How to manage industrial machinery

Abstract

To provide a method for managing industrial machines, which imparts authentication and approval procedures to equipment software regardless of the type and manufacturer of the industrial machines, even if the equipment software does not originally have authentication and approval procedures. [Solution] A method for managing industrial machinery includes the steps of obtaining work data identifying work content from a work terminal 16 connected via a network 12, transmitting the work data via the network 12 to approving device terminals 18, 21 owned by approving devices 17, 19, and, when approval for the work data is obtained, constructing a virtual machine 31 in response to access via the network 12, installing equipment-oriented software 35a, 35b, ..., 36a, 36b ... linked to selected manufacturing equipment 13a, 13b ... into the virtual machine 31, and connecting the target manufacturing equipment 13a, 13b ... to the virtual machine 31 based on the equipment-oriented software.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for managing industrial machinery. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a PLC (programmable logic controller) system that changes programs installed in industrial machinery from an engineering tool connected via a network. The engineering tool (software for equipment) is installed on a computer. The computer is shared by multiple people. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 7462848 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Since maintenance of control and safety systems has a very serious impact on the characteristics of the target industrial machinery, strict security functions are required for engineering tools and temporary consoles. Strict operation is required, such as giving instructions on the work content and timing beforehand and reporting the work results. Introducing strict security functions to existing equipment requires a lot of cost and effort, such as updating the PLC system. When various control and safety systems are combined in facilities and equipment, it is difficult to realize a unified authentication and authorization mechanism.

[0005] The present invention aims to provide a method for managing industrial machinery that can provide authentication and approval procedures to equipment software regardless of the type or manufacturer of the industrial machinery, even if the equipment software does not originally have authentication and approval procedures. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The method for managing industrial machinery according to the present invention includes the steps of: acquiring work data identifying work content from a work terminal connected via a network; transmitting the work data via the network to an approver terminal owned by an approver; when approval for the work data is obtained, constructing a virtual machine in response to access via the network; installing equipment software linked to a selected industrial machine onto the virtual machine; connecting the target industrial machine to the virtual machine based on the equipment software; providing a user interface for the equipment software executed on the virtual machine to a work terminal connected via a network; and changing a program incorporated in the industrial machine in response to operation of the user interface. Effect of the Invention

[0007] Based on the above, even if an approval procedure is not originally provided for equipment software, an approval procedure will be applied to equipment software regardless of the type or manufacturer of the industrial machinery. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing an outline of a configuration of an industrial machinery system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 11 is a flowchart showing a procedure for authenticating a worker and an approver and approving a task. [Diagram 3] 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of the remote management device when an operator performs a task. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0010] 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of an industrial machinery system 11 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The industrial machinery system 11 includes an OT network (operational technology network) 12 constructed in a production facility such as a factory or a plant, and manufacturing equipment 13a, 13b, and 13c installed in a factory and connected to the OT network 12. The individual manufacturing equipment 13a, 13b, and 13c includes programmable logic controllers (PLCs) 14a, 14b, and 14c connected to the OT network 12. The PLCs 14a, 14b, and 14c numerically control the manufacturing equipment 13a, 13b, and 13c based on an embedded control program. The manufacturing equipment 13a, 13b, and 13c as industrial machinery includes, for example, NC machine tools, welding robots, painting robots, and the like.

[0011] A work terminal 16 operated by a worker 15, an approval terminal 18 operated by a first approver 17, and an approval terminal 21 operated by a second approver 19 are connected to the OT network 12. The work terminal 16 and the approval terminals 18, 21 are configured, for example, by IPCs (industrial PCs). A remote management device 22 is connected to the OT network 12. The remote management device 22 manages the connection and disconnection between the work terminal 16 and the approval terminals 18, 21 and each of the PLCs 14a, 14b, 14c.

[0012] The OT network 12 is connected to, for example, the Internet 25. The work terminal 16 or the approval terminals 18, 21 may access the OT network 12 via the Internet 25. Here, the work terminal 16 or the approval terminals 18, 21 are configured, for example, by personal computers. The remote management device 22 manages the connection and disconnection between the work terminal 16 and the approval terminals 18, 21 and the individual PLCs 14a, 14b, 14c via the Internet 25. Preferably, a firewall is constructed between the OT network 12 and the Internet 25.

[0013] The remote management device 22 includes a virtual machine setting unit 32 that configures a virtual machine 31, and a remote desktop control unit 33 that provides a user interface for software executed on the virtual machine 31. The virtual machine setting unit 32 configures the virtual machine 31, for example, in the remote management device 22 (which is a physical server in FIG. 1 in this embodiment, but may be a cloud server) in response to access via the OT network 12. The virtual machine setting unit 32 installs device-oriented software associated with the selected manufacturing devices 13a, 13b, and 13c in the virtual machine 31. The device-oriented software is executed on the virtual machine 31. The target manufacturing devices 13a, 13b, and 13c are connected to the virtual machine 31 based on the device-oriented software. The virtual machine setting unit 32 acquires the device-oriented software from the storage unit 34. The storage unit 34 stores the device-oriented software for each of the manufacturing devices 13a, 13b, and 13c. The equipment software includes, for example, consoles 35a, 35b, 35c that are specific to each piece of manufacturing equipment 13a, 13b, 13c and used to operate the manufacturing equipment 13a, 13b, 13c, and engineering tools 36a, 36b, 36c that are specific to each piece of manufacturing equipment 13a, 13b, 13c and used to rewrite the control programs.

[0014] The remote desktop control unit 33 forms a remote desktop 37 of the virtual machine 31 on the work terminal 16 via the OT network 12. To generate the remote desktop 37, the remote desktop control unit 33 acquires image data 38 from the storage unit 34. An image of the desktop is described in the image data 38. The virtual machine 31 is operated based on the desktop of the work terminal 16. In response to the operation, the consoles 35a, 35b, 35c or the engineering tools 36a, 36b, 36c operate.

[0015] The remote management device 22 includes a change management unit 39 that records changes to the control programs incorporated in the individual manufacturing devices 13a, 13b, and 13c. The change management unit 39 generates change history data 41 that identifies the recorded changes. The change history data 41 is stored in the storage unit 34. The change history data 41 is retrieved from the storage unit 34 in response to an operation of the work terminal 16 or the approval terminals 18 and 21, for example. The retrieved change history data 41 is displayed on the work terminal 16 or the approval terminals 18 and 21.

[0016] The remote management device 22 includes an authentication unit 43 that confirms the access right based on the information provided from the work terminal 16 and the approval terminals 18 and 21, and an approval unit 45 that confirms the approval of the approvers 17 and 19 for the work data 44 obtained from the work terminal 16. The authentication unit 43 obtains the ID and password from the work terminal 16 and the approval terminals 18 and 21. When obtaining the ID and password, the authentication unit 43 provides a user interface to the work terminal 16 and the approval terminals 18 and 21. The obtained ID and password are checked against the ID data 46 and the authentication data 47 registered in advance in the storage unit 34. The ID data 46 specifies the ID for each worker 15 and each approver 17 and 19. The authentication data 47 specifies the password associated with each ID. The authentication data 47 may use biometric information such as a fingerprint or face instead of a password. When the authentication unit 43 authenticates the worker 15, it grants the work terminal 16 the access right to the approval unit 45 and the access right to the remote desktop 37. When the authentication unit 43 authenticates the approvers 17 and 19, it grants access rights to the approval unit 45 to the approval terminals 18 and 21.

[0017] The approval unit 45 acquires work data 44 that specifies the work content from the work terminal 16. The acquired work data 44 is stored in the memory unit 34. The approval unit 45 transmits the work data 44 to the approval terminals 18, 21. When the approval unit 45 confirms the approval of the approvers 17, 19 for each work data 44, it issues an access right to the virtual machine 31 to the work terminal 16 linked to the work data 44. The ID of the worker 15, the date and time of access, etc. are set in this access right.

[0018] Here, the virtual machine setting unit 32, the remote desktop control unit 33, and the change management unit 39 are realized by an arithmetic processing unit (processor) 48. To realize the virtual machine setting unit 32, the remote desktop control unit 33, and the change management unit 39, the arithmetic processing unit 48 obtains software programs from, for example, a mass storage device. The arithmetic processing unit 48 executes the software programs while storing the software programs and data in a temporary storage device. Such an arithmetic processing unit 48 is incorporated in a computer such as a cloud server. The authentication unit 43 and the approval unit 45 may each be similarly realized based on a software program.

[0019] Next, the operation of the remote management device 22 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, in step S1, the worker 15 accesses the remote management device 22. If it is via the OT network 12, the worker 15 uses, for example, an IPC as the work terminal 16. If it is via the Internet 25, the worker 15 uses, for example, a personal computer as the work terminal 16. In step S2, the virtual machine setting unit 32 deploys the virtual machine 31. In step S3, the remote desktop control unit 33 displays a user interface for authentication on the screen of the work terminal 16. When the worker 15 inputs an ID and a password, the authentication unit 43 checks the access right based on the ID and the password. If the access right is granted in step S4, the worker 15 logs in to the virtual machine 31 from the work terminal 16. If the access right is denied, the processing operation returns to step S3.

[0020] When the worker 15 logs in, in step S5 the remote desktop control unit 33 displays a user interface for approval on the screen of the work terminal 16. The worker 15 applies for work based on the submission of work data 44. The work data 44 is stored in the storage unit 34, for example.

[0021] Similarly, in step S6, the approvers 17 and 19 access the remote management device 22. If via the OT network 12, the approvers 17 and 19 use, for example, an IPC as the approval terminals 18 and 21. If via the Internet 25, the approvers 17 and 19 use, for example, a personal computer as the approval terminals 18 and 21. The virtual machine 31 is deployed. In step S7, the remote desktop control unit 33 displays a user interface for authentication on the screens of the approval terminals 18 and 21. When the approvers 17 and 19 input their IDs and passwords, the authentication unit 43 confirms the access right based on the IDs and passwords. If the access right is granted in step S8, the approvers 17 and 19 log in to the virtual machine 31 from the approval terminals 18 and 21. If the access right is denied, the processing operation returns to step S7.

[0022] When the approver 17, 19 logs in, in step S9, the remote desktop control unit 33 displays a user interface for approval on the screen of the approval terminal 18, 21. Necessary images based on the work data 44 are displayed on the screen of the approval terminal 18, 21. When the approver 17, 19 approves the work, in step S10, the approval unit 45 issues access rights to the target consoles 35a, 35b, 35c or engineering tools 36a, 36b, 36c. The access rights are notified to the worker 15 at the work terminal 16.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 3, when an access right is issued, the worker 15 accesses the remote management device 22 at a determined date and time (step T1). If via the OT network 12, the worker 15 uses, for example, an IPC as the work terminal 16. If via the Internet 25, the worker 15 uses, for example, a PC as the work terminal 16. In step T2, the virtual machine setting unit 32 deploys the virtual machine 31. In step T3, the remote desktop control unit 33 displays a user interface for authentication on the screen of the work terminal 16. When the worker 15 inputs an ID and password, the authentication unit 43 confirms the access right based on the ID and password. If the access right is approved in step T4, the worker 15 logs in to the virtual machine 31 from the work terminal 16. If the access right is denied, the processing operation returns to step T3.

[0024] When the login of the worker 15 is confirmed, a remote desktop 37 is launched in the virtual machine 31. The virtual machine 31 deploys the target consoles 35a, 35b, 35c or engineering tools 36a, 36b, 36c in step T5. The worker 15 works based on the remote desktop 37. The control programs are changed in the manufacturing devices 13a, 13b, 13c. When the work is completed, the worker 15 logs out from the virtual machine 31 in step T6.

[0025] When the change management unit 39 confirms that the worker 15 has logged out, the change management unit 39 generates change history data 41 in step T7. Changes to the control program are recorded in the change history data 41. The change history data 41 is stored in the storage unit 34. Thereafter, the virtual machine setting unit 32 undeploys (shuts down) the virtual machine 31 in step T8.

[0026] The control programs to be installed in the manufacturing equipment 13a, 13b, and 13c are changed from an operation terminal 16 connected via an OT network 12. To change the control programs, an operator 15 accesses the consoles 35a, 35b, and 35c and the engineering tools 36a, 36b, and 36c for the manufacturing equipment 13a, 13b, and 13c via the OT network 12. To change the programs, the use of the consoles 35a, 35b, and 35c and the engineering tools 36a, 36b, and 36c can be limited to one console 35a, 35b, and 35c and one engineering tool 36a, 36b, and 36c, so that management of changes made to the programs is unified.

[0027] In this embodiment, the virtual machine 31 is shut down in response to logging out from the virtual machine 31. After the shutdown, access to the consoles 35a, 35b, 35c and the engineering tools 36a, 36b, 36c is blocked. Unauthorized access to the consoles 35a, 35b, 35c and the engineering tools 36a, 36b, 36c is prevented. The security of the manufacturing devices 13a, 13b, 13c is well ensured.

[0028] Consoles 35a, 35b, 35c and engineering tools 36a, 36b, 36c are installed in the virtual machine 31 for each of the manufacturing devices 13a, 13b, 13c. The consoles 35a, 35b, 35c and the engineering tools 36a, 36b, 36c are prepared for each model and manufacturer of the manufacturing devices 13a, 13b, 13c. In the remote management device 22, the access right to the virtual machine 31 is confirmed based on the information transmitted from the operation terminal 16 prior to constructing the virtual machine 31.

[0029] In the industrial machinery system 11, the worker 15 obtains approval for the work from the approvers 17 and 19 before the actual work. The work of the worker 15 is confirmed by a third party. Even if the worker 15 makes a mistake, the work content can be corrected. Since the consoles 35a, 35b, and 35c and the engineering tools 36a, 36b, and 36c are installed in the virtual machine 31 for each of the manufacturing devices 13a, 13b, and 13c, the approval procedure is ensured for all the consoles 35a, 35b, and 35c and the engineering tools 36a, 36b, and 36c even if the approval procedure is not originally prepared for the consoles 35a, 35b, and 35c and the engineering tools 36a, 36b, and 36c. Moreover, since the approval procedure is provided in common to all the manufacturing devices 13a, 13b, and 13c regardless of the type or manufacturer, the worker 15 and the approvers 17 and 19 only need to learn one set of approval procedures. The burden on the related parties is reduced.

[0030] Here, prior to the approval of the approvers 17, 19, the access rights of the approvers 17, 19 are confirmed based on information transmitted from approval terminals 18, 21 owned by the approvers 17, 19. Management of access rights is simplified.

[0031] The remote management device 22 according to this embodiment generates change history data 41 that records changes to the control program. Since changes to the program are managed by one console 35a, 35b, 35c or engineering tool 36a, 36b, 36c, all changes are reliably recorded. Furthermore, prior to the change, the access right to the virtual machine 31 is confirmed based on information transmitted from the work terminal 16. When changing the control program, the worker 15 is identified. Identifying the worker 15 creates a psychological sense of responsibility in the worker 15 when making the change. This increases the reliability of the work.

[0032] In the above-described embodiments, the manufacturing machines 13a, 13b, and 13c including NC machine tools, welding robots, painting robots, etc. are used as industrial machines, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, other industrial machines may be applied, such as power generation equipment installed in power generation facilities such as thermal power plants and hydroelectric power plants, transport equipment for transporting transported goods, disaster prevention equipment including building disaster prevention alarms, building fire extinguishers, sprinklers, etc., video equipment, audio equipment, and various other industrial machines. [Explanation of symbols]

[0033] 12 Network (OT Network) 13a, 13b, 13c Manufacturing equipment (industrial machinery) 15 Workers 16 Work Station 17,19 Approver 18,21 Approval terminal 25 Network (Internet) 31 Virtual Machines 35a, 35b, 35c Software for devices (console) 36a, 36b, 36c Equipment software (engineering tools) 41 Change History Data 44 Work Data

Claims

1. acquiring work data that identifies work content from a work terminal connected via a network; transmitting the work data via the network to an approver terminal owned by the approver; constructing a virtual machine in response to access via the network when the working data is approved; installing, on the virtual machine, software for equipment associated with the selected industrial machine; connecting the target industrial machine to the virtual machine based on the machine-oriented software; providing a user interface of the device software executed on the virtual machine to a work terminal connected via a network; changing a program installed in the industrial machine in response to an operation of the user interface; The present invention relates to a method for managing industrial machinery.

2. Prior to constructing the virtual machine, the method includes a step of confirming an access right to the virtual machine based on information transmitted from the operation terminal. The method for managing industrial machinery according to claim 1.

3. Prior to the approval of the approver, a step of confirming the access right of the approver based on information transmitted from a terminal owned by the approver is included. The method for managing industrial machinery according to claim 2.

4. shutting down the virtual machine in response to a logout from the virtual machine. The method for managing industrial machinery according to claim 1.

5. The equipment software is a console used to operate the industrial machine. The method for managing industrial machinery according to claim 4.

6. The device software is an engineering tool used to rewrite the program. The method for managing industrial machinery according to claim 4.

7. The method further comprises the step of generating change history data that records changes to the program. The method for managing industrial machinery according to claim 1.

8. Prior to the change, a step of confirming an access right to the virtual machine based on information transmitted from the operation terminal is included. The method for managing industrial machinery according to claim 7.

Images