JP3797907B2 - Data creation apparatus for control system, data creation program, and recording medium recording the program - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method for creating control data used in a control system that is connected to an external device such as a PLC and includes a programmable display device that displays a data processing state in the external device.
[0002]
[Prior art]
The present applicant has previously made a display function for performing a display control operation in a programmable display device by making a display function of a unit such as a lamp and a switch into parts and pasting the display function parts on a base screen. A configuration that can easily create a screen was proposed.
[0003]
On the other hand, the control program for the external device is a ladder program in PLC, for example, draws a ladder diagram corresponding to the connection state of input devices such as sensors and switch contacts and output devices such as relays and lamps. It is created by writing an instruction or address corresponding to the ladder diagram.
[0004]
Furthermore, with respect to general-purpose circuit blocks that may be used repeatedly, an attempt has been made to simplify program creation by configuring a program corresponding to the circuit block as a subroutine or macro.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, functions such as timers and counters are not displayed simply by acquiring device data set on the PLC, and it is necessary to create a control program for causing the device to perform a desired operation on the PLC. And
[0006]
Therefore, conventionally, in addition to designing a display screen for a programmable display device, it has been necessary to create a control program dedicated to display control for the purpose of controlling the display screen.
[0007]
Furthermore, the control ladder used for control of the target system and the display ladder used only for display in the programmable display device are mixed in one control program. As a result, the management of both becomes complicated, and the operation of the PLC There is a problem that hinders the creation of a control ladder having an important influence on the performance of the control ladder.
[0008]
The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and a display screen used for control of a programmable display device can be configured with display functional parts, while a PLC control program can be configured with control functional parts, It is an object of the present invention to provide a data creation method for a control system that can be easily managed and created by providing a predetermined relationship between a display function component and a control function component.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The control system 14 to which the data creation method according to the present invention is applied corresponds to the control means 1 that performs a predetermined control operation based on the control program 15 and the control state in the control means 1 as shown in FIG. Display means 2 for performing the display operation based on the display screen 30.
[0010]
Here, the display screen 30 in the display means 2 can be configured as a set of display function parts 4 having a predetermined unit display function, while the control program 15 in the control means 1 has a predetermined unit control function. The control function component 3 can be configured as a set.
[0011]
An association is established in advance between the specific display function component 4 and the control function component 3, and when either one of the display function component 4 or the control function component 3 is specified, the other can be specified at the same time. It is characterized by.
[0012]
The control means 1 described above is a PLC 10 as shown in FIG. 2 in which the control program 15 is configured as a ladder diagram, and the display means 2 described above can perform a display operation corresponding to a change in state information provided in the PLC 10. A programmable display device 12 is preferred.
[0013]
Further, as shown in FIG. 1B, the control function component 3 is displayed as a block diagram in which variable values can be changed in the ladder diagram, and the screen 8 of the display screen 30 and the screen of the control program 15 are displayed. 7 is opened on the same display 6 and when a functional component is arranged on one drawing screen, the corresponding functional component is automatically arranged on the other drawing screen.
[0014]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, the present invention makes it possible to configure the display screen 30 used for controlling the programmable display device 12 with the display function component 4, while allowing the control program 15 of the PLC 10 to be configured with the control function component 3. By providing a predetermined relationship between 4 and the control function component 3, control system data can be easily managed.
[0015]
Furthermore, by arranging the functional component on one screen, the other functional component is automatically arranged, so that the labor required for data creation can be greatly reduced.
[0016]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
As shown in FIG. 2, the present invention uses a PLC 10 provided as a control means, and the target system 11 such as a belt conveyor type automatic assembly machine can be sequence-controlled by the PLC 10, and a display means for the PLC. The control system 14 will be described based on an example in which the control system 14 is provided with a programmable display device 12 and connected to a general-purpose computer device 13 by LAN connection with the program display device 12. Of course, it can be applied to.
[0017]
The PLC 10 is operated by a predetermined control program 15 such as a ladder program, and a circuit is unitized for each necessary function such as the CPU unit 16 or the memory unit 17, and each unit is changed according to necessity. Thus, by adding as appropriate via the bus line, it is possible to increase or decrease the functions achieved as a whole PLC, and have a configuration similar to the conventional one.
[0018]
In this embodiment, a CPU unit 16 that performs a predetermined control operation according to a control program, an input unit 18 that enables direct capture of a detection signal sent from the target system 11, and the target system 11. The basic unit includes an output unit 19 that enables output of predetermined control signals, a memory unit 17 that stores various data, and a computer link unit 20 that enables predetermined data communication with the programmable display device 12. Prepare as.
[0019]
Then, the CPU unit 16 constantly monitors the change state of the input / output device. When a data change such as new data input is recognized, the CPU 16 accesses the corresponding address on the memory unit 17 after performing necessary arithmetic processing. The contents are read and written, or data is sent to the output unit 19.
[0020]
In addition, the storage location of state data that is directly input / output to / from the target system 11 or used for its control is an input device such as a sensor or switch, relay, or motor provided on the target system 11 to be controlled or displayed. Each output device is secured on the memory unit 17 and the word device is used for word data such as numerical data, and the bit device is used for bit data such as on / off information. The storage location is set in the memory unit 17 so that the storage location can be specified by designating a device name or address such as “X001” specific to the model.
[0021]
Therefore, by simply specifying and accessing an arbitrary word device or bit device in the memory unit 17 from the inside or outside of the PLC 10 by the device name, the corresponding position of the target system 11 is controlled or information on its operation state is individually obtained. I can take it out.
[0022]
Furthermore, in the devices configured on the memory unit 17 described above, predetermined functional elements such as relays, registers, counters or timers are configured using hardware and software, and a control program is designated by specifying a device name. 15 can be used.
[0023]
The programmable display device 12 is incorporated in the console of the target system 11 together with the PLC 10 or is independently provided and used as a control panel in the field for the target system 11, and is not shown. A display control circuit 21 is provided inside the housing.
[0024]
The basic configuration of the display control circuit 21 is substantially the same as that of a general-purpose personal computer device. The screen on the display 22 provided on the front side of the housing is covered with a transparent touch panel 23 in a close contact state, and a press operation on the touch panel 23 is performed. The instructions are taken in via the touch panel controller 24, the coordinates are analyzed, and various manual operations can be performed by a fingertip at the time of testing, initial setting before the operation of the entire system or during the operation.
[0025]
Furthermore, it is connected to the computer link unit 20 on the PLC side through a dedicated communication line 26 in a serial or parallel state via a communication controller 25 that operates with a dedicated protocol specialized for the connected PLC 10.
[0026]
Here, in the programmable display device 12, as illustrated in FIG. 3, a display function component 4 such as a static figure 27 that does not require a change in display contents such as a nameplate, or a switch shape that changes shape, blinks, or changes color. A display screen 30 having one or more on the base screen 29 is defined as a unit screen. Further, a display screen group consisting of a plurality of unit screens is provided as one project in one programmed display device, and the unit screen is switched by specifying a different file number F for each unit screen. The display screen 30 displaying the necessary operation content can be obtained only by this.
[0027]
Furthermore, when one unit screen is selected, a processing instruction word W as illustrated in FIG. 4 related to the selected unit screen is stored in the event data memory 31 as shown in FIG. The processing instruction word W is intermittently read every minute time, and the operation of the content specified by the event name N of each processing instruction word W is sequentially performed while referring to the state data extracted from the PLC side to the display device side. Execute. As a result, a display change operation is performed on the display screen 30 in which the shape of the component graphic of the display functional component 4 and the display data change in response to a change in the contents of the bit device or word device on the PLC side.
[0028]
That is, the basic configuration of the processing instruction word W is substantially the same, and the file number F of the base screen 29 on which the display control operation is to be executed and the base screen 29 should be executed as shown in FIG. An event name N for specifying the operation content and reference information r including one or a plurality of data referred to for each execution event are provided as one set.
[0029]
For example, the processing instruction word WT shown in FIG. 4B enables the bit device set at a predetermined address position in the state data memory 32 to be reversed in conjunction with a pressing instruction operation on the touch panel 23. That is, the file number F1 of the unit screen, the event name N1 that specifies the operation of the touch panel 23, for example, the input coordinate range X / Y that validates the input operation from the touch panel 23, and the push operation of the touch panel 23 are linked. The address A is unique to each PLC 10 whose data is to be rewritten.
[0030]
Further, the processing instruction word WL shown in FIG. 4C enables a predetermined figure to be displayed at a corresponding position on the base screen 29 in conjunction with the operation of the touch panel 23 described above. That is, the file number F1 of the base screen 29, the event name N2 that specifies the display of the part graphic, for example, “N”, the display coordinate range XY of the part graphic, the file number F2 that specifies the part graphic to be called, and the part graphic It is composed of an address A unique to the PLC 10 that is referred to during display.
[0031]
Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5A, two processing instructions WL1 and WT1 in which the coordinate ranges X and Y and the reference address A are matched are set in the event data memory 31 in advance. Further, when the bit device at the address A of the state data memory 32 is “0”, if the bit device is associated with the switch OFF state in advance, the PLC 10 performs the OFF operation on the actual switch contact to be controlled. . At the same time, the part graphic data FL1 corresponding to the OFF state of the switch is read from the graphic memory and displayed in the designated coordinate range X / Y on the corresponding base screen 29 and displayed.
[0032]
When a display location of a part graphic having a switch shape on the touch panel 23 is pressed, a processing instruction word WT for the touch panel is searched, and a range including the corresponding coordinates from the indicated coordinates made via the touch panel 23 is included as coordinate information. The presence or absence of the processing instruction word WT is determined.
[0033]
For example, when one point in the coordinate range X / Y is pressed, it corresponds to the processing instruction word WT1 configured as described above, so that the data value at the corresponding address A is shown in FIG. Is reversed from “0” to “1”, and the corresponding switch contact is controlled to be turned on via the PLC 10. At the same time, the processing instruction word WL1 determines that the reference address A has changed to “1”, reads the graphic data FL2 corresponding to the ON state of the switch from the graphic memory, and puts it on the corresponding coordinate range X · Y. By displaying, the switch-shaped part graphic displayed on the base screen 29 is also changed from the off state to the on state.
[0034]
Further, in the present embodiment, the programmable display device 12 and the computer device 13 are connected to the computer device 13 such as a host computer and the LAN via a common communication line 34 including a general-purpose communication adapter 33 and a communication cable. Connected and connected using a generic communication protocol such as TCP / IP.
[0035]
Further, even when the data communication protocol is dedicated to the PLC, various data including the state data corresponding to the control state in the PLC 10 are exchanged between the PLC 10 and the computer device 13 via the programmable display device 12. I am trying to do it.
[0036]
That is, the programmable display device 12 in the present embodiment has a function of automatically analyzing and converting a data format or protocol dedicated to the connected PLC and a general-purpose data format or protocol in the computer device 13. The state data of the PLC 10 can be accessed from the computer device 13. Furthermore, the programmable display device 12 alone can individually access the PLC 10 and the computer device 13, and uses a dedicated display screen file using the processing instruction word W as described above, so that the status data of the PLC 10 is displayed. Enables display in response to changes.
[0037]
The present invention is in the control system 14 having the above-described configuration, and the display screen 30 creation device 35 used in the programmable display device 12 and the control program 15 creation device 36 used in the PLC 10 are operated in conjunction with each other. The structure has its characteristics.
[0038]
In the present embodiment, both creation devices 35 and 36 are integrally configured by software stored in a general-purpose computer device 13 connected on the LAN, but other general-purpose or dedicated devices that operate independently. Needless to say, the present invention can be implemented in substantially the same manner. In addition, when the program display device 12 is offline, software that operates on the program display device 12 can be used to create the necessary display screen 30 and control program 15.
[0039]
Here, the display screen creation device 35 basically includes a project file consisting of one or a plurality of unit screen files used in the above-described programmed display device 12 and related graphic files that are called from each unit screen and displayed. A general-purpose personal computer using a pointing device such as a mouse as an instruction input unit on the display 22 is used to create a program using the processing instruction word W described above, and uses a predetermined program. Various functions illustrated in FIG. 6 are realized.
[0040]
That is, the display unit 37 that opens the screen 8 on the screen of the display 22 and processes various necessary display operations, the drawing unit 38 for drawing figures such as circles and straight lines, and the display functions such as switches and lamps. Included in the arrangement unit 39 of the component 4, the setting unit 40 for the base screen 29 of various processing instruction words W, the drawing figure arranged as an object on the single base screen 29, the display function component 4 and the processing instruction word Data compositing unit 41 that composes each unit data as a unit screen, a data storage unit 42 that stores various types of generated data, and data communication that sends the generated data to the programmable display device 12 or PLC 10 Part 43.
[0041]
The drawing figure creation unit 38 draws an arbitrary drawing figure on the base screen 29 by painting a line drawing mainly composed of straight lines and curves, or the inside thereof with a predetermined color or pattern, as in a conventional general drawing device. Can be created with.
[0042]
The display function component placement unit 39 stores in advance a large number of data groups for general display function components such as switches or lamps illustrated in FIG. 5 using drawing figures and processing instructions, and if necessary, An arbitrary display function component 4 is taken out and arranged at an arbitrary position on the base screen 29, and the size can be arbitrarily set while confirming the size on the screen 8.
[0043]
The processing instruction word setting unit 40 is generalized as a component as described above by making it possible to individually set processing instruction words of necessary functions on the base screen 29 from among processing instruction word groups prepared by the system. New functions that are not implemented can be arbitrarily configured.
[0044]
The data synthesizing unit 41 combines the data in each element configured on the base screen 29 as described above into one unit screen file that is used exclusively by the corresponding programmable display device 12. At the same time, a plurality of unit screen files are combined into one to form a project file.
[0045]
The data storage unit 42 uses an arbitrary storage device such as a hard disk device, stores the data constituted by the data synthesis unit 41 as described above, and programs through the data communication unit 43 as necessary. Various data are sent to the expression display device 12 side.
[0046]
The control program creation device 36 has functions necessary for creation of the control program 15 such as coding, debugging, downloading to the PLC 10 or monitoring of the control program 15 for the PLC. 35 is configured to be operable integrally or separately from each other.
[0047]
Here, the coding of the control program 15 employs a ladder diagram method created by drawing a relay ladder diagram using the relay symbol 44 on the drawing screen 7 of the control program creation device 36 as shown in FIG. Although the ladder diagram creating unit 46 is provided in the other system, means corresponding to the system is prepared in other systems.
[0048]
The present invention has the above-described configuration, and further sets a control function component 3 that performs a predetermined operation set in advance, and uses the control function component 3 to code the control program 15. It has.
[0049]
As illustrated in FIG. 8, the control function component 3 is configured such that function programs 48 that are frequently used repeatedly for general purposes can be combined and used in advance, and a plurality of types of control function components 3 can be used. Is prepared in advance and the control function component 3 to be used is selected, thereby simplifying the creation of the control program 15.
[0050]
In this embodiment, each control function component 3 has a small number of fixed input / output terminals (in the example shown, eight inputs IP1 to IP8 and four outputs OP1 to OP4 in the illustrated example). Each device name in the function program 48 constituting the control function component 3 is described using a local device name.
[0051]
Further, in the control program 15 illustrated in FIG. 7A, one or a plurality of control function components 3 can be expressed using symbols such as rectangles, and the function program 48 constituting the control function component 3 is independent. It is possible to operate. In addition, a setting value such as a count-up number in a timer or counter is used as a variable so that the setting can be arbitrarily changed during actual design.
[0052]
Here, in the coding of the control program 15, as illustrated in FIG. 7, the ladder diagram creation unit 46 is used on the screen 7 opened for creating the control program, as in the conventional ladder diagram. The necessary control program 15 is drawn with symbols.
[0053]
Further, when the control function component 3 is selected as a symbol, specific input / output device names are set for the inputs IP1 to IP8 and outputs OP1 to OP4 as shown in FIG. By setting the value, the setting operation of the control function component 3 is completed. For example, in the illustrated example of FIG. 8, an example in which only the input IP1 to IP5 and the output OP1 are used is shown.
[0054]
Further, the function program 48 showing the specific configuration of the control function component 3 written in the control program performs a predetermined instruction operation such as clicking on the control function component 3 on the screen, so that FIG. In this manner, the sub window 49 is opened and displayed on the sub window 49 for confirmation.
[0055]
Furthermore, even after the control program 15 is loaded into the PLC 10, even when the control program 15 is operated as a whole, the operation can be stopped and debugged for each individual control function component 3.
[0056]
The present invention has the above-described configuration, and further has a feature in the configuration in which the display screen creation device 35 and the control program creation device 36 are operable in cooperation with each other.
[0057]
That is, the screens 78 of both devices can be displayed on the screen of the display 6 in a superimposed or parallel manner as illustrated in FIG. 1B so that data creation of both can proceed in parallel. To do.
[0058]
Furthermore, for the display function component 4 that requires the creation of the corresponding control program 15 at the same time, the control program 15 is prepared in advance as the control function component 3, and a correspondence relationship is provided between them. deep. When the display screen 30 is created, the display function component 4 is arranged on the base screen 29 and at the same time, the corresponding control function component 3 is automatically arranged in the control program 15.
[0059]
In the above-described embodiment, the description has been made mainly on the creation of the display screen 30 and the creation of the control program 15 as a subordinate. You may comprise so that the functional component 4 may be arrange | positioned automatically.
[0060]
In addition, the display functional component 4 and the control functional component 3 are individually provided, and when one functional component is arranged, the other functional component is automatically arranged instead of the one, and both functional components are unified in appearance. It can be configured as a functional component, and can be configured by performing a drag-and-drop operation on the screen 8 of the display screen 30 or the screen 7 of the control program 15 as necessary. In short, as long as there is some kind of association between both functional parts, the display format or operation format is not particularly limited.
[0061]
Although the format of the control function component 3 can be unified, for example, the functions are classified into those for controlling the target system 11 and those for controlling the programmable display device 12, and the internal configuration or display form thereof is classified. Can be distinguished from each other. In addition, as long as it is made into parts, the form is not questioned.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIGS. 1A and 1B are explanatory diagrams showing a basic configuration of the present invention, where FIG. 1A shows an operation state of a control system, and FIG. 1B shows a data creation state;
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a PLC and a programmable display device.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a display screen to be created.
FIGS. 4A and 4B are explanatory diagrams showing a configuration of processing instructions used in a programmable display device, where FIG. 4A is a basic configuration of processing instructions and FIG. 4B is a data input process using a touch panel. The structure of the instruction word, (c) shows the structure of the processing instruction word for graphic display.
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a control operation using a processing instruction word.
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration relating to each function of the display screen creation device and the control program creation device.
FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between a control function component and a function program.
FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example of a control program and control function parts on a programming tool.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Control means 2 Display means 3 Control function component 4 Display function component 5 Data creation apparatus 6 Display of data creation apparatus 7 Screen for control program 8 Screen for display screen 10 PLC
11 Target System 12 Programmed Display Device 13 Computer Device 14 Control System 15 Control Program 16 CPU Unit 17 Memory Unit 18 Input Unit 19 Output Unit 20 Computer Link Unit 21 Display Control Circuit 22 Display Device Display 23 Touch Panel 24 Touch Panel Controller 25 Communication Controller 26 Dedicated communication line 27 Static figure 29 Base screen 30 Display screen 31 Event data memory 32 Status data memory 33 Communication adapter 34 Common communication line 35 Display screen creation device 36 Control program creation device 37 Display unit 38 Drawing Graphic creation unit 39 Display functional component placement unit 40 Processing instruction word setting unit 41 Data synthesis unit 42 Data storage unit 43 Data communication unit 44 Relay symbol 46 Ladder diagram creation unit 4 7 Control Function Component Selection Unit 48 Function Program 49 Sub Window

Claims (3)

A control system comprising: a control device that performs a predetermined control operation on a target system based on control data; and a programmable display device that performs a display operation corresponding to a control state in the control device based on display data A data creation device capable of creating the control data and the display data in conjunction with each other on a display,
Control data creation means for allowing the control data to be expressed as a ladder diagram on the display;
Display data creating means for allowing the display data to be expressed on the display as a set of display functional part figures having a display function of a predetermined unit ; and
The ladder diagram can be configured as a set of control function part graphics having a control function of a predetermined unit, and the control function part graphics are composed of a functional part diagram for controlling the target system and a program for controlling the programmable display device. Consists of functional parts and figures
The display and functional component figures, the programmable display may be provided in advance associations between a control function component figures for device control, any of the display function component figures or control function component figures of the programmable display device control When either one is specified on the display , the other can be specified at the same time ,
The control function component figure, the data creation apparatus for a control system, wherein the in ladder diagram is displayed as symbols with configurable variable values. A control system comprising: a control device that performs a predetermined control operation on a target system based on control data; and a programmable display device that performs a display operation corresponding to a control state in the control device based on display data In the data creation program that enables creation of the control data and the display data in conjunction with each other on a display,
The computer expresses the control data as a ladder diagram on the display as a ladder diagram, and expresses the display data as a set of display functional component figures having a predetermined unit display function on the display. It is a program for causing it to function as display data creation means that can be enabled, and
The ladder diagram can be configured as a set of control function part graphics having a control function of a predetermined unit, and the functional part figure is composed of a functional part figure for controlling the target system and a function for controlling the programmable display device. It consists of part figures and
An association is provided in advance between the display functional component graphic and the control functional component graphic for controlling the programmable display device, and either the display functional component graphic or the control functional component graphic for controlling the programmable display device is used. If one is specified on the display, the other can be specified at the same time,
The data creation program is characterized in that the control function component figure is displayed as a symbol whose variable value can be changed in the ladder diagram . A computer-readable recording medium on which the data creation program according to claim 2 is recorded .

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