JPH1151925A - Monitoring method for metal analyzer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To economically and quickly monitor an analyzer by transmitting the operation state confirming detection information of the analyzer to a monitoring computer via a microcomputer and a communication means. SOLUTION: The detection information from operation state confirming detection means A, P, R can be transmitted to a monitoring computer via a communication means 5. Whether the apparatuses of a measuring section are abnormal or not can be confirmed by a monitoring computer of a maker located near a developer before the debug and installation of software, and no excess time and labor is required. Whether the apparatuses of the measurement section are abnormal or not can be confirmed before the debug of the software, abnormalities of analyzed values can be narrowed down to bugs of the analytical software, and no excess time and labor is required. The dispatch of personnel and the transmission of a medium are not required for the on-line debug and installation on an metal analyzer, and the debug and installation can be quickly and economically processed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a method for monitoring a metal analyzer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a metal analyzer, calculation is performed by a microcomputer based on a measurement value detected by a measurement unit and a predetermined calculation program to calculate an element concentration (analysis value) of an impurity in a metal. I have.

[0003]

In such a metal analyzer, high frequency and high current are used, so that the noise is strong. For this reason, data stored in a hard disk or the like is likely to be destroyed, and an abnormality in software such as the arithmetic program may cause an abnormality in the analysis value. In this case, the manufacturer dispatches developers to the site, or
It is necessary to reproduce the abnormality with a metal analyzer (manufacturer) at the developer's hand by telephone communication and conduct an investigation for debugging. However, dispatching a developer costs a lot of money and time. On the other hand, when the abnormality is reproduced by a device at hand of the developer, accurate information is not transmitted by telephone, and it is difficult to reproduce a subtle abnormality. Furthermore, post-fixing requires mailing cost of the medium storing the software, which is not economical, and it is difficult to quickly respond to bugs.

Therefore, it is conceivable that a monitoring computer is connected to the metal analyzer through communication means such as a public line, and debugging of the metal analyzer is performed on-line. However, before debugging the arithmetic program, it is necessary to directly operate the metal analyzer to check whether there is any abnormality in each device of the measuring unit. Such a problem also occurs in the case of performing installation in addition to debugging.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a monitoring method of a metal analyzer for solving such a problem.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention relates to a method of connecting a monitoring computer via a communication means to a metal analyzer having a measuring section and a microcomputer, and connecting the metal analyzer to the metal analyzer. The metal analyzer is monitored by transmitting detection information from the detection means for operating status confirmation provided for checking the operating status of the measurement unit to the monitoring computer via the microcomputer and the communication means.
The detecting means for confirming the operating condition is not only a detector and a measuring device provided in each device of the metal analyzer, but also determines and detects an operating condition from a set value built in the microcomputer and an analysis history. Including means.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A description will now be given, with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, of a case in which an embodiment of the present invention is debugged. In this specification, a “bug” refers to an error in software (software) such as a program and variables and functions related to the program. “Debugging” refers to finding and repairing an abnormality in hardware (hardware) or finding and correcting an error in software.

In FIG. 1, a user has a metal analyzer 1 and a maker has a personal computer (personal computer) 2 constituting a monitoring computer. The metal analyzer 1 includes a microcomputer (a microcomputer of a user) 3 and a measuring unit 4. The user's microcomputer 3 is connected to the manufacturer's personal computer 2 via the communication means 5. That is, the personal computer 2 of the manufacturer has a built-in modem 6 and is connected to the modem 7 connected to the user's microcomputer 3 via the public line 8. Note that commercially available terminal software or remote software is installed in the microcomputer 3 of the user and the personal computer 2 of the manufacturer.

In FIG. 2, the measuring section 4 of the metal analyzer 1 has an electric furnace 9 for burning metal. The combustion gas G generated from the metal burned in the electric furnace 9 is:
The gas is introduced into an infrared gas concentration detector 11 through a flue 10 to detect the concentration of CO2 or SO2 in the combustion gas G. The measured value a from the infrared gas concentration detector 11 is output to the microcomputer 3 of the user.

The measuring section 4 is provided with an ammeter A, a pressure sensor P, a resistance measuring device R, and the like, which constitute a part of an operating condition confirmation detecting means. The flue 10 is provided with an on-off valve (electromagnetic valve) V, and the on-off valve V is provided with an ammeter A for measuring a current value for operating the on-off valve V. The ammeter A outputs a measured current value to the microcomputer 3 of the user. The pressure sensor P is connected to the electric furnace 9.
The pressure in the oxygen supply passage 12 for supplying oxygen to the inside is detected, and the measured pressure is output to the microcomputer 3 of the user. The resistance measuring device R detects the resistance of a heater (not shown) of the electric furnace 9 and outputs the detected resistance value to the microcomputer 3 of the user.

The microcomputer 3 of the user includes a CPU 3
0, a RAM 31 and a ROM 32 are built in, and a keyboard 8, a display 9, a printer 10 and the modem 7, which constitute an input unit, are connected.

The RAM 31 stores an arithmetic program for calculating an analysis value, and analysis software such as a correction coefficient specific to the apparatus, a gas correction coefficient, and a calibration curve. The CPU 30 includes an analyzing unit 33. The analysis means 33 calculates the measured value a from the infrared gas concentration detector 11.
Is calculated based on the analysis software.

The RAM 31 has a set current value, a set pressure value and a first
The set resistance value Ω1 and the second set resistance value Ω2 (Ω2 <Ω
1) and the like are stored. The CPU 30 is provided with respective discriminating means such as a valve open / close discriminating means 34, a combustion discriminating means 35, a disconnection discriminating means 36, and a disconnection notice discriminating means 37 which constitute a part of the operation status checking detecting means.

The valve open / close determining means 34 compares the set current value stored in the RAM 31 with the measured current value from the ammeter A to determine whether the open / close valve V is open or closed. When the measured current value is larger than the value, it is indirectly determined that the on-off valve is open, and thereby it is determined that the combustion gas G is introduced into the infrared gas concentration detector 11.

The combustion determining means 35 compares the set pressure value stored in the RAM 31 with the measured pressure from the pressure sensor P, and determines whether a predetermined amount of oxygen has been consumed in the electric furnace 9 or not. For example, when the measured pressure is smaller than the set pressure value, it is indirectly determined that a predetermined amount of oxygen is consumed in the electric furnace 9, whereby the metal is burned in the electric furnace 9. It is determined that there is.

The disconnection determining means 36 determines the disconnection of the heater by comparing the first set resistance value stored in the RAM 31 with the measured resistance value from the resistance measuring device R. If the measured resistance value is larger than the value Ω1, it is indirectly determined that the heater is disconnected.

The disconnection notice judging means 37 comprises a RAM 31
The first set resistance value Ω1 and the second set resistance value Ω2 stored in the memory are compared with the measured resistance value from the resistance measuring device R to determine the advance notice of the disconnection of the heater. Smaller than the set resistance value Ω1 and the second resistance
When the resistance is larger than the set resistance value Ω2, it is indirectly determined that the heater is about to be disconnected.

As shown in FIG. 1, a personal computer 2 of the manufacturer has a CPU 21 and a RAM in addition to the modem 6.
22 and a ROM 23, a keyboard 13, a display 14 and a printer 15 are connected.

The RAM 22 stores a test tool (debug program) for debugging the analysis software stored in the microcomputer 3 of the user.
This test tool is started after being transmitted from the manufacturer's personal computer 2 to the user's microcomputer 3, and transmits intermediate variables and internal variables to the manufacturer's personal computer 2. Here, the internal variable is the measuring unit 4 at the time of analysis.
And the like, a set value of a waiting time between operations of each device, and an intermediate variable is an intermediate value from when a measured value a (FIG. 2) is obtained to when an analytical value is obtained.

The keyboard 13 is for inputting necessary for communication and debugging. The display 14 and the printer 15 display or print information necessary for debugging, such as a determination result from the detection means for operating status confirmation, intermediate variables, and internal variables.

Next, a debugging method of the metal analyzer will be described. First, the RAM2 of the manufacturer's PC2
The test tool stored in 2 is transmitted to the user's microcomputer 3 via the communication means 5. Next, prior to debugging of the analysis software, the CPU 30 of the user's microcomputer 3 in FIG. 2 monitors each device of the metal analyzer and detects whether or not each device has an abnormality to obtain detection information. . This detection information is obtained by each of the determination units 33 to 37 as described above.

That is, the valve open / close determining means 34 indirectly determines whether or not the combustion gas G has been introduced into the infrared gas concentration detector 11. The combustion determination means 35 indirectly determines whether or not metal is burning in the electric furnace 9. The disconnection determining means 36 indirectly determines whether the heater is disconnected. Disconnection notice determination means 37
Determines indirectly whether the heater is about to break. Each of these determinations is made by operating each device individually, or by actually performing a metal analysis.

The detection information is transmitted to the manufacturer's personal computer 2 via the communication means 5 shown in FIG. After confirming from the detection information that there is no abnormality in each of the devices, the analysis software is debugged as follows.

First, the transmitted test tool is activated by operating the keyboard 14. After this activation, metal analysis is performed. That is, the combustion gas G is extracted by burning the metal, the combustion gas G is taken into the infrared gas concentration detector 11 every 10 msec, and a measured value a is obtained. After correcting by a coefficient, the concentration is converted by a calibration curve. By the time the concentration calculation is performed, the test tool outputs the intermediate variables generated in each of the above steps each time, and the intermediate variables are transmitted to the manufacturer's personal computer 2 via the communication means 5.

After the transmission, a bug is found from the intermediate variables, and the analysis software is corrected. The corrected analysis software is transmitted from the manufacturer's personal computer 2 to the user's microcomputer 3 via the communication means 5. Thus, the debugging is completed.

In the case of installation, similarly, it is possible to detect an abnormality by monitoring each device of the metal analyzer in advance. Further, by transmitting the detection information to the monitoring computer periodically, it is possible to predict an abnormality such as disconnection of the heater.

The detecting means for confirming the operating condition is constituted only by a sensor provided in the measuring section 4, and the detection information is taken into the user's microcomputer 3 and the user's microcomputer 3
May be transmitted to the manufacturer's personal computer 2 via the communication means 5. For example, in the case of a high-frequency furnace having a transfer device for transferring a crucible into a furnace, an optical sensor for detecting that a crucible or a part of the transfer device has passed a predetermined transfer path is provided, and this optical sensor detects The ON / OFF detection information is output to the CPU 30 of the microcomputer 3 of the user. The CPU 30 indirectly determines whether or not the crucible has been conveyed into the high-frequency furnace based on the ON / OFF detection information from the optical sensor.

As shown in FIG. 3, a personal computer 16 having a built-in microcomputer 3 and a modem 7 of a user, and a metal analyzer 1 having a measuring section 4 connected to the personal computer 16 may be used. .

The communication means 5 in the above embodiment
Is composed of a modem 6, a public line 8, and a modem 7 connected to the user's microcomputer 3 built in the personal computer 2 of the manufacturer. Instead of such a connection method for connecting the computers one-to-one, the Internet Alternatively, a computer network such as a LAN or a LAN connecting a plurality of computers may be used. Instead of a general telephone line, a public line including wireless communication such as a mobile phone may be used. Further, a digital public line may be used in place of the analog public line 8 and a terminal adapter (TA) may be used in place of the modems 6 and 7.

[0030]

As described above, according to the present invention,
An operating condition confirmation detecting means for confirming the operating condition of the measuring section of the metal analyzer is provided, and detection information from the operating condition confirming detecting device can be transmitted to the monitoring computer via the communication means. Therefore, before debugging or installing the software, it is possible to check whether or not there is any abnormality in each device of the measurement unit with the monitoring computer (manufacturer) at hand of the developer, so that extra time and labor are required. It does not take. In other words, before performing debugging on the software, it is possible to confirm whether or not there is any abnormality in each device of the measuring unit. Therefore, it is possible to narrow down the abnormality of the analysis value to a bug of the analysis software. No time or effort is required.
Also, when debugging or installing the metal analyzer in a so-called online manner, it is not necessary to dispatch personnel or send a medium, so that it can be processed quickly and economically.

Further, by transmitting the detection information to the monitoring computer periodically, it is possible to predict an abnormality of the metal analyzer, so that maintenance can be easily performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a monitoring system of a metal analyzer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a metal analyzer.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a modified example of the monitoring system.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1: metal analyzer 2: personal computer (monitoring computer) 3: microcomputer 4: measuring unit 5: communication means 9: electric furnace (furnace) 10: flow path 11: concentration detector a: measured value A, P, R ： Detection means for operation status confirmation G ： Analysis gas

Claims (5)

[Claims] A measuring unit having a gas concentration detector for detecting a concentration of a gas generated from a metal supplied to a furnace; and a measuring unit configured to detect impurities in the metal based on a measured value from the measuring unit and a predetermined calculation program. A monitoring method for a metal analyzer, comprising: a microcomputer that calculates an element concentration and outputs the element concentration; wherein a monitoring computer is connected to the metal analyzer via a communication unit, and the computer is provided in the metal analyzer. A monitoring method for a metal analyzer, wherein detection information from an operating status confirmation detecting unit for confirming an operating status of the measuring unit is transmitted to the monitoring computer via the microcomputer and the communication unit. 2. The metal analyzer according to claim 1, wherein the detection means for confirming the operation status detects an open / closed state of an open / close valve of a flow path for introducing an analysis gas into the gas concentration detector. Monitoring method. 3. The combustion furnace according to claim 1, wherein the furnace is a combustion furnace for burning a metal, and the detecting means for confirming the operating condition is a detector for detecting whether or not the metal is burning in the combustion furnace. A method for monitoring a metal analyzer, comprising: 4. The monitoring method for a metal analyzer according to claim 1, wherein the operating condition checking detecting means detects a resistance value of a heater of a temperature controller for adjusting a temperature of the furnace. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the detecting means for confirming the operation status is a detector for detecting the loading by a transport device that transports the crucible into which the metal is loaded.