JPH0336895A - Decentralized type controller and its test method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the reduction in the operation of a plant by providing a test equipment between each controller and an information transmitter so as to attain the operation confirmation test attended with the extension or revamping of the controller while the controller of other equipment is in operation as on-line. CONSTITUTION:A decentralized control system test equipment 3 corresponding to each controller 1 is provided to connect the controller 1 and the information 5 between controllers of an information transmitter 2 via the equipment 3. Then an input switch 23 and an output selector switch 13 select the single test mode testing object controllers I, II causing extension or revamping while disconnecting them from controllers III, IV in on-line operation, the interlocking test mode receiving and sending the information between the controllers I, II for the test and the overall test mode receiving the information from the controllers III, IV in on-line operation to the controllers I II for the test. Thus, the reduction in the operation of a plant due to extension or revamping is prevented.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a testing device and a testing method for a distributed control device in which a plurality of control devices are connected by an information transmission device, and in particular to testing a control device while online. The present invention relates to a test device and a test method suitable for this purpose.

[Conventional technology]

FIG. 8 shows a general configuration of a conventional distributed control system in which a plurality of control devices are connected by an information transmission device.

In other words, a conventional distributed control system consists of a plurality of control devices I, including a control device ■, a control device and a control device j, and each control device ■ shares and controls each target equipment 4. There is.

Equipment I ~ set up! j is organically connected between each piece of equipment, and for this reason, even between control devices, the information transmission device 2 is used to know information about other equipment and use it as control conditions and control data for the angle control device.
Control information is transmitted by

Here, transmission of information between control devices will be explained based on a general example shown in FIG. 9.

The contents of each facility consist of a plurality of raw material facilities A and B=n as raw material supply facilities, a measuring facility for measuring these raw materials, and a raw material supply facility control device ■ for controlling these facilities, and as reaction facilities. It consists of a plurality of reaction vessels 1, 2 to i, which react raw materials supplied from this raw material supply equipment to produce products, and a reaction vessel equipment control device (■) that controls these, and stores completed products as a product warehouse facility. Multiple product warehouses
.

It consists of ■~j and a product warehouse equipment control device m that controls these, and the utility equipment that supplies utilities to these manufacturing facilities includes an air supply facility and a control device ■ that controls it, and a steam supply facility and a control device m that controls this. A control device ■ to control, an electric supply equipment and a control device ■ to control this,
These are the monitoring operation panel for operating all of these facilities and the control device (■) that controls it. The respective equipments are connected as shown in a and e. That is, the reaction equipment supplied from the raw material supply equipment i receives the raw materials through a, and the products completed in the reaction equipment are supplied through b. The products are stored in the warehouse equipment.On the other hand, the air supply equipment is supplied to the manufacturing equipment via c, the steam equipment is similarly supplied via d, and the electricity supply equipment is supplied to other equipment. The monitoring operation panel receives instructions from the operator via f, and information on each facility is displayed on the monitoring operation panel via g.

The following information is required between control devices:

a□; This information informs that the metering from the raw material supply equipment to the reaction equipment has been completed. Based on this information, the reaction equipment sets conditions related to control for receiving the supply of raw materials.

bl: Information that informs the reaction equipment to the product storage equipment which reaction pot has completed processing. Based on this information, the product storage equipment sets conditions related to control of receiving the product.

C: Information that tells that the air supply equipment is normally supplying air to each piece of equipment. This information is a normal signal for each equipment as an operating condition, and an abnormal signal is a condition for safely stopping the equipment. do.

d engineering, e engineering; Same as cl, d engineering has steam supply equipment, e□
is the normal/abnormal information of the electricity supply equipment, and each equipment is cl
Used as the same condition as .

02-c4: Information that indicates the operating status of each facility to the air supply equipment. This information is used as a judgment condition for knowing the status of the load side and operating the air supply equipment efficiently.

d2-d4: Information indicating the operating status of each facility to the steam supply equipment, and similar to the information 02-c4, is used as a judgment condition for efficient operation.

e2 to eG: Information that indicates the operating status of each facility to the electricity supply equipment, and similar to the information in 02 to c4, is used as a judgment condition for efficient operation.

F: Information that sends operating instructions from the monitoring operation panel to each piece of equipment, and notifies each piece of equipment of control start, end, -time stop, etc.

gl: Information that informs the operating status and operation status of each control device, and is displayed on the monitoring operation panel and is information that is notified to the operator.

As explained above, each piece of information always exists when equipment is connected, and is used for interlock information such as control conditions. Furthermore, the more sophisticated the control, the more complex the information becomes. Therefore, the information 5 between the control devices is important information for organically linking the individual control devices and operating the entire plant as a distributed control system.

Furthermore, in the above explanation, efficient operation means controlling the number of devices (for example, compressors in air supply equipment) to determine the number of devices in operation depending on the load side conditions, and determining the optimal operating state based on load balance, environmental conditions, etc. Refers to operation using optimization control, etc., which makes decisions and controls equipment.

This inter-control device information 5 is shown in FIG.
G11-GI3 generated at time t are sent to other control devices by the information transmission device 2 having a memory transfer function or communication function. Similarly, inter-control device information 5 generated in the control device ■
(G[1l-GII3) is sent to another control device by the information transmission device 2, and inter-control device information 5 generated in control device j
(Gjl to Gj3) are sent to other control devices by the information transmission device 2.

Here, a change in operation or a change in equipment occurs in a part of the equipment 4, and, for example, it becomes necessary to modify the control logic of the control equipment engineer. When confirming the control logic after modification, it is necessary to also test the inter-control device information 5.

In other words, the inter-control device information 5 will be affected due to the relationship between the control device (■) to be modified and the other egg control bags fit (-II to ■) that are not to be modified, and the information 5 generated by the control device engineer will be affected. However, the inter-control device information 5 sent to other control devices has the risk of malfunctions during modification and test information during modification testing being sent to other control devices and resulting in erroneous judgments. Also, conversely, the information sent from other control devices to the control device I is information that is operating online, but for the modification test, it is necessary to manipulate the information, so it is necessary to change the conditions of the modification part of the control device engineer. It was necessary to test it. In addition, the inter-control device information 5 generated as a result of the test and sent from the control device engineer to the lower control device device needs to be viewed as the test result.

In this way, the necessary functions of the test equipment in a distributed control system are (1) how freely the inter-control device information 5 can be manipulated, and (2) how specifically the movement of the inter-control device information 5 can be controlled. It's possible to see it.

Conventional distributed control systems do not have the above-mentioned functions, and the entire facility must be stopped and the inter-control device information 5 must be manipulated, or the control device to be modified must be modified, as shown in means 11 in FIG. 10. (2) was separated from the information transmission device 2 and tested. Further, for the inter-control device information 5, a line tracer was connected to the information transmission device 2 as shown in means 12 and tested.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

The above conventional technology requires a confirmation test of the modified control logic, but logic mistakes during modification and test information during the confirmation test indicate that other control devices (targeted for expansion and modification) that are operating normally and controlling the equipment are not included. In order to avoid any negative impact on all control devices that are not currently operating, and to conduct confirmation tests on the control device (2) by arbitrarily changing the inter-control device information 5 and changing the conditions and data of the control logic. , the entire facility was stopped. However, there are few plants in which the entire equipment can be stopped at will, and in particular, in large-scale plants with multiple control devices, which are the subject of the present invention, electricity, water,
Utility equipment, which is common equipment in plants such as steam and air, was also subject to control, and it was virtually impossible to shut down the entire equipment. For this reason, conventionally, as shown in the means 11 shown in FIG. 10, the control device I, which has undergone expansion/modification from other normally operating control devices, is separated from the information transmission device 2, and the control device I is made independent to carry out a confirmation test. Was.

However, the information unit (Gr4.GI2
. . .) were disconnected from the information transmission device 2 all at once without consideration of the following: 1) The control device I cannot send inter-control device information unrelated to expansion/modification to other control devices. 2)
If expansion/modification occurs in multiple control devices (in reality, this case is more common than expansion/modification of a control device alone), interlocking tests using inter-control device information 5 between multiple control devices cannot be performed. There was a problem.

In other words, when expanding or modifying multiple related control devices, confirmation tests at the time of expansion or modification are generally conducted in a single test mode in which the control device is tested alone, or in an interlocking mode in which multiple related control devices are tested in conjunction. The test is completed through a test mode and a comprehensive test mode in which all control devices are operated and comprehensively tested. However, with the conventional technology, the linked test mode and the comprehensive test mode cannot be implemented, and the individual test mode is directly integrated into the online mode, so problems with the linkage may occur during online operation, causing serious trouble such as stopping the equipment. It was a factor that caused this.

The above-mentioned conventional technology also provides inter-control device information 5 to be tested.
There was a problem in that the inter-control device information 5 to be tested had to be selected and analyzed based on judgment from the tracing results.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and provide an apparatus and a testing method capable of testing a control device of a facility that has a plurality of facilities and is subject to expansion or modification while online.

[Means to solve the problem]

The above object is to provide a distributed control device having a plurality of control devices that control equipment and an information transmission device that exchanges control information between the control devices, in which a communication device between each of the control devices and the information transmission device is provided. This is achieved by providing a test device that tests each of the control devices online. The test equipment includes a buffer that adds time information to the information between the control equipment and holds it, and an information selection means that selects the exchange of information between the control equipment and between the control equipment and the testing equipment, that is, the control that occurs in the control equipment. an output trace switch that selects whether to send inter-device information to the buffer; and an output trace switch that selects whether or not to send inter-device information to the buffer; and an output trace switch that sends inter-control device information generated in one control device to the other control device or holds it in the test device as simulated control information. an output selection switch that selects either one of the control device information generated in the other control device and the simulated control information held in the test device, and inputs the selected one to one control device. An input selection switch; and an input trace switch that selects whether or not to hold information selected by the input selection switch in a trace buffer.

and an input/output device for referencing the buffer and for setting and referencing simulated information in each control device. The above purpose is also to allow information to be exchanged only between control devices that are operating online during the single test mode, in which the control device of the equipment being tested is tested alone, and between the control device that is operating online and the test target. In the linked test mode, the information selection means of the test equipment is operated so as to prohibit the exchange of information between the control units of the equipment to be tested.

Enables exchange of information between control devices to be tested and control devices operating online, and prohibits exchange of information between control devices to be tested and control devices operating online. In the comprehensive test mode, in which the information selection means of the test equipment is operated to accept information from the control device running online to the control device of the equipment to be tested, and the test is performed, the control devices to be tested are connected to each other and online. It is possible to send and receive information between control devices operating online, and to supply information from a control device operating online to a control device being tested. This is achieved by providing a method for testing a distributed control device that manipulates the information selection means of the test device to prohibit the supply of information to the test device.

[Effect]

According to the distributed control device of the present invention, a test device for testing each of the control devices online is provided between each control device and the information transmission device.

In the test device, the buffer holds the control information with time information added thereto, and the information selection means selects whether or not the output trace switch sends the control information generated in one of the control devices to the buffer, The switch selects whether to send the control information generated in one control device to the other control device or to hold it in one test device as simulated control information, and the input selection switch selects whether to send the control information generated in the other control device. and the simulated control information held in the test device and input it to one of the control devices, and whether or not the input trace switch holds the information selected by the input selection switch in the buffer. The input/output device references the buffer and references and sets the simulated information.

In the single test mode, in which the control device of the equipment to be tested is tested independently using the above test equipment, information can only be exchanged between the control devices that are operating online, and the control device that is operating online is The information selection means of the test device of the control device to be tested and the test device of the control device operating online are operated so as to prohibit the exchange of information between the device and the control device to be tested. In the linked test mode, in which tests are performed by exchanging information between the control devices of the equipment being tested, it is possible to exchange information between the control devices being tested and between the control devices that are operating online. Operating the information selection means of the test device of the control device to be tested and the test device of the control device that is operating online so as to prohibit the exchange of information between the control device to be tested and the control device operating online. . In the comprehensive test mode, in which information is accepted from the control device running online to the control device of the equipment being tested and tested, information is shared between the control devices being tested and between the control devices running online. and the supply of information from a control device running online to a control device being tested, and prohibiting the supply of information from a control device being tested to a control device running online. Operate the information selection means of the test device of the control device to be tested and the test device of the control device that is operating online. As a result, even after the control device of any facility is expanded or modified, the operation confirmation test of the control device can be performed online while the control device is in operation, thereby achieving the effect of preventing a drop in the operating rate of the plant.

[Embodiments of the invention]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an embodiment of the present invention, which includes a plurality of control devices (2) and a means for transmitting information 5 between a plurality of control devices from a transmission source to a control device (2) other than the transmission source. Device 2
In a distributed control system composed of the following, the control device I and the information transmission device 2 are connected via a distributed control system testing device 3 corresponding to each control device I.

Here, in order to explain the details of the test apparatus 3, the test apparatus 3 of the control apparatus (1) will be taken as an example and will be explained below with reference to FIG.

In order to send the inter-control device information 5 (GI, ~GIi) of the control device ■ to a control device other than the control device I, the control device ■
The information from the test device I3 is temporarily stored in the storage means 11. Here, the output side control device information tracing means 1
As shown in 00, information 11' (i
) corresponding output trace switch 12 and storage means 1
9, the previous information 19' (i) and the information 11' that the output tray switch 12 is ON, and the previous information 19
' are compared, and if they do not match, the date and time are added to the information 11' and stored in the trace buffer 7. FIG. 3a shows the process for implementing the means 100 by means of a flowchart. Next, as shown in the inter-control device information output selection means 200, it has an output selection switch 13 corresponding to the information 11', a transmission information storage means 15, and a test information storage means 14, and each switch of the output selection switch 13 is set to the ON side. The information 11' that is
5" and the output selection switch 13 is set to the OFF side, the information 11' is stored in the corresponding storage means 14 as test information 14', and the transmission information 15' is transmitted via the information transmission device 2. Control device! (self-control device) is sent as the inter-control device information 5 of the control device I. In other words, among the inter-control device information 5 of the control device to be tested ■, which is unrelated to the modification, Information unaffected by means 20 is sent to other control devices.
The process for realizing 0 is shown by a flowchart.

- A plurality of inter-control device information 5 from other control devices other than the force control device I is always received as information 25' by the received information storage means 25 via the information transmission device 2. Here, as shown in the inter-control device information input selection means 300,
The number of information for each control device (i) of the received information 25' is the same as the number of other control devices (j), and corresponds to the received information 25'.
It has an input selection switch 23 and a simulated information storage means 24, and when each switch of the input selection switch 23 is on the ON side, the received information 25' is stored in the corresponding storage means 21 as information 21', and the switch 23 If it is on the OFF side, the simulated information 24' stored in advance
is stored in the corresponding storage means 21 as information 21'.

FIG. 3C shows a flowchart of the process for realizing the means 300. Next, as shown in the input-side control device information tracing means 400, the number of information (i) for each control device of the received information 25' is the same as the number of other control devices (j), and the number of information corresponding to the received information 25' is the same as the number of other control devices (j). It has an input trace switch 22, and the information 2■' corresponding to the input trace switch 22 which is turned on (that is, the received information 25 by the means 300
The information 29' is compared with the previous information 29', and if they do not match, the information 21 is appended with date and time and stored in the trace buffer 7. Third
FIG. 4d shows a flowchart of processing for realizing the means 400. Referencing and changing the information 14' and 24', referencing the trace buffer 7, and setting the test mode are performed using the input/output device 8 and the test mode selection circuit 9 of the distributed system test device 3 shown in FIG. Implemented by means 500.

Further, the trace instruction of the inter-control device information 5 can be changed by operating the output trace switches 2 and 22, and the selection of transmission/reception information and simulated information can be changed by operating the output selection switch 13 and the input selection switch 23.

The above explanation has been given using control device I as an example, but similarly, for test device ■ corresponding to control device ■ and test device j corresponding to control device It can be implemented similarly.

Next, a test method will be described when a plurality of control devices are expanded or modified in a distributed control system in which each control device has a test device having the above means 100 to 500.

Testing of control devices can be carried out in a single test mode, in which each control device subject to expansion/modification is tested individually, one by one, an interlocking test mode, in which the control device is tested in conjunction with other related control devices, and an expansion/modification test mode. It is integrated online through a comprehensive test mode in which inter-control device information of control devices that was not related to the modification is also incorporated and tested comprehensively.

One embodiment corresponding to each test mode will be explained with reference to FIG. 5 for the individual test mode, FIG. 6 for the linked test mode, and FIG. 7 for the system test mode.

In this figure, for convenience of explanation, only the means related to the test mode of the test apparatus 3 will be explained. Furthermore, for the sake of easy understanding, the inter-control device information 5 generated from each control device 1 will be explained as one type.

First, in the test in the independent test mode, as shown in Figure 5, the control bags @I and II, which are subject to modification and require testing, are
In order to disconnect from the control devices ■ and ■ that are operating online and test them independently, by turning off all the input selection switches 23 and output selection switches 13 of the control devices I and ■, the control device ■ , ■Can be tested independently without affecting.

Next, control device 1 to be modified. II is linked to perform tests without affecting control devices ① and ① that are operating online. This section describes the test method for the linked test mode.

In FIG. 6, the control devices to be modified are control device (2) and control device (2). The control device ■ and the control device ■ are in operation by controlling the target equipment. Under this situation,
A test in which control devices I and ① are linked is performed using control device I11.1 in the operating state. When implementing it separately from the IV, in the control device ■ to be modified, the inter-control device information G from the control device ■
I turn on the corresponding output selection switch 13 and use the other leg restraint device■.

Send information to III and IV. Since the control device (2) itself needs to be modified and an interlock test is performed, the input selection switch 23 corresponding to GI of the test device (2) is turned on in order to use the inter-control device information GI as is. The control devices m and rv operate using the simulated information by turning off the corresponding input selection switches 23 to eliminate the influence of the inter-control device information ai being modified information. Similarly, the inter-control device information Gn generated from the control device (2) is transmitted by turning on the corresponding input selection switch 23 of the test device (2), turning on the corresponding output selection switch 13 of the test device (2), and turning on the corresponding output selection switch 13 of the test device (2). The corresponding switch input selection 23 of IV is turned OFF.

On the other hand, the inter-control device information Gm and GTV generated by the control device III and the TV in the operating state are determined by turning on the corresponding input selection and output selection switches of the test devices m and rv, and controlling the control device 1 to be modified. Test equipment I, II corresponding to n
The input selection switch corresponding to the inter-control device information Gm and GIV is turned off, and a confirmation test is performed using the simulated information.

By the above test method, the inter-control device information GII [, GIV during online operation is determined by the control device I during interlocking test, ■
Inter-control device information GI during interlocking tests without affecting
GII does not affect control devices III and IV during online operation, and interlocking tests can be performed during online operation.

Next, in the comprehensive test mode, as shown in Figure 7, the control device to be modified! , II inter-control device information GT.

For GII only, control device I11. Turn off the input selection switch 23 corresponding to IV, and select the control device I to be tested.
Control device 1.II tests the inter-control device information of all control devices by turning on all of the input selection switches 23 and output selection switches 13 of control device 1. II can be used, and the inter-control device information of the control devices I and II to be tested enables a comprehensive test of the system while the system is running online without affecting the control device III and TV that are running online.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, at the time of expansion and modification of the distributed control system, the inter-control device information 5 is generated by the means 100 and the means 500 of the test device 3, and the inter-control device information 5 is generated by the means 100 and the means 500 of the test device 3. 5, it is possible to check the movement of information by selecting only the necessary information, and the means 400 and 500 select only the necessary information from the plurality of inter-control device information 5 of the low control devices used in the control device. This has the effect of allowing you to check the movement of information. In addition, the means 200 and the means 500 have the effect of selecting only the necessary information from the plurality of inter-control device information 5 generated in the control device and sending it as the inter-control device information of the control device, so that there is no adverse effect on other control devices. Inter-control device information of a certain control device is not sent as information,
This has the effect of being able to be monitored as test data. Further, in means 300 and means 500, a plurality of inter-control device information generated in other control devices can be obtained by using arbitrary simulated data given by means 500 as inter-control device information, or directly from other control devices. It is possible to select the sent information or each individual information, which has the effect of making it possible to perform any test. In addition, by using this distributed control system test equipment according to the test mode, there will be no adverse effect on control equipment that is not subject to expansion or modification, and testing can be performed in independent test mode, interlocked test mode, and comprehensive test mode in online operating state. This has the effect of making it possible.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 4, the state of the selection switch corresponding to the test mode is stored in the test device, and the test mode is inputted from the input/output device connected to the test device 3. By providing means for automatically setting the state of the selection switch corresponding to the test mode, it is possible to eliminate the need to operate the switch.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the present invention, a test device for selecting control information transmission and reception is provided between each control device and an information transmission device, and by operating the information selection means, a test device is provided between each control device and an information transmission device, and by operating the information selection means, the control device of another facility is operated online. Since the control device can be expanded or modified and subsequent operation confirmation tests can be performed, it is possible to prevent a drop in plant operating efficiency.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is an overall configuration diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a block diagram of the test equipment shown in Fig. 1, and Figs. 3a to 3d.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the embodiment of the present invention.
The figure is a block diagram of the input/output device of the test equipment shown in Figure 1, Figure 5 is a connection diagram in the independent test mode in the embodiment of the present invention, and Figure 6 is the linked test mode in the embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 7 is a wiring diagram in the comprehensive test mode in the embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 8 is an overall configuration diagram of the conventional example, Fig. 9 is a configuration diagram of all conventional equipment and control equipment, and Fig. FIG. 10 is an overall configuration diagram when performing a conventional test. ↓...control device, 2...information transmission device, 3...test device, 4...equipment, 5...information between control devices.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A distributed control device including a plurality of control devices that control equipment and an information transmission device that exchanges control information between the control devices, wherein each of the control devices and the information A distributed control device characterized in that a test device for testing each of the control devices online is provided between the transmission device and the transmission device. 2. In a distributed control device that has a plurality of control devices that control equipment and an information transmission device that sends and receives control information between the control devices, what is needed from the control information generated by the control device Output control information tracing means for selecting and outputting it with time information added when there is a change in the content, and outputting control information generated in the control device to another control device via the information transmission device. output control information selection means for selecting whether to hold it as simulated information; and an input for selecting whether to input control information output by another control device via the information transmission device to the control device or to input the simulated information. control information selection means; output control information tracing means for selecting necessary information from the information selected by the input control information selection means and outputting it with time information added when there is a change in the content; a storage means for inputting and holding the control information to which the time information from the first means and the fourth means is added; and a test device input/output means for referring to and setting the simulation information and selecting each of the above. A distributed control device characterized by: 3. The test device includes a trace buffer for storing control information with time information added thereto, and an output trace switch for selecting whether or not to send control information generated in one of the control devices to the trace buffer; An output selection switch that selects whether to send the control information generated in one control device to the other control device or to hold it in the test device as simulated control information, and the control information generated in the other control device and the test device. an input selection switch that selects one of the simulated control information held in the device and inputs it to one control device; and whether or not the control information selected by the input selection switch is held in the trace buffer. 2. The distributed control device according to claim 1, further comprising an input trace switch for making a selection. 4. The distributed control device according to claim 3, wherein each of the control devices is provided with an input/output device that refers to the trace buffer and refers to and sets the simulation information. 5. During the single test mode, in which the control device of the equipment to be tested is tested independently, it is possible to exchange information between the control devices that are operating online, and the control device that is operating online and the control device to be tested. The method is characterized by operating the information selection means of the test device of the control device to be tested and the test device of the control device operating online so as to prohibit the exchange of control information between the control devices to be tested. Test method for distributed control equipment. 6. During the interlock test mode, in which tests are performed by exchanging information between the control devices of the equipment to be tested, information is exchanged between the control devices to be tested and between control devices that are operating online. The test device for the control device to be tested and the test device for the control device that is operating online are configured to enable exchange of information between the control device to be tested and the control device that is operating online, and to prohibit the transfer of information between the control device to be tested and the control device that is operating online. A method for testing a distributed control device, characterized by operating an information selection means. 7. During the comprehensive test mode, in which information is accepted from the control device running online to the control device of the equipment to be tested and tested, the communication between the control devices being tested and between the control devices running online Enables the exchange of information and the supply of information from a control device operating online to a control device to be tested, and prohibits the supply of information to be tested from a control device to be tested to a control device operating online. 1. A method for testing a distributed control device, comprising operating information selection means of a test device of a control device to be tested and a test device of a control device operating online so as to perform the test.