JP2005004598A - Support system for monitoring plant - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a support system for monitoring plant which easily generates rules for monitoring a plant and reduces the load imposed on the operator. <P>SOLUTION: Tags are preliminarily allocated to process data, fetched from a plant controller 2 via a network by means of first to fifth tag allocating sections 11-15, and the rule for monitoring a plant is generated at a rule-generating section 17 by using these tags. Computations are made on the process data at a rule computation section 18 in accordance with the rule using the tags; and when monitoring conditions stipulated by the rule are satisfied, a message for arousing attention is notified to the operator. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a plant monitoring support system that monitors and supports operating conditions in various plants.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A conventional plant monitoring support system has been proposed having the following configuration (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).
[0003]
That is, the conventional plant monitoring support system is provided with a guidance rule definition unit that predefines rules for monitoring the operation status of the plant. And a process controller takes out data from various plants, and outputs this to a definition rule execution part. The definition rule execution unit executes calculation processing on the process data according to the rules defined by the guidance rule definition unit, and outputs the calculation result to the guidance message output unit. When the calculation result indicates that the operator has reached a warning operation state set in advance by the operator, the guidance message output unit displays a message to that effect on the display of the man-machine interface.
As a result, even an inexperienced operator can perform the plant monitoring work accurately and easily.
[0004]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 2002-108444 A
[Patent Document 2]
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-160598
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the conventional plant monitoring support system as described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 above, various rules for plant monitoring are defined by combining specific process data fetched from the plant controller via the network. When going, a program is defined in which rules are defined while grasping the signal name and the absolute address on the network for each process data.
[0006]
By the way, the signal name of process data and the absolute address on the network may be changed due to addition or change of equipment, but conventionally, when defining a rule as described above, the signal name and absolute address Therefore, when the signal name, absolute address, etc. are changed, it is necessary to modify the program contents describing the rule accordingly.
For this reason, excessive labor and time are required to correct the program, which places a heavy burden on the operator. In addition, since correction is complicated, correction errors are likely to occur.
[0007]
Furthermore, in the past, when creating a new rule by combining multiple rules, it is necessary to repeatedly describe the same combination of logic circuits, making rule creation complicated, and changing the analog amount of process data When it is necessary to add the concept of the passage of time in order to monitor the situation, it is difficult to create a program in which rules are defined, and this is also a heavy burden on the operator.
[0008]
The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a plant monitoring support system that can create a rule for plant monitoring extremely easily and reduces the burden on the operator. .
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention registers an event that can be predicted by a combination of process data fetched via a network from a plant controller that controls the plant, and when this foreseeable event is established, that fact is registered. Is a plant monitoring support system that informs the operator of the above-mentioned process, tag assigning means for individually assigning a variable name tag corresponding to each of the above process data, and process data to be established corresponding to the foreseeable event. The combination condition and the required duration of the condition are created as one rule using the tag assigned by the tag assigning means, and a warning message to be output when the condition according to this rule is established is registered A rule creation means and a process according to the rule created by the rule creation means. Rule calculation means for calculating data to determine whether or not a condition is satisfied, and when the rule calculation means determines that the condition is satisfied, a message registered in advance in the rule creation means is sent accordingly. It is characterized by comprising: a message output means for outputting; and a recording means for recording the messages registered in the rule creation section in time series in accordance with the output timing of the calculation result of the rule calculation means.
[0010]
As a result, even if the signal name of process data imported from the plant controller via the network or the absolute address on the network is changed, there is no need to change the contents of the program that defines the rules. Since only the change is required, the rule for plant monitoring can be created very easily, and the burden on the operator can be reduced.
[0011]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a plant monitoring support system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
[0012]
The plant monitoring support system 1 according to the first embodiment includes a central information processing device 3 that monitors the operation status of a plant based on process data taken in via a network from a plant controller 2 that controls the plant.
In FIG. 1, only a single plant controller 2 is shown. However, when there are a plurality of plants, a plant controller 2 is provided for each plant, and each plant controller 2 is connected via a network. Are connected to the central information processing device 3.
[0013]
The central information processing apparatus 3 includes a man-machine interface 5, a network interface 6, first to fifth tag assigning units 11 to 15, a rule creating unit 17, a rule calculating unit 18, an output command unit 19, and a recording unit. 20, WAV file playback unit 21, message output unit 22, and history data output unit 23.
[0014]
The man-machine interface 5 is used by an operator to access the units 11 to 15, 17, 22, and 23, and includes an input device such as a mouse and a keyboard (not shown) and a display device such as a display.
The network interface 6 accesses the plant controller 2 via a network.
[0015]
The first tag assigning unit 11 individually assigns variable names of tags corresponding to binary status signals indicating on / off states from the plant, among the process data fetched via the network interface 6. It has a function. For example, if the status signal is “1” and the tag (variable name) assigned at this time is A, A = 1.
[0016]
The second tag assigning unit 12 individually assigns variable names of tags corresponding to 32-bit floating data after digitizing analog signals from the plant among the process data fetched via the network interface 6. Has a function to assign. For example, 32-bit floating data after digitizing an analog signal is “070FE15A”. _H ”And when the tag (variable name) is B, B =“ 070FE15A ” _H "
[0017]
The third tag allocating unit 13 corresponds to 32-bit integer (integer) data obtained by digitizing an analog signal indicating an integrated value from the plant among each process data fetched through the network interface 6. Have a function to assign variable names called tags individually.
For example, the 32-bit integer data after digitizing an analog signal is “81B32FF0. _H ”And when the tag (variable name) is C, C =“ 81B32FF0 _H "
[0018]
The fourth tag assigning unit 14 has a function of creating and registering in advance four arithmetic expressions using the tags assigned by the second tag assigning unit 12 and assigning new tags to the calculation results. For example, when the tags assigned by the second tag assigning unit 12 are B1, B2, and B3 and the newly assigned tag (variable name) is D, the tags are associated with each other, for example, D = B1 · B2 + B3. . As a result, even more complicated calculations can be handled.
[0019]
The fifth tag assigning unit 15 has a function of newly assigning one tag to one rule created by the rule creating unit 17.
As a result, when one rule is constructed by combining AND circuits and OR circuits, the calculation result of the rule can be handled as one signal. Therefore, when predicting the state of a plant, inference at a deep hierarchy is possible. It becomes possible.
[0020]
And each said 1st-4th tag allocation part 11-14 is equivalent to the tag allocation means in a claim, and the 5th tag allocation part 15 is equivalent to the tag re-allocation means in a claim. is doing.
[0021]
The rule creation unit 17 corresponds to the rule creation unit in the claims, and is assigned by the first to fifth tag assigning units 11 to 15 based on the input operation signal from the man-machine interface 5, respectively. Each rule for plant monitoring is created using the tag, and a warning message to be output when a monitoring condition defined by this rule is satisfied can be registered.
In addition, the rule creation unit 17 associates the registration number attached to the rule created in this way with the file name of the WAV file for audio reproduction.
[0022]
Further, a duration condition setting unit 24 is incorporated in the rule creating unit 17. The duration condition setting unit 24 sets a necessary duration condition as a time factor of process data corresponding to each tag.
Thereby, a rule for detecting whether the on / off state of the plant related to the registered tag has continued for a certain time or more, or whether the analog amount has exceeded a threshold value and has continued for a certain time or more. Can be created.
[0023]
The rule calculation unit 18 corresponds to the rule calculation means in the claims, and is defined by the rule by calculating each process data given from the plant controller 2 according to the rule created by the rule creation unit 24. It is determined whether or not the condition is satisfied, and the determination result is output.
[0024]
The output command unit 19 outputs a message output command corresponding to the rule establishment condition to the message output unit 22 based on the determination result by the rule calculation unit 18, and each rule registered in the rule creation unit 17 in advance. The audio playback command is output to the WAV file playback unit 21 by designating the file name of the WAV file corresponding to the above.
[0025]
The recording unit 20 corresponds to a recording unit in the claims, and is used for calling attention corresponding to each rule registered in advance in the rule creating unit 24 in accordance with the output timing of the determination result by the rule calculation unit 18. Messages are recorded in chronological order, so that the output history of messages can be understood.
[0026]
The WAV file playback unit 21 corresponds to the voice playback means in the claims, and a message corresponding to each rule is registered in advance in the WAV file as a voice.
In that case, the registration number of each rule corresponds to the file name of the WAV file to be reproduced as it is. For example, when a rule is registered with the number “5”, the file name of the WAV file corresponding to this rule is 5. wav.
Therefore, the message is converted into voice and output by designating the file name of the WAV file corresponding to each rule in accordance with the voice reproduction command from the output command unit 19.
[0027]
The message output unit 22 corresponds to message output means in the claims, and outputs a message created in advance by the rule creation unit 17 to the man-machine interface 5 in response to a message output command from the output command unit 19. To do.
In this case, the window format displayed by hop-up is adopted as the display method, so that the operator is quickly alerted.
[0028]
The history data output unit 23 outputs past output messages stored in the recording unit 20 in time series to the man-machine interface 5. This makes it easy to grasp and analyze events that have occurred in the past.
[0029]
Next, a rule creation procedure for plant monitoring in the plant monitoring support system 1 having the above configuration and a plant monitoring operation based on the created rule will be described.
Here, in order to facilitate understanding, a raw material cutting device used in a plant will be described as an example. However, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to such a raw material cutting device.
[0030]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the raw material cutting device. The raw material cutting device 31 transports a raw material p stored in a tank 32, a level sensor 33 that detects the storage amount (height) of the raw material p, and the raw material p output from the tank 32 toward the next facility (not shown). A belt conveyor 34, a raw material metering sensor 35 that measures the conveyance amount of the raw material p by the belt conveyor 34, and a motor 36 that drives the belt conveyor 34 are provided.
[0031]
Then, a binary level status signal S1 indicating the level of the raw material p output from the level sensor 33 and the raw material weighing sensor 35 are output to the plant controller 2 so that the operation status of the raw material cutting device 31 can be monitored. A conveyance amount analog signal S2 indicating a material conveyance amount and a binary operation status signal S3 indicating whether or not the motor 36 is in operation are respectively fetched.
[0032]
FIG. 3 shows an example of a rule creation screen. The rule creation window 41 includes a rule number registration field 42, an output message registration field 43, a display content clear button 44, a display content registration execution button 45, and a rule number return button. 46, a rule number feed button 47, a number field 48 for distinguishing the constituent elements of the rule, a tag name registration field 49, a tag comment display field 50, a comparator registration field 51, and a boundary value for entering an analog signal comparison reference value A column 52, a unit column 53 for registering data units, a minute entry column 54 for entering the "minute" condition for the duration of the signal state, a second entry column 55 for entering the "second" condition for the duration of the signal state, and A condition column 56 for registering whether the relationship between rule components is a logical sum or a logical product is secured.
[0033]
In the raw material cutting device 31 shown in FIG. 2, when the belt conveyor 34 is driven by the motor 36 and the raw material p is continuously supplied to the next facility, the operator always keeps the raw material p in the tank 32 above a certain level. It is necessary to monitor whether it is stored. Usually, the level of the storage amount of the raw material p is detected by the level status signal S1, and when the height of the raw material p falls below a certain level, the plant controller 2 judges that the raw material p has decreased and supplies the raw material to the tank 32. Execute.
[0034]
However, when an abnormal state in which the level sensor 33 cannot normally detect the level of the raw material p, for example, a bridging phenomenon in which the raw material p is locally solidified and does not smoothly come out from the discharge port at the bottom of the tank 32 occurs. Since the level status signal S1 output from 33 does not change, the plant controller 2 supplies the raw material to the tank 32 even though the storage amount of the raw material p in the tank 32 is actually greatly reduced. No action is taken.
As a result, the raw material p cannot be discharged from the tank 32 after a certain period of time, and it becomes impossible to supply the raw material to the next facility, and the plant must be stopped.
[0035]
Therefore, in order to prevent such a situation from occurring, a rule preliminarily defining a process data combination condition to be established corresponding to the foreseeing event as described above is created.
Here, the level status signal S1 output from the level sensor 33, the transport amount analog signal S2 indicating the raw material transport amount output from the raw material weighing sensor 35, and the operation status signal S3 indicating the operation state of the belt conveyor 34 are used. Create rules to alert operators in advance.
[0036]
Here, for example, “the level of the tank is not lower than the reference value”, “the belt conveyor is in operation”, and “the material conveyance amount of the belt conveyor is 1 ton / hour or less continues for 5 minutes or more. When all of the conditions “done” are satisfied, it is considered that there is a possibility that the raw material p is biased in the tank 32, and a rule defining this condition is created.
[0037]
Therefore, the operator first registers a rule number in the rule number registration field 42 while operating the man-machine interface 5 and viewing the rule creation window 41 shown in FIG. As described above, the file name of the WAV file corresponds to the rule number registered here.
Next, a message for calling attention to the operator is registered in the output message registration field 43. In this example, a message that “there is a possibility of material bias in the tank” is registered.
[0038]
Subsequently, a binary level status signal S1 indicating the level of the raw material output from the level sensor 33 by the first tag allocating unit 11 and the second tag allocating unit 12 by operating the man-machine interface 5, a raw material measuring sensor 35 Are individually assigned to the transport amount analog signal S2 indicating the amount of material transport and the binary operation status signal S3 indicating whether or not the motor 36 is in operation.
[0039]
For this purpose, for example, tag names “TANKLV”, “BCRUN”, and “MAT” are registered in the tag name registration field 49, respectively. Thus, the tag “TANKLV” is output from the raw material metering sensor 35 by the first tag assigning unit 11 to the binary level status signal S1 indicating the level of the raw material output from the level sensor 33. The tag name “BCRUN” is given by the second tag assigning unit 12 to the carry amount analog signal S2 indicating the first operation, and the first tag assigning unit 11 to the binary operation status signal S3 indicating whether the motor 36 is operating The tag name “MAT” is assigned by.
By doing so, it is possible to create a rule using a tag (variable name) without being aware of the absolute address on the network.
[0040]
Also, in the tag comment display field 50, “tank level low”, “belt conveyor operation”, and “raw material transport amount” are described so that the contents of the constituent elements of each rule can be understood. Furthermore, “$”, which means “No”, is registered in the comparator registration field 51 when registering a tag corresponding to the level status signal S 1. The tank level is not lower than the reference value.
In addition, regarding the event that “the state where the amount of material conveyed by the belt conveyor is 1 ton / hour or less has continued for 5 minutes or more”, “1” is entered in the boundary value column 52 of the tag, and “T / H” is entered in the unit column 53. "," 5 "in the minute entry column 54, and"<(less than) "in the comparator registration column 51 so that the determination can be made. Finally, the rule creation is completed by describing the relationship between these components (here, “AND”) in the condition column 56. Then, the created rule is registered by operating the display content registration execution button 45.
[0041]
The rule calculation unit 18 performs calculation according to the rule using the tag created by the rule creation unit 17 as described above on the process data constantly input from the plant controller 2 to determine whether the condition is satisfied. Determine.
If the rule is established, there is a possibility that the raw material p is biased in the tank 32 of the raw material cutting device 31, and the output command unit 19 is notified to notify the operator of that fact. Message output request and WAV file playback request. At the same time, the recording unit 20 is instructed to record a message corresponding to the rule.
[0042]
In response to this, the output command unit 19 outputs a message output command to the message output unit 22. As a result, the message output unit 22 outputs to the man-machine interface 5 the message “There is a possibility that the material is biased in the tank” created in advance by the rule creation unit 17.
[0043]
Further, the output command unit 19 gives a playback command designating the file name of the WAV file corresponding to the rule to the WAV file playback unit 21. In response to this, the WAV file playback unit 21 plays back the designated WAV file.
As a result, the message is converted into voice and output, so that compared to the conventional alerting only to the operator using only the alarm sound, the operator can see what kind of event is occurring in the plant equipment. It can be grasped quickly and the way to deal with it becomes easier.
[0044]
The recording unit 20 records messages corresponding to the respective rules registered in advance in the rule creating unit 17 in time series in response to a message recording instruction from the rule calculation unit 18. Then, by giving an instruction to read recording data from the man-machine interface 5 as necessary, the history of messages recorded in the recording unit 20 is output to the man-machine interface 5 via the history data output unit 22. The
[0045]
As described above, in the first embodiment, tags are assigned in advance by the first to fifth tag assigning units 11 to 15 to each process data fetched from the plant controller 2 via the network. Since the rules are created using each tag, even if the signal name or the absolute address on the network is changed, there is no need to change the contents of the program that defines the rule, and the tag assignment is changed. You just need to.
For this reason, the rule for plant monitoring can be created very easily, and the burden on the operator can be reduced.
[0046]
In the first embodiment, the alert message output from the message output unit 22 may be transmitted from the network interface 6 to the plant controller 2.
[0047]
In this way, since the contents of the message can be notified to the plant controller 2, it is possible to detect the occurrence of an abnormality in each facility of the plant in a man-machine interface (not shown) provided in the plant controller 2. it can. Further, since an interlock function for stopping the operation of the facility can be incorporated, a more convenient system can be constructed.
In addition, it is possible to analyze on the plant controller 2 side what abnormal state occurs when the plant is in a state.
Further, when the plant controller 2 determines that a high-risk state has occurred in the plant based on the notification, the plant controller 2 can issue a warning by operating an alarm device such as a bell, lamp, or speaker installed in the vicinity of the facility. As a result, safety can be ensured and prompt action can be taken.
[0048]
Embodiment 2. FIG.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the plant monitoring support system according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and components corresponding to those in the first embodiment shown in FIG.
[0049]
The feature of the plant monitoring support system in the second embodiment is that either one of the process data simulation signal inputted from the man-machine interface unit 5 and the process data fetched from the plant controller 2 via the network is used. This is provided with data switching means 25 for selecting and outputting to the rule calculation unit 18.
[0050]
In this way, by providing the data switching means 25, for example, when the process data is not being input from the plant controller 2 to the central information processing device 3 such as during plant maintenance, A simulation for verifying the validity of the rule created by the rule creation unit 17 can be performed.
[0051]
That is, when a rule is newly created by the rule creation unit 17, it is necessary to verify whether or not the rule is actually valid in monitoring the operation status of the plant.
Therefore, before actually starting the process of monitoring the plant by inputting process data from the plant controller 2, the simulated signal of the process data generated by the man-machine interface unit 5 is sent to the rule calculation unit 18 via the data switching means 25. The calculation is performed according to the rule input and created by the rule creation unit 17.
Thereby, the validity of the newly created rule can be verified in advance, and convenience is enhanced.
[0052]
Since other configurations and operational effects are the same as those in the first embodiment, detailed description thereof is omitted here.
[0053]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, it is possible to handle process data with an easily understandable name called a tag without being aware of an absolute address on the network. And even if the signal name of specific process data imported from the plant controller via the network or the absolute address on the network is changed, there is no need to change the contents of the program that defines the rule, and tag assignment Therefore, it is possible to create a rule for plant monitoring extremely easily and reduce the burden on the operator.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a plant monitoring support system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a raw material cutting device which is an example of a plant.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a rule creation screen.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a plant monitoring support system in Embodiment 2 of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Plant monitoring support system, 2 Plant controller, 3 Central information processing apparatus, 5 Man-machine interface, 11-14 The 1st-4th tag allocation part (tag allocation means), 15 The 5th tag allocation part (Tag re-allocation means) ), 17 rule creation unit (rule creation unit), 18 rule computation unit (rule computation unit), 20 recording unit (recording unit), 21 WAV file playback unit (sound playback unit), 22 message output unit (message output unit) 25 Data switching means.

Claims (5)

This is a plant monitoring support system that registers events that can be predicted by a combination of process data fetched via a network from a plant controller that controls the plant, and notifies the operator when this foreseeable event is established. And
Tag assignment means for individually assigning a variable name tag corresponding to each process data, process data combination conditions to be established corresponding to a foreseeable event, and necessary duration of the conditions, the tag assignment means In accordance with the rules created by the rule creation means that creates a single rule using the tag assigned in step 1, and registers a warning message that should be output when the condition is established according to the rule. Rule computing means for computing process data to determine whether or not a condition is established, and if the rule computing means determines that the condition is established, a message registered in advance in the rule creating means accordingly In accordance with the output timing of the calculation result of the rule calculation means and the message output means for outputting Plant supervision system characterized in that it comprises, recording means for chronologically recording the message registered in the serial rule creation portion. The plant monitoring support system according to claim 1, further comprising tag reassignment means for newly assigning one tag to one rule created by the rule creation means. The plant monitoring support system according to claim 1, further comprising: a voice reproduction unit that converts a message output from the message output unit into a voice. The plant monitoring support system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a message output from the message output means is configured to be transmitted to the plant controller. A data switching means for selecting either one of the process data simulation signal given from the man-machine interface and the process data fetched from the plant controller via the network and outputting the selected data to the rule calculation means; The plant monitoring support system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the plant monitoring support system is characterized.

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