JP2014153827A - Engineering device and engineering method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an engineering device and an engineering method capable of rapidly performing troubleshooting at a site and improving engineering efficiency.SOLUTION: The engineering device comprises: a database 11 for storing cause information indicating known causes of communication trouble of a device; a communication log information acquisition unit 13 for acquiring a communication message concerning the device, flowing on a network; a trouble detection unit 14 for comparing the acquired communication message with corresponding engineering information, and detecting communication trouble of the device; a cause identification unit 15 for, when communication trouble is detected, identifying a cause of the communication trouble on the basis of the cause information accumulated in the database 11; and an engineering information correction unit 17 for, on the basis of the identified cause, correcting corresponding engineering information.

Description

  The present invention relates to an engineering apparatus and an engineering method for performing troubleshooting using a communication message flowing on a network.

  As a monitoring system that monitors and controls multiple field control devices in a building, using different open networks such as BACnet (Building Automation and Control networking protocol), different manufacturers such as air conditioning equipment, lighting equipment, electrical equipment, and disaster prevention equipment Multi-vendor compatible systems that connect these systems and perform monitoring and control have become widespread.

In constructing a monitoring system that supports this BACnet, it has become established in Japan as a CSV format file in which the object information of the control device according to the BACnet specification is separated from each vendor in advance by an engineering device. doing. Then, based on the CSV file (object file) obtained by the engineering device, a JOB file (engineering information) in which management information such as control device information managed by the monitoring device, monitoring point information, and object information is recorded is created. Further, the engineering device creates an operation file for operating the host controller managed by the monitoring device based on the created JOB file, and downloads the file to the corresponding host controller via the BACnet.
In addition to the above, there is a device connection of another company not via a CSV file. For example, online engineering is the mainstream for connecting devices of other companies overseas (overseas vendors).

  In addition, for example, in the engineering device according to Patent Document 1, a CSV file of another company is read, supplemented to start up in the company's system, and downloaded to the company's device, so that the connection before connecting the actual device Checking the operation.

On the other hand, when a communication trouble occurs with another company's device in the field, the other company's device does not exist in the company's own test environment, so a reproduction test using the other company's device cannot be performed in the company.
Therefore, conventionally, communication log information between another device and the monitoring device is obtained and investigated, and the cause analysis is performed using the company device.

JP 2009-295090 A

  However, when analyzing communication troubles with devices of other companies in the field using the company's own device using communication log information, it is less efficient than the cause analysis of communication troubles between company devices, and it takes time to investigate the cause. There are challenges.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an engineering apparatus and an engineering method for quickly troubleshooting on-site and improving engine efficiency.

  The engineering apparatus according to the present invention is acquired by a database that accumulates cause information indicating a known cause of a communication trouble of a device, a communication message acquisition unit that acquires a communication message regarding a device flowing on a network, and a communication message acquisition unit. When a communication trouble is detected by the trouble detection unit and a trouble detection unit that detects communication trouble of the device by comparing the communication message and the corresponding engineering information, based on the cause information accumulated in the database, A cause identifying unit that identifies the cause of the communication trouble and an engine information modifying unit that modifies the corresponding engineering information based on the cause identified by the cause identifying unit.

  The engineering apparatus according to the present invention includes a database that accumulates cause information indicating a known cause of a communication trouble of a device, a communication message acquisition unit that acquires a communication message about a device that flows on a network, and a communication message acquisition unit. Based on the cause information accumulated in the database when a communication trouble is detected by the trouble detection unit and the trouble detection unit that detects the communication trouble of the device by comparing the acquired communication message with the corresponding engineering information The cause identifying unit for identifying the cause of the communication trouble, the device / engine information selecting unit for selecting the device to be corrected and the engineering information based on the detection result of the communication trouble by the trouble detecting unit, and the cause identifying unit Identified cause and device Based on the device and engineering information selected by the engineering information selection unit, a communication message creating unit that creates a communication message for correcting the engineering information while the device is online, and device / engine information selection A communication message transmission unit that transmits the communication message created by the communication message creation unit to the device selected by the unit.

  Further, the engineering method according to the present invention compares a communication message acquisition step of acquiring a communication message regarding a device flowing on a network with the engineering information corresponding to the communication message acquired in the communication message acquisition step, thereby communicating the device. Trouble detection step for detecting a trouble, and when a communication trouble is detected in the trouble detection step, the cause of the communication trouble is identified based on cause information indicating a known cause of the communication trouble of the device accumulated in the database A cause identifying step and an engine information modifying step for modifying the corresponding engineering information based on the cause identified in the cause identifying step.

  Further, the engineering method according to the present invention compares a communication message acquisition step of acquiring a communication message regarding a device flowing on a network with the engineering information corresponding to the communication message acquired in the communication message acquisition step, thereby communicating the device. Trouble detection step for detecting a trouble, and when a communication trouble is detected in the trouble detection step, the cause of the communication trouble is identified based on cause information indicating a known cause of the communication trouble of the device accumulated in the database Based on the cause detection step and the communication trouble detection result in the trouble detection step, the device / engine information selection step for selecting the device to be corrected and the engineering information, and the cause identification step Based on the cause and the device and engineering information selected in the device / engine information selection step, a communication message creating step for creating a communication message for correcting the engineering information while the device is online; A communication message transmission step of transmitting the communication message created in the communication message creation step to the device selected in the information selection step.

  According to this invention, since it comprised as mentioned above, on-site troubleshooting can be performed rapidly and engine efficiency improvement can be aimed at.

It is a figure which shows the whole structure of the monitoring system to which the engineering apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention was applied. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the engineering apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the troubleshooting operation | movement by the engineering apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the engineering apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
Embodiment 1 FIG.
1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a monitoring system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, and shows a case where a BACnet is used as a communication network.
As shown in FIG. 1, the monitoring system includes an engineering device 1, a monitoring device 2, a display device 3, a plurality of host controllers 4, and the like.

  The engineering device 1 constructs a monitoring system corresponding to BACnet. When the engineering device 1 constructs a system, the attributes of the upper controller 4 that performs monitoring and control by the monitoring device 2 in accordance with the BACnet standard, the lower controller (not shown), and the object of the field control device (control device) A CSV file (object file) in CSV format describing information is created. Based on the CSV file, a JOB file (engineering information) in which management information such as system configuration information and I / O information is recorded is created. Further, the engineering device 1 creates an operation file for operating each host controller 4 based on the created JOB file, and downloads the file to the corresponding host controller 4 via the BACnet.

  The monitoring device 2 monitors and controls a plurality of host controllers 4 connected via the BACnet. The monitoring / control information by the monitoring device 2 is displayed on the display device 3.

The host controller 4 monitors and controls a plurality of lower controllers connected via the lower network according to the control by the monitoring device 2. The host controller 4 operates based on the operation file downloaded from the engineering device 1. The host controller 4 has object information including information such as settings of field control devices connected to the lower network.
Note that the host controller 4 may be configured to be connected to the BACnet via a BACnet router.

Next, a configuration related to troubleshooting of the engineering apparatus 1 will be described. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the engineering apparatus 1 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 2, the engineering device 1 includes a database 11, a communication log generation unit 12, a communication log information acquisition unit (communication message acquisition unit) 13, a trouble detection unit 14, a cause identification unit 15, a display unit 16, and engine information. A correction unit 17 is provided.

  The database 11 stores information (cause information) indicating a known cause of communication trouble of the host controller 4. The cause information includes, for example, information about the cause of communication trouble and past cases for each vendor or device (for example, an unexpected setting different from the setting of engineering information in a certain host controller 4). Information).

The communication logging unit 12 logs communication messages between the monitoring device 2 and the host controller 4 that flow on the BACnet, and holds them as communication log information.
The communication log information acquisition unit 13 acquires communication log information held in the communication log generation unit 12.

  The trouble detection unit 14 detects a communication trouble of the host controller 4 by comparing the communication log information acquired by the communication log information acquisition unit 13 with the corresponding engineering information held by the engineering device 1. It is.

  The cause identifying unit 15 identifies the cause of the communication trouble based on the cause information stored in the database 11 when a communication trouble is detected by the trouble detecting unit 14.

The display unit 16 presents information indicating the cause of the communication trouble specified by the cause specifying unit 15 to the user.
The engine information correcting unit 17 corrects the corresponding engineering information based on the cause of the communication trouble specified by the cause specifying unit 15.

Next, a troubleshooting operation by the engineering apparatus 1 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. This troubleshooting operation is assumed to be performed at the initial connection of the monitoring system.
Here, it is assumed that the host controllers 4a and 4b in the monitoring system shown in FIG. 1 are made by another company, the host controller 4a is manufactured by A company, and the host controller 4b is manufactured by B company.

  Further, when the system is operated and transmission / reception of a communication message is started between the monitoring device 2 and the host controllers 4a and 4b, the communication logging unit 12 logs this communication message and holds it as communication log information. . It is assumed that the BACnet standard mode is, for example, IEIEJ-G-0006: 2006.

  In the operation by the engineering device 1, as shown in FIG. 3, first, the communication log information acquisition unit 13 acquires the communication log information held in the communication log generation unit 12 (step ST1, communication message monitoring step).

  Next, the trouble detection unit 14 detects the communication trouble of the host controller 4 by comparing the communication log information acquired by the communication log information acquisition unit 13 with the corresponding engineering information held by the engineering device 1. (Step ST2, trouble detection step).

Here, examples of communication messages flowing on the network include those shown in the lower left frame of FIG. This communication message is a message for notifying the monitoring device 2 of the occurrence of an alarm from the host controller 4, and in the engineering information, the state change notification shown in (a) and the alarm occurrence notification shown in (b) (when the alarm occurred) 2 types of notifications are set to be performed. The monitoring device 2 displays an alarm by receiving these two types of messages.
On the other hand, in the example of FIG. 1, both notifications are made from the upper controller 4a manufactured by company A, but only one notification (state change notification) is sent from the upper controller 4b manufactured by company B. Note that it is determined that only one notification has been made by exceeding a predetermined time after the monitoring device 2 receives the one notification. In this case, in the monitoring apparatus 2, since both notifications are made from the upper controller 4a manufactured by the company A, the alarm can be displayed normally, but only one notification is issued from the upper controller 4b manufactured by the company B. There is no alarm display.

  Therefore, the trouble detection unit 14 compares the engineering information with the communication log information of the host controllers 4a and 4b with respect to the setting for notifying the occurrence of the alarm. In the case of the example in FIG. 1, the engineering information and the communication log information of the host controller 4a are not different, and thus are determined to be normal. On the other hand, since there is a difference between the engineering information and the communication log information of the host controller 4b, it is determined that the state is unexpected (communication trouble has occurred).

  Next, the cause identifying unit 15 identifies the cause of the communication trouble based on the cause information stored in the database 11 when the trouble detecting unit 14 detects a communication trouble of the host controller 4 (step ST3). , Cause identification step). Here, in the above example, the upper controller 4b manufactured by company B is set to perform only one type of notification (state change notification) when notifying the monitoring device 2 of the occurrence of an alarm, depending on past cases, or If it is known that the device is such a device, the cause of the current communication trouble can be identified by extracting this information from the database 11.

  Subsequently, the display unit 16 presents the cause of the communication trouble specified by the cause specifying unit 15 to the user (step ST4).

Next, the engine information correcting unit 17 corrects the corresponding engineering information based on the cause of the communication trouble specified by the cause specifying unit 15 (step ST5, engine information correcting step). Here, in the above example, regarding the upper controller 4b manufactured by Company B in the setting of engineering information, the alarm occurrence notification shown in the frame (b) of FIG. Modify the settings as not compatible with the service.
Thereafter, the engineering device 1 notifies the monitoring device 2 of the modification content of the engineering information. As a result, the monitoring device 2 can display an alarm by receiving one type of notification (state change notification) for the upper controller 4b manufactured by B company.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, communication log information between the monitoring device 2 and another device (the host controller 4) and the setting of the engineering tool (engineering information) in consideration of the cause of the known communication trouble ) Is automatically checked, it is possible to quickly troubleshoot the site and improve engine efficiency.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
In the first embodiment, the case where offline engineering is performed in the engine information correction unit 17 of the engineering device 1 has been described. On the other hand, Embodiment 2 shows a case where online engineering is performed in the engineering device 1. Here, online engineering refers to correcting engineering information with a communication message while the device (the host controller 4) is in an online state.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the engineering apparatus 1 according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. The engineering device 1 according to the second embodiment shown in FIG. 4 deletes the engine information correction unit 17 from the engineering device 1 according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. A unit 19 and a communication message transmission unit 20 are added. Other configurations are the same, and the same reference numerals are given and description thereof is omitted.

  The device / engine information selection unit 18 confirms the host controller 4 and the engineering information in which the communication trouble has occurred based on the detection result of the communication trouble by the trouble detection unit 14 and selects the host controller 4 and the engineering information to be corrected. Is.

  Based on the cause of the communication trouble identified by the cause identifying unit 15 and the upper controller 4 and engineering information selected by the device / engine information selecting unit 18, the communication message creating unit 19 The communication message for correcting the engineering information is generated as it is.

The communication message transmission unit 20 transmits the communication message created by the communication message creation unit 19 to the host controller 4 selected by the device / engine information selection unit 18.
Then, the upper controller 4 to be corrected corrects the corresponding engineering information based on the communication message from the communication message transmission unit 20.

  The operations of the device / engine information selection unit 18, the communication message creation unit 19 and the communication message transmission unit 20 correspond to the device / engine information selection step, the communication message creation step and the communication message transmission step of the present invention, respectively. .

  As described above, according to the second embodiment, in consideration of the cause of a known communication trouble, communication log information between the monitoring device 2 and another device (higher-order controller 4) and the setting of the engineering tool (engineering information) ) Is automatically checked and engineering information is corrected online, it is possible to quickly perform on-site troubleshooting and improve engine efficiency.

  In the first and second embodiments, troubleshooting is shown when the host controller 4b is set to send only one notification (state change notification) to the monitoring device 2 when an alarm is generated. It was. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when a certain host controller 4 is set to notify an alarm to the monitoring device 2 when a state change occurs, the same applies. Is possible.

  In the first and second embodiments, the communication log information acquisition unit 13 is configured to monitor the communication log information held in the communication log generation unit 12. However, the present invention is not limited to this. A flowing communication message may be directly monitored.

  Further, the communication message flowing on the BACnet may be transmitted by broadcast, may be transmitted by unicast, or may be transmitted by global broadcast. In the case of a communication message transmitted by unicast, it is necessary to provide means (for example, a mirror port) that can receive the communication message in the engineering apparatus 1.

  In the first and second embodiments, the case where the BACnet is used as the open network has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and other open networks may be used. Moreover, you may make it use not only a single open network but a several open network.

  In the first and second embodiments, the case where the engineering apparatus 1 obtains object information as a CSV file and creates an operation file has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as in the form of B-AWS (BACnet Advanced Operator Workstation), the object information is directly held on the memory and the database of the monitoring device 2 and the engineering device 1 for engineering, The present invention can also be applied to the case of use for monitoring and control.

  In the present invention, within the scope of the invention, any combination of the embodiments, or any modification of any component in each embodiment, or omission of any component in each embodiment is possible. .

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Engineering apparatus 2 Monitoring apparatus 3 Display apparatus 4, 4a, 4b High-order controller 11 Database 12 Communication logging part 13 Communication log information acquisition part (communication message acquisition part)
14 Trouble detection unit 15 Cause identification unit 16 Display unit 17 Engine information correction unit 18 Device / engine information selection unit 19 Communication message creation unit 20 Communication message transmission unit

Claims (4)

In engineering equipment that holds engineering information of devices connected via a network,
A database for accumulating cause information indicating a known cause of communication trouble of the device;
A communication message acquisition unit for acquiring a communication message related to the device flowing on the network;
Comparing the communication message acquired by the communication message acquisition unit and the corresponding engineering information, a trouble detection unit for detecting a communication trouble of the device,
When a communication trouble is detected by the trouble detection unit, based on the cause information accumulated in the database, a cause identifying unit that identifies the cause of the communication trouble,
An engineering apparatus comprising: an engine information correcting unit that corrects the corresponding engineering information based on the cause specified by the cause specifying unit. In engineering equipment that holds engineering information of devices connected via a network,
A database for accumulating cause information indicating a known cause of communication trouble of the device;
A communication message acquisition unit for acquiring a communication message related to the device flowing on the network;
Comparing the communication message acquired by the communication message acquisition unit and the corresponding engineering information, a trouble detection unit for detecting a communication trouble of the device,
When a communication trouble is detected by the trouble detection unit, based on the cause information accumulated in the database, a cause identifying unit that identifies the cause of the communication trouble,
Based on the detection result of the communication trouble by the trouble detection unit, a device / engine information selection unit that selects the device to be corrected and the engineering information;
Based on the cause specified by the cause specifying unit and the device and engineering information selected by the device / engine information selection unit, a communication message is created for correcting the engineering information while the device is online. A communication message creation unit to
An engineering apparatus comprising: a communication message transmission unit that transmits a communication message created by the communication message creation unit to a device selected by the device / engine information selection unit. In an engineering method by an engineering device that holds engineering information of devices connected via a network,
A communication message obtaining step for obtaining a communication message related to the device flowing on the network;
A trouble detection step of detecting a communication trouble of the device by comparing the engineering message corresponding to the communication message acquired in the communication message acquisition step;
When a communication trouble is detected in the trouble detection step, based on cause information indicating a known cause of the communication trouble of the device accumulated in the database, a cause identifying step for identifying the cause of the communication trouble;
An engineering information correcting step of correcting the corresponding engineering information based on the cause specified in the cause specifying step. In an engineering method by an engineering device that holds engineering information of devices connected via a network,
A communication message obtaining step for obtaining a communication message related to the device flowing on the network;
A trouble detection step of detecting a communication trouble of the device by comparing the engineering message corresponding to the communication message acquired in the communication message acquisition step;
When a communication trouble is detected in the trouble detection step, based on cause information indicating a known cause of the communication trouble of the device accumulated in the database, a cause identifying step for identifying the cause of the communication trouble;
A device / engine information selection step for selecting the device to be corrected and the engineering information based on a communication trouble detection result in the trouble detection step;
Based on the cause specified in the cause specifying step and the device and engineering information selected in the device / engine information selection step, communication for creating a communication message for correcting the engineering information while being online in the device Message creation step;
An engineering method comprising: a communication message transmission step of transmitting the communication message created in the communication message creation step to the device selected in the device / engine information selection step.

Images