JPH11351560A - Combustion controller data collecting system, remote monitor and combustion controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To collect a data, e.g. combustion record or alarm record, from combustion controllers efficiently and remotely at a low cost in a shorter time. SOLUTION: A remote monitor 1 delivers a data collect instruction to a combustion controller 2 using E-mail on network 3. The combustion controller 2 monitors reception of E-mail and collects requested data upon receiving E-mail of data collect instruction to form an E-mail automatically. E-mail of collected data document is transmitted to a requesting remote monitor 1 or a designated address. The remote monitor 1 stores the data received by E-mail and manages the stored data. When a data can not collected by E-mail, data is collected a preliminary communication means, e.g. telephone line.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a combustion control device data collection system for collecting maintenance data from a combustion control device of a combustion device such as a boiler.

[0002] Since high safety is required for a combustion system, a system is adopted in which a maintenance company having generally high maintenance technology intensively maintains a combustion system provided on the market. In order to make this maintenance system practical, it is necessary to establish a technology that enables efficient remote collection of data on combustion control of the combustion system.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art In a combustion control device, since an accident caused by combustion may cause serious damage, the combustion system is maintained, and data such as operation history is managed in operating the combustion system. It is essential.

FIG. 10 shows an example of a conventional remote monitoring system for combustion control equipment. The remote monitoring device 10 is a device that is installed in, for example, a maintenance company and collects and manages operation history data and the like of the combustion control device. Combustion control device 20
-1, 20-2,... Are devices for controlling the combustion equipment installed at the customer site.

Conventionally, when the remote monitoring device 10 remotely collects various data of the combustion control devices 20-1, 20-2,..., Via the general public telephone line network 30, 1, 20-2,... Are individually connected, and after the connection is established, data is collected by data communication, and then the telephone line is disconnected. In particular, when collecting data from a plurality of sites, for example, a line is connected to the combustion control device 20-1, data is collected from the combustion control device 20-1, and the telephone line is disconnected after collection. It is necessary to perform processing such as connecting to the combustion control device 20-2, collecting data from the combustion control device 20-2, disconnecting the telephone line after the collection, and so on for the number of combustion control devices to be monitored. was there.

[0006]

According to the above prior art, there is a problem that the combustion control data of the combustion system cannot be efficiently collected.

Specifically, for example, the telephone line is not connected because the reliability of the telephone line is not sufficiently high, or the telephone line is not connected because the telephone line is congested. There is a problem that it becomes impossible to collect the data.

Further, since it is necessary to connect the remote monitoring device and each combustion system with a telephone line one by one, for example, when one remote monitoring device monitors 500 combustion systems, 1 There is a problem in that 500 line connections are required for one data collection, and it takes a lot of time and cost for the line connection.

In general, a remote monitoring device often monitors a plurality of combustion systems in a wide area, for example, monitoring a combustion system in the entire Kanto area. Since one telephone line must be connected, a troublesome procedure must be performed, and the line connection cost increases.

[0010] This cost problem is exacerbated when either the combustion system or the remote monitoring device is deployed overseas. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and has been made in view of the above circumstances. The purpose is to provide a system.

[0011]

FIG. 1 shows the principle configuration of the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a remote monitoring device that collects and manages operation history data of a combustion control device, 2 is a combustion control device that controls a combustion device such as a boiler, 3 is a network such as the Internet, 4 is an electronic mail transmission / reception function. Represents a mail server that provides.

The remote monitoring device 1 includes a data collection requesting unit 11 for sending a data collection command to the combustion control device 2 using an electronic mail via the network 3, and an electronic mail from the combustion control device 2 addressed to the own device. There is an electronic mail monitoring means 12 for monitoring the presence / absence of data, and a collected data receiving means 13 for collecting data notified by the electronic mail when there is an electronic mail from the combustion control device 2 to the own device.

The electronic mail transmitting / receiving means 14 is a means for transmitting / receiving electronic mail to / from the mail server 4 according to a predetermined protocol. The preliminary communication unit 15 is a communication unit for data collection using a public telephone line network or the like used when data collection by electronic mail has failed. The management information storage device 16 stores the collected data
Is a device that stores the data collected by for example, for creating a daily report or a monthly report.

The mail server 4 has a function of transferring an e-mail to a specified e-mail address via the network 3 and a function of transferring an e-mail received via the network 3 to a mailbox corresponding to the specified e-mail address. 41, and has a function of transferring an e-mail in the mailbox 41 in response to an e-mail read request from a terminal having the e-mail address.

The combustion control device 2 has an electronic mail monitoring means 21 for periodically monitoring the presence or absence of an electronic mail addressed to the own device from the remote monitoring device 1, and an electronic mail addressed to the own device from the remote monitoring device 1. In this case, an e-mail creating means 22 for creating an e-mail containing data on combustion control such as the combustion history data 26 specified by the e-mail, and the created e-mail in the remote monitoring device 1 or in the received e-mail And collected data transmitting means 23 for transmitting the data to the destination designated by the above.

The electronic mail transmitting / receiving means 24 is means for transmitting / receiving electronic mail to / from the mail server 4 according to a predetermined protocol. The preliminary communication unit 25 is a communication unit for transmitting collected data using a public telephone network or the like in response to a request from the remote monitoring device 1.

By collecting data using electronic mail, the remote monitoring device 1 uses a broadcast mail specifying a plurality of destinations of electronic mail even when collecting data from a large number of combustion control devices 2. As a result, it is possible to request all the combustion control devices 2 to collect data by one line connection. Also, when receiving the collected data, the reply mails stored in the mailbox 41 of the mail server 4 can be read out in a batch, so that a single line connection to the mail server 4 enables a large number of combustion control devices. 2 can be received.

The combustion control device 2 is a remote monitoring device 1
When the data collected in response to the request is transmitted to a management device other than the remote monitoring device 1, the same interface as that of the remote monitoring device 1 can be used simply by specifying the destination of the specified email by using the email. Can be easily sent.

In particular, the collected data receiving means 13 in the remote monitoring device 1 is provided with a means for resending the e-mail when the transmission of the e-mail fails or when there is no reply mail from the combustion control device 2 to the transmitted e-mail. This makes it possible to reliably receive the reply mail.

When data cannot be collected using e-mail, communication is performed with the combustion control device 2 using a one-to-one connection with the combustion control device 2 that has failed to collect data. The remote monitoring device 1 is provided with a standby communication unit 15 for executing
By providing the preliminary communication means 25 for performing data communication with each combustion control device 2, data collection can be made more reliable, and data collection in real time becomes possible.

[0021]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an outline of an embodiment of the present invention.

The remote monitoring device 1 may be a host computer installed in a maintenance company of the combustion control device 2 or a portable terminal that can be carried around by a maintenance person. The management terminal 6 is a terminal managed by an administrator (owner) of the combustion control device 2, and has a function of displaying a state of the combustion control device 2 and a function of receiving and displaying a daily report and a monthly report from the remote monitoring device 1. In the present embodiment, the Internet 31 is used as the network 3 shown in FIG.

The remote monitoring device 1 transmits a data request mail 51 describing a data collection command and a destination of the collected data to each combustion control device 2. The combustion control device 2 monitors the presence or absence of an e-mail, and upon receiving the data request mail 51, analyzes the contents thereof, collects data according to the described instruction, documents the data, and collects the data to collect data mail 52. And sends it back to the remote monitoring device 1.

If the destination of the collected data is not only the remote monitoring device 1 but also another destination,
The collected data mail 52 is sent to the destination (for example, the management terminal 6).
Send

FIG. 3 shows a configuration example of a remote monitoring device and a combustion control device. Remote monitoring device 1 and mail server 4-1
Means that communication is performed using the TCP / IP protocol. In addition, the time between the combustion control device 2 and the mail server 4-2 is also T
Communication is performed according to the CP / IP protocol, and these are connected via the Internet 31.

The monitoring control unit 101 in the remote monitoring device 1
Is a part that performs overall control of the remote monitoring device 1. The collected data management task 102 issues a data collection request,
This task accumulates and manages data collected from the combustion control device 2. The mail transmission task 103 is a task for transmitting a data request mail 51 addressed to the combustion control device 2 to the mail server 41-1 via the SMTP client 105. The SMTP client 105 uses the TC
This is a processing means for transferring mail according to SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol), which is one of the P / IP application protocols.

Further, the mail receiving task 104 includes a POP
The task is to monitor the mail server 4-1 via the client 106 to see if there is any mail addressed to itself, read the mail if there is one, and notify the collected data management task 102. The POP client 106 is a processing unit that reads mail from the mail server 4-1 in accordance with POP (Post Office Protocol), which is a protocol for receiving an electronic mail that has arrived at the mail server 4-1.

The data collection request means 11 shown in FIG. 1 is realized by a collected data management task 102 and a mail transmission task 103, the e-mail monitoring means 12 is realized by a mail reception task 104, and the collected data reception means 13 Is realized by the mail receiving task 104 and the collected data management task 102.

The combustion equipment control unit 2 in the combustion control equipment 2
Reference numeral 01 denotes a portion that controls the entire combustion control device 2, and controls a combustion device (not shown) and monitors a combustion control state based on inputs from various sensors. The data collection task 202 is a task that collects instructed data in response to a data collection request from the remote monitoring device 1, creates a collected data mail 52, and sends it back to the remote monitoring device 1. The mail receiving task 204 is a task that monitors whether or not there is a mail addressed to the own device in the mail server 4-2 via the POP client 206, reads the mail, if any, and notifies the data collection task 202.
The mail transmission task 203 is the SMTP client 20
5 is a task of returning a collected data mail 52 addressed to the remote monitoring device 1 to the mail server 41-2 via the remote server 5.

[0030] SMTP client 205 and POP
Each of the clients 206 is the SM of the remote monitoring device 1.
TP client 105 and POP client 10
6 has the same functions as those of the sixth embodiment, but the technique of sending and receiving mail using these functions is well known, so that a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a connection form from the remote monitoring device to the combustion control device. FIG. 4A is an example in which the mail servers 4-1 and 4-2 of the provider that provides the connection service to the Internet 31 are used, and between the remote monitoring device 1 and the mail server 4-1 of the provider. In this example, PPP (Point-to-Point Protocol) is connected between the combustion control device 2 and the mail server 4-2 of the provider by a dial-up connection using a general telephone line.

FIG. 4 (B) shows an example of an LA network such as an intranet.
This is an example of a connection configuration in which the remote monitoring device 1 and the combustion control device 2 can transmit and receive e-mail via the mail servers 4-1 and 4-2 connected to the N / dedicated lines 71 and 72, respectively. . In addition, a composite type of the connection form as shown in FIG. 4A and the connection form as shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the auxiliary communication means 15, 2 shown in FIG.
5 is shown. In the communication by e-mail using the Internet, especially when the e-mail is transferred to a remote place, a bypass route is automatically selected for a communication failure on the way, so that it is relatively resistant to the failure. However, when a failure occurs in the mail server, there may be a case where communication by e-mail cannot be performed. Therefore, communication means that does not use e-mail is prepared.

FIG. 5A shows an example in which data is directly collected by connecting to a modem on the other side via a telephone line, and is used in a field / monitoring environment where a telephone line and a modem are installed. When transmission / reception of e-mail fails, line connection processing is performed using an AT command, and data transmission / reception is performed using an original control communication protocol.

FIG. 5B shows an Ethernet (TCP / I)
P), the remote monitoring device 1 communicates with the other combustion control device 2 via Ethernet (TCP / IP).
Connect to and collect data. For example, when the remote monitoring device 1 and the combustion control device 2 are connected via an intranet or the like, the Ethernet cable is used as it is,
Both are directly connected by another protocol, and data is transmitted and received by data communication using a unique communication protocol for control.

The data communication by the one-to-one connection between the remote monitoring device 1 and the combustion control device 2 as shown in FIG. 5 is conventionally performed when the remote monitoring device 1 collects data from the combustion control device 2. Therefore, according to the present invention, the existing technology can be used as it is as a backup communication means.

FIG. 6 shows an example of the operation sequence. FIG.
(A) shows a basic operation of data collection in a normal state. When there is a data collection request to the combustion control device 2, the remote monitoring device 1 creates a data request mail specifying the request data, date, and transmission destination, and sends the data request mail to the combustion control device 2. In addition, it is also possible to transmit to a plurality of combustion control devices 2 at a time.

Upon receiving the data request mail, the combustion control device 2 analyzes the mail, collects requested data such as combustion history and alarm history, creates a reply mail, and sends the reply mail to a remote monitoring device. Send to 1. The remote monitoring device 1 receives the reply mail and completes the data collection.

FIG. 6B shows an operation example in the case where a reply mail cannot be received reliably for some reason. When there is a data collection request to the combustion control device 2, the remote monitoring device 1 creates and sends a data request mail to the combustion control device 2.

It is assumed that transmission has failed somewhere on the network and a transmission failure notification has been returned from the mail server. At this time, the remote monitoring device 1 transmits the data request mail again. If a plurality of mail servers can be used, when resending the data request mail, it is desirable to select a mail server different from the first mail server and send the data request mail.

Similarly, in the case of sending a reply mail from the combustion control device 2, if the sending fails, the mail is resent. If it is determined that a reception confirmation notification mail is transmitted / received in response to the data request mail or the reply mail, the retry is similarly performed when transmission of the reception confirmation notification mail fails.

FIG. 6C shows an operation example when transmission completion cannot be confirmed. When there is a data collection request to the combustion control device 2, the remote monitoring device 1 creates and sends a data request mail to the combustion control device 2.

It is assumed that transmission has failed somewhere on the network, and a transmission failure notification has been returned from the mail server. At this time, the remote monitoring device 1 transmits the data request mail again.

In response to the data request mail, if there is no mail transmission error notification and no response mail from the combustion control device 2 and a predetermined time-out setting time has elapsed, it is determined that a time-out error has occurred.

When a timeout occurs, a data collection request is sent to the combustion control device 2 using the spare communication means such as the telephone line described with reference to FIG. 5, and data is directly received from the combustion control device 2.

FIG. 7 shows that the remote monitoring device 1
5 is a flowchart when data is collected from a. In step S1, it is checked whether there is a data collection request, and if there is a request, the process proceeds to step S2. The data request is automatically issued when a preset date and time comes. Further, the operator can give an instruction by manual input.

In step S2, a request document list for data collection is attached and a transmission document is created. At this time, it is also possible to instruct a device other than the own device (for example, the management device 6 shown in FIG. 2) to send the collected data. In step S3, the electronic mail of the transmission document created in step S2 is automatically transmitted to the combustion control device 2.

In step S4, it is monitored for a predetermined time whether there is a reply mail from the combustion control device 2 in response to the data collection request.
The process proceeds to step S5, and if there is no reply mail even after the lapse of a predetermined time, or if there is an error notification of e-mail transmission, the process proceeds to step S7.

In step S5, data is extracted from the contents of the electronic mail received as the reply mail. next,
In step S6, the extracted data is stored in the combustion control device 2
Is stored as management information. Thereafter, the process returns to step S1, and the process is repeated in the same manner.

If there is no reply mail within a certain period of time after sending the e-mail, or if there is a transmission error notice, a predetermined number of retries, such as two or three, is performed in step S7. Check if you tried to resend. If the retransmission has not been performed for the predetermined number of retries, the electronic mail of the transmission document created in step S2 is retransmitted in step S8, and the arrival of a reply mail is waited in step S4.

If the reply mail is not received even after retrying the number of retries, the fact that there is no reply is recorded as log information in step S9, and then the telephone line or the like is used in step S10. And directly connected to the combustion control device 2 in one-to-one correspondence, and collects data by a collection method similar to the conventional method. Thereafter, in step S6, the collected data is stored as management information.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of data collection in the combustion control device 2. In step S21, it is checked whether there is a data request mail. If there is a data request mail, the process proceeds to step S22. If not,
Proceed to step S25.

In step S22, the data requested by the data request mail is collected, and in step S23, a reply document containing the collected data is automatically generated. In step S24, the reply document is automatically transmitted to the remote monitoring device 1 as a reply mail. If another destination is specified in the data request mail, the mail is automatically transmitted to the destination.

In step S25, it is checked whether there is a data request through a one-to-one connection telephone line. If there is a data request through a telephone line, the requested data is collected in step S26, and in step S27, Data is transmitted via a telephone line according to a predetermined protocol. When the transmission is completed, the telephone line is disconnected in step S28, and the process returns to step S21.

FIG. 9 shows an example of collected data in the combustion control device 2. FIG. 9A shows an example of the combustion history data, in which the high combustion time, the low combustion time, and OFF on June 1 are shown.
Information such as combustion time and operation time is collected. Based on these information, the remote monitoring device 1 creates a daily report or a monthly report. FIG. 9B shows an example of alarm trend information. For example, data as shown in FIG. 9B for every second from 19 seconds before the alarm generation time to the alarm generation time, which is stored in advance, is collected for investigating the cause of the alarm generation and taking countermeasures. It is transmitted to the monitoring device 1 by e-mail.

[0056]

As described above, according to the present invention,
By collecting daily report information and monthly report information such as operation history and alarm history of combustion control equipment by exchanging e-mail,
Eliminating the need for large-scale infrastructure such as a dedicated line is required, and simply installing a mail transmission / reception function such as the Internet makes it possible to easily collect combustion system data. In addition, even in a disaster or the like, the redundancy of the transmission path can be used, so that the data collection ability is improved.

Further, when requesting data collection from a large number of combustion control devices installed at each site, it is only necessary to send one e-mail by broadcast mail specifying a plurality of destinations of the combustion control devices. Even when a request is made to transmit data to a device other than the remote monitoring device, it is only necessary to send an e-mail describing its destination. The data collected is
Since all are stored in the mailbox, a large number of e-mails can be read at once when necessary, for example, by a single line connection to a mail server.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a principle configuration of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an outline of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a remote monitoring device and a combustion control device.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a connection form from a remote monitoring device to a combustion control device.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an implementation example of a standby communication unit.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of an operation sequence according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of the remote monitoring device when collecting data.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of data collection in the combustion control device.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of collected data.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a conventional remote monitoring system for a combustion control device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 remote monitoring device 11 data collection request means 12 e-mail monitoring means 13 collected data reception means 14 e-mail transmission / reception means 15 standby communication means 16 management information storage device 2 combustion control device 21 e-mail monitoring means 22 e-mail creation means 23 collected data Transmission means 24 E-mail transmission / reception means 25 Preliminary communication means 26 Combustion history data 3 Network 4 Mail server 41 Mailbox

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A combustion control device data collection system having a combustion control device for controlling a combustion device and a remote monitoring device for monitoring the combustion control device, wherein the remote monitoring device uses an electronic mail via a network. A data collection request unit for sending a data collection command to the combustion control device, and an electronic mail monitoring unit for monitoring the presence or absence of an electronic mail addressed to the own device from the combustion control device; A collection data receiving unit that collects data notified by the e-mail when the e-mail is received, wherein the combustion control device monitors presence / absence of an e-mail addressed to the own device from the remote monitoring device. An e-mail monitoring unit that performs an e-mail addressed to the own device from the remote monitoring device. E-mail creating means for creating an e-mail having data as the data, and collected data transmitting means for transmitting the created e-mail to the remote monitoring device or a destination designated in the received e-mail. Combustion control equipment data collection system. 2. A remote monitoring device in a combustion control device data collection system having a combustion control device for controlling a combustion device and a remote monitoring device for monitoring the combustion control device, wherein the remote control device uses electronic mail via a network. A data collection request unit for sending a data collection command to the combustion control device, and an electronic mail monitoring unit for monitoring the presence or absence of an electronic mail addressed to the own device from the combustion control device; And a collected data receiving means for collecting data notified by the e-mail when the e-mail is received. 3. The remote monitoring device according to claim 2, further comprising: means for resending the electronic mail when transmission of the electronic mail has failed or when there is no reply mail from the combustion control device for the transmitted electronic mail. A remote monitoring device. 4. The remote monitoring device according to claim 2, wherein when data cannot be collected using the e-mail, one pair with the combustion control device that cannot collect the data. A remote monitoring device comprising means for performing data collection by performing communication using connection means by one connection. 5. A combustion control device in a combustion control device data collection system, comprising: a combustion control device for controlling a combustion device; and a remote monitoring device for monitoring the combustion control device, wherein the self-device from the remote monitoring device is provided. An e-mail monitoring means for monitoring the presence or absence of an e-mail addressed to the e-mail, and an e-mail containing data on combustion control instructed by the e-mail when the e-mail is sent from the remote monitoring device to the own device. A combustion control device comprising: an e-mail creating unit that transmits the e-mail to the remote monitoring device or a destination specified in the received e-mail. 6. The combustion control device according to claim 5, wherein, when a data collection request is received from the remote monitoring device by a one-to-one connection unit, the requested combustion is performed by communication using the connection unit. A combustion control device comprising a data transmission unit for transmitting data relating to control.