JP2006238481A - Communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a field device by which even a long-distance data communication can be easily established and costs can be saved and to provide a communication system using the field device. <P>SOLUTION: The communication system is composed of the field device which is placed in a plant and detects various kinds of process values and a receiving meter which sends and receives process values and electric power. In this system, the field device is provided with a first memory in which parameters for signal operation processing of output of an A/D converter for analog-to-digital conversion of detection values detected by a sensor are stored and a first address assignment part which sets the first address inherent in the first memory. The receiving meter is provided with a second memory in which parameters for signal operation processing are stored and a second address assignment part which sets the second address inherent in the second memory. The field device and the receiving meter are provided with the communication facility of portable telephone respectively and they send and receive data to and from a data server by using their portable telephone function. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a field device for detecting various process values (physical quantities) such as flow meters, pressure gauges, thermometers, etc. installed in various plant sites such as water and sewage systems, petrochemicals, etc., communication function, wireless function The present invention relates to a field device for improving the function by adding the function and a function for improving the communication function with the outside, and a communication system using the field device.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a water and sewage facility or the like, a place where cable wiring cannot be laid, for example, a manhole facility, is provided with a flow meter having a wireless function in a pipe through which water flows. When collecting data, checking equipment, etc., the operator operates the portable device as a communication device, and exchanges data with the flow meter in the manhole.

  In general households, water usage and gas usage are regularly read by an automatic meter reading device by an operator. Such an automatic meter-reading apparatus also has a wireless function, and exchanges data wirelessly with a usage measuring device provided in a house in accordance with the operation of the operator.

Registered Utility Model No. 30229947 JP 2001-268661 A JP 2001-268915 A

  On the other hand, field equipment such as flow meters, pressure gauges, and thermometers installed at various large-scale plant sites such as water and sewage systems, petrochemicals, etc. have not yet become wireless, so that data can be exchanged. Mainly intricate cable laying. For this reason, the response | compatibility was complicated at the time of plant renovation, equipment rearrangement, etc.

  The above-mentioned problems can be solved by adding the wireless functions provided in home measuring devices to the field devices as described above, but the distance of wireless communication is limited, and the facilities themselves There are problems such as the influence of vibration, noise, etc., and the fact that the operator must go around the facility and wirelessly communicate with a large number of field devices to exchange data.

  Furthermore, the provision of new dedicated radio equipment in the field device has a problem of high cost and large size of the device.

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is to obtain a field device that can easily perform data communication even at a long distance and can realize cost reduction, and a communication system using the field device.

The present invention which achieves such a problem is as follows.
(1) In a communication system including a field device that is installed in a plant and detects various process values, and a receiving instrument that transmits and receives the process value and power via the field device and a transmission line, the field device includes: A first memory storing parameters for performing signal arithmetic processing on the output of an A / D converter that performs analog / digital conversion on the detection value detected by the sensor, and a first address unique to the first memory are set. A first address allocating unit configured to receive the second memory storing a parameter for performing signal calculation processing, and a second address unique to the second memory. An address assignment unit, and each of the field device and the receiving instrument is provided with a mobile phone communication function, and the first address and the second address are provided. The field device and the receiving instrument transmit / receive data to / from each other using the mobile phone communication function, and the field device or the receiving instrument transmits / receives data to / from the data server using the mobile phone function. A communication system characterized by the above.
(2) In a communication system comprising a field device that is installed in a plant and detects various process values, and a receiving instrument that transmits and receives the process value and power via the field device and a transmission line, the field device includes: A first memory storing parameters for performing signal arithmetic processing on the output of an A / D converter that performs analog / digital conversion on the detection value detected by the sensor, and a first address unique to the first memory are set. A first address allocating unit configured to receive the second memory storing a parameter for performing signal calculation processing, and a second address unique to the second memory. An address allocation unit, and transmits and receives data to and from each other via an Internet communication network using the first address and the second address, A client computer that collects data from a field device and the receiving instrument and connects to the Internet network; and a data server that supplies the data to the client computer, the client computer and the data server A communication system, wherein data and contents are transmitted / received to / from the Internet via the Internet communication network.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a field device that can easily perform data communication over a long distance and can realize cost reduction, and specifically has the following effects.

  The field device of the present invention is assigned with a device-specific address, such as IPv6, and is equipped with a mobile phone communication function and various wireless communication means as necessary. Therefore, public telephone communication such as W-CDMA method and DoPa method is used. A cellular phone, a portable terminal, or the like can be connected to the line intermittently or constantly as needed, and can be connected to the Internet, thereby expanding the data transmission / reception area.

  Moreover, since the field device of the present invention includes GPS means, it is possible to collate with the data of the position of the field device and its installation position. For example, in a plurality of fueling bases, It is possible to know how much oil has been supplied at the service station.

  In addition, when errors occur at a certain rate in the communication operation of the wireless communication means, the frequency is automatically changed to a different frequency, or transmitted at a plurality of frequencies. Communication reliability can be improved.

  In addition, when a large number of field devices such as the present invention are installed, the cost increases if a public telephone communication line is assigned to each unit. However, only one line is adopted and a large number of units are connected for communication in an extension form. With such a configuration, the cost is reduced.

  Furthermore, since a terminal such as a mobile phone can be used, the contents and parameters of the content storage unit are changed by the voice of the worker, or a warning is given to an external device connected to the public telephone communication line from the field device side. It is also possible to send voice messages such as warnings, warnings, etc. immediately and easily.

  Furthermore, by adding a function that can be connected to the Ethernet (registered trademark), PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) card connector, USB (Universal Serial Bus) to the field device 1, many means can be used. Communication is possible, and the performance of the field device itself can be improved.

  According to the data communication system of the present invention, data and contents can be transmitted and received between the receiving instrument Q and the data server DS via the Internet network N. Therefore, the sensor value detected by the field instrument In addition, it is possible to check the sensor value that is signal-processed by the receiving instrument, or to back up the data, and to determine whether the device is normal or abnormal.

  Furthermore, since sensor values and various parameters can be transmitted and received between the field device and the receiving instrument via the Internet network, even when a disconnection or abnormality occurs in the two-wire transmission lines L1 and L2, the field device The sensor value can be communicated to the receiving instrument via the Internet N.

  The data communication between the field device 1 and the data server DS and the data communication between the field device 1 and the receiving instrument Q may be a mobile phone communication method or a wireless communication method using an IPv6 address. This saves the trouble of wiring installation.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a field device 1 according to the present invention.
In this figure, a field device 1 is a flow meter that is installed in a pipe P through which a fluid such as water flows and measures the flow rate of the fluid. Even if it is not a flow meter, the field device 1 may be a pressure gauge, a thermometer, or the like.

  Usually, such a field device 1 has a sensor unit (not shown), obtains a sensor signal corresponding to a flow rate (or pressure, temperature, etc.), and this sensor signal is a processing circuit in the signal converter 10. 11 for signal processing. Then, the signal-processed signal is transmitted to a control computer system installed remotely as a 4-20 mA current signal, for example, by a communication method using the two-wire transmission line L.

  The field device 1 of the present invention is mainly characterized in that an address assignment unit 12 to which an address according to IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6) is assigned as a device-specific address set in the field device 1 is provided. Further, by providing the signal converter 10 with the mobile phone communication function 13, it is possible to perform telephone communication with an external device connected to the public telephone line PN, a mobile device TL such as a mobile phone or a mobile terminal, and the like. .

  In addition, the content storage unit C is installed in the field device 1 and data such as sensor detection values such as the flow rate value, temperature value, and pressure value of the fluid in the pipe P, and various parameter values such as the measurement range, zero point, and span. Is stored here. Also, content transmitted from the outside is stored here.

  Further, a mobile device TL such as a mobile phone or a mobile terminal located far away may be used to establish a telephone connection to the signal converter 10 and request data transmission.

  At this time, W-CDMA communication means may be used as the communication method from the portable device TL, or DoPa always-on communication means.

  Further, as a short-range wireless communication function, a Bluetooth within the signal converter 10 of the field device 1 is provided so that an operator who visits a plant in which many such field devices 1 are installed can easily obtain data. You may make it install the radio | wireless means 14 which employ | adopts a system.

  Further, by installing GPS (Global Positioning System) means 15 as position specifying means, the absolute position of the field device 1 can be specified.

  These cellular phone communication function 13, wireless communication means 14, and GPS means 15 are functions provided in association with address assignment means (IPv6) 12.

Next, the operation of the field device 1 of the present invention configured as described above will be described.
For example, when the sensor detection signal in the field device 1 is transmitted to the portable device TL, the connection with the portable device TL is established via the public telephone communication line network PN by the address (IPv6) assigning unit 10 and the portable phone communication function 13. Is done. The communication method at this time may be any communication method such as W-CDMA method or DoPa method. Thereafter, the data stored in the content storage unit C or the like is transmitted.

  At this time, by using a packet communication method such as the DoPa method, it is possible to always connect to the public telephone communication line PN, and to exchange data such as sensor values at a low cost.

  Conversely, when it is desired to acquire internal data from the portable device TL to the field device 1, a call is made to the address (IPv6) allocation unit 10 to establish a connection, and the content storage unit C The desired data is read from etc. The communication method at this time may be any communication method such as the W-CDMA method or the DoPa method.

  On the other hand, when the wireless means 14 adopting the Bluetooth system is used, data can be exchanged by using the portable terminal F as a communication interface at a position close to the field device 1 (signal converter 10). it can. Further, the collected data can be transmitted to the public telephone communication line PN by the function of the portable terminal F.

  Furthermore, it is possible to connect to the Internet communication network N via the public telephone communication line PN from the signal converter 10 or the portable terminal F. As long as an environment for accessing the Internet from any external location is provided, the signal converter 10 of the field device 1 can be connected and the contents of the content storage unit C can be read.

  Various data can be transmitted from the content storage unit C via the Internet communication network N. Conversely, when a failure occurs in the field device 1, a maintenance program is downloaded from the outside. It can be used for failure detection and abnormality detection.

  Further, since the GPS means 15 is provided, the sensor value in the field device 1 and the position data can be combined. For example, even when a fueling operation is performed on the tank lorry or the like via the pipe P, the tank lorry It is possible to interactively grasp data such as when, where, and how much is loaded between the device and the field device 1.

  FIG. 2 is an example of a display screen in a mobile phone TL connected to the public telephone communication line PN or a computer system (not shown) connected to the Internet communication network N.

  An example of this display is a case where two field devices (F101, F102) according to the present invention are provided in parallel. That is, the values F101 and F102 expanded to the tag numbers assigned by the user from the IPv6 addresses assigned to the two field devices are displayed as the tag addresses of the field devices. Further, each sensor value (99999 L / M, 99999 L / M) is displayed as a numerical value, and the position information 1 and 2 of the two field devices by the GPS means 15 are displayed together. Further, when the sensor output value of each field device is abnormal, the alarm lamps S1 and S2 are turned on. The date, time, etc. are displayed at the bottom of the display screen.

  Further, even when a communication failure occurs in the mobile phone communication function 13, a configuration may be adopted in which backup is performed by the wireless communication means 14, and an error occurs at a certain ratio or more in the communication operation of the wireless communication means 14. In such a case, the reliability can be improved by maintaining the communication by automatically changing the frequency to a different frequency or transmitting at a plurality of frequencies.

  In a large-scale plant, a large number of field devices as in the present invention are installed. However, if a public telephone communication line is assigned to each unit, the cost increases. Therefore, only one line is used. Alternatively, a configuration may be adopted in which a large number of units are connected for communication in an extension format using PHS lines.

  Furthermore, the content and parameters in the content storage unit C are changed by the voice of the operator via the mobile phone communication function 13 or the wireless communication means 14, or conversely, the field device 1 side changes to the public telephone communication line PN. It is also possible to send a voice message such as a warning to an external device to be connected.

  Furthermore, by adding a function that can be connected to the Ethernet (registered trademark), a PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) system card connector, and a USB (Universal Serial Bus) to the field device 1, many means can be used. Communication.

  The field device 1 is provided with a battery B such as a solar cell to perform power backup. In addition, an indicator D is provided to indicate the integration of sensor values and the instantaneous flow rate.

  The above description is conceptual of the field device 1 of the present invention. FIG. 3 shows a detailed circuit block diagram of the field device 1 and a configuration of a communication system using the field device.

  The example of FIG. 3 is a communication system in which the field device 1 transmits and receives acquired data to the data server DS as a data center and the client computer system CL functioning as a monitoring center via the Internet communication network N. .

  In general, the field device 1 to which the present invention is applied as described above is detected by the sensor SNR and the sensor SNR that detect the flow rate, pressure, temperature, etc. in the actual process as shown in FIG. A / D converter A / D for analog / digital conversion of the detected values, a microprocessor CPU that performs signal arithmetic processing on the output of the A / D converter A / D according to various parameters in the memory MEM, and the output of the microprocessor CPU The digital / analog converter D / A for digital / analog conversion has an output circuit OPC for converting the output of the digital / analog converter D / A into a current and transmitting it to the receiving instrument Q in the two-wire transmission lines L1, L2. .

  The receiving instrument Q side includes a power source E that supplies power to the field device 1 side via the two-wire transmission lines L1 and L2, and a load R such as a resistor.

  In such a configuration, power from the power source E is supplied to the field device 1 via the two-wire transmission lines L1 and L2, while signals detected by the sensor SNR are transmitted through the same two-wire transmission lines L1 and L2. The voltage change across the load R corresponds to the output of the sensor SNR.

  In the embodiment shown in this figure, a unique address (IPv6) allocating unit 12 is installed in a register in the memory MEM in the field device 1 or outside, and an IPv6 unique to the field device 1 is set and an Internet communication network is set. Install an interface I / F that connects to IN.

  With such a configuration, the sensor value calculated by the microprocessor CPU is temporarily stored in the memory MEM, and each data is transmitted via the data server DS serving as a data center for processing and accumulating data and the Internet communication network IN. , Content can be sent and received between each other.

  Furthermore, at least one client computer CL, which is a monitoring center, is connected to the Internet communication network N in the data server DS, and the client computer CL transmits and receives data and contents to and from the data server DS. I do.

  Similarly, on the receiving instrument Q side, a signal processing circuit Z including an analog / digital converter and a microprocessor CPU are installed in the load resistor R. The microprocessor CPU performs signal arithmetic processing according to various parameters in the memory MEM. Further, an address (IPv6) assigning unit pp is installed in an internal or external register of the memory MEM, an address IPv6 unique to the receiving instrument Q is set, and an interface I / F connected to the Internet communication network N is installed. .

  According to such a configuration of FIG. 3, data and contents can be transmitted and received between the receiving instrument Q and the data server DS via the Internet network IN. For this reason, on the display screen of the monitoring center CL, which is the data server DS or client computer, the sensor value detected in the field instrument 1 and the sensor value signal-processed in the receiver instrument Q By displaying, the same data processed by these two devices can be checked or backed up, and the normal / abnormality of both the field device 1 and the receiving instrument Q can be determined. I can do it.

  In addition, by adding a data transmission / reception function to the interface I / F in the field device 1 and the receiving instrument Q in the configuration of FIG. 3, the field device 1 and the receiving instrument Q can be connected via the Internet IN. The sensor value and various parameters can be transmitted and received. Therefore, even if a disconnection or abnormality occurs in the two-wire transmission lines L1 and L2, the sensor value can be communicated from the field device 1 to the receiving instrument Q via the Internet network N, and a backup function can be realized.

  In the example of FIG. 3, the data communication between the field device 1 and the data server DS is performed via the Internet network N. However, as described in the example of FIG. 1, an IPv6 address is used. A cellular phone communication system or a wireless communication system may be used.

  Further, the data communication between the field device 1 and the receiving instrument Q is performed via the Internet network N. However, as described in the example of FIG. 1, the cellular phone communication method and the wireless communication method using the IPv6 address are used. It may be.

It is a figure showing the block diagram of the field apparatus of this invention. It is a figure showing the display screen of the external apparatus connected to the field device of this invention. It is a figure showing the example of the data communication system using the field instrument of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Field apparatus 10 Signal converter 11 Processing circuit 12 Address assignment part 13 Cell-phone communication function 14 Wireless communication means 15 GPS setting part B Battery D Indicator C Content storage part F Mobile terminal PN Public telephone communication line TL Mobile device IN Internet network SNR sensor A / D analog / digital converter CPU microprocessor D / A digital / analog converter OPC output circuit MEM memory I / F interface E power supply R resistance Z signal processing circuit pp address allocation unit L1, L2 transmission path DS data Server CL client computer

Claims (2)

In a communication system comprising a field device that is installed in a plant and detects various process values, and a receiving instrument that transmits and receives the process value and power via the field device and a transmission line,
The field device includes a first memory storing parameters for performing signal arithmetic processing on an output of an A / D converter that performs analog / digital conversion on a detection value detected by a sensor, and a first memory unique to the first memory. A first address assignment unit for setting one address,
The receiving instrument includes a second memory that stores parameters for signal calculation processing, and a second address assignment unit that sets a second address unique to the second memory,
A mobile phone communication function is provided for each of the field device and the receiving instrument,
Using the first address, the second address and the respective mobile phone communication function, the field device and the receiving instrument mutually transmit and receive data,
The communication system, wherein the field device or the receiving instrument transmits / receives data to / from a data server using the mobile phone function. In a communication system comprising a field device that is installed in a plant and detects various process values, and a receiving instrument that transmits and receives the process value and power via the field device and a transmission line,
The field device includes a first memory storing parameters for performing signal arithmetic processing on an output of an A / D converter that performs analog / digital conversion on a detection value detected by a sensor, and a first memory unique to the first memory. A first address assignment unit for setting one address,
The receiving instrument includes a second memory that stores parameters for signal calculation processing, and a second address assignment unit that sets a second address unique to the second memory,
Sending and receiving data to and from each other via the Internet communication network using the first address and the second address,
A client computer that collects data from the field device and the receiving instrument and connects to the Internet network, and a data server that supplies the data to the client computer,
A communication system, wherein data and contents are transmitted and received between the client computer and the data server via the Internet communication network.

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