Control device, monitoring device, and monitoring system

Abstract

In a monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of control devices for industrial machines and a monitoring device for monitoring the control devices are disposed in the same network. Each of the control devices: stores an upgrade file for upgrading software for use in monitoring processing performed by the monitoring device to a version compatible with the control device; when newly connected to the network, identifies the monitoring device to which the upgrade file is to be applied; and transmits the upgrade file to the monitoring device identified by the identification unit. Upon receiving the upgrade file from the control device, the monitoring device applies the upgrade file and upgrades the software.

Description

Control device, monitoring device and monitoring system

[0001] An embodiment of the present invention relates to a technique for upgrading software in a monitoring device that monitors multiple industrial machines.

[0002] With the advancement of information technology, industrial equipment such as robots are now connected to monitoring devices and form networks. For example, in-factory networks are often closed on-premise environments to prevent the leakage of confidential data. On the other hand, some factories use a method of sending data to the cloud to make effective use of large amounts of data. Users of cloud services have the advantage of not having to manage data server infrastructure and that the cloud service provider can upgrade the service.

[0003] JP 2015-131381 A

[0004] On-premise environments are often adopted by factories that place importance on confidentiality and security. However, in an on-premise environment, upgrading software on the server requires active manual updating, such as manually applying patches, and upgrades cannot be performed as easily as with cloud services.

[0005] For example, if a new model of robot is introduced to a group of robots monitored by a monitoring device, information about this new model of robot will not be available at the time the monitoring device is introduced to the factory, and so a software upgrade will be necessary to accommodate the new model, but this work has been done manually.

[0006] Therefore, it is desirable to automate software upgrades for monitoring devices in an on-premise environment.

[0007] In one embodiment, the control device is a control device for an industrial machine that is monitored by a monitoring device and is located within the same network. The control device stores an upgrade file for upgrading software used in monitoring processing by the monitoring device to a version compatible with the control device. When the control device is newly connected to the network, the control device identifies the monitoring device to which the upgrade file is to be applied, and transmits the upgrade file to the monitoring device identified by the identification unit to upgrade the software.

[0008] In one embodiment, a monitoring device monitors control devices of multiple industrial machines that are located within the same network. When a control device is newly connected to the network, the monitoring device receives an upgrade file from the control device to upgrade software used for monitoring the control device to a version compatible with the control device, and applies the upgrade file to upgrade the software.

[0009] In one embodiment, a monitoring system includes control devices for multiple industrial machines and a monitoring device that monitors the control devices, all of which are located on the same network. The control devices store an upgrade file for upgrading software used in monitoring processes by the monitoring devices to a version compatible with the control devices. When the control devices are newly connected to the network, the control devices identify the monitoring devices to which the upgrade file is to be applied and transmit the upgrade file to the monitoring devices identified by the identification unit. When the monitoring devices receive the upgrade file from the control devices, the monitoring devices apply the upgrade file and upgrade the software.

[0010] 1 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a monitoring system according to an embodiment; FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing in the monitoring system according to an embodiment; FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a state in which a new robot is introduced into a conventional on-premise environment; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state in which a new robot is introduced into the monitoring system according to an embodiment; and FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a screen of a monitoring device that queries an administrator about whether an upgrade file can be applied according to an embodiment.

[0011] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below. The monitoring system of this embodiment is located in an on-premise environment, and a monitoring device manages the control devices of multiple industrial machines located within the same network as monitoring targets. While various types of industrial machines are envisaged, such as robots and machine tools, the on-premise environment of this embodiment will be described as an environment in which different versions of robots coexist, as an example.

[0012] The monitoring device of this embodiment obtains information about new model robots that was not available when they were introduced to the factory through communications from the new model robots themselves that have been newly connected to the network, and automatically upgrades the software used to monitor the robots.

[0013] 1 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a monitoring system 1 according to this embodiment. The monitoring system 1 includes a plurality of control devices 10 that respectively control a plurality of robots in a factory, and a monitoring device 20 that monitors these control devices. The plurality of control devices 10 and the monitoring device 20 are arranged within the same network and are connected to each other for communication.

[0014] The control device 10 is an information processing device (computer) equipped with a control unit 11 (processor) and a storage unit 12 (memory), and controls the operation of the robot by executing a control program using information from various sensors installed on the robot or around it as input, and notifies the monitoring device 20 of various information during operation.

[0015] The control unit 11 includes an identification unit 111 and a transmission unit 112, and these functional units operate when the control unit 11 reads and executes various software stored in the storage unit 12. The storage unit 12 also stores an upgrade file for upgrading the software used for monitoring processing by the monitoring device 20 to a version compatible with the device itself (control device 10).

[0016] Here, the upgrade file includes a definition file that defines parameters (e.g., thresholds for fault diagnosis) for each version of the robot and the control device 10. The upgrade file may also be the monitoring program itself, or a program for updating the monitoring program.

[0017] The identification unit 111 identifies the monitoring device 20 to which the upgrade file is to be applied. The means of identification is not limited, but for example, it is sufficient if identification information such as the IP address or host name of the monitoring device 20 is associated with the upgrade file and stored in advance in the storage unit 12.

[0018] When the device itself (control device 10) is newly connected to the network, the transmission unit 112 transmits an upgrade file to the monitoring device 20 identified by the identification unit 111, thereby upgrading the monitoring processing software stored in the monitoring device 20.

[0019] The monitoring device 20 is an information processing device (computer) equipped with a control unit 21 (processor) and a storage unit 22 (memory), and performs monitoring processes such as fault diagnosis based on various information obtained from the control devices 10 within the network.

[0020] The control unit 21 includes a receiving unit 211, a determining unit 212, and an applying unit 213, and these functional units operate when the control unit 21 reads and executes various software programs stored in the storage unit 22.

[0021] When a control device 10 is newly connected to the network, the receiving unit 211 receives an upgrade file from the control device 10 to upgrade the software used for monitoring the control device 10 to a version compatible with the newly connected control device 10.

[0022] The determination unit 212 determines whether the upgrade file can be applied by receiving a selection input from the administrator. The determination unit 212 may also determine that the upgrade file can be applied if the version is newer than the current version, so that downgrading by the upgrade file does not occur.

[0023] The application unit 213 applies the upgrade file received from the control device 10 automatically, or when the determination unit 212 determines that the upgrade file is applicable, and upgrades the monitoring software.

[0024] 2 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing in the monitoring system 1 of this embodiment. In step S1, the control device 10 of a new robot is connected to the same network as the monitoring device 20.

[0025] In step S2, the identification unit 111 of the control device 10 identifies the monitoring device 20 to which the upgrade file is to be applied.

[0026] In step S3, the transmitting unit 112 of the control device 10 transmits the upgrade file to the monitoring device 20, and the receiving unit 211 of the monitoring device 20 receives this upgrade file.

[0027] In step S4, the determination unit 212 of the monitoring device 20 determines whether the received upgrade file is applicable to the current monitoring software. If the determination is YES, the process proceeds to step S5, and if the determination is NO, the process ends.

[0028] In step S5, the application unit 213 of the monitoring device 20 applies the upgrade file determined to be applicable and upgrades the monitoring software.

[0029] 3 is a diagram showing a state in which a new robot is introduced into a conventional on-premise environment. Here, the upgrade file is assumed to be a definition file that describes monitoring parameters for each version of the robot.

[0030] Robot control devices with versions 1.0 and 1.1 are placed within a network, and the monitoring device that monitors them runs software version 1.1. In this case, the monitoring device holds a definition file that describes monitoring parameters for each robot version, and the definition file describes information about robot versions 1.0 and 1.1.

[0031] If a new version 1.2 robot is introduced into this network, the monitoring device will not be able to perform monitoring processes such as fault diagnosis of the new robot because information about the version 1.2 robot is not included in the definition file.

[0032] 4 is a diagram showing a state in which a new robot has been introduced into the monitoring system 1 of this embodiment. The control device 10 of the version 1.2 robot newly introduced into the network stores, as an upgrade file, an updated definition file in which information about the version 1.2 robot has been added to the definition file held by the monitoring device 20.

[0033] When this new robot is connected to the network, the control device 10 transmits the updated definition file to the monitoring device 20, and the monitoring device 20 replaces the current definition file with the updated definition file and updates the software version to 1.2, thereby enabling the monitoring device 20 to monitor the new robot.

[0034] 5 is a diagram showing an example of a screen of the monitoring device 20 that inquires of the administrator whether or not to apply the upgrade file in this embodiment. In this example, the current definition file held by the monitoring device 20 shown in FIG. 4 and the updated definition file transmitted from the control device 10 of the newly introduced robot are displayed. A question as to whether or not to update the definition file is also displayed, and the determination unit 212 of the monitoring device 20 waits for the administrator to select and input.

[0035] According to this embodiment, in an on-premise environment, the monitoring system 1 transmits an upgrade file from a newly connected control device 10 to the monitoring device 20, and the monitoring device 20 upgrades the monitoring software. That is, the monitoring system 1 automatically upgrades the software used by the monitoring device 20 to monitor an earlier robot when a control device 10 of a later robot that cannot be handled by this software is connected to the network.

[0036] This automates software upgrades for the monitoring device 20 in an on-premise environment, allowing the monitoring device 20 to immediately support new models without requiring a person to actively upgrade the software. Furthermore, by determining whether an upgrade file can be applied, the monitoring device 20 can prevent unnecessary processing, such as downgrading the software or rewriting it to the same version.

[0037] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to the individual embodiments described above. Various additions, substitutions, modifications, partial deletions, etc. are possible to these embodiments without departing from the gist of the invention or the idea and intent of the present invention derived from the content of the claims and their equivalents. For example, in the above-described embodiments, the order of each operation and the order of each process are shown as examples and are not limited to these. The same applies when numerical values ​​or mathematical expressions are used in the description of the above-described embodiments.

[0038] The following supplementary note is further disclosed regarding the above-described embodiment: (Supplementary Note 1) A control device (10) for an industrial machine that is monitored by a monitoring device (20) and is located within the same network, the control device (10) comprising: a memory unit (12) that stores an upgrade file for upgrading software used in monitoring processing by the monitoring device (20) to a version compatible with the monitoring device itself; an identification unit (111) that identifies the monitoring device (20) to which the upgrade file is to be applied; and a transmission unit (112) that, when the monitoring device (10) itself is newly connected to the network, transmits the upgrade file to the monitoring device (20) identified by the identification unit (111) to upgrade the software.

[0039] (Supplementary Note 2) The control device (10) according to (Supplementary Note 1), wherein the upgrade file includes a definition file that defines parameters for each version of the industrial machine.

[0040] (Supplementary Note 3) The control device (10) according to (Supplementary Note 1), wherein the upgrade file includes a program for executing the monitoring process.

[0041] (Supplementary Note 4) A monitoring device (20) that monitors control devices (10) of multiple industrial machines arranged within the same network, the monitoring device (20) comprising: a receiving unit (211) that, when the control device (10) is newly connected to the network, receives from the control device (10) an upgrade file for upgrading software used for monitoring processing of the control device (10) to a version compatible with the control device (10); and an application unit (213) that applies the upgrade file to upgrade the software.

[0042] (Appendix 5) The monitoring device (20) described in (Appendix 4) includes a determination unit (212) that determines whether the upgrade file can be applied by receiving a selection input, and the application unit (213) applies the upgrade file that the determination unit (212) determines to be applicable.

[0043] (Supplementary Note 6) A monitoring system (1) in which control devices (10) of multiple industrial machines and monitoring devices (20) that monitor the control devices (10) are arranged within the same network, wherein the control devices (10) comprise: a memory unit (12) that stores an upgrade file for upgrading software used in monitoring processing by the monitoring devices (20) to a version compatible with the control devices (10); an identification unit (111) that identifies the monitoring devices (20) to which the upgrade file is to be applied; and a transmission unit (112) that transmits the upgrade file to the monitoring devices (20) identified by the identification unit (111) when the control devices (10) are newly connected to the network, and the monitoring devices (20) comprise: a reception unit (211) that receives the upgrade file from the control devices (10); and an application unit (213) that applies the upgrade file to upgrade the software.

[0044] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 monitoring system 10 control device 11 control unit 12 storage unit 20 monitoring device 21 control unit 22 storage unit 111 identification unit 112 transmission unit 211 reception unit 212 determination unit 213 application unit

Claims

1. A control device for an industrial machine that is monitored by a monitoring device and is located within the same network, comprising: a memory unit that stores an upgrade file for upgrading software used for monitoring processing by the monitoring device to a version compatible with the device itself; an identification unit that identifies the monitoring device to which the upgrade file is to be applied; and a transmission unit that, when the device itself is newly connected to the network, sends the upgrade file to the monitoring device identified by the identification unit to upgrade the software.

2. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the upgrade file includes a definition file that defines parameters for each version of the industrial machine.

3. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the upgrade file includes a program for executing the monitoring process.

4. A monitoring device that monitors the control devices of multiple industrial machines located within the same network, comprising: a receiving unit that, when the control device is newly connected to the network, receives from the control device an upgrade file for upgrading the software used for the monitoring process of the control device to a version compatible with the control device; and an application unit that applies the upgrade file to upgrade the software.

5. A monitoring device as described in claim 4, further comprising a determination unit that determines whether the upgrade file can be applied by accepting a selection input, and the application unit applies the upgrade file that the determination unit determines to be applicable.

6. A monitoring system in which control devices for multiple industrial machines and monitoring devices that monitor the control devices are arranged within the same network, wherein the control devices have: a memory unit that stores an upgrade file for upgrading software used for monitoring processing by the monitoring devices to a version compatible with the device itself; an identification unit that identifies the monitoring devices to which the upgrade file is to be applied; and a transmission unit that transmits the upgrade file to the monitoring devices identified by the identification unit when the device itself is newly connected to the network, and the monitoring devices have: a receiving unit that receives the upgrade file from the control devices, and an application unit that applies the upgrade file and upgrades the software.

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