JP2000286919A - Data processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a data processor with which a PLC(programmable controller) can be dedicated to its original function, i.e., the I/O control together with reduction of the PLC burden. As for various data processing means including a host computer, etc., which are connected at a time, the user has not to consider the countless communication protocols of the PLC and also the installing position restriction can be alleviated for every device. SOLUTION: A data processor 10 such as a program expression display device that is conventionally used for only the display of a control state is provided with a means 13 which is used as nucleus of the communication of data that is carried out between a 1st data processing means 11 such as a PLC and a 2nd data processing means 12 such as a host computer and which also absorbs internally the difference of protocols of both means 11 and 12 to attain the transfer of data between them.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a data processing apparatus, and more particularly, to a programmable controller (hereinafter referred to as "programmable controller").
Abbreviated as “PLC”. ) And a data processing means having a common communication protocol such as a personal computer application apparatus, which can exchange data with each other.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, data transfer between devices of this type is performed by controlling a plurality of PLCs and a host computer in a predetermined position even when a plurality of PLCs are used in association with each other. By directly connecting via an interface circuit or indirectly via a dedicated adapter, various data are exchanged between PLCs or between a PLC and a host computer using a communication function of the PLC side. .

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION However, PLC
Has developed from a sequencer using a relay, and specializes in I / O control such as on / off control of switches and data acquisition from sensors. There is a lot of burden to make it the center.

[0004] Furthermore, as for PLC, the communication protocol used for data communication differs depending on the manufacturer or even the same company, even if it is the same company. As a result, there are countless communication protocols to be supported by the host computer and connection is attempted. It is necessary to newly prepare a communication protocol dedicated to the host computer corresponding to the PLC, and requires individual wiring for each device, and the installation location between the devices is limited, so that the usability is extremely poor. there were.

The present inventor has studied the above problem, and as a result, has obtained the following knowledge. That is, since the programmable display device that has been dedicated to display has been developed as an application device of a personal computer, data communication with a general-purpose personal computer device can be easily performed using a general-purpose protocol. Further, since data communication with a PLC is indispensable for a display device, a dedicated communication protocol corresponding to a PLC to be connected is generally already developed.

[0006] Therefore, when the programmable display device is positioned at the center of communication and wirelessly connects between the PLCs and the host computer via the display device, the arrangement position of each device is not restricted. In addition, the display device functions as a data signal relay unit during data communication.

The present invention has been made based on such knowledge, and uses a data processing device such as a programmable display device, which has conventionally been used only for displaying a control state, as a center of wireless data communication. By doing
The PLC can be dedicated to the I / O control which is the original function, and the load on the PLC can be reduced. Furthermore, it is not necessary to consider the innumerable PLC communication protocols on the various data processing means including the host computer connected at the same time, so that the man-hours for software can be greatly reduced and the arrangement of the devices can be reduced. It is an object of the present invention to provide a data processing device capable of reducing restrictions on positions.

[0008]

As shown in FIG. 1, a data processing apparatus 10 according to the present invention has a structure schematically shown in FIG.
The first data processing means 11 is provided between a first data processing means 11 for transferring data according to a first communication protocol and a second data processing means 12 for transferring data according to a second communication protocol. And data transfer means 13 for data handled by the second data processing means 12.

Then, the first data processing means 1
For example, data is transmitted and received wirelessly via the first wireless communication means 14 using a communication protocol specific to the data processing means. On the other hand, the second
A common communication protocol is used between the data processing means 12 that may be connected to the data processing means 12 and data is transferred in a wireless state via the second wireless communication means 15, for example. Make up.

The data transfer means 13 is constituted by a shared memory means which can be accessed by both the first and second data processing means 11 and 12, and at least the first memory means is provided on the shared memory means. 1 data processing means 1
1 is provided with a storage area for state data that permits external access among all data on the first data processing means 11 and the state data on the shared memory means and the first data processing means 11 on the first data processing means 11 via the data transfer means 13. It can be configured such that a data transfer operation in a direction in which the corresponding state data matches is performed. Further, it is possible to display the contents corresponding to the change of the state data on the display means 16.

[0011] The data transfer means 13 may be provided with a conversion means between the first communication protocol and the second communication protocol. In this case, while extracting a model-specific information portion from the first communication protocol,
While the information common to the second communication protocol corresponding to the unique information is held as a conversion table, the common information sent from the second data processing means 12 is referred to as the first data processing means by referring to the conversion table. The information is converted into information unique to 11.

[0012]

As described above, the present invention uses a data processing device 10 such as a program type display device, which has conventionally been used only for displaying a control state, as the center of wireless data communication, thereby achieving PLC communication. Can be dedicated to the I / O control, which is the original function, and the load on the PLC can be reduced. Furthermore, it is not necessary for the various data processing means including the host computer connected at the same time to consider the innumerable PLC communication protocols,
Software man-hours can be significantly reduced, and restrictions on the arrangement position of the device can be reduced.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As shown in FIG. 2, the present invention is applied to a target system 18 such as a belt conveyor type automatic assembling machine using a PLC 13 provided as a first data processing means. A description will be given based on an example in which a controlled system device can be sequence-controlled and a programmable display device 19 is used as a control panel for the PLC, but the present invention is not limited to this. Even when various personal computer application devices are used as the second data processing means, the present invention can be implemented in substantially the same manner.

The PLC 17 is realized as a whole PLC by unitizing a circuit for each required function such as a CPU unit and a memory unit, and adding each unit as needed via a bus line. It has a configuration substantially the same as that of the related art, which allows the number of functions to be increased or decreased.

In this embodiment, a CPU unit 20 for controlling the entire PLC 17, an input unit 21 for enabling direct capture of a detection signal sent from the target system 18, and An output unit 2 that can output a predetermined control signal
2, a memory unit 23 for storing various data, and a computer link unit 24 for enabling predetermined data communication with the programmable display device 19 as basic units. The change state is monitored, and when a data change such as a new data input is recognized, necessary arithmetic processing is performed and then the corresponding address on the memory unit 23 is accessed to read / write the contents. Send data to

Further, the storage location of status data which is directly input / output to / from the target system 18 or used for control thereof is determined by a passive level such as a level meter or limit switch provided on the target system 18 to be controlled or displayed. Parts, active parts such as relays and motors, or data setting parts such as counters and printers are secured in the memory unit 23, and the input / output data is a word device for word data such as numerical values. However, for bit data such as on / off information, a bit device
The storage location is set in the memory unit 23 so that the storage location can be specified by designating a device name or address such as “X001” specific to the model.

Therefore, only by specifying and accessing an arbitrary word device or bit device in the memory unit 23 from inside or outside the PLC 17,
The corresponding position of the target system 18 can be controlled or information about its operating state can be individually retrieved.

The PLC 17 is connected to another data processing device 1.
Generally, those having a passive data transmission function such as an operation of receiving a command sent from 0 and writing or reading data corresponding to the command to / from the memory unit 23 or returning the sent command or data as it is are common. However, it goes without saying that the present invention can be carried out in substantially the same manner even in the case where it has an active data transmission function.

The programmable display device 19 includes a PLC 17
In addition, they are integrated into an operation console or the like of the target system 18 or are independently provided and used as a control panel for the target system 18.

For example, as shown in FIG. 3, a screen 28 using a liquid crystal display device as a display 25 is arranged on the front side of a substantially rectangular housing, and a touch panel 26 is arranged in close contact with the screen 28. On the other hand, the display control circuit 27 shown in FIG. 2 is housed inside the housing.

With this configuration, the PLC 1 is displayed on the screen 28.
7, a display corresponding to the control state of the target system 18 is performed, and at the same time, data input by a fingertip via the touch panel 26 and the touch panel controller 29 and indirect control of the target system 18 via the PLC 17 are enabled.

It should be noted that, as a data input means of the program type display device 19, various manual data input means such as a pointing device such as a mouse or a keyboard can be used instead of or in addition to the touch panel 26. .

The basic configuration of the display control circuit 27 is substantially the same as that of a general-purpose personal computer device.
Various memories including a PU 30, a ROM 31, a RAM 32, or a graphic controller 33 are connected, and the CPU 30 performs predetermined arithmetic operations according to a system program stored in the ROM 31.
Various calculation results appropriately stored in 32 are developed as bit images by the graphic controller 33 using various display data, and a display corresponding to the contents is performed on the screen 28 of the display 25.

Further, the communication controller 34, which enables the exchange of various data with a dedicated protocol specialized for the circuit configuration of the PLC 17, and the computer link unit 24 on the PLC 17 side employ a known radio wave as a data exchange medium. It is wirelessly connected via a data communication system (for example, SS-48 series manufactured by Sekisui Electronics).

In this data communication system, a plurality of PLCs 17 are connected to a wireless controller 35 connected to a communication controller 34 of the programmable display device 19.
The terminal controller 36 connected to the
N connections are made, and data communication is individually performed between the programmable display device 19 and each PLC 17 according to a dedicated communication protocol specified in advance for each PLC 17. Further, at the time of communication, by adopting a data communication method that is resistant to noise such as a spread spectrum method, it is possible to transfer data by radio with few errors even in a bad environment such as a factory.

Similarly, the other programmable display device 19 or the host computer 37 is also connected to the LAN by a wireless controller 35a equivalent to that described above. However, between such devices, a general-purpose communication adapter 47 such as Ethernet is used to transfer various data using a common general-purpose communication protocol.

In the programmable display device 19, a static figure 38 such as a name plate illustrated in FIG. 3 which does not require a change in display contents, or a part figure 39 such as a switch shape for changing shape, blinking or changing color is used. A display screen including one or a plurality of base screens is defined as a unit screen. Furthermore, a plurality of unit screens are provided in the single program display device 19 for data processing, and by specifying a different file number F for each unit screen, it is necessary only to switch the unit screen. A display screen showing the operation contents is obtained.

Further, when one unit screen is selected, a processing instruction word W related to the selected unit screen as illustrated in FIG. 4A is stored in the event data memory 40 in advance. In addition, the processing instruction word W is read out intermittently every minute time, and the operation of the content specified by the event name N of each processing instruction word W is displayed from the PLC 17 to the display device 19.
The sequence is executed while referring to the state data MD extracted on the side of the PLC 17 so that the component graphic 3 can be immediately changed in response to a change in the content of the bit device or the word device of the PLC 17
9 and the display operation in which the display data changes is performed on the display screen.

That is, the basic structure of the processing instruction word W is substantially the same, and the file number F of the base screen on which the display control operation is to be executed and the event name for specifying the operation content to be executed on the base screen N and one set of reference information r composed of one or a plurality of data referred to for each execution event.

For example, the processing instruction word WT shown in FIG.
The bit device that is set at a predetermined address position in the state data memory 45 can be inverted in conjunction with a pressing instruction operation on the touch panel 26. That is, the file number F1 of the unit screen, the touch panel 2
Event name N starting with "T", for example, specifying operation 6
1. An input coordinate range XY in which an input operation from the touch panel 26 is valid, and a device name or address A of the PLC 17 to which data is to be rewritten in conjunction with a pressing operation on the touch panel 26.

Further, the processing instruction word WL shown in FIG.
In conjunction with the operation of the touch panel 26, a predetermined figure can be displayed at a corresponding position on the display screen. That is, the file number F1 of the base screen, the event name N2 starting with, for example, "L" for specifying the display of the part graphic 39, the display coordinate range XY of the part graphic 39, the file number FL for specifying the part graphic 39 to be called, the part It is composed of the address A of the status data to be referred to when the graphic 39 is displayed.

Therefore, as shown in FIG.
The two processing instruction words WL1 and WT1 having the same address and reference address A are set in the event data memory 40. The state data memory 4 provided on the PLC 17 side
If the bit device at the address A of address 5 is "0", it is made to correspond to the off state of the switch in advance, and the PLC 17 performs the off operation on the actual switch contact to be controlled on the target system 18 side. At the same time, the part graphic 39 corresponding to the switch off state
Is read out from the graphic memory 42 and is developed and displayed in the designated coordinate range XY on the corresponding base screen.

When the display location of the component graphic 39 having the switch shape on the touch panel 26 is pressed, the processing instruction word WT for the touch panel is searched, and the touch panel 26 is searched.
The presence / absence of the processing instruction word WT having the range including the corresponding coordinates as the coordinate information is determined from the instruction coordinates made via.

For example, when one point in the coordinate range XY is pressed, the processing instruction word WT1 constructed as described above is pressed.
As shown in FIG. 3B, by writing data to the corresponding address A in the state data memory 45 and inverting the data value from "0" to "1", the PLC 17 Control to turn on the contacts. At the same time, the processing instruction word WL1 reads the data at the reference address A and determines that the data has changed to “1”. Then, the data FL2 of the graphic corresponding to the ON state of the switch is read out from the graphic memory 42 and displayed on the corresponding coordinate range XY, whereby the switch-shaped part graphic 39 displayed on the base screen is displayed.
Is also changed from the off state to the on state.

The present invention has the above-mentioned structure, and further stores the same or substantially the same memory contents as the state data MD 'held in the memory unit 23 of the PLC 17 on the RAM 32 in the display control circuit 27. Is set in the state data memory 41, which is an area of.

The status data memory 41 is provided in the PLC 1
7, which permits external access from among the various data set in the device 7. The data is written to or read from the corresponding address by designating the device address set on the PLC 17 side. I have to. Further, when a plurality of PLCs 17 are simultaneously connected to one display device 19 as in the present embodiment, the storage area of the state data MD is set separately for each PLC 17. By specifying the station number of each station, individual access can be made.

Here, as illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, the PLC 17 performs input / output operations of various signals with the controlled system device 43 in the target system 18 according to a preset program, and corresponds to the control state. The address “A” is specified and stored in the state data memory 45 in which the content data “A1” is set in the memory unit 23.

The updated state data "A1" corresponds to a periodic data read request from the display device 19 in step ST2 every time the set time is determined in step ST1 of FIG. Is sent from the device to the status data memory 41 of the display device 19 via the first communication line 44 in a wireless state using a dedicated protocol specific to the model, and is written to the corresponding device address.

Conversely, if it is determined in step ST3 that the state data "B1" on the display device 19 has been rewritten in conjunction with the above-described touch panel operation or the like, the contents of the change are determined in step ST4 by the communication controller 34. The state data MD on the PLC 17 side and the display device 19 side are transmitted to the corresponding PLC 17 through a dedicated communication protocol via the.

If it is determined in step ST5 that a predetermined command has been input from the PLC 17 to the display device 19, the display device 19 proceeds to step ST6.
, Data processing corresponding to the command is performed.

On the other hand, between the programmable display device 19 connected through the second communication line 46 and all the data processing devices including the host computer 37, the TC
A general-purpose communication protocol such as P / IP is used, and by specifying the device address described above, the RAM 32
Normal data processing operations such as writing and reading of data to and from the state data memory 41 in the internal memory are enabled.

At this time, if it is determined in step ST11 of FIG. 8 that data is to be written to the state data memory 41 in the display device 19, the corresponding state data MD is updated in step ST12, and then the process proceeds to step ST13.
Then, the change content “B1” is sent to the corresponding PLC 17 by the display device 19, and the operation of indirectly controlling the PLC 17 in a wireless state via the display device 19 is performed.

If it is determined in step ST14 that the data at the address "B" is read from the status data memory 41 in the display device 19, the status data "B1" specified by the address "B" is read in step ST15. After being output, the data is sent to the outside of the display device 19 using a common communication protocol in step ST16. The data content is substantially the same as the status data MD 'on the PLC 17 side, and is directly transmitted to the PLC 17. The data can be read from the PLC 17 without accessing the data.

In the above-described embodiment, the communication protocol provided in the communication
The example in which the data is fixed corresponding to the LC 17 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. By preparing a table, data communication can be performed between the PLC 17 and the host computer 37.

Further, assuming that the type of the PLC 17 to be accessed is specified, the case where data is read and written by designating a unique address to the PLC 17 has been exemplified, but the address is common to all the PLCs 17. By setting the address display in advance and preparing a conversion table with the address display in an expression specific to each model, it is possible to create a program without considering the type of the PLC 17 to be accessed at all, and the versatility of the program Is further improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing a basic configuration of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a PLC and a programmable display device.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a control operation using a processing instruction word.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a processing instruction word.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a data transmission procedure via a display device.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a data transfer state between devices.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a data communication process between a display device and a PLC.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a data communication processing step between a display device and a host computer.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Data processing apparatus 11 1st data processing means 12 2nd data processing means 13 Data transfer means 14 1st wireless communication means 15 2nd wireless communication means 16 Display means 17 PLC 18 Target system 19 Display device 20 CPU unit 21 input unit 22 output unit 23 memory unit 24 computer link unit 25 display 26 touch panel 27 display control circuit 28 screen 29 touch panel controller 30 CPU 31 ROM 32 RAM 33 graphic controller 34 communication controller 35 wireless controller 36 terminal controller 37 host computer 38 static figure 39 Parts graphic 40 Event data memory 41 State data memory 42 Graphic memory 43 Controlled device 44 Memory 46 the second communication line 47 for communication adapter communication line 45 status data

Claims (3)

[Claims] A first data processing means (11) for transferring data according to a first communication protocol and a second data processing means (12) for transferring data according to a second communication protocol. And a data transfer means (13) for handling data handled by the first data processing means (11) and data handled by the second data processing means (12). Between the second data processing means (12) and the above-mentioned second data processing means (12). A data processing apparatus for transmitting and receiving data in a wireless state using a common communication protocol for data processing means. 2. The data transfer means (13) includes the first and second data processing means (11).
A state in which shared memory means that both (12) are accessible are provided, and external access is allowed in at least all data on the first data processing means (11) on the shared memory means. A data storage area is provided, and the data in the direction in which the status data on the shared memory means matches the corresponding status data on the first data processing means (11) via the data transfer means (13). 2. The data processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a delivery operation is performed, and further, a content corresponding to the change in the state data is displayed on the display means. 3. The data transfer means (13) includes a conversion means between the first communication protocol and the second communication protocol, and extracts a model-specific information portion from the first communication protocol. In addition, while holding the information common to the second communication protocol corresponding to the unique information as a conversion table, the common information sent from the second data processing means (12) is referred to as the conversion table. One data processing means (1
3. The data processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the data processing apparatus converts the information into information unique to the first aspect.