JP4462402B2 - Program development support apparatus, processing method, program and recording medium for programmable controller - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a program development support apparatus for a programmable controller, a processing method, a program, and a recording medium .

  The PLC (programmable logic controller) that controls the FA (factory automation) system installed at the production factory (manufacturing site) takes the signal input from the input unit into the I / O memory of the CPU unit (IN refresh) Perform logical operation (operation execution) based on the user program (sequence program) written in the registered ladder language, write the operation execution result to the I / O memory, send it to the output unit (OUT refresh), and then so-called Performing peripheral service processing is cyclically repeated.

  The user program is downloaded via a program development support apparatus connected to the PLC and stored in the user memory of the PLC (CPU unit). When modifying the sequence program stored in the PLC, connect the program development support device to the PLC, upload the sequence program stored in the PLC, make necessary modifications, and then modify the sequence program. The new sequence program is downloaded to the PLC again.

  Further, when debugging this user program executed on the PLC, the operation of the user program on the PLC may be checked. And as a thing grasping the operation situation as a circuit of a ladder diagram in a state where a user program is displayed in a ladder diagram format, a figure of a contact or an output coil as shown in the drawings of Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 is used. Some of them can indirectly grasp the operation of the circuit by highlighting.

  In addition, as the present applicant has commercialized, there is one in which the operation state of the ladder circuit can be grasped by highlighting the connection line in addition to the contact point and the output coil. Specifically, the current value of the contact used in the ladder circuit being displayed is read from the PLC, and the current value and the logical operation result according to the ladder circuit are used to determine the contact, output coil, and connection line on the ladder diagram. Is highlighted (conducting display).

  That is, as shown in FIG. 1, when the contacts IN-1 and IN-2 are ON, a predetermined color is displayed on the corresponding contact portion, and when the contacts IN-1 and IN-2 are OFF, the corresponding contact portion is white. (In the example shown, IN-1 is ON and IN-2 is OFF). When the contact is turned on, the connection state is established until the next contact input, so that the connection line of the conduction portion is highlighted. In the case of FIG. 1, since the connection state is in a conductive state until the input of the contact IN-2, the corresponding portion is highlighted with a predetermined width. The highlighted display for the connection line portion is called conduction display.

From this display, it can be understood that the cause of the output OUT-1 being OFF is that the contact IN-2 is OFF. Thus, there is a merit that the circuit execution result (input / output establishment condition) can be easily understood by the PLC by performing the circuit continuity display (conduction / non-connection to the connection line portion).
JP 05-241619 JP-A-10-283005

  By the way, when a user program (sequence program) divided into functional units and created as a set of partial programs (task programs) is executed by the PLC, the corresponding partial program is executed when a specific condition is satisfied. There is a PLC. In the case of this execution method, if a specific condition is not satisfied, there is a partial program that is not executed.

  When checking the operation of a sequence program composed of a plurality of task programs, the operator of the program development support apparatus should display the plurality of task programs regardless of whether the task program is being executed. Yes. The program development support apparatus also displays the circuit state such as contact ON / OFF regardless of whether the task program is being executed. Furthermore, the program development support apparatus recognizes the conduction state based on the state of the circuit and also displays the conduction state.

  On the other hand, when debugging and maintaining a sequence program, there is a demand for easily understanding whether a task program is being executed or stopped. However, since the program development support device displays the same regardless of whether or not the task program is being executed when the screen is displayed, the program development support device is used when debugging and maintaining the sequence program. The operator cannot distinguish between a circuit that is being executed and a circuit that is not being executed, and there is a problem in that the efficiency of finding the problem part of the sequence program is reduced.

  In particular, when the continuity display is performed, it appears as if it is actually operating. Therefore, when the continuity display is performed for all the sequence programs displayed on the screen, it appears that the sequence program that has not been executed is also being executed. The above problem appears more prominently.

  Although it may be possible not to display the task program itself that is not operating, there is a task program operation / non-execution that is switched appropriately according to the execution state, and even during the current non-execution timing May be in operation. Therefore, the program needs to be displayed regardless of whether the task is operating.

The present invention can easily distinguish and understand a program being executed and a program being stopped on the screen, and can improve the efficiency of sequence program development and maintenance. Program development support apparatus and process for a programmable controller It is an object to provide a method, a program, and a recording medium .

A program development support apparatus for a programmable controller according to the present invention is a program development support apparatus for a programmable controller provided with a sequence program composed of a plurality of task programs, and is stored in the programmable controller acquired by uploading Storage means for storing a sequence program, circuit reading means for reading out a circuit constituting the sequence program stored in the storage means, and output to the display means for displaying the circuit read by the circuit reading means in a ladder diagram Circuit drawing means, means for acquiring the current value of the circuit read by the circuit reading means from the programmable controller, and generating circuit state display information based on the collected current value of the circuit, and the circuit drawing means By And a drawing means for displaying the operation status in accordance with the circuit shown, the drawing by the drawing unit, is against the circuits belonging to the partial program being executed, the connecting lines are contact and conduction ON state highlight, but for the contacts in an oN state circuits belonging to the partial program in the non-execution highlighting, the connecting lines are electrically connected to the not displayed highlighted.

  There are various types of circuit state display information. For example, the circuit state display information indicates the current value of the circuit, and at least a portion where the contact constituting the circuit is ON can be highlighted. Separately from this, the circuit status display information is information indicating a current value and a conduction display that highlights a portion of the connection line that is conducting, and the display method is different from at least the above It is also possible to perform the display for continuity. Of course, the display method may be different for the information indicating the current value.

A processing method according to the present invention is a processing method in a program development support apparatus for a programmable controller provided with a sequence program composed of a plurality of partial programs,
Storing the sequence program stored in the programmable controller obtained by uploading in a storage means;
A circuit readout step of reading out a circuit constituting the sequence program stored in the storage means;
A circuit drawing step for executing the circuit reading step and outputting the read circuit to a display means to display it in a ladder diagram;
An acquisition step of acquiring the current value of the circuit read out by the circuit reading step from the programmable controller,
Generate circuit state display information based on the current value of the collected circuit, execute the circuit drawing step, and execute a drawing process step to display the operation status according to the displayed circuit,
The drawing processing step is to pair the circuits belonging to the partial program being executed, highlight the connecting lines contacts and conducts the ON state, the circuit belonging to the partial program in the non-running Is highlighted on the contacts in the ON state, but not on the connected connection lines .

A program according to the present invention includes a computer for a program development support apparatus for a programmable controller having a sequence program composed of a plurality of partial programs,
Storage means for storing the sequence program stored in the programmable controller obtained by upload;
Circuit reading means for reading out a circuit constituting a sequence program stored in the storage means;
A circuit drawing means for outputting the circuit read by the circuit reading means to the display means for displaying in a ladder diagram;
Means for obtaining the current value of the circuit read by the circuit reading means from the programmable controller;
A program that generates circuit state display information based on the current value of the collected circuit and functions as a drawing unit that displays an operation state in accordance with the circuit displayed by the circuit drawing unit,
Drawing by said drawing means, is against the circuits belonging to the partial program being executed, highlight the connecting lines contacts and conducts the ON state, to the circuit belonging to the partial program in the non-running The contacts in the ON state are highlighted, but the connected connection lines are not highlighted .
A recording medium according to the present invention is a computer-readable recording medium in which the above program is recorded.

  The sequence program executed by the programmable logic controller can control execution / stop in units of individual task programs in accordance with the multiprogramming of the programmable controller. Then, the circuit constituting the sequence program having a plurality of task programs is displayed on the display screen by the program development support device, and the current circuit state on the programmable controller (contact ON / OFF, etc.) By displaying together, it is possible to check the execution state of the program.

  In such a case, by changing the display method of the circuit belonging to the task program being executed and the circuit belonging to the task program not being executed (displaying the program being executed and the program being stopped separately), the user can The program being executed can be recognized at a glance, and the efficiency of sequence program development and maintenance can be improved. In particular, since the continuity display appears to be that the circuit is actually operating, a larger effect can be obtained if the continuity display is not performed in the non-executed task program.

  In the present invention, the user can easily identify the execution state of the sequence program in the programmable controller, and the effect of improving the efficiency of debugging and maintenance can be obtained.

  FIG. 2 shows the entire system for realizing a preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, a program development support apparatus 10 composed of a dedicated device or a personal computer and a PLC (CPU unit) 20 are connected via a predetermined communication line 1. The communication line 1 is realized by, for example, direct cable connection using a serial line such as RS232C. Of course, the connection is not limited to such a direct connection, and the PLC 20 and the program development support apparatus 10 may be connected via a network using another communication line. Then, the program development support apparatus 10 uploads and acquires the sequence program stored in the PLC 20 via the communication line 1, further acquires the current value information and the like stored in the IO memory of the PLC 20, and displays it on the display device. The circuit constituting the program, the current value, and the continuity display are performed. The sequence program created (including correction) by the program development support apparatus 10 is downloaded to the PLC 20 via the communication line 1.

  The program development support apparatus 10 is composed of a personal computer, and as shown in FIG. 3, the hardware configuration includes an input device 11 such as a keyboard and a pointing device, a display device 12 such as a display, a CPU 13, a storage unit 14, A communication interface 15 is provided. The communication interface 15 exchanges data with the PLC 20. The sequence program uploaded from the PLC 20 is stored in the storage unit 14. Then, the CPU 13 creates screen information for displaying the PLC sequence program execution state on the screen from the sequence program stored in the storage unit 14 or the current value information acquired from the PLC 20 online (real time). The data is output to the display device 12. A specific description of the screen display function will be described later.

  In the relationship with the present invention, the PLC 20 stores a sequence program composed of a plurality of task programs in the user memory 21 as shown in FIG. 4, and executes whether or not each task program is in an execution state. A status flag is stored in the IO memory 22. Of course, this IO memory 22 also stores contact ON / OFF and other IO data.

  That is, when the task program constituting the sequence program is executed by the PLC 20, the task program has an execution / non-execution state for each task program, and the execution / non-execution state is indicated by a dedicated instruction (for example, The task can be dynamically switched during execution of the sequence program by a task start instruction or task end instruction. When the task program is not executed, the PLC 20 does not execute the sequence program stored in the task program, and the task program has no influence on the control operation of the PLC 20. In other words, if the task programs (1) to (4) exist and the task program (2) is not executed, the task program is composed of three task programs (1), (3), and (4). Sequence program. Such an execution / non-execution state is reflected in a “task execution state flag” secured at the memory address of the PLC 20.

  Here, the processing function for displaying the PLC sequence program execution state, which is a feature of the present invention, on the screen includes a ladder diagram, the current value of the operand of each instruction word, and the logical input / output relationship between the instruction words. 5 is displayed, and can be realized by mounting each processing unit shown in FIG. 5 on the CPU 13.

  That is, when the user operates the input device 11 and gives an instruction to start monitoring from the menu screen displayed on the display screen 12, a display request for circuit information comes from the display screen 12 side. The circuit reading unit 31 accesses the storage unit 14 and reads the circuit of the sequence program that has been uploaded and stored in advance from the PLC 20. This reading is performed for each circuit, and the corresponding circuit is repeatedly read while incrementing the circuit number by 1 until the task program display screen of the display device 12 is filled. In the initial screen, calls are made in order starting from the top circuit (circuit number 0). Once displayed, each time a scroll command is received, the top circuit of the display screen determined by the scroll process is used thereafter. Call in turn.

  The circuit information for one circuit read by the circuit reading unit 31 is given to the circuit drawing unit 32, the instruction word operand address extraction unit 33, and the circuit conduction information generation unit 35. The circuit drawing unit 32 displays on the display device 12 in a state where contacts, connection lines, and the like constituting the acquired circuit are arranged at predetermined positions.

  The instruction word operand address extraction unit 33 extracts the address of the operand used in the instruction word of the acquired circuit, and passes the extracted address to the address current value acquisition unit 34.

  The current address acquisition unit 34 accesses the IO memory of the PLC 20 based on the given address, acquires the current value (contact ON / OFF, numerical value, etc.) of the corresponding address, and generates circuit conduction information for the next stage. Pass to part 35. The address current value acquisition unit 34 acquires data at a specified address (memory address), and also acquires an execution state flag that defines the execution state of the task program, as will be described later.

  The circuit continuity information generating unit 35 generates circuit continuity information for drawing the continuity state of the circuit from the current value of the read address and the logical input / output relationship between the command words constituting the circuit. The generated circuit continuity information is given to the current value / continuity drawing unit 36. The current value / continuity drawing unit 36 highlights the location specified by the circuit continuity information generating unit 35.

  The circuit conduction information generation algorithm in the circuit conduction information generation unit 35 is as follows. A ladder program having one output coil at a serial contact as shown in FIG. 6 will be described as an example. First, when the ladder program of FIG. 6 is executed, the output coil OUT-1 is turned on when both the contact IN-1 and the contact IN-2 are turned on. Each element of the ladder program (which consists of three elements, contact IN-1, contact IN-2, and output coil OUT-1) can indicate three states. That is, taking the contact IN-1 as an example, it is as shown in FIGS.

  First, when the input of an element is ON (element state (1)), as shown in FIG. 7A, it is determined to highlight the connection line on the left side of the element. If the element state (current value) is ON (element state (2)), the contact (between vertical lines) is highlighted as shown in FIG. 7B. This is because the address current value acquisition unit 34 reads the state (current value) of the memory address on the PLC assigned to the element (contact IN-1), and when the current value is ON, the correspondence between the address and the corresponding contact The circuit continuity information generator 35 performs the attachment. That is, the element to be highlighted based on the current value of the PLC memory is specified. Furthermore, when both (1) and (2) are ON, the output of the element is ON (element state (3)), so that the circuit continuity information generation unit 35 detects the state and detects the right side of the element. The connection line is highlighted (conduction display).

  In other words, when the current value of the element is ON, the circuit continuity information generation unit 35 determines to highlight the element portion (between the vertical lines), and when the element is ON and the input is ON Then, the output of the element, that is, the right connection line is determined to be highlighted (conduction display).

  The current value / continuity drawing unit 36 highlights the corresponding part in accordance with the highlighted part received from the circuit conduction information generating unit 35. With respect to the connection lines for the output of the element, if the connection between the next element is a simple connection line, the current value / conduction drawing unit 36 highlights all the connection lines. Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the branch connection line is similarly highlighted by the current value / continuity drawing unit 36.

  The ladder program conduction state shown in FIG. 6 can be displayed by a combination of the above-described element states. That is, when the two contacts IN-1 and IN-2 are both OFF (FIG. 9A), since the element is OFF, the element portion is not highlighted and the leading contact IN-1 is OFF. Therefore, the output is also turned off, and the right connection line is not highlighted. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 9B, only the connection line from the left bus to the contact IN-1 is highlighted.

  A user who sees such a display form can understand at a glance that the output coil OUT-1 is OFF because the conduction is cut off at the contact IN-1.

  Similarly, when the contact IN-1 is ON and the contact IN-2 is OFF (see FIG. 10A), in addition to the state of FIG. 9B, between the vertical lines indicating the state of the contact IN-1. As a result, both the input and the element are turned ON at the contact IN-1, so that the state shown in FIG. 7C is obtained, and the display of the entire circuit is shown in FIG. 10B. In this way, the connection line connected to the contact IN-2 is further highlighted. From such a display, the user can understand at a glance from the display that the output coil OUT-1 is OFF because the conduction is cut off at the contact IN-2.

  On the contrary, when the contact IN-2 is ON and the contact IN-1 is OFF (see FIG. 11 (a)), in addition to the state of FIG. 9 (b), the vertical state indicating the state of the contact IN-2. Highlight between lines. However, since the input of the contact IN-2 is OFF, the state shown in FIG. 7B is obtained, and the display of the entire circuit is as shown in FIG. 11B. Therefore, the output coil OUT-1 is OFF, and the user can understand at a glance from the display that the conduction is cut off at the contact IN-1.

  Further, when both the contact IN-1 and the contact IN-2 are ON (see FIG. 12A), the circuit continuity information generating unit 35 is between the vertical lines indicating the states of the contact IN-1 and the contact IN-2. Is determined to be highlighted, and since the input of each contact is turned on, it is recognized that the output is also turned on, and the connection line on the output side of each contact is determined to be highlighted. Thereby, as shown in FIG.12 (b), all the connection lines are also highlighted. From such a display, the user can understand at a glance from the display that both of the two contacts are ON, and as a result, the output coil OUT-1 is also ON.

  In each example described above, the highlighted portion is determined by the circuit continuity information generation unit 35, and the current value / conduction drawing unit 36 displays based on the determined information. The current value / continuity drawing unit 36 displays only the highlighted portion of the specific circuit display example described above, and the circuit drawing unit 32 performs the circuit portion. That is, on the display device 12, the circuit portion and the highlighted portion are displayed in an overlapping manner.

  Although not specifically shown, in the present embodiment, a display window is formed in units of tasks, and is displayed on the display screen of the display device 12 in a multi-window format. Of course, instead of displaying each task program in a multi-window in this way, it may be displayed continuously in one display window. When one task program is composed of a plurality of subprograms (referred to as section programs), it may be displayed on the display window in section program units.

  In the present invention, by changing the display form of the task program being executed and the task program being stopped, it is possible to identify whether or not the user is executing at a glance and to improve the convenience of monitoring and debugging the program being executed. I tried to do it.

  In this embodiment, a circuit execution determination information generation unit 37 and a circuit execution determination address extraction unit 38 are provided. That is, the circuit execution determination information generation unit 37 acquires the circuit number of the processing target circuit in the sequence program, checks the task number to which the circuit belongs, and creates a correspondence table as shown in FIG. Information on which task a circuit belongs to is stored in the storage unit 14 when a sequence program is uploaded from the PLC 20 and stored in the storage unit 14 or when a sequence program is created (section program unit or task program unit). It is created at this time and stored in the storage unit 14 together with the sequence program. The circuit execution determination information generation unit 37 stores specific data only in the “circuit number” and “task number” columns in the table of FIG. 13, and the task program execution state column remains blank. And Then, the circuit execution determination information generation unit 37 passes the generated correspondence table to the current value / continuity drawing unit 36 and passes the acquired task number to the circuit execution determination address extraction unit 38.

  The circuit execution determination address extraction unit 38 acquires a memory address (data stored and held in the program development support apparatus as a predetermined value) of the IO memory in which the execution state flag of the acquired task number is stored, The acquired address is passed to the address current value acquisition unit 34. Then, the address current value information acquisition unit 34 accesses the IO memory of the PLC 20 based on the acquired address, acquires the current execution state flag (ON / OFF), and sets the acquired execution state flag to the current value / conduction. It is passed to the drawing unit 36. As a result, the current value / continuity drawing unit 36 stores the acquired execution state flag in the corresponding area of the correspondence table.

  The current value / conduction drawing unit 36 actually displays the conduction state obtained by the circuit conduction information generation unit 35 based on the correspondence table created by the address current value acquisition unit 34 and the circuit execution determination information generation unit 37. Whether or not, and highlighting based on the determination result. Specifically, the task execution state flag in the correspondence table is extracted from the circuit number of the circuit to be displayed. If the flag is ON, the continuity display is highlighted. If the flag is OFF, the continuity display is not highlighted. To do.

  Thereby, for example, when the execution state flag is ON, even when the execution state flag is as shown in FIG. 12, when the execution state flag is OFF, as shown in FIG. However, the continuity display formed on the connection line is not highlighted. As a result, the task being executed can be recognized at a glance depending on whether or not the connection line is highlighted (conduction display).

  In the above-described embodiment, the non-executed task is not highlighted (does not display the conductive state) of the connection line. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the connection line is displayed so as to overlap. The display color of the highlight display (conduction state display) may be changed depending on whether or not it is being executed. Further, not only the conduction state display superimposed on the connection line but also the highlighted display (current value information) about the element (contact point) may be changed depending on whether the task is executed or not. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the connected connection line is highlighted (conductive display), but only the highlighted display based on the current value of the element (contact point) is performed without performing the conductive display. Of course, the method of displaying the status of the element may be changed according to the execution / non-execution of the task. Further, in FIG. 13 of the above-described embodiment, a correspondence table between circuit numbers and task numbers is shown throughout the sequence program. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the correspondence table between circuit numbers and task numbers is displayed as a task table. It may be created in program units or section program units.

It is a figure which shows an example of the display system of a circuit. It is a figure which shows one Embodiment of the system of this invention. It is a figure which shows the internal structure of a program development assistance apparatus. It is a figure which shows the internal structure of PLC. It is a figure which shows the internal structure of a program development assistance apparatus. It is a figure explaining the function of a circuit continuity information generation part and a present value and continuity drawing part. It is a figure explaining the function of a circuit continuity information generation part and a present value and continuity drawing part. It is a figure explaining the function of a circuit continuity information generation part and a present value and continuity drawing part. It is a figure explaining the function of a circuit continuity information generation part and a present value and continuity drawing part. It is a figure explaining the function of a circuit continuity information generation part and a present value and continuity drawing part. It is a figure explaining the function of a circuit continuity information generation part and a present value and continuity drawing part. It is a figure explaining the function of a circuit continuity information generation part and a present value and continuity drawing part. It is a figure which shows an example of the correspondence table | surface which shows the relationship between a circuit and a task. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of a non-executable task program.

Explanation of symbols

1 Communication Line 10 Program Development Support Device 11 Input Device 12 Display Device 13 CPU
14 storage unit 15 communication interface 20 PLC
21 User Memory 22 IO Memory 31 Circuit Reading Unit 32 Circuit Drawing Unit 33 Instruction Word Operand Address Extracting Unit 34 Address Current Value Acquisition Unit 35 Circuit Continuity Information Generation Unit 36 Current Value / Conduction Drawing Unit 37 Circuit Execution Determination Information Generation Unit 38 Circuit Execution Judgment address extraction unit

Claims (4)

A program development support device for a programmable controller having a sequence program composed of a plurality of partial programs,
Storage means for storing the sequence program stored in the programmable controller obtained by upload;
Circuit reading means for reading out a circuit constituting a sequence program stored in the storage means;
Circuit drawing means for outputting to the display means to display the circuit read by the circuit reading means in a ladder diagram;
Means for acquiring the current value of the circuit read by the circuit reading means from the programmable controller;
Drawing means for generating circuit state display information based on the collected current values of the circuits and displaying an operation state in accordance with the circuit displayed by the circuit drawing means;
Drawing by said drawing means, is against the circuits belonging to the partial program being executed, highlight the connecting lines contacts and conducts the ON state, to the circuit belonging to the partial program in the non-running A program development support apparatus for a programmable controller, characterized in that an ON-state contact is highlighted, but a conductive connection line is not highlighted . A processing method in a program development support apparatus for a programmable controller having a sequence program composed of a plurality of partial programs,
Storing the sequence program stored in the programmable controller obtained by uploading in a storage means;
A circuit readout step of reading out a circuit constituting the sequence program stored in the storage means;
A circuit drawing step for executing the circuit reading step and outputting the read circuit to a display means to display it in a ladder diagram;
An acquisition step of acquiring the current value of the circuit read out by the circuit reading step from the programmable controller,
Generate circuit state display information based on the current value of the collected circuit, execute the circuit drawing step, and execute a drawing process step to display the operation status according to the displayed circuit,
The drawing processing step is to pair the circuits belonging to the partial program being executed, highlight the connecting lines contacts and conducts the ON state, the circuit belonging to the partial program in the non-running The processing method is characterized in that the ON contact point is highlighted, but the conductive connection line is not highlighted . A computer for a program development support apparatus for a programmable controller having a sequence program composed of a plurality of partial programs,
Storage means for storing the sequence program stored in the programmable controller obtained by upload;
Circuit reading means for reading out a circuit constituting a sequence program stored in the storage means;
A circuit drawing means for outputting the circuit read by the circuit reading means to the display means for displaying in a ladder diagram;
Means for obtaining the current value of the circuit read by the circuit reading means from the programmable controller;
A program that generates circuit state display information based on the current value of the collected circuit and functions as a drawing unit that displays an operation state in accordance with the circuit displayed by the circuit drawing unit,
Drawing by said drawing means, is against the circuits belonging to the partial program being executed, highlight the connecting lines contacts and conducts the ON state, to the circuit belonging to the partial program in the non-running A program that highlights ON contacts, but does not highlight conductive connections .   A computer-readable recording medium on which the program according to claim 3 is recorded.

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