WO2024079892A1

WO2024079892A1 - Data collecting apparatus, data collecting system, database creating method and program

Info

Publication number: WO2024079892A1
Application number: PCT/JP2022/038397
Authority: WO
Inventors: 英松林; 鎮男粂川; 光輝富士原; 佳祐角田
Original assignee: 三菱電機株式会社
Priority date: 2022-10-14
Filing date: 2022-10-14
Publication date: 2024-04-18
Also published as: JP7374379B1

Abstract

This data collecting apparatus (10) in a semiconductor manufacturing system is connected to multiple controlled devices, which operate in accordance with control commands, via an industrial network (for example, CC-Link IE TSN (a trademark of Mitsubishi Denki), TSN network). The data collecting apparatus (10) comprises: a main communication unit (13) that receives, at communication periods, operation data each indicating the operation state of the respective controlled device; a creation unit (120) that creates a multi-dimension database having a first axis, which corresponds to a list of labels assigned to the respective ones of the multiple controlled devices so as to manage the controlled devices, and a second axis corresponding to a list of communication periods; and an addition unit (130) that adds, at the communication periods, the operation data received by the main communication unit (13) to a database (40) along the second axis in such a manner that causes the operation data to correspond to the labels of the controlled devices the operation states of which are indicated by the operation data.

Description

Data collection device, data collection system, database creation method and program

This disclosure relates to a data collection device, a data collection system, a database creation method, and a program.

In workplaces where FA (Factory Automation) systems that control various equipment are in operation, the use of data for quality control is becoming increasingly important. For example, in semiconductor manufacturing factories, semiconductor wafers are transported by controlling equipment such as servo motors via industrial networks. By collecting and analyzing data from such equipment, abnormalities in the equipment and in the semiconductor wafers can be detected.

The scale of systems such as semiconductor manufacturing plants is large, and the amount of data collected is large, so the data is managed in a database. In order to use this type of database, work is required to build the database, such as linking the data to the data sender or manager. This work is complicated because it must be carried out while checking the actual system configuration, and it places a large burden on system design and development work. Therefore, it is possible to consider using technology that can build databases to a certain extent automatically (for example, see Patent Document 1).

Patent Document 1 describes a technology in which communication devices execute cyclic communication with each other at regular intervals, and a data collection management device manages the communication data transmitted in the cyclic communication. The communication data includes a station number indicating the communication device that sent it, and a cycle number that specifies the communication cycle. The data collection management device manages the collected communication data by arranging row data that includes the station number, cycle number, and actual data of the communication data.

International Publication No. 2021/130912

The technology in Patent Document 1 manages, when an error occurs in communication data, the timing at which the error occurred in the communication data sent and from which communication device. Therefore, even if row data indicating communication data is managed by lining up in one direction, the occurrence of an error can be managed as long as this row data includes a cycle number and a station number.

However, when a user later uses the history of periodic communications, the information, in which row data is simply arranged as described above, is not easy to use because it lacks visibility at a glance. Therefore, there is room for making it easier to use the history of periodic communications at FA sites.

This disclosure was made in light of the above-mentioned circumstances, and aims to make it easier to use the history of periodic communications at FA sites.

In order to achieve the above object, the data collection device disclosed herein is a data collection device connected via a network to a plurality of controlled devices that operate according to control commands, and includes a communication means for receiving operation data indicating the operation status of each of the controlled devices for each communication cycle defined by a shared time shared with the plurality of controlled devices, a creation means for creating a multidimensional database having a first axis corresponding to a list of labels attached to each of the controlled devices to manage the plurality of controlled devices, and a second axis corresponding to the list of communication cycles, and an addition means for adding the operation data received by the communication means to the multidimensional database along the second axis for each communication cycle, corresponding to the label of the controlled device whose operation status is indicated by the operation data.

According to the present disclosure, the adding means adds the operation data to the multidimensional database along the second axis for each communication cycle, corresponding to the label of the controlled device. This allows a highly viewable multidimensional database to be generated as a reception history of the operation data. This makes it easy to use the history of periodic communications at the FA site.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a data collection system according to a first embodiment; FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of wafer processing in a manufacturing device in a semiconductor manufacturing process according to the first embodiment; FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of input to a user interface according to the first embodiment; FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration of an FA device according to a first embodiment; FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a functional configuration of a data collection device according to a first embodiment; FIG. 1 shows a database at a stage created by a creation unit according to the first embodiment. FIG. 1 is a first diagram for explaining periodic communication according to a first embodiment; FIG. 2 is a second diagram for explaining periodic communication according to the first embodiment; FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a database to which operational data has been added by an adding unit according to the first embodiment; Flowchart showing database table creation processing according to the first embodiment FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overview of system configuration information according to the first embodiment; FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a functional configuration of a data collection device according to a second embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a database according to the second embodiment; FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a database according to the third embodiment;

The data collection system according to the embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

Embodiment 1.
The data collection system 100 according to the present embodiment is constructed as a part of a control system that controls equipment in a factory via a network. This control system is, for example, a manufacturing line, a processing line, an inspection line, or an FA system for carrying out other processing steps. The data collection system 100 also collects information indicating the operating state of the equipment to be controlled from the equipment, and the collected information is subjected to analysis. This analysis may be, for example, real-time detection of anomalies or signs of anomalies, analysis by a user for quality control, or analysis for automatically or manually improving parameters for controlling the equipment.

As shown in FIG. 1, the data collection system 100 includes a data collection device 10 that controls controlled

devices

31, 32, and 33 and collects data, a terminal 20 that functions as a user interface for making various settings on the data collection device 10, and controlled devices 31 to 33 that are controlled by the data collection device 10 via an industrial network 300.

The data collection device 10 is a control device such as a PLC (Programmable Logic Controller), and controls the controlled devices 31-33 connected via the industrial network 300 by executing a control program provided by the terminal 20. The control program may be a program written in ladder programming language, or may be a program written in another language.

The data collection device 10 has a CPU (Central Processing Unit) unit 11 that executes a control program to control the components of the data collection device, an analysis unit 12 that analyzes operation data indicating the operating status of the controlled devices 31 to 33, a main communication unit 13 for communicating via an industrial network 300, and a DB (Database) unit 14 that accumulates the operation data. The CPU unit 11, analysis unit 12, main communication unit 13, and DB unit 14 are connected via a PLC bus 19 and communicate with each other. The data collection device 10, which is a PLC, is a function block type control device that is configured by mounting the CPU unit 11, analysis unit 12, main communication unit 13, and DB unit 14 on a base unit having a PLC bus 19. The DB unit 14 has a database 40 in which data collected from the controlled devices 31 to 33 is accumulated. Hereinafter, the database 40 will be referred to as DB40.

Each of the controlled devices 31 to 33 corresponds to a device for carrying out a processing step in a factory. The controlled device 31 has a slave communication unit 311 for communicating with the master communication unit 13 of the data collection device 10, and a servo device 312 including a servo amplifier and a servo motor. The controlled device 32 has a slave communication unit 321 for communicating with the master communication unit 13, and a servo device 322. The controlled device 33 has a slave communication unit 331 for communicating with the master communication unit 13, and a sensor 332. Below, the controlled devices 31 to 33 may be referred to as controlled device 30 without distinction. Each of the controlled devices 30 operates according to a control command given from the outside.

For example, controlled devices 31 to 33 carry out a cleaning process in a semiconductor manufacturing device as shown in FIG. 2. In each of a number of processing tanks which sequentially clean the material, which is a processing wafer, the material is transported by driving a ball screw 35 using a servo motor. In FIG. 2, controlled device 31 has a single-axis servo motor, as indicated by one ball screw 35 which belongs to processing tank 1 together with controlled device 31, and controlled device 32 has a two-axis servo motor, as indicated by two ball screws 35 which belong to processing tank 2 together with controlled device 32. These servo motors operate according to control commands from data collection device 10, which is the control device.

Furthermore, the controlled device 33 shown in FIG. 2 has a two-axis servo motor that belongs to the processing tank 3 together with the controlled device 33, in addition to the sensor 332 shown in FIG. 1. Each controlled device 30 only needs to have an operating unit that operates with respect to the processing process or operates according to the processing process in accordance with the control command from the data collection device 10, and this operating unit may be a servo device or a sensor, or may be a part that operates differently from the servo device and the sensor. Note that the operation by the operating unit may or may not involve the movement of an object. For example, a sensor as an operating unit may perform an operation of outputting a signal indicating the sensing result of the sensing target, such as the temperature, pressure, and flow rate in the processing process. Furthermore, the semiconductor manufacturing process shown in FIG. 2 is realized by the operation of a large number of controlled devices, including devices different from the controlled devices 31 to 33. As shown in FIG. 2, the number of controlled devices 30 may be more than three, and may be changed arbitrarily according to the system configuration at the site.

As shown in FIG. 2, a number of devices including controlled devices 31-33 transmit operation data indicating the operation status of the devices to the data collection device 10. The operation data received by the data collection device 10 is stored in the DB 40 and, as necessary, is displayed to the user by the terminal 20 for analysis by the user. The operation data transmitted from the controlled

devices

31, 32 having

servo devices

312, 322 is, for example, data indicating the latest values of the motor speed, torque, or bus voltage of the

servo devices

312, 322, and the operation data transmitted from the controlled device 33 having a sensor 332 is data indicating the latest sensing result by the sensor 332. The operation data is transmitted periodically as described below.

Returning to FIG. 1, the terminal 20 may be an industrial PC (Personal Computer), a tablet terminal, or a general PC, or it may be any other information processing device that functions as a user interface. The terminal 20 is connected to the data collection device 10 via a communication line such as a USB (Universal Serial Bus) cable or a LAN (Local Area Network) cable. The terminal 20 executes a software application called an engineering tool, thereby providing a function that enables the user to create and edit a control program to be executed by the data collection device 10 as a control device, and writes the completed control program to the data collection device 10.

Furthermore, the terminal 20 is used to set parameters for the data collection device 10 to communicate via the industrial network 300, and to set parameters for executing the control program. These settings include settings related to the configuration of the network system 101 including the data collection device 10 as a control device and the controlled devices 31 to 33. In detail, the user sets the configuration of the network system 101 using an engineering tool, and gives names to the components of the network system 101 that are easy for the user to understand or manage. The names given in this way are used as management items, i.e., labels, of the DB 40 described below. In other words, system configuration information 21 indicating the configuration of the network system 101 is provided or created by the user on the terminal 20. This system configuration information 21 includes label information 22, which indicates the labels given to the controlled devices 31 to 33 as names for the user to manage the controlled devices 31 to 33.

3 shows an example of a user interface 201 of the terminal 20. In this user interface 201, a window 202 for managing devices connected to the industrial network 300 is displayed, and in the window 202, the user inputs labels to be attached to each of the controlled devices 31 to 33. In detail, a label name "treatment tank 1", which is a name that is easy for the user to understand, is input in the input field 511 of the icon 51 corresponding to the controlled device 31, a label name "treatment tank 2" is input in the input field 512 of the icon 52 corresponding to the controlled device 32, and a label name "treatment tank 3" is input in the input field 513 of the icon 53 corresponding to the controlled device 33. The label names are not limited to the example in FIG. 3, and may be any name input. Label information 22 indicating these label names is provided from the terminal 20 to the data collection device 10 and is used when creating the DB 40 described below.

The CPU unit 11, analysis unit 12, main communication unit 13, and terminal 20 of the data collection device 10 are each composed of hardware elements for functioning as a computer. In detail, as shown in FIG. 4, the FA device 60 corresponding to each of the CPU unit 11, analysis unit 12, main communication unit 13, and terminal 20 has a processor 61, a main memory unit 62, an auxiliary memory unit 63, an input unit 64, an output unit 65, and a communication unit 66. The main memory unit 62, the auxiliary memory unit 63, the input unit 64, the output unit 65, and the communication unit 66 are all connected to the processor 61 via an internal bus 67.

The processor 61 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or MPU (Micro Processing Unit) as a processing circuit. The processor 61 executes a program P1 stored in the auxiliary storage unit 63 to realize various functions and execute the processes described below. The program P1 of the terminal 20 corresponds to the above-mentioned engineering tool. The processor 61 of the CPU unit 11 executes a control program in addition to the program P1.

The main memory unit 62 includes a RAM. The program P1 is loaded into the main memory unit 62 from the auxiliary memory unit 63. The main memory unit 62 is used as a working area for the processor 61.

The auxiliary memory unit 63 includes non-volatile memory such as an EEPROM and a HDD (Hard Disk Drive). In addition to the program P1, the auxiliary memory unit 63 stores various data used in the processing of the processor 61. The auxiliary memory unit 63 supplies the data used by the processor 61 to the processor 61 according to instructions from the processor 61. The auxiliary memory unit 63 also stores data supplied from the processor 61.

The input unit 64 includes input devices such as hardware switches, input keys, a keyboard, and a pointing device. The input unit 64 acquires information input by a user of the FA device 60 and notifies the processor 61 of the acquired information.

The output unit 65 includes output devices such as an LED (Light Emitting Diode), an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), and a speaker. The output unit 65 presents various information to the user according to instructions from the processor 61.

The communication unit 66 includes a communication interface circuit for communicating with an external device. The communication unit 66 receives a signal from the outside and outputs data indicated by this signal to the processor 61. The communication unit 66 also transmits a signal indicating the data output from the processor 61 to the external device. Note that while one communication unit 66 is representatively shown in FIG. 4, the FA device 60 may have multiple communication units 66. For example, the FA device 60, which is the main communication unit 13, may have a communication unit 66 for communicating via the PLC bus 19 and a communication unit 66 for communicating via the industrial network 300 separately.

The above-mentioned hardware configurations work together to allow the data collection device 10 to perform various functions. In detail, as shown in FIG. 5, the data collection device 10 has, as its functions, a reception unit 110 that receives system configuration information 21 provided from the terminal 20, a creation unit 120 that creates and initializes a DB 40 having axes corresponding to the list of labels of the controlled devices 30 indicated by the system configuration information 21, an addition unit 130 that adds operation data received by the main communication unit 13 to the DB 40, and a control unit 140 that transmits control commands to the controlled devices 30 via the main communication unit 13.

The reception unit 110 is realized mainly by the cooperation of the processor 61 and the communication unit 66 of the CPU unit 11. The reception unit 110 acquires the system configuration information 21 from the terminal 20 and recognizes the configuration of the network system 101 based on the acquired system configuration information 21. In detail, the reception unit 110 recognizes what equipment is connected to the industrial network 300. In FIG. 1, one industrial network 300 is shown, but when the network system 101 is configured by multiple industrial networks 300 via relay devices such as hubs and gateways, the reception unit 110 recognizes which equipment is connected to which industrial network based on the system configuration information 21. The recognition of equipment by the reception unit 110 is recognition of information necessary for communicating with the equipment, and this information includes, for example, a protocol with which the equipment can communicate, a protocol to communicate with the equipment, and an area code or network address of the equipment. Furthermore, the reception unit 110 may recognize the model or model number of the equipment, or information regarding other equipment.

The creation unit 120 is mainly realized by the processor 61 of the CPU unit 11. The creation unit 120 acquires from the reception unit 110 the labels attached to each of the controlled devices 30 recognized by the reception unit 110 as components of the network system 101, and creates a DB 40 having an axis corresponding to the list of labels of the controlled devices 30. In detail, the creation unit 120 creates a two-dimensional database defined by a first axis defined in the label list 410 and a second axis different from the first axis, as shown in FIG. 6. However, the database 40 at the stage created by the creation unit 120 does not include actual data in the second axis direction. Note that the label of each controlled device 30 is associated with a device ID for identifying each controlled device 30 in the network system 101. The device ID is an ID for the data collection device 10 and the controlled device 30 to identify the device, and may be an area code or network address, or may be another identifier. The list of labels is primarily referenced when DB40 is used by a user, and the list of device IDs is primarily referenced when DB40 is used by the data collection device 10. The creation unit 120 also notifies the adding unit 130 of the list of device IDs of DB40 that it has created. The creation unit 120 corresponds to an example of a creation means for creating a multidimensional database.

Labels are different from device IDs. Specifically, labels are arbitrarily determined by the user to manage multiple controlled devices 30, whereas device IDs are usually determined by a data collection device, which is a PLC, or other device. Furthermore, the rules for determining labels are different from the rules for determining device IDs. For example, the rules for determining labels allow a relatively long number of characters so that any name can be used by the user, whereas device IDs are preferably unified to a relatively short length as long as they identify the controlled devices 30. In other words, the number of characters for a label is arbitrary, whereas the length of a device ID is common to all controlled devices 30 and is shorter than the maximum number of characters for a label. Furthermore, the same name can be attached as a label to different controlled devices 30 as long as it is determined and input by the user, whereas duplicate device IDs are not permitted.

Returning to FIG. 5, the master communication unit 13 communicates with the

slave communication units

311, 321, and 331 of the controlled device 30 in accordance with the IEEE 802.1 TSN (Time Sensitive Networking) standard. In the following, the IEEE 802.1 TSN standard will be referred to as the TSN standard. In the following, the

slave communication units

311, 321, and 331 of the controlled device 30 may be referred to as communication units without distinction.

Here, an overview of communication according to the TSN standard by the master communication unit 13 and the

slave communication units

311, 321, 331 will be described. These communication units synchronize time via the industrial network 300. In detail, each communication unit shares time with the other communication units using a time synchronization protocol. The time synchronization protocol is a protocol for synchronizing the time of devices on a network with high precision. For example, when IEEE802.1AS is applied as the time synchronization protocol, a grand master corresponding to one node on the network periodically distributes a high-precision reference clock via the network. In addition, transmission delays are measured by sending data back and forth between the grand master and other nodes, and the other nodes obtain a reference clock with this transmission delay corrected. This allows the time with the transmission delay corrected to be shared.

Note that time sharing and time synchronization among multiple devices means synchronizing the clocks that each of the multiple devices has. If the clocks on multiple devices each keep the same time, and this time is shared among the multiple devices, then the multiple devices will have their time synchronized. In what follows, the time shared among devices will be referred to as the shared time.

The multiple communication units transmit and receive data based on a schedule that is determined in advance according to the shared time. In detail, as shown in FIG. 7, the communication units communicate by time division multiplexing in

communication periods

41 and 42, each of which has a length that is determined in advance according to the shared time.

Communication cycles 41 and 42 are adjacent to each other. That is, communication cycle 42 is provided immediately after communication cycle 41, and the end time of communication cycle 41 is equal to the start time of communication cycle 42. Although two

communication cycles

41 and 42 are shown in FIG. 7, communication cycles equivalent to

communication cycles

41 and 42 are provided periodically before communication cycle 41 and after communication cycle 42. The length of

communication cycles

41 and 42 is, for example, 1 microsecond or 1 millisecond.

Communication cycles 41, 42 each have time slots TS1, TS2 adjacent to each other. When time slots TS1, TS2 are arranged in this order in communication cycle 41 as shown in FIG. 7, the start time of time slot TS1 is equal to the start time of communication cycle 41, the end time of time slot TS1 is equal to the start time of time slot TS2, and the end time of time slot TS2 is equal to the end time of communication cycle 41. Time slot TS1 of communication cycle 42 is arranged immediately after time slot TS2 of communication cycle 41.

Time slots TS1 and TS2 are time segments for transmitting different types of data that are predefined. In particular, time slots TS1 and TS2 are provided for communication of a predefined format, channel, or protocol. In particular, in time slot TS1, a control command for the controlled device 30 is transmitted from the main communication unit 13, which corresponds to the grand master, to the

sub communication units

311, 321, and 331 according to a protocol for real-time communication, as shown by the dashed arrow in FIG. 7. In time slot TS2, operation data from the controlled device 30 is transmitted from the

sub communication units

311, 321, and 331 to the main communication unit 13 according to a non-real-time protocol such as IP communication, as shown by the thick arrow in FIG. 7. Time slot TS1 corresponds to an example of a first time segment for transmitting a control command, and time slot TS2 corresponds to an example of a second time segment for transmitting operation data.

Since the

communication periods

41 and 42 are equal in length, communication in each time slot is performed periodically. However, since communication in time slot TS1 follows a protocol that guarantees real-time performance, a relatively small amount of data is transmitted in each communication period, as shown by band 401 in FIG. 8. On the other hand, communication in time slot TS2 follows a protocol that does not necessarily guarantee real-time performance, as shown by band 402 in FIG. 8, the amount of data transmitted is not constant, and if the size of the data to be transmitted exceeds the transmission capacity, the data may be transmitted in the next or subsequent time slots TS2. Therefore, the operation data transmitted in time slot TS2 is given period information indicating the communication period in which the operation data is first transmitted by the

secondary communication units

311, 321, and 331. The data collection device 10 having the primary communication unit 13 identifies the communication period in which the operation data is expected to be received by referring to the period information given to the operation data. The period information may be information that distinguishes a communication period from other communication periods by an integer that is incremented from the start of communication, information that indicates the date and time or system time that indicates the timing at which each communication period starts, or other information.

Returning to FIG. 5, the master communication unit 13 outputs the operation data and period information received from the

slave communication units

311, 321, and 331 of the controlled device 30 to the additional unit 130. The master communication unit 13 corresponds to an example of a communication means that receives operation data indicating the operation status of each of the controlled devices for each communication period that is defined by a shared time shared with multiple controlled devices.

The adding unit 130 is mainly realized by the processor 61 of the CPU unit 11. The adding unit 130 adds the operation data received by the main communication unit 13 along the second axis of the DB 40 in association with the device ID of the controlled device 30 that is the source of the operation data. In detail, the operation data is assigned a source IP address included in the header of the packet containing the operation data or the packet that is the operation data as source information indicating the source. The adding unit 130 identifies the device ID corresponding to this source IP address from the list of device IDs notified by the creation unit 120, and corresponds it to the identified device ID, and adds a value indicating the operation state of the controlled device 30 indicated by the operation data to the DB 40 in association with the communication period indicated by the period information assigned to the operation data on the second axis corresponding to the list of communication periods. The adding unit 130 corresponds to an example of an adding means that adds the operation data received by the communication means to the multidimensional database along the second axis for each communication period in association with the label of the controlled device whose operation state is indicated by the operation data.

9, when operation data belonging to communication cycle (n+2) is received by the main communication unit 13 from the controlled devices 31 to 33, the adding unit 130 adds the operation data from the controlled device 31 to the row of communication cycle (n+2) following communication cycle (n) and communication cycle (n+1) in column 411 having the device ID corresponding to the controlled device 31. Similarly, the adding unit 130 adds operation data from the controlled device 32 to the row of communication cycle (n+2) in column 412 corresponding to the controlled device 32, and adds operation data from the controlled device 33 to the row of communication cycle (n+2) in column 413 corresponding to the controlled device 33. The second axis of DB 40 corresponds to time and corresponds to the list of communication cycles.

9, DB40 has a first axis corresponding to the list of labels of controlled devices 30, and therefore DB40 is configured using the configuration of industrial network 300. DB40 also manages operation data in a matrix along the first axis corresponding to the list of labels of controlled devices 30 and the second axis corresponding to the list of communication cycles. Since a large amount of operation data is managed in a matrix and the communication cycle is defined by an accurate shared time, by using DB40 it becomes possible to easily grasp the group of operation data generated in network system 101.

Returning to FIG. 5, the analysis unit 12 analyzes the operation data by taking advantage of the ease of overview in the DB 40. In detail, the analysis unit 12, for example, identifies parameters to be set in the controlled device 30 in order to improve the performance of the controlled device 30, and notifies the control unit 140 of the identified parameters. For example, the analysis unit 12 identifies motor speeds and torques that cause the bus voltage to become unstable, and identifies parameters that substitute for such motor speeds and torques. The analysis unit 12 may analyze the operation data for each column of the DB 40, or may analyze the operation data for each communication cycle. Furthermore, the analysis unit 12 may identify the cause of a malfunction by analyzing the operation data, or may offset the malfunction tendency to improve the malfunction. The analysis unit 12 corresponds to an example of an analysis means that performs an analysis on the controlled device based on the operation data stored in the multidimensional database.

The control unit 140 is mainly realized by the processor 61 of the CPU unit 11. The control unit 140 generates control commands for setting the parameters identified by the analysis unit 12 in the controlled device 30, and controls the controlled device 30 by transmitting the generated control commands to the controlled device 30 via the main communication unit 13. The control unit 140 corresponds to an example of a control means that controls the controlled device by transmitting control commands generated based on the results of the analysis by the analysis means.

Next, the database table creation process executed by the data collection device 10 will be explained using Figures 10 and 11.

As shown in FIG. 10, in the database table creation process, the reception unit 110 receives the system configuration information 21 from the terminal 20 (step S1), and the creation unit 120 extracts the label information 22 from the system configuration information 21 (step S2), and creates a list of labels by arranging the labels indicated by the label information according to predetermined rules (step S3).

Here, the system configuration information 21 includes information about the network configuration and the devices connected to each network. For example, as shown in FIG. 11, the system configuration information 21 includes, as information about each device, a label assigned by a user, a device ID used by a device in the network system 101 to identify the device, and a dynamically set network address. Note that the device ID and the network address may be the same information. The rule for creating the list of labels is, as shown by the arrow and the numbers surrounded by dashed circles in FIG. 11, a rule for identifying devices in order of proximity to the data collection device 10, with the data collection device 10 as the base. According to this rule, a list of labels assigned to devices is created in the order in which it is assumed that operational data will be received earliest.

Then, the creation unit 120 associates the device ID of each controlled device 30 with a label as shown in FIG. 6 (step S4), and creates a DB 40 having a first axis corresponding to the list of labels in the DB unit 14 (step S5). The creation unit 120 then notifies the adding unit 130 of the information of the created DB 40 (step S6).

Then, the adding unit 130 determines whether or not operation data from the controlled device 30 has been received by the main communication unit 13 in the new communication cycle (step S7). If it is determined that operation data has not been received (step S7; No), the adding unit 130 repeats the determination of step S7 and waits until operation data is received. On the other hand, if it is determined that operation data has been received (step S7; Yes), the adding unit 130 adds the operation data to the DB 40 along the second axis (step S8). Thereafter, the processing by the data collection device 10 returns to step S7.

As described above, the reception unit 110 receives the label input to the user interface 201 for managing the controlled devices connected to the industrial network 300, and the addition unit 130 adds the operation data to the DB 40 along the second axis for each communication period, corresponding to the label of the controlled device 30. This results in a DB 40 with high visibility being generated as a reception history of operation data. In addition, in the DB 40, the label input to the user interface 201 is used as the label of the controlled device 30 whose operation state is indicated by the operation data, so that the user who uses the DB 40 does not need to perform a post-facto confirmation operation. In other words, if the user constructs the network system 101 that uses the industrial network 300, a DB 40 with high visibility is generated without performing preparatory work for configuring a database separately from this construction. Therefore, it is possible to easily use the history of periodic communication at the FA site.

Furthermore, while control commands are transmitted in time slot TS1 for real-time communication, operational data is transmitted in time slot TS2 for non-real-time communication. This makes it possible to execute communication that combines real-time and non-real-time communication without compromising the real-time nature of the control commands.

Furthermore, by using the DB 40 as described above, the analysis unit 12 can efficiently analyze the operation data. Furthermore, since the control command generated based on the analysis by the analysis unit 12 is transmitted to the controlled device 30, it is expected that the operation of the controlled device 30 can be efficiently improved.

Also, conventionally, a database may be created using identification information of the controlled device 30, such as a device ID. However, such identification information is usually not easily understood by the user as information indicating the components of the system, and when referencing the database, the user must check to which device the station number is assigned. In contrast, in this embodiment, the label of the controlled device, whose operating status is indicated by the operation data, is input to a user interface for managing the controlled device 30 and accepted by the acceptance unit 110, and used in the DB 40. This eliminates the need for subsequent confirmation by the user of the DB 40.

Embodiment 2.
Next, the second embodiment will be described, focusing on the differences from the first embodiment. Note that the same or equivalent configurations as those in the first embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals. In the first embodiment, the DB 40 includes operational data, but if the DB 40 further includes control data, the data can be used for post-mortem analysis. Below, an example will be described in which the DB 40 accumulates the history of control data and operational data.

As shown in FIG. 12, the data collection device 10 according to this embodiment has an acquisition unit 150 that acquires control commands output from the control unit 140. The acquisition unit 150 is mainly realized by the processor 61 of the CPU unit 11. The acquisition unit 150 outputs the acquired control commands to the addition unit 130. The acquisition unit 150 corresponds to an example of an acquisition means that acquires control commands for each controlled device for each communication cycle.

The control unit 140 outputs a control command to be sent to the controlled device 30 regardless of the analysis performed by the analysis unit 12.

The adding unit 130 adds to the DB 40 the control command provided by the acquiring unit 150 in addition to the operation data acquired by the main communication unit 13. However, as shown in FIG. 13, the adding unit 130 has a first axis corresponding to a list 420 of labels including a first list of labels as the transmission source of the operation data and a second list of labels as the destination of the control command. For the first list created by the creating unit 120, the adding unit 130 adds the operation data along the second axis in the same manner as in the first embodiment. For the second list, the adding unit 130 adds the control command provided by the acquiring unit 150 along the second axis. That is, the adding unit 130 adds the control command acquired by the acquiring unit 150 to the DB 40 along the second axis for each communication cycle, corresponding to the label in the second list of the controlled device 30 controlled by the control command. As a result, the control command for each of the controlled devices 31 to 33 is added to

columns

414, 415, and 416 for each communication cycle.

The analysis unit 12 analyzes the operation data and control commands contained in the DB 40, and the control unit 140 outputs control commands based on this analysis. In addition, the information stored in the DB 40 may be subject to analysis by a user via the terminal 20.

As explained above, even in the case where control commands are added to DB40, the same effects as in embodiment 1 are achieved. Furthermore, because DB40 contains control commands in addition to operational data, it is expected that more advanced analysis will be performed using DB40.

Embodiment 3.
Next, the third embodiment will be described with a focus on differences from the first embodiment. The same or equivalent components as those in the first embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 14, the DB 40 is generated as a three-dimensional database having a third axis corresponding to a list of the first and second operation data transmitted from each of the controlled devices 31 to 33 in addition to the first and second axes. Here, the first and second operation data are a plurality of types of operation data that can be transmitted from a single controlled device 30 in a specific cycle. In the example of FIG. 14, the first operation data having a value of "75" and the second operation data having a value of "60" are transmitted from the controlled device 31 labeled "treatment tank 1" in cycle (n) and stored along the third axis of the DB 40. Such a DB 40 makes it easy to search and operate the information contained in the DB 40.

　Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, the present disclosure is not limited to the above embodiments.

For example, although examples have been described in which DB40 is a two-dimensional database or a three-dimensional database, further axes may be added to generate a four- or more-dimensional DB40.

Furthermore, although an example has been described in which the data collection device 10 is a control device such as a PLC, this is not limiting. The data collection device 10 may be connected to the industrial network 300 as a device separate from the PLC. If the data collection device 10 is different from a control device, the acquisition unit 150 may acquire control commands from an external control device via the communication unit of the data collection device 10.

Furthermore, although an example has been described in which the data collection device 10 stores DB40 in internal memory, this is not limited thereto, and the data collection device 10 may write DB40 to external memory.

Also, an example has been described in which the data collection device 10 specifies the row and column of the DB 40 in which the operation data should be stored by referring to the source information indicating the source of the packet as operation data and the period information assigned to the operation data, but this is not limited to this. For example, in a case where the order of the controlled devices 30 that transmit operation data is predetermined and the transmission of the operation data according to this order is executed periodically, the data collection device 10 can determine the column in which the operation data should be stored by determining the order in which the operation data was received within the communication period. Also, the data collection device 10 may determine the row in which the operation data should be stored according to the communication period managed by the data collection device 10 side without period information being assigned to the operation data. If the communication period in which the operation data is actually received is later than the communication period in which the operation data should be transmitted according to a non-real-time protocol, an error will occur in the row in the DB 40 in which the operation data is stored, but this error is considered to be small to a certain extent. Also, the operation data may be transmitted according to a real-time protocol.

The functions of the data collection device 10 according to the above-described embodiment can be realized by dedicated hardware or by a normal computer system.

For example, program P1 can be stored and distributed on a computer-readable recording medium such as a flexible disk, a CD-ROM (Compact Disk Read-Only Memory), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), or an MO (Magneto-Optical disk), and by installing program P1 on a computer, a device that executes the above-mentioned processing can be configured.

In addition, program P1 may be stored in a disk device of a server device on a communication network such as the Internet, and may be downloaded to a computer, for example, by superimposing it on a carrier wave.

The above process can also be achieved by launching and executing program P1 while transferring it via a network such as the Internet.

Furthermore, the above-mentioned processing can also be achieved by executing all or part of program P1 on a server device, and executing program P1 while a computer transmits and receives information related to the processing via a communications network.

In addition, if the above-mentioned functions are shared and realized by the OS (Operating System) or by the OS working together with an application, only the parts other than the OS may be stored on a medium and distributed, or may be downloaded to a computer.

Furthermore, as with the program P1 used by the data collection device 10, the manner in which the terminal 20 uses the engineering tool is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, the terminal 20 may create the above-described system configuration information 21 by using an engineering tool stored in a cloud server.

In addition, the means for realizing the functions of the data collection device 10 are not limited to software, and some or all of the functions may be realized by dedicated hardware or circuits.

This disclosure allows for various embodiments and modifications without departing from the broad spirit and scope of the disclosure. Furthermore, the above-described embodiments are intended to explain the disclosure and do not limit the scope of the disclosure. In other words, the scope of the disclosure is indicated by the claims, not the embodiments. Furthermore, various modifications made within the scope of the claims and within the scope of the disclosure equivalent thereto are considered to be within the scope of the disclosure.

This disclosure is suitable for managing data at FA sites.

10 Data collection device, 11 CPU unit, 12 Analysis unit, 13 Main communication unit, 14 DB unit, 19 PLC bus, 20 Terminal, 21 System configuration information, 22 Label information, 30-33 Controlled device, 35 Ball screw, 40 DB, 41, 42 Communication cycle, 51-53 Icon, 60 FA device, 61 Processor, 62 Main memory unit, 63 Auxiliary memory unit, 64 Input unit, 65 Output unit, 66 Communication unit, 67 Internal bus, 100 Data collection System, 101 Network system, 110 Reception section, 120 Creation section, 130 Addition section, 140 Control section, 150 Acquisition section, 201 User interface, 202 Window, 300 Industrial network, 311, 321, 331 Slave communication unit, 312, 322 Servo equipment, 332 Sensor, 401, 402 Bandwidth, 411-416 Columns, 410, 420 List, 511-513 Input field, P1 Program, TS1, TS2 Time slot.

Claims

A data collection device connected via a network to a plurality of controlled devices that operate according to control commands,
a communication means for receiving operation data indicating an operation state of each of the plurality of controlled devices at each communication period defined by a shared time shared with the plurality of controlled devices;
a creating means for creating a multidimensional database having a first axis corresponding to a list of labels attached to each of the plurality of controlled devices in order to manage the plurality of controlled devices, and a second axis corresponding to a list of the communication cycles;
an adding means for adding the operation data received by the communication means to the multidimensional database along the second axis for each communication cycle, in association with the label of the controlled device whose operation state is indicated by the operation data;
A data collection device comprising:
The communication cycle includes a first time segment for transmitting the control command and a second time segment for transmitting the operation data.
The data collection device of claim 1 .
The apparatus further includes an analysis unit that performs an analysis on the controlled device based on the operation data stored in the multidimensional database.
3. The data collection device according to claim 1 or 2.
The control device further includes a control unit that controls the controlled device by transmitting the control command generated based on the result of the analysis by the analysis unit.
The data collection device of claim 3.
The control device further includes an acquisition unit that acquires the control command for each of the controlled devices in each communication cycle,
the first axis corresponds to a list including a first list of the labels of the controlled devices as transmission sources of the operational data and a second list of the labels of the controlled devices as destinations of the control command;
The additional means is:
adding the operational data to the multidimensional database along the second axis for each communication cycle in association with the label in the first list;
the control command acquired by the acquisition means is added to the multidimensional database along the second axis for each communication period in such a manner that the control command corresponds to the label of the second list of the controlled device to be controlled by the control command.
A data collection device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.
The communication unit receives the operation data to which transmission source information indicating a transmission source and period information indicating the communication period are added,
adding the operation data to the multidimensional database based on the transmission source information and the periodicity information;
A data collection device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.
A data collection device according to any one of claims 1 to 6;
A plurality of the controlled devices;
A data collection system comprising:
A database creation method executed by a data collection device connected via a network to a plurality of controlled devices that operate according to control commands, comprising:
a communication means for receiving operation data indicating an operation state of each of the controlled devices at each communication period defined by a shared time shared with the plurality of controlled devices;
a creation means for creating a multi-dimensional database having a first axis corresponding to a list of labels attached to each of the controlled devices and a second axis corresponding to a list of the communication cycles;
an adding means adds the operation data received by the communication means to the multidimensional database along the second axis for each communication cycle, in association with the label of the controlled device whose operation state is indicated by the operation data;
A method for creating a database, comprising:
A data collection device connected via a network to a plurality of controlled devices that operate according to control commands,
receiving operation data indicating an operation state of each of the controlled devices for each communication period defined by a shared time shared with the plurality of controlled devices;
creating a multi-dimensional database having a first axis corresponding to a list of labels attached to each of the controlled devices and a second axis corresponding to a list of the communication cycles;
the received operation data is added to the multidimensional database along the second axis for each communication period in association with the label of the controlled device whose operation state is indicated by the operation data;
A program to make it happen.