Program, monitoring screen creation support device, monitoring screen creation support system, and monitoring screen creation support method

Abstract

The monitoring screen creation support device (100) includes an object identification unit that identifies an object of equipment to be monitored from among multiple objects included in object hierarchy information that hierarchically organizes the relationships between multiple objects that indicate the components of a facility; an association information generation unit that generates association information that associates the attribute information of the control device with an asset corresponding to the identified object based on the object hierarchy information and the attribute information of the control device; a symbol file generation unit that generates a symbol file from object data included in the original drawing data of the monitoring screen; and a monitoring screen generation unit (150) that generates background drawing data for the monitoring screen based on the original drawing data and generates monitoring screen data that places the symbol file of the asset associated with the attribute information of the control device in the background drawing data.

Description

Technical Field

[0004] , , , , , , , , , ,

[0005] , , , , , ,

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a program, a monitoring screen creation support device, a monitoring screen creation support system, and a monitoring screen creation support method.

Background Art

[0002] There is known a monitoring control system that displays state data of a monitored device on a monitoring screen. When constructing this monitoring control system, it is necessary to create a monitoring screen according to the facilities to be monitored, such as a plant or a building. For the creation work of this monitoring screen, for example, it is necessary to arrange symbols of the monitored devices on the background diagram of the monitoring screen and assign the acquisition sources of the state data to the symbols. These operations are often performed manually by the screen creator, and in a large-scale monitoring control system, there is a problem that the man-hours become enormous.

[0003] In response to this problem, Patent Document 1 discloses a control system that generates a monitoring screen by capturing an engineering diagram of an industrial plant as an image, extracting assets to be monitored such as pumps and valves, and selecting and arranging symbols corresponding to each asset from templates.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] In this control system, since the monitoring screen is generated based on a template, when creating a monitoring screen with a user's unique design that is not templated, it is necessary to create the monitoring screen from scratch. Therefore, there is room for improvement from the viewpoint of easily creating a monitoring screen with a design desired by the user.

[0006] This disclosure is made in view of the above-mentioned problems and aims to propose a program, a monitoring screen creation support device, a monitoring screen creation support system, and a monitoring screen creation support method that can easily create a monitoring screen with a design desired by the user. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] To achieve the above objectives, the program relating to this disclosure provides a computer that assists in creating a monitoring screen displayed by a monitoring and control device that monitors and controls equipment installed in a facility. This computer functions as follows: an acquisition means for acquiring object hierarchy information that hierarchically represents the relationships between multiple objects indicating the components of a facility, and original data for a monitoring screen; an attribute information acquisition means for acquiring attribute information of a control device that acquires state data indicating the state of equipment to be monitored; an object identification means for identifying an object of equipment to be monitored from among multiple objects included in the object hierarchy information acquired by the acquisition means; an association information generation means for generating association information that associates the attribute information of a control device that controls the equipment identified by the asset with an asset corresponding to the object identified by the object identification means, based on the object hierarchy information acquired by the acquisition means and the attribute information of the control device acquired by the attribute information acquisition means; a symbol file generation means for generating a symbol file of an asset that can be displayed by a monitoring and control device from object data indicating equipment to be monitored included in the original data acquired by the acquisition means; and a monitoring screen data generation means for generating background data of a monitoring screen based on the original data, and for generating monitoring screen data in which the symbol file generated by the symbol file generation means of the asset to which the attribute information of the control device has been associated by the association information generation means is placed on the background data. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to this disclosure, the attribute information of the control device is associated with an asset representing the monitored equipment, based on the object hierarchy information of the monitored facility and the attribute information of the control device. Then, a symbol file and background data for the asset are generated based on the original drawing data of the monitoring screen created by the user, and monitoring screen data is generated in which the symbol file is placed on the background data. Therefore, it is possible to easily create a monitoring screen with the design desired by the user. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] Block diagram showing the configuration of the monitoring screen creation support system according to Embodiment 1 of this disclosure. [Figure 2] Figure 1 shows an example of (A) CAD drawing data and (B) CAD definition information stored in the storage device shown. [Figure 3] Figure 1 shows an example of (A) PLC information and (B) tag information collected by the PLC data acquisition unit. [Figure 4] Figure 1 shows an example of an asset class definition table stored in the monitoring and management information storage unit. [Figure 5] Figure 1 shows an example of the process by which the monitoring and management information management unit constructs an asset tree. [Figure 6] Block diagram showing an example of the physical configuration of the monitoring screen creation support device according to the embodiment. [Figure 7] Flowchart showing the monitoring screen data generation process by the monitoring screen creation support device according to the embodiment. [Figure 8] Flowchart showing the CAD data collection process by the monitoring screen creation support device according to the embodiment. [Figure 9] Flowchart showing the asset tree construction process by the monitoring screen creation support device according to the embodiment. [Figure 10] Flowchart showing the screen data generation process by the monitoring screen creation support device according to the embodiment. [Figure 11] Figure 1 shows an example of the processing content of the data generation unit. [Figure 12] This diagram shows an example of a monitoring screen displayed by a monitoring and control device. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] The monitoring screen creation support device according to the embodiment of this disclosure will be explained using an example in which it is applied to the monitoring screen creation support system 1 shown in Figure 1. The monitoring screen creation support system 1 is a system that generates a monitoring screen to be displayed by a monitoring control device that is operated in a facility such as a factory or building and monitors and controls the operating status of equipment installed in the facility. The monitoring screen creation support system 1 generates a monitoring screen from CAD data, including the original drawing data of the monitoring screen, which is created by a CAD (Computer Aided Design) device. The monitoring screen creation support system 1 comprises a monitoring screen creation support device 100 that generates monitoring screen data in which the link between the monitored equipment and the PLC 300, which is a control device that controls this equipment is defined, a storage device 200 that stores CAD data, and a PLC 300 that collects status data of the monitored equipment, and is connected to communicate via a network 400.

[0011] The monitoring screen creation support device 100 receives CAD data that includes CAD drawing data, which is the original drawing data for the monitoring screen, and CAD definition information that hierarchically shows the relationships between multiple objects corresponding to the components of the monitored facility. An example of CAD data is shown in Figure 2. This CAD data 20 is an example of CAD data for creating a monitoring screen to monitor the operating status of air conditioning equipment installed on the first floor of Company A's Factory A. As shown in Figure 2(A), the CAD drawing data 21 has a configuration in which object data 21a and 21b corresponding to the monitored air conditioning equipment "Air Conditioner A" and "Air Conditioner B" are placed on a layout diagram 21c of the first floor of Company A's Factory A. If the object data 21a and 21b change according to the state of the air conditioning equipment, the CAD drawing data 21 includes operation definition information that defines the operation of the object data 21a and 21b. As shown in Figure 2(B), the CAD definition information 22 is information that hierarchically shows the relationships between objects corresponding to the components of the monitored facility, such as "Company A," "Factory A," "1F," and "Air Conditioner A." "Air Conditioner A" and "Air Conditioner B" have an object class defined called "Air Conditioner Class" that indicates they are monitored devices and that the type of device is air conditioning. This CAD data 20 is created by the CAD drawing creator and stored in the storage device 200.

[0012] Returning to FIG. 1, the monitoring screen creation support device 100 acquires the attribute information of the PLC 300 that acquires the state data of the monitored device, and based on the acquired attribute information of the PLC 300 and the CAD definition information 22 shown in FIG. 2(B), constructs an asset tree that hierarchically represents the assets corresponding to the objects defined by the CAD data 20. In the constructed asset tree, the attribute information of the PLC 300 that acquires the state data of this device is linked to the asset associated with the monitored device. The asset tree is used by the monitoring control device to identify the asset corresponding to the monitored device from among the assets corresponding to each component of the monitored facility, and to identify the PLC 300 that acquires the state data of the device corresponding to the identified asset. Further, the monitoring screen creation support device 100 extracts the object of the monitored device from the CAD drawing data 21 shown in FIG. 2(A), and generates a symbol file of the monitored device to be displayed on the monitoring screen from the extracted object. The monitoring screen creation support device 100 generates monitoring screen data by superimposing the symbol file of the monitored device on the layout diagram 21c of the CAD drawing data 21.

[0013] Returning to FIG. 1, the monitoring screen creation support device 100 includes a CAD data collection unit 110 that collects CAD data, a PLC data collection unit 120 that collects the attribute information of the PLC 300, a monitoring management information management unit 130 that constructs an asset tree, a monitoring management information holding unit 140 that stores the constructed asset tree, and a monitoring screen generation unit 150 that generates monitoring screen data based on the CAD data and the constructed asset tree.

[0014] The CAD data collection unit 110 includes a CAD definition information collection unit 111 that collects CAD definition information, and a class definition information extraction unit 112 that extracts an object class, which will be described later, from the CAD definition information. Note that the CAD data collection unit 110 is an example of an acquisition unit.

[0015] The CAD definition information collection unit 111 acquires CAD definition information that hierarchically indicates the relationships of a plurality of objects corresponding to the components of the monitored facility set in the CAD data. Specifically, the CAD definition information collection unit 111 acquires CAD data 20 shown in FIG. 2 in a data format represented by XAML selected by the user from the storage device 200, and acquires the CAD definition information 22 shown in FIG. 2(B) included in the acquired CAD data 20. Note that the CAD definition information 22 is an example of object hierarchy information.

[0016] Returning to FIG. 1, the class definition information extraction unit 112 extracts an object class that defines an object corresponding to the monitored device from the CAD definition information acquired by the CAD definition information collection unit 111. Specifically, the class definition information extraction unit 112 reads the CAD definition information 22 shown in FIG. 2(B) and extracts the object classes defined for objects such as "Company A", "Factory A", "1F", "Air conditioner A", and "Air conditioner B". In the illustrated example, since the object classes of "Air conditioner class" are defined for "Air conditioner A" and "Air conditioner B", the class definition information extraction unit 112 identifies that the object class "Air conditioner class" is defined for "Air conditioner A" and "Air conditioner B".

[0017] Returning to FIG. 1, the PLC data collection unit 120 includes a PLC data collection command unit 121 that instructs the collection of the attribute information of the PLC 300, and a PLC definition information collection unit 122 that collects the attribute information of the PLC 300.

[0018] The PLC data acquisition command unit 121 instructs the PLC definition information acquisition unit 122 to acquire PLC definition information, which includes attribute information such as the identification information, IP address, and type of status data to be collected for the PLC 300 that controls the monitored equipment. The PLC definition information is stored in the PLC 300. As illustrated in Figures 3(A) and (B), the PLC definition information 30 includes PLC information 31, which includes information such as "device name" which identifies the PLC 300, "model" which identifies the model of the PLC 300, "IP address" which indicates the IP address assigned to the PLC 300, and "tag" which indicates the type of equipment monitored by the PLC 300; and tag information 32, which includes information such as "label name" which identifies the status data acquired by the PLC 300, "data type" which indicates the data type of the status data, and "comment" which indicates comments added by the user for the status data indicated by each label name. In the example in Figure 3(A), the "device name" of PLC300 is "PLC1", the "model" is "R08CPU", the "IP address" is "192.168.10.10", and the "tag" is "Air Conditioning", indicating that it is an air conditioner. In the example in Figure 3(B), this tag information 32 is information for the "Air Conditioning" tag, and it indicates that the status data acquired by PLC300 consists of four data points: "Power" indicating whether the air conditioner is powered on or not, "Mode" indicating the operating mode of the air conditioner, "Direction" indicating the direction of air conditioning, and "Status" indicating the communication status between PLC300 and the air conditioner. Furthermore, it indicates that the data type of "Power" is "BIT", indicating that it is a bit string data type, and the data types of "Mode", "Direction", and "Status" are "INT", indicating that they are integer data types. Note that tag information 32 is an example of status data type information.

[0019] Returning to Figure 1, the PLC definition information collection unit 122 acquires attribute information of the PLC 300 in accordance with instructions from the PLC data collection command unit 121. The PLC definition information collection unit 122 acquires the PLC definition information 30, as illustrated in Figure 3, stored in the PLC 300 via the network 400. Note that the PLC 300 itself does not need to store the PLC definition information 30; for example, the PLC definition information 30 for each PLC 300 may be stored collectively on the cloud. In that case, the PLC definition information collection unit 122 only needs to acquire the PLC definition information 30 for the target PLC 300 from the cloud. Alternatively, the user may provide the PLC definition information 30 to the PLC data collection unit 120. Note that the PLC definition information collection unit 122 is an example of an attribute information acquisition means.

[0020] Returning to Figure 1, the monitoring and management information management unit 130 includes a device configuration generation unit 131 that generates assets corresponding to objects included in CAD data and generates asset classes that serve as templates for linking attribute information of the PLC300 to assets corresponding to the monitored devices, and a device configuration deletion unit 132 that deletes unnecessary assets and unnecessary asset classes from the assets stored in the monitoring and management information holding unit 140. Note that the monitoring and management information management unit 130 is an example of association information generation means.

[0021] The equipment configuration generation unit 131 includes an asset generation unit 1311 that generates assets corresponding to objects included in CAD data, and a class generation unit 1312 that generates asset classes.

[0022] The asset generation unit 1311 generates assets corresponding to objects set in the CAD data. Specifically, the asset generation unit 1311 generates assets based on the objects set in the CAD definition information 22 shown in Figure 2(B), which is acquired by the CAD definition information collection unit 111. In the illustrated example, the objects "Company A", "Factory A" of Company A, "1F" of Factory A of Company A, and "Air Conditioning A" and "Air Conditioning B" of the 1F of Factory A of Company A are each generated as assets.

[0023] Returning to Figure 1, the class generation unit 1312 generates an asset class that serves as a template for associating the attribute information of the PLC300 with the generated asset. Specifically, the class generation unit 1312 determines whether the object class extracted from the CAD definition information 22, as exemplified in Figure 2(B), by the class definition information extraction unit 112 is registered as an asset class in the monitoring and management information holding unit 140. As exemplified in Figure 4, the monitoring and management information holding unit 140 stores an asset class definition table in which asset classes and the types of state data acquired from the equipment corresponding to the asset to which the asset class is assigned are associated. For example, in the example in Figure 2(B), if the object class "Air Conditioning Class" is extracted by the class definition information extraction unit 112, the class generation unit 1312 determines whether an asset class with the asset class name "Air Conditioning" is defined in the asset class definition table shown in Figure 4. If the asset class "Air Conditioning" is not defined in the asset class definition table, the class generation unit 1312 identifies the type of status data collected by the PLC 300 with the "Air Conditioning" tag from the "Label Name" information of the tag information 32 shown in Figure 3(B) collected by the PLC definition information collection unit 122. The class generation unit 1312 inputs the identified type of status data into "Status Data 1", "Status Data 2", ... in the asset class definition table and generates a new "Air Conditioning" asset class in the asset class definition table. Note that the asset class definition table is an example of asset class definition information.

[0024] Returning to Figure 1, the equipment configuration deletion unit 132 includes an asset deletion unit 1321 that deletes assets from the asset tree stored in the monitoring and management information holding unit 140, and a class deletion unit 1322 that deletes asset classes stored in the monitoring and management information holding unit 140.

[0025] The asset deletion unit 1321 executes the process of deleting an asset from the asset tree stored in the monitoring and management information holding unit 140.

[0026] The class deletion unit 1322 deletes the asset class stored in the monitoring and management information storage unit 140. Specifically, the class deletion unit 1322 executes the process of deleting the asset class from the asset class definition table shown in Figure 4, which is stored in the monitoring and management information storage unit 140.

[0027] Figure 5 shows an example of the processing content of the monitoring and management information management unit 130, which has these configurations. The monitoring and management information management unit 130 generates an asset tree 40 based on the assets and asset classes generated by the equipment configuration generation unit 131 based on the CAD definition information 22, and the PLC definition information 30. The asset tree 40 hierarchically represents the assets corresponding to the objects set in the CAD definition information 22, and defines the link between the assets corresponding to the objects of the monitored equipment and the attribute information of the PLC 300 that acquires status data from this monitored equipment.

[0028] Specifically, the monitoring and management information management unit 130 generates an asset tree 40 having the same hierarchical structure as the CAD definition information 22 shown in Figure 5 from the assets "Company A", "Factory A", "1F", etc., generated by the asset generation unit 1311. Next, the monitoring and management information management unit 130 sets the asset class "Air Conditioning" for assets "Air Conditioning A" and "Air Conditioning B" in correspondence with the fact that the object class "Air Conditioning Class" is set for objects "Air Conditioning A" and "Air Conditioning B" in the CAD definition information 22. By setting the asset class "Air Conditioning" for "Air Conditioning A" and "Air Conditioning B", the status data "Power", "Mode", "Direction", and "Status" are set as monitoring items for "Air Conditioning A" and "Air Conditioning B" based on the asset class definition table shown in Figure 4, and the respective status data are linked to the lower levels of "Air Conditioning A" and "Air Conditioning B". Then, based on the user's settings, the PLC300 is associated with assets "Air Conditioning A" and "Air Conditioning B," and the PLC information 31 of the associated PLC300 is set as a property for "Air Conditioning A," "Air Conditioning B," and their respective state data. In this way, by setting the asset class in the asset tree 40, the PLC300 is associated with the instantiated assets, and the data source of the asset's properties is uniquely determined. The monitoring and management information management unit 130 is an example of a means for generating association information.

[0029] Returning to Figure 1, the monitoring management information storage unit 140 stores the asset tree generated by the monitoring management information management unit 130, the asset class definition table generated by the class generation unit 1312, and the monitoring screen data generated by the monitoring screen generation unit 150. Note that the monitoring management information storage unit 140 is an example of a storage means and a symbol file storage means.

[0030] The monitoring screen generation unit 150 includes a CAD data analysis unit 151 that identifies object data of the monitored equipment, an asset property extraction unit 152 that identifies the properties of assets corresponding to the objects of the monitored equipment, and a data generation unit 153 that generates monitoring screen data for display on the monitoring screen by generating a symbol file from the object data. Note that the data generation unit 153 is an example of a symbol file generation means and a monitoring screen data generation means.

[0031] The CAD data analysis unit 151 analyzes the CAD data 20 acquired by the CAD data collection unit 110 and extracts object data of the monitored equipment from the CAD drawing data. Specifically, the CAD data analysis unit 151 determines whether or not there are objects for which an object class is defined in the CAD definition information 22 shown in Figure 2(B). In the illustrated example, since the object class "Air Conditioning Class" is defined for objects "Air Conditioning A" and "Air Conditioning B", the CAD data analysis unit 151 determines that there are objects for which an object class is defined and acquires the object class "Air Conditioning Class". Next, the CAD data analysis unit 151 extracts the object data 21a and 21b of "Air Conditioning A" and "Air Conditioning B", for which the object class "Air Conditioning Class" is defined, from the CAD drawing data 21 shown in Figure 2(A).

[0032] Returning to Figure 1, the asset property extraction unit 152 identifies the properties of the asset corresponding to the monitored object from the asset tree constructed by the monitoring management information management unit 130. Specifically, the asset property extraction unit 152 identifies the properties of the corresponding asset from the asset tree 40 shown in Figure 5, based on the object identification information and object class information corresponding to the object data. In the illustrated example, the properties of "Air Conditioner A" and "Air Conditioner B" set in the asset tree 40 are identified and notified to the data generation unit 153.

[0033] Returning to Figure 1, the data generation unit 153 generates a symbol file that can be displayed on the monitoring screen from the identified object data, and generates monitoring screen data for displaying the generated symbol file on the monitoring screen. Specifically, the data generation unit 153 converts the object data 21a and 21b, as exemplified in Figure 2(A), into a data format that can be displayed by the monitoring control device, and stores the converted shape data, which is the symbol file, in the monitoring management information holding unit 140. Next, in the asset tree 40 exemplified in Figure 5, generated by the monitoring management information management unit 130, the data generation unit 153 links the generated symbol file with the properties of the assets "Air Conditioning A" and "Air Conditioning B" identified by the asset property extraction unit 152. Next, the data generation unit 153 generates background diagram data that will be displayed as the background diagram of the monitoring screen from the CAD drawing data 21 exemplified in Figure 2(A). The data generation unit 153 generates monitoring screen data that includes the generated background diagram data and the asset tree 40, in which the properties of the monitored equipment's assets and the symbol file are linked.

[0034] Returning to Figure 1, the storage device 200 stores CAD data, which includes CAD drawing data, the original drawing data of the monitoring screen generated by the CAD device, and CAD definition information that hierarchically shows the relationships between multiple objects set in the CAD drawing data. The CAD drawing data is, for example, equipment layout diagrams, power system diagrams, piping system diagrams, etc. The CAD data is created by the CAD screen creator and stored in the storage device 200.

[0035] The PLC300 is a device that collects status data indicating the operating status of connected devices and monitors or controls the devices based on the collected status data. The PLC300 is configured with PLC definition information 30, which includes the PLC300's identification information, IP address, and the type of status data to be collected, as illustrated in Figure 3, and collects status data of each configured type from connected devices.

[0036] Next, the physical configuration of the monitoring screen creation support device 100 will be described with reference to Figure 6. The monitoring screen creation support device 100 includes a processor 11 that executes processing according to a program, a volatile memory RAM (Random Access Memory) 12, a non-volatile memory ROM (Read Only Memory) 13, a storage unit 14 that stores data, an input unit 15 that accepts information input, a display unit 16 that visualizes and displays the information, and a communication unit 17 that sends and receives information, all of which are connected via an internal bus 99.

[0037] The processor 11 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The processor 11 performs various processes by reading programs stored in the memory unit 14 into the RAM 12 and executing them. The processor 11 performs processing by the CAD data acquisition unit 110, the PLC data acquisition unit 120, the monitoring and management information management unit 130, and the monitoring screen generation unit 150, as the main functions provided by the program.

[0038] RAM12 is used as the CPU's work area. ROM13 stores control programs, BIOS (Basic Input Output System), etc., that the CPU executes for the basic operation of the monitoring screen creation support device 100.

[0039] The storage unit 14 includes a hard disk drive and stores programs executed by the CPU, as well as various data used during program execution. The storage unit 14 also functions as a monitoring and management information storage unit 140.

[0040] The input unit 15 is a user interface equipped with a keyboard, mouse, etc. The display unit 16 is a display device such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) display that visualizes and displays information.

[0041] The communication unit 17 is a network termination device or wireless communication device connected to a network, and a serial interface or LAN interface connected to them. The communication unit 17 receives a signal from an external source and outputs the data indicated by this signal to the processor 11.

[0042] Next, the operation of the monitoring screen creation support device 100 having the above configuration will be explained with reference to Figure 7. In the following explanation, we will use the case where monitoring screen data is generated from the CAD data 20 of "Company A" shown in Figure 2 as an example.

[0043] When the user operates the input unit 15 and requests the start of the monitoring screen creation process, the monitoring screen creation support device 100 starts the process.

[0044] The CAD data acquisition unit 110 extracts object classes from the CAD definition information 22 contained in the CAD data 20 selected by the user, and performs a CAD data acquisition process to identify the objects for which the extracted object classes are defined (step S1). This process is performed by the functions of the CAD definition information acquisition unit 111 and the class definition information extraction unit 112 shown in Figure 1. Details of the CAD data acquisition process (step S1) will be described later.

[0045] Returning to Figure 7, the PLC data acquisition unit 120 then performs a PLC information acquisition process (step S2) to collect attribute information of the PLC 300 that controls the monitored equipment corresponding to the object identified in step S1.

[0046] The PLC data acquisition command unit 121 receives identification information for the PLC 300 from the user. When the user operates the input unit 15 and inputs the identification information for the PLC 300, the PLC data acquisition command unit 121 instructs the PLC definition information acquisition unit 122 to acquire PLC definition information 30, which indicates the attribute information of the PLC 300. The PLC definition information acquisition unit 122 acquires the PLC definition information 30 shown in Figure 3, in accordance with the instructions from the PLC data acquisition command unit 121. The PLC definition information acquisition unit 122 acquires the PLC definition information 30 stored in the PLC 300 via the network 400, transmits it to the monitoring and management information management unit 130, and terminates the PLC information acquisition process.

[0047] Next, the monitoring and management information management unit 130 executes an asset tree construction process (step S3) to construct an asset tree 40 based on the CAD definition information 22 and object classes collected in step S1, and the PLC definition information 30 collected in step S2. This process is performed by the functions of the equipment configuration generation unit 131, which includes the asset generation unit 1311 and the class generation unit 1312 shown in Figure 1, and the equipment configuration deletion unit 132, which includes the asset deletion unit 1321 and the class deletion unit 1322. Details of the asset tree construction process (step S3) will be described later.

[0048] Next, the monitoring screen generation unit 150 executes a screen data generation process (step S4) to generate monitoring screen data based on the symbol files generated from the object data 21a and 21b of the objects identified as objects to be monitored in step S1, the background drawing data generated from the CAD drawing data 21, and the asset tree 40 generated in step S3. This process is performed by the functions of the CAD data analysis unit 151, the asset property extraction unit 152, and the data generation unit 153 in Figure 1. Details of the screen data generation process (step S4) will be described later.

[0049] (CAD data collection process) Next, the CAD data acquisition process (step S1) will be explained in detail with reference to Figure 8.

[0050] The CAD data acquisition unit 110 accepts the user's selection of CAD data 20. The CAD data acquisition unit 110 instructs the CAD definition information acquisition unit 111 to collect the CAD definition information 22 of the CAD data 20 selected by the user (step S11).

[0051] Next, the CAD definition information collection unit 111 reads the CAD data 20 from the storage device 200 and determines whether the data format of the CAD data 20 is a format that can be processed (step S12). If the CAD definition information collection unit 111 determines that the data format of the acquired CAD data 20 is not a format that can be processed (step S12; No), it terminates the process. On the other hand, if the CAD definition information collection unit 111 determines that the data format of the acquired CAD data 20 is a format that can be processed (step S12; Yes), it proceeds to step S13.

[0052] Next, the class definition information extraction unit 112 of the CAD data acquisition unit 110 determines whether or not an object class is set for the object defined in the CAD data 20 (step S13). Specifically, the class definition information extraction unit 112 reads the CAD definition information 22 shown in Figure 2(B) and determines whether or not there is an object to which an object class is set. In the illustrated example, since the object class "Air Conditioning A" and the object "Air Conditioning B" are set to the "Air Conditioning Class", the class definition information extraction unit 112 determines that an object class is set (step S13; Yes).

[0053] Returning to Figure 8, the next step is for the class definition information extraction unit 112 to collect the object classes set in the CAD definition information 22 (step S14). Specifically, as described above, the object class "Air Conditioning A" and the object "Air Conditioning B" are set to "Air Conditioning Class," so the class definition information extraction unit 112 obtains information indicating that the object class set in the CAD drawing data 21 is "Air Conditioning Class."

[0054] Next, the class definition information extraction unit 112 extracts objects to which the object class obtained in step S14 is applied (step S15). Specifically, as described above, since the object class "Air Conditioning A" and object "Air Conditioning B" are set to the object class "Air Conditioning Class", the class definition information extraction unit 112 extracts object "Air Conditioning A" and object "Air Conditioning B". Note that the class definition information extraction unit 112 is an example of an object identification means.

[0055] Next, the class definition information extraction unit 112 transmits the CAD drawing data 21, which is the original drawing data for the monitoring screen, as shown in Figure 2(A), to the monitoring screen generation unit 150 (step S16). Then, the class definition information extraction unit 112 transmits the object class and CAD definition information 22 collected in S14 to the monitoring management information management unit 130 (step S17), and the process ends.

[0056] Returning to step S13 in Figure 8, if the class definition information extraction unit 112 determines that no object class is set (step S13; No), it proceeds to step S16 and sends the CAD drawing data 21 to the monitoring screen generation unit 150 (step S16). Next, the class definition information extraction unit 112 sends the CAD definition information 22, which includes only objects for which no object class is defined, to the monitoring management information management unit 130 (step S17), and terminates the process.

[0057] (Asset tree construction process) Next, the asset tree construction process (step S3) will be explained in detail with reference to Figures 5 and 9.

[0058] When the monitoring and management information management unit 130 receives the PLC definition information 30 of the PLC 300 that controls the monitored equipment through the PLC information collection process in step S2 shown in Figure 8, it starts the asset tree construction process.

[0059] As shown in Figure 9, the monitoring and management information management unit 130 determines whether the asset class corresponding to the object class collected by the CAD data collection process in step S1 is registered in the monitoring and management information holding unit 140 (step S31). Specifically, the monitoring and management information management unit 130 refers to the asset class definition table shown in Figure 4 stored in the monitoring and management information holding unit 140 and determines whether the class name of the object class obtained by the CAD data collection process in step S1 is registered in the asset class definition table. For example, if the object class obtained by the CAD data collection process is "Air Conditioning Class", the monitoring and management information management unit 130 determines whether there is an asset class in the asset class definition table shown in Figure 4 whose "Asset Class Name" is "Air Conditioning".

[0060] Returning to Figure 9, if the monitoring and management information management unit 130 determines that an asset class corresponding to an object class exists in the monitoring and management information holding unit 140 (step S31; Yes), it proceeds to step S32 to determine whether or not modification of the asset class definition table is necessary (step S32). Specifically, the monitoring and management information management unit 130 compares the information entered in the "label name" of the tag information 32 shown in Figure 5, which was acquired by the PLC information collection process in step S2, with the "status data 1", "status data 2", ... of the asset class definition table shown in Figure 4, which is stored in the monitoring and management information holding unit 140. The monitoring and management information management unit 130 determines whether or not there is a difference based on whether or not the respective pieces of information match. If the monitoring and management information management unit 130 determines that there is no difference in the respective pieces of information (step S32; No), it determines that no change to the asset class definition table is necessary and proceeds to step S35.

[0061] On the other hand, if the monitoring and management information management unit 130 determines that there is a difference between the respective pieces of information, it determines that the type of status data set in the asset class definition table needs to be changed to the setting information of the tag information 32 in Figure 5 (Step S32; Yes). The class deletion unit 1322 deletes the asset class that was determined to have a difference from the asset class definition table (Step S33). Next, the class generation unit 1312 creates a new asset class in which the same information "Power", "Mode", ... as the information entered in the "Label Name" of the tag information 32 shown in Figure 5 is defined, and the asset class name is "Air Conditioning" (Step S34), and updates the asset class definition table. Through this process, the asset class and the tag information 32 that indicates the monitoring items of the equipment corresponding to the asset to which this asset class is set are linked. As a result, the monitoring and management information management unit 130 can identify that the monitoring items of the equipment corresponding to the asset of the "Air Conditioning" class are "Power", "Mode", "Direction", and "Status".

[0062] Returning to step S31, if the monitoring management information management unit 130 determines that there is no asset class corresponding to the object class in the monitoring management information holding unit 140 (step S31; No), it proceeds to step S34. The class generation unit 1312 generates a new asset class in which the same information "Power", "Mode", ... as the information entered in the tag information 32 shown in Figure 5 is defined, and the asset class name is "Air Conditioning" (step S34), and updates the asset class definition table.

[0063] Next, the asset generation unit 1311 generates assets based on the CAD definition information 22 shown in Figure 5, which was acquired in S1 (step S35). Specifically, the asset generation unit 1311 generates the objects "Company A", "Factory A", "1F", "Air Conditioning A", and "Air Conditioning B" as assets, according to the information defined in the CAD definition information 22.

[0064] Returning to Figure 9, the monitoring and management information management unit 130 then generates an asset tree (step S36). Specifically, the monitoring and management information management unit 130 generates the asset tree 40 shown in Figure 5, which represents the assets "Company A", "Factory A", "1F", "Air Conditioning A", and "Air Conditioning B" generated in step S31 in the same hierarchical structure as the CAD definition information 22 shown in Figure 5. Next, the monitoring and management information management unit 130 sets the asset class "Air Conditioning" for assets "Air Conditioning A" and "Air Conditioning B" in correspondence with the fact that the object class "Air Conditioning Class" is set for objects "Air Conditioning A" and "Air Conditioning B" in the CAD definition information 22. By setting the asset class "Air Conditioning" for "Air Conditioning A" and "Air Conditioning B", the status data "Power", "Mode", "Direction", and "Status" are set as monitoring items for "Air Conditioning A" and "Air Conditioning B" based on the asset class definition table shown in Figure 4, and the respective status data are linked to the lower levels of "Air Conditioning A" and "Air Conditioning B".

[0065] Next, the monitoring and management information management unit 130 associates the PLC300 with the monitored assets that make up the asset tree 40 generated in step S35 (step S37). Specifically, the monitoring and management information management unit 130 receives input from the user indicating which PLC300 to associate with the assets "Air Conditioning A" and "Air Conditioning B" for which asset classes have been set. Based on the user's input, the monitoring and management information management unit 130 associates each asset with a PLC300. Specifically, the user associates the asset with a PLC300 by specifying the PLC300 using the "device name" in the PLC information 31 in Figure 5. Once the asset and PLC300 are associated, the attribute information of the associated PLC300 is defined as a property for the asset, and the data source is defined as a property for each state data. Specifically, when "PLC1" is linked to "Air Conditioner A," as shown in Figure 5, the PLC definition information 30 of "PLC1" is set as properties for the asset "Air Conditioner A" and its state data "Direction," "Mode," etc.

[0066] (Screen data generation process) Next, the screen data generation process (step S4) will be explained in detail with reference to Figure 10.

[0067] The CAD data analysis unit 151 analyzes the CAD data 20 to identify object data 21a and 21b from the CAD drawing data 21 exemplified in Figure 2(A). Specifically, the CAD data analysis unit 151 determines whether or not there are objects for which an object class is defined in the CAD definition information 22 exemplified in Figure 2(B) (step S41). In the illustrated example, since the object class "Air Conditioning Class" is defined for objects "Air Conditioning A" and "Air Conditioning B", the CAD data analysis unit 151 determines that there are objects for which an object class is defined (step S41; Yes) and obtains the object class "Air Conditioning Class". Next, the CAD data analysis unit 151 extracts the object data 21a and 21b of "Air Conditioning A" and "Air Conditioning B" for which "Air Conditioning Class" is defined from the CAD drawing data 21 exemplified in Figure 2(A).

[0068] Returning to Figure 10, the CAD data analysis unit 151 then transmits the object class identified in step S41 and the identification information of the object to which this object class is set to the asset property extraction unit 152, and transmits the object data 21a, 21b and CAD drawing data 21 extracted in step S41 to the data generation unit 153 (step S42). If the object data 21a and 21b contain motion definition information that defines the movement of the object, the CAD data analysis unit 151 transmits the object data 21a and 21b containing the motion definition information to the data generation unit 153.

[0069] Next, the asset property extraction unit 152 identifies the properties of the corresponding assets from the asset tree 40 shown in Figure 5, which was constructed in step S3, based on the object identification information and object class information transmitted in step S42 (step S43). In the illustrated example, the properties of "Air Conditioner A" and "Air Conditioner B" set in the asset tree 40 are identified and notified to the data generation unit 153.

[0070] Returning to Figure 10, the data generation unit 153 then generates symbol files to be displayed on the monitoring screen from the object data 21a and 21b transmitted in step S42, and generates background image data to be displayed as the background image on the monitoring screen from the CAD drawing data 21 transmitted in step S42 (step S44). Specifically, the data generation unit 153 acquires the data format of the object data 21a and 21b and determines whether or not it is a data format that can be displayed by the monitoring control device. If it is determined that it is a data format that can be displayed, the object data 21a and 21b are stored as symbol files in the monitoring management information holding unit 140. If it is determined that it is not a data format that can be displayed, the data format of the object data 21a and 21b is converted to a data format that can be displayed by the monitoring control device to create a symbol file, which is then stored in the monitoring management information holding unit 140. The data generation unit 153 then generates background image data to be displayed as the background image on the monitoring screen from the CAD drawing data 21 transmitted in step S42 through a similar process and stores it in the monitoring management information holding unit 140. If operation definition information is set in object data 21a and 21b, the data generation unit 153 determines whether the operation defined by the operation definition information is an operation that can be processed by the monitoring and control device. If the data generation unit 153 determines that it is an operation, it stores the object data 21a and 21b with the operation definition information set in them as symbol files in the monitoring and management information holding unit 140.

[0071] Next, the data generation unit 153 associates the symbol files generated in step S44 with the asset properties identified in step S42 (step S45). Specifically, as shown in Figure 11, the symbol files and asset properties are associated by inputting the filenames of the respective symbol files generated in step S44 into the properties of "Air Conditioning A" and "Air Conditioning B" identified in step S42 on the asset tree 40. Note that instead of the filenames of the symbol files, the address of the link destination where the symbol files are stored may also be entered into the properties.

[0072] Returning to Figure 10, the data generation unit 153 generates monitoring screen data (step S46) by associating the background map data transmitted in step S44 with the asset tree 40, which links symbol files and asset properties in step S45, and stores it in the monitoring management information holding unit 140, ending the process. Specifically, the data generation unit 153 refers to the asset tree 40 updated in step S45 and obtains the respective symbol files for the monitored equipment assets "Air Conditioning A" and "Air Conditioning B" from the monitoring management information holding unit 140. The data generation unit 153 generates monitoring screen data by placing the obtained symbol files in the positions where the object data was located on the background map data. For the monitoring screen data generated by the data generation unit 153, the user sets the values ​​for each type of status data to be displayed on the monitoring screen, for example in text format, and completes the monitoring screen data. As a result, as shown in Figure 12, a monitoring screen 50 is displayed that includes text data 51 displaying the status data of the monitored equipment "Air Conditioning A" and "Air Conditioning B". If the symbol file contains operation definition information, the user sets the status data conditions for each operation defined in the operation definition information. For example, if the operation defined is for the symbol displayed on the screen to change between green and red, the user should set the conditions such that the symbol changes to green when the status data "Status" is normal, and changes to red when the status data "Status" is abnormal.

[0073] Returning to Figure 10, in step S41, if the CAD data analysis unit 151 determines that there are no objects for which an object class is defined (step S41; No), it sends the CAD drawing data 21 to the data generation unit 153. The data generation unit 153 generates background image data from the transmitted CAD drawing data 21 to be displayed as the background image of the monitoring screen (step S47), stores it in the monitoring management information holding unit 140, and terminates the process.

[0074] The monitoring control device reads the monitoring screen data generated by the monitoring screen creation support device 100 and displays the monitoring screen. The monitoring screen data includes an asset tree 40 which links the monitored assets "Air Conditioning A" and "Air Conditioning B" with their respective symbol files. The monitoring control device refers to this asset tree 40 to obtain the symbol files for the monitored equipment assets "Air Conditioning A" and "Air Conditioning B" from the monitoring management information holding unit 140. As illustrated in Figure 12, the monitoring control device displays the monitoring screen 50 by placing the obtained symbol files 52a and 52b in the positions where the object data 21a and 21b were located on the background diagram data 53. In addition, the asset tree 40 links the attribute information of the PLC 300, which is the data source of the status data of the monitored equipment, to the properties of the status data of the monitored equipment. The monitoring control device refers to this asset tree 40 to obtain the status data from the PLC 300 and displays it on the monitoring screen 50.

[0075] As described above, the monitoring screen creation support device 100 constructs an asset tree that hierarchically represents assets from the CAD data created by the CAD device and the PLC definition information, which is attribute information of the PLC 300. In the constructed asset tree, the assets of the monitored equipment and the attribute information of the PLC 300 are linked. The monitoring screen creation support device 100 also links the asset properties of the monitored equipment with the asset symbol files to generate monitoring screen data that includes the background diagram data of the monitoring screen and the asset tree to which the symbol files are linked. Therefore, it becomes possible to easily create a monitoring screen with a design similar to the CAD drawing data 21 created by the user.

[0076] Furthermore, in the monitoring screen data generated by the monitoring screen creation support device 100, the symbol file is called from the monitoring management information holding unit 140 and placed in the background diagram data. Therefore, by replacing the symbol file stored in the monitoring management information holding unit 140 with another symbol file, the display of assets associated with this symbol file can be uniformly changed. Consequently, since users do not need to change the display of assets on the monitoring screen, the workload for monitoring screen maintenance can be reduced.

[0077] As long as it does not deviate from the spirit of this disclosure, it is possible to select or omit the configurations listed in the above embodiments, or to change them to other configurations as appropriate.

[0078] In the above embodiment, the operating status of an air conditioner was displayed, but this is not the only example. The monitored equipment may also include FA (Factory Automation) equipment for production systems, inspection systems, and processing systems, as well as home appliances such as lighting equipment.

[0079] Furthermore, the object data 21a and 21b of the CAD drawing data 21 shown in Figure 2(A) may be images that visually display status data such as graphs and table data. Also, different symbol files may be displayed on the monitoring screen for each type of status data for a single monitored asset. In this case, the corresponding symbol files should be set in the status data properties such as "Direction" and "Mode" in the asset tree 40 shown in Figure 11.

[0080] In the asset tree construction process of step S3, as shown in Figure 5, a new asset tree 40 is constructed based on the CAD definition information 22 and the PLC definition information 30. However, the process is not limited to this, and the asset tree 40 may be constructed based on an asset tree 40 that has been constructed in the past. In this case, in the asset generation process of step S35, the assets of the previously constructed asset tree 40 are compared with the CAD definition information 22, and any differing assets are generated or deleted. Alternatively, in the asset tree generation process of step S36, the properties of the assets in the previously constructed asset tree 40 are compared with the PLC definition information 30, and any differing properties are replaced with the information from the PLC definition information 30.

[0081] Furthermore, the information stored in the monitoring and management information storage unit 140 may be centrally managed on a cloud server located on the network, and the monitoring screen creation support device 100 may access the cloud server as needed to read and write information. In this case, the monitoring screen creation support device 100 does not need to include the monitoring and management information storage unit 140.

[0082] Furthermore, although the above embodiment involves executing the process using a single monitoring screen creation support device 100, the system configuration is arbitrary. For example, the functions of the monitoring screen creation support device 100 may be realized by a system comprising multiple devices that perform any of the functions of a CAD data acquisition unit 110, a PLC data acquisition unit 120, a monitoring management information management unit 130, and a monitoring screen generation unit 150.

[0083] Furthermore, the monitoring screen creation support device 100 can be implemented using a standard computer system, without requiring a dedicated device. For example, a computer capable of implementing the above-mentioned functions may be configured by distributing programs for implementing each function of the information processing device 10 on a recording medium such as a computer-readable CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory) or DVD-ROM (Digital Versatile Disc Read Only Memory), and then installing these programs on the computer.

[0084] Furthermore, if each function is implemented through a division of labor between the OS (Operating System) and the application, or through collaboration between the OS and the application, then only the application may be stored on the recording medium.

[0085] Furthermore, this disclosure allows for various embodiments and modifications without departing from the broad spirit and scope of this disclosure. The embodiments described above are for illustrative purposes only and do not limit the scope of this disclosure. In other words, the scope of this disclosure is indicated by the claims, not by the embodiments. Various modifications made within the scope of the claims and the equivalent significance of the disclosure are considered to be within the scope of this disclosure. [Explanation of symbols]

[0086] 1 Monitoring screen creation support system, 100 Monitoring screen creation support device, 200 Storage device, 300 PLC, 400 Network, 20 CAD data, 21 CAD drawing data, 21a, 21b Object data, 21c Layout diagram, 22 CAD definition information, 30 PLC definition information, 31 PLC information, 32 Tag information, 40 Asset tree, 110 CAD data collection unit, 111 CAD definition information collection unit, 112 Class definition information extraction unit, 120 PLC data collection unit, 121 PLC data collection command unit, 122 PLC definition information collection unit, 130 Monitoring management information management unit, 131 Equipment configuration generation unit, 132 Equipment configuration deletion unit, 1311 Asset generation unit, 1312 Class generation unit, 1321 Asset deletion unit, 1322 Class deletion unit, 140 Monitoring management information holding unit, 150 Monitoring screen generation unit, 151 CAD data analysis unit, 152 asset property extraction unit, 153 data generation unit, 11 processor, 12 RAM, 13 ROM, 14 storage unit, 15 input unit, 16 display unit, 17 communication unit, 99 internal bus, 50 monitoring screen, 51 text data, 52a, 52b symbol files, 53 background diagram data.

Claims

1. A computer that supports the creation of a monitoring screen displayed by a monitoring control device that monitors and controls equipment installed in a facility, An acquisition means for acquiring object hierarchical information that hierarchically represents the relationships between a plurality of objects that represent the components of the facility, and original drawing data of a monitoring screen; Attribute information acquisition means for acquiring attribute information of a control device that acquires status data indicating the status of a device to be monitored; an object specifying means for specifying an object of a device to be monitored from among a plurality of objects included in the object hierarchical information acquired by the acquiring means; an association information generating means for generating association information that associates an asset corresponding to an object identified by the object identifying means with attribute information of a control device that controls a device identified by the asset, based on the object hierarchical information acquired by the acquiring means and the attribute information of the control device acquired by the attribute information acquiring means; a symbol file generating means for generating a symbol file of the asset that can be displayed by the monitoring control device from object data indicating a device to be monitored that is included in the original drawing data acquired by the acquiring means; a monitoring screen data generating means for generating background map data of the monitoring screen based on the original map data, and for generating monitoring screen data in which a symbol file generated by the symbol file generating means for an asset to which attribute information of a control device is associated by the association information generating means is arranged in the background map data; A program that functions as a

2. In the object hierarchical information acquired by the acquisition means, an object class that defines the type of the monitored device is set for the object of the monitored device, the association information generating means sets an asset class corresponding to the object class for an asset corresponding to the object specified by the object specifying means; The computer, and further functioning as a storage means for storing asset class definition information that associates the identification information of the asset class with the type of equipment corresponding to the asset to which the asset class is set, the association information generating means identifies an asset class corresponding to an object class set for an object of a monitoring target device from the asset class definition information stored in the storage means, and sets the identified asset class for an asset corresponding to the object. The program according to claim 1.

3. the attribute information acquired by the attribute information acquisition means includes status data type information indicating a type of status data acquired from the monitoring target device by the control device, the association information generating means associates the state data type information acquired by the attribute information acquiring means with an asset corresponding to the object identified by the object identifying means; 3. The program according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The computer, a symbol file storage unit that stores the symbol file generated by the symbol file generating unit; the monitoring screen data generating means generates the monitoring screen data by calling up and arranging a symbol file of the device to be monitored from the symbol file storing means in the background map data; 3. The program according to claim 1 or 2.

5. The object hierarchical information and the original drawing data acquired by the acquiring means are data created by a CAD device.

3. The program according to claim 1 or 2.

6. A monitoring screen creation support device that supports the creation of a monitoring screen to be displayed by a monitoring control device that monitors and controls equipment installed in a facility, an object specifying means for specifying an object of a device to be monitored from among a plurality of objects included in object hierarchical information that hierarchically represents the relationships between a plurality of objects that represent the components of the facility; an association information generating means for generating association information that associates an asset corresponding to an object identified by the object identifying means with attribute information of a control device that controls the device identified by the asset, based on the object hierarchical information and attribute information of a control device that acquires status data indicating the status of the device to be monitored; a symbol file generating means for generating a symbol file of the asset that can be displayed by the monitoring control device from object data indicating a device to be monitored that is included in the original drawing data of the monitoring screen; a monitoring screen data generating means for generating background map data of the monitoring screen based on the original map data, and for generating monitoring screen data in which a symbol file generated by the symbol file generating means for an asset associated with attribute information of a control device by the association information generating means is arranged on the background map data; A monitoring screen creation support device comprising:

7. The monitoring screen creation support device according to claim 6 ; a storage device for storing the object hierarchical information and the original drawing data; a control device that acquires the status data set based on the attribute information and controls the device; A monitoring screen creation support system equipped with:

8. A monitoring screen creation support method executed by a monitoring screen creation support device that supports creation of a monitoring screen to be displayed by a monitoring control device that monitors and controls equipment installed in a facility, comprising: Identifying an object of a device to be monitored from among a plurality of objects included in object hierarchical information that hierarchically represents the relationships between a plurality of objects that represent components of the facility; generating association information that associates an asset corresponding to the identified object with attribute information of a control device that controls the device identified by the asset, based on the object hierarchy information and attribute information of a control device that acquires status data indicating the status of the device to be monitored; generating a symbol file of the asset that can be displayed by the monitoring control device from object data indicating a device to be monitored that is included in original drawing data of the monitoring screen; generating background map data of the monitoring screen based on the original map data, and generating monitoring screen data in which a symbol file of an asset associated with attribute information of a control device is arranged on the background map data; A monitoring screen creation support method including: