Processing unit and program

Abstract

To improve the convenience of checking differences in engineering data. [Solution] The display control unit 11C displays a list of differences in engineering data on the display device. Furthermore, the operation reception unit 11D receives an operation from the operator to select one of the differences from the list of differences. Each piece of engineering data includes multiple setting data set for multiple devices. The display control unit 11C displays on the display device 15 the setting data (setting data including the properties that caused the difference) that caused the difference selected by the operation received by the operation reception unit 11D from among the multiple pieces of engineering data.

Description

Technical Field

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[0001] The present invention relates to a processing device and a program.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

[0007] Furthermore, the program according to this invention causes a computer to function as the above-mentioned processing unit. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, it is convenient to check the differences in engineering data. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] This figure shows the configuration of a system equipped with an engineering apparatus as a processing device according to one embodiment of this invention. [Figure 2] This figure shows an example of the structure of engineering data. [Figure 3] This is a hardware configuration diagram of the engineering equipment. [Figure 4] This is a diagram showing the configuration of the engineering equipment. [Figure 5] This diagram shows an example of the configuration of a change history log. [Figure 6] This is a flowchart for differential processing. [Figure 7] This figure shows an example of an image displayed on a display device. [Figure 8] This figure shows an example of an image displayed on a display device. [Figure 9] This figure shows an example of an image displayed on a display device. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] The embodiments of this invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

[0011] The processing device according to this embodiment is configured as an engineering device 10 for a facility monitoring system 1 for monitoring facilities such as factories and buildings. In addition to the engineering device, the facility monitoring system 1 includes a monitoring device 2, an integrated controller 3, a primary device 4, a plurality of secondary devices 5, and a switching hub 6. These are capable of communicating with each other. For example, devices 2-4 and 10 can communicate via the switching hub 6 and via a higher-level network NW1 such as BACnet (Building Automation and Control networking protocol). The primary device 4 can communicate with a plurality of secondary devices 5 via an arbitrary lower-level network NW2. The number of each device 2-6 and the engineering device 10 is arbitrary. Each secondary device 5 controls and monitors equipment (not shown) connected to it. The equipment is installed within the facility monitored by the facility monitoring system 1 and consists of, for example, sensors, thermometers, motors, dampers, or power meters.

[0012] The monitoring device 2 monitors the operation of the equipment connected to the secondary device 5 via the primary device 4 and the secondary device 5. Specifically, the monitoring device 2 acquires data necessary to monitor the operation of the equipment from any of the integrated controller 3, primary device 4, and secondary device 5 at predetermined intervals or in response to instructions from the user (e.g., facility manager). The monitoring device 2 then performs automatic monitoring based on the acquired data, configures a monitoring screen, and displays the configured screen on any display device. The user monitors and manages the status of each piece of equipment in the facility by viewing this screen.

[0013] The engineering device 10 performs engineering processing, including the creation of engineering data, and constructs the facility monitoring system 1. The engineering data is created by any method and stored in the engineering device 10.

[0014] Engineering data includes a plurality of setting data that is downloaded and set in each of devices 3 to 5.

[0015] The engineering device 10 causes the integrated controller 3 to download and set the setting data for the integrated controller 3 among the engineering data. The integrated controller 3 monitors the primary device 4 by operating based on the set setting data.

[0016] The engineering device 10 causes the primary device 4 to download and set the setting data for the primary device 4 among the engineering data. The primary device 4 monitors and controls the subordinate secondary device 5 by operating based on the set setting data.

[0017] The engineering device 10 causes the secondary device 5 to download and set the setting data for the secondary device 5 among the engineering data via the primary device 4. The secondary device 5 monitors and controls the subordinate devices by operating based on the set setting data. The devices are installed in the facility to be monitored by the facility monitoring system 1 and are composed of, for example, sensors, thermometers, motors, dampers, or power meters.

[0018] As shown in FIG. 2, engineering data is created with each set of setting data as one record. The setting data includes device-specific data that uniquely identifies the setting data with a "record number" and properties that identify the target device, such as "ID", "name", "type", and "address", and operation-specifying data that includes properties that specify the operation mode of the device, such as "first setting value" to "fourth setting value". "ID" includes at least one of the device ID and instance ID of the device. "Type" specifies the format of the device, such as whether the input of the device is in analog format or digital format. "Address" may include an IP address and a MAC address. Also, "address" may include information indicating the position (point) in System 1. The setting data may include point information indicating the position as a property separate from "address". The operation-specifying data is set in the device specified by the device-specific data, and the device operates in an operation mode corresponding to each property of the operation-specifying data. The operation-specifying data may include types of properties that are not set according to the device to be set, and in that case, the column for the property is blank ("-" in FIG. 2). The content of the engineering data is arbitrary, and known engineering data can be used. The engineering data may include a program, function, etc. for operating the target device as part of the operation-specifying data.

[0019] As an example of a method for generating engineering data, when constructing the facility monitoring system 1, the engineering device 10 creates a JOB file that includes the configuration information of each of the devices 3 to 5 and management information such as I / O information in accordance with the BACnet standard. The engineering device 10 generates engineering data based on the created JOB file.

[0020] The engineering device 10 is composed of various computers, such as personal computers. As shown in Figure 3, the engineering device 10 includes a processor 11 such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a storage device 12 which is a non-volatile storage device that stores programs 12 executed or used by the processor 11 and various data, and a main memory 13 which provides a workspace for the processor 11. The engineering device 10 further includes an operating device 14 into which operations by an operator (for example, a user such as a facility manager, or a system maintenance worker who has been requested to perform maintenance by a user) are input, a display device 15 which displays various images, and an I / O (Input / Output) 16 connected to a higher-level network NW1 and an external device 9 such as a printer.

[0021] The data stored in storage 12 includes engineering data 12A and 12B. Here, the engineering data handled by the engineering device 10 can be changed at will. Here, the engineering data before the change, that is, the set of setting data currently set in each device 3 to 5, is called engineering data 12A, and the engineering data after the contents of engineering data 12A have been changed is called engineering data 12B. In addition, when the engineering data is changed, the change history is recorded. The data stored in storage 12 includes a change history log 12C (details will be described later) that shows this change history.

[0022] The processor 11 of the engineering device 10 operates as the data modification unit 11A, difference detection unit 11B, display control unit 11C, operation reception unit 11D, difference output unit 11E, and data update unit 11F, as shown in Figure 4, by executing the program 12P stored in the storage 12.

[0023] The data modification unit 11A modifies the content of engineering data 12A based on the modification operation entered by the operator to the operating device 14, and records the modified engineering data as engineering data 12B in storage. The operator may further modify engineering data 12B, in which case engineering data 12B is updated each time a modification is made. Modification operations on engineering data 12A or 12B may be shared among multiple operators.

[0024] The data modification unit 11A registers the change history in the change history log 12C when the engineering data 12A or 12B is modified. The change history log 12C is configured as a database, as shown in Figure 5. Each record is registered each time a change occurs. Each record includes the "record number" of the modified record (setting data) that is associated with it, "items" indicating the properties that were actually changed in that record ("ID", "name", "type", "address", "1st setting value" to "4th setting value", etc.), "modified content" indicating the content of the property after the change, the "modifier ID" which is the ID of the worker who made the change (this may be the worker's name, etc. The same applies to the modifier ID hereafter), and the "modification date and time" which is the date and time of the change. The worker's ID, i.e., the modifier ID, is entered and used when the worker logs in to modify the engineering data 12A or 12B.

[0025] The difference detection unit 11B, the display control unit 11C, and the operation reception unit 11D work together to perform the difference processing shown in Figure 6. The difference processing is initiated, for example, when an operation specifying the difference between two engineering data sets 12A and 12B is input to the operation device 14.

[0026] In the display control process shown in Figure 6, first, the difference detection unit 11B compares engineering data 12A and engineering data 12B to detect the difference between them (step S11). The comparison is performed between records with the same record number.

[0027] After step S11, the display control unit 11C displays a list of the contents of engineering data 12A and 12B on the display device 15 in a manner that highlights the properties causing the differences (step S12). As shown in Figure 7, the lists of the setting data for engineering data 12A and 12B are displayed in a single window. The left area of ​​the window displays a list 101 of the contents of engineering data 12A, and the right area displays a list 102 of the contents of engineering data 12B. In addition, properties causing differences are displayed in a different manner than properties that do not cause differences (here, they are highlighted with shading). This display highlights the properties causing the differences. Since there are many properties in the engineering data, each data item displayed in the list cannot be displayed at once and is scrolled. Scrolling is performed by operating the scroll bars 103 and 104 of list 101 or the scroll bars 105 and 106 of list 102. The scroll positions of lists 101 and 102 may be linked. For example, if list 101 is scrolled using scroll bar 103, list 102 may also automatically scroll by the same amount in conjunction with that scroll.

[0028] The list displayed on the display device 15 is reviewed by the operator. At this time, the operator can perform an operation to instruct the display of the difference list by selecting a predetermined icon or the like.

[0029] When the display control unit 11C detects that the above operation has been input to the operating device 14, it extracts the records causing the differences from the engineering data 12A and 12B based on the differences detected by the difference detection unit 11B (step S13). Furthermore, the display control unit 11C generates a difference list and displays the generated difference list on the display device 15 (step S14). At this time, the display control unit 11C refers to the change history log 12C and generates a difference list including the changer ID and the change date and time for each location that has caused a difference. This difference list is shown in Figure 8. As shown in Figure 8, each row includes the "ID" included in the record that has caused the difference, the "item" of the property that has caused the difference, the "difference" indicating the content of the difference, the "changer ID" which is the ID of the worker who made the change related to the difference, and the "change date and time" when the change was made. The "difference property" includes the "before change" property included in the engineering data 12A and the "after change" property included in the engineering data 12B. The "Changer ID" and "Change Date and Time" for each row are obtained by referring to the change history log 12C using the "Changed Property," which is the property causing the difference in the engineering data 12B, along with the "ID" and "Item," as keys.

[0030] The displayed difference list is reviewed by the operator. The operator performs one of three operations: a first operation to instruct the output of the difference list, a second operation to select the desired pre-change property from the difference list, or a third operation to select the desired post-change property from the difference list. The first to third operations are input to the operating device 14. The first to third operations input to the operating device 14 are received by the operation reception unit 11D (step S15).

[0031] When the operation reception unit 11D receives the first operation, the difference output unit 11E outputs the difference list to the external device 9 via I / O 16 (step S16). For example, the difference output unit 11E outputs the difference list to a printing device as the external device 9 and performs printing. Alternatively, the difference output unit 11E may output the difference list to the operator's mobile terminal or the like as the external device 9.

[0032] When the operation reception unit 11D receives a second operation, the display control unit 11C displays a list of the contents of the engineering data 12A, including the property selected by the second operation, on the display device 15 (step S17). When the operation reception unit 11D receives a third operation, the display control unit 11C displays a list of the contents of the engineering data 12B, including the property selected by the third operation, on the display device 15 (step S18). For example, as shown in Figure 8, the display control unit 11C displays a list of the contents of the engineering data 12B at a scroll position where the record containing the selected property (in this case, "BAAC" among the modified properties) is displayed. In the example in Figure 8, the list of the contents of the engineering data 12B is displayed at a scroll position where the record containing the selected property (for example, identified by the selected property and the corresponding "ID" and "item") is at the top (the very top in Figure 8).

[0033] The engineering data 12B, in which differences have been identified, is either further modified by the operator or the modifications are completed. The contents of the engineering data 12B after completion are reflected in the devices 2-5 by the data update unit 11F. As a result, the setting data set in each device 2-5 is updated with the engineering data 12B.

[0034] As described above, according to this embodiment, the display control unit 11C displays a list of differences between engineering data 12A and 12B (see Figure 7) on the display device. Furthermore, the operation reception unit 11D receives an operation from the operator to select one of the differences from the list of differences, which is input into the operation device 14. Each piece of engineering data includes multiple setting data set in multiple devices 2 to 5, respectively. The display control unit 11C displays the setting data (setting data including the properties that caused the difference) that caused the difference selected by the operation reception unit 11D from among the multiple pieces of engineering data on the display device 15 (see Figure 8). This allows the operator to easily confirm the setting data that caused the difference. Therefore, the convenience of confirming differences in engineering data is improved.

[0035] Furthermore, the display control unit 11C displays a first list (see Figure 8) on the display device of the setting data that caused the selected difference from the engineering data 12A and 12B and other setting data (more specifically, setting data with similar record numbers). This allows the operator to check not only the setting data related to the difference but also the surrounding setting data, improving the operator's convenience.

[0036] The display control unit 11C displays the first list on the display device 15 by displaying the second list (list 101 or 102 in Figure 6), which shows the contents of multiple setting data constituting the engineering data 12A or 12B, at the scroll position where the first list is displayed. This allows the user to immediately check the setting data related to the differences within each setting data, improving the user's convenience. The second list may be scrolled sequentially so that the properties related to the differences are displayed each time the user performs a predetermined operation within the second list. The scroll direction may be set by the user.

[0037] In this embodiment, the contents of only one of the engineering data 12A or 12B, which includes the setting data that causes the selected difference, are displayed in a list (Figure 8). However, the display control unit 11C may display the comparison engineering data 12A and 12B side by side, as shown in Figure 6, instead of displaying only the contents of one of them.

[0038] When engineering data is modified (edited), the edited locations, i.e., the properties that result in differences, may be scattered across different locations, making it time-consuming for the worker to find them. This is especially true when multiple workers are involved in editing the engineering data. In this embodiment, the configuration data and other data, including the properties selected in the difference list, are displayed on the display device, making it easier to find the edited locations and improving the convenience for the worker.

[0039] Furthermore, this embodiment further includes a difference output unit 11E that outputs a difference list to the outside of the engineering device 10. The difference list output by the difference output unit 11E includes a changer ID that identifies the person who changed the engineering data that caused the difference, and the date and time of the change that caused the difference. Note that the changer ID can be changed to other changer identification information, such as the name of the person who made the change. The difference list allows verification of who performed what work and when the change occurred based on the changer, the date and time of the change, and the change content (difference properties). By leaving evidence using such a difference list, it is possible to easily prepare information that is useful for understanding the current situation during on-site maintenance work or when receiving requests for functional improvements from customers. In addition, even if multiple workers are involved in a single task, it is possible to isolate and identify whose work is related, which is useful for root cause analysis after a problem occurs.

[0040] (Scope of the present invention) The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above. For example, the present invention includes various modifications to the above embodiments and modifications that can be understood by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technical concept of the present invention. The configurations listed in the above embodiments and modifications can be combined as appropriate to the extent that they do not contradict each other. It is also possible to delete any of the above configurations.

[0041] As a variation, an open network other than BACnet may be used as the communication network for System 1. Also, the display device on which the display control unit 11C displays images may be a worker's terminal, etc. In this case, the display control unit 11C communicates with the terminal and displays various images on the terminal's display device. The worker selects the difference on their terminal. The selection reception unit communicates with the terminal and accepts the selection operation from the terminal. Furthermore, each of the above functions may be applied to the monitoring device 2. In other words, it is arbitrary what kind of device the processing device according to this embodiment is implemented with. The number of engineering data compared for difference extraction may be three or more. At least a part of each of the above parts 11A to 11F may be configured by FPGA, ASIC, etc.

[0042] (Note) The following examples illustrate configurations based on the above embodiments and modifications. Any partial configuration of the above embodiments and modifications may be applied to each appendix. Furthermore, parts of each appendix may be combined. (Note 1) A display control unit that displays a list of differences between multiple engineering data on a display device, The system includes an operation receiving unit that accepts an operation by an operator to select one of the differences from the aforementioned list of differences, Each of the aforementioned multiple engineering data includes multiple configuration data set for each of the multiple devices, The display control unit displays the setting data that caused the difference selected by the operation from among the plurality of engineering data on the display device. Processing device. (Note 2) The display control unit displays a first list of the setting data that is causing the difference and the other setting data from among the plurality of setting data on the display device. The processing apparatus described in Appendix 1. (Note 3) The display control unit displays the first list on the display device by displaying the second list of the plurality of setting data on the display device at the scroll position where the first list is displayed on the display device. The processing apparatus described in Appendix 2. (Note 4) The processing device further comprises a difference output unit that outputs the difference list to the outside of the processing device. The difference list output by the difference output unit includes, for each difference, information identifying the person who made the change to the engineering data that caused the difference, and the date and time of the change that caused the difference. The processing apparatus described in any of the appendices 1 to 3. (Note 5) A program that causes a computer to function as one of the processing units described in appendices 1 to 4. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0043] 1...Facility monitoring system, 2...Monitoring device, 3...Integrated controller, 4...Primary device, 5...Secondary device, 6...Switching hub, 9...External device, 10...Engineering device, 11...Processor, 11A...Data change unit, 11B...Difference detection unit, 11C...Display control unit, 11D...Operation reception unit, 11E...Difference output unit, 11F...Data update unit, 12...Storage, 12A...Engineering data, 12B...Engineering data, 12C...Change history log, 12P...Program, 13...Main memory, 14...Operation device, 15...Display device, 101,102...List, 103~106...Scroll bar, NW1~NW2...Lower network.

Claims

1. A display control unit that displays a list of differences between multiple engineering data on a display device, The system includes an operation receiving unit that accepts an operation by an operator to select one of the differences from the aforementioned list of differences, Each of the aforementioned multiple engineering data includes multiple configuration data set for each of the multiple devices, The display control unit displays the setting data that caused the difference selected by the operation from among the plurality of engineering data on the display device. Processing device.

2. The display control unit displays a first list of the setting data that is causing the difference and the other setting data from among the plurality of setting data on the display device. The apparatus according to claim 1.

3. The display control unit displays the first list on the display device by displaying the second list of the plurality of setting data on the display device at the scroll position where the first list is displayed on the display device. The apparatus according to claim 2.

4. The processing device further comprises a difference output unit that outputs the difference list to the outside of the processing device. The difference list output by the difference output unit includes, for each difference, information identifying the person who made the change to the engineering data that caused the difference, and the date and time of the change that caused the difference. The processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. A program that causes a computer to function as the processing unit described in claim 1.

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