JP7192243B2 - Analysis support device and analysis support method - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to technology for assisting cause identification when a problem occurs in an FA device.

In FA (factory automation), there is a control system consisting of control devices such as PLC (programmable logic controller) and various target devices (sensors, actuators, etc.) that operate according to control instructions from the control device. Widely used. In such a control system, the target device may not operate as designed, or an unintended operation or error may occur. Causes of such failures include, for example, bugs in programs that run on control devices (errors in the description of control instructions and timing of transmission, etc.), and bugs in programs that run on target devices (errors in the logic of the measurement flow, etc.). , failure of control equipment or target equipment, disconnection of cables, network congestion, etc., it is not easy to identify the location and cause of the problem. In the past, it was necessary to use viewer software to view the communication log between the control device and the target device, and to check for inappropriate packets one by one. Analytical work requires a high level of skill related to communication of FA equipment, and there is a problem that it takes an enormous amount of time (for example, several hundred hours) to identify the cause. Although Patent Document 1 proposes a device for monitoring behavior of a network inside a parallel computer, it is difficult to divert this device to behavior monitoring of the control system described above.

JP-A-10-40224

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a technique for facilitating the work of analyzing communication between a control device and a target device.

A first aspect of the present invention is an analysis support device for supporting analysis of communication between a control device and a target device controlled by the control device, comprising: communication log acquisition means for acquiring communication log data that is a record of transmitted transmission data; status log acquisition means for acquiring status log data that is a record of the status of the target device and/or the control device; a first information screen for displaying the content of data transmitted between the control device and the target device in chronological order based on the communication log data and the status log data; and information output means for outputting to a display device a second information screen displaying a temporal change of the state so that the temporal correspondence between the transmission data and the state can be identified. To provide an analysis support device for

According to this configuration, it is possible to easily compare the state change of the target device and/or the control device and the contents of the transmission data at the same time, so that the location and cause of the problem can be easily found. As a result, a significant reduction in the time required for cause analysis work can be expected. In addition, by facilitating the analysis work, for example, it is possible to investigate the cause and perform maintenance on the user side, and secondary effects such as improving the usability of the FA equipment can be expected.

Part of the transmission data displayed in chronological order on the first information screen, or
User operation receiving means for receiving, from a user, an operation of selecting part of the data of the temporal change of the state displayed on the second information screen as data of interest, wherein the information output means receives the data of interest. is selected, the data corresponding to the attention data may be displayed on both the first information screen and the second information screen in a manner distinguishable from other data.

According to this configuration, when the user selects data of interest, the corresponding data can be confirmed on both the first information screen and the second information screen. Therefore, regarding data of interest that the user is interested in, it is possible to easily compare the state change of the target device and/or the control device and the content of the transmission data at the same time, thereby efficiently searching for the location and cause of the problem. can do well.

The user operation receiving means can receive from a user a screen switching instruction for switching between the first information screen and the second information screen, and the information output means can receive the data of interest on the first information screen. when the screen switching instruction is received in a state where the data is identifiably displayed, the screen is switched to the second information screen and the data at the same time as the attention data is identifiably displayed on the second information screen; When the screen switching instruction is received while part of the data is identifiably displayed as the attention data, the screen is switched to the first information screen and the data at the same time as the attention data is identifiably displayed. may

By adopting a configuration in which two information screens are switched and displayed in this way, it is possible to display information screens without degrading the visibility even on a small-sized (or low-resolution) display device. Since many of the display devices provided in FA equipment are small or have low resolution, the switching display as described above is useful.

Information indicating the state of the control device or the state of the target device is included in the transmission data transmitted between the control device and the target device, and the state log acquisition means is configured to obtain the communication log. The status log data may be obtained from the communication log data obtained by the obtaining means. According to this configuration, since information about communication and information about status can be obtained from the same information source, data processing becomes simple, such as the need for time synchronization of information about communication and information about status. has the advantage of becoming

The information output means may identifiably display a change point at which the state of the target device and/or the control device changes on the first information screen and/or the second information screen. When a problem related to control occurs, the state of the target device or the control device often changes. Therefore, by displaying the state change points of the target device and the control device in an easy-to-understand manner on the information screen, it is possible to easily narrow down the locations where there is a high possibility that a problem has occurred, and to efficiently search for the location and cause of the problem. can.

The user operation accepting means may have selection assisting means for assisting the user's operation of selecting the change point as the attention data. When a problem related to control occurs, the state of the target device or the control device often changes. Therefore, by making it possible to easily select the state change point of the target device or control device as data of interest on the information screen, it is possible to easily narrow down the locations where there is a high possibility that a problem has occurred. It is possible to efficiently search for the cause.

The transmission data includes number information assigned in the order of transmission, and the information output means analyzes the number information of each transmission data recorded in the communication log data to determine the correct transmission order. a transmission error location where no transmission data is transmitted is detected, and the transmission error location is identifiably displayed on the first information screen and/or the second information screen. Control-related failures are also likely to occur due to transmission errors. Therefore, by automatically detecting the transmission error location and displaying the transmission error location together with information on the content of the transmission data and the state change, it is possible to efficiently search for the location of the problem and the cause.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the analysis work of communication between a control apparatus and a target apparatus can be facilitated.

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a control system. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of the analysis support device. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a timeline display screen. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a time chart display screen. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of normal state guide display. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a processing flow of the analysis support device; FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a processing flow of the analysis support device; 8A and 8B are diagrams showing the processing flow of the analysis support device.

<Application example>
The analysis support device according to the present invention is applied to, for example, a control system 1 composed of a control device 11 and a target device 12 as shown in FIG. It is used for the purpose of supporting analysis work. The analysis support device can read communication log data between the control device 11 and the target device 12 and status log data of the control system 1, and output two types of information screens as shown in FIGS. be. On the timeline display screen 30 of FIG. 3, the contents of the data transmitted between the control device 11 and the target device 12 are displayed in chronological order. On the time chart display screen 40 of FIG. 4, waveforms showing temporal changes in the state of the control system 1 are displayed. These information screens are displayed so that the temporal correspondence between the transmission data and the state of the control system 1 can be identified. Therefore, the user can easily and efficiently compare the state change of the control system 1 and the contents of the transmission data at the same time, so that the location and cause of the problem can be found easily and efficiently.

<System configuration>
A control system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. This control system 1 has a PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) 11 as a control device and a sensor 12 as a target device controlled by the control device. A communication cable 13 connects between the PLC 11 and the sensor 12 .

As the sensor 12, devices such as an image sensor, a displacement sensor, a length measurement sensor, a code reader, and an area sensor can be used. As the communication cable 13, for example, an Ethernet cable, a parallel I/O cable, a serial cable, or the like can be used. be able to. It is also possible to connect the PLC 11 and the sensor 12 by wireless communication instead of wired connection.

The configuration of an image sensor will be described below as an example of the sensor 12 . The image sensor 12 is installed in a factory production line or the like, and performs various processes using images (for example, acquisition of image data of an inspection target, shape recognition, inspection, edge detection, number measurement, area measurement, color It is a device used for feature acquisition, labeling and segmentation, object recognition, bar code and two-dimensional code reading, OCR, individual identification, etc.). The image sensor 12 is also called a vision sensor, a vision system, or the like.

The image sensor 12 of the present embodiment is roughly composed of a sensor controller 120 and a camera 121, and the sensor controller 120 and the camera 121 are connected by a camera cable. The sensor controller 120 is provided with a plurality of camera I/Os so that a plurality of cameras 121 can be connected. In this embodiment, the processing system (sensor controller 120) and the imaging system (camera 121) are configured separately, but a configuration in which the processing system and the imaging system are integrated can also be adopted. Such an integrated image sensor is also called a "smart camera".

The camera 121 is a device that captures an image of a subject such as an inspection target and acquires image data, and includes an optical system such as a lens and an imaging device such as a CCD or CMOS. If necessary, the camera 121 may be provided with an autofocus mechanism, a pan/tilt/zoom mechanism, an illumination device, and the like.

The sensor controller 120 is a device that controls the entire image sensor 12 and performs various arithmetic processing. The sensor controller 120 has, for example, a computer having a processor (CPU), memory, storage, communication module, and I/O, a display device such as a liquid crystal display, and an input device such as a mouse or touch panel. Various programs are stored in the storage, and when the image sensor 12 is in operation, necessary programs are loaded into the memory and executed by the processor to provide processing and functions to be described later. At least part of the processing and functions provided by the image sensor 12 may be configured by circuits such as ASIC and FPGA, or may be configured by distributed computing or cloud computing.

When a control command (control signal such as a measurement trigger, various control commands, etc.) is transmitted (input) from the PLC 11 to the sensor controller 120, the sensor controller 120 executes a predetermined measurement flow according to the control command. The measurement flow includes, for example, an image input step S10 from the camera 121, a measurement processing step S11 using the image (object detection, inspection, character reading, etc.), and a measurement result (OK/NG judgment result, etc.) output step S12. Configured. The user can freely design the processing items to be executed in each step. The sensor controller 120 responds to a control command from the PLC 11 and notifies the PLC 11 of a status signal representing the state of the sensor, and sends data such as measurement results (judgment results, etc.), measured values, and read character strings to the PLC 11. Send (output). In this manner, the image sensor 12 performs measurement processing under the control of the PLC 11 .

In the control system 1 as described above, the image sensor 12 may not operate as designed, or an unintended operation or error may occur. Causes of such troubles include, for example, bugs in the program operating on the PLC 11 (errors in the description of control instructions and transmission timing, etc.) and bugs in the program operating on the image sensor 12 (errors in the logic of the measurement flow, etc.). , failure of the PLC 11 or the image sensor 12, cable disconnection, network congestion, etc., it is not easy to identify the location and cause of the problem.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, an analysis support program for supporting analysis of communication between the PLC 11 and the image sensor 12 is installed in the control system 1 to facilitate identification of the cause of the trouble as described above. Note that the analysis support program may be installed in a target device such as the image sensor 12 and executed by a processor of the target device. In this case, the target device also serves as the analysis support device (or the target device provides the function as the analysis support device). Also, the analysis support program may be installed in a control device such as the PLC 11 and executed by a processor of the control device. In this case, the control device also serves as the analysis support device (or the control device provides the function as the analysis support device). Further, the analysis support program may be installed in a computer different from both the control device and the target device (for example, a computer for management and maintenance of the control system 1) and executed by the processor of the computer.

<Analysis support device>
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the analysis support device according to this embodiment. The analysis support device 2 has a monitor unit 20, a communication log acquisition unit 21, a status log acquisition unit 22, an information output unit 23, and a user operation reception unit 24 as main components. In this embodiment, the analysis support device 2 is configured by installing an analysis support program in the image sensor 12, and each component shown in FIG. implemented in software. However, this configuration is an example, and some or all of the components shown in FIG. 2 may be configured by circuits such as ASIC and FPGA, or may be executed on other computers such as servers.

The monitor unit 20 monitors communication between the PLC 11 and the image sensor 12, and records transmission data transmitted (transmitted and received) between the two in the storage of the analysis support device 2 (image sensor 12). I do. Time series data of recorded transmission data is called "communication log data". The monitor unit 20 may leave the transmission data in the communication log data as it is, or store information obtained by processing the transmission data (for example, compressed or encoded information, or information obtained by extracting only a part of the data) in the communication log. It may be recorded as data.

The monitor unit 20 may monitor the state of the control system 1 and record it in the storage in the analysis support device 2 (image sensor 12). The recorded time-series data of the state of the control system 1 is called "state log data". The state of the control system 1 can include either or both the state of the image sensor 12 and the state of the PLC 11 .

The state of the image sensor 12 is, for example, busy (a state in which processing is being executed and cannot accept a new control command input from the outside), or command complete (a state in which execution of a control command input from the outside has been completed). ), data output (state in which data such as measurement results are output to the outside), ready (state in which measurement can be started), and error (state in which an abnormality has occurred). The state of the image sensor 12 may be detected from the value of a state variable held in the memory of the image sensor 12, or from the value of a state signal included in the transmission data sent from the image sensor 12 to the PLC 11. may be detected. In the latter case, the monitor unit 20 may extract information on the state of the image sensor 12 from the communication log data.

The state of the PLC 11 is, for example, command execution (a state in which a control command is being sent to the target device), a data output request (a state in which data output can be received from the target device), an error (a state in which an abnormality has occurred), and the like. There is The state of the PLC 11 may be detected from the value of the state variable held in the memory of the PLC 11, or may be detected from the value of the control signal included in the transmission data sent from the PLC 11 to the image sensor 12. good. In the latter case, the monitor unit 20 may extract information on the state of the PLC 11 from the communication log data.

The communication log acquisition unit 21 performs processing for acquiring communication log data between the PLC 11 and the image sensor 12 . In this embodiment, it is assumed that the communication log data accumulated by the monitor unit 20 is read from the storage. You can read log data.

The state log acquisition unit 22 performs processing for acquiring state log data of the control system 1 . In this embodiment, it is assumed that the status log data accumulated by the monitor unit 20 is read from the storage. You can read log data.

Based on the acquired communication log data and status log data, the information output unit 23 generates an information screen for assisting the analysis work by the user, and performs processing for outputting the screen to the display device. The user operation receiving unit 24 performs processing for receiving various user operations. Details of the processing of the information output unit 23 and the user operation reception unit 24 will be described later.

<Example of information screen>
3 and 4 show examples of information screens output by the analysis support device 2. FIG. The analysis support device 2 of this embodiment can output two types of information screens, a timeline display screen 30 (FIG. 3) and a time chart display screen 40 (FIG. 4). The timeline display screen 30 is an example of a first information screen for displaying the content of data transmitted between the PLC 11 and the image sensor 12 in chronological order. It is an example of the 2nd information screen for displaying a typical change.

A user interface (UI) provided by the user operation receiving unit 24 on each information screen will be described below.

(Common UI)
A log file read button 320 is a UI for designating a file of communication log data and status log data to be analyzed. When the user presses the log file read button 320, a file selection screen (not shown) opens and a log data file can be selected.

A view switching button 321 is a UI for switching between the timeline display screen 30 and the time chart display screen 40 . Each time the user presses the view switching button 321 (that is, each time the user operation receiving unit 24 receives a screen switching instruction from the user), the information output unit 23 changes the display of the timeline display screen 30 and the time chart display screen 40. switch. In this embodiment, a UI that switches between two information screens is used. However, if the resolution of the display device is sufficiently high, the two information screens can be displayed side by side vertically or horizontally, or displayed in separate windows. may

(Timeline display)
Each line of the timeline display screen 30 indicates the contents of one piece of transmission data. For example, when packet communication is performed between the PLC 11 and the image sensor 12, each row indicates the contents of one packet data. In the display example of FIG. 3, for each transmission data, "number", "timestamp", "time", "source", "destination", "protocol", "length", "data", "analysis Information of 10 items of "content" and "identifier" is displayed. The meaning of each item is as follows.

(1) Number: A number assigned to each piece of transmission data when the analysis support device 2 (monitor 20) records communication log data. Numbers are assigned from 1 in order of transmission.
(2) Timestamp: Elapsed time from when the analysis support device 2 (monitor unit 20) starts monitoring to when transmission data is received/sent.
(3) Time: Receiving/transmitting time of transmission data.
(4) Source: the IP address of the device that sent the transmission data.
(5) Destination: the IP address of the device that received the transmission data.
(6) Protocol--Transmission data protocol (UDP, TCP, etc.).
(7) Length: data length of transmission data.
(8) Data: Transmission data (in hexadecimal notation).
(9) Analytical content: The content of the meaning of the transmission data expressed in an easy-to-understand format for humans. Items such as "type of control command", "content of control command", and "state of image sensor" included in the transmission data may be converted into natural language and displayed. An example of transmission data (in hexadecimal notation) and its analysis content is described below.
[Example 1] 11-00-00-0A-05-06-64-0A-05-06
→ Execution command Measurement execution RES-CODE XXXXXX
[Example 2] 45-00-00-39-7D-B3-00-00-80-11
→ Write command data D102 Data register [Example 3] 06-64-0A-05-06-7B-25-80-25
→ 4 channels Response area CMD-CODE
(10) Identifier: A unique number assigned by the sender of transmission data when the data is sent. Since numbers are assigned in order of transmission, it is possible to detect omission of transmission data, abnormalities in the reception order of transmission data, and the like by checking the identifier.

The user can select (mark) part of the transmission data as data of interest on the timeline display screen 30 . The selected rows of data of interest are displayed in a manner (eg, colored, reversed, highlighted, etc.) distinguishable from other transmitted data. Although FIG. 3 shows an example in which one line is marked as data of interest, a plurality of lines may be marked.

The narrowing down function 301 is a function of extracting and displaying information that matches conditions from among the information displayed on the timeline display screen 30 . In this example, it is possible to set narrowing conditions such as timestamp, protocol, and arbitrary character string.

(Time chart display)
In the example of the time chart display screen 40 of FIG. 4, time changes of state values of five signals EXE, BUSY, FLG, DSA, and GATE are displayed. The horizontal axis represents time, and the state value of each signal takes two values of OFF (Lo) and ON (Hi).

Here, EXE is a signal that changes from OFF to ON when the PLC 11 issues a control command to the image sensor 12 . BUSY is a signal that changes from OFF to ON when the image sensor 12 starts processing according to a control command input from the PLC 11 . FLG is a signal that changes from OFF to ON when the image sensor 12 completes execution of the control command. DSA is a signal that changes from OFF to ON when the PLC 11 is ready to receive data output from the image sensor 12 . GATE is a signal that turns from OFF to ON when the image sensor 12 starts outputting data.

For example, when executing the measurement flow by the image sensor 12, EXE turns ON first, then BUSY turns ON, and FLG turns ON when the measurement flow is completed. Also, when outputting the measurement data of the image sensor 12 to the PLC 11, the DSA is turned ON first, and then the GATE is turned ON. Thus, in a system in which the image sensor 12 operates under the control of the PLC 11, the state values of the PLC 11 and the image sensor 12 need to change in a predetermined order. Therefore, on the time chart display screen 40, it is possible to check whether the PLC 11 and the image sensor 12 are operating normally by looking at the appearance order of the change points (points at which the state value changes) of each signal and the intervals between the change points. can be easily checked.

In this embodiment, the information output unit 23 assigns change point numbers to the change points of each signal in ascending order of the time stamp, and assigns the change point numbers to the change point portions of the graphs of the signals on the time chart display screen 40. Display the change point number. This change point number display makes it possible to easily determine the order in which the change points appear.

The user can select (mark) any point of change as data of interest on the time chart display screen 40 . The selected change point is displayed in a manner (eg, colored, reversed, highlighted, etc.) distinguishable from other change points. Also, in this example, the time stamp display range is adjusted so that the selected change point is displayed in the center of the time chart display screen 40 . Furthermore, the time stamp of the selected change point is displayed on the horizontal axis. In the example of FIG. 4, the change point (number: 1) of time stamp "4696" is displayed in the center.

The selection assistance function 401 is a UI that assists in moving the position (time stamp) of data displayed on the time chart display screen 40 and in selecting a change point. When the user inputs an arbitrary time stamp in the central text box, the data of that time stamp is selected as data of interest, and the display range is automatically adjusted so that it is displayed in the center of the time chart display screen 40. . Also, when the user presses the arrow buttons arranged on the left and right of the text box, the selected change point moves one by one in ascending or descending order. Such a selection assisting function 401 facilitates selection of target data.

An error location display 402 indicates a location (transmission error location) where data transmission is not performed in the correct transmission order. For example, a portion where the transmission data received by the image sensor 12 from the PLC 11 is reversed in reception order, a portion where the transmission data is missing, or the like is displayed as a transmission error portion.

(Linkage of timeline display and time chart display)
One of the features of the UI of this embodiment is that the timeline display screen 30 and the time chart display screen 40 are displayed in association with each other in terms of time. The point is that each display screen is generated and displayed so that the temporal correspondence with the state change on the chart display screen 40 can be identified. Specifically, when the timeline display is switched to the time chart display while the target data is selected on the timeline display screen 30, data with the same time stamp as the target data is displayed on the time chart display screen 40. is selected and displayed in the center of the screen. Conversely, when the time chart display is switched to the timeline display while the change point is selected as the target data on the time chart display screen 40, the transmission data with the same time stamp as the target data (change point) is displayed. It is also selected on the timeline display screen 30 . Such linked display makes it possible to easily compare changes in the state of the control system with the content of the transmission data at that time, facilitating the discovery of problem locations and causes.

Also, the display of the error location 402 of the transmission data on the time chart display screen 40 is one of the displays showing the temporal correspondence between the transmission data and the state of the control system 1 . As a result, it is possible to easily check the state of the control system 1 at the time when the transmission error occurs, and to efficiently discover the location and cause of the problem. Note that the transmission error location may also be displayed on the timeline display screen 30 so as to be identifiable. Also, the position of the state change point may be displayed on the timeline display screen 30 so as to be identifiable. By clearly indicating the transmission error location and the state change point on the timeline display screen 30 in this way, it can be used as a clue to find the location and cause of the problem.

(Normal state guide display)
The information output unit 23 may provide a function of superimposing a signal waveform (referred to as a “normal state guide”) indicating normal state transitions of the control system 1 on the time chart display screen 40 . FIG. 5 shows a display example of the normal state guide. As described above, when the measurement flow is executed according to the control command from the PLC 11, it is known in advance that the state value changes to ON in the order of EXE→BUSY→FLG as normal state transition. Therefore, a normal state guide 50 (bold dashed line) indicating such state transition is superimposed on the waveform of each signal displayed based on the state log data. As a result, it is possible to easily compare the state transition that actually occurred in the control system 1 and the normal state transition, which is useful for discovering the location and cause of the problem. In the example of FIG. 5, it can be seen that there is an abnormality in the timing of the BUSY state change. The normal state guide 50 is preferably switched between display and non-display each time the guide display button 51 is pressed.

<Example of processing flow>
Next, an example of the processing flow of the analysis support device 2 will be described using the flowcharts of FIGS. 6, 7, 8A and 8B.

The processing flow of FIG. 6 starts when the user selects a file to be analyzed. First, the communication log acquisition unit 21 and the status log acquisition unit 22 read the log data file selected by the user (step S60). At this time, the status log acquisition unit 22 may acquire status log data of each signal from the communication log data acquired by the communication log acquisition unit 21 . Next, the information output unit 23 analyzes each transmission data included in the communication log data, and extracts items (1) to (10) described above (step S61). After that, the information output unit 23 analyzes the identifier of each transmission data (number information assigned in the order of transmission), detects a portion where data transmission is not performed in the correct transmission order, and stores it in the memory (step S62). . Further, the information output unit 23 detects the state change point of each signal by analyzing the state log data, and stores it in the memory (step S63). Then, the information output unit 23 generates the timeline display screen 30 as an initial state and outputs it to the display device (step S64).

The processing flow of FIG. 7 shows processing executed when the user operation reception unit 24 receives an operation event by the user. If the user operation is a screen switching operation (pressing the view switching button 321) (YES in step S70), the information output unit 23 outputs the time chart display screen 40 if the current screen is the time chart display screen 40 (NO in step S71). Switching to the line display screen 30 is performed (step S72), and if the current screen is the timeline display screen 30 (YES in step S71), switching to the time chart display screen 40 is performed (step S73). Details of the processing in steps S72 and S73 will be described later. If the user's operation is an operation to select data of interest (transmission data) on the timeline display screen 30 (step S74), the information output unit 23 stores the transmission data selected on the timeline display screen 30 as data of interest. At the same time (step S75), the line of the attention data is displayed in color (step S76). If the user operation is a selection operation of attention data (state change point) on the time chart display screen 40 (step S77), the information output unit 23 selects the change point selected on the time chart display screen 40 as the attention data. The data is stored (step S78), and the display range of the time chart is updated so that the data of interest is displayed in the center (step S79).

Details of step S72 are shown in FIG. 8A. The information output unit 23 determines whether or not the data of interest (change point) is selected on the time chart display screen 40, which is the current screen (the screen before switching) (specifically, the information of the data of interest is stored in the memory). (step S720). If the data of interest is selected, the information output unit 23 selects the transmission data at the time corresponding to the data of interest (step S721). Then, the information output unit 23 generates and outputs the timeline display screen 30 (step S722). At this time, the line of transmission data selected in step S721 is displayed in color.

Details of step S73 are shown in FIG. 8B. The information output unit 23 determines whether or not the data of interest (transmission data) is selected on the timeline display screen 30, which is the current screen (the screen before switching) (specifically, the information of the data of interest is stored in the memory). (step S730). If the data of interest is selected, the information output unit 23 changes the display range of the time chart so that the state value at the time corresponding to the data of interest is displayed in the center (step S731). If the data of interest is not selected, the display range of the time chart is set to a default value (for example, the beginning of log data) (step S732). Then, the information output unit 23 generates and outputs the time chart display screen 40 (step S733).

Through the processing flow as described above, the linked display of the timeline display and the time chart display described above is realized.

<Others>
The above-described embodiment merely illustrates the configuration of the present invention. The present invention is not limited to the specific forms described above, and various modifications are possible within the technical scope of the present invention. For example, in the above embodiment, a control system composed of a PLC and an image sensor was exemplified. Various sensors/measuring devices and actuators can also be used. That is, the present invention can be preferably applied to any control system comprising a control device and a target device that operate while communicating with each other. Moreover, the number of target devices is not limited to one, and the present invention can be applied to a control system in which a plurality of target devices are connected. In this case, an analysis support device may be implemented for each target device, or an analysis support device may be implemented for only one of the target devices, and log analysis of a plurality of target devices may be performed by one analysis support device. good too. It is also possible to perform log analysis of the control system using an off-line analysis support device. In this case, log data accumulated in the control system may be read into the analysis support device using a recording medium such as a USB memory. The information screens shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 are merely examples, and display items and display methods may be appropriately designed according to the format of the data to be analyzed, the purpose and application of the analysis, and the like.

<Appendix>
(1) An analysis support device (2) for supporting analysis of communication between a control device (11) and a target device (12) controlled by the control device (11),
communication log acquisition means (21) for acquiring communication log data, which is a record of transmission data transmitted between the control device (11) and the target device (12);
a status log acquisition means (22) for acquiring status log data that is a record of the status of the target device (12) and/or the control device (11);
a first information screen (30) for displaying, in chronological order, contents of data transmitted between the control device (11) and the target device (12) based on the acquired communication log data and the acquired status log data; , a second information screen (40) displaying temporal changes in the state of the target device (12) and/or the control device (11), and a temporal correspondence relationship between the transmission data and the state. Information output means (23) for outputting to a display device so as to be identifiable;
An analysis support device (2) characterized by comprising:
(2) An analysis support method for supporting analysis of communication between a control device (11) and a target device (12) controlled by the control device (11), comprising:
the computer
a step of acquiring communication log data, which is a record of transmission data transmitted between the control device (11) and the target device (12);
obtaining status log data that is a record of the status of the target device (12) and/or the control device (11);
a first information screen (30) for displaying, in chronological order, contents of data transmitted between the control device (11) and the target device (12) based on the acquired communication log data and the acquired status log data; , a second information screen (40) displaying temporal changes in the state of the target device (12) and/or the control device (11), and a temporal correspondence relationship between the transmission data and the state. outputting to a display device for identification;
An analysis support method characterized by executing

1: Control system 2: Analysis support device 11: Control equipment, PLC
12: Target equipment, image sensor

Claims (8)

An analysis support device for supporting analysis of communication between a control device and a target device controlled by the control device,
communication log acquisition means for acquiring communication log data, which is a record of transmission data transmitted between the control device and the target device;
a status log acquisition means for acquiring status log data that is a record of the status of the target device and/or the control device;
a first information screen for displaying the content of data transmitted between the control device and the target device in chronological order based on the acquired communication log data and the acquired status log data; A second information screen that displays temporal changes in the state of the equipment and that does not include a time-series display of the contents of the transmission data can be alternatively switched, and the transmission Information output means for outputting to a display device so that the temporal correspondence between the data and the state can be identified;
has
The transmission data includes number information assigned in order of transmission,
The information output means analyzes the number information of each transmission data recorded in the communication log data to detect a transmission error location where the transmission data is not transmitted in the correct transmission order, and the second An analysis support apparatus, wherein the transmission error location is displayed superimposed on the temporal change in the state of the target device and/or the control device displayed on the information screen. A part of the transmission data displayed in time series on the first information screen or a part of the data of the temporal change of the state displayed on the second information screen is used as data of interest. has a user operation reception means for receiving from the user an operation to select as
When the data of interest is selected, the information output means displays the data corresponding to the data of interest on both the first information screen and the second information screen in a manner distinguishable from other data. 2. The analysis support device according to claim 1, wherein: The user operation accepting means can accept from a user a screen switching instruction for switching between the first information screen and the second information screen,
The information output means is
When the screen switching instruction is received in a state in which part of the data is identifiably displayed as the attention data on the first information screen, the screen is switched to the second information screen and data at the same time as the attention data. to be identifiable,
When the screen switching instruction is received in a state where part of the data is identifiably displayed as the attention data on the second information screen, the screen is switched to the first information screen and data at the same time as the attention data. 3. The analysis support device according to claim 2, wherein is displayed so as to be identifiable. Information indicating the state of the control device or the state of the target device is included in the transmission data transmitted between the control device and the target device,
4. The analysis support apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said status log acquisition means acquires said status log data from said communication log data acquired by said communication log acquisition means. The information output means displays, on the first information screen and/or the second information screen, identifiably a change point at which the state of the target device and/or the control device changes. The analysis support device according to any one of claims 2 to 4. 6. The analysis support apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said user operation accepting means has selection assisting means for assisting an operation of said user to select said change point as said attention data. An analysis support method for supporting analysis of communication between a control device and a target device controlled by the control device, comprising:
A computer generates communication log data, which is a record of transmission data transmitted between the control device and the target device, in which number information assigned to each transmission data in the order of transmission is recorded. a step of obtaining;
a computer acquiring status log data, which is a record of the status of the target device and/or the control device;
a first information screen on which a computer displays the content of data transmitted between the control device and the target device in chronological order based on the acquired communication log data and the status log data; and the target device and/or Alternatively, a second information screen that displays temporal changes in the state of the control device and does not include a time-series display of the content of the transmission data can be alternatively switched, and , a step of outputting to a display device so that the temporal correspondence between the transmission data and the state can be identified;
By analyzing the number information of each transmission data recorded in the communication log data, the computer detects a transmission error location where the transmission data is not transmitted in the correct transmission order, and displays the second information screen. displaying the transmission error location superimposed on the displayed temporal change in the state of the target device and/or the control device;
An analysis support method characterized by having A program for causing a computer to function as each means of the analysis support device according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

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