Plant monitoring and control system

Abstract

To provide a plant monitoring control system capable of continuing automatic control, mitigating an operator's load, and diminishing an initial expense and maintenance expense of a sensor even when an abnormality occurs in the sensor disposed in a plant.SOLUTION: A plant monitoring control system includes: a process controller 3 that executes control of a facility apparatus in a plant; a central monitoring system 7 at which an operator monitors or operates the facility apparatus; an unmanned moving entity 5; and an unmanned moving entity controller 6 that sends and receives signals to or from the unmanned moving entity 5. The unmanned moving entity 5 includes a backup sensor 5a serving as an alternative when a failure occurs in a sensor 1 that is used to control the facility apparatus and is installed in the plant. The backup sensor 5a is used to measure the condition of the plant in response to a command issued from the unmanned moving entity controller 6.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present application relates to a plant monitoring and control system. [Background technology]

[0002] A conventional system that utilizes drones, which are unmanned mobile objects, has been disclosed in which, when an abnormality occurs at a specific location, a drone is flown to the location, image data of the abnormality is obtained using an imaging device mounted on the drone, and the image data is then transmitted from the drone to an administrator (see, for example, Patent Document 1 below). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2019-118084 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the past, for example in water treatment plants, there were few backup sensors for the sensors that measure the control state, and when a sensor essential for automatic control broke down, an operator had to go to the site and manually handle the problem. In addition, preparing a backup sensor for each of the many sensors increases the initial cost and maintenance cost.

[0005] On the other hand, the aforementioned Patent Document 1 discloses a method of using a drone to obtain image data when an abnormality occurs. However, there is a problem in that it is difficult to determine the water quality, which is necessary for the automatic control of a water treatment plant, from image data, and it cannot replace sensors that detect water quality.

[0006] The present application discloses technology for solving the problems described above, and aims to provide a plant monitoring and control system that allows automatic control to continue even if an abnormality occurs in various sensors deployed in the plant, thereby reducing the burden on operators and reducing the initial cost of sensors and maintenance costs. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The plant monitoring and control system disclosed in the present application includes a process controller that controls equipment in a plant, A central monitoring device for an operator to monitor and operate the facility equipment; Unmanned vehicles and An unmanned vehicle controller that transmits and receives signals between the unmanned vehicle and the unmanned vehicle, the unmanned vehicle is equipped with a backup sensor to serve as a substitute for a sensor for controlling equipment installed in the plant in the event of failure, and measures a state of the plant using the backup sensor in response to a command from the unmanned vehicle controller; The process controller breakdown In response to the detection, the unmanned vehicle controller breakdown a sensor abnormality detection unit that notifies the user of the abnormality; The unmanned mobile controller detects the abnormality of the sensor from the sensor abnormality detection unit. breakdown a location and route searching unit that searches for a location and route associated with the corresponding sensor in response to the notification, a movement control unit that controls the movement of the unmanned mobile body based on a search result from the location and route searching unit, and a signal exchange unit that receives measurement information obtained by the backup sensor of the unmanned mobile body and outputs the measurement information to the process controller, The process controller controls the equipment of the plant based on measurement information obtained by the backup sensor of the unmanned mobile body when a sensor for controlling the equipment installed in the plant fails. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the plant monitoring and control system of the present invention, even if an abnormality occurs in a sensor installed in a plant, an unmanned mobile vehicle automatically moves to the location of the sensor where the abnormality occurred, Plant control is carried out using data acquired by unmanned vehicles. This reduces the burden on operators and enables reductions in the initial and maintenance costs of the sensors. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a configuration diagram showing an overall configuration of a water treatment plant monitoring and control system according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration of a process controller according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 3] A functional block diagram showing the configuration of the drone controller of embodiment 1. [Figure 4] An explanatory diagram showing an example of a database that registers flight routes and the position information of each sensor that are pre-registered in the location route search unit of the drone controller. [Diagram 5] 3 is a flowchart showing a monitoring and control process of the water treatment plant monitoring and control system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of a process controller and a drone controller. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Embodiment 1 The following describes the application of the present application to the monitoring and control of a water treatment plant, but the present application is not limited to the monitoring and control of a water treatment plant, and can also be applied to the monitoring and control of other plants.

[0011] FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an entire water treatment plant monitoring and control system according to the first embodiment.

[0012] This water treatment plant monitoring and control system is equipped with a sensor 1 that measures the water level and water quality of the water flowing through an open conduit 17, and equipment 2 such as pumps and valves that perform water treatment. For convenience, only one sensor 1 is shown here, but in reality, many sensors are installed at required locations in the water treatment plant.

[0013] The water treatment plant monitoring and control system also includes a process controller (hereinafter referred to as process CTR) 3 that automatically controls the entire facility of the water treatment plant by sending and receiving signals between the sensor 1 and the facility device 2, and a central monitoring device (hereinafter referred to as OPS) 7 that monitors and operates the entire water treatment plant. Furthermore, as a feature of this first embodiment, it includes a drone 5 as an unmanned mobile body, and a drone controller (hereinafter referred to as drone CTR) 6 as an unmanned mobile body controller that automatically controls the drone 5. The process CTR 3, drone CTR 6, and OPS 7 are connected to each other via a plant bus 4.

[0014] Here, a case will be described in which a drone 5 is used as the unmanned mobile body, but the unmanned mobile body is not limited to such a drone 5, and it is also possible to use, for example, an unmanned mobile robot.

[0015] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the process CTR3 in FIG. When the sensor 1 previously installed in the water treatment plant is operating normally, the process CTR 3 outputs the measurement values ​​(data on water quality, water level, etc.) from the sensor 1 to the OPS 7 via the input unit 3a and the input / output unit 3b.

[0016] On the other hand, when an abnormality such as a failure of the sensor 1 occurs, the sensor abnormality detection unit 3c built into the process CTR 3 detects an abnormal situation such as no signal from the sensor 1. In response to this, the sensor abnormality detection unit 3c stops the flow of the signal from the sensor 1 to the input / output unit 3b via the input unit 3a, and switches so that the signal flows from the drone CTR 6 to the input / output unit 3b via the input unit 3d. Furthermore, the sensor abnormality detection unit 3c outputs an abnormality signal notifying the abnormality of the sensor 1 to the drone CTR 6 via the plant bus 4.

[0017] Figure 3 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of drone CTR6. The drone CTR6 has a location and route search unit 6a that searches for a location and route associated with the sensor 1 in response to receiving a notification of an abnormality in the sensor 1 from the process CTR3, a movement control unit 6b that controls the movement of the drone 5 based on the search results from the location and route search unit 6a, and a signal transmission / reception unit 6c that receives measurement information obtained by the backup sensor 5a of the drone 5 and outputs it to the process CTR3.

[0018] As shown in FIG. 4, the location route search unit 6a stores a map of the water treatment plant, information indicating the flight path of the drone 5, and the positions of each sensor 1 in a list as a database.

[0019] When the sensor 1 in the water treatment plant breaks down and an abnormality signal is output from the process CTR 3 in response, the location and route search unit 6a retrieves information on the location (position) and route of the water treatment plant linked to the sensor 1 from the database shown in Figure 4, and outputs the information to the movement control unit 6b.

[0020] Based on the information, the movement control unit 6b operates the drone 5 and commands it to fly to the site where the sensor 1 is located. In response to this, the drone 5 outputs (communicates) its current location to the movement control unit 6b to determine the current location.

[0021] The drone 5 is also equipped with a backup sensor 5a (specifically, a water quality sensor that measures water quality such as water temperature, pH, and dissolved oxygen) that measures water quality as a replacement for the sensor 1 installed in the water treatment plant in the event of a failure, and an imaging camera (not shown) that measures the water level. The drone 5 generates image data of the local situation including the water quality measured by the backup sensor 5a and the water level imaged by the imaging camera, and outputs the measurement data and image data to the drone CTR6.

[0022] Next, the overall operation of the water treatment plant monitoring and control system will be described with reference to the flow chart of Fig. 5. Note that the symbol S in the figure denotes each processing step.

[0023] The process CTR 3 constantly monitors whether there are any abnormalities in the sensor 1, which is used for automatic control of the water treatment plant (step S1), and if there is an abnormality such as a breakdown in the sensor 1, the sensor abnormality detection unit 3c transmits the corresponding sensor information to the drone CTR 6 (step S2).

[0024] 4, the database of the drone CTR6 lists in advance the location of each sensor 1, a map of the plant, and information indicating the route to each sensor 1. Therefore, when the drone CTR6 receives sensor information from the process CTR3, it refers to the map of the plant, information indicating the route, and the like stored in the database, and outputs a command to the drone 5 so that the drone 5 flies to the location associated with the sensor 1 transmitted from the process CTR3 (step S3). As a result, the drone CTR6 flies the drone 5 to the corresponding location.

[0025] When the drone 5 flies to the designated position (step S4), the backup sensor 5a mounted on the drone 5 measures, for example, the water quality of the water flowing in the open channel 17 to generate measurement data, and also generates image data of the local situation including the water level captured by the imaging camera, and outputs the measurement data and image data to the drone CTR in real time (step S5). When the signal transmission / reception unit 6c of the drone CTR 6 receives the measurement data and image data from the drone 5, it transmits the data to the process CTR 3.

[0026] The process CTR3 automatically controls the facility device 2 based on the measurement data and image data received from the drone CTR6 (step S6). The process CTR3 also transmits the measurement data and image data received from the drone CTR6, as well as failure information of the sensor 1, to the OPS7 via the plant bus 4. The OPS7 displays the measurement data, image data, and failure information of the sensor 1 received from the process CTR3 on a monitor (not shown) or the like (step S7).

[0027] As described above, in this embodiment 1, even if an abnormality occurs in the sensor 1 installed in the water treatment plant, information such as flow rate and water quality required for automatic control of the water treatment plant can be easily and continuously obtained by the measurement data detected by the backup sensor 5a mounted on the drone 5 and the image data captured by the imaging camera. Therefore, since the automatic control of the water treatment plant can be continued, commands to each facility device such as pumps and valves can be quickly and accurately issued, and the burden on the operator is reduced. In addition, although it may take several months to replace a broken sensor, continuous plant monitoring and control can be performed by the drone 5 during that time. Furthermore, since there is no need to install an extra backup sensor in the water treatment plant as in the past, the initial cost of the sensor and the maintenance cost are reduced.

[0028] In the above-mentioned first embodiment, the process CTR3 and the drone CTR6 are configured by hardware including a processor 100 and a storage device 101, as shown in FIG. Although not shown, The computer includes a volatile storage device such as a random access memory, and a non-volatile auxiliary storage device such as a flash memory. Alternatively, an auxiliary storage device such as a hard disk may be included instead of the flash memory. The processor 100 executes a program input from the storage device 101. In this case, the program is input from the auxiliary storage device to the processor 100 via the volatile storage device. The processor 100 may output data such as a calculation result to the volatile storage device of the storage device 101, or may store the data in the auxiliary storage device via the volatile storage device.

[0029] Although the present application describes exemplary embodiments, the various features, aspects, and functions described in embodiment 1 are not limited to application to a particular embodiment, but may be applied to embodiment 1 alone or in various combinations.

[0030] Therefore, countless modifications not illustrated are conceivable within the scope of the technology disclosed in this application, including, for example, modifying, adding, or omitting at least one component. [Explanation of symbols]

[0031] 1 sensor, 2 facility equipment, 3 process CTR, 3c sensor abnormality detection unit, 5 Drone (unmanned vehicle), 5a Backup sensor, 6 Drone CTR (unmanned mobile controller), 6a Location and route search unit, 6b movement control section, 6c signal receiving section.

Claims

1. A process controller that controls equipment in a plant; A central monitoring device for an operator to monitor and operate the facility equipment; Unmanned vehicles and An unmanned vehicle controller that transmits and receives signals between the unmanned vehicle and the unmanned vehicle, the unmanned vehicle is equipped with a backup sensor to serve as a substitute for a sensor for controlling equipment installed in the plant in the event of failure, and measures a state of the plant using the backup sensor in response to a command from the unmanned vehicle controller; The process controller includes a sensor abnormality detection unit that notifies the unmanned mobile body controller of a failure of the sensor in response to detection of a failure of the sensor, the unmanned mobile body controller includes a location and route searching unit that searches for a location and route associated with a sensor in response to a notification of a sensor failure from the sensor abnormality detection unit, a movement control unit that controls the movement of the unmanned mobile body based on a search result from the location and route searching unit, and a signal exchange unit that receives measurement information obtained by the backup sensor of the unmanned mobile body and outputs the measurement information to the process controller, The process controller controls the equipment of the plant based on measurement information obtained by the backup sensor of the unmanned mobile body when a sensor for controlling equipment installed in the plant fails.

2. The plant monitoring and control system according to claim 1 , wherein the unmanned mobile object is a drone or an unmanned mobile robot.

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