Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US7526353?ie=ISO-8859-1
Timestamp: 2015-07-08 07:03:36
Document Index: 245875845

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 11', 'art 11', 'art 11', 'art 15', 'art 15', 'art 16', 'art 16']

6. A sequence design support system of claim 4, wherein the generation of said valve pattern plan in said valve pattern plan generation processing part is conducted including the processing such as first searching a piping terminal of which condition is “entrance”, then searching in order the piping connected to the piping terminal of the condition “entrance”, and the apparatus connected to said piping based on said plan recognition data, further determining the flow path condition of the fluid in said apparatus and piping system by determining the condition of the searched apparatus by said time char sheet.
7. A sequence design support system of claim 2, wherein the generation of said valve pattern plan in said valve pattern plan generation processing part is conducted including the processing such as first searching a piping terminal of which condition is “entrance”, then searching in order the piping connected to the piping terminal of the condition “entrance”, and the apparatus connected to said piping based on said plan recognition data, further determining the flow path condition of the fluid in said apparatus and piping system by determining the condition of the searched apparatus by said time char sheet.
The “sequence control program input device” of the patent document 1 is provided with a process flow chart generation part, a per scene sequence operation generation part, and a sequence control program generation part, and generates a process flow chart which shows arrangement relationship of the apparatus and a physical distribution path successively arranging the apparatus and the piping which are the objects of the control on a display screen in the process flow chart generation part, successively defines sequence control operations for that process flow chart and generates the physical distribution and apparatus operations in each scene of the sequence control operations in the per scene sequence operation generation part, and generates the sequence control program from those sequence control operations (the valve pattern plan) in the sequence control program generation part.
The “sequence control program input device” of JP-A-9-146617 enhances the automation of the creation of the valve pattern plan (a sequence control operation) which is to be the original data of the sequence control program, and makes the sequence design to be conducted efficiently in its own way. However, in the “sequence control program input device” of JP-A-9-146617, it is necessary to create the process flow chart for the creation of the valve pattern plan, and, it is supposed to rely on the hand inputting of the many of the works in the creation of that process flow chart, therefore it places a heavy burden upon the user.
Also, in the above-mentioned preferred embodiment of the sequence design support system, the generation of said valve pattern plan in said valve pattern plan generation processing part is supposed to be conducted including processing such as first searching a piping terminal of which condition is “entrance” based on said plan recognition data, then searching in order the piping connected to the piping terminal of the condition “entrance” and the apparatus connected to that piping, further determining the flow path condition of the fluid in said apparatus and piping system by determining the condition of the searched apparatus by said time chart sheet. Thereby the generation of the valve pattern plan by the valve pattern plan generation processing part can be conducted more efficiently.
Examples of the figure information D5 are shown in FIGS. 6 to 9. Figure information D5-a of FIG. 6 is an example about a valve which is one of the apparatus, figure information D5-b of FIG. 7 is an example of a piping terminal which is one of the apparatus, figure information D5-c of FIG. 8 is an example of a tank which is one of the apparatus, and figure information D5-d of FIG. 9 is an example of a linear piping which is one of the piping. As seen in these examples, the figure information D5 is created as a file with each kind of each kind of apparatus and each kind of piping which has a possibility of appearing in the apparatus and piping system plan as unit and it includes each item of “file name” and “figure data”. In the “file name”, a name of the kind of each kind of apparatus such as a valve, a tank, a piping terminal, and the like, and a name of the kind of each king of piping such as linear piping, double piping, vent piping, and the like is described. On the other hand, in the “figure data”, a figure pattern of the apparatus and the piping on the apparatus and piping system plan is described. Here, the system plan data D1 of the example of FIG. 2 is supposed to include only the valves, the tanks, and the piping terminals as an apparatus, but the apparatus may include pumps and the like other than these.
Examples of the unit recognition information of each of the apparatus, the piping, and the piping group are shown in FIGS. 10 to 12. FIG. 10 shows the apparatus unit recognition information about a valve A in the system plan data D1 of FIG. 2. The apparatus unit recognition information is configured including each information item of “apparatus ID”, “apparatus kind”, “apparatus name”, and “connected piping ID”. In the “apparatus ID”, an ID as identification information to individually identify each apparatus on the system plan data D1 is written. The ID which is to be written in the “apparatus ID” is set by the plan recognition processing part 11 so that it is different at all of the apparatus on the system plan data D1. In the “apparatus kind”, the kind of the apparatus such as a valve, a piping terminal, a tank, etc. is written. In the “apparatus name”, an individual apparatus name (in the example of FIG. 2, “valve A”, “tank T”, “piping terminal H”, etc.) which is given to said apparatus on the system plan data D1 is written. In the “connected piping ID”, identification information of the piping connected to said apparatus, more specifically an ID which is given to the piping as described later, is written.
FIG. 11 shows the piping unit recognition information about piping c in the system plan data D1 of FIG. 2. The piping unit recognition information is configured including each information item of “piping ID”, “piping kind”, “piping name”, and “connected apparatus ID”. In the “piping ID”, an ID as identification information to individually identify each piping on the system plan data D1 is written. The ID which is to be written in the “piping ID” is set by the plan recognition processing part 11 so that it is different at all of the piping on the system plan data D1. In the “piping kind”, the kind of the piping such as linear piping, double piping, vent piping, etc. is written. In the “piping name”, an individual piping name (in the example of FIG. 2, “piping a”, “piping b”, etc.) which is given to said piping on the system plan data D1 is written. In the “connected apparatus ID”, an apparatus ID which is given as described above of the apparatus to which said piping is connected is written.
FIG. 12 shows the piping group unit recognition information about a piping group G in the system plan data D1 of FIG. 2. The piping group unit recognition information is configured including each information item of “piping group ID”, “piping group name”, and “member piping ID”. In the “piping group ID”, an ID as identification information to individually identify each piping group on the system plan data D1 is written. The ID which is to be written in the “piping group ID” is set by the plan recognition processing part 11 so that it is different at all of the piping groups on the system plan data D1. Here, the piping group means the piping which is surrounded by the apparatus and is grouped. In the case of the example of FIG. 2, a group of piping “piping b, piping c, piping d” which is surrounded by valve A, valve B, valve C, and valve D becomes one piping group. In the “piping group name”, an individual piping group name which is given to said piping group on the system plan data D1 is written. In the “member piping ID”, an ID of the piping which is a member of said piping group is written.
At the step 204, the apparatus kind of the matching apparatus is written in the apparatus unit recognition information of said apparatus (apparatus kind obtaining processing). The apparatus kind is obtained from the data described in the “file name” of the apparatus figure information of the matching origin.
At step 205, the apparatus name of the matching apparatus is written in the apparatus unit recognition information of said apparatus (apparatus name obtaining processing). In the apparatus name, as described above, the individual apparatus name which is given to said apparatus on the system plan data D1 (in the example of FIG. 2, “valve A”, “tank T”, “piping terminal H”, etc.) can be used.
At the step 218, the piping group name of the piping group recognized at the step 216 is written in the piping group unit recognition information of said piping group (piping group name obtaining processing). For the piping group name, the individual piping group name given to said piping group on the system plan data D1 (in the example of FIG. 2, “piping group G”) can be used as described above.
Returning to FIG. 5, at the time chart sheet generation processing of the step 102, the time chart generation processing part 15 generates the time chart sheet D2. The generation of the time chart sheet D2 is conducted by that the user defines the condition of the apparatus in the form for the time chart sheet which the time chart generation processing part 15 automatically generates using the plan recognition data D4. More specifically, the time chart sheet form has a table form in which the apparatus name in the plan recognition data D4 is arranged in the vertical axis, namely a “line”, and the time step is arranged in the horizontal axis, namely a “column”, as seen in the time chart sheet D2 of FIG. 3. In the example of FIG. 3, each apparatus name of valve A, valve B, valve C, valve D, valve E, valve F, piping terminal H, and tank T is displayed on the apparatus name axis, also a step number is given to each time step of the time step axis. Here, the time chart sheet D2 of FIG. 3 is a “time chart sheet” with its lower side from the shaded line is effective, and its upper side from the shaded line records the relative information which is referred to in the sequence design.
The user defines the condition of the apparatus in the time chart sheet form like this. More specifically, the time chart sheet form has the definition section in which the apparatus name axis of each apparatus and the time step axis of each time step cross, and for example, in order to define the apparatus condition of the tank T about the time step with the step number “4”, the user defines the apparatus condition of the tank T (in the example of the figure, “open”) in a definition section 41 in which the apparatus name axis of the tank T and the time step axis of the step number “4” cross.
The apparatus conditions which can be defined differ depending on the apparatus kind. In the case of the valve and the tank, “open” and “shut” can be designated. The “open” means the condition in which the valve or the tank is open, and the “shut” means the condition in which the valve or the tank is shut. With the apparatus which has the conditions of “open” and “shut” like these, there is a condition in which the “open” and the “shut” are repeated intermittently in one time step, and the condition like this is supposed to be designated as “intermittent”.
In the case of the piping terminal, “entrance” and “exit” can be designated. The “entrance” means that the piping terminal is the entrance of the fluid (the ingredient and the product or the wash liquid, etc.). The “exit” means that it is the exit of the fluid.
In the time chart sheet D2 of FIG. 3, “valve A” is designated to be “open”, “valve B”to be “shut”, “valve C” to be “open”, “valve D” to be “shut”, “valve E” to be “open”, “valve F” to be “shut”, “piping terminal” to be “entrance”, and “tank” to be “open”.
Returning to FIG. 5, in the valve pattern plan generation processing of the step 103, the valve pattern plan generation processing part 16 generates the valve pattern plan D3 using the time chart sheet D2 and the plan recognition data D4, that is the plan recognition information added system plan data. The valve pattern plan D3 is plan data which describes the flow path condition per time step of the fluid such as the ingredient and the product or the wash liquid and the like in the apparatus and piping system as described above. Therefore, the generation of the valve pattern plan D3 by the valve pattern plan generation processing part 16 proceeds such that first it searches the piping terminal of which condition is “entrance”, then it searches in order the piping connected to the piping terminal of the condition “entrance”, the apparatus connected to that piping about the plan recognition data D4, further determines the piping in which the fluid flows by determining the condition of the searched apparatus, generates the valve pattern plan as an apparatus and piping system plan which expresses the flow path condition easily to see by emphasizing these piping by changing the figure display, etc.
The valve pattern plan D3 like this is generated per time step in the time chart sheet D2, and by designating the time step on the time chart sheet D2 it can be displayed about said time step on the display of the input/output device 5. Here, the valve pattern plan D3 of FIG. 4 is a valve pattern plan of the time step of the step number “4” in the time chart sheet D2 of FIG.3.
At the step 402, the condition of the searched piping terminal H is obtained from the time chart sheet (piping terminal condition obtaining processing), and it is determined whether the condition of the piping terminal H is “entrance” or not at the step 403 (piping terminal condition determination processing). In the example of the time chart sheet D2 of FIG. 3, as the piping terminal H is “entrance”, the result of the step 403 becomes positive.
At the step 407, the condition of the apparatus of which connected apparatus ID was obtained at the step 406 is obtained from the time chart sheet D2 (apparatus condition obtaining processing). More specifically, as the piping ID of the valve A is obtained as a connected apparatus ID at the step 406, the condition “open” of that valve A is supposed to be obtained from the time chart sheet D2.
At the step 408, it is determined whether the condition of the apparatus obtained at the step 407 is “open” or not (apparatus condition determination processing). In the case of the valve A, as it is “open”, the result of the apparatus condition determination processing becomes positive and the process proceeds to the step 409.
At the step 409, the display condition of the piping connected to the apparatus which has been determined to be “open” at the step 408 is changed (piping display condition change processing). More specifically, the piping or the member piping of the piping group connected to the apparatus which has been determined to be “open” is searched from the apparatus unit recognition information, and the figure display condition of that piping or that member piping of the piping group is changed. In the example of FIG.4, the piping a connected to the valve A has been changed in its display condition by making it thick line.
First, the piping terminal H is searched. As the piping terminal H is set to be “entrance” in the time chart sheet, the search hereinafter is started at this. Then, the piping a connected to the piping terminal H is searched, and further, the valve A connected to the piping a is searched. As the valve A is set to be “open” on the time chart, the display thickness of the piping a is changed.
Following this, the search is conducted about each of the piping b, the piping c, and the piping d connected to the valve A. First, the search is conducted about the piping b, and further the valve B connected to the piping b is searched. As the valve B is set to be “shut” on the time chart, the change of the display thickness of the piping is not conducted and the search is terminated at the valve B. Next, the search is conducted about the piping c, and further the valve C connected to the piping c is searched. As the valve C is set to be “open” on the time chart, the display thicknesses of the piping c and the piping b and the piping d which are the member piping of the piping group of which the piping c is the member piping are changed. Or the search of the piping f connected to the valve C is conducted, and further the tank T connected to the piping f is searched. As the tank T is set to be “open” on the time chart, the display thickness of the piping f is changed. Following this, the search of the piping g connected to the tank T is conducted and the display thickness of the piping g is changed. Thereafter, the search will be continued in the same way.
Next, the search is conducted about the piping d, and further the valve D connected to the piping d is searched. As the valve D is set to be “shut” on the time chart, the change of the display thickness of the piping is not conducted and the search is terminated at the valve D.
Patent CitationsCited PatentFiling datePublication dateApplicantTitleUS3978454 *Jun 20, 1974Aug 31, 1976Westinghouse Electric CorporationSystem and method for programmable sequence controlUS4267458 *Oct 23, 1973May 12, 1981Westinghouse Electric Corp.System and method for starting, synchronizing and operating a steam turbine with digital computer controlUS5093772 *Jan 4, 1990Mar 3, 1992Kao CorporationMethod of sequence controlUS6640145 *Jun 3, 2002Oct 28, 2003Steven HoffbergMedia recording device with packet data interfaceUS7433743 *May 27, 2002Oct 7, 2008Imperial College Innovations, Ltd.Process control using co-ordinate spaceUS20060155398 *Feb 27, 2006Jul 13, 2006Steven HoffbergAdaptive pattern recognition based control system and methodUS20060200253 *Feb 27, 2006Sep 7, 2006Hoffberg Steven MInternet appliance system and methodJP2004234424A Title not availableJP2005293042A Title not availableJP2006227824A Title not availableJP2006323511A Title not availableJPH09146617A Title not available* Cited by examinerClassifications U.S. Classification700/97, 700/86, 700/23, 703/22, 703/1International ClassificationG05B19/05, G06F19/00Cooperative ClassificationG06F2217/34, G06F2217/16, G06F17/50European ClassificationG06F17/50Legal EventsDateCodeEventDescriptionMar 13, 2009ASAssignmentOwner name: HITACHI PLANT TECHNOLOGIES, LTD., JAPANFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:SHIMIZU, YUKI;KASAHARA, TAKAYASU;KAMINAGAYOSHI, TAKASHI;AND OTHERS;REEL/FRAME:022392/0870;SIGNING DATES FROM 20071030 TO 20071031Sep 27, 2012FPAYFee paymentYear of fee payment: 4Mar 4, 2014ASAssignmentOwner name: HITACHI, LTD., JAPANFree format text: MERGER;ASSIGNOR:HITACHI PLANT TECHNOLOGIES, LTD.;REEL/FRAME:032384/0877Effective date: 20130401RotateOriginal ImageGoogle Home - Sitemap - USPTO Bulk Downloads - Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - About Google Patents - Send FeedbackData provided by IFI CLAIMS Patent Services