JP2004046475A - Distributed control system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To achieve a distributed control system integrated with SOE function. <P>SOLUTION: This distributed control system comprises an event data server for collecting event data and a viewer personal computer for displaying the event data. This system is further provided with an operation monitoring station, a control station, and a means for realizing SOE function in the personal computer. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a distributed control system for controlling a plant using an operation monitoring station and a control station. More specifically, the present invention relates to a distributed control system devised to have an SOE (Sequence of Event) function.
[0002]
[Prior art]
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a general distributed control system.
In FIG. 5, the operation monitoring station 1 and the control station 2 are connected to a communication bus 3. The control station 2 controls the plant 4 under the monitoring of the operation monitoring station 1. The operation monitoring station 1 is in charge of the operation and monitoring of the plant. A plurality of control stations are distributed in the plant according to the size of the plant.
[0003]
The sensor devices 41 and 42 existing in the plant 4 detect process values such as temperature, pressure, and liquid level. The opening of the valves 43 and 44 is controlled by an operation signal given from the control station 2. An analog signal of 4 to 20 mA, 1 to 5 V output from the sensor devices 41 and 42 is input to the control station 2. On the basis of this input, a control unit (not shown) in the control station 2 performs a control operation to obtain an operation amount. This operation amount is output as an analog signal of 4 to 20 mA and 1 to 5 V, and the output controls the opening degree of the valves 43 and 44. For example, by controlling the valve opening of the reactor, the process amount such as temperature and pressure is controlled.
[0004]
The event data indicates whether a predetermined phenomenon has occurred in the plant, such as whether the temperature or pressure existing in the plant has exceeded an upper limit value, whether a certain contact signal has been turned on, and the like. Data.
The SOE (Sequence of Event) function is a function of collecting event data and arranging the event data in the order of occurrence time. In the SOE function, a change in contact input, which has been focused on in advance, is used as a trigger, and the contact input before and after the trigger is generated is output as a file and printed out at the same time. When a trip or shutdown occurs in the plant, the cause of occurrence can be investigated and analyzed based on the file created by the SOE function. If the distributed control system is provided with the SOE function, the function of the distributed control system can be improved.
[0005]
In the past, there was no dedicated machine that satisfied the SOE function. For this reason, the SOE function has been realized using a device having a function similar to the SOE function.
FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of such a system.
In FIG. 6, an SOE station 10 having a function similar to the SOE function is connected to the communication bus 3 of the distributed control system. The SOE station 10 collects event data from field devices. The collected data is sent to the operation monitoring station 1 via the communication bus 3. The operation monitoring station 1 monitors whether a trip or the like has occurred in the plant based on the transmitted event data.
[0006]
However, the conventional system of FIG. 6 does not satisfy the following specifications required for the SOE function.
(A) The time data attached to the collected event data by the SOE station 10 does not guarantee that the synchronization accuracy with the absolute time is within ± 1 msec.
(B) Event data collected by the SOE station 10 cannot be used for control.
(C) It is not possible to hold event data for a certain period before and after the trigger occurs.
(D) Since it is not a dedicated machine, the cost of the entire system increases and the engineering for building the SOE function becomes difficult.
[0007]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems. An event data server for collecting event data and a viewer personal computer for displaying event data are provided in a distributed control system. It is another object of the present invention to implement a distributed control system integrating the SOE functions by installing means for realizing the SOE functions on a personal computer.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention is a distributed control system having the following configuration.
[0009]
(1) In a distributed control system in which an operation monitoring station and a control station are connected to a communication bus, the control station is distributed in a plant, and the control station controls the plant under the supervision of the operation monitoring station.
An event data server having data collection means for collecting event data of a predefined input point from the control station;
A viewer personal computer having viewer means for displaying event data collected by the event data server;
A distributed control system comprising:
[0010]
(2) The distributed control system according to (1), wherein viewer means for displaying the event data collected by the event data server is incorporated in the operation monitoring station.
(3) The distributed control system according to (1) or (2), wherein definition means for defining an input point for collecting event data is incorporated in the operation monitoring station.
[0011]
(4) The distributed control system according to (3), wherein the control station is provided with an input card for inputting event data, and the defining means defines the input card as an input point.
[0012]
(5) The distributed control system according to any one of (1) to (4), wherein definition means for defining how to display event data is incorporated in the operation monitoring station.
[0013]
(6) A time information acquiring means for acquiring time data is incorporated in the control station, and the data collecting means acquires event data from the control station together with time data. The distributed control system according to any one of the above.
[0014]
(7) The distributed control system according to (6), wherein the time information obtaining means obtains time data from GPS.
[0015]
(8) An operation status display unit for displaying an operation status of a plant on a monitoring screen based on the event data collected by the data collection unit is incorporated in the operation monitoring station (1) to (7). The distributed control system according to any one of the above.
[0016]
(9) condition setting means for setting a trigger condition for generating a trigger;
It is determined whether or not the event data collected by the data collection means satisfies the trigger condition.
Checking the event data, if the event data is marked with a trip, a report generating means for creating a trip report file,
The distributed control system according to any one of (1) to (8), comprising:
[0017]
(10) The distributed control system according to (9), wherein the report creation means prints a trip report file.
[0018]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention.
1, the operation monitoring stations 21 to 23 and the control stations 31 and 32 are connected to the communication bus 3. The operation monitoring stations 21 to 23, the event data server 24, and the viewer personal computer 26 are connected to the communication bus 5. The event data server 24 is a server based on a personal computer. The communication bus 3 is an internal bus of the distributed control system, while the communication bus 5 is a general-purpose bus such as Ethernet (registered trademark).
[0019]
The cards in the input / output units 311 and 321 of the control stations 31 and 32 are connected to the event data server 24 via the hub 50. This connection is made by the communication bus 51. The communication bus 51 is also a general-purpose bus such as Ethernet (registered trademark). The input / output units 311 and 321 are provided with dedicated input cards 312, 313, 322 and 323 for providing data to the event data server 24.
[0020]
The event data server 24 has a data collection unit 241 that collects event data from the control stations 31 and 32. Which event data the data collection unit 241 collects is defined in advance.
The viewer personal computer 26 has viewer means 261 for displaying the event data collected by the event data server 24. Similar viewer means 211 is also built in the operation monitoring station 21. These viewer means display the collected event data in chronological order or as a trip report.
[0021]
The operation monitoring station 22 has a built-in definition means 221 for defining event data to be collected. By defining an input point for collecting event data, the event data to be collected can be defined. The definition means 221 defines the input points of the event data on the dedicated input cards 312, 313, 322, and 323.
The definition means 221 defines how to display event data. For example, it is defined that event data is displayed as a time-series trend or displayed in a trip report format.
[0022]
The operation monitoring station 23 has a built-in operation state display unit 231 for displaying the operation state of the plant on a monitoring screen based on the event data collected by the data collection unit 241.
Master clock 52 gives time data to control stations 31 and 32. The master clock 52 is a GPS (Global Positioning System). GPS has standard time data in an omnidirectional positioning system.
[0023]
As described above, the event data server 24 and the viewer personal computer 26 for realizing the SOE function are provided in the distributed control system, and the means for realizing the SOE function are built in the operation monitoring station and the control station. As a result, a distributed control system integrating the SOE functions has been realized.
[0024]
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the event data server. In FIG. 2, the same components as those in the previous drawings are denoted by the same reference numerals.
In FIG. 2, a data collection unit 241 collects event data and time data from the control station 31. The communication unit 242 is provided for the data collection unit 241 to communicate with the control station 31. The communication unit 242 performs communication in accordance with, for example, a communication protocol of UDP (User Datagram Protocol).
[0025]
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the data collection means.
In FIG. 3, the event storage memory 314 stores event data input to the control station 31. The time information acquiring means 315 is built in the control station 31 and acquires time data from the GPS 316 (corresponding to the master clock 52).
[0026]
The data collection unit 241 reads out the event data and the time data from the control station 31 at regular intervals. In the figure, data is read from one control station, but data may be read from a plurality of control stations. For high-speed reading, each data is read directly from the memory where it is stored. The event data is obtained from the event storage memory 314, and the time data is obtained from a memory (not shown) of the time information obtaining unit 315.
[0027]
Time synchronization between the control station 31 and the event data server 24 is performed as follows.
The control station 31 realizes time synchronization using the GPS 316, reads out this time, and sets it in the event data server 24. As a result, a highly accurate time is always set in the event data server 24.
[0028]
Returning to FIG. 2, the collected data storage processing unit 243 can determine whether to temporarily store the collected event data in the collected file 244 or to convert the collected event data in the memory 245 by setting a registry.
The file conversion unit 246 stores the collected data in the memory 245 in the database 247 with additional information so as not to affect the data collection processing. The additional information is, for example, information on an operation under an alarm condition. The database 247 is, for example, an SQL server (SQL is a Structured Query Language). The contents of the database 247 can be referred to through a network.
[0029]
FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a portion for creating a trip report. This part is provided in the event data server 24.
In FIG. 4, a condition setting unit 248 sets a trigger condition for generating a trigger. The mark assigning unit 249 determines whether the event data collected by the data collecting unit 241 satisfies the trigger condition, and if it determines that the trigger condition is satisfied, marks the event data satisfying the trigger condition with a trip mark. The report creation unit 250 checks the event data, and creates a trip report file when the event data has a trip mark.
[0030]
The operation for creating a trip report will be described.
The condition setting means 248 sets the trigger condition of the trip report, and stores the trigger condition 2471 in the database 247. This operation is performed before the collection of event data starts.
The marking means 249 determines whether the collected event data satisfies the trigger condition, puts a trip mark on the event data satisfying the trigger condition, and stores the event data 2472 in the database 247. Using a relational database as the database 247, the event data 2472 is searched at high speed.
[0031]
The report creation unit 250 checks the event data 2471 of the database 247 at regular intervals, and if there is a trip mark, creates a trip report file or prints the trip report.
As a result, the event data before and after the occurrence of the trip can be viewed from the trip report.
[0032]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.
[0033]
According to the first to fifth and eighth aspects of the present invention, an event data server for collecting event data from a control station and a viewer personal computer for displaying the collected event data are provided in the distributed control system. Further, means for realizing the SOE function are incorporated in the operation monitoring station and the control station. As a result, the SOE function can be integrated into the distributed control system, and a distributed control system satisfying the functions required for the SOE function has been realized.
[0034]
According to the invention described in claims 6 and 7, since the event data is taken into the event data server together with the GPS time data, highly accurate time synchronization can be realized between the control station and the event data server.
[0035]
According to the ninth and tenth aspects of the present invention, when the event data satisfies the trigger condition, a trip report file is created or the trip report is printed. As a result, the event data before and after the occurrence of a trip or shutdown can be viewed, and the cause of the trip can be easily investigated and analyzed.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an event data server.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of an operation of a data collection unit.
FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a portion for creating a trip report.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a general distributed control system.
FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of a conventional system.
[Explanation of symbols]
3, 51 Communication bus 21 to 23 Operation monitoring station 24 Event data server 26 Viewer personal computer 31, 32 Control station 211, 261 Viewer means 221 Definition means 231 Operating state display means 241 Data collection means 248 Condition setting means 249 Marking means 250 Report Creation means 312, 313, 322, 323 Input card 315 Time information acquisition means 316 GPS

Claims (10)

In a distributed control system in which the operation monitoring station and the control station are connected to a communication bus, the control station is distributed in the plant, and the control station controls the plant under the supervision of the operation monitoring station,
An event data server having data collection means for collecting event data of a predefined input point from the control station;
A viewer personal computer having viewer means for displaying event data collected by the event data server;
A distributed control system comprising: 2. The distributed control system according to claim 1, wherein viewer means for displaying the event data collected by the event data server is built in the operation monitoring station. 3. The distributed control system according to claim 1, wherein definition means for defining an input point for collecting event data is built in the operation monitoring station. 4. The distributed control system according to claim 3, wherein said control station is provided with an input card for inputting event data, and said definition means defines said input card as an input point. 5. The distributed control system according to claim 1, wherein a definition means for defining how to display event data is built in the operation monitoring station. The time information acquiring means for acquiring time data is built in the control station, and the data collecting means acquires event data from the control station together with the time data. A distributed control system as described. 7. The distributed control system according to claim 6, wherein said time information obtaining means obtains time data from GPS. 8. The operation monitoring station according to claim 1, further comprising an operation state display unit for displaying an operation state of the plant on a monitoring screen based on the event data collected by the data collection unit. A distributed control system according to any one of the first to third aspects. Condition setting means for setting a trigger condition for generating a trigger;
It is determined whether or not the event data collected by the data collection means satisfies the trigger condition, and if the determination satisfies the trigger condition, a mark providing means for putting a trip mark on the event data satisfying the trigger condition;
Checking the event data, and when the event data is marked with a trip mark, a report creating means for creating a trip report file,
The distributed control system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, comprising: The distributed control system according to claim 9, wherein the report creation unit prints a trip report file.

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