Celsius), extremes of humidity, vibrations, RF noise, and other similar parameters.
General application areas
The programmable controller is used in a wide variety of control applications today, many of which were not economically possible just a few years ago. This is true for two general reasons: 1 there cost effectiveness (that is, the cost per I/O point) has improved dramatically with the falling prices of microprocessors and related components, and 2 the ability of the controller to solve complex computation and communication tasks has made it possible to use it where a dedicated computer was previously used.
Applications for programmable controllers can be categorized in a number of different ways, including general and industrial application categories. But it is important to understand the framework in which controllers are presently understood and used so that the full scope of present and future evolution can be examined. It is through the power of applications that controllers can be seen in their full light. Industrial applications include many in both discrete manufacturing and process industries. Automotive industry applications, the genesis of the programmable controller, continue to provide the largest base of opportunity. Other industries, such as food processing and utilities, provide current development opportunities.
There are five general application areas in which programmable controllers are used. A typical installation will use one or more of these integrated to the control system problem. The five general areas are explained briefly below.
Description
The AT89C51 is a low-power, high-performance CMOS 8-bit microcomputer with 4K bytes of Flash programmable and erasable read only memory (PEROM). The device is manufactured using Atmel’s high-density nonvolatile memory technology and is compatible with the industry-standard MCS-51 instruction set and pinout. The on-chip Flash allows the program memory to be reprogrammed in-system or by a conventional nonvolatile memory programmer. By combining a versatile 8-bit CPU with Flash on a monolithic chip, the Atmel AT89C51 is a powerful microcomputer which provides a highly-flexible and cost-effective solution to many embedded control applications.
Function characteristic
The AT89C51 provides the following standard features: 4K bytes of Flash, 128 bytes of RAM, 32 I/O lines, two 16-bit timer/counters, a five vector two-level interrupt architecture, a full duplex serial port, on-chip oscillator and clock circuitry. In addition, the AT89C51 is designed with static logic for operation down to zero frequency and supports two software selectable power saving modes. The Idle Mode stops the CPU while allowing the RAM, timer/counters, serial port and interrupt system to continue functioning. The Power-down Mode saves the RAM contents but freezes the oscillator disabling all other chip functions until the next hardware reset.
Pin Description
VCC：Supply voltage.
GND：Ground.
Port 0：
Port 0 is an 8-bit open-drain bi-directional I/O port. As an output port, each pin can sink eight TTL inputs. When 1s are written to port 0 pins, the pins can be used as highimpedance inputs.Port 0 may also be configured to be the multiplexed loworder address/data bus during accesses to external program and data memory. In this mode P0 has internal pullups.Port 0 also receives the code bytes during Flash programming,and outputs the code bytes during programverification. External pullups are required during programverification.
Port 1
Port 1 is an 8-bit bi-directional I/O port with internal pullups.The Port 1 output buffers can sink/source four TTL inputs.When 1s are written to Port 1 pins they are pulled high by the internal pullups and can be used as inputs. As inputs,Port 1 pins that are externally being pulled low will source current (IIL) because of the internal pullups.Port 1 also receives the low-order address bytes during Flash programming and verification.
Port 2
Port 2 is an 8-bit bi-directional I/O port with internal pullups.The Port 2 output buffers can sink/source four TTL inputs.When 1s are written to Port 2 pins they are pulled high by the internal pullups and can be used as inputs. As inputs,Port 2 pins that are externally being pulled low will source current, because of the internal pullups.Port 2 emits the high-order address byte during fetches from external program memory and during accesses to external data memory that use 16-bit addresses. In this application, it uses strong internal pullupswhen emitting 1s. During accesses to external data memory that use 8-bit addresses, Port 2 emits the contents of the P2 Special Function Register.Port 2 also receives the high-order address bits and some control signals during Flash programming and verification.
Port 3
Port 3 is an 8-bit bi-directional I/O port with internal pullups.The Port 3 output buffers can sink/source four TTL inputs.When 1s are written to Port 3 pins they are pulled high by the internal pullups and can be used as inputs. As inputs,Port 3 pins that are externally being pulled low will source current (IIL) because of the pullups.Port 3 also serves the functions of various special features of the AT89C51 as listed below:
Port 3 also receives some control signals for Flash programming and verification.
RST
Reset input. A high on this pin for two machine cycles while the oscillator is running resets the device.
ALE/PROG
Address Latch Enable output pulse for latching the low byte of the address during accesses to external memory. This pin is also the program pulse input (PROG) during Flash programming.In normal operation ALE is emitted at a constant rate of 1/6 the oscillator frequency, and may be used for external timing or clocking purposes. Note, however, that one ALE pulse is skipped during each access to external Data Memory.
If desired, ALE operation can be disabled by setting bit 0 of SFR location 8EH. With the bit set, ALE is active only during a MOVX or MOVC instruction. Otherwise, the pin is weakly pulled high. Setting the ALE-disable bit has no effect if the microcontroller is in external execution mode.
PSEN
Program Store Enable is the read strobe to external program memory.When the AT89C51 is executing code from external program memory, PSEN is activated twice each machine cycle, except that two PSEN activations are skipped during each access to external data memory.
EA/VPP
External Access Enable. EA must be strapped to GND in order to enable the device to fetch code from external program memory locations starting at 0000H up to FFFFH. Note, however, that if lock bit 1 is programmed, EA will be internally latched on reset.EA should be strapped to VCC for internal program executions.This pin also receives the 12-volt programming enable voltage(VPP) during Flash programming, for parts that require12-volt VPP.
XTAL1
Input to the inverting oscillator amplifier and input to the internal clock operating circuit.
XTAL2
Output from the inverting oscillator amplifier.
Oscillator Characteristics
XTAL1 and XTAL2 are the input and output, respectively,of an inverting amplifier which can be configured for use as an on-chip oscillator, as shown in Figure 1.Either a quartz crystal or ceramic resonator may be used. To drive the device from an external clock source, XTAL2 should be left unconnected while XTAL1 is driven as shown in Figure 2.There are no requirements on the duty cycle of the external clock signal, since the input to the internal clocking circuitry is through a divide-by-two flip-flop, but minimum and maximum voltage high and low time specifications must be observed.
Figure 1. Oscillator Connections Figure 2. External Clock Drive Configuration
Idle Mode
In idle mode, the CPU puts itself to sleep while all the onchip peripherals remain active. The mode is invoked by software. The content of the on-chip RAM and all the special functions registers remain unchanged during this mode. The idle mode can be terminated by any enabled interrupt or by a hardware reset.It should be noted that when idle is terminated by a hard ware reset, the device normally resumes program execution,from where it left off, up to two machine cycles before the internal reset algorithm takes control. On-chip hardware inhibits access to internal RAM in this event, but access to the port pins is not inhibited. To eliminate the possibility of an unexpected write to a port pin when Idle is terminated by reset, the instruction following the one that invokes Idle should not be one that writes to a port pin or to external memory.
Power-down Mode
In the power-down mode, the oscillator is stopped, and the instruction that invokes power-down is the last instruction executed. The on-chip RAM and Special Function Registers retain their values until the power-down mode is terminated. The only exit from power-down is a hardware reset. Reset redefines the SFRs but does not change the on-chip RAM. The reset should not be activated before VCC is restored to its normal operating level and must be held active long enough to allow the oscillator to restart and stabilize.
Program Memory Lock Bits
On the chip are three lock bits which can be left unprogrammed (U) or can be programmed (P) to obtain the additional features listed in the table below.
When lock bit 1 is programmed, the logic level at the EA pin is sampled and latched during reset. If the device is powered up without a reset, the latch initializes to a random value, and holds that value until reset is activated. It is necessary that the latched value of EA be in agreement with the current logic level at that pin in order for the device to function properly