JPH04360202A - Distributed control device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

[Industrial Application Field] The present invention enables connection of a programmable controller (PC) used for automating various machines to a control device that controls a process, thereby integrating instrumentation and electrical equipment control. This invention relates to a distributed control device that enables integrated management.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art Distributed control devices are comprised of an operator station serving as a man-machine interface and a control device in charge of process control, and are widely used in the field of process control. On the other hand, programmable controllers (PCs) have been used in various scenes in factories as automation equipment for electrical equipment (devices) and machines. Recently, in the field of process automation, there has been an increasing demand for integrated management of control between instrumentation and automation equipment. In order to meet these demands, conventional equipment connects a PC via a gateway to the bus (communication line) that connects the control device and the operator station, and transfers data from the PC to the control device via the communication line and gateway. configured so that it can be accessed.

0003

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the conventional device configured as described above, when constructing the system, it is necessary to consider the correspondence between the data in the control device and the data in the PC. There was a problem in that it was not possible to easily create an application because it was necessary to consider correspondence between communication data between the control device and the gateway. The present invention has been made in view of these points, and provides a distributed control device that can easily create various applications for a system including a PC by directly connecting a PC to a control device. The purpose is to provide.

0004

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention achieves the above objects by using a control device and a programmable controller (
A distributed control device that integrates instrumentation and electrical control and manages them in a unified manner by connecting a The control device includes an internal instrument having a control function, a communication means for communicating with the PC, a register access means for reading and writing contents of a register in the PC via the communication means, and the register access means. This is a distributed control device configured by providing an internal PC data storage means for storing PC-side data read by the PC.

[0005]

[Operation] The register access means in the control device accesses and monitors the register provided in the PC via the communication means in the control device, and updates the contents of the data storage means in the PC. The internal instruments in the control device are P
The data stored in the internal data storage means is inputted, and the control signal generated by the internal instrument is transferred to the PC side via the register access means and communication means, and written into the register within the PC.

[0006]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Examples of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, OP is an operator station that functions as a man-machine interface, and is equipped with a display means such as a CRT for displaying various information, and a keyboard and pointing device for inputting data and driving and operating processes. ing. ENG is an engineering station, communication line (bus)
It is connected to the operator station OP via the BS, and is used when building a system. A function for performing such engineering may be provided in the operator station OP. The CS is a control device connected to the operator station OP via a communication line BS, and a plurality of CSs are provided depending on the scale of the process. 11, 12, 13... are a plurality of programmable controllers (PCs) connected to the control device CS, each having a common register 10, and the control device CS,
It is configured so that the contents of this common register can be rewritten or read.

In the control device CS, reference numeral 21 denotes a plurality of internal instruments with control functions, including instruments with a feedback control function to control processes, instruments with sequence control functions suitable for controlling various electrical equipment, and switches. There are instruments with functions, and by connecting these internal instruments as appropriate, it is possible to configure a system suitable for various processes. 22 is a communication means for communicating with the operator station OP on the upper side, and 23 is each PC.
11, 12, etc., for example, R
Data can be exchanged using a standardized communication format such as S232C. Reference numeral 24 denotes a register access means, which can read and write the contents of the common register 10 in each PC 11, 12, . . . via the communication means 23. Reference numeral 25 denotes an internal PC data storage means for storing the PC-side data read by the register access means 24. A database 26 is constructed from various signals (data) handled by the internal instrument 21, and is configured to be accessible from the operator station OP. The internal instrument 21 inputs the data stored in the data storage means 25 in the PC, and also sends the control signal generated by the internal instrument to the PC via the register access means 24 and the communication means.
It is possible to transfer the data to the 11, 12, . . . side and write it into the register in the PC. 27 is the control device CS and PC
If a communication abnormality occurs, the communication status monitoring means monitors the communication between the control device CS and the PC. It has a function to stop processing from the device CS side to the PC side. Engineering Station E
In NG, 30 is a register allocation means for allocating a specific part of the register 10 in the PC so that it can be accessed from the control device CS side.

[0008] The operation of the apparatus configured as described above will be explained next. Each internal instrument 21 in the control device CS has its input assigned a specific contact signal or analog signal handled by the PC it is in charge of, such as an input relay, and its output is also assigned the output of the PC it is in charge of. Specific output signals such as coils are assigned to each. Electrical devices such as input/output relays are connected to each PC, and their control states (relay states, etc.) are written in the common register 10. When the communication between the control device CS and each PC is normal, the control device CS allows the register access means 24 to read the relay status handled by the communication PC from the common register 10 via the communication means 23, or Write the output. The data read from the common register 10 is written into the PC internal data storage means 25, and the data is updated. Furthermore, each internal instrument 21 inputs data stored in the data storage means 25 in the PC, and also transfers control signals generated within the internal instrument to the PC side via the register access means 24 and the communication means 23. , P
Write to register 10 in C. As a result, the control device C
S can control the input/output states of various electrical devices handled by the PC as if they were input/output signals to itself. Various data handled by the internal instruments 21 in the control device CS are constructed as a database, so P
Operator station OP also for data handled by C
can be managed in a unified manner.

FIG. 2 shows the PC 11,1 from the control device CS side.
FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing the flow of data when accessing data of No. 2. As shown in the figure, the internal instrument 21 in the control device CS can monitor the status of relays etc. via the common register 10 of the PC, and can monitor the status of electrical equipment such as relays handled by the PC as if it were its own contact. It is treated as if it were input/output. Note that the sequence table here is a table showing the correspondence between contact input conditions and contact output conditions, and is used by an internal instrument that performs sequence control. FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the allocation of the common register 10 of the PC in order to enable internal instruments in the control device CS to handle the status of electrical equipment handled by the PC. In the area of the common register 10 of the PC, a range that can be accessed from the control device CS side is specified by a register number. The scope of these accessibility is further extended by (
It is divided into 1) the range used as analog input/output/pulse train input, (2) the range used as contact input, and (3) the range used as contact output, and contact numbers are assigned to the range used for contact input/output. . Such common register allocation is performed by register allocation means 30 provided in engineering station ENG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an allocation screen at the engineering station ENG. here,
On the PC with station number (STN) 01,
The range that can be accessed from the control device CS side is assigned to register numbers "0100" to "0115", and within this range, analog input/output and pulse train input are assigned to register numbers "0100" to "0105", and contact inputs are assigned to register numbers "0100" to "0105". is assigned between register numbers "0106" and "0109", and the contact output is assigned between register numbers "0110" and "0109".
115''. FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram showing the state of data stored in the PC data storage means 25 in the control device CS. The register access means 24 uses a screen as shown in FIG. 4 to define the configuration of each PC station (station number, common register accessible range) allocated in advance.
Accordingly, the common register 10 of each PC is accessed at a predetermined period, data is collected, and the data is stored in the PC data storage means 25 in the order of the station configuration definition to update the data. Each internal instrument in the control device CS uses the PC when accessing data on the PC and when the communication status monitoring means 27 indicates a normal communication status.
The data in the corresponding area of the internal data storage means 25 will be referred to. In the above embodiment, the database and the data storage means in the PC are shown as separate blocks, but these functional areas may be allocated to one memory.

[0011]

[Effects of the Invention] As explained in detail above, according to the present invention, it is possible to directly connect the control device CS and the PCs 11, 12, etc. and handle the data in the PC as if it were its own input/output signals. This makes it possible to realize a distributed control device that can be easily adapted to various applications including PCs.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration block diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing the flow of data when data of the PCs 11, 12, . . . is accessed from the control device CS side.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the allocation of common registers 10 of the PC in order to enable internal instruments in the control device to handle the status of electrical equipment handled by the PC.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an allocation screen at engineering station ENG.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram showing the state of data stored in the PC data storage means 25 in the control device CS.

[Explanation of symbols]

OP Operator station ENG Engineering station BS Communication line (bus) CS Control device 11, 12, 13... Programmable controller (PC) 10 Common register 21 Internal instrument 22 Communication means 23 Communication means 24 Register access means 25 Data storage means in PC 26 Database 27 Communication status monitoring means 30 Register allocation means

Claims (2)

[Claims] Claim 1: A distributed control device that connects a control device and a programmable controller (PC), integrates instrumentation and electrical control, and manages them in a unified manner, wherein the PC includes a computer that handles the The controller is provided with a register into which data is written, and the control device includes a communication means for communicating between an internal instrument having a control function and the PC, and a register in which the contents of the register in the PC are written through the communication means. register access means for reading and writing data, and internal PC data storage means for storing data read by the register access means on the PC side, and the internal instrument inputs data stored in the internal PC data storage means. At the same time, the control signal generated by the internal instrument is sent to the PC via the register access means.
A distributed control device characterized by writing to registers within the device. 2. A distributed control device that connects a control device and a programmable controller (PC), integrates instrumentation and electrical control, and manages them in a unified manner, the operator station or an engineering device that performs engineering. 2. The distributed control device according to claim 1, further comprising register allocation means provided in the station for allocating a specific portion of registers in the PC so as to be accessible from the control device side.