JPH06295236A - Engineering device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To dispense with the necessity of always keeping a thick instruction manual or printed matter manual extending over many kinds at hand, and to efficiently execute an engineering work. CONSTITUTION:The engineering device is constituted of a manual file 4 in which the information of a function explanation, an operation explanation, etc., of the engineering device is stored, a system generating means 1 for displaying necessary graphic or information, and also, constructing a desired system in accordance with an instruction from a pointing device 2, a manual reading-out means 5 for receiving the instruction from the pointing device 2, and the information related to the function which is being executed this time by the system generating means 1, and retrieving and reading out a function explanation and an operation explanation related to the function from the manual file 4, and a manual display means 8 for displaying the information read out by the manual reading-out means 5 on a display means 6.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention comprises a control device connected to each other via a communication bus and in charge of control calculation, and an operator station (or workstation) in charge of operation and monitoring of control. In a distributed control system, it relates to an engineering device for constructing / creating a system logic to be downloaded to the control device side. More specifically, it provides information such as function explanations and operation methods necessary for constructing / creating a system to the system logic. The present invention relates to an engineering device that can be displayed on a construction screen as needed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A distributed control system comprises a plurality of control devices distributed according to the scale of a process to be controlled, and an operation monitoring device (operator station or workstation) for controlling operation and process monitoring. Are connected to each other via a communication bus,
The control device controls the process based on the control calculation function composed of the system logic constructed by the engineering device, and the operation monitoring device collects various data handled by the control calculation functions in multiple control devices. It is possible to collect data via a communication bus and perform control operation / operation and monitoring of the entire process.

In the control unit, as described above,
The system logic for realizing the control calculation function, which is configured by appropriately combining the control instruments that perform feedback control and the control instruments that perform sequence control, is downloaded from the engineering equipment side according to the substance of the process to be applied and the user's request. To be done. Such a system logic can be constructed not only by an engineering device but also by a workstation having a system generating means (builder function) or an operation / monitor device.

By the way, the construction of the system logic to be downloaded to the control device becomes complicated as the controlled object becomes large-scale and the high-level control is required, and the high-level knowledge and careful attention are required. Will be needed.

[0005]

Conventionally, in this type of engineering apparatus, a manual explaining the functions and operating methods thereof has been provided as a printed matter. Therefore, an engineer who is trying to build a system logic always operates this printed matter manual at hand.

However, in this type of engineering device that provides a complicated function, the contents of the manual become enormous, and since there are many kinds, it takes time to find necessary items and information. There was The present invention has been made in view of these points,
It is an object of the present invention to provide an engineering device capable of constructing a system logic without requiring a thick manual or the like.

[0007]

The present invention which achieves such an object is an engineering device for constructing a system logic to be downloaded to a control device for controlling a process, and a functional description of the engineering device. A manual file storing information such as operation explanations, necessary graphics or information, and a system generating means for constructing a desired system according to an instruction from the pointing device, an instruction from the pointing device, and a system generating means Receiving the information about the function being performed this time, and displaying the information read by the manual reading unit that retrieves and reads the function description / operation description related to the function from the manual file, and the information read by the manual reading unit on the display unit manual A engineering apparatus that includes a Display means.

[0008]

The system generating means has a builder function for constructing and generating a system logic for realizing various control operation functions provided to the control device, and a desired system logic is constructed in accordance with an instruction from the pointing device. It The system logic built here is
After completion, it is downloaded to the control device side.

The manual reading means receives an instruction for manual disclosure from the pointing device during construction of the system logic by the system generating means,
The function description / operation description related to the function currently performed by the system generating means is retrieved from the manual file and read out. The manual display means displays, for example, a window on the display means on the function explanation / operation explanation related to the function currently in operation read by the manual reading means.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a configuration block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, OPS is an operation monitoring device (operator station or workstation) in charge of process operation / monitoring, etc., and in this embodiment, it has a function as an engineering device for system generation. And The FCS is a control device connected to the operation monitoring device OPS via the communication bus BS and in charge of control calculation. This controller FCS
The operation monitoring device having the system generating means, the system logic generated (constructed) by the workstation or the engineering device is downloaded, and feedback control calculation, sequence control calculation and the like can be performed.

In this example, only one control device FCS is connected to the communication bus BS, but in reality, a plurality of control devices FCS are distributed and arranged according to the scale of the process to be controlled. Operation monitoring device (or workstation) O
In PS, reference numeral 1 is a system generation means (builder function) for constructing a system logic for realizing various control functions executed by the control device FCS, which is configured to include, for example, a graphic editor function. Reference numeral 2 denotes a pointing device interface, which has a function of receiving signals from the keyboard 21, mouse 22, and touch screen 23.

Reference numeral 3 has a function of downloading the system logic constructed by the system generating means 1 to the control device FCS side in accordance with an instruction from the pointing device. Reference numeral 4 denotes a manual file that stores manual information such as function explanations and operation explanations as an engineering device of the operation monitoring device OPS, and is stored separately for each item such as engineering functions and operation methods.
In addition to being able to read the contents as needed, the contents can be rewritten or revised.

Reference numeral 5 denotes a manual reading means, which receives an instruction from the pointing device and information about a function currently being performed by the system generating means 1, and retrieves a function explanation and an operation explanation related to the relevant function from the manual file 4. It is configured to read out. 6 is C
Reference numeral 7 is a display device such as RT, and 7 is a display control means for controlling the screen display of the display device 6 in cooperation with a signal from the pointing device and a signal from the system generation means 1. Reference numeral 8 denotes a manual display means for displaying the information read by the manual read means 5 on the display device 6 via the display control means 7, and has a function of displaying it as a window, for example.

Reference numeral 9 denotes a process operation monitoring means which is a main function as an operation monitoring device. This process operation monitoring means displays various information and graphics convenient for grasping the control operation status of the process on the display device 5, and sends an operation signal to the control device FCS side in accordance with an instruction from the pointing device. It has a function to do. Reference numeral 10 denotes a communication driver having an interface function with the communication bus BS, which is capable of exchanging data with each control device or the like connected to the communication bus according to the communication protocol of the communication bus BS.

On the control unit FCS side, 31 is a communication driver, which has an interface function for the communication bus BS. Reference numeral 32 is a functional block showing the control calculation function as a whole, and is realized by downloading the system logic constructed by the engineering function of the operation monitoring device or the workstation OPS. This control calculation function is configured by, for example, a combination of feedback control means, sequence control means, etc., inputs measurement signals from various sensors installed in the process, performs a predetermined control calculation, and then outputs a control signal (process Operation amount)
Is output to the operating end of a valve or the like.

The operation of the apparatus thus constructed will be described below. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the function of performing manual display. Here, an example in which two types are prepared as the system for activating the manual display means 8 is shown. One is the menu display means 11 for calling each engineering function of the function as an engineering device. For example, when a menu is selected by the mouse 22, a start request is issued and the manual display means 8 is started. The other is that when the system generating means 1 in each engineering function is in an operating state, a manual disclosure instruction by a mouse or keyboard operation (for example,
In response to the instruction output by selecting the help button), a start request is issued and the manual display means 8 is started.

When the manual display means 8 is activated, the manual reading means 5 reads the manual information of the item corresponding to the engineering function in the current operating state from the manual file 4 and transfers it to the manual display means 8. The manual display means 8 displays the transferred manual information of the relevant portion in a window on the screen of the display device 6, for example.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a window screen displayed by the menu display means 11 of FIG.
This example shows the builder function menu items,
For example, various menus such as a function for defining a system configuration, a function for defining a system constant, and a function for defining an industrial unit are prepared. Each of these menu items can be selected by operating a pointing device such as a mouse or a keyboard.

Below the menu item display area 41,
A text input section 42 for searching menu items and three operation buttons 43, 44, 45 are provided. In the text input part 42, a character string of an item to be searched can be input. Then, when a search target corresponding to the character string input to the text input unit is found, the menu item including the character string is highlighted.

The operation button 43 is assigned the function of instructing the display of the menu item of the next page, and the operation button 44 is assigned the function of instructing the display of the menu item of the previous page. The operation button 45 is assigned with a function of instructing the relevant manual reference after the menu item is selected. That is, when the operation button 45 is designated by the mouse or the keyboard, the manual display means 8 is activated to display the function explanation related to the selected menu item read from the manual file 4.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a manual content display screen displayed when the operation button (Open) 45 is operated after selecting "trend configuration" in the menu item selection screen shown in FIG. It is a figure. here,
The screen for displaying the manual contents is displayed as a window, and here, the contents regarding the trend recording function are shown. It should be noted that a plurality of screens for displaying such manual contents can be simultaneously displayed so as to be overlapped. Below the manual content display area 51, a text input section 52 for searching a character string in the corresponding display content and two operation buttons 53 and 54 are provided. A character string to be searched can be input into the text input section 52. When the search target corresponding to the character string input here is found, the display content is moved to the position of the content including the search target character string, and the search target character string is highlighted.

When there are a plurality of character strings to be searched,
A message to that effect is displayed on the operation button (Next) 53,
By operating this operation button 53, the display moves to the position where the next character string to be searched exists. Further, by operating the operation button (Previous) 54, the position of the previous character string is returned. If the search target does not exist in the corresponding items, a message to that effect is displayed.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a case where the manual contents are displayed while the engineering function of the system generating means 1 is being used. Here, an example of displaying the definition screen of the trend recording function in the engineering functions is shown. At the top of this screen, there is a menu bar for instructing general functions, and at the far right end, "Help" for instructing manual display.
A (help) button 62 is provided. When this help button 62 is operated, a pull-down menu 63 is displayed. In the pull-down menu 63, five selection items are displayed for the contents related to the operation of the screen defining the trend recording function currently in operation.

The display contents when these items are selected are as follows. (A) Operation (Operation) The explanation about the operation method of the engineering function for which the help is requested is displayed. (B) Manual (Manual) The manual display of the function description of the engineering function for which the help is requested is displayed. (C) Version (Version) Displays the name of the engineering function for which the help was requested and a description about the version display. (D) Message (Message) Display the details of the message generated by the engineering function that requested the help. (E) Help (Help) Displays a description of how to use the help function.

It should be noted that other items may be prepared as the items to be provided in the pull-down menu 63. In some cases, the operation of the help button 62 causes the engineering function of the engineering function immediately (without displaying the pull-down menu). Manual display related to the function description may be performed. In the above embodiment, it is assumed that the help button is displayed on the screen and is operated,
A help key for instructing display of manual contents may be provided in the keyboard.

[0026]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, various kinds of information required for using the engineering function can be promptly displayed on the screen for system generation and necessary items can be displayed. It can be displayed in a narrowed down format. Therefore, it is not necessary to always have a large number of thick instruction manuals or printed matter manuals at hand, and it is not necessary to search for a place where necessary explanations are described, and the engineering efficiency can be remarkably improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing a function of performing manual display.

3 is a diagram showing an example of a window screen displayed by the menu display means of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a manual content display screen displayed when the operation button 45 is operated after selecting “Trend configuration” on the menu item selection screen shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a case where a manual content is displayed while an engineering function by a system generating means is being used.

[Explanation of symbols] OPS operation monitoring device (operator station) FCS control device (control station) 1 system generation means (builder function) 2 pointing device interface 21 keyboard 22 mouse 23 touch screen 3 system download means 4 manual file 5 manual read Means 6 Display device 7 Display control means 8 Manual display means 9 Process operation monitoring means 31 Communication driver 32 Control calculation function block

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An engineering device for constructing a system logic to be downloaded to a control device for controlling a process, including a manual file storing information such as functional explanations and operation explanations of the engineering device, and a necessary file. While displaying the graphic or information, the system generating means for constructing a desired system according to the instruction from the pointing device, the instruction from the pointing device, and the information about the function currently performed by the system generating means are received and An engineering apparatus comprising: a manual reading unit that retrieves and reads related function explanations and operation explanations from the manual file; and a manual display unit that displays information read by the manual reading unit on a display unit.