Process control system

• US 7,054,694 B2
• Filed: 05/01/2002
• Issued: 05/30/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/30/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Yokogawa Electric Corporation
• Original Assignee: Yokogawa Electric Corporation
• Inventors: Okada, Satoshi, Kawano, Takafumi, Funaki, You, Fujinami, Shingo
• Primary Examiner(s): Knight, Anthony
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chang, Sunray
• Application Number:
  US10/135,372
• Publication Number:
  US 20040015244A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,490 Days
• Field of Search: 700/28, 700/54, 700/40, 700/103, 700/29, 364/51
• US Class Current: 700/29
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/054 Input/output
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/1176 I-O signal processing, adaption, conditioning, conversion of signal levels

Abstract

The present invention has the following characteristics.

The process input signal input value and engineering unit value scale data are associated and stored inside the control unit. The operation value determined from the input value and the engineering unit value scale data are sent from the control unit to the monitoring unit. Accordingly, the control unit and monitoring unit do not hold separate engineering unit value scale data, so the engineering unit value scale data can be centrally managed.

Claims

1. A process control system, comprising:

a control unit that executes control computations using a normalized signal as an input value and outputs an operation value; and

a monitoring unit that communicates with the control unit via a control bus, and converts the operation value output from the control unit to a physical unit value scale and displays the operation value;

wherein the control unit includes an input data storage means for associating and storing the input value and engineering unit value scale data as structuralized data, and an operation means for receiving the structuralized data from the input data storage means and computing the operation value;

wherein the operation means supplies the operation value and the engineering unit value scale data to a display means of the monitoring unit.

2. The process control system of claim 1, wherein the control unit further comprises a database and an initialization means, and wherein the engineering unit value scale data are read from the database, and are set by the initialization means in the input data storage means.

3. The process control system of claim 1, further comprising an input unit,

wherein the engineering unit value scale data are supplied, together with the input value, to the control unit via the input unit, and set in the input data storage means.

4. A process control system, comprising;

I/O modules corresponding to I/O points, the I/O modules inputting and outputting I/O data;

an input output unit that directs the I/O data passing through the I/O modules;

control logic to receive the I/O data passing through the I/O modules and to handle the I/O data;

a label definition means for defining variables handled by the control logic using label names; and

a correspondence table, which provides correspondences between mount positions specifying the I/O modules, and the label names;

wherein the data input and output from the I/O modules are connected to corresponding control logic based on the correspondence table.

5. The process control system of claim 4, wherein the control logic is built using a soft PLC the functions of which are defined by software, which soft PLC is written in a programming language conforming to the IEC 61131-3 standard.

6. A process control system comprising:

a control logic generating unit comprising a control logic generating means that creates control logic used by a control application, and a label definition means that defines variables handled by the control logic using label names;

a control unit comprising a control application execution means, which is generated by downloading data of the control logic generation means, and a correspondence table,

which is generated by downloading data of the label definition means, and which provides correspondences between mount positions specifying I/O modules, and the label names;

a table maintenance unit that maintains the correspondences between the label names and the mount positions in the correspondence table; and

a process input output unit comprising input and output modules for inputting and outputting data;

wherein the data input and output from the process input output unit are connected to corresponding control logic based on the correspondence table.

7. The process control system as recited in claim 6, wherein the control logic generating unit, control unit, table maintenance unit, and process input output unit are written in a programming language conforming to the IEC 61131-3 standard.

8. A process control system comprising;

a PLC means, whose functions are defined by software and which executes a control application;

an input interface means that interfaces a signal from a real process to the PLC means;

an output interface means that interfaces a signal from the PLC means to a real process;

a pseudo input generating means, whose functions are defined by software and which generates a simulated input signal based on a signal from the output interface means; and

a real input pseudo input switching means, which, when a simulated input signal is used, supplies the pseudo input generating means with a signal from the output interface means, and supplies the input interface means with the output signal of the pseudo input generating means.

9. The process control system of claim 8, wherein the PLC means and pseudo input generating means are written in a programming language conforming to the IEC 61131-3 standard.

10. The process control system of claim 8 or 9, wherein the pseudo input generating means simulation-calculates a response of a process according to a signal from the output interface means.

11. The process control system in claim 8 or 9, wherein the pseudo input generating means simulation-calculates an abnormal state of a process according to a signal from the output interface means.

12. The process control system in claim 8 or 9, wherein the real input pseudo input switching means comprises a soft wiring means.