JP2002108600A - Terminal device for control system and recording medium and control system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a terminal device of a control system capable of displaying the state of the device of a local control system even when this terminal device is arranged far from the local control system, and easily editing the display picture and a control system. SOLUTION: A preprocessor 74 of the terminal device 6a generates a tag variable object corresponding to the device of a local control system, based on a system variable definition file. Moreover, a real time data collecting part 75 instructs an OPC client 61 to acquire the state of the device from an OPC server defined by the system variable definition file, and sets it in property indicating the present value of the tag variable object. Moreover, a graphical Web client processor 77 displays the graphical elements corresponding to the property of the tag variable object on the screen of a browser 62, based on the picture constitution definition file.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a control system capable of displaying the status of a device of a local control system even when the control system is arranged at a place remote from the local control system and capable of easily editing a display screen. The present invention relates to a terminal device and a control system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, programmable logic
The controller (hereinafter abbreviated as PLC) is, for example,
It is widely used as a control device for controlling various target systems such as a belt conveyor type automatic assembling machine. Further, in recent years, with the complexity of the target system, a plurality of PLCs have been used in cooperation with each other. The display of data from each PLC or the control instruction to the PLC is performed not only by a display device arranged in the vicinity of the PLC or the like, but also, for example, by installing the display device at a location away from these display devices. In some cases, a control system is constructed so that the control host computer can display or operate the computer.

More specifically, for example, as shown in FIG. 14, in a conventional control system 501, a PLC 503 is positioned as a center of control, and each PLC 503 includes a device 521 of a target system 502, a display and A programmable display 505 for giving a control instruction is connected. Further, another PLC 503 and a control host computer 507 are connected to the PLC 503 via a serial cable 504.
Between the host 503 and the control host computer 507 and each P
The transfer of control data between the LCs 503 is performed by the PLC
503 is performed using the communication function.

In the above configuration, the programmable display 505 performs display / control based on screen data. The screen data is configured by combining a tag indicating a correspondence relationship between an area on the screen and an address of a device corresponding to display and input in the area, and is performed by the image processing unit 572 of the control host computer 507. After being created, it is distributed to each programmable display 505.

On the other hand, a display processing unit 571 of the control host computer 507 communicates with the PLC 503 to receive data indicating the state of the target system 502, displays the screen according to the state, and responds to a user's input. The control data is sent to the PLC 503, and the target system 502 is controlled according to the control data. Similarly, the programmable display 505 displays / displays the status of the target system 502 while communicating with the PLC 503.
Control.

Here, the control host computer 507
Is different from the programmable display 505 in the application and the installation location, so that both the hardware configuration such as the CPU and the memory map and the software configuration such as the operating system are different. Therefore, the display processing unit 571 of the control host computer 507 displays / displays based on the screen data of the programmable display 505.
It cannot be controlled and a dedicated display screen is drawn. In addition, for example, in order to confirm what is displayed on the dedicated display screen, such as the display content of the programmable display 505, the programmable display 505 is required.
I went to the location where I was checking.

However, the control system having the above configuration is basically a closed system, and causes a problem that the state of the control system cannot be monitored from, for example, a general-purpose computer located at a remote place.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the applicant of the present application converted the data showing the screen of the programmable display into a format that can be displayed on a terminal device in Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-077002, and A configuration for distributing to a terminal device via a.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 15, the local control system 103 of the control system 101
The programmable display 114 and the control host computer 116 are connected by a network 115 that communicates according to a predetermined common protocol, and the programmable display 114 is connected to the control host computer 116.
And the programmable display 114 and the PLC 112 communicate with each other, relaying communication using a dedicated protocol specific to the model of the PLC 112 and communication using a common protocol. Accordingly, when each programmable display 114 and the control host computer 116 communicate with another programmable display 114, the other programmable display 1
Regardless of the type of the PLC 112 connected to the PLC 14, communication can be performed using a common protocol.

Further, the control host computer 1
16 is provided with a public server unit 161 that can be connected to the Internet 105. When the terminal device 107 accesses the public server unit 161, an applet instructing an operation according to screen data is transmitted to the terminal device 10 by the public server unit 161.
7 is transmitted. Further, the terminal device 107 that executes the applet communicates with the control host computer 116 to receive and display the status of the device of the local control system 103.

Here, the screen data defines an operation when the programmable display 114 displays a screen, and the terminal device 107 controls the local control system 10.
Instead of accessing each device in 3, data indicating the status of the device is received from the public server unit 161.
This allows the terminal device 107 to display a screen having the same content as the display screen of the programmable display 114, despite being connected via the Internet 105. In addition, since it is not necessary to newly create a display screen for the terminal device 107, it is possible to greatly reduce the time and effort for screen design although the state of the local control system 103 can be displayed from a remote place.

[0012]

However, in the control system 101 having the above configuration, the terminal device accesses the public server section 161 of the local control system 103 in order to display the state of the local control system 103.
Need to receive applet, internet 10
5 increases the traffic of the network.

In order to display the status of a device of another local control system 103 or to display the status of another device even with the same local control system 103, the local control system 103 needs , Have received a new applet.

Therefore, a certain local control system 1
When displaying the status of the device 03, the terminal device 107
If the user modifies the applet and changes the screen configuration according to the user's preference, the same change cannot be reflected on the display of another device. As a result, when trying to display a screen according to the user's preference, there is a concern that it takes time to set the screen configuration in the terminal device 107.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to display the status of a device of a local control system even when the device is arranged at a location remote from the local control system. Moreover, it is an object of the present invention to realize a control system terminal device and a control system capable of easily editing a display screen.

[0016]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a terminal device of a control system, which is capable of communicating via a network with a process data server capable of acquiring a state of a device to be controlled by a local control system. A terminal device of a control system having means, in order to solve the above problem, a combination of the device and a variable name,
And a correspondence between a variable definition file in which access information for determining an access procedure for a process data server capable of acquiring the state of the device in a text format, a graphic element displayed on a screen, and the variable name File storage means for storing a picture configuration definition file described in a text format, and, based on the access information, causing the communication means to access a process data server, and for each device described in the variable definition file A data collection unit for acquiring a state, and for each graphic element of the picture configuration definition file, a state of the device combined with a variable name corresponding to the graphic element among the states of the device acquired by the data collection unit. And a drawing means for performing drawing on a browser.

Further, the recording medium according to the invention of claim 2 is:
A program for operating a computer is recorded as each means described in claim 1, and the computer can operate as the terminal device according to claim 1 by executing the program by the computer. Note that the program may be a code for instructing an arithmetic unit such as a CPU or a virtual machine to perform the entire procedure of the operation,
If a basic program (for example, an operating system or a library) that can execute a part or all of the above operations already exists by calling in accordance with a predetermined procedure, an instruction to call the basic program is given to the arithmetic means. Some or all of the above procedures may be replaced with a code or pointer to be executed. In addition, the recording medium includes:
Other programs may be recorded.

In the above configuration, a variable definition file and a picture configuration definition file are stored in advance in the file storage unit of the terminal device, and the communication unit uses the access information of the variable definition file according to the instruction of the data collection unit. Access the determined process data server and obtain the device status corresponding to each variable name. Further, the drawing unit determines a variable name corresponding to each graphic element based on the picture configuration definition file, and obtains a device state corresponding to the variable name among the device states obtained by the data collection unit. . Further, the drawing means draws a graphic element on a browser screen according to the state of the device. Thereby, even when the terminal device is connected (communicated) to the process data server via a wide area network such as the Internet, a graphic element corresponding to the device state is displayed on the screen of the browser, The user of the browser can grasp the status of the device of the local control system based on the screen.

Here, in the above configuration, since the variable definition file is stored in the terminal device in advance, the access procedure to the process data server can be determined without accessing the server, and the network traffic can be reduced. . Also, since the variable definition file and the picture configuration definition file are separated, for example, between operation screens displaying the status of a plurality of lines having the same device configuration or the status of the local control system having the same monitoring item. In the case of displaying different device states with the same screen configuration, such as between operation screens displaying, can be handled by changing only the variable definition file without changing the picture configuration definition file. In addition, both files
Since the combinations and correspondences are described in a text format, they can be easily edited by a text editor installed in advance on many computers. As a result of these,
Even with only the terminal device, it is possible to realize a control system in which the screen configuration when displaying the device status of the local control system can be easily changed.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the terminal device of the control system according to the first aspect of the present invention, wherein the property of the terminal includes a device state as one of the properties, and each property can be referred to by a script engine. A preprocessor for creating an object corresponding to each of the variable names based on the variable definition file, wherein the file storage means draws a screen on the script engine based on a result obtained by referring to a predetermined property of the object; It is characterized in that a script definition file for instructing the operation is stored.

The script definition file may be a code for instructing the script engine in all steps of the operation similarly to the above program, or may be a code or pointer for invoking the basic program. May be partially or entirely replaced.

In the above configuration, the preprocessor creates an object corresponding to the variable name. Here, the preprocessor creates an object in a format that allows the script engine to refer to the properties of each object. Therefore, the script engine can display the screen according to the property of the object by describing the operation of drawing the screen with reference to the property in the script definition file. Thereby, for example, when the drawing means cannot draw the graphic element for animation,
It is possible to cause the script engine to execute a complicated device state display process in which the drawing means that refers to the picture configuration definition file cannot draw, and the expressiveness of the screen can be improved. It should be noted that the state display processing in which the drawing means can draw can be performed by the drawing means by describing the correspondence between the variable name and the graphic element in the picture configuration definition file. As a result, it is possible to realize a terminal device that can easily change the screen configuration and display the state of the device with high expressive power.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the terminal device of the control system according to the first or third aspect of the invention, wherein the variable definition file simulates a device state in addition to the variable name and the device. A simulation that can describe a combination of methods, simulates a device state by the method described in the variable definition file, and notifies the drawing unit of a simulation result as a device state instead of the data collection unit. Means is provided.

In the above configuration, the simulation means calculates the state of the device based on the description in the variable definition file. Therefore, even if communication with the process data server is not possible, only the terminal device can use the local device based on the simulation result. The virtual status of the control system device can be displayed.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a control system based on the terminal device according to the first aspect and screen data stored in advance and stored in the local control system. A control display device that acquires the state of the device and displays the screen based on the acquired result, and a drawing device that designs the configuration of the operation screen of the control display device and outputs the screen data based on the design result Wherein the image forming apparatus includes a picture configuration definition file output unit that outputs the picture configuration definition file based on the design result.
The variable name corresponding to each graphic element may be automatically created by the picture configuration definition file output means, or if there is data indicating the correspondence between the device and the variable name, such as a variable definition file, the variable name is used. A variable name may be specified by reference.

In the above configuration, since the drawing device for generating the screen data of the control display device of the local control system includes the picture configuration definition file output means, the screen design process for the control display device and the terminal device At least a part of the screen design process for the computer. If the screen design of both is the same, all of the screen design steps are common, but even if some of them are different, the remaining design steps can be shared. As a result, although the state of the device of the local control system can be displayed on the terminal device, it is possible to greatly reduce the trouble in designing a screen for the terminal device.

[0027]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention.
This will be described below with reference to FIG.
That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the control system 1 according to the present embodiment includes, for example, a control device layer 3 that controls a device 2a of a target system 2 such as a control device in a local control system, and a local control system, for example. A monitoring control layer 4 for monitoring and controlling the target system 2 and the entire control device layer 3 based on data of the device 2a received from the control device layer 3 such as a host computer in the system; Layer 4
Terminal device 6a that can be connected to the Internet, and a host computer (not shown) at the head office that controls a plurality of local control systems.
For example, a management monitoring layer 6 that monitors and controls the state of the device 2a is provided as an upper layer of the monitoring control layer 4. The target system 2, the control device layer 3, and the monitoring control layer 4 correspond to a local control system described in the claims, and the Internet 5 corresponds to a network.

The control device layer 3 includes, as control devices, for example, a programmable logic controller 11 for controlling the device 2a of the target system 2, and an HM
A field device 13 configured by connecting a panel computer (control display device) 12 operated by an operator as an I (Human Machine Interface) with a cable such as a serial cable or a network cable.
Are provided.

On the other hand, the monitoring control layer 4 collects the status of the device 2 a of the target system 2 from each field device 13 and sends an OPC to the management monitoring layer 6.
(OLE for Process Control)
A server device 4a capable of notifying the status of the device 2a in real time is provided. Further, the server device 4a includes:
Upon receiving an instruction to change the state of the device 2a from the device of the management monitoring layer 6 that operates as an OPC client,
By controlling each field device 13 according to the instruction, the state of the device 2a can be controlled in real time.
The status of the device 2a and the status change instruction are transmitted and received as process data including a combination of the device to be controlled and the status or the instruction. The device to be controlled only needs to be able to acquire or control (change) the state, and may be the device 2a itself. For example, the device 2a is provided in the control device layer 3 such as the memory of the PLC 11 or the panel computer 12. May indicate one area of the storage device. Further, the device may be a memory in which data manually input from an input device such as a touch panel or a barcode reader (not shown) is stored.

The server device 4a communicates with each field device 13 to transmit and receive process data, for example, by using Windows CE (registered trademark) with an OS (Operatin).
g System), a panel computer 12
An OPC client 41 for communicating with a field device 13 operable as an OPC server, such as a field device 13 including a PLC 11 connected thereto, and a dedicated protocol specific to the model of the PLC 11 as an external communication protocol. And an I / O driver 42 for communicating with the field device 13. The PLC 11 among the field devices 13 may communicate with the server device 4a.
Needs to be set so as to have sufficient resources such as computational power and storage capacity in order to operate as an HMI. Therefore, in order to share the resources for the HMI processing and the resources for the communication processing, and to reduce the computing capacity and storage capacity of the entire control device layer 3, the panel computer 12
It is preferable to communicate with

Further, the server apparatus 4a has, for example, SCADA (Supe
and the OPC client 41 and the I / O driver 42.
Server device 4a based on the process data
A display / operation processing unit 43 for displaying the status of the device on the screen of the server 4 and transmitting process data for instructing control of the device to the two members 41 and 42 in response to a user operation of the server device 4a; A process database 44 for temporarily storing process data transmitted and received by the device 4a in association with the device and an OPC server (process data server) 45 for communicating with the management monitoring layer 6 are provided. A system control unit 46 implemented by, for example, a WSH (Windows Scripting Host) is provided between the display / operation processing unit 43, the process database 44, and the OPC server 45. And the process data from the OPC server 45 can be stored in the process database 44, and the process data can be read from the process database 44 in response to an instruction from the display / operation processing unit 43 or the OPC server 45.

Thus, the server device 4a can display or control the status of each device in the local control system, and send and receive process data related to each device to and from the management monitoring layer 6. it can.

On the other hand, the terminal device 6a according to the present embodiment
As shown in FIG. 1, an OPC client 61 that communicates with the OPC server 45 of the management monitoring layer 6 via the Internet 5 to send and receive process data, a browser 62 for browsing various files, and various files And a text editor 64. In the present embodiment, the browser 62 and the text editor 64 are realized by general-purpose software preinstalled in many computers, and the file storage unit 63 stores the system files and work files by a normal computer. Is used for storing the information.

The browser 62 is, for example, INTERNET E
The input / output processing unit 71 is realized by general-purpose browser software such as XPLORER (registered trademark), receives an operation on the terminal device 6a by an input device (not shown) such as a mouse or a keyboard, and performs display processing on a display (not shown). And, for example, Java (registered trademark) script or V
script engine 72 as a processing system of a script language such as actualBasic (registered trademark) script
Are provided. In addition, the browser 62 can transmit an HTML (HyperText Transfer Protocol) from an arbitrary server device using a protocol such as HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol).
You can also receive and view documents such as xt Markup Language) documents.

Here, the file storage unit 63 according to the present embodiment creates a system variable object including a tag variable object corresponding to a device, and describes information for updating the contents of the object in a text format. And a picture configuration definition file storing a picture configuration definition file in which information defining a screen for displaying and operating a device state is described in a text format. And a portion 63b. Further, the file storage unit 63 is provided with a script definition file storage unit 63c for storing a script definition file described in the script language, and a system variable object that cannot be specified in the picture configuration definition file or the system variable definition file. The script engine 72 can instruct the script engine 72 to access the URL or draw a screen.

The browser 62 according to the present embodiment
For example, COM / DCOM (Component Object Model /
The object holding unit 73 that holds each of the system variable objects as an object that can be accessed from the script engine 72 in a predetermined procedure, such as a Distributed Component Object Model, and the object holding unit 73 by referring to the system variable definition file. A preprocessor 74 for generating a system variable object in the unit 73; and an OPC of the monitoring control layer 4 to the OPC client 61 based on the system variable definition file.
A real-time data collection unit (data collection unit) that communicates with the server 45 and updates the contents of the tag variable object
75, and a simulation data generator (simulation means) 76 for updating the contents of the tag variable object specified in the system variable definition file by the calculation method specified in the file.

Further, the browser 62 refers to the system variable object according to the instruction of the picture configuration definition file, causes the input / output processing unit 71 to display a screen according to the content of the object, and displays the screen based on the picture configuration definition file. Graphical Web for changing a system variable object in response to an operation on the input / output processing unit 71
b A client processor (drawing means) 77 is provided.

As will be described later in detail, the system variable definition file and the picture configuration definition file are text files described according to a predetermined syntax, and the script definition file is described in a script language. Because it is a text file, the terminal device 6
It can be changed by the text editor 64 of a.

Each of the members 61 to 61 shown in FIGS.
64.71 to 77.41 to 46, an arithmetic unit such as a CPU executes a program stored in a storage unit such as a ROM or a RAM, and an input / output unit such as a touch panel or a liquid crystal display device, or an interface circuit. Is a functional block realized by controlling the communication circuit of FIG. Therefore, a computer having these means can store the program on a recording medium (for example, a CD).
-ROM or the like, and simply executing the program, the server device 4a or the terminal device 6 according to the present embodiment.
a can be realized. In particular, in the present embodiment, each of the members 7
3 to 77 are implemented as, for example, functional blocks realized by the script engine 72 executing the script file stored in the file storage unit 63. Therefore, if the computer includes the OPC client 61, the browser 62 including the input / output processing unit 71 and the script engine 72, the file storage unit 63, and the text editor 64, the terminal device 6a simply executes the script file. Can work as

In the above configuration, the system variable definition file describing the OPC server 45 accessed by the real-time data collection unit 75 is stored in advance in the system variable definition file storage unit 63a of the terminal device 6a. In particular, the access procedure to the OPC server 45 can be determined without accessing the server,
Internet 5 traffic can be reduced. Also,
Since the system variable definition file and the picture configuration definition file are separated, for example, the status of operation screens that display the status of a plurality of lines having the same device configuration or the status of the local control system with the same monitoring item can be displayed. When different device states are displayed in the same screen configuration such as between operation screens to be displayed, it is possible to cope by changing only the system variable definition file without changing the picture configuration definition file. In addition, both files
Since the combinations and correspondences are described in a text format, they can be easily edited by the text editor 64. As a result, even with only the terminal device 6a, it is possible to realize a control system in which the screen configuration for displaying the device status of the local control system can be easily changed.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the system variable definition file includes a character string indicating the type of a system variable object to be created, a character string indicating a system variable object name, and its properties. It is a list of combinations with the character strings shown. In the present embodiment, for example, a common variable (“SYSTEM” in the drawing) related to the entire operation of the terminal device 6a is used as an object type.
), A color palette (“Color”) referred to when the color of the vector graphics image on the screen is changed by a dynamic variable value, and an image actually displayed on the screen by the graphical Web client processor 77. An image variable ("Image"), a work variable ("WK") held for changing screen information, and a tag variable ("TAG") provided corresponding to the device are defined.

The common variable object (system variable object of the type common variable) includes, as shown in FIG. 4, the necessity of simulation in addition to the user name, system start time, background color, cursor shape, and the like. And an OPC server 45 for setting the OPC server 45 that communicates with the OPC client 61.
The node name of the server and the server name are prepared in advance, and these values are obtained by setting the variable name of the common variable object to be set among the variable names described in FIG. 4 as the variable name in the system variable definition file. Described and set by describing the set value as a property attached to the variable name. For example, in the example of FIG.
As the PC server, the node name: server name is "C"
omputer1: OPC.DIGITAL "and" Computer2: OPC.OTHER "
One OPC server is defined. In this example, the information described in the location P1 corresponds to the access information described in the claims.

The graphical Web according to this embodiment is
The client processor 77 can use the animated character when assisting the user's operation, for example, reporting the current situation, suggesting the next operation, or explaining the operation to be selected. A common variable object for selecting a character, setting a character name, and setting sound properties is also provided. In addition, the graphical Web client processor 77 can determine the action of the character and the content of the utterance with reference to a scenario definition file (not shown).

On the other hand, in the color palette object, as shown at a point P2 in FIG. 3, colors included in the color palette object are sequentially designated by a character string indicating a color or a color component (for example, RGB luminance). It is set by doing. The set color objects are collected in the setting order (in the example of the figure, green and red) as shown in FIG. 5, and as described later, the graphical Web client processor 77 responds to the dynamic variable value according to the dynamic variable value. It is referred to when changing color display.

In this embodiment, the graphical Web
(b) The image used when the client processor 77 displays the screen is also held in the object holding unit 73 in the main memory (RAM) as an image variable object. As a result, the image display is read from the memory, so that the speed can be increased as compared with the case where the image is read from a file such as a magnetic recording medium. In the system variable definition file according to the present embodiment, FIG.
As shown in the middle and point P3, for example, GIF (Grafics In
terchange Format), bmp format (bitmap format), JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) format, or PNG (Protable Network Graphics) format. Instruct creation of a variable object. The file name may include a path name.

Further, in the system variable definition file of the present embodiment, as shown at a point P4 in FIG.
ESC, engineering unit EU, current value CV, range upper limit RH,
Range lower limit RL, decimal point position PNT, alarm range upper limit P
H, alarm range lower limit PL, simulation number SIM
And the phase Phase can be designated by sequentially describing a character string indicating each of the character strings with a predetermined separator ("," in the figure). Simulation number SIM above
As shown in FIG. 6, specifies a calculation formula when the simulation data generating unit 76 performs a simulation, and is enabled by setting the above-described simulation flag to “true”.

In addition, as shown in a point P5 in FIG.
lue is the description of the tag variable object DESC, engineering unit EU, decimal point position PNT, OPC
Server number OPC, variable type TYPE, item name I
Character strings indicating the TEM and the field name FIELD, respectively, can be designated by sequentially describing them by separating them with a predetermined separator. The OPC server number OPC is shown in FIG.
Where OPC server number (number in [] such as sOPCServer) set as a common variable object, and item name ITEM and field name FIELD are OPC
The device for which the status acquisition / control is instructed by the client 61 is set to the OPC designated by the OPC server number OPC.
This is a character string used by the PC server 45 to specify it.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, by describing the variable type TYPE corresponding to the device type, the preprocessor 74 can provide a property corresponding to the device type and a tag variable object. In the present embodiment, for example, as shown in FIG.
As the YPE, any of an analog input device (AI), an analog output device (AO), a pulse input device (PI), a digital input device (DI), and a digital output device (DO) can be described. When each variable type TYPE is specified, a property group described by “O” in the figure is set.

For example, according to the description example of the point P5 in FIG. 3, the acquisition of the current value of the tag variable object FI101 /
The control method is such that the process data of the device whose item name: field name is specified by FI101: F_CV is transmitted / received to / from the OPC server 45 (node name: server having the computer name: Computer1: OPC.DIGITAL) having the number 0. Is set. Therefore, when the preprocessor 74 generates the tag variable object FI101 based on the location P5, the real-time data collection unit 75 sets the O in the predetermined cycle when the simulation flag is "false".
The process data is transmitted / received to / from the PC server 45, and the status of the device corresponding to the tag variable object FI101 is acquired / controlled. When the simulation flag is "true", the graphical Web client processor 77 displays the screen based on the simulation value instead of each current value, so that the transmission and reception of the process data is unnecessary. Further, in the above section P5, the variable type T
Since “AI” (analog input device) is specified as the YPE, the preprocessor 74 provides properties such as an engineering unit and a range lower limit in addition to the property of the current value as the property of the tag variable object.
The values of these properties are obtained by, for example, acquiring the process data in which the item name and the field name are specified by the item name and the respective property names from the OPC server 45 specified in the section P5. Is set.

On the other hand, the picture configuration definition file is shown in FIG.
As shown in, a character string indicating a drawing command, a character string indicating a static property for generating an object among the properties, and a character string indicating a dynamic property related to the object and changing in real time Are listed.

In this embodiment, for example, a drawing command shown in FIG. 9 is prepared. These drawing commands are
Basic commands for specifying and drawing basic graphic elements such as character strings, numerical values, lines and circles, and drawing and specifying graphic elements such as valves, bar graphs, and buttons in that sense. They can be roughly classified into object commands. Among these drawing commands, a drawing command to which a dynamic property can be added can be associated with, for example, the above-described work variable object or tag variable object, and the graphical Web client processor 77 responds according to the values of these objects. , Characters, shapes (length of graph), colors, etc. can be changed.

For example, the drawing command described at the point P11 in FIG. 8 is a basic command for instructing the screen area (screen) for drawing to the graphical Web client processor 77. A character string indicating a display type, a top position, a left position, a width, a height, an edge color, a background color, and a script designation can be designated by sequentially separating them with a predetermined separator. Here, the unit of the property related to each position and length is a pixel. Depending on the edge color of the screen whose area is specified, the edge display type is a button pressed state (a state that looks concave), a button raised state (a state that looks convex), or a planar state (a state that looks convex). For example, a value of 1 indicates that the outer frame is displayed in an edge color and the screen is painted in a background color. In the case of 2, the button-on image (concave state) and in the case of 3, the button-off image (convex state)
Further, in the case of 4, the display of button off (convex state) is indicated by using the edge color. Also,
The top position and the left position indicate the position of the upper left corner of the screen in the entire screen area (container area) secured by the graphical Web client processor 77.
This is shown in the container coordinate system.

The screen secured by the above-mentioned drawing command is used when drawing an object in a portion after the picture configuration definition file. As the coordinate system in the screen, the center of the screen is the origin (x = 0, y =
0), a pixel-based coordinate system in which the right and bottom are each positive. The origin coordinates specified when arranging the image or the character are specified as the center of the image or the character. The screen can be moved to any position in the container area by causing the graphical Web client processor 77 to execute an object movement command described in a script definition file, a scenario definition file, or the like.

On the other hand, in FIG. 8, the command described at the point P12 is an object command for displaying a bar graph, and the value D indicating the property is the direction D of the bar graph, the origin coordinates (x, y), the width, Height, instrument range upper limit value RH, instrument range lower limit value RL, initial value, display color,
By sequentially describing the character strings indicating the background color, the variable name, and the display cycle by separating them with a separator, the display of the bar graph shown in FIG. 10 can be instructed to the graphical Web client processor 77. The direction of the bar graph is specified by a numerical value from 1 to 4, specifying up / left / down / right, and the display cycle specifies the refresh cycle in ms units. The variable name is a predetermined character (for example, ".") After the variable name indicating the tag variable object or the work variable object defined in the system variable definition file.
And a character string indicating the property of the object. In the example of FIG. 8, since “WK0.CV” is specified as a variable, the graphical Web client processor 77 displays an upward bar graph with a length corresponding to the current value of the work variable object.

In the figure, the command described at the point P13 is an object command for displaying a valve, and the value indicating the property includes a valve type, origin coordinates (x, y), a width, a height, A character string indicating a rotation angle (counterclockwise, in units of degrees), a reduction ratio, a display color, a variable name, and a display cycle is sequentially described by being separated by a separator. Specify the variable name, display cycle, position and size, etc.
Similar to the bar graph, the valve type is, for example, designated by 1 to 4 and indicates the shape of the displayed valve as shown in FIG. Also, as shown in FIG.
Since the dynamic property of the valve object is reflected as a color change, the graphical Web client processor 77 uses the variable name (in this case, the tag variable object FI1) when displaying the screen based on the location P13.
(Current value of 01) is divided by the number of colors included in the color palette defined at the point P2 in FIG. 3, and an image is displayed using the color at the position indicated by the remainder. For example, when the color palette of FIG. 5 is set as the color palette object, when the remainder is 0, the graphical W
The web client processor 77 displays a green operation valve, and when it is 1, displays a red operation valve.

Further, at a point P14 in FIG. 8, for example, a drawing command for drawing a background screen or the like is described. In the figure, a basic command (Line) for displaying a line segment constituting a background image is illustrated, and start coordinates (sx, s) are used as a value indicating a property.
y), end coordinates (ex, ey), a line width, a line type, a line color, and a character string indicating a variable name for changing the color of the line display are sequentially described by separating them with a separator. In addition,
In this example, the variable names are omitted, and the line segments are displayed in a fixed color.

Thus, based on the picture configuration definition file shown in FIG. 8, the graphical Web client processor 77, as shown in FIG. 12, changes the bulb V whose color changes based on the current value of the tag variable object (FI101). And a bar graph B that periodically expands according to the value of the work variable object (WK0).

In the above description, only the display case has been described.
Instead of the correspondence between the graphic element and the variable name, the correspondence between an event such as an operation on a specific area on the screen and the variable name may be described. In this case, when the event occurs, the graphical Web client processor 77 changes the contents of the tag variable object indicated by the variable name according to the event. Further, the real-time data collection unit 75
Instructs the OPC client 61 to change the state of the device corresponding to the tag variable object. Thereby, the state of the device of the local control system can be controlled from the terminal device 6a.

The files such as the system variable definition file and the picture configuration definition file may be newly created, for example, by the terminal device 6a. For example, the screen of the panel computer 12 shown in FIG. If there is a drawing device to create, create a system variable definition file and a picture configuration definition file on the drawing device,
It is preferable to use the terminal device 6a after partially modifying it.

More specifically, for example, as shown in FIG. 13, the above-mentioned drawing device 8 is provided with each OPC server 45 shown in FIG.
Screen data file storage unit 82, which stores a screen data file for the panel computer 12, a picture configuration definition file, a system variable definition file, and a script definition file, in addition to the OPC client 81 accessible to A unit 83, a system variable definition file storage unit 84, and a script definition file storage unit 85 are provided. Further, a drawing processing unit 86 for interactively designing a screen by combining predetermined graphic elements, a screen data access unit 87 for outputting the designed screen as the screen data file, and A picture configuration definition file access unit (picture configuration definition file output unit) 88 for outputting as a configuration definition file, and a graphic element which is referred to by the drawing processing unit 86 and can be arranged on the screen and the OPC server 45 can acquire A local database 89 that stores a list of devices and the like is provided.

The drawing device 8 has an OPC client controller 90 for controlling the OPC client 81.
And the database development environment 91 that receives the list of devices that can be obtained by the OPC server 45 from the OPC client 81 and creates the system variable definition file or the script definition file with reference to the list. Is provided.

The drawing device 8 may be the terminal device 6a itself as long as each file can be stored in the file storage section 63 of the terminal device 6a.
a and other computers in the local control system,
It may be a computer capable of transmitting data to the terminal device 6a. Each of the members 81 to 91 of the drawing device 8 is also a functional block realized by the execution of a program by the arithmetic unit, similarly to the above members 61 to 64 and 71 to 77 (see FIG. 1).

The drawing processing unit 86 having the above-described configuration allows the user of the drawing device 8 to select a graphic element and display it on the screen by, for example, displaying a palette of graphic elements that can be arranged on the screen in a selectable manner. Encourage them to place. Also, the image processing unit 86
Displays the already arranged graphic elements on the screen of the drawing device 8, and presents the screen configuration designed so far to the user. Further, the drawing processing unit 86 receives, for example, a drag or coordinate input of a graphic element and adjusts the arrangement of each graphic element. On the other hand, the drawing processing unit 86 prompts the user to input an address or a name indicating a device related to the graphic element for a graphic element that changes according to the state of the device. As a result, the user can operate the drawing processing unit 86 to arrange the graphic elements at desired positions on the screen and design the screen simply by associating each graphic element with a device.

The screen data access section 87 stores the designed screen in the screen data file storage section 82 in the form of screen data, and the picture configuration definition file access section 88 stores the designed screen in the form of a picture configuration definition file. It is stored in the picture configuration definition file storage unit 83.
Further, each access unit 87 (88) can read out the designed screen from each storage unit 82 (83) as needed, and can cause the drawing processing unit 86 to further correct it.

Here, when generating a picture configuration definition file, it is necessary to specify a device corresponding to each graphic element by a variable name. The picture configuration definition file access unit 88 is provided with a system variable definition file storage unit 84. The variable name corresponding to each device is determined by referring to the system variable definition file stored in. If the system variable definition file is not stored, the picture configuration definition file access unit 88 automatically creates a variable name corresponding to each device, and in the system variable definition file, a variable not associated with the device. It may be stored as a name. In this case, the database development environment 91
However, for example, based on a user's instruction or the like, the correspondence between these variable names and devices is described in the system variable definition file.

[0066]

As described above, the terminal device of the control system according to the first aspect of the present invention provides a variable definition file in which a combination of a device and a variable name and access information are described in a text format, a graphic element, A file storage unit for storing a picture configuration definition file in which the correspondence of the variable names is described in a text format; and, based on the access information, causing the communication unit to access a process data server, and describing the process definition in the variable definition file. Data acquisition means for acquiring the state of each device obtained, and for each graphic element of the picture configuration definition file, the state of the device acquired by the data collection means is combined with a variable name corresponding to the graphic element. And a drawing unit that performs drawing according to the state of the device on a browser.

As described above, the recording medium according to the second aspect of the present invention has a configuration in which a program for operating a computer is recorded as each means according to the first aspect, and the computer executes the program to execute the program. The computer can operate as the terminal device according to the first aspect.

According to the above configuration, since the variable definition file is stored in the terminal device in advance, the access procedure to the process data server can be determined without accessing the server, and the network traffic can be reduced. Further, since the variable definition file and the picture configuration definition file are separated from each other, when different device states are displayed on the same screen configuration, only the variable definition file is changed without changing the picture configuration definition file. That can be dealt with. In addition, both files
Since the combinations and correspondences are described in a text format, they can be easily edited by a text editor installed in advance on many computers. As a result of these,
With the terminal device alone, there is an effect that a control system that can easily change the screen configuration when displaying the status of the device of the local control system can be realized.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, as described above, the terminal device of the control system includes the device state as one of the properties and can refer to each property by the script engine. In addition, there is provided a preprocessor for creating an object corresponding to each of the variable names based on the variable definition file, and the file storage means is provided to the script engine based on a result obtained by referring to a predetermined property of the object. This is a configuration in which a script definition file for instructing the screen drawing operation is stored.

According to the above configuration, the preprocessor creates an object corresponding to the variable name. Here, the preprocessor creates an object in a format that allows the script engine to refer to the properties of each object. Therefore, by referring to the property and describing the operation to draw the screen in the script definition file,
The script engine can display the screen according to the properties of the object. This allows the script engine to execute a complicated device state display process in which the drawing unit that refers to the picture configuration definition file cannot draw, such as when the drawing unit cannot draw a graphic element for animation, for example. Can improve the expressive power of the screen. It should be noted that the state display processing in which the drawing means can draw can be performed by the drawing means by describing the correspondence between the variable name and the graphic element in the picture configuration definition file. As a result, there is an effect that it is possible to realize a terminal device that can easily change the screen configuration and display the state of the device with high expressive power.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the terminal device of the control system simulates the device state by the method described in the variable definition file in the configuration of the first or third aspect of the invention. In addition, in place of the data collection unit, a simulation unit that notifies a simulation result to the drawing unit as a device state is provided.

In the above configuration, the simulation means calculates the state of the device based on the description of the variable definition file. Therefore, even when communication with the process data server is not possible, only the terminal device can use the local device based on the simulation result. There is an effect that the virtual state of the device of the control system can be displayed.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a control system according to the first aspect, wherein the status of the device is determined based on screen data stored in the local control system and stored in advance. And a control display device for displaying a screen based on the obtained result, and a drawing device for designing a configuration of an operation screen of the control display device and outputting the screen data based on the design result, The drawing apparatus is configured to include a picture configuration definition file output unit that outputs the picture configuration definition file based on the design result.

In the above configuration, since the drawing device for generating the screen data of the control display device of the local control system includes the picture configuration definition file output means, the screen design process for the control display device and the terminal device At least a part of the screen design process for the computer. As a result, although the state of the device of the local control system can be displayed on the terminal device, it is possible to greatly reduce the trouble of designing a screen for the terminal device.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of the present invention, and is a block diagram illustrating a main configuration of a terminal device.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a main configuration of an entire control system including the terminal device.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a system variable definition file stored in the terminal device.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing common variables that can be described in the system variable definition file.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between a color palette set in the system variable definition file and a screen display.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a simulation method that can be described in the system variable definition file.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing variable types that can be described in the system variable definition file.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a picture configuration definition file stored in the terminal device.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing drawing commands that can be described in the picture configuration definition file.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory view showing a bar graph drawn by an object command for displaying a bar graph among the drawing commands.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a valve type that can be specified by an object command for valve display among the drawing commands.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a screen displayed by the picture configuration definition file.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a main configuration of a drawing apparatus preferably used when creating the picture configuration definition file and the system variable definition file.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating a conventional technique and illustrating a main configuration of a control system.

FIG. 15 shows a prior application filed by the present applicant,
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a main configuration of the control system.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Control system 2 Target system (local control system) 2a device 3 Control equipment layer (local control system) 4 Monitoring control layer (local control system) 5 Internet (network) 6a Terminal device 8 Drawing device 12 Panel computer (control display device) 45 OPC server (process data server) 62 Browser 63 File storage unit (File storage unit) 72 Script engine 74 Preprocessor 75 Real-time data collection unit (Data collection unit) 76 Simulation data generation unit (Simulation unit) 77 Graphical Web client processor ( Drawing means) 88 Picture configuration definition file access unit (picture configuration definition file output means) P1 location (access information)

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A terminal device of a control system comprising a process data server capable of acquiring a state of a device to be controlled by a local control system and communication means capable of communicating via a network, comprising: A variable definition file in which access information for determining a combination and an access procedure for a process data server capable of acquiring the state of the device in a text format, a graphic element displayed on a screen, and the variable name And a file storage unit for storing a picture configuration definition file in which the correspondence of the description is described in a text format. Based on the access information, the communication unit is made to access a process data server. Data collection means for acquiring the status of the device; For each graphic element of the file,
Of the device states obtained by the data collection means,
A terminal device for a control system, comprising: drawing means for performing drawing on a browser according to the state of a device combined with a variable name corresponding to the graphic element. 2. A computer-readable recording medium in which a program for operating a computer is recorded as each means according to claim 1. 3. A preprocessor which includes a device state as one of the properties, can refer to each property by a script engine, and creates an object corresponding to each of the variable names based on the variable definition file. The file storage means stores a script definition file for instructing the script engine to perform a screen drawing operation based on a result obtained by referring to a predetermined property of an object.
A terminal device of the control system as described in the above. 4. The variable definition file can describe a combination of a method of simulating a device state in addition to a variable name and a device, and simulate the state of a device by the method described in the variable definition file. 4. The terminal device for a control system according to claim 1, further comprising a simulation unit that notifies the drawing unit of a simulation result as a device state, instead of the data collection unit. 5. A terminal device according to claim 1, further comprising: a control unit for acquiring a state of the device based on screen data stored in advance and stored in the local control system, and displaying a screen based on the acquisition result. A display device, and a drawing device that designs the configuration of the operation screen of the control display device and outputs the screen data based on the design result. The drawing device configures the picture configuration based on the design result. A control system comprising picture configuration definition file output means for outputting a definition file.