Control systems and operating methods for technical equipment

Abstract

A control system (9) for a technical installation, the control system (9) comprising an operator station server (3) and an operator station client (2) connected to said server, the server (3) transmitting visualization information to the client (2), the client (2) using the visualization information to generate a graphical display (1) for an operator, the client (2) receiving requests for changes to the display (1) from the operator and transmitting them to the server (3), the server (3) storing the requests received from the client (2) in a memory (16) of the server (3), the operator station client (2) receiving conditions predefinable by the operator for applying the changes to the graphical display (1) and transmitting them to the server (3), the server (3) storing the conditions in the memory (16) of the server (3).

Description

Technical Field

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[0001] The present invention relates to a control system for technical equipment, especially manufacturing equipment or process equipment. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a method for operating a control system of technical equipment.

[0002] In order to operate and observe technical equipment, an operator can optimize their activities through personalization and configure the progress of their activities more efficiently. The possibilities for personalization are so-called user selections, and through these user selections, for example, during operating hours, faceplate groups, trend displays, filtered message sequence displays, etc. can be compiled, saved, and recalled again as needed. In this case, the user selections are operating time functions that do not require prior engineering or projection and can be flexibly configured and maintained by the operator during operating hours.

[0003] When a situation regarding a user selection created by the operator occurs, according to the prior art, the operator first needs to recognize the situation (for example, perceive a specific alarm), and then recall that there is some user selection for this situation and find and open that one user selection from among a large number of user selections. This inefficient method is also the reason why the potential of user selections by the operator during operating hours has not been fully utilized so far.

[0004] European Patent Application Publication No. 3876046 discloses a control system for technical equipment that enables the representation of visualization information implemented by an operator station client to be adapted by the operator during the operating hours of the technical equipment.

[0005] The underlying problem of the present invention is to provide a control system for technical equipment that improves the efficiency of operating and observing technical equipment.

[0006] The above problems are solved by a control system for a technical device having the features of claim 1. Furthermore, the above problems are solved by a method for operating a control system for a technical device as described in claim 9. Advantageous development forms become apparent from the dependent claims.

[0007] The control system according to the present invention includes at least one operator station server and at least one operator station client connected to the operator station server. In this case, the operator station server is configured to transmit visualization information to the operator station client. The operator station client is configured to use the visualization information to generate a graphical display for the operator of the technical equipment, and is configured to receive requests from the operator for changes to the graphical display and transmit them to the operator station server. Furthermore, the operator station server is configured to store the requests received from the operator station client in the operator station server's memory.

[0008] The control system according to the present invention is characterized in that the operator station client is configured to receive and transmit to the operator station server conditions that can be pre-configured by the operator for applying changes to the graphical display. The operator station server is configured to store the conditions in the operator station server's memory.

[0009] Technical equipment may be equipment from process industries such as chemical, pharmaceutical, or petrochemical plants, or equipment from the food and beverage industries. Technical equipment also includes any equipment from manufacturing industries, such as automobiles or plants where all kinds of goods are manufactured. Technical equipment suitable for carrying out the method according to the present invention may also originate from the field of energy generation. Wind turbines, solar power plants, or power plants for energy generation are also included in the concept of technical equipment.

[0010] In the context of this specification, a control system is understood to be a computer-aided technical system that includes functions for displaying, operating, and controlling method-technical equipment. A control system may also include sensors for identifying measurements and various actuators. Furthermore, a control system may include so-called process-related or manufacturing-related components used to control the actuators or sensors. In addition, a control system may have means for visualizing the method-technical equipment, among other things, and means for engineering. Optionally, a control system may also include additional computing units for more complex closed-loop control and systems for data storage and processing.

[0011] In this specification, "operator station server" is understood to be a server that centrally retrieves and provides to users data from operating and observation systems, and, in principle, alarm archives and measurement archives from the control systems of technical equipment. The operator station server, in principle, establishes a communication connection with the automation system of the technical equipment and transfers the data of the technical equipment to so-called operator station clients, which are used to operate and observe the operation of individual functional elements of the technical equipment. The operator station server may have client functionality to access data (archives, messages, tags, variables) from other operator station servers.

[0012] This allows images of the operation of technical equipment to be combined with variables from other operator station servers on the operator station server (inter-server communication). The operator station server may be, but is not limited to, Siemens' SIMATIC PCS 7 Industrial Workstation Server.

[0013] Operators of technical equipment can access the operator station server for the purpose of operating and observing the technical equipment, for example, via an operator station client which may be a tablet, smartphone, personal computer, or similar device.

[0014] Modifications to the graphical display may include, for example, fading in the progress of measurement data from technical equipment, images from surveillance cameras, visualizations of technical objects of technical equipment, or similar elements into the graphical window. Similarly, modifications may include fading out specific areas of the graphical display as intended to allow the operator to directly recognize hidden graphical objects.

[0015] The operator station client of the control system according to the present invention not only receives requests from operators to implement changes, but also additionally receives conditions for applying these changes and stores these conditions in the memory of the operator station server. This information set by the operator may be used by the control system or by an additional external computing unit to implement changes in a targeted manner when the set conditions exist.

[0016] Preferably, the operator station client is configured to automatically implement changes to the graphical display when the conditions are met. The control system can contribute to overcoming the shortcomings of known control systems described in the introduction and enabling the operator to fully utilize the potential of individual changes to the graphical display.

[0017] Particularly preferably, the operator station server is configured to automatically check whether the conditions are met and, if so, report this to the operator station client. The operator station server can then automatically implement changes to the graphical display as described above. To check whether the conditions are met, the operator station server can access data from the technical equipment, which will be described in more detail based on an embodiment.

[0018] The graphical representation may be an image of the technical equipment. In the case of process equipment, such an image may include a graphical representation of, for example, a pump, valve, tank, pipeline, combustion chamber, or similar. In this case, the graphical representation may include current process measurements, status values, (alarm) messages, or similar.

[0019] Within the framework of an advantageous evolution of the present invention, the condition is an event, and the operator station client is configured to implement a graphical display change when the event occurs. The condition may be derived from a logical combination of multiple events. This means that, for example, the condition is considered to be met when event A, event B, and event C occur.

[0020] In this case, the event may be the opening of an equipment image, the opening of a faceplate of a technical object of a technical equipment, the occurrence of an alarm, a change in the parameters of a technical object of a technical equipment, the operational state of a technical object of a technical equipment, reaching a specific state in a step sequence to be processed by the technical equipment, or reaching a specific quality standard during the operation of the technical equipment.

[0021] Alternatively or additionally, the conditions may be the identifier, role, or current location of the operator operating the operator station client. If an operator is registered with the operator station client, for example, within a specific area of ​​the technical equipment, then certain changes to the standard graphical display may be automatically displayed to that operator to meet the specific requirements of that area (such as special environmental conditions). The operator's identifier or role may also be a condition (in some cases in addition to the conditions / events described above) that must be met in order to change the graphical display. In this case, "role" may mean that the operator in question is granted certain functional rights when exercising their role, which may result in certain changes to the graphical display not being permitted. These functional rights generally relate to the operation and observation of specific components of the technical equipment. For example, operator 1 may be assigned observation rights to some components and operation rights to others, while operator 2 may be assigned observation and operation rights to all components.

[0022] The above problem relates to a method for operating a control system for technical equipment, particularly manufacturing equipment or process equipment, wherein the control system comprises at least one operator station server and at least one operator station client, the operator station server being configured to transmit visualization information to the operator station client, and the operator station client being configured to use the visualization information to generate a graphical display for the operator of the technical equipment, and this method a) The operator station client receives requests from operators of technical equipment for changes to the graphical display and the conditions for applying the changes. b) Transmitting requests and conditions from the operator station client to the operator station server. c) Store the requests and conditions in the memory of the operator station server. This can be further resolved by methods including those mentioned above.

[0023] The operator station client can automatically implement graphical display changes when certain conditions are met.

[0024] Furthermore, the operator station server can automatically check whether the conditions are met and, if so, report this to the operator station client.

[0025] The above-mentioned characteristics, features, and advantages of the present invention, as well as the methods by which they are achieved, will be understood more clearly and distinctly in connection with the following description of embodiments, which will be explained in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0026] [Figure 1] This is a graphical representation of technical equipment according to the first aspect. [Figure 2]It is a graphical display of technical equipment according to the second aspect. [Figure 3] It is a graphical display of technical equipment according to the third aspect. [Figure 4] It is a schematic diagram of the control system according to the present invention.

[0027] In FIG. 1, a graphical user interface is shown as graphical display 1, and this graphical display 1 displays the operator station client 2 of the control system 9 of the technical equipment configured as a process equipment to the operator of the process equipment for the purpose of operating and observing the technical equipment. The operator station client acquires the visualization information required therefor from the operator station server 3 (see FIG. 4) of the control system 9.

[0028] An equipment image 4 is displayed on the user interface 1, and this equipment image 4 itself includes graphical displays of a plurality of individual process objects (especially, heating tanks, pumps, valves, etc.) of the process equipment. The operator can select elements of the user interface 1 to be used within the framework of subsequent changes to the graphical user interface 1. The first element 5 displays the temporal progression of process measurement values. The second element 6 is a so-called faceplate of the process object, and the operator can operate and observe the process object using this faceplate.

[0029] The operator stores these two elements 5 and 6 (graphically) in the selection service 7 (more precisely, the graphical interface of the selection service 7). In this case, this means that at a later point in time, if certain conditions exist, elements 5 and 6 will be opened and displayed again in the graphical user interface 1. In the selection window 8, the operator can determine under what conditions these elements 5 and 6 should be opened. Therefore, the operator can specify, for example, that the first element 5 is always opened when the standard equipment image 8 ("start screen") is opened. The second element 6 may be opened and displayed, for example, when a pre-configurable alarm occurs.

[0030] Figure 2 shows such a standard equipment image 8, and when this standard equipment image 8 is opened by an operator (or further operator), the opening of the first element 5 is automatically triggered. The operator does not have to do this manually, unlike in the prior art, which makes the operation and observation of the process equipment significantly easier. In this case, the opening of the standard equipment image 8 is an event or condition, and when this event or condition is met, the operator station client 2 is triggered to change the graphical display, i.e., to open the first element 5.

[0031] Figure 3, compared to Figure 2, additionally shows a second element 6 that is visually displayed, which is automatically opened by the operator station client 2 in response to the event / condition of an alarm message being generated.

[0032] Figure 4 schematically shows a control system 9 for process equipment. The control system 9 includes the operator station client 2 and the operator station server 3 described above. The operator station server 3 and the operator station client 2 are interconnected via a terminal bus 10 and optionally connected to further components of the control system 9 that are not shown, such as an engineering station server or an archive server.

[0033] A user or operator can access the operator station server 3 using the terminal bus 10 for the purpose of operating and observing the operator station client 2. The terminal bus 10 may, but is not limited to, an industrial Ethernet.

[0034] The operator station server 3 has an equipment interface 11 connected to the equipment bus 12. The operator station server 3 can communicate with automation equipment 13 (not shown) via this equipment interface 11, and optionally with further components provided as options for the method-technical equipment, such as peripheral equipment (not shown). The equipment bus 12 may, but is not limited to, an industrial Ethernet.

[0035] The operator station server 3 implements (in particular) a visualization service 14, process images 15, and memory 16. The visualization service 14 integrated into the operator station server 3 starts transmitting visualization information to the operator station client 2. The operator station client 2 is configured to display a graphical display of the process equipment, in particular images, for operating and observing the process equipment.

[0036] The process image 15 of the operator station server 3 stores an instantaneous record of the (signal) status of equipment and / or applications (not shown) connected to the operator station server 3. The alarm service 17 can read alarm messages from the process image 15 and, for example, generate a graphical collection of alarm messages, which the operator station client 2 can display.

[0037] The user selection service 18 has access to the memory 16 of the operator station server 3. The memory 16 can store user profiles and personal settings of process equipment operators / operators. These user profiles and personal settings may also be accessible to further operators / operators. The user selection service 18 has access to the selection service 7, in which the operator sets requests and conditions for automated graphical changes to the graphical display of the operator station client 2, as described with reference to Figures 1 to 3. The user selection service 18 stores this data in the memory 16 of the operator station server 3 after receiving it from the operator station client 2.

[0038] User interface services 19a and 19b monitor the graphical user interface 18 displayed by the operator station client 2 and notify the user selection service 18 of any changes made by the operator in the graphical user interface 1, which may occur. Such changes may include, for example, opening or closing equipment images or other elements. Alarm service 17 notifies the user selection service 18 of any alarm messages, which may occur.

[0039] In this case, the user selection service 18 automatically checks whether the conditions for changing the graphical display, which are stored in memory 16, are met. If these conditions are met, the change is initiated by the operator station client 2 being appropriately triggered by these conditions.

[0040] While the details of the present invention have been illustrated and described in more detail by preferred embodiments, the present invention is not limited by these disclosed examples, and those skilled in the art can derive other modifications from these examples without departing from the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A control system (9) for technical equipment, particularly for manufacturing equipment or process equipment, The control system (9) includes at least one operator station server (3) and at least one operator station client (2) connected to the operator station server. The operator station server (3) is configured to transmit visualization information to the operator station client (2). The operator station client (2) is configured to use the visualization information to generate a graphical display (1) for the operator of the technical equipment. The operator station client (2) is configured to receive a request from the operator for a change in the graphical display (1) and transmit it to the operator station server (3). The operator station server (3) is configured to store requests received from the operator station client (2) in the memory (16) of the operator station server (3). In the control system (9), The operator station client (2) receives conditions that can be set in advance by the operator for applying the changes to the graphical display (1), It is configured to transmit to the operator station server (3), The operator station server (3) is configured to store the conditions in the memory (16) of the operator station server (3). The operator station server (3) is configured to automatically check whether the conditions are met and, if the conditions are met, to report this to the operator station client (2). The operator station client (2) is configured to automatically perform the changes to the graphical display (1) when the conditions are met. A control system (9) characterized by the following.

2. The graphical display (1) is an image of the technical equipment (4, 8). The control system (9) according to claim 1.

3. The aforementioned conditions are events, The operator station client (2) is configured to perform the changes to the graphical display (1) when the event occurs. The control system (9) according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The aforementioned conditions are derived from the logical combination of multiple events. The control system (9) according to claim 3.

5. An event is the opening of an equipment image (4, 8), the opening of the faceplate of the technical object of the technical equipment, the occurrence of an alarm, a change in the parameters of the technical object of the technical equipment, the operating state of the technical object of the technical equipment, reaching a specific state in a step sequence to be processed by the technical equipment, or reaching a specific quality standard during the operation of the technical equipment. The control system (9) according to claim 3.

6. The aforementioned condition is that there exists a specific identifier, a specific role, or a specific current location of the operator operating the operator station client (2). The control system (9) according to claim 1 or 2.

7. A method for operating a control system (9) for technical equipment, particularly for manufacturing equipment or process equipment, The control system (9) includes at least one operator station server (3) and at least one operator station client (2), The operator station server (3) is configured to transmit visualization information to the operator station client (2). The operator station client (2) is configured to use the visualization information to generate a graphical display (1) for the operator of the technical equipment. The aforementioned method, a) The operator station client (2) receives requests from the operator of the technical equipment for changes to the graphical display (1) and conditions for applying the changes. b) Transmitting the above request and conditions from the operator station client (2) to the operator station server (3), c) Store the above request and the above conditions in the memory (16) of the operator station server (3), d) The operator station server (3) automatically checks whether the conditions are met, and if the conditions are met, reports this to the operator station client (2). e) The operator station client (2) automatically performs the changes to the graphical display (1) when the above conditions are met. Methods that include...

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