Data processing: generic control systems or specific application – Generic control system – apparatus or process – Supervisory control
Reexamination Certificate
2002-12-05
2003-09-02
Patel, Ramesh (Department: 2121)
Data processing: generic control systems or specific application
Generic control system, apparatus or process
Supervisory control
C700S019000, C700S020000, C700S086000, C700S089000, C700S087000, C340S003100, C340S003900, C340S003430, C340S003440
Reexamination Certificate
active
06615087
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a supervisory control apparatus which determines events that should be applied to the maintenance and operation of equipment or a system having a hierarchical structure among events that occur in the individual sections of the equipment or system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Nowadays, a variety of communication services are provided under the competition among a plurality of communication companies and the liberalization of the market and the number of terminals that use those communication services is increasing rapidly. Positive use of high-level information communication technologies enhances the added value of such terminals. Communication networks whose reliability and transmission quality are kept high and that can adapt to a variety of services in a flexible manner are demanded strongly.
FIG. 8
shows the configurations of a communication network and a supervisory control apparatus that is used for the maintenance and operation of the communication network.
As shown in
FIG. 8
, among the three communication ports of the supervisory control apparatus
50
, a first communication port is connected to an alarm link
52
via an alarm collecting device
51
. A second communication port of the supervisory control apparatus
50
is connected to data terminals
54
-
1
to
54
-N via a LAN
53
. A work slip reader
55
is connected to a third communication port of the supervisory control apparatus
50
.
The supervisory control apparatus
50
is composed of a processor
58
, a main storage
59
, and a disc drive
60
that are connected to an internal bus
57
together with interfacing parts
56
-
1
to
56
-
3
that serve as the first to third communication ports, respectively.
Communication ports of respective node devices
62
-A to
62
-M that constitute the communication network
61
are connected to the alarm link
52
.
As shown in
FIG. 9
, the communication network
61
is a set of the node devices
62
-A to
62
-M that are arranged in a hierarchical manner.
Identifiers “X” and “Y” shown in
FIG. 9
are identifiers of two paths X and Y that are formed by cascade-connected node devices
62
-H to
62
-K and cascade-connected node devices
62
-L to
62
-M, respectively, as shown in FIG.
8
.
In the above conventional example, as shown in
FIG. 10
, a system configuration database
71
in which arrays of identifier(s) ID-I of one or a plurality of components that correspond to an identifier ID-u of each component (one of the nodes
62
-A to
62
-M and the paths X and Y) and that are located immediately under the component indicated by the identifier ID-u in the hierarchical structure of
FIG. 9
are registered is stored as a file in advance in a particular storage area of the disc drive
60
of the supervisory control apparatus
50
.
As shown in
FIG. 11
, a primary alarm register
72
that is an array of records each being a set of the following two fields is provided in advance in the main storage
59
:
A V flag field which indicates whether the value of a detection alarm identifier (described below) that is contained in the same record is valid.
A detection alarm identifier field which is to contain a detection alarm identifier that is a pair of an item indicating an event such as a certain alarm and an identifier ID of a component that has been communicated via the alarm link
52
.
As shown in
FIG. 12
, a work alarm determination table
73
that is an array of records each being a set of the following two fields is also provided in advance in the main storage
A work time slot field which indicates a time slot when an event such as an alarm may occur that is indicated by the value of a work alarm identifier field (described below) that is contained in the same record.
A work alarm identifier field which is to contain a work alarm identifier that is a pair of an item indicating the above event and an identifier ID of a component that has detected the event and about which the supervisory control apparatus
50
has been informed via the alarm link
52
.
As shown in
FIG. 13
, a fault alarm determination table
74
that is an array of records described below is also provided in advance in the main storage
59
:
A record which is to contain a repercussion alarm identifier that is a combination of an item and an identifier ID that were mentioned above. The repercussion identifier indicates an event that corresponds to an individual value the above-mentioned detection alarm identifier can have and that may be recognized by a lower-rank component as an event indicated by that detection alarm identifier spreads.
As shown in
FIG. 14
, a secondary alarm register
75
that is a set of records each of which is to contain a detection alarm identifier that is a pair of an item indicating an event such as a failure or a fault that has truly occurred and an identifier ID indicating a component that has detected the event and about which the supervisory control apparatus
50
has been informed via the alarm link
52
is also provided in advance in the main storage
59
.
When receiving information that has been read from a work slip via the work slip reader
55
and supplied via the interfacing part
56
-
3
, the processor
58
acquires a work time slot, one of the nodes
62
-A to
62
-M and the paths X and Y on which the work should be done (hereinafter referred to as “work subject”), and an item indicating an event such as an alarm that may occur during the work all of which are included in the received information.
The processor
58
determines, under predetermined storage management, an empty record among the records of the work alarm determination table
73
and registers the above combination of the work time slot, an identifier of the work subject, and the item in the work time slot field, the work alarm identifier field of the empty record.
Regarding, as an identifier ID-u (described above), the identifier indicating the work subject as an individual component, the processor
58
acquires identifiers ID-I of all the sub-components that are registered in the system configuration database
71
as corresponding to the identifier ID-u and excludes redundant ones among the identifiers ID-I.
The processor
58
sequentially generates repercussion alarm identifiers that are combinations of the remaining identifiers ID-I and the item.
The processor
58
determines empty record among the records of the fault alarm determination table
74
under predetermined storage management, and stores the generated repercussion alarm identifiers in the empty record.
The processor
58
cooperates with the nodes
62
-A to
62
-M via the alarm collecting device
51
and the alarm link
52
, and thereby acquires a message indicating an event such as an alarm of the nodes
62
-A to
62
-M upon its reception.
Further, the processor
58
stores alarm information that has been received as such a message in the detection alarm identifier field of an empty record of the primary alarm register
72
after converting it into information that complies with the format of the detection alarm identifier field, and sets the value of the V flag field of this record to “1.”
Therefore, all messages that have been collected from the nodes
62
-A to
62
-M are first stored in the primary alarm register
72
.
The processor
58
performs the following operations (1) and (2):
(1) Determines a particular record whose V flag field has a value “1” and that satisfies the following condition among the records of the primary alarm register
72
:
The value of the detection alarm identifier field is the same as the value of the work alarm identifier field of a record whose value of work time slot field corresponds the present time among the records of the work alarm determination table
73
.
(2) Updates the value of the V flag field of the thus-determined particular record to “0.”
Therefore, the values of the V flag fields of only records, among the records of the primary alarm register
72
, whose detection alarm identifiers have values not corr
Fujitsu Limited
Katten Muchin Zavis & Rosenman
Patel Ramesh
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