JP2002091559A - Control system, controller and monitor device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To permit the operator of a monitor device to easily grasp the state of control program execution. SOLUTION: This system is the one concerning a control system 5 by which monitor data transmitted from a controller 1 which is operated based on the control program is received and displayed with the monitor device 2. The controller 1 in the control system 5 obtains state change data which indicates the change state of a performing result in the control program from a last-time monitor display time till a succeeding monitor display time and transmits monitor data and state change data in accordance with a monitor data transmission period. When monitor data and state change data from the controller 1 are received, the monitor device 2 changes-over the display state of monitor data in accordance with the contents of state change data.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to the field of factory automation (FA) including assembling operations in, for example, steel and papermaking plants and the automobile industry.
The present invention relates to a control system, a control device, and a monitor device which are widely used for controlling an industrial system such as a PA field such as a chemical plant and a public water system such as a water supply and sewage system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In order to confirm the execution state of a control program operating in an industrial control device, a target control program is displayed on a monitor device, and instructions and connection lines in the control program are displayed near components. In general, the value of the command execution result and the ON / OFF information are displayed.

In this method, it is possible to know the instruction execution result and the state of the connection line at the time when the execution of the control program is completed, but the execution result of these control programs is transmitted from the control device to the monitor device. It is often data, and the quality of the displayed content depends on the data transmission speed between the control device and the monitor device.

[0004]

As the monitoring range of a control program to be checked by the monitor device becomes wider and the execution cycle of the control device becomes shorter, the amount of monitor data to be transmitted to the monitor device increases.

However, since the data transfer speed between the control device and the monitor device is not usually high enough to transmit all the monitor data, the monitor period is longer than the control program execution period in the control device.

In this case, since the display contents of the control program on the monitor device are the contents sampled at the monitor cycle, the monitor screen may not correctly reflect the state of execution of the control program. In this case, the operator of the monitor device may not be able to accurately grasp the execution status of the control program.

Hereinafter, a situation where the display contents of the monitor screen do not match the execution contents of the control program will be described in detail.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the conventional control device. In the conventional control device, as shown in FIG. 7, a program execution and monitor data collection program (FIG. 7A) and a program for transmitting monitor data to the monitor device (FIG. 7B) are executed in parallel. You.

The execution time of the program execution and monitor data collection program is generally shorter than the execution time, and is executed in 1/10 to 1/100 of the monitor data transmission time.

Therefore, most of the monitor data collected by the program shown in FIG. 7A is discarded without being used.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a monitor display operation in a conventional monitor device.

When the monitor display is started, the monitor device executes an initialization process (st801), sequentially reads out the control instructions in the control program in the monitor range and checks the type of the monitor instruction (st802). It is determined whether it is a bit or a numerical value (st803).

If the operand is a bit, a bit data portion is sequentially extracted from the monitor data transmitted from the control device, and the ON / OFF indication of the corresponding instruction is displayed according to whether the data is ON or OFF (st804). Perform (st805, st806).

If the operand of the control instruction is a numerical value, numerical data is similarly taken out from the monitor data in order, and a numerical display is executed for the corresponding instruction (st80).
7).

In this way, the monitor data corresponding to each control command is displayed. If the monitoring range has not ended (st808), the monitoring target instruction pointer is updated (st809), and the processing after the initialization processing is repeated until the end of the monitoring range.

As described above, the monitor device executes the monitor display, and repeats the above operation every time new monitor data is received.

In this case, focusing on the control instruction A having a certain bit operand executed by the control device,
The monitor data An is as shown in FIG.

FIG. 9 compares the transmission cycle of the monitor data, the monitor data of the control command A, and the state of the control command A.

In the control device, the control program is repeatedly executed, and data collection is performed a plurality of times for the m-th monitor data transmission. However, the data actually transmitted to the monitor device is the last collected An. Data only.

At this time, as shown in the timing chart of FIG. 9, there is a possibility that An has changed a plurality of times, but the monitor data transmitted to the monitor device is only the last monitor data. The monitor display on the device may be different from the actual change state. Therefore, it may be difficult to grasp the change in the control data.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a control system, a control device, and a monitor device that make it easy to grasp a change in control data.

[0022]

The gist of the present invention is that when a control device transmits a result of executing a control program to a monitor device in order to monitor the control program,
The change state from the previous monitor data is transmitted simultaneously with the execution result of the control program, and the monitor device uses the change state to change the display state of the monitor screen of the control program, thereby displaying the execution result of the control program. The point is that not only the values sampled as monitor data can be displayed, but also their changing states can be grasped at the same time.

Hereinafter, specific means taken to realize the present invention will be described.

The first invention relates to a control system in which a monitor device receives and displays monitor data transmitted from a control device operating based on a control program. The control device according to the first invention obtains state change data indicating a change state of the execution result of the control program from the time of the previous monitor display to the time of the next monitor display, and monitors the monitor data and the state in accordance with the monitor data transmission cycle. Send change data. When the monitor device receives the monitor data and the state change data from the control device, the monitor device switches the display state of the monitor data according to the contents of the state change data.

The control device includes control program storage means, control data storage means, control program execution means, monitor data extraction means, monitor data storage means, monitor data analysis means, and communication means with the monitor device. You may.

The monitor device may include a control program storage unit, a control data storage unit, a monitor range, a monitoring method designating unit, a communication unit with the control unit, and a monitor display unit. Monitor.

For example, this monitor device displays monitor data in a multi-valued manner in accordance with state change data.

In the first invention, when the monitor device displays the execution result of the control program executed by the control device, not only the instantaneous value of the execution result of the control program but also the current monitor display It is also possible to determine the state of change in the execution result of the control program that occurred before the monitor display. Therefore, the operator of the monitor device can better understand the state of execution of the control program.

The second invention relates to a control device which operates based on a control program and transmits monitor data for displaying the state to the monitor device. According to the second aspect of the invention, there is provided means for storing a value of a variable used in a monitoring range of a control program every time the control program is executed, comparing the value with a previously stored value, and a state change data obtained from the comparison result. Means for transmitting the monitor data and the monitor data in accordance with the monitor data transmission cycle.

In the control device according to the second aspect of the present invention, when the control program is executed by the control device, the values of the used variables are collected and compared with the values of the variables at the time of the previous execution. It is transmitted to the monitor device together with the monitor data.

Therefore, the monitor device can simultaneously display not only the execution result of the control program but also the change state of the value of the variable up to the execution result.

[0032] The third invention relates to a monitor device for receiving and displaying monitor data transmitted from a control device that operates based on a control program. According to the third aspect, a means for receiving monitor data and state change data indicating a change state of the execution result of the control program from the control device, and a means for switching the display state of the monitor data according to the content of the state change data. Have.

In the monitor device of the third invention,
Not only the execution result of the control program is displayed, but also a change state of the execution result of the control program such as control data transmitted from the control device can be displayed.

Therefore, the execution state of the control program can be better transmitted to the operator of the monitor device.

The fourth invention relates to a monitor device which receives and displays monitor data transmitted from a control device which operates based on a control program. The fourth invention is a means for comparing the monitor data received from the control device with the monitor data previously received from the control device, and the monitor data received from the control device according to the change state of the monitor data obtained from the comparison result. Means for switching the display state of the monitor data.

In the monitor device of the fourth invention,
Not only the execution result of the control program is displayed, but also the change state of the monitor data transmitted from the control device can be displayed. Therefore, the execution state of the control program can be better transmitted to the operator of the monitor device.

[0037]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a control system according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a control device provided in this control system.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a sequence operation processor provided in the control device.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a monitor device provided in the control system according to the present embodiment.

First, regarding the control system according to the present embodiment, the configuration of the control system shown in FIG.
The structure of the control device shown in FIG. 4 and the structure of the monitor device shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, the control system 5 is configured such that the control device 1 and the monitor device 3 are connected to the data transfer medium 3 in a state where data communication is possible.

As shown in FIG. 2, the control device 1 includes a CPU 11 for controlling the entire control device 1, a sequence operation processor 4 for executing a control program, a control program memory 15 for storing the control program, and a control program used for the control program. Data memory 16 for storing variable data to be
System bus 1 for connecting CPU 11 and other elements
7. Communication interface 1 for communicating with monitor device
8. an input / output module 19 for inputting and outputting to and from a control target;
It comprises a program memory 12 and a work memory 13.

As shown in FIG. 4, the monitor device 2 includes a CPU 201 for controlling the entire monitor device 2, a control program memory 204 for storing the same programs as the control programs stored in the control device 1, and variable data. , A communication interface 208 for communicating with the control device 1, an input device (such as a keyboard) 210 for specifying a monitor range, specifying variable data, and the like, and an input for connecting the input device 210. It comprises an output interface 209, a display device 211 for displaying programs and data, a display interface 206 for connecting the display device 211 to the CPU 201, and a system bus 207 for connecting the CPU 201 and each component.

When the control program is being monitored, the control device 1 executes
The used variable data is accumulated in time series. Then, each data is compared with the stored data at the time of the previous execution, and the change state is stored as state change data for each data. Thereafter, the stored data is transmitted as monitor data to the monitor device 2 via the communication interface together with the state change data. When the transmission is completed, the stored data and the state change data are cleared.

The monitor device 2 is configured to display the monitor data transmitted from the control device 1 as the latest data and to be able to change the display color and the display luminance in accordance with the contents of the state change data. Can be displayed more accurately.

Next, the control system 5 according to the present embodiment
Will be described using the configuration of the control device 1 shown in FIG. 2 and the configuration of the sequence operation processor 4 of the control device 1 shown in FIG.

In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the control program is executed by a dedicated circuit for executing the control program called a sequence operation processor 4. Note that the same logic may be realized by software and executed by the CPU 11.

The control program is described by an instruction called a sequence instruction, and is stored in the control program memory 15.

The sequence operation processor 4 executes the control program read from the control program memory 15 via the system bus 17.

The internal register 402 is a register for temporarily storing data required for executing an operation.

The sequence instruction pointer 403 is a register for storing the address of the control program being executed.

The sequence instruction register 404 is a register for storing the code of the currently executed sequence instruction.

The operand data register 405 is a register for storing data to be processed by a sequence instruction.

The monitor start address register 406 is a register for storing the monitor start address specified by the monitor device 2.

The monitor end address register 407 is a register for storing a monitor end address.

The monitor instruction address register 408 is a register for storing an address of an instruction to be monitored.

The comparison circuit 409 compares the contents of the preceding address register with the contents of the instruction pointer, the instruction register and the data register, and sends a coincidence signal to the data accumulation control circuit 410.

The data storage control circuit 410 controls the start and stop timings of data storage, determines the type of data to be stored according to the type of the instruction being executed, and controls the entire data storage operation. . In addition, the data accumulation control circuit 410 is connected to the system bus 17 when necessary.
, An interrupt signal can be sent to the CPU 11.

The step monitor designation flag 411 is interrupted each time the control program is executed by one step.
This is a flag for achieving synchronization with the monitor device 2.

The stored data counter 412 is a counter for counting the number of stored data.

The data storage memory 413 is a memory used as a buffer for storing data, and stores bit data, word data, state change data, and the like.

The monitor counter 414 counts the number of times of monitoring since the monitor data was transmitted to the monitor device 2. The monitor counter 414 is reset to 0 when transmission of the monitor data to the monitor device 2 is completed.

After inputting the state of the external control target via the input / output module 19, the sequence operation processor 4 reads the control program from the control program memory 15 and accesses the data in the data memory as necessary. And outputs the result to an external control target via the input / output module 19.

When real time monitoring of the sequence program is performed, first, the monitor start address is set from the CPU 11 in the monitor start address register 406, and the monitor end address is set in the monitor end address register 407.

Thereafter, when the execution of the control program is started, when the comparison circuit 409 compares the value of the sequence instruction pointer with the monitor start address when executing the control program in the range to be monitored, the data accumulation control circuit 410 stores necessary data thereafter in the data storage memory 413.

At this time, if the monitor counter 414 is not 0, since the previous monitor data exists, the data accumulation control circuit 410 compares the previous monitor data of the corresponding instruction with the present data, and if the change occurs, If there is, the state change data is incremented.

FIG. 5 illustrates the contents of the state change data.

In this example, the number of data changes until the monitor data transmission is recorded as state change data.
When the monitor data for one instruction is accumulated, the accumulated data counter 412 is updated.

When the monitor end address is detected or when the stored data counter 412 reaches a specified value, the data storage control circuit 410 notifies the CPU 11 of the detection, and requests reading of the data storage memory 413 and termination processing of the monitor.

Thus, the real-time monitoring of the control program is executed. The CPU 11 of the control device 1 transmits the collected variable data to the monitor device 2 via the communication interface 18. In this way, the control device 1 collects the variable data used in the monitor range in the order of use. When the monitor data can be transmitted to the monitor device 2, the control device 1 transmits the monitor data and the state change data to the monitor device 2. After the transmission is completed, the monitor counter 414 and the state change data are cleared.

The control device 1 can transmit the monitor data and the state change data to the monitor device 2 by executing the above processing.

Next, the control system 5 according to the present embodiment
Will be described using the configuration of the monitor device 2 shown in FIG.

In the monitor device 2, the same program as the control program of the control device 1 currently monitored is stored in the control program memory 204.

The operator of the monitor device 2 uses the display device 211 and the input device 210 of the monitor device 2 to specify the monitor range of the control program. When the monitor data and the state change data of the monitor range are transmitted from the control device 1, the monitor device 2 changes the display of the control command according to the command type of the corresponding control program. At this time, the display can be changed by using the contents of the state change data together.

For example, the normal O of the bit operand instruction
In the N display, a display with a higher brightness or a specific color is performed as compared with the OFF display.
If there is a change more than twice, increase the brightness of the ON / OFF display color, or use a different display color,
It is possible to emphasize the change in the data.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the processing of the monitor device 2 for changing the display based on the contents of the state change data.

If the monitor device 2 is monitoring the control device 1 (st601), the type of the instruction to be monitored is checked (s601).
t602), it is determined whether the operand is a bit or not (s
t603).

If the operand is a bit, monitor data is read to determine a display color (st604), and state change data is read to determine its luminance (st60).
5).

On the other hand, if the operand is a bit, monitor data is read (st606), and state change data is read to determine a display color and luminance (st607).

Then, the monitor device 2 displays the data on the display device 211 with the determined contents (st608). If the monitoring range has not ended (st609), the pointer of the instruction to be monitored is updated, and the same processing is repeated (st609).
610).

In the conventional display, the ON display is red, the OF is
Assume that the F display is blue. At this time, if the previous monitor display is ON and this time is also ON, the monitor display is simply a red display. However, in the monitor device 2 according to the present embodiment, from the previous monitor display to the current monitor display, If the control data has changed twice or more such as ON → OFF → ON during this period, it can be represented by a high-luminance red display.

Further, by setting the difference in luminance according to the number of changes, more detailed expression is possible.

Similarly, even if the monitor data is numerical data, if there is no change from the previous monitor data, the normal brightness is displayed, and if there is a change from the previous monitor data, the brightness or display color is changed. It is possible to display the state of change of the control data in detail by changing it.

As described above, in the control system 5 according to the present embodiment, when the control device 1 creates monitor data, a change from the previous monitor data is simultaneously created as state change data, and When the device 2 performs monitor display, the display color and luminance are changed using not only the monitor data but also the state change data.

Therefore, the state of change of the control data can be displayed in an easy-to-understand manner regardless of the monitor display cycle.

(Second Embodiment) In this embodiment, when the control device does not have the function described in the first embodiment, the same display as described above is performed only by the function of the monitor device. A monitor device for obtaining contents will be described.

If the control device does not have the function described in the first embodiment, the monitor device compares the monitor data with the previous monitor data and creates state change data in the same manner for displaying. .

In this case, since the number of changes is only 0 or 1, normal display is performed when the number of changes is 0, and high brightness display or special color display is performed when the number of changes is 1.

As a result, it is possible to easily determine whether data has changed or not.

That is, in the monitor device according to the present embodiment, even when the control device does not have the function of creating the state change data, the state change data is created from the change state of the monitor data, so that the normal binary value can be obtained. The change in the control data can be displayed in a state that is easy to understand as compared with the monitor display.

In the control system, control device, and monitor device described in each of the above embodiments, the arrangement of each component may be changed as long as similar operations and functions can be realized. Elements may be freely combined.

The functions of the control system, the control device, and the monitor device described in each of the above-described embodiments may be implemented by a program that can be executed by a computer, such as a magnetic disk (floppy (registered trademark) disk, hard disk, or the like). Optical discs (CD-ROM, DVD
Etc.), and can be written in a recording medium such as a semiconductor memory and applied to a computer, or transmitted by a communication medium and applied to a computer. The computer that realizes the above functions reads the program recorded on the recording medium, and performs the above-described processing by controlling the operation of the program.

[0094]

As described above, in the present invention,
When the control device creates monitor data, it simultaneously creates changes from the previous monitor data as status change data, and when the monitor device performs monitor display, it uses the monitor data and status change data to display. Do.

Thus, the execution contents of the control program can be confirmed in detail by the display contents of the monitor device, and the change of the control data can be displayed in an easy-to-understand manner regardless of the monitor display cycle.

Further, according to the present invention, the state change data is created from the change state of the monitor data by the monitor device, so that even if the control device does not have the function of creating the state change data, the normal binary monitor display can be performed. In comparison, the change of the control data can be displayed in an easily understandable manner.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a control system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a control device provided in the control system according to the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a sequence operation processor provided in the control device according to the embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a monitor device provided in the control system according to the embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the contents of state change data.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart exemplifying a process of a monitor device that changes a display based on the content of state change data.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a conventional control device.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a monitor display operation in a conventional monitor device.

FIG. 9 is a diagram comparing a transmission cycle of monitor data, monitor data of a control command, and a state of the control command.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Control device 2 ... Monitor device 3 ... Data transfer medium 4 ... Sequence operation processor 5 ... Control system 11, 201 ... CPU 12, 202 ... Program memory 13, 203 ... Work memory 15, 204 ... Control program memory 16, 205 ... Data memory 17, 207 System bus 18, 208 Communication interface 19 Input / output module 206 Display interface 209 Input / output interface 210 Keyboard 211 Display device 401 Sequence operation circuit 402 Internal register 403 Sequence instruction pointer 404 ... Sequence instruction register 405 ... Operand data register 406 ... Monitor start address register 407 ... Monitor end address register 408 ... Monitor instruction address register 409 ... Comparator 10 ... data storage control circuit 411 ... Step monitor designation flag 412 ... storing data counter 413 ... data storage memory 414 ... monitor counter

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A control system in which a monitor device receives and displays monitor data transmitted from a control device that operates based on a control program, wherein the control device is configured to perform a process from a previous monitor display to a next monitor display. Calculating state change data indicating a change state of the execution result of the control program, transmitting monitor data and state change data in accordance with a monitor data transmission cycle, the monitor device monitors the monitor data and the state from the control device. A control system, wherein, upon receiving the change data, the display state of the monitor data is switched according to the contents of the state change data. 2. A control device which operates based on a control program and transmits monitor data for displaying a state of the control program to a monitor device, wherein a value of a variable used in a monitor range of the control program is set by the control program. Means for saving each execution and comparing with a previously saved value, and means for transmitting the state change data and the monitor data obtained from the comparison result in accordance with a monitor data transmission cycle. Characteristic control device. 3. A monitor device for receiving and displaying monitor data transmitted from a control device operating based on a control program, wherein the control device displays the monitor data and a change state of an execution result of the control program. A monitor device comprising: means for receiving change data; and means for switching a display state of the monitor data according to the contents of the state change data. 4. A monitor device for receiving and displaying monitor data transmitted from a control device that operates based on a control program, wherein the monitor data received from the control device and the monitor data previously received from the control device are And a means for switching a display state of the monitor data received from the control device according to a change state of the monitor data obtained from a result of the comparison.