JP5641217B2 - Field device communication equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a field device communication apparatus, and more particularly to communication control of field device information attached to and detached from a PROFIBUS which is a kind of standardized general-purpose field network.

  Generally, in a distributed control system (hereinafter referred to as DCS), field devices are connected via various standardized open field networks such as a FOUNDATION fieldbus and a profibus.

  FIG. 4 is a configuration explanatory diagram showing an example of a conventional DCS using a Profibus. In FIG. 4, a system generation function unit 2, an operation monitoring function unit 3, a field control unit (hereinafter referred to as FCS) 4 and the like are connected to the control bus 1. A field device 6 is connected to the FCS 4 via a profibus 5.

  The system generation function unit 2 includes a system view generation unit 2a, a communication input / output builder unit 2b, a functional block detail builder unit 2c, and the like. The system generation function unit 2 is connected to a PROFIBUS definition data file (hereinafter referred to as definition data file) storage unit 8 controlled by a PROFIBUS-DP configurator (hereinafter referred to as configurator) 7.

  The operation monitoring function unit 3 includes an FCS status display window 3a, a system alarm window 3b, a historical message report window 3c, and the like.

  The FCS 4 includes a PROFIBUS-DPV1 communication function unit 4a, a PROFIBUS-DPV1 communication module unit (hereinafter referred to as ALP111) 4b, and the like.

  The Profibus 5 is connected with field devices 6a and 6b.

  A master-slave relationship is established between the ALP 111 4b and the field device 6 with the ALP 111 4b as a master device and the field device 6 as a slave device.

  In such a configuration, the definition data file is exported from the configurator 7 to the definition data file storage unit 8, the definition data file is copied from the definition data file storage unit 8 to the system generation function unit 2, and the system generation function unit 2 outputs FCS 4. The definition data file is downloaded.

  Input / output data is exchanged between the PROFIBUS-DPV1 communication function unit 4a of the FCS 4 and the ALP 1114b, and input / output data is also exchanged between the ALP 1114b and the field device 6.

  The PROFIBUS-DPV1 communication function unit 4a of the FCS 4 outputs the operation status information of the ALP 111 to the FCS status display window 3a of the operation monitoring function unit 3, and outputs the Fail / Recover message of the ALP 111 to the system alarm window 3b.

  The ALP 111 4b of the FCS 4 outputs slave device diagnosis information to the historical message report window 3c of the operation monitoring function unit 3.

  By the way, in order to perform communication between the master device and the slave device, it is necessary to equalize data in each part of the system. Specifically, the configuration data set in the definition data file storage unit 8 controlled by the configurator 7, the data set in the system generation function unit 2, the data set in the ALP 1114b, The data set in the field device 6 must be made equal.

  Therefore, in the conventional configuration shown in FIG. 4, a restart unit RS is provided in ALP1114b.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a specific example of ALP111 4b in FIG. In FIG. 5, a restart control unit RS1 constituting a restart unit RS is connected in parallel with the Profibus definition data file storage unit 4b1, and a restart unit RS is configured in series with the Profibus definition data file storage unit 4b1. An open / close switch RS2 is connected.

  A flow until the communication between the master and the slave is established when the field device 6c is additionally connected to the Profibus 5 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  When the field device 6c is connected to the Profibus 5 (step S1), the operator manually operates the configurator 7 to manually set the information on the field device 6c in the definition data file storage unit 8 (step S2), and further define The definition data file recreated in the data file storage unit 8 is manually copied to the system generation function unit 2 (step S3).

  When the definition data file is downloaded from the system generation function unit 2 to the ALP 111 4b (step S4), the restart control unit RS1 starts restart control, opens the open / close switch RS2, and temporarily connects to the Profibus 5 (Step S5).

  During this time, the definition data file in the Profibus definition data file storage unit 4b1 of the ALP111 4b is automatically updated (step S6). When the update of the definition data file in the Profibus definition data file storage unit 4b1 is completed, the restart control of the restart control unit RS1 ends, the open / close switch RS2 is closed, and the connection with the Profibus 5 is turned on again ( Step S7).

  The ALP 111 4b transmits the initialization parameter of the field device 6c in the definition data file to the field device 6c at the restart timing when the open / close switch RS2 is closed (step S8). Initialization parameters are automatically loaded.

  In the Profibus specification, in order to start communication between a master device and a slave device, it is necessary that the IO configuration definitions defined in both devices match. The check of whether the IO configuration definitions match is performed using a restart (restart) of the slave device as a trigger. The check is performed in a frame called Check_Config from the master device to the slave device, and the contents of the IO configuration definitions of each other are confirmed, and if they are compatible, communication is established.

  Patent Document 1 relates to a communication device for field device status information when a general-purpose Profibus (PROFIBUS) standard device having a different standard is connected to a DCS conforming to a manufacturer-dependent field bus specification. The technology is described.

JP 2001-339421 A

  However, according to the configuration of FIG. 4, a restart process is required to update the definition data file provided in the ALP 1114b which is the master device. As a result, during the period when the ALP 111 4b is executing the restart process, communication with all the field devices 6 that are slave devices connected to the ALP 111 4b is temporarily interrupted. The plant control by the system is interrupted, and stable plant operation cannot be performed.

  In addition, when the field device 6 is a module type, restart may be necessary for other modules and devices connected to the next stage of the module, which may adversely affect other devices.

  The present invention focuses on such conventional problems, and its purpose is to provide a field device communication apparatus that can eliminate the need for restart processing of a master device or a slave device when a field device is attached to or detached from a Profibus. It is to provide.

The invention of claim 1 which achieves such a problem,
In a field device communication apparatus having a profibus definition data file storage unit that is connected between a control bus and a profibus for constructing a distributed control system and stores information on field devices connected to the profibus.
Two systems of management tables that are connected in parallel with the Profibus definition data file storage unit and that can be switched between current use and maintenance for transferring and storing field device information from the Profibus definition data file storage unit;
Check the consistency of the field device information stored in the Profibus definition data file storage unit and the maintenance management table, and if the information is consistent, the management table system connected to the Profibus is currently used. Consistency / switching means to instantly switch from the management table to the maintenance management table ,
The maintenance management table after the switching is automatically created based on the information stored in the Profibus definition data file storage unit to equalize the information in the current management table,
By checking the consistency of the information, a restart process associated with the attachment / detachment of the field device to / from the Profibus is made unnecessary .

The invention of claim 2 is the field device communication apparatus of claim 1,
The field device is a module type.

  As a result, the field device can be attached to or detached from the Profibus online without the restart process of the master device or the slave device.

It is a configuration explanatory view showing an embodiment of the present invention. It is an enlarged view of the principal part of FIG. It is a flowchart explaining the flow of operation | movement of FIG. 1 and FIG. It is composition explanatory drawing which shows an example of the conventional DCS using a profibus. It is an enlarged view of the principal part of FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of operations in FIGS. 4 and 5.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of the present invention, and the same reference numerals are given to portions common to FIG. The difference between FIG. 1 and FIG. 4 is the presence / absence of the restart unit RS in the ALP 1114b that has been operated as the field device is attached to or detached from the Profibus.

  That is, in the configuration of FIG. 1, the restart unit RS of the ALP 1114 b that has been operating with the attachment / detachment of the field device to / from the Profibus described in FIG. 4 is deleted. This is realized by devising the management system of the definition data file in ALP1114b.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a specific example of ALP1114b in FIG. In FIG. 2, in parallel with the Profibus definition data file storage unit 4b1, two systems of management tables 4b2 and 4b3 that can be switched complementarily for current use and maintenance for storing definition data files are connected.

  One end of these Profibus definition data file storage unit 4b1 and two systems of management tables 4b2 and 4b3 is connected to the control bus 1 or the definition data file storage unit 8 together with the consistency / switch control unit 4b4, and the other management tables 4b2 and 4b3. The end is connected to the PROFIBUS 5 via the changeover switch 4b5.

  The consistency / switching control unit 4b4 checks the consistency of the field device information stored in the Profibus definition data file storage unit 4b1 and the maintenance management table 4b3, and if the information is consistent, the Profibus 5 The changeover switch 4b5 is controlled to be switched so that the system of the management table connected to is instantaneously switched from the current management table 4b2 to the maintenance management table 4b3. After switching, the management table 4b3 functions as the current work, and the management table 4b2 functions as the maintenance work.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of operations in FIGS. 1 and 2.

  When the field device 6c is connected to the Profibus 5 (step S1), the operator manually operates the configurator 7 to manually set the information on the field device 6c in the definition data file storage unit 8 (step S2), and further define The definition data file recreated in the data file storage unit 8 is manually copied to the system generation function unit 2 (step S3).

  As a result, the definition data file in the Profibus definition data file storage unit 4b1 in the ALP111 4b is automatically updated (step S4), and the maintenance management table 4b3 in the ALP111 4b is also automatically created (step S5).

  On the other hand, the consistency / switch control unit 4b4 checks the consistency of various information stored in the Profibus definition data file storage unit 4b1 and the maintenance management table 4b3, such as the added field device area (step S6). .

  The consistency / switch control unit 4b4 instantly switches the current management table from 4b2 to 4b3 if there is no problem in the consistency of the information between the two (step S7).

  After switching, the management table 4b2 functions as maintenance and the management table 4b3 functions as current. The maintenance management table 4b2 is also automatically created based on the information stored in the Profibus definition data file storage unit 4b1, and is equalized with the information in the current management table 4b3 (step S8).

  This configuration eliminates the need to restart the master device and slave device, which is conventionally performed when a field device is attached to or detached from the Profibus, and does not affect the operation of other devices. Field devices can be attached to and detached from the bus.

  If another device is connected under the slave device, it can affect other devices connected to the slave device by incorporating the same functions as in FIG. 2 into the slave device. The device can be attached and detached.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a field device communication apparatus that can eliminate the need for restart processing of a master device or a slave device when a field device is attached to or detached from a Profibus. It is also suitable for stable control operations.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Control bus 2 System generation function part 3 Operation monitoring function part 4 Field control part (FCS)
4a PROFIBUS-DPV1 communication module 4b PROFIBUS-DPV1 communication module (ALP111)
4b1 Profibus definition data file storage unit 4b2, 4b3 Management table 4b4 Consistency / switch control unit 4b5 Changeover switch 5 Profibus 6 Field device 7 PROFIBUS-DP configurator 8 PROFIBUS definition data file storage unit

Claims (2)

In a field device communication apparatus having a profibus definition data file storage unit that is connected between a control bus and a profibus for constructing a distributed control system and stores information on field devices connected to the profibus.
Two systems of management tables that are connected in parallel with the Profibus definition data file storage unit and that can be switched between current use and maintenance for transferring and storing field device information from the Profibus definition data file storage unit;
Check the consistency of the field device information stored in the Profibus definition data file storage unit and the maintenance management table, and if the information is consistent, the management table system connected to the Profibus is currently used. Consistency / switching means to instantly switch from the management table to the maintenance management table ,
The maintenance management table after the switching is automatically created based on the information stored in the Profibus definition data file storage unit to equalize the information in the current management table,
A field device communication apparatus characterized by eliminating the restart process associated with the attachment / detachment of the field device to / from the Profibus by checking the consistency of the information .   The field device communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the field device is a module type.

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