Water treatment system and water treatment device

Abstract

To upgrade the version of control software for a water treatment apparatus without causing water treatment control, which involves water treatment apparatuses, to cease or stagnate.SOLUTION: A water treatment system 100 includes an edge device 5 that distributes the latest version of a control software program, and a water treatment apparatus 1 that, when the control software program distributed from the edge device 5 is of the same type as an own type, if an own control software program is not of the latest version, receives the distributed control software program.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a water treatment system, an edge device, and a water treatment device. [Background technology]

[0002] It has been known that control software for controlling a control device is conventionally rewritten using a program rewriting device (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The program rewriting device is also used to rewrite the control software for each water treatment device included in a water treatment system. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-078254 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] A water treatment system is connected to multiple water treatment devices of the same model. If the same model of water treatment devices are operated with different versions of control software, the entire water treatment system will operate unevenly, resulting in unstable operation. For this reason, when rewriting the control software of the water treatment devices, it must be done simultaneously. However, rewriting using a program rewriting device has limitations, such as having to be done during a time when the water treatment devices are stopped, which is cumbersome for administrators and reduces the convenience of the water treatment system. For this reason, it is desirable to rewrite the control software of multiple water treatment devices simultaneously without affecting water treatment control.

[0005] The present invention aims to provide a water treatment system that can upgrade the control software of a water treatment device if it is not the latest version while controlling water treatment, without stopping or stalling the data transmission and reception process between water treatment devices that are communicatively connected, and to upgrade the water treatment devices of the same model all at once if there are multiple water treatment devices of the same model and the control software of at least two of the water treatment devices is not the latest version. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The present invention relates to a water treatment system comprising: a water treatment device group including a plurality of water treatment devices; an edge device that stores the latest version of control software corresponding to the control software controlling the water treatment devices included in the water treatment device group; and a communication line that connects the water treatment device group and the edge device so that they can communicate with each other, wherein the edge device manages the latest version of the control software for each model of the water treatment device and multicasts or broadcasts the latest version of the control software via the communication line along with identification information that identifies the model and the latest version of the control software, and the water treatment device further comprises a software determination unit that determines whether the water treatment devices are of the same model and the control software controlling the water treatment device is the latest version based on the identification information related to the control software multicast or broadcast from the edge device via the communication line, and a data acquisition unit that receives the control software if the software determination unit determines that the water treatment devices are of the same model and the control software controlling the water treatment device is not the latest version.

[0007] Furthermore, the water treatment device further includes a water treatment data transmission unit that transmits data including at least status information and control data of the water treatment device via the communication line, and the control software distribution unit provided in the edge device further divides the latest version of the control software for each model into a predetermined data length and multicasts or broadcasts the divided data sequentially via the communication line at a predetermined period that is set in advance, and the software determination unit provided in the water treatment device further determines, based on the identification information related to the divided data multicast or broadcast from the edge device via the communication line, whether the model of the water treatment device is the same model and the control software controlling the water treatment device is the latest version, and it is preferable that the data acquisition unit further receives the divided data sequentially if the model of the water treatment device is the same model and the control software controlling the water treatment device is not the latest version.

[0008] Preferably, the predetermined period is set based on the amount and frequency of data transmitted by a water treatment data transmitting unit included in each of the water treatment devices.

[0009] In addition, the water treatment device group may include at least one monitoring device, and the monitoring device may be equipped with a status acquisition unit that acquires status information of the water treatment device transmitted from the water treatment device, a processing unit that processes the status information acquired by the status acquisition unit, and a memory unit that stores the status information processed by the processing unit.

[0010] The group of water treatment devices preferably includes, as water treatment devices, a steam boiler that generates steam by heating feedwater that has been treated to a predetermined water quality, and a steam boiler control device that serves as a monitoring device.

[0011] The monitoring device and the edge device may be configured as an integrated device.

[0012] Furthermore, it is preferable that the water treatment device has at least two memory areas as a memory unit for storing the control software, one of which stores the control software currently in operation, and the other of which sequentially stores the divided data of the control software multicast or broadcast from the edge device via the communication line when the currently in operation control software is not the latest version.

[0013] Furthermore, the water treatment device is preferably equipped with a control software management unit that configures the memory area in the memory unit from a plurality of address blocks of a predetermined length and manages each address block with a unique data address, wherein the predetermined length corresponds to the length of the divided data distributed by the control software distribution unit of the edge device, and the divided data is distributed together with the data address of the address block, and wherein the data acquisition unit, when the control software controlling the water treatment device is not the latest version, sequentially stores the divided data distributed from the edge device in the address block of the data address of the other memory area and determines whether all the divided data has been written to the other memory area, and when the data acquisition unit determines that all the divided data has been written to the other memory area, the control software management unit performs error detection on the memory area, and if no error is detected, switches the control software controlling the water treatment device to the latest version of the control software stored in the other memory unit.

[0014] The present invention also provides an edge device communicably connected to a water treatment device group including a plurality of water treatment devices via a communication line, the edge device including a control software distribution unit that stores the latest version of control software for each model of the water treatment device, and multicasts or broadcasts the latest version of control software for each model of the water treatment device via the communication line together with identification information that identifies the model and the latest version of the control software, the control software distribution unit further comprising: The edge device divides the latest version of the control software for each model into a predetermined data length, and multicasts or broadcasts the divided data sequentially over the communication line at a predetermined period.

[0015] The present invention also relates to a water treatment device that is part of a group of water treatment devices that is communicatively connected to an edge device via a communication line, and that includes a software determination unit that, for control software of a certain type that is multicast or broadcast from the edge device via the communication line together with identification information that identifies the model of the water treatment device and the latest version of the control software for that model, determines whether the water treatment device is of the same model and the control software controlling the water treatment device is the latest version based on the identification information related to the control software, and a data acquisition unit that receives the control software if the software determination unit determines that the water treatment device is of the same model and the control software controlling the water treatment device is not the latest version. [Effects of the Invention]

[0016] According to the present invention, in a water treatment system, if the control software of a water treatment device is not the latest version, it can be upgraded while controlling the water treatment without stopping or stalling the data transmission and reception process between water treatment devices that are communicatively connected, and if there are multiple water treatment devices of the same model and the control software of at least two of the water treatment devices is not the latest version, it is possible to upgrade all the water treatment devices of the same model at the same time. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1] 1 is an overall schematic diagram of a water treatment system of the present invention. [Figure 2] 1 is an overall schematic diagram of a pure water system as a water treatment system of the present invention. [Figure 3A] 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a water treatment device of the present invention. [Figure 3B] 3 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a control software storage unit in the water treatment device of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an edge device according to the present invention. [Figure 5A] 3 is a flowchart showing the process of the water treatment device of the present invention. [Figure 5B] 3 is a flowchart showing the process of the water treatment device of the present invention. [Figure 6] 1 is an overall schematic diagram of a boiler system as a water treatment system of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0018] The present invention is directed to any water treatment system that simultaneously controls multiple updates of control software that controls the water treatment system without placing a load on the network. FIG. 1 is an overall schematic diagram of a water treatment system 100 of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the water treatment system 100 includes a water treatment device group 10 including a plurality of water treatment devices 1, an edge device 5, and a communication network 7. Although FIG. 1 illustrates an example in which the water treatment device group 10 includes the water treatment device 1 as a monitoring device, this is not limiting. In this embodiment, a configuration including the water treatment device 1 as a monitoring device is described, but a configuration not including the water treatment device 1 as a monitoring device is also possible. Although FIG. 1 illustrates the water treatment device 1 as a monitoring device and the edge device 5 as separate devices, this is not limiting. The water treatment device 1 as a monitoring device and the edge device 5 may be configured as an integrated device. For example, the water treatment device 1 as a monitoring device may have the functions of the edge device 5. Before describing the details of the water treatment device 1 and the edge device 5, an embodiment of a pure water system as a water treatment system to which the present invention is applied will be described.

[0019] 2 is an overall schematic diagram of a pure water system 100A as a water treatment system according to this embodiment. The pure water system 100A can produce highly pure water from raw water as supply water, and the produced highly pure water is used as raw water for pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, washing water for precision instruments and electronic components, etc. As shown in FIG. 2, the pure water system 100A includes a pretreatment device group 1A including an iron and manganese removal device 11A as the water treatment device 1, an activated carbon filtration device 12A as the water treatment device 1, a water softener 13A as the water treatment device 1, and a cartridge filter 14A as the water treatment device 1, a water quality monitoring device 3A as the water treatment device 1, a pure water unit 2A including an RO device 21a as the water treatment device 1, an RO device 21b as the water treatment device 1, and an EDI device 22 as the water treatment device 1, and a pure water tank 4A that stores pure water output from the pure water unit 2A, and these are referred to as a water treatment device group 10A. The pure water system 100A includes a water treatment device group 10A as a water treatment device group 10, an edge device 5, and a water treatment network 7A as a communication network 7. The EDI device 22, as a master monitoring device, communicates with other slave water treatment devices 1 for each device at intervals of, for example, approximately 100 msec to 200 msec, thereby acquiring status information including operation information of each slave water treatment device 1. In the following description, when there is no need to distinguish between the water treatment devices, they will be referred to as "water treatment device 1" unless otherwise specified. 3A is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a water treatment device 1. As shown in FIG. 3A, each water treatment device 1 included in a pure water system 100A as a water treatment system includes a control unit 11, a storage unit 12, and a communication unit 13, and is communicatively connected to a water treatment network 7A. The storage unit 12 of each device stores control software for controlling the device, and the control unit 11 executes the control software to realize the specific function of each device. Although not shown, each device may also include a display unit or an input unit.

[0020] The memory unit 12 is a storage area such as a hard disk or semiconductor memory element for storing programs, data, etc. required for the control unit 11 to execute various processes, and the memory unit 12 includes a control software memory unit 121. 3A, the control software storage unit 121 has at least two storage areas, and one of the storage areas (hereinafter also referred to as the "operating storage area") stores the control software currently in operation. In addition, the other storage area (hereinafter also referred to as the "update storage area") sequentially stores the latest version of the control software multicast or broadcast from the edge device 5 via the water treatment network 7A, as will be described later, if the currently operating control software is not the latest version of the control software. 3B is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the control software storage unit 121. As shown in FIG. 3B, each storage area of ​​the control software storage unit 121 is divided into address blocks of a predetermined length (for example, 256 bytes). This allows the edge device 5 to distribute program data obtained by dividing the latest version of the control software program into address block units contained in the storage area, together with the data addresses of the address blocks. Details will be described later.

[0021] Control unit 11 is a central processing unit (CPU) that controls the entire water treatment device 1. Control unit 11 cooperates with the above-mentioned hardware to perform various functions by appropriately reading and executing an operating system (OS) and control software stored in storage unit 12. Details of control unit 11 will be described later.

[0022] The communication unit 13 is a communication interface for communicating with other water treatment devices 1. For example, as described above, each of the water treatment devices 1 included in the slave pretreatment device group 1A and the RO device 21a and RO device 21b included in the pure water unit 2A is a communication interface for periodically transmitting status information including operation information to the EDI device 22, which is the water treatment device 1 serving as the master monitoring device. Conversely, the EDI device 22, which is the water treatment device 1 serving as the master monitoring device, can periodically receive status information including operation information from the other slave water treatment devices 1 via the communication unit 13.

[0023] Before explaining the detailed functions of the control unit 11 of the water treatment device 1 according to the present invention, we will briefly explain the outline of the unique functions of the iron and manganese removal device 11A, activated carbon filtration device 12A, water softener 13A, cartridge filter 14A, water quality monitoring device 3A, pure water unit 2A, and pure water tank 4A that stores the pure water output from the pure water unit 2A, which are included in the pure water system 100A.

[0024] The pretreatment device group 1A includes, for example, an iron and manganese removal device 11A, an activated carbon filtration device 12A, a water softener 13A, and a cartridge filter 14A.

[0025] The iron and manganese removal device 11A removes iron and manganese from raw water supplied from the first water supply line, and produces first treated water (raw water from which iron and manganese have been removed) from the raw water. An activated carbon filtration device 12A is connected downstream of the iron and manganese removal device 11A.

[0026] The activated carbon filtration device 12A removes residual chlorine and organic matter contained in the first treated water supplied from the iron and manganese removal device 11A, and produces second treated water (raw water from which residual chlorine and organic matter have been removed). The activated carbon filtration device 12A may also be supplied with tap water as feed water in addition to the first treated water. A water softener 13A is connected downstream of the activated carbon filtration device 12A.

[0027] The water softener 13A performs a predetermined purification process on the second treated water. Specifically, the water softener 13A exchanges, for example, hardness components (calcium ions and magnesium ions) contained in the second treated water with sodium ions using a cation exchange resin. In this way, the water softener 13A removes the hardness components from the second treated water and generates third treated water (raw water from which the hardness components have been removed). A cartridge filter 14A is connected downstream of the water softener 13A.

[0028] The cartridge filter 14A removes, for example, contaminants suspended in the third treated water to produce fourth treated water. A pure water unit 2A is connected downstream of the cartridge filter 14A.

[0029] In addition, water quality monitoring devices 3A may be provided between the iron and manganese removal device 11A and the activated carbon filtration device 12A, between the activated carbon filtration device 12A and the water softener 13A, between the water softener 13A and the cartridge filter 14A, and between the cartridge filter 14A and the pure water unit 2A, respectively, to monitor the quality of the water treated by each device. For example, a water quality monitoring device 3A installed between the activated carbon filter device 12A and the water softener 13A monitors the hardness of the second treated water supplied to the water softener 13A, and a water quality monitoring device 3A installed between the water softener 13A and the cartridge filter 14A monitors the hardness of the third treated water supplied by the water softener 13A. By doing so, for example, when it is determined that the water softener 13A has not softened the water as specified, it can be determined that the exchange capacity of the cation exchange resin built into the water softener has reached saturation, and a specified regeneration process can be carried out. Furthermore, the water quality monitoring device 3A, which is provided between the cartridge filter 14A and the pure water unit 2A, may monitor, for example, the silica concentration of the fourth treated water supplied to the pure water unit 2A. This allows the recovery rate of the RO device to be constantly controlled to an optimum value based on the measured silica concentration, thereby reducing wastewater volume and preventing scale buildup on the RO membrane. The water quality monitoring device 3A may also feed back information on the quality of the water treated by each device to each device and periodically transmit this information to the master EDI device 22.

[0030] The pure water unit 2A includes, for example, RO devices 21a and 21b and an EDI device 22. The RO device 21a performs membrane separation treatment on the fourth treated water into a first permeate, from which impurities such as ions and low-molecular-weight organic matter have been removed, and a first concentrate, from which these impurities have been concentrated. The RO device 21a includes one or more RO membrane elements (not shown). The RO device 21a performs membrane separation treatment on the fourth treated water using these RO membrane elements to produce a first permeate and a first concentrate. The RO device 21b is connected downstream of the RO device 21a and is supplied with the first permeate. The RO device 21b performs membrane separation treatment on the first permeate into a second permeate from which impurities such as ions and low-molecular-weight organic substances have been removed, and a second concentrate from which these impurities have been concentrated. The RO device 21b includes one or more RO membrane elements (not shown). The RO device 21b performs membrane separation treatment on the first permeate using these RO membrane elements to produce a second permeate and a second concentrate. An EDI device 22 is connected downstream of the RO device 21b, and the second permeate is supplied thereto.

[0031] The EDI device 22 is a water treatment device that demineralizes (deionizes) the second permeate to produce demineralized water (deionized water) as further purified pure water and third concentrated water. A pure water tank 4A is connected downstream of the EDI device 22, and pure water (demineralized water) is supplied to the tank. As mentioned above, the EDI device 22, as a master monitoring device, communicates with other slave water treatment devices 1 for each device, for example, at a period of approximately 100 msec to 200 msec, thereby obtaining status information including operating information of each slave water treatment device 1.

[0032] A water level sensor (not shown) is placed in the pure water tank 4A to detect the water level in the pure water tank 4A and provide feedback to a control unit (not shown) that controls the water supply, and may also periodically transmit this information to the master EDI device 22. The demineralized water (deionized water) supplied to the pure water tank 4A is used as raw water for pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, washing water for precision instruments and electronic components, etc.

[0033] The above has described an outline of the specific functions of the pretreatment device group 1A, the pure water unit 2A, and the pure water tank 4A that stores the pure water output from the pure water unit 2A, which are included in the pure water system 100A as a water treatment system.

[0034] Next, functions of the control unit 11 of the water treatment device 1 according to the present invention will be described with reference to Fig. 3A. Note that the functions according to the present invention will be described as "water treatment device 1" since there is no need to distinguish between the water treatment devices 1. As described above, water treatment device 1 includes control unit 11, memory unit 12 including control software memory unit 121, and communication unit 13. Although not shown, water treatment device 1 may also include a display unit or an input unit. Since memory unit 12 and communication unit 13 have already been described, only control unit 11 will be described here.

[0035] 3A, control unit 11 cooperates with the above-described hardware by appropriately reading and executing the operating system (OS) and control software stored in memory unit 12, and executes not only functional units that execute functions specific to the water treatment device, but also software determination unit 111, data acquisition unit 112, control software management unit 113, and water treatment data transmission unit 114 according to the present invention. Note that the functional units enclosed by dashed lines (status acquisition unit 116 and status processing unit 117) are functional units included in water treatment device 1 as a monitoring device, as will be described later.

[0036] The software judgment unit 111 judges whether the model of the target device of the control software program, which is multicast or broadcast from the edge device 5 described later via the water treatment network 7A at a predetermined period (for example, every 4 seconds), matches the model of itself (the water treatment device 1). If the version of the control software program that is multicast or broadcast matches the model of the water treatment device 1 itself (the water treatment device 1), the software determination unit 111 further determines whether or not the version of the control software program that is multicast or broadcast matches the version of the control software program currently in operation that is stored in the memory area of ​​the control software memory unit 121 of the memory unit 12 of the water treatment device 1 itself (the water treatment device 1) (i.e., whether or not the version of the control software program currently in operation is the latest version), and outputs the determination result to the data acquisition unit 112. Note that if the software determination unit 111 determines that the version of the control software program currently in operation that controls the water treatment device 1 itself (the water treatment device 1) is the latest version, it may ignore the control software program that is multicast or broadcast, and if it determines that the version of the control software program currently in operation is not the latest version, it may output the determination result to the data acquisition unit 112.

[0037] When the software determination unit 111 determines that the model of the target device for the distributed control software program matches the model of the water treatment device 1 itself and that the version of the control software controlling the water treatment device 1 itself is not the latest version, the data acquisition unit 112 sequentially acquires data distributed at a predetermined interval, including model information (e.g., a model code) as identification information for identifying the model of the target device for the control software program, version information (e.g., a version code) as identification information for identifying the version of the control software program, data addresses of address blocks, and program data divided into segments of a predetermined length (e.g., 256 bytes). Note that, while the model code and version code are exemplified as the model information and the version information, respectively, these are not limited to these. Any information for identifying the model and version, such as a number or a timestamp such as a date, can be used. As shown in FIG. 3B , the data acquisition unit 112 further stores the divided program data at the corresponding data address in the update storage area of ​​the control software storage unit 121 based on the data address included in the sequentially acquired data and the program data divided into segments of a predetermined length (e.g., 256 bytes). When storing the divided program data in an address block, the data acquisition unit 112 writes the divided program data to the address block, reads the address block, and confirms that the contents match, thereby determining that the data has been stored correctly. Note that the data acquisition unit 112 may use a bit table (also referred to as an "update management table 1211") corresponding to the data address to set on a management bit corresponding to the data address where the divided program data has been correctly stored. Specifically, when sequentially acquiring the divided program data, the data acquisition unit 112 first clears (initializes) all bits in the update management table 1211. Then, when storing the divided program data in an address block, the data acquisition unit 112 sets on the management bit in the update management table 1211 corresponding to the data address. By doing so, as will be described later, the control software management unit 113 can determine, based on the update management table 1211, that all distributed program data has been written to the update memory area when all management bits are on.

[0038] The control software management unit 113 manages the two memory areas contained in the control software memory unit 121 based on address blocks, and determines whether all program data distributed from the edge device 5 described below has been written to the update memory area. When it is determined that all divided data has been written to the update memory area, the control software management unit 113 may perform error detection on the update memory area, and if no error is detected, may store update status data indicating that the latest version of the control software program has been stored in the update memory area in the memory unit 12. When the water treatment device 1 is reset and restarted, the control software management unit 113 may switch the control software program that controls the water treatment device 1 to the latest version of the control software program stored in the update memory area. Specifically, for example, the control software management unit 113 resets (stops operation and restarts) the water treatment device 1 based on instructions from an administrator or at the time of a reset restart. In this way, the control software management unit 113 can install the latest version of the control software while the control software is running, and switch the control software of the water treatment device 1 to the latest version at the time of a reset restart.

[0039] The water treatment data transmission unit 114 transmits data including at least status information and control data of the water treatment device 1 itself (the water treatment device 1) to the water treatment device 1 as a monitoring device via the water treatment network 7A. The status information may include, for example, the model of each water treatment device 1, version information of the control software program currently in operation that controls the water treatment device 1 itself (the water treatment device 1), monitor information for each water treatment device 1, such as sensor information such as temperature, control status, output status, and abnormality information when an abnormality occurs. In the pure water system 100A as a water treatment system, the EDI device 22 corresponds to the monitoring device. The water treatment data transmitting unit 114 may be configured to transmit the status information to the edge device 5, which will be described later.

[0040] The water treatment device 1 (e.g., EDI device 22) as a monitoring device is equipped with, in addition to the functional units described above (software determination unit 111, data acquisition unit 112, control software management unit 113, and water treatment data transmission unit 114), a status acquisition unit 116 and a status processing unit 117, which are functional units serving as the master water treatment device 1. The status acquisition unit 116 acquires status information of the water treatment device 1 transmitted from the slave water treatment device 1. The status processing unit 117 processes the status information acquired by the status acquisition unit 116 and stores the processed status information in the storage unit 12 . The above has described the functions of the water treatment device 1. Next, the functions of the edge device 5 according to the present invention will be described.

[0041] The edge device 5 multicasts or broadcasts the latest version of the control software for each model of water treatment device 1 to each water treatment device 1 included in the pure water system 100A via the water treatment network 7A. Details will be described later. The edge device 5 may also transmit status information, etc. of each water treatment device 1 to a cloud server (not shown) via a communication network (not shown). This allows the cloud server (not shown) to analyze, for example, the operating status, etc. of each water treatment device 1 included in the water treatment system 100.

[0042] 4 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the edge device 5. As shown in FIG. 4, the edge device 5 includes a control unit 51, a storage unit 52, a communication unit 53, a display unit 55, and an input unit 56.

[0043] The control unit 51 includes, for example, a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, a CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor) memory, and the like, which are configured to be able to communicate with each other via a bus, and are well known to those skilled in the art. The control unit 51 is a central processing unit (CPU) that controls the entire edge device 5. The control unit 51 appropriately reads and executes an operating system (OS) and application programs stored in the storage unit 52, thereby cooperating with the above-mentioned hardware and executing various functions. The program can be recorded on a computer-readable non-transitory information recording medium such as a compact disc, a flexible disc, a hard disk, a magneto-optical disc, a digital video disc, a magnetic tape, a ROM (Read Only Memory), an EEOPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM), a flash memory, a semiconductor memory, etc. Details of the control unit 51 will be described later.

[0044] The storage unit 52 is a storage area such as a ROM (Read Only Memory), an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable and Programmable Read Only Memory), a flash memory, an HDD hard disk, or a semiconductor memory element for storing programs, data, etc. necessary for the control unit 51 to execute various processes. The storage unit 52 includes a program storage unit 521 and a control software storage unit 522.

[0045] The program storage unit 521 stores programs for the control unit 51 to execute the various functions of the control unit 51, which will be described later.

[0046] The control software storage unit 522 stores, for each model of water treatment device 1, the latest version information of the control software for that model and the latest version of the control software program for that model. Note that the control software storage unit 522 may store the control software program corresponding to one model in advance by dividing it into pieces corresponding to the data addresses of the storage area of ​​the control software storage unit 121 of that model of water treatment device 1. Furthermore, a multicast address may be set in advance for a group of water treatment devices communicably connected to the pure water system 100A. For example, a multicast address may be set for water treatment devices 1 of the same model.

[0047] The communication unit 53 is a communication interface for communicating between the water treatment device 1 and a cloud server (not shown).

[0048] The display unit 55 is configured with a display device such as a liquid crystal display, an organic electroluminescence panel, etc. The display unit 55 receives an instruction from the control unit 51 and displays an image. The input unit 56 is composed of, for example, physical switches called a numeric keypad, a touch panel provided over the display surface of the display unit 55, or an input device (not shown) such as a reader for an information recording medium or the like.

[0049] Next, the control unit 51 will be described. As shown in Figure 4, the control unit 51 works in cooperation with the hardware by appropriately reading and executing the operating system (OS) and application programs stored in the memory unit 52, thereby constituting a control software update unit 511 and a control software distribution unit 512.

[0050] The control software update unit 511 manages the latest version of the control software for each model of the water treatment device 1. When the control software update unit 511 acquires the latest version program of the control software for the water treatment device 1 corresponding to the model stored in the control software storage unit 522, the control software update unit 511 updates the latest version information of the control software corresponding to the model stored in the control software storage unit 522 and also updates the latest version of the control software program. The control software update unit 511 may, for example, download the latest version of the control software from a cloud server (not shown), or may acquire the latest version of the control software via the input unit 56.

[0051] The control software distribution unit 512 manages the latest version of the control software for each model of water treatment device 1, and multicasts or broadcasts the latest version of the control software for that model along with identification information identifying the model and the latest version of the control software via the water treatment network 7A. The control software distribution unit 512 can grasp the water treatment devices 1 connected to the water treatment network 7A and in operation by acquiring status information transmitted at a predetermined interval from each water treatment device 1 connected to the water treatment network 7A. As described above, the status information can include the model of each water treatment device 1, version information of the operating control software program controlling the water treatment device 1 itself (the water treatment device 1), monitor information for each water treatment device 1, such as sensor information such as temperature, control status, output status, and abnormality information when an abnormality occurs.

[0052] When the control software of the water treatment device 1 corresponding to the model stored in the control software storage unit 522 is updated by the control software update unit 511, the control software distribution unit 512 can distribute, as described above, the latest version of the control software program for the water treatment device 1 corresponding to the model, together with program data divided into address blocks that constitute the memory area of ​​the control software storage unit 121 included in the memory unit 12 of the water treatment device 1. Specifically, the control software distribution unit 512 distributes data including the model, the version of the control software program, the data address, and the program data divided into segments of a predetermined length (for example, 256 bytes). By doing so, as described above, the water treatment device 1 can easily check whether data has been acquired for each address block constituting the storage area of ​​the control software storage unit 121. The control software distribution unit 512 may multicast or broadcast, for each model, program data divided into address block units of the latest version of the control software program corresponding to that model, along with the data address of that address block, while sequentially advancing the addresses, at a predetermined period (for example, every 4 seconds) that is set in advance, via the water treatment network 7A. The control software distribution unit 512 may be configured to start distributing the latest version of the control software program corresponding to the next model when distribution of the latest version of the control software program corresponding to one model is completed. The control software distribution unit 512 may periodically and repeatedly distribute the latest version of the control software program corresponding to one model.

[0053] In addition, when the control software distribution unit 512 is instructed by the administrator via the input unit 56 to distribute the latest version of the control software for the water treatment device 1, the control software distribution unit 512 may multicast or broadcast program data divided into address blocks, together with the data addresses of the address blocks, via the water treatment network 7A at a predetermined period (for example, every 4 seconds) that is set in advance.

[0054] In addition, the control software distribution unit 512 may multicast or broadcast, at a predetermined time, program data divided into address blocks of the latest version of the control software program for the water treatment device 1 corresponding to the model, which is stored in the control software memory unit 522, together with the data addresses of the address blocks, via the water treatment network 7A at a predetermined period (for example, every 4 seconds) that is set in advance. In this way, edge device 5 divides a control software program corresponding to one model into pieces of a predetermined length (e.g., 256 bytes) and distributes the data at a predetermined cycle (e.g., 4 seconds), thereby reducing the load on water treatment network 7A related to the data distribution of the latest control software program. This makes it possible to prevent any impact on the transmission and reception of water treatment data (status information, etc.) of water treatment device 1. As described above, the latest version of the control software can be installed while the control software is running, which allows the entire network devices included in the water treatment system 100 to be upgraded when the system is reset. Furthermore, if the water treatment system 100 includes multiple units of the same model and at least two of the water treatment units do not have the latest version of their control software, the water treatment units 1 of the same model can simultaneously receive the latest version of the control software program, allowing the same model to be upgraded collectively to the latest version of the control software program, which has been improved, for example, by adding functions or fixing bugs. This eliminates the uneven operation of water treatment units 1 of the same model running different versions, and allows them all to run with the latest version, ensuring stable operation. For example, multiple devices of the same model, such as a water quality monitoring device 3A and an RO device 21, can all be updated (upgraded) at the same time, preventing malfunctions and / or abnormalities caused by water treatment devices 1 of the same model being controlled by different versions of control software. The functions of the edge device 5 have been described above.

[0055] Next, a process flow for updating control software in the water treatment device 1 included in the pure water system 100A as a water treatment system will be described. Figures 5A and 5B are flowcharts showing the process of the water treatment device 1. It is assumed that the water treatment device 1 initializes the update management table when starting operation.

[0056] Referring to the flowchart in FIG. 5A, in step S10, the water treatment device 1 (software determination unit 111) initializes the update management table related to the update memory area of ​​the control software memory unit 121 (for example, turns off all management bits).

[0057] In step S11, the water treatment device 1 (software determination unit 111) determines whether the type of the control software program multicast or broadcast from the edge device 5 via the water treatment network 7A matches its own type. If it matches its own type (Yes), the process proceeds to step S12. If it does not match its own type, the process proceeds to step S11.

[0058] In step S12, the water treatment device 1 (software determination unit 111) determines whether the version of the multicast or broadcast control software program matches the version of the running control software program stored in the memory area of ​​its own control software memory unit 121. If it matches the version of the running control software program (Yes), the process proceeds to step S11. If it does not match the version of the running control software program, the process proceeds to step S13.

[0059] In step S13, the water treatment device 1 (data acquisition unit 112) acquires the data address of the update memory area of ​​the control software memory unit 121 and the program data divided into a predetermined length (e.g., 256 bytes) from the multicast or broadcast data.

[0060] In step S14, water treatment device 1 (data acquiring unit 112) writes the divided program data to the corresponding data address in the update storage area of ​​control software storage unit 121 based on the acquired data address.

[0061] In step S15, the water treatment device 1 (data acquiring unit 112) turns on the management bit corresponding to the data address in the update management table.

[0062] In step S16, if the divided program data has been written to all data addresses in the update storage area based on the update management table (Yes), the water treatment device 1 (control software management unit 113) proceeds to step S17. Otherwise (No), the water treatment device 1 proceeds to step S11.

[0063] In step S17, the water treatment device 1 (control software management unit 113) performs error detection on the update storage area and determines whether an error is detected. If an error is detected (Yes), the process proceeds to step S19. If no error is detected (No), the process proceeds to step S18.

[0064] In step S18, the water treatment device 1 (control software management unit 113) notifies the administrator that the control software has been updated, and ends the update process.

[0065] In step S19, the water treatment device 1 (control software management unit 113) notifies the administrator that an error has been detected in the updated control software, and terminates the update process. Note that the administrator may remove the cause of the error based on the content of the error, and then have the edge device 5 re-distribute the control software program. In this way, the storage process for a control software program corresponding to one model is executed from the start to the end of distribution. Note that the processing flow is not limited to the above order. For example, if not all of the divided program data has been written in step S16, step S13' may be added to acquire the next data to be distributed, and the process may proceed to step S13', and then to step S14.

[0066] Next, a control software switching process flow when the water treatment device 1 is reset and restarted will be described with reference to FIG. 5B. Referring to the flowchart shown in FIG. 5B, in step S20, the water treatment device 1 is reset and restarted.

[0067] In step S21, the water treatment device 1 (control software management unit 113) determines whether the latest version of the control software program is stored in the update storage area of ​​the control software storage unit 121. If it is determined that the latest version of the control software program is stored (Yes), the process proceeds to step S22. If not (No), the process proceeds to step S23.

[0068] In step S22, the water treatment device 1 (control software management unit 113) switches the update storage area as an active storage area.

[0069] In step S23, the water treatment device 1 executes a reset restart process. As a result, the control software program can be switched to the latest version of the distributed control software program.

[0070] The configuration of the pure water system 100A as the water treatment system 100 according to this embodiment, the edge device 5, and the water treatment device 1 have been described above. In the above description, the EDI device 22, which is the master monitoring device, and the edge device 5 are described as separate devices, but the EDI device 22, which is the master monitoring device, and the edge device 5 may also be configured as an integrated device. For example, the EDI device 22, which is the master monitoring device, may have the functions of the edge device 5. The water treatment system 100 of the present invention is not limited to the pure water system 100A, but can be applied to any water treatment system. Next, as a second embodiment, a boiler system 100B as the water treatment system 100 using a steam boiler or the like as a water treatment device will be described. Fig. 6 is an overall schematic diagram of a boiler system 100B according to a second embodiment. As shown in Fig. 6, the boiler system 100B includes a tower-type filtration device 11B serving as a water treatment device 1, which receives raw water such as groundwater and / or tap water via a water injection line L7, a water softener 13B serving as the water treatment device 1, a deoxygenation device 15B serving as the water treatment device 1, a water quality monitoring device 3B serving as the water treatment device 1, a steam boiler 21B serving as the water treatment device 1 that generates steam by heating feedwater supplied via a water supply tank (not shown) that stores feedwater output from the deoxygenation device 15B with combustion gas, a unit count control device 22B serving as the water treatment device 1 that controls the combustion state of the steam boiler 21B, a steam header 23B that stores the steam generated by the steam boiler 21B and supplies it to a load device (not shown) via a steam supply line L1, an edge device 5, and a water treatment network 7B serving as a communication network 7. It may also be equipped with a centralized control device 24B for centralized control at a remote location, a neutralization device 25B for neutralizing wastewater when it is being discharged, and an automatic steam aeration system 26B for scheduling and controlling the start and stop of steam aeration. As a master monitoring device, the unit count control device 22B acquires, at predetermined intervals (e.g., every 4 seconds), status information including operation information of each of the other slave water treatment devices 1. The unit count control device 22B also transmits and receives unit count control information to and from each steam boiler 21B at predetermined intervals (e.g., every 0.5 seconds).

[0071] Below, we will briefly explain the outline of the unique functions of each device included in the boiler system 100B. Note that the unique functions of each device included in the boiler system 100B are known to those skilled in the art, so detailed explanations will be omitted.

[0072] A tower-type filtration device 11B, a water softener 13B, and a deoxygenator 15B are arranged on the water injection line L7, and raw water such as groundwater and / or tap water is supplied as make-up water via the water injection line L7.

[0073] The tower-type filtration device 11B is composed of, for example, an iron and manganese removal device (not shown), a sand filtration device (not shown), or an activated carbon filtration device (not shown), and produces first treated water from which iron, manganese, residual chlorine, organic matter, etc. contained in raw water such as groundwater have been removed, and the first treated water is supplied to the water softening device 13B.

[0074] The water softener 13B exchanges hardness components (calcium ions and magnesium ions) contained in tap water or the first treated water with sodium ions using a cation exchange resin, thereby removing the hardness components from the second treated water, producing second treated water (raw water from which the hardness components have been removed), and supplies the second treated water to the deoxygenator 15B.

[0075] The deoxidizer 15B is for mechanically removing dissolved oxygen contained in the softened water obtained by the water softener 13B.

[0076] A water quality monitoring device 3B may be provided between the tower-type filtration device 11B and the water softener 13B, between the water softener 13B and the deoxygenator 15B, and between the deoxygenator 15B and a water supply tank (not shown), respectively, to monitor the quality of the water treated by each device. For example, the water quality monitoring device 3B installed between the water softener 13B and the deoxygenation device 15B monitors whether there is an abnormality in the water softener 13B or whether there is a hardness leak, etc., and can provide information regarding the presence or absence of an abnormality in the water softener 13B or whether there is a hardness leak, etc., to the number control device 22B, which serves as the master monitoring device.

[0077] As described above, the number-of-units control device 22B, as the master monitoring device, acquires status information, including operation information of each water treatment device 1, from each of the other slave water treatment devices 1 at a predetermined cycle (for example, every 4 seconds). In this way, the number-of-units control device 22B, as the master monitoring device, can monitor the system status, which is the status related to the boiler system 100B. For example, it can monitor the system status related to the presence or absence of an abnormality in the water softener 13B, the system status related to the load, which indicates whether the combustion state of the steam boiler group is low load or high load, and the like. Furthermore, the number-of-units control device 22B transmits and receives number-of-units control information to and from each steam boiler 21B serving as the water treatment device 1 at predetermined intervals (for example, every 0.5 seconds). In this way, the number of boilers control device 22B can control the combustion state of each steam boiler 21B based on the header pressure value, which is the value of the steam pressure inside the steam header 23B. Also, by receiving system state information from the number of boilers control device 22B, the steam boiler 21B can perform predetermined control specific to the steam boiler 21B (e.g., concentrated blowdown control, continuous pilot control, chemical feed rate control, etc.). Note that the configuration for controlling the combustion state of each steam boiler 21B based on the header pressure value and the predetermined control specific to the steam boiler 21B are well known to those skilled in the art, and detailed description thereof will be omitted. The functions of the water treatment device 1 according to the present invention are the same as those of the water treatment device 1 described in the first embodiment, and can be explained by replacing the EDI device 22, which is a water treatment device as a monitoring device, with the number control device 22B, which is a water treatment device as a monitoring device.

[0078] The above has described an overview of the unique functions of the tower-type filtration device 11B, water softener 13B, deoxygenator 15B, water quality monitoring device 3B, water supply tank (not shown), steam boiler 21B, and unit count control device 22B that controls the combustion state of steam boiler 21B, which are included in the boiler system 100B as the water treatment system 100, as well as the common functions of the water treatment device 1 according to the present invention.

[0079] The edge device 5 can be explained by replacing the pure water system 100A with the boiler system 100B in the edge device 5 described in the first embodiment, and by taking, as examples, a water quality monitoring device 3B and a steam boiler 21B as multiple devices corresponding to the same model. In this way, in the boiler system 100B, all of the multiple devices corresponding to the same model, such as the steam boiler 21B, can be updated (upgraded) at the same time, thereby preventing malfunctions and / or abnormalities caused by the steam boiler 21B of the same model being controlled by different versions of control software. In the boiler system 100B according to the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the number control device 22B, which is the master monitoring device, and the edge device 5 are described as separate devices, but the number control device 22B, which is the master monitoring device, and the edge device 5 may be configured as an integrated device. For example, the number control device 22B, which is the master monitoring device, may have the functions of the edge device 5.

[0080] According to the water treatment system 100 described above, the following effects are achieved. The water treatment system 100 of the present invention comprises a water treatment device group including a plurality of water treatment devices 1, an edge device 5 that stores the latest version of control software corresponding to the control software controlling the water treatment devices 1 included in the water treatment device group, and a water treatment network 7 that communicatively connects the water treatment device group and the edge device 5, and the edge device 5 has a control software distribution unit 512 that manages the latest version of the control software for each model of water treatment device 1 and multicasts or broadcasts the latest version of the control software along with identification information that identifies the model and the latest version of the control software via the water treatment network 7, and the water treatment device 1 further comprises a software determination unit 111 that determines whether the water treatment device 1 is of the same model and the control software controlling the water treatment device 1 is the latest version based on the identification information related to the control software multicast or broadcast from the edge device 5 via the water treatment network 7, and a data acquisition unit 112 that receives the distributed control software if the software determination unit 111 determines that the water treatment device 1 is of the same model and the control software controlling the water treatment device 1 is not the latest version. This allows the control software of a water treatment device to be upgraded if it is not the latest version while controlling water treatment, without stopping or stalling the data transmission and reception process between water treatment devices that are communicatively connected, and if there are multiple devices of the same model and the control software of at least two water treatment devices 1 is not the latest version, the other water treatment devices 1 of the same model can also simultaneously receive the latest version of the control software. Therefore, since the latest version of the control software with added functions or improvements can be upgraded to devices of the same model all at once, the problem of uneven operation caused by devices of the same model operating with different versions is resolved, and stable operation can be achieved with the latest versions.

[0081] In addition, the water treatment device 1 included in the water treatment system 100 of the present invention further includes a water treatment data transmission unit 114 that transmits data including at least status information and control data of the water treatment device 1 via the water treatment network 7, and the control software distribution unit 512 provided in the edge device 5 further divides the latest version of the control software for each model into a predetermined data length and multicasts or broadcasts the divided data sequentially via the water treatment network 7 at a predetermined predetermined period.The software determination unit 111 provided in the water treatment device 1 further determines, based on the identification information related to the divided data multicast or broadcast from the edge device 5 via the water treatment network 7, whether the model of the water treatment device 1 is the same model and the control software controlling the water treatment device 1 is the latest version, and the data acquisition unit 112 further receives the divided data sequentially if the model of the water treatment device 1 is the same model and the control software controlling the water treatment device 1 is not the latest version. This means that the load on the water treatment network 7 associated with the data distribution of the latest control software is divided and distributed, preventing the water treatment network 7 from being occupied by data distribution and preventing the transmission of water treatment data from the water treatment device 1 from being affected.

[0082] The predetermined period is set based on the amount of data transmitted by the water treatment data transmitting unit 114 included in each water treatment device 1 and the frequency of the data transmission. This allows the optimum cycle to be set.

[0083] In addition, the water treatment device group included in the water treatment system 100 of the present invention may include at least one monitoring device, and the monitoring device may be equipped with a status acquisition unit 116 that acquires status information of the water treatment device 1 transmitted from the water treatment device 1, a status processing unit 117 that processes the status information acquired by the status acquisition unit 116, and a memory unit 12 that stores the status information processed by the status processing unit 117. As a result, even when the water treatment device 1 as a monitoring device receives status information of each of the other water treatment devices 1 from the other water treatment devices 1, the load on the water treatment network 7 related to the data distribution of the latest control software is divided and the data is distributed, so that the water treatment network 7 is not occupied by the data distribution and the transmission of water treatment data by the water treatment device 1 is not affected.

[0084] The water treatment device group included in the water treatment system 100 of the present invention includes, as the water treatment device 1, a steam boiler 21B that generates steam by heating feedwater that has been treated to a predetermined water quality, and a unit count control device 22B that serves as a monitoring device. As a result, in a boiler system, even if the number control device 22B, which serves as a monitoring device, receives status information from each steam boiler 21B, the load on the water treatment network 7 related to the data distribution of the latest control software can be divided and the data distributed, so that the water treatment network 7 is not occupied by the data distribution, and the transmission of water treatment data from the steam boiler 21B is not affected.

[0085] Furthermore, the water treatment device 1 as a monitoring device and the edge device 5 included in the water treatment system 100 of the present invention may be configured as an integrated device. For example, the water treatment device 1 as a monitoring device may have the functions of the edge device 5. This allows the water treatment device 1 as a monitoring device to achieve the function of the edge device without separately installing the edge device 5.

[0086] In addition, the water treatment device 1 included in the water treatment system 100 of the present invention has at least two memory areas as a control software memory unit 121 for storing control software, one of which stores the control software currently in operation, and the other of which sequentially stores divided data of the control software multicast or broadcast from the edge device 5 via the water treatment network 7 when the control software currently in operation is not the latest version. This allows the latest version of the control software to be installed even when the water treatment device 1 is in operation.

[0087] The water treatment device 1 included in the water treatment system 100 of the present invention has a control software management unit 113 that configures the memory area in the control software memory unit 121 from a plurality of address blocks of a predetermined length and manages each address block by a unique data address, where the predetermined length corresponds to the length of the divided data distributed by the control software distribution unit 512 of the edge device 5, and the divided data is distributed together with the data address of the address block.The data acquisition unit 112 further stores the divided data distributed from the edge device 5 sequentially in the address blocks of the data addresses of the other memory area when the control software controlling the water treatment device 1 is not the latest version, and determines whether all the divided data has been written to the other memory area.When the data acquisition unit 112 determines that all the divided data has been written to the other memory area, the control software management unit 113 performs error detection for the memory area, and if no error is detected, switches the control software controlling the water treatment device 1 to the latest version of the control software stored in the other memory unit. This makes it possible to upgrade the entire network device including the multiple water treatment devices 1.

[0088] In addition, the edge device 5 of the present invention is communicatively connected to a water treatment device group including multiple water treatment devices 1 via a water treatment network 7, and is equipped with a control software distribution unit 512 that stores the latest version of the control software for each model of water treatment device 1 and multicasts or broadcasts it via the water treatment network 7 together with identification information that identifies the model and the latest version of the control software, and the control software distribution unit 512 further divides the latest version of the control software for each model into a predetermined data length and multicasts or broadcasts the divided data sequentially via the water treatment network 7 at a predetermined period that is set in advance. This means that if there are multiple water treatment devices 1 of the same model and the control software of at least two of the water treatment devices 1 is not the latest version, the latest version of the control software can be simultaneously distributed to the other water treatment devices 1 of the same model.

[0089] In addition, the water treatment device 1 of the present invention forms a group of water treatment devices connected to an edge device 5 so as to be able to communicate with each other via a water treatment network 7, and is equipped with a software determination unit 111 that determines whether the water treatment device 1 is of the same model and the control software controlling the water treatment device 1 is the latest version based on the identification information related to the control software, which is multicast or broadcast from the edge device 5 via the water treatment network 7 along with identification information identifying the model of the water treatment device 1 and the latest version of the control software for that model, and a data acquisition unit 112 that receives the control software if the software determination unit 111 determines that the water treatment device 1 is of the same model and the control software controlling the water treatment device 1 is not the latest version. This means that if there are multiple water treatment devices 1 of the same model and the control software of at least two of the water treatment devices 1 is not the latest version, the other water treatment devices 1 of the same model can also simultaneously receive the latest version of the control software.

[0090] [Variations] Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and can be embodied in various forms.

[0091] For example, in the above-described embodiment, a multicast address is set for a group of water treatment devices included in the water treatment system 100, but a multicast address may also be set for a pre-selected set of water treatment devices. Specifically, for example, a multicast address may be set based on the model. When there is only one water treatment device of the same model, a multicast address may be set for a plurality of sets including such a water treatment device. Furthermore, when there is only one water treatment device of the same model, a unicast address may also be used.

[0092] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, when the edge device 5 (control software distribution unit 512) sequentially distributes data including the model, the version of the control software program, the data address, and the program data divided into pieces of a predetermined length (for example, 256 bytes), the edge device 5 (control software distribution unit 512) may sequentially divide the control software program into pieces of data address (for example, 256 bytes) and distribute the divided pieces. Alternatively, when storing the control software program in the control software storage unit 522, the edge device 5 (control software distribution unit 512) may sequentially acquire and distribute the data from the control software storage unit 522 by dividing the control software program into pieces of data address (for example, 256 bytes) and storing them. [Explanation of symbols]

[0093] 100 Water Treatment Systems 100A Pure Water System 10A Water treatment equipment group 1A Pretreatment equipment group 11A Iron and manganese removal equipment 12A Activated Carbon Filter 13A water softener 14A Cartridge Filter 2A Pure Water Unit 21a RO device 21b RO device 22 EDI equipment 3A water quality monitoring device 4A pure water tank 7A Water Treatment Network 100B Boiler System 11B Tower-type filtration equipment 13B Water softener 15B Deoxygenation Device 3B Water quality monitoring device 7B Water Treatment Network 100B Boiler System 10B Water treatment equipment group 21B Steam Boiler 22B Number control device 23B Steam Header 24B Central control device 25B Neutralization device 26B Automatic steam supply system L7 Water injection line L6 Water supply line L1 Steam supply line 1 Water treatment equipment 11 Control section 111 Software Judgment Department 112 Data Acquisition Unit 113 Control Software Management Department 114 Water Treatment Data Transmission Unit 116 Status acquisition unit 117 State Processing Unit 12 Storage section 121 Control software memory unit 1211 Update Management Table 10 Water treatment equipment group 13 Communications Department 5 Edge Devices 51 Control section 511 Control software update unit 512 Control Software Distribution Department 52 Storage section 521 Program Memory Unit 522 Control software storage unit 53 Communications Department 55 Display section 56 Input section 7. Communication Networks

Claims

1. a water treatment device group including a plurality of water treatment devices; an edge device that stores the latest version of control software corresponding to control software that controls the water treatment devices included in the water treatment device group; a communication line that connects the water treatment device group and the edge device so that they can communicate with each other; A water treatment system comprising: The edge device a control software distribution unit that manages the latest version of control software for each model of the water treatment device, divides the latest version of the control software for each model into a predetermined data length, and sequentially multicasts or broadcasts the divided data together with identification information that identifies the model and the latest version of the control software via the communication line at a predetermined period that is set in advance; The water treatment device further comprises: a software determination unit that determines whether the water treatment device is of the same model and whether the control software controlling the water treatment device is the latest version, based on the identification information related to the control software multicast or broadcast from the edge device via the communication line; and a data acquisition unit that receives the control software when the software determination unit determines that the water treatment device is of the same model and the control software controlling the water treatment device is not the latest version. Water treatment system.

2. The water treatment device further comprises: a water treatment data transmission unit that transmits data including at least one of status information and control data of the water treatment device via the communication line; The software determination unit included in the water treatment device further determining whether the water treatment devices are of the same model and whether control software controlling the water treatment devices is the latest version based on the identification information related to the divided data multicast or broadcast from the edge device via the communication line; The data acquisition unit further The water treatment system according to claim 1 , wherein when the water treatment devices are of the same model and the control software controlling the water treatment devices is not the latest version, the divided data is received sequentially.

3. The water treatment system according to claim 2 , wherein the predetermined period is set based on an amount and frequency of data transmitted by a water treatment data transmitting unit included in each of the water treatment devices.

4. the group of water treatment devices includes at least one monitoring device; The monitoring device includes a status acquisition unit that acquires status information of the water treatment device transmitted from the water treatment device; a processing unit that processes the status information acquired by the status acquisition unit; The water treatment system according to claim 2 or 3, further comprising: a storage unit that stores status information processed by the processing unit.

5. 5. The water treatment system according to claim 4, wherein the group of water treatment devices includes, as water treatment devices, a steam boiler that generates steam by heating feedwater that has been treated to a predetermined water quality, and a steam boiler control device that serves as a monitoring device.

6. The water treatment system according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the monitoring device and the edge device are configured as an integrated device.

7. The water treatment device comprises: A water treatment system as described in any one of claims 2 to 6, having at least two memory areas as a memory unit for storing the control software, one memory area for storing the control software currently in operation, and the other memory area for sequentially storing the divided data of the control software multicast or broadcast from the edge device via the communication line when the control software currently in operation is not the latest version.

8. The water treatment device comprises: the storage area in the storage unit is configured from a plurality of address blocks of a predetermined length, and a control software management unit is provided that manages the address blocks by unique data addresses, the predetermined length corresponds to the length of the divided data distributed by the control software distribution unit of the edge device, and the divided data is distributed together with the data addresses of the address blocks; The data acquisition unit further If the control software controlling the water treatment device is not the latest version, the divided data distributed from the edge device is sequentially stored in the address block of the data address of the other storage area, and it is determined whether all the divided data has been written to the other storage area; The water treatment system described in claim 7, wherein when the data acquisition unit determines that all divided data has been written to the other memory area, the control software management unit performs error detection on the memory area, and if no error is detected, switches the control software that controls the water treatment device to the latest version of control software stored in the other memory unit.

9. A water treatment device constituting a group of water treatment devices communicably connected to an edge device via a communication line, a software determination unit that divides the model of the water treatment device and the latest version of the control software for that model into predetermined data lengths via the communication line from the edge device, and multicasts or broadcasts the divided data sequentially at a predetermined period set in advance together with identification information that identifies the model of the water treatment device and the latest version of the control software for that model, and determines, for the control software of that model, based on the identification information related to the control software, whether the water treatment device is of the same model and whether the control software controlling the water treatment device is the latest version; A water treatment device comprising: a data acquisition unit that sequentially receives the divided data when the software determination unit determines that the water treatment device is of the same model and the control software controlling the water treatment device is not the latest version.

Images