JPH096415A - Program generator for programmable controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To inhibit useless instruction word transfer processing from a PP to a PLC when the number of input and output points from the operator exceeds the number of input and output points capable of handling an object PLC. CONSTITUTION: Prior to generating a sequence program, the operator sets a minimum value and a maximum value of input output numbers of an object PLC 14 and registers the result to a memory map 22b of a PP 27 as practical permissible range registration data 46. The PP 27 discriminates whether or not the input output numbers from the operator are within a range set by the practical permissible range registration data 46 in the program generating stage and generates an instruction word to the PLC 14 when the input output numbers are within the range and outputs a warning message to a display device when the input output numbers are not within the range and inhibits the program transfer processing from the PP 27 to the PLC 14.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a programmable controller (hereinafter referred to as PLC) for controlling on / off states of a plurality of output signals by programmable electronic means according to on / off states of a plurality of input signals. In contrast,
A program creation device (hereinafter, referred to as P) as a tool for creating a sequence program for determining the above control content.
P).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 6 shows a conventional PLC 14 and an extension unit 15. In FIG. 6, the PLC 14
Is a microprocessor (hereinafter referred to as CPU) 1,
It has a bit processor (hereinafter referred to as BPU) 3 that cooperates with the CPU 1 to process an on / off signal, and various memories and interfaces described below connected to the CPU 1 via a bus line 2. . As the memory and the interface, a system ROM 4 in which a program defining the basic operation of the CPU 1 is stored, a PP 2 described later
7 (see FIG. 7), a program memory 5 such as a RAM in which a sequence program is written, an internal RAM 6 used for working or a device such as a data register, and a PP interface 7 connected to the PP 27 via a cable (not shown). , An input interface 8a to which a plurality of external switches 9a such as limit switches and push button switches are connected, an output interface 10a to which a plurality of external loads 11a such as solenoid valves and pilot lamps are connected, and an input / output expansion interface 12
a, the on / off state of the external switch 9a and the external load 11
The image memory 13 stores the on / off command state for a.

The expansion unit 15 for expanding the number of input / output points of the PLC 14 includes an expansion interface 16 connected to the expansion interface 12a of the PLC 14 by a cable 17, and an input interface 8 of the PLC 14.
A plurality of external loads 1 such as a solenoid valve and a pilot lamp, like the input interface 8b to which a plurality of external switches 9b such as limit switches and push button switches are connected, and the output interface 10b of the PLC 14, similar to a.
The output interface 10b to which 1b is connected and the expansion interface 12b are connected to each other by a bus line 18.

FIG. 7 shows PP27. In FIG. 7, reference numeral 20 denotes a microprocessor (hereinafter referred to as CPU), which has a bus line 2a to which various memories and interfaces as described below are connected. The memory or interface stores a character or graphic type display device 21 such as a CRT (cathode ray tube), LCD (liquid crystal), plasma, a system program for creating a sequence program, its work data, and the created sequence program. RAM
Storage device 22 such as IPL (Initial Pro)
gram Loader) and BIOS (Basic I)
/ O System) and the like, an input device 24 composed of a keyboard or a mouse, an external file device 25 composed of a system program for creating a sequence program or a floppy disk or a hard disk storing the created sequence program, It is a PLC interface 26 for reading and writing a sequence program and various data to and from the PLC 14.

FIG. 8 shows the memory map 2 of the storage device 22.
2a is shown. In FIG. 8, 30 is a basic software (OS), 31 is a sequence program creating system program, 32 is a sequence program transfer system program for transferring the sequence program to the PLC 14, and 33 is contents in the storage device 22. A file processing program for inputting / outputting to / from the external file device 25, 34 is an input / output number processing program for converting the input / output number of the PLC 14 input to the PP 27 into a command word of the PLC 14, and 35 is an input / output number allowed The theoretical permissible range system data for determining whether or not it is within the range, and 36 is a sequence program storage area for storing a sequence program to be executed by the PLC 14.

The operation of the above conventional device will be described. The sequence program is created using PP27 shown in FIG. 7 as follows. The operator operates the input device 24 to create a sequence program while referring to the screen of the display device 21, and the result is the memory map 22 of FIG.
It is stored in the sequence program storage area 36 in a. The processing procedure at this time is defined by the sequence program creation system program 31, and this is a procedure that cannot be changed by the operator. The program creation operation is an operation for sequentially creating a combination of a sequence processing instruction and a device number based on the instruction. The device number is a timer handled by PLC14,
Counters, data registers, input relays and output relays. For example, the input relay is X00, X01,
X02 ... is represented by a serial number with the input number X, and output relays are represented by serial numbers with the output number Y, such as Y00, Y01, Y02. The maximum number of I / O points that can be handled by these serial numbers is PLC14.
Depending on the product series and the presence / absence of an interface for expansion. However, the theoretical allowable range system data 3 in FIG.
5 is a fixed value considering the maximum system and cannot be changed by the operator. The input / output number processing program 34 of FIG. 8 processes the input / output number handled by the operator as an error when the input / output number handled by the operator exceeds the maximum range defined by the theoretical allowable range system data 35. , Is not accepted. The sequence program created in this way is transmitted from the PLC interface 26 to the PLC 14 of FIG.
Is transferred to the program memory 5 via the PP interface 7. This transfer is performed based on the sequence program transfer system program 32 of FIG. In addition, the sequence program created above is shown in FIG.
8 is stored in the external file device 25 of FIG.
RAM2 based on the file processing program 33 of
Transfer processing from 2 to the external file device 25 is performed.

[0007]

Conventionally, there is a problem in handling a mismatch between the number of input / output points (input / output number range) handled by PP27 and the number of input / output points (input / output number range) actually provided in PLC 14. Has become. Regarding the problem of handling this inconsistency, the PLC 14 performs self-check of the sequence program transferred from the PP 27, and the number of input / output points handled by the PP 27 is the PLC concerned.
When the number of I / O points that can be handled by 14 is exceeded, P
The LC 14 generally performs error handling. Also,
As a result of the self-check performed by the PLC 14, when the number of input / output points handled by the PP 27 is equal to or less than the number of input / output points handled by the PLC 14, the supplier of the sequence program to the PP 27 generally changes the system program. is there.

Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and when the number of input / output points which the PP intends to handle exceeds the number of input / output points which can be handled by the target PLC, the PP. Error processing at the program creation stage to prevent the PP from wastefully transferring the command word to the PLC, and the number of input / output points that can be handled by the PP can be freely set and changed by the user (operator). By being able to
It is an object of the present invention to provide a programmable controller program creation device that does not require a supplier to change the system program.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, in a programmable controller program creating apparatus, the number of input / output points input by an operator at the time of creating a sequence program is stored in advance in a storage device as practical allowable range registration data. It is characterized in that it is provided with means for inhibiting the transfer processing of the program to the programmable controller when the number of input / output points of the programmable controller is exceeded.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the program creating apparatus according to the first aspect displays a warning message when the number of input / output points from the operator exceeds the number of input / output points of the practical permissible range registration data of the storage device. It is characterized by having a means for doing.

A third aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the storage device according to the first aspect is constituted by a storage device which stores rewritable practical allowable range registration data.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a plurality of permissible range registration data are stored in the storage device according to the first aspect, and means for selectively using the programmable controller according to the product series of the target programmable controller is provided. I am trying.

According to a fifth aspect of the invention, there is provided means for copying the storage contents of the storage device according to the first aspect to an external file device such as a floppy disk or an IC memory.

[0014]

According to the invention of claim 1, when the number of input / output points from the operator exceeds the number of input / output points of the programmable controller, the transfer processing of the program to the programmable controller is prohibited. It is possible to improve the quality reliability by omitting the wasteful transfer process of the command word to.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the program transfer processing to the PLC is prohibited and a warning message is displayed, so that the operator is prevented from making an error in setting the number of input / output points at the sequence program creating stage. It can be notified and the time required for debugging can be shortened.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the practical permissible range registration data is made rewritable, so that the operator can change the preset range of the number of input / output points of the programmable controller and the system program of the supplier can be changed. Change can be resolved.

According to the invention of claim 4, the plurality of permissible range registration data are selectively used according to the product series of the programmable controller, so that the PLC product series is different and the input / output is increased. It can respond flexibly to the scale and so on.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the storage contents of the storage device are copied and generated in the external file device, the operator can utilize the program creation device.

[0019]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings by attaching the same reference numerals to the same portions as those of the conventional example. The PLC and PP handled in each embodiment are as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 described above, but the basic configuration of the present invention is summarized in FIG. Embodiment 1 FIG. FIG. 1 shows the PLC 14 and the PP 27 of the first embodiment. In FIG. 1, 22b is a memory map in the storage device 22 of PP27, 40 is a basic software (OS), 41 is a system program for creating a sequence program, and 42 is a sequence program transfer system for transferring the sequence program to the PLC 14. A program, 43 is a file processing program for inputting / outputting the contents in the storage device 22 to / from the external file device 25, and 44 is an input / output for converting the input / output number of the PLC 14 input to the PP 27 into a command word of the PLC 14. A number processing program (details will be described later with reference to FIG. 5), 45 is a theoretical allowance for determining whether the input / output number is within the maximum allowable range on the system when creating the practical allowable range registration data 46. Range system data, 46 is an input / output number processing program 44 command word A practical tolerance registration data for determining output number is whether within the allowable range when converting, the creation procedure will be described later with FIG. 47 is a sequence program storage area for storing a sequence program to be executed by the PLC 14, and 60a to 60n are practical permissible range registrations in which the contents of the practical permissible range registration data 46 are individually stored as files in the external file device 25 of the PP 27. It is a data file.

The basic software 40, the sequence program creating system program 41, the sequence program transferring system program 42, the file processing program 43, the input / output number processing program 44, and the theoretical allowable range system data 45 cannot be changed by the operator. It has become a thing. On the other hand, the practical permissible range registration data 46 and the practical permissible range registration data files 60a to 60n are rewritable (changeable) by the operator.

FIG. 2 shows a setting screen of the practical permissible range registration data 46 displayed on the display device 21 of PP27. In FIG. 2, 70 is the input interface 8
a, 8b (FIG. 6), a part for setting the minimum value and the maximum value of the unique numbers, 71 denotes the minimum value and the minimum value of the unique numbers assigned to the output interfaces 10a, 10b (FIG. 6). This is the part to set.

In FIG. 3, one of the practical permissible range registration data 60a-60n stored in the external file device 25 is used as the practical permissible range registration data 4 of the memory map 22b (FIG. 1).
6 is a selection screen for reading.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for creating the practical permissible range registration data 46. In FIG.
80 is a step of substituting the minimum allocation number of the input interfaces 8a and 8b into the practical permissible range registration data 46,
81 is a step of substituting the maximum allocation number of the input interfaces 8a and 8b into the practical permissible range registration data 46,
Reference numeral 82 is a step of substituting the minimum allocation number of the output interfaces 10a and 10b into the practical permissible range registration data 46, and 83 is a step of substituting the maximum allocation number of the output interfaces 10a and 10b into the practical permissible range registration data 46.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of a part of the process of the input / output number processing program 44 (FIG. 1), in which a command word is created from the input / output number keyed in by the input device 24 shown in FIG. In FIG. 5, 91 is PP27
Of inputting the input symbol X or the output symbol Y from the input device 24, 92 is a step of determining the contents set in step 91, and 93 is the input symbol X from the input device 24.
Alternatively, a step of inputting an input number or an output number following each of the output symbols Y, and 94 is whether or not the input number or the output number input in step 93 is within the range of values set in the practical permissible range registration data 46. Step 95 is a step of checking if the result of the determination in Step 94 is out of the range, and 96 is a step of checking the input symbol X in advance when the input number is within the range and proper. A step of converting an operand code for a sequence instruction such as a normally-open contact instruction or a normally-closed contact instruction inputted previously and an operand part generated from the input symbol X and the input number into an instruction word of the PLC 14, 97 is an output This is a step of performing the same processing as that of step 93 to step 96 on the number.

The operation of the first embodiment will be described. Before creating the sequence program, the operator sets the minimum value and the maximum value of the input number on the setting screen of the practical input / output point range shown in FIG. 2 in accordance with the actually operating system of the PLC 14. The set maximum value is registered in the practical permissible range registration data 46 in steps 80 and 81 of FIG. Similarly, with respect to the output number, the operator sets the minimum value and the maximum value. The set maximum value is registered in the practical permissible range registration data 46 in steps 82 and 83 of FIG. Here, the practical permissible range registration data 46 registered does not exceed the range of the theoretical permissible range system data 45.

If the practical permissible range registration data 46 is set when the input / output number processing program 44 is executed in the sequence program creating stage, the practical permissible range registration data 46 is referred to and the practical permissible range registration data 46 is referred to. If is not set, theoretical allowable system data 4
5, an instruction word is created from the input / output number according to the flowchart shown in FIG.

When the input symbol X is input in step 91 of FIG. 5, steps 92 to 93 are executed, and the input number following the symbol X is input. Next, step 94.
At step 93, it is determined whether the allocation number input in step 93 is within the range set by the practical permissible range registration data 46.

If the allocation number is within the range, an instruction word is generated in step 96, and this processing ends. If the allocation number is out of range in step 94, the practical permissible range registration data 4 is entered in step 95.
A warning message indicating that it is out of the range of 6 is output to the display device 21 to prompt the operator to change the input number,
The transfer processing from PP27 to PLC14 is prohibited. Similarly, in step 97, a command word of a command including the output Y is generated, a warning message is displayed when the allocation number is out of range, and a command word transfer process is prohibited.

Example 2. In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the practical permissible range registration data 4 created in the first embodiment.
6, the practical allowable range registration data file 60a is output to the external file device 25 of the PP 27, and similarly, the practical allowable range registration data 46 with different names is used as the practical allowable range registration data files 60b to 60n. If it is output to the device 25, the operator
By operating the input device 24 shown in FIG.
A plurality of practical permissible range registration data 60a stored in
The practical allowable range registration data 46 to be actually used can be selected and used from 60n depending on the product series of the target PLC 14 or the scale of the number of input / output points.

Example 3. In the third embodiment, the operator operates the input device 24 shown in FIG. 7 and the system program 41 for sequence program creation and the sequence program transfer shown in FIG. System program 42, file processing program 4
3, a series of programs such as the input / output number processing program 44 and the theoretical permissible range system data 45, the file processing program 43, and the practical permissible range registration data 46 which can be easily rewritten by the user. If the floppy disk, memory card, etc., which have been filed by the copy generation, are distributed to the user by being copied and generated in the external file device 25 shown in FIG. 7, the user will not accidentally destroy the system program. It is also possible to deal with the change of the number of input / output points on the user side.

[0031]

According to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained. According to claim 1, when the number of input / output points from the operator exceeds the number of input / output points of the programmable controller,
Since the transfer processing of the program to the programmable controller can be prohibited, wasteful transfer processing of the command word to the PLC is not performed, and the quality reliability can be improved.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the transfer processing of the program to the PLC is prohibited and the warning message can be displayed, the operator is appropriately notified of the setting error of the input / output points at the sequence program creating stage. The debugging time can be shortened.

According to the third aspect, since the practical permissible range registration data can be rewritten, the operator can change the preset range of the number of input / output points of the programmable controller, and the system program of the supplier can be changed. Changes can be resolved.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the plurality of permissible range registration data can be selectively used according to the product series of the programmable controller. Therefore, the PLC product series can be different and the input / output expansion scale can be selected. It is flexible and you can easily use the most suitable one for your application.

According to the fifth aspect, since the storage contents of the storage device can be copied and generated in the external file device, each operator can utilize the program creation device and operate the filed floppy disk or memory card. If it is distributed to each person, the PLC series expansion can be dealt with appropriately.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a setting screen for practical use allowable range registration data according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a selection screen for practical use allowable range registration data according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for creating practical allowable range registration data according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of creating an instruction word from an input / output number according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a conventional programmable controller.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a conventional program creation device.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a memory map of a conventional program creating device.

[Explanation of Codes] 5 Program Memory, 14 PLC (Programmable Controller), 22 Storage Device, 24 Input Device, 2
5 external file device, 27 PP (program creation device), 41 sequence program creation system program, 42 sequence program transfer system program, 43 file processing program, 44 input / output number processing program, 45 theoretical allowable range system data, 46 Practical tolerance registration data, 60a-60
n Practical allowable range registration data file.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A sequence program for determining the content for controlling the on / off states of a plurality of output signals by programmable electronic means according to the on / off states of a plurality of input signals, and the created sequence program. In the programmable controller program creation device that transfers the data to the program memory of the programmable controller, the number of input / output points input by the operator at the time of sequence program creation is stored in advance in the storage device as practical allowable range registration data. A program creation device for a programmable controller, which is provided with means for prohibiting transfer processing of the program to the programmable controller when the number exceeds the limit. 2. The programmable device according to claim 1, further comprising means for displaying a warning message when the number of input / output points from the operator exceeds the number of input / output points of the practical permissible range registration data of the storage device. Controller program creation device. 3. The program creation device for a programmable controller according to claim 1, wherein the storage device is a storage device that stores rewritable practical range registration data in a rewritable manner. 4. A program for a programmable controller according to claim 1, further comprising means for storing a plurality of permissible range registration data in a storage device and selectively using the data according to a product series of the target programmable controller. Creation device. 5. The program creating apparatus for a programmable controller according to claim 1, further comprising means for copying and creating the stored contents of the storage device to an external file device such as a floppy disk or an IC memory.