阅读说明：本技术 管理装置、管理系统、管理方法及程序 (Management device, management system, management method, and program ) 是由 那须督 加藤航平 于 2019-02-14 设计创作，主要内容包括：接收部(131)接收取得请求,该取得请求用于取得与经由网络而连接的仪器(20)对应关联的实际资源信息的值或者与使用了实际资源信息的值的运算处理的运算结果对应关联的虚拟资源信息的值。实际资源信息取得部(1352)通过使收集部(140)收集与实际资源信息对应关联的仪器(20)的值,从而取得实际资源信息的值。虚拟资源信息取得部(1353)通过使运算部(1354)使用实际资源信息的值进行运算处理,从而取得虚拟资源信息的值。响应部(136)根据接收到的取得请求而返回包含实际资源信息的值的响应或者包含虚拟资源信息的值的响应。(A receiving unit (131) receives an acquisition request for acquiring a value of real resource information associated with an instrument (20) connected via a network or a value of virtual resource information associated with an operation result of an operation process using the value of the real resource information. The actual resource information acquisition unit (1352) acquires the value of the actual resource information by causing the collection unit (140) to collect the value of the instrument (20) associated with the actual resource information. A virtual resource information acquisition unit (1353) acquires the value of virtual resource information by causing a calculation unit (1354) to perform calculation processing using the value of the actual resource information. A response unit (136) returns a response containing the value of the real resource information or a response containing the value of the virtual resource information in response to the received acquisition request.)

1. A management device manages a data model including actual resource information associated with an instrument connected via a network and virtual resource information associated with an operation result of an operation process using a value of the actual resource information,

the management device comprises:

a receiving unit that receives an acquisition request for acquiring a value of the real resource information or a value of the virtual resource information, the acquisition request being requested based on the data model;

an arithmetic unit that performs the arithmetic processing;

an actual resource information acquisition unit that acquires a value of the actual resource information by causing a collection unit to collect a value from the instrument associated with the actual resource information;

a virtual resource information acquisition unit that acquires a value of the virtual resource information by causing the arithmetic unit to perform the arithmetic processing using a value of the actual resource information; and

and a response unit that returns a response including the value of the real resource information acquired by the real resource information acquisition unit to a request source of the acquisition request if the acquisition request related to the real resource information is received by the reception unit, and returns a response including the value of the virtual resource information acquired by the virtual resource information acquisition unit to the request source of the acquisition request if the acquisition request related to the virtual resource information is received by the reception unit.

2. The management device according to claim 1,

the system further includes a setting request unit that receives a setting request for setting the definition of the arithmetic processing from the 1 st user.

3. The management device according to claim 2,

the definition of the arithmetic processing is at least 1 of a function in which a value of the actual resource information is set as an input value or a script in which processing of the management device is described.

4. The management apparatus according to claim 2 or 3,

further having a data model construction unit that constructs the data model based on an operation performed by the 1 st user,

the data model building unit has:

a display unit that displays the data model; and

the setting request unit.

5. The management device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,

the virtual resource information acquisition means causes the actual resource information acquisition means to acquire the value of the instrument associated with the actual resource information included in the arithmetic processing.

6. The management device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,

in the case where the arithmetic processing uses a plurality of pieces of the actual resource information, the virtual resource information acquisition means acquires the value of the virtual resource information by causing the arithmetic processing means to perform the arithmetic processing using the values of the plurality of pieces of the actual resource information at the same time when the values of the instruments are collected by the collection means.

7. The management device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,

the information processing apparatus further includes an instruction unit configured to cause the actual resource information acquisition unit to acquire the value of the actual resource information if the request relating to the actual resource information is received by the reception unit, and configured to cause the virtual resource information acquisition unit to acquire the value of the virtual resource information if the request relating to the virtual resource information is received by the reception unit.

8. The management device according to any one of claims 1 to 7,

further having a storage unit that stores a value of the real resource information and a value of the virtual resource information,

the actual resource information acquisition means causes the collection means to collect the value of the device at a predetermined cycle, and registers the collected value in the storage means as the value of the actual resource information,

the virtual resource information acquiring means causes the computing means to perform the computing process using the collected value if the value is collected in the predetermined cycle, and registers the result of the computing process in the storage means as the value of the virtual resource information,

the response unit returns a response including a value of the real resource information related to the acquisition request with reference to the storage unit if the acquisition request related to the real resource information is received by the reception unit, and returns a response including a value of the virtual resource information related to the acquisition request with reference to the storage unit if the acquisition request related to the virtual resource information is received by the reception unit.

9. The management device according to any one of claims 1 to 8,

also provided is an application program unit having:

an acquisition requesting unit that receives the acquisition request from the 2 nd user and transmits the acquisition request to the receiving unit; and

and a data processing unit that processes a value included in a response returned by the response unit to the acquisition request.

10. The management device according to any one of claims 1 to 9,

there is also the collection unit that collects values from the instrument.

11. The management device according to any one of claims 1 to 10,

the instrument includes an instrument managed by another management device different from the management device.

12. A management system, having:

an instrument connected via a network;

a data model construction unit having a display unit that displays a data model including actual resource information associated with the instrument and virtual resource information associated with an operation result of an operation process using a value of the actual resource information, and a setting request unit that receives a setting request for setting the operation process;

an application program unit that includes an acquisition request unit that receives an acquisition request for acquiring a value of the real resource information or a value of the virtual resource information, the acquisition request being requested based on the data model, and a data processing unit that processes a value included in a response returned in response to the acquisition request;

a receiving unit that receives the acquisition request from the acquisition requesting unit;

a collection unit that collects values from instruments associated correspondingly with the actual resource information;

an arithmetic unit that performs the arithmetic processing;

an actual resource information acquisition unit that acquires a value of the actual resource information by causing the collection unit to collect a value from the instrument associated with the actual resource information;

a virtual resource information acquisition unit that acquires a value of the virtual resource information by causing the arithmetic unit to perform the arithmetic processing using a value of the actual resource information; and

and a response unit that returns a response including the value of the actual resource information acquired by the actual resource information acquisition unit to the application unit if the acquisition request related to the actual resource information is received by the reception unit, and returns a response including the value of the virtual resource information acquired by the virtual resource information acquisition unit to the application unit if the acquisition request related to the virtual resource information is received by the reception unit.

13. A management method executed by a management device that manages a data model including actual resource information associated with an instrument connected via a network and virtual resource information associated with an operation result of an operation process using a value of the actual resource information,

in the case of the management method, it is,

a receiving unit that receives an acquisition request for acquiring a value of the real resource information or a value of the virtual resource information, the acquisition request being requested based on the data model,

the actual resource information acquisition means acquires the value of the actual resource information by causing the collection means to collect the value from the instrument associated with the actual resource information,

the virtual resource information acquisition means acquires the value of the virtual resource information by causing the calculation means to perform the calculation processing using the value of the actual resource information,

the response unit returns a response including the value of the real resource information acquired by the real resource information acquisition unit to a request source of the acquisition request if the acquisition request related to the real resource information is received by the reception unit, and returns a response including the value of the virtual resource information acquired by the virtual resource information acquisition unit to the request source of the acquisition request if the acquisition request related to the virtual resource information is received by the reception unit.

14. A program for causing a computer to manage a data model including real resource information associated with an instrument connected via a network and virtual resource information associated with an operation result of an operation process using a value of the real resource information, the program causing the computer to function as:

a receiving unit that receives an acquisition request for acquiring a value of the real resource information or a value of the virtual resource information, the acquisition request being requested based on the data model;

an actual resource information acquisition unit that acquires a value of the actual resource information by causing a collection unit to collect a value from the instrument associated with the actual resource information;

a virtual resource information acquisition unit that acquires a value of the virtual resource information by causing an arithmetic unit to perform the arithmetic processing using a value of the actual resource information; and

and a response unit that returns a response including the value of the real resource information acquired by the real resource information acquisition unit to a request source of the acquisition request if the acquisition request related to the real resource information is received by the reception unit, and returns a response including the value of the virtual resource information acquired by the virtual resource information acquisition unit to the request source of the acquisition request if the acquisition request related to the virtual resource information is received by the reception unit.

Technical Field

The invention relates to a management device, a management system, a management method and a program.

Background

In facilities represented by factories, a plurality of devices in the facilities are managed by being connected to a network. A management device that manages these instruments and a terminal device that can communicate with the management device have an application that displays information about the instruments in the facility. When a user requests values such as yield and production from the application, the management device generally acquires values from devices constituting dcs (distributed Control system) or plc (programmable Logic controller) via a network, and performs an operation of calculating the requested values based on the acquired values in the application.

For example, patent document 1 discloses a technique of obtaining a yield per predetermined period using event data indicating a process and trend data that is time series data measured by an instrument in a production management system, and presenting the yield to a user.

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2005-352704

Disclosure of Invention

In the conventional method, when an operation result based on a value acquired from an instrument is obtained, a management device of the instrument collects the value from the instrument via a network, returns the collected value to an application program of a device that is a request source, and performs an operation process based on the returned value in the application program. In the conventional method, when a large number of values are required to obtain the calculation result, a process of returning the values to the application program by the required number of values occurs. However, if only the operation result can be returned to the application, the processing of returning a large number of values can be omitted.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a management device, a management system, a management method, and a program that can collect values from instruments managed via a network in response to a request and provide results of arithmetic processing based on the collected values.

In order to achieve the above object, a management device according to the present invention manages a data model including real resource information associated with an instrument connected via a network and virtual resource information associated with an operation result of an operation process using a value of the real resource information,

the management device comprises:

a receiving unit that receives an acquisition request for acquiring a value of the real resource information or a value of the virtual resource information, the acquisition request being requested based on the data model;

an arithmetic unit that performs the arithmetic processing;

an actual resource information acquisition unit that acquires a value of the actual resource information by causing a collection unit to collect a value from the instrument associated with the actual resource information;

a virtual resource information acquisition unit that acquires a value of the virtual resource information by causing the arithmetic unit to perform the arithmetic processing using a value of the actual resource information; and

and a response unit that returns a response including the value of the real resource information acquired by the real resource information acquisition unit to a request source of the acquisition request if the acquisition request related to the real resource information is received by the reception unit, and returns a response including the value of the virtual resource information acquired by the virtual resource information acquisition unit to the request source of the acquisition request if the acquisition request related to the virtual resource information is received by the reception unit.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION

According to the present invention, it is possible to receive a request for obtaining a value of actual resource information associated with an instrument and return the requested value to a request source. Further, it is possible to receive a request for obtaining a value of virtual resource information associated with a calculation result using a value of actual resource information, and return the requested value to the request source. When an acquisition request for a value of virtual resource information is received, only the requested calculation result is returned, and the value collected from the device used for the calculation is not returned. This can eliminate unnecessary processing for returning an unsolicited value. Further, when a request is received from a terminal device other than the management device, only the calculation result is transmitted, and therefore, the amount of communication used to return the value collected from the device can be reduced. In addition, since the management device collects values of the instruments and obtains the calculation result, it is possible to reduce a variation in timing (timing) of reading values from a plurality of instruments and to improve the accuracy of the calculation result. In addition, the value collected from the instrument can be retained in the management apparatus, and thus, the improvement of the security is achieved.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a management system according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a diagram showing a tree structure of the system according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 3 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration of the management device according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 4 is a diagram showing a data model according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 5 is a diagram showing a functional configuration of the management device according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 6 is a diagram showing system configuration information according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 7 is a diagram showing device information according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 8 is a diagram showing connection information according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 10A is a flowchart showing the management processing according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 10B is a flowchart showing the management processing according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 11 is a diagram showing a functional configuration of the management device according to embodiment 2.

Fig. 12 is a diagram showing resource information according to embodiment 2.

Fig. 13 is a diagram showing a functional configuration of the management system according to modification 1.

Fig. 14 is a diagram showing a functional configuration of a management system according to modification 2.

Detailed Description

(embodiment mode 1)

The management system 1 according to embodiment 1 is an fa (factory automation) system installed in a factory, and corresponds to a production system that produces products. The management system 1 performs various processes such as processing, monitoring, and inspection on workpieces flowing through a production line X, which is a manufacturing line of a factory a. The management system 1 has a function for managing the state of the system by the user U1.

Referring to fig. 1, a configuration of a management system 1 will be described. The management system 1 includes an instrument system 2 and management devices 11, 12, and 13 that manage instruments included in the instrument system 2. Instruments 21, 22, 23 and instruments 24, 25, 26 contained within instrument 23 are contained in instrument system 2. The instruments 21, 22, 23, 24 are connected to the network 30, and the instruments 25, 26 are connected to the instrument 24 via a bus 231. The management devices 11, 12, and 13 are connected to the networks 30 and 40.

The management devices 11 to 13 manage the instruments 21 to 26 included in the instrument system 2 by monitoring, operating, and the like. In the management system 1, the management device 11 manages the instrument 21, the management device 12 manages the instrument 22, and the management device 13 manages the instruments 23 to 26. The management devices 11 to 13 perform processes such as information collection, setting, and operation for the devices other than the management target of the management device through the other management devices 11 to 13. For example, the management apparatus 11 does not directly access the instrument 22, but performs processing for the instrument 22 via the management apparatus 12.

The instruments 21 to 26 are, for example, actuators, robots, PLCs, sensors, and the like.

The network 30 is an industrial network. The network 30 connects the management devices 11 to 13 and the instruments 21 to 24 to each other so as to be able to communicate with each other. The devices 25 and 26 are communicably connected to the management devices 11 to 13 via a device 24 connected to the network 30. The network 40 is a wired or wireless communication network represented by a lan (local Area network). The network 40 connects the management devices 11 to 13 to each other so as to be able to communicate with each other.

Hereinafter, the management devices 11 to 13 will be collectively referred to as a management device 10. The instruments 21 to 26 are collectively referred to as the instrument 20.

The management apparatus 10 includes an application having a function of easily managing all the devices 20 regardless of which management apparatus 10 the user U1 operates. The user U1 can manage the instruments 20 by using the application program of the management apparatus 10 without considering which instrument 20 is to be managed by the management apparatus 10 used by the user U1.

For example, the user U1 can refer to a system configuration indicating the relationship between the instruments 20 included in the instrument system 2 using the application program described above.

Fig. 2 shows an example of a system configuration diagram showing the configuration of the instrument system 2. The system configuration diagram of fig. 2 shows the physical connection relationship of the instruments of the instrument system 2 of fig. 1, and the master-slave relationship of the instruments is represented as a tree. In fig. 2, the reference numerals attached to the "instrument" are identical to those of the instrument constituting the instrument system 2. For example, "instrument [21 ]" corresponds to instrument 21. The system configuration diagram of FIG. 2 shows that the production line X in the factory A includes instruments 21 to 26, and instruments 24 to 26 are subordinate to the instrument 23. The system configuration diagram of fig. 2 is defined to show the physical connection relationship of the instruments of the instrument system 2 of fig. 1, but may be arbitrarily created regardless of the actual physical connection relationship of the instruments 20 and the management target range of each management device 10.

Next, the hardware configuration of the management apparatus 10 will be described with reference to fig. 3. The management device 10 includes: a processor 101 that performs processing for managing the instrument 20; a main storage unit 102 used as a work area of the processor 101; an auxiliary storage unit 103 that stores various data used for processing by the processor 101; an input unit 104 that acquires information input by the user U1; an output unit 105 that presents various information to the user U1; and a communication unit 106 for communicating with an external device. The main storage unit 102, the auxiliary storage unit 103, the input unit 104, the output unit 105, and the communication unit 106 are connected to the processor 101 via an internal bus 107.

The processor 101 includes an MPU (micro Processing Unit). The processor 101 realizes various functions of the management device 10 by executing the program P1 stored in the auxiliary storage unit 103, and executes processes described later.

The main storage unit 102 includes a ram (random Access memory). The program P1 is loaded from the auxiliary storage unit 103 to the main storage unit 102. The main storage unit 102 is used as a work area of the processor 101.

The auxiliary storage unit 103 includes a nonvolatile Memory represented by an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory). The auxiliary storage unit 103 stores various data used for processing by the processor 101 in addition to the program P1. The auxiliary storage unit 103 supplies data used by the processor 101 to the processor 101 in accordance with an instruction from the processor 101, and stores the data supplied from the processor 101.

The input unit 104 includes input devices typified by input keys and a pointing device. The input unit 104 acquires information input by the user U1 of the management device 10 and notifies the processor 101 of the acquired information.

The output unit 105 includes output devices typified by an lcd (liquid Crystal display) and a speaker. The output unit 105 constitutes a touch panel integrally formed with a pointing device constituting the input unit 104. The output unit 105 presents various information to the user U1 in accordance with instructions from the processor 101.

The communication unit 106 includes a network interface circuit for communicating with an external device. The communication unit 106 receives a signal from the outside and outputs data represented by the signal to the processor 101. The communication unit 106 transmits a signal indicating data output from the processor 101 to an external device.

The management device 10 functions in cooperation with the above-described hardware configuration.

The management apparatus 10 has a management function of creating and editing a data model based on data acquired from the device 20 by a user. Here, the data model is a model that a user can arbitrarily create without considering a physical connection relationship, using various data that can be acquired from an instrument, such as data set for the instrument and data measured by the instrument. Therefore, the user can represent huge data in the plant by a hierarchical structure, and can manage the data hierarchically. The management apparatus 10 can easily manage the instrument 20 by a function of managing such data models. In addition, the application program utilizes a managed data model. Therefore, the application can access the device data in the factory in a unified manner, and the user can manage and maintain the production site in a unified manner by using the application.

The data model of the present embodiment includes actual resource information associated with the instrument 20, virtual resource information associated with the calculation result of the calculation processing using the value of the actual resource information, and file resource information associated with the document.

The actual resource information is information associated with the device 20 by the user, and includes, for example, items of information set in the device 20, items of information measured by the device 20, and items indicating functions of the device 20.

The virtual resource information is information associated with the operation result of the operation processing using the value of the actual resource information, and indicates, for example, an item of the operation processing.

The file resource information shows items of documents such as an instrument manual and a maintenance history. That is, the data model can include a document in addition to data acquired from the instrument.

Further, items related to the instruments 20 other than the management target of the management apparatus 10 can be added to the data model.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a data model. The data model of FIG. 4 was created by user U1 in a manner that represents the structure of the instrumentation system 2 of plant A. The data model of fig. 4 is created in the management device 12 that manages the instrument 22.

For example, if the instrument 22 is configured to have the 1 st temperature sensor, the 2 nd temperature sensor, the 1 st pressure sensor, the 2 nd pressure sensor, and the 1 st axis and the 2 nd axis of the motor, the user U1 can add items such as the "1 st temperature sensor" and the "2 nd temperature sensor" included in the instrument 22 to the data model as shown in fig. 4. Further, an item such as "average temperature" of the calculation result obtained using the added item can be added to the data model, and the calculation processing for obtaining the calculation result can be defined. As shown in fig. 4, the user U1 can add items of "temperature sensors" of the instruments 26 other than the objects to be managed by the management apparatus 12. The user U1 can add "instrument manual" and "maintenance history" of the instrument 22. For example, if a node representing the instrument 22 in the system configuration diagram of fig. 2 is selected, items added in association with the instrument 22 are displayed in a tree as shown in fig. 4.

In the data model of fig. 4, "1 st temperature sensor", "2 nd temperature sensor", "1 st pressure sensor", "2 nd pressure sensor", and "1 st axis" and "2 nd axis" of the motor are actual resource information, and "average temperature" and "operating state of all axes" are virtual resource information.

In addition, the user U1 can request values for items contained in the data model. The user U1 can easily understand the structure of the instrument system 2 by using the data model, and can easily acquire the values that can be acquired from the instruments 20 of the instrument system 2 without considering the range of the management target of the management apparatus 10.

Fig. 5 shows a functional configuration of the management apparatus 10. The management device 10 functionally has: a data model constructing unit 110 for creating and editing a data model; an application unit 120 that acquires a value using the data model and performs processing using the acquired value; a data model management unit 130 for managing data models; a collection unit 140 for collecting values from the instrument 20; and a 1 st communication part 150 for communicating with the instrument 20.

In general, the data model construction unit 110 is a function used by a manager of a production line in a plant to design a data model, and the application unit 120 is a function used by a person who performs maintenance, work, or the like of the production line in the plant to perform some kind of processing using data obtained using the data model. Hereinafter, a person who constructs a data model is referred to as a 1 st user, and a person who uses data of the data model is referred to as a 2 nd user.

The data model building part 110 executes processing for building a data model based on an operation performed by the 1 st user. The data model building part 110 is typically a function provided by an engineering tool. The data model construction unit 110 is realized by the cooperative operation of the processor 101, the main storage unit 102, the input unit 104, and the output unit 105.

Specifically, the data model constructing unit 110 includes a display unit 111 that displays a data model and a setting requesting unit 112 that receives a setting request for creating and editing the data model from the 1 st user. The data model building unit 110 is an example of a data model building means. The display unit 111 is an example of a display means, and the setting request unit 112 is an example of a setting request means.

The display unit 111 displays the data model.

Specifically, the display unit 111 displays the data model of fig. 4 on the screen of the management device 10. The 1 st user generates a setting request by operating the displayed data model.

The setting request unit 112 receives various setting requests related to creation and editing of a data model from the 1 st user. Specifically, the setting request refers to a request for creating and editing a tree structure of a data model, and a request for adding and editing actual resource information, virtual resource information, and file resource information. Then, the setting request unit 112 transmits the received setting request to the data model management unit 130.

The setting request unit 112 sends the setting request to the data model management unit 130 according to opc (object Linking and Embedding for Process control) ua (unified architecture) protocol. Therefore, the setting request unit 112 is an OPC UA client.

For example, the setting request unit 112 receives a setting request for adding, changing, or deleting real resource information such as "1 st temperature sensor" to or from the data model from the 1 st user.

The setting request unit 112 receives a setting request for adding, changing, or deleting a file resource such as an "instrument manual" to the data model from the 1 st user.

The setting request unit 112 receives a setting request for setting the definition of the arithmetic processing of the virtual resource information from the 1 st user.

The definition of the arithmetic processing is at least 1 of a function having actual resource information as an input value or a script describing processing of the management device. For example, the definition of the arithmetic processing may be a function definition such as a four-way operation, a bit operation, a logical operation, or the like, or may be a processing realized by software in the form of a plug-in.

For example, the setting request unit 112 receives a request from the 1 st user to set an equation for obtaining an average value of the 1 st temperature sensor and the 2 nd temperature sensor of the instrument 22 as a definition of the calculation processing for obtaining the average temperature. The definition specified by the 1 st user is written in the instrument information 1342 of fig. 7 by the setting unit 132 of the data model management unit 130, which will be described later.

The application unit 120 acquires information related to the data model from the data model management unit 130, and requests data based on the data model. That is, the data model plays a role of presenting to the application unit 120 what information the data model management unit 130 can acquire. The application unit 120 performs various processes using the acquired values. The application section 120 is realized by a function provided by application software that can be run on the management apparatus 10. Unlike the data model building unit 110, the application unit 120 does not have a function of creating and editing a data model, and only has a function of acquiring the configuration information of the data model, and acquiring and updating the values of the real resource information and the virtual resource information. The application section 120 is normally a function used by the 2 nd user, but can also be used by the 1 st user.

Specifically, the application unit 120 includes an acquisition request unit 121 that receives an acquisition request, and a data processing unit 122 that processes data obtained using a data model. The application section 120 is an example of an application unit. The acquisition requesting unit 121 is an example of an acquisition requesting means, and the data processing unit 122 is an example of a data processing means.

The acquisition request unit 121 receives an acquisition request for acquiring data based on the data model from the 2 nd user. Specifically, the acquisition request is a request for acquiring a value of real resource information or a value of virtual resource information, or a request for acquiring information related to the structure of the data model. Hereinafter, information related to the structure of the data model is referred to as data model structure information. The data model structure information includes information indicating a tree structure of the data model. Then, the acquisition requesting unit 121 transmits the received acquisition request to the data model managing unit 130.

The acquisition request unit 121 transmits an acquisition request to the data model management unit 130 according to the OPC UA protocol. Therefore, the acquisition requesting unit 121 is an OPC UA client.

For example, if the 2 nd user performs an operation of specifying a node of the "1 st temperature sensor" and requesting a value in the data model of fig. 4 displayed on the screen, the acquisition requesting unit 121 receives an acquisition request for acquiring the value of the "1 st temperature sensor". Alternatively, if the 2 nd user performs an operation of specifying a node of the "average temperature" and requesting a value in the data model of fig. 4 displayed on the screen, the acquisition requesting unit 121 receives an acquisition request for acquiring the value of the "average temperature".

The acquisition requesting unit having the same function as the acquisition requesting unit 121 may be provided in the data model constructing unit 110. In the application unit 120, the display of the data model is not essential. The application unit 120 is not limited to receiving an operation from the user, and can arbitrarily generate an acquisition request. For example, the application unit 120 may generate an acquisition request according to a program.

The data processing unit 122 performs various processes based on the data returned in response to the acquisition request. The processing contents of the data processing unit 122 differ according to the functions provided by the application unit 120.

The data model management part 130 performs processing and response based on the requests received from the data model construction part 110 and the application part 120.

Specifically, the data model management unit 130 includes: a receiving unit 131 that receives a setting request and an acquisition request; a setting unit 132 that sets the data model based on the setting request; a data model information acquisition unit 133 that acquires data model structure information based on the acquisition request; a storage unit 134 that stores information relating to the data model; a resource information acquisition unit 135 that acquires values of actual resource information and virtual resource information included in the data model; and a response unit 136 that returns a response to the request.

The receiving unit 131 receives the setting request and the acquisition request from the data model constructing unit 110 and the application unit 120 according to the OPC UA protocol, and the responding unit 136 returns a response to the data model constructing unit 110 and the application unit 120 according to the OPC UA protocol. Therefore, the receiving unit 131 and the responding unit 136 constitute an OPC UA server. The receiving unit 131 is prepared with a dedicated OPC UA interface for creating and editing the data model only by the data model constructing unit 110.

The receiving unit 131 receives a setting request and an acquisition request. The receiving unit 131 is an example of a receiving unit.

The setting unit 132 interprets the setting request received by the receiving unit 131 according to the OPC UA protocol, and writes the interpreted content in the information stored in the storage unit 134.

The data model information acquisition unit 133 interprets the request for acquiring data model configuration information received by the reception unit 131 according to the OPC UA protocol, and acquires information corresponding to the interpreted content from the storage unit 134.

The storage unit 134 stores system configuration information 1341 indicating the configuration of the instrument system 2, instrument information 1342 related to the instrument 20 to be managed, and connection information 1343 indicating the connection state of each management apparatus 10. The system configuration information 1341, the instrument information 1342, and the connection information 1343 are set and updated based on a setting request from the data model construction unit 110. The storage unit 134 is implemented by the auxiliary storage unit 103. The storage unit 134 is an example of a storage means.

The system configuration information 1341 specifies the master-slave relationship of the instruments 20 included in the instrument system 2. The system configuration information 1341 is used to display the system configuration in a tree form as shown in fig. 2. The system configuration information 1341 includes information for identifying the management apparatus 10 that manages the device 20. Each management device 10 has the same system configuration information 1341.

As shown in fig. 6, the system configuration information 1341 is tabular data in which the line data ID, the name of a node corresponding to an instrument or a production line constituting the instrument system 2, a parent node ID indicating the line data ID of a parent node, a management device ID indicating the ID of the management device 10 that manages the instrument 20, information indicating whether or not reading is possible with respect to the information related to the instrument 20, and information indicating whether or not changing is possible with respect to the information related to the instrument 20 are associated with each other.

The node name is a name of a node that can be arbitrarily specified by a user. Any name may be used as long as it indicates the structure of the instrument system 2. The node name may be a name indicating a position of a production line or a factory, or a name indicating a function of the instrument 20 in the production line, such as "conveying unit" or "cutting unit", in addition to a name indicating the instrument 20 or a name indicating a production line in which the instrument 20 is installed.

The system configuration information 1341 in fig. 6 facilitates the user's understanding of the system configuration by setting the uppermost node as "line X", but is not limited thereto, and the uppermost node may be the name of the equipment system 2 or may be null data without specifying the name.

The ID of the parent node is the ID of the line data of the parent node which becomes the subordinate target of the node. The system configuration information 1341 includes information of a parent node, thereby showing a master-slave relationship between nodes. For example, the line data labeled with ID "5" shows that the host of the instrument 24 is the instrument 23 corresponding to the line data labeled with ID "4".

The management apparatus ID is identification information for specifying the management apparatus 10 that manages the instrument 20. The management device ID of fig. 6 shows the reference numerals of each management device 10 shown in fig. 1. For example, the line data labeled with ID "5" shows that the instrument 24 is managed by the management apparatus 13.

The information indicating whether or not the device 20 is readable is information indicating whether or not the device 20 is readable from another management apparatus 10 and the application unit 120. "may" means capable of reading and "not" means incapable of reading. For example, the line data labeled with ID "5" shows a case where the other management devices 11 and 12 and the application unit 120 can read information on the instrument 24 managed by the management device 13.

The alteration permission information is information on the device 20, which indicates whether or not alteration is permitted by another management apparatus 10 and the application unit 120. "changeable" means changeable, and "not changeable" means unchangeable. For example, the line data labeled with ID "5" shows a case where the other management devices 11 and 12 and the application unit 120 cannot change the information on the instrument 24 managed by the management device 13.

The read permission information and the change permission information may be set for each of the other management apparatuses 10 and the application unit 120. In addition, when there are a plurality of application units 120, the setting can be performed for each application unit 120. For example, the reading and change may be set to "possible" for the other management device 11, and the reading may be set to "possible" and the change may be set to "impossible" for the other management device 13. In addition, the reading and the change may be set to "possible" for a certain application unit 120, and the reading may be set to "possible" and the change may be set to "impossible" for another application unit 120. As will be described later, when the application unit 120 is provided in an external terminal device that can communicate with the management device 10, the information on whether or not reading and the information on whether or not changing are input from the external terminal device.

For example, if the 1 st user creates the system configuration diagram shown in fig. 2 using the user interface function provided by the data model construction unit 110, the setting unit 132 creates the system configuration information 1341 of fig. 6. The display unit 111 of the data model construction unit 110 can display the system configuration of the instrumentation system 2 in a tree form by referring to the parent node IDs of the line data labeled with IDs "2" to "7" in the system configuration information 1341 of fig. 6. Further, if the 1 st user specifies the management apparatus ID, the read-enabled/disabled information, and the change-enabled/disabled information using the user interface provided by the data model construction unit 110, a setting request indicating the specified content is sent to the data model management unit 130, and the setting unit 132 registers the specified content in the system configuration information 1341.

The instrument information 1342 is information related to the instrument 20 that is the management target of the management apparatus 10. The instrument information 1342 includes information on the end instrument including the sensor and the motor included in the instrument 20 and information on other instruments 20.

Fig. 7 shows instrument information 1342 stored in the management apparatus 12. Since the management device 12 manages the instruments 22, the instrument information 1342 stored in the management device 12 includes information on the end instruments and groups of the instruments 22 and other information. The instrument information 1342 is tabular data in which the line data ID, the node name, the node type, the parent node ID indicating the line data ID of the parent node, the system configuration information ID indicating the line data ID of the instrument 20 in the system configuration information 1341, and the detailed information of the node are associated with each other.

The node name is a name of a node that can be arbitrarily specified by a user. The node name is, for example, a name of an instrument, a name of an end instrument associated with the instrument, a name of file data, a name of a group, a name of arithmetic processing, or the like.

The type shows the kind of the node. For example, the node of type "group" shows a case where it has child nodes, the node of type "actual resource" shows a case where it is a node representing actual resource information, the node of type "virtual resource" shows a case where it is a node representing virtual resource information, and the node of type "file" shows a case where it is a node representing file resource information stored in the storage unit 134 in association with the device 20.

In fig. 7, an item of the terminal equipment is associated with a node of the type "real resource", and an item of the "average temperature" and the "operating state of all axes" obtained by performing the arithmetic processing defined by the user is associated with a node of the type "virtual resource". In addition, a node of the type "file" corresponds to an item associated with "instrument manual" and "maintenance information".

The parent node ID is an ID of line data of a parent node which becomes a subordinate target of the node. The master-slave relationship between the nodes is shown by including the information of the parent node in the instrument information 1342.

The ID of the system configuration information shows the ID of the line data of the system configuration information of fig. 6, and shows which of the instruments 20 included in the system configuration information the item associated with the node is information about. For example, IDs "2" to "11" of line data in fig. 7 correspond to IDs associated with system configuration information "3". Since ID "3" of line data of the system configuration information of fig. 6 corresponds to "instrument [22 ]", it is understood that items associated with the nodes of IDs "2" to "11" of the line data of fig. 7 are information relating to the instrument 22.

The detailed information is information associated with the node, and is information registered in response to a setting request from the data model construction unit 110 or information referred to by the resource information acquisition unit 135. For example, as shown by "D0", "D1", "D2", "D3", "X1", and "X2", I/O addresses of sensors and motors are registered as detailed information for nodes of the type "real resources". As will be described later, the resource information acquisition unit 135 refers to the I/O address to collect the value of the device. Further, the definition of the arithmetic processing is registered with the node of the type "virtual resource" based on the setting request received from the data model construction unit 110. Further, a path indicating the position of the file is registered with the node of the type "file" based on the setting request received from the data model construction unit 110.

The value read from the I/O address, that is, the value of the actual resource information, may be read from or written to the data model constructing unit 110, the external terminal device, and the application unit 120 using the OPC UA interface provided by the data model managing unit 130. In addition, if the file resource information is selected in the data model of fig. 4, the os (operating system) may start a file associated with the selected file resource information by an associated tool.

The detailed information of the virtual resources includes an operation formula using actual resources as shown by "(node ID [4] + node ID [6 ])/2" and "node ID [8] & node ID [9] in FIG. 7. The value of the result using the arithmetic expression can be read using the OPC UA interface provided by the data model management unit 130.

Note that, when registering a node corresponding to virtual resource information such as "average temperature" with the instrument information 1342, it is not necessary to create a group of "virtual resource information" as shown in fig. 7. The virtual resource information may create a "virtual resource information" of the group, or may be configured under the jurisdiction of the "instrument 22" group without creating the "virtual resource information" of the group. The virtual resource information may be arranged in the same layer as the actual resource information of the "1 st/2 nd temperature sensor" and the "1 st/2 nd pressure sensor".

The connection information 1343 indicates whether the management apparatus 10 is connected to the network 40 and whether the management apparatus 10 can connect to the device 20 managed by the management apparatus. The connection information 1343 is used to indicate to the user whether access to the device 20 can be achieved.

As shown in fig. 8, the connection information 1343 is tabular data in which the ID of line data, the management apparatus ID for identifying the management apparatus 10, the connection state of the management apparatus 10, and the information on whether or not the device managed by the management apparatus 10 is connectable are associated with each other.

The management apparatus ID is identification information for specifying the management apparatus 10 that manages the instrument 20. The management device ID of fig. 8 shows the reference numeral of each management device 10 shown in fig. 1.

The connection state shows whether the management apparatus 10 has been connected to the network 40. The "online" indicates that the management apparatus 10 is connected to the network 40, and the "offline" indicates that the management apparatus 10 is not connected to the network 40. If the connection state is "on-line", the process of checking whether or not the device 20 managed by the management apparatus 10 can be connected can be performed, but if the connection state is "off-line", the device 20 managed by the management apparatus 10 cannot be accessed.

The device connection permission information is information indicating whether or not the device 20 can be connected via the network 30. That is, the connection availability information indicates the connection state between the collection unit 140 and the instrument 20. "may" shows that all of the instruments 20 managed by the management apparatus 10 can be connected. When the instrument name is displayed in this column, it indicates that the instrument 20 managed by the management apparatus 10 cannot be connected to the instrument of the displayed instrument name.

The "connection state" of the connection information 1343 is updated by monitoring the connection state with the network 40 by the management apparatus 10. The "device connection permission information" is updated by the management device 10 performing a confirmation process of communication with the device 20 at a predetermined cycle through the network 30. Further, when the data model management unit 130 receives the acquisition requests of the real resource information and the virtual resource information, the confirmation process of the communication with the equipment 20 may be performed for only the equipment 20 related to the acquisition request at each time. In this case, "connection availability information of the instrument" can be omitted in the connection information 1343.

The data model building unit 110 and the application unit 120 in fig. 5 can acquire the system configuration information 1341, the device information 1342, and the connection information 1343, and display them on the screen. The system configuration information 1341, the device information 1342, and the connection information 1343 may be used by another program different from the data model building unit 110 and the application unit 120.

The resource information acquisition unit 135 acquires the value of the real resource information or the value of the virtual resource information in accordance with the acquisition request received by the reception unit 131, and returns the requested value to the request source. The resource information acquisition unit 135 is realized by the processor 101 and the main storage unit 102.

Specifically, the resource information acquisition unit 135 includes: an instruction unit 1351 that gives an instruction based on the request received by the reception unit 131; an actual resource information acquiring unit 1352 that acquires the value of the actual resource information based on the instruction; a virtual resource information acquisition unit 1353 that acquires a value of virtual resource information based on the instruction; and a calculation unit 1354 for performing calculation processing for obtaining the value of the virtual resource information.

If the reception unit 131 receives the acquisition request for the real resource information, the instruction unit 1351 causes the real resource information acquisition unit 1352 to acquire the value of the real resource information, and if the reception unit 131 receives the acquisition request for the virtual resource information, the instruction unit 1351 causes the virtual resource information acquisition unit 1353 to acquire the value of the virtual resource information. Note that the instruction unit 1351 is an example of an instruction means.

For example, if the receiving unit 131 receives an acquisition request requesting a value of "1 st temperature sensor", the instructing unit 1351 instructs the actual resource information acquiring unit 1352 to acquire the value of "1 st temperature sensor". Further, if the receiving unit 131 receives an acquisition request requesting the value of the "average temperature", the instructing unit 1351 instructs the virtual resource information acquiring unit 1353 to acquire the value of the "average temperature".

The real resource information acquiring unit 1352 acquires the value of the real resource information by causing the collecting unit 140 to collect values that can be collected from the instruments associated with the real resource information. The real resource information acquiring unit 1352 is an example of a real resource information acquiring means.

Specifically, the real resource information acquiring unit 1352, upon receiving an instruction to acquire the value of the "1 st temperature sensor" from the instructing unit 1351, acquires the I/O address "D0" of the "1 st temperature sensor" with reference to the detailed information of the instrument information 1342. The real resource information acquiring unit 1352 refers to the device information 1342 to specify a device having the I/O address "D0" as the device 22, and refers to the system configuration information 1341 to specify the management apparatus 10 that manages the device 22 as the management apparatus 12. Then, if the real resource information acquiring unit 1352 confirms that the management apparatus 12 is online and that the device 22 is connectable with reference to the connection information 1343, it instructs the collecting unit 140 to collect the value of the device 22 having the I/O address "D0". Alternatively, the real resource information acquiring unit 1352 may perform a process of confirming whether or not the connection with the device 22 having the I/O address "D0" is possible via the collecting unit 140 if it is confirmed that the management apparatus 12 is online. When the device 22 can be connected, the collection unit 140 acquires a value and transmits the value to the actual resource information acquisition unit 1352. Upon receiving a value such as "24 (° c)", for example, from the collection unit 140, the actual resource information acquisition unit 1352 transmits the value to the response unit 136 via the instruction unit 1351. When the real resource information acquiring unit 1352 checks that the management apparatus 12 is offline or cannot be connected to the device 22 having the I/O address "D0" with reference to the connection information 1343, it notifies the response unit 136 of the failure to collect values via the instructing unit 1351.

The virtual resource information acquiring unit 1353 acquires the value of the virtual resource information by causing the real resource information acquiring unit 1352 to acquire the value of the real resource information used for the arithmetic processing for acquiring the value of the virtual resource information, and causing the arithmetic unit 1354 to perform the arithmetic processing using the acquired value of the real resource information. The virtual resource information acquiring unit 1353 is an example of a virtual resource information acquiring means.

Specifically, upon receiving an instruction to acquire the value of "average temperature" from the instruction unit 1351, the virtual resource information acquiring unit 1353 refers to the detailed information of the instrument information 1342 to explain the definition of the expression for "average temperature". Here, interpreting the definition means determining actual resource information included in the definition. The virtual resource information acquiring unit 1353 specifies the actual resource information included in the arithmetic expression as the "1 st temperature sensor" and the "2 nd temperature sensor", and transmits a request for acquiring the value of the specified actual resource information to the instructing unit 1351.

The instructing unit 1351 instructs the actual resource information acquiring unit 1352 to acquire the values of the "1 st temperature sensor" and the "2 nd temperature sensor" in response to the request transmitted from the virtual resource information acquiring unit 1353. Upon receiving an instruction to acquire the values of the "1 st temperature sensor" and the "2 nd temperature sensor" from the instruction unit 1351, the real resource information acquiring unit 1352 acquires the I/O address "D0" of the "1 st temperature sensor" and the I/O address "D2" of the "2 nd temperature sensor" with reference to the detailed information of the instrument information 1342. Then, the actual resource information acquiring unit 1352 instructs the collecting unit 140 to collect the values of the devices having the I/O addresses "D0" and "D2". The actual resource information acquiring unit 1352, upon receiving values such as "24 (° c)" and "26 (° c)" from the collecting unit 140, transmits the values to the instructing unit 1351.

The instructing unit 1351 transmits the values of "24" and "26" received from the actual resource information acquiring unit 1352 to the virtual resource information acquiring unit 1353. Upon receiving the "value of the 1 st temperature sensor" 24 "and the" value of the 2 nd temperature sensor "26", the virtual resource information acquiring unit 1353 requests the calculating unit 1354 to perform calculation processing according to the calculation formula ((the value of the 1 st temperature sensor + the value of the 2 nd temperature sensor)/2) by using the received values via the instructing unit 1351. When the calculation process performed by the calculation unit 1354 is completed, the virtual resource information acquisition unit 1353 acquires the calculation result "25 (° c)", via the instruction unit 1351. The virtual resource information acquiring unit 1353 transmits the calculation result to the responding unit 136 via the instructing unit 1351.

The calculation unit 1354 performs calculation processing for obtaining the value of the virtual resource information. The arithmetic unit 1354 is an example of an arithmetic means.

Specifically, the calculation unit 1354 performs a calculation in accordance with the value of the real resource information transmitted from the virtual resource information acquisition unit 1353 via the instruction unit 1351 and the calculation expression specified by the virtual resource information acquisition unit 1353.

If the receiving unit 131 receives the acquisition request for the real resource information, the responding unit 136 returns a response including the value of the real resource information acquired by the real resource information acquiring unit 1352 to the source of the request, and if the receiving unit 131 receives the acquisition request for the virtual resource information, the responding unit 136 returns a response including the value of the virtual resource information acquired by the virtual resource information acquiring unit 1353 to the source of the request. In addition, if the receiving unit 131 receives a setting request, the responding unit 136 returns a response corresponding to the requested setting. The response unit 136 is an example of a response means.

For example, when receiving an acquisition request for obtaining the value of the "1 st temperature sensor" from the application unit 120, the response unit 136 returns the value "24" acquired by the actual resource information acquisition unit 1352 to the application unit 120. When receiving an acquisition request for obtaining the value of the "average temperature" from the application unit 120, the response unit 136 returns the value "25" acquired by the virtual resource information acquisition unit 1353 to the application unit 120. Further, when the requested value is not sent from the real resource information acquiring unit 1352 or the virtual resource information acquiring unit 1353, the response unit 136 returns an error message to the application unit 120.

The collection unit 140 collects values that can be collected from the instruments 20 associated with the actual resource information. The collecting section 140 is realized by the processor 101. The 1 st communication unit 150 is used for connection to the network 30 and is realized by the communication unit 106. The collecting unit 140 is an example of a collecting means.

Here, the value that can be collected from the instrument 20 refers to various values associated with the instrument 20, such as a value measured by the instrument 20 and a value set for the instrument. Specifically, the collection unit 140, upon receiving a request specifying the I/O address "D0" from the real resource information acquisition unit 1352, transmits a request for acquiring a value to the I/O address "D0" of the device 22. Upon receiving the value from the device 22, the collection unit 140 transmits the value to the actual resource information acquisition unit 1352.

The collection unit 140 adds the collection time of the value and transmits the value to the actual resource information acquisition unit 1352. The collection time is presented to the user as a time stamp to be described later.

When a plurality of pieces of real resource information are used for arithmetic processing, the virtual resource information acquiring unit 1353 acquires the values of the virtual resource information based on the values of the plurality of pieces of real resource information whose times are collected by the collecting unit 140. For example, when the times indicated by the time stamps of the values of the plurality of pieces of real resource information transmitted by the real resource information acquiring unit 1352 do not match, the real resource information acquiring unit 1352 causes the collecting unit 140 to execute the collecting process again.

Here, "time matching" refers to a case where the collection times are completely the same time or a case where the collection times fall within a predetermined time difference (for example, 0.5 second). The time difference may be set as appropriate by the 1 st user or the 2 nd user.

For example, if the application unit 120 receives a response including the requested value from the response unit 136 of the data model management unit 130, the table as shown in fig. 9 is displayed on the screen. In the table of fig. 9, the instrument name for which the value of the real resource information or the value of the virtual resource information is acquired, the resource information name indicating the content of the real resource information or the virtual resource information, the acquired value, the time stamp indicating the collection time at which the collection unit 140 has collected the value, the I/O address of the real resource information, or the operation formula indicating the content of the operation processing of the virtual resource information are registered in association with each other.

The table of fig. 9 may be configured such that if the cursor is aligned with the value of the actual resource information, the input mode is set, and the value of the device is rewritten by inputting the value.

Next, a management process performed by the data model management unit 130 of the management device 10 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to flowcharts in fig. 10A and 10B. When the management device 10 is powered on, the management process shown in fig. 10A and 10B is started. The management processing in fig. 10A and 10B is processing performed by the data model management unit 130, and is processing performed for a request transmitted from the data model construction unit 110 or the application unit 120.

The receiving unit 131 determines whether or not the request is received (step S101). If the receiving unit 131 determines that the request has been received (step S101; Yes), it determines the type of the request (step S102). On the other hand, the receiving unit 131 waits if it determines that the request has not been received (step S101; No).

If the receiving unit 131 determines that the received request is a setting request (step S102; setting request), it transmits the setting request to the setting unit 132, and the setting unit 132 performs a setting process according to the received setting request (step S103).

If the receiving unit 131 determines that the received request is a request for acquiring data model structure information (step S102; request for acquiring data model structure information), it transmits the acquisition request to the data model information acquiring unit 133, the data model information acquiring unit 133 acquires the data model structure information with reference to the storage unit 134, and the responding unit 136 returns a response including the acquired data model structure information to the request source (step S104).

If the receiving unit 131 determines that the received request is a request for acquiring resource information (step S102; request for acquiring resource information), the process proceeds to step S105.

If the receiving unit 131 determines that the received request is a request other than the setting request, the request for acquiring the data model structure information, or the request for acquiring the resource information (step S102; others), the responding unit 136 returns an error response to the request source (step S106).

In step S105, the receiving unit 131 determines the type of the received resource information acquisition request (step S105). If the receiving unit 131 determines that the received acquisition request is an acquisition request for acquiring the value of the real resource information (step S105; real resource information), the real resource information acquiring unit 1352 acquires the address of the requested device by referring to the device information 1342 stored in the storage unit 134 based on the instruction from the instructing unit 1351 (step S107).

Next, the real resource information acquiring unit 1352 determines whether or not it can be connected to the device for which the value of the real resource information is requested (step S108). If the real resource information acquiring unit 1352 determines that the connection to the device associated with the request is possible (step S108; Yes), the real resource information acquiring unit 1352 causes the collecting unit 140 to collect the value of the device and acquire the value of the real resource information (step S109). Specifically, the real resource information acquiring unit 1352 refers to the device information 1342 stored in the storage unit 134 to specify the I/O address of the requested real resource information, and determines whether or not the management apparatus 10 that manages the device 20 of the specified I/O address is in a connected state and whether or not the management apparatus can be connected to the device 20 of the I/O address. Then, if it is determined that the management device 10 can be connected to the instrument 20, the collection unit 140 collects the value of the instrument of the acquired I/O address, and acquires the value from the collection unit 140. In step S104, the actual resource information acquiring unit 1352 may perform a process of checking whether or not the connection is possible by directly communicating with the device 20 having the specified I/O address.

On the other hand, in step S108, if the actual resource information acquiring unit 1352 determines that the connection to the device 20 related to the request is not possible (step S108; No), the responding unit 136 returns an error response (step S106). Specifically, when the management apparatus 10 is not connected to the network 40 or when the device 20 is not connected to the network 30, the response unit 136 transmits a message that the device 20 cannot be accessed to the request source of the acquisition request.

In step S109, if the value of the real resource information is acquired by the real resource information acquiring unit 1352, the responding unit 136 returns a response including the acquired value to the request source of the acquisition request (step S110).

In step S105, if the receiving unit 131 determines that the received acquisition request is an acquisition request for acquiring a value of virtual resource information (step S105; virtual resource information), the virtual resource information acquiring unit 1353 interprets the definition of the arithmetic processing for acquiring the value of the requested virtual resource information with reference to the detailed information of the instrument information 1342 (step S111).

Next, the virtual resource information acquiring unit 1353 determines whether or not a loop reference is included in the arithmetic processing (step S112). If the virtual resource information acquiring unit 1353 determines that the loop reference is not included in the calculation process (step S112; Yes), the virtual resource information acquiring unit 1353 performs a loop process (step S113) of repeating the process of acquiring the value of the real resource information by the real resource information acquiring unit 1352 by the number of real resource information included in the calculation process (step S114, step S115, step S116).

Here, the processing of step S114, step S115, and step S116 is the same as that of step S107, step S108, and step S109, respectively. If the real resource information acquiring unit 1352 determines that the connection to the device 20 is not possible during the repeating process (step S115; No), the loop process is terminated at that point in time, and an error response is returned to the request source of the acquisition request (step S106).

In step S112, if the virtual resource information acquiring unit 1353 determines that the loop reference is included in the arithmetic processing (step S112; No), the responding unit 136 returns an error response to the request source that acquired the request (step S106).

When the real resource information acquiring unit 1352 has acquired all the values of the real resource information, the virtual resource information acquiring unit 1353 ends the loop processing (step S117). Then, the virtual resource information acquiring unit 1353 causes the calculating unit 1354 to perform calculation processing using the value of the acquired real resource information, and acquires the value of the virtual resource information (step S118). Then, the response unit 136 returns a response including the acquired value to the request source of the acquisition request (step S110).

In step S105, if the receiving unit 131 determines that the received acquisition request is an acquisition request for acquiring file resource information (step S105; file resource information), the responding unit 136 performs a response process of presenting a file associated with the file resource information to the request source (step S119).

In a conventional management device, when an attempt is made to obtain a value of virtual resource information by an application program of the management device, a value of actual resource information required for calculation of the virtual resource information is transmitted 1 by 1 from a data model management unit to the application program, and calculation processing is performed in the application program after the values of the actual resource information required for calculation processing are made uniform. However, according to the present embodiment, when receiving a request for obtaining a value of virtual resource information, the management device 10 returns only the calculation result of the calculation processing to the request source, and thus the processing of returning the value of the device used for the calculation processing can be omitted.

Further, with the configuration of the conventional management device, there is a problem that an interval of the collection time of the value of the actual resource information occurs. However, according to the present embodiment, since the application unit 120 does not perform the calculation processing of the virtual resource information and the resource information acquisition unit 135 in the data model management unit 130 performs the calculation processing based on the collected values, it is possible to reduce the variation in the timing of reading the values from the plurality of instruments and to improve the accuracy of the calculation result.

In addition, in the conventional management device, when a request for acquiring values of virtual resource information is received from an application, since a plurality of requests for acquiring values of actual resource information pass through the receiving unit and the 1 st communication unit, the amount of data passing through the receiving unit and the amount of communication in the 1 st communication unit increase, and it is difficult to acquire values of actual resource information at the same timing. However, according to the present embodiment, when the request for acquiring the value of the virtual resource information is transmitted from the application unit 120, only the request for acquiring the virtual resource information passes through the receiving unit 131, and the request for acquiring the actual resource information passes through only the 1 st communication unit 150, so that the timing variation can be reduced.

Further, the management device 10 according to the present embodiment achieves the same effect as the case where the acquisition request is transmitted from the application unit 120 even when the acquisition request is transmitted from the data model construction unit 110.

(embodiment mode 2)

The management device 10 according to embodiment 2 has a function of acquiring values of actual resource information of the equipment 20 in advance and acquiring values of virtual resource information in advance.

The same reference numerals are used for the same structures as those in embodiment 1, and the description thereof is omitted.

As shown in fig. 11, the management device 10 according to the present embodiment stores system configuration information 1341, instrument information 1342, connection information 1343, and resource information 1344 in the storage unit 134.

The resource information 1344 is registered with a value of actual resource information collected by the collection unit 140 at a predetermined cycle and a value of virtual resource information obtained in advance by arithmetic processing based on the collected value of actual resource information.

As shown in fig. 12, the resource information 1344 is tabular data in which the line data ID, the resource information name indicating the content of the resource information, the type of the resource information, the value collected or obtained by arithmetic processing, and the time stamp indicating the collection time or the time at which the arithmetic processing is performed are associated with each other.

The resource information name shows the name of the collected resource information.

The type shows the kind of resource information. The resource information of the type "actual resource" shows that it is actual resource information, and the resource information of the type "virtual resource" shows that it is virtual resource information.

The value represents the value collected by the collection unit 140 when the type is "real resource", and the value is the value obtained by the arithmetic processing when the type is "virtual resource".

The time stamp indicates the time at which the value is collected by the collection unit 140 when the type is "real resource", and the time stamp indicates the time at which the value is obtained by the arithmetic processing when the type is "virtual resource".

The real resource information acquiring unit 1352 shown in fig. 11 causes the collecting unit 140 to acquire the value of the real resource information at predetermined intervals, and registers the acquired value in the resource information 1344 stored in the storage unit 134. The period can be set by the 1 st user of the management apparatus 10.

Further, if the value of the real resource information is acquired by the collection unit 140 at a predetermined cycle, the virtual resource information acquisition unit 1353 causes the calculation unit 1354 to execute the calculation process using the value of the real resource information acquired at the predetermined cycle, and registers the calculation result in the resource information 1344 stored in the storage unit 134.

When the receiving unit 131 receives a request for acquiring the value of the real resource information or the value of the virtual resource information, the responding unit 136 reads the data of the resource information 1344 and returns a response including the requested value to the request source of the acquisition request. Therefore, the processing performed by the collection unit 140 when a request is received is omitted. In addition, when an acquisition request related to virtual resource information is received, the arithmetic processing for obtaining the value of the virtual resource information performed when the request is received is omitted.

When the management device 10 according to embodiment 1 receives the acquisition request, the resource information acquisition unit 135 acquires the value from the instrument 20 via the collection unit 140. In contrast, the management device 10 according to the present embodiment omits the processing of the collection unit 140 performed when the acquisition request is received, and thus does not cause a delay in response due to a communication delay of the 1 st communication unit 150.

According to the present embodiment, the management device 10 acquires the actual resource information and the virtual resource information in advance, and therefore, when receiving the acquisition request from the data model construction unit 110 or the application unit 120, the response can be returned by the processing in the management device 10 without performing communication with the instrument 20 via the network 30. In addition, when an acquisition request related to virtual resource information is received, arithmetic processing can be performed in advance. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the response performance of the management device 10 can be improved.

(modification 1)

While the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, various modifications and applications of the embodiments can be made in the practice of the present invention.

The management device 10 according to embodiments 1 and 2 includes the application unit 120, and the configuration of the management device 10 is not limited to this, and the application unit 120 may be provided outside the management device 10.

For example, as shown in fig. 13, the application unit 120 according to embodiments 1 and 2 is provided in the external terminal device 50 that can communicate with the management device 10. The management device 10 receives an acquisition request for acquiring a value of real resource information or a value of virtual resource information from the external terminal device 50 via the 2 nd communication unit 160, and transmits a response or an error response including the requested value to the external terminal device 50.

The external terminal device 50 is connected to a network and exchanges with the management device 10 via the 2 nd communication unit 160. The Network to which the external terminal device 50 is connected is not limited to an industrial Network, and may be a wired or wireless Network such as the internet, an intranet, an extranet, a LAN, a VPN (Virtual Private Network), or a telephone line Network. The network to which the external terminal device 50 is connected may be the network 30 or may be a different network. The 2 nd communication unit 160 is realized by the communication unit 106.

The management apparatus 10 can retain information obtained from the device 20 in the management apparatus 10 by providing the virtual resource information acquiring unit 1353 in the management apparatus 10. Accordingly, when the request for acquiring the virtual resource information is received from the external terminal device 50, the information acquired from the device 20 is not disclosed to the external terminal device 50, and thus, the security can be improved.

In addition, when receiving a request for obtaining the calculation result from the external terminal device 50, the management device 10 returns only the calculation result via the 2 nd communication unit 160, and thus can reduce the amount of communication required to return the value of the instrument used for the calculation processing.

(modification 2)

The management device 10 according to embodiments 1 and 2 includes the data model building unit 110, but the configuration of the management device 10 is not limited to this, and the data model building unit 110 may be provided outside the management device 10.

For example, as shown in fig. 14, the data model building unit 110 according to embodiments 1 and 2 is provided in the external terminal device 60 that can communicate with the management device 10. The management device 10 receives a setting request for creating and editing a data model from the external terminal device 60 via the 2 nd communication unit 160, and performs a data model setting process.

Note that, in order to enable only the external terminal device 60 having the data model construction unit 110 to set and edit the system configuration information 1341, the instrument information 1342, and the connection information 1343, an OPC UA interface usable only by the external terminal device 60 may be created. The 2 nd communication unit 160 may use a dedicated protocol that can be used only by the external terminal device 60.

When the instrument 20 that is the target of collecting values is located at a remote place, the management apparatus 10 having only the functions of the data model management unit 130 and the collection unit 140 may be disposed near the instrument 20, and it is required to perform the operation realized by the data model construction unit 110 from the remote place. According to the management system 1 shown in fig. 14, even when the equipment 20 is located at a remote place, the user can create and edit the data model without considering the positions of the equipment 20 and the management apparatus 10, and can acquire the value of the real resource information and the value of the virtual resource information.

(other modification examples)

In the above-described modification, the data model construction unit 110 and the application unit 120 are provided in the external terminal device, but the configuration of the management device of the present application is not limited to this.

For example, the data model building unit 110, the application unit 120, the data model management unit 130, and the collection unit 140 may be provided in different devices. Further, some of these functional components may be provided in the same device, and the rest may be provided in another device, and various combinations of the respective components may be possible. The number of the application units 120 is not limited to 1. For example, in fig. 13, the application unit 120 may be provided not only in the external terminal device 50 but also in the management device 10.

In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the management system 1 is installed in a facility represented by a factory as a production system of a product has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. The management system 1 may be a manufacturing system, a processing system, an inspection system, an industrial control system, or another system. The management system 1 may be installed in a plant including a power plant, a mobile body including an automobile, an airplane, and a ship, an office building, or a public facility such as a school.

In the above embodiment, the data model is created for the plurality of instruments 20 constituting the instrument system 2, but is not limited thereto. The entire management system 1 including the management apparatus 10 may be treated as an object of the data model. Further, only the management apparatus 10 used by the user may be an object of the data model, or another management apparatus 10 may be an object of the data model. Further, the relationship of the instrument 20 is shown in the system configuration information 1341, but the node may include the management device 10 and define the relationship between the management device 10 and the instrument 20.

In the above embodiment, the data model constructed by the 1 st user was described, but the invention is not limited thereto. For example, the data model can also be copied from other devices. In addition, the data model can be constructed by using software of ai (intellectual intelligence).

In the above embodiment, the example in which the number of the instruments 20 is 6 is shown, but the number of the instruments is not limited to this, and may be any number.

In the management system 1 according to the above-described embodiment and the management system 1 according to the above-described modification, the management device 10 incorporates the storage unit 134 that stores the system configuration information 1341, the instrument information 1342, the connection information 1343, and the resource information 1344, but the configuration of the management device 10 is not limited to this. For example, an external server device may have the storage unit 134, and the management device 10 may access the external server device having the storage unit 134 as necessary. Alternatively, the external server device may store at least 1 of the system configuration information 1341, the instrument information 1342, the connection information 1343, and the resource information 1344 in its own storage unit, the management device 10 may store the remaining information in its own storage unit, and the storage unit of the external server device and the storage unit of the management device 10 may be collectively regarded as the storage unit 134 according to the above embodiment.

In the above embodiment, the virtual resource information acquiring unit 1353 acquires the value of the virtual resource information based on the values of the plurality of pieces of actual resource information whose times collected by the collecting unit 140 coincide with each other, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, each device 20 may have a function of measuring time, and the virtual resource information acquiring unit 1353 may acquire the value of the virtual resource information using the value of the actual resource information whose time measured by the device 20 matches. In addition, in this case, the instruments 20 achieve time synchronization.

In embodiment 2, the value of the real resource information collected at a predetermined cycle and the value of the virtual resource information obtained in advance based on the value of the collected real resource information are registered in the resource information 1344, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and only one of them may be registered.

The functions of the management device 10 may be implemented by dedicated hardware or by a general computer system.

For example, the program P1 executed by the processor 101 may be stored in a computer-readable non-transitory recording medium and distributed, and the program P1 may be installed in a computer to configure a device that executes the management processing. Examples of such recording media include floppy disks, CD-ROMs (Compact disk Read-Only memories), DVDs (digital Versatile disks), and MOs (magnetic-Optical disks).

The program P1 may be stored in advance in a disk device included in a server device on a communication network such as the internet, and may be loaded onto a computer by being superimposed on a carrier wave, for example.

The management processing can also be realized by starting execution while the program P1 is transferred via the communication network.

The management processing can also be realized by executing all or a part of the program P1 on the cloud server device, and the computer transmitting and receiving information related to the processing via the communication network and executing the program.

Note that, when the functions of the management device 10 are realized by being shared by the OS, when the functions of the management device 10 are realized by the cooperative operation of the OS and the application programs, or the like, only the part other than the OS may be stored in a medium and distributed, or may be loaded in a computer.

The means for realizing the function of the management device 10 is not limited to software, and a part or all of the means may be realized by dedicated hardware including a circuit.

The present invention can be embodied in various forms and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention in its broadest form. The above embodiments are provided to illustrate the present invention, and do not limit the scope of the present invention. That is, the scope of the present invention is shown not by the embodiments but by the claims. Further, various modifications made within the scope of the claims and the scope of the equivalent meaning of the invention are considered to fall within the scope of the present invention.

Industrial applicability

The present invention is suitable for management of information relating to a plurality of instruments constituting a system.

Description of the reference numerals

A management system 1, an equipment system 2, a management device 10, 11, 12, 13, an equipment 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, a 30, 40 network, an external terminal device 50, 60, a processor 101, a main storage unit 102, a main storage unit 103, an auxiliary storage unit 104, an input unit 105, an output unit 105, a communication unit 106, a bus 107, a data model construction unit 110, a display unit 111, a setting request unit 112, an application unit 120, an acquisition request unit 121, a data processing unit 122, a data model management unit 130, a reception unit 131, a setting unit 132, a data model information acquisition unit 133, a storage unit 134, a resource information acquisition unit 135, a response unit 136, a collection unit 140, a 1 st communication unit 150, a 2 nd communication unit 160, a bus 231, a 1341 system configuration information, 1342 equipment information, 1343 connection information, 1344 resource information, an instruction unit 1351, an actual resource information acquisition unit 1352, a virtual resource information acquisition unit 1353, 1354 arithmetic unit, U1 user, P1 program.