SICK RFID Reader Enet (RFH620 model)

This driver provides Ethernet communication with the SICK RFID Reader (RFH620 model).

Communication Setup: Xpanel

Create a new device

To create a new device, select [Tools] → [I/O Devices] or click the icon in the toolbar.

The following picture shows the first step in creating a new device:

I/O Device Name: Give a device name. This name will be used in the tag database, accompanied by the 'Station Name'.

Select a device type

After selecting the [Ok] button in the previous step, the ‘Ethernet Communication Configuration’ dialog box will appear as shown in the following picture:

In this window, set the 'Device Type' to ‘SAIA S-BUS’ and configure the remaining Ethernet communication parameters. Ensure that these parameters match the device's configuration.

Configure the remaining options as shown below:

Protocol: TCP

Time Out: 15 – 30 (Delay time of the response frame. You may set it from 15 to 30).

Retry No: 1 (To avoid sending the same frame multiple times, this must be set to1).

See the Communication Configuration section for more information about the remaining parameters.

Create a station

Move to the [Station] tab of the ‘Ethernet Communication Configuration’ dialog box. In this dialog box, connected PLC stations can be configured and registered to the Xpanel.

Each field can be configured with the following rules:

Station Name: Give a name to the PLC. This name will be used in the tag database, accompanied by the ‘Device Name’.

Station Type: Select “RFH620” (this is the only available option).

Network ID: N/A

IP Address: Enter the IP address of the RFID Reader.

Socket Port No: 2112 is the default value (this is subject to change depending on the RFID reader’s type).

See the Communication Configuration section for more information about the remaining parameters.

Address Notation and Function Codes

The available memory addresses are listed in the following table:

Device name	Tag type	R/W	Address Range	Description
D	Analog or String	R/W	D0 - D255	Used to read from or write to the value of the RFID Tag. Data is stored in blocks of 4 bytes each. Ex) Analog Tag—UINT32, INT32, Float, etc. String Tag—Length of String: 4, 8, 12, 16… When reading or writing a value to the D device tag, the number of bytes read/written depends on the tag data type.
W	Analog or String	W	W0 - W255	Used to change the value of an RFID Tag. Only writing is possible; there is no status indication. The data size must be a multiple of 4 bytes Ex) Analog Tag—UINT32, INT32, Float, etc. String Tag—Length of String: 4, 8, 12, 16… When writing a value to the W device, the number of bytes written depends on the tag data type.
S	Analog	R/W	S0	Used to indicate the final communication status. 40: Time out (no response) Otherwise: reader error (Refer to the reader’s manual) UINT8 is used as the data type.

D: Used to read the code which is saved in the RFID Tag. It can save data using blocks of 4 bytes each. This register can be used to read from or write to the RFID tag.
- Strings within the D register have the following format:
  - Strings starting with “I”: Initialize the connected TCP Socket.
  - Strings starting with “D”: Initialize the communication status and received Tag data.
W: Used to change the code value which is saved in the RFID Tag. It can save data using blocks of 4 bytes each. Only writing is possible.
S: Used to check the final communication status. The data type is UINT8.

Ex 1): Reading 16 words starting from Block 0 of the RFID Tag:

Register a string tag of length 16 to the database.
1. Type: String
2. Choose ‘Real Tag’
3. I/O Address: D00
4. Select the ‘I/O device’ which you registered for the RFID reader (do not leave the 'I/O Device' field blank).
5. Advanced → Length of String: 16
Write a tag value to the real string tag you just registered.
1. Ex) if the tag name is “STR_00“, you could use the following command expression to change the string value:
  1. STR_00 = “test value“
2. If the I/O device is configured correctly, the first 16 bytes of the RFID tag value will be updated to “test value“.

Ex 2): Re-writing a string of length 16 from blocks 0 – 3 of the RFID tag.

Register a real string tag of length 16 to the database. Copy step 1 from the example above, but choose 'W00' for the I/O Device.
1. Type: String
2. Choose ‘Real Tag’
3. I/O Address: W00
4. Select the ‘I/O device’ which you registered for the RFID reader (do not leave the 'I/O Device' field blank).
5. Advanced → Length of String: 16
Write a tag value to the real string tag you just registered.
1. Ex) if the tag name is “WSTR_00“, you could use the following command expression to edit the string value:
  1. WSTR_00 = “ABCDER1234567890“
  2. The string will be saved in four 4-byte blocks, starting from block 0:
    1. Block 0: “ABCD”
    2. Block 1: “ER12“
    3. Block 2: “3456”
    4. Block 3: “7890“
  3. If the string length is over 16, only the first 16 characters will be saved to the RFID tag.
  4. If the string length is less than 16, the remaining characters are set to 0 (““).

Reader Setup

Install the ‘SOPAS Engineering Tool’ program from the SICK homepage and install it.
Run 'SOPAS Single Device'.
1. Open the 'SOPAS Single Device' program.
Connect the device.
1. Connect a reader using a null modem cable, then click ‘Search connected devices’.
Select 'RFH620' and click ‘Next' in the 'Connection Wizard’ window.
Select ‘Standard Protocol' and click 'Configure Interface’
Select the COM port and use the default parameters in the 'Advanced' tab.
Click ‘OK' to finish the interface setup, then click ‘Next’ to move to the next step. The COM port will be found automatically, and the result will be displayed on the 'Found Devices’ page.
Select the found device and click 'Next' to upload.
The device setup window is displayed after uploading.
Move to the 'Ethernet' tab and set up the IP address and subnet mask. The device will be rebooted after the setup is complete, and the configuration changes will be saved.
1. Protocol / Output Format: Output Format #1
2. Server / Client: Server
3. IP-Port: 2112 (if you change the port number here, you must change the port number in the XpanelDesigner I/O Device settings as well).