JP2009139989A - Engineering tool - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To achieve an engineering tool enabling print of a document related to a monitoring control system without converting the document into unified data and thus without developing software for the conversion. <P>SOLUTION: A print manager 14 for managing printing by respective editors of a graphic editor 11 for producing and printing a monitoring screen of a monitoring device for monitoring a plant, a program editor 12 for producing and printing control logic of a controller for controlling the plant, and a signal editor 13 for producing and printing a signal list for the plant, through communication with print adaptors 15, 16, 17 incorporated into the respective editors, issues a print request to each editor, and each editor performs printing in response thereto. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an engineering tool for creating a supervisory control system and printing a document related thereto.

A conventional auto document function is described in Patent Document 1, for example.
In Patent Document 1, a unified data format conversion unit converts an input target file to generate a unified format file, and an editing unit generates a table of contents for the unified format file.
In the case of text correction, the unified data format conversion unit identifies the original document corresponding to the corrected part, and activates the editor associated with the file descriptor. Then, the correction history management unit stores and manages the difference information.
Since Patent Document 1 is configured as described above, when a plurality of documents are handled as one document, page assignment and table of contents creation can be managed as a single document. Management can be facilitated.

JP 2004-5082 A (pages 3 to 5, FIG. 1)

The conventional system has the advantage of facilitating the management of multiple documents. However, since the conversion is performed by the unified data format conversion unit, it takes time, and the monitoring and control system that frequently corrects and prints data. Not suitable for engineering applications.
Moreover, it is necessary to develop software for conversion for each different data, and the development man-hour becomes enormous.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and printing a document created by a plurality of editors related to the monitoring control system as a single document can be converted into unified data. The aim is to obtain an engineering tool that can be done without doing so, and therefore without developing software for the conversion.

  In the engineering tool according to the present invention, a graphic editor for creating and printing a monitoring screen of a monitoring device for monitoring a plant, a program editor for creating and printing a control logic of a controller for controlling a plant, and creating and printing a plant signal list A signal editor, a print manager that manages printing of each editor, and a print adapter that is incorporated in each editor and communicates with the print manager and transmits a print request from the print manager.

  As described above, the present invention provides a graphic editor for creating and printing a monitoring screen of a monitoring device for monitoring a plant, a program editor for creating and printing a control logic for a controller for controlling a plant, and a signal list for a plant. The user has a signal editor for printing, a print manager that manages printing of each editor, and a print adapter that is incorporated in each editor, communicates with the print manager, and transmits a print request from the print manager. Using a print manager to print a document created by multiple editors related to the supervisory control system as a single document, without converting to unified data, and therefore to develop software for the conversion Can be done.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described below.
FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing a system including an engineering tool according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
In FIG. 1, an engineering tool 1 semipermanently stores a program memory 101 for storing an engineering function, a CPU 100 for calling and executing the engineering function, a temporary storage device RAM 102 for calculation, and information generated by the engineering tool 1. It is composed of an external storage device 103 for storing. The monitoring screen created by the engineering tool 1 and stored in the external storage device 103 is transferred to the OPS (monitoring device) 2 via the general-purpose network 6 and used as the monitoring screen.

The OPS 2 includes a program memory 201 that stores a monitoring function, a CPU 200 that calls and executes the monitoring function, an external storage device 203 that stores a monitoring screen and the like, and a temporary storage device RAM 202 for computation.
The CNS logic created by the engineering tool 1 and stored in the external storage device 103 is transferred to the CNS (controller) 4 via the general-purpose network 6 and the control network 3 and used as control logic for the controller.
The CNS 4 includes a nonvolatile memory 402 that stores the CNS logic created by the engineering tool 1, a program memory 401 that stores a calculation program, and a CPU 400 that reads and executes the program.
The plant device 5 is connected to the CNS 4, and a program executed by the CPU 400 receives an input from the plant device and performs an operation, and outputs the result to the plant device 5 or transmits it to the OPS 2 to display the monitoring screen. Control the display.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an engineering tool according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
In FIG. 2, the engineering tool 1 includes a graphic editor 11 that creates and prints a monitoring screen of the OPS 2, a program editor 12 that creates and prints a control logic of the CNS 4, and a signal editor 13 that creates and prints a plant signal list. The printing manager 14 manages the printing of all the engineering tools 1.
The graphic editor 11 incorporates a print adapter 15, the program editor 12 incorporates a print adapter 16, and the signal editor 13 incorporates a print adapter 17.
Each print adapter has a function of communicating with the print manager 14 and transmitting the information to each editor. The print adapter 14 checks the number of printed pages and returns it to the print manager 14. A print request from the print manager 14. And at least a function for causing each editor to print.
The graphic 21 is a printed matter printed by the graphic editor 11, and an example is shown in FIG. 3, and the program 22 is a printed matter printed by the program editor 12, and an example thereof is shown in FIG. Is a printed matter such as an alarm list, an instrumentation list, or an IO list printed by the signal editor 13, and examples thereof are shown in FIG.
The graphic print setting 18, the program print setting 19, and the signal print setting 20 are settings such as a print width and a font mounted by the graphic editor 11, the program editor 12, and the signal editor 13, respectively.

The print manager 14 communicates with a print adapter incorporated in each editor, calls a print setting of each editor, and performs a print request, etc. As a separate print unit, the graphic unit 141 corresponding to the graphic editor 11 and the program editor 12 And a signal list unit 143 corresponding to the signal editor 13. Each individual printing unit has a printing function and a setting function.
For example, in the graphic unit 141, which is an individual print unit for graphics, when a setting function is executed, a setting request is made to the print adapter 15 incorporated in the graphic editor 11, and the graphic print setting 18 is activated via the print adapter 15. Graphic printing is set.
When the print function of the graphic unit 141 is executed, a print request is made to the print adapter 15, and the print adapter 15 calls the print function of the graphic editor 11 to perform graphic printing.
The batch printing unit 144 is a function that batch prints all documents by calling the individual printing units in order. The batch printing unit 144 automatically generates a table of contents 24.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a printed matter printed by the graphic editor according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
In FIG. 3, a graphic 21 such as a process flow diagram is printed.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a printed matter printed by the program editor according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
In FIG. 4, a diagram of the program 22 is printed.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a printed matter printed by the signal editor according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
In FIG. 5, a signal list 23 such as an alarm list, an instrumentation list, or an IO list is printed. FIG. 5 shows an IO list 23 having a label such as a pump operation command, a tag such as a pump monitoring tag, and an alarm such as a pump flow rate alarm.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the engineering tool according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

Next, the operation will be described with reference to FIG.
When printing is executed by the print manager 14, it is determined whether the printing is batch printing or individual printing (S1).
In the case of individual printing, a print request is made to the print adapter of the editor designated for individual printing (S10). The print adapter that has received the print request calls the print function for the editor in which it is incorporated (S11). Upon receiving this, the printing function of the editor executes printing and outputs a document (S12). The print adapter returns a print completion message to the print manager 14 (S13).
For batch printing, the following processing is performed for all editors. The print manager 14 inquires of the print adapter about the number of pages (S3). The print adapter checks the number of print pages and returns it to the print manager 14 (S4). This number of pages is used when the table of contents is generated at the end. The print manager 14 issues a print request to the print adapter (S5).
The print adapter calls a print function with respect to the editor in which the print adapter is incorporated (S6). The printing function of the editor executes printing, and a document is generated (S7). The print adapter returns a print completion message to the print manager 14 (S8). The print manager 14 reads the print adapter of the next editor when printing is completed, and sequentially executes the same processing (S9).
After completion of all editors, a table of contents is generated (S14), and the process is completed.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, the user can use the print manager to print a document created by a plurality of editors related to the monitoring control system as one document. This can be done without conversion and therefore without developing software for the conversion.
In addition, the batch printing section of the print manager enables batch printing of documents from different editors, greatly reducing the time required for document generation by manually printing the table of contents and rearranging by printing with each editor as before. it can.
In addition, a developer can create a print document only by developing a simple print adapter for each different editor, and can perform integrated printing of different documents with a small development cost.
In addition, the print adapter needs to develop only the I / F (interface) that checks the number of pages and returns it to the print manager, and the function that prints in response to a print request from the print manager. And development man-hours can be reduced.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
The second embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.
FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an engineering tool according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.
In FIG. 7, reference numerals 1, 11 to 24, and 141 to 144 are the same as those in FIG. In FIG. 7, a common setting unit 145 is provided in the print manager 14, and the print setting of each editor is performed in common and stored in the print common setting 25.

Even when printing with different engineering tools, the outer frame of the header and the creator often want to use it in common. The common setting unit 145 of the print manager 14 is a function for setting these common data, and the setting result is stored as the print common setting 25. The print adapters 15, 16, and 17 incorporated in each editor overwrite the individual print settings 18, 19, and 20 with the print common setting 25 as positive. Settings that exist only in the individual print settings are naturally left without being overwritten.
Thereafter, printing is performed in the same manner as in the first embodiment, and each document is printed in a state where the print common setting 25 is valid.

  According to the second embodiment, this eliminates the need for the user to set common print settings for each individual editor, thereby reducing engineering man-hours and setting errors.

Embodiment 3 FIG.
The third embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.
FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing an engineering tool according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention.
In FIG. 8, reference numerals 1, 11 to 25, and 141 to 145 are the same as those in FIG. In FIG. 8, the graphic editor 11 has a graphic revision history 26, the program editor 12 has a program revision history 27, and the signal editor 13 has a signal revision history 28. The print manager 14 creates a revision history 29 by putting together revision history of each editor.

In the third embodiment, each editor has a revision history of a product created by itself. The graphic editor 11 has a graphic revision history 26, the program editor 12 has a program revision history 27, and the signal editor 13 has a signal revision history 28.
The revision history has been generated by a separate engineering tool so far, and this is created by re-inputting all of the revision history using a commercial tool such as WORD (registered trademark).
The batch printing unit 144 of the print manager 14 requests a revision history from each editor's print adapter during batch printing, and each print adapter obtains the revision history from each editor and returns it to the print manager 14. The print manager generates a revision history 29 in a form in which the revision history data of each returned editor is shaped and collected.

Thus, according to the third embodiment, it is possible to save the trouble of creating a revision history that has been created by each editor and manually created at the end, and to improve engineering efficiency.

Embodiment 4 FIG.
A fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.
FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing an engineering tool according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention.
9, reference numerals 1, 11 to 29, and 141 to 145 are the same as those in FIG. In FIG. 9, a page setting unit 146 is provided in the print manager 14 to set the page of each document, and the setting result is stored in the page setting 30.

When the engineering data is changed and the document is regenerated, when a page is added, the subsequent pages are all shifted, and all the documents must be reprinted in many cases. In the fourth embodiment, in preparation for such a case, for example, the printed material of the graphic editor 11 and the printed material of the program editor 12 can be set to different page systems. The graphic editor 11 is “1-1”, “1-2”, “1-3”..., The program editor 12 is “2-1”, “2-2”, “2-3”.
The print manager 14 according to the fourth embodiment includes a page setting unit 146, sets the page of each document, and stores the setting result in the page setting 30.
The batch printing unit 144 reads the page setting 30 at the time of batch printing and transmits page information to each print adapter. Each print adapter executes printing by each editor based on the received page information.

  According to the fourth embodiment, this makes it possible to specify the page of each document. Therefore, even when a part of the document is to be replaced and the page is shifted, it is not necessary to reprint all the subsequent documents. Engineering man-hours can be reduced.

Embodiment 5 FIG.
The fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.
FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing an engineering tool according to Embodiment 5 of the present invention.
10, reference numerals 1, 11 to 30, and 141 to 146 are the same as those in FIG. In FIG. 10, the batch printing unit 144 of the print manager 14 prints a file created with a tool different from the engineering tool as the supplementary material 31.

  When creating a document, in addition to printing engineering data, it is often desirable to add supplementary material 31 created with a tool other than an engineering tool such as WORD or EXCEL (registered trademark). In such a case, the fifth embodiment uses the file created separately from these engineering tools by the batch printing unit 144 of the print manager 14 as the supplementary material 31 according to the page setting 30 set by the page setting unit 146. Print.

  According to the fifth embodiment, this makes it possible to easily incorporate a file created by a tool other than an engineering tool such as WORD or EXCEL into a document, thereby reducing the number of engineering steps.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a whole block diagram which shows the system containing the engineering tool by Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the engineering tool by Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the printed matter printed with the graphic editor by Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the printed matter printed with the program editor by Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the printed matter printed with the signal editor by Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the engineering tool by Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the engineering tool by Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the engineering tool by Embodiment 3 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the engineering tool by Embodiment 4 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the engineering tool by Embodiment 5 of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1 engineering tool, 2 OPS, 3 control network,
4 CNS, 5 Plant equipment, 6 General-purpose network,
11 Graphic editor, 12 Program editor,
13 Signal Editor, 14 Print Manager, 15-17 Print Adapter,
18 graphic print settings, 19 program print settings, 20 signal print settings,
21 graphics, 22 programs, 23 signal lists,
24 Contents, 25 Common print settings,
26 Graphic revision history, 27 Program revision history, 28 Signal revision history,
29 revision history, 30 page settings, 31 supplementary materials,
100 CPU, 101 program memory, 102 RAM, 103 external storage device, 141 graphic unit, 142 program unit, 143 signal list unit,
144 batch printing section, 145 common setting section, 146 page setting section,
200 CPU, 201 Program memory, 202 RAM, 203 External storage device, 400 CPU, 401 Program memory, 402 Non-volatile memory

Claims (6)

  A graphic editor for creating and printing a monitoring screen of a monitoring device for monitoring a plant, a program editor for creating and printing a control logic of a controller for controlling the plant, a signal editor for creating and printing a signal list of the plant, and the respective editors An engineering tool, comprising: a print manager that manages printing of a printer, and a print adapter that is incorporated in each editor, communicates with the print manager, and transmits a print request from the print manager.   The engineering tool according to claim 1, wherein the print manager includes a batch printing unit that sequentially issues print requests to the editors.   The print manager includes a common setting unit configured to perform print settings common to the editors, and the editors perform the printing with reference to print settings common to the editors. The engineering tool according to claim 1 or claim 2.   4. The editor according to claim 1, wherein each of the editors has a revision history of each product, and transmits the revision history in response to a request from the print manager. Engineering tool.   The print manager includes a page setting unit for setting a page of a document to be printed by each editor, and each editor performs the printing with reference to the page setting. Item 5. The engineering tool according to any one of Items 4.   6. The engineering tool according to claim 5, wherein the print manager prints a file created by a tool different from the engineering tool in accordance with the page setting by the page setting unit.

Images