US 11,435,716 B2Granted

Information collecting device and method for collecting engineering and device information to maintain an updated information database of devices in a plant

AssigneeYokogawa Electric Corporation

InventorsHiroshi Iriguchi, Eiji Nagai, Masatoshi Takubo, Jisong Zhang

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Abstract

An information collecting device controls a plant based on process data acquired from controllers and field devices connected to the controllers. The information collecting device includes an arithmetic controller and an update controller. The arithmetic controller collects first information which is engineering information of the plant and second information which is device information from a controller, a field device or a combination of both selected from the controllers and the field devices. The update controller generates third information based on a definition in which the first information and the second information are set in advance, and updates the third information in a storage based on a preset update cycle.

Claims10

Dependent claims

An information collecting device for controlling a plant based on process data acquired from controllers and field devices connected to the controllers, the information collecting device comprising:

an input device that comprises a display panel displaying a list of pieces of stored device information;
a central processing unit (CPU) that:
receives a user input to select a piece of stored device information to be updated from the list via the input device,
sets a collection range of first and second device information based on the piece of stored device information selected from the list, wherein the collection range is specified by the user input and indicates a type or an installation area of at least one of the controllers or the field devices that require update of the piece of stored device information,
based on the collection range, collects a plurality of pieces of first device information of the plant obtained from a first storage,
sets first identification information for identifying each piece of the first device information,
based on the collection range, collects a plurality of pieces of second device information obtained from one of the controllers, one of the field devices, or a combination of both selected from the controllers and the field devices,
sets second identification information for identifying each piece of the second device information,
when the first and the second identification information are common,
generates, based on a definition that specifies a piece of the first device information from among the collected pieces of first device information and specifies a piece of the second device information from among the collected pieces of second device information, combined device information including the piece of the first device information and the piece of the second device information, and
updates the piece of stored device information in a second storage using the combined device information based on a preset update cycle, and
when the first and the second identification information are not common,
either collects another piece of second device information for another time or refrains from generating the combined device information.

10 more elements

A method for collecting information in an information collecting device that comprises a central processing unit (CPU) and controls a plant based on process data acquired from controllers and field devices connected to the controllers, the method comprising:

displaying, on a display panel of an input device, a list of pieces of stored device information;
receiving, via the input device, a user input to select a piece of stored device information to be updated from the list,
setting a collection range of first and second device information based on the piece of stored device information selected from the list, wherein the collection range is specified by the user input and indicates a type or an installation area of at least one of the controllers or the field devices that require update of the piece of stored device information,
based on the collection range, collecting a plurality of pieces of first device information of the plant obtained from a first storage;
setting first identification information for identifying each piece of the first device information;
based on the collection range, collecting a plurality of pieces of second device information obtained from a controller, a field device, or a combination of both selected from the controllers and the field devices;
setting second identification information for identifying each piece of the second device information;
when the first and the second identification information are common,
generating, based on a definition that specifies a piece of the first device information from among the collected pieces of first device information and specifies a piece of the second device information from among the collected pieces of second device information, combined device information including the piece of the first device information and the piece of the second device information, and
updating the piece of stored device information in a second storage using the combined device information based on a preset update cycle;
and
when the first and the second identification information are not common,
either collecting another piece of second device information for another time or refraining from generating the combined device information.

10 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 16/138,412Filed 21 Sep 2018
Priority: JP JP2017-18209322 Sep 2017
Published: US 2019/0094832 A128 Mar 2019
Granted: 6 Sep 2022
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification9 codes

G05B 19/058
Programmable logic controllers, e.g. simulating logic interconnections of signals according to ladder diagrams or function charts: safety, monitoring
G05B 19/4065
Characterised by monitoring or safety: monitoring tool breakage, life or condition
G05B 19/4185
Total factory control, i.e. centrally controlling a plurality of machines, e.g. direct or distributed numerical control [DNC], flexible…:…
G05B 2219/15004
Plc structure of the system: identity kind of module, control unit connected