JP2001282327A - Simulation system and simulator and management server and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a simulation system capable of simulating the cooperative operations of plural PLCs on a computer. SOLUTION: This simulation system is provided with plural simulators 10 and a virtual time management server 20 for managing the operations of the simulators. The simulators execute instruction words to be processed when real PLC operate only in an operating time received from the virtual time management serve Therefore, the operating time of the real PLC can be always made equal, and synchronization can be realized in the plural simulators. Therefore, the simulation of the cooperative operations of the plural PLC can be realized.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a simulation system, a simulator, a management server, and a recording medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, a sequence controller (PLC)
In order to check the operation of the control program, the virtual PLC (so-called PL) installed on the personal computer
C simulator), and the control program is simulated. The conventional PLC simulator is designed to execute processing steps in order, mainly for checking whether or not the control program operates correctly.

[0005] The processing time of a simulated execution of a control program in this type of PLC simulator is represented by PL
Due to the performance of the personal computer on which the C simulation is mounted, the processing time required to execute the same processing becomes shorter as the high-performance personal computer is used.

[0004]

However, the conventional PLC simulator has the following problems. That is, the actual PLC (hereinafter, referred to as “actual PLC”)
If the processing capability of the arithmetic processing in the above differs from the processing capability of the personal computer that executes the PLC simulator, the operation time on the PLC simulator and the operation time in the actual PLC differ.

[0005] When considering that a plurality of real PLCs are connected via a network and cooperate, usually,
Each of the plurality of real PLCs operates in a separate execution environment, and the individual PLCs also have different arithmetic processing capabilities. On the other hand, in the case of individual PLC simulators corresponding to the plurality of real PLCs,
A C simulator is implemented, and each PLC simulator may operate in the same execution environment. Then, when the respective PLC simulators execute the processing for the same time, the time during which the actual PLC operates to execute the processing varies, and synchronization is not achieved. Therefore, it was not possible to simulate the cooperative operation of a plurality of PLCs.

[0006] This is because when a conventional PLC is simulated on a personal computer, only a single verification is assumed, and a known PLC simulator only simulates a logical operation (logic). Because there is no concept of

According to the present invention, a plurality of PLs are stored on a computer.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a simulation system and a simulator capable of simulating the cooperative operation of C, a management server and a recording medium.

[0008]

A simulation system according to the present invention is a simulation system comprising a plurality of simulators and a management server for managing the operation of the simulator. On the other hand, information (time,
Time, step, etc.). Further, the simulator has a function of simulating and stopping a predetermined amount of commands corresponding to the operation time based on information provided from the management server.

According to the present invention, each of the simulators operates in consideration of the operation time, that is, the time required when the actual device corresponding to the simulation performs the same processing. When the processing is executed so as to advance only by the number of times, the simulators can be synchronized. In other words, when simulating by operating multiple simulators on a computer, the management server that manages the virtual time on the simulator instructs each simulator to specify the operating time, so that each simulator operates at the same virtual time. Can be simulated.

[0010] Further, when one of the plurality of simulators is stopped under a stop condition, a notice to that effect is issued. It is preferable to stop at the same timing as the simulator that issued the notification.

The simulators that stop at the same timing may be all or some. In some cases, it is preferable to have correlation information associated with another simulator that stops when a certain simulator stops under a stop condition, and issue a stop instruction based on the correlation information.

Further, a simulator according to the present invention is a simulator for a simulation system comprising a plurality of simulators and a management server for managing the operation of the simulator, wherein a simulator is provided based on information from the management server. It has a function of simulating and stopping a predetermined amount of instructions corresponding to a predetermined operation time.

Furthermore, a management server according to the present invention is a management server for a simulation system including a plurality of simulators and a management server for managing the operation of the simulator. The simulator has a function of notifying information (operation time, virtual time, step, etc.) for performing a simulation process for a predetermined operation time in a real environment.

Further, in the recording medium according to the present invention, a simulation process for executing a command for simulation in consideration of an operation time in a real environment, and a command for executing the simulation process in a predetermined operation time unit A program for causing a computer to execute a management process of outputting the information is stored in a recording medium. * Definition of terms "Operating time" means the time required for the actual machine corresponding to the simulator to actually execute processing. The “operation time axis” means a time axis that actually progresses in a real space (real environment).

Each means constituting various devices according to the present invention can be realized by a dedicated hardware circuit, or can be realized by a programmed computer. * Relationship between Management Server and Simulator In the present invention, each claim describes a system having a “management server” and a “simulator”, but these are divided in terms of functions and must be managed by the management server. And the simulator do not need to be separately configured (existing as separate programs). That is, the simulator may have a management server function incorporated therein. In this case, apparently, there are a plurality of simulators, and there is no management server alone, and the simulation system sends commands from one simulator to another simulator. At least one of the simulators is used. Will function as a management server.

Further, assuming that a simulator with such a management server function and a simulator without a normal management server function exist, the simulation system according to the present invention is entirely composed of a simulator with a management server function. It may be composed of a plurality of simulators with a management server function and one or a plurality of ordinary simulators, or may be composed of one simulator with a management server function and one or a plurality of ordinary simulators. Good.

When there are a plurality of simulators with a management server function, one of them may function as an actual management server, or a plurality of simulators cooperate (in a predetermined order or the like). In this case, the function as the management server may be exhibited. Further, which simulator with the management server function exerts the management server function may be manually instructed, or the simulators may communicate with each other and determine spontaneously. As described above, the present invention is a broad concept including various variations.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Before describing a specific configuration of the present invention, a basic principle will be described. As described in the section of “Problems to be Solved by the Invention”, the concept of time is not considered in the conventional PLC simulator. Therefore, the concept of time is first introduced. Here, the concept of necessary time means simulating the number of execution steps (number of program steps) that can be actually executed by the real PLC / the real time. . That is, the number of execution steps in the virtual environment / virtual time = the number of execution steps in the real environment / real time.

Here, the factors that determine the "number of execution steps / time" are considered as follows. As shown in FIG. 1A, there are two real PLC-A (high processing capacity) and real PLC-B (low processing capacity) in the real environment.
It is assumed that the LC executes logics a and b as shown in the drawing during the same operation time. This real PLC-A
It is assumed that each of the logics a and b is executed in a virtual environment configured by installing the simulator A corresponding to the above and the simulator B corresponding to the real PLC-B on the same personal computer. At this time, the processing capacity is the actual PLC-A>
If the personal computer> actual PLC-B, when the logic A having the same number of processing steps is executed by the simulator A, the processing time is longer than that of the actual machine. Conversely, when the logic b having the same number of processing steps is executed by the simulator B, the processing time is shorter than that of the actual machine. Therefore, if each simulator is operated for the same time, the time when processing is performed by the actual PLC differs. Therefore, the logic cannot be changed in order to make the number of execution steps in the virtual environment / virtual time = the number of execution steps in the real environment / real time. Therefore, as shown in FIG. Adjusted processing capacity. That is, as an example of the solving means, it can be realized by a method of giving a difference in processing time allocated to each PLC simulator. In other words, at a certain virtual time, a processing time may be given such that the number of execution steps in the virtual environment is the same as the number of execution steps in the real environment.

More specifically, for example, when the actual PLC1, PLC2. …,
If the number of execution steps of PLCn is S1, S2,..., Sn, as shown in FIG. 2, when Δt has elapsed from the virtual time t in the virtual environment, the PLC simulator PLC
, PLCn 'are also S1, S2, ..., Sn.

That is, in the virtual environment, every time the time elapses the minute time Δt, the number of execution steps to be executed at that time may be executed. The time accuracy of synchronization of each PLC simulator is determined by the size of the minute time. Normally, it is better to keep the above-mentioned minute time constant for ease of calculation.

The minute time .DELTA.t at the virtual time is the time on the personal computer necessary for the simulator to execute logic (instructions, processing steps) to be processed while the real PLC advances by the operation time .DELTA.t. However, the actual time when the personal computer (simulator) actually operates for the minute time Δt at the virtual time may be different from Δt. Then, as shown in FIG.
When the simulation performance is different with one personal computer, the actual operation time of each simulator is different.

Next, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of PLC simulators 10 (PLCs) that simulate the functions of a plurality of real PLCs
(1), PLC (2),..., PLC (n)), a virtual time management server 20 that transmits and receives information to and from the plurality of simulators 10 and manages operations. , A condition setting M for setting a predetermined condition
An MI (man-machine interface) 25 is provided.
The plurality of PLC simulators 10 and the virtual time management server 20 are installed on the same personal computer as applications. The condition setting MMI is
An MMI (an input device such as a keyboard and a mouse and an output device such as a monitor) in a personal computer can be used.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the PLC simulator 10 used in the present embodiment cyclically executes “common processing”, “arithmetic processing”, “I / O refresh”, and “peripheral services” in this order. It is typically executed in the same procedure corresponding to the operation of the PLC.

Here, the "common process" is a process for performing an I / O bus check, a user program check, time refresh, and the like. "Operation processing" is to execute a command of a user program. “I / O refresh” refers to performing I / O refresh of a basic I / O unit, a high-performance I / O unit, and the like. External I / O
OUT refresh, which outputs a signal, and IN refresh, which inputs a signal from an external I / O.

Further, in addition to the function of sequentially executing these ordinary instructions, it has a function of executing in consideration of the operation time in the actual PLC. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, for example, an execution instruction and a time required when the execution instruction is executed by a corresponding real PLC (hereinafter, referred to as “operation time”).
Has a table associated with it. When an operation time is given from the outside, it has a function of executing an instruction for the time.

As an example, the simulator of the PLC (1) executes a ladder program as shown in FIG. 6, and when the operation time is instructed to be 3 msec, the first processing (block In 1), 3mse
c. The common processing is performed, and in the second processing (block 2), two input instructions and one output instruction are executed, and... 4
In the third processing (block 4), one output instruction and two input instructions are executed.... Sixth processing (block 6)
Then, one A instruction is executed. In this way, if one process is completed, the operation time in the actual PLC is advanced by 3 msec regardless of how long the process takes on the personal computer 1.

Therefore, if the same operation time is instructed to each simulator 10, at the stage when each processing is completed, the elapsed time when the actual PLC corresponding to each PLC simulator 10 actually executes the processing is: This is the operation time, and the operation timing in real time matches. That is, synchronization can be achieved.

Further, one cycle of the simulator of the PLC (1) shown in FIG. 6 is completed by nine processes due to differences in the processing time and the number of processing steps, but the PLC (2) shown in FIG.
Then, one cycle is completed by 11 times of processing. That is, 1
When performing the 0th process, the PLC (1) performs the common process in the second cycle, but the PLC (2) performs the I / O refresh in the first cycle. As described above, the number of cycles shifts as the processing proceeds, but this does not pose a problem since this also occurs in an actual environment using an actual PLC.

The instruction of the operation time may be given in a fixed manner, or may be changed each time. In any case, if the operating time per operation given to each simulator 10 is the same, the actual PL corresponding to each simulator 10 at the time when the operation is completed is completed.
The operation timings of C on the real time axis coincide.

In practice, when an instruction is executed so as to reach the designated operation time, the instruction may not be completed just in the operation time, but may be excessive or insufficient. In that case, the excess or deficiency may be stored and adjusted in the next process (this adjustment method will be described later).

On the other hand, the virtual time management server 20
It instructs the C simulator 10 in sequence the operating time and the like to be processed each time. In addition, a temporary stop command and a stop release command are given to each simulator 10,
It receives a temporary stop occurrence notification and a stop release instruction notification from the simulator 10.

Further, the condition setting MMI 25 gives the operating time of the PLC simulator, the correlation condition for stopping the simulator, and the like to the virtual time management server 20. Here, the stop correlation condition associates another PLC that needs to be stopped when a certain PLC stops according to a predetermined stop condition.

In addition, the virtual time management server 20 detects the stopped PLC simulator and notifies the other simulator to be stopped that it is correlated to the stopped simulator according to the stop correlation condition. In this case, the stopped PLC simulator may directly notify the PLC simulator to be stopped.

Next, an outline of a normal program execution process will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, the virtual time management server 20 sequentially notifies each simulator 10 of an execution instruction along with an operation time. That is, first, PLC
An execution instruction is notified to the simulator (1) (). After receiving the command, the simulator 10 executes the command for the operation time and then sends an operation end notification to the virtual time management server 2.
Return to 0 ('). The virtual time management server 20 that has received the notification notifies the next simulator (the simulator 10 for the PLC (2) in the figure) of the execution instruction ().
When such a process is repeatedly performed and an end notification is received from the PLC (n) simulator 10 ('), the process is ended and each program proceeds to "a". The timing of this “a” is, in the actual PLC,
It is the same time when the processing is started at the same time (when the operation time instructed from the start has elapsed).

When the first processing is completed in this way, the processing shifts to the second processing. That is, processing → '→
→ '→ …… →→' This allows
Each program proceeds to “b”. The same alphabet indicates the processing end point at the same time (timing) on the real time axis when the real PLC operates in the real environment. Therefore, the respective PLC simulations 10 are synchronized, and a simulation of a real PLC that performs a cooperative operation can be performed.

Here, the step size of each process (the length of the arrow in the figure) is different because the processing capacity of each real PLC and the time for processing an instruction to be executed are different. Also,
Because the number of steps and processing time for one scan are different,
The operation time until one scan ends is also different. In the illustrated example, in the PLC (1), one scan ends in eight operation times a to h.
In (2), seven times a to g, and in PLC (n), a to f
One scan is completed in six operation times.

Next, more specific processing functions will be described. FIGS. 8 and 9 are flowcharts illustrating the functions of the PLC simulator 10. 10, 11,
FIG. 12 shows an example of a data structure of a table held by the PLC simulator 10. 13 and FIG.
FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating functions of the virtual time management server 20, and FIG. 15 illustrates an example of a data structure of a table included in the virtual time management server 20.

In this embodiment, the virtual time management server 2
From 0, an operation time is specified for each PLC simulator 10 so that the PLC simulator 10 operates for the specified operation time. By specifying the operation time in this way, each PLC simulator 1
There is an advantage that the time of 0 can be relatively advanced or delayed.

Further, in this embodiment, when processing cannot be performed for the same time as the instructed operation time, that is, each instruction is executed,
When the last instruction is executed, the operation time may be exceeded, and the operation time may not be reached unless the last instruction is executed. In such a case, a function for adjusting the time lag is provided. By doing so, the synchronization can be achieved with high precision, so that when the synchronization between the PLC simulators is delicate, the operation can be performed more accurately.

First, as shown in FIG. 10, the PLC simulator 10 stores an execution unit time table in which the time (instruction execution time) required when an actual PLC executes an instruction of one execution unit for each execution unit is associated. Have. further,
It has an execution time management table that stores execution units in the order of execution of the actual ladder program and associates the instruction execution time and the remaining operation time of the execution unit. This execution time management table can be registered in the column of one execution unit in accordance with the processing order of the ladder program to be operated. In the column of instruction execution time, refer to the time table of the execution unit shown in FIG. Can be registered by reading and storing the instruction execution time corresponding to. In the column of the remaining operation time, the initial value is undefined. Further, it has a function of stopping (entering a stop mode) according to a stop condition or the like.

On this premise, the PLC simulator 10
First, as shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, the process waits for an operation time instruction from the virtual time management server 20 (ST1). Then, if the instruction is received (for example, “3 msec”), the self-state, that is, “Is the stop mode released? (ST
2) "," is in stop mode? (ST4) ", and if any of them is true, the status is notified to the virtual time management server 20 as a return value (ST3, ST5),
Wait for the next instruction. The stop mode release notification and the notification of the stop mode are not returned as a return value due to receiving the operation time, but may be voluntarily notified at an arbitrary timing. .

Also, if any condition is No, that is, in the normal operation mode, the value of the execution counter is reset to 0, and the current execution pointer (the first instruction word indicated by an arrow in FIG. 10) A)) is copied as "execution pointer 2" and its position is stored (ST6, ST7).

Next, the "operation time" received from the virtual time management server is added to the remaining operation time remaining in the previous process in the column of the remaining operation time corresponding to the execution instruction pointed to by the execution pointer. Register the value. Assuming that the remaining operation time of the previous process is 0, as shown in FIG.
0 msec "is registered (ST8).

Then, the instruction execution time is subtracted from the remaining operation time in the execution time management table (in the case of the instruction word A, "3.00-0.01 = 2.99"), and the execution pointer is advanced to next. The calculated value is set in the column of the remaining operation time indicated by the pointer (ST9). Specifically, 2.99 is registered in the remaining operation time corresponding to “command U”, which is the next column of “command A”. Further, the execution number counter is incremented by one (ST10).

The above-described steps 9 and 10 are sequentially repeated until the remaining operation time becomes negative (ST1).
1). As a result, in the example of FIG. 11, processing up to the instruction word D results in a negative value.
Proceed to 2.

That is, the pointer position at the beginning of the start stored as the execution pointer 2 is set as the current execution pointer (ST12). As a result, in the example shown in FIG. 11, the current execution pointer at the time of “Yes” in step 11 has advanced to the instruction word D, but by executing this step 12, the position returns to the original instruction word A. .

Then, the counter is set to 0 (ST1).
3) It is determined whether a stop condition is satisfied (ST1).
4) If not established, the simulation is executed sequentially for each execution unit, and each time the execution is executed, the current execution pointer is advanced to the next and the counter is incremented by 1 (ST15 to ST17).

The above steps 14 to 17 are repeatedly executed, and when the counter becomes equal to or larger than the execution number counter, the processing is terminated. It notifies the management server (ST19) and returns to step 1 to wait for the next operation time instruction.

Since the counter is set to 0 in step 13, the processing immediately before the remaining operation time becomes negative in the processing from step 1 to step 11, that is, the positive processing whose remaining time is closest to 0 is performed. The simulation is performed by actually performing the processing of step 15 until the processing reaches the value, and then the current execution pointer is advanced by one in step 16 so that the current pointer becomes the position of the execution unit where the remaining operation time becomes negative. (Instruction D in the example of FIG. 11).

When the stop condition is satisfied,
The determination at step 14 becomes Yes, and
In step ST21, a return value (stop) is notified to the virtual time management server 20 (ST21), and the process returns to step 1 to wait for an instruction for the next operation time.

At the time when a series of processing based on FIG. 11 is completed (it is determined that the stop condition is not met), the instruction word V
The remaining operation time at that time is 1.77 msec, and the current execution pointer is at the position of the next “instruction word D”. Therefore, next, when an operation time instruction is received from the virtual time management server and the processing from step 1 is executed, the processing of step 8 is executed as shown in FIG. 1.7
4.77 msec obtained by adding 3.0 msec to 7 msec is registered in the remaining operation time column of the instruction word D.

Next, the function of the virtual time management server 20 will be described. The basic functions of the virtual time management server 20 are as follows:
The operation time is notified to the plurality of PLC simulators 10 in order, and the execution mode is received. And all P
When the instruction to the LC simulator is completed, the processing is repeated again. Further, when the PLC simulator is stopped under the stop condition, the execution mode (stop) is received.
Then, a stop instruction is issued to the necessary PLC simulator. Further, it has a function of managing the execution state of each PLC simulator 10 by using a virtual PLC management table (see FIG. 15).

This virtual PLC management table (FIG. 15)
(A)) is a table in which all the PLC simulators managed by itself are associated with three pieces of information of the current state and the next state. The current state indicates the state of the PLC simulator at this time when the operation time is notified to all the PLC simulators.
When notified to the LC simulator, the first P
This shows the state of the PLC simulator at the next time when the notification is returned to the LC simulator again.

That is, when a return value indicating that the stop condition is met is received from a certain PLC simulator 10, FIG.
It is necessary to search for a PLC simulator to be stopped having a correlation condition based on the stop condition table shown in (b) and stop it. At this time, although the PLC simulators perform the processing one by one in order, in a real environment, since the PLC simulators that operate according to the notification of this time operate simultaneously, there is a correlation associated with the above-mentioned stop. The reflection of the stop command on the PLC is the next operation. Therefore, when receiving the stop, the corresponding PLC
The next state of the simulator and the other PLC simulator correlated therewith are disabled. By doing so, when the next round of processing is performed, the data of the next state is overwritten with the data of the current state, so that which PLC simulator can be actually executed when the next round is executed is determined. You can know.

The specific functions of the virtual time management server 20 are as follows, as shown in FIGS.
Acquires information on the PLC simulator to be managed by itself,
While starting all those PLC simulators,
Initialize the virtual PLC management table (ST31 to ST31)
33). The virtual PLC management table manages the state of each PLC simulator and has a data structure as shown in FIG.

First, it is determined whether or not the operation time has been instructed to all the PLC simulators to be managed (S
T34) If not notified, the PLC to be instructed
The operation time is notified to the simulator (ST3).
5). When all the PLC simulators 10 have been notified, the designated PLC simulator is set first, and the data of the next state of the virtual PLC management table is copied to the current state (ST36, ST37). And that one
The operation time is notified to the second PLC simulator (ST35).

When the operation time has been notified to the predetermined PLC simulator in this way, a return value from the designated PLC simulator is waited (ST39). When the content of the return value is “stop”, the stop condition table is used to stop the operation in accordance with the stop condition of the specified PLC.
LC simulators are detected, and the next state is disabled for them (ST40, ST41). If the return value is "stop release", a PLC simulator that stops in conjunction with the stop condition of the specified PLC is detected from the stop condition table, and the next state is enabled for them (ST42, ST43). ). Thereafter, the designated simulator is advanced next, and the process returns to step 34. Thereafter, the above-described processes are repeatedly executed in order.

Next, another embodiment will be described. In the above-described embodiment, a specific operation time is given. In other words, basically, an operation time is given to every PLC simulator every time, and each P
The LC simulator also executes processing for the operation time. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the virtual time is notified, and the designated PLC simulator executes the processing until the virtual time is reached. Here, the “virtual time” means an accumulated time from a certain time origin.

In this way, each PLC simulator knows the virtual time and can adjust the time by itself. In addition, during the simulation,
Even if another PLC simulator is added, the time can be adjusted. Furthermore, if a certain number of P
Even when the virtual time is not notified to the LC simulator, by receiving the notification of the virtual time thereafter,
It can advance to the same time as another PLC simulator at a time and adjust the timing.

First, the functions of the PLC simulator 10 are as follows.
As shown in FIGS. Basically, this is the same as in FIGS. 8 and 9 in which the operation time is directly notified. Corresponding processing steps are denoted by the same step numbers, and detailed description thereof will be omitted. Also, this PLC simulator 10
0 and an execution unit time table and an execution time management table as shown in FIG. Further, since the virtual time management server 20 notifies the "virtual time" to be advanced, the virtual time management server 20 also has a storage unit for storing at least the last virtual time, that is, the virtual time received last time (not shown).

On this premise, first, an instruction of “virtual time” sent from the virtual time management server 20 is waited (S
T1 '). And if you receive that virtual time,
It confirms its own current mode (ST2, ST4) and notifies a return value if necessary (ST3, ST5). And
The execution counter is set to 0, and the current execution pointer is copied and stored in the execution pointer 2 (ST6, ST6).
7).

Next, a difference between the received virtual time and the virtual time received immediately before is obtained. Thereby, the difference is set as the “operation time” (ST22). That is, since this difference is equivalent to the “operation time” in the above-described embodiment, the following processing can be the same as the processing procedure when the operation time is given.

The function of the virtual time management server 20 is as follows.
Except for notifying the virtual time to each PLC simulator as described above, it is basically the same as the above-described embodiment in which the operation time is instructed. Therefore, FIG. 13 and FIG.
In the flowchart shown in FIG. 4, the processing of step 35 is described as “notifying the PLC simulator of“ virtual time ”. "
Otherwise, the flowcharts shown in the respective drawings can be applied as they are.

Of course, the present invention is not necessarily limited to the one that executes the flowchart.
A process may be added for notifying the simulator at a certain timing.

Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, before actually executing the simulation of each instruction word, it is confirmed that the processing does not exceed the designated operation time / virtual time, and then the processing is executed. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and each command may be executed immediately.

The function of the PLC simulator in that case can be, for example, as shown in FIG. That is, the processing from step 1 to step 5 is the same as in each of the above embodiments. Thereafter, the integrated value is initialized (ST51), and while executing the simulation in order one instruction word at a time, the instruction execution time by executing the instruction word is integrated (ST52 to ST54).

The above-described steps 52 to 54 are repeatedly executed until the integrated value of the integrated execution time exceeds the given operation time.
The process is terminated (ST55), and the process returns to step 1 to wait for the next instruction.

In this case, although the error is accumulated by the operation time, there is an advantage that the algorithm is simple and the processing time is short. Note that the other configurations, functions, and effects are the same as those of the above-described embodiments, and thus detailed description thereof will be omitted. Also, the algorithm shown in FIG. 18 can of course be similarly processed when a virtual time is given.

Further, in each of the above embodiments,
In each case, the function of stopping the PLC simulator according to the stop condition or the correlation condition is described. However, the present invention does not necessarily require the function of stopping the PLC simulator. Further, the simulator is not limited to the PLC simulator, and may be a simulator for another device.

As an example, as shown in FIG. 19, there is one in which a simulator 10 ′ for a machine tool (robot) 11 and a PLC simulator 10 are managed by a virtual time management server 20. The real PLC and the robot 11 cooperate with each other. For example, the robot simulator 10 ′ simulates whether the arm 12 of the robot 11 collides with another object based on the trajectory of the robot 11 moving from the point X to the point Y. Reference numeral 10 executes various processes at the same time.

When the position control is included so as to analyze the movement of the arm as in the normal robot simulator 10 ',
It has a complementary cycle for its position control. That is, the arm is virtually moved in each complement cycle, the position of the arm at that time is recognized, and the presence or absence of a collision is confirmed. Therefore, when the supplementary period Δt1 is set to a short time (operation time) Δt1 in the simulator, the operation is synchronized with the operation of the robot simulator 10 ′.

It is to be noted that the operation time instructed from the virtual time management server 20 to each simulator is preferably achieved by using the supplementary cycle as described above, since the robot simulator 10 'can be realized without making any significant modification of the program. Of course, in the present invention, the operation time to be instructed need not be coincident with the complementing time, and may be indicated by virtual time.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in which the program system is installed in the personal computer 1 in advance to complete the apparatus. However, the present invention is not limited to the device completed as described above. For example, the present invention is a program for causing a computer to execute the above-described processes, and the program is provided by being recorded on a predetermined recording medium. You may make it.

That is, as shown in FIGS. 20 and 21,
Examples of the recording medium include a floppy (registered trademark) disk (FD) 30 and a CD-ROM 31, and the programs stored in the recording media 30 and 31 are stored in a computer (FD) via an FD drive 32 or a CD-ROM drive 33. It is installed in the HD unit 35 connected (built-in) to the (personal computer) 34, whereby the computer 34 constitutes the device described in the above embodiment.

More specifically, the simulator 10 according to the embodiment, the program for performing each processing in the virtual time management server 20, and the like are installed in the HD unit 35. To the various processing units 1
0 and 20 can be constructed and each process can be performed at high speed.
Various tables and a storage unit for storing the last virtual time are realized by the HD unit 35, the internal memory 36, and the like. Also, the condition setting MMI 25 is
7. This is realized by the mouse 38. Data input via the MMI is displayed on a display (display device).
By displaying it at 39, it can also be confirmed. The recording medium may store the virtual time management server 20 and a plurality of simulators, or may store the virtual time management server 20 and one simulator. Also,
For storage capacity and other factors, the data may be physically divided into a plurality of recording media for recording.

[0077]

As described above, according to the present invention, the simulator can execute the process in consideration of the operation time of the real environment. , Each simulator
The speeds of movement on the operation time axis in the real environment match, and synchronization is achieved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the basic principle of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the basic principle of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a preferred embodiment of a simulation system according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating functions of a PLC simulator.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating functions of a PLC simulator.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating functions of a PLC simulator.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating functions of a PLC simulator.

FIG. 8 is a part of a flowchart illustrating functions of a PLC simulator.

FIG. 9 is a part of a flowchart illustrating functions of a PLC simulator.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a time table of an execution unit.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example of an execution time management table.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of an execution time management table.

FIG. 13 is a part of a flowchart describing the function of the virtual time management server.

FIG. 14 is a part of a flowchart describing the function of the virtual time management server.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of a virtual PLC management table and a stop condition table.

FIG. 16 is a part of a flowchart illustrating another function of the PLC simulator.

FIG. 17 is a part of a flowchart illustrating another function of the PLC simulator.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating still another function of the PLC simulator.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing another application example of the simulation system according to the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing a system configuration for implementing a recording medium according to the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a system configuration for implementing a recording medium according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10, 10 'simulator 20 virtual time management server 25 condition input MMI

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Kasuke Nagao 10 Hanazono Todocho, Ukyo-ku, Kyoto, Kyoto Omron Co., Ltd. OMRON Corporation F term (reference)

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A simulation system comprising: a plurality of simulators; and a management server that manages the operation of the simulator, wherein the management server simulates the plurality of simulators for a predetermined operation time in a real environment. The simulator has a function of notifying information for processing, and the simulator has a function of simulating and stopping a predetermined amount of instructions corresponding to the operation time based on information given from the management server. Simulation system characterized by: 2. When a simulator of the plurality of simulators is stopped under a stop condition, a notice to that effect is issued, and the related predetermined other simulator which directly or indirectly receives the notice includes: The simulation system according to claim 1, wherein the simulation is stopped at the same timing as the simulator that issued the notification. 3. A simulator for a simulation system comprising a plurality of simulators and a management server for managing the operation of the simulator, wherein the simulator corresponds to a predetermined operation time based on information from the management server. A simulator having a function of simulating a predetermined amount of instructions and stopping the simulation. 4. A management server for a simulation system, comprising: a plurality of simulators; and a management server that manages the operation of the simulator, wherein the simulator performs a predetermined operation in a real environment for the plurality of simulators. A management server having a function of notifying information for performing a simulation process only for a time. 5. A computer, comprising: a simulation process for executing an instruction for simulation in consideration of operation time in a real environment; and a management process for outputting an instruction for executing the simulation process in a predetermined operation time unit. A computer-readable recording medium storing a program to be executed.