JP3248655B2 - Remote monitoring device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a remote monitoring device at a data collection site such as a governor of a city gas supply system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The current patrol inspection work in a governor for supplying city gas involves leak inspection every seven days based on security regulations.
It is implemented for the purpose of collecting pressure recording paper and the like. For this reason, a recorder for recording the primary pressure, the secondary pressure, and the governor opening is installed in the governor chamber containing the governor. The recorder records the measurement data on a recording sheet. The recorded data is collected, brought back, and processed collectively by a host computer or the like.

[0003] On the other hand, there is an attempt to remotely monitor governors installed at many places by a common center monitoring device. For example, as an attempt, a data collection device having communication means with the center monitoring device is installed in each governor, and monitoring measurement data of each governor collected by the data collection device is transmitted to the center monitoring device via a communication line. Then, there is a method in which data is collected and recorded, and an abnormality or the like is determined in the center monitoring device.

[0004]

In the former method, the governor cannot be monitored in real time, the processing after data collection is very troublesome, and the above inspection is indispensable.

In the latter method, the amount of data collected by the center monitoring device becomes enormous, and arithmetic processing such as abnormality determination becomes enormous, which is not practical in both hardware and software. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve such a problem.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides an on-site processing device installed at a data collection site and a common center monitoring device connected to a number of on-site processing devices via a communication line. The on-site processing device comprises monitoring data collection means, data reading / writing means for portable non-volatile recording medium, data abnormality monitoring means, and communication means for the center monitoring apparatus. When the monitoring means detects an abnormality, the communication means calls the center monitoring device from the on-site processing device to constitute a function for notifying the abnormality, and the monitoring data collection means and the data for the portable nonvolatile recording medium are provided. The read / write unit and the data abnormality monitoring unit are configured to be controlled by a first CPU, and the communication unit is configured to be controlled by a second CPU. Suggest remote monitoring device configured watchdog timer to output a warning signal to the second CPU side monitors the.

According to the present invention, in the above configuration, the communication means has a function of responding to a predetermined response signal in response to a response request from the center monitoring device, and a call from the center monitoring device to the on-site processing device is appropriately made. It is proposed that a response request be transmitted at every time.

Further, the present invention proposes that the portable nonvolatile recording means in the above configuration is an IC memory card.

Further, the present invention proposes to apply a governor as a data collection site in the above configuration.

[0010]

The data from various monitoring devices at the data collection site are intermittently collected by the data collection unit of the on-site processing device, and sequentially recorded on the portable non-volatile recording medium by the read / write unit at set time intervals. Is done.

The collected data is constantly monitored by abnormality monitoring means, and abnormality is detected. If an abnormality is detected, the communication means calls the center monitoring device and reports the abnormality to the center monitoring device.

Therefore, the center monitoring device can detect an abnormality that has occurred at each data collection site without collecting and processing data by itself and detecting an abnormality. It can be monitored comprehensively. Therefore, the center monitoring device can reduce system resources required for data collection and processing. Also, the operator of the center monitoring device does not need to have a high level of knowledge and skill to analyze data and detect abnormalities. Becomes possible.

The monitoring data collecting means, the data reading / writing means for the portable non-volatile recording medium, and the first CPU itself for controlling the data abnormality monitoring means are monitored by a watchdog timer, and an operation abnormality occurs. In this case, the watchdog timer issues an alarm to the second CPU that controls the communication means, and notifies the center monitoring device via the communication means. Therefore, the center monitoring device has the first CPU
It is possible to prevent the occurrence of erroneous information and the inconvenience that abnormality is not detected due to the abnormal operation.

The malfunction of the second CPU itself that controls the communication means can be monitored by configuring a function of responding to a predetermined response signal in response to a response request from the center monitoring device. That is, in this configuration, the center monitoring device calls the field processing device at appropriate time intervals and transmits a response request, and the communication means receives the response request from the center monitoring device and transmits a predetermined response signal to the center. Send to device. At this time, if the communication means is not operating normally, no response signal is returned to the center device. Therefore, the center monitoring device can monitor the communication system abnormality by monitoring the presence / absence of a response signal to the response request, and the abnormality is not reported from the field processing device to the center monitoring device due to the communication system abnormality. Can be prevented from occurring.

The portable non-volatile recording means can be an IC memory card capable of storing data for a long period of time, for example, one year, so that short-term replacement is not required. Later, it can be collected from the on-site processing device and processed by a personal computer or the like. The data recorded in the portable non-volatile recording means is also stored before the predetermined period elapses.
If necessary, the data can be read and processed by a portable terminal device at the data collection site, or read and processed by a center monitoring device via a communication line.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 schematically shows the overall configuration of the present invention.
Reference numerals 1 (1 a, 1 b,..., 1 n) denote governor chambers installed at appropriate places in the city gas supply system. In these governor chambers 1, together with the governor main body 2, the opening meter of the governor main body 2 and the governor main body 2 Various monitoring devices (not shown) such as primary and secondary side pressure sensors, flow meters, gas detectors, and other measuring devices, and governor cutoff sensors, SI sensors, and other abnormal detection devices.
Has been established, and is a data collection site for governor monitoring. The on-site processing device 3 that collects and processes data from these various devices is installed outside the governor room 1.

Reference numeral 4 denotes a common center monitoring device for monitoring the operation of the governor body 2 at a plurality of locations. The center monitoring device 4 and the on-site processing device 3 at each data collection site are connected via a communication line 5. Connected to form a remote monitoring device. As the communication line 5, a public line, a dedicated line, and a wireless line can be used alone or in combination. The center monitoring device 4 and each on-site processing device 3 constitute communication means corresponding to these communication lines.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the construction of the on-site processing device 3 constituted by a microcomputer application device or the like. Reference numeral 6a connected to the on-site processing device 3 denotes an opening meter of the governor body 2, a governor. It shows a group of measuring devices such as a pressure sensor, a flow meter, and a gas detector on the primary side and the secondary side of the main body 2, and these are configured to output measurement data in an analog amount. Reference numeral 6b denotes a group of abnormality detection devices such as a governor cutoff sensor and an SI sensor, and these are contact outputs. In FIG. 2, a block group corresponding to the data collection unit A, the abnormality monitoring unit B, and the communication unit C in each of the above-described components is surrounded by a two-dot chain line in the figure.

The on-site processing apparatus 3 includes the above-described measuring equipment group 6a
And input means 7a and 7b for connecting the abnormality detection device group 6b to the input device. That is, reference numeral 7a denotes measurement data input means, which comprises an analog pre-processing circuit, an A / D converter, a level converter, and the like, and has a function of converting analog data of each measurement device into a predetermined digital signal. It is configured so that Reference numeral 7b denotes an abnormality detection data input means, which comprises a level conversion circuit and the like.

The data converted into a predetermined digital signal by each of the data input means 7a and 7b is temporarily read into an appropriate storage area by the data reading means 8 for performing the subsequent processing. The data reading means 8 can be configured as a function of controlling the data input means 7a, 7b and intermittently transferring data to a predetermined storage area of the main memory at appropriate time intervals, for example, every 0.5 seconds. .

Among the data intermittently read by the data reading means 8, the data of the measuring instrument group 6a is compared with upper and lower limit set values, corrected and other calculations are performed by the abnormality detecting means 9, and as a result, Is performed as a warning.

That is, the governor body 2 from the measuring instrument group 6a
The data such as the primary side pressure, the secondary side pressure, the opening degree of the governor body 2, the flow rate, and the gas concentration are read by the data reading means 8 at every sampling time of, for example, 0.5 seconds, and set in advance in the abnormality detecting means 9. The upper and lower limits are monitored by comparison with the respective upper and lower limits. Note that the sampling time is set as short as possible so as to correspond to the maximum speed of data change assumed when an abnormality occurs. In addition to the processing described above, if necessary, calculations such as a calculation of a data difference between adjacent sampling points and a time-based weighted average processing of data are performed, and these data are also compared with upper and lower limit set values. It can be performed. In the former case, the abnormality can be monitored in anticipation of changes over time, and in the latter case, the abnormality can be monitored in the past performance comparison.

As a result of the above comparison, if any data exceeds the upper and lower limits, the abnormality detecting means 9 issues an alarm output to the abnormality processing means 10 and transfers the data to the storage area of the main memory by the data reading means. The relevant data
The data is transferred to the progress data storage unit 11 as the progress data together with the data before and after that. Therefore, the storage area on the main memory to which data is transferred by the data reading means is an area large enough to store at least the elapsed data. The progress data storage means 11 is not a storage area on the main memory, but is constituted by a nonvolatile auxiliary memory such as a battery-backed SRAM.

On the other hand, the data read into the storage area on the main memory by the data reading means 8 as described above is recorded on the portable non-volatile recording medium 13 such as an IC memory card by the recording medium reading / writing means 12 at predetermined time intervals. I do. The data recording interval on the portable non-volatile recording medium 13 is determined in consideration of the capacity of the portable non-volatile recording medium 13 and the continuous data recording period, and in the embodiment, the time is longer than the sampling time. For example, every minute, and the continuous recording period is one year or more. Note that the recording interval can be made different for each data item. The data to be recorded on the portable non-volatile recording medium 13 includes the measuring device group 6a.
In addition to the raw data from, a part of the data obtained by the above-described calculation in the abnormality detecting means 9 can be recorded, and the data to be recorded is the data from the measuring instrument group 6a at the time of recording. In addition to data, a large number of data sampled during the recording interval may be statistically processed.

Reference numeral 10 denotes the above-described abnormality processing means.
The abnormality processing unit 10 monitors an alarm from the abnormality detection unit 9 and an abnormality detection output from the abnormality detection device group 6b obtained via the data reading unit 8 to process the data abnormality of the device groups 6a and 6b. In addition to the above, processing for an abnormality of a device of the on-site processing device 3 itself such as an operation error of the data reading unit 8 is performed. In other words, the abnormality processing unit 10 determines whether the abnormality detection unit 9 has issued an alarm or the abnormality detection device group 6.
When b outputs an abnormality detection output, an abnormality handling process is performed in a predetermined procedure. The abnormality handling process is an abnormality importance classification process, a process corresponding to the abnormality importance, an output to the communication management unit 14, and the like.

That is, the abnormality processing means 10 is
Generates an alarm based on the contents of the abnormality data, whether the abnormality is a process abnormality such as a governor operation or the like, and whether the device group 6a,
6b itself and what kind of abnormality is determined, and a classification process is performed for the importance of the abnormality. The importance of the abnormality corresponds to the urgency. Abnormal processing means 1
“0” accesses the portable non-volatile recording medium 13 via the recording medium read / write means 12 as necessary depending on the content of the abnormality, and stores the abnormal data in the past similar data recorded in the portable non-volatile recording medium 13. An abnormality is discriminated by comparing with. In addition, the elapsed data temporarily stored in the elapsed data storage unit 11 can be used for such an abnormality determination operation.

In this manner, the abnormality processing means 10 performs various kinds of abnormality classification processing according to importance as follows, for example. Most important abnormalities (highest priority processing required)… Abnormalities that affect society and human life (gas leaks, etc.) Important abnormalities (high priority processing required)… Abnormalities that may eventually lead to the most important abnormalities (governor cutoff, governor abnormality, Area abnormalities, etc.) Normal abnormalities (priority processing unnecessary)… Abnormalities in supply operation (upper / lower alarms, etc.) Clear equipment abnormalities (optional processing)… Sensors, equipment, recording, communication abnormalities

After the abnormality is classified by the abnormality processing means 10 as described above, an abnormality notification process is performed from the on-site processing device 3 to the center monitoring device 4 by the operation of the communication means C. In other words, if the abnormality is classified as, it is a very urgent abnormality, so that an interrupt process is performed, and other processes that are currently operating are interrupted to perform the abnormality notification process.
If it is classified as, it is a priority processing because it is a somewhat urgent abnormality, after the end of the currently operating process,
Abnormality notification processing is performed prior to other processing. If the classification is classified as No. 3, the abnormality is not so urgent, and the abnormality notification process is performed as a normal process after the completion of another process prior to this. If it is classified as,
It is clear that the device is out of order, and it is not important and can be processed slowly.

Next, the configuration of the communication means C will be described. Reference numeral 15 denotes communication control means managed by the communication management means 14, reference numeral 15a denotes communication control means for a dedicated / wireless line, and 15b
Denotes communication control means for public line, and 15c denotes communication control means for serial communication. In the embodiment, the communication control means 15
a is connected to a wireless communication device 17 via a dedicated / wireless line communication modem 16a.
The configuration is such that activation control is performed via the communication device control means 18 and the control output means 19. The public line communication control means 15b is connected to the public line 20 via a public communication modem 16b. The communication control means 15c for serial communication is a modemless serial interface 1.
6c, and a portable terminal 21 can be connected to the modemless serial interface 16c.

In the above configuration, the monitoring data collecting means A, the data reading / writing means 12 for the portable non-volatile recording medium 13 and the data abnormality monitoring means B are the first C
The communication unit C is controlled by the second CPU 23 while the PU 22 controls the communication. Reference numeral 24 denotes a watchdog timer, which monitors the first CPU 22 and outputs an alarm signal to the second CPU 23. That is, the watchdog timer 24 causes the first CPU 22 to generate an interrupt signal at predetermined time intervals to perform interrupt processing, and reset its own counter value in normal interrupt processing. If the counter value is not reset due to an abnormal operation of the first CPU 22 and exceeds a predetermined counter value, the second CPU 23
This is a configuration for alarming the operation abnormality of 22.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of the center monitoring device. The center monitoring device 4 includes a communication means D corresponding to the communication means C of the on-site processing apparatus 3, a monitoring means 25, and a display means 26. , Alarm means 27 and operation input means 28. As the communication means D, similarly to the on-site processing device 3, a dedicated / wireless line communication control means 30a corresponding to the wireless device 29, a dedicated / wireless line communication modem 31a, and a dedicated / wireless line corresponding to the public line 20 are provided. Communication control means 30b and a public communication modem 31b.

In the above configuration, when an abnormality occurs in the equipment in the governor room 1 or when an abnormality occurs in the equipment of the on-site processing apparatus 3, the communication management means 14 sets the abnormality detection means 1.
3, the communication control means 15 is selected and the center monitoring device 4 is called.

For example, when the public line 20 is used as the communication line 5, the communication management means 14 selects the public line communication control means 15b and calls the center monitoring device 4 via the public communication modem 16b. Make a line connection. Next, the communication management unit 14 of the calling source and the monitoring unit 25 of the calling destination mutually confirm and establish a data link, and then the abnormality detection unit 10 detects the data from the local processing device 3 to the center monitoring device 4. The data of the content of the abnormality in the abnormal state is transmitted.

In the center monitoring device 4, the monitoring means 25 displays the contents of the abnormality reported from the on-site processing device 3 by the display means 26.
And an alarm is generated by the alarm means 27 if necessary. As described above, the center monitoring device 4 can detect the occurrence of an abnormality and its content without collecting and processing raw data of the equipment at the data collection site.

For this reason, the center monitoring device 4 collects and stores a large amount of data from a large number of data collection sites, and also processes hardware and information resources for processing the large amount of data to detect an abnormality. Human resources, that is, system resources, can be significantly reduced. Also, the operator of the center monitoring device does not need to have a high level of knowledge and skill to analyze data and detect abnormalities. Becomes possible.

Of course, the center monitoring device 4 can collect raw data of the equipment at each data collection site as needed. That is, when raw data is required in the center monitoring device 4, a data transmission request is sent from the monitoring device 25 of the center monitoring device 4 to the communication management device 14 of the local processing device 3 by input from the operation input device 28 or the like. When sent,
The communication management means 14 transmits the data to the portable nonvolatile recording medium 1 via the recording medium read / write means 12 in accordance with the content of the data transmission request.
3 to read predetermined data and transmit it to the center monitoring device 4 side. In this way, the center monitoring device 4 can collect and analyze raw data of the equipment at each data collection site as needed. When the temporary storage unit 11 for the elapsed data is configured as described above, the data in the temporary storage unit 11 may be transmitted to the center monitoring device 4 as necessary.

When the predetermined processing is completed as described above,
Either the center monitoring device 4 or the on-site processing device 3 terminates the data link, releases the line, and terminates the abnormality notification processing.

In the above operation, the operation of the first CPU 22 which controls the monitoring data collecting means A, the data reading / writing means 12 for the portable nonvolatile recording medium 13 and the data abnormality monitoring means B is a watchdog. Timer 2
4 and the watchdog timer 24 controls the communication means C when the operation abnormality occurs.
The center monitoring device 4 issues a warning to the center monitoring device 4 via the communication means C.
Of the CPU 22 and the occurrence of inconvenience in which the abnormality is not detected can be prevented.

On the other hand, a second CPU for controlling the communication means C
The operation of 23 can be monitored from the center monitoring device 4 side via the communication line 5. For this purpose, the communication management means 1
As a function of No. 4, a function of transmitting a predetermined response signal to a response request from the center monitoring device 4 is added to the above-described abnormality notification processing. This response signal can be the telephone number of the own station when a public line is used, or can be configured to transmit an appropriately configured ID code or the like.

In such a configuration, the center monitoring device 4 calls each on-site processing device 3 at appropriate time intervals, for example, once a day, transmits a response request to each, and determines whether there is a response signal to the response request. Monitor. Communication means C of the on-site processing device 3
When the second CPU 23 for controlling the operation is normal, a response signal such as an ID code from the communication management means 14 is transmitted to the monitoring means 21 of the center monitoring device 4, but the normal operation is performed. If not, no response signal is returned.
By monitoring the presence or absence of a response signal to the response request in this way, the center monitoring device 4 allows the on-site processing device 3
Of the second CPU 23 can be monitored,
Due to this abnormality, it is possible to prevent the inconvenience of not reporting the abnormality from the on-site processing device 3 to the center monitoring device 4.

The portable non-volatile recording medium 13 has, for example, a capacity capable of recording the above data for one year or more, and is collected from the on-site processing device 3 every year, and is taken back and analyzed by a personal computer or the like. Can be. If necessary, the portable terminal device 21 is connected to the modemless serial interface 16c, and the communication control means 15c for serial communication is connected.
By sending a data transmission request to the communication management means 14 via the, the data recorded on the portable nonvolatile recording medium 13 can be read out to the portable terminal device 28 for processing.

[0042]

As described above, the present invention has the following effects. Eliminating the collection operation every short period as in the on-site recording paper system is unnecessary. The data can be processed directly by computer without performing the necessary input work in the case of the on-site recording paper system. The processing load on the center monitoring device is small, and system resources can be significantly reduced. Since the operation in the center monitoring device is simple, a skilled person is not required. By monitoring the operation of the CPU that controls the main functions of the on-site processing device, it is possible to prevent occurrence of false reports and omission of reports on abnormalities.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing an overall configuration of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a basic configuration of a field processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of a basic configuration of a center monitoring device according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

A data collecting means B abnormality monitoring means C, D communication means 1 governor room 2 governor main body 3 field processing device 4 center monitoring device 5 communication line 6a measurement equipment group 6b abnormality detection equipment group 7a measurement data input means 7b abnormality detection data input means Reference Signs List 8 data reading means 9 abnormality detecting means 10 abnormality processing means 11 historical data storage means 12 recording medium reading / writing means 13 portable non-volatile recording medium 14 communication management means 15a, 29a dedicated / wireless communication control means 15b, 29b for public line Communication control means 15c Serial communication communication control means 16a, 30a Dedicated / wireless line communication modem 16b, 30b Public communication modem 16c Modemless serial interface 17 Wireless communication device 18 Communication device control means 19 Control output means 20 Public line 21 Possible Transport terminal equipment 22 first CPU 23 second CPU 24 watchdog timer 25 monitoring means 26 display means 27 alarm means 28 operation input means

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] An on-site processing device is installed at a data collection site, and a common center monitoring device is connected to a number of on-site processing devices via a communication line.
Monitoring data collection means, data reading / writing means for a portable nonvolatile recording medium, data abnormality monitoring means,
A communication means for communicating with the center monitoring device, and when the abnormality monitoring means detects an abnormality, a function of calling the center monitoring device from the on-site processing device by the communication means and reporting the abnormality is provided, and the monitoring data The collection means, the data read / write means for the portable non-volatile recording medium, and the data abnormality monitoring means are configured to be controlled by the first CPU, and the communication means is configured to be controlled by the second CPU, A remote monitoring device comprising a watchdog timer for monitoring the first CPU and outputting an alarm signal to the second CPU. 2. The communication means has a function of responding a predetermined response signal in response to a response request from the center monitoring device,
2. The remote monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein a call is sent from the center monitoring device to the on-site processing device at appropriate time intervals and a response request is transmitted. 3. The remote monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein the portable non-volatile recording means is an IC memory card. 4. The remote monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein the data collection site is a governor room.