Monitoring and control system

Abstract

To simplify preparation work of a control program.SOLUTION: A monitoring control system comprises: a control device (1) which collects data according to a control program, generates control data and transmits the control data to a monitoring control target; and a terminal (3) which has a program preparation support function and is connected with the control device via a communication line (4). The terminal includes: a cell information storage unit where various cells, which are elements of processing of the control program, are registered and an area for handling signal status information showing a signal status is provided; a drawing preparation unit which prepares an instrumentation drawing indicating a processing flow of the control device while displaying symbols corresponding to the cells and a connection element showing a flow of data among a plurality of cells and a signal status on a display screen depending on an operation by a person in charge; an individual cell information setting unit which sets a calculation parameter depending on a type of a cell used for the instrumentation drawing and coping with the signal status; and a programming unit which converts the instrumentation drawing to an executable program.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a monitoring and control system used for monitoring and controlling the operation of various plant facilities and the like.

Background Art

[0002] In plant facilities such as factories, power generation facilities, waste incineration facilities, and water treatment facilities, a monitoring and control system called a distributed control system is widely used to collectively control a large number of various types of field devices (see Non-Patent Document 1, etc.).

[0003] As described in Patent Documents 1, 2, etc., such a monitoring and control system is centered around a control device including an I / O unit that communicates with various sensors installed at the plant site and the control targets, a communication interface unit that mutually communicates with an operator terminal (in practice, a personal computer: PC) where an operator operates the plant operation, a control unit that executes predetermined arithmetic processing on input data, and the like. For example, in the distributed control system described in Non-Patent Document 1, the control station corresponds to the above control device.

[0004] The above control unit generates control data by executing arithmetic processing according to a pre-created control program on the data input via the I / O unit and the communication interface unit for each predetermined arithmetic cycle, and sends this control data to various control targets via the I / O unit, thereby monitoring and controlling the plant facilities.

[0005] The control program is created using a maintenance tool (software) installed on an operator terminal or an engineering terminal operated by a professional engineer. As described in Patent Documents 1 to 3, in a general monitoring and control system, on the screen of the maintenance tool, symbols corresponding to various cells such as input cells and arithmetic cells are arranged according to the calculation order, and by connecting them, that is, by creating an instrumentation drawing representing the process flow, the control program can be created. When the control program thus created is executed in the control unit, in the control unit, arithmetic processing is executed based on the input data connected to the arithmetic cell and the arithmetic parameters (arithmetic coefficients) set in the arithmetic cell, and the execution result of the arithmetic processing is expanded to the output data connected to the arithmetic cell.

[0006] In addition, the maintenance tool has a monitoring function of displaying the state of the control device, that is, the output data values of each input cell and arithmetic cell, etc. in real time on the instrumentation drawing during the actual operation of the monitoring and control system (during the operation of the plant).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0007]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Patent Document 3

Non-Patent Documents

[0008]

Non-Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0009] In an actual system, there may be abnormalities in the data input to the control device, or abnormalities caused by hardware or software in various cells such as arithmetic cells and input / output cells. Also, there may be cases where an operator is in the middle of performing some operation, or the operator intentionally changes the input data or performs other such operations. In a monitoring control system, of course, it is required that such abnormal situations be quickly recognized by an operator or the like and appropriately dealt with as necessary.

[0010] However, in the maintenance tools of conventional monitoring control systems, such abnormal states are not considered in the instrumentation drawings when creating control programs. Therefore, it is impossible to monitor the abnormal state of the actual system on such instrumentation drawings, and it is difficult to grasp where and what kind of abnormality has occurred. Also, in order to appropriately monitor such abnormal states, it is necessary to create a control program related to the occurrence of abnormalities separately from the normal control program, which is very troublesome and costly for the user.

[0011] The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and one of its purposes is to provide a monitoring control system capable of easily creating a control program including cases where various cells such as arithmetic cells and the input data itself are in an abnormal state.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0012] One aspect of the monitoring and control system according to the present invention made to solve the above problems is a control device that collects data from a monitoring and control target according to a preset control program, executes predetermined arithmetic processing to generate control data, and sends the control data to the monitoring and control target, and a terminal connected to the control device via a communication line and having a program creation support function for creating the control program. The terminal is a cell information storage unit in which various cells, which are elements of processing including input, output, and arithmetic operations in the control program, are registered, and at least a part of the cell information storage unit is provided with a region for handling signal status information indicating the status of signals to be passed; a drawing creation unit that creates an instrumentation drawing showing the processing flow in the control device while displaying, on a display screen, a symbol corresponding to a cell stored in the cell information storage unit in response to an operation by an operator, and a connection element showing the flow of data and signal status among a plurality of cells; an individual cell information setting unit that sets a correspondence to arithmetic parameters and / or signal status according to the type of the cell for the cells used in the instrumentation drawing in response to an operation by an operator; a programming unit that converts an instrumentation drawing in a state where individual information of each cell is set by the individual cell information setting unit into a program executable in the control device; and is provided with.

Advantages of the Invention

[0013] According to the above aspect of the monitoring and control system according to the present invention, an operator can easily create a control program including cases where various cells themselves such as arithmetic cells and input data are in an abnormal state by performing operations along substantially the same procedures as in the prior art, such as appropriately arranging symbols corresponding to various cells on the display screen of the terminal and connecting the cells. As a result, there is no need to separately create a control program corresponding to an abnormal state, the work process related to system operation can be reduced, and the construction period can be shortened and the cost can be reduced.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0014]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0015] Hereinafter, a distributed control system which is an embodiment of the monitoring control system according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of the distributed control system of this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the engineering terminal in FIG. 1.

[0016] This system performs monitoring control of the plant facilities in order to operate the plant facilities smoothly. As shown in FIG. 1, it includes a control device 1 connected to a field device 5 including field devices for data collection (various sensors, switches, etc.) and field devices to be controlled included in the plant facilities, an operator terminal 2 connected to the control device 1 via a control network 4, and an engineering terminal 3. In this example, a PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) 7 is connected to the control device 1 via a local network 6, but these elements are not essential.

[0017] Both the operator terminal 2 and the engineering terminal 3 are actually PCs. The operator terminal 2 is usually operated by an operator who performs the operation of the plant equipment. On the other hand, the engineering terminal 3 is a terminal that is operated only by a person in charge with specific permissions such as an engineer or a system administrator of the instrumentation manufacturer that provides this system. However, it is also possible to use the operator terminal 2 and the engineering terminal 3 interchangeably. In that case, the functions available may be restricted according to the permissions.

[0018] As shown in FIG. 2, the engineering terminal 3 includes, as functional blocks, a control program creation support section 30, a cell information storage section 31, an instrumentation drawing data storage section 32, an operation status monitoring section 33, and a signal simulation execution section 34.

[0019] The control device 1 includes an I / O unit 12 that exchanges data (including both analog signals and digital signals) with the field device 5, a communication unit 10 that exchanges data with the operator terminal 2 and the engineering terminal 3 via the control network 4, and a control unit 11 that mainly executes arithmetic processing. Although not shown, the control unit 11 has an arithmetic unit such as a computer and / or a digital signal processor for executing arithmetic processing, and a memory in which a control program for operating the arithmetic unit is stored. The memory has an area for storing a basic program for operating the arithmetic unit and an area for storing cells that hold information such as arithmetic operations executed by the basic program.

[0020] In the example of FIG. 1, there is one operator terminal 2, but multiple operator terminals 2 may be provided. Similarly, multiple control devices 1 may be provided.

[0021] FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing the data content of the arithmetic cells stored in the cell information storage section 31 in the engineering terminal 3. As shown in FIG. 3, in each arithmetic cell 8, arithmetic type information 80 indicating the type of arithmetic operation executed by the arithmetic cell, one or a plurality of parameters (arithmetic parameters) 82 used for the arithmetic operation, connection relation information 81 indicating which cell's output is passed to which input of which cell, and signal status correspondence information 83 (to be described in detail later) are registered respectively. Among these, the arithmetic type information 80 is fixed information for each arithmetic cell (i.e., invariant), while the others are information determined when a control program is created on the engineering terminal 3. The types of arithmetic operations include simple four arithmetic operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, various functions, first-order lag, PID (Proportional-Integral-Differential) control, etc. Note that, except for the signal status correspondence information 83, the others are information also prepared in a conventional distributed control system.

[0022] Here, the signal status correspondence information 83 included in the arithmetic cell will be described. As used in this specification, "signal status" refers to the state of data exchanged between various cells including input cells, output cells, and arithmetic cells. More specifically, it means an abnormality caused by hardware, an abnormality caused by software, or an artificial factor such as an operation by an operator or signal simulation (different from the normal state). Therefore, the signal status attached to the data input from one cell to another cell indicates the reliability or soundness of the data. However, the abnormality here does not necessarily mean a defect such as a failure.

[0023] In the monitoring and control system of this embodiment, in a normal control program, for each input / output data exchanged between cells, both the data value and the signal status are transmitted and received. The transmission and reception of this signal status are performed in a form capable of managing different types of abnormalities. Specifically, here as an example, tags that can identify three types of abnormalities, namely, an abnormality caused by hardware, an abnormality caused by software, and an abnormality caused by signal simulation, etc., are used for the transmission of the signal status.

[0024] One form of the signal status correspondence information in each cell is information (the "check correspondence processing information" in FIG. 3) indicating what processing is to be executed in correspondence when the signal status indicated by the above-described tag is input. For example, when a tag indicating that there is an abnormality in the input data due to hardware or software is attached, processing such as changing the value of the arithmetic parameter or setting the output data to a determined value can be performed.

[0025] Also, one form of the signal status correspondence information in the input cell is information (the "signal check information" in FIG. 3) indicating the content of processing of checking the level of the input data value and adding a tag according to the level. Specifically, for example, it can be determined whether the value of the input data falls within the normal range determined by the upper limit value and the lower limit value, and if it does not, a tag indicating that it is an abnormality due to hardware can be given.

[0026] Also, one form of the signal status correspondence information in the arithmetic cell is information (the "alarm generation information" in FIG. 3) indicating the content of processing of checking the level of the input data value before the arithmetic operation or checking the level of the output data after the arithmetic operation and generating warning (alarm) data according to the level. This warning data can be used, for example, for generating a visual warning by display or an auditory warning such as a buzzer sound.

[0027] In addition, the signal status correspondence information in the arithmetic cell can include information for determining whether to assign the same tag to the output of a cell when a tag indicating an abnormality is input to a certain cell. That is, the signal status indicating an abnormality may or may not be passed only between two certain cells and not inherited by subsequent cells, or may be inherited by cells that directly and indirectly receive data from a certain cell. This is the case, for example, even when an input data is tagged as abnormal in a certain arithmetic cell, if the value of the output data can be fixed to a certain value in that arithmetic cell so that subsequent operations can be executed without problems, there is no need to inherit the signal status indicating an abnormality.

[0028] Next, in the distributed control system of the present embodiment, the operation when creating a control program in the engineering terminal 3 will be described.

[0029] The person in charge logs in to the engineering terminal 3, starts the maintenance tool, and selects to execute the control program creation process. Then, the control program creation support unit 30 is activated. Under this control program creation support unit 30, the person in charge creates an instrumentation drawing for monitoring and controlling the target plant using various cells registered in the cell information storage unit 31. FIG. 4 is an example of a drawing screen 100 for constructing a control program. In the drawing screen 100 shown in FIG. 4, a drawing area 101 is arranged on the left, and a cell selection area 102 for selecting available cells is arranged on the right. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a specific example of the mutual relationship between each cell in the instrumentation drawing shown in FIG. 4.

[0030] The person in charge appropriately selects an input cell, an arithmetic cell, an output cell, etc. from the cell selection area 102 of the drawing screen 100 by a click operation or the like, and pastes them at an appropriate position within the drawing area 101. Then, a connection line indicating the mutual relationship between a plurality of cells, that is, the input / output relationship, is drawn in the drawing area 101. The calculation type and the mutual coupling relationship information of each cell thus set are temporarily stored in the instrumentation drawing data storage unit 32.

[0031] Subsequently, the person in charge continues to set and register the values of the calculation parameters and the signal status correspondence information for each set cell. For example, when the person in charge clicks on an arbitrary cell on the drawing screen 100, a calculation parameter and signal status correspondence information setting screen in a predetermined format is displayed. Then, on that screen, for each cell, the person in charge inputs, as necessary, the value of the calculation parameter. For example, for a multiplication cell, it is a constant value by which the input data is multiplied, and for a first-order lag cell, it is the delay time value, either numerically or by selecting from the given options.

[0032] In addition, the person in charge sets and registers the signal status correspondence information as described above by selecting from the given options as necessary or by inputting appropriate numerical values.

[0033] After all the drawing is completed and the setting of the values of the calculation parameters and the signal status correspondence information for each used cell is completed, when the person in charge performs a predetermined operation on the engineering terminal 3, all that information is saved in the instrumentation drawing data storage unit 32. Also, the control program creation support unit 30 creates a control program in a predetermined format by compiling the data constituting the created instrumentation drawing. Then, the program is transferred to the control device 1 via the control network 4 and stored in the memory provided in the control unit 11. Thereby, the control device 1 can execute the monitoring control operation according to the control program.

[0034] When operating the plant facilities by the distributed control system of this embodiment, the control unit 11 performs data collection, calculation processing, and further data output processing according to the control program stored in the memory. When performing the operations according to the control program, processing by sending and receiving data between each cell as shown in FIG. 5 is performed, and the signal status is also sent and received together with the data. In each cell, processing according to the input data value and the signal status correspondence information is performed. The operation status monitoring operation that can be performed by the engineering terminal 3 during the operation of the plant will be described.

[0035] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an instrumentation drawing displayed during operation status monitoring. The person in charge logs in to the engineering terminal 3, activates the maintenance tool, and selects the monitoring function. Then, the operation status monitoring unit 33 becomes active. The operation status monitoring unit 33 reads out the instrumentation drawing data corresponding to the control program being executed in the control device 1 at that time from the instrumentation drawing data storage unit 32, and displays the instrumentation drawing on the screen of the display unit. Also, the values and signal statuses of the input / output data being transmitted and received between cells are collected in real time from the control device 1 via the control network 4. These pieces of information are information that changes every moment according to the operation status.

[0036] As shown in FIG. 6, the operation status monitoring unit 33 displays the values of the input / output data collected as described above numerically on or near the connection between cells on the instrumentation drawing. On the other hand, for the signal status, if it is normal, it is not particularly reflected in the display, and if it is abnormal, it is displayed on the instrumentation drawing using characters, figures (appropriate marks, symbols, or changes in line thickness, line type, etc.), color changes, etc., including the type of the abnormality.

[0037] In the example of FIG. 6, as a result of checking the signal level in the input cell B and finding that the signal level has deviated from the normal range, a tag indicating an abnormality due to hardware is attached to the output data in the input cell B. As a result, the operation status monitoring unit 33 changes the display color of the outer frame of the input cell B to a color different from that in the normal state (however, here, since the difference in color cannot be expressed, the outer frame is shown as a thick line). Also, the connection between the input cell B and the next arithmetic cell D is changed from a solid line to a dotted line, and the color of the line is also changed to a color different from that in the normal state (however, here too, the connection is shown as a thick line). Also, near the input cell B, the characters of the tag indicating the signal status together with a symbol indicating that an abnormality has been detected (in this example, XXX_XX.SER) are displayed to indicate the type of the abnormality (in this example, "SER" represents an abnormality due to hardware).

[0038] The operation cell D is set to inherit the signal status tag attached to the input data. Therefore, the output data of the operation cell D is also tagged with a tag indicating an abnormality caused by hardware. As a result, the operation status monitoring unit 33 changes the connection between the operation cell D and the next operation cell E from a solid line to a dotted line, and also changes the color of the line from that in the normal state. On the other hand, the operation cell E is set not to inherit the signal status tag attached to the input data. Therefore, although the input data of the operation cell E is tagged with an abnormality, the connection between the operation cell E and the output cell F is the same as in the normal state.

[0039] As described above, the display on the instrumentation drawing during operation status monitoring changes according to the collected data value and signal status. For example, when the level of the input signal to input cell B returns to the normal range after a certain period of time and the tag indicating an abnormality caused by the hardware in input cell B is eliminated, all the displays on the instrumentation drawing return to normal. In this way, the person in charge can easily visually grasp the location where an abnormality may occur on the instrumentation drawing displayed during operation status monitoring. In addition, the person in charge can easily guess what factor caused the abnormality. As a result, for example, even if an abnormality occurs, if the abnormality does not seriously impede the operation of the plant, the abnormality can be dealt with while continuing operation.

[0040] The above-described manner of changing the display when the signal status indicates an abnormality is merely an example and may be changed as appropriate. For example, when an abnormality occurs, the manner of changing the display may be changed depending on the importance of the abnormality.

[0041] In addition, in the distributed control system of this embodiment, in order to verify or modify the control program, some operations may be switched to simulated operations while the plant is running. In such cases, the signal simulation function installed in the maintenance tool of the engineering terminal 3 can be used.

[0042] In that case, in the engineering terminal 3, when the signal simulation execution unit 34 is in a state where an instrumentation drawing corresponding to a control program as shown in FIG. 6 is displayed, in response to an instruction from the person in charge, for example, one of the input cells is replaced with a simulation signal generation cell. The simulation signal generation cell is a cell that generates and outputs a set simulation signal instead of the signal input from the field device 5. The data output from such a simulation signal generation cell is tagged with a signal status indicating that it is a simulation signal. In this case, the operation status monitoring unit 33 displays the connection through which data that is a simulation signal is transmitted and received in a manner that can distinguish between a normal state and an abnormal state as described above. As a result, the person in charge can easily visually grasp the connection lines and cells through which the simulation signal flows on the displayed instrumentation drawing.

[0043] Note that in the distributed control system of the above-described embodiment, the operation status monitoring function is provided in the engineering terminal 3, but this function may be installed in the operator terminal 2.

[0044] Also, the above-described embodiment is merely an example of the present invention, and it is natural that changes, modifications, and additions made as appropriate within the scope of the gist of the present invention are included in the scope of the claims of this application.

[0045] [Various aspects] It is understood by those skilled in the art that the above-described exemplary embodiments are specific examples of the following aspects.

[0046] (Item 1) One aspect of the monitoring control system according to the present invention is a control device that collects data from a monitoring control target according to a preset control program, executes a predetermined arithmetic process to generate control data, and sends the control data to the monitoring control target, and a terminal connected to the control device via a communication line and having a program creation support function for creating the control program. The terminal is A cell information storage unit in which various cells, which are elements of processing including input, output, and calculation in the control program, are registered, and at least a part of the cells is provided with an area for handling signal status information indicating the status of signals to be passed; A drawing creation unit that creates an instrumentation drawing showing the flow of processing in the control device while displaying, on a display screen, symbols corresponding to the cells stored in the cell information storage unit according to operations by the person in charge, and connection elements indicating the flow of data and signal status among a plurality of cells; An individual cell information setting unit that sets the correspondence to calculation parameters and / or signal status according to the type of the cell for the cells used in the instrumentation drawing according to operations by the person in charge; A programming unit that converts an instrumentation drawing in a state where individual information of each cell is set by the individual cell information setting unit into a program executable in the control device; It is provided with.

[0047] In the monitoring and control system according to claim 1, the entity of the terminal is a personal computer, and by executing software (program) installed in the computer, the functions of each of the above-described units can be executed.

[0048] According to the monitoring and control system described in claim 1, by a person in charge performing operations along substantially the same procedures as in the prior art, such as appropriately arranging symbols corresponding to various cells on the display screen of the terminal and connecting the cells, a control program can be easily created including cases where various cells themselves such as calculation cells and input data are in an abnormal state. As a result, there is no need to separately create a control program corresponding to the abnormal state, the work process related to system operation can be reduced, and the construction period can be shortened and the cost can be reduced.

[0049] (2) In the monitoring control system according to item (1), the control device, under a control program, performs arithmetic processing on the data and signal status input to the cell based on the arithmetic parameters and the correspondence to the signal status set for the cell, and may have a configuration capable of outputting the output data and signal status that are the results of the arithmetic processing.

[0050] According to the monitoring control system described in item (2), in the control device, arithmetic processing that reflects not only the data value but also the signal status is executed. Thereby, for example, when the value of the input data deviates from the normal range and a signal status indicating abnormality is attached, instead of normal arithmetic processing, arithmetic processing in which the possibly abnormal input value is replaced with a predetermined value, or processing in which the output value itself is replaced with a predetermined value can be performed. That is, by switching the arithmetic processing according to the reliability and soundness of the input data value, it is possible to prevent an unintended abnormal value from being output, and to avoid the plant operation from being maintained or the plant facilities themselves from being in a chain of malfunctioning states.

[0051] (3) In the monitoring control system according to item (1) or (2), the terminal may further include an operation status monitoring unit that monitors the values and signal status of the data transmitted and received between each cell in a series of arithmetic processes executed by the control device during the operation of the system, and reflects at least a part of the monitored information on the instrumentation drawing on the display screen.

[0052] (4) In the monitoring control system according to item (3), the operation status monitoring unit may change the display mode of the corresponding location on the instrumentation drawing according to the monitored signal status.

[0053] According to the monitoring control system described in item (4), during plant operation or test operation, etc., technical personnel, operators, etc. can quickly grasp the presence or absence of abnormalities, and it becomes easier to identify abnormal locations and causes of abnormalities.

Explanation of Symbols

[0054] 1…Control device 10…Communication unit 11…Control unit 12…I / O unit 2…Operator terminal 3…Engineering terminal 30…Control program creation support section 31…Cell information storage section 32…Instrumentation drawing data storage section 33…Operation status monitoring section 34…Signal simulation execution section 4…Control network 5…Field device 6…Local network 7…Programmable logic controller 8…Arithmetic cell 80…Arithmetic type information 81…Connection relationship information 82…Arithmetic parameter 83…Signal status correspondence information 100…Drafting screen 101…Drafting area 102…Cell selection area

Claims

1. A monitoring control system comprising a control device that collects data from a monitoring control target, executes predetermined arithmetic processing to generate control data, and sends the control data to the monitoring control target according to a preset control program, and a terminal connected to the control device via a communication line and having a program creation support function for creating the control program, wherein the terminal has various cells registered therein which are elements of processing including input, output, and arithmetic operations in the control program, and at least a part of the cells has a cell information storage unit provided with an area for handling signal status information indicating the status of a signal to be passed therebetween a drawing creation unit that creates an instrumentation drawing showing the processing flow in the control device while displaying, on a display screen, symbols corresponding to the cells stored in the cell information storage unit and connection elements indicating the flow of data and signal status between a plurality of cells, in response to an operation by an operator an individual cell information setting unit that sets a correspondence to arithmetic parameters and / or signal status according to the type of the cell, for the cells used in the instrumentation drawing, in response to an operation by an operator a programming unit that converts the instrumentation drawing in a state where individual information of each cell is set by the individual cell information setting unit into a program executable in the control device A monitoring control system comprising the above components

2. The monitoring control system according to claim 1, wherein the control device is configured to execute arithmetic processing based on the correspondence to arithmetic parameters and signal status set in the cell, on the data and signal status input to the cell under the control program, and to output output data and signal status which are the results of the arithmetic processing

3. The monitoring control system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the terminal further comprises an operation status monitoring unit that monitors the values of data and signal status transmitted and received between the cells in a series of arithmetic processing executed by the control device during operation of the system, and reflects at least a part of the monitored information on the instrumentation drawing on the display screen

4. The monitoring control system according to claim 3, wherein the operation status monitoring unit changes the display mode of corresponding locations on the instrumentation drawing according to the monitored signal status

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