Industrial process configuration system based on unified model

Abstract

The invention discloses an industrial process configuration system based on a unified model, which comprises a unified process configuration module and a unified interaction and diagnosis module, and is characterized in that the unified process configuration module comprises a unified process modeling unit for providing a graphical configuration interface based on a single full-process model, the upper computer business logic and the lower computer control logic can be simultaneously defined in one editing environment, and unified standardized definition and management are carried out on all signals, variables and equipment interfaces in the process. According to the method, through unified modeling and configuration, the development complexity and communication cost are greatly reduced, and the project period is shortened; through interaction and diagnosis based on a unified model, an unprecedented full-link transparent view angle is provided for operation and maintenance personnel, and the operation and maintenance efficiency is greatly improved; the process design, development, test, deployment, monitoring and maintenance are all completed in a unified platform, a complete closed loop is formed, and the manageability of the whole system is improved.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the field of industrial automation control, more particularly, to an industrial process configuration system based on a unified model. BACKGROUND

[0002] In traditional industrial automation project development and operation, the core architecture is established on the basis of physical independence and logical separation of the host computer and the lower computer (PLC). This inherent "dual independence" system leads to the all-round fragmentation of the development state and the operation state.

[0003] 1. Development state fragmentation:

[0004] The host computer and the lower computer are two completely independent systems. The host computer system (usually IPC + Windows / Linux operating system) carries HMI / SCADA monitoring software and user business applications (such as visual processing, AI algorithms, data uploading) developed by high-level languages such as C# and Python. The lower computer system (usually PLC + special real-time operating system of various brands) is responsible for executing control logic (such as I / O scanning, logic operation, motion control) using ladder diagram, structured text and other special languages.

[0005] This independence leads to:

[0006] Process fragmentation: A complete production process (such as "take a photo -> AI recognition -> result judgment -> execute action") is artificially disassembled and scattered in two independent hardware, software and development environments for configuration and programming.

[0007] High communication cost: Developers must coordinate a large amount of tedious work on communication protocols, data addresses, variable meanings, interaction timing, etc. Any modification by one party may cause joint debugging errors, and the project management complexity and cost are extremely high.

[0008] 2. Isolation of the operation state:

[0009] The monitoring, interaction and diagnosis of the system during operation are also inefficient due to this independence.

[0010] Isolated monitoring interface: The host computer interface can only reflect the status and alarms of the host computer application layer, and cannot deeply penetrate the control logic sequence and register state of the PLC internal real-time running.

[0011] Independent diagnosis tool: Viewing the PLC program status must use the brand-specific programming software (such as TIAPortal, GX Works2) online connection, which is completely separated from the operation interface of the host computer.

[0012] The logs are scattered: the host computer logs application-layer business events (such as "received an image"); the lower-level PLC, due to its hardware limitations, can usually only provide extremely limited, non-continuous fault codes or register values. The two are out of sync in time and logically unrelated, forming two inseparable "data silos".

[0013] The serious consequences are as follows: When a system malfunctions (such as "product missed detection"), maintenance personnel need to log into both the host computer software and the PLC programming software separately, check two independent sets of logs and statuses, and then rely on their personal experience to manually compare and correlate the information from both on a timeline, painstakingly trying to deduce the root cause of the fault. This process is inefficient, heavily reliant on expert experience, and prone to misjudgment, resulting in a long mean time to repair (MTTR) and severely impacting production continuity.

[0014] Existing technologies lack a solution that can fundamentally break this "dual independence" architecture and cannot provide a unified perspective to span the entire lifecycle of industrial applications, from design and development to operation and maintenance. Summary of the Invention

[0015] In view of the problems existing in the prior art, the purpose of this invention is to provide an industrial process configuration system based on a unified model.

[0016] To solve the above problems, the present invention adopts the following technical solution;

[0017] An industrial process configuration system based on a unified model includes a unified process configuration module and a unified interaction and diagnosis module. The unified process configuration module includes:

[0018] The unified process modeling unit provides a graphical configuration interface based on a single full-process model, supporting the simultaneous definition of upper-level business logic and lower-level control logic in an editing environment, and providing unified and standardized definition and management of all signals, variables, and device interfaces in the process.

[0019] The node library provides logical control nodes and business processing nodes to meet the needs of complex applications.

[0020] The data context passing unit allows information processed by each node in the node library to be passed through the data context passing, enabling the natural flow of data in the process.

[0021] Modular and reusable units support multi-node grouping, combining multiple nodes into sub-processes;

[0022] The interactive standalone reconfiguration unit reconfigures the interaction process between upper and lower level machines, transforming cross-device communication into efficient data exchange within the system.

[0023] External integration form unit abstracts the integration interface with external systems into user-customizable forms, enabling rapid data exchange through no-code configuration.

[0024] The automatic verification unit performs automated verification of the configuration process, including variable conflict detection, interface protocol matching, and logical consistency checks.

[0025] The unified interaction and diagnostic module includes:

[0026] The native interactive interface unit provides a web-style human-computer interaction interface natively within the system. The native interactive interface unit renders and displays the current running status of the unified process model in real time.

[0027] The end-to-end data acquisition unit collects and stores runtime data and exception information from all nodes in the unified process model, and collects the execution status, start time, end time and time consumed for each node.

[0028] The end-to-end log building unit generates and stores end-to-end logs that run through business and application execution based on high-precision timestamps and process context, providing traceability of the complete execution path for any event;

[0029] The visual diagnostic analysis unit provides visual fault tree analysis based on a unified process model, automatically associates end-to-end log information with nodes, and displays the root cause path of the fault and recommends repair solutions through a graphical configuration interface.

[0030] The single-point test unit provides direct, manual testing of the system's underlying hardware interfaces through an interactive interface, enabling rapid diagnosis of hardware connection status and channel functionality.

[0031] The running process visualization unit is used to dynamically display the actual running status of the process.

[0032] Independent node debugging is used to independently execute and debug a single node in the graphical configuration interface, and view its configuration and real-time results.

[0033] As a further description of the above technical solution:

[0034] The host computer business logic includes image processing and AI inference nodes, and the slave computer control logic includes actuator control and timer nodes.

[0035] As a further description of the above technical solution:

[0036] The logical control nodes in the node library include sequence, branch, loop, timing and counting, and the business processing nodes include communication, image and AI.

[0037] As a further description of the above technical solution:

[0038] The no-code configuration method for the externally integrated form unit is to fill in either the API URL or the parameter mapping.

[0039] As a further description of the above technical solution:

[0040] The data acquisition unit of the whole link is used to collect data from the logical control nodes and business processing nodes of the node library. The execution status of each node includes four states: not executed, executing, successful and failed.

[0041] As a further description of the above technical solution:

[0042] The visualization diagnostic analysis unit is based on a real-time status graphical configuration interface view.

[0043] As a further description of the above technical solution:

[0044] The testing procedure for the single-point test unit is as follows:

[0045] Test commands are issued, allowing users to manually issue test commands such as forced on / off or forced writing of specific values ​​for individual I / O points;

[0046] Status reading verification: Real-time reading and display of the current physical status of a single I / O point, including voltage value and on / off status, and comparison with the issued command to verify whether the input / output function of the point is normal;

[0047] Connectivity diagnostics: Quickly identify connectivity problems at the hardware level, enabling rapid location and elimination of hardware faults.

[0048] As a further description of the above technical solution:

[0049] The configuration of the running process visualization unit is as follows:

[0050] Real-time status rendering dynamically displays the process graphical configuration interface diagram on the interactive interface during system operation;

[0051] Node status indicators use visual elements such as color, icons, and animations to indicate the current running status of each node in real time, including but not limited to:

[0052] Not executed: This node has not yet been triggered by the process;

[0053] Executing: This node is currently being processed;

[0054] Successful: This node has successfully completed processing;

[0055] Failed: This node failed to process, and a specific error message is associated with it;

[0056] Performance metrics are visualized. For completed nodes, their execution time is calculated and displayed in real time, and sorting or highlighting is supported by execution time.

[0057] Compared with the prior art, the advantages of this invention are:

[0058] (1) This solution completely breaks down the development-state separation: through unified modeling and configuration, the project development is transformed from the "two systems, two teams" model to "one model, one platform", which greatly reduces the development complexity and communication costs and shortens the project cycle; it completely breaks down the operation and maintenance state isolation: through interaction and diagnosis based on the unified model, it provides operation and maintenance personnel with an unprecedented full-link transparent perspective, transforming fault location from "blind men touching an elephant" to "panoramic insight", which greatly improves operation and maintenance efficiency; it achieves true lifecycle unified management: from process design, development, testing to deployment, monitoring and maintenance, all are completed within the unified platform, forming a complete closed loop and improving the manageability of the entire system.

[0059] (2) This solution improves system quality and reliability: automatic verification eliminates a large number of potential errors during the development phase; interactive standalone operation reduces network failure points; full-link monitoring ensures the reliability of system operation; lowers the technical threshold: features such as graphical configuration, form-based integration, and visual diagnosis reduce the requirements for the professional skills of development and maintenance personnel, allowing expert experience to be accumulated and reused; provides unprecedented operational perspective: through the operational process visualization unit, abstract process code is transformed into intuitive flowcharts with real-time status indicators, enabling maintenance personnel to "see at a glance" the operational health, execution progress, and failure points of the entire system, realizing "what you see is what you get" monitoring of complex industrial processes, greatly improving situational awareness and decision-making speed; empowers rapid on-site hardware debugging: through the built-in single-point test unit, maintenance personnel can quickly check the underlying hardware interfaces on a unified interactive interface without the need for multimeters, oscilloscopes, or dedicated PLC programming software, transforming hardware connectivity diagnosis from a tedious professional task into a simple click operation, greatly improving the efficiency of on-site debugging and maintenance. Attached Figure Description

[0060] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the industrial process configuration system of the present invention;

[0061] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the connection principle between the unified process configuration module and the underlying integrated control system of this invention.

[0062] Explanation of the labels in the diagram:

[0063] 1. Unified Process Configuration Module; 11. Unified Process Modeling Unit; 12. Node Library; 13. Data Context Transfer Unit; 14. Modularization and Reuse Unit; 15. Interactive Standalone Reconstruction Unit; 16. External Integration Form Unit; 17. Automatic Validation Unit; 2. Unified Interaction and Diagnosis Module; 21. Native Interactive Interface Unit; 22. End-to-End Data Acquisition Unit; 23. End-to-End Log Construction Unit; 24. Visual Diagnostic Analysis Unit; 25. Single-Point Testing Unit; 26. Runtime Process Visualization Unit; 27. Independent Node Debugging. Detailed Implementation

[0064] The technical solutions of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention;

[0065] Please see Figure 1 and Figure 2 The present invention provides Embodiment 1:

[0066] An industrial process configuration system based on a unified model includes a unified process configuration module 1 and a unified interaction and diagnostic module 2. The unified process configuration module 1 includes:

[0067] The Unified Process Modeling Unit 11 provides a graphical configuration interface based on a single full-process model. This graphical configuration interface can use a Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) and supports the simultaneous definition of upper-level business logic and lower-level control logic in an editing environment. It provides unified and standardized definition and management of all signals, variables, and device interfaces in the process. The upper-level business logic includes image processing and AI inference nodes, and the lower-level control logic includes actuator control and timer nodes, fundamentally eliminating process fragmentation. The model has built-in standardized management of various resources to ensure the consistency of the definitions of all signals, variables, and device interfaces used in the process.

[0068] Node library 12 provides logic control nodes and business processing nodes to meet the needs of complex applications. The logic control nodes in node library 12 include sequence, branch, loop, timing and counting, and the business processing nodes include communication, image and AI, thereby meeting the needs of complex applications.

[0069] Data context passing unit 13, the processing information of each node in node library 12 is passed through data context passing, realizing the natural flow of data in the process;

[0070] Modular and reusable unit 14 supports multi-node grouping, combining multiple nodes into sub-processes, simplifying the management of complex processes and promoting reuse;

[0071] The interactive standalone reconfiguration unit 15 reconfigures the interaction process between the upper and lower level machines, transforming cross-device communication into efficient data exchange within the system, reducing network dependence and latency.

[0072] The external integration form unit 16 abstracts the integration interface of external systems into user-customizable forms. External systems, such as MES, can quickly achieve data exchange through no-code configuration. The no-code configuration method of the external integration form unit 16 adopts one of filling in the API URL and parameter mapping.

[0073] Automatic verification unit 17 performs automated verification of the configuration process. The verification directions include variable conflict detection, interface protocol matching, and logical consistency check, so as to facilitate early detection of errors.

[0074] Automatic verification eliminates a large number of potential errors during the development phase; interactive standalone operation reduces network failure points; and end-to-end monitoring ensures the reliability of system operation.

[0075] Features such as graphical configuration, form-based integration, and visual diagnostics reduce the professional skill requirements for development and operations personnel, allowing expert experience to be accumulated and reused.

[0076] Please see Figure 1 and Figure 2 Based on Example 1, the present invention also provides Example 2:

[0077] The unified interaction and diagnostic module 2 includes: native interactive interface unit 21, which provides a web-style human-computer interaction interface natively within the system. The native interactive interface unit 21 renders and displays the current running status of the unified process model DAG in real time. This interface is not only a monitoring dashboard, but also an operation terminal that interfaces with the unified process model DAG.

[0078] The full-link data acquisition unit 22 collects and stores the running data and abnormal information from all nodes in the unified process model, and collects the execution status, start time, end time and time of each node. The nodes collected by the full-link data acquisition unit 22 are the logical control nodes and business processing nodes of the node library 12. The execution status of each node includes four states: not executed, executing, successful and failed.

[0079] The end-to-end log building unit 23 generates and stores end-to-end logs that run through business and application execution based on high-precision timestamps and process context, providing that any event can trace its complete execution path.

[0080] The visualization diagnostic analysis unit 24 provides visualization fault tree analysis based on a unified process model, automatically associates the full-link log information with nodes, displays the root cause path of the fault and recommends repair solutions through a graphical configuration interface. The visualization diagnostic analysis unit 24 is based on a real-time status graphical configuration interface view.

[0081] Single-point test unit 25 provides direct, manual testing functions for the system's underlying hardware interfaces through an interactive interface, enabling rapid diagnosis of hardware connection status and channel functionality. The testing process for single-point test unit 25 is as follows:

[0082] Test commands are issued, allowing users to manually issue test commands such as forced on / off or forced writing of specific values ​​for individual I / O points;

[0083] Status reading verification: Real-time reading and display of the current physical status of a single I / O point, including voltage value and on / off status, and comparison with the issued command to verify whether the input / output function of the point is normal;

[0084] Connectivity diagnostics: Quickly identify connectivity issues at the hardware level, enabling rapid location and troubleshooting of hardware faults, such as: whether sensor lines are open, whether actuators like solenoid valves are responding, and whether PLC communication module channels are intact.

[0085] The running process visualization unit 26 is used to dynamically display the real-time running status of the process. The configuration of the running process visualization unit 26 is as follows:

[0086] Real-time status rendering dynamically displays the process graphical configuration interface diagram on the interactive interface during system operation;

[0087] Node status indicators use visual elements such as color, icons, and animations to indicate the current running status of each node in real time, including but not limited to:

[0088] Not executed: This node has not yet been triggered by the process;

[0089] Executing: This node is currently being processed;

[0090] Successful: This node has successfully completed processing;

[0091] Failed: This node failed to process, and a specific error message is associated with it;

[0092] Performance metrics are visualized. For completed nodes, their execution time is calculated and displayed in real time, and sorting or highlighting is supported by execution time.

[0093] The runtime process visualization unit 26 transforms abstract process code into an intuitive flowchart with real-time status indicators, enabling maintenance personnel to "see at a glance" the overall system's operational health, execution progress, and fault points. This achieves "what you see is what you get" monitoring of complex industrial processes, greatly improving situational awareness and decision-making speed.

[0094] Independent Node Debug 27 is used to independently execute and debug individual nodes in the graphical configuration interface, and view their configuration and real-time results. With the built-in Independent Node Debug 27, maintenance personnel can quickly check the underlying hardware interfaces on a unified interactive interface without the need for multimeters, oscilloscopes or dedicated PLC programming software. This transforms hardware connectivity diagnosis from a tedious professional task into a simple click operation, greatly improving the efficiency of on-site debugging and maintenance.

[0095] The unified process configuration module and the unified interactive diagnostic module are based on the same full-process model. The DAG model defined by the configuration module can be directly reused as a real-time monitoring view by the running process visualization unit 26 in the operation and maintenance state, realizing a seamless transformation from "development blueprint" to "running dashboard". The node attributes and resource relationships in the model provide a unique context and semantic basis for status display and diagnostic analysis.

[0096] By unifying modeling and configuration, the project development model was transformed from "two systems, two teams" to "one model, one platform," which greatly reduced development complexity and communication costs, and shortened the project cycle.

[0097] Through interaction and diagnosis based on a unified model, it provides operations and maintenance personnel with an unprecedented full-link transparent perspective, transforming fault location from "blind men and the elephant" to "panoramic insight," greatly improving operations and maintenance efficiency.

[0098] From process design, development, and testing to deployment, monitoring, and maintenance, everything is completed within a unified platform, forming a complete closed loop and improving the manageability of the entire system.

[0099] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention; however, the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any equivalent substitutions or modifications made by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technology disclosed in the present invention, based on the technical solution and its improved concepts, should be covered within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A unified model based industrial process configuration system, characterized by, The application comprises a unified process configuration module (1) and a unified interaction and diagnosis module (2), wherein the unified process configuration module (1) comprises: a unified process modeling unit (11) providing a graphical configuration interface based on a single full-process model, supporting the definition of host machine business logic and lower machine control logic in one editing environment, and performing unified standardized definition and management of all signals, variables and device interfaces in the process; a node library (12) providing logic control nodes and business processing nodes to meet complex application requirements; a data context transmission unit (13) for transmitting information processed by each node in the node library (12) through data context transmission to realize the natural flow of data in the process; a modularization and reuse unit (14) supporting multi-node grouping and combining multiple nodes into a sub-process; an interaction single-machine reconstruction unit (15) for reconstructing the interaction process between the upper and lower machines and converting cross-device communication into efficient data exchange within the system; an external integration tabular unit (16) for abstracting the integration interface of external systems into a user-customizable form to quickly realize data exchange through a no-code configuration method; an automatic checking unit (17) for automatically checking the configured process, and the checking direction includes variable conflict detection, interface protocol matching and logic consistency check; the unified interaction and diagnosis module (2) comprises: a native interaction interface unit (21) natively providing a Web-type human-machine interaction interface within the system, which renders and displays the current running state of the unified process model in real time; a full-link data acquisition unit (22) for acquiring and storing running data and abnormal information from all nodes in the unified process model, and acquiring the execution state, start time, end time and time consumption of each node; a full-link log construction unit (23) for generating and storing full-link logs throughout the business and application execution based on high-precision timestamps and process context, and providing any event with a complete execution path for tracing; a visual diagnosis analysis unit (24) for providing visual fault tree analysis based on the unified process model, automatically associating full-link log information with nodes, and displaying fault root cause paths and recommending repair solutions through a graphical configuration interface; a single-point testing unit (25) for providing direct and manual testing functions for the underlying hardware interface through the interaction interface, which is used for quickly diagnosing the hardware connection state and channel function normality; a running state process visualization unit (26) for dynamically displaying the running live of the process. Independent node debugging (27) is used for independently executing and debugging a single node in the graphical configuration interface and viewing its configuration and real-time results.

2. The unified model based industrial process configuration system of claim 1, wherein: The host machine business logic comprises image processing and AI inference nodes, and the lower machine control logic comprises actuator control and timer nodes.

3. The unified model based industrial process configuration system of claim 1, wherein: The logic control nodes in the node library (12) comprise sequence, branching, loop, timing and counting, and the business processing nodes comprise communication, image and AI.

4. The unified model based industrial process configuration system of claim 1, wherein: The no-code configuration method of the external integration tabular unit (16) adopts one of filling in API URL and parameter mapping.

5. The unified model based industrial process configuration system of claim 1, wherein: The full-link data collection unit (22) collects nodes for the logical control nodes and service processing nodes of the node library (12), and the execution state of each node includes four states of not executed, executing, successfully executed, and failed.

6. The unified model based industrial process configuration system of claim 1, wherein: The visualization diagnosis analysis unit (24) is based on a real-time state graphical configuration interface view.

7. The unified model based industrial process configuration system of claim 1, wherein: The single-point test unit (25) has the following test procedures: Test instructions are issued, and users manually issue test instructions such as forced on / off and forced writing of specific values for a single I / O point; State reading verification: The current physical state of a single I / O point is read and displayed in real time, including voltage value and on / off state, and is compared with the issued instructions to verify whether the input / output function of the point is normal; Connectivity diagnosis: Quickly judge the connectivity problem of the hardware level, and quickly locate and exclude hardware faults.

8. The unified model based industrial process configuration system of claim 1, wherein: The running state flow visualization unit (26) is configured as follows: Real-time state rendering: During system operation, the flow graphical configuration interface diagram is dynamically displayed on the interactive interface; Node state indication: The current running state of each node is identified in real time through visual elements such as color, icon, and animation, including but not limited to: Not executed: The node has not been triggered by the flow; Executing: The node is being processed; Successfully executed: The node has successfully completed processing; Failed: The node processing fails, and specific error information is associated; Performance indicator visualization: For the completed nodes, the execution time is calculated and displayed in real time, and sorting or highlighting according to the execution time length is supported.

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