JP2012155403A - Field apparatus monitoring system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a field apparatus monitoring system such that states of a plurality of field apparatuses can be confirmed using a handheld terminal which displays an image obtained by photographing the field apparatuses by a camera on a screen.SOLUTION: The field apparatus monitoring system includes a handheld terminal 100 displaying an image obtained by photographing a plurality of field apparatuses 11, 12-1n arranged in a field of a plant by a camera on a screen, and a host 200 communicating with the handheld terminal 100. The field apparatus monitoring system further includes a database 300 which holds position information, tag information, and statuses G1-Gn of the plurality of field apparatuses. The handheld terminal 100 detects positions of the plurality of photographed field apparatuses, transmits them to the host 200, acquires the tag information and statuses of the plurality of field apparatuses sent back from the host 200, and displays them nearby the corresponding field apparatus displayed on the screen.

Description

  The present invention relates to a field device monitoring system including a handheld terminal that displays on a screen images captured by a camera of a plurality of field devices arranged at a plant site, and a host that communicates with the handheld terminal. .

  Augmented reality (hereinafter referred to as AR: Augmented Reality) has been widely used in portable technology, as disclosed in Patent Document 1 which has been generally used in an old technology.

  In AR, when an image obtained by photographing the real world with a camera is viewed on a display screen, related information registered with tags or the like can be superimposed on the screen in addition to the information on the real world. For example, an AR technology is used in a Sekai camera that has become a hot topic for iPhone (registered trademark) applications.

  FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a mobile terminal system using the AR technology. Store-related personnel or the like provide store-related information in advance, and register and store data on the database 4 as tag information. The database 4 also stores store location information.

  When the user activates the application with the camera 1 </ b> A of the mobile terminal 1 facing the store 2, the position of the store 2 is detected by GPS, and this position information is transmitted to the host 3. The host 3 accesses the database 4 based on the location information acquired from the mobile terminal 1, extracts the relevant information of the store by matching with the location information of the store registered in advance, and returns it to the mobile terminal 1.

  The mobile terminal 1 displays a photographed image F1 of the store on the screen and related information G1 of the store registered in the database 4 in the vicinity thereof. The user can know the related information of the store and the details of the product by looking at the related information G1.

Special table 2008-510254 gazette

Currently, there are the following problems when checking the state of field devices at a site such as a plant.
(1) If it is a panel room in a factory, the status of field devices (dynamic status such as static tag information and alarms) can be grasped collectively by looking at the screen of the host system. There is no way to grasp at a glance what kind of equipment is present and what the current state is.

(2) In order to grasp, it is necessary to check each device one by one. Even in the panel room, it is difficult to accurately grasp the location of the model in which the alarm is generated in the field.

(3) Although the state can be grasped by looking at the LCD (display unit) of the device, it may be difficult to confirm depending on the installation location. In addition, a device without an LCD cannot see the state of the device without communication.

  The purpose of the present invention is to confirm at a glance the status of each field device using a handheld terminal that displays on the screen images of a plurality of field devices arranged at the plant site using a camera using AR technology. Is to realize a field device monitoring system capable of

In order to achieve such a subject, the present invention has the following configuration.
(1) In a field device monitoring system including a handheld terminal that displays on a screen images captured by a camera of a plurality of field devices arranged at a plant site, and a host that communicates with the handheld terminal.
It includes a database that holds the position information, tag information, and status of the plurality of field devices registered in advance,
The handheld terminal detects the positions of the plurality of field devices photographed and transmits them to the host, acquires tag information and statuses of the plurality of field devices returned from the host, and displays them on the screen. Display in the vicinity of the corresponding field device displayed,
The host returns tag information and status of each of the plurality of field devices detected by accessing the database based on position information of the plurality of field devices transmitted from the handheld terminal to the handheld terminal. Feature field device monitoring system.

(2) The field device monitoring system according to (1), wherein the handheld terminal includes position detection means for detecting positions of the plurality of field devices photographed by a GPS system.

(3) In a field device monitoring system comprising a handheld terminal that displays on a screen images captured by a camera of a plurality of field devices arranged at the plant site, and a host that communicates with the handheld terminal.
A database for storing image information, tag information and status of the plurality of field devices registered in advance;
The handheld terminal transmits pre-captured images of the plurality of field devices to the host, acquires tag information and status of each of the plurality of field devices returned from the host, and displays them on the screen. Displayed near the corresponding field device,
The host returns tag information and status of each of the plurality of field devices detected by accessing the database based on image information of the plurality of field devices transmitted from the handheld terminal to the handheld terminal. Feature field device monitoring system.

(4) The field device monitoring system according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein the status includes a message.

(5) The field device according to any one of (1) to (4), wherein the handheld terminal includes filter means for selectively displaying only information to be monitored with respect to tag information returned from the host. Monitoring system.

(6) The field according to any one of (1) to (5), wherein the host includes input means for executing addition, change, and deletion of items constituting the tag information held in the database. Equipment monitoring system.

According to the present invention, the following effects can be expected.
(1) Using AR technology, by shooting a plurality of field devices installed in the field, the tag information and status of each field device is acquired from the host and displayed on the screen. It becomes possible to confirm at a glance.

(2) In the present invention, it is possible to grasp the state of each device at a glance, even if it is on-site, as well as monitoring in the instrument room by looking at the site through the camera. It can be greatly improved.

(3) In the present invention, the monitoring information displayed on the screen can grasp the dynamically changing status in addition to the static tag information in real time, and promptly respond to alarm processing at the site. Is possible.

It is a functional block diagram which shows one Example of the field apparatus monitoring system to which this invention is applied. It is a flowchart explaining the operation | movement procedure of FIG. It is a flowchart explaining the operation | movement procedure when tag information is updated. It is a table which shows the example of the holding information of a database. It is the example of a display of the image of the actual picked-up image of the field device of the spot, and monitoring information. It is a functional block diagram which shows the structural example of the portable handheld terminal system using AR technology.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing an embodiment of a field device monitoring system to which the present invention is applied. The relationship between the handheld terminal 100, the host 200, and the database 300 corresponds to the relationship between the mobile terminal 1, the host 3, and the database 4 shown in FIG.

  A plurality of field devices 11, 12,... 1 n arranged at the plant site are connected to the communication line 20 and controlled by communicating with the controller 40 via the input / output device 30. The handheld terminal 100 includes a display unit 100A and an operation unit 100B.

  The operation unit 100B of the handheld terminal includes a camera 101, a display processing unit 102, a position detection device 103, a communication interface 104, and an operation input unit 105. Images collectively photographed by the camera 101 with the plurality of field devices 11, 12,... 1n are transferred to the display processing unit 102 and displayed on the display unit 100A as F1, F2,.

  The position detection device 103 detects the positions of the displayed field devices 11, 12,... 1n by GPS (Global Positioning System). The detected position information (including the orientation information) is transmitted to the host 200 via any communication means via the communication interface 104.

  The host 200 searches the database 300 based on the position information acquired from the handheld terminal side. The database 300 stores in advance position information of a plurality of field devices 11, 12,... 1n, tag information of the field devices, and real-time status acquired from the controller 40 via the host 200.

  The host 200 extracts the tag information and the status of the field device whose position is confirmed by the search of the database 300 based on the position information, and returns it to the handheld terminal 100.

  The handheld terminal 100 passes the tag information and status of the field device acquired via the communication interface 104 to the display processing unit 102, and the display processing unit 102 displays each field device F1, F2,... Fn displayed on the display unit 100A. In the vicinity of, monitoring information G1, G2,... Gn consisting of tags and statuses are displayed.

  The monitoring information G1, G2,... Gn displayed on the display unit 100A is not actual real-world information, so it is information that cannot be seen with the naked eye. Equivalent monitoring information can be viewed as visible information.

  The communication between the handheld terminal 100 and the host 200 can be performed by general-purpose wired or wireless communication, or can be performed via the communication line 20. Tag information registered and held in the database 300 can be viewed from the host 200 and edited. By editing, it is possible to add / change / delete items constituting the tag information.

  Each tag information displayed on the handheld terminal 100 can be colored according to the state of the alarm. For example, “green” when the device is operating normally, “yellow” when the device is in a warning state, and “red” when the device is in an abnormal state. Further, the tag information can be filtered so that only the tag information of the device desired to be viewed on the handheld terminal 100 can be seen in accordance with the setting of the user.

  There are two types of ARs, a “pass-through method” that acquires the position information described in FIG. 1 and displays tag information of devices near the position information, and a method called “AR marker method”. The AR marker method can be used when the position detection device cannot be used because it is in a place that cannot be recognized by GPS. In the AR marker method, take a picture of the site you want to see in advance.

  An image of each field device for which tag information and status are to be viewed on the handheld terminal 100 is associated with an image registered and held in the database 300 in advance. When viewing the tag information and status of the field device, the camera 101 is activated on the handheld terminal 100 to take a picture, and the image information is transmitted to the host 200.

  The host 200 associates the acquired field device image information with the tag information and status registered in the database 300 by recognizing the image against the image information registered and held in the database 300. Image recognition is performed using a known image recognition technique such as pattern matching.

  The tag information and status linked in this way are returned from the host 200 to the handheld terminal 100, and the tag information and status of the field device can be displayed on the display unit 100A of the handheld terminal.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the operation procedure of the present invention according to the pass-through method or the AR marker method. In step S1, the handheld terminal is activated in step S2, and the camera is activated.

  In the check in step S3, the pass-through method or the AR marker method is selected. If the pass-through method is selected, the position detection device is activated in step S4. In step S5, the position of the field device is recognized by the position detection device and transmitted to the host. In step S6, the tag information and status of the field device are acquired from the host and displayed on the screen near the device, and the process ends in step S7.

  If the AR marker method is selected in the check in step S3, a photograph of the field device in which the AR marker is registered is taken by the camera in step S8, and the captured image is transmitted to the host.

  In step S9, based on the registered AR marker, the tag information and status of the field device are acquired from the host, displayed on the screen near the field device, and the process ends in step S7.

  Since the status information indicating the state of the device is generally periodically acquired from each device by communication, it is periodically updated. The handheld terminal 100 can always acquire the latest status information by accessing the host 200 periodically.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation procedure when the status information is updated. In step S1, the device status information is downloaded to the host in step S2. In step S3, the database is accessed from the host, the status information is automatically updated (manual update is also possible), and the process ends in step S4.

  FIG. 4 is a table showing an example of information held in the database 300. The device names, tag names, and heads of information storage addresses of field devices Nos. 1 to 9 are shown, and status, message, position information, and image information are registered and held at each address.

  FIG. 5 is a display example of an actual captured image image and monitoring information of a field device in the field. In the vicinity of the field devices F11 to F19, monitoring information G11 to G19 of the field device is displayed. Each monitoring information displays the tag information and current status of the field device.

In order to use the system of the present invention in the pass-through method, it is necessary to first register the position information of each field device in the database 300. The position of each field device can be registered by one of the following methods. Once the location information is registered, there is no need to re-register unless the device location is changed.
(1) An RFID tag or the like that can detect the position is attached to each device. Then, the position of each field device is detected by communication from the host 200 or the handheld terminal 100, and the acquired position information is registered in the database 300 and stored.

(2) Bring the handheld terminal 100 to the same position as the attached field device and activate the position detection device. Then, the acquired position information and target device information are transmitted to the host 200, registered in the database 300, and stored. Alternatively, the position information is manually input directly from the handheld terminal 100 or the host 200.

  The handheld terminal 100 used for viewing tag information and status in this system can also be used in a PC, PDA, mobile phone terminal, and the like.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11, 12, ... 1n Field apparatus 20 Communication line 30 Input / output device 40 Controller 100 Handheld terminal 100A Display part 100B Operation part 101 Camera 102 Display processing means 103 Position detection apparatus (GPS)
104 Communication interface 105 Operation input means 200 Host 300 Database F1, F2, ... Fn Field device display image G1, G2, ... Gn Monitoring information display image

Claims (6)

In a field device monitoring system comprising a handheld terminal that displays on a screen images captured by a camera of a plurality of field devices arranged at a plant site, and a host that communicates with the handheld terminal.
It includes a database that holds the position information, tag information, and status of the plurality of field devices registered in advance,
The handheld terminal detects the positions of the plurality of field devices photographed and transmits them to the host, acquires tag information and statuses of the plurality of field devices returned from the host, and displays them on the screen. Display in the vicinity of the corresponding field device displayed,
The host returns tag information and status of each of the plurality of field devices detected by accessing the database based on position information of the plurality of field devices transmitted from the handheld terminal to the handheld terminal. Feature field device monitoring system.   The field device monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the handheld terminal includes position detection means for detecting positions of the plurality of field devices photographed by a GPS system. In a field device monitoring system comprising a handheld terminal that displays on a screen images captured by a camera of a plurality of field devices arranged at a plant site, and a host that communicates with the handheld terminal.
A database for storing image information, tag information and status of the plurality of field devices registered in advance;
The handheld terminal transmits pre-captured images of the plurality of field devices to the host, acquires tag information and status of each of the plurality of field devices returned from the host, and displays them on the screen. Displayed near the corresponding field device,
The host returns tag information and status of each of the plurality of field devices detected by accessing the database based on image information of the plurality of field devices transmitted from the handheld terminal to the handheld terminal. Feature field device monitoring system.   The field device monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the status includes a message.   5. The field device monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the handheld terminal includes a filter unit that selectively displays only information to be monitored with respect to tag information returned from the host.   The field device monitoring system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the host includes input means for executing addition, change, and deletion of items constituting tag information held in the database.

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