JPH07311621A - Total support system for equipment and controller for equipment applied with same system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide the total support system which directly accesses internal states and operations of the equipment and easily observes, measures, and operates them so as to make accurate and easy internal checking operations for the equipment which are done in respective cases of the development, manufacture, inspection, maintenance, etc., of the equipment. CONSTITUTION:Plural external systems 200-500 can be connected selectively to the equipment 100. The external systems 200-500 are connected to support the evaluation of a trial equipment 100, to support the automatic inspection of a control board, to support the automatic inspection of the product, and to support the maintenance in its use field. The equipment 100 outputs internal information in the control board 103 to an external system when receiving the read command from the external system, rewrites the internal information in the control board 103 when receiving a write command, and performs specific control operation when receiving an operation command.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to various kinds of industrially produced equipment, such as product development, evaluation, inspection and adjustment at a manufacturing plant, and product inspection, maintenance and repair at a use site. The present invention relates to a comprehensive support system utilizing a computer for enabling easy and highly accurate operation, and a control device which the device must have in order to make the comprehensive support system practical.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A water heater, which is one item handled by the applicant, will be described below as an example. In each scene where a water heater is developed, manufactured, installed at a place of use, inspected, and maintained, an operator needs to check and evaluate the internal state and operation of the water heater within their respective objectives. For example, in the process of product development, the behavior and function of a prototype must be examined and evaluated to determine the need for improvement and improvement. In addition, during the inspection process on the manufacturing line, it is necessary to check whether the performance or quality of the finished product is within the specified tolerance range. Also, in the installation work and maintenance inspection at the site of use, it is necessary to inspect whether it operates normally, whether there is a failure or a defect, and if there is a problem, what is the cause.

Conventionally, in each of these situations, an operator checks the internal state and operation of the water heater by using a tool or method according to his or her purpose. However, in any situation, the conventional method is to observe, measure, or operate the state or operation that appears outside the water heater, such as the water temperature or hot water temperature, to determine the internal state or internal operation of the water heater. It depends heavily on the method of guessing.

[0004]

As described above, the conventional internal check method for a water heater does not directly access the internal state or operation of the water heater, but indirectly through an external state or operation. It has many aspects of access. One of the main reasons for this is that the water heater itself does not have the function to allow such direct internal access.

Under these circumstances, it is conventionally very difficult to catch the internal state and operation of the water heater in detail, accurately and in real time to make an accurate evaluation.
Further, even if it is technically possible, it requires complicated and expensive equipment, which is practically impossible. In particular,
It is not possible at all during installation work and maintenance inspections at the site of use because only simple tools can be used.

Such a problem is not limited to the water heater but is common to various other devices. In particular, in recent electronically controlled devices controlled by a microprocessor, there are many black box parts whose operation and state cannot be known from the outside, and therefore the difficulty of internal checking is particularly remarkable. However, as electronically controlled equipment has become mainstream today, providing a radical solution to this problem is of great benefit to both the manufacturer and the user receiving the service.

Therefore, the main object of the present invention is to make the internal check operation of the equipment accurate and easy in order to perform the internal check operation of the equipment in each scene such as development, manufacturing, inspection and maintenance of the equipment. An object of the present invention is to provide a comprehensive support system capable of directly observing, measuring, and manipulating this.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a device control device to which such a comprehensive support system can be applied.

[0009]

A comprehensive support system for a device according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises a plurality of external systems provided outside the device for individually supporting a plurality of types of work related to the device. , And a connecting means for selectively connecting and disconnecting these external systems to and from the device in a communicable manner. The communication interface between the device and the external system is shared by all the external systems.

Further, a control device for equipment according to a second aspect of the present invention comprises connection means for connecting an external system,
An internal memory that holds internal information related to control of the device, an internal information output unit that reads the internal information from the internal memory and outputs the internal information to the connection unit, and specifies the internal information to be read to the internal information output unit Read information designating means.

Further, a control device for equipment according to a third aspect of the present invention comprises connection means for connecting an external system,
An internal memory that holds internal information related to the control of the device, and an internal information rewriting unit that rewrites the internal information in the internal memory based on a write command from an external system are provided.

Further, a device control apparatus according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is a connection means for connecting an external system, a device control means for controlling the state and operation of the device, and an operation command from the external system. And a specific operation control means for causing the device control means to execute a specific operation.

[0013]

According to the integrated support system of the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to connect an appropriate external system to a device according to a work situation and to perform communication between the external system and the device. Through this communication, the internal information of the equipment necessary for the work can be accessed, and the equipment can be instructed to perform the necessary operation so that the work can be performed quickly, easily, and accurately. become.

According to the control device for a device according to the second aspect of the present invention, an external system is connected to the device as necessary,
Information necessary for work can be selected from various kinds of internal information stored in the internal memory of the device and read out to the external system. Therefore, the internal state and internal operation of the device can be checked easily and accurately. Moreover, since the information in the internal memory is changed substantially in real time as the control of the device progresses, it is possible to grasp the state of the device and the progress of the operation substantially in real time by repeatedly reading the information. it can.

According to the control apparatus for a device according to the third aspect of the present invention, the external system is connected to the device, and the internal memory in the device is rewritten by a command from the external system, whereby the state and operation of the device. Can be changed arbitrarily.
Therefore, the state and operation of the device can be tested under arbitrary conditions.

According to the device control apparatus of the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to connect an external system to the device and cause the device to execute a desired operation in response to a command from the external system. Therefore, the desired operation and the state related to it can be easily checked.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows the overall system configuration of an embodiment of a comprehensive support system according to the present invention applied to a water heater.

In FIG. 1, the system includes four independent subsystems, each intended to assist in different situations. That is, the evaluation support system 200, the control board automatic inspection system 300, the product inspection / adjustment system 400, the field maintenance support system 500.
Is.

These four subsystems 200, 30
0, 400, 500 are the respective connection connectors 20
The connection connector 101 of the water heater 100 can be connected via 1, 301, 401, and 501, and bidirectional communication can be performed with the control board 103 of the water heater 100 through this connection. The communication interface at that time is shared by the four subsystems 200, 300, 400, and 500. Therefore, the water heater 100 has one common communication interface, and can communicate with any subsystem through the communication interface. The connector 101 is used for the water heater 100 and the subsystems 200 to 5
00 is communicatively connected, a radio station, an optical communication interface, or the like may be used in place of this as long as it can perform the same function.

Hereinafter, the above four subsystems 200, 3
00, 400, 500 will be referred to as "external system" to distinguish them from the internal system of the water heater 100.

The outline of the water heater 100 and the four external systems 200, 300, 400 and 500 will be described below in order.

The water heater 100 has a control board 103 on which a microcomputer including a CPU and a memory is mounted. A kitchen remote controller 105, a bathroom remote controller 107, various temperature and flow rate sensors (not shown) (not shown), and the above-mentioned connection connector 101 are connected to the control board 103. Control board 10
3 is a programmed function of the microcomputer, which has an original function of controlling a combustion system and a hot water flow system (both not shown) of the water heater 100 based on signals from the remote controllers 105 and 107 and various sensors. In addition to preparing, according to the command from the external system
It has a function of accessing the memory of the microcomputer and reading or rewriting various information such as the internal state of the water heater 100 and the parameters of the control calculation accumulated therein, or executing the instructed control operation. ing. Since the former function is a function also provided in the conventional water heater, no special description will be given in this specification, but the latter function is a function deeply related to the present invention, and will be described later in detail.

The evaluation support system 200 is intended to support the evaluation work of the prototype in the product development stage of the water heater. That is, this system 200 grasps the internal state of the water heater 100, the operation of the CPU, etc. in real time in the test work of the prototype, and visually displays or stores this, thereby detailed the items that can be evaluated, The purpose is to improve the accuracy of evaluation results and the efficiency of evaluation work.

FIG. 2 shows the system configuration of this evaluation support system 200.

As shown in FIG. 2, this system 200
Is an input interface board 205 for connecting to a remote controller or various sensors attached to the product version of the water heater 100 and inputting signals from them to the system, and a disk storage device 207 for storing information read from the water heater 100. A pen recorder 209 for recording information read from the water heater 100 in a graph format, and a personal computer 211 for sending a block read command to the water heater 100 and controlling the units 205, 207, 209 described above. ing. These units 205, 207, 209, 211 and the connector 201 are communicatively connected via a communication interface unit 203.

Referring again to FIG. 1, the control board automatic inspection system 300 is intended to support the inspection process in the manufacturing line of the control board 103 of the water heater 100. That is,
In this system 300, the quality of the control board 103 is automatically inspected while the CPU in the board 103 and the inspection machine of the present system 300 communicate with each other, thereby shortening the inspection time and ensuring high reliability. Is intended.

FIG. 3 shows a control board automatic inspection system 300.
The system configuration of is shown.

As shown in FIG. 3, this system 300
The board inspection machine 305 to the communication interface unit 3
It is configured to be connected to the connection connector 301 via 03.

Referring again to FIG. 1, the product inspection / adjustment system 400 is intended to support the product inspection process in the assembly line of the water heater 100. That is, this system 400 aims at reducing the number of inspection personnel, shortening the inspection time, and improving the reliability of the inspection result by semi-automating the adjustment of the proportional valve of the product and the operation inspection of the product. .

FIG. 4 shows the system configuration of the product inspection / adjustment system.

As shown in FIG. 4, this system 400
Has a configuration in which a water heater inspection machine 405 is connected to a connection connector 401 via a communication interface unit 403.

Referring again to FIG. 1, the field maintenance support system 500 is intended to support the installation work and maintenance inspection at the usage site of the water heater. That is,
This system 500 is a system that performs a trial run by designating arbitrary conditions during installation work, and reads out an operation history and a state at the time of failure accumulated in a memory in the water heater 100 when a failure occurs. By improving the reliability, accuracy, and efficiency of various operations performed at the work site by storing and displaying the information on the site, the information read and stored from the water heater 100 at that time is utilized for aftercare at a later date. The purpose is to be able to.

FIG. 5 shows the system configuration of the field maintenance support system 500.

As shown in FIG. 5, this system 500
Has a configuration in which an electronic notebook carried by a service person is connected to the connector 501 via the communication interface unit 503. A printer 507 can be connected to the electronic notebook 505, and an IC card 509 as an expansion memory can be inserted, if necessary. I
By removing the C card 509 from the electronic notebook 505 and connecting it to the host computer 511 installed in a business office or the like, the failure information and the like stored in the IC card 509 can be processed by the host computer 511.

A common communication interface is defined between the four external systems 200 to 500 and the water heater 100 as described above. This communication interface exchanges packets with each other,
The types and formats of packets are arranged so that the above-mentioned objects of each external system can be sufficiently achieved. Hereinafter, this communication interface will be described.

From the external systems 200 to 500 to the water heater 1
The commands sent to 00 are roughly classified into the following three functions.

(1) Read command A command for extracting in real time the commanded information from the memory of the control board 103 of the water heater.

(2) Write command A command for changing or modifying a specified one of the programs and data of the control board 103.

(3) Operation command A command for forcibly executing the specified operation on the control board 103.

FIG. 6 shows a communication protocol having these three functions.

As shown in FIG. 6, first, the external system 2
A command packet 601 is transmitted from 00 to 500 to water heater 100. The command packet 601 includes a source code, a command code, a command parameter, and
It consists of a verification code and a checksum. In the water heater 100 that receives this command packet 601, the control board 1
03 performs the processing (read, write, operation) designated by the command code and the command parameter, and as a result, sends the response packet 603 to the external systems 200 to 50.
Return to 0. The response packet 603 is composed of a source code, a reception code (= command code), a reception parameter (= command parameter), a collation code, a checksum, and data in order from the beginning.

FIG. 7 shows details of the packet structure.

As shown in FIG. 7, packets are basically composed of
It includes a sender code 701, a command (reception) code 703, a command (reception) parameter 705, a collation code 707, and a checksum 709. In the case of the response packet 603, a packet of read or written data is added after this basic configuration.

The source code 701 is the command packet 60.
1 is the code “5” of the external systems 200 to 500, and the response packet 603 is the code “A” of the water heater 100.

The command code 703 is a code indicating the three functions of the above-mentioned command. The read command is "6", the write command is "A", and the operation command is "5".

The command parameter 705 indicates the specific contents of the command for the above three functions. That is, in the case of a read command, it indicates the start address of the data to be read in the memory and its block length. In the case of a write command, it indicates the address in the memory to be written and the data to be written. Also, in the case of an operation command, a predetermined operation code indicating the operation content to be executed is indicated by the upper byte. Further, in the operation command, in order to confirm the execution result of the operation, desired data can be read from the memory (this is referred to as “operation read”), and the code of the data to be the target of this operation read Is indicated by the lower byte.

The collation code 707 is the command packet 601.
The checksum 709 is a code for establishing correspondence between the response packet 603 and the response packet 603, and the checksum 709 is a value for error check.

In the case of the response packet 603, data follows the above packet structure. This data is the read data in the case of a read command, the written data in the case of a write command, and the data read by the operation read in the case of an operation command.

As a special form of the operation command, a command called "simple read" is prepared. In the operation command, the operation code (upper byte) in the command parameter 705 is set to "no command", and the data to be read is specified by the operation read data code (lower byte), and the specified data is supplied to the hot water. This is a command for reading from the machine 100 to an external system.

The difference between this simple read command and the above-mentioned read command (of command code "5") (hereinafter referred to as "block read") is that the former only needs to specify the code of the data to be read. While easy,
The latter is a complicated point to specify because the start address and block length of the data to be read in the memory must be specified. On the other hand, the simple read can read only the coded data in advance, and even if an attempt is made to increase the amount of read data, the number of data codes that can be specified within the limited data length is limited and a large amount of data can be read. Although it is not suitable for data read, any data can be freely read by the block read command, and the amount of read data is determined by the specified block length, so there is no limit to the amount of read data. Suitable for reading a large amount of data. Furthermore, the simple read command can be used even if the data address is different for each device as long as it has an address table for the data code on the main body side, so there is no need to change the read command of the external system for each device. is there. On the other hand, in the block read command, the main body does not need to convert the address for the data code one by one, and the data can be read all at once from consecutive addresses without reading the data from every address after the conversion. Therefore, high-speed reading is possible.

Therefore, the simple read command uses an electronic notebook, which has a relatively poor memory capacity and processing capacity, such as the field maintenance support system 500, but the type of data to be read is fixedly determined, and Suitable for systems where real-time read performance is not so strict. On the other hand, the block read command is suitable for a system, such as the evaluation support system 200, which can be used by a high-performance personal computer, has a wide variety of data to be read, and requires a strict real-time property. The external systems 200 to 500 can selectively use the block read command and the simple read command according to each read purpose.

When the control board 103 of the water heater 100 receives the above command from the external systems 200 to 500, it executes the process according to the command and returns the response to the external systems 200 to 500.

FIG. 8 shows the structure of the control board 103 for that purpose.

In FIG. 8, the communication control section 801 provides the above-mentioned communication interface to the external systems 200 to 500. External system 20
The command packets sent from 0 to 500 are transmitted to the communication control unit 8
After checking the source code and the error in 01, the command code and the command parameter therein are sent to the data analysis unit 803.

According to the command code, the data analysis unit 803 sends a read command to the read control unit 805 for a block read command, a write control unit 807 for a write command, and an operation control unit 809 for an operation command. Send command parameters. Of the operation commands, only the simple read command is sent to the read control unit 805.

Upon receiving the command parameter, the read control unit 805 determines whether the block read command is simple or read, decodes the data code in the latter case, and specifies the memory address or data to be read. And sends a read request to the RAM control unit 813. The data creation unit 811 is notified of whether the block read is a simple read.

Upon receiving the command parameter, the write control unit 807 turns on the write request flag, specifies the memory address and data to be written, and sends the write request to the RAM control unit 813.

Upon receiving the command parameter, the operation control unit 809 turns on the operation request flag, decodes the operation code, and specifies the operation content to be executed and sends the operation request to the RAM control unit 813.

The data creation unit 811 is a unit that creates data to be added to the response packet, and is an RA to be described later.
The read or written data is received from the M control unit 813, shaped into a format that can be added to the response packet, and sent to the communication control unit 801. The communication control unit 801 creates a response packet using the data received from the data creation unit 811 and the command code or command parameter previously received and stored from the external systems 200 to 500, and creates this response packet. It is returned to the external systems 200 to 500.

The RAM control unit 813 has a unit group 801 for communicating with the above-mentioned external systems 200-500.
811 and a group of units 817 to 821 that perform information processing for hot water heater control, which will be described later, and a RAM 815 that stores various information necessary for hot water heater control such as the state of the water heater 100 and control parameters. , And relays data exchange between these three parties.

That is, when the RAM control unit 813 receives a read request from the read control unit 805, the RAM control unit 813 reads data from the designated storage area of the RAM 815, sends the data to the data creation unit 811, and a write request from the write control unit 807. When receiving, the designated data is written to the designated storage area of the RAM 815. Also, the operation control unit 809
When the operation request is received from the RAM controller 813, the RAM control unit 813 transmits a command for executing the specified operation to the related water heater control unit groups 817 to 821, and the water heater generated as a result of executing the operation RAM815 which receives various states from related water heater control unit groups 817-821
In the corresponding storage area, and further, the data designated as the operation read target is read from the RAM 815 and sent to the data creation unit 811.

Further, the RAM control section 813 controls the hot water heater control unit groups 817 to 821 while they are operating to control the operation of the hot water heater 100.
Unit group 817-821 according to the request from 1
Data is also input / output between the RAM and the RAM 815.

The input control section 817 inputs various information necessary for controlling the hot water supply device (set temperature Ts, water supply temperature Tc, hot water flow rate QH, hot water temperature TH, remote controller signal, etc.) from various sensors and remote controllers. is there.

Based on the input information from the input control unit 817, the main control unit 819 executes information processing for controlling the combustion amount of the water heater, the hot water flow rate, and other parts of the water heater.
The processing result is sent to the output control unit 821.

The output controller 821 is a fan controller 82.
3, proportional valve control unit 825, actuator control unit 827
And the like, and based on the processing result of the output control unit main control unit 819, the intake / exhaust fan 829 and the proportional valve 83 for combustion amount adjustment.
1 and solenoid valve 833 for turning fuel on / off and igniter 83
5 and various other actuators 837 are driven.

FIG. 9 shows the overall operation flow of communication performed by the control board 103 configured as described above with the external systems 200 to 500.

As shown in FIG. 9, first, the external system 2
When the communication control unit 801 receives a command packet from 00 to 500 (step 901), the data analysis unit 803 subsequently determines the command type (step 90).
3). If the result is a read command (block read or simple read), it is then determined whether block read or simple read (step 905). If block read, the read controller 805 should read the RAM 815.
Data of the head address and block length to be read is created (step 909), and the block read request flag is turned on (step 917). For simple read, the read control unit 805 converts the data code for operation read into the memory address of the RAM 815 to be read (step 911), and turns on the simple read request flag (step 919). The above conversion at the time of simple read is performed by referring to the correspondence table between the data code and the memory address prepared in advance in the RAM 815.

If the result of step 903 is an operation command, the operation control unit 809 converts the operation code into a command indicating the specific operation content (step 913) and turns on the operation request flag (step 921).

If the result of step 903 is a write command, then whether the block write is a simple write (as in the case of read, the block write specifies the memory address to be written by the command parameter, the simple write does (Specifying a predetermined data code with a command parameter)
If it is a simple write, the write control unit 807 converts the data code into the data to be written and the memory address (step 915), and then the write request flag 923 is turned on. The above conversion at the time of the simple write is performed by referring to the correspondence table of the data code, the write data and the memory address prepared in advance in the RAM 815.

After the above processing, a read, write or operation request is sent to the RAM control section 813, and the RAM control section 9
The process of 25 is performed (step 925). The details of this processing will be described later.

Following the processing by the RAM control section 813, the processing by the data creation section 811 is entered. Data creation unit 811
First, it is checked whether or not the read flag is on (step 927), and if it is on, it is checked whether it is the block read flag or the simple read flag (step 929). As a result, in case of block read, R
Block length data is read from the head address from the RAM 815 through the AM control unit 813 (step 93).
1). In the case of simple read, the read address data is read from the RAM 15 through the RAM control unit 813 (step 933) and the read data is converted into the specified format for simple read (step 93).
5). Note that this designated format means that when the read data is returned to a device with poor processing capacity such as an electronic notebook, the processing load cannot be endured if the data is returned as is, so depending on the data content, It is designed to be sent back after being changed to a simple code that has been defined, and indicates the code format.

Next, reply data is created from the read data or the written data (step 93).
7), it is added to the end of the response packet and returned to the external systems 200 to 500 (step 939).

FIG. 10 shows details of the processing in the RAM control section 925 described above.

As shown in FIG. 10, first, the operation, read, and write request flags are checked (steps 1001, 1005, 1009). If the operation request flag is on, the operation code is analyzed, and based on the result, the operation command is sent to the associated water heater control units 817 to 821. If the read request flag is on, R
Data is read from the read address of AM815,
This data is sent to the data creation unit 811 (step 1007). When the write flag is on, RA
Write data is written to the write address of M815 (step 1011). Furthermore, the water heater control unit 81
If there is a command from 7 to 821, data is exchanged between these units 817 to 821 and the RAM control unit 813 based on this command (step 1013).

FIG. 11 shows the flow of processing performed by the main controller 819.

As shown in FIG. 11, first, it is checked whether or not there is an operation request from the RAM control unit 813 (step 1101). If there is an operation request, the specific contents of the operation based on the request. Is determined (step 110)
3), processing for realizing the operation content is performed, and the result is sent to the output control unit 821 (step 110).
5). In this case, when the target of the operation request is a specific load (for example, a fan), for loads other than the specific load (for example, a proportional valve other than the fan or other actuators), the input control unit 817 Normal control processing based on the signal of is performed in parallel with the execution processing of the operation request.

On the other hand, when there is no operation request, normal control processing based on the signal from the input control unit 817 is executed for all loads (step 1107).

The process relating to the operation request is shown in FIG.
In addition to the processing shown in 1, the following processing is possible.

The operation request acceptance mode is set by a signal from the outside, and the operation related to the operation request is not performed unless the operation request acceptance mode is set.

As a result, it is possible to avoid a situation where an unfamiliar service person makes an erroneous operation, a proportional valve is required to be fully opened, and hot water is suddenly discharged. In other words, since it is necessary to set the operation request acceptance mode before such an operation request, it is possible to prevent such an operation request from being accepted due to an erroneous operation, and to reduce the possibility of a sudden dangerous situation. You can

The cancellation of the operation realized based on the operation request is performed not only when there is an operation cancellation command from the outside but also when the transmission from the outside is interrupted for a certain period of time.

As a result, for example, it is possible to prevent a dangerous situation in which the proportional valve is left in a fully opened state due to an operation request and the hot water is suddenly discharged during normal use thereafter.

As described above, the processes described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 9 to 11 are performed on the control board 103 of the water heater 100, so that the external systems 200 to 500 send arbitrary data to the water heater 100. Reading, performing any action, any state or control parameter can cause a program change. Moreover, the original control process of the water heater 100 is also normally executed in parallel with various processes based on the commands from the external systems 200 to 500. As a result, the external system 200-
The above stated objectives of 500 will be effectively achieved.

In the following, taking some concrete cases as an example, the water heater 10 is utilized by utilizing the external systems 200 to 500.
The work of checking the state and operation of 0 will be described.

First, suppose that a service person takes a response on the spot in response to a complaint from a user that a fan error occurs in the water heater and the water heater cannot be used.

The service person must check the fan for abnormalities. The check points at that time are: a) the fan rotates, b) the rotation speed is normal, and c) there is no abnormal noise, d) Combustion is good (air volume is normal), etc. In the past, in order to perform this check, the service person would turn on the operation switch of the remote control, set the set temperature, open the faucet, and perform a series of work such as checking the points mentioned above. You have to go back and forth between the kitchen (or bathroom) and the water heater.

On the other hand, according to this embodiment, the service person connects the portable electronic notebook 505 (field maintenance support system 500) to the water heater 100 and sends an operation command from the electronic notebook 505 to the water heater 100. Thus, a desired operation can be executed, and at the same time, information required for checking can be read from the hot water supply device 100 by the operation read and displayed and stored in the electronic notebook 505.

FIG. 12 shows an example of information exchange between the electronic notebook 505 and the water heater 100 at this time.

As shown in FIG. 12, first, when the service person inputs an operation on operation to the electronic notebook 505, the electronic notebook 505 instructs the operation on (“04H”) and the fan rotation speed lead (17H). The operation command packet thus generated is sent to water heater 100. The water heater 100 executes the operation ON in response to this operation command, adds the fan rotation speed at that time (for example, 0 rpm) from the RAM to the response packet, and also returns the electronic notebook 505. Upon receiving this response packet, the electronic notebook 505 displays "operation on" and "fan rotation speed".

After confirming the display of "driving on", the service person next inputs a fan start operation into the electronic notebook 505. Then, the electronic notebook 505 starts the fan (“06
H ″) and a fan rotation speed read command packet are sent to the water heater 100. In response to this, the water heater 100 activates the fan to set the minimum rotation speed (eg, 1500r).
pm), and at the same time, the response packet to which the fan rotation speed is added as data is returned to the electronic notebook 505. The electronic notebook 505 displays “fan startup” and “fan rotation speed”.

The service engineer checks the movement of the fan while looking at the "fan rotation speed" display, and if it is normal, then inputs the operation for driving the maximum rotation speed. Then, the electronic notebook 505 sends to the water heater 100 an operation command packet for instructing maximum rotation speed drive (“09H”) and fan rotation speed reading. In response to this, the water heater 100 drives the fan at the maximum rotation speed (for example, 4500 rpm), and returns a response packet in which the fan rotation speed is added as data to the electronic notebook 505. The electronic notebook 505 displays the "fan rotation number", and the service person checks it to check whether it is normal or not.

In this way, the service person is the water heater 1
You can do all the work before 00, and moreover,
Since the contents to be checked can be specified and the contents can be quantitatively recognized, accurate diagnosis can be performed. In addition, if there is a complicated situation in the water heater that cannot be fast-tracked at the site, the lead command (block or simple) is used, as well as the result of the check using the operation command as described above. Information that seems to be related to each other is read out, stored in the electronic notebook 505, brought back, and subjected to a detailed analysis by the host computer 511 of the sales office, so that the cause of the failure can be accurately investigated and appropriate measures worthy of it can be established. It will be possible.

Next, as a second case, suppose a situation where the controllability of the hot water temperature control of the prototype is measured and evaluated at the hot water heater development stage.

Generally, the main controller 819 performs feedback (FB) calculation and feedforward (FF) calculation in order to keep the outlet heated water temperature TH constant regardless of any change in the input parameters, and the results of both calculations are calculated. Combustion amount (F) is calculated in combination with, and the proportional valve and fan are controlled.

Conventionally, in the process of establishing such hot water temperature control, the experimenter actually changes various input parameters, and the combustion amount F is calculated from the resulting hot water temperature TH and the voltage value of each part of the control board. Is calculated back to estimate the calculation process and the value of each variable that is performed inside the microcomputer of the control board, and rely on these estimated values to improve and establish each aspect of the control calculation one by one. The approach is to go.

On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the experimenter connects the evaluation support system 200 to the water heater 100 to change the input parameters variously, and uses the block read command to perform the FF calculation value and the FB calculation value. Further, it is possible to directly read out from the RAM 815 the values that change with the passage of time, such as the constants of P, I, and D used for the calculation, and display them visually. As a result, it becomes possible to grasp and evaluate the control contents more efficiently, easily and accurately than in the conventional case, and to establish better control.

FIG. 13 shows an example of block read in such a case.

In FIG. 13, first, the experimenter inputs an operation for reading the combustion amount F, the FF calculation value, the FB calculation value, the P, I, D coefficients, etc. into the personal computer 211 of the support system 200. The support system 200 is
A block read command packet of these data is created and transmitted to water heater 100.

FIG. 14 shows a map example of the RAM 815. As shown in FIG.
When the above-described data to be read exists in the 56-byte storage area 1401, the start address “F856” and the block length “256” are described in the command parameter of the block read command packet.

Upon receiving this command packet, water heater 100 reads all the data in designated storage area 1401 of RAM 815, adds it to the response packet, and returns it to evaluation support system 200. Evaluation support system 20
At 0, this data is displayed on the display of the personal computer 211, drawn as a graph by the pen recorder 209, and stored in the disk storage device 207.

By repeating the above processing at sufficiently short time intervals, as a result, the control state that changes with the passage of time can be grasped in real time and quantitatively.

Instead of the block read as described above, or in combination with the block read, the simple read can be performed.
The data that can be used by the simple read is predetermined, and it is a flag or representative data that is expected to frequently generate read requests from the external system. For the data that can be used for these simple reads, see RAM 81.
A code table showing the correspondence between the addresses of the storage areas in 5 and the data code is prepared in the RAM 815, and if the data code is designated from the external system, the RAM control unit 813 in the water heater 100 is provided. Will refer to the code table, convert it to an address, and read the data. In addition, RAM815
In some cases, the storage address may be changed, but in that case, the RAM control unit 813 rewrites the address of the code table with the changed address. Therefore, the external system does not need to be aware of the address change in the RAM 815.

FIG. 15 shows the operation of the evaluation support system 200 when reading the values of various thermistors in the water heater 100 using the simple lead. This can be used when you want to perform an experiment while displaying the values of various thermistors.

In FIG. 15, first, the evaluation support system 200 sends “00H” + “0C” as a command parameter.
An operation command packet including H ”is sent to the water heater 100. Here, the command parameter“ 00H ”means“ no operation command ”, and“ 0CH ”is a value reading of the heat exchanger thermistor and the boiling thermistor. Is a simple read command that requests

Upon receiving such a command, the water heater 100 reads the values of both thermistors from the RAM 815, adds them to the response packet, and returns it.

Next, the evaluation support system 200 has a code "0CH" for designating the boiling thermistor and the water supply thermistor.
Is sent, and then a simple read command including the code "0EH" for designating the bath thermistor and the hot water supply thermistor is sent.

In this way, by successively requesting the reading of various thermistor data and displaying them, the experimenter can proceed with the experiment while confirming the value of the thermistor in real time.

Next, as a third case, assume a case where the sequence of hot water to the bathtub is confirmed and the program is evaluated at the development stage.

For example, in an automatic hot water beam sequence, all the constants necessary for hot water beam control such as the height difference between the water heater and the bathtub, the shape of the bathtub, and the volume are calculated, estimated, and learned in the hot water beam sequence. The algorithm is built to do so. When designing and programming such a complicated sequence, it often happens that at the operation confirmation and evaluation stage, it is often the case that the operator wants to confirm the operation by intentionally changing internal constants, flags, learning values, etc. .

In general, the sequence is different between the initial first time and the second and subsequent times of hot water welding, and the above constants are learned in the initial first time and the learning value is used in the second and subsequent times. Therefore, when changing the learning content, conventionally, every time the change is made, the first sequence is actually performed to learn the changed value, and then the second sequence is executed. Absent. for that reason,
The experiment takes a considerable amount of time and is inefficient.

On the other hand, in this embodiment, since the learning value and the flag in the RAM 815 can be freely rewritten by using the write command, it is possible to save the trouble of executing the first sequence of the initial stage and efficiently. Is. Moreover,
Since only the target data can be changed without changing any other data or state, it is possible to perform an experiment with a high degree of freedom and accuracy as compared with the conventional method.

FIG. 16 shows an example of operation in the evaluation support system 200 for confirming the sequence of hot water beam using a write command.

In FIG. 16, first, the evaluation support system 200 sends a write command packet for setting the hot water welding frequency (Y) flag to “second time”. That is, the command parameter of this packet includes the address "F" of the Y flag.
The value "83" indicating "083" and the value "1" indicating the second time are described.

Upon receiving this command, the water heater 100 has a RAM
The Y flag in 815 is set to “1” and a response packet indicating Y flag = 1 is returned.

Next, the evaluation support system 200 transmits a light command packet for changing the bathtub size to 2.2 square meters. That is, in the command parameter of this packet, the value "85" indicating the bathtub size address and the value "220" indicating 2.2 square meters are described. Receiving this, water heater 100 rewrites the bathtub size in RAM 815 to "220" and returns a response packet to that effect.

After setting the number of hot water beams and changing the bathtub size in this way, the instruction for automatic switch-on is given to the water heater 100 using the operation command, so that the second time under the changed bathtub size condition. You can experiment with Yuhari sequence.

From the above description, it is possible to easily and appropriately check the operation and state of the water heater 100 according to the purpose of the external systems 200 to 500 by using the read command, the write command, and the operation command in an appropriate combination. But,
It should have been fully understood.

Next, a method of accessing the RAM 815 on the control board 103, which is adopted in this embodiment in order to maximize the functions of the operation and the state check, will be described.

FIG. 17 shows the overall structure of the access method for the RAM 815. As described above with reference to FIG. 8, the RAM 815 is accessed by RA.
This is performed by the M control unit 813. This RAM control unit 8
13 is an input control unit 817, a ROM 841, a main control unit 8
19, output control unit 821 and external systems 200 to 50
RAM 815 according to commands and data input from 0
Access operations such as writing and reading data to and from. Here, the ROM 841 is pre-programmed with data having fixed values used in the control processing by the main control unit 819 (for example, the maximum rotation speed of the fan, the minimum rotation speed, the bath warming operation interval, etc.). And is usually incorporated in the main control unit 819.

The storage area of the RAM 815 can be roughly classified into an input area 815A, a work area 815B, and an output area 815C, depending on the nature of the data stored therein. Here, the input area 815A is the main control unit 8
This is an area in which input data for the control processing performed by 19 is stored. The work area 815 is an area where intermediate data generated during the control processing by the main control unit 815 is held. The output area 815C is
This is an area where final output data from the control processing by the main control unit 815 is stored.

The input control section 81 is provided in the input area 815A.
7 (that is, setting data and operation commands from the remote controller, detection data from various sensors, etc.) and fixed data read from the ROM 841 are written. Then, the data in the input area 815A is read into the main control unit 819, and the control process is executed by using this as the input data.

Various types of intermediate data generated at various stages of control processing performed by the main control unit 819 are stored in the work area 815B.
, And is read again from the work area 815B into the main control unit 819 and used in the previous stage of the control processing. In this way, the control process proceeds.

The output data finally obtained from the control processing is written in the output area 815C. Then, this output data is read from the output area 815C into the output control unit 821 and is used for driving the fan of the water heater 100, the proportional valve, and various actuators.

As described above, in the water heater 100, the data from where is written in which area of the RAM 815 and the R
The area of which data in the AM 815 is to be read out is fixed in advance.

On the other hand, for the external systems 200 to 500, there is no access restriction regarding the area of the RAM 825 as described above. Therefore, the external systems 200-5
00 indicates three areas 815A and 815 of the RAM 815.
B and 815C are freely accessible. That is, for any data in the three areas 815A, 815B, and 815C, a read command can be executed to read the value, or a write command can be executed to change the value to another value. It is also free to execute the operation command and add various pre-programmed operations. This free access function allows the external system 20
0 to 500 can perform various operations and status checks according to its purpose.

Some specific examples will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 18 shows, as an example of accessing the input area 815A, a case where the water heater 100 learns the water level at which the water is completely filled in the first filling operation of the bath.

First, the normal operation of the water heater 100 will be described. In this first filling operation, the water heater 100 supplies hot water to the bathtub and detects the pressure value according to the water level of the bathtub by the pressure sensor provided in the additional heating circulation pipe circulating between the bathtub and the water heater 100. is doing. Further, in parallel with this, while the circulation pump provided in the additional heating circulation pipe is operated, the presence or absence of the water flow is detected by the water flow sensor also provided in the additional heating circulation pipe. Both the pressure value from the pressure sensor and the water flow presence / absence signal from the water flow sensor are applied to the RAM control unit 183 through the input control unit 817. When the filling of water progresses in this state and both of the two outlets of the additional heating circulation pipe of the bathtub are submerged in water, the signal from the water flow sensor is switched to the presence of water flow. RAM8 taken as the completed water level
It registers in the predetermined address of 15 input areas 815A.
After this, the learned water filling level is determined by the main controller 819.
It is used to control the amount of water for filling and adding water.

In addition to the above normal operations, the external systems 200 to 500 can perform the following operations. For example, the learned water filling completion water level is intentionally changed from the external systems 200 to 500, and the main control unit 81
When it is desired to check the amount of hot water and the amount of hot water added by the external system 200 to 500,
A write command may be issued to the water level at which the water is filled in A, and this may be changed to an arbitrary value. Alternatively, if a corresponding operation command code is prepared in advance, the water filling completion water level in the input area 819A may be changed to another water level using the operation command. Thereby, the main controller 819
The control of the filling operation and the additional filling operation is executed based on the changed filling completion water level.

FIG. 19 shows the input area 81 of the RAM 815.
As an example of accessing 5A and the work area 815B, the case of an operation of starting the reheating operation at a constant interval in order to keep the bath hot water automatically is shown.

First, the normal operation of the water heater 100 will be described. The ROM 841 is preprogrammed with a heat retention interval, which is a time interval for performing the additional heating operation in the automatic heat retention mode, for example, 8 minutes.
13 reads this heat retention interval and RAM815
It is registered in a predetermined address of the input area 815A. In the automatic heat retention mode, the main control unit 819 uses the predetermined address of the work area 815B as a timer to update the time value thereof, and at the same time, the time value and the input area 815A are updated.
When the temperature of the bathtub is lower than the reference value, the reheating operation is performed. In this way, the bath heating temperature is maintained at an appropriate temperature by intermittently performing the additional heating operation.

In response to the above normal operation, the external system 20
For 0 to 500, the following operations can be added. For example, when intentionally changing the interval of the additional heating operation in the automatic heat retention mode from the external systems 200 to 500 to check the control of the additional heating operation, the interval control, etc., the external systems 200 to 500 use the RAM 81.
5, the heat retention interval in the input area 815A of 5 can be changed to an arbitrary value, or the work area 8
The time value of the timer within 15B can be changed to any value. For example, if it is desired to repeat the heating at a short interval of about 1 minute, the heat retention interval in the input area 815A may be rewritten to 1 minute, or the time value of the timer in the work area 815B may be set every time. It may be rewritten to 7 minutes at the start of the interval.

FIG. 20 shows the work area 8 of the RAM 815.
As an example of accessing 15B and the output area 815C, the case of controlling the rotation speed of the fan is shown.

First, the normal operation of the water heater 100 will be described. The input area 815A of the RAM 815 stores a set hot water temperature TS, an actual hot water temperature TC, a hot water supply flow rate Q, an actual hot water temperature TH, and an actual fan rotation speed NR, which are input from a remote controller or various sensors. Main controller 81
No. 9 is, first, the set hot water temperature T from the input area 815A.
S, the actual incoming water temperature TC, the hot water supply flow rate Q and the actual outgoing hot water temperature TH are read to calculate the required combustion amount F, and the required combustion amount F is written in the work area 815B. Next, the main controller 819
Reads the required combustion amount F from the work area 815B, obtains a target fan rotation speed NS corresponding to this, and writes this target fan rotation speed NS in the work area 815B.

Next, the main controller 819 checks the input area 81
Work area 8 by reading the actual fan speed NR from 5A
The target fan speed NS and the previous I calculation result are read from 15, and the PID calculation is performed for the deviation between the actual fan speed NR and the target fan speed NS (previous I
The calculation result is used as the initial value of I calculation), its PID
The I operation result of the work area 815B is updated with the operation result obtained by the operation, and the output fan rotation speed NOUT which is the result of the PID operation is written in the output area 815C.

Next, the output controller 821 causes the output area 81
The output fan rotation speed NOUT is read from 5C, converted into the output voltage VOUT, and output to the fan drive circuit. As a result, the rotation speed of the fan is controlled to match the combustion amount.

In response to the above normal operation, the external system 2
For 00 to 500, the following operations can be added.
For example, when it is desired to check the operation on the downstream side from the PID calculation program of the main control unit 819, the target fan rotation speed NS in the work area 815B is changed stepwise by a write command, and the output fan is output from the output area 815C. The number of revolutions NOUT is read out and input area 815
Operations such as reading the actual fan rotation speed NR from A can be performed.

On the other hand, irrespective of the main control unit 819, when it is desired to check only the operation of the fan drive circuit and the fan on the downstream side from the output control unit 821, the external system 200
.About.500, the output fan rotation speed NOUT in the output area 815C may be changed to an arbitrary value. For example, as shown by the broken line graph in FIG. 21, the output fan rotation speed NOUT in the output area 815C is changed from 1500 rpm to 4500 rpm, for example.
Try to step up to rpm, input area 81
By reading the actual fan rotation speed NR from 5A, it is possible to check the step response characteristics of the fan drive circuit and the fan. The stepwise change in the output fan rotation speed NOUT as shown by the broken line graph in FIG. 21 never occurs in the actual operation of the water heater, and actually the solid line graph in FIG. However, the external system 200-
By being able to create a virtual arbitrary situation that does not actually occur by a command from 500, it is possible to check and evaluate a desired place under desired conditions.

In particular, the data operation on the input area 815A is suitable for checking the operation of the entire water heater, or for arbitrarily changing the environment in which the water heater is placed and checking the effect. Further, the data operation on the work area 815B is suitable for checking a specific program of the main control unit 819 and checking after the middle stage of the processing process. In addition, the data operation on the output area 815C is suitable when it is desired to arbitrarily set the load state and check the influence.

By the way, as described above, the external system 20
Access any area of the RAM 815 from 0 to 500 to create an arbitrary situation, and under the situation, the main control unit 81
In order to operate 9 or the like, the RAM control unit 813 validates the data written to the RAM 815 from the external systems 200 to 500, and invalidates the write data from the input control unit 817, the main control unit 819, or the like that conflicts with the data. It is necessary to perform exclusive control such as

FIG. 22 shows a processing flow of the RAM control section 815 which performs this exclusive control.

First, it is checked whether communication is being performed with the external system (step 2201). If communication is being performed, then it is checked whether the command input from the external system is a write command (step 2202). If it is a write command, it is checked which of the input area 815A, the work area 815B and the output area 815C the address of the RAM 815 designated by the write command is (step 2203). If it is the input area 815A, Writing the data from the input control unit 817 and the ROM 841 to the designated address is prohibited (step 2204), and when the work area 815B or the output area 815C, the main control unit 813 writes the designated address to the designated address. Writing of the above data is prohibited (step 2205).
Thereafter, the designated data of the write command from the external system is written in the designated address (step 2206).

Incidentally, the write prohibition is performed by, for example, the RAM 8
A special table is prepared in 15, and the write-protected address and the identifier of the write-protected object (input control unit 817, ROM 841 or main control unit 815) are registered in this table, and the RAM control unit 813 When writing data to the RAM 815, it can be realized by a configuration that always refers to this table to check whether writing is possible.

By the above processing, when the write command is received from the external system, the input control section 817 that conflicts with the write command,
New data from the ROM 841 or the main control unit 815 is discarded, and the designated data of the write command is overwritten on the old data previously written by the input control unit 817, the ROM 841 or the main control unit 815.

Once the external system issues a write command, the address designated by the write command is automatically put into a state in which only the external system can exclusively write. You may want to cancel your address at any time. In that case, the external system can specify the address and issue a write inhibit command. This write inhibit command can be prepared as one code of the operation command, for example.

In the processing flow of the RAM control unit 813 shown in FIG. 22, when a write-protection command is received from the external system in step 2207, the write-protection of the address designated by the command is released (step 2208). This write protection cancellation can be performed, for example, by deleting the registration of the designated address from the above table.

When the communication with the external system is completed, the RAM control unit 813 completely removes the write protection of the RAM 815 (step 2209).

In addition to the exclusive control by the processing shown in FIG. 22, exclusive control can be performed by the following method. According to this method, the RAM control unit 813 does not need to perform the exclusive control of troublesome contents.

That is, when a write command is received from the external system, the RAM control unit 813 causes the input control unit 817, RO
While writing the write data from the M841 and the main control unit 815 to the RAM 815 as usual, the designation data by the write command is written in a place different from those data, and the designation data by the write command is written. Flag or the pointer of the designated data is input to the input control unit 8
17, write data from the ROM 841 and the main controller 815. Then, when a read request for data in the RAM 815 is received from the main control unit 815 or the output control unit 821, the RAM control unit 813 attempts to read the data in accordance with the request, but the flag or pointer is added to the data. If so, the designated data of the write command is read without reading the data and the data is passed to the main control unit 815 or the output control unit 821.

Even when the write command is issued by the above processing, the designated data of the write command is transferred to the main controller 819.
Alternatively, it is sent to the output control unit 821.

This method is effective when the contents of individual data are changed by the write command as in the method shown in FIG. 22, but rather, when a more complicated operation is desired using the operation command, It is even more effective especially when you want to change data dynamically.

For example, taking the case of the fan rotation speed NOUT described with reference to FIG. 20 as an example, this fan rotation speed NOUT is set to an initial value 4000 by a command from an external system.
30 from 100 rpm every 1 second
If you want to reduce the speed to 00 rpm, "Fan speed NOUT
Reduce the initial value by 100 rpm 10 times every 1 second ”, and prepare a program in the main control unit 819 as one code of the operation command, and send the operation command from an external system to start the program. You can do it. However, in the overwrite method as shown in FIG. 22, writing of the fan rotation speed NOUT from the main control unit 819 is prohibited, so that it becomes difficult to realize this operation command. This is because, in order to realize the above operation by the overwrite method, it is necessary to send each rotation speed from the external system by a write command every one second, which is a troublesome and difficult process for the external system.

On the other hand, in the latter writing method to another area,
Since write-protection is not performed for the main control unit 819, if only an initial value of 4000 rpm is sent from the external system and the above program is activated by an operation command, the main control unit 819 first reads the initial value of 4000 rpm and then The fan rotation speed NOUT in the output area 815C is updated from the initial value by decreasing it by 100 rpm at intervals of 1 second, and the desired operation is realized. Therefore, the external system can dynamically change the data by giving a simple command only once.

Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention can be implemented in various modes other than this embodiment. For example, the present invention can be applied to various devices other than the water heater. The type and number of external systems can be set freely.

[0155]

According to the comprehensive support system of the present invention, it is possible to accurately and easily perform the internal check operation of the equipment performed in each scene such as development, manufacturing, inspection and maintenance of the equipment.

Further, according to the device control apparatus of the present invention,
It becomes possible to apply the comprehensive support system as described above to a device.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall system configuration of an embodiment of a comprehensive support system according to the present invention applied to a water heater.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a system configuration of an evaluation support system 200.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a system configuration of a control board automatic inspection system 300.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a system configuration of a product inspection / adjustment system 400.

FIG. 5: Field maintenance support system 500
Block diagram showing the system configuration of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a communication protocol between an external system and a water heater.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing details of a packet configuration.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control board 103 of the water heater.

FIG. 9 shows a control board 103 as an external system 200-500.
The flowchart which shows the whole operation flow of the communication performed between and.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing details of processing in a RAM control unit 925.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing performed by a main control unit 819.

FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram showing an example of information exchange between the electronic notebook 505 and the water heater 100.

FIG. 13 is a sequence diagram showing an example of block read.

FIG. 14 is a memory map showing a map example of a RAM 815.

FIG. 15 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a simple read.

FIG. 16 is a sequence diagram showing an operation example for confirming a sequence of hot water beams using a write command.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of an access method for a RAM 815.

FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram showing an example in which an external system operates an input area of a RAM 815.

FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram showing an example in which an external system operates an input area and a work area of a RAM 815.

FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram showing an example in which an external system operates a work area and an output area of a RAM 815.

FIG. 21 is an output fan rotation speed NOUT in the example of FIG. 20.
FIG.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing a write exclusive control process performed by a RAM control unit 813.

[Explanation of symbols]

 100 water heater 200 evaluation support system 300 control board automatic inspection system 400 product inspection / adjustment system 500 field maintenance support system 103 control board 803 data analysis unit 805 read control unit 807 write control unit 809 operation control unit 813 RAM control unit 815 RAM 819 Main control unit

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[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] May 9, 1995

[Procedure Amendment 1]

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[Procedure Amendment 2]

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[Procedure 3]

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[Procedure amendment 4]

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[Procedure Amendment 5]

[Document name to be corrected] Drawing

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[Procedure correction 6]

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 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Hidefumi Mitsunaga Inventor Hidefumi Mitsunaga 2-1, 1-1 Nakajima, Kokurakita-ku, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture Totoki Kikai Co., Ltd. (72) Katsuhisa Tsuchiya Nakajima, Kokurakita-ku, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka 2-1, 1-1 Totoki Equipment Co., Ltd.

Claims (25)

[Claims] 1. A system for comprehensively supporting a plurality of types of work related to a device, and a plurality of external systems provided outside the device for individually supporting the plurality of types of work, Connection means for selectively communicatively connecting the plurality of external systems to the device, wherein a communication interface between the device and the external system is common to all the external systems. A comprehensive support system for equipment. 2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the device has an internal memory for holding internal information handled by a control device of the device, and an internal memory for outputting the internal information in the internal memory to the external system. A comprehensive support system for equipment, comprising: an information output means. 3. The system according to claim 2, wherein the device further includes an internal information rewriting unit that rewrites the internal information in the internal memory with external information input from the external system. Comprehensive support system. 4. The comprehensive support system for equipment according to claim 2, wherein the equipment further includes control operation means for operating the control device in accordance with a command input from the external system. 5. A control device for a device, a connection means for connecting an external system, an internal memory for holding internal information related to control of the device, and the connection means for reading the internal information from the internal memory. A device control device comprising: internal information output means for outputting to the internal information output means; and read information designating means for designating the internal information to be read to the internal information output means. 6. The control device according to claim 5, wherein the read information designating unit designates the internal information to be read based on a read command from the external system. 7. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the read command includes a command parameter that specifies an address in the internal memory, and the read information specifying means sets the address specified by the command parameter to the address. A control device for a device, which instructs the internal information output means as an address of the internal information to be read in the internal memory. 8. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the read command includes a command parameter designating a code of the internal information, and the read information designating unit stores the code designated by the command parameter in the internal memory. A control device for a device, characterized by converting the address into an internal address, and instructing the internal information output means as the address of the information to be read in the internal memory. 9. The device control device according to claim 8, wherein the read information designating means has a correspondence table between the code and the address. 10. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the internal information output means converts the internal information read from the internal memory into a simple code and outputs the simple code to the external system. Equipment control device. 11. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the read command includes a command parameter that specifies one of an address in the internal memory and a code of the internal information, and the read information specifying unit includes: If the command parameter specifies an address in the internal memory, the address is converted. If the command parameter specifies a code of the internal information, the code is converted into an address in the internal memory and this address is converted. A control device for an apparatus, which instructs the internal information output means as an address in the internal memory of the internal information to be read. 12. In a device control device, a connection means for connecting an external system, an internal memory that holds internal information related to control of the device, and an internal memory based on a write command from the external system. An internal information rewriting unit that rewrites the internal information in the memory, and a device control apparatus. 13. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the write command includes a command parameter designating an address in the internal memory, and the internal information rewriting means is held at an address commanded by the command parameter. A control device for a device, characterized in that the internal information stored therein is rewritten. 14. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the write command includes a command parameter designating a code of the internal information, and the internal information rewriting means stores the code designated by the command parameter in the internal memory. A control device for a device, characterized in that the internal information stored in the internal address is rewritten. 15. The device control apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the internal information rewriting unit has a correspondence table between the code and the address. 16. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the write command includes a command parameter that specifies one of an address in the internal memory and a code of the internal information, and the internal information rewriting means If the command parameter specifies the address, the internal information held at that address is converted. If the command code is specified, the code is converted to an address in the internal memory and stored at that address. An apparatus control device for rewriting the stored internal information. 17. The apparatus control device according to claim 12, further comprising an information output unit that outputs the rewritten internal information to the external system. 18. A device control device, wherein the device control means is based on a connection means for connecting an external system, a device control means for controlling the state and operation of the device, and an operation command from the external system. Specific operation control means for causing the specific operation to be executed by
An apparatus control device comprising: 19. The apparatus control device according to claim 18, wherein the operation instruction includes an instruction parameter specifying a code of the specific operation. 20. The apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the device control means performs a control process of a state and an operation which are not targets of the specific operation among the states and operations of the device,
A control device for equipment, which is executed in parallel with execution of the specific operation. 21. The apparatus control device according to claim 18, further comprising result output means for outputting a result of executing the specific operation to the external system. 22. In a device control device, a connection means for connecting an external system, a device control means for controlling the state and operation of the device, and internal information related to control of the state and operation of the device are held. The internal information stored in the internal memory based on the determined read command, and an internal memory that has received the command from the external system to determine whether the command is a read command, a write command or an operation command. Internal information output means for reading out and outputting to the connection means, internal information rewriting means for rewriting the internal information in the internal memory based on the determined write command, and based on the determined operation command And a specific operation control unit that causes the device control unit to execute a specific operation. 23. In a control device for equipment, a connection means for connecting an external system, a control means for executing control processing for the equipment, an internal memory for holding various information used for the control processing, Internal information operating means for operating information in the internal memory based on a predetermined command from the external system, the internal memory having an input area for holding input information for the control processing, and the control processing A work area for holding intermediate information generated in the middle of the process, and an output area for holding output information finally output from the control process, wherein the internal information operating means includes the input area, work area and output. A device control device characterized by being able to operate information in any of the areas. 24. The apparatus according to claim 23, wherein the internal information operating means writes the information designated based on the predetermined command in the internal memory, and the written information is exclusively used for the control. An apparatus control device characterized by performing exclusive control for use in processing. 25. The apparatus according to claim 23, wherein the internal information operating means operates the information in the internal memory so that the control means executes a specific operation based on the predetermined command. Equipment control device.