JP2000259536A - Method and device for monitoring/setting data for control unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for monitoring/setting data for control unit with which real time data can be inputted/outputted at high speed. SOLUTION: Concerning this method, data monitoring/setting for control unit is performed for monitoring/setting the internal data and operating program of a control unit 2 such as a mechanical device 1 from a WWW browser device 3 connected by a network through a WWW server part 22 to be operated by an HTTP protocol (communication protocol in HTML language) packaged in the control unit. In this case, a program for inputting/outputting data is transferred from the WWW server side to the browser corresponding to the input/output of data requiring a real time operation and connected to a data input/output server 23 previously packaged on the side of control unit so that data requiring the real time operation can be inputted/outputted. Then, after the connection due to the HTTP protocol through the network, the data input/ output is transmitted after being switched to the real time protocol.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to the monitoring and monitoring of internal data and programs of a control device via a WWW browser device.
The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for performing setting.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, data monitoring and program editing of a control device have been performed by a programming panel dedicated to the control device, a personal computer on which dedicated application software is installed, or the like. Therefore, it has been difficult to monitor and set different types of control devices using the same terminal. Therefore, an attempt has been made to use a WWW technology generally used on the Internet, embed a WWW server function in a control device, and realize a graphical user interface with a general-purpose browser device.

[0003]

However, the HTTP protocol (communication protocol of the HTML language) used in the ordinary WWW of the above-mentioned conventional example is to provide shaped screen information and to provide CGI (Common Gateway).
a WWW browser only needs to receive the entire screen or a part of the graphics information from the WWW server collectively from the WWW server. Because of the large amount of image data processing, it was difficult to read and display some data at high speed. Also, in the communication between the WWW server and the WWW browser, the connection of the virtual circuit set in each command response session is disconnected, and the connection state is not saved, so that continuous data input / output cannot be performed at high speed. Was. Originally, HTTP, which is a WWW protocol, is connected by TCP / IP,
Since TCP is a protocol for retransmitting a packet when an error occurs until it is corrected, it has a large delay time and is not suitable for real-time high-speed communication. As a result, it is difficult to input real-time data, which is an essential function for FA and control, and internal data of the control device, for example,
There has been a problem that it is difficult to display real-time information on the axes of a mechanical device or the like in real time or to input / output data in real time such as a jog operation for axis movement. In a conventional WWW browser, a program such as a JAVA applet can be stored on a server and loaded into the browser to execute a specific application. However, dynamic display of graphics on the browser side or user input can be performed. There is a problem that filtering is the main component, and input and output of data with real-time properties cannot be performed with this alone. Accordingly, the present invention enables real-time input / output and display of real-time data when monitoring and setting a control device incorporating a WWW server using a general-purpose browser, and facilitates connection to the Internet via a firewall. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for monitoring and setting data of a control device that can be performed.

[0004]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a data monitoring / setting method for a control device, which monitors or sets internal data and an operation program of a control device of a mechanical device. In a data monitoring / setting method of a control device executed from a WWW browser device connected via a network via a WWW server unit operating according to an HTTP protocol installed in a server, the WWW server is used for input / output of data requiring real-time properties. By transferring a data input / output program from the side to the browser, and connecting a data input / output server mounted in advance to the control device side, the data input / output requiring the real-time property is performed. .
According to the data monitoring / setting method of the control device of the present invention, the input / output server is started from a command to the WWW server, the connection is maintained as it is, and the input / output of the data is performed with the same port number as the WWW server. It is characterized by outputting. According to a third aspect of the present invention, the control device includes a control unit for controlling the mechanical device and a WWW server unit, and is connectable to a WWW browser device via a network. Is provided. The invention according to claim 4 comprises the control device, and a WWW browser device connected to the control device via a network via a WWW server unit operating according to an HTTP protocol. In the data monitoring / setting device of the control device for executing the setting from the WWW browser device, the data monitoring / setting of the control device is executed by the data monitoring / setting method according to claim 1 or 2. According to this configuration, display and operation can be performed from a general-purpose WWW browser device connected via a network, and a real-time data input / output server that requires real-time display or input is incorporated in the control device.
A JAVA applet, which is a browser-side input / output program for accessing, displaying, and inputting the real-time data, is stored on the WWW server side, and stored on the WWW server as necessary.
The data is transferred to the browser, activated, connected to the real-time data input / output server, and data input / output is performed by another real-time protocol, so that real-time data can be displayed and input. Alternatively, by performing real-time data input / output using the same port number as the WWW server, transparency can be maintained even for a firewall.

[0005]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a data monitoring / setting device of a control device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a flowchart of the operation of the data monitoring / setting device shown in FIG. In FIG. 1, the control device 2 connected to the robot 1 includes a robot control unit 21, a WWW server unit 22, and a data input / output server 23. The WWW browser device 3 is connected to the network 4 via ETHERNET (registered trademark) by the TCP / IP protocol. The WWW server 22 stores an HTML file representing a screen configuration, an image file containing image information, and an applet in a JAVA language which is an input / output program. FA (Factory)
In the field of automation and control, real-time capability is an essential function. In the operation of the robot 1, it is necessary to display the current value of the joint axis and the current position of the robot hand in real time, perform a jog operation of each axis for moving the robot 1, and the like. In this embodiment, how the current display of the joint axis is performed in real time will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, when the WWW browser 3 is connected to the WWW server 22 of the robot control device 2 via the network 4, an initial screen is displayed on the browser 3. The monitoring menu in the menu is selected (S101). When the monitoring menu is selected, the monitoring screen and the JAVA applet for displaying the current value of the joint axis are transferred from the WWW server 22 to the browser 3 (S102). The JAVA applet of JAVA, which enables program transfer on the Internet, is started on the browser 3 side, and connects to the data input / output server 23 using the port number of the data input / output server 23 described therein (S1).
03). The communication between the first browser 3 and the WWW server 22 is HT
This is performed by TP (TCP / IP connection). However, after the connection with the JAVA applet, the communication between the browser 3 and the data input / output server 23 becomes:
Not only the TCP protocol that retransmits until the error is corrected, but also UDP (User Data
agram Protocol). The browser 3 sends a command for requesting data of each axis to the data input / output server 23 (S104). Then, it receives the current value data of each axis and displays the data at a position on the screen designated in advance (S1).
05). This real-time data is transmitted at regular intervals (for example, 1
00 ms), the same processing is repeated, and the current value display of each axis is updated in real time (S106). (10) In this way, the monitoring by input / output of data requiring real time is continued by the scan of 100 ms, and after the monitoring program is completely completed, confirmation is made, and then the line is disconnected (S107). Here, it is assumed that the data input / output server 23 has been started in advance, and has a port number different from that of the WWW server 22 in principle. (Adjusted in firewall measures described later). After being connected by the JAVA applet, input / output of real-time data is performed not by a slow protocol such as HTTP but by a simple protocol dedicated to TCP / IP or a UDP protocol which is a protocol having more real-time properties. I do. Here, Ethernet (registered trademark) 4
The communication between the browser 3 and the control device 2 is performed via the Internet, but if the TCP / IP protocol is passed, it is needless to say that communication can be performed via wireless, public lines, or the Internet.

By the way, in order to maintain security of the network in the factory where the control device 2 is placed, only applications using a specific port number can communicate via the Internet outside the factory by means of a device such as a firewall. It has become. Normally, when the firewall blocks the external network from the inside of the factory and the transmission or rejection is determined by a firewall device such as a router, the IP address and port number of the protocol type, control information, transmission source, reception source, etc. are set as a pair. And
Will be inspected. In this case, the communication port of the HTTP protocol used by the WWW server is set so that normal communication can be performed transparently. Therefore, if a special data input / output server 23 or the like is incorporated in the control device 2, there is a problem that communication cannot be performed unless special settings are made in the firewall device. Therefore, in order to solve this problem, the WWW server 22 of the control device 2 may
An arbitrary data input / output server is started as a task by a command conforming to the HTTP protocol, so that real-time data input / output can be performed continuously with the same port number as the HTTP protocol. Specifically, MET in the HTTP protocol request
By setting the extended SERVER command in the HOD field and specifying the task name of the server to be started in the URL, the corresponding data input / output server task is started. Next, data input / output is performed according to a protocol predetermined for each task. By this, H
Since communication can be performed with the data input / output server 23 using the same port number as that of the TTP protocol, the firewall becomes transparent and communication through the firewall can be easily performed. In this embodiment, the data input / output server 23 is 1
As described above, it is easy to start or switch a plurality of data input / output servers as needed, and the load on the control device 2 can be reduced. Up to this point, TCP and UDP have been described as examples of the data input / output protocol requiring real-time properties. In addition, RTP (Realtime Transport Protocol)
A protocol such as a protocol that can ensure more real-time properties can be used. Also, the connection has been described using the JAVA applet, but it goes without saying that a program in a language other than JAVA can be similarly connected as long as the program can be loaded via a network.

[0007]

As described above, according to the present invention,
When monitoring and setting a control device incorporating a WWW server with a WWW browser, a connection is made using a JAVA applet, and after connection, real-time data input / output is performed according to a predetermined protocol. Input and output and display of real-time data via the PC can be executed at high speed, and data monitoring and setting excellent in a user interface can be performed. Since high-speed communication is performed using the same port number as the HTTP protocol, connection to the Internet via a firewall or the like can be easily performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a data monitoring / setting device of a control device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of an operation of the data monitoring / setting device shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Robot 2 Control device 3 WWW browser 4 Network 21 Robot control part 22 WWW server 23 Data input / output server

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 5B089 GA12 GA21 GB02 GB04 JA21 JA35 JB07 JB16 KA03 KB09 KC30 LB04 LB14 5H223 AA06 DD07 EE05

Claims (4)

[Claims] An internal data and operation program of a control device of a mechanical device are monitored or set by a WWW browser device connected to a network via a WWW server unit operating by an HTTP protocol installed in the control device. In the data monitoring / setting method of the control device to be executed, the W
By transferring a data input / output program from the WW server to the browser and connecting it to a data input / output server mounted in the control device in advance, the real-time data input / output is performed. Data monitoring and setting method for control devices. 2. Starting of the input / output server is performed by the WWW
2. The data monitoring / setting method for a control device according to claim 1, wherein the method is executed from a command to the server, and the data is input / output with the same port number as the WWW server while maintaining the connection. 3. A control device which includes a control unit for controlling a mechanical device and a WWW server unit, and which is connectable to a WWW browser device via a network, further comprising an input / output server for real-time data input / output. A control device characterized by the above-mentioned. 4. A control device according to claim 3, and a WWW browser device connected to said control device via a network via a WWW server unit operating according to an HTTP protocol.
The data monitoring / setting of the control device is performed by the WW
A data monitoring / setting device of the control device executed from a W browser device, wherein data monitoring / setting of the control device is executed by the data monitoring / setting method according to claim 1 or 2. Setting device.