Information processing device, data transmission system, and data transmission method

Abstract

To efficiently receive data transmitted from other information processing devices by effectively using limited resources.SOLUTION: Data transmission processing parts 102-132 transmit output signals 202-232 addressed to a control block 301, acquired by processing units 15 of control blocks 302-332 to LAN 9 from signal data tables 402-432. The data transmission processing parts 102-132 transmit address data showing storage destinations of the transmitted output signals 202-232 in the control block 301 at the same time. A data reception processing part 501 of the control block 301 receives the output signals 202-232 addressed to the control block 301 from the LAN 9 together with the address data. The data reception processing part 501 stores the received output signals 202-232 in signal data tables 701-708 specified from the address data.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a technique for transmitting data between information processing devices. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, in controlling the operation of plants such as factories, power plants, equipment, and machinery, or in controlling the operation of each operating part of an automobile, the controlled object may be divided into multiple blocks, and the controlled object in each block may be controlled by a separate information processing device.

[0003] In this type of control, data is often transmitted between the information processing devices of each block, for example, when the controlled objects of each block are operated in conjunction with each other, or when the control parameters of the controlled objects of each block are determined based on the output of a sensor associated with the controlled object of another block.

[0004] Data transmission between devices that control objects divided into a plurality of blocks is described in, for example, Patent Document 1. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 5588820 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] An object of the present disclosure is to enable efficient reception of data transmitted from other information processing devices by effectively utilizing limited resources. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] That is, when an information processing device of a certain block receives and uses data transmitted from a plurality of other blocks, the transmitted data received from the other blocks must be handled separately for each block. For example, when the transmitted data from the other blocks is received block by block and stored in memory, the resources of the information processing device consumed by the configuration for receiving and storing the transmitted data in memory increases in proportion to the number of other blocks.

[0008] However, for blocks in the transmitted data that do not contain any data to be used, there is no need to receive the transmitted data and store it in memory, so the resources of the information processing device consumed by the configuration for this purpose end up being wasted by unnecessary configuration.

[0009] Furthermore, even in a configuration that wastefully consumes resources of an information processing device, a minimum task such as detecting transmission data from a corresponding block is executed. However, this task is not necessary for an information processing device of a certain block to use transmission data from another block. Therefore, when resources of the information processing device are wasted, useless tasks are executed by the information processing device, which unnecessarily increases the processing load of the information processing device.

[0010] Therefore, it is desirable to minimize the waste of resources and tasks in the information processing device in order to reduce the processing load on the information processing device.

[0011] Therefore, the information processing device according to the first aspect of the present disclosure comprises: a data storage memory having a plurality of storage areas in which data transmitted from other information processing devices and addressed to the information processing device are stored separately for each transmission source; a receiving unit that receives the transmission data addressed to itself from a network together with destination data that indicates a storage destination of the transmission data addressed to itself; a specifying unit that specifies a storage area in the data storage memory for storing the transmission data addressed to itself received by the receiving unit, from the destination data received from the network together with the transmission data addressed to itself; a storage unit that allocates and stores the self-addressed transmission data received by the receiving unit into a storage area in the data storage memory specified by the specifying unit; Equipped with.

[0012] If there are a plurality of other information processing devices that do not transmit destination data but transmit only data addressed to themselves, it is not possible to determine the sender from the received data addressed to themselves.

[0013] Therefore, in order to store data in the data storage memory separately for each sender, it is necessary to transmit the output signal of each information processing device using a different bit position of the transmission frame of the network so that the transmitted data can be received separately for each sender information processing device. In other words, a configuration for receiving transmitted data addressed to itself consumes a large amount of resources corresponding to the number of other information processing devices.

[0014] In contrast, according to the information processing device according to the first aspect of the present disclosure, transmission data addressed to itself is transmitted to the network from another information processing device that is the transmission source, together with destination data indicating the storage location of the transmission data addressed to itself.

[0015] When the receiving unit receives destination data transmitted from another information processing device together with transmission data addressed to itself from the network, the specifying unit specifies in which storage area of ​​the data storage memory the received transmission data addressed to itself should be stored.Then, the received transmission data addressed to itself is sorted and stored in the specified storage area by the storage unit.

[0016] Therefore, in order to distinguish and receive transmission data addressed to itself for each information processing device that is the sender, it is not necessary to provide a configuration for receiving transmission data from other information processing devices for the number of the other information processing devices. Furthermore, the configuration for receiving transmission data from other information processing devices can be shared for receiving transmission data from all other information processing devices.

[0017] This prevents resources from being consumed by a configuration that is not actually necessary for receiving transmission data from other information processing devices that do not transmit data addressed to the device itself, and therefore reduces the resources consumed by the configuration for receiving transmission data addressed to the device itself to less than the amount corresponding to the number of other information processing devices.

[0018] Therefore, it is possible to avoid the unnecessary consumption of resources due to the configuration for receiving transmission data addressed to the information processing device itself. It is also possible to avoid the occurrence of unnecessary tasks in the resources that are wasted for receiving transmission data addressed to the information processing device itself. Furthermore, it is possible to efficiently receive data transmitted from other information processing devices by effectively utilizing limited resources.

[0019] In addition, an information processing device according to a second aspect of the present disclosure is an information processing device according to the first aspect of the present disclosure, further comprising a transmitting unit that transmits the transmission data addressed to the other information processing device to the network together with the destination data indicating the storage location of the transmission data.

[0020] According to the information processing device according to the second aspect of the present disclosure, in the information processing device according to the first aspect of the present disclosure, the transmitting unit transmits the destination data to the network together with the transmission data, just as when another information processing device transmits data to itself.

[0021] Therefore, other information processing devices that receive the data transmitted by the transmitting unit from the network can also use the destination data received together with the transmitted data to distinguish the received transmitted data by sender and store it in a storage area of ​​the data storage memory.

[0022] Furthermore, a data transmission system according to a third aspect of the present disclosure includes: Network and a plurality of information processing devices according to a second aspect of the present disclosure connected to the network and transmitting data between each other via the network; Equipped with.

[0023] According to the data transmission system according to the third aspect of the present disclosure, in each information processing device on the network, transmission data addressed to itself is transmitted to the network from another information processing device that is the source of the transmission, along with destination data indicating where the transmission data addressed to itself is stored.

[0024] In each information processing device, when the receiving unit receives destination data transmitted from another information processing device together with transmission data addressed to itself from the network, the specifying unit specifies which storage area of ​​the data storage memory to store the received transmission data addressed to itself in. Then, the storage unit allocates and stores the received transmission data addressed to itself in the specified storage area.

[0025] Therefore, in order for all information processing devices on the network to receive data addressed to themselves separately for each of the information processing devices that sent the data, it is not necessary to provide a configuration for receiving data transmitted from other information processing devices for each of the other information processing devices. Furthermore, the configuration for receiving data transmitted from other information processing devices can be shared for receiving data transmitted from all of the other information processing devices.

[0026] This prevents all information processing devices on the network from wasting resources due to unnecessary configurations for receiving transmission data from other information processing devices that do not transmit data addressed to the device itself. Therefore, in all information processing devices on the network, the resources consumed by the configurations for receiving transmission data addressed to the device itself can be reduced to less than the amount corresponding to the number of other information processing devices.

[0027] Therefore, in all information processing devices on the network, it is possible to prevent resources from being wasted due to a configuration for receiving transmission data addressed to the device itself. Also, in all information processing devices on the network, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of useless tasks in resources wasted for receiving transmission data addressed to the device itself. Furthermore, it is possible to enable all information processing devices on the network to efficiently receive data transmitted from other information processing devices by effectively utilizing limited resources.

[0028] Further, a data transmission method according to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure includes: a transmitting step in which another information processing device connected to the network transmits transmission data addressed to the information processing device connected to the network together with destination data indicating a storage destination in the information processing device; a receiving step in which the information processing device receives, from the network, transmission data addressed to itself transmitted from the other information processing device together with the destination data indicating a storage destination of the transmission data addressed to itself; a specifying step in which the information processing device specifies a storage area in a data storage memory having a plurality of storage areas of the information processing device, in which the transmission data addressed to the information processing device received from the network is stored, from the destination data received from the network together with the transmission data addressed to the information processing device; a storing step in which the information processing device allocates and stores the received transmission data addressed to itself in the specified storage area of ​​the data storage memory; Includes:

[0029] If there are a plurality of other information processing devices that do not transmit destination data but transmit only data addressed to themselves, it is not possible to determine the sender from the received data addressed to themselves.

[0030] Therefore, in order to store data in the data storage memory separately for each sender, it is necessary to transmit the output signal of each information processing device using a different bit position of the transmission frame of the network so that the transmitted data can be received separately for each sender information processing device. In other words, a configuration for receiving transmitted data addressed to itself consumes a large amount of resources corresponding to the number of other information processing devices.

[0031] In contrast to this, according to the data transmission method according to the fourth aspect of the present disclosure, transmission data addressed to oneself is transmitted to the network from another information processing device that is the transmission source, together with destination data indicating the storage location of the transmission data addressed to oneself.

[0032] When an information processing device receives destination data transmitted from another information processing device together with transmission data addressed to itself from a network, the destination data is used to identify a storage area in the data storage memory in which to store the received transmission data addressed to itself, and the received transmission data addressed to itself is then allocated and stored in the identified storage area.

[0033] Therefore, in order to distinguish and receive transmission data addressed to itself for each information processing device that is the sender, it is not necessary to provide a configuration for receiving transmission data from each of the other information processing devices, and the configuration for receiving transmission data from the other information processing devices can be shared for receiving transmission data from all of the other information processing devices.

[0034] This prevents resources from being wasted by a configuration that is not actually necessary for receiving transmission data from other information processing devices that do not transmit data addressed to the device itself, and therefore reduces the resources consumed by the configuration for receiving transmission data addressed to the device itself to less than the amount corresponding to the number of other information processing devices.

[0035] Therefore, it is possible to avoid the unnecessary consumption of resources due to the configuration for receiving transmission data addressed to the information processing device itself. It is also possible to avoid the occurrence of unnecessary tasks in the resources that are wasted for receiving transmission data addressed to the information processing device itself. Furthermore, it is possible to efficiently receive data transmitted from other information processing devices by effectively utilizing limited resources. [Effects of the Invention]

[0036] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to efficiently receive data transmitted from other information processing devices by effectively utilizing limited resources. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0037] [Figure 1] 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a plant control system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram schematically illustrating the configuration of the main parts of a computing device according to a hypothetical example in which output signals of field devices transmitted between control blocks in FIG. 1 are received by distinguishing them according to their transmission sources and stored in a memory. [Figure 3] 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a main part of a calculation device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure that receives output signals of field devices transmitted between control blocks in FIG. 1, distinguishes them by transmission source, and stores them in a memory. FIG. [Figure 4] 2 is a flowchart showing an example of the procedure of a data transmission method for transmitting output signals of field devices between arithmetic units of the control blocks of FIG. 1; [Figure 5]FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram schematically illustrating the configuration of a main part of a calculation device according to another embodiment of the present disclosure that receives output signals of field devices transmitted between control blocks in FIG. 1, distinguishes them by transmission source, and stores them in a memory. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0038] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a plant control system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0039] A plant control system 1 shown in FIG. 1 is a system that controls the operation of field devices (not shown) installed in a plant such as a production facility or manufacturing facility.

[0040] The control system 1 (data transmission system) includes a control unit 3 that controls the operation of field devices, an engineering computer 5 that sets control targets for the field devices, and a monitoring computer 7 that monitors the operating state of the control unit 3.

[0041] The control unit 3, the engineering computer (hereinafter abbreviated as "EU") 5, and the monitoring computer (hereinafter abbreviated as "MU") 7 are interconnected by a LAN 9 and a router 11. In this embodiment, two systems of LAN 9 (network) and router 11 are provided to achieve redundancy in the transmission system. However, redundancy in the transmission system is not essential.

[0042] The control unit 3 may be configured to include, for example, a plurality of control blocks. The field devices controlled by the control unit 3 may also be divided into, for example, a plurality of blocks. In this case, each control block may be configured to control the operation of the field devices in each block.

[0043] In FIG. 1, as an example, a case will be described in which the field devices are divided into 32 blocks, and the operations of the field devices in each block are controlled by 32 control blocks 301 to 332, respectively.

[0044] Each of the control blocks 301 to 332 of the control unit 3 has a plurality of remote IO units 13, 13, . . . and an arithmetic device 15.

[0045] Each remote IO unit 13 inputs and outputs signals to and from a plurality of field devices located at various locations in the plant. Therefore, the remote IO unit 13 includes DI (Digital In), DO (Digital Out), AI (Analog In), and AO (Analog Out) modules for the field devices.

[0046] The field devices to which signals are input and output by each remote IO unit 13 include, for example, actuators, measuring instruments, sensors, etc. Therefore, the signals that the remote IO unit 13 inputs and outputs to and from the field devices include, for example, control signals for actuators (not shown), output signals from measuring instruments, and output signals from sensors that detect the operating status of the actuators.

[0047] The arithmetic device 15 generates control signals for each field device (such as an actuator or a measuring instrument) in the plant based on commands input from the EU 5. The control signals may include, for example, control parameters. The arithmetic device 15 also acquires output signals from each field device (such as a measuring instrument or a sensor) from the remote IO unit 13 corresponding to each field device.

[0048] The arithmetic unit 15 determines the content of the control signal to be generated by referring to the output signals of measuring instruments, sensors, etc. that affect the operational control of the field devices. When the measuring instruments, sensors, etc. that refer to the output signals are connected to the remote IO units 13 of the other control blocks 301 to 332, the output signals of the measuring instruments, sensors, etc. that are referred to are obtained from the arithmetic unit 15 of the other control blocks 301 to 332.

[0049] For this reason, the arithmetic units 15 of the control blocks 301 to 332 are interconnected by two LANs 9 and routers 11 not only to the higher-level EUs 5 and MUs 7 but also to the arithmetic units 15 of the other control blocks 301 to 332.

[0050] The arithmetic unit 15 then outputs the generated control signal to the remote IO units 13 corresponding to each field device. The arithmetic unit 15 also outputs the output signal of each field device acquired from each remote IO unit 13 to the EU5 and MU7.

[0051] The arithmetic device 15 has a controller board 19 that performs the above-described processing, a CAN communication board 21, a remote IO (In Out) communication board 23, a pulse counter board 24, two DI boards 25 and 27, a DO board 29, an AI board 31, and an AO board 33. Each of the boards 19 to 33 constitutes a module.

[0052] The boards 19 to 33 of the arithmetic unit 15 are connected by bus lines to the lower level of the arithmetic unit 15. For communication on the bus lines, a communication standard such as compact PCI can be used.

[0053] The CAN communication board 21 is a module that controls communication on the LAN 9 with the EU 5 and MU 7 of the arithmetic device 15 in accordance with the CAN (Control Area Network) standard. Note that the communication standard on the LAN 9 may be a standard other than CAN.

[0054] The remote IO communication board 23 is a module that controls communication between the arithmetic device 15 and each remote IO unit 13. A plurality of remote IO units 13 are connected to the remote IO communication board 23 at their lower levels.

[0055] A bus line such as a field bus can be used to connect each remote IO unit 13 to the remote IO communication board 23. A part or all of this bus line may be configured with an optical fiber line.

[0056] When an optical fiber line is used as part of the bus line, an opto-electrical conversion module is interposed between the optical fiber line and the electric signal line. When an opto-electrical conversion module is used for the bus line, the opto-electrical conversion module can also be included in the remote IO unit 13.

[0057] The pulse counter board 24 counts pulses of the output signals of each field device (measuring instrument, sensor, etc.) that the remote IO communication board 23 of the arithmetic device 15 acquires from each remote IO unit 13. The pulse count value by the pulse counter board 24 is transmitted to the EU5 and MU7 via the LAN 9 and the router 11.

[0058] The two DI boards 25 and 27 and the DO board 29 control the input and output of digital signals to and from the arithmetic device 15 with respect to each remote IO unit 13 .

[0059] The AI ​​board 31 and the AO board 33 control the input and output of analog signals to and from each remote IO unit 13 of the arithmetic device 15 .

[0060] In addition to the redundancy of the transmission system using the two LANs 9 and the router 11, the control unit 3 may also be configured to be redundant.

[0061] In this case, one arithmetic device 15 may be added to each of the control blocks 301 to 332, and each arithmetic device 15 may be connected to one of the two LANs 9. The remote IO communication board 23 of each arithmetic device 15 is connected to each of the remote IO units 13 using a bus line such as a field bus.

[0062] The EU5 is disposed, for example, at a location that manages the operation of the field devices of each block that is the control target of each control block 301 to 332 of the control unit 3. Data transmission and reception between the EU5 and the MU7 is performed by the CPU of the EU5 according to a program stored in a ROM (neither of which is shown) or a non-volatile memory (neither of which is shown).

[0063] Furthermore, the CPU of the EU 5 can generate commands for controlling the operation of the field devices of the blocks corresponding to the control blocks 301 to 332 of the control unit 3 by executing a program in the ROM or non-volatile memory.

[0064] Then, the CPU of the EU 5 outputs the generated command to each of the control blocks 301 to 332 of the control unit 3 corresponding to the block to which the field device whose operation is controlled by the command belongs.

[0065] The MU 7 is placed, for example, at a location that manages the operation of the field devices that are the control targets of the control blocks 301 to 332 of the control unit 3. The MU 7 may be placed together with the EU 5 or separately from the EU 5. Furthermore, multiple MUs 7 can be used as needed.

[0066] The MU 7 can monitor the operating status of field devices (actuators, measuring instruments, etc.) after the control system 1 starts operating. The operating status of the field devices can be monitored by referencing the count values ​​of the output signals of the field devices (measuring instruments, sensors, etc.) of each block that are input to the MU 7 from each control block 301 to 332 of the control unit 3. The MU 7 can also operate the field devices (actuators, measuring instruments, etc.) while monitoring their operating status.

[0067] The processing for operating the field devices of each block and monitoring their operating status is executed by the CPU of the computer main body 71 of the MU 7 according to a program stored in ROM (neither is shown).

[0068] In addition to the computer main body 71, the MU 7 has a display 73, a keyboard 75, and a mouse 77. The display 73 may have a touch panel (not shown). The touch panel of the display 73, together with the keyboard 75 and the mouse 77, can be used to operate the field devices of each block corresponding to each of the control blocks 301 to 332 of the control unit 3.

[0069] In the control system 1 configured as described above, the details of the operation performed by the MU 7 are notified to the EU 5. In response, the EU 5 generates commands for controlling the operation of the field devices (actuators, measuring instruments, etc.) of each block according to the details of the operation notified from the MU 7. The generated commands are sent to the arithmetic unit 15 of each corresponding control block 301 to 332 of the control unit 3.

[0070] The arithmetic unit 15, which receives a command from the EU 5, generates a control signal for the field device corresponding to the received command. At this time, the arithmetic unit 15 determines the content of the control signal to be generated by referring to output signals from measuring instruments, sensors, etc. that affect the operational control of the field device.

[0071] If the control signal to be generated includes a control parameter, the arithmetic unit 15 determines the content of the control parameter based on the content of the command received from the EU 5 and the output signals of the referenced measuring instruments, sensors, etc.

[0072] In the control system 1 of Figure 1, output signals of each field device (measuring instrument, sensor, etc.) acquired by each arithmetic device 15 from each remote IO unit 13 are transmitted between the arithmetic devices 15 of each control block 301 to 332 via LAN 9.

[0073] At this time, the arithmetic unit 15 (information processing device) of the control block 301 needs to handle the output signals (transmission data) received from the arithmetic units 15 (other information processing devices) of the other control blocks 302 (not shown) to 332 separately for each control block 302 to 332.

[0074] Therefore, for example, when each arithmetic device 15 receives an output signal of each field device (measuring instrument, sensor, etc.) that another arithmetic device 15 has acquired from each remote IO unit 13, it is possible to store the received output signal in the memory of the arithmetic device 15.

[0075] In this case, in order to distinguish which arithmetic device 15 acquired the output signal stored in the memory (which field device (measuring instrument, sensor, etc.) the output signal is), it is necessary to store the received output signal in separate areas of the memory according to the arithmetic device 15 that sent it. To achieve this, it is conceivable to configure each control block 301 to 332, for example, as in the hypothetical example whose main part is shown in the explanatory diagram of FIG. 2.

[0076] In the hypothetical example configuration shown in FIG. 2, the data transmission processing units 102-132 of the arithmetic units 15 of the other control blocks 302-332 transmit the output signals 202-232 acquired from the respective field devices to the LAN 9 from the signal data tables 402-432.

[0077] At this time, the data transmission processing units 102 to 132 transmit the output signals 202 to 232 of the signal data tables 402 to 432 to the arithmetic unit 15 of the control block 301 using different frame positions of the transmission frame of the LAN 9.

[0078] The output signals 202 to 232 transmitted from the control blocks 302 to 332 are received from the LAN 9 by the corresponding data reception processors 502 to 532 of the arithmetic unit 15 of the control block 301, and are stored separately in the corresponding signal data tables 602 to 632.

[0079] By configuring each of the control blocks 301 to 332 in this manner, the output signals 202 to 232 transmitted by the arithmetic units 15 of the control blocks 302 to 332 can be stored separately in the signal data tables 602 to 632 of the arithmetic unit 15 of the control block 301.

[0080] The control blocks 301 to 332 as destinations of the output signals 202 to 232 transmitted to the LAN 9 by the data transmission processing units 102 to 132 of the control blocks 302 to 332 can be set in the header of the transmission frame of the LAN 9, for example.

[0081] In this case, the data reception processing units 502 to 532 of the control block 301 can identify the transmission frame addressed to them based on the destination setting in the header or the like of the transmission frame, and receive the output signals 202 to 232.

[0082] Furthermore, the signal data tables 402 to 432 of the arithmetic unit 15 of each of the control blocks 302 to 332 and the signal data tables 602 to 632 of the arithmetic unit 15 of the control block 301 can be configured in the memory of each arithmetic unit 15.

[0083] Furthermore, the data transmission processing units 102 to 132 of the arithmetic unit 15 of each control block 302 to 332 and the data reception processing units 502 to 532 of the arithmetic unit 15 of the control block 301 can be virtually constructed by the CPU of each arithmetic unit 15 executing a program.

[0084] In the hypothetical example configuration, the arithmetic unit 15 of the control block 301 is provided with 31 data reception processing units 502-532 and signal data tables 602-632 corresponding to the control blocks 302-332 that are the transmission sources of the output signals 202-232 of the field devices.

[0085] However, when generating a control signal for a field device, the arithmetic unit 15 of the control block 301 does not refer to all of the output signals 202 to 232 of the field devices acquired by the arithmetic units 15 of the other control blocks 302 to 332.

[0086] Therefore, in the hypothetical example configuration, the resources of the arithmetic unit 15 are wasted by the data reception processing units 502-532 and signal data tables 602-632 involved in receiving and storing the output signals 202-232 that are not referenced by the arithmetic unit 15 of the control block 301.

[0087] Moreover, the tasks executed by the data reception processing units 502 to 532 that receive the output signals 202 to 232 that are not referenced by the arithmetic unit 15 of the control block 301 are unnecessary tasks that do not need to be executed. These unnecessary tasks also result in unnecessary consumption of the resources of the arithmetic unit 15.

[0088] Therefore, in the embodiment described below, the number of signal data tables storing the output signals 202 to 232 received by the arithmetic unit 15 of the control block 301 is limited to the maximum number of sources of the output signals 202 to 232 referenced by the arithmetic unit 15.

[0089] In addition, in the embodiment described below, the arithmetic devices 15 of the other control blocks 302 to 332 are made to transmit destination data indicating the storage destination of the output signals 202 to 232 in the arithmetic device 15 of the control block 301 together with the output signals 202 to 232 of the field devices.

[0090] Hereinafter, with reference to the explanatory diagram of FIG. 3, a description will be given of essential parts of an example configuration of the control blocks 301 to 332 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure that can be employed in the control system 1 of FIG.

[0091] In the embodiment shown in Figure 3, the arithmetic device 15 of the control block 301 is provided with one data reception processing unit 501 (receiving unit, identifying unit, storing unit) instead of the 31 data reception processing units 502 to 532 shown in Figure 2.

[0092] Similarly, the arithmetic unit 15 of the control block 301 is provided with eight signal data tables 701 to 708 (data storage memory, storage area) instead of the 31 signal data tables 602 to 632 shown in FIG.

[0093] Here, the number of signal data tables may be more or less than eight as in the embodiment shown in Fig. 3. In short, as long as there are signal data tables whose number is equal to or greater than the maximum number of sources of the output signals 202 to 232 referenced by the calculation device 15, the output signals 202 to 232 referenced by the calculation device 15 can be distinguished by source and stored in individual signal data tables.

[0094] 3, in accordance with the eight signal data tables 701-708, the data transmission processing units 102-132 (transmitting units) of the control blocks 302-332 transmit destination data together with the output signals 202-232 to the LAN 9. This destination data is data indicating the signal data tables 701-708 that are to be used as storage destinations for the output signals 202-232 transmitted by the data transmission processing units 102-132.

[0095] When the control blocks 301 to 332 are configured as described above, the data transmission method in which the arithmetic unit 15 of each of the control blocks 302 to 332 transmits the output signals 202 to 232 to the arithmetic unit 15 of the control block 301 includes the steps shown in the flowchart of FIG.

[0096] That is, the method of transmitting the output signals 202-232 from the arithmetic unit 15 of each control block 302-332 to the arithmetic unit 15 of the control block 301 includes the steps of sending, receiving, identifying and storing (steps S1, S3, S5 and S7).

[0097] The transmission step of step S1 is a step in which the data transmission processing units 102-132 of the control blocks 302-332 transmit the output signals 202-232 referred to by the arithmetic unit 15 of the control block 301 in FIG. 3 to the LAN 9 as transmission data addressed to the control block 301.

[0098] In the embodiment shown in Figure 3, the data transmission processing unit 102 of the control block 302 transmits the destination data 35 (1) whose storage destination is the signal data table 701 of the control block 301 to the LAN 9 together with the output signal 202 of the field device acquired by the calculation device 15.

[0099] In addition, the data transmission processing unit 103 of the control block 303 transmits the destination data 35 (2) stored in the signal data table 702 of the control block 301 to the LAN 9 together with the output signal 203 of the field device acquired by the calculation device 15.

[0100] Furthermore, the data transmission processing unit 132 of the control block 332 transmits the destination data 35 (3), which is stored in the signal data table 703 of the control block 301, to the LAN 9 together with the output signal 232 of the field device acquired by the calculation device 15.

[0101] In addition, the data transmission processing units 102 to 132 of the control blocks 302 to 332 that transmit the output signals 202 to 232 that are not referenced by the arithmetic device 15 of the control block 301 to the LAN 9 can transmit the output signals 202 to 232 that do not have destination data 35 to the LAN 9, for example.

[0102] The receiving step of step S3 in Figure 4 is a step in which the data receiving processing unit 501 of the control block 301 receives the output signals 202 to 232 that the data transmitting processing units 102 to 132 of the control blocks 302 to 332 in Figure 3 have transmitted to the LAN 9 as transmission data addressed to themselves.

[0103] 3 are the output signals 202-232 that the arithmetic unit 15 of the control block 301 refers to when generating control signals for the field devices. The data reception processing unit 501 receives destination data indicating the storage destinations in the signal data tables 701-708 where the output signals 202-232 are to be stored, along with the output signals 202-232 that are transmission data addressed to itself.

[0104] The identification step of step S5 in Figure 4 is a step in which the data receiving processing unit 501 of the control block 301 in Figure 3 identifies the signal data tables 701 to 708 in which the output signals 202 to 232 are stored from the destination data 35 received along with the transmission data addressed to itself.

[0105] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the data reception processing unit 501 of the control block 301 specifies the storage destination of the output signal 202 received from the LAN 9 as the signal data table 701 from the destination data 35 of (1). 203 , 232 are identified as signal data tables 702 and 703 from the destination data 35 of (2) and (3), respectively.

[0106] The storage step of step S7 in Figure 4 is a step in which the data reception processing unit 501 of the control block 301 in Figure 3 stores the output signals 202 to 232 received as transmission data addressed to itself in the signal data tables 701 to 708 of the storage destination identified in step S5.

[0107] As is clear from the above description, in this embodiment, step S1 in the flowchart of Fig. 4 corresponds to the transmitting unit in the claims. Also, in the control system 1 of this embodiment, step S3 in Fig. 4 corresponds to the receiving unit in the claims.

[0108] Furthermore, in this embodiment, step S5 in Fig. 4 corresponds to the process of the specific unit in the claims. Also, in the control system 1 of this embodiment, step S7 in Fig. 4 corresponds to the process of the storage unit in the claims.

[0109] In this embodiment, the arithmetic unit 15 of each of the control blocks 302 to 332 in FIG. 3 acquires the output signals 202 to 232 of the field devices connected to the remote IO unit 13. The acquired output signals 202 to 232 are stored in the signal data tables 402 to 432 of the control blocks 302 to 332.

[0110] Of the output signals 202-232 in the signal data tables 402-432, the output signals 202-232 referred to by the arithmetic unit 15 of the control block 301 are transmitted by the data transmission processing units 102-132 to the LAN 9 in transmission frames addressed to the control block 301.

[0111] At this time, the data transmission processing units 102-132 transmit to the LAN 9 transmission frames including destination data indicating storage destinations for storing the output signals 202-232 among the signal data tables 701-708 of the control block 301.

[0112] A transmission frame addressed to the control block 301 and transmitted to the LAN 9 is received from the LAN 9 by the data reception processing unit 501 of the control block 301. The output signals 202 to 232 of the received transmission frame are stored by the data reception processing unit 501 in signal data tables 701 to 708 identified from the destination data of the transmission frame.

[0113] The output signals 202 to 232 stored in the signal data tables 701 to 708 identified from the destination data are referenced by the arithmetic unit 15 of the control block 301 when the arithmetic unit 15 generates a control signal for a field device connected to the remote IO unit 13.

[0114] In this way, in this embodiment, in order to distinguish the output signals 202 to 232 according to the source control blocks 302 to 332, the 31 data reception processing units 502 to 532 required in the hypothetical example of Figure 2 can be reduced to just the shared data reception processing unit 501.

[0115] Furthermore, with regard to the signal data tables for storing the output signals 202 to 232, the 31 signal data tables 602 to 632 required in the hypothetical example of FIG. 2 can be reduced to only eight signal data tables 701 to 708.

[0116] In other words, the configuration for receiving the output signals 202 to 232 referenced by the arithmetic unit 15 of the control block 301 and storing them separately for each sender can reduce the resource consumption of the arithmetic unit 15 of the control block 301 compared to the hypothetical example configuration of Figure 2.

[0117] Therefore, the configuration for receiving the output signals 202-232 referenced by the arithmetic unit 15 of the control block 301 and storing them separately for each transmission source can prevent the resources of the arithmetic unit 15 of the control block 301 from being wasted and the generation of useless tasks from occurring.The output signals 202-232 referenced by the arithmetic unit 15 of the control block 301 and transmitted from the control blocks 302-332 can be efficiently received by effectively utilizing the limited resources of the arithmetic unit 15 of the control block 301.

[0118] In addition, the configuration in which the output signals 202 to 232 referenced by the calculation device 15 are received by the data reception processing unit 501 of the calculation device 15 and stored in one of the signal data tables 701 to 708 by distinguishing them by sender can also be adopted for control blocks 302 to 332 other than control block 301.

[0119] In that case, for example, as in another embodiment whose main parts are shown in the explanatory diagram of Figure 5, the arithmetic device 15 of the control block 301 is provided with a data transmission processing unit 101 and a signal data table 401 in addition to the data reception processing unit 501 and signal data tables 701 to 708 of Figure 3.

[0120] Also, the calculation devices 15 of the other control blocks 302 to 332 are also configured similarly to the control block 301 in Fig. 5 by adding the same configuration as the data reception processing unit 501 and signal data tables 701 to 708 provided in the calculation device 15 of the control block 301 in Fig. 3. However, in Fig. 5, for each of the control blocks 302 to 332 other than the control block 301, the illustration of one data reception processing unit and eight signal data tables of the calculation device 15 is omitted.

[0121] In this embodiment, in the control block 301 as well, the data transmission processing unit 101 stores the output signals 202 to 232 acquired from the field devices connected to the remote IO unit 13 in the signal data table 401, just like the control blocks 302 to 332.

[0122] Furthermore, the output signals 202 to 232 of the signal data table 401 are transmitted by the data transmission processing unit 101 to the LAN 9 together with destination data using transmission frames addressed to the control blocks 302 to 332 of the arithmetic unit 15 that refer to the output signals 202 to 232.

[0123] Meanwhile, in the control blocks 302 to 332, as in the control block 301, a transmission frame addressed to itself is received by the data reception processing unit from the LAN 9. The output signals 202 to 232 of the received transmission frame are stored by the data reception processing unit in a signal data table identified from the destination data of the transmission frame.

[0124] The output signals 202 to 232 stored in the signal data table identified from the destination data are referenced by the arithmetic unit 15 of the control blocks 302 to 332 when the arithmetic unit 15 generates control signals for the field devices connected to the remote IO unit 13.

[0125] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the number of data reception processing units and signal data tables can be reduced in the arithmetic device 15 of control blocks 302 to 332 other than the control block 301 in FIG. 5, thereby preventing unnecessary consumption of resources of the arithmetic device 15 and the occurrence of unnecessary tasks.

[0126] Note that a configuration similar to that of the arithmetic unit 15 of the control block 301 of Figure 3 may be adopted only in the arithmetic units 15 of some of the other control blocks 302 to 332, rather than being adopted in the arithmetic units 15 of all other control blocks 302 to 332 as in the embodiment of Figure 5.

[0127] Furthermore, the present disclosure is not limited to cases where data is transmitted between information processing devices in a plant, but can also be widely applied to cases where data is transmitted between information processing devices that control the operation of control targets in each of multiple divided blocks of an automobile, for example. [Explanation of symbols]

[0128] 1 Plant control system (data transmission system) 3. Control Unit 5 Engineering Computers (EU) 7 Monitoring Computer (MU) 9 LAN (Network) 11 Router 13 Remote IO Unit 15 Computing device (information processing device, other information processing device) 19 Controller board 21 CAN communication board 23 Remote IO communication board 24 Pulse counter board 25,27 DI board 29 DO board 31 AI board 33 AO board 35 Destination Data 71 Computer main body 73 Display 75 keyboards 77 Mouse 101 to 132 Data transmission processing unit (transmission unit) 201~232 Output signal (transmit data) 301~332 Control Blocks 401~432 Signal Data Table 501 to 532 Data reception processing unit (receiving unit, identifying unit, storing unit) 602~632 Signal Data Table 701~708 Signal data table (data storage memory, storage area)

Claims

1. a data storage memory having a plurality of storage areas in which transmission data addressed to itself transmitted from other information processing devices is stored in predetermined storage areas each corresponding to one of the other information processing devices that are the transmission sources of the transmission data addressed to itself, the storage areas being distinguished by transmission source; a receiving unit that receives the transmission data addressed to itself from a network together with destination data that indicates a storage destination of the transmission data addressed to itself; a specifying unit that specifies a storage area in the data storage memory for storing the transmission data addressed to itself received by the receiving unit, from the destination data received from the network together with the transmission data addressed to itself; a storage unit that allocates and stores the self-addressed transmission data received by the receiving unit into the storage area in the data storage memory specified by the specifying unit, the data storage memory has the storage areas in a number that is less than the number of the other information processing devices and is equal to or greater than the maximum number of the part of the information processing devices that are the senders of the transmission data addressed to the data storage memory, among the other information processing devices; the destination data is data indicating a storage area of ​​a storage destination corresponding to a source of the self-addressed transmission data based on information of the storage area of ​​the data storage memory that corresponds one-to-one to each of the some of the information processing devices that are the source of the self-addressed transmission data, in order to distinguish the source of the self-addressed transmission data from other source of the self-addressed transmission data and store it in the data storage memory, the identifying unit identifies a storage area of ​​a storage destination corresponding to a source of the transmission data addressed to itself received by the receiving unit as a storage area for storing the transmission data addressed to itself received by the receiving unit, based on the information of the storage area of ​​the data storage memory that corresponds one-to-one to each of the some of the information processing devices that are source of the transmission data addressed to itself; 1. An information processing device comprising:

2. 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a transmitting unit that transmits the transmission data addressed to the other information processing apparatus to the network together with the destination data indicating a storage location of the transmission data.

3. Network and an information processing device according to claim 2, wherein a plurality of the information processing devices are connected to the network and perform data transmission between each other via the network; A data transmission system comprising:

4. a transmitting step in which another information processing device connected to the network transmits to the network transmission data addressed to the information processing device connected to the network together with destination data indicating a storage destination in the information processing device where the transmission data is stored in a manner distinguished for each sender; a receiving step in which the information processing device receives, from the network, transmission data addressed to itself transmitted from the other information processing device together with the destination data indicating a storage destination of the transmission data addressed to itself; a specifying step in which the information processing device specifies a storage area in a data storage memory having a plurality of storage areas of the information processing device, in which the transmission data addressed to the information processing device received from the network is stored, from the destination data received from the network together with the transmission data addressed to the information processing device; a storing step in which the information processing device allocates and stores the received transmission data addressed to itself in the specified storage area of ​​the data storage memory, the data storage memory has the storage areas in a number that is less than the number of the other information processing devices and is equal to or greater than the maximum number of the part of the information processing devices that are the senders of the transmission data addressed to the data storage memory, among the other information processing devices; the destination data is data indicating a storage area of ​​a storage destination corresponding to a source of the self-addressed transmission data based on information of the storage area of ​​the data storage memory that corresponds one-to-one to each of the some of the information processing devices that are predetermined source of the self-addressed transmission data, in order to distinguish the source of the self-addressed transmission data from other source of the self-addressed transmission data and store the data in the data storage memory, In the specifying step, the information processing device specifies a storage area of ​​a storage destination corresponding to a source of the received transmission data addressed to itself as a storage area for storing the received transmission data addressed to itself, based on the information of the storage area of ​​the data storage memory which corresponds one-to-one to each of the some of the information processing devices which are source of the transmission data addressed to itself. Data transmission method.

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