KR20130100499A - Redundant controller system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A duplex controller system improves the reliability of the operation of the system by efficiently transceiving status information between configurations included in the system. CONSTITUTION: A duplex controller system includes a first controller (100) and a second controller (110). A first change over logic (COL) device (120) and a second COL device (130) determine the conversion of the first controller and the second controller. A fieldbus transmits a signal outputted from the first COL device and the second COL device. Each configuration composing the duplex controller system is connected to each other through a line and transceives status information through the connected line. [Reference numerals] (200) Display unit

Description

Redundant Controller System {REDUNDANT CONTROLLER SYSTEM}

The present invention relates to a redundant controller system, and more particularly, to a redundant controller system capable of efficiently displaying the status information of units constituting the redundant controller system to a user.

COL (Change Over Logic) equipment is a device that determines whether or not to switch the controller in a redundant controller system. 1 shows a configuration of a conventional redundant controller. Specifically, FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional DCS controller.

As shown in FIG. 1, in the conventional redundant controller, each controller is set as a master / slave. Information used to determine conversion includes I / O with external equipment, measurement error, communication environment, controller equipment failure, and control period signal. Since this information is used by controller to determine, only the result is duplicated. It only shares with the controller. Based on the master controller, whether to switch controller redundancy is determined by each controller and processed. And since the COL (Change Over Logic) function is implemented in S / W inside the DCS controller, it is only possible to check the operation of COL and to select the controller forced switching and maintenance mode only in the human machine interface (HMI).

In the event of a system failure or abnormality, the controller and decision of whether to switch over are made by the controller, not the third party. When switching according to the controller's judgment, there is a case where the switching is made by the controller's own judgment even though the switching is not necessary in terms of the whole system.

There is a need for a more advanced redundant switching processing method that can accurately and promptly determine and make decisions when switching execution commands are issued from both ends of the redundant controller to handle only minimal switching in various situations. I could not meet the demand.

Software-only controller switching has limitations for emergency response and intuitive system operation in redundant switching and maintenance. If an error occurs in one controller or an error occurs in the line, the switching process may not be performed smoothly. In this case, the operator has to stabilize the system through forced switching, but this is not easy.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a redundant controller system capable of efficiently transmitting and receiving status information between components provided in a system to improve reliability of operation of the system.

A redundant controller system according to an embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above object, in the redundant controller system comprising a first controller and a second controller, the first controller and the second controller for determining whether to switch A change over logic (COL) device and a second COL device; And a fieldbus for transmitting signals output from the first COL device and the second COL device, wherein each of the components constituting the redundant controller system are connected to each other through a line, and through the connected line. Send and receive status information.

In addition, the transmission and reception of the state information through the line may be made through at least one or more of the connection line between the COL device, the connection line between the COL device and the controller, the connection line between the COL device and the fieldbus.

And the transmission and reception of the status information through the line can be made through the connection line between the controller.

In addition, transmission and reception of the status information through the line may be made through a connection line between the controller and the fieldbus.

The state information may be one or more of normal operation of each component, internal abnormality, disconnection of the connection line, and fieldbus abnormality.

In addition, the display unit for displaying the status information may be further provided.

The display unit may display the status information in at least one or a combination of two or more characters, figures, symbols, and numbers.

In addition, the display unit may indicate whether the controller or the COL device is operating normally or whether the internal abnormality, between the controller or the COL device, or whether the line connecting the controller and the COL device is disconnected or whether the fieldbus is abnormal.

The display unit may include a plurality of display units.

In addition, the state information displayed on the plurality of display units includes information on an operation state of the first controller or information on disconnection of a connection line between the first controller and the first COL device, and the operation state or the second controller of the second controller. It may include information on whether the connection line between the second controller and the first COL device is disconnected.

In addition, the state information displayed on the plurality of display units may further include information on disconnection of a line between the first and second COL devices.

In addition, the state information displayed on the plurality of display units may further include internal information of the first and second COL devices.

The internal information of the first and second COL devices may include a PSU signal, a watch dog signal, or a ChangeOver Fail signal.

According to the redundant controller system according to the above configuration it is possible to efficiently transmit and receive status information between the components provided in the system to improve the reliability of the operation of the system.

1 is a view for explaining a conventional redundant controller,
2 is a view showing the configuration of a redundancy controller according to an embodiment of the present invention, and
3 is a diagram illustrating a state information signal used in a redundant controller according to an embodiment of the present invention.

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. It is to be understood, however, that the invention is not to be limited to the specific embodiments, but includes all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention.

In the following description, well-known functions or constructions are not described in detail since they would obscure the invention in unnecessary detail.

2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a redundant controller system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, a redundant controller system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes two controllers 100 and 110, two change over logic (COL) devices 120 and 130, and two fieldbuses 140 and 150.

The controllers 100 and 110 have a function of controlling a power supply to a device used for a digital control system (DCS) or a high voltage direct current (HVDC). The COL devices 120 and 130 have a function of determining whether the controllers 100 and 110 are switched based on the system state information. The fieldbuses 140 and 150 have a function of input / output and transmission / reception of digital or analog signals.

As shown in FIG. 2, in the redundant controller system according to an exemplary embodiment, two controllers 100 and 110, two change over logic (COL) devices 120 and 130, and two field buses 140 and 150 are connected to each other. It has an interface for transmitting and receiving status information.

First, the interface between the COL devices 120 and 130 and the fieldbuses 140 and 150 will be described. When the status information (Tracking Pulse) of the first COL device 120 is sent to the first fieldbus 140 through ⑥ of FIG. 2, the first fieldbus 140 receives the status information through ⑦ when the state is normal. send. In addition, the first controller 100 analyzes the received state information to determine whether there is an abnormal state of the first fieldbus 140, and transmits a normal (1) / abnormal (0) signal through the first COL device 120. Send to

The interface between the second COL device 130 and the second fieldbus 150 is also made as above.

Next, the interface between each COL device, that is, the first COL device 120 and the second COL device 130 will be described. The COL device is also composed of two devices, the first COL device 120 and the second COL device 130 to increase reliability. When the status information of each other is not received by sending the status information generated by each of the first COL device 120 and the second COL device 130 to each other through ④, the COL device based on the information of the other interface. Determine if there is a problem.

Looking at the interface between the COL device (120,130) and the controller (100,110), the first COL device 120 sends the status information to the first controller 100 through ② to inform that its state is normal, the first controller ( 100 also periodically sends the status information to the first COL device 120 to check whether there is an abnormal state.

In addition, the first COL apparatus 100 transmits the status information to the second controller 110 through the track of ③, and the first controller 100 receives the status information through the track of ⑤. ) And the case where the connection between the first COL device 120 is unstable or an abnormal state occurs.

The second controller 110 and the second COL device 130 also operate in the same manner as above, and the second controller 110 even when an abnormality occurs in the line between the second controller 110 and the second COL device 130. ) Can be known through other paths.

As described above, the redundant controller system according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention is organically connected and transmits and receives status information. However, even if an error occurs in any one line, the COL device can recognize where the error occurs.

Here, the status information includes any one of I / O, measurement value error, communication environment, controller equipment failure and control period signal with external equipment, and information is continuously transmitted and received between each device configured in the redundant controller system. Can accumulate.

In addition, the status information may consist of four digits represented in decimal. Each digit can be represented by 2 bits, so it can have a number from 0 to 3. That is, the status information may be represented as 0000 to 3333. Here, the number of each digit has a meaning and determines the switching of the controller by forming fault information through the number of each digit.

For example, the number 0 means normal, the number 1 means internal fault, the number 2 means disconnection, and the number 3 means fault on the fieldbus.

In addition, the first digit of the four-digit number indicates the information related to the first controller 100, that is, the line (2).

The second digit represents information related to the second controller 110, that is, the line ③.

The third digit represents information related to the line ④ between the first COL device 120 and the second COL device 130,

The fourth digit represents information related to the internal monitoring of the COL device. The information related to the internal monitoring includes a PSU signal representing power information, a watch dog signal, and a ChangeOver Fail signal for determining whether information exchange is performed properly.

By using the 4-digit status information signal as described above, the status information can be easily transmitted / received, decoded, and used for system control.

Meanwhile, such state information may be displayed to the user through the display unit 200. The display unit 200 may be implemented by display means such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emitting diode (LED), a 7-segment, or the like.

3 is a diagram illustrating a state information signal used in a redundant controller according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FN0000 shown in (a) means everything is normal. This means that '0' means 'normal', so that the state of the first controller 100, that is, the line ②, which means the first digit is 'normal', means that the second controller 110 that means the second digit, that is, the line ③ The state of the line ④ between the first COL device 120 and the second COL device 130, which means the third digit is also 'normal', that the state of is also 'normal', COL device (120,130) means the fourth position This means that all information related to internal monitoring of the company is also 'normal'. Where FN stands for Fault Number.

FN1000 shown in (b) indicates that there is an error in the first controller 100, as described above. The controller switches the processing based on the state information.

The FN1010 shown in (c) means that an error occurs in the first controller 100 as well as a line between the first COL device 120 and the second COL device 130 also occurs.

FN2100 illustrated in (d) means that disconnection occurred in the first controller 100 and an abnormality occurred in the second controller 110.

As described above, the generated state information is transmitted to each component through each route, and the information is displayed to the user by the display unit 200. Therefore, the user's convenience to the system operation can be increased, and the action according to the cause can be intuitively determined and executed.

In the foregoing description, each component and / or function described in various embodiments may be implemented in combination with each other, and those skilled in the art may recognize the present invention described in the claims below. It will be understood that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope.

100 .............................................. 1st Controller
110 ........................................ 2nd Controller
120 ........................................ 1st COL Device
130 ........................................ Second COL Device
140 ........................................................ First field Bus
150 ........................................... Second Field Bus
200 .............................................

Claims (13)

A redundant controller system comprising a first controller and a second controller,
A first COL (Change Over Logic) device and a second COL device for determining whether to switch between the first controller and the second controller; And
And a fieldbus for transmitting signals output from the first COL device and the second COL device.
Each of the components constituting the redundant controller system is connected to each other via a line, and the redundant controller system, characterized in that for transmitting and receiving status information through the connected line.
The method of claim 1,
Redundancy controller system characterized in that the transmission and reception of the status information through the line through at least one of the connection line between the COL device, the connection line between the COL device and the controller, the connection line between the COL device and the fieldbus.
The method of claim 2,
Redundancy controller system, characterized in that the transmission and reception of the status information through the line through the connection line between the controller.
The method of claim 2,
Redundancy controller system, characterized in that the transmission and reception of the status information through the line through the connection line between the controller and the fieldbus.
The method of claim 1,
The status information may include:
Redundancy controller system, characterized in that at least one of the normal operation of each configuration, whether the internal abnormality, whether the connection line is disconnected, whether the fieldbus abnormality.
The method of claim 1,
Redundancy controller system characterized in that it further comprises a display unit for displaying the status information.
The method according to claim 6,
The display unit redundancy controller system, characterized in that for displaying at least one or more of the characters, graphics, symbols, numbers, or a combination of two or more.
The method according to claim 6,
The display unit displays whether one of the controller or the COL device is operating normally or whether there is an internal abnormality, between the controllers or between the COL devices, or whether a line is disconnected between the controller and the COL device, and whether the fieldbus is abnormal. system.
The method according to claim 6,
And said display unit is composed of a plurality.
The method of claim 9,
The state information displayed on the plurality of display units includes information on an operation state of the first controller or information on disconnection of a connection line between the first controller and the first COL device, and the operation state of the second controller or the second controller. Redundancy controller system comprising information on whether the connection line between the controller and the first COL device is disconnected.
The method of claim 10,
The status information displayed on the plurality of display units further includes information on disconnection on a line between the first and second COL devices.
The method of claim 10,
The status information displayed on the plurality of display units further includes internal information of the first and second COL devices.
13. The method of claim 12,
The internal information of the first and second COL devices includes a PSU signal, a watch dog signal, or a ChangeOver Fail signal.

Images