WO2022254953A1

WO2022254953A1 - Control system and control method

Info

Publication number: WO2022254953A1
Application number: PCT/JP2022/016753
Authority: WO
Inventors: 弓束重森
Original assignee: オムロン株式会社
Priority date: 2021-06-03
Filing date: 2022-03-31
Publication date: 2022-12-08
Also published as: JP2022185645A

Abstract

This invention achieves communication with a controller, using a simple system. This control system, which includes one or more factory automation (FA) controllers and an information processing device, comprises: a repository that manages protocol containers for each of a plurality of types of protocols, each protocol container including middleware for network communications in accordance with the relevant protocol; and a protocol acquisition unit that acquires the type of protocol used in network communications by each controller. The control system launches the middleware of a given protocol container by deploying the repository protocol container corresponding to the given protocol type.

Description

Control system and control method

The present disclosure relates to a control system and control method, and more particularly to a control system and control method for FA (Factory Automation) controllers and network communication.

In the FA field, an information processing device that communicates with a PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) via a network exchanges various types of information, including production information, with the PLC. A PLC has communication middleware for network communication according to a protocol set by a supplier (vendor, supplier, manufacturer, etc.) of the PLC. When PLCs of different vendors are connected to a network, the communication middleware of each controller (communication middleware compatible with the protocol set by the supplier) is different from the communication middleware of other PLCs. Therefore, when a plurality of PLCs with different communication middleware (communication protocols) are connected to a network, it is desired that the information processing apparatus be compatible with the communication middleware (protocol) of each supply source.

For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-260893 (Patent Document 1) meets this demand by using an information conversion server on a network. In Patent Document 1, an information conversion server receives and stores a profile (definition of an access type, a command name, and a response name) defining a protocol of the PLC from a PLC connected to a network. Based on the access type name received from the information processing device, the information conversion server converts the access type name into a command that the PLC can interpret according to the stored profile. This allows the information conversion server to support multiple protocols.

JP 2005-260893 A

Since the information conversion server of Patent Document 1 is configured to perform profile communication with the PLC, if the type of protocol that can be set in the network-connected PLC can change, the information conversion server can change the application that communicates with the PLC to It must be recreated so that it can communicate according to the changed protocol.

One object of the present disclosure is to provide an environment in which communication can be performed with a simple mechanism even if the type of communication protocol used by the controller changes.

A control system according to the present disclosure is a control system including one or more controllers of FA (factory automation) and an information processing device that performs network communication with the one or more controllers, and for each of a plurality of types of protocols, the A repository that manages a protocol container that is a container containing middleware for network communication according to a protocol; a protocol acquisition unit that acquires, for each controller or multiple controllers, the type of protocol used by the controller for network communication; a container engine that activates middleware of the protocol container by deploying the protocol container of the repository corresponding to the protocol type of each controller acquired by the acquisition unit.

According to this disclosure, in a configuration in which the repository manages containers having middleware for each protocol for each different protocol, the protocol acquisition unit acquires the type of communication protocol of each controller, and the acquired protocol of each controller A container corresponding to the type of is deployed and middleware is started. As a result, even if there is a change in the type of communication protocol used by the controller, it is only necessary to deploy a protocol container that supports the type of protocol after the change, so it is possible to provide an environment in which communication with the controller can be implemented with a simple mechanism. .

In the above disclosure, the repository further manages a gateway container, which is a container containing middleware that relays communication data between the application and the deployed protocol containers corresponding to each of the protocol types, and the container engine further , by deploying the gateway container of the repository, the middleware of the gateway container is activated.

According to this disclosure, since the gateway container is deployed and started, data communication between the application and the deployed protocol container can be relayed by the gateway container.

In the above disclosure, the communication data includes a controller identifier that identifies the controller that is the destination of the communication data, and the middleware of the gateway container determines the relay destination of the communication data based on the communication data to be relayed by the protocol of each controller. Decide among the deployed protocol containers corresponding to the type.

According to this disclosure, the gateway container can determine the relay destination of communication data to be a protocol container corresponding to the protocol type of the controller indicated by the communication data controller identifier.

In the above disclosure, the container engine deploys the gateway container when receiving communication data to be relayed.

According to this disclosure, the timing conditions for deploying and starting the container engine can be determined based on the timing at which the container engine receives communication data to be relayed.

According to the above disclosure, the communication data includes a controller identifier that identifies the controller that is the destination of the communication data, and the control system further includes identification data that identifies each controller and a protocol type corresponding to the controller. Equipped with an information acquisition unit that acquires relationship information indicating the relationship with the communication address of the deployed protocol container, the middleware of the gateway container relays the communication address corresponding to the identification data indicating the controller identifier of the communication data in the relationship information. Decide first.

According to this disclosure, the gateway container can determine the communication address of the protocol container to which the communication data is relayed from the acquired relationship information.

In the above disclosure, the communication data includes sequence data indicating a communication sequence, and the deployed middleware of the protocol container converts the sequence data included in the communication data from the gateway container according to the protocol type corresponding to the protocol container. Convert to data that indicates a sequence.

According to this disclosure, the protocol container converts the communication sequence data included in the communication data to indicate the sequence according to the protocol. By following the communication sequence after such conversion, the communication data can be exchanged between the application and the controller that uses the protocol for communication.

In the above disclosure, the sequence data includes commands for controlling communication connections and processing commands for causing the controller to perform processing.

According to this disclosure, the sequence data converted by the middleware of the protocol container can include commands for controlling communication connections and processing commands for the controller.

In the above disclosure, each controller includes a first connector connected to the network to which the information processing device belongs, a second connector connected to a network different from the network to which the controlled object belongs, and A storage unit for storing a received state value of a controlled object and a control command for the controlled object, and a calculation unit for executing a control calculation for calculating the control command using the stored state value. It includes commands to read stored state values or control instructions or to write state values or control instructions to storage.

According to this disclosure, an application can communicate with any controller using processing commands to obtain state values or Control commands can be read or written.

A control method according to the present disclosure is a method of controlling communication performed in a control system including one or more controllers of FA (factory automation) and an information processing device that communicates with the one or more controllers over a network, The control system comprises a repository for managing a protocol container, which is a container containing middleware for network communication according to the protocol, for each of a plurality of types of protocols; a step of acquiring the type of protocol used for network communication, and a step of starting the middleware of the protocol container by deploying the protocol container of the repository corresponding to the acquired protocol type of each controller, and , provided.

According to this disclosure, the repository acquires the communication protocol type of each controller in a configuration in which the repository manages a container having middleware of the protocol for each different protocol, and corresponds to the acquired protocol type of each controller. The container that was created is deployed and the middleware is started. As a result, even if there is a change in the type of communication protocol used by the controller, it is only necessary to deploy a protocol container that supports the type of protocol after the change.

According to the present disclosure, even if there is a change in the type of communication protocol used by the controller, it is possible to provide an environment in which communication with the controller is possible with a simple mechanism.

It is a figure showing typically the whole control system 1 composition concerning this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of a server for communicating with a PLC in the control system 1 of FIG. 1; FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration example of a PLC 100 configuring the control system 1 according to the present embodiment; FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration example of a server 200 configuring the control system 1 according to this embodiment; FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration example of a terminal 300 configuring the control system 1 according to the present embodiment; FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing the sequence shown in FIG. 2 in association with a container setting table 258; FIG. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a scene in which a container setting table 258 according to the embodiment is created; 8 is a diagram showing an example of a usage scene of the container setting table 258 created in FIG. 7; FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing an example of conversion processing by a protocol container according to the present embodiment; FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a modification of deployment of protocol containers according to the present embodiment; 4 is a flowchart of a startup sequence according to the embodiment; 4 is a flow chart of a usage sequence according to the present embodiment; FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining advantages obtained by the control system 1 implementing the protocol container according to the present embodiment; FIG.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The same or corresponding parts in the drawings are given the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will not be repeated.

<A. Application example>
First, an example of a scene to which the present invention is applied will be described.

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing the overall configuration of a control system 1 according to this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of a server for communicating with a PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) in the control system 1 of FIG. FIG. 2 shows the configuration of a server for communicating with a PLC in a control system 1 that can be applied to FA. Here, an application example will be mainly described with reference to FIG.

Referring to FIG. 2, control system 1 according to the present embodiment includes one or more PLC systems 2-1, 2-2, 2-3 (hereinafter collectively referred to as “PLC system 2”), The control system 1 includes a server 200, which is an example of an “information processing device,” and a terminal 300 responsible for development and maintenance. In the following description, when it is necessary to distinguish between the PLC systems 2-1, 2-2, and 2-3, "-1", "-2", and "-3" are used for related components. A subscript such as .

Each of the PLC systems 2 is also called a line, and may control the entire FA factory, or may control specific manufacturing equipment or manufacturing equipment installed in the factory. PLC systems 2-1, 2-2, and 2-3, as main components, are PLCs 100-1, 100-2, and 100-3 (hereinafter also referred to as "PLC 100"), which are typical examples of control devices that control objects to be controlled. collectively).

The PLC 100 is connected to the field device 10. Field device 10 encompasses any equipment necessary to control a controlled object. More specifically, the field device 10 includes a device for exchanging information with a controlled object (eg, manufacturing equipment, manufacturing equipment, sensors and actuators included in manufacturing equipment or manufacturing equipment, etc.). In the example shown in FIG. 1, field device 10 includes relays 14 and servo motor 18 . Field device 10 may further include any device such as servo driver 16 and remote Input/Output (I/O) 12 shown in FIG.

The PLC 100 acquires information from the field device 10 and generates information to be given to the field device 10 by executing control calculations according to a user program created in advance. Hereinafter, information acquired by the PLC 100 from the field device 10 is also referred to as "input data", and information given to the field device 10 is also referred to as "output data". Input data and output data are also collectively referred to as "input/output data" or "I/O data". The input data may include values indicating the state of the field device 10 (eg, sensor output values), and the output data may include command values for controlling the field device 10 based on the results of control calculations.

In the example shown in FIG. 2, the PLC 100 and the field device 10 are connected via the control system network 4, but are not limited to this, and may be connected by hard wire.

For the control system network 4, it is preferable to adopt an industrial communication protocol. EtherCAT (registered trademark), EtherNet/IP (registered trademark), DeviceNet (registered trademark), CompoNet (registered trademark), and the like are known as such communication protocols.

Each PLC system 2 can access a cloud-based server 200 existing on the Internet 8 via an information system network 6 and a relay device 20 such as a gateway or router.

The server 200 deploys containers to provide an executable environment and manages the containers. In this specification, "deployment" of a container indicates a process of instructing the execution of a target container, such as a process including installation. Deploying may include installing and starting the container, or it may be just installing and starting at another time. In this embodiment, deploying includes installing and starting a container.

The server 200 may be located on the cloud via the Internet 8 or may be located within the local network where the PLC system 2 exists without the Internet 8 . The implementation form of the server 200 can be arbitrarily determined according to the required performance and functions.

The terminal 300 can access the server 200 and perform user operations to implement various processes described later. In this embodiment, this user operation is realized by the application 311 of the terminal 300, which will be described later, providing a GUI (Graphical User Interface) for operating the desktop environment of the server 200 connected to the terminal 300 via the Internet 8. may

An outline of processing using containers in the control system 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 2 .
In this specification, a "container" corresponds to a container image that constitutes a process executed by a "container engine", which will be described later. file or collection of meta information).

In this embodiment, containers include, for example, a "protocol container" and a "gateway container". A "protocol container" includes middleware including a protocol stack that implements communication according to the protocol. The “protocol container” according to the present embodiment includes a “protocol container” for each type of communication protocol of the information system network 6 that can be set in the PLC 100 that can configure the control system 1 . For example, types of communication protocols that can be set in the PLC 100 include, for example, OPC-UA (Object Linking and Embedding for Process Control Unified Architecture), EIP (Ethernet/IP), and HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure). The types of communication protocols that can be set are not limited to these. In the description below, the communication protocol may be referred to as a "protocol".

A "gateway container" includes middleware that relays communication between an application and multiple types of protocol containers.

A "container engine" provides an execution environment for containers (more specifically, container images) stored in the container repository 250, and deploys the container images to the deployment area 280. By deploying, the container engine generates a module (instance) for executing processing from the container image, and executes (starts) the deployed container.

The server 200 includes a container repository 250 that stores a plurality of containers, a container engine 270, a deployment area 280 that constitutes a storage area such as RAM (Random Access Memory) in which the containers of the container repository 250 are deployed, and a kernel 291. It has an OS (Operating System) 212 and physical H/W (hardware) 292 such as various memories and communication circuits. In the server 200, a plurality of containers share the physical H/W 292 and OS 212 of the server 200 as their execution base. A container deployed in the deploy area 280 is managed as a process by the container engine 270 running on the OS 212 . Each container operates in parallel with other containers while using various resources including the physical H/W 292 managed by the container engine 270 via the kernel 291 of the OS 212 .

Based on the information acquired for each PLC 100 connected to the information system network 6, the terminal 300 creates, for each PLC 100, a container setting table 258 having protocol designation data 257 indicating the protocol set for that PLC 100.

The container repository 250 stores, as containers, a gateway container 25 and a protocol container group 26 including protocol containers for each protocol type of the information system network 6 that can be set in the PLC 100 that can configure the control system 1 .

At a predetermined timing, for example, when the server 200 is started, the container engine 270 deploys the gateway container 25 of the container repository 250 and each protocol container of the protocol container group 26 in the deploy area 280 . At the time of deployment, the module of the protocol acquisition unit 260 of the server 200 searches (extracts) from the protocol container group 26 for a protocol container corresponding to the protocol type indicated by the protocol designation data 257 of the container setting table 258 received from the terminal 300. ) and deploy the found protocol container. In this embodiment, for example, an OPC-UA protocol container 261, an EIP protocol container 262, and an HTTPS protocol container 263 are deployed. Deployed containers are assigned container IP addresses that follow Internet protocols so that they can communicate with each other.

Each container is deployed in the startup sequence of the server 200 according to the procedure described above. A usage sequence that utilizes the deployed container can then be performed.

In the usage sequence in the operation scene after startup, when the terminal 300 receives communication data 70 addressed to the PLC 100 from the application, the terminal 300 transfers the communication data 70 to the server 200 via the Internet 8 . In FIG. 2, a transfer route 80 for communication data 70 is indicated by a thick arrow.

In this embodiment, the communication data 70 includes the IP address of the destination PLC 100 and communication sequence data for communicating with the PLC 100 . The communication data 70 employs, for example, a frame configuration, but may employ a packet configuration. In FIG. 2, the destination of the frame of the communication data 70 indicates, for example, the PLC 100-1.

The gateway container 25 receives the frame of the communication data 70 transferred from the terminal 300, and based on the destination of the frame, from the container setting table 258 acquired by the protocol acquisition unit 260, the destination (that is, the PLC 100-1) Search for protocol types that support . The retrieved protocol type is, for example, OPC-UA. The gateway container 25 transfers the received data to the protocol container 261 corresponding to the retrieved protocol type.

The protocol container 261 processes the communication data 70 transferred from the gateway container 25 according to OPC-UA, and transfers the processed communication data 70 according to OPC-UA to the destination PLC 100-1. PLC 100-1 receives and processes the transferred communication data 70, and transmits response data based on the processing. The response data follows the forwarding route 80 in the reverse direction to reach the application.

The control system 1 of FIG. 2 manages middleware implementing different protocols as a protocol container group 26 in a container repository 250, and is connected to a PLC 100 that can be accessed (communicated) by an application, that is, the information system network 6. A container corresponding to the protocol type set in each PLC 100 is retrieved from the protocol container group 26 and deployed. As a result, the control system 1 can easily provide an environment in which an application can communicate with the PLC 100 (and the field device 10 connected to the PLC 100) without additionally implementing a module according to the protocol.

Below, as a more specific application example of the present invention, a more detailed configuration and processing of the PLC 100 according to the present embodiment will be described.

<B. Hardware Configuration>
Next, an example of the hardware configuration of the devices that constitute the control system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described.

(b1: PLC100)
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration example of the PLC 100 configuring the control system 1 according to this embodiment. Referring to FIG. 4, PLC 100 includes a processor 102 such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or MPU (Micro-Processing Unit), a chipset 104, a main memory 106, a storage 110, and physical circuits. an information system network controller 120 connected to a connector 121 connected to a physical circuit; a control system network controller 122 connected to a connector 123 configured by a physical circuit; a USB (Universal Serial Bus) controller 124; The connector 121 is connected to the network to which the server 200 belongs, and the connector 123 is connected to the network to which the PLC 100 belongs, which is different from the network to which the server 200 belongs.

The processor 102 reads various programs stored in the storage 110, develops them in the main memory 106, and executes them to perform control calculations and external devices (server 200, terminal 300, and field device 10) for controlling controlled objects. ) to implement communication processing. The chipset 104 controls data transmission between the processor 102 and each component.

The storage 110 stores an OS (Operating System) 112, a system program 114, and a user program 115. System program 114 includes communication firmware for communicating with external devices including server 200 via information network 6 and communication firmware for communicating with external devices including PLC 100 via control network 4 .

The user program 115 includes a control program 116, a communication program 117 and an IO (Input/Output) refresh 118. The IO refresh 118 collects the state values of the field devices 10 to be controlled via the control system network 4 and stores them in the IO refresh area 113 , while transmitting the control command stored in the IO refresh area 113 to the control system network 4 . to the control target via The control program 116 uses the state values stored in the IO refresh area 113 to perform control calculations on the controlled object to calculate the above control commands, and the communication firmware to perform communication processing. communication program 117. The user program 115 may include other various processing programs.

The information system network controller 120 controls data exchange with external devices (the terminal 300 and the server 200) via the information system network 6 connected to the connector 121.

The control system network controller 122 controls data exchange with the field device 10 via the control system network 4 connected to the connector 123 .

The USB controller 124 controls data exchange with an external device (eg, support device) via a USB connection.

The memory card interface 126 is configured such that a memory card 128 can be detachably attached to the memory card 128 so that data can be written to the memory card 128 and various data (such as the user program 115 and data) can be read from the memory card 128. there is

The PLC 100 may have an optical drive. The optical drive reads the program from a recording medium that non-transitory stores a computer-readable program (for example, an optical recording medium such as a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc)) and stores the program in the storage 110 or the like.

Various programs executed by the PLC 100 may be installed via a computer-readable recording medium or memory card 128, or may be installed by downloading from a device such as any computer on the network. .

FIG. 3 shows a configuration example in which necessary processing is provided by the processor 102 executing a program. (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), etc.). Alternatively, the main part of the PLC 100 may be realized using hardware conforming to a general-purpose architecture (for example, an industrial personal computer based on a general-purpose personal computer). In this case, virtualization technology may be used to execute a plurality of OSs with different purposes in parallel, and necessary applications may be executed on each OS.

(b2: server 200)
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration example of the server 200 configuring the control system 1 according to this embodiment. 4, server 200 includes one or more processors 202 such as a CPU or MPU, a main memory 206, a storage 210, one or more network controllers 220, an input unit 226, a display unit 228, and including. These components are connected via bus 208 .

The processor 202 reads various programs stored in the storage 210, develops them in the main memory 206, and executes them, thereby realizing various processes to be described later. The main memory 206 in part constitutes a deploy area 280 .

The storage 210 is composed of, for example, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or an SSD (Flash Solid State Drive). The storage 210 typically stores an OS 212 for realizing basic processing and a container application 214 including programs and data for realizing various kinds of processing provided by the server 200 as described later. be. The container application 214 includes a container repository 250, a protocol acquisition program 264 that configures the protocol acquisition unit 260 when executed, and a container engine program 275 that configures the container engine 270 when executed.

The network controller 220 controls data exchange with various devices via the network.

The input unit 226 is composed of a keyboard, mouse, etc., and receives instructions from the user. The display unit 228 is configured by a display or the like, and outputs processing results from the processor 202 and the like.

The server 200 may have an optical drive 203. The optical drive 203 reads the program from a recording medium 204 (for example, an optical recording medium such as a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc)) that stores a computer-readable program non-transitory, and stores the program in a storage 210 or the like.

Various programs to be executed on the server 200 may be installed via the computer-readable recording medium 204 or memory card, or may be installed by downloading from a device such as any computer on the network. good.

FIG. 4 shows a configuration example in which necessary processing is provided by the processor 202 executing a program. Alternatively, it may be implemented using an FPGA, etc.).

(b3: terminal 300)
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration example of the terminal 300 configuring the control system 1 according to this embodiment. 5, a terminal 300 includes a processor 302 such as a CPU or MPU, an optical drive 304, a main memory 306, a storage 310, a network controller 320, a USB controller 324, an input unit 326, and a display. 328. These components are connected via bus 308 .

The processor 302 reads various programs stored in the storage 310 , develops them in the main memory 306 , and executes them, thereby realizing necessary processing in the terminal 300 .

The storage 310 is composed of, for example, an HDD or SSD. The storage 310 contains an OS 312, an application 311, a development program 314 for instructing processing to be described later, configuration information 256 indicating the configuration of the network 400, and a container setting table 258 containing protocol designation data 257. Store. The application 311 includes a table setting program 315 including a UI program 316 that provides UI (User Interface) tools, and a configuration program 317 .

When the configuration program 317 is executed, it scans the configuration of the network 400 and collects communication-related information from each PLC 100 . For example, the configuration program 317 receives and collects from each PLC 00 information on communication firmware including the type of protocol set in the PLC 100 to communicate with an external device including the server 200 via the information system network 6 .

When executed, the table setting program 315 receives information from the user via the UI tool provided by the UI program 316, and uses the received information to create the container setting table 258.

Note that the storage 310 may store necessary programs other than the programs shown in FIG.

The network controller 320 controls data exchange with devices such as each PLC 100 and server 200 via the information system network 6 .

The USB controller 324 controls data exchange with external devices via a USB connection.

The input unit 326 is composed of a mouse, keyboard, touch panel, etc., and receives instructions from the user. The display unit 228 includes a display, various indicators, and the like, and outputs processing results from the processor 302 and the like.

The terminal 300 may have an optical drive 304. The optical drive 304 reads the program from a recording medium 305 (for example, an optical recording medium such as a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc)) that stores a computer-readable program non-transitory, and stores the program in a storage 310 or the like.

Various programs to be executed on the terminal 300 may be installed via the computer-readable recording medium 305, or may be installed by downloading from any server on the network.

FIG. 5 shows a configuration example in which necessary processing is provided by the processor 302 executing a program. Alternatively, it may be implemented using an FPGA, etc.).

<C. Outline of sequence>
FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically showing the sequence shown in FIG. 2 in association with the container setting table 258. As shown in FIG. Referring to FIG. 6, application 311 creates container setting table 258 based on a user operation received via a UI tool, for example, in configuration processing (step T1) performed by terminal 300 (step T2). The container setting table 258 includes, for each PLC 100 connected to the information system network 6, a device name 2A representing the model name given by the vendor of the PLC 100, a device IP address 2B according to IP (Internet Protocol), and the name of the PLC 100. A container image name 2C for identifying a container corresponding to a protocol and an IP address 2D of the container are associated with each other. The container image name 2C indicates the protocol name. The container setting table 258 includes the container image name 2C as the protocol designation data 257. FIG.

The protocol acquisition unit 260 acquires the container image name 2C of the container setting table 258 or the type of protocol set in the PLC 100 configuring the control system 1 (step T3). According to the container setting table 258 of FIG. 6, OPC-UA, EIP and HTTPS are obtained as protocol types.

The container engine 270 deploys

protocol containers

261, 262 and 263 corresponding to the acquired protocol type from among the protocol container group 26 of the container repository 250 (step T4).

The application 311 of the terminal 300 communicates the communication data 70 addressed to the PLC 100-1 to the server 200 based on the user's operation (step R1). Based on the destination (device IP address) indicated by the communication data 70 transferred from the application 311, the gateway container 25, from the container setting table 258, sends a message to the container IP address 2D corresponding to the device IP address 2B that matches the destination. Send communication data 70 . As a result, the gateway container 25 assigns the communication data 70 to the protocol container corresponding to the protocol type set in the destination PLC 100-1 of the deployed

protocol containers

261, 262, and 263. 70 is distributed (step R2). By this sorting, for example, the communication data 70 is sent to the OPC-UA protocol container 261 .

The OPC-UA protocol container 261 receives the communication data 70 transferred from the gateway container 25 (step R3), converts the received communication data 70 according to the OPC-UA protocol, and converts the converted communication data 70 to By executing it, it communicates with the destination (device IP address) of the communication data 70 (step R4). Details of the conversion processing in step R4 will be described later. Thereby, the PLC 100-1 can respond to the communication data 70 according to the protocol of the PLC 100-1.

Although communication of communication data 70 addressed to PLC 100-1 has been described here, communication data 70 addressed to PLC 100-2 according to EIP or PLC 100-3 according to HTTPS can be similarly processed.

Although the container setting table 258 has the device IP address 2B, it may be a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) instead of the device IP address 2B.

Thus, the communication data 70 includes a controller identifier (eg, device name) that identifies the PLC 100 that is the destination of the communication data. By executing the table setting program 315, which is an example of the information acquisition unit, the application 311 obtains identification data (device name 2A, device IP address 2B, etc.) that identifies each PLC 100 and the protocol type of the PLC 100. Obtain the container setting table 258, which is an example of relationship information indicating the relationship with the communication address (container IP address 2D) of the corresponding deployed protocol container. The middleware of the gateway container 25 converts the communication address (container IP address 2D) corresponding to the identification data (device name 2A) indicating the controller identifier (for example, device name) of the communication data 70 in the relationship information into the communication data. 70 relay destination.

(c1. Container setting table creation scene)
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a creation scene of the container setting table 258 according to this embodiment. The user creates the container setting table 258 by operating the UI tool provided by the UI program 316 of the terminal 300. FIG. For example, the application 311 displays a monitor screen (lower left screen in FIG. 7) on the display unit 328 of the terminal 300 . From the monitor screen, the user can monitor the status values that each PLC 100 collects from the field devices 10 by pairs of the variable name to which the status value is set and the status value.

The user operates the button 330 to instruct to start monitoring the monitor screen. The table setting program 315 activates the setting screen (step Q2) in response to the operation of the button 330. FIG. More specifically, the table setting program 315 calls the UI program 316, the called UI program 316 is executed, and the container setting table 258 is set (step Q3) using the configuration T1. . The display unit 328 displays a container setting table 258 having setting contents according to user operations.

Here, the container setting table 258 is created according to the user's operation, but it may be set by other methods. For example, the container setting table 258 may be created based on the configuration information 256 stored in the terminal 300. FIG. The configuration information 256 includes information (device name 2A, device IP address 2B, set protocol (container image name) 2C) received from the PLC 100 connected to the information system network 6 and indicating the configuration of the PLC 100 .

The user operates the conversion button 329. The table setting program 315 converts the container setting table 258 into a file format according to the operation of the button 329 . The server 200 or the terminal 300 can handle the container setting table 258 in file format.

The device IP address 2B and the container IP address 2D may be obtained from the device name 2A by searching for information that manages the correspondence between the device name, the device IP address, and the container IP address. In this case, the container IP address may be a predetermined address or may point to the IP address of the deployed protocol container.

(c2. Use scene)
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a usage scene of the container setting table 258 created in FIG. As a usage scene, a case where the user monitors the state values of the field device 10 of the PLC 100-2 will be described. Referring to FIG. 8, when the user designates the variable name “Variable B” of the device name “NX1B” indicated by arrow B2 on the monitor screen of display unit 328 and operates button B1 for starting monitoring, application 311 transmits communication data 70 including device name 2A, variable read command CM, and variable name N indicating "Variable B" to server 200 (step Q7).

Based on the device name 2A of the communication data 70 received from the application 311, the gateway container 25 of the server 200 searches the container setting table 258 for the device IP address 2B and container IP address 2D corresponding to the device name 2A (step Q8, Q9).

The gateway container 25 replaces the device name 2A of the communication data 70 with the retrieved device IP address 2B, and transfers the replaced communication data 70 to the protocol container with the retrieved container IP address 2D as the destination (step Q10). ). In FIG. 8, communication data 70 is transferred to EIP's protocol container 262 .

The protocol container 262 converts the communication sequence into the communication data 70 according to EIP (step Q11), and transmits the processed communication data 70 to the information system network 6 with the device IP address 2B of the communication data 70 as the destination. (Step Q11).

Among the PLCs 100 connected to the information system network 6, the communication program 117 of the PLC 100-2 designated by the device IP address 2B included in the communication data 70 receives the communication data 70. The user program 115 of the PLC 100-2 executes the command CM indicated by the communication sequence of the communication data 70, and according to the execution result, specifies the variable name N of "Variable B" from among the state values output by the field device 10. Get the state value to be set as the variable value V.

The variable value V acquired by the PLC 100-2 is transferred to the application 311, which is the sender of the communication data 70, via the protocol container 262 and the gateway container 25 (steps Q12, Q13, Q14). The application 311 uses the variable value V received from the PLC 100-2 to update the value indicated by the arrow B2 on the monitor screen of the display unit 328 to indicate the variable value V (step Q15).

(c3. Protocol container conversion processing)
FIG. 9 is a diagram schematically showing an example of conversion processing by a protocol container according to this embodiment. In the present embodiment, the protocol container converts the communication sequence of the communication data 70 transferred from the gateway container 25 according to the protocol by middleware, and executes the converted communication sequence to set the protocol. It can communicate with PLC 100 according to communication data 70 . A communication sequence includes data of a sequence of one or more commands for communicating with PLC 100 .

For example, the communication sequence includes a command to establish a communication connection, one or more commands for processing to be executed by the PLC 100 after establishing the communication connection, and a command to terminate (shut off) the established communication connection after execution of the processing command. including.

For example, the communication sequence of the variable read command CM includes, in addition to the variable read command CM, a command CM1 for establishing a communication connection and a command (not shown) for disconnecting the communication connection. First, the protocol container converts the command CM1 for establishing a communication connection indicated by the communication sequence of the communication data 70 transferred from the gateway container 25 into a command defined by the protocol (step Q20), and outputs a variable read command CM. It is converted into a command specified by the protocol (step Q21).

More specifically, in step Q11 of FIG. 8, the EIP protocol container 262 converts the command CM1 of the communication data 70 into a command of "EstablishClass3Connection( )" conforming to the EIP (step Q20), and a variable variable read command Convert CM to "ConnectionObjectGetInstanceTypeForAttribute(variable)" according to EIP. The OPC-UA protocol container 261 and the HTTPS protocol container 263 also convert the sequence data of the communication sequence as shown in FIG.

A communication sequence composed of commands converted in this way is executed by the middleware of the container protocol and the communication middleware of the PLC 100, so that the server 200 (more specifically, establishes a communication connection with the PLC 100 corresponding to the protocol container), the PLC 100 executes processing based on the variable read command after conversion, and then cuts off the communication connection between the middleware of the container protocol and the communication middleware of the PLC 100 Command is executed.

Here, a command for reading data from a variable is shown as a communication sequence processing command, but other commands, such as a command for writing data to a variable, can be included.

As described above, the sequence data indicating the communication sequence is a communication connection control command (a command to establish a communication connection and a command to cut off the communication connection) and the PLC 100 between the establishment and cutoff of the communication connection. and processing commands that cause the to perform processing. In this embodiment, the processing command may include a command to read the state value or control instruction stored in the IO refresh area 113 or a write command to write data (state value or control instruction) to the IO refresh area 113. can.

(c4. Modification)
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a modified example of deployment of protocol containers according to the present embodiment. For example, the PLC 100 may be provided with communication middleware on a container basis. In that case, referring to FIG. 10, the communication middleware of the protocol container of the server 200 dynamically provides each PLC 100 with a gateway container corresponding to the protocol set in the PLC and a protocol corresponding to various protocols from the container repository 250. A container may be loaded (deployed).

<D. Flowchart>
FIG. 11 is a flowchart of the startup sequence according to this embodiment. Referring to FIG. 11, application 311 of terminal 300 creates container setting table 258 as shown in step T1 of FIG. 6 (step S1). Note that the container setting table 258 may be created in an environment different from that of the application 311 .

The server 200 deploys the gateway container 25 and the protocol container corresponding to the container image name 2C in the container setting table 258 (step S3), as shown in step T4 of FIG. 6, according to the instruction from the application 311. In addition, the server 200 deploys the protocol container corresponding to the container image name 2C in the container setting table 258 according to the instruction from the application 311, as shown in step T4 of FIG. 6 (step S5).

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of the usage sequence according to this embodiment. Referring to FIG. 12, application 311 transmits communication data 70 having the communication sequence to gateway container 25 as shown in step R1 of FIG. 6 in order to issue a communication sequence to PLC 100 specified by the user. (step S7).

Based on the device name 2A of the communication data 70 received from the application 311, the gateway container 25 searches the container setting table 258 for the device IP address 2B and container IP address 2D corresponding to the device name 2A (step S9). Note that when a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is set in the container setting table 258 instead of the device IP address 2B, the gateway container 25 converts the URL to the device IP address 2B using DNS (Domain Name System). Convert.

The gateway container 25 determines whether or not the device IP address 2B could be retrieved from the container setting table 258 based on the search result of step S9 (step S11). If the search is not possible (NO in step S11), communication error processing is performed. is determined (step S13). More specifically, the gateway container 25 executes a predetermined status confirmation command, and determines the status of the container with the container IP address 2D based on the execution result. If it is determined that the state is not in a communicable state (NO in step S13), a communication error process is executed. If it is determined that the state is in a communicable state (YES in step S13), step Move to S15.

In step S15, as shown in step R2 of FIG. 6, the gateway container 25 transmits the communication sequence of the communication data 70 and the device IP address 2B to the protocol container of the container IP address 2D (step S15).

The protocol container with the container IP address 2D receives the communication data 70 from the gateway container 25 and communicates with the PLC 100 according to the received communication data 70, as shown in steps R3 and R4 of FIG. 6 (step S17). More specifically, the protocol container converts the command of the communication sequence of the received communication data 70 into a command conforming to the protocol of the protocol container, and executes the communication sequence composed of the converted command to obtain the device IP address 2B. Communicate with the PLC 100 specified by.

In the above embodiment, the gateway container 25 may be deployed at a different timing than the protocol container. For example, container engine 270 may be configured to perform deployment for gateway container 25 upon receipt of communication data 70 to be relayed.

<E. Advantage>
FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining advantages obtained by the control system 1 implementing the protocol container according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 13, an application generally calls middleware (communication middleware) for each protocol associated with the application in order to communicate with a device, and communicates with a device such as the PLC 100 via the called middleware. In other words, the application and middleware are tightly coupled. Therefore, in order for an application to switch and operate a plurality of middlewares, it is necessary to create an application in advance so that it can call a plurality of middlewares. Also, to make an application compatible with a new protocol, it is necessary to rewrite the application so that it can call the new middleware.

In contrast, in the present embodiment, the container repository 250 stores containers having middleware for each different protocol, and the container engine 270 is connected to the information system network 6 of the control system 1. A container corresponding to the protocol set in each PLC 100 that is in the application 311, that is, in each PLC 100 that can be a communication partner of the application 311 is deployed. As a result, the application 311 and the middleware are loosely coupled.

Therefore, even if the protocol set in the PLC 100 that is the communication partner is changed or added, the container engine 270 only needs to deploy a container that supports this changed or added protocol. There is no need to recreate application 311 accordingly, and application 311 is unaffected by such changes and additions. In this way, in the control system 1 , protocol-compatible middleware for the application 311 to communicate with the PLC 100 or field device 10 that is a local device can provide an environment dynamically supported by the container engine 270 .

<F. Note>
The present embodiment as described above includes the following technical ideas.
[Configuration 1]
A control system (1) including one or more controllers (100) for FA (factory automation) and an information processing device (200) that performs network communication with the one or more controllers,
a repository (250) that manages a protocol container (26), which is a container containing middleware for network communication according to each protocol, for each of a plurality of types of protocols;
a protocol acquisition unit (260) for acquiring, for each of the one or more controllers, the type of protocol used by the controller for the network communication;
a container engine (270) for starting middleware of the protocol container by deploying the protocol container of the repository corresponding to the protocol type of each controller acquired by the protocol acquisition unit; , control system.
[Configuration 2]
Said repository further comprises:
managing a gateway container (25), which is a container containing middleware for relaying communication data (70) between the application (311) and the deployed protocol container corresponding to each protocol type;
2. The control system of claim 1, wherein the container engine further deploys the gateway container of the repository to activate middleware of the gateway container.
[Configuration 3]
the communication data includes a controller identifier (2A) that identifies the controller that is the destination of the communication data;
The control according to configuration 2, wherein the middleware of the gateway container determines a relay destination of the communication data based on the communication data to be relayed from among the deployed protocol containers corresponding to the protocol types of the controllers. system.
[Configuration 4]
4. The control system according to configuration 3, wherein the container engine performs the deployment for the gateway container when receiving the communication data to be relayed.
[Configuration 5]
The control system further comprises:
an information acquisition unit (260) for acquiring relationship information (258) indicating a relationship between identification data identifying each controller and a communication address of the deployed protocol container corresponding to the protocol type of the controller;
The control system according to configuration 3 or 4, wherein the middleware of the gateway container determines the communication address corresponding to the identification data indicating the controller identifier of the communication data in the relationship information as the relay destination.
[Configuration 6]
The communication data includes sequence data indicating a communication sequence,
The deployed middleware of the protocol container converts the sequence data included in the communication data from the gateway container into data indicating a sequence according to the type of the protocol corresponding to the protocol container, configurations 2 to 5 A control system according to any one of the preceding claims.
[Configuration 7]
7. Control system according to configuration 6, wherein said sequence data comprises commands (CM1) for controlling communication connections and processing commands (CM) for causing said controller to perform processing.
[Configuration 8]
Each of the controllers
a first connector (121) connected to a network to which the information processing device belongs;
a second connector (123) that connects a network different from the network to which the controlled object belongs;
a storage unit (113) for storing a state value of the controlled object received via the different network and a control command for the controlled object;
a calculation unit (116, 102) that executes a control calculation for calculating the control command using the stored state value;
8. The control system of arrangement 7, wherein the processing command comprises a command to read the stored state values or the control instructions or a command to write the state values or the control instructions to the store.
[Configuration 9]
A method of controlling said communication performed in a control system (1) comprising one or more controllers (100) of FA (factory automation) and an information processing device (200) in network communication with said one or more controllers There is
The control system is
A repository (250) for managing a protocol container (26), which is a container containing middleware for network communication according to the protocol, for each of a plurality of types of protocols;
The method includes
obtaining, for each of the one or more controllers, the type of protocol that the controller uses for the network communication;
a step of deploying the protocol container of the repository corresponding to the acquired protocol type of each controller, thereby activating the middleware of the protocol container.

The embodiments disclosed this time should be considered illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is indicated by the scope of the claims rather than the above description, and is intended to include all modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the scope of the claims.

1　control system, 2A, device name, 2B, device IP address, 2C, container image name, 2D, container address, 4, control system network, 6, information system network, 8, Internet, 10, field device, 14, relay group, 16, servo driver, 18, servo motor , 20 relay device, 25 gateway container, 26 protocol container group, 70 communication data, 80 transfer route, 102, 202, 302 processor, 104 chipset, 106, 206, 306 main memory, 110, 210, 310 storage, 113 IO Refresh area, 114 system program, 115 user program, 116 control program, 117 communication program, 118 IO refresh, 120 information network controller, 121, 123 connector, 122 control network controller, 124, 324 controller, 126 memory card interface, 127, 128 memory card, 200 server, 203, 304 optical drive, 204, 305 recording medium, 208, 308 bus, 220, 320 network controller, 226, 326 input section, 228, 328 display section, 250 container repository, 256 configuration information, 257 protocol specification data, 258 container setting table, 260 protocol acquisition unit, 261, 262, 263 protocol container, 264 protocol acquisition program, 270 container engine, 275 container engine program, 280 deployment area, 291 kernel, 300 terminal, 311 Application, 314 development program, 315 table setting program, 317 configuration program, 329 conversion button, CM, CM1 commands.

Claims

A control system including one or more controllers for FA (factory automation) and an information processing device that performs network communication with the one or more controllers,
a repository for managing a protocol container, which is a container containing middleware for network communication according to the protocol, for each of a plurality of types of protocols;
a protocol acquisition unit for acquiring, for each of the one or more controllers, the type of protocol used by the controller for the network communication;
a container engine that launches middleware of the protocol container by deploying the protocol container of the repository corresponding to the protocol type of each controller acquired by the protocol acquisition unit. .
Said repository further comprises:
managing a gateway container, which is a container containing middleware for relaying communication data between an application and a deployed protocol container corresponding to each protocol type;
2. The control system of claim 1, wherein the container engine further deploys the gateway container of the repository to activate middleware of the gateway container.
the communication data includes a controller identifier that identifies the controller that is the destination of the communication data;
3. The middleware of the gateway container according to claim 2, wherein, based on the communication data to be relayed, the relay destination of the communication data is determined from among the deployed protocol containers corresponding to the protocol types of the respective controllers. control system.
The control system according to claim 3, wherein the container engine implements the deployment for the gateway container when receiving the communication data to be relayed.
The control system further comprises:
an information acquisition unit that acquires relationship information indicating a relationship between identification data that identifies each controller and a communication address of the deployed protocol container corresponding to the protocol type of the controller;
5. The control system according to claim 3, wherein the middleware of said gateway container determines said communication address corresponding to said identification data indicating said controller identifier of said communication data in said relationship information as said relay destination.
The communication data includes sequence data indicating a communication sequence,
6. Middleware of said deployed protocol container converts said sequence data included in said communication data from said gateway container into data indicating a sequence according to said protocol type corresponding to said protocol container. A control system according to any one of the preceding claims.
The control system according to claim 6, wherein the sequence data includes commands for controlling communication connections and processing commands for causing the controller to perform processing.
Each of the controllers
a first connector connected to a network to which the information processing device belongs;
a second connector that connects a network different from the network to which the controlled object belongs;
a storage unit for storing the state value of the controlled object received via the different network and a control command for the controlled object;
a calculation unit that executes a control calculation for calculating the control command using the stored state value,
8. The control system of claim 7, wherein the processing command comprises a command to read the stored state values or the control instructions or a command to write the state values or the control instructions to the store.
A method of controlling the communication performed in a control system including one or more controllers of FA (factory automation) and an information processing device that performs network communication with the one or more controllers,
The control system is
A repository that manages a protocol container, which is a container containing middleware for network communication according to the protocol, for each of a plurality of types of protocols;
The method includes:
obtaining, for each of the one or more controllers, the type of protocol that the controller uses for the network communication;
a step of deploying the protocol container of the repository corresponding to the acquired protocol type of each controller, thereby activating the middleware of the protocol container.