JP2007034451A - Application software history management apparatus and application software history management method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an application software history management apparatus and an application software history management method capable of appropriately managing a history of application software created for the purpose of being downloaded to a target device.
A creation accepting means 101 accepts an application software creation operation. The download unit 102 downloads the application software created by the creation accepting unit 101 to the target device. The detecting means 103 detects that the progress state from creation of application software to downloading has reached a predetermined stage. The storage unit 104 stores application software history when the detection unit 103 detects arrival at a predetermined stage. Further, the storage unit 103 may store a history of the previous application software installed in the target device when the download unit 102 downloads.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an application software history management apparatus and an application software history management method for managing a history of application software downloaded to a target device.

  There is known a plant control system that controls various field devices via field controllers distributed in each part of the plant. In such a plant control system, the function of the field controller is set by mounting control application software on the field controller.

  Patent Document 1 describes a system for managing the history of software downloaded to a field device.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-99988

  The control application software can be created using a tool that creates application software. The application software being created is backed up at regular intervals and the contents are saved.

  However, since the backup timing is set to a fixed period, the backup is executed regardless of when the application software is compiled or downloaded to the field controller. Therefore, a history with low utility value may be left, such as being saved in the middle of editing, and only a single generation history can be left. For this reason, there is a problem that the state actually downloaded and mounted on the field controller cannot be restored.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an application software history management apparatus and an application software history management method capable of appropriately managing a history of application software created for the purpose of being downloaded to a target device.

The application software history management apparatus of the present invention is created by the creation acceptance means for accepting an operation for creating application software in the application software history management apparatus for managing the history of the application software downloaded to the target device. Download means for downloading application software to a target device, detection means for detecting that a progress state from creation to download of the application software has reached a predetermined stage, and arrival of the predetermined stage by the detection means And storing means for storing the application software in a history when it is detected.
According to this application software history management device, when it is detected that the progress state from creation to download of the application software has reached a predetermined stage, the history of application software is saved. can do.

  The predetermined step may be a step of downloading the application software to the target device.

  The predetermined step may be a step of compiling the application software.

The application software history management device according to the present invention is created by the creation accepting unit that accepts a creation operation of the application software in the application software history management device that manages the history of the application software downloaded to the target device. Downloading means for downloading application software to a target device, and storage means for storing a history of previous application software installed in the target device when downloading by the downloading means.
According to this application software history management apparatus, when downloading, the previous application software installed in the target device is saved as a history, so that the saved application software can be used effectively.

  The storage means may additionally store a new history while leaving a history that has already been stored.

  The target device may be a device for executing process control.

The application software history management method of the present invention is created in the application software history management method for managing the history of the application software downloaded to the target device by the step of accepting the creation operation of the application software and the step of accepting the creation operation. A step of downloading application software to a target device, a step of detecting that a progress state from creation of the application software to downloading has reached a predetermined stage, and a case where arrival at the predetermined stage is detected, Storing the history of the application software.
According to this application software history management method, when it is detected that the progress state from creation to download of the application software has reached a predetermined stage, the application software is saved as a history. can do.

  The predetermined step may be a step of downloading the application software to the target device.

  The predetermined step may be a step of compiling the application software.

The application software history management method of the present invention is created in the application software history management method for managing the history of the application software downloaded to the target device by the step of accepting the creation operation of the application software and the step of accepting the creation operation. Downloading application software to a target device, and storing history of previous application software installed in the target device when downloading is performed in the downloading step.
According to this application software history management method, the history of the previous application software installed in the target device is saved when downloading, so that the saved application software can be used effectively.

  In the step of saving, a new history may be additionally saved while leaving a history that has already been saved.

  The target device may be a device for executing process control.

  According to the application software history management device of the present invention, when it is detected that the progress state from the creation of the application software to the download has reached a predetermined stage, the history of the application software is saved. Can be saved.

  According to the application software history management device of the present invention, when downloading, the previous application software installed in the target device is saved as a history, so that the saved application software can be used effectively.

  According to the application software history management method of the present invention, when it is detected that the progress state from creation to download of the application software has reached a predetermined stage, the history of the application software is saved. Can be saved.

  According to the application software history management method of the present invention, at the time of downloading, the previous application software installed in the target device is saved as a history, so that the saved application software can be used effectively.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram functionally showing an application software history management apparatus according to the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, a creation accepting unit 101 accepts an application software creation operation. The download unit 102 downloads the application software created by the creation accepting unit 101 to the target device. The detecting means 103 detects that the progress state from creation of application software to downloading has reached a predetermined stage. The storage unit 104 stores application software history when the detection unit 103 detects arrival at a predetermined stage.

  Further, the storage unit 104 stores a history of the previous application software installed in the target device when the download unit 102 downloads.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of an application software history management apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a plant control system to which the application software history management apparatus of this embodiment is applied.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the plant control system includes field controllers 2, 1,... That control field devices 1, 1,... Such as heat exchangers, valves, compressors, and pumps installed in the plant. , And a process control device 3 that controls each field device 1 by performing communication with field controllers 2, 2,... Distributed in the plant, and executes automatic operation of the process. As shown in FIG. 2, the field controllers 2, 2,... And the process control device 3 are connected to each other via a communication line 4.

  The communication line 4 is connected to a terminal device 5 for performing maintenance work on the plant control system.

  Control application software is installed in the field controller 2. The function of the field controller 2 is defined by this control application software.

A software program as a control application creation tool is installed in the terminal device 5. Using this control application creation tool, the user can create, edit control application software, and download the control application software to the field controller 2.
In the embodiment of FIG. 2, the field controller 2 and the process control device 3 are separate, but they may be integrated.

  Steps S1 to S6 in FIG. 3 are flowcharts showing the procedure for creating, editing, and downloading control application software using the control application creation tool. This procedure is executed based on the control of the terminal device 5 that accepts a user operation.

  In step S1 of FIG. 3, control application software creation and editing operations are accepted. In step S2, the control application software created and edited is compiled.

  In step S3, it is determined whether or not the compiled control application software is instructed by the user to download to the field controller 2 to be downloaded.

  Next, after waiting for the affirmative determination in step S3, the process proceeds to step S4. In step S4, the history of the control application software currently installed in the field controller 2, that is, the previous control application software is executed. Here, the previous control application software is read from the field controller 2, and the compressed file of the previous software is stored in the storage unit 51 (FIG. 2) of the terminal device 5 together with the time stamp indicating the time at the time of saving.

  Next, in step S5, the control application software created and edited in step S1 and compiled in step S2, that is, the history storage of the current control application software is executed. Here, the compressed file of the current software is stored in the storage unit 51 of the terminal device 5 together with the compressed file of the previous software.

  In step S6, the control application software for the field controller 2 is downloaded, and the process ends. Thereby, the control application software of the field controller 2 is updated.

  The above processing can also be executed in a state where the field controller 1 is continuously controlled by the field controller 2.

  Steps S11 to S12 in FIG. 3 are flowcharts showing a procedure for setting detailed information for history storage. This procedure is executed based on the control of the terminal device 5 that accepts a user operation.

  In step S11 of FIG. 3, input of detailed information for history storage is accepted. Here, for example, as detailed information, an input of the number of preservation generations, a preservation target file, a preservation destination, and the like is accepted.

  The number of saved generations is the number of generations saved as a history. For example, if the number of generations is set to “5”, the latest five histories are always stored, and previous histories are deleted one by one when a new history is stored.

  The save target file is a file stored in the field controller 2 and is a file to be saved in history in association with the control application software. For example, this corresponds to a data file that stores data necessary for executing the control application software program. The file to be saved can be arbitrarily selected by the user.

  The save destination is a place where the control application software or the save target file is saved as a history. For example, the user can specify a storage destination using a folder name.

  In step S12, the detailed information received in step S11 is saved as a setting file, and the process ends. The setting file is stored in the storage unit 51 of the terminal device 5.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a data structure of a history stored according to the setting file. As shown in FIG. 4, according to the number of saved generations n specified in the setting file, the latest history Rec1 to the oldest history Recn are stored in the saving destination specified in the setting file. In each history, the previous control application software, the previous save target file, the current control application software, the current save target file, and the like are recorded together with the time stamp.

  The contents of the setting file are reflected in the processes in steps S1 to S6. That is, in step S4 and step S5, the setting file is read, and history saving is executed according to the number of saving generations, saving target file, saving destination and the like specified in the setting file. Also, delete the old history. Further, when the save target file exists, in step S1, the creation and editing of the control application software and the creation and change of the save target file by the user's operation input are accepted. The created and changed file is saved as a current save target file together with the previous save target file read from the field controller 2 (FIG. 4).

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the control application software is downloaded to the field controller 2, the previous and current control application software is automatically saved as a history. For this reason, loss due to forgetting backup at the time of download can be prevented, and unnecessary history is not recorded. In addition, since the control application software that is actually installed is saved, the history can be used effectively when analyzing when a failure occurs. Furthermore, since the history at a plurality of points is left, it is possible to freely select the state to be restored.

  In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the history of the control application software is stored at the time of downloading has been described, but the timing of history storage can be arbitrarily selected.

  Steps S21 to S24 in FIG. 3 are flowcharts showing an example of storing the history of the control application software when compiling the control application software. This procedure is executed based on the control of the terminal device 5 that accepts a user operation.

  In step S21 of FIG. 3, control application software creation and editing operations are accepted. Next, in step S22, the control application software created and edited is compiled.

  In step S23, the history of the control application software is stored for the compiled control application software. Here, the compressed file of the control application software created and edited in step S21 and compiled in step S22 is stored in the storage unit 51 of the terminal device 5 together with the time stamp. At this time, the control application software can be stored in history for an arbitrary number of generations.

  Next, in step S24, it is determined whether or not to finish the creation and editing of the control application software based on the user instruction. If the determination is negative, the process returns to step S21, and if the determination is affirmative, the process ends.

  As described above, in the procedure shown in steps S21 to S24, the history of the control application software to be compiled is automatically saved. For this reason, loss due to forgetting backup can be prevented, and unnecessary history is not recorded. In addition, since the control application software to be implemented as a result is stored, the history can be used effectively when analyzing when a failure occurs. Furthermore, since the history at a plurality of points is left, it is possible to freely select the state to be restored.

  The scope of application of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. The present invention is not limited to application to a plant control system, and can be widely applied when managing the history of application software downloaded to a target device.

The block diagram which shows the application software log | history management apparatus by this invention functionally. The block diagram which shows the structure of the plant control system to which the application software log | history management apparatus of this embodiment is applied. The flowchart which shows operation | movement of the application software log | history management apparatus of this embodiment. The figure which shows the data structure of the log | history preserve | saved according to a setting file.

Explanation of symbols

2 Field controller (target equipment)
5 Terminal device (creation acceptance means, download means, detection means, storage means)
51 Storage unit (storage means)
101 creation acceptance means 102 download means 103 detection means 104 storage means

Claims (12)

In an application software history management device that manages the history of application software downloaded to a target device,
Creation acceptance means for accepting creation operation of application software;
Download means for downloading the application software created by the creation accepting means to a target device;
Detecting means for detecting that a progress state from creation of the application software to downloading has reached a predetermined stage;
Storage means for storing the history of the application software when the detection means detects the arrival at the predetermined stage;
An application software history management apparatus comprising: 2. The application software history management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined step is a step of downloading the application software to the target device. 2. The application software history management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined step is a step of compiling the application software. In an application software history management device that manages the history of application software downloaded to a target device,
Creation acceptance means for accepting creation operation of application software;
Download means for downloading the application software created by the creation accepting means to a target device;
At the time of download by the download means, a storage means for saving a history of the previous application software installed in the target device;
An application software history management apparatus comprising: 5. The application software history management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the storing unit additionally stores a new history while leaving a history that has already been stored. 6. The application software history management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the target device is a device for executing process control. In an application software history management method for managing a history of application software downloaded to a target device,
A step of accepting an application software creation operation;
Downloading the application software created by the step of accepting the creation operation to a target device;
Detecting that a progress state from creation of the application software to downloading has reached a predetermined stage;
A history saving of the application software when arrival at the predetermined stage is detected;
An application software history management method comprising: 8. The application software history management method according to claim 7, wherein the predetermined step is a step of downloading the application software to the target device. 8. The application software history management method according to claim 7, wherein the predetermined step is a step of compiling the application software. In an application software history management method for managing a history of application software downloaded to a target device,
A step of accepting an application software creation operation;
Downloading the application software created by the step of accepting the creation operation to a target device;
When downloading by the step of downloading, a step of storing a history of the previous application software installed in the target device;
An application software history management method comprising: The application software history management method according to any one of claims 7 to 11, wherein in the storing step, a history that has already been stored is left and a new history is additionally stored. The application software history management method according to claim 7, wherein the target device is a device for executing process control.

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