Plant-monitoring autonomous control system

To obtain a plant-monitoring autonomous control system which performs autonomous distributed control without using an advanced calculation processing unit such as a CPU. A plant-monitoring autonomous control system is provided with a control network which mutually connects: input nodes for receiving an input signal from a control target apparatus and transmitting the input signal to the control network; a calculation node having calculation circuits, and for transmitting, to the control network, a result obtained by performing calculation processing on data received from the input node; and an output node for outputting, to the control target apparatus, data received from the calculation node.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a plant-monitoring autonomous control system for performing monitoring control of a plant facility such as a nuclear power plant.

BACKGROUND ART

In recent years, digital control systems have been applied to control devices for monitoring control in plant facilities such as newly-constructed nuclear power plants. In such a conventional digital control system, a centralized control method is employed. Thus, an input/output device serving as an interface for a control target apparatus, a centralized control device for performing complicated control logic calculation, and a relay apparatus for connecting these are required regardless of the scale of the control system. Therefore, the system configuration of a small-scale control system is more complicated than that of an analog control system, thus causing decreased reliability. In addition, the entire system is influenced by an abnormality in the centralized control device, which also causes decreased reliability.

Thus, a distributed control system has been proposed that has controlling computers which are connected in a distributed manner, which each download a controlling program in advance, and which each include independent control means for controlling by itself a control target apparatus when data necessary for control is set (see Patent Document 1, for example).

CITATION LIST

Patent Document

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

In the distributed control system of Patent Document 1, each controlling computer that controls a control target apparatus includes a memory for storing a monitoring controlling program, and a monitor-control unit implemented as a CPU which automatically controls a plant facility apparatus or the like. However, as for a small-scale system, use of an advanced calculation processing unit such as a CPU is not necessarily needed, but rather, has a problem of causing a complicated configuration, which leads to decreased reliability and increased cost.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above problem. An object of the present invention is to obtain a plant-monitoring autonomous control system which performs autonomous distributed control without using an advanced calculation processing unit such as a CPU.

Solution to the Problems

A plant-monitoring autonomous control system of the present invention is a plant-monitoring autonomous control system for controlling one or a plurality of control target apparatuses, the plant-monitoring autonomous control system including: a plurality of nodes, of different kinds, being connected to one another through a control network; and a communication management device connected to the plurality of nodes via the control network, the communication management device being for sequentially transmitting to each of the nodes, in accordance with an order determined in advance, transmission instruction information which designates data and a transmission source node and a transmission destination node of the data, wherein each node is an input node for receiving an input signal from the control target apparatus and transmitting the input signal to the control network, a calculation node having a calculation circuit and for transmitting, to the control network, a result obtained by performing calculation processing on data received from the input node, or an output node for outputting, to the control target apparatus, data received from the calculation node, and a node designated as the transmission source node transmits the designated data together with the transmission instruction information, to a node designated as the transmission destination node.

Effect of the Invention

According to the plant-monitoring autonomous control system of the present invention, a control network which connects nodes which respectively perform processing of inputting, calculation, and outputting is provided, and thus, it is possible to obtain a plant-monitoring autonomous control system which performs autonomous distributed control without using an advanced calculation processing unit such as a CPU.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, a plant-monitoring autonomous control system according to embodiment 1 of the present invention is described with reference toFIG. 1toFIG. 8.

FIG. 1is a configuration diagram of a plant-monitoring autonomous control system according to embodiment 1. A plant-monitoring autonomous control system100controls a control target apparatus900by an input node10, a calculation node20, an input node30, and an output node40which are connected to one another through a control network N as shown inFIG. 1. Each node transmits/receives communication data through the transmission line of the control network N, and has a unique physical address set thereto. Each arrow on the control network N indicates the flow of a communication packet. Each of the input nodes10and30receives two different input signals from the control target apparatus900and transmits the input signals as communication data to the control network N. The calculation node20performs predetermined calculation processing on the input signals received from each of the input nodes10and30, to generate a control signal, and transmits the control signal to the control network N. The output node40outputs, as output signals, the control signal received from the calculation node20and an input signal received from the input node30, to the control target apparatus900. As for the control target apparatus900, a sensor, a switch, or the like serves as an input, and an alarm, an operation unit, a valve, a relay, or the like serves as an output.

A scheduler90, i.e., a communication management device, which manages communication between nodes is connected to the control network N. The scheduler90sequentially transmits a polling signal P to each node in an order determined in advance, and the node that has received the polling signal P makes a response determined in advance. InFIG. 1, the input node10, which has received the polling signal P, transmits a response signal R to the calculation node20. The scheduler90transmits transmission instruction information (described later) together with the polling signal P, thereby managing the response destination for the node that has received the polling signal and the transmission instruction information, and transmission data to the response destination.

Next, each node and connection between the nodes are described in more detail.FIG. 2is a logical circuit diagram of nodes in the plant-monitoring autonomous control system according to embodiment 1 of the present invention. InFIG. 2, the control network N shown inFIG. 1is specifically indicated by wirings81to86. The input node10includes two output terminals11and12which respectively correspond to two input signals. The calculation node20includes: two calculation circuits71and72; input terminals21and22which receive inputs for the calculation circuit71; input terminals24to26which receive inputs for the calculation circuit72; an output terminal23which transmits an output of the calculation circuit71; and an output terminal28which transmits an output of the calculation circuit72. The input node30includes output terminals31and32which respectively correspond to two input signals. The output node40includes input terminals41and42which respectively correspond to two control signals. In each node, each input terminal or each output terminal corresponds to the kind of data that is communicated. Thus, each input terminal or each output terminal in each node corresponds to data that is transmitted/received.

It should be noted that the connection relationships among nodes and the calculation circuits shown inFIG. 1andFIG. 2are merely examples and the present invention is not limited thereto.

FIG. 3is a diagram describing transmission instruction information transmitted to each node by the scheduler90. In the present invention, the transmission instruction information identified by an identifier (Net ID) designates: a transmission source node and a transmission source output terminal; and a transmission destination node and a transmission destination input terminal, in each communication. The reference character in “terminal” inFIG. 3is the reference character of the corresponding input terminal or output terminal shown inFIG. 2. For example, with respect to transmission instruction information Net1, the transmission source is the output terminal11of the input node10, and the transmission destination is the input terminal21of the calculation node20. As described above, each input terminal or each output terminal of each node corresponds to the data to be communicated, and thus, if a transmission source and a transmission destination are designated by the transmission instruction information, the data to be transmitted/received can be designated.

In the plant-monitoring autonomous control system100of the present embodiment, the scheduler90has prestored therein all pieces of transmission instruction information and the transmission order thereof. In addition, each node has prestored therein, as transmission instruction information for checking, transmission instruction information that designates the node itself as a transmission source or as a transmission destination.

Next, operation is described.FIG. 4is a diagram describing a sequence of communication data according to the present embodiment 1, and shows that communication is performed in the order starting from the top. The reason why a node name is included in the communication data in the case where the transmission source is the scheduler90is that the scheduler90also transmits the physical address of the destination node. “Terminal11data” inFIG. 4indicates that the data is outputted from the output terminal11, and the same mutatis mutandis applies to “terminal12data”, “terminal31data”, and the like. The scheduler90transmits the physical address of the destination node and transmission instruction information corresponding to the destination node. The node that serves as the transmission source adds the designated transmission data to the transmission instruction information received from the scheduler90, and transmits the resultant transmission instruction information to the designated transmission destination. For example, as for the second communication data from the top, the transmission source of the transmission instruction information Net1is the output terminal11of the input node10, and the transmission destination is the input terminal21of the calculation node20. Thus, the input node10designated as the transmission source node transmits the terminal11data together with the transmission instruction information Net1, to the input terminal21of the calculation node20.

FIGS. 5A and 5Bshow diagrams describing operation of the scheduler90, in whichFIG. 5Ais a flow chart showing operation of the scheduler90andFIG. 5Bis a diagram showing a sequence of transmission data transmitted by the scheduler90. First, the scheduler90polls the input node10and transmits a destination node address, that is, the physical address of the input node10, and transmission instruction information Net′ and Net2, thereby causing the input node10to make a response (ST01). Next, the scheduler90polls the input node30and transmits the physical address of the input node30and transmission instruction information Net3(ST02). Next, the scheduler90polls the calculation node20and transmits the physical address of the calculation node20and transmission instruction information Net4and Net5(ST03). Next, the scheduler90polls the output node40and transmits the physical address of the output node40and transmission instruction information Net6(ST04). After ST04, the operation returns to ST01, and by repeating ST01to ST04, the scheduler90continues polling to each node and transmitting transmission instruction information. The scheduler90only performs communication management by performing polling and transmission of transmission instruction information as described above, and does not receive data transmitted by each node.

FIGS. 6A and 6Bshow diagrams describing operation of the input node10, in whichFIG. 6Ais a flow chart showing operation of the input node10andFIG. 6Bis a diagram showing data transmitted/received by the input node10. First, the input node10receives a polling signal P from the scheduler90(ST11). As described above, when the scheduler90performs polling, the scheduler90also transmits a destination node address and transmission instruction information, and thus, the input node10also receives these. Next, the input node10determines whether the received destination node address is the physical address of the input node10(ST12). When the destination is the input node10, the input node10transmits, as a response to the polling, data designated by the received transmission instruction information, i.e., data that corresponds to the output terminal designated as the transmission source by the transmission instruction information, to the designated transmission destination together with the transmission instruction information (ST13). After having made a response to the polling, the input node10waits until receiving the next polling signal P. When having received a plurality of pieces of transmission instruction information, the input node10performs transmission of data successively in accordance with the received order of the transmission instruction information. When the destination is not the input node10in ST12, the input node10discards the received data (ST14), and waits until receiving the next polling signal P.

Specifically, since the destination node for the reception data is the input node10inFIG. 6B, the input node10transmits, as response (transmission) data corresponding to the polling, the terminal11data which is the data designated by the transmission instruction information Net′ in ST12, to the input terminal21of the calculation node20together with the transmission instruction information Net1, and then, transmits the terminal12data designated by the transmission instruction information Net2, to the input terminal22of the calculation node20together with the transmission instruction information Net2.

In the present embodiment, the input node10determines whether the communication is directed to the input node10on the basis of the destination node address transmitted by the scheduler90. Since the destination node address and the transmission source node designated by the transmission instruction information are the same with each other, the input node10may determine whether the communication is directed to the input node10by checking whether the received transmission instruction information designates the input node10as the transmission source node.

The operation of the input node10has been described here, but since the operation of the input node30is similar to that of the input node10, description thereof is omitted.

FIGS. 7A and 7Bshow diagrams describing operation of the calculation node20, in whichFIG. 7Ais a flow chart showing operation of the calculation node20andFIG. 7Bis a diagram showing data transmitted/received by the calculation node20. First, the calculation node20receives a polling signal P from the scheduler90or transmission data from a node (ST21). Here, when receiving a polling signal P from the scheduler90, the calculation node20also receives a destination node address and transmission instruction information. When receiving transmission data from a node, the calculation node20also receives transmission instruction information. Next, the calculation node20compares the received transmission instruction information with the transmission instruction information for checking prestored therein, and determines whether the calculation node20is designated as the transmission destination node (ST22). When the calculation node20is designated as the transmission destination node, the calculation node20executes calculation on the basis of the received transmission data, saves the result, and waits (ST23).

When the calculation node20is not designated as the transmission destination node and has received a destination node address from the scheduler90, the calculation node20determines whether the received destination node address is the physical address of the calculation node20(ST24). When the destination is the calculation node20, the calculation node20reads out saved calculation result and transmits the calculation result together with the received transmission instruction information, to the designated transmission destination (ST25). When having received a plurality of pieces of transmission instruction information, the calculation node20performs transmission of data successively in accordance with the received order of the transmission instruction information. When the destination node is not the calculation node20and no destination node address has been received, the calculation node20discards the reception data, and waits until the next communication (ST26).

In ST24, similar to the case of the input node10described above, the calculation node20may determine whether the communication is directed to the calculation node20by checking whether the calculation node20is designated as the transmission source node.

Specifically, inFIG. 7B, the first to the third and the fifth reception data have the transmission instruction information Net1, Net2, Net3, and Net4which designate the calculation node20as the transmission destination node. Therefore, when these are received, calculation processing is performed in ST23. As for the fourth reception data, the destination node of the reception data is the calculation node20, and thus, a response (calculation result transmission) is made through ST25or ST26. Since the transmission instruction information is Net4and Net5, in response to the polling, terminal23data is transmitted to the input terminal24of the calculation node20, together with the transmission instruction information Net4, and subsequently, terminal28data is transmitted to the input terminal41of the output node40, together with the transmission instruction information Net5.

FIGS. 8A and 8Bshow diagrams describing operation of the output node40, in whichFIG. 8Ais a flow chart showing operation of the output node40andFIG. 8Bis a diagram showing data transmitted/received by the output node40. First, the output node40receives transmission instruction information and transmission data from a node (ST31). Next, the output node40compares the received transmission instruction information with the transmission instruction information for checking prestored therein, and determines whether the output node40is designated as the transmission destination node (ST32). When the output node40is designated as the transmission destination node, the output node40executes output processing in accordance with the content of the received transmission data (ST33), and waits until the next communication. When the output node40is not designated as the transmission destination node in ST32, the output node40discards the reception data and waits until the next communication (ST34).

When the output node40is not designated as the transmission destination in ST32, the output node40discards the received data (ST34), and waits until receiving the next communication.

Specifically, inFIG. 8B, the first and the second reception data have transmission instruction information Net5and Net6which designate the output node40as the transmission destination node. When these are received, output processing is performed in ST33.

According to embodiment 1, the input node, the calculation node, and the output node each having a simple function are connected to each other through a control network, and communication between nodes and the communication schedule are managed by the scheduler. Each of the nodes and the scheduler needs only to prestore transmission instruction information therein, and autonomously operates after the system is activated. Thus, without using an advanced calculation processing unit such as a CPU, a plant-monitoring autonomous control system that performs autonomous distributed control can be obtained.

Any change of the system configuration can be realized only by changing the nodes and changing the transmission instruction information, and changing of hard wires as in an analog control system is not necessary. Therefore, the system configuration can be easily changed, and is highly flexible.

In changing the transmission instruction information, for the Net ID which is the identifier of the transmission instruction information which designates transmission data, identification information that is used in general-purpose wiring CAD can be used, and an arbitrary value can be selected. Thus, an existing user designing environment can be utilized. Therefore, it is not necessary to construct a new designing environment.

In addition, the unit of the control network is small-scaled, and reliability can be easily improved due to redundancy of each control network unit.

The control network unit itself has a simple configuration, and combining a plurality of control networks is also easy. Thus, through such combinations, control networks can be applied not only to small-scale systems but also to middle-scale and large-scale systems.

In the following, embodiment 2 of the present invention is described with reference toFIGS. 9A and 9B. Components that are the same as or correspond to those inFIG. 1toFIG. 8Bare denoted by the same reference characters, and description thereof is omitted.

In embodiment 2, the operation of the calculation node20is different. Embodiment 2 assumes a case where the calculation node20includes a plurality of calculation circuits, wherein the output of one of the calculation circuits serves as the input for another of the calculation circuits.

FIGS. 9A and 9Bshow diagrams describing operation of the calculation node20according to embodiment 2, in whichFIG. 9Ais a flow chart showing operation of the calculation node20andFIG. 9Bis a diagram showing data transmitted/received by the calculation node20. First, similar to embodiment 1, the calculation node20receives data from the scheduler90or a node (ST21). Then, the calculation node20compares the received transmission instruction information with the transmission instruction information for checking prestored therein, and determines whether the calculation node20is designated as the transmission destination node (ST22). When the calculation node20is designated as the transmission destination node, the calculation node20executes calculation by use of one of the calculation circuits on the basis of the received data (ST231). Next, the calculation node20determines whether the calculation node20is the calculation output destination on the basis of the transmission destination designated by the transmission instruction information (ST232). When the calculation node20is designated as the calculation output destination, the calculation node20performs calculation successively by use of another of the calculation circuits (ST233), and saves the result (ST234). When the calculation node20is not the calculation output destination, the calculation node20saves the calculation result obtained in ST231as is.

When the calculation node20is not designated as the transmission destination node and has received a destination node address from the scheduler90, the calculation node20determines whether the received destination node address is the physical address of the calculation node20(ST24), as in embodiment 1. When the destination is the calculation node20, the calculation node20reads out saved calculation result, and transmits the calculation result together with the received transmission instruction information, to the designated transmission destination (ST25). When having received a plurality of pieces of transmission instruction information, the calculation node20performs transmission of data successively in accordance with the received order of the transmission instruction information. When the destination node is not the calculation node20and no destination node address has been received, the calculation node20discards the reception data, and waits until the next communication (ST26).

Specifically, inFIG. 9B, the reception data of the calculation node20is the same as that in embodiment 1. As for response (transmission) data, different from embodiment 1, the terminal23data and the transmission instruction information Net4are not transmitted. As shown inFIG. 2andFIG. 3, the transmission instruction information Net4designates the terminal23data, which is the output of the calculation circuit71, as the transmission data, and designates the input terminal24of the calculation node20as the transmission destination, and the processing of ST232, ST233, and ST234is performed. Thus, in the present embodiment, the calculation node20directly inputs the output of the calculation circuit71to the calculation circuit72, not via the control network N, and executes calculation in the calculation circuit72. In the configuration of the present embodiment, the output of the calculation circuit71is directly inputted to the calculation circuit72, but a configuration may be employed in which: the output of the calculation circuit71is temporarily saved in a storage device (not shown); and when calculation is performed by the calculation circuit72, the output is read out. In a case where three or more calculation circuits are provided and generate a plurality of calculation results that are to be temporarily saved, if the calculation results are saved together with transmission instruction information, a calculation result of interest can be retrieved by using the identifier of the transmission instruction information as a key when the calculation result of interest is to be read out.

According to embodiment 2, effects similar to those according to embodiment 1 can be obtained.

In addition, in the operation of the calculation node, when the transmission source and the transmission destination are the same node, the output of the calculation circuit that performs calculation first is inputted, not via the control network, to the calculation circuit that performs calculation next. Thus, the communication data amount in the control network can be reduced. In addition, wirings can be reduced.

In the following, embodiment 3 of the present invention is described with reference toFIG. 10. Components that are the same as or correspond to those inFIG. 1toFIG. 8are denoted by the same reference characters, and description thereof is omitted.FIG. 10is a diagram describing a sequence of communication data according to embodiment 3.

In embodiment 3, when each node transmits data, diagnostic data indicating the state of the node is added. The scheduler90monitors all communication data, and can obtain diagnostic information not only per node, but also per wiring, i.e., per transmission instruction information. The scheduler has an alarm notification function, and notifies a user of a diagnosis result obtained by determining the state of the system on the basis of each piece of diagnostic information. InFIG. 10, in the eleventh communication, the scheduler90transmits a diagnosis result to the output node40. The output node40outputs the received diagnosis result to the outside. The other configurations are the same as those in embodiment 1, and description thereof is omitted.

According to embodiment 3, effects similar to those according to embodiment 1 can be obtained.

Further, since each node transmits diagnostic information of the node, and the scheduler causes a result obtained by monitoring each piece of diagnostic information, to be outputted to the outside. Thus, the user can understand the state of the system at appropriate timings.

It should be noted that, within the scope of the present invention, the above embodiments may be freely combined with each other, or each of the above embodiments may be modified or simplified as appropriate.

DESCRIPTION OF THE REFERENCE CHARACTERS