JP2000137506A - Programmable controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To transmit arbitrary information at designated timing without being affected by the condition of a transmission opposite party and to receive transmitted information at arbitrary timing on the opposite party by installing a mail automatic generation/transmission means and providing a mail server between the transmission opposite party and an originating side. SOLUTION: A mail automatic generation/transmission means generating and transmitting an electronic mail containing information which is set in response to the recognition of the arrival of electronic mail transmission timing in installed. A mail server is provided between a transmission opposite party and an originating side. The communication system is constituted by connecting a programmable controller (PLC) 1, the mail server 2 and a client 3 by LAN (line) 4 operated by 'Ethernet'. The electronic mail transmitted from PLC 1 is stored in the mail server 2. The client 3 can read the electronic mail from the mail server 2 at arbitrary timing.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a programmable controller connected to a LAN operated by, for example, Ethernet and capable of communicating with another device (for example, another programmable controller, a host computer, or the like). The present invention relates to a programmable controller capable of transmitting designated information to a designated destination as an e-mail at a designated timing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Other devices (eg, other programmable controllers, host computers, etc.) via a modem
The programmable controller that can communicate with
Conventionally known.

In this type of programmable controller, when the programmable controller takes the initiative and transmits information to the host computer at an arbitrary timing, a predetermined communication program is also executed on the host computer each time. Need to be run.

[0004]

However, in such a conventional communication between a programmable controller and a host computer or the like via a modem, a predetermined communication program must be executed at the same time on both sides. Depending on the state of the host computer or the like, there is a case where transmission cannot be started immediately and the user has to wait for a long time or to give up transmission. In addition, there is a problem that a complicated user program for communication must be incorporated in the programmable controller in advance in order to realize communication by such a method.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and has as its object to transmit arbitrary information at a specified timing without being affected by the circumstances of a transmission partner. It is another object of the present invention to provide a programmable controller having a communication function capable of receiving information transmitted at an arbitrary timing by a transmission partner.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a programmable controller having a communication function capable of simplifying the setting operation for information transmission as much as possible.

[0007]

An invention according to claim 1 of the present application is a programmable controller connectable to a line, comprising: transmission timing setting means for setting an electronic mail transmission timing; Transmission information setting means for setting information to be included in transmission,
Destination setting means for setting an email destination,
A transmission timing arrival monitoring unit that monitors the arrival of the electronic mail transmission timing set by the transmission timing setting unit; and, in response to the arrival of the electronic mail transmission timing being confirmed by the transmission timing arrival monitoring unit,
A mail automatic creation and transmission unit that creates an e-mail including the information set by the transmission information setting unit and transmits the e-mail to the e-mail destination set by the destination setting unit Features a programmable controller.

[0010] According to such a configuration, by interposing a mail server between the transmitting party and the transmitting party,
Any information can be sent at the specified timing without being affected by the circumstances of the sending party, and the sending party can also receive the sent information at any time using commercially available mail receiving software. can do.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the programmable controller according to the first aspect, the programmable controller comprises: a CPU unit;
/ O unit and a line interface unit, and these units are connected to each other via a system bus.
The I / O unit mainly executes the input / output refresh process and the user program execution process in cooperation with the I / O unit. The line interface unit is connected to the line and mainly executes the communication process between the programmable controller and another device. And the CP
The U unit is provided with at least the transmission timing setting means, and the transmission timing setting means corresponds to each of a plurality of types of transmission timings prepared in advance by the system and can be individually selected and operated by a user. A plurality of transmission timing selection flags, wherein the line interface unit is provided with at least the transmission timing arrival monitoring means and the mail automatic creation transmission means, and the transmission timing arrival monitoring means comprises: A programmable controller monitors the arrival of a transmission timing recognized by referring to a transmission timing selection flag in a CPU unit.

According to such a configuration, a plurality of transmission timings prepared in advance by the system can be obtained simply by appropriately setting or resetting the transmission timing selection flag in the CPU unit using a normal programming tool. Can be arbitrarily selected and set, and the burden on the user on transmission timing setting is reduced.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the programmable controller according to the first aspect, the programmable controller comprises:
/ O unit and a line interface unit, and these units are connected to each other via a system bus.
The I / O unit mainly executes the input / output refresh process and the user program execution process in cooperation with the I / O unit. The line interface unit is connected to the line and mainly executes the communication process between the programmable controller and another device. And the CP
The U unit is provided with at least the transmission information setting means, and the transmission information setting means corresponds to each of a plurality of types of transmission information prepared in advance by the system and can be individually selected and operated by the user. A plurality of transmission information selection flags, wherein the line interface unit is provided with at least a mail automatic creation / transmission means, and the mail automatic creation / transmission means is provided with an electronic mail at the transmission timing arrival monitoring means. In response to the confirmation of the arrival of the transmission timing, creating an e-mail including the information recognized by referring to the transmission information selection flag in the CPU unit,
The program is transmitted to an e-mail destination set by the destination setting means.

According to such a configuration, by simply setting or resetting the transmission information selection flag in the CPU unit using an ordinary programming tool, a plurality of transmission types prepared in advance by the system can be obtained. Information can be arbitrarily selected and set, and the burden on the user on transmission information setting is reduced.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the programmable controller can be attached to and detached from the system bus, and can be connected to an external line, and can communicate between the programmable controller and another device. A line interface unit for performing processing, wherein a transmission timing arrival monitoring means for monitoring arrival of an electronic mail transmission timing detected via the system bus; and In response to the confirmation, there is provided a line interface unit comprising: a mail automatic creation and transmission means for creating an electronic mail and transmitting the electronic mail to a set electronic mail destination. According to such a configuration, an electronic mail transmission processing function can be provided as one of system expandability in the programmable controller. According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording medium storing a computer program for realizing all or a part of the configuration functions of the programmable controller according to any one of the first to third aspects. is there.

Here, the "recording medium" includes a semiconductor ROM or a semiconductor PROM in which a computer program is recorded, in addition to a disk-shaped recording medium such as a hard disk or a floppy disk.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording medium storing a computer program for realizing all or a part of the functions of the line interface unit according to the fourth aspect. Here, the “recording medium” includes not only a disk-shaped recording medium such as a hard disk or a floppy disk, but also a semiconductor ROM or a semiconductor PR on which those computer programs are recorded.
OM is also included.

[0016]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an entire communication system including a programmable controller to which the present invention is applied. As shown in the figure, the communication system includes a programmable controller (hereinafter, referred to as a PLC) 1,
The mail server 2 and the client 3 are mutually connected by a LAN (line) 4 operated by Ethernet. Then, the e-mail transmitted from the PLC 1 is stored in the mail server 2. On client 3,
An e-mail can be read from the mail server 2 at an arbitrary timing. Therefore, the PLC 1 can transmit any information at the specified timing without being affected by the circumstances of the transmission partner, and the transmission partner can also receive the transmitted information at any timing. It is.

The PLC 1 includes a power supply unit 11, a CPU unit 12, an I / O unit 13, and an Ethernet unit (line interface unit) 14. The units 11 to 14 are connected to the system bus 10
Connected to each other. The power supply unit 11
It supplies power to the other units 12 to 14. Further, the I / O unit 13 includes an output circuit for sending an output signal to the controlled object, and an input circuit for receiving an input signal from the controlled object.

FIG. 2 shows the internal configuration of the CPU unit 12 and the Ethernet unit 14. As shown in FIG. 1, the CPU unit 12 includes a microprocessor (MPU) 122, a ROM 123, and a PROM 12
4 and a RAM 125. These components 122 to 125 are mutually connected via an MPU bus 121. The MPU bus 121 is connected to the system bus 10 via a bus interface circuit 126.

The ROM 123 stores a system program for realizing a system program (for example, input refresh processing, user program execution processing, output refresh processing, system service processing, etc.) which will be described later. The PROM 124 stores a user program described in a user program language (for example, a ladder diagram language, a flowchart language, and the like). RAM12
5 shows a normal I / O area corresponding to the I / O unit 13, a high function unit allocation relay area, a high function unit allocation DM area, a user created data area by ASCII code, and FIG. A high function unit system setting area and various working areas are provided.

As shown in FIG. 3, the advanced function unit system setting area includes a flag area A1 for storing various flags to be described later, a user created mail data address area A2, and A mail address A3, a destination mail address A4, an SNTP server address area A5, and a mail transmission interval area A6 are provided.

On the other hand, the Ethernet unit 14 has a microprocessor (MPU) 142 and a ROM 143.
And a RAM 144. These components 142 to 144 are interconnected via an MPU bus 141. The MPU bus 141 is connected to the LAN 4 via the LAN controller 146 and to the system bus 10 via the bus interface circuit 145. The ROM 143 stores a system program corresponding to a system program (for example, mail processing, system service processing, and the like) described later. The RAM 144 is used as various working areas when executing a system program.

The contents of the high function unit system setting area provided in the RAM 125 of the CPU unit 12 are shown in FIG.
Is shown in In the flag area A1, a plurality of flags (F11 to F13, F2, F21 to F23, F3, F3
1 to F33) are stored. These flags are
By using a known programming tool connected to the PU unit 12, the user can arbitrarily set or reset the operation. The meaning of each of these flags is determined as follows.

"Flag F11": A flag for designating whether to include user data in the contents of the user mail. When there is no check (“0”), it means that the user data is not included in the contents of the user mail, and when there is a check (“1”), it means that the user data is included in the contents of the user mail. By default, no check is made (see FIG. 6A).

"Flag F12": A flag for designating whether or not to include abnormality history information in the contents of the user mail. If not checked (“0”), it means that the abnormal history information is not included in the contents of the user mail, and if checked (“1”), it means that the abnormal history information is included in the contents of the user mail. By default, no check is made (see FIG. 6B).

"Flag F13": A flag for designating whether or not to include status data in the contents of the user mail. If there is no check (“0”), it means that the status data is not included in the contents of the user mail, and if there is a check (“1”), it means that the status data is included in the contents of the user mail. By default, no check is made (see FIG. 6C).

"Flag F2": A flag for designating whether or not to transmit a mail when registering an abnormal history. If there is no check ("0"), it means that mail transmission is not performed at the time of registration of an abnormal history. The default is not checked (see FIG. 7).

"Flag F21": A flag for designating whether or not to include user data in the contents of the mail at the time of registration of the abnormality history. If unchecked (“0”), it means that user data is not included in the content of the mail when registering the abnormal history, and if checked (“1”), the user data is included in the mail when registering the abnormal history. (See FIG. 8A).

[Flag F22]: A flag for designating whether or not to include the abnormality history information in the mail content at the time of registration of the abnormality history. If unchecked (“0”), it means that the error history information is not included in the mail content at the time of registration of the error history. If checked (“1”), the mail content at the time of registration of the error history is abnormal. It means to include history information.

"Flag F23": A flag for designating whether or not to include status data in the mail content at the time of registration of the abnormality history. If not checked ("0"), it means that status data is not included in the content of the mail when registering the abnormal history. If checked ("1"), the status data is included in the mail when registering the abnormal history. It means to include. The default is not checked (see FIG. 8C).

"Flag F3": A flag for designating whether or not to perform regular mail transmission. If there is no check ("0"), it means that regular mail transmission is not performed, and if there is a check ("1"), it means that regular mail transmission is performed. The default is not checked (see FIG. 9).

"Flag F31": A flag for designating whether or not user data is to be included in the content of the periodic transmission mail. If there is no check (“0”), it means that the user data is not included in the content of the periodic transmission mail, and if there is a check (“1”), it means that the user data is included in the content of the periodic transmission mail. By default, no check is made (see FIG. 10A).

"Flag F32": A flag for designating whether or not to include the abnormality history information in the contents of the periodic transmission mail. If there is no check (“0”), it means that the abnormal history information is not included in the contents of the periodic transmission mail. If it is checked (“1”), it means that the abnormal history information is included in the contents of the periodic transmission mail. Become. By default, no check is made (see FIG. 10B).

"Flag F33": A flag for designating whether or not to include status data in the contents of the periodic transmission mail. Unchecked (“0”) means that the status data is not included in the content of the periodic transmission mail, and checked (“1”) means that the status data is included in the content of the periodic transmission mail. By default, no check is made (see FIG. 10C).

Returning to FIG. 3, the contents of the areas A2 to A6 will be described. The user-created mail data address area A2 stores the start address of the user-created data stored in the DM area of the RAM 125. FIG. 13 shows an example of the user-created data “system 1 content” stored in the DM area. In this example, the user-created data “system 1 content” has the address 0020-00206 of the DM area.
Are described using ASCII codes. For specific address setting, for example, an address of a CPU unit memory is set by an area type and a leading channel number. The default is not set.

The own mail address area A3 has a PLC
The mail address assigned to No. 1 is stored. Specifically, the mail address to be set in the “From: field” in the mail is specified by a character string of up to 50 characters. The default is not set. The destination e-mail address area A4 contains the client 3 as the destination.
The e-mail address assigned to is stored. Specifically, the e-mail address of the person sending the e-mail ("To:
Field address ”) with a character string of up to 50 characters. By separating email addresses with "," (comma), multiple addresses can be specified and sent simultaneously. The default is not set.

In the SMTP server address area A5,
IP of the server address (SMTP server address) assigned to the mail server 2 used in the mail transmission function
The address is stored. The setting range is, for example, 0.0.
0 to 255.255.255.255.
The default is set to 0.0.

The mail transmission interval area A6 stores periodic data when mail is transmitted periodically. For example, the unit is 10 minutes, and the settable range is 1 to
1440 (10 minutes to 10 days). This setting
Valid only when "Send regular mail" is checked (send mail). When 0 is set, no periodic mail is transmitted. If a value exceeding 1440 is set, 1440 (10 days)
Is processed as By default, it is set to 0 (do not send regular mail).

Next, a description will be given of a setting process for automatically transmitting an e-mail when the input / output conditions specified by the user program are satisfied. In this case, as shown in FIG. 12A, a predetermined relay (hereinafter, referred to as a mail transmission switch) assigned to the CPU advanced function unit assignment relay area is set to satisfy the desired input / output condition ( In this example, it is set to operate in response to the input 01 being turned on). As shown in FIG.
Bit 3 in the unit control switch in the CPU advanced unit allocation relay area is allocated as a mail transmission switch. As described later, in the Ethernet unit 14, the mail transmission switch is turned off.
→ When ON is detected, transmission of the mail is started in accordance with the setting contents of the mail transmission information setting in the CPU advanced function unit system setting area. However, it will be invalid even if it is started again during the mail transmission process. When the transmission of the mail is completed, the Ethernet unit 14 automatically turns off this switch. After returning to off, you can send mail again.

Next, returning to FIG. 2, the ROM 143 in the Ethernet unit 14 stores a system program for realizing abnormality history information registration processing and status information registration processing. By executing these system programs in the MPU 142, the RAM 144 of the Ethernet unit 14 stores a maximum of 64 records of abnormality history. Similarly, as status information, (1) UDP socket No. 1-8
OPEN / CLOSE state of (2) TCP socket N
o. TCP statuses 1 to 8, (3) unit error information,
(4) Counter information (number of transmitted / received packets, number of transmitted / received errors, total number of transmitted packets, total number of transmitted errors, total number of transmitted collisions) is stored. As an example, the contents of the user mail transmission status are shown in FIG.

Next, referring to the flowchart of FIG.
Operations of the CPU unit 12 and the Ethernet unit 14 will be schematically described.

After being started by turning on the power, the CPU unit 12 executes an initialization process (step 411) to initialize various flags, counters, etc., and then performs an input refresh process (step 412). ). In the input refresh processing (step 412), the data read from the input circuit of the I / O unit 13 is
Input writing is performed by writing to the area. In the following instruction execution processing (step 413), the user programs described in a predetermined user program language are sequentially executed from the top, and as a result, output data in the I / O area is appropriately rewritten. In the subsequent output refresh processing (step 414), the output data in the rewritten I / O area is sent to the output circuit of the I / O unit 13. In the subsequent system service processing (step 415), various system services are performed by communicating with other units via the system bus 10.

On the other hand, the Ethernet unit 14
3 starts by turning on the power supply and the like, initializes various flags and counters by an initialization process (step 421), and simultaneously refers to the contents of the RAM 125 of the CPU unit 12 so as to be shown in FIG. By referring to the contents of the advanced function unit system setting area, the transmission timing and the setting status of the transmission information are recognized. Thereafter, the mail processing (step 423) according to the present invention is executed while executing other processing necessary for the Ethernet unit (step 422), and the system service processing (step 424) is periodically executed. In this system service process (step 424), the CP
The contents of the mail transmission switch in the high function unit allocation relay area set in the RAM 125 of the U unit 12 are referred to. This reference result is processed by the mail processing (step 42).
Reflected in 3).

Next, details of the mail processing (step 423) will be described with reference to FIG. When the mail processing is started, a state of waiting for the arrival of the transmission timing set by the user is set (steps 501, 503, 50).
4,506). That is, whether the contact corresponding to the mail transmission switch has changed from OFF to ON (step 501);
If the setting is made such that mail transmission is performed at the time of registration of the abnormality history (step 503), whether the registration of the abnormality history has been performed (step 504) is set so that the mail transmission is performed periodically. If so (step 50
6) It is repeatedly determined whether the set time has elapsed (step 507).

When it is determined that the contact corresponding to the mail transmission switch has changed from OFF to ON (step 501 YES), option information is determined according to the contents of flags F11, F12, and F13. If it is determined that the registration of the abnormality history has been performed (step 504).
YES), option information is determined according to the contents of flags F21, F22, and F23. Further, when it is determined that the set time has elapsed (step 507 YES), option information is determined according to the contents of the flags F31, F32, and F33 (step 508).

Thereafter, a mail is created by including the determined option information (step 509), and the created mail is automatically sent to the mail server 2 provided with a mailbox for the designated destination. (Step 510).

FIGS. 14 and 15 show examples of the e-mail transmitted in this manner. As shown in those figures, the email created in this way contains:
Date / time, Ethernet unit email address, destination email address, title (fixed), Content-
Includes Type (fixed), Ethernet unit format (must be added), unit version (must be added), Ethernet unit IP address (must be added), user created information (optional), error history information (optional), status information (optional) Have been.

The e-mail transmitted in this way is stored in the destination mail address box in the mail server 2. Thereafter, the client 3 can read the e-mail addressed to itself from the mail server 2 at an arbitrary timing as needed, for example, using commercially available e-mail reception software. In the case where the LAN 4 is open to the outside of the company, for example, an operation of sending information generated by the PLC 1 in the factory to a mail server at the head office remote from the factory and reading the information on a desktop personal computer at the head office can also be performed. It becomes possible.

[0049]

As is apparent from the above description of the embodiment, according to the present invention, arbitrary information can be transmitted at a specified timing without being affected by the circumstances of the transmission partner. The transmitting party can also receive the transmitted information at an arbitrary timing, and the setting operation for transmitting the information can be significantly simplified.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a communication system to which a programmable controller according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing an internal configuration of a CPU unit and an Ethernet unit.

FIG. 3 is a schematic memory map showing contents of a high function unit system setting area in a RAM of a CPU unit.

FIG. 4 is a general flowchart schematically showing operations of a CPU unit and an Ethernet unit.

FIG. 5 is a detail flowchart showing details of a mail process according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the contents of a transmission information selection flag when user mail transmission is set.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the contents of a flag for determining whether or not to send a mail when registering an abnormal history.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the contents of a flag for determining whether to include user data, abnormality history information, and status data in the contents of a mail at the time of registration of an abnormality history.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the contents of a flag for determining whether to perform regular mail transmission.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the contents of a flag for determining whether to include user data, abnormality history information, and status data in the contents of a periodic transmission mail.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the contents of a user mail transmission status.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an operation for setting a user mail transmission process.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the contents of user created data.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a first half of a created electronic mail.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing the latter half of the created e-mail.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Programmable controller 2 Mail server 3 Client 4 LAN (Ethernet) 10 System bus 11 Power supply unit 12 CPU unit 13 I / O unit 14 Ethernet unit 121 MPU bus 122 MPU 123 ROM 124 PROM 125 RAM 126 Bus interface circuit 141 MPU bus 142 MPU 143 ROM 144 RAM 145 Bus interface circuit 146 LAN controller

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A programmable controller connectable to a line, comprising: transmission timing setting means for setting an electronic mail transmission timing; and transmission information setting means for setting information to be included in the electronic mail transmission. Destination setting means for setting an e-mail transmission destination; transmission timing arrival monitoring means for monitoring arrival of an e-mail transmission timing set by the transmission timing setting means; and transmission timing arrival monitoring means. In response to the confirmation of the arrival of the e-mail transmission timing, an e-mail including the information set by the transmission information setting means is created, and the e-mail destination set by the destination setting means is set. And a means for automatically creating and transmitting e-mails to be transmitted to the programmable controller. 2. The programmable controller according to claim 1, wherein the programmable controller is a C controller.
At least a PU unit, an I / O unit, and a line interface unit, and these units are interconnected via a system bus; and the CPU unit cooperates with the I / O unit. The line interface unit is connected to a line and mainly executes a communication process between the programmable controller and another device, and further executes the input / output refresh process and the user program execution process. The unit is provided with at least the transmission timing setting means, and the transmission timing setting means,
The system further includes a plurality of transmission timing selection flags respectively corresponding to a plurality of types of transmission timings prepared in advance by the system and individually selectable by a user. The line interface unit includes at least the transmission timing arrival monitoring. Means and mail automatic creation and transmission means, and the transmission timing arrival monitoring means monitors the arrival of the transmission timing recognized by referring to a transmission timing selection flag in the CPU unit. A programmable controller, characterized in that: 3. The programmable controller according to claim 1, wherein said programmable controller is a C controller.
At least a PU unit, an I / O unit, and a line interface unit, and these units are interconnected via a system bus; and the CPU unit cooperates with the I / O unit. The line interface unit is connected to a line and mainly executes a communication process between the programmable controller and another device, and further executes the input / output refresh process and the user program execution process. The unit is provided with at least the transmission information setting means, and the transmission information setting means corresponds to each of a plurality of types of transmission information prepared in advance by the system and can be individually selected and operated by a user. And the transmission information selection flag of The interface unit is provided with at least a mail automatic creation and transmission means, and the mail automatic creation and transmission means responds to the transmission timing arrival monitoring means confirming the arrival of the electronic mail transmission timing, Creating an e-mail containing the information recognized by referring to the transmission information selection flag in the CPU unit, and transmitting the e-mail to the e-mail destination set by the destination setting means; A programmable controller. 4. A line interface unit that can be attached to and detached from a system bus of a programmable controller, can be connected to an external line, and performs communication processing between the programmable controller and another device. A transmission timing arrival monitoring means for monitoring arrival of an electronic mail transmission timing detected via the system bus; and responding to the arrival of the electronic mail transmission timing being confirmed by the transmission timing arrival monitoring means, A line interface unit, comprising: a mail automatic creation transmitting unit that creates a mail and transmits the mail to a set e-mail destination. 5. A recording medium on which a computer program for realizing all or a part of the configuration functions of the programmable controller according to claim 1 is recorded. 6. A recording medium on which a computer program for realizing all or a part of the functions of the line interface unit according to claim 4 is recorded.