Control device and communication device
This control device comprises a communication unit, one or more functional units, and communication lines that connect the communication unit and the one or more functional units and are independent of each other. The communication unit is configured to execute a first task of sending out, with a first cycle, a first communication frame for executing transmission of data collected by the functional unit to the communication unit and/or transmission of data held by the communication unit to the functional unit via a first communication line among the communication lines, and a second task of sending out, with a second cycle different from the first cycle, a second communication frame for executing transmission of the data collected by the functional unit to the communication unit and/or transmission of the data held by the communication unit to the functional unit via a second communication line among the communication lines.
1. A control device, comprising:
a communication unit comprising:
an arithmetic processing part comprising a processor that executes tasks and a memory;
a communication circuit that handles transmission and reception of communication frames; and
a control circuit, connected to the arithmetic processing part and the communication circuit, comprising:
a first direct memory access (DMA) core for accessing the arithmetic processing part;
a second DMA core for accessing the communication circuit; and
a controller that gives commands to the first DMA core and the second DMA core sequentially according to a predefined descriptor table in response to a trigger from the arithmetic processing part;
one or a plurality of functional units;
a plurality of communication lines that connect the communication unit and the one or the plurality of functional units and are independent of each other,
wherein the communication unit is configured to execute:
a first task of sending out, in a first cycle, a first communication frame for executing at least one of transmission of data collected by the functional unit to the communication unit and transmission of data held by the communication unit to the functional unit via a first communication line among the plurality of communication lines and
a second task of sending out, in a second cycle set independently of the first cycle, a second communication frame for executing at least one of transmission of the data collected by the functional unit to the communication unit and transmission of the data held by the communication unit to the functional unit via a second communication line among the plurality of communication lines.
2. The control device according to claim 1 , wherein each of the one or the plurality of functional units processes only any one of the communication frames in order for performing data exchange with the communication unit.
3. The control device according to claim 2 , wherein each of the one or the plurality of functional units transfers a communication frame other than the communication frame to be processed in order for performing data exchange with the communication unit.
4. The control device according to claim 2 , wherein each of the first communication frame and the second communication frame is provided with data areas associated with the functional units that perform processing.
5. The control device according to claim 1 , further comprising, in each of the one or the plurality of functional units, a unit that provides a user interface screen for specifying which of the first communication frame and the second communication frame is to be associated with.
6. The control device according to claim 1 , wherein the control circuit further comprises:
an activation unit configured to selectively activate a descriptor table designated from among a plurality of descriptor tables set with priorities different from each other in advance; and
an arbiter configured to arbitrate based on the priorities set in each of the descriptor tables when processings according to different descriptor tables are simultaneously requested.
7. The control device according to claim 6 , wherein the plurality of descriptor tables are stored in at least one of the memory of the arithmetic processing part and a memory area of the control circuit.
8. The control device according to claim 1 , wherein the communication unit is one of an arithmetic unit and a relay unit.
9. A communication device connected to one or a plurality of functional units via a plurality of communication lines that are independent of each other, the communication device comprising:
a communication circuit that handles transmission and reception of communication frames in the plurality of communication lines;
an arithmetic processing part; and
a control circuit, connected to the arithmetic processing part and the communication circuit, comprising:
a first direct memory access (DMA) core for accessing the arithmetic processing part;
a second DMA core for accessing the communication circuit; and
a controller that gives commands to the first DMA core and the second DMA core sequentially according to a predefined descriptor table in response to a trigger from the arithmetic processing part,
wherein the arithmetic processing part is configured to execute:
a first task of sending out, in a first cycle, a first communication frame for executing at least one of transmission of data collected by the functional unit to the communication unit and transmission of data held by the communication unit to the functional unit via a first communication line among the plurality of communication lines and
a second task of sending out, in a second cycle different from the first cycle, a second communication frame for executing at least one of transmission of the data collected by the functional unit to the communication unit and transmission of the data held by the communication unit to the functional unit via a second communication line among the plurality of communication lines.
10. The control device according to claim 3 , wherein each of the first communication frame and the second communication frame is provided with data areas associated with the functional units that perform processing.
11. The control device according to claim 2 , further comprising, in each of the one or the plurality of functional units, a unit that provides a user interface screen for specifying which of the first communication frame and the second communication frame is to be associated with.
12. The control device according to claim 3 , further comprising, in each of the one or the plurality of functional units, a unit that provides a user interface screen for specifying which of the first communication frame and the second communication frame is to be associated with.
13. The control device according to claim 4 , further comprising, in each of the one or the plurality of functional units, a unit that provides a user interface screen for specifying which of the first communication frame and the second communication frame is to be associated with.
14. The control device according to claim 10 , further comprising, in each of the one or the plurality of functional units, a unit that provides a user interface screen for specifying which of the first communication frame and the second communication frame is to be associated with.