JP2008021135A - Equipment simulation device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an equipment simulation device for testing a system and an application program without requiring actual plant environment. <P>SOLUTION: The equipment simulation device comprises an equipment image generating means for generating equipment image information, referring to equipment definition information; an equipment image file in which data is set by the generated equipment image information; and a simulation server means for simulating equipment data, referring to the equipment image file. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a simulation apparatus for a device having a fieldbus interface function communicable with a host device conforming to the FOUNDATION fieldbus H1 (hereinafter referred to as FF-H1) standard or the HART standard.

  FIG. 5 shows an example of the configuration of a conventional test system for handling various data of devices having a fieldbus interface function to develop various applications used in a plant or to configure a system construction.

  In FIG. 5, the host device 1 is connected to a general-purpose communication bus 2 represented by Ethernet (registered trademark), and an application program 11 and a system are generated. The communication server 3 is connected between the general-purpose communication bus 2 and the control bus 4 and relays communication between the host device 1 and the control bus.

  The control device 5A connected to the control bus 4 communicates with the FF-H1 standard devices 7a, 7b,... 7n via the field bus 6A to control these devices. Similarly, the control device 5B connected to the control bus 4 communicates with the HART standard devices 8a, 8b,... 8n via the field bus 6B and executes control of these devices.

  The control devices 5A and 5B, the devices 7a, 7b, ... 7n and the devices 8a, 8b, ... 8n constitute an actual plant environment F. The device data held by each device is collected in the communication server 3 via the control devices 5A and 5B and the control bus 4, and the application program of the host device 1 is sent from the communication server via the general-purpose communication bus 2. 11 is passed. Data setting from the application program 11 to each device goes through this reverse route.

  FIG. 6 is an association diagram illustrating a mechanism for calling up and acquiring plant device data from a host. Assume that the device to be called is a device 7a of the FF-H1 standard. In the memory map in the device, block data information (block attribute and access address) of the device that defines the function is set.

  In this example, Resource Block data is held at address 0x20100, and AI (Analog Input) Block data is held at address 0x30100. This AI Block data is composed of STAT (status) information, OUT (output) information, and ATR (attribute) information.

  The host application program 11 outputs a command to acquire OUT (output) information of AI Block data to the communication server 3. This command specifies data to be acquired with reference to a DD file (provided by a device manufacturer) in which data constituting the device block and its attributes are described.

  Next, a communication procedure between the communication server 3 and the device 7a will be described. The communication server 3 first requests block information from the device 7a in procedure P1. The device 7a returns the Resource Block attribute and address (0x20100) to the communication server 3 in step P2, and then returns the AI Block attribute and address (0x30100) to the communication server 3 in step P3.

  The communication server 3 requests the device 7a for the second data at the address 0x30100 in procedure P4 in order to obtain the OUT data of the AI block. The device 7a returns AI block OUT data to the communication server 3 in step P5. Through such procedures P1 to P5, the communication server 3 acquires data designated from the upper level than the device 7a and passes it to the higher-level application program 11.

  Patent Document 1 describes a control system in which a simulation block for executing a simulation of a fieldbus block existing in a fieldbus device is provided in a control station.

JP 2004-29910 A

The conventional test system has the following problems.
(1) Since it is necessary to access or operate the equipment to acquire or set the equipment data, it is necessary to execute the test in the actual plant environment where the control device and equipment are operating. There are limitations.

(2) Since an actual machine is required for the test, it is not possible to verify in advance whether or not the system or application program generated before instrumentation by the actual machine operates normally and to correct the defect.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to realize a device simulation apparatus that can execute a test of a system or an application program without requiring an actual plant environment.

In order to achieve such a subject, the present invention has the following configuration.
(1) device image generation means for generating device image information with reference to device definition information;
A device image file whose data is set by the generated device image information;
Simulation server means for referring to the device image file and executing simulation of device data;
A device simulation apparatus comprising:

(2) The device image generation means refers to the device definition information from a CF file in which a block configuration of the device is described and a DD file in which data constituting the block and attributes thereof are described ( The apparatus simulation apparatus as described in 1).

(3) The device image generation means refers to the information of the CF file and the DD file, and generates a device image file describing address assignment of block information and data in each block and its attributes. The apparatus simulation apparatus according to (2).

(4) The device simulation apparatus according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein the device image files are grouped for each device type and stored in an image file holding unit.

(5) The device simulation apparatus according to any one of (1) to (4), further including an arbitrary data generation unit that arbitrarily changes setting data of the device image file.

(6) The apparatus simulation apparatus according to any one of (1) to (5), wherein the simulation server unit is referred to by a host apparatus.

As is apparent from the above description, the present invention has the following effects.
(1) Since it is not necessary to prepare a real machine, if a file for defining a device (provided by a device manufacturer) can be prepared, a system and application program using the data of the device can be tested.

(2) Since it is not necessary to prepare a real machine for a communication load test using a large number of devices, it is possible to save labor such as location and labor.

(3) It becomes possible to reproduce the trouble of a certain plant without preparing an actual machine.

(4) System testing can be performed before equipment is delivered.

  The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing an embodiment of a test system using a device simulation apparatus to which the present invention is applied. The same elements as those in the conventional test system described with reference to FIG. Hereinafter, the characteristic part of the present invention will be described.

  In FIG. 1, an apparatus simulation apparatus 100 to which the present invention is applied is connected to a control bus 4 and provides a simulation environment that substitutes the actual plant environment F of the conventional system described in FIG.

  In the device simulation apparatus 100, the image file holding means 101A and 101B are arbitrarily grouped according to the type and number of device image files held by each.

  For example, the image file holding means 101A holds the image files 102a, 102b,... 102n of the equipment conforming to the FF-H1 standard, and the image file holding means 101B holds the image file of the equipment conforming to the HART standard. The The device image file held in these image file holding means provides device data on behalf of the actual machine.

  The simulation server means 103A and 103B access the image file holding means 101A and 10B based on the command of the host communication server 3, respectively, refer to the held device image file, and pass it to the communication server 3.

  The device image generation unit 104 refers to a DD (Device Description) file 105 and a CF (Capability File) file provided by the device manufacturer, generates device image data of the device, and stores the device image in the image file holding unit. Build the file.

  In a DD file 105 of a device conforming to the FF-H1 standard, data constituting a block representing the function of the device and its attributes are described. The CF file 106 describes block information of the device.

  The device image generation unit 104 determines a block address according to a predetermined algorithm based on the device definition information of the DD file and the CF file, sets data and attribute information in the block, and uses this as a device image file. It is written and saved in the image file holding means composed of a nonvolatile memory.

  The arbitrary data generation means 107 is a tool for arbitrarily changing the data set in the device image file, and is effective when the data is to be changed periodically (triangular wave modulation or the like).

  FIG. 2 is an association diagram illustrating a procedure for generating a device image file by the device image generating means and a procedure for acquiring specific data of the device image file from the upper level.

  Based on the device definition information of the DD file 105 and the CF file 106, the device image generation unit 104 generates a resource block and sets data at address 0x200 of the device image file 102a, and generates and sets an AI block at address 0x300. In addition, the attribute setting is performed, and the device image file 102a is completed and saved. AI Block data consists of STAT (status) information, OUT (output) information, and ATR (attribute) information.

  The host application program 11 outputs a command to acquire OUT (output) information of AI Block data to the communication server 3. This command specifies data to be acquired by referring to the DD file 105 in which data constituting the device block and its attributes are described.

  Next, a communication procedure between the communication server 3 and the simulation server 103A will be described. The communication server 3 first requests block information from the simulation server 103A in procedure P1.

  The simulation server 103A refers to the device image file 102a, returns the Resource Block attribute and address (0x200) to the communication server 3 in the procedure P2, and continues to send the AI Block attribute and address (0x300) to the communication server 3 in the procedure P3. Return to.

  The communication server 3 requests the second data at the address 0x300 in procedure P4 in order to obtain the OUT data of the AI block. The simulation server 103A returns the AI block OUT data to the communication server 3 in step P5.

  Through such procedures P1 to P5, the communication server 3 acquires data instructed from the upper level than the device image file 102a and passes it to the higher-level application program 11. The communication procedure is basically the same as that of the conventional system.

  FIG. 3 is a management screen of the device image generation unit 104. In the left area 104a of the screen, the virtual control devices built in the image file holding means and the virtual devices connected to the virtual control devices are displayed hierarchically.

  When the lowermost virtual port is selected, an illustration and setting data of the device virtually connected to this port are displayed in the screen right area 104b. In this screen example, two device image data of device image files 102a and 102b are displayed.

  FIG. 4 is a management screen of the arbitrary data generation means 107. For example, when it is desired to change a certain data A of a certain device X with a triangular wave, the arbitrary data generating means generates data and periodically updates the setting data A of the device image file corresponding to the device X.

  On the displayed management screen, a change pattern type, a pattern cycle, a write cycle, and the like can be set for each of the parameter values of the block in the device ID 101.

It is a functional block diagram which shows embodiment of the test system using the apparatus simulation apparatus to which this invention is applied. FIG. 5 is an association diagram illustrating a procedure for generating a device image file by a device image generating unit and a procedure for acquiring specific data of a device image file from a higher level. It is a management screen of an apparatus image generation means. It is a management screen of arbitrary data generation means. It is a functional block diagram which shows the structural example of the conventional test system performed in a real plant environment. It is an association diagram explaining a mechanism for calling up and acquiring plant device data from a host.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 High-order apparatus 11 Application program 2 General-purpose communication bus 3 Communication server 4 Control bus 100 Apparatus simulation apparatus 101A, 101B Image file holding | maintenance apparatus 102a, 102b ... 102n Apparatus image file 103A, 103B Simulation server means 104 Equipment image generation means 105 DD file 106 CF file 107 Arbitrary data generation means

Claims (6)

Device image generation means for generating device image information with reference to device definition information;
A device image file whose data is set by the generated device image information;
Simulation server means for referring to the device image file and executing simulation of the device data;
A device simulation apparatus comprising:   The device image generation means refers to the device definition information from a CF file in which a block configuration of the device is described and a DD file in which data constituting the block and attributes thereof are described. The apparatus simulation apparatus as described.   3. The device image generation means refers to information of the CF file and DD file, and generates a device image file in which address assignment of block information, data in each block, and attributes thereof are described. The apparatus simulation apparatus described in 1.   4. The apparatus simulation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus image files are grouped for each type of the apparatus and stored in an image file holding unit.   The apparatus simulation apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an arbitrary data generation unit that arbitrarily changes setting data of the apparatus image file. 6. The apparatus simulation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the simulation server unit is referred to by a host apparatus.