JP2003256028A - Remote monitoring system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To carry out a failure analysis or the like in a surface inspecting apparatus of a web from a distant place. <P>SOLUTION: A data acquiring personal computer is connected to the surface inspecting apparatus 10 via a connecting part 40. A terminal personal computer 43 is provided in the distant place separated from the data acquiring personal computer 41. The data acquiring personal computer 41 and the terminal personal computer 43 are linked via the Internet 42. A data acquiring application 44 and a remote control application 50 are installed in each personal computer 41 and 43, and an image file creating means 50, an image file reproducing means 46, a condition changing means 47, a memory 48 and a data transfer and remote control means 51 are composed. Each signal waveform of the surface inspecting apparatus can be easily observed by the terminal personal computer 43 from the distant place, and the failure analysis or the like by a professional can be promptly carried out. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a remote monitoring system for monitoring equipment to be monitored via communication equipment such as a network and a telephone line.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Photographic film, polarizing plate protective film used for liquid crystal displays, retardation film,
Observation of the signal waveform by an analog oscilloscope or a digital oscilloscope is effective for monitoring the condition of a surface inspection machine in film forming equipment such as an optical compensation film for enlarging the viewing angle and for analyzing the cause when a failure occurs. As equipment becomes more sophisticated and complex, it is becoming more and more necessary to observe signal waveforms. For this reason, there are some cases in which the person in charge of maintenance at the site cannot deal with the failure, and it may be necessary for a specialist in failure cause analysis to observe the waveform.

[0003]

However, experts are not always near the site, and early recovery from failures is an important issue for the site. For this reason, conventionally, a person in charge of maintenance on the site took a waveform with an analog oscilloscope according to instructions from a specialist, took a picture of this monitor image, sent a paper printed out with a digital oscilloscope with a facsimile etc., and analyzed it. I was taking the procedure. It should be noted that some digital oscilloscopes of recent years can be converted into image files, and it is possible to send this to an expert by e-mail, but this handling is also a different task for maintenance personnel from their daily work. Therefore, there is a problem that quick response cannot be taken. Moreover, when analyzing the cause of a failure, etc., it is often impossible to understand the details of the failure only with the waveform taken under one trigger condition. In practice, the above work is repeated between maintenance personnel and experts. The current situation is to analyze the cause of failures and take countermeasures.

The present invention is intended to solve the above problems, and provides a remote monitoring system with a simple configuration that enables desired waveform data to be easily obtained even from a location away from the equipment to be monitored. The purpose is to do.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is based on a digitizing means for converting an analog waveform from a facility to be monitored into digital waveform information, and digital waveform information by the digitizing means. Image file creating means for creating an image file, image file playing means for playing the image file for observation, conditions for collecting the analog waveform, and conditions for changing the conversion condition to digital waveform information in the digitizing means Remote operation means for performing data communication among the changing means, the digitizing means and the image file creating means, and the image file reproducing means and the condition changing means to remotely operate at least the digitizing means and the image file creating means. It has and.

The equipment to be monitored is equipped with an online measuring machine, and a data collecting computer connected to the online measuring machine and a terminal computer installed apart from the online measuring machine are connected to the data collecting application. And a remote control application, the digitizing means, the image file creating means, the image file reproducing means and the condition changing means are configured in each computer by the data collecting application, and the remote control means is operated by the remote control application. It is preferable that each of the personal computers is configured to transfer the image file and the condition change data to the condition change means by the remote operation means. Further, it is preferable that the online measuring machine is an online surface inspection machine. Furthermore, it is preferable that the remote control means uses a dedicated line or a network.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIG. 1 schematically shows a web surface inspection machine for implementing the remote monitoring system of the present invention. The surface inspection machine 10 inspects the presence or absence of defects on the surface of the web 15 manufactured by various film forming lines or coating lines, the shape of the defects, and the like. Scanner 11 is laser oscillator 1
2, a polygon mirror 13, an optical sensor 14 and the like. A web 15 as an object to be inspected is arranged at the scanning position of the scanner 11. The web 15 is fed in the direction of the arrow X in the drawing and continuously runs.

The polygon mirror 13 rotates clockwise at a high speed. As a result, the light beam 16 scans the web 15 in the width direction. The optical sensor 14 receives the light beam 16 immediately before the light beam 16 scans the web 15 and outputs a base point passage signal that serves as a reference for setting the inspection width.

A photodetector 20 is used to face the scan line 19 of the light beam 16 in order to receive the light beam 16 that has passed through the web 15. A band-shaped mask plate 21 is arranged along the scanning line 19 at the center of the light receiving window 20a of the photodetector 20. When the web 15 does not have a defect such as a scratch, the light beam 16 that has passed through the web 15 travels straight as it is, hits the mask plate 21 of the photodetector 20, and the inspection light does not reach the light receiving window 20a. The output level of the photodetector 20 becomes a predetermined value or less.

On the other hand, when the web 15 has a defect, the light beam 16 is refracted at this portion, diffusely reflected and dispersed. Therefore, the inspection light enters not only the mask plate 21 but also the light receiving windows 20a above and below the mask plate 21, and reaches the light guide rod in the photodetector 20. In the photodetector 20, a cylindrical lens, a light guide rod, and a scattering band are arranged,
Light receiving elements 22 are provided at both ends. Then, the laser light that has entered the light receiving window 20a is collected by the cylindrical lens, passes through the light guide rod, enters the scattering band, and is reflected. Part of the light reflected by the scattering band is transmitted to the end surface of the light guide rod and enters the light receiving element 22.

The photoelectric conversion signal of the light receiving element 22 is sent to the defect signal generating section 25, where it is signal-processed and a single defect signal is output. First, the light receiving element 22 that receives the inspection light
Respectively outputs photoelectric conversion signals corresponding to the light amount of the inspection light, and supplies these to the AGC circuit (auto gain control circuit) 30. The AGC circuit 30 adds the photoelectric conversion signals from the respective light receiving elements 22, and scans the normal web 15 having no defect with the light beam 16,
When the inspection light is incident on the photodetector 20, the photoelectric conversion signal is amplified so that the output signal has a constant level regardless of the position of the scanning center line. In addition, even if power fluctuations due to deterioration of the laser oscillator 11 occur, the above A
It is compensated by the GC circuit 30. Furthermore, the AGC circuit 30 is provided with a gain adjustment knob, and the gain value can be changed by operating this knob. This change of the gain value is performed by the sensitivity management process or the like.

The signal from the AGC circuit 30 is input to the filter circuit 31 including a bandpass filter. The filter circuit 31 removes the low frequency and high frequency noise signals superimposed on the signal and outputs the signal to the binarization circuit 32. The binarization circuit 32 has a threshold value L _THD (see FIG. 3).
The signal is binarized by. As a result, the signal is binarized into a defect signal that becomes high level when the signal level becomes equal to or lower than the threshold value L _THD and a normal signal that becomes low level otherwise. The evaluation signal composed of these signals is input to the AND circuit 33.

On the other hand, the optical sensor 13 outputs a base point passage signal at a constant timing before the scanning of the light beam is started, and the base point passage signal is input to the inspection width setting circuit 34. The inspection width setting circuit 34 is based on the inspection width data and the number of lanes set in advance corresponding to the width dimension of the web 15, and the inspection width signal that becomes a high level for each lane width with the base point passing signal as a reference. Is output. Then, this inspection width signal causes the AND circuit 33 to be in the gate open state.
Therefore, when the defect signal appears during the period when the inspection width signal is at the high level, the AND circuit 33 outputs the defect signal. The lane divides one scanning line into a plurality of sections.

The defect signal thus obtained is sent to the defect data processing device 36. Defect data processing device 3
At 6, the defect position is specified based on the single defect signal. Further, the continuity of the single defect signal is determined, and when the single defect signal continues for a predetermined number of times, the wide area defect is specified based on the group of single defect signals. The specification of the defect position based on these single defect signals and the specification of the wide area defect are described in detail in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-338812. The detected single defect and wide area defect and their position information are sent to the defect image processing device 37 and displayed on the display thereof, and are also stored in the memory 36a in the defect data processing device 36 to store various data. Processing is performed. The data-processed defect information is referred to when a product such as a film is processed, and is used so that various defects are not included in the final product. In addition, it is also used as defect information for pursuing the cause of defects and as feedback information on the manufacturing line. Further, a defect image may be captured, each defect and its image may be associated with each other based on the defect and its position information, and the defect and its image may be displayed on the display.

In this way, the scanner 11, the photodetector 20,
As shown in FIG. 2, the surface inspection machine 10 including the defect signal generation unit 25, the defect data processing device 36, the defect image processing device 37, etc., is connected via a connection unit 40 including a display selector and an oscillo-buffer box. A data collection personal computer 41 including a notebook personal computer is connected. Further, the data collecting personal computer 41 is connected to the terminal personal computer 43 on the failure cause analyzer side through a public telephone line, a network such as a LAN or the Internet. As is well known, these personal computers 41 and 43 are
A motherboard, a hard disk, a CDROM drive (both not shown), displays 41a and 43a, mice 41b and 43b, keyboards 41c and 43c, and the like are provided. The form of the personal computers 41 and 43 provided on both the surface inspection machine side and the failure cause analyzer side is not limited to a notebook type, a disstop type, etc. Good.

A data collection application which constitutes a personal computer oscilloscope as data collection means and a remote control application for data transfer and remote operation are installed in each of the personal computers 41 and 43. These applications may be independently programmed according to the equipment to be used, but relatively inexpensive products are provided as commercial products, and it is cost effective to use these. As the data collection application, for example, a data collection system (NR-350) manufactured by Keyence Corporation is preferably used. As the remote control application, it is preferable to use a remote control system (Symantec pcAnywhere 10.5) manufactured by Symantec Corporation.

The data collection application is connected to the connection unit 4.
Data necessary for analyzing the cause of the failure is collected via 0, and these are displayed in a graph on the display 41a of the data collecting personal computer 41. Further, the remote control application is for allowing the data collecting personal computer 41 to be remotely controlled by the terminal personal computer 43, and data transfer is also possible between both personal computers. Then, the remote control application switches the observation target signal by switching the connection unit 40 or the like, or changes to a trigger function in which conditions such as a waveform / pulse width trigger and a logic pattern trigger are changed in addition to a normal edge trigger. It is possible to collect various signals selectively.

FIG. 2 shows functional blocks in these applications. By the data collection application 44, an image file creating means 45, an image file reproducing means 46, a condition changing means 47 and a memory 48.
Functional blocks such as are configured. Further, the remote control application 50 constitutes data transfer / remote control means 51. A modem 52 is included in the data transfer / remote control means 51. As the modem 52, an analog modem, an ADSL modem, or the like is selectively used according to the communication mode. Also, in the case of ISDN communication, DSU and TA are used instead of the modem. Same application 4 for each PC 41, 43
Since 4, 50 are installed, each personal computer 41,
The functional blocks configured in 43 are the same.

The image file creating means 45 includes a connecting section 40.
2 channel analog signal or 16
Capture the logic signal of the channel as waveform data on the screen and create an image file. The image file reproducing means 46 displays the created image file on the display 40a.
To display. The condition changing unit 47 switches the various signals to be observed, changes to a trigger function with changed conditions such as a waveform / pulse width trigger and a logic pattern trigger in addition to a normal edge trigger, and creates an image file. The conditions etc. can be changed. Data transfer / remote control means 51
In addition to transferring the image file and other data from the data collecting personal computer 41 to the terminal personal computer 43, it also transfers data for changing the conditions from the terminal personal computer 43 to the data collecting personal computer 41. The memory 48 temporarily stores various data such as image files and condition change data.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a display image 60 on the display 43a on the terminal personal computer 43 side, which is in a state where the data collection application 44 is activated. The display image 60 includes a command line display portion 61 located on the upper side of the frame, various operation button display portions 62,
The data display unit 63 and the condition change display unit 64 are included. Since the same data collection application 44 is installed on the display 40a of the data collection personal computer 41, a similar screen is displayed.

In the data display section 63, for example, a waveform CH1 of a signal corresponding to the signals S1 to S6 in each section of FIG.
(S1 corresponds), L1 (S2 corresponds), L2 (S3 corresponds), L3 (S4 corresponds), L4 (S5 corresponds), L5
(S6 corresponds) is displayed. This signal waveform CH1, L
1 to L5 can be enlarged or reduced by various operations, and the elapsed time on the horizontal axis can be appropriately changed. Also,
By changing the channel, various signals of other surface inspection machines can be switched and displayed. In addition,
The signals S1 to S6 to be observed in advance are obtained by connecting to the sampling positions of the surface inspection machine by the connecting portion 40, and if changes are necessary, these sampling positions are changed.

The command line display section 61, the operation button display section 62, the condition change display section 64, etc. are displayed on the mouse 43.
By operating the keys b and the keyboard 43c, the processing assigned to each display unit is performed, and the result of this change is reflected in the data display unit. As described above, by linking the remote control application 50 and the data collection application 44, the failure cause analyzer can obtain information on the data collection PC 41 on the surface inspection machine side at a remote place apart from the surface inspection machine 10. Almost the same information can be obtained by the terminal personal computer 43 in cooperation. Therefore, without going to a place where the surface inspection machine 10 is,
The cause of failure can be analyzed and investigated quickly and accurately. Further, by operating various buttons and the like on the display image 60 with the mouse 43b, the keyboard 43c and the like, in addition to the switching of the signal to be observed and the usual edge trigger, a waveform / pulse width trigger, a logic pattern trigger, etc. Various signals can be collected by the trigger function under different conditions. This makes it possible to quickly obtain such information without bothering maintenance personnel on the surface inspection machine 10 side, so that it is possible to analyze the cause of failure easily and quickly.

The specific method of use will be described below. In this embodiment, it is possible to select and perform normal state monitoring and cause analysis when a failure occurs.

First, as shown in FIG. 4, in the normal state monitoring, the remote control application 50 of the terminal personal computer 43 is started to log in to the data sampling personal computer 41 connected to the surface inspection machine 10 which is the equipment to be monitored. The data collection application 44 of the data collection personal computer 41 is started. Then, after setting the conditions for data collection on this application, data collection is started. The collected data is displayed on the display 43a of the terminal personal computer 43 by the data collection application 44 of the terminal personal computer 43.

The failure cause analyst observes the display screen 60, judges whether the situation has changed, and if there is a change in the situation, the person in charge of maintenance on the surface inspection machine side should take countermeasures against the situation. Contact and deal with. If the situation has not changed, the waveform at that time is stored in the memory 48 as a history. This history is referred to when a failure occurs later. The history is obtained by first setting the conditions and then specifying the auto save mode in the data sampling personal computer 41 on the surface inspection machine side and saving the waveform as a file in the memory 48. The saved file is transferred to the terminal personal computer 4 by the remote control application 50.
3 to the memory 48 and store it as a history.

When a failure occurs, the processing is performed according to the procedure shown in FIG. First, we receive a notification from the maintenance staff on the surface inspection machine side that a failure has occurred. At this time, the personal computer 41 on the surface inspection machine side is operated in the same manner as in the normal state monitoring.
Log on to and collect data by the same operation as above. Then, observe the situation on a real-time screen.
In addition, the data selector of the connection unit 40 is switched as needed to observe the waveforms of signals in other portions. In this way, if data analysis is performed and the cause of the failure is found, the person in charge of maintenance on the surface inspection machine side will be notified of the countermeasure.

Further, when the cause of the failure cannot be analyzed by this alone, the trigger condition and the sampling condition are changed in order to observe the waveform more finely, and the waveform information is stored as a file in the data acquisition personal computer 41 by the auto save. Save in memory 48. The stored file is transferred to the terminal personal computer 43. After data transfer, log off from the PC 41 on the surface inspection machine side,
The file is opened by the data collection application of the terminal personal computer 43, the image 60 displayed by this file is observed, and the cause of failure is analyzed again. Since the waveform of the data-transferred file is digitized over the entire sampling area, the cause can be generally identified. When the analysis of the cause of the failure is completed, the countermeasure is notified to the maintenance person on the surface inspection machine side based on this, and the failure is resolved.

In the above embodiment, the normal condition monitoring process and the cause analysis process at the time of failure occurrence have been described. In addition to this, in the data sampling personal computer 41 on the surface inspection machine side,
A data collection mode may be provided, and changes in each signal may be filed and stored at regular intervals. In this case, the oldest file is updated with the latest file when the storage capacity reaches a certain level so that the storage capacity of the hard disk is not overwhelmed by each file.
As a result, various waveform data of a fixed period are always stored in the memory 4
8 will be stored in the hard disk. Then, when a failure occurs or during regular monitoring, by referring to this file as needed, it is possible to understand the changes in the situation, etc. It will be possible.

In the above-described embodiment, various waveform data are simply stored for a certain period and updated to new data. However, when the data is updated, the representative data is set as a representative data for a certain time, for example, every 3 hours. The data may be stored in another storage area. In this case, past transition data is stored in addition to the data for a fixed period of time, which can be used as a reference during failure analysis and the failure analysis can be easily performed.

In the above embodiment, the two personal computers 41 and 43 are connected via the Internet 42, but the network used is not limited to this. Further, instead of a public telephone line, a network such as a LAN or the Internet, other dedicated lines or other communication means such as radio may be used.

In the above embodiment, the laser beam is scanned,
A defect signal is obtained by receiving the transmitted light with a photodetector. However, the defect signal is not limited to this, for example, JP-A-2000.
The present invention may be applied to a defect inspection apparatus obtained by a method using a line CCD or the like as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 9659-96.

In the above embodiment, the inspection device for detecting defects based on the transmitted light of the web is used. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention is applied to a device for detecting defects based on the reflected light of the web. May be. Further, the present invention can be applied without being limited to an inspection machine for surface defects etc. as long as it is an online measuring machine for analyzing the cause of failure by observing various signals. Moreover,
The present invention can be applied not only to the online measuring machine but also to an analog waveform from the equipment to be monitored.

[0033]

According to the present invention, the analog waveform of the equipment to be monitored is converted into digital waveform information, an image file is created based on this digital waveform information, and this image file can be reproduced and observed. By changing the sampling condition of the analog waveform, the conversion condition to the digital waveform information in the digitizing means, between the digitizing means and the image file creating means, and the image file reproducing means and the condition changing means, Since data communication is performed, various signals can be observed at a remote place apart from the equipment to be monitored. Moreover, since the signal sampling conditions and conversion information can be changed, the desired signal information can be reliably obtained even from a remote location, and the cause of failure can be analyzed accurately and quickly. Therefore, the cause of failure and the like can be analyzed even if the failure cause analyst is not on the side of the online measuring machine, and the equipment can be quickly restored.

A data sampling computer connected to the online measuring machine of the equipment to be monitored and a terminal computer installed at a place distant from the online measuring machine,
A data collecting application and a remote control application are incorporated, and the digitizing means, image file creating means, image file reproducing means, and condition changing means are configured in each computer by the data collecting application, and the remote control application performs the remote operation. Since the means is configured in each of the personal computers and the remote control means transfers the image file and the condition change data to the condition changing means, a remote monitoring system is introduced at a low cost by using a commercially available product or the like. can do.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the basic configuration of a web surface inspection machine that implements a remote monitoring system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing an outline of a remote monitoring system.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an image displayed on a display of a terminal personal computer.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure during normal state monitoring.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for cause analysis when a failure occurs.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Surface inspection machine 11 scanner 15 Web 22 Light receiving element 25 Defect signal generator 41 Data collection PC 43 Terminal PC 44 Data collection application 50 remote control application 60 display image

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A digitizing means for converting an analog waveform from a facility to be monitored into digital waveform information, an image file creating means for creating an image file based on the digital waveform information by the digitizing means, and reproducing the image file. Image file reproducing means for enabling observation, condition changing means for changing analog waveform sampling conditions, conversion conditions for converting digital waveform information in the digitizing means, the digitizing means and image file creating means, and A remote monitoring system comprising: a remote control means for performing data communication with an image file reproducing means and a condition changing means, and for remotely controlling at least the digitizing means and the image file creating means. 2. The equipment to be monitored is equipped with an online measuring machine, and a data collecting computer connected to the online measuring machine and a terminal computer installed at a place distant from the online measuring machine. And a remote control application, the data collection application configures the digitizing means, the image file creating means, the image file reproducing means, and the condition changing means in each computer, and the remote control application controls the remote operating means. 2. The remote monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein each of the personal computers is configured to transfer the image file and the condition change data to the condition change means by the remote operation means. 3. The remote monitoring system according to claim 2, wherein the online measuring machine is an online surface inspection machine. 4. The remote monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the remote control means uses a network or a dedicated line.