JP2006340573A - Information processing system, method, and program as well as remote supervisory control system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To secure the reliability of an information processing system as a whole, by avoiding deterioration in the reliability due to the effects of low quality transmission path and to improve economical efficiency, by making the constitution of the system efficient, in the information processing system that uses transmission paths different in quality corresponding to the importance of information. <P>SOLUTION: Information processing sections 21, 22 can process both TC information high in importance and MAS information low in importance and monitor mutual soundness to detect mutual abnormalities. Normally, the processing section 21 operates only for TC function, while the processing section 22 operates only for MAS function. The host position side of the processing section 21 is connected to the TCM 11 of a master station device by the line N11 in a communications network N10. Furthermore, the host position side of the processing section 22 is connected to the line N12 in the communications network N10, which is used when the processing section 21 is abnormal by the line N21 in the communications network N20. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing system that transmits and processes information between a control device and a controlled device, such as a remote monitoring control device applied to power equipment, and in particular, the quality differs with respect to the reliability of information transmission. In an information processing system that includes a plurality of transmission paths and transmits information using transmission paths having different qualities according to the importance of information, it is intended to maintain both reliability and improve economy and efficiency.

  In general, various electric power devices such as circuit breakers and disconnectors are installed in electric stations, and these electric power devices operate under a plurality of information processing systems. For example, a remote monitoring control device (hereinafter abbreviated as TC) is employed to monitor the state of devices from a distance and control these devices. In this apparatus, a control station including a server computer and a controlled station including a client computer on the user side are connected by connecting via a network. A distributed processing type information processing system that centrally manages monitoring information on the operating state of equipment and operation control information of each equipment on the control station side is adopted.

  In addition to the TC, a maintenance support system (hereinafter abbreviated as MAS) is known as a power device. This system measures the number of breaker operations and the breaking speed, monitors the hydraulic pressure of the transformer, and determines abnormalities in the equipment status, improving the reliability of power equipment, improving the efficiency of maintenance work, and preventing accidents. We are trying to prevent it. Information processed by MAS (hereinafter referred to as MAS information) may be used after being saved and edited, and is less urgent than information processed by TC (hereinafter referred to as TC information). It can be said that the importance of information is low. Moreover, the amount of MAS information is often large. For this reason, a line that handles MAS information generally uses broadband on an intranet. On the other hand, the TC information is highly urgent and necessary information such as a device control command, and is transmitted exclusively using a dedicated line in order to ensure the reliability of information transmission.

  Here, the configuration of the conventional TC and MAS will be specifically described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. These systems have a control station (hereinafter referred to as a master station) and a controlled station (hereinafter referred to as a slave station) to which various power devices are connected.

  First, MAS will be described. A maintenance support master station device (hereinafter abbreviated as GCM) 12 is installed on the master station side, and a maintenance support slave station device (hereinafter abbreviated as GCR) 40 is installed on the slave station side. The GCR 40 includes a processing unit 22 and an input unit 25b, and is connected to the power devices 101, 102, and 103. Among these devices, 101 and 102 are devices for monitoring control / maintenance support that are also connected to the TC side, and 103 is a device dedicated to maintenance support.

  The GCM 12 and the GCR 40 are connected by a line N21 of the communication network N20. Since the communication network N20 is used for transmitting MAS information that is less important than TC information, an intranet shared with office use, mail use, and the like is used. In such a MAS, the input unit 25b inputs MAS information from the power devices 101, 102, and 103, and the processor 22 processes this and sends it to the GCM 12 via the line N21 of the communication network N20.

Next, TC will be described. Similar to the MAS side, a remote monitoring control master station device (hereinafter abbreviated as TCM) 11 is installed on the master station side, and a remote monitoring control slave station device (hereinafter referred to as TCR) 20 is provided on the slave station side. is set up. The TCR 20 includes a processing unit 21 and an input / output unit 25a, and is connected to the power devices 100, 101, and 102. Among these devices, 100 is a device dedicated to monitoring control. Further, the TCM 11 and the TCR 20 are connected by a line N11 of the communication network N10. The communication network N10 uses a dedicated line to transmit highly important TC information. In such a TC, the input unit 25a of the TCR 20 inputs / outputs TC information to / from the power devices 100, 101, 102, and the processor 21 processes this to process the GCM 12 via the line N11 of the communication network N10. It is sent to.
JP-A-6-98467

  By the way, as described above, since the MAS information is less important than the TC information, even if an intranet is used for the communication network N20 on the MAS side, there is no problem in terms of safety. However, transmission of TC information through an intranet is not performed because TC information is adversely affected by the intranet and the reliability of functions on the TC side may be lost. That is, it is impossible to use a low-quality transmission path for TC information transmission. From the viewpoint of giving priority to safety, TC and MAS do not share a communication network for information transmission, and are independent from each other. You are using a communication network.

  Accordingly, there are devices 101 and 102 that are commonly connected in the TC and the MAS, and even if the information from the power devices 101 and 102 input by the TC and the MAS is the same, they are in different communication. It was entered separately from the network. As a result, not only the input unit 25b for inputting the state of the power device 103 connected to the MAS side, but also the failure contact and the state contact of the power devices 101 and 102 input on the TC side, and the measurement transducer It is necessary to install the system for MAS separately, which has complicated the system configuration.

  In this way, when connecting a common device to a plurality of processing units, input / output means must be provided separately for each processing unit, and the economy and efficiency decrease as the system configuration becomes complicated. Was. The above situation is not a problem limited to systems including TC and MAS, but is a common problem in information processing systems that use transmission paths with different qualities according to the importance of information. There has been a need for a system that is excellent in both reliability and economy by avoiding the influence of a low-quality transmission path on the information processing unit.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and avoids a decrease in reliability due to the influence of a low-quality transmission line in an information processing system that uses transmission lines with different qualities according to the importance of information. The purpose is to improve the economy by ensuring the reliability of the entire system and improving the efficiency of the configuration.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an information processing system in which highly important information is transmitted through a high quality transmission line, and low importance information is transmitted through a low quality transmission line. A processing unit capable of processing both high information and low information is provided so that not only high importance information but also low importance information is transmitted through a high quality transmission line.

  That is, the present invention relates to a control device having an important information processing unit and an unimportant information processing unit, a controlled device controlled by the control device, a high-quality transmission line for transmitting highly important information, and an importance level. In an information processing system configured with a low-quality transmission path for transmitting low-level information, the controlled device includes first and second processing units, and one of these is an importance level Both high information and low information can be processed, and both high information and low information are transmitted through the high quality transmission path.

  According to the present invention having the above configuration, when the processing unit on the controlled device side processes both high importance information and low information, these two types of information are used only by using a high quality transmission path. Since it can be sent to the control device side, the processing unit that processes highly important information is not likely to be adversely affected by the low-quality transmission path, and it is possible to ensure excellent reliability with respect to information transmission. In this way, even in a system having transmission lines with different qualities, the entire reliability is ensured. Therefore, a configuration in which information is sent to a low quality transmission line as in the prior art, and information to a high quality transmission line is provided. However, when a device is connected to the controlled device, the efficiency of the connection configuration can be increased, and the system configuration can be simplified.

  Further, according to the present invention, when the two processing units monitor the mutual soundness and an abnormality is detected in one of the processing units, the other processing unit that is healthy has high importance information and low information. The thing which processed both of is included.

  According to such an invention, even when one of the two processing units incorporated on the controlled device side breaks down, only the other processing unit can serve as two processing units. In this case, since it is possible to transmit information using only a high-quality transmission path, it is possible to sufficiently perform a backup function for compensating for a failed processing unit.

  In the terminology of the present invention, the “importance” of information is a scale determined in consideration of urgency and necessity, but is a relative level to the last, and its setting can be selected as appropriate. Also, “reliability” for a transmission line is defined as a broad concept that includes not only fault tolerance and recoverability but also high security and good maintainability.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the processing unit on the controlled device side processes both high-priority information and low-information, and the two types of information processed here are transmitted only through the high-quality transmission path. By transmitting to the control device side, it is possible to simplify the system configuration while avoiding adverse effects due to low-quality transmission lines and ensuring sufficient reliability, ensuring reliability and economics related to information transmission, and It is possible to provide an information processing system, method and program capable of achieving both improvement in efficiency and a remote monitoring and control apparatus to which the information processing system, method and program are applied.

  Hereinafter, an example of the best mode for carrying out the present invention (hereinafter referred to as an embodiment) will be specifically described with reference to the block diagrams of FIGS. Note that the present embodiment is applied to an information processing system that transmits two types of information having different degrees of importance through a transmission line having a quality corresponding to the degree of importance. Similarly to the prior art shown in FIG. It is used in a remote monitoring control device for power equipment including MAS. Therefore, the same parts as those in the prior art shown in FIG. Also, each unit of the present embodiment can be realized by controlling a computer including a peripheral device with a program, and the hardware and program implementation modes in that case can be variously changed. Furthermore, in addition to the information processing system and method, the present invention can be grasped as the program and a computer-readable recording medium on which the program is recorded.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram centering on the TCR 20 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the TCM 11 and GCM 12 on the master station side are connected to a line C0 composed of a LAN via a server or the like in order to transmit MAS information which is less important information from the TCM 11 to the GCM 12. Yes. The TCR 20 is connected to the TCM 11 via a communication network N10 that is a high-quality transmission path, and is connected to the GCM 12 via a communication network N20 that is a low-quality transmission path.

  The TCR 20 includes two processing units 21 and 22 that are connected to each other, and an output unit 23 and an input unit 24 that are connected to the processing units 21 and 22. Examples of hardware configurations of the processing units 21 and 22 include, for example, a communication unit, a processor unit, a bus coupling unit, and a mutual monitoring signal input / output unit. The processing unit 21 is equipped with one channel for the TCM 11, and the processing unit 22 is equipped with two channels for the TCM 11 and GCM 12.

  The output unit 23 and the input unit 24 are connected to the processing units 21 and 22, respectively. The output unit 23 is a part that outputs TC information including a control signal for controlling an external device, and the input unit 24 inputs TC information and MAS information including information indicating device status and failure, and various measurement information. It is a part to do.

  Next, the processing units 21 and 22 that are main parts of the present invention will be described.

  Each of the processing units 21 and 22 can process both TC information with high importance and MAS information with low importance, and switches between a TC function for processing TC information and a MAS function for processing MAS information. It is possible, and it is possible to perform all or part of both functions simultaneously. Further, the processing units 21 and 22 can detect the abnormality by monitoring the mutual soundness by exchanging signals for mutual monitoring. In normal times when the processing units 21 and 22 are healthy, the processing unit 21 operates only for the TC function for processing TC information, and the processing unit 22 operates only for the MAS function.

  The upper side of the processing unit 21 is directly connected to the TCM 11 of the master station apparatus via a line N11 in the communication network N10 that is a TC transmission path. The upper side of the processing unit 22 is connected to the line N12 in the communication network N10 and the line N21 in the communication network N20 which is a transmission path for MAS. A line N12 in the communication network N10 is connected to the TCM 11 of the parent station apparatus, and a line N21 in the communication network N20 is connected to the GCM 12 of the parent station apparatus. However, the line N12 is not used under the condition that the processing unit 21 is healthy (indicated by a dotted line in FIG. 1), and is used only when the processing unit 21 fails. When the line N12 is used, the communication network N20 is disconnected from the processing unit 22.

  The lower side of the processing units 21 and 22 is connected to both the output unit 23 and the input unit 24 by lines C1 to C4. Of the lines C1 to C4, the line C4 connecting the lower side of the processing unit 22 and the output unit 23 is not used under the condition that the processing unit 21 is healthy (indicated by a dotted line in FIG. 1).

  The operation of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 4 in addition to the block diagrams of FIGS. The first and second processing units 21 and 22 monitor the soundness of each other (S1), and when both are normal (YES in S2), the TC output operation is as follows. First, TC information from the TCM 11 is directly transmitted to the processing unit 21 via the line N11 in the communication network N10, and after the predetermined processing is performed by the processing unit 21, it is output to the output unit 23 (S3 to S4). ).

  Next, the input operation of TC and MAS will be described. TC information and MAS information are input from an unillustrated device through the input unit 24, and all information or information divided for TC and MAS is input to the processing unit 21 and the processing unit 22 via lines C2 and C3. . Each of the processing units 21 and 22 performs predetermined processing, and the TC information is transferred from the processing unit 21 to the TCM 11 by the line N11 in the communication network N10, and the MAS information is transferred from the processing unit 22 to the GCM 12 by the line N21 in the communication network N20. The information after processing is transmitted respectively (S5 to S8).

  Subsequently, a case where one of the processing units 21 and 22 according to the present embodiment fails will be described with reference to FIGS. First, the abnormality of the processing unit 21 will be described with reference to FIG. When the processing unit 21 fails, the processing unit 22 detects an abnormality of the processing unit 21 (S9). At this time, the processing unit 22 first stops information transmission with the GCM 12 and disconnects the communication network N20 (S10). Thereafter, the processing unit 22 switches directly to the TCM 11 via the line N12 in the communication network N10 (S11). Further, the output unit 23 is connected to the processing unit 22 via the line C4 (indicated by a thick solid line in FIG. 2) (S12).

  Then, the processing unit 22 switches its function from MAS to TC, or to process part or all of the functions for TC and MAS, and starts the operation (S13). When some or all of the TC function and the MAS function are operated, both the TC information and the MAS information are transmitted through the line N12 (shown by a thick solid line in FIG. 2) of the communication network N10 (S14). Finally, the MAS information is transferred from the TCM 11 of the receiving master station device to the GCM 12 via the line C0 (S15).

  On the other hand, the abnormality time of the processing unit 22 will be described with reference to FIG. When the processing unit 22 fails, the processing unit 21 detects an abnormality of the processing unit 22 (S16). At this time, the processing unit 21 does not change the connection state and continues the processing of only the TC function without changing the content of the processing, or adds part of the functions and information processing of the MAS function. Whether to process or back up all functions of the MAS function is performed (S17).

  Among these, when even a part of the MAS function is backed up, both the TC information and the MAS information are transmitted to the TCM 11 of the master station apparatus via the line N11 in the communication network N10 which is a high quality transmission path (S18). MAS information is transferred to the GCM 12 via the line C0 (S19).

  As described above, in the present embodiment, a system in which a TC function system and a MAS function system are separately constructed is coexisted in the TC. Thereby, the following three effects can be exhibited. As a first effect, the processing unit 22 that is normally used for MAS can be used as a backup of the processing unit 21 for TC while ensuring high reliability. Further, even when an abnormality occurs in the processing unit 22 for MAS, information processing can be backed up by the processing unit 21 for TC, and the reliability of the MAS function is improved.

  As a second effect, the MAS transmission line is generally a low-quality transmission line such as an intranet that is shared with office work, e-mail, etc. in order to collect a large amount of information at a control station. Cannot be used due to security issues. Therefore, in the above-described embodiment, the processing unit 21 that operates for TC is always disconnected from the MAS transmission path. Thereby, there is no influence from the intranet side at the time of normal operation and TC backup operation, and excellent reliability as TC can be exhibited.

  Further, as a third effect, since information with different importance levels can be transmitted while ensuring reliability by using a high-quality transmission line, for example, when the same information is transmitted from a common connection device in TC and MAS. The interface can be easily shared, and the efficiency of the system can be improved. Specifically, it is not necessary to install an input unit, faulty contact, status contact, or measurement transducer for each device connected to both TC and MAS, greatly improving economy. To do.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can of course be applied to devices other than the remote monitoring control device. However, the following other embodiments can be applied only to the remote monitoring control device. Include. For example, in the above embodiment, the line N12 of the communication network N10 is used when the processing unit 21 is abnormal. However, the transmission switching unit that switches the line N11 connected to the TCM 11 in the TCR 20 between the processing unit 21 and the processing unit 22. The line N12 may be omitted by installing.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, in addition to the line N12 between the processing unit 22 and the TCM 11, the processing unit 21 and the GCM 12 may be connected via the line N13 of the communication network N10 that is a TC transmission path. Therefore, the line C0 connecting the TCM 11 and the GCM 12 of the master station apparatus in the above embodiment can be omitted, and there is no need to transfer MAS information from the TCM 11 at the master station to the GCM 12. According to such an embodiment, when the processing unit 22 is abnormal, all the MAS information can be transmitted to the GCM 12 through the independent MAS line N13 different from the TC line. For this reason, there is no worry that the performance of the communication network N10 will deteriorate. Therefore, even during MAS backup, there is no functional degradation of both TC and MAS.

  Further, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the line between the processing unit 21 and the GCM 12 is connected by a line N22 of a communication network N20 that is a transmission path for MAS. In this case, since the communication network N20 is of low quality, when the line N22 is used, it is necessary to increase the security function of the processing unit 21, which can exhibit the same effect. .

  Moreover, the structure of the input part and output part which connect an apparatus for electric power to the process parts 21 and 22 in TCR20 is freely selectable, and the output part 23 and input part like embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-3. In addition to the 24 combinations, the input / output unit for TC and the input unit (or input / output unit) for MAS may be divided and connected to both the processing units 21 and 22. According to such an embodiment, since mutual maintainability is improved, there is an advantage that operation reliability is also increased.

  Further, the output unit 23 and the input unit 24 may be combined as an input / output unit, and this may be connected to both the processing units 21 and 22. In this case, when the processing unit 21 fulfills the MAS function, it is not completely disconnected from the MAS transmission line side. Therefore, it is necessary to take measures in terms of security. However, depending on the operating state of the processing units 21 and 22 As a result, the connection configuration with the input / output unit does not change, so that the operational stability is improved. Furthermore, the connection configuration between the processing unit and the interface can be selected as appropriate. Even if they are connected using a bus, the same effects as those of the above-described embodiment can be obtained.

The block diagram which shows one Embodiment of the distant monitoring control apparatus to which this invention is applied. The block diagram when the process part 21 fails in this embodiment. The block diagram when the process part 22 fails in this embodiment. The flowchart for demonstrating the operation | movement of this embodiment. The block diagram of other embodiment to which this invention is applied. The block diagram of other embodiment to which this invention is applied. The block diagram of the conventional remote monitoring control apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

11 ... TCM (master station device for remote monitoring and control)
12 ... GCM (main station device for maintenance support)
20 ... TCR (remote monitoring and control slave station device)
21, 22 ... Processing unit 23 ... Output unit 24 ... Input unit 40 ... GCR (maintenance support slave station device)
N10, N20 ... communication networks C0 to C4, N11, N12, N21 ... lines 100, 101, 102, 103 ... power equipment

Claims (9)

A control device having an important information processing unit that processes information with high importance and a non-important information processing unit that processes information with low importance, a controlled device controlled by the control device, and reliability related to information transmission A first processing unit configured to include a high-quality transmission path and a low-quality transmission path that is less reliable in terms of information transmission than the high-quality transmission path, and that processes at least highly important information in the controlled device And a second processing unit that processes at least low-importance information, transmits high-importance information through the high-quality transmission path, and transmits low-importance information through the low-quality transmission path. In the information processing system,
At least one of the first and second processing units on the controlled device side can process both information with high importance and information with low importance,
An information processing system for transmitting both high importance information and low information through the high quality transmission line.   Transmission in which less important information is transmitted from the important information processing unit to the non-important information processing unit when less important information is transmitted to the important information processing unit of the control device via the high quality transmission path The information processing system according to claim 1, further comprising means. The first and second processing units monitor the health of each other and detect the abnormality,
When an abnormality is detected in one of the first processing unit and the second processing unit, the other processing unit that is healthy processes both high and low importance information. The information processing system according to claim 1 or 2. An information processing method for processing highly important information and low information by a control device and a controlled device, wherein an important information processing unit on the control device side has high importance information, and an unimportant information processing unit has importance Each of the low information is processed, the first processing unit on the controlled device side processes at least high importance information, and the second processing unit processes at least low importance information, and the information transmission is highly reliable. In an information processing method for transmitting high-priority information on a high-quality transmission line and transmitting low-importance information on a low-quality transmission line that is less reliable with respect to information transmission than the high-quality transmission line,
A composite processing step in which at least one of the first and second processing units on the controlled device side processes both high-priority information and low-information, and
An information processing method comprising: a composite transmission step for transmitting both high importance information and low information through the high quality transmission path. A monitoring step in which the first processing unit and the second processing unit monitor each other's soundness and detect abnormality thereof;
The other processing unit that is healthy performs the composite processing step when an abnormality is detected in any one of the first processing unit and the second processing unit. 5. The information processing method according to 4. In the control device, the important information processing unit processes high importance information, the non-important information processing unit processes low importance information, and in the controlled device, the first processing unit processes at least high importance information. The second processing unit processes at least information of low importance, transmits information of high importance on a high-quality transmission line with high reliability regarding information transmission, and relates to information transmission compared to the high-quality transmission line. In an information processing program used to transmit information of low importance on a low-quality transmission line with low reliability,
A function in which at least one of the first and second processing units on the controlled device side processes both high importance information and low information;
A function of transmitting both high and low importance information by the high quality transmission path;
An information processing program for causing a computer to realize the above. A function for the first processing unit and the second processing unit to monitor each other's health and detect an abnormality thereof;
When an abnormality is detected in one of the first processing unit and the second processing unit, the other processing unit that is healthy processes both high and low importance information. function,
7. The information processing program according to claim 6, wherein the information processing program is implemented on a computer. A control station that is a master station and a controlled station that is a slave station controlled by the control station are provided, and power equipment that is a target of monitoring control and maintenance support is connected to the controlled station, and the control This is a remote monitoring and control device for power equipment that exchanges monitoring control information related to power equipment as information of high importance between the power station and the controlled place, and exchanges maintenance support information related to power equipment as information of low importance. And
The control station side is provided with a remote monitoring master station device that processes the monitoring control information, and a maintenance support master station device that processes the maintenance support information,
The first and second processing units according to any one of claims 1 to 3 are provided on the controlled station side in order to process the monitoring control information or the maintenance support information or both,
On the lower side of the processing unit, an input / output unit for exchanging information with the power device is provided,
A distant monitoring and control apparatus, wherein the high-quality transmission line and the low-quality transmission line according to any one of claims 1 to 3 are provided on an upper side of the processing unit.   When the maintenance support information is transmitted to the remote monitoring master station device via the high-quality transmission path, a transmission means for sending the maintenance support information from the remote monitoring master station device to the maintenance support master station device The remote monitoring control device according to claim 8, wherein the remote monitoring control device is provided.

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