US 12,242,236 B2
Control system and control method for remotely installed controller devices
Yuuzou Hasegawa, Tokyo (JP); Kazuyuki Ito, Tokyo (JP); and Masanori Shibayama, Tokyo (JP)
Assigned to YOKOGAWA ELECTRIC CORPORATION, Tokyo (JP); and NTT Communications Corporation, Tokyo (JP)
Filed by Yokogawa Electric Corporation, Musashino (JP); and NTT Communications Corporation, Tokyo (JP)
Filed on Dec. 12, 2022, as Appl. No. 18/079,632.
Claims priority of application No. 2021-205142 (JP), filed on Dec. 17, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2023/0195070 A1, Jun. 22, 2023
Int. Cl. G05B 19/05 (2006.01); G06F 11/30 (2006.01)
CPC G05B 19/054 (2013.01) [G05B 19/058 (2013.01); G06F 11/3006 (2013.01); G06F 11/3055 (2013.01); G06F 11/3089 (2013.01)] 6 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A control system comprising:
a plurality of controller devices each performing process control on a plant and being installed in a different data center from one another;
an input-output device that is connected to a target device of the process control;
a control switching device that switches a state of each of the controller devices to one of an active state, a standby state, and a stopped state; and
a monitoring device that receives information on switching of the state, wherein
the control switching device includes a switch control unit that performs switching such that the state of at least one of the controller devices enters the active state upon receiving a notice related to switching of the state from the monitoring device,
the input-output device is installed in an on-premise environment, separate from the environment that includes the plurality of controller devices,
each of the controller devices is connected to the input-output device by a different dedicated closed network, and includes a control unit that transmits and receives information on the process control to and from the input-output device, and
the monitoring device further includes
an external monitoring device that is installed in a different data center from each of the data centers in which each of the controller devices is installed and that is configured to monitor information on planned maintenance that is notified by one of a cloud vender and a communication vender and that is configured to switch the state of the controller devices according to the information on the planned maintenance, and
a plurality of internal monitoring devices that are installed in each of the data centers in which each of the controller devices is installed and that are configured to monitor information on a failure in one of a cloud infrastructure and a communication infrastructure and that are configured to switch the state of the controller devices according to the information on the failure.