PLECS 3.2 Online Help |
Add signal input connector to subsystem
System
Inports are used to feed signals from a schematic into a subschematic. In the PLECS Blockset, inports are also used to feed signals from a Simulink model into a PLECS circuit. If you copy an input block into a schematic an input terminal will be created on the corresponding subsystem block. The name of the input block will appear as the terminal label. If you choose to hide the block name by unselecting the show button in the dialog box the terminal label will also disappear.
If an input block is placed in a top-level schematic a unique number is assigned to the block. In Simulink, the relative position of the corresponding input terminals is determined by the order of block numbers. You may change the block number in order to change the relative terminal position.
For top-level inputs you can also specify whether the input signal is used as a continuous signal in order to control e.g. sources or as a discrete gate signal in order to feed control the gate of a switch or semiconductor. Continuous signal inputs have direct feedthrough which can lead to algebraic loops if there is a direct path from a circuit output to a (continuous) circuit input. In contrast, gate signal inputs do not have direct feedthrough. However, they are expected to change only at discrete instants. Using a gate signal input to feed a continuous signal into a circuit can lead to unexpected results. The standard setting auto causes PLECS to determine the signal type based on the internal connectivity.
If placed in a subschematic the inputs are not identified by numbers since terminals on subsystem blocks can be freely positioned. Which terminal corresponds to which input block can only be seen from the block name. In order to move a terminal with the mouse around the edges of a subsystem block hold down the Shift key while dragging the terminal with the left mouse button or use the middle mouse button.