JP6455096B2 - Control system, its support device, programmable control device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a control system capable of updating a program for an operating controller without stopping the controller.

  Patent Document 1 proposes a system that enables program update by online change to be performed safely. The program update by online change allows the support apparatus or the like to update the program without stopping the controller for the operating controller.

  In the prior art described in Patent Document 1, the support device side manages the identification information as a history including generations (hereinafter sometimes referred to as history information), and the identification information downloaded to the controller side at the time of online change It is determined whether or not the controller is a program update target depending on whether or not the information exists in the history information on the support device side. The history information corresponds to the identification information management table described in Patent Document 1.

  The invention of Patent Document 1 provides an online update function capable of updating a program without stopping an operating controller by managing unique identification information generated for each compilation as a generation.

JP 2013-168031 A

  In the method of Patent Document 1 described above, whether to permit downloading of an updated program is determined for each controller. Therefore, in a system configuration in which a plurality of controllers are managed together as a project by the support device, projects that can be changed online (hereinafter referred to as master projects) corresponding to each controller in the project are separately provided for each controller. There is a problem that it may become. This will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 7 shows a case where the method of Patent Document 1 is applied to the system in which the support apparatus manages a plurality of controllers related to the project.
In this description, the programmable controller may be simply referred to as a controller, or may be referred to as a PLC or the like.

  In the system shown in FIG. 7, a plurality of controllers 100 (controllers 100a, 100b,... 100n; PLC1, PLC2,..., PLCn) are connected to a network. Further, one or more support devices 110 can be connected to the network. Here, it is assumed that all of the plurality of controllers 100 are controllers related to one project managed by an arbitrary support apparatus 110.

  Here, conventionally, the operation of the programmable controller may be completed by one controller or may be operated in cooperation by a plurality of controllers. For example, a plurality of controllers may operate while mutually reading and writing data. When updating a program of a plurality of controllers that are related to each other (cooperating) in this way, updating a program of a certain controller often requires updating of a program of another controller.

The present applicant has conventionally referred to a plurality of controllers (or programs of these controllers) that are related to each other as described above collectively as a “project”.
From the above, the support apparatus 110 manages programs on a project basis. Basically, when updating the program of an arbitrary project, the program of all the controllers 100 related to this project is updated. For example, when the method of Patent Document 1 is applied to such a system, the support apparatus 110 creates an identification information management table for each controller 100 (PLC1, PLC2,..., PLCn) as shown in FIG. Establish and manage. That is, each piece of history information 111 (history information 111a, 111b,..., 111n) shown in the figure is stored and managed.

  Thus, basically, the latest identification information of all the controllers 100 related to an arbitrary project is of the same generation. That is, when the identification information history of a certain controller 100 is generation 1, generation 2, and generation 3, and the latest identification information is generation 3, all the other controllers 100 have the latest identification information of generation 3. ing.

  In addition, by the process described in Patent Document 1, each controller 100 stores an arbitrary program and generation identification information corresponding to this program. In the example shown in the figure, generation 1 identification information is stored in all the controllers 100, and thus generation 1 programs are stored.

  In this state, in the support device 110, for each controller 100, an updated version of each program is created by a programmer or the like, and unique identification information (generation 2) corresponding to this is generated to manage each identification information management. When additionally registered in the table (each history information 111), the data storage state of each identification information management table (history information 111a, 111b,..., 111n) is, for example, as shown in FIG.

  In this state, when the support device 110 tries to download each of the created update programs to the corresponding controller 100, the identification information held by each controller 100 by the method described in Patent Document 1 above. Then, the check process is performed using the identification information management table held by itself. For example, for PLC1, it is determined whether or not the identification information 101a (= CID1-1) exists in the history information 111a corresponding thereto, and if it exists, online update is permitted for PLC1. It will be.

  In the example shown in FIG. 7, the identification information held by all the controllers (100a, 100b,..., 100n) exists in the corresponding identification information management table (exists as generation 1). Therefore, online update is permitted for all controllers. Therefore, in this example, the support device 110 causes all the controllers (100a, 100b,..., 100n) to download and hold the updated version program together with the corresponding identification information (generation 2). It will be. In this way, the continuity of the update program can be guaranteed for each controller 100.

  Here, with respect to the system shown in FIG. 7, for example, the program and history information (identification information management table) as described in FIG. Assume a situation in which a continuation (updated version) is created.

  For example, in the example illustrated in FIG. 8, first, it is assumed that a program related to an arbitrary project “PRJ” is created / updated / managed in an arbitrary support device 110. First, in the support apparatus 110, each program (source code) of each controller 100 (100a, 100b,... 100n) is arbitrarily created by a programmer or the like. When the support apparatus 110 compiles each of these new programs, the unique identification information is generated by the process of Patent Document 1. This generates each piece of identification information (CID1-1, CID2-1,..., CIDn-1) shown for each controller 100. These pieces of identification information are stored as generation 1 in each history information 111 (111a, 111b,..., 111n).

  Then, the support apparatus 110 newly downloads each of the new programs (after compilation) and the corresponding identification information to each controller 100, thereby causing each controller 100 to hold them. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 7, each controller 100 is in a state in which the generation 1 identification information is held.

  In such a state, it is assumed that history information and programs related to the project “PRJ” are copied to another support apparatus 110 ′ to be a copy project “PRJ ′”. The history information to be held and managed on the other support device 110 'side by this copy is described as history information 111' (111a ', 111b', ..., 111n ').

  Thus, in the other support device 110 ′, another programmer or the like creates an updated version or the like based on the copied program. It is assumed that another support device 110 ′ has the same function as the support device 110. As a result, in another support device 110 ′, the new generation identification information is generated along with the compilation processing of the created update program, and this is generated as the history information 111 ′ (111a ′, 111b ′,... , 111n ′).

  Thus, as shown in the figure, the history information (111a ′, 111b ′,..., 111n ′) includes the generated identification information (CID1-2 ′, CID2-2 ′,..., CIDn-2 ′). ) Will be added as generation 2.

  On the other hand, in the original support apparatus 110, it is assumed that an updated version of each program related to the project “PRJ” has been created by a programmer or the like, and unique identification information different from the previous one for each controller in accordance with the compilation process. (CID1-2, CID2-2,..., CIDn-2) are generated. The generated identification information is additionally stored as generation 2 as shown in the history information (111a, 111b,..., 111n).

At this time, for all the PLCs 100, both the project “PRJ” and the copy project “PRJ ′” are candidates for the master project.
Here, the “master project” means a project having the right to continuously update the program for the controller in the online update of Patent Document 1 and the present method.

  In addition to the support device 110, the support device 110 'tries to download the updated version of the program to each of the PLCs 100a to 100n sequentially. This means trying to change the program online. Here, it is assumed that the support device 110 first tries to download to the PLC 100a, and another support device 110 'first tries to download to the PLC 100b.

  The support apparatus 110 performs a check using the identification information by the method of Patent Document 1 in order to change the program to the PLC 100a online. In this example, it is determined whether or not the identification information (CID1-1) held by the PLC 100a exists in the history information 111a that is history information corresponding to this. In this example, since the identification information CID1-1 exists in the history information 111a as illustrated, the support apparatus 110 determines that there is a right to update the program of the PLC 100a. Then, the updated version of the program of the PLC 100a and the corresponding identification information CID1-2 are downloaded to the PLC 100a and updated.

  As a result, as shown in FIG. 8, the identification information held by the PLC 100a is changed from CID1-1 to CID1-2. Therefore, even if another support device 110 ′ subsequently tries to change the program online to the PLC 100a, the identification information (= CID1-2) held by the PLC 100a at that time does not exist in the history information 111a ′. Changes will not be allowed.

  On the other hand, for the PLC 100b, as described above, another support apparatus 110 'performs a check using the identification information by the method of Patent Document 1 in order to change the program online. In this example, it is determined whether or not the identification information (CID2-1) held by the PLC 100b exists in the history information 111b 'that is history information corresponding to the identification information (CID2-1). In this example, as shown in the figure, the identification information CID2-1 is present in the history information 111b ', so that another support device 110' determines that it has the right to update the program of the PLC 100b. Then, the updated version of the program of the PLC 100b and the corresponding identification information CID2-2 'are downloaded to the PLC 100b and held.

  As a result, as shown in FIG. 8, the identification information held by the PLC 100b is changed from CID2-1 to CID2-2 '. Therefore, even if the support device 110 attempts to change the program online to the PLC 100b after that, the identification information (= CID2-2 ′) held by the PLC 100b does not exist in the history information 111b, so online change is permitted. Will not be.

As described above, the continuity of the programs of the PLC 100a and the PLC 100b can be guaranteed (similar to Patent Document 1).
However, in the above-described example, it can be said that the project “PRJ” becomes the master project of the PLC 100a and the copy project “PRJ ′” becomes the master project of the PLC 100b. If the PLC 100a and the PLC 100b are not related at all, there is no problem even if such a state occurs. However, as described above, the PLC 100a and the PLC 100b are controllers related to the same project, and their operations often have some relationship with each other. Therefore, in such a case, all the controllers 100 related to an arbitrary project need to have the same master project, and the master project is different between the PLC 100a and the PLC 100b as described above. It is a problem.

  As described above, when the method of Patent Document 1 is applied to a system that manages a plurality of controllers as a single project, the master projects of the controllers related to the project may not all be the same. Will occur.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a control system capable of guaranteeing that a master project is not separated for each programmable control device and a program is updated in units of projects even when a plurality of programmable control devices are managed as a single project. Etc. is to provide.

In the control system of the present invention, a support device and a programmable control device are connected to a network, and the support device collects each program for a plurality of programmable control devices operating in cooperation with each other as one project. A management system having the following configurations.

The support device has the following configurations.
Project history storage means for storing a history of unique project identification information for identifying a project to be managed as a project history;
Controller history storage means for storing a history of unique controller identification information for identifying the programmable control device as a controller history for each programmable control device;
-Each time an updated version of each program related to the project is created , unique project identification information for identifying the project is generated and additionally registered in the project history, and also related to each updated version program Compile means for generating unique controller identification information for identifying the programmable control device for each programmable control device and additionally registering it in the corresponding controller history;
A means for downloading the updated version program for the programmable control device to each programmable control device, and when it is determined that the program has the right to update the program of the programmable control device, the programmable control device Download means for downloading the generated controller identification information corresponding to the programmable control device, the generated project identification information, and the updated version program:

Each said programmable control apparatus has each following structure.
-Program storage means for storing the program for its own device;
Controller identification information storage means for storing controller identification information;
Project identification information storage means for storing project identification information;
- by said update program downloaded to the controller identification information and the project identification information by the downloading means, and updates the respective storage contents of said program storage means and the controller identification information storage means and the project identification information storage unit Management means:

The download unit of the support device includes the controller identification information and the project identification information stored in the controller identification information storage unit and the project identification information storage unit in the downloadable programmable control device, and the project history. Based on the project history and the controller history respectively stored in the storage means and the controller history storage means, it is determined whether or not there is a right to update the program.

  According to the control system of the present invention, even when a plurality of programmable control devices are managed as a single project, the master project is not separated for each programmable control device, and the program can be updated in units of projects. Can be guaranteed.

It is a block diagram of the programmable controller system of this example. It is a figure for demonstrating the operation example of the system of FIG. It is a process flowchart figure at the time of compilation of a support device. It is a process flowchart figure at the time of download of a support apparatus. (A), (b) is a storage example of the project identification information in each controller side. It is a functional block diagram of the programmable controller system of this example. It is a block diagram of the programmable controller system to which the existing technique is applied. It is a figure for demonstrating the operation example of the system of FIG.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of the programmable controller system of this example.
In this description, the programmable controller may be simply referred to as a controller, or may be referred to as a PLC or the like.

  In the illustrated programmable controller system, a plurality of controllers 10 (controllers 10a, 10b,... 10n; PLC1, PLC2,... PLCn) are connected to a network 1. Further, one or more support apparatuses 20 can be connected to the network 1. Here, it is assumed that all of the plurality of controllers 10 are controllers related to one project managed by the support apparatus 20. As described above, in the programmable controller system of this example, the support apparatus 20 manages a plurality of controllers 10 as one project, as in FIG.

  The connection method between the controller 10 and the support device 20 is not limited to the configuration via the network 1. For example, a configuration in which the support apparatus 20 is directly connected to each controller 10 by a USB cable or the like may be used.

Here, in this embodiment, 2 because using the type of identification information, in order to distinguish them, shall be referred to one controller identification information, the other project identification information. The controller identification information corresponds to the existing identification information used in Patent Document 1 and FIG.

  On the other hand, the project identification information is new identification information according to the present technique, and is unique (unique) identification information associated with each project. The project identification information is generated so that the project identification information of the project “PRJ” and the project identification information of the copy project “PRJ ′” are always different. Such a generation method may be substantially the same as the generation method of the controller identification information.

  The program of the controller 10 is updated on a project basis. That is, basically, when an arbitrary project is updated, the programs of all the controllers 10 related to this project are updated. Along with this, new project identification information is generated, additionally registered in history information (project) 22 described later, and downloaded to the controller 10 together with the updated version program when permitted. Of course, along with this, new controller identification information is also generated for each controller 10 and downloaded to the corresponding controller 10 together with the updated version program.

  Then, the support device 20 performs history management of the controller identification information and project identification information. As for the controller identification information, the history information corresponding to each controller 10 is stored and managed as in FIG. That is, the illustrated history information (PLC) 21 (21a, 21b,..., 21n) is stored and managed. The new unique (unique) controller identification information generated for each controller 10 is additionally registered in the history information (PLC) corresponding to the controller 10. At that time, as in Patent Document 1, additional registration may be performed together with the generated new generation, but the present invention is not limited to this example. For example, new controller identification information corresponding to the controller 10a is additionally registered in the illustrated history information (PLC) 21a.

  Further, the support apparatus 20 stores and manages the illustrated history information (project) 22 that is history information related to the project identification information. Project identification information newly generated as a result of the project update is additionally registered in the history information (project) 22. At this time, additional registration may be performed together with the generated new generation, but the present invention is not limited to this example.

The history information (PLC) 21 and the history information (project) 22 described above are stored in a memory area (not shown) of the support device 20.
On the other hand, each controller 10 holds controller identification information 11 related to a program currently held by its own device. For example, when the program is updated, the controller identification information corresponding to the updated program is downloaded from the support device 20, so that the updated program is stored and the controller identification information is newly updated. The controller identification information 11 is stored. Thereafter, the control operation is performed by executing the updated program.

  Further, each controller 10 holds project identification information related to a program currently held by its own device and each other controller 10 as a project identification information group 12 shown in the figure. Since the project identification information related to the program held by the own device is downloaded together with the updated program, it is held. Of course, each controller has a memory area for storing the project identification information group 12, and an example thereof is a common memory. However, the present invention is not limited to this example.

  On the other hand, the project identification information related to the program currently held by each of the other controllers 10 is stored in the common memory by the common memory method in the illustrated example. The common memory system is a communication system described in, for example, a reference document (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-297210). Accordingly, each controller 10 includes the common memory described in the above-mentioned reference (not shown), and the same data group (project identification information group 12 shown) is stored in the common memory of all the controllers 10. It is controlled so as to be in the state. That is, the project identification information of each controller 10 can be cross-referenced.

  The project identification information group 12 is project identification information of all the controllers 10. That is, the project identification information group 12 is the project identification information corresponding to the program currently held by each controller 10. Thus, the support device 20 can know the current project identification information of all the controllers 10 related to the project by referring to the project identification information group 12 (common memory) of any one controller 10. It is like that.

  In the existing method application system described in FIG. 7 and the like, it is determined whether or not the download is permitted using only the controller identification information. In the present method, the two types of identification information are used. This is used to make this determination.

  The determination process using the controller identification information 11 may be the same as the existing method (referred to as a first determination process). On the other hand, the determination process using the project identification information group 12 determines whether or not all the project identification information in the project identification information group 12 exists in the history information (project) 22 (second). Judgment processing). As described above, the project identification information group 12 stores project identification information of all controllers related to an arbitrary project. Therefore, it can be said that the second determination process determines whether or not the project identification information of all the controllers related to an arbitrary project exists in the history information (project) 22.

  If both the first determination process and the second determination process are determined to be OK (exist), it is determined that the download is permitted, the updated version program, the controller identification information related thereto, The project identification information is downloaded to the target controller 10.

  In the above processing, if there is one of all the controllers 10 (10a, 10b,..., 10n) that already has another project as the master project, Download is not permitted for all other controllers 10. As a result, it is possible to prevent the controller 10 (10a, 10b,..., 10n) from having a different master project.

A specific example related to the determination process will be described with reference to FIG.
2, in the system of FIG. 1, the support apparatus 20 of FIG. 1 creates, updates, and manages a program related to an arbitrary project “PRJ”, as in FIGS. 7 and 8. First, it is assumed that each program (source code) of each controller 10 (10a, 10b,... 10n) is arbitrarily newly created on the support apparatus 20 by a programmer or the like. The support device 20 generates the unique identification information by the process of Patent Document 1 when compiling this new program (source code). This generates each controller identification information (CID1-1, CID2-1,..., CIDn-1) for each controller 10 as shown. These pieces of identification information are stored as generation 1 in each history information (PLC) 21 (21a, 21b,..., 21n). Further, “PID-1” is first generated as project identification information of the project “PRJ”, and this is registered as generation 1 in the history information (project) 22 as shown in the figure.

  Then, the support device 20 newly downloads each of the new programs (after compilation) and the two types of identification information corresponding to the new programs to each controller 10, thereby causing the controllers 10 to hold them. Thus, as shown in FIG. 1, each controller 10 is in a state where the two types of identification information of the generation 1 are held. For example, the controller 10a holds the generation 1 CID1-1 as its own controller identification information 11a.

Of course, each controller 10 has a memory area for storing its own controller identification information 11.
Further, the controller 10a holds the generation 1 project identification information “PID-1” corresponding to the project “PRJ” in the corresponding storage area of its own common memory. In the same manner as disclosed in the above-mentioned reference, an arbitrary storage area of the common memory is allocated to each controller 10 in advance. Then, for example, the project identification information “PID-1” is overwritten and stored in the storage area allocated to itself.

Furthermore, as described above, the “PID-1” is transferred and stored in the common memory of all other controllers 10 by the common memory system.
Each of the other controllers 10 holds the information corresponding to its own device among the generation 1 controller identification information in the same manner as the controller 10a, and stores the "PID-1" in its own common memory. In the corresponding storage area. As a result, as shown in FIG. 1, “PID-1” is stored in all the storage areas of all the common memories of all the controllers 10.

  In FIG. 1, after the above state is reached, the support apparatus 20 updates the program and generates / stores the generation 2 identification information in response to this, but it has not yet been downloaded to the controller 10. You may consider this as an indication of the condition.

  Here, in the state before the program update and generation 2 identification information are generated, that is, in the state where only the generation 1 still exists on the support device 20 side, the project “PRJ” The related history information and program are copied to another support apparatus 20 ′ to form a copy project “PRJ ′”. On the other support device 20 ′ side, the copied history information is stored and managed as the history information (project) 22 ′ and the history information 21 ′ (21a ′, 21b ′,..., 21n ′) shown in the figure. To do.

At this time, PRJ and PRJ ′ are candidates for the next master project for all the controllers 10a to 10n.
Thereafter, in the other support device 20 ′, another programmer or the like creates an updated version or the like based on the copied program. It is assumed that another support device 20 ′ has the same function as the support device 20. Thus, in another support apparatus 20 ′, a new generation of controller identification information is generated along with the compilation processing of the created update program, and this is generated as the history information (PLC) 21 ′ (21a ′, 21b). ', ..., 21n').

  Thus, as shown in the figure, the history information (PLC) 21 (21a ′, 21b ′,..., 21n ′) includes the generated identification information (CID1-2 ′, CID2-2 ′,. CIDn-2 ′) will be added as generation 2. Further, “PID-2 ′” is newly generated as identification information related to the copy project “PRJ ′”, and this is additionally registered in the history information (project) 22 ′ as generation 2. Thus, each history information in another support device 20 'is in a state shown in FIG.

  On the other hand, in the original support device 20, an arbitrary program update is performed, and generation 2 identification information corresponding to this is generated and added to each history information. That is, on the support apparatus 20 side, it is assumed that an updated version of each program related to the project “PRJ” has been created by a programmer or the like, and unique identification information (CID1- 2, CID2-2,..., CIDn-2) are generated. The generated identification information is additionally stored as generation 2 in each history information (PLC) 21 (21a, 21b,..., 21n) as illustrated.

At this point, for all the PLCs 10, both the project “PRJ” and the copy project “PRJ ′” are candidates for the next master project.
Then, separately from the support device 20, the support device 20 ′ tries to download the updated version of the program in its own device to the PLCs 10a to 10n sequentially. This means trying to change the program online. Here, it is assumed that the support device 20 first tries to download to the PLC 10a, and another support device 20 ′ first tries to download to the PLC 10b.

  The support apparatus 20 performs a check using the identification information by the method of Patent Document 1 in order to change the program to the PLC 10a online. In this example, it is determined whether or not the identification information (CID1-1) held by the PLC 10a exists in the history information (PLC) 21a that is history information corresponding to the identification information (CID1-1). In this example, as illustrated, the identification information CID1-1 is present in the history information (PLC) 21a.

  The support device 20 further acquires the project identification information group 12a of the PLC 10a, and determines whether or not all of these exist in the history information (project) 22. In other words, it is determined whether or not all the project identification information of all the controllers 10 (10a, 10b,..., 10n) exists in the history information (project) 22. At this time, since all the project identification information of all the controllers 10 (10a, 10b,..., 10n) is “PID-1”, all of them exist in the history information (project) 22. Become.

  The support device 20 determines that there is a right to update the program of the PLC 10a when it is determined that the determination is OK (exists) by both the determination using the controller identification information and the determination using the project identification information. By this determination, the support apparatus 20 sends the updated version of the PLC 10a program, the latest generation controller identification information “CID1-2” and the latest generation project identification information “PID-2” corresponding thereto to the PLC 10a. Download and keep it.

  As a result, as shown in FIG. 2, the controller identification information 11a held by the PLC 10a is changed from CID1-1 to CID1-2, and the storage content of the corresponding area of the common memory is changed from “PID-1” to “PID”. -2 ”will be changed. As described above, the change in the storage contents of the common memory of the PLC 10a is reflected in the common memories of all other controllers 10.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 2, in all the common memories, the storage contents of the storage area allocated to the PLC 10a are “PID-2”.
Therefore, even if another support device 20 ′ thereafter tries to change the program online to the PLC 10a, the controller identification information 11a (= CID1-2) held by the PLC 10a at that time is stored in the history information (PLC) 21a ′. Because it does not exist, online changes are not allowed. In the case of this example, with respect to the project identification information, since the "PID-2" is not present in the 'history information (projects) 22' support device 20 as shown, by determination using project identification information However, online changes are not allowed.

  On the other hand, for the PLC 10b, as described above, another support device 20 'performs a check using the identification information by the method of Patent Document 1 in order to change the program online. In this example, it is determined whether or not the controller identification information 11b (= CID2-1) held by the PLC 10b is present in the history information (PLC) 21b 'that is history information corresponding thereto. In this example, as shown in the figure, the controller identification information “CID2-1” is present in the history information (PLC) 21b ′.

  On the other hand, at this time, the project identification information group 12b of the PLC 10b also includes the “PID-2” (all others remain “PID-1”). Therefore, it is determined that “PID-1” is present in the history information (project) 22 ′, but “PID-2” is determined not to be present in the history information (project) 22 ′, resulting in an NG determination.

  As described above, one of the two determinations is OK determination, but the other is NG determination. If either of the two determinations results in an NG determination, the result is an NG determination as a whole. Therefore, in this example, the other support device 20 ′ determines that the PLC 10b does not have the right to update the program. become. That is, online change of the program of the controller 10b by another support apparatus 20 'is not permitted. As a result, the other support apparatus 20 ′ does not download the updated version program to the PLC 10 b.

  Further, the other support apparatus 20 'determines that the NG determination is made for all the controllers 10 other than the PLCs 10a and 10b, and it is determined that there is no right to update the program. In this way, for example, when the support device 20 changes the program online at least once among all the controllers 10, another support device 20 ′ can change the online for all the controllers 10. It will be controlled so that it cannot.

  On the other hand, the support apparatus 20 determines that all the controllers 10 other than the PLC 10a have the right to update the program, as in the case of the PLC 10a. Then, the updated version program and the above two types of identification information are downloaded and held in the other controllers 10.

In this way, the master project of all the controllers 10 becomes the project “PRJ” (support device 20).
Contrary to the above example, when another support device 20 ′ tries to update the program before the support device 20, the program can be executed even if the target is any of the plurality of controllers 10. It is determined that there is a right to update. The updated version program and two types of identification information are downloaded and held. Therefore, even if the support device 20 tries to update the program for any of the controllers 10 thereafter, it is determined that there is no right to update the program.

  In this way, only a support device (that project) that first tried to update the program for a plurality of controllers 10 related to an arbitrary project is the master of all the controllers 10 related to this project. Controlled to be a project.

  In this way, by using the project identification information, when managing a plurality of controllers related to an arbitrary project, the project that has been changed online first can be the master project of all the controllers. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a situation where the master project differs depending on the controller.

  Each of the support devices 20 and 20 ′ compiles each program (source code) when a new version or updated version of all programs (source code) related to the project managed by the own device is created by the programmer. Then, it is converted into a format that can be executed by the controller 10. Then, during the compiling process, the various types of identification information are generated and registered in the history information.

  In this compilation process, as described in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, unique identification information is generated and the process of managing them as history information including generations is performed not only for each controller but also for the project. Also do.

FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of compile processing in such a support apparatus.
Here, a case where the processing is executed by the support device 20 will be described as an example, but substantially the same processing is executed also by the support device 20 ′.

As described above, when the programmer creates a program (new or updated version) for all of the plurality of controllers related to the project managed by the own apparatus, the processing of FIG. 3 is executed.
Accordingly, first, project identification information (unique identification information) of a project managed by the own apparatus is newly generated (step S11). And it is determined whether it is a new project. This is determined by, for example, whether or not the history information (project) 22 of this project already exists.

  If the project history information (project) 22 already exists (step S12, NO), the project identification information generated in step S11 is added to the history information (project) 22 to obtain the history. Information (project) 22 is updated (step S14). At this time, a new generation may be generated and registered together, but the present invention is not limited to this example.

  On the other hand, if there is no history information (project) 22 of this project (step S12, YES), history information (project) 22 corresponding to this project is newly created (step S13). Of course, the project identification information generated in step S11 is registered as the generation 1 in the newly created history (project) 22.

  Thereafter, all the controllers 10 related to this project are sequentially processed, and the compilation of the program of the target controller and the generation of unique controller identification information are repeatedly executed. That is, first, the program of the target controller is compiled (step S15). Subsequently, unique controller identification information corresponding to the target controller is newly generated (step S16), and it is determined whether or not the controller identification information is new (generation 1) (step S17). The determination in step S17 is determined based on, for example, whether or not history information (PLC) 21 corresponding to the target controller already exists.

If the history information (PLC) 21 corresponding to the target controller does not exist (step S17, YES), the history information (PLC) 21 corresponding to the target controller is newly created (step S18). At that time, the history information (PLC) 21 that newly created, the controller identification information generated in step S16, is registered as generation 1.

  On the other hand, if the history information (PLC) 21 corresponding to the target controller already exists (step S17, NO), a new generation is determined, and the controller identification information generated in step S16 is recorded together with the determined generation. By adding to the information (PLC) 21, the history information (PLC) 21 is updated (step S19). The generation determination method is determined, for example, by determining the largest generation among the generations already registered in the history information (PLC) 21 and incrementing this generation by +. For example, if generation 1, generation 2, and generation 3 are already registered, generation 4 is determined.

  Then, it is determined whether or not the processes in steps S15 to S19 have been executed for all the controllers related to the project. If there is an unexecuted controller (NO in step S20), the process returns to step S15. When processing has been completed for all the controllers (step S20, YES), this processing ends.

In the above, FIG. 3 was demonstrated.
Hereinafter, FIG. 4 will be described.
The process of FIG. 4 is a process executed when an arbitrary controller 10 downloads the program of the controller 10 to the controller 10, and as described above, the download may not be permitted.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of download processing in the support apparatus.
First, it is determined whether or not it is a new download (step S31). This is, for example, when the system is started up, and when the controller 10 is not yet stored in the program (and thus the identification information is not stored), the determination result is YES. is there.

  If it is determined that it is a new download (step S31, YES), the target controller 10 is downloaded and held for the target controller 10 (step S37). Further, the latest generation identification information is acquired from each of the history information 22 and 21, and these are downloaded and held in the target controller 10 (step S38). That is, the latest generation project identification information is acquired from the history information (project) 22, and the latest generation controller identification information is acquired from the history information (PLC) 21 corresponding to the target controller 10. Download and keep it.

  In the process of step S38 executed when step S31 is YES, the latest generation is generation 1. In the process of step S38 executed when step S36 is YES, basically any generation other than generation 1 is the latest generation at that time.

  On the other hand, if it is not a new download (step S31, NO), that is, if some program has already been stored in the target controller 10 and identification information 11 and 12 corresponding to this is held, step The process proceeds to S32. In this case, basically, an updated version of the program is created, and the process of FIG. 3 corresponding to this is already executed.

  In step S <b> 32, the controller identification information 11 is read from the target controller 10. Then, it is determined whether or not the read controller identification information 11 exists in the history information (PLC) 21 corresponding to the target controller 10 (step S33). And when it does not exist (step S33, NO), it will determine with the own apparatus having no right to update the program of the object controller 10, and complete | finishes this process as it is.

  On the other hand, when the controller identification information 11 exists in the history information (PLC) 21 (step S33, YES), the project identification information group 12 stored in the target controller 10 is further acquired. Then, the project identification information included in the project identification information group 12 is sequentially read (step S34), and it is determined whether or not the read project identification information exists in the history information (project) 22 (step S35). . If it does not exist (step S35, NO), the device itself determines that it does not have the right to update the program of the target controller 10, and ends this processing as it is. On the other hand, if it exists (step S35, YES), it is determined whether or not the determination processing of step S35 has been executed for all project identification information included in the project identification information group 12 (step S36), and unprocessed. If project identification information remains (step S36, NO), the process returns to step S34.

  On the other hand, when the determination process of step S35 has been executed for all the project identification information included in the project identification information group 12 (step S36, YES), this means that all the project identification information includes history information (project). 22 would have existed. Accordingly, in conjunction with the determination in step S33 being YES, the own apparatus determines that it has the right to update the program of the target controller 10. Therefore, in this case, the processes in steps S37 and S38 are executed.

  In this case, in step S37, the created updated program is downloaded to the target controller 10 and the program is updated. In step S38, the latest generation project identification information is acquired from the history information (project) 22, and the latest generation controller identification information is acquired from the history information (PLC) 21 related to the target controller 10, and these are stored in the target controller. 10 will be downloaded.

In this manner, online change of the controller program is realized.
Here, a method for storing and managing the project identification information group 12 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  In the example described above, an example using the common memory system has been described. FIG. 5A is a diagram for explaining the common memory system. However, since this has been described in the above-mentioned references, it will be briefly described here.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, a unique storage area is assigned to each controller 10 in advance in the memory space of the common memory. Here, for the sake of simplicity, the illustrated PLC 1 and PLC 2 are taken as an example, and it is assumed that a storage area for PLC 1 and a storage area for PLC 2 are allocated in the common memory as illustrated.

  The PLC 1 can arbitrarily update the data stored in the storage area for the PLC 1 in its own common memory. In addition, the communication function related to the common memory system included in the PLC 1 periodically broadcasts data stored in the storage area for the PLC 1 of its own common memory over the network. Thus, the communication function of the PLC 2 that has received this data overwrites and stores this received data in the storage area for the PLC 1 in its own common memory.

  The PLC 2 can also arbitrarily update the data stored in the storage area for the PLC 2 in its own common memory. In addition, the communication function related to the common memory system provided in the PLC 2 periodically broadcasts data stored in the storage area for the PLC 2 of its own common memory over the network. Thus, the communication function of the PLC 1 that has received this data overwrites and stores this received data in the storage area for the PLC 2 of its own common memory.

  By exchanging data between the controllers 10 in this manner, the contents stored in the common memory of all the controllers 10 can be controlled to be the same. That is, the project identification information held by all the controllers 10 at that time is stored in all the common memories.

  As described above, an area occupied by each controller is defined by dividing the memory space of the common memory. The area occupied by the controller can be read and written, and the other areas can only be read.

  For example, it is also possible to register the head address of the storage area (allocation area) on the common memory of each controller in advance on the support device side in the form of an offset from the head area of the common memory. From this, the support apparatus can acquire the project identification information of the desired controller 10 from the common memory of the controller 10 to be downloaded by designating the offset.

  FIG. 5A assumes a configuration in which each controller 10 is connected to a network. However, for example, there may be a plurality of controllers on the same bus. That is, for example, as shown in FIG. 5B, a plurality of controllers (the CPU modules thereof) are provided in one unit, and the plurality of CPU modules are provided on the same bus in the unit. However, it is conventionally known. Conventionally, in such a unit, each CPU module can access the memory areas of other CPU modules as well as its own memory area via a bus. This can access a memory area of an arbitrary CPU module by using a predetermined controller number.

  In the case of the configuration shown in FIG. 5B, each controller (CPU module) stores the updated version program, project identification information, etc. downloaded from the support apparatus in its own memory area. The support apparatus can read project identification information and the like from the memory area of each controller using each controller number.

However, in this method, support device, since it can acquire a project identification information all of the controllers 10 is currently held, necessarily FIG 5 (a), it is not necessary to configure the like (b) . For example, each controller 10, as well as the controller identification information, simply may be stored only project identification information downloaded to the own device. However, in this case, support device 20, in order to perform the process of step S34~S36 communicates with all of the controller 10 obtains the project identification information that controller 10 currently held It will be. That is, the communication processing load of the support device 20 increases. However, for example, even with such a method, the processing of steps S34 to S36 can be realized, and therefore it is not always necessary to use the common memory system.

  As described above, the programmable controller system of this example can prevent the master project from being different in each controller in a system in which a plurality of controllers are managed as a single project by the support device. . Thereby, the program update by online change can be continued normally. It has the effect that it can be expected to improve the efficiency of project management and to prevent operation errors.

  According to the programmable controller system or the like of this example, even when a plurality of controllers are managed as a single project, it is possible to guarantee that the master project is not separated for each controller and that the program is updated in units of projects.

FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram of the programmable controller system of this example.
In the programmable controller system of this example, the support device 20 (20 ′) and the programmable controller 10 are connected to a network, and the support device 20 (20 ′) is used for a plurality of programmable controllers 10 related to an arbitrary project. A system for managing each program, which has each configuration shown in the figure. In the following description, the support device 20 is taken as an example, but other support devices (20 ′) and the like perform processing operations similar to those of the support device 20.

  The support device 20 includes a project history storage unit 51 that stores a project history, and a controller history storage unit 52 that stores a controller history corresponding to each programmable controller 10. The support device 20 further includes various functional units such as a compiling unit 53 and a downloading unit 54.

  Each time an updated version of each program related to an arbitrary project is created, the compiling unit 53 generates unique project identification information and additionally registers it in the project history. Further, unique controller identification information is generated for each programmable controller 10 related to each updated version program and additionally registered in the corresponding controller history.

  The compiling unit 53 also compiles each program (source code) and converts it into a format (machine language object) that can be executed by the programmable controller 10. Although not described one by one, the program downloaded to the programmable controller 10 is not a source code but a machine language object.

  The download unit 54 is a functional unit that downloads the updated version program for the programmable controller 10 to each programmable controller 10, and determines that the download unit 54 has the right to update the program of the programmable controller 10. The generated controller identification information corresponding to the programmable controller 10, the generated project identification information, and the updated version program are downloaded to the programmable controller 10.

  Each programmable controller 10 includes a program storage unit 61 that stores a program for its own device, a controller identification information storage unit 62 that stores controller identification information, and a project identification information storage unit 63 that stores project identification information.

  Each programmable controller 10 further includes the program storage unit 61, the controller identification information storage unit 62, and the project identification information storage in accordance with the updated version program, the controller identification information, and the project identification information downloaded by the download unit 54. A management unit 64 that updates the storage contents of the unit 63 is also provided.

  Then, the download unit 54 of the support device 20 is based on the controller identification information storage unit 62, the project identification information storage unit 63, and the project history and controller history in the programmable controller 10 to be downloaded. It is determined whether or not there is a right to update the program of the programmable controller 10.

  For example, the download unit 54 of the support device 20 includes the controller identification information stored in the controller identification information storage unit 62 in the programmable controller 10 to be downloaded in the controller history corresponding to the programmable controller. And when it determines with the present project identification information of all the programmable controllers existing in the said project history, it determines with having the right to update the program of the programmable controller.

  Further, for example, the downloaded project identification information for all the plurality of programmable controllers 10 related to an arbitrary project is stored in the project identification information storage unit 63 as a project identification information group. The download unit 54 of the support device 20 refers to the project identification information storage unit 63 in the downloadable programmable controller 10 so that the current project identification information of all the programmable controllers 10 is included in the project history. It is determined whether or not it exists.

  For example, the project identification information storage unit 63 stores and updates the project identification information group by a common memory method. This example has been described with reference to FIGS.

  The support apparatus 20 further includes a program creation support unit 55 that is a functional unit that arbitrarily creates each of the above-described programs, and that creates an updated version of the program by editing an existing program.

However, it is not restricted to these examples.
Here, the support device 20 is a personal computer, for example, and has a configuration of a general personal computer, for example, although not particularly illustrated. That is, it includes an arithmetic processor such as a CPU / MPU (not shown), a storage device such as a hard disk / memory, a communication function unit, and the like. A predetermined application program is stored in the storage device in advance. When the arithmetic processor executes this application program, the operation of the support device 20 (20 ′) described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the processing of the flowcharts of FIGS. 3 and 4, the support device illustrated in FIG. The processing functions and the like of the 20 various functional units are realized.

  The controller 10 also has a general programmable controller (PLC) configuration. That is, it has an arithmetic processor (not shown) such as a CPU / MPU, a storage unit such as a memory, a communication function unit, and the like. A predetermined application program is stored in the storage unit in advance. By executing the application program by the arithmetic processor, the operation of the controller 10 described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 and the processing functions of various functional units of the controller 10 illustrated in FIG. 6 are realized.

  In the above description, the programmable controller (PLC) has been described as an example for realizing the core function (programmable control device) of the control system. However, the present invention is not limited to this, for example, DCS (Distributed Control System). Alternatively, it may be realized by a distributed control device. In a general FA (Factory Automation) system, a PLC is often used, and a DCS is often used in a plant facility that requires high reliability. The programmable control device of the present invention may be a PLC or a DCS.

  As described above, the present invention relates to a control system having a programmable control device, and the programmable controller system having the programmable controller (controller 10) is one example, and is not limited to this example. Another example of a control system having a programmable control device may be a system having a DCS.

  The programmable control device is not limited to this example, and any programmable control device can be used as long as the predetermined control logic can be configured. One example is PLC or DCS, but other devices such as a personal computer can be realized.

1 Network 10 Controller (PLC)
11 Controller identification 12 Project identification information group 20 Support device 21 History information (project)
22 History information (PLC)
51 Project History Storage Unit 52 Controller History Storage Unit 53 Compile Unit 54 Download Unit 55 Program Creation Support Unit 61 Program Storage Unit 62 Controller Identification Information Storage Unit 63 Project Identification Information Storage Unit 64 Management Unit

Claims (7)

A support device and a programmable control device are connected to a network, and the support device collectively manages each program for a plurality of programmable control devices operating in cooperation with each other as a project ,
The support device includes:
A project history storage means for storing a history of unique project identification information for identifying a project to be managed as a project history;
Controller history storage means for storing a history of unique controller identification information for identifying the programmable control device as a controller history for each programmable control device;
Each time an updated version of each program related to the project is created , unique project identification information for identifying the project is generated and additionally registered in the project history. Compile means for generating unique controller identification information for identifying the programmable control device for each programmable control device and additionally registering it in the corresponding controller history;
For each of the programmable control devices, when the program is a means for downloading the updated version program for the programmable control device and it is determined that it has the right to update the program of the programmable control device, the programmable control device On the other hand, it has download means for downloading the generated controller identification information corresponding to the programmable control device, the generated project identification information, and the updated version program,
Each of the programmable control devices is
Program storage means for storing the program for its own device;
Controller identification information storage means for storing controller identification information;
Project identification information storage means for storing project identification information;
By said update program downloaded to the controller identification information and the project identification information by the downloading means, the management for updating the respective storage contents of said program storage means and the controller identification information storage means and the project identification information storage unit Means,
The download unit of the support device includes the controller identification information and the project identification information stored in the controller identification information storage unit and the project identification information storage unit in the programmable control device to be downloaded, and the project history storage unit, respectively. And a control system for determining whether or not there is a right to update the program, based on the project history and the controller history stored in the controller history storage unit, respectively .   The download unit of the support device includes the controller identification information stored in the controller identification information storage unit in the downloadable programmable control device in the controller history corresponding to the programmable control device, and all 2. The control system according to claim 1, wherein when it is determined that the current project identification information of the programmable control device is present in the project history, it is determined that the program has a right to update the program of the programmable control device. . Wherein the project identification information storage means, said downloaded project identification information about all previous plurality of programmable control device according to Kipu project is, is stored as a project identification information group,
The download unit of the support device refers to the project identification information storage unit in the programmable control device to be downloaded, so that the current project identification information of all the programmable control devices exists in the project history. The control system according to claim 2, wherein determination is made as to whether or not.   4. The control system according to claim 3, wherein the project identification information storage unit stores and updates the project identification information group by a common memory method.   The said support apparatus is a means to create each said program arbitrarily, Comprising: The program creation assistance means to create the updated version of this program by editing an existing program is characterized by the above-mentioned. The control system in any one of -4. The support device in a system in which a support device and a programmable control device are connected to a network, and the support device collectively manages each program for a plurality of programmable control devices operating in cooperation with each other. Because
A project history storage means for storing a history of unique project identification information for identifying a project to be managed as a project history;
Controller history storage means for storing a history of unique controller identification information for identifying the programmable control device as a controller history for each programmable control device;
Each time an updated version of each program related to the project is created , unique project identification information for identifying the project is generated and additionally registered in the project history. For each programmable control device, compiling means for generating unique controller identification information for identifying the programmable control device and additionally registering it in the corresponding controller history;
For each of the programmable control devices, when the program is a means for downloading the updated version program for the programmable control device and it is determined that it has the right to update the program of the programmable control device, the programmable control device On the other hand, it has download means for downloading the generated controller identification information corresponding to the programmable control device, the generated project identification information, and the updated version program,
The download device, said controller identification information and the project identification information held in the programmable control device side to be downloaded, on the basis of the said Project History and the controller history, the downloaded programmable control device program A control system support apparatus for determining whether or not there is a right to update the system. The programmable control in a system in which a support device and a programmable control device are connected to a network, and the support device collectively manages each program for a plurality of programmable control devices operating in cooperation with each other as one project A device,
Program storage means for storing the program for its own device;
Controller identification information storage means for storing unique controller identification information for identifying the device itself ;
Project identification information storage means for storing unique project identification information for identifying a project managed by the support device ;
An updated version program downloaded from the support device when it is determined that the support device has the right to update the program based on the storage contents of the controller identification information storage means and the project identification information storage means; Management means for updating each storage content of the program storage means, the controller identification information storage means, and the project identification information storage means with new controller identification information and new project identification information,
A programmable control device comprising: