Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING OR CALCULATING; COUNTING
  • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
  • G06F9/00—Arrangements for program control, e.g. control units
  • G06F9/06—Arrangements for program control, e.g. control units using stored programs, i.e. using an internal store of processing equipment to receive or retain programs
  • G06F9/44—Arrangements for executing specific programs
  • G06F9/455—Emulation; Interpretation; Software simulation, e.g. virtualisation or emulation of application or operating system execution engines
  • G06F9/45533—Hypervisors; Virtual machine monitors
  • G06F9/45558—Hypervisor-specific management and integration aspects
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04L67/00—Network arrangements or protocols for supporting network services or applications
  • H04L67/01—Protocols
  • H04L67/12—Protocols specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
  • G05B—CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS
  • G05B23/00—Testing or monitoring of control systems or parts thereof
  • G05B23/02—Electric testing or monitoring
  • G05B23/0205—Electric testing or monitoring by means of a monitoring system capable of detecting and responding to faults
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING OR CALCULATING; COUNTING
  • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
  • G06F11/00—Error detection; Error correction; Monitoring
  • G06F11/07—Responding to the occurrence of a fault, e.g. fault tolerance
  • G06F11/0703—Error or fault processing not based on redundancy, i.e. by taking additional measures to deal with the error or fault not making use of redundancy in operation, in hardware, or in data representation
  • G06F11/0751—Error or fault detection not based on redundancy
  • G06F11/0754—Error or fault detection not based on redundancy by exceeding limits
  • G06F11/0757—Error or fault detection not based on redundancy by exceeding limits by exceeding a time limit, i.e. time-out, e.g. watchdogs
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04L41/00—Arrangements for maintenance, administration or management of data switching networks, e.g. of packet switching networks
  • H04L41/06—Management of faults, events, alarms or notifications
  • H04L41/0695—Management of faults, events, alarms or notifications the faulty arrangement being the maintenance, administration or management system
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04L43/00—Arrangements for monitoring or testing data switching networks
  • H04L43/08—Monitoring or testing based on specific metrics, e.g. QoS, energy consumption or environmental parameters
  • H04L43/0823—Errors, e.g. transmission errors
  • H04L43/0829—Packet loss
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04L43/00—Arrangements for monitoring or testing data switching networks
  • H04L43/08—Monitoring or testing based on specific metrics, e.g. QoS, energy consumption or environmental parameters
  • H04L43/0852—Delays
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04L43/00—Arrangements for monitoring or testing data switching networks
  • H04L43/16—Threshold monitoring
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04L67/00—Network arrangements or protocols for supporting network services or applications
  • H04L67/01—Protocols
  • H04L67/10—Protocols in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04Q—SELECTING
  • H04Q9/00—Arrangements in telecontrol or telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station, in which substation desired apparatus is selected for applying a control signal thereto or for obtaining measured values therefrom
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING OR CALCULATING; COUNTING
  • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
  • G06F9/00—Arrangements for program control, e.g. control units
  • G06F9/06—Arrangements for program control, e.g. control units using stored programs, i.e. using an internal store of processing equipment to receive or retain programs
  • G06F9/44—Arrangements for executing specific programs
  • G06F9/455—Emulation; Interpretation; Software simulation, e.g. virtualisation or emulation of application or operating system execution engines
  • G06F9/45533—Hypervisors; Virtual machine monitors
  • G06F9/45558—Hypervisor-specific management and integration aspects
  • G06F2009/45591—Monitoring or debugging support
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING OR CALCULATING; COUNTING
  • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
  • G06F9/00—Arrangements for program control, e.g. control units
  • G06F9/06—Arrangements for program control, e.g. control units using stored programs, i.e. using an internal store of processing equipment to receive or retain programs
  • G06F9/44—Arrangements for executing specific programs
  • G06F9/455—Emulation; Interpretation; Software simulation, e.g. virtualisation or emulation of application or operating system execution engines
  • G06F9/45533—Hypervisors; Virtual machine monitors
  • G06F9/45558—Hypervisor-specific management and integration aspects
  • G06F2009/45595—Network integration; Enabling network access in virtual machine instances

Definitions

• Embodiments of the present invention relate to edge modules, control systems, remote control systems, controllers, and communication methods.
• Control systems for industrial plants, etc. are constructed by connecting edge systems that include the devices to be controlled (target devices) and sensors that measure values related to control, and controllers that control the target devices based on the output from the sensors.
• the controller and edge system are connected via a local LAN, communication between the two is fast and simultaneity is guaranteed. Furthermore, when the controller is a physical machine, the generation of control data for the edge system and output to the edge system can be completed within one scan cycle (one calculation cycle). This makes it possible to perform periodic processing.
• transferring the controller to the cloud offers the advantages of reducing the initial implementation and update costs of the control system, as well as improving the flexibility and operability of the control system configuration.
• the controller when the controller is transferred to the cloud space, simultaneousity cannot be guaranteed because the edge system and the controller are connected via the Internet, which has a large network latency.
• resources computing resources
• Embodiments of the present invention provide an edge module, a control system, a remote control system, a controller, and a communication method that enable periodic processing.
• the edge module includes a data generating unit that generates first data including a serial number, a transmitting unit that assigns a first time to the first data and transmits the first data to a controller, a receiving unit that receives second data including the serial number and the first time generated by the controller based on the first data and obtains a second time that is the time when the second data is received, and an anomaly detecting unit that determines whether communication with the controller has been performed normally based on at least one of the serial number included in the second data and the difference between the first time and the second time included in the second data.
• FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a remote control service according to the first embodiment.
• 1 is a block diagram showing a remote control system according to a first embodiment.
• FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram illustrating processing of the remote control system according to the first embodiment.
• FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram illustrating another process of the remote control system according to the first embodiment.
• 5A and 5B are diagrams for explaining a process performed by an anomaly detection unit.
• FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a remote control system according to a modified example of the first embodiment.
• FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram illustrating a process of a remote control system according to a modified example of the first embodiment.
• FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a remote control system according to a second embodiment.
• FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram illustrating the processing of the remote control system according to the second embodiment.
• First Embodiment 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a remote control service 10 according to the first embodiment.
• the remote control service 10 includes a plurality of control systems 2_1 to 2_N, a plurality of controller virtual machines (controllers) 3_1 to 3_M, and a communication network 4.
• one of the plurality of control systems 2_1 to 2_N will be simply referred to as a control system 2
• one of the plurality of controllers 3_1 to 3_M will be simply referred to as a controller 3.
• the remote control service 10 is a service for controlling a plurality of devices (target devices 21) included in an industrial plant or the like.
• the control system 2 comprises a target device 21 to be controlled, a sensor (measurement device) 22, an I/O device 23, and an edge module 24.
• the control system 2 is an edge-side control system that transmits measurement data acquired by the sensor 22 to the controller 3 and actually controls the target device 21 based on the control data received from the controller 3.
• the measurement data is an example of first data transmitted from the edge module 24 to the controller 3.
• the control data is an example of second data transmitted from the controller 3 to the edge module 24.
• the target equipment 21 is equipment that constitutes an industrial plant.
• the target equipment 21 is, for example, a valve, a pump, a heat exchanger, a mixer, etc.
• the sensor 22 measures values related to the control of the target device 21 and outputs them as a measurement signal (analog signal).
• the sensor 22 may monitor the operation of the target device 21 itself, or may monitor the operation of another device related to the target device 21.
• the sensor 22 may be built into the target device 21, or may be located in a location physically separated from the target device 21.
• One control system 2 may be equipped with multiple sensors 22.
• the sensor 22 is, for example, a flow meter.
• the edge module 24 is an electronic device that generates measurement data based on the measurement signal from the sensor 22 and generates a control signal based on the control data from the controller 3.
• the edge module 24 also communicates with the controller 3.
• the controller 3 receives measurement data from the control system 2, and generates control data for controlling the target device 21 based on the measurement data.
• the controller 3 also transmits the control data to the control system 2.
• the controller 3 is a virtual machine provided in a cloud space (cloud server), but the controller 3 may also be a physical machine.
• the communication network 4 connects the multiple control systems 2_1 to 2_N and the controllers 3_1 to 3_M.
• the communication network 4 is the Internet, but this does not exclude configurations that employ other types of communication networks.
• Each of the multiple control systems 2_1 to 2_N exchanges data with multiple controllers 3_1 to 3_M.
• a set of one control system 2 and one controller 3 that exchanges data with the control system 2 is referred to as a remote control system 1.
• the remote control service 10 includes multiple remote control systems 1.
• FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a remote control system 1 according to the first embodiment.
• FIG. 2 does not indicate that a specific control system 2 and a specific controller 3 correspond one-to-one.
• the controller 3 corresponding to a certain control system 2 is not fixed.
• a target device 21 provided in a control system 2_3 different from the control system 2_2 may be controlled based on measurement data acquired from a sensor 22 provided in the control system 2_2. In such a case, one control system 2 does not need to have a target device 21 or a sensor 22.
• the remote control system 1 is a system in which the controller 3 generates control data for controlling the target device 21 based on the measurement signal measured by the sensor 22, and controls the target device 21 based on the control data.
• the edge module 24 includes a measurement data generating unit 241, a transmitting unit 242, a receiving unit 243, an abnormality detecting unit 244, and a control signal generating unit 245.
• the measurement data generating unit 241 acquires a measurement signal from the I/O device 23 and generates measurement data. For example, the measurement data generating unit 241 converts an analog measurement signal into a digital signal to generate measurement data. Alternatively, the measurement data generating unit 241 may generate measurement data based on multiple measurement signals obtained from multiple sensors 22.
• the transmitting unit 242 assigns the time at which the measurement data is transmitted as a first time to the measurement data, and transmits the measurement data to the controller 3 via the communication network 4 .
• the receiving unit 243 receives the control data transmitted from the controller 3 via the communication network 4. At this time, the receiving unit 243 acquires the time at which the control data is received as the second time.
• the anomaly detection unit 244 determines whether communication between the edge module 24 and the controller 3 has been performed normally (whether no anomaly has occurred) based on the received control data. In other words, it determines whether processing by the controller 3 has been performed normally without excessive delay, and whether both the transmission of measurement data and the reception of control data corresponding to that measurement data have been successful without excessive delay. The anomaly detection unit 244 also determines whether an emergency has occurred depending on the number of times an anomaly has been detected while the remote control system 1 is in operation. The number of times may be the average number of times per certain period of time.
• the control signal generating unit 245 generates a control signal based on the received control data. Furthermore, when the abnormality detecting unit 244 determines that an emergency has occurred, the control signal generating unit 245 may generate a control signal for an emergency.
• the control signal for an emergency includes, for example, a command to make an emergency stop of the target device 21 or a command to activate a safety device.
• elements 21 to 23 and elements 241 to 245 may be configured with circuits or processors such as ASICs (application specific integrated circuits) and FPGAs (field-programmable gate arrays). Alternatively, some or all of these elements may be executed by a CPU that executes a program.
• ASICs application specific integrated circuits
• FPGAs field-programmable gate arrays
• the controller 3 includes a receiving function unit F31, a calculation function unit F32, a control data generating function unit F33, and a transmitting function unit F34. In other words, the controller 3 functions as various functional units on the cloud.
• the receiving function unit F31 receives the measurement data transmitted from the edge module 24 via the communication network 4.
• the transmission function unit F34 transmits the control data via the communication network 4.
• the calculation function unit F32 processes the measurement data received by the receiving function unit F31. For example, the calculation function unit F32 analyzes the measurement data and determines whether the target device 21 is operating normally, whether the measurement data contains abnormal values, etc.
• the control data generation function unit F33 generates control data for controlling the target device 21 based on the results of processing by the calculation function unit F32.
• the control data generation function unit F33 generates one piece of control data based on one piece of measurement data (e.g., one packet).
• the controller 3 executes a control program to perform various processes including the processes of the functional units F31 to F34.
• the control program is executed at a predetermined scan cycle.
• the scan cycle includes refresh, the control program execution (calculation) time, END processing time, etc.
• the cloud server in which the controller 3 of this embodiment is provided is realized by a hardware configuration including a control device such as an MPU, a storage device, etc.
• the storage device is realized by a memory device such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) or a RAM (Random Access Memory), an external storage device such as a HDD or a CD drive device, or both of these.
• the cloud server may also be equipped with a display device such as a display device, and input devices such as a keyboard and a mouse.
• the control program executed by the controller 3 of this embodiment is provided in the form of an installable or executable file recorded on a computer-readable disk-shaped recording medium such as a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), a USB memory, an SSD (Solid State Disk), or other semiconductor storage device.
• a computer-readable disk-shaped recording medium such as a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), a USB memory, an SSD (Solid State Disk), or other semiconductor storage device.
• the control program executed by the controller 3 of this embodiment may be stored on a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and provided by downloading it via the network.
• the control program executed by the controller 3 of this embodiment may be provided by being pre-installed in a ROM or the like.
• the controller 3 when the controller 3 receives the measurement data, it performs calculation processing within the next (immediately following) scan cycle and generates control data. The controller 3 then transmits the control data to the edge module 24 within the next or subsequent scan cycle. In other words, the controller 3 generates the control data and transmits the control data to the edge module 24 within different scan cycles. As a result, if no excessive delay occurs within the controller 3, the time taken from generating to transmitting the control data can be kept constant (one scan cycle), and variations in processing time can be suppressed.
• FIG. 3 is a diagram explaining the format of the measurement data and control data.
• the measurement data and control data are generated, for example, in the form of a packet.
• both the measurement data and the control data include a serial number (first serial number), a first time, and a payload (data 1, data 2, ).
• the serial number is a number that the measurement data generation unit 241 assigns to the measurement data, and is used for abnormality detection by the abnormality detection unit 244.
• the data shown in FIG. 3 is assigned the serial number "0x987F".
• the serial number may be, for example, a counter value of a PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) provided in the measurement data generation unit.
• the first time is the time when the transmission unit 242 transmits the measurement data.
• the first time may be, for example, the time when the measurement data generation unit 241 generates the measurement data.
• the data with the serial number "0x987F" is transmitted at the time "0x07836287f32a".
• the payload is the body of the measurement data or control data.
• the payload of the control data includes a command to stop the target device 21.
• Fig. 4 is a sequence diagram of the remote control system 1 in normal times (when no emergency occurs). Below, we will explain an example of the operation of the remote control system 1 with reference to Fig. 4.
• the I/O device 23 outputs the measurement signal obtained by the sensor 22 to the edge module 24 (step S101).
• the measurement data generation unit 241 generates measurement data based on the input measurement signal. At this time, the measurement data generation unit 241 assigns a first serial number to the generated measurement data (step S102).
• the transmission unit 242 transmits the measurement data to the controller 3. At this time, the transmission time is added to the measurement data as the first time and then transmitted (step S103).
• the controller 3 functions as the receiving function unit F31 and receives the measurement data (step S104).
• the controller 3 functions as the calculation function unit F32 and processes the measurement data (step S105).
• a waiting time of up to one scan cycle occurs from the completion of step S104 until the start of step S105.
• controller 3 functions as a control data generation function unit F33, and generates control data for controlling the target device 21 based on the processing result of step S105 (step S106).
• the controller 3 functions as the control data generation function unit F33 and assigns a serial number and a first time to the generated control data (step S107).
• the serial number and the first time assigned at this time are the same as those included in the measurement data corresponding to the control data.
• Step S108 is executed within a scan period different from the scan period in which step S107 was executed.
• the receiving unit 243 receives the control data. At this time, the time when the control data is received (second time) is obtained (step S109).
• step S110 determines whether communication with the controller 3 was normal based on the received control data. If no abnormality was detected (step S111: No), the process proceeds to step S112.
• step S110 Yes
• the abnormality detection unit 244 determines whether or not an emergency exists (step S111). If it is determined that an emergency does not exist, the process proceeds to step S112 (step S111: No). If it is determined that an emergency exists, the process proceeds to step A.
• control signal generating unit 245 generates a control signal based on the received control data and transmits it to the I/O device 23 (step S112).
• the I/O device 23 receives the control signal and controls the target device 21 based on the control signal (step S113).
• Fig. 5 is a sequence diagram of the remote control system 1 when an emergency occurs. An example of the operation of the remote control system 1 will be described below with reference to Fig. 5. The operation before step A is omitted because it is the same as Fig. 4.
• step S201 step A
• the control signal generating unit 245 generates a control signal for an emergency (emergency control signal) and transmits it to the I/O device 23 (step S201).
• the emergency control signal includes, for example, a command to stop the target device 21 and a command to activate a safety device.
• the I/O device 23 then controls the target device 21 based on the received emergency control signal (step S202).
• the edge module 24 generates an emergency notification and transmits it to the controller 3 to notify that an emergency has occurred (step S203).
• the controller 3 receives and processes the emergency notification (step S204).
• the controller 3 may then notify the user that an emergency has occurred, or may attempt to restore the control system 2.
• the remote control system 1 communicates between the edge module 24 and the controller 3 to control the target device 21. In addition, by determining whether an emergency occurs on the edge side, it is possible to respond quickly when an emergency occurs.
• FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the processing performed by the anomaly detection unit 244.
• the abnormality detection unit 244 determines whether communication with the controller 3 has been performed normally based on at least one of the serial number included in the control data and the difference between the first time and the second time. More specifically, the abnormality detection unit 244 determines an abnormality when at least one of the following is satisfied: a missing number occurs in the serial number included in the control data, and the difference between the first time and the second time is equal to or greater than a predetermined delay time. Furthermore, when an abnormality is detected (determined) a predetermined number of times (one or more times), the abnormality detection unit 244 determines an emergency. When an emergency is determined based on a single abnormality detection, a rapid response to the abnormality is possible. When an emergency is determined to exist based on multiple abnormality detections, accidental abnormalities can be excluded.
• the difference between the first time and the second time corresponds to the time it takes from the start of step S103 to the completion of step S109 (see FIG. 4).
• the time taken from the start of measurement data processing to the start of control data transmission is one scan period, unless an excessive delay occurs within the controller 3.
• the waiting time from the completion of measurement data reception to the start of measurement data processing is one scan cycle at maximum. It is assumed that the total time required for communication between the edge module 24 and the controller 3 (from the start of step S103 to the completion of step S104, and from the start of step S108 to the completion of step S109) is less than one scan period if communication between them is normal. Considering these factors, if communication between the edge module 24 and the controller 3 is performed normally, the difference between the first time and the second time is expected to be within three scan periods.
• control data 2 The control data with a serial number of 2 (hereinafter referred to as control data 2) is determined to be abnormal by the abnormality detection unit 244 because the difference between the first time and the second time is 302.25 ms.
• control data 5 the cumulative number of abnormality detections is 1, so it is not determined to be an emergency.
• Control data 5 with a serial number of 5, is determined to be abnormal because the serial number of the control data immediately preceding it is 3.
• the cumulative number of abnormality detections has reached 2, so it is determined to be an emergency by the abnormality detection unit 244.
• the first time and the first serial number are assigned to the measurement data, and the same first time and first serial number are assigned to the control data based on the measurement data.
• the control data is received, by checking the difference between the first time and the second time, or the first serial number, it is possible to detect an abnormality if communication between the edge module 24 and the controller 3 is not performed normally. This also makes it possible to perform periodic processing within the remote control system 1.
• the first time may be stored on the edge module 24 side, and when control data is received, the difference between the stored first time and the second time included in the control data may be checked.
• the abnormality detection unit 244 included in the edge module 24 determines whether an emergency state exists, but the controller 3 may determine whether an emergency state exists. By having the controller 3 determine whether an emergency state exists, a more comprehensive determination can be made that takes into account the overall situation of the remote control service 10.
• FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a remote control system 1 according to a modified example of the first embodiment. Elements with the same names or functions as those in FIG. 2 of the first embodiment described above are given the same reference numerals. Hereafter, explanations will be omitted except for changes or additions.
• the edge module 24 includes an abnormality notification generation unit 246.
• the abnormality notification generation unit 246 When the abnormality detection unit 244 detects an abnormality, the abnormality notification generation unit 246 generates an abnormality notification to notify the controller 3 of the abnormality.
• the generated abnormality notification is transmitted to the controller 3 by the transmission unit 242, received by the reception function unit F31, and processed by the calculation function unit F32.
• the controller 3 has a status determination function unit F35.
• the status determination function unit F35 determines whether or not an emergency has occurred based on the number of abnormality notifications received and processed (number of times abnormality notifications have been received).
• the status determination function unit F35 determines that an emergency has occurred when the number of abnormality notifications received reaches a predetermined number (one or more times).
• the control data generation function unit F33 generates control data for an emergency.
• the control data generation function unit F33 may generate control data for an emergency after confirming the status of other remote control systems 1 from information from other controllers 3. This makes it possible to prevent, for example, the stopping of one target device 21 from adversely affecting other target devices 21.
• FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram of the remote control system 1 according to this modified example. Below, an example of the operation of the remote control system 1 according to this modified example will be described with reference to FIG. 8. The operation before step S110: No is omitted because it is the same as that in FIG. 4.
• the abnormality detection unit 244 detects that an abnormality has occurred (step S111: Yes).
• the abnormality notification generation unit 246 generates an abnormality notification to notify the controller 3 that an abnormality has occurred, and transmits the abnormality notification to the controller 3 (step S301).
• the controller 3 functions as a receiving function unit F31 and receives the abnormality notification.
• the controller 3 then functions as a calculation function unit F32 and processes the abnormality notification (step S302).
• the controller 3 functions as a state determination function unit F35 and determines whether or not an emergency has occurred based on the number of times that an abnormality notification has been received (step S303: Yes).
• the controller 3 functions as a control data generation function unit F33 and generates emergency control data to perform control in response to an emergency.
• the controller 3 then functions as a transmission function unit F34 and transmits the emergency control data to the edge module 24 (step S304).
• the emergency control data includes, for example, a command to stop the target device 21 and a command to activate a safety device.
• the receiving unit 243 receives the emergency control data (step S305). Then, the control signal generating unit 245 generates an emergency control signal based on the emergency control data and transmits it to the I/O device 23 (step S306).
• the I/O device 23 controls the target device 21 (step S307).
• Second Embodiment In the first embodiment, a method has been described in which the edge module 24 performs periodic processing between the controller 3 and the edge module 24. In the second embodiment, a method will be described in which, viewed from the controller 3 side, communication between the controller 3 and the edge module 24 has been performed normally.
• FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a remote control system 1A according to the second embodiment. Elements with the same names or functions as those in FIG. 2 of the first embodiment described above are given the same reference numerals. Hereafter, explanations will be omitted except for changes or additions.
• the transmission function unit F34 assigns the time when the control data is transmitted to the control data as the third time.
• the time when the control data generation function unit F33 generates the control data may be the third time.
• the edge module 24 includes a response data generation unit 247.
• the response data generation unit 247 When the receiving unit 243 receives control data, the response data generation unit 247 generates response data.
• the response data generation unit 247 assigns a second serial number and a third time to the response data.
• the response data is transmitted to the controller 3 by the transmitting unit 242.
• the format of the response data is the same as the example of the measurement data or control data shown in FIG. 3.
• the response data is an example of third data transmitted from the edge module 24 to the controller 3.
• the receiving function unit F31 receives the response data sent from the edge module 24 via the communication network 4. At this time, the receiving function unit F31 acquires the time at which the response data is received as the fourth time.
• the controller 3 has an abnormality detection function unit F36.
• the abnormality detection function unit F36 determines whether or not communication between the controller 3 and the edge module 24 has been performed normally (whether or not an abnormality has occurred) based on the received response data. In other words, it determines whether or not both the transmission of control data and the reception of response data corresponding to that control data have been successful without excessive delay.
• the anomaly detection function unit F36 determines whether communication with the edge module 24 has been normal based on at least one of the serial number included in the response data and the difference between the third time and the fourth time. More specifically, the anomaly detection function unit F36 determines that an anomaly has occurred when at least one of the following conditions is met: there is a gap in the serial number included in the response data; and the difference between the third time and the fourth time is equal to or greater than a predetermined delay time. Furthermore, if an anomaly is detected a predetermined number of times (one or more times), the anomaly detection function unit F36 determines that an emergency has occurred.
• FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram of the remote control system 1A according to this embodiment. Below, an example of the operation of the remote control system 1A according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 10. The operation before step S105 is omitted because it is the same as in FIG. 4. Steps with the same functions as in the sequence diagrams already described are given the same reference numerals, and explanations have been omitted or simplified as appropriate.
• the controller 3 functions as the control data generation function unit F33 and generates control data for controlling the target device 21 (step S106). Then, the controller 3 functions as the control data generation function unit F33 and assigns a second serial number to the control data (step S401).
• the controller 3 functions as the transmission function unit F34 and transmits the control data to the edge module 24.
• the transmission time is added to the control data as the third time and transmitted (S402).
• the receiving unit 243 receives the control data (step S109).
• the response data generation unit 247 generates response data in response to receiving the control data (step S402).
• the response data generation unit 247 then assigns a second serial number and a third time to the response data (step S403).
• the transmission unit 242 then transmits the response data to the controller 3 (step S404).
• the controller 3 functions as the receiving function unit F31 and receives the response data. At this time, the reception time is acquired as the fourth time. Then, the controller 3 functions as the calculation function unit F32 and processes the response data (step S405).
• the controller 3 functions as an anomaly detection function unit F36, and determines whether the edge module 24 has received the control data normally. If an anomaly is detected, the process proceeds to step S303 (step S406: Yes). The subsequent process is the same as that shown in FIG. 8 and will not be described further.
• the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments as they are, and in the implementation stage, the components can be modified and embodied without departing from the gist of the invention.
• various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining multiple components disclosed in the above-described embodiments. For example, configurations in which some components are deleted from all of the components shown in each embodiment are also possible. Furthermore, components described in different embodiments may be appropriately combined.
• This embodiment can also be configured as follows.
• a data generating unit that generates first data including a serial number; a transmitting unit that adds a first time to the first data and transmits the first data to a controller; a receiving unit that receives second data generated by the controller based on the first data, the second data including the serial number and the first time, and obtains a second time that is a time when the second data is received; an abnormality detection unit that determines whether communication with the controller has been performed normally based on at least one of the serial number included in the second data and a difference between the first time and the second time included in the second data; and
• An edge module comprising: [Item 2] 2.
• the abnormality detection unit determines that an emergency has occurred when it is determined that communication with the controller is not performed normally a predetermined number of times.
• the transmission unit transmits the first data to the controller via the Internet, The edge module according to any one of items 1 to 3, wherein the receiving unit receives the second data from the controller via the Internet. [Item 5] 5.
• the edge module according to item 4 wherein the controller is a virtual machine provided on a cloud.
• a control system according to item 6; The controller; Equipped with The transmission unit transmits the first data to the controller via the Internet, The receiving unit receives the second data from the controller via the Internet, The controller is a virtual machine provided on a cloud, The controller: A receiving function unit for receiving the first data; a data generation function unit that generates the second data based on the first data; A transmission function unit that transmits the second data to the edge module.
• a receiving function unit for receiving the first data a data generation function unit that generates the second data based on the first data
• a transmission function unit that transmits the second data to the edge module.
• the edge module further includes an abnormality notification generating unit that generates an abnormality notification when the abnormality detection unit determines that communication with the controller is not performed normally,
• the transmission unit transmits the abnormality notification to the controller,
• the receiving function unit receives the abnormality notification, 9.
• the remote control system according to item 7 or 8, wherein the controller further comprises a state determination function unit that determines that an emergency has occurred when the number of times the abnormality notification has been received reaches a predetermined number.
• a data generating function unit that generates second data including a serial number; a transmission function unit that adds a third time to the second data and transmits the second data to an edge module; a receiving function unit that receives third data generated by the edge module based on the second data, the third data including the serial number and the third time, and obtains a fourth time that is the time when the third data is received; an anomaly detection function unit that determines whether communication with the edge module has been performed normally based on at least one of the serial number included in the third data and a difference between the third time and the fourth time included in the third data;
• a controller comprising: [Item 11] The controller according to item 10, wherein the abnormality detection function unit determines that communication with the edge module is not normal when at least one of the following conditions is met: when there is a missing number in the serial number included in the third data, and when a difference between the third time and the fourth time is equal to or greater than a predetermined delay time.
• [Item 12] 12 The controller according to item 10 or 11, which is a virtual machine provided on a cloud.
• [Item 13] generating first data including a serial number; adding a first time to the first data and transmitting the first data to a controller; receiving second data generated by the controller based on the first data, the second data including the serial number and the first time, and acquiring a second time which is a time when the second data is received; determining whether communication with the controller has been performed normally based on at least one of the serial number included in the second data and a difference between the first time and the second time included in the second data;
• a communication method comprising: [Item 14] generating second data including a serial number; adding a third time to the second data and transmitting the second data to an edge module; receiving third data generated by the edge module based on the second data, the third data including the serial number and the third time, and obtaining a fourth time which is the time when the third data is received; determining whether communication with the edge module has been performed normally based

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
• Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
• Signal Processing (AREA)
• Software Systems (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Environmental & Geological Engineering (AREA)
• Quality & Reliability (AREA)
• Automation & Control Theory (AREA)
• Medical Informatics (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Computing Systems (AREA)
• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Selective Calling Equipment (AREA)
• Arrangements For Transmission Of Measured Signals (AREA)

Priority Applications (5)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Related Child Applications (1)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=93519443

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (7)

Citations (6)

• 2023
  • 2023-05-12 JP JP2023079703A patent/JP2024163804A/ja active Pending
• 2024
  • 2024-04-04 AU AU2024270831A patent/AU2024270831A1/en active Pending
  • 2024-04-04 EP EP24806889.2A patent/EP4712501A1/en active Pending
  • 2024-04-04 CN CN202480029333.9A patent/CN121176030A/zh active Pending
  • 2024-04-04 KR KR1020257036565A patent/KR20250168599A/ko active Pending
  • 2024-04-04 WO PCT/JP2024/013969 patent/WO2024236935A1/ja not_active Ceased
• 2025
  • 2025-09-19 US US19/333,462 patent/US20260017082A1/en active Pending

Patent Citations (6)

Non-Patent Citations (1)

Also Published As

Similar Documents

Legal Events