Industrial control system programming platform variable synchronization method and system

Abstract

The invention discloses an industrial control system programming platform variable synchronization method and system, and relates to the technical field of industrial control systems, and the method comprises the steps: configuring a variable synchronization function in logic configuration software based on the logic configuration software and a server to which the logic configuration software belongs as a variable synchronization server and a client, and generating a variable file during project compiling, the generated variable file is stored in a shared folder, and the shared folder can be accessed by a client; on the basis that monitoring configuration software serves as a client side of variable synchronization, a variable synchronization visual operation interface is provided, and variable file verification, a variable file tree structure, variable file detailed information and synchronous operation, variable roll call and description modification are configured on the visual interface. According to the method, a client active synchronization mode is adopted, compared with passive synchronization, active synchronization is safer and more stable, cross-platform variable synchronization is supported, and the barrier of variable synchronization of different platforms is eliminated.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of industrial control systems, and in particular to a method and system for synchronizing variables on an industrial control system programming platform. Background Art

[0002] The current industrial control system programming platform is mainly composed of logic configuration software and monitoring configuration software. There are information islands in the variables of the two software. The variable files constructed by users in the logic configuration software cannot be directly reused in the monitoring configuration software, and the increase, reduction, deletion and modification of variables in the logic configuration software cannot be directly synchronized to the monitoring configuration software. The level of intelligence of variables constructed by the industrial control system programming platform is low, which also increases the communication failure rate of the industrial control system.

[0003] Currently, there are two main ways to synchronize variables on the industrial control system programming platform:

[0004] Logic configuration software synchronizes data point table:

[0005] The logic configuration software completes the variable creation and synchronizes the point table to the monitoring configuration software variable database.

[0006] Manual synchronization via variable files:

[0007] The logic configuration software completes variable creation and exports a variable file. The user selects relevant attributes in the variable file according to the format required by the monitoring configuration software to establish a variable database for the monitoring configuration software. Summary of the invention

[0008] The embodiment of the present application provides a method and system for synchronizing variables on an industrial control system programming platform, which adopts a client-side active synchronization method. Compared with passive synchronization, active synchronization is more secure and stable, supports cross-platform variable synchronization, and eliminates barriers to variable synchronization on different platforms.

[0009] The embodiment of the present application provides a method for synchronizing variables on a programming platform of an industrial control system, wherein the industrial control system includes a programmable logic controller, logic configuration software, and monitoring configuration software, wherein the programmable logic controller is used for industrial control field data collection, control layer data processing, communication with the monitoring configuration software, and control instruction execution tasks, the logic configuration software is used for program editing in a production environment, mutual conversion between different programming languages, simulation of control programs, and communication with hardware, and the monitoring configuration software is used for communication with the programmable logic controller, data visualization display, and control instruction issuance, and the variable synchronization method includes:

[0010] Based on the logic configuration software and its server as a variable synchronization server, a variable synchronization function is configured in the logic configuration software to generate a variable file when the project is compiled, and the generated variable file is stored in a shared folder, and the shared folder can be accessed by the client;

[0011] Based on the monitoring configuration software as a client of variable synchronization, a variable synchronization visual operation interface is provided, and the visual interface is configured with variable file verification, variable file tree structure, variable file detailed information and synchronization operation, variable naming and description modification.

[0012] Optionally, the shared folder includes two levels, wherein the first level is a project folder, and the second level is a programmable controller variable folder;

[0013] When the logic configuration software detects that the generation attributes of the variable files have been configured in the current project during the project compilation process, the variable files with corresponding attributes are directly generated in the shared folder based on the generation attributes.

[0014] Optionally, the attributes of the generated variable file include: a file version number in a preset format, a communication protocol type, and data point detailed information, wherein the data point detailed information is different depending on the communication protocol type.

[0015] Optionally, the variable file verification configured in the variable synchronization visual operation interface is specifically used for client-side file and server-side file verification, and the verification content includes:

[0016] Data source server, server file version, project database version, controller, and protocol type.

[0017] Optionally, the variable file tree structure configured in the variable synchronization visualization operation interface is specifically used to display the contents of a shared folder in the variable synchronization server in a tree structure after selecting a data source server, wherein the displayed tree structure is a three-level structure, the first level being the variable synchronization server name, the second level being the project folder, and the third level being the programmable logic controller variable file, which is consistent with the contents of the shared folder.

[0018] Optionally, the variable file detailed information and synchronization operation configured in the variable synchronization visualization operation interface are used to select a programmable logic controller from the variable file tree structure and perform partial variable synchronization according to the variable detailed information, including display of all variables, display of newly added variables, and display of attribute-changed variables; wherein,

[0019] Display all variables: Display all variables in the selected variable file without distinction;

[0020] Newly added variable display: Display newly added variables according to the special attributes in the specification type;

[0021] Attribute change variable display: Display attribute change variables according to special attributes in the specification type.

[0022] Optionally, a variety of modification methods are provided for modifying the variable names and descriptions configured in the variable synchronization visualization operation interface.

[0023] An embodiment of the present application further proposes an industrial control system, which includes a processor and a memory, wherein a computer program is stored in the memory, and when the computer program is executed by the processor, the steps of the aforementioned industrial control system programming platform variable synchronization method are implemented.

[0024] This application adopts the client-side active synchronization method. Compared with passive synchronization, active synchronization is more secure and stable, supports cross-platform variable synchronization, and eliminates the barriers to variable synchronization on different platforms.

[0025] The above description is only an overview of the technical solution of the present application. In order to more clearly understand the technical means of the present application, it can be implemented in accordance with the contents of the specification. In order to make the above and other purposes, features and advantages of the present application more obvious and easy to understand, the specific implementation methods of the present application are listed below. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] Various other advantages and benefits will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art by reading the detailed description of the preferred embodiments below. The accompanying drawings are only for the purpose of illustrating the preferred embodiments and are not to be considered as limiting the present application. Also, the same reference symbols are used throughout the accompanying drawings to represent the same components. In the accompanying drawings:

[0027] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the variable synchronization process of the industrial control system programming platform of the embodiment method of the present application;

[0028] Figure 2 The figure is a schematic diagram of the variable synchronization interface area division of the method according to the embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Although the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are shown in the accompanying drawings, it should be understood that the present disclosure can be implemented in various forms and should not be limited by the embodiments set forth herein. On the contrary, these embodiments are provided to enable a more thorough understanding of the present disclosure and to fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to those skilled in the art.

[0030] The programmable logic controllers of industrial control systems are mostly deployed on-site, and the logic configuration software is mostly used on-site in conjunction with the programmable logic controllers. The monitoring configuration software is generally located in a remote monitoring room to monitor the status of on-site equipment. In addition, large-scale industrial control systems have very high information security level requirements. If media transmission is used, it is necessary to go through processes such as CD burning and security checks.

[0031] The logical configuration software synchronizes the data point table. This method is based on a local area network and is mainly run on a computer with a Windows operating system. The data point table is synchronized to the monitoring configuration software database. This method is a passive synchronization method of the monitoring configuration software. The monitoring configuration software cannot take the initiative in synchronizing its own point table. Generally, the users of the logical configuration software and the monitoring configuration software are different people. The monitoring configuration software is accompanied by a software restart process while passively accepting synchronization, which can easily cause the loss of the monitoring screen. In addition, if there is an interruption during the synchronization of the logical configuration software, the monitoring configuration software project will be damaged. The passive synchronization method of the monitoring configuration software is extremely dangerous and is not conducive to the safe and stable operation of the system.

[0032] Manual synchronization is performed through variable files. This method is mostly used when the logic configuration software and the monitoring configuration software belong to different manufacturers. The variable files are frequently imported and exported, and physical media such as CDs are required. The engineering efficiency is extremely low, and this method cannot check the addition, reduction, deletion, and modification of variables, which is prone to problems such as variable misalignment and leakage.

[0033] Based on this, an embodiment of the present application provides a variable synchronization method for an industrial control system programming platform. The industrial control system includes a programmable logic controller, logic configuration software, and monitoring configuration software. The variable synchronization method of the present application is based on the variable file compiled and generated by the logic configuration software, and uses the Internet as the transmission medium. The solution is designed with a CS (server / client) architecture and can achieve cross-platform (i.e., Windows operating system and Linux operating system) synchronization. In a specific example, the programmable logic controller is used for industrial control field data collection, control layer data processing, communication with the monitoring configuration software, and control instruction execution tasks. The logic configuration software is used for program editing in the production environment, mutual conversion between different programming languages, simulation of control programs, and communication with hardware. The monitoring configuration software is used for communication with the programmable logic controller, data visualization display, control instruction issuance, and advanced intelligent application tasks, such as Figure 1 As shown, the variable synchronization method includes:

[0034] Based on the logic configuration software and its server as a variable synchronization server, a variable synchronization function is configured in the logic configuration software to generate variable files when the project is compiled, and the generated variable files are stored in a shared folder. The shared folder can be accessed by the client, for example, it can be accessed remotely by the client.

[0035] Based on the monitoring configuration software as a client of variable synchronization, a variable synchronization visual operation interface is provided, and the visual interface is configured with variable file verification, variable file tree structure, variable file detailed information and synchronization operation, variable naming and description modification.

[0036] This application adopts the client-side active synchronization method. Compared with passive synchronization, active synchronization is more secure and stable, supports cross-platform variable synchronization, and eliminates the barriers to variable synchronization on different platforms.

[0037] In some embodiments, the shared folder includes two levels, wherein the first level is a project folder and the second level is a programmable controller variable folder;

[0038] When the logic configuration software detects that the generation attributes of the variable files have been configured in the current project during the project compilation process, the variable files with corresponding attributes are directly generated in the shared folder based on the generation attributes.

[0039] In some embodiments, the attributes of the generated variable file include: a file version number in a preset format, a communication protocol type, and data point detailed information, wherein the data point detailed information is different depending on the communication protocol type.

[0040] Specifically, the variable file should contain the following properties:

[0041] The version number of this file is in the format of V.YYYY-MM-DD.XXXX, where V is the version identifier, YYYY is the year, MM is the month, DD is the day, and XXXX is the serial number. The serial number ranges from 0001 to 9999, for example, V.2000-01-01.0001. After adding, subtracting, deleting, or modifying variable points in the logic configuration software, the project is compiled and the file version number is updated. The serial number increases by one each time. If there is no addition, subtraction, deletion, or modification, the file version number will not increase.

[0042] The communication protocol type refers to the communication protocol type between the programmable logic controller and the monitoring configuration software, specifically SCTP-SCADA1, SCTP-SCADA2, SCTP-ModBusTCP, standard ModBusTCP, ModBusRTU, etc.

[0043] Data point detailed information, depending on the type of communication protocol, the detailed point information is different. For example: the detailed attributes of the SCTP-SCADA1 protocol are point name, point description, protocol type, controller number, channel number, slave address, register address and data type; the detailed attributes of the SCTP-SCADA2 protocol are point name, point description, protocol type, controller number, channel number and data type. The detailed attributes of the SCTP-ModBus and standard ModBus protocols are point name, point description, protocol type, controller number, register type, register address and data type.

[0044] In engineering applications, an industrial control system may have multiple variable synchronization servers equipped with logic configuration software. In some specific examples, the monitoring configuration software, as a variable synchronization client, has both the function of scanning and adding variable synchronization servers in the local area network and the function of manually adding variable synchronization servers.

[0045] The monitoring configuration software has developed a variable synchronization visual operation interface, such as Figure 2 As shown, the interface is mainly divided into four parts, namely: variable file verification, variable file tree structure, variable file detailed information and synchronization operation, variable naming and description modification, and variable synchronization interface area division. In some embodiments, the variable file verification configured in the variable synchronization visual operation interface is specifically used for client file and server file verification, and the verification content includes: data source server, server file version, project database version, controller, and protocol type.

[0046] In the specific example, this can be achieved as follows:

[0047] Data source server: Select the configured variable synchronization server by dropping down the selection.

[0048] Server file version number: This version number is automatically generated in the variable file after the logic configuration software is compiled.

[0049] Project database version number: This version number is the version number of the local database generated by the monitoring configuration software. It is mainly used to verify the server file version number. Generally, the server file version number should be higher than the project database version number.

[0050] Controller number: The number of the programmable logic controller that has been defined in the monitoring configuration software to communicate with it. Select the configured programmable logic controller number through the drop-down selection method.

[0051] Protocol type: The protocol type has been selected when configuring the programmable logic controller. After selecting the controller number, the protocol type is automatically filled in here.

[0052] In some embodiments, the variable file tree structure configured in the variable synchronization visualization operation interface is specifically used to display the contents of a shared folder in the variable synchronization server in a tree structure after selecting a data source server, wherein the displayed tree structure is a three-level structure, the first level being the variable synchronization server name, the second level being the project folder, and the third level being the programmable logic controller variable file, which is consistent with the contents of the shared folder.

[0053] In some embodiments, the variable file detailed information and synchronization operation configured in the variable synchronization visual operation interface are used to select a programmable logic controller from the variable file tree structure and perform partial variable synchronization according to the variable detailed information, including displaying all variables, displaying newly added variables, and displaying attribute-changed variables; wherein,

[0054] Display all variables: Display all variables in the selected variable file without distinction;

[0055] Newly added variables display: Display newly added variables according to the protocol type; for example, SCTP-SCADA1 is judged according to the channel number, SCTP-SCADA2 is judged according to the sequence number, and SCTP-ModBus and standard ModBus are judged according to the register address.

[0056] Attribute change variable display: Display attribute change variables according to the special attributes in the protocol type. The included changed attributes include point name, point description and data type. SCTP-SCADA1 judges based on the channel number, SCTP-SCADA2 judges based on the sequence number, and SCTP-ModBus and standard ModBus judge based on the register address.

[0057] In other examples, the interface also includes import content selection. In the above three modes, three display methods are provided, which can import all and select imports. At the same time, based on the above three modes, two methods of point name filtering and point description filtering are provided, which can import all and select imports of the filtering structure.

[0058] In some embodiments, the variable naming and description modification configured in the variable synchronization visual operation interface provides multiple modification methods. For example, the variable naming and description modification respectively provide the methods of using source file naming, adding word prefixes, adding word suffixes, adding word prefixes and word suffixes at the same time, and string replacement.

[0059] The method of this application realizes the automatic synchronization function of variable files in the industrial control system, abolishes the user copy and paste synchronization method, and greatly improves work efficiency. This application is designed with CS architecture, supports cross-platform variable synchronization, and eliminates the barriers to variable synchronization on different platforms. This application adopts the client active synchronization method, which is safer and more stable than passive synchronization.

[0060] This application supports multiple data synchronization servers. The variable files have detailed version numbers, which can unify the variable files of multiple servers. This application can automatically identify the addition, subtraction, deletion, and modification of variable points, which improves the accuracy compared to manual identification and recording. This application provides the functions of screening, naming, and batch modification of point descriptions, which reduces workload, saves working time, and improves work efficiency.

[0061] An embodiment of the present application further proposes an industrial control system, which includes a processor and a memory, wherein a computer program is stored in the memory, and when the computer program is executed by the processor, the steps of the aforementioned industrial control system programming platform variable synchronization method are implemented.

[0062] It should be noted that in the various embodiments of the present application, the terms "include", "comprise" or any other variants thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or device including a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also includes other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or device. In the absence of further restrictions, an element defined by the sentence "includes a ..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article or device including the element.

[0063] The serial numbers of the above-mentioned embodiments of the present application are for description only and do not represent the advantages or disadvantages of the embodiments.

[0064] Through the description of the above implementation methods, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the above-mentioned embodiment methods can be implemented by means of software plus a necessary general hardware platform, and of course by hardware, but in many cases the former is a better implementation method. Based on such an understanding, the technical solution of the present application, or the part that contributes to the prior art, can be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium (such as ROM / RAM, a magnetic disk, or an optical disk), and includes a number of instructions for a terminal (which can be a mobile phone, a computer, a server, an air conditioner, or a network device, etc.) to execute the methods described in each embodiment of the present application.

[0065] The embodiments of the present application are described above in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, but the present application is not limited to the above-mentioned specific implementation methods. The above-mentioned specific implementation methods are merely illustrative and not restrictive. Under the guidance of the present application, ordinary technicians in this field can also make many forms without departing from the purpose of the present application and the scope of protection of the claims, all of which are within the protection of the present application.

Claims

1. A method for synchronizing variables in an industrial control system programming platform, characterized in that: The industrial control system includes a programmable logic controller, logic configuration software and monitoring configuration software, wherein the programmable logic controller is used for industrial control field data collection, control layer data processing, communication with the monitoring configuration software and control instruction execution tasks, the logic configuration software is used for program editing in the production environment, mutual conversion between different programming languages, simulation of control programs and communication with hardware, the monitoring configuration software is used for communication with the programmable logic controller, data visualization display and control instruction issuance, and the variable synchronization method includes: Based on the logic configuration software and its server as a variable synchronization server, the variable synchronization function is configured in the logic configuration software to generate a variable file when the project is compiled, and the generated variable file is stored in a shared folder, and the shared folder can be accessed by the client; Based on the monitoring configuration software as a client of variable synchronization, a variable synchronization visual operation interface is provided, and the visual interface is configured with variable file verification, variable file tree structure, variable file detailed information and synchronization operation, variable naming and description modification.

2. The method for synchronizing variables in an industrial control system programming platform according to claim 1, characterized in that: The shared folder includes two levels, wherein the first level is a project folder and the second level is a programmable controller variable folder; When the logic configuration software detects that the generation attributes of the variable files have been configured in the current project during the project compilation process, the variable files with corresponding attributes are directly generated in the shared folder based on the generation attributes.

3. The method for synchronizing variables in an industrial control system programming platform according to claim 2, characterized in that: The attributes of the generated variable file include: a file version number in a preset format, a communication protocol type, and data point detailed information, wherein the data point detailed information is different according to the communication protocol type.

4. The method for synchronizing variables in an industrial control system programming platform according to claim 1, characterized in that: The variable file verification configured in the variable synchronization visual operation interface is specifically used for client-side file and server-side file verification. The verification content includes: Data source server, server file version, project database version, controller, and protocol type.

5. The method for synchronizing variables in an industrial control system programming platform according to claim 1, characterized in that: The variable file tree structure configured in the variable synchronization visualization operation interface is specifically used to display the contents of the shared folder in the variable synchronization server in a tree structure after selecting the data source server, wherein the displayed tree structure is a three-level structure, the first level is the variable synchronization server name, the second level is the project folder, and the third level is the programmable logic controller variable file, which is consistent with the shared folder content.

6. The method for synchronizing variables in an industrial control system programming platform as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that: The variable file detailed information and synchronization operation configured in the variable synchronization visual operation interface are used to select a programmable logic controller from the variable file tree structure and perform partial variable synchronization according to the variable detailed information, including display of all variables, display of newly added variables and display of attribute changed variables; wherein, Display all variables: Display all variables in the selected variable file without distinction; Newly added variable display: Display newly added variables according to the special attributes in the specification type; Attribute change variable display: Display attribute change variables according to special attributes in the specification type.

7. The method for synchronizing variables in an industrial control system programming platform according to claim 5, characterized in that: The variable synchronization visual operation interface configuration variable naming and description modification provides a variety of modification methods.

8. An industrial control system, characterized in that: The industrial control system includes a processor and a memory, wherein a computer program is stored in the memory, and when the computer program is executed by the processor, the steps of the industrial control system programming platform variable synchronization method as described in any one of claims 1 to 7 are implemented.

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