JPH11219214A - Industrial network computer and measurement information monitor device using same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily control, monitor, analyze, diagnose and maintain, etc., equipment by way of a network by executing control so as to permit connected equipment to be functioned as an independent and intelligent node on the network. SOLUTION: An industrial network computer is provided with two serial I/O (I/O stands for input/output) 1 and 2, digital I/O 3, an isolator 4, a network interface(network I/F) 5, a hardware timer 6, a watchdog timer 7, a shut-down switch 8, a central processing unit(CPU) 9, an internal memory 10, a compact flash disk 11 and a status display group 12. Then, a device is combined with the industrial network computer. Thus, the device is functioned as the independent and intelligent node on the network and various functions are realized by way of the network.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an industrial network computer for controlling devices in a network environment.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The rapid increase in performance and cost of computers and networks has been an initiating agent, and information processing and information utilization have been released from computer rooms, and have spread to offices and production sites at an explosive rate.

[0003]

By the way, in a situation where personal computers have become individual and a network has become commonplace, the computer system grows and changes more than the initial cost of system construction. Operating costs in the life cycle, including remodeling costs to respond quickly to system requirements to be made and training costs for operators, are greater.

[0004] Therefore, if there is an industrial network computer that can connect a lightly-equipped computer to a network and load and execute required application software at a required time, the above problem can be solved, which is very convenient. It is. When such a computer is used, a significant reduction in operating costs in addition to initial costs can be expected.

[0005] In addition, at the production site, the logistics site, and the site of social systems such as medical treatment, the sophistication, flexibility, and responsiveness to change of information processing and information utilization are required. The emergence of a new industrial network computer is desired.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, and has an interface for connection to equipment, which can be used for control, monitoring, diagnosis, maintenance, etc. of equipment, and in which the equipment is an independent intelligent node on a network. An object of the present invention is to provide an industrial network computer that functions and can perform various functions via a network. It is another object of the present invention to provide a measurement information monitoring device having a function of easily referencing measurement data on a network by combining with a measurement device having a general-purpose connection port.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the industrial network computer according to the first aspect of the present invention has an environment for executing and managing a Java application under a network environment. , So that the connected device can be controlled so as to function as an independent intelligent node on the network.

According to such a configuration, the connected device functions as an independent intelligent node on the network, and control, monitoring, diagnosis, maintenance, and the like of the device can be easily performed via the network.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a measurement information monitoring apparatus comprising: the industrial network computer according to the first aspect; a device connected to the industrial network computer; and a display terminal having a browser. The display terminal downloads an applet for displaying data from the industrial network computer, the applet communicates with the industrial network computer at a predetermined cycle, and obtains measurement numerical information obtained from the measuring device. It is characterized in that it can be displayed on a browser in real time.

According to such a configuration, data measured by the device can be easily referred to on the network.

[0011]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an industrial network computer according to the present invention. In addition, FIG.
FIG. 2 is a diagram of the front panel.

The industrial network computer of the present invention is for connecting a device such as a measuring device to an information system. By combining the device with the industrial network computer of the present invention, the device becomes independent and intelligent on a network. It functions as a node and can realize various functions via a network.

An industrial network computer having such a function includes two serial I / Os (I / O is an abbreviation of input / output) 1 and 2, a digital I / O 3, an isolator 4, a network interface (hereinafter referred to as a network I / O). / F), a hardware timer 6, a watchdog timer 7, a shutdown switch 8, a central processing unit (hereinafter referred to as a CPU) 9, an internal memory 10, a compact flash disk 11, and a status display group 12.

The serial I / O1 is a communication standard RS232-
C is a serial port for performing communication by C, and the serial I / O2 is a communication standard RS232-C, RS-42.
2, a serial port for performing communication by RS-485.

As the digital I / O 3, there are two inputs and two outputs of a digital I / O insulated from a motherboard (not shown) on which the CPU 9 and the like are mounted, and four inputs and four outputs are non-insulated. There are points. The insulation is realized by an isolator 4 using a photocoupler or the like.

The network I / F 5 is, for example, a TCP
It is for communicating with an external system by the / IP protocol, and is an I / F of 10BaseT Ethernet (registered trademark of US XEROX). This I / F can be used from a real-time application or a Java (registered trademark of Sun Microsystems, USA) application.

The hardware timer 6 is a timer that operates independently of the CPU 9, and realizes an interrupt timer that operates in mSec units for real-time applications and a fixed-period timer that does not cause an error even in long-term operation. .

The watchdog timer 7 detects any abnormality in the main body of the CPU 9 or the system when the abnormality occurs. When it is detected, for example, the lamp is turned on, and an abnormality is notified to an external alarm device (not shown). If possible, the system can be shut down.

The shutdown switch 8 is a switch for stopping the system. The system can be shut down not only from the switch 8 but also from the network.

The CPU 9 having the internal memory 10 executes a program, controls each unit connected to the bus 13 as needed, and performs data transfer and appropriate processing.

The compact flash disk 11 is a writable static disk, and stores system software and configuration information of the industrial network computer.

The status display group 12 includes a display of an operation state and an operation mode, an abnormality display of a CPU and software, and includes the following status displays shown in FIG. RDY Indicates that the system is in operation. ERR Lights up when a fatal error occurs. MNT Lights up when maintenance is in progress. POE Lights up when shutdown is completed. Lights when in a typical state

The front panel is provided with a minimum required display mechanism and operation mechanism as shown in FIG. That is, the display group 1 for status display is displayed in the upper area of the panel.
In the other area, there are connectors for each I / O (FIG. 1).
, The same reference numerals as those of I / O), a slit 11a and a button 11b for mounting a disk, a shutdown switch 8, a connector 14 for inputting DC power, a lamp indicating a power supply state, and a lamp indicating a disk operating state. DISK and an application end button APTM are provided.

The industrial network computer of the present invention configured as described above is provided with a Java execution environment JEROS abstract device environment (hereinafter referred to as JADE) as a standard, and is used for applications running on the industrial network computer. Perform multitasking management. Then, the application performs a process by using a change of the digital I / O3 or an external communication as a trigger, and JADE realizes this by an event driven model.

This industrial network computer is:
Rather than collecting field data directly, the data is collected via a control / monitoring device installed in the field. Therefore, it has real-time functions such as control and monitoring of devices and fields, and interface functions with information systems.

The real-time function is a real-time OS (O
S is an operating system), and the interface function with the information system is created by Java.

JADE is a multi-task management system for applications.
The process is triggered by a change in data or external communication. JADE achieves this with an event-driven model.

It should be noted that the Java application on JADE is called a duolet here. There are two types of duolets: application duolets and device duolets. The event source is modeled as a device duolet, and equipment connected to a physical device (measurement target) is defined as a logical object.

The device duolet notifies the application duolet of a communication or signal generated from the device as an event such as completion of processing of the application or a current value. The application duolet responds to the event notification from the device duolet.
Instruct the duolet to perform the next process or process the received data.

In the device duolet, not only I / O with physical equipment but also a logical event source can be defined. In addition, exposing logical or physical resources to an application without performing event notification can also be defined as a device duolet. In addition, network communication and error logging services, etc.
Can be defined as a duolet.

The industrial network computer supports a small WWW server function for using a browser as a man-machine function, and this WWW server is used to supply an applet on the compact flash disk 11 to the browser. Is done.

The following operations including maintenance are performed via a network by eliminating the man-machine function attached to the device. Download application Start and stop application Record system log information Restart system Display information in browser

Such an industrial network computer also has the following features. Since it is composed of small parts and consumes low power, it is housed in a small and lightweight housing. Because there is no mechanical hard disk or fan for air cooling, the vibration resistance of the hardware has been improved. The structure is such that heat generated by the CPU is directly radiated from the housing without using an air-cooling fan. Since dust is not sucked into the housing, a failure due to dust can be prevented beforehand, and the dust-proofing property is excellent. Because it does not circulate air, it is also suitable for use in environments such as clean rooms.

Next, an apparatus using an industrial network computer according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 3, 4, and 5. FIG. This embodiment is an example of a system that displays measured numerical information of a device on a browser in real time.

The measuring equipment 30 to which the measuring object 20 is connected and the industrial network computer 40 communicate with the communication standard RS232.
It is connected by serial communication, etc., and collects the latest data from measuring instruments at regular intervals. Note that a plurality of measuring devices 3
The industrial network computers 40 (each of which is indicated by the same reference numeral 40) are connected to a display terminal 60 such as a personal computer via a network 50. ing.

The browser (for example, Internet Explorer (registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation) 61) mounted on the display terminal 60 converts the HTML file into a general-purpose WWW server 70.
(See FIG. 4) and display the screen. When the browser finds a description for downloading an applet (display component) for data display from the industrial network computer 40 on this HTML, the browser downloads the applet for data display from the industrial network computer 40.

When downloaded, the display terminal 60 performs communication (data request, data transmission) with the industrial network computer 40 at regular intervals based on the applet.
The latest data is displayed on the browser. FIG. 4 shows the flow of such communication.

FIG. 5 is a display example in which measurement data is displayed on a browser by an applet (display component). The applet stored on the flash disk 11 of the industrial network computer 40 also includes various display components such as digital display of measurement data, barcode display, and trend display. , Alarm status information, and the like.

Further, names can be designated for these various applets, and the designation can be performed on the display side (browser side). Furthermore, the user can use the information reference function by mounting the communication procedure part with the measuring device on the industrial network computer,
Data of any measuring device can be referenced from the browser. It should be noted that the same interface can be accessed from the browser regardless of the type of the connected device.

The foregoing description merely illustrates certain preferred embodiments for purposes of explanation and illustration of the invention. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments,
Many changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

For example, an industrial network computer can have a mail transmission / reception function that enables transmission / reception of Internet-based mail from a duolet. In this case, sending mail is SMTP protocol and receiving mail is
Implemented as a JADE device duolet using the POP3 protocol.

Also, an industrial network computer
It can also have an FTP client function. Using JADE network messages for sending and receiving finite length data,
When exchanging large data with external systems, you can use the FTP client function to transfer files.

Further, by connecting a modem (MODEM) to a serial port of an industrial network computer, communication by TCP / IP can be performed via a public line. It can support both client and server modes of PPP operation.

[0044]

As described above, according to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained. According to the invention described in claim 1,
Devices function as independent intelligent nodes on the network, and can perform various functions via the network.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the operation switch on the front panel is only a switch for stopping the system, and all operations including maintenance are performed via the network. Network computer can be realized.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, an industrial network computer having high reliability and maintainability can be realized.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, processing related to hardware and processing requiring high real-time properties are handled by the real-time subsystem, and Java applications are handled by the Java subsystem. Therefore, efficient processing is guaranteed.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, a server function is provided, and an applet on a compact flash disk can be easily supplied to a browser.

According to the inventions described in claims 6 to 8, there is an effect that support for application creation on JADE can be expected.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, there is an effect that measurement data measured by an apparatus can be easily referred to on a network.

According to the tenth and eleventh aspects of the present invention,
The applets at various places provided in the industrial network computer enable the display terminal to display measurement data, units, alarms, and the like in various formats.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an embodiment of an industrial network computer according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front panel view.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing one embodiment of a measurement information monitoring device according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a signal flow.

FIG. 5 is a display example of measurement data on a browser by an applet.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 2 Serial I / O 3 Digital I / O 4 Isolator 5 Network I / F 6 Hardware Timer 7 Watchdog Timer 8 Shutdown Switch 9 CPU 10 Internal Memory 11 Compact Flash Disk 11a Disk Mounting Slit 11b Disk Mounting Button 12 Status display group 13 Bus 14 DC power input connector 20 Measurement target 30 Measurement device 40 Industrial network computer 50 Network 60 Display terminal 61 Browser 70 General-purpose WWW server

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. An environment for executing and managing a Java application in a network environment, wherein a connected device can be controlled to function as an independent intelligent node on a network. Features industrial network computers. 2. A front panel is provided with a status information display mechanism, a connector for connecting to the equipment and the network, and a switch for manually stopping the system, for maintenance, downloading of the application, and starting of the application. 2. The industrial network computer according to claim 1, wherein any or all of the operations of stopping and recording, recording system log information, restarting the system, and displaying information are performed via a network. 3. The industrial network computer according to claim 1, further comprising a watchdog timer for detecting an abnormality of the main body or the system, and a timer having a predetermined cycle. 4. The industrial network computer according to claim 1, wherein the environment for performing the execution management comprises a real-time subsystem and a Java subsystem. 5. The industrial network computer according to claim 1, wherein the environment for performing the execution management includes a server function for using a browser as a man-machine function. 6. The industrial network computer according to claim 1, wherein the environment for performing the execution management includes an Internet-based mail transmission / reception function. 7. The industrial network computer according to claim 1, wherein the environment for performing the execution management has an FTP client function for transmitting and receiving finite length data. 8. A communication device comprising a serial port, and connecting a modem to the serial port to transmit a TCP over a public line.
2. The industrial network computer according to claim 1, wherein the computer is configured to be able to perform communication by / IP. 9. A measuring device capable of collecting physical data from a measuring object and an environment for executing and managing a Java application under a network environment, wherein the measuring device connected by serial communication is connected to the network via a network. An industrial network computer that can be controlled to function as an independent intelligent node; and a display terminal connected to the network and having a browser, the display terminal for displaying data from the industrial network computer. An applet is downloaded, the applet communicates with the industrial network computer at a predetermined cycle, and numerical value information obtained from the measuring device can be displayed on a browser in real time. Measurement information monitoring device. 10. The measurement information monitor according to claim 9, wherein in the display terminal, digital display, bar code display, trend display, and designation of a numerical value information can be performed by the applet. apparatus. 11. The measurement information monitoring device according to claim 9, wherein the display terminal displays the measurement value, unit, and alarm status information of the measurement numerical information by the applet.