JP2015061232A - Controller and redundant controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce a processing load of a controller.SOLUTION: A controller includes: communication CPU 310 for distributing communication data received via external ports 311B and 311C to either of two internal routes on the basis of route information included in the communication data; and arithmetic CPU 320 for performing arithmetic processing on the distributed communication data and transmitting a result of the arithmetic processing via one of a plurality of I/O-I/F 323 on the basis of the route information included in the communication data. The communication CPU 310 on/off-controls switches 312B and 312C which are arranged in either of the two internal routes and connect/intercept the internal route in accordance with an instruction by the arithmetic CPU 320.

Description

  The present invention relates to a controller and a redundant controller.

  At the site where the production process is managed, a large number of devices (for example, devices such as sensor devices and valve positioners) are arranged in the plant, and the signals transmitted from these devices are incorporated into the system to manage the production process. Yes. As one form of such a process management system, there is a system in which a controller and a plurality of devices are connected by a network called a field bus, for example, and a production process is managed by a management device provided at a higher level of the controller (for example, , See Patent Document 1 below).

  Here, the fieldbus is a communication system network capable of two-way communication with digital signals, and its communication specification is determined by the Foundation Fieldbus (Foundation (registered trademark) Fieldbus) by the Fieldbus Foundation (registered trademark). ) Is standardized (standardized).

JP 2012-208706 A

  By the way, the controller described in Patent Document 1 executes data communication processing and data calculation processing performed with a management apparatus and equipment with a single CPU. Therefore, when a large amount of data is generated, the processing load on the controller increases, and there is a possibility that processing may be delayed.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems caused by the prior art, and an object thereof is to provide a controller and a redundant controller that can reduce the processing load.

  The controller according to the present invention includes: a communication control unit that distributes communication data received via the first communication unit to any one of a plurality of internal routes based on route information included in the communication data; A calculation process is performed on the communication data distributed by the communication control unit, and a result of the calculation process is transmitted via one of a plurality of second communication units based on path information included in the communication data. And a communication control unit configured to switch a switch for connecting / blocking the internal path provided in at least one of the internal paths in accordance with an instruction from the calculation control unit. ON / OFF is controlled.

  By adopting such a configuration, the processing in the controller can be distributed and executed by the communication control unit that controls communication and the arithmetic processing unit that executes arithmetic processing, and is received via the first communication unit. The communication data is distributed to a plurality of internal paths and transmitted to the calculation control unit, and on / off of a switch provided on at least one of the plurality of internal paths is controlled and transmitted to the calculation control unit. The amount of communication data can be adjusted.

  The internal path includes a first internal path for communicating the communication data including at least process data, and a second internal path for communicating the communication data including at least function update data for updating the function of the arithmetic processing. The switch may be provided in the second internal path.

  As a result, at least process data can be transmitted to the arithmetic control unit at any time, and at least function update data is controlled by turning on / off the switch according to the processing load status in the controller. Whether to transmit to can be controlled.

  The calculation control unit may transmit the instruction for switching the switch from OFF to ON before starting the process of updating the function of the calculation process to the communication control unit.

  This makes it possible to send the function update data to the calculation control unit only when the calculation processing function needs to be updated.

  The first communication unit and the internal path are doubly redundant, and the communication control unit is configured to store duplicate data among the communication data received via the redundant first communication unit. It is good also as transmitting to the said calculation control part, after removing one.

  The communication control unit transmits data received via the third communication unit to the outside via any one of a plurality of fourth communication units based on the path information included in the data. It is good.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a controller and a redundant controller that can reduce the processing load.

It is a figure which illustrates the structure of the process management system containing the controller in embodiment. It is a figure which illustrates the hardware constitutions of the controller shown in FIG. It is a figure which illustrates the function structure of the controller shown in FIG. It is a figure which illustrates one controller which comprises the redundant controller in a modification. It is a figure which illustrates the hardware constitutions of the controller in a modification.

  Embodiments according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. However, the embodiment described below is merely an example, and does not exclude application of various modifications and techniques not explicitly described below. That is, the present invention can be implemented with various modifications without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a process management system including a controller according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the process management system 100 includes a device management apparatus 1 and an operation monitoring apparatus 2 that are host devices, a controller 3, a converter 4, and a device 5.

  The device 5 is a device arranged in the plant. For example, a device corresponding to the foundation fieldbus technology, a device equipped with a HART (Highway Addressable Remote Transducer) communication function, a device compatible with the Profibus technology. Can be used. Examples of the device 5 include various sensor devices that detect flow rate, pressure, temperature, and the like, valve positioners that control various valves such as flow rate control valves and pressure control valves, and various actuators that operate pumps and fans. Applicable.

  The controller 3 is a device that controls the execution state of the production process. Specifically, the controller 3 adjusts the opening degree of the valve provided in the piping by controlling the valve positioner based on, for example, measurement values such as flow rate and pressure acquired from the transmitter.

  The converter 4 is a device that mediates between the controller 3 and the device 5, and is a device that converts a protocol on the controller 3 side and a protocol on the device 5 side.

  The device management apparatus 1 is an apparatus for managing the device 5, and performs centralized management of parameters, management of alert information, and the like. The operation monitoring device 2 is a device for displaying the operation contents of the device 5 collected via the controller 3 on a monitor and operating the operation state of the device 5 in accordance with an instruction from the operator.

  An example of the hardware configuration of the controller will be described with reference to FIG. The controller 3 physically includes, for example, a communication CPU 310, external ports 311A, 311B, 311C, switches 312A, 312B, 312C, sockets 313A, 313B, 313C, 313D, 313E, internal ports 314A, 314B, an internal switch 315, An external switch 316, an arithmetic CPU 320, internal ports 321, 322, and an I / O-I / F 323 are provided.

  The communication CPU 310 controls the operations of the external ports 311A, 311B, 311C, the switches 312A, 312B, 312C, the sockets 313A, 313B, 313C, 313D, 313E, the internal ports 314A, 314B, the internal switch 315, and the external switch 316. In other words, the communication CPU 310 functions as the communication control unit 31 of the controller 3 shown in FIG. The communication control unit 31 will be described later.

  2 controls each operation of the internal ports 321 and 322 and the I / O-I / F 323. In other words, the arithmetic CPU 320 functions as the arithmetic control unit 32 of the controller 3 shown in FIG. The arithmetic control unit 32 will be described later.

  A setting tool terminal or the like is connected to the external port 311A (third communication unit) illustrated in FIG. 2 according to a network standard such as Ethernet (registered trademark), for example. This setting tool terminal is a terminal for setting parameters and the like for the device 5 connected via the external switch 316 or the I / O-I / F 323.

  The switch 312A is a switch for connecting / blocking the internal path RA between the external port 311A and the socket 313A. For example, when the internal route RA is connected by the switch 312A, the setting tool terminal can set the parameters of the device 5 connected via the external switch 316 or the I / O-I / F 323. It becomes a state. On the other hand, when the internal path RA is blocked by the switch 312A, it is impossible for the setting tool terminal to set parameters or the like of a device connected via the external switch 316 or the I / O-I / F 323. It becomes. The communication CPU 310 that has received an instruction from the arithmetic CPU 320 switches between connecting / blocking the internal route RA by the switch 312A.

  As a result, the arithmetic CPU 320 can block the internal route RA and prevent the inflow of setting data from the external port 311A. The arithmetic CPU 320 can control ON / OFF of the switch 312A according to a predetermined condition. As the predetermined condition, for example, the processing load of the communication CPU 310 or the arithmetic CPU 320 is higher than a standard. As a result, when it is determined that the processing load on the communication CPU 310 or the arithmetic CPU 320 is high, the internal route RA can be blocked to prevent the inflow of setting data having a relatively large amount of data. It is possible to reduce the processing load.

  The configuration including the external port 311B (first communication unit), the switch 312B, and the sockets 313B and 313C, and the configuration including the external port 311C (first communication unit), the switch 312C, and the sockets 313D and 313E are made redundant. ing. When the same data is received by the redundant external port 311B and external port 311C, one of the overlapping data is removed by the filter processing FP executed by the communication CPU 310 and then passed to the arithmetic CPU 320. .

  Thereby, it is possible to reduce the processing load on the arithmetic CPU 320 while increasing the redundancy of the controller 3.

  For example, the device management apparatus 1 and the operation monitoring apparatus 2 are connected to the external ports 311B and 311C according to a network standard such as Ethernet (registered trademark).

  The external ports 311B and 311C are connected to the sockets 313B and 313D via the internal paths RB1 and RC1 (first internal path), and are connected to the sockets 313C and 313E via the internal paths RB2 and RC2 (second internal path). . The external ports 311B and 311C are sockets 313B and 313D on the internal routes RB1 and RC1, or sockets 313C on the internal routes RB2 and RC2, based on the route information included in the data received from the device management device 1 and the operation monitoring device 2. The received data is distributed and transmitted to any one of 313E. The path information can be stored, for example, in a header of communication data, and the address information of a port through which the communication data should pass and the address information of a socket can be set as the path information. Therefore, by referring to this route information, it is possible to determine which port and which socket the communication data passes through.

  As data transmitted to the sockets 313B and 313D, for example, process data including measured values and control values is applicable. As data transmitted to the sockets 313C and 313E, for example, setting data such as parameters to be set in the device 5 and function update data for updating the function of the arithmetic processing CP executed by the arithmetic CPU 320 are applicable.

  The switches 312B and 312C are switches for connecting / blocking the internal paths RB2 and RC2 between the external ports 311B and 311C and the sockets 313C and 313E, respectively. For example, when the internal paths RB2 and RC2 are connected by the switches 312B and 312C, the device management apparatus 1 sets parameters and the like of the device 5 to be connected via the I / O-I / F 323. Thus, the arithmetic processing function of the arithmetic CPU 320 can be updated. On the other hand, when the internal paths RB2 and RC2 are blocked by the switches 312B and 312C, the device management apparatus 1 sets parameters and the like of the device 5 connected via the I / O-I / F 323, and calculates It becomes impossible to update the arithmetic processing function of the CPU 320. The communication CPU 310 that has received an instruction from the arithmetic CPU 320 switches connection / disconnection of the internal paths RB2, RC2 by the switches 312B, 312C.

  As a result, the arithmetic CPU 320 can block the internal paths RB2 and RC2 and prevent the inflow of setting data and function update data from the external ports 311B and 311C. The arithmetic CPU 320 can control the on / off of the switches 312B and 312C according to a predetermined condition. As the predetermined condition, for example, the processing load of the communication CPU 310 or the arithmetic CPU 320 is higher than a standard. As a result, when it is determined that the processing load on the communication CPU 310 or the arithmetic CPU 320 is high, the internal paths RB2 and RC2 can be blocked to prevent inflow of setting data and function update data having a relatively large amount of data. Therefore, the processing load on the communication CPU 310 and the arithmetic CPU 320 can be reduced.

  The data transmitted from the internal port 314B on the communication CPU side to the internal port 321 on the arithmetic CPU 320 side is calculated by the arithmetic processing CP executed by the arithmetic CPU 320, and then based on the path information included in the data, It is transmitted to the device 5 via the I / O-I / F 323.

  The functional configuration of the controller will be described with reference to FIG. Functionally, the controller 3 includes, for example, a communication control unit 31 and an arithmetic control unit 32.

  When the communication control unit 31 receives data via the external port 311B (first communication unit), the communication control unit 31 sends the received data to one of the two internal routes RB1 and RB2 based on the route information included in the received data. This is distributed to the socket 313B or socket 313C. When the communication control unit 31 receives data via the external port 311C (first communication unit), the communication control unit 31 sends the received data to one of the two internal routes RC1 and RC2 based on the route information included in the received data. This is distributed to the socket 313D or socket 313E.

  The communication control unit 31 controls on / off of the switches 312A, 312B, and 312C in accordance with the switching instruction from the arithmetic control unit 32. When the switch 312A is turned on, the internal route RA is connected, and when the switch 312A is turned off, the internal route RA is cut off. When the switch 312B is turned on, the internal path RB2 is connected, and when the switch 312B is turned off, the internal path RB2 is cut off. When the switch 312C is turned on, the internal route RC2 is connected, and when the switch 312C is turned off, the internal route RC2 is cut off.

  The communication control unit 31 executes the filter process FP. The filter process FP is a process of transmitting one of the data received via the redundant external port 311B and the external port 311C to the arithmetic control unit 32 after removing one of the duplicate data.

  The communication control unit 31 sends setting data such as parameters received via the external port 311A (third communication unit) to any one of the external switches 316 (the first switch) based on the path information included in the setting data. 4 communication unit) and transmit to the device 5.

  The arithmetic control unit 32 performs arithmetic processing on the data received from the communication control unit 31, and based on the path information included in the received data, any I / O-I / F 323 (second communication unit) ) To send the calculation processing result.

  The arithmetic control unit 32 transmits to the communication control unit 31 a switching instruction for instructing to switch the switches 312B and 312C from off to on before starting the process of updating the function of the arithmetic processing. This makes it possible to send the function update data to the calculation control unit 32 only when it is necessary to update the calculation processing function.

  As described above, according to the controller 3 in the embodiment, the processing in the controller 3 can be distributed and executed by the communication CPU 310 that controls communication and the arithmetic CPU 320 that executes arithmetic processing. In addition, communication data received via the external ports 311B and 311C is distributed to two internal paths and transmitted to the calculation CPU 320, and the switches 312B and 312C provided on one of the two internal paths are turned on / off. The amount of communication data transmitted to the arithmetic CPU 320 can be controlled.

  Moreover, according to the controller 3 in the embodiment, by providing the switches 312B and 312C in one of the two internal paths RB2 and RC2, the process data can be transmitted to the arithmetic CPU 320 at any time. With regard to setting data such as parameters and function update data, whether to transmit to the arithmetic CPU 320 can be controlled by controlling on / off of the switches 312B and 312C according to the processing load status in the controller 3.

  That is, according to the controller 3 in the embodiment, the processing load on the controller 3 can be reduced.

[Modification]
In addition, although embodiment mentioned above demonstrated the case where the controller 3 was used independently, it is not limited to this, You may make the controller 3 redundant. FIG. 4 illustrates one controller 3 </ b> R of the redundant controllers that are redundant in this modification. The controller 3R in the modification shown in FIG. 4 is different from the controller 3 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 in that the controller 3R in the modification includes a redundancy port 324. Since points other than this are the same as those of the controller 3 in the embodiment, the same reference numerals are given and descriptions thereof are omitted.

  The redundant controller in this modification can be configured by connecting the redundant ports 324 of the two controllers 3R to each other with a cable or the like.

  The hardware configuration of the controller shown in FIG. 2 is merely an example, and it goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to other hardware configurations. For example, the present invention can be applied to the hardware configuration of the controller shown in FIG. The controller 3 shown in FIG. 5 omits the external port 311A, the internal path RA, the switch 312A, the socket 313A, and the internal ports 314A and 321 among the components included in the controller 3 shown in FIG. In this case, the internal port 314B on the communication CPU 310 side transmits the data after the filter processing FP to the internal switch 315. The internal switch 315 transmits the data received from the internal port 314B to the internal port 322 on the arithmetic CPU 320 side or one of the external switches 316.

  In the above-described embodiment, a case has been described in which two internal paths are provided to be branched when data is transmitted from the external ports 311B and 311C to the arithmetic CPU 320 side. However, the external ports 311B and 311C are branched. The number of internal paths is not limited to two, and may be three or more. When three or more internal paths are provided, for example, setting data such as parameters to be set in the device 5 and function update data for updating the function of the arithmetic processing CP executed by the arithmetic CPU 320 are relatively It is desirable to provide a switch for connecting / blocking the internal path in the internal path for transmitting data having a large amount of data. On the other hand, for example, it is desirable not to provide a switch in an internal path for transmitting data for which data communication is always required, such as process data including measured values and control values.

  Moreover, although the controller 3 in the above-described embodiment includes the sockets 313A, 313B, 313C, 313D, and 313E, it is not always necessary to include the socket. Instead of the sockets 313A, 313B, 313C, 313D, and 313E, for example, a program module that can realize the same function as each socket may be incorporated in the controller 3.

  In the above-described embodiment, the communication control unit 31 monitors the data amount of each communication port 311. When the data amount per unit time exceeds the specified value, the reception processing of the corresponding communication port 311 is performed for a certain period of time. It may be stopped. As a result, when a large amount of data is temporarily transmitted, it is possible to wait for a while and then resume the processing after the data amount has decreased.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Equipment management apparatus 2 ... Operation monitoring apparatus 3 ... Controller 4 ... Converter 5 ... Device 31 ... Communication control part 32 ... Operation control part 100 ... Process management system 310 ... Communication CPU
311 ... External port 312 ... Switch 313 ... Socket 314 ... Internal port 315 ... Internal switch 316 ... External switch 320 ... Calculation CPU
321 ... Internal port 322 ... Internal port 323 ... I / O-I / F
324 ... Redundant port

Claims (6)

A communication control unit that distributes communication data received via the first communication unit to any one of a plurality of internal routes based on route information included in the communication data;
An arithmetic process is performed on the communication data distributed by the communication control unit, and the result of the arithmetic process is obtained via one of a plurality of second communication units based on path information included in the communication data. An arithmetic control unit for transmitting,
The communication control unit controls on / off of a switch for connecting / blocking the internal path provided in at least one of the internal paths according to an instruction from the arithmetic control unit.
A controller characterized by that. The internal path is a first internal path for communicating the communication data including at least process data, and a second internal for communicating the communication data including at least function update data for updating the function of the arithmetic processing Route, and
The switch is provided in the second internal path;
The controller according to claim 1.   The arithmetic control unit transmits the instruction for instructing to switch the switch from off to on before starting the process of updating the function of the arithmetic processing to the communication control unit. The controller according to claim 2. The first communication unit and the internal path are doubly redundant,
The communication control unit removes one of the redundant data from the communication data received via the redundant first communication unit, and then transmits the data to the arithmetic control unit.
The controller of any one of Claims 1-3 characterized by the above-mentioned.   The communication control unit transmits data received via the third communication unit to the outside via any one of a plurality of fourth communication units based on the path information included in the data; The controller of any one of Claims 1-4 characterized by these.   The redundant controller which made the controller of any one of Claims 1-5 redundant.

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