JP2012014389A - Field apparatus management system - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to reduce labor in grasping the state of a field device.
A field device 21 in which a device ID assigned to any unit group is set and a HART communication signal input / output to / from the field device 21 are transmitted / received, and a DC signal included in the HART communication signal and the DC signal are included. An IO unit 22 that transmits / receives a digital signal superimposed thereon, and a management unit 31 that receives a digital signal input / output from the IO unit 22 and manages the state of the field device 21 in units of unit groups based on the digital signal. And a storage unit 32 for storing authority information in units of unit groups assigned to the management unit 31. The management unit 31 refers to the authority information and the unit to which the field device 21 corresponding to the digital signal belongs. Support digital signals within the scope of permissions allowed for the group Field to manage the state of the equipment 21.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a field device management system that manages various field devices having a transmission function.

  At the site where production processes are managed, various field devices (for example, sensors and valves) having a transmission function are installed in the plant, and various production processes are managed by incorporating signals transmitted from the field devices into the system. ing. As a system for managing a production process, for example, there is a system that controls the opening degree of a valve or the like based on a flow rate, temperature, pressure, or the like acquired from a sensor. Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 below disclose a system that performs alarm management of a production process based on an upper limit threshold and a lower limit threshold of measurement values set for each field device.

JP 2004-192543 A JP 2005-216148 A

  In the systems of the above-mentioned patent documents, when the measured value of the field device exceeds a threshold value, an alarm indicating that some abnormality has occurred in the production process is notified to the management apparatus. However, since the factor that the measured value exceeds the threshold value cannot be grasped, it is necessary to investigate the factor separately and cope with it.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems caused by the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a field device management system capable of reducing labor when grasping the state of a field device. .

  The field device management system according to the present invention transmits / receives input / output signals of the field device to / from a plurality of field devices in which device IDs assigned to any of the unit groups are set. One or more input / output devices that transmit and receive a first signal included in the signal and a second signal added to the first signal; and the second signal input / output from the input / output device; One or a plurality of management units for managing the state of the field device in units of the unit groups based on two signals.

  By adopting such a configuration, the field device can input and output the second signal in addition to the first signal, and the management unit can manage the state of the field device based on the second signal. As a result, the management unit can manage the state of the field device based on various data other than the measured value and control value of the field device. For example, when an abnormality such as a failure occurs in any of the field devices. Even so, the state of the field device can be accurately grasped.

  Further, the field device management system according to the present invention further includes a storage unit that stores authority information in units of unit groups given to the management unit, the management unit refers to the authority information, and The state of the field device corresponding to the second signal may be managed within a range of authority permitted for the unit group to which the field device corresponding to the second signal belongs.

  With this configuration, when the state of the field device is managed, it can be managed in units of unit groups, and can be managed within the range of authority permitted for the unit group. Therefore, it is possible to efficiently manage field devices belonging to the unit group assigned to the management unit within the scope of the authority assigned to the management unit.

  The second signal may include information related to the alert of the field device, and the management unit may manage an alert state of the field device. The authority information may include information regarding an operation authority for operating the field device, a monitoring authority for displaying and monitoring the state of the field device, and a notification authority for receiving an alert notification of the field device.

  A control unit that receives the first signal output from the input / output device and controls the field device based on the first signal may be further provided. The input / output signal of the field device may be a HART communication signal, the first signal may be a DC signal of 4 to 20 mA, and the second signal may be a frequency signal converted into a digital signal.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the field apparatus management system which can reduce the effort at the time of grasping | ascertaining the state of a field apparatus can be provided.

It is a figure which illustrates typically the composition of the field device management system in an embodiment. It is a figure which illustrates typically the concept of a unit group. It is a figure which illustrates the data structure of an authority information table. It is a figure which illustrates the data structure of a device information table.

  Embodiments according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. However, the embodiment described below is merely an example, and does not exclude application of various modifications and techniques not explicitly described below. That is, the present invention can be implemented with various modifications without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

  First, the configuration of a field device management system in the embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, the field device management system 1 includes a field device 21, an IO unit 22 and a control unit 23 included in the plant system 2, and a management unit 31 and a storage unit 32 included in the management system 3. .

  In this embodiment, for convenience of explanation, the number of each device and each part is limited and described. However, the number of each device and each part is not limited to this and may be arbitrarily designed according to the scale of the plant. Can do. That is, the field device management system 1 includes a plurality of field devices 21, one or more IO units 22, one or more control units 23, one or more management units 31 and a storage unit 32. Can do.

  The field device 21 is various devices equipped in the plant. Examples of the field device 21 include various sensors such as a flow sensor, a pressure sensor, and a temperature sensor, valves such as a flow control valve and a pressure control valve, and actuators such as a pump and a fan.

  The field device 21 has a HART (Highway Addressable Remote Transducer) communication function, and inputs and outputs a HART communication signal. The HART communication signal is a signal generated by superimposing a digital signal converted into a frequency signal of 1200 Hz and 2200 Hz on a DC signal of 4 to 20 mA.

  The DC signal is a signal indicating the value of one variable set for each field device 21. Examples of variable values include measured values such as flow rate, pressure, and temperature, and control values such as valve opening. The digital signal is a signal indicating various data that can be collected in the field device 21, for example. Examples of the various data include alert information (device alert signal) for notifying the state of failure of the field device 21 and device information in the field device 21. In addition, it is good also as including the measured value and control value of the field apparatus 21 in various data.

  For example, the field device 21 generates a HART communication signal as follows. First, the field device 21 converts a digital signal represented by 0 and 1 into a frequency signal represented by a 2200 Hz signal and a 1200 Hz signal. Subsequently, the field device 21 superimposes the converted frequency signal on a 4 to 20 mA DC signal indicating a measured value, a control value, or the like. Thereby, a HART communication signal is generated.

  The device ID set for each field device 21 is assigned to each predetermined unit group and managed in units of unit groups. The unit group will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the field devices A, D, G, and H belong to the first unit group Ua, the field device B belongs to the second unit group Ub, and the field devices C, E, and F belong to the third unit group Ua. It belongs to the unit group Uc. The unit group is formed by arbitrarily dividing the plant. The division of the plant can be performed according to, for example, a process or a place. In general, a plurality of unit groups are formed in one plant. One or a plurality of device IDs are assigned to one unit group.

  Here, the identification information includes a tag ID in addition to the device ID. The device ID is identification information set for each field device 21 in order to manage the state of each field device 21, whereas the tag ID is set for each DC signal input / output to / from each field device 21. Identification information. By setting the tag ID, it is possible to manage the measurement value and control value in each field device 21 using the tag ID.

  The IO unit 22 is an input / output device that transmits / receives a HART communication signal input / output to / from the field device 21 and transmits / receives a digital signal and a DC signal corresponding to the frequency signal included in the HART communication signal through separate lines. is there. In FIG. 1, the digital signal and the DC signal are transmitted / received on different lines, but may be transmitted / received on the same line.

  For example, the IO unit 22 generates a digital signal and a DC signal corresponding to the frequency signal from the HART communication signal as follows. First, the IO unit 22 separates the input HART communication signal into a frequency signal represented by a 1200 Hz signal and a 2200 Hz signal and a DC signal of 4 to 20 mA. Subsequently, the IO unit 22 converts the separated frequency signal into a digital signal. The IO unit 22 transmits a digital signal to the management unit 31 of the management system 3 and transmits a DC signal to the control unit 23.

  The control unit 23 receives a DC signal output from the IO unit 22 and controls the process based on the DC signal. For example, the control unit 23 controls the opening degree and the like of the field device G (for example, a valve) based on the measured values such as the flow rate and pressure acquired from the field device A.

  The management unit 31 manages the state of the field device 21 in units of unit groups based on the digital signal output from the IO unit 22. The management unit 31 refers to the authority information table and device information in the storage unit 32 and displays the state of the field device 21 and the like on the monitor within the scope of authority granted to the management unit 31.

  The authority information table will be described with reference to FIG. The authority information table stores presence / absence information of various authorities in the management unit 31 for each unit group. As various authorities, for example, an operation authority to operate the field device 21, a monitoring authority to display and monitor the state of the field device 21, and a notification authority to receive an alarm notification of the field device 21 can be set. The operation of the field device 21 corresponds to a start operation or a stop operation of the field device 21, for example.

  The contents of the authority information stored in the authority information table shown in FIG. 3 are as follows. The field devices 21 to which the management unit 31 has the operation authority are limited to the field devices A, D, G, and H belonging to the unit group Ua. The field devices 21 for which the management unit 31 has monitoring authority are field devices A to H belonging to the unit groups Ua, Ub, and Uc. The field devices 21 for which the management unit 31 has a notification authority are limited to the field devices A, D, G, and H belonging to the unit group Ua.

  The device information table will be described with reference to FIG. The device information table stores device information related to the field device 21. The device information includes, for example, a device ID, a unit group ID, and time series data. The device ID is identification information that uniquely identifies the field device 21. The unit group ID is identification information that uniquely identifies a unit group. The time series data is various data output from the field device 21 and is stored in time series for each data item. Various types of data are output from the field device 21 as digital signals included in the HART communication signal. As various data, for example, diagnostic information which is a result of diagnosing the state of the field device 21 corresponds. The diagnosis information includes, for example, a maintenance required state, an operating condition deviation state, an adjustment state, a failure state, and the like.

  An example of a screen displayed on the monitor by the management unit 31 is a device alert screen. The device alert screen displays alert information of the field device 21 belonging to one or a plurality of unit groups designated by the administrator. The device alert screen displays, for example, a list of alert information including device ID, unit group ID, urgency, occurrence time, alert level, alert contents, and the like for each field device. The device alert screen has a function of sorting and redisplaying the alert information displayed in a list, for example, in the order of urgency, occurrence time, and alert level. The device alert screen has a function of filtering and redisplaying the field device information displayed in a list, for example, by filtering the contents of the urgency level and alert level.

  As described above, according to the field device management system 1 in the embodiment, the field device 21 inputs and outputs the HART communication signal, and the management unit 31 determines the state of the field device 21 based on the digital signal included in the HART communication signal. Can be managed. Thereby, the management part 31 can manage the state of the field device 21 based on various data other than the measured value and control value of the field device 21. Therefore, for example, even when an abnormality such as a failure occurs in any of the field devices 21, the state of the field device 21 can be accurately grasped. Therefore, the labor for grasping the state of the field device 21 can be reduced.

  Further, when managing the state of the field device 21, the field device 21 can be managed in units of unit groups, and the field device 21 can be managed within the scope of authority permitted for the unit group. it can. As a result, the field devices 21 belonging to the unit group assigned to the management unit 31 can be efficiently managed within the authority range assigned to the management unit 31.

  Although the field device 21 in the above-described embodiment has a HART communication function, the communication function mounted on the field device 21 is not limited to the HART communication function. Any other communication function can be applied as long as it can communicate with the outside by adding information such as alert information and process information in addition to the measurement value and control value of the field device 21.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Field equipment management system, 2 ... Plant system, 3 ... Management system, 21 ... Field equipment, 22 ... IO unit, 23 ... Control part, 31 ... Management part, 32 ... Memory | storage part.

Claims (6)

Among a plurality of unit groups, a plurality of field devices in which device IDs assigned to any unit group are set,
One or a plurality of input / output devices for transmitting / receiving input / output signals of the field device and transmitting / receiving a first signal included in the input / output signal and a second signal added to the first signal;
One or a plurality of management units that receive the second signal input / output from the input / output device and manage the state of the field device in units of the unit group based on the second signal;
A field device management system comprising: A storage unit for storing authority information in units of the unit groups given to the management unit;
The management unit refers to the authority information, and includes the field device corresponding to the second signal within the authority permitted for the unit group to which the field device corresponding to the second signal belongs. Manage state,
The field device management system according to claim 1. The second signal includes information related to the alert of the field device,
The field device management system according to claim 1, wherein the management unit manages an alert state of the field device.   The authority information includes information regarding an operation authority for operating the field device, a monitoring authority for displaying and monitoring the state of the field device, and a notification authority for receiving an alert notification of the field device. The field device management system according to any one of 1 to 3.   5. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a control unit that receives the first signal output from the input / output device and controls the field device based on the first signal. Field device management system described in 1.   The input / output signal of the field device is a HART communication signal, the first signal is a DC signal of 4 to 20 mA, and the second signal is a frequency signal obtained by converting a digital signal. The field device management system according to any one of 1 to 5.

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