JPH0454597A - Process supervisory equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

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

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a process monitoring device, and in particular to a large-scale distributed digital control system consisting of process control equipment and an operation monitoring console that perform PID control, process status monitoring, etc. The present invention relates to a process monitoring device that is applied to a process instrumentation system, performs monitoring and operation using CRT operation, and is suitable for plant automation and labor saving.

[Conventional technology]

In the configuration of a process monitoring device in a conventional process instrumentation system, for example, Hitachi Unitrol EX-1000
As described in the “System Overview” of series ES 3599-006, the CR of the plant operation monitoring console
By securing a special display area for displaying process alarms on any screen of the T, or by providing a dedicated screen where process alarms are displayed collectively, the display of process alarms and operator confirmation keys can be improved. A common method was to perform confirmation by inputting data. In this conventional method, when a process alarm occurs during plant monitoring, the operator switches the currently displayed screen to a specific alarm screen prepared by the system to recognize and confirm the cause of the alarm. It is configured to perform the following operations.

Further, as a publicly known document disclosing another process monitoring device, there is Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-263804. This document proposes a display method for a process monitoring control device, and discloses a configuration in which predetermined detailed monitoring information and the like are displayed in a composite manner on a screen showing a process system.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

The process monitoring device of the former process instrumentation system described above is sufficiently useful in operation when the process is relatively simple and the system is small-scale. On the other hand, as systems become larger and more complex, processes must be operated continuously over long periods of time, so many CRTs are installed and these CRTs are equipped with graphic screens that allow the plant to be monitored at a glance. It is customary to display the information at all times to operate the plant and respond to unforeseen situations. When a conventional process monitoring device is applied to such a large-scale process instrumentation system, when a process alarm occurs, the graphic screen is switched to another specific alarm screen to display and confirm the alarm. , it is necessary to return to the light graphic screen again.

Conventional process monitoring devices display a process alarm on a predetermined CRT screen when an abnormality occurs in a process.
The system is configured so that the alarm display is set to a confirmed state when the operator inputs a confirmation key.
This is in accordance with the flow of confirmation processing.

By the way, as systems for monitoring plant operation become larger and more complex, and are operated continuously, and as a result, as CRT operations become central, the number of CRTs for monitoring also increases, and the number of CRTs to be monitored increases. The number of display screens will also increase. In this way, each screen displays the minimum necessary information for the process to be monitored, and the operator can look at the screen for his/her own territory and quickly respond if, for example, an alarm occurs regarding the monitored target. It is essential to be able to perform appropriate processing.

However, in any case, conventional process monitoring devices are not configured to be able to confirm and take action on process alarms displayed on arbitrary specification graphic screens that are most often used in plant operation monitoring. here,
A graphic screen with optional specifications is not a graphic screen specified by the manufacturer, but a graphic screen that the user can freely create independently.In this case, the process monitoring device has a software configuration that allows the creation of the graphic screen. have. Therefore, with conventional process monitoring equipment, it is not possible to confirm process alarms on a graphic screen with arbitrary specifications, and when an alarm occurs at a predetermined location on the screen, it is necessary to switch to another screen. There was a problem that a central plant operation monitoring system could not be constructed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a plant monitoring device that allows confirmation actions to be taken on a process alarm directly displayed on a graphic screen of any specification without changing to another screen.

[Means to solve the problem]

A first process monitoring device according to the present invention includes a display means capable of displaying a graphic screen of arbitrary specifications, a key input means for an operator, and a processing means, and the processing means includes a process input/output device. a means for exchanging process data and setting signals with the monitor, and a means for expressing process equipment and logistics routes in the process to be monitored using arbitrary characters and figures, and displaying a graphic screen of the arbitrary specifications on the display means. a first display mechanism; and a display means for displaying at least one of the process signal and the setting signal for each monitoring point of the process using an expression format such as numerical values, characters, figures, and expression modes such as colors and flashes. and a third display mechanism for displaying a process alarm on the display means using a display format and display mode based on a process alarm signal output by the process control means in response to an abnormality occurring in the process.
The first display mechanism displays a graphic screen representing the process on the display means, and in conjunction with the graphic screen, the second and third display mechanisms display at least one of the process signal and the setting signal. In a process monitoring device where a process alarm is displayed, when the operator confirms the process alarm displayed on the graphic screen of the display means and operates the confirmation key of the key input means, this confirmation operation signal is captured and displayed on the graphic screen. The present invention includes a changing means for changing the display state of the process alarm to a confirmed state, and is configured to allow an operator to confirm the process alarm on a graphic screen.

In the second process monitoring device according to the present invention, in the device configuration described above, the third display mechanism includes a table in which the current status of process alarms is arranged for each factor based on the process alarm signal sent from the process control means. and a calculation means for displaying a process alarm at an arbitrary position on the graphic screen by referring to this table, and a changing means for displaying a specified process alarm when a confirmation key is operated for the displayed process alarm. The feature is that it has a mechanism to search the table for each factor and mark the corresponding factor as confirmed.

In the third process monitoring device according to the present invention, in the device configuration described above, a plurality of process alarms are displayed on the graphic screen of the display means, and these plurality of process alarms can be confirmed with confirmed process alarms by a confirmation operation. The present invention is characterized in that the display state is different from that of a process alarm that has not been executed, so that the two process alarms can be distinguished on the graphic screen.

In the fourth process monitoring device according to the present invention, in the device configuration described above, the arrangement relationship and the display of each display object displayed on the screen of the display means by the first, second and third display mechanisms are provided. A feature of the system is that it includes a support mechanism that supports arbitrary changes in display specifications such as scores.

[Effect]

In the process monitoring device according to the present invention, process alarms are also displayed on the graphic screen of any specification of the display means, and the operator can take confirmation measures while looking at the screen on this graphic screen. When process alarms are displayed, it is possible to distinguish between acknowledged and unacknowledged process alarms.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a process monitoring device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a flowchart of the main parts, and FIG. 3 shows an example of the configuration of a distributed digital process instrumentation system to which the process monitoring device according to the present invention is applied. and process alarm detection, transmission,
4 shows an example of a process alarm confirmation operation on a CRT screen.

First, a distributed digital process instrumentation system will be explained based on FIG. This instrumentation system includes a process monitoring device 31 and a process control device I32,
These are connected through a communication line 33. In the process instrumentation system, a large number of process monitoring devices f[31 and process control devices 32 are installed in the fishing boat, but only one of each is shown in the illustrated example for convenience of explanation. An instrumentation system with one installed each is the minimum configuration; for example, a system with 16 process monitoring devices [31], 32 process control devices, or more is configured as a large-scale instrumentation system. Ru. As shown in FIG. 1, the process monitoring device 31 includes CR1
It is composed of a display device 1, a keyboard input device 2, and a processing device consisting of various processing processors and interfaces.

The process control device 32 receives process signals from the field detection end 35 via the process input terminal 34, and executes various control/monitoring calculations such as PID, sequence control calculations, etc. to move the process equipment according to a predetermined schedule. It is configured to determine an operation output signal for operating a valve, motor, pump, etc., and output it again to the field operation end 36 via the process input/output terminal 34.

In the illustrated example of the process monitoring device 31 in FIG.
is an enlarged view of the display screen 3 of the CR1 display device 1. On the display screen 3, for example, two screens 3A and 3B
By overlapping and forming the images, a graphic screen showing the status of each device in the process, distribution route, etc. is displayed. On this graphic screen 3, fixed part images and variable part images are displayed, and process signals and setting signals of a group of related process equipment are further displayed using expression formats such as numerical values, bar graphs, and figures. Displayed by variable images using color, flashing, etc. The operator can call up a desired graphic screen by operating the keyboard input device 2 and display it on the screen of the CR1 display device 1.

The above graphic screen displayed on the CR1 display device 1 is configured to directly display a process alarm that occurs when the process signal exceeds a set upper limit or when the process signal suddenly changes. There is. A process alarm is displayed on a graphic screen by changing the color of characters or figures, or by flashing, and displaying such a process alarm prompts the operator to take appropriate measures.

The signal for generating the process alarm is generated by the process controller 32. The process control device 32 has a process data processing section 37, and in FIG. 3, only the process data processing section 37 is taken out and its internal configuration is shown in an enlarged manner. The process data processing section 37 processes the process signal 81
~aN is input, and a pair of process alarm detection circuits 38 are configured to set, for example, an upper limit and a lower limit for each of these process signals a and ~aN. Conditions for generating an alarm regarding each process signal are set in the process alarm detection circuit 38, and when the conditions are met, a process alarm signal is output. The process alarm signal generated by the process data processing unit 37 is transmitted to the process monitoring device 31 via the communication line 33, and after being subjected to the predetermined signal processing as described above, the process alarm signal is sent to the CR
7 displayed on the graphic screen 3 of the display device 1.

In the plant monitoring device having the above configuration, when a process alarm is displayed on the graphic screen 3 of the CR7 display device 1, the operator who monitors the plant monitoring screen 3 determines the content of the process alarm displayed on the graphic screen. and take appropriate action on the plant either on the same graphic screen or on another related screen. In the process monitoring device 1 configured in this way, multiple process alarms are usually displayed on one graphic screen, so the operator can easily see newly generated process alarms and previously confirmed process alarms. It is necessary to configure the system so that process alarms that have been cleared or treated can be clearly identified. Therefore, in the configuration according to this embodiment, a process alarm confirmation operation can be performed directly on a graphic screen of arbitrary specifications.

Next, with reference to FIG. 4, an example of a process alarm confirmation operation on an optional graphic screen will be described. In FIG. 4, the graphic screen 3 of the CRT display device 1 is displayed with an image 301 of a fixed portion/variable portion of the graphic screen and a process alarm image 302 superimposed on each other.

The operator moves the cursor 4 on the screen by appropriately operating the cursor movement keys 2A provided on the keyboard input device 2.
1 to match the desired process alarm factor,
In this state, press the confirmation key 2B to perform the confirmation procedure. In FIG. 4, the cursor movement key 2A and confirmation key 2B provided on the keyboard input device 2 are shown enlarged for convenience of explanation. In the illustrated screen - for example 3
Three process alarm causes 42, 43, and 44 are displayed. Regarding graphic screen 3 in Figure 4, 303→
The screen changes in the order of 304→305, which corresponds to the movement of the cursor 41 as the process alarm factor is confirmed. In this confirmation operation, unconfirmed process alarm causes are displayed in a flash format, and confirmed process alarm causes are stopped from flashing, thereby distinguishing between unconfirmed causes and confirmed causes. In this way, the operator operates in the order of 303→304→305 on the process alarm confirmation screen to confirm the process alarm.

Next, based on FIGS. 1 and 2, the process monitoring device 3
The configuration of No. 1 will be explained in detail.

FIG. 1 shows a process alarm being superimposed on a graphic screen of arbitrary specifications displayed on the CR7 display device 1 of the process monitoring device 31, and a specified process alarm being confirmed in response to the operator's operation of the confirmation key. This figure shows a mechanism for displaying the state. In Figure 1, 1
2 is the CRT display device, 2 is the keyboard input device for the operator, and 3 is the screen of the CR7 display device 1, that is, a graphic screen of arbitrary specifications displayed on the screen. This graphic screen 3 is constructed by overlapping a graphic screen fixed section 301A and a graphic screen variable section 302B. 4 is a graphic screen fixed section 301A and a graphic screen variable section 30;
This is a graphic screen construction support unit for creating each of 1B. The graphic screen construction support unit 4 is prepared with graphic displays of a large number of plant components in order to display graphic images of the plant system on the screen 3 of the CR7 display device 1. Therefore, by using the graphic screen construction support section 4, the operator can arbitrarily create a graphic screen 3 of a process to be monitored on the screen of the CR7 display device 1. When a graphic screen is arbitrarily created using the graphic screen construction support section 4 as a screen creation tool, a graphic screen fixed section 301A and a graphic screen variable section 301 are created.
A graphic screen fixed part display code 5 and a graphic screen variable part display code 6 are generated in correspondence to each of B.

As described above, it is already known to generate the graphic screen fixed part display code 5 and the graphic screen variable part display code when creating the graphic screen 3 for displaying the process to be monitored on the CR7 display device 1. These display codes are generated by a screen creation processing device (not shown) based on operator input.

Reference numeral 7 denotes a process alarm acquisition/confirmation processing unit, and process alarm signals 1 to n sent from the process control device 32 described above are input to the process alarm acquisition/confirmation processing unit 7. The process alarm acquisition/confirmation processing unit 7 sets a process alarm current status table 9 based on the input process alarm signal 8. In the process current status table 9, S means status (current alarm occurrence state), D means display (whether the alarm is displayed or not), and R means reset (0 means reset, 1 means reset is not done). not yet completed). These data are set for all process alarm signals 1-n.

A graphic image of arbitrary specifications to be displayed on the CRT display device ill of the process monitoring device 31 is generated by the image synthesis unit 1.
It is created by taking in data from the graphic screen fixed part display code 5 and the graphic screen variable part display code 6 in 0, analyzing them, and configuring the image. Furthermore, if a process alarm request is generated in the graphic screen variable section display code 6, the screen synthesis section 10 retrieves the current status of the corresponding alarm factor from the process alarm current status table 9, and displays the process alarm on the graphic image. Superimpose the alarm display image. The image created in this way is stored in the image memory 11, and then
The contents of the image memory 11 are sent to CR7 via the image output section 12.
The image is output on the screen of the display device 1 as an image. In the contents stored in the image memory 11, F means a flash state, R, G, and B represent display colors, and CD means a code.

As a result of the above, the graphic image 3 of the process to be monitored is displayed on the screen of the CR7 display device 1 together with the process alarm. Process alarm 13 on graphic screen 3
When the operator presses the U key 2B on the keyboard input device 12 in the state where is displayed, the process alarm acquisition/confirmation processing unit 7 determines the display position of the process alarm on the screen 3, and displays the process alarm current status table 9. Set the corresponding process alarm factor above to a confirmed state.

Then, the confirmed process alarm factor is transmitted through the image synthesis section 10, image memory 11, and image output section 12.
This is displayed on the screen of the R7 display device 1 as the second confirmed process alarm.

Next, details of the processing by the image processing section 10 will be explained with reference to FIG. 2.

Step 21 is a processing step for displaying the fixed portion of the graphic screen, in which the fixed graphic screen display code 5 is taken in and the image data of the fixed portion is set in the image memory 11. Next, the graphic screen variable part display code 6 is fetched from the beginning and sequentially analyzed (step 22). In step 23, it is determined whether the content of the graphic screen variable part display code 6 is a process alarm display code. If the variable part display code is a process alarm, the process moves to step 24, and if it is not a process alarm, the process moves to step 25. Move. In step 24, the current status of the corresponding process alarm factor is taken out from the table 9, and in step 25, various signals are taken in and the image memory 11
Configure the settings.

After step 24, the process goes to step 26 for determining whether or not the process alarm has been confirmed, and after step 25, the process goes to step 29. In step 26, it is determined whether the process factor has been confirmed, and if it has been confirmed, in step 27, the process factor is set in the image memory 11 to be displayed as confirmed. If it is unconfirmed, the process factor is set in the image memory 11 to be displayed as unconfirmed. In the final step 29, the extraction destination of the variable part display code 6 is updated, and it is determined whether the analysis of all codes has been completed. If the analysis of all the codes has not been completed, the process returns to step 22 and the above-mentioned operations are repeated, and if the analysis has been completed, the process ends.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, a process alarm is displayed on the display device of a process monitoring device together with a graphic screen of arbitrary specifications created in response to a user's request, and an operator can view such a graphic screen. While monitoring, you can select the process alarm that is occurring and perform the confirmation operation without switching to another screen to display the confirmed status individually, improving operability and maintainability in process operation and monitoring. can be improved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining the characteristic display mechanism of the process monitoring device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a typical operation of the image composition section, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the process monitoring device and the process FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the relationship between the control device and the plant, and is a diagram for explaining the confirmation procedure on the graphic screen. [Explanation of symbols] 1...CRT display device 2...Keyboard input device 2A...ψ/Cursor movement key 2B...Confirmation key 3... Graphic screen 4...Graphic screen construction support section 5...
・・Graphic screen fixed part display code 6 ・・Graphic screen variable part display code 7 ・・Process alarm capture/confirmation processing section 9-ψ ・・Process current status table 10 ・・・・
・Image synthesis unit 11 ・Fist ・Image memory 12 ・φ ・Image output unit 31 ・・Process monitoring device 32 ・・Process control device 33 ・・・Communication line 34 ・・...Process input/output terminal 37...Process alarm data processing section Fig. 2 Fig. 3

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) A display means capable of displaying a graphic screen of arbitrary specifications, a key input means for an operator, and a processing means are provided, and the processing means is provided with a means for transmitting process data and setting signals to and from a process input/output device. a first display mechanism that displays a graphic screen of the arbitrary specifications on the display means, expressing the process equipment and logistics route in the process to be monitored using arbitrary characters and figures;
a second display mechanism that displays at least one of a process signal and a setting signal for each monitoring point of the process on the display means using an expression format such as numerical values, characters, figures, etc., and an expression mode such as color or flash; and a third display mechanism that displays a process alarm on the display means using the display format and the display mode based on a process alarm signal output by the process control means in response to an abnormality occurring in the process. , a graphic screen representing the process is displayed on the display means by the first display mechanism, and in conjunction with this graphic screen, at least one of the process signal and the setting signal and the process signal are displayed by the second and third display mechanisms. In a process monitoring device in which an alarm is displayed, when an operator confirms the process alarm displayed on the graphic screen of the display means and operates a confirmation key of the key input means, this confirmation operation signal is captured;
A process monitoring device comprising: a changing means for changing a display state of a process alarm on the graphic screen to a confirmed state, so that an operator can perform a process alarm confirmation operation on the graphic screen. (2) The process monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein the third display mechanism includes a table in which the current status of process alarms is arranged for each factor based on the process alarm signal sent from the process control means; It has a calculating means for displaying a process alarm at an arbitrary position on the graphic screen by referring to this table, and the changing means is configured to display a process alarm for a specified process alarm when a confirmation key is operated for the displayed process alarm. A process monitoring device characterized by having a mechanism to search the table and mark a corresponding factor as confirmed. (3) In the process monitoring device according to claim 1 or 2, a plurality of the process alarms are displayed on the graphic screen of the display means, and the plurality of process alarms are confirmed with confirmed process alarms. A process monitoring device characterized in that the display state of the process alarm is different from that of a process alarm that does not exist, so that the two process alarms can be distinguished on the graphic screen. (4) In the process monitoring device according to claim 1, regarding each of the display objects displayed on the screen of the display means by the first, second, and third display mechanisms, the arrangement relationship, the number of display points, etc. 1. A process monitoring device comprising a support mechanism for supporting arbitrary changes in display specifications.