Monitoring device and monitoring method

Abstract

To make it possible to accurately calculate an increment of an integrated value excluding an increment due to preset processing regardless of a protocol of a lower-graded device.SOLUTION: A monitoring device 3 comprises: a first acquisition unit 31 that acquires an integrated value obtained by a lower-level device; a reception unit 32 that receives a preset instruction to replace the integrated value obtained by the lower-level device with a preset value; a second acquisition unit 33 that accesses the lower-level device that has received the preset instruction and acquires the integrated value held by the lower-level device at the time of the access as the integrated value before presetting; a preset unit 34 that performs preset processing after the integrated value before presetting is acquired; and an increment calculation unit 35 that calculates an increment of the integrated value excluding the increment due to the preset processing based on the integrated value acquired before receiving the preset instruction, the integrated value before presetting, the preset value, and the integrated value acquired after performing the preset processing.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a monitoring apparatus and a monitoring method for monitoring or controlling a lower-level device that is a target of monitoring. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, systems using open networks such as BACnet (Building Automation and Control Network) have been widely used as monitoring systems for monitoring or controlling multiple field control devices in a building. By using BACnet, it is possible to build a multi-vendor system that can connect systems such as air conditioning equipment, lighting equipment, electrical equipment, and disaster prevention equipment manufactured by different manufacturers and monitor or control them collectively.

[0003] In relation to this, Patent Document 1 discloses a protocol conversion system in which BACnet and a manufacturer-specific network are connected via a protocol converter. According to this system, when new equipment such as an indoor unit is connected to the manufacturer-specific network, the protocol converter automatically recognizes the equipment and generates management information for the equipment, thereby reducing the effort required for the administrator to input management information into the protocol converter. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2005-130025 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Incidentally, BACnet is developed and maintained by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), and the protocol revision is updated each time a new function is added. With BACnet, functions are added while ensuring interoperability between the new protocol revision after an update and the older protocol revision. Therefore, with BACnet, products that use older revisions can be interoperable with products that use the newer revision after an update.

[0006] In Japan, the decision was made to adopt BACnet in 2000. However, after discussions at the Institute of Electrical Installation Engineers of Japan, it was found that BACnet had some shortcomings when applied to building systems in Japan. As a result, the Institute of Electrical Installation Engineers of Japan published "IEIEJ-P-0003:2000" (hereafter referred to as P3), a standard based on BACnet with some extensions. Currently, devices based on this P3 are available on the market in Japan.

[0007] However, in the future, when systems that use P3 are updated in Japan, the updated system will be one that complies with BACnet. This is because the Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan has abandoned the P3 regulations, which it had independently extended, and has decided to adopt "IEIEJ-G-0006:2006" (hereafter referred to as G6), a guideline that complies with BACnet. In this case, it is practically impossible to update all devices at once, so the system will be updated in stages. In that case, it is expected that there will be cases in which some systems have a mixture of P3-compatible devices and G6-compatible devices.

[0008] As described above, when devices compatible with P3 and devices compatible with G6 are mixed, a concern is the difference in the preset method between P3 and G6. Presetting refers to replacing an integrated value or the like held in a device with a predetermined preset value according to an instruction from an engineer (user), for example.

[0009] The difference between the preset methods will be described with a concrete example. Fig. 6 is a diagram for explaining the flow of preset processing in a monitoring system including a monitoring device 300 compatible with G6 and a controller 200 also compatible with G6.

[0010] The controller 200 is a lower device to be monitored by the monitoring device 300. A meter reading meter (not shown) is communicatively connected to the controller 200. The meter reading meter updates the meter value according to the usage amount of the target object, and transmits data indicating the current meter value or a pulse signal of the increment of the current meter value to the controller 200. Examples of the target object include fluids such as water or gas, or electricity. The meter reading meter is configured, for example, as a communication meter or a pulse meter.

[0011] For example, when the target object is used to a certain extent, the communication meter updates the meter value by incrementing the reading by 1. The communication meter receives a meter value acquisition request (scan) from the controller 200 at a predetermined period (e.g., every 10 seconds), and transmits data indicating the current meter value to the controller 200 in response to the acquisition request.

[0012] Furthermore, the pulse meter updates the meter value by incrementing the reading by one when the target object is used a certain amount, and transmits to the controller 200 a pulse signal corresponding to the increment in the meter value.

[0013] The controller 200 manages the target meter reading. For example, the controller 200 receives data indicating the current meter value from the communicating meter by making a request to the communicating meter to obtain the meter value at a predetermined interval, and obtains the meter value indicated by the data as a reading value. The controller 200 then updates the current reading value (accumulated value) with the obtained reading value. The controller 200 also receives a pulse signal indicating an increment in the meter value from the pulse meter, and adds the increment indicated by the pulse signal to the current reading value (accumulated value).

[0014] The monitoring device 300 is a device that monitors or controls the controller 200, which is a lower device. The monitoring device 300 receives a preset instruction from an engineer (user) to replace an integrated value (reading value) measured by the controller 200 with a predetermined preset value. Upon receiving the preset instruction, the monitoring device 300 executes a preset process on the controller 200, thereby replacing the integrated value measured by the controller 200 with the preset value.

[0015] For example, in the G6-compatible controller 200, when the meter reading is a pulse meter, the function of measuring the integrated value by counting the pulse signals transmitted from the pulse meter is represented by an "Accumulator object." This "Accumulator object" has the following properties as properties for presetting the integrated value. (1)Present_Value Indicates the current integrated value (present value) based on pulse count. (2) Value_Set Indicates the preset value when it is preset. (3) Value_Before_Change It represents the current value (Present_Value) when it was preset (before it was replaced by the preset value). (4) Value_Change_Time Indicates the time when it was preset.

[0016] For example, the controller 200 writes the current integrated value (present value) based on the pulse signal received from the pulse meter to the "Present_Value" property.

[0017] On the other hand, the monitoring device 300 scans (reads) the above four properties of the controller 200 at a predetermined cycle, and grasps the presence or absence of preset processing, the current integrated value (present value), etc. based on changes in these properties.

[0018] For example, the monitoring device 300 reads out the current integrated value ("Present_Value" property) measured by the controller 200 at a predetermined cycle and stores the read integrated value in the monitoring device. For example, when the current integrated value ("Present_Value" property) measured by the controller 200 is "10", the monitoring device 300 reads out and stores the integrated value "10" (reference number 601 in FIG. 6). Furthermore, when the integrated value measured by the controller 200 increases to "15", the monitoring device 300 reads out the integrated value "15" from the controller 200 at the next cycle and stores this value (reference number 602).

[0019] Here, it is assumed that the monitoring device 300 receives a preset instruction from an engineer to replace the integrated value measured by the controller 200 with a preset value of "50" (reference number 603). Upon receiving the preset instruction, the monitoring device 300 writes "50" to the "Value_Set" property held by the Accumulator object of the controller 200, for example, by using the "WriteProperty service" used in P3 and G6 (reference number 604). Also, it is assumed that the integrated value measured by the controller 200 at this time is "20". Then, in the controller 200, the values ​​of the above four properties held by the Accumulator object become as follows: (1) Present_Value (current value): 50 (2) Value_Set (preset value): 50 (3) Value_Before_Change (current value when preset (before being replaced by the preset value)): 20 (4) Value_Change_Time (time when the preset command was received): hh:mm:ss

[0020] Thereafter, in order to check whether the preset process has been performed normally, the monitoring device 300 reads out the integrated value measured by the controller 200. At this time, if the integrated value in the controller 200 has changed from "50" to "55", the monitoring device 300 reads out the integrated value "55" at this time from the controller 200 and stores it (reference numeral 605).

[0021] Thereafter, the monitoring device 300 calculates an increment of the integrated value read from the controller 200. This increment of the integrated value is used to calculate a lifetime deviation that is used, for example, when billing a user of the target object (water, gas, electricity, etc.).

[0022] When the above-mentioned preset process occurs, the monitoring device 300 calculates the increment of the integrated value excluding the increment caused by the preset process. If the increment of the integrated value including the increment caused by the preset process is calculated, the lifetime deviation will be calculated incorrectly, and the user will be erroneously charged more for the usage fee than the amount of the actual use of the target object.

[0023] For example, before the occurrence of the preset process, the monitoring device 300 reads out from the controller 200 at each period and calculates the difference between the integrated values ​​held by the monitoring device 300, thereby calculating the increment of the integrated values.

[0024] On the other hand, when a preset process occurs, the monitoring device 300 detects the occurrence of the preset process, for example, based on the receipt of a preset instruction indicated by reference numeral 603 from an engineer or the execution of a preset process indicated by reference numeral 604. Then, the monitoring device 300 calculates the increment of the integrated value excluding the increment caused by the preset process, using the following formula (1). (Increment of integrated value) = (Increment of integrated value from before the preset to the preset time) + (Increment of integrated value from the preset time to after the preset time) (1)

[0025] (The increment in the integrated value from before the preset to the time of the preset) is calculated by subtracting the integrated value acquired from the controller 200 at a predetermined period before accepting the preset instruction from the value of the “Value_Before_Change” property of the controller 200. Therefore, in the above example, 20-15=5.

[0026] Also, the increment in the integrated value from the time of preset to after preset can be calculated by subtracting the actual preset value from the integrated value read for confirmation after the preset process. Therefore, in the above example, it is 55-50=5. Therefore, the increment in the integrated value excluding the increment caused by the preset process is 10 (=5+5).

[0027] The change in the integrated value in the above example is shown in Fig. 7. As shown in Fig. 7, the integrated value in the controller 2 changes from "15" -> "20" -> "50" -> "55". In this case, the change in the integrated value from "20" to "50" is a change caused by the preset process, and is not a change caused by the controller 2 receiving a pulse signal from the pulse meter, so this increment should not be added to the increment of the integrated value. In this regard, the monitoring device 300 can accurately calculate the increment of the integrated value excluding the increment caused by the preset process by calculating the increment of the integrated value according to the above-mentioned procedure (hereinafter referred to as the conventional procedure).

[0028] In the above example, the case where the monitoring device 300 performs the preset process on the controller 200 has been described, but the same can be done even if the preset process occurs on the controller 200 side instead of the monitoring device 300. In this case, the monitoring device 300 detects that the preset process has occurred on the controller 200 due to a change in the "Value_Change_Time" property of the controller 200, and executes the above conventional procedure to accurately calculate the increment of the integrated value. In the above example, the conventional procedure has been described when the preset process is performed to increase the integrated value from "20" to "50", but the conventional procedure is not limited to this and can be similarly applied to the case where the preset process is performed to decrease the integrated value.

[0029] In contrast, when P3 was first published, the "Accumulator object" used in G6 did not exist. Therefore, in Japan, a unique object (a metering object) was defined for P3, and this metering object was used to measure the accumulated value.

[0030] However, in the P3 measurement object, the properties "Value_Set", "Value_Before_Change", and "Value_Change_Time" defined in G6 are not defined, and the current integrated value is represented by the "Present_Value" property. When preset, the preset value is written to the "Present_Value" property that represents the current integrated value.

[0031] Therefore, when a preset process is performed on a controller compatible with P3, the monitoring device 300 has a problem that it is difficult to accurately calculate the increment of the integrated value excluding the increment due to the preset process using the above-mentioned conventional procedure. Note that this problem is not limited to controllers (devices) compatible with P3, but can also occur in devices compatible with protocols such as Modbus that do not have the concept of preset and only collect integrated values.

[0032] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a monitoring device that can accurately calculate the increment of the integrated value excluding the increment due to preset processing, regardless of the protocol of the lower device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0033] The monitoring device of the present invention comprises a first acquisition unit that acquires an accumulated value obtained by a lower device, a receiving unit that accepts a preset instruction to replace the accumulated value obtained by the lower device with a preset value, a second acquisition unit that accesses the lower device that has accepted the preset instruction at the receiving unit and acquires the accumulated value held by the lower device at the time of the access as a pre-preset accumulated value, a preset unit that performs a preset process that replaces the accumulated value obtained by the lower device with the preset value after the pre-preset accumulated value is acquired by the second acquisition unit, and an increment calculation unit that calculates an increment in the accumulated value excluding an increment due to the preset processing based on the accumulated value acquired by the first acquisition unit before the receiving unit accepts the preset instruction, the accumulated value before the preset acquired by the second acquisition unit, the preset value, and the accumulated value acquired by the first acquisition unit after the preset unit has performed the preset processing. Effect of the Invention

[0034] According to the present invention, since it is configured as described above, it is possible to accurately calculate the increment of the integrated value excluding the increment due to the preset process, regardless of the protocol of the lower device. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0035] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a monitoring system including a monitoring device according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a monitoring device according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the operation of the monitoring device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4]5 is a diagram showing a specific example of data transmission and reception between the monitoring device and the controller in the first embodiment. FIG. [Diagram 5] 5 is a diagram for explaining a change in the current value in FIG. 4. FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a specific example of data transmission and reception between a conventional monitoring device and a controller. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining changes in the current value in FIG. 6. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0036] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Embodiment 1 FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a monitoring system including a monitoring device according to a first embodiment.

[0037] As shown in Fig. 1, the monitoring system includes one or more meter reading meters 1, one or more controllers (lower devices) 2, and a monitoring device 3. The meter reading meter 1 is connected to the controller 2 via a communication line. In addition, the controller 2 is connected to the monitoring device 3 via a communication line. In Fig. 1, one meter reading meter 1 and one controller 2 are shown.

[0038] The meter reading 1 updates the meter value according to the usage amount of the target object, and transmits data indicating the current meter value or a pulse signal indicating an increment of the current meter value to the controller 2. The target object may be a fluid such as water or gas, or electricity. The meter reading meter 1 is, for example, configured as a communication meter or a pulse meter.

[0039] For example, a communicating meter updates the meter value by incrementing the reading by 1 when the target object is used to a certain extent. The communicating meter then accepts a meter value acquisition request (scan) from the controller 2 at a predetermined period (e.g., every 10 seconds), and transmits data indicating the current meter value to the controller 2 in response to the acquisition request.

[0040] In addition, the pulse meter updates the meter value by incrementing the reading by one when the target object is used a certain amount, and transmits a pulse signal corresponding to the increment in the meter value to the controller 2.

[0041] The controller 2 manages the target meter reading 1. For example, the controller 2 receives data indicating the current meter value from the communicating meter by making a request to the communicating meter to obtain the meter value at a predetermined interval, and obtains the meter value indicated by the data as a reading value. The controller 2 then updates the current reading value (accumulated value) with the obtained reading value. The controller 2 also receives a pulse signal indicating an increment in the meter value from the pulse meter, and adds the increment indicated by the pulse signal to the current reading value (accumulated value).

[0042] Here, the controller 2 is assumed to be a controller compatible with the above-mentioned P3 (IEIEJ-P-0003:2000). Therefore, the controller 2 measures the integrated value using a measurement object unique to P3. As already explained, the measurement object of P3 does not define the properties "Value_Set", "Value_Before_Change", and "Value_Change_Time". Therefore, when a preset process occurs, the controller 2 cannot write the integrated value at the time of the preset (before being replaced with the preset value) to the "Value_Before_Change" property. In other words, the controller 2 is a device that cannot hold the integrated value before the preset in itself. In the following explanation, for the sake of simplicity, a device that cannot hold the integrated value before the preset in itself is particularly referred to as a "target device".

[0043] Incidentally, as the meter 1 and the controller 2, an existing meter 10 and controller 2 can be used.

[0044] The monitoring device 3 monitors and reads the target meter 1 via the controller 2. The monitoring device 3 has the properties "Value_Set" and "Value_Before_Change" and a "Present_Value" property that the controller 2 does not have. In addition to these, the monitoring device 3 may also have a "Value_Change_Time" property.

[0045] As shown in FIG. 2, the monitoring device 3 includes a first acquisition unit 31, a reception unit 32, a second acquisition unit 33, a preset unit , an increment calculation unit 35, and a storage unit .

[0046] The first acquisition unit 31 acquires an integrated value obtained by the controller 2 to be monitored. For example, the first acquisition unit 31 accesses the controller 2 at a predetermined cycle (e.g., every 60 seconds) and acquires (scans) an integrated value measured by the controller 2 at that cycle. The first acquisition unit 31 writes the acquired integrated value to the "Present_Value" property. Note that, in addition to acquiring at the above-mentioned predetermined cycle, the first acquisition unit 31 may access the controller 2 after a preset process (including immediately after the preset process) is executed by the preset unit 34 described later, and acquire an integrated value held by the controller 2 at the time of the access as a post-preset integrated value.

[0047] The reception unit 32 receives a preset instruction from an engineer (user) to replace the integrated value measured by the controller 2 with a predetermined preset value. The reception unit 32 writes the preset value included in the received preset instruction into the “Value_Set” property.

[0048] The second acquisition unit 33 accesses the controller 2 that has received the preset instruction at the reception unit 32, and acquires the integrated value held by the controller 2 at the time of the access as the integrated value before preset. The acquisition of the integrated value by the second acquisition unit 33 is performed separately from the acquisition of the integrated value at a predetermined cycle by the first acquisition unit 31. The second acquisition unit 33 writes the acquired integrated value into the "Value_Before_Change" property.

[0049] The preset unit 34 performs a preset process in which, after the second acquisition unit 33 acquires the integrated value before the preset, the integrated value measured by the controller 2 is replaced with a preset value.

[0050] The increment calculation unit 35 calculates the increment of the integrated value. For example, before the preset process occurs, the increment calculation unit 35 calculates the increment of the integrated value by calculating the difference between the integrated values ​​for each period that are acquired from the controller 2 by the first acquisition unit 31 and written in the "Present_Value" property.

[0051] On the other hand, when a preset process occurs, the increment calculation unit 35 detects the occurrence of the preset process based on the fact that the reception unit 32 has accepted a preset instruction, for example.

[0052] Then, the increment calculation unit 35 calculates the increment of the integrated value excluding the increment due to the preset processing based on the integrated value acquired by the first acquisition unit 31 and written in the "Present_Value" property before the reception unit 32 receives the preset instruction, the integrated value before preset acquired by the second acquisition unit 33 and written in the "Value_Before_Change" property, the preset value accepted by the reception unit 32 and written in the "Value_Set" property, and the integrated value after preset acquired by the first acquisition unit 31.

[0053] Specifically, the increment calculation unit 35 calculates the sum of the difference between the accumulated value acquired by the first acquisition unit 31 before the receiving unit 32 receives the preset instruction and the accumulated value before preset acquired by the second acquisition unit 33, and the difference between the preset value and the accumulated value after preset acquired by the first acquisition unit 31, as the increment of the accumulated value excluding the increment due to the preset processing.

[0054] The storage unit 36 ​​stores the integrated value acquired from the controller 2 by the first acquisition unit 31 (the integrated value acquired before the acceptance unit 32 accepts a preset instruction and the integrated value after the preset), the integrated value before the preset acquired by the second acquisition unit 33, the preset value, etc. The storage unit 36 ​​is configured with, for example, a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), or a memory.

[0055] The functions of the first acquisition unit 31, the reception unit 32, the second acquisition unit 33, the preset unit 34, and the increment calculation unit 35 are realized, for example, by a CPU (Central Processing Unit) (not shown) provided in the monitoring device 3 executing a predetermined program expanded in memory.

[0056] 2 illustrates a case where the storage unit 36 ​​is provided inside the monitoring device 3. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the storage unit 36 ​​may be provided outside the monitoring device 3. In this case, the first acquisition unit 31 and the second acquisition unit 33 may store the integrated values ​​acquired by them in the storage unit 36 ​​provided outside the monitoring device 3.

[0057] Next, an operation example in which the monitoring device 3 according to the first embodiment performs a preset process will be described with reference to Fig. 3. For ease of understanding, the operation example will be described in which the controller 2 is, for example, a target device corresponding to P3 (a device that cannot hold an integrated value before preset in itself) and the monitoring device 3 communicates with the controller 2.

[0058] First, the first acquisition unit 31 accesses the controller 2 and acquires the integrated value obtained by the controller 2 (step ST301).

[0059] Next, the receiving unit 32 receives a preset instruction from an engineer (user) to replace the integrated value measured by the controller 2 with a predetermined preset value (step ST302).

[0060] Next, the second acquisition unit 33 accesses the controller 2 and acquires the integrated value held by the controller 2 at the time of the access as the integrated value before preset (step ST303).

[0061] Next, after the pre-preset integrated value is acquired by the second acquisition unit 33 in step ST303, the preset unit 34 performs a preset process of replacing the integrated value measured by the controller 2 with the preset value (step ST304).

[0062] Next, after the preset process is performed by the preset unit 34 in step ST304, the first acquisition unit 31 accesses the controller 2 and acquires the integrated value held by the controller 2 at the time of the access as the integrated value after preset (step ST305).

[0063] Next, the increment calculation unit 35 calculates the sum of the difference between the accumulated value acquired by the first acquisition unit 31 in step ST301 before the receiving unit 32 accepts the preset instruction and the accumulated value before preset acquired by the second acquisition unit 33 in step ST303, and the difference between the preset value and the accumulated value after preset acquired by the first acquisition unit 31 in step ST305, as the increment of the accumulated value excluding the increment due to the preset processing (step ST306), and terminates the processing.

[0064] Next, an example of the operation of the monitoring device 3 when performing the preset process will be described with a concrete example. Fig. 4 is a diagram showing a concrete example of data transmission and reception between the monitoring device 3 and the controller 2. Note that the reference numerals such as "301" in Fig. 4 correspond to the respective step numbers explained in Fig. 3.

[0065] The first acquisition unit 31 accesses the controller 2 at a predetermined period (for example, every 60 seconds) and acquires (scans) the integrated value "10" obtained by the controller 2. The first acquisition unit 31 writes and holds the acquired integrated value "10" in the "Present_Value" property (reference numeral 301).

[0066] Next, the reception unit 32 receives a preset instruction to replace the integrated value measured by the controller 2 with a preset value "50" by an operation from an engineer (user) (reference numeral 302). The reception unit 32 writes the preset value "50" included in the received preset instruction to the "Value_Set" property.

[0067] Next, the second acquisition unit 33 accesses the controller 2 and acquires the integrated value "15" held by the controller 2 at the time of the access as the integrated value before the preset (reference numeral 303). The second acquisition unit 33 writes the acquired integrated value "15" into the "Value_Before_Change" property and retains it.

[0068] Next, after the second acquisition unit 33 acquires the pre-preset accumulated value "15", the preset unit 34 performs a preset process to replace the accumulated value measured by the controller 2 with a preset value "50" (reference numeral 304). This preset process is performed using, for example, the "WriteProperty service" used in P3 and G6. If the monitoring device 3 has a "Value_Change_Time" property, the preset unit 34 may write and hold the time when the preset process was performed in the "Value_Change_Time" property.

[0069] Next, after the preset process is performed by the preset unit 34, the first acquisition unit 31 accesses the controller 2 and acquires the integrated value "55" held by the controller 2 at the time of the access as the integrated value after the preset (reference numeral 305). This acquisition is intended to confirm whether the preset process by the preset unit 34 has been performed correctly, and may be performed separately from the acquisition of the integrated value at a predetermined period by the first acquisition unit 31.

[0070] Next, the increment calculation unit 35 calculates the sum "10" of the difference "5" between the accumulated value "10" acquired by the first acquisition unit 31 and written in the "Present_Value" property before the receiving unit 32 receives the preset instruction and the accumulated value before preset "15" acquired by the second acquisition unit 33 and written in the "Value_Before_Change" property, and the difference "5" between the preset value "50" written in the "Value_Set" property and the accumulated value after preset "55" acquired by the first acquisition unit 31, as the increment of the accumulated value excluding the increment due to the preset processing.

[0071] Figure 5 is a diagram for explaining the change in the integrated value in the above example. As shown in Figure 5, the integrated value in the controller 2 changes from "10" to "15" to "50" to "55". In this case, the change in the integrated value from "15" to "50" is a change that occurs when the integrated value measured by the controller 2 is replaced with "50" by the preset process, and is not a change that occurs when the controller 2 receives a pulse signal from the meter reading meter 1 (pulse meter), so this increment should not be added to the increment of the integrated value.

[0072] In this regard, in the monitoring device 3, as described above, before the preset unit 34 executes the preset process, the second acquisition unit 33 accesses the controller 2, acquires the integrated value at the time of the access as the integrated value before the preset, and writes and holds the acquired integrated value in the "Value_Before_Change" property. In this manner, in the monitoring device 3, before the preset unit 34 executes the preset process, the second acquisition unit 33 acquires the integrated value before the preset from the controller 2 and writes the acquired integrated value in the "Value_Before_Change" property, thereby preventing the integrated value before the preset from being overwritten with the preset value and being lost. Then, as described above, the increment calculation unit 35 can calculate the increment of the integrated value excluding the increment caused by the preset process by calculating the increment of the integrated value using the integrated value before the preset that was acquired in advance and written in the "Value_Before_Change" property after the preset process by the preset unit 34.

[0073] Furthermore, the monitoring device 3 may calculate the lifetime deviation based on the increment of the integrated value calculated as described above. Since the lifetime deviation is calculated by accumulating the increment of the integrated value calculated as described above, it is possible to calculate an accurate deviation for the lifetime deviation, excluding the increment caused by the preset process.

[0074] In the above description, the controller 2 is a device compatible with P3, but the controller 2 is not limited to this and may be a device compatible with Modbus, for example. In other words, the controller 2 may be a device (target device) that cannot hold the current value before the preset, regardless of the protocol it supports. In the above description, the procedure for performing the preset process to increase the integrated value from "15" to "50" is described, but this procedure is not limited to this and can be similarly applied to the case where the preset process to decrease the integrated value is performed.

[0075] 2, the monitoring device 3 may also include a determination unit. The determination unit determines whether the controller 2 for which the reception unit 32 has received a preset instruction is a target device, that is, whether the controller 2 is a device that cannot hold an integrated value before the preset. This determination is made based on, for example, engineering information (setting information) created in advance by an engineer. The engineering information includes, for example, information indicating what kind of protocol is applied to the controller 2. The created engineering information is stored in, for example, the storage unit 36.

[0076] In this case, when the preset instruction is received by the receiving unit 32, the determining unit determines whether the controller 2 that received the preset instruction is a target device based on the engineering information. If it is determined that the controller 2 is a target device as a result, the second acquiring unit 33 accesses the controller 2 and acquires the integrated value held by the controller 2 at the time of the access as the integrated value before the preset. The second acquiring unit 33 writes the acquired integrated value into the "Value_Before_Change" property and holds it.

[0077] Thereafter, the processes of the preset unit 34 and the increment calculation unit 35 may be performed in the same manner as described above. That is, after the second acquisition unit 33 acquires the integrated value before the preset, the preset unit 34 performs a preset process of replacing the integrated value measured by the controller 2 with the preset value.

[0078] The first acquisition unit 31 accesses the controller 2 after the preset process is executed by the preset unit 34, and acquires the integrated value held by the controller 2 at the time of the access as the integrated value after the preset. The increment calculation unit 35 detects the occurrence of the preset process, for example, based on the acceptance of a preset instruction by the acceptance unit 32. Then, the increment calculation unit 35 calculates the sum of the difference between the integrated value acquired by the first acquisition unit 31 before the acceptance of the preset instruction by the acceptance unit 32 and the integrated value before the preset acquired by the second acquisition unit 33, and the difference between the preset value and the integrated value after the preset acquired by the first acquisition unit 31, as the increment of the integrated value excluding the increment due to the preset process.

[0079] On the other hand, if the discrimination unit discriminates that the controller 2 is not a target device, the monitoring device 3 performs the preset process according to the conventional procedure described above, and calculates the increment of the integrated value as necessary. In this way, by being provided with the discrimination unit, the monitoring device 3 can appropriately use different calculation methods for the increment of the integrated value even when the monitoring system contains a mixture of controllers 2 that are target devices and controllers 2 that are not target devices, and can accurately calculate the increment of the integrated value excluding the increment due to the preset process.

[0080] As described above, according to the first embodiment, the monitoring device 3 includes a first acquisition unit 31 that acquires an integrated value obtained by the controller 2, a receiving unit 32 that receives a preset instruction to replace the integrated value obtained by the controller 2 with a preset value, a second acquisition unit 33 that accesses the controller 2 that has received the preset instruction at the receiving unit 32 and acquires the integrated value held by the controller 2 at the time of the access as an integrated value before preset, a preset unit 34 that performs a preset process to replace the integrated value obtained by the controller 2 with the preset value after the integrated value before preset is acquired by the second acquisition unit 33, and an increment calculation unit 35 that calculates an increment in the integrated value excluding an increment due to the preset process, based on the integrated value acquired by the first acquisition unit 31 before the receiving unit 32 receives the preset instruction, the integrated value before preset acquired by the second acquisition unit 33, the preset value, and the integrated value acquired by the first acquisition unit 31 after the preset unit 34 performs the preset process. This enables the monitoring device 3 to accurately calculate the increment of the integrated value excluding the increment due to the preset process, regardless of the protocol of the controller 2 (lower device).

[0081] Furthermore, the increment calculation unit 35 calculates the sum of the difference between the integrated value acquired by the first acquisition unit 31 before the acceptance unit 32 accepts the preset instruction and the integrated value before preset acquired by the second acquisition unit 33, and the difference between the preset value and the integrated value acquired by the first acquisition unit 31 after the preset unit 34 performs the preset process, as the increment of the integrated value excluding the increment due to the preset process. This enables the monitoring device 3 to accurately calculate the increment of the integrated value excluding the increment due to the preset process.

[0082] The monitoring device 3 also includes a discrimination unit that discriminates whether the controller 2 that has received the preset instruction at the reception unit 32 is a device that cannot hold an integrated value before the preset based on previously created setting information, and the second acquisition unit 33 accesses the controller 2 and acquires the integrated value held by the controller 2 at the time of the access as the integrated value before the preset when the discrimination unit determines that the controller 2 that has received the preset instruction at the reception unit 32 is a device that cannot hold an integrated value before the preset by itself. This enables the monitoring device 3 to accurately calculate the increment of the integrated value excluding the increment due to the preset process even when the monitoring system includes a mixture of controllers 2 that are target devices and controllers 2 that are not target devices.

[0083] It should be noted that, within the scope of the present invention, any of the components in the embodiments may be modified or any of the components in the embodiments may be omitted. [Explanation of symbols]

[0084] 1 Meter reading 2 Controller (lower device) 3 Monitoring device 31 First acquisition part 32 Reception 33 Second acquisition part 34 Preset section 35 Increment calculation section 36 Memory section 200 Controllers (lower devices) 300 Monitoring equipment

Claims

1. a first acquisition unit that acquires an integrated value obtained by a lower device; a reception unit that receives a preset instruction to replace the integrated value obtained by the lower device with a preset value; a second acquisition unit that accesses the lower device for which the preset instruction has been received by the reception unit, and acquires, as an integrated value before preset, an integrated value held by the lower device at the time of the access; a preset unit that performs a preset process of replacing the integrated value obtained by the lower device with a preset value after the integrated value before the preset is obtained by the second acquisition unit; an increment calculation unit that calculates an increment of the integrated value excluding an increment due to a preset process based on an integrated value acquired by the first acquisition unit before the acceptance unit accepts a preset instruction, an integrated value before preset acquired by the second acquisition unit, a preset value, and an integrated value acquired by the first acquisition unit after the preset unit performs a preset process; A monitoring device comprising:

2. The increment calculation unit is The sum of the difference between the integrated value acquired by the first acquisition unit before the reception unit receives the preset instruction and the integrated value before the preset acquired by the second acquisition unit, and the difference between the preset value and the integrated value acquired by the first acquisition unit after the preset unit performs the preset process is calculated as an increment of the integrated value excluding the increment due to the preset process.

2. The monitoring device according to claim 1.

3. a determination unit that determines whether the lower device that has received the preset instruction at the reception unit is a device that cannot hold an integrated value before the preset based on previously created setting information, When the discrimination unit discriminates that the lower device that has received the preset instruction at the reception unit is a device that cannot hold an integrated value before the preset, the second acquisition unit accesses the lower device and acquires, as the integrated value before the preset, the integrated value held by the lower device at the time of the access.

3. The monitoring device according to claim 1 or 2.

4. A monitoring method using a monitoring device, comprising: A first acquisition unit acquires an integrated value obtained by a lower device; a receiving unit receiving a preset instruction to replace the integrated value obtained by the lower device with a preset value; a second acquisition unit accessing the lower device for which the preset instruction has been received by the reception unit, and acquiring an integrated value held by the lower device at the time of the access as an integrated value before the preset; a preset unit performing a preset process of replacing the integrated value obtained by the lower device with a preset value after the integrated value before the preset is obtained by the second obtainment unit; an increment calculation unit calculating an increment of the integrated value excluding an increment due to a preset process based on an integrated value acquired by the first acquisition unit before the acceptance unit accepts a preset instruction, an integrated value before preset acquired by the second acquisition unit, a preset value, and an integrated value acquired by the first acquisition unit after the preset unit performs a preset process; The monitoring method includes:

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