JP2002099326A - Method and apparatus for managing history of equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve such a problem that a history information on equipment acquired through a communication function and a history information acquired not through the communication function cannot be unitarily managed and it is difficult to know the status of the equipment. SOLUTION: The history information acquired through the communication function and the history information acquired not through the communication function are stored in the same history managing file and unitarily managed. Besides, an equipment ID for identifying the class of the history and the equipment as hardware and an equipment tag name for identifying the equipment in accordance with its functional role are added to such history information. The history information of all the pieces of the equipment can be totally managed and displayed. Further by this, maintenance schedule can be easily planned.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for managing the history of instrumentation equipment suitable for use in managing the history of instrumentation equipment existing in a plant, such as field equipment, and an apparatus therefor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in order to manage the history of a field device or the like, it has been usual to input maintenance information of the device offline. This is shown in FIG. In FIG. 3, information such as work contents and abnormal events in a field device 61 is written by a person 62 on a sheet 63 on the spot, and the sheet 63 is brought to a place where a maintenance management unit (personal computer) 64 is located, and manually input or scanned. This information was input using a. 65 is maintenance management information stored in the maintenance management unit 64.

Recently, field devices having a communication function corresponding to a field bus such as the Foundation Field Bus have become widespread. In these devices, a device that collects event information generated by a field device using an online function and manages the history of the event information has been used.

FIG. 4 shows an example of such an apparatus. In this figure, event information from a field device 71 is input to an FCS (Field Control Station) 72. F
The CS 72 is a station that receives a process signal from the field device 71 and performs a control operation.

[0005] The event information (message) input to the FCS 72 is transmitted to an ICS (Information Command Station) 73.
Is stored in the historical message file 74 in
Alternatively, it is displayed on a monitor or the like. Although there is no implementation example, it is also conceivable that the event information is directly input from the field device 71 to the historical message file 74 without passing through the FCS 72 as shown in a path 75.

[0006] The event information (message) stored in the historical message file 74 is transferred to the device management unit 76 by the DDE server and stored in the history management file 77 in the device management unit 76. The contents of the history management file 77 are displayed as a history display.

[0007]

However, such a method of managing the history has the following problems.

The history management method shown in FIG. 3 has a problem that event information from a field device having a communication function cannot be handled or is difficult.

On the other hand, there is a problem that the history management device shown in FIG. 4 cannot handle analog field devices having no communication function. Also, a field device having a communication function can handle a history of event information and parameter setting using a tool, but there is also a problem that a work history performed on site is separately managed.

[0010] For this reason, the history collected online using the communication function and the history input offline are mixed, and the phenomena occurring in the field device cannot be viewed in a unified manner. There was also a problem that it was difficult to know.

In order to avoid such a problem, it is sufficient to input all event information offline. However, although there is a function that can be input online, not using this function is a major problem in terms of efficiency or immediacy. was there. Further, it is difficult to unify the message format when manually inputting, and there is a problem that inconvenience occurs in search and management.

Therefore, the problem to be solved by the present invention is:
It is an object of the present invention to provide a device history management method and device which can integrally manage history information acquired via communication means and history information acquired manually.

[0013]

In order to solve such a problem, the invention according to claim 1 of the present invention provides history information from a device having a communication function and a history acquired without using the communication function. The information is stored in one history management file, and these pieces of history information are centrally managed. The history information obtained using two different means can be managed in the same manner.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, a history type, a device ID for identifying a device in hardware, and a device tag name for functionally identifying the device are added to the acquired history information. It is something to do. It can be managed by the same management method.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the first history acquisition unit acquires the history information of the device via the communication means, and the second history acquisition unit acquires the history information of the device without the communication means. Then, the acquired history information is stored in the same file, and is integrally managed by the history management unit. The history information obtained using two different means can be managed in the same manner.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect of the present invention, a history type, a device ID for identifying a device in hardware, and a device tag name for functionally identifying the device are added to the acquired history information. It is intended to do. It is possible to centrally manage the history information acquired through two different routes.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the third or fourth aspect of the present invention, as a means for acquiring the history information without passing through the communication means, a file storing the history information is imported to transfer the history information. It is provided with a file import unit to acquire. It is possible to diversify means for manually acquiring history information.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention. The same elements as those in FIG. 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a history management unit that manages histories of field devices and the like. 2 is Ethernet
et.RTM. bus, and the history management unit 1
It is connected to the upper station by the rnet bus 2.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a history management file installed in the history management unit 1, which stores history data. 12
Is a history display unit, which appropriately processes and displays history information in the history management file 11.

Reference numeral 13 denotes an external file import unit.
The history information of a file stored in a floppy (registered trademark) disk or the like is read and stored in the history management file 11. Reference numeral 3 denotes an analog field device having no communication function. Reference numeral 14 denotes a manual input unit, which inputs history information by a keyboard or a scanner corresponding to a screen, and stores the history information in the history management file 11.

Reference numeral 15 denotes a communication unit, which is connected to a Vnet 41 which is a real-time control network. An FCS 72 is connected to the Vnet 41. Reference numeral 42 denotes a field device having a communication function, which is connected by a field bus 43. FCS72 is interface 4
4 is connected to the field bus 43.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. Event information, which is history information of the field device with communication function 42, is taken into the FCS 72 via the field bus 43, and is further input to the communication unit 15 via the Vnet 41. Then, the event information input to the communication unit 15 is stored in the history management file 11.

The history of work performed on the field device 42 with a communication function on site is manually input by the manual input unit 14 using a keyboard or a scanner. The manually input work history is also stored in the history management file 11 as history information.

The history information of the field device 3 having no communication function is temporarily stored in a file such as a floppy disk. The history information in this file is downloaded by the external file import unit 13 and stored in the history management file 11.

That is, history information that can be collected online, such as event information of a field device with a communication function, is automatically collected online and stored in the history management file 11.
The work history at the site and the history information of analog field devices without communication function are collected by manual input or file import and stored in the same history management file. Since history information collected online and offline is stored in the same history management file, unified management can be performed.

FIG. 2 shows an example of the history display. In this figure,
51 is an event type (Event Type), 52 is a date (Date) when the event occurred, and 53 is a description (Description). Reference numeral 54 denotes maintenance information manually input by the user;
Is history information obtained using the communication function.

As can be seen from this figure, each line represents one history, and the history 54 obtained by using the communication function and the history 54 manually input are displayed in the same format. For this reason, a history type is added each time a history is input, so that different history types are handled in a unified manner.

Also, a device ID for identifying the device in hardware and a device tag name for identifying the device in a function role are added, and the message can be identified by the device ID and the device tag name. Furthermore, it is also possible to display the history by searching for the type of the history, the device ID, and the device tag name.

In this embodiment, the history management of field devices has been described. However, the present invention can be used for history management of other devices.

Further, in the configuration diagram of FIG. 1, both the manual input unit 14 and the external file import unit 13 are provided, but only one of them may be provided. Alternatively, the history information of the analog field device 3 may be manually input by the manual input unit 14, and the work history may be input by the external file import unit 13.

[0031]

As is apparent from the above description,
According to the present invention, the following effects can be expected.

According to the first aspect of the invention, the history information from the device having the communication function and the history information obtained without using the communication function are stored in one history management file, and these history information are integrated. I managed it. Therefore, it is possible to handle the history information on the device in the same way regardless of whether it is obtained using the communication function or manually, and handles it in a unified manner including the field and external repair history There is an effect that can be.

In addition, all devices can be handled in a unified manner regardless of the presence or absence of a communication function, and the function can be effectively used for devices having a communication function, and event information can be automatically collected. There is also an effect.

Further, the event information acquired online and the history of work such as repairs and parts replacements performed offline corresponding to the event can be confirmed on the same display screen, so that maintenance of these devices can be confirmed. There is also an effect of facilitating scheduling. In particular, devices having a self-diagnosis function have recently emerged, and the results of these self-diagnosis are also important information.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the acquired history information includes a history type, a device ID for identifying the device in hardware, and a device tag name for functionally identifying the device. Was added. By adding such information, the management of the history information of the device becomes easier, and the effect described in the first aspect of the invention can be further enhanced.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the first history acquisition unit acquires the device history information via the communication means, and the second history acquisition unit acquires the device history information without the communication means. And the acquired history information is stored in the same file, and is integrally managed by the history management unit. Therefore, regardless of the presence or absence of the communication function, there is an effect that the history information of all devices can be handled uniformly.

A device having a communication function can effectively use the function, and an event obtained by the communication function and a work history such as repair or part replacement corresponding to the event can be confirmed on the same screen. Therefore, there is also an effect that it is easy to formulate a maintenance schedule. Further, information of the self-diagnosis function can be used.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect of the present invention, the acquired history information includes a history type, a device ID for identifying the device in hardware, and a device tag name for functionally identifying the device. Was added. Therefore, the management of the history information of the device becomes easier, and a third aspect of the present invention is provided.
There is an effect that the effect described in the invention of the third aspect can be further enhanced.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the third or fourth aspect of the present invention, the file storing the history information is imported as a means for acquiring the history information without passing through the communication means. Added a file import unit for acquiring history information. Therefore, there is an effect that the means for acquiring history information manually can be diversified.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a history display screen according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a conventional method of acquiring history information manually.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a history information collection device using a conventional communication function.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 History management part 11 History management file 12 History display part 13 External file import part 14 Manual input part 15 Communication part 3 Analog field device 42 Field device with communication function

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A method for acquiring history information from a device having a communication function by using the communication function and storing the acquired history information in a history management file, and storing the acquired history information without using the communication function in the history management file. A history management method for a device, wherein the history information is centrally managed. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a history type, a device ID for identifying the device in hardware, and a device tag name for functionally identifying the device are added to the acquired history information. Device history management method. 3. A first history acquisition unit for acquiring history information of a device via communication means, a second history acquisition unit for acquiring history information of a device without passing through communication means, A history management unit that manages history information acquired by the history acquisition unit and the history information acquired by the second history acquisition unit, wherein the history information acquired by the first history acquisition unit and the history acquired by the second history acquisition unit A history management apparatus for a device, wherein information is stored in the same file, and such history information is managed in an integrated manner. 4. The acquired history information is added with a history type, a device ID for identifying the device in hardware, and a device tag name for functionally identifying the device, and stored. Item 3. A device history management device according to item 3. 5. A second history acquisition unit for acquiring history information without passing through communication means, comprising a file import unit for importing a file in which history information is stored and acquiring history information. The device history management device according to claim 3 or 4, wherein