JP2002318607A - Renewal design supporting method and its system and virtual equipment to be used for the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a renewal design supporting method and system capable of easily verifying a renewal control program. SOLUTION: In a production factory 10, facility controllers 12 and 13 which receive an instruction from a facility management server 14 controls the operation of a robot 11 to be controlled so that a plurality of actual facilities can be cooperated. A virtual facility 20 is connected through an Internet 30 to the production factory. An improved control object 22c is integrated into a carriage facility controller 22 of the virtual facility, and a carriage robot operation simulator part 21 being an object to be controlled is arranged in the virtual facility. The control object 22c controls the simulator part 21 corresponding to the actual facility to be controlled according to an instruction received from the facility management server 14 in a state in which the production factory is operated. Thus, the verification of the control object 22c can be performed. After the verification, the control object 22c is downloaded to the controller 12 of the production factory.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a renewal design support method and system, and a virtual facility used for the method and system.

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION For example, when one system is constructed by combining a plurality of facilities in a production factory, a control program for controlling the operation of each of the cooperating facilities is created, and actual facilities (real machines) are created. Will be incorporated into This control program performs not only the operation control of the facility itself but also the operation control for cooperating with other facilities. In such a case, usually, before incorporating the created control program into the actual machine, it is verified using a simulation device, and after confirming that it operates normally, the control program is downloaded to the actual machine, and the production factory is operated. I have.

As a conventional technique for performing such a simulation, for example, there is a virtual factory simulation apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-81906. The technology disclosed in this publication creates a virtual factory by creating a simulation device corresponding to actual equipment on a computer. Then, the simulation device in the virtual factory is operated using the control program,
This is to determine whether or not to operate normally.

However, in the technology using the virtual factory simulation disclosed in the above-mentioned publication, for example,
When changing some equipment installed in a production plant that is already in operation, create a simulation device for all equipment that constructs a system related to the equipment to be changed, and change the equipment. Will be verified. Therefore, the virtual factory becomes large-scale, and a computer for executing the virtual factory needs to have a high performance and a large memory capacity. Further, it is complicated to create a simulation program corresponding to all of these real machines (equipment), and the complexity becomes more remarkable as the system becomes larger and the number of related real machines increases.

Further, the above-mentioned known technique is an effective technique when the mechanism such as a robot is limited to a fixed controller. In addition to the prior art documents presented above, in the case of a robot controller, a technology for generating a simulation program by offline teaching into a program for an executable controller, translating or converting the program, and downloading the program to an actual machine is known. Conventionally known.

On the other hand, in a control system including a programmable controller (hereinafter, referred to as a PLC control system) that performs sequence control using a combination of a large number of various elements such as robots, sensors, and actuators, an abstract model is used. Hard and impractical.

Therefore, when a PLC control system exists in an actual production factory, it is inevitable to model the PLC control system for performing a simulation using a conventional virtual factory, and it cannot be put to practical use.

Further, at an abstract level such as a parallel I / O control program, operation cannot be performed in an environment without a physical interface, and operation cannot be confirmed unless a signal from a partner returns. Therefore, generating and translating a program that can be executed by the PLC from a program in an abstract format becomes rather complicated and cannot be used.

That is, for example, in an actual facility system, the PLC is a MES (manufacturing device).
XMS execute system in response to a production instruction from a production execution system (FMS).
ble manufacturing system:
Offline simulation and download including the entire movement of the flexible production system, high-mix, low-volume production system are more complicated than actual machines.

As described in the embodiment, the MES has two functions: the equipment side and the instruction management server side. In addition, the equipment side requires a part depending on the control device, and the design and verification of the dynamic operation are complicated.
Then, the control program operates only when receiving a signal from the equipment to be controlled. Therefore, the inspection cannot be performed without the signal from the control target, and it is difficult to perform the preliminary verification remotely.

According to the present invention, a program for a PLC control system or the like required for improvement or renewal of factory equipment can be verified, and the program can be easily downloaded to actual equipment after verification. It is an object of the present invention to provide a renewal design support method and system and a virtual facility used for the method and system.

[0012]

A renewal design support method according to the present invention is a renewal design support method for a control program of an actual facility in a system in which a plurality of actual facilities cooperate. Then, first, a virtual facility including a changed control program and a simulation unit corresponding to a real facility to be controlled by the changed control program is provided, and the virtual facility and the system are connected via a data communication unit. I do. In this state, the virtual equipment communicates necessary information between the real equipment and the virtual equipment, and executes the changed control program by using information obtained by the communication, whereby the simulation means To verify the changed control program.

[0013] Also, a renewal design support system suitable for carrying out such a method is a renewal design support system for a control program of the actual equipment in a system in which a plurality of actual equipment cooperates, the system comprising: The virtual equipment includes a changed control program, virtual equipment including simulation means corresponding to the actual equipment to be controlled by the changed control program, and data communication means for connecting the virtual equipment to the system. Further, the virtual equipment communicates necessary information between the real equipment and the virtual equipment, executes the changed control program using information from the real equipment, and operates the simulation means. And a function for verifying the changed control program.

Further, the virtual facility for realizing the above method and system is a virtual facility for implementing a renewal design support method for a control program of the real facility in a system in which a plurality of real facilities cooperate. ,
The changed control program, the simulation means corresponding to the actual equipment to be controlled by the changed control program, and the information obtained from the actual equipment obtained via the data communication means is used to execute the changed control program. It has a function of executing the simulation program and verifying the changed control program by operating the simulation means.

The data communication means is realized by the Internet 30 in the embodiment, but is not limited to this, and may be a public line or a dedicated line. If they are not apart from each other, various forms such as a direct connection by various networks such as a LAN or a cable can be adopted. Further, the present invention is not limited to wired, but may be wireless. In the embodiment, the control program corresponds to a control object.

The control program incorporated in the virtual facility and the simulation device controlled by the control program relate to a control program for at least improving, creating, and verifying, but may include a program not to be verified. .

According to the present invention, the virtual facility verifies the control program in the virtual facility while communicating with the operating system (real facility). In other words, it is not necessary to create a simulation device for actual equipment including an operating control program that does not need to be verified, and it is only necessary to incorporate a minimum number of simulation devices into the virtual equipment. However, it is easy to construct virtual facilities. Moreover, even in a system including a system that is difficult to model, such as a PLC control system, it is possible to use the data of the actual machine as it is for the system that is difficult to model.

Further, the same control program as the actual control program can be remotely verified on the virtual equipment by another hardware on the network. If the system and the virtual facility are connected and communicable by data communication means, design and verification services can be remotely provided anywhere. Moreover,
You can verify design and implementation on virtual equipment while operating real equipment.

Further, according to the present invention, after the verification, the changed control program can be downloaded to the actual equipment via the data communication means. That is,
After verifying the production instructions and the entire equipment management system, the program changes can be downloaded.

[0020]

FIG. 1 shows a preferred embodiment of the present invention. An example is shown in which a controller (transport equipment controller 12) for a transport robot 11 installed in a production and assembly type production factory 10 that is actually operating is modified.

First, the production factory 10 will be described.
In this example, the transfer robot 11 takes out a work, which is an object to be transferred, from a transfer source and passes the work to a transfer destination via a predetermined path (movement trajectory). As the carrier,
It may be a storage shelf (storage facility) that stores the work, an unloading position of another transport line, or a processing facility that has processed the work in a previous process. Further, the transfer destination may be a processing facility, an unloading line, or a storage facility.

The operation of the transfer robot 11 is controlled by a transfer equipment controller 12, and the operation of a processing equipment (not shown) such as an NC machining center is controlled by a processing equipment controller 13. The transport equipment controller 12 and the processing equipment controller 1
3 operates a connected real machine (actual facility) in response to a production instruction from the facility management server 14.

The relationship between the equipment management server 14, the equipment controller, and the actual equipment will be described more specifically, taking a transfer equipment (transfer equipment controller 12) to be improved as an example. The transfer robot 11 is connected to a PLC control system of the transfer equipment controller 12.

The transfer equipment controller 12 receives the production instruction from the transfer application object 14a in the equipment management server 14, and determines the operation order of the transfer robot 11. As an example, the work to be processed is taken out of the storage facility and passed to the processing facility. In some cases, when the processing is completed, the transfer robot 11 performs an operation of grasping and transferring the completed work and returning the work to the storage facility.

Then, the transfer equipment controller 12 operates the robot arm of the transfer robot 11 in accordance with the determined operation order. That is, the transport equipment controller 12 controls the parallel I / O interface (P-I / O)
And an I / O interface 12a such as a serial interface (SI / O).
An input / output signal is transmitted / received to / from an input / output device 11a such as a sensor, an actuator, and a servo controller attached to the transfer robot 11 via 2a, so that the above operation is performed. As an example, the transfer robot 11
Based on the position information obtained from the sensors installed in
Control is performed so that a predetermined robot arm passes a predetermined trajectory and does not go too far.

Further, the transport equipment controller 12 includes:
A virtual machine (VM) 12b is provided, and the same program operates on different hardware by absorbing differences in hardware (real equipment). Virtual machine 1
An example of 2b is a virtual machine for Java language execution. The control object 12c determines the above-described operation order and actually operates the robot arm based on the determination.

The equipment management server 14 executes a MES (production execution system) layer application that performs the functions of production instructions and equipment management, and the transfer application object 14a issues such production instructions. As production instructions,
There is a transfer order whose contents include transmission source, transfer destination, type and number of works to be transferred, and the like (see FIG. 2).

Although not shown, the equipment management server 1
4 also has a processing application object for processing equipment,
The processing application object is the processing equipment controller 1
3 sends a production instruction to the processing equipment controller 1
The control object in 3 determines the operation order and operates the processing equipment (NC machining center or the like) at a predetermined timing. Since the above-described configuration and operation are the same as those of the related art, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Here, according to the present invention, a virtual facility 20 is provided separately from the actual facility of the actual factory line,
0 and a production factory (actual equipment) 10 are connected via the Internet 30. In addition, each facility and Internet 3
The connection with 0 is made by a communication means such as a LAN or a telephone line.

The virtual equipment 20 is, for example, a controller (control object, program) such as a design service company.
It is realized by a computer installed in a facility that improves the quality. Of course, the installation position is not limited to the inside of the facility, and may be outside the facility or a computer installed in the production factory 10. In that case, the connection form does not need to be the Internet 30, and the normal LA
N may be used. The connection using the Internet 30 is made because of the easiness of connection between different companies, and the use of ordinary telephone lines, public lines and dedicated lines is of course not hindered. In short, production factory 10 (equipment management server 14 etc.)
It is sufficient that data can be transmitted and received between the virtual facilities 20.

In the virtual facility 20, a transport facility controller 22 to be improved and a transport robot operation simulator 21 corresponding to an actual machine (transport robot 11) operated by the controller are incorporated. The transfer robot operation simulator section 21 can display a transfer operation such as IGRIP in a three-dimensional virtual space. That is, it can be realized by a general simulation device as in the related art.

Here, the transport equipment controller 22 has an improved control object 22c. The control object 22c operates not only on the transport facility controller 22 of the virtual facility but also on the transport facility controller 12 on the actual facility. That is, a program (control object) to be mounted on the transport controller 12 of the real equipment is created, and the virtual equipment 20 is created.
It is incorporated into the transport equipment controller 22 in the inside, and as described later, it is verified whether or not the operation of the created control object 22c has a defect. Then, when there is no defect, the control object is downloaded to the transport equipment controller 12 of the production factory 10, and thereafter,
Control and operation in actual equipment can be performed based on the improved control object.

In order to realize such processing (verification, download, etc.), the transport equipment controller 2 in the virtual equipment 20
2, a virtual machine 22b (the function is the same as that of the virtual machine 12b) is incorporated as in the actual equipment, and a PI / I / O / SI / O function unit 22a and a transfer equipment robot simulator 21 are connected to the communication I / O. They are connected by the F function unit 22d. The communication I / F function unit 22d can be realized by, for example, a socket interface or the like.

Thus, when viewed from the control object 22c, the PI / O and SI / O function units 2
By transmitting and receiving I / O data to and from 2a, data communication with the transfer robot operation simulator unit 21 can be performed. That is, as viewed from the control object 22c, the transfer robot operation simulator unit 21 is a virtual control target.
This makes it possible to verify whether the operation of the control object 22c can be performed logically and correctly in time.

That is, as a change or correction from the control object (A) operating in the actual facility to the control object (B), for example, an upper / lower limit switch of the robot and an emergency stop switch attached to the safety fence are added. May improve safety. In such a case, new input information is wired to a PIO determined address in actual equipment. Therefore, a simulation element serving as a sensor is also added to the virtual equipment 20, and the address of the PIO corresponding to the actual device in the communication I / F function unit 22d is set to ON,
It can be turned off. Therefore, in the control object (B) 22c, the state of the PIO is read at regular intervals, and a program for stopping the servo and automatic operation according to the input pattern is added in the same manner as the actual machine.

Further, in this embodiment, the virtual equipment 20 includes:
Only the improved control object 22c and the simulator (transportation robot operation simulator unit 21) of the equipment to be controlled by the control object 22c are incorporated, and simulators and controllers for other devices are not incorporated (not included). Does not hinder).
Therefore, in the simulation for verifying the improved control object 22c, various data are obtained from the actual equipment operating in the actual production factory and operated.

Therefore, the facility management server 14 has a virtual facility application object 14a 'having the same function as the transport application object 14a. The virtual facility application object 14a 'has a function of outputting a production instruction or the like, similarly to the transfer application object 14a. However, the destination of the production instruction is the control object 22c in the transport equipment controller 22 of the virtual equipment 20.

The control object 22c of the virtual facility 20 sends and receives information to and from the transfer robot operation simulator unit 21 to be controlled as described above, and the facility management server of the production factory 10 via the Internet 30. 14 (virtual facility application object 14a ')
Data will be transmitted and received between the device and. Therefore, although the communication medium is different depending on the Internet 30 or the LAN, the data transmission / reception partner and the communication method are the control objects 12 incorporated in the actual equipment in the production factory 10.
It becomes the same as c.

Further, the control object which has been verified by the virtual facility 20 (in the illustrated example, the control object 22
c) can be downloaded to the equipment controller of the production factory 10 (in the illustrated example, the transport equipment controller 12) via the Internet 30. As described above, since the control object 22c in the virtual facility 20 has the same operation and data communication system as the actual facility, the control object 22c can be operated as a control object on the real facility side by downloading the control object 22c as it is.

By using the system described above, the
The procedure from verification to download of the changed control object is as shown in FIG. At that time, the equipment management server 14 and the transport equipment controller 12 of the actual equipment
FIG. 2 shows a communication sequence performed between the virtual equipment and the transport equipment controller 22 of the virtual equipment. Further, the processing functions of the equipment management server 14, the transfer equipment controller (real equipment) 12, and the transfer equipment controller (virtual equipment) 22 for performing such processing are shown in FIGS. 4, (FIGS. 5 and 6), and (FIG. 7, the flowchart shown in FIG. 8) is obtained.

Next, the function of each section will be described following the above procedure. First, as shown in FIG. 3A, a control object (B) obtained by improving / creating a running control object (A) is incorporated into the virtual facility 20, and the control object (B) is verified. In other words, the control object (B) designed and created in accordance with the renewal requirement specifications, such as improvement of the control method and addition of new equipment
When performing pre-verification, the operation of machines and the operation of control are verified on virtual facilities.

Although not shown in FIG. 1, the facility management server 14, the transport facility controller 12, and the transport facility controller (virtual facility 20) 22 have a facility management server interface 15, a transport facility interface 16, and a virtual facility interface, respectively. An interface 26 is provided, and data can be sent to a predetermined destination via each of the interfaces 15, 16, and 26. The remote communication between these interfaces 15, 16, and 26 can be realized by a technology such as CORBA or DCOM, which is a distributed object technology on a network. If this is used, the communication partner between the virtual facility 20 and the production factory (real facility) 10 can be easily switched on the network by designating the method by specifying the object name.

At the time of the preliminary verification, the control object (A) 12c is incorporated in the transport equipment controller 12, and the transport equipment controller 12 is operating on the actual equipment. That is, in the actual equipment, control is performed between the control object (A) 12c and the transport application object 14a by a communication sequence using the equipment management server interface 15 and the transport equipment interface 16. The virtual facility application object 14 has exactly the same function as the transport application object 14a, but communicates with the virtual facility 20.
a 'is generated by copying. This virtual facility application object 14a 'is performed by communication between the facility management server interface 15 and the virtual facility interface 26.

Then, as shown in FIG.
A pre-verification start message is output from the transport equipment controller 22 of FIG. 7 (FIG. 7: ST40, ST41). Since the pre-verification start message is sent to the equipment management server 14 and the transport equipment controller 12 of the actual equipment, they check whether or not such a pre-verification start message has been received (FIG. 4: ST1, FIG. 5: ST21).

As shown in FIG. 4, upon receiving the pre-verification start message, the facility management server 14 proceeds to step 2 and generates a virtual facility application object 14a 'for the facility controller (control object) to be pre-verified. (ST2). Thereafter, the generated virtual facility application object 14a 'and the transfer application object 14a start a transfer order control sequence in parallel (ST3). That is, the transport application object 1
4a sends a transfer order to the transfer equipment controller (actual equipment) 12 and sends the virtual equipment application object 14
a 'sends a transfer order to the transfer equipment controller (virtual equipment) 22. In the control sequence in this example, the work is taken out of the storage facility, transported to the processing facility (unloading operation), and the processed work is transported to the storage facility and returned (performing the loading operation).

Next, the transport application object 14a,
The virtual facility application object 14a 'receives a transfer destination carry-in reservation message, a transfer source carry-out reservation message, and a carry-in completion message sent from the respective transfer facility controllers 12 and 22 as the transfer processing progresses (S).
T4 to ST7). Then, predetermined processing is executed according to the content of the received message.

That is, the transport application object 14a that has received the reservation message makes a reservation for the designated destination equipment or destination equipment. That is, it is ensured that it will not be used by others. In the case of the unloading completion message, the completion of unloading is notified to the processing equipment, and the processing equipment controller drives the processing equipment. In the case of the virtual facility application object 14a ',
Upon receiving such various messages, the process in that step ends.

The above-described steps 3 to 7 are repeatedly executed until a pre-verification end operation stop message is received from the virtual facility 20 side. Note that the specific processing in each of the processing steps 3 to 7 is the same as the control in the actual equipment performed in the conventional production plant 10, and thus detailed description thereof will be omitted.

If a pre-verification end operation stop message is received (Yes in step 8), the operation of the actual equipment is stopped (ST9). Then, it waits for the new control object (B) to be downloaded to the transport equipment controller 12, and then determines whether or not to resume operation using the downloaded new control object (B) (ST10). This determination is made based on whether or not an operation restart message has been sent from the virtual facility. That is, as shown in FIG. 3B, the virtual facility interface 26 sends the control object (B) to the transport facility controller 12 via the transport facility interface 16. At this time, the equipment management server interface 15
Does not communicate with either the transport facility interface 16 or the virtual facility interface 26.

If not restarted, the process is terminated. Thereby, the virtual facility application object is also automatically deleted. If the operation is to be resumed, the virtual facility object related to the downloaded control object is deleted (ST11), and the process returns to step 1. Then, it is determined again whether or not the pre-verification start message has been received. If the message has not been received, the process proceeds to step 12, and only the actual equipment continues to operate. This operation of only the actual equipment executes the processing of steps 3 to 7 based on the transport equipment application object.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 3C, the equipment management server interface 15 and the transport equipment interface 16 communicate. Virtual equipment interface 2
6 does not communicate with either the transport facility interface 16 or the virtual facility interface 26.

On the other hand, the transport equipment controller 12 of the actual equipment
Performs the processing as shown in FIGS. That is, if the pre-verification start message is received, step 22
And waits for the reception of the transport order sent from the corresponding transport application object 14a. Then, if received, the transport order is converted into a servo operation command sequence (ST22).

Next, a carry-in reservation message and a carry-out reservation message are sent to the transport application object 14a of the equipment management server 14 (ST23, ST24). After the reservation is completed, the unloading operation servo operation command is
-Input / output from I / O and perform actual unloading work (ST2
5). When the unloading operation is completed, an unloading completion message is transmitted (ST26).

Next, the process proceeds to the loading process. That is, a carry-in work servo operation command is input / output from the PI / O at a predetermined timing, and an actual carry-in work is performed (ST27). When the carry-in work is completed, a carry-in completion message is transmitted (S
T28).

Then, the above-described steps 22 to 28 are repeatedly executed until a pre-verification end operation stop message is received from the virtual facility 20 side. Also, a pre-verification end operation stop message is received (step 2).
If Yes in 9), the operation of the actual equipment is stopped (ST3).
0). Then, a new control object (B) is downloaded (ST31).

After the download is completed, it is determined whether or not the operation is restarted using the new control object (B) that has been downloaded (ST32). This determination is made based on whether or not an operation restart message has been sent from the virtual facility. If the processing is not to be resumed, the processing is terminated.

If the operation is to be resumed, the operation is restarted (ST33), and the process returns to step 21. Then, it is determined again whether or not the pre-verification start message has been received. If the message has not been received, the process proceeds to step 34, and only the actual equipment is operated. The operation of only the actual equipment is performed in steps 22 to 28.
The processing up to is performed.

On the other hand, the transport equipment controller 2 of the virtual equipment
2 performs processing as shown in FIGS. That is,
As described above, when starting the pre-verification, after transmitting the pre-verification start message (ST40, ST41), receiving the transfer order sent from the virtual equipment application object 14a 'of the equipment management server 14 receiving the message. Wait for. Then, if received, the transport order is converted into a servo operation command sequence (ST42).

Next, a carry-in reservation message and a carry-out reservation message are sent to the virtual facility application object 14a 'of the facility management server 14 (ST43, ST44).
After the reservation is completed, a virtual unloading operation servo operation command is input / output from the PI / O at a predetermined timing to perform a virtual unloading operation (ST45). When the virtual unloading operation by the simulation is completed, an unloading completion message is transmitted (ST
46).

Next, the process proceeds to the virtual loading process. That is,
At a predetermined timing, the virtual loading operation servo operation command is
Input / output from I / O and perform virtual carry-in work (ST4)
7). When the virtual carrying-in work by the simulation processing is completed, a carrying-in completion message is transmitted (ST48).

Then, the above-described processing of steps 42 to 48 is repeatedly executed until the end of the preliminary verification.
Then, when the pre-verification is completed (the determination is made based on, for example, input from an operator), a pre-verification end operation stop message is transmitted to the equipment management server 14 and the transport equipment controller 12 of the actual equipment (ST49). , ST5
0). Next, a new verified control object (B) is downloaded (ST51).

If the operation is not started after the download is completed (No in step 52), the process is terminated.
When the operation is to be started, an operation restart message is transmitted (ST53). Thereafter, the process returns to step 40, and it is determined whether or not to start the preliminary verification again. If not, the operation of only the actual equipment is continued (ST54).
Steps 22 to 28 in FIG. 6 and Step 4 in FIGS.
As is clear from comparison of 2 to 48, the processing of the control objects of the respective transport facility controllers is equivalent. In addition, the start timing of the virtual loading operation and the virtual unloading operation performed by the transport facility controller 22 (control object (B)) of the virtual facility is controlled by the transport facility controller 12 of the real facility.
In the same manner as described above, it operates in response to a trigger from the equipment management server 14. That is, it operates by receiving a signal from the actual equipment.

According to the above-described mechanism, the control object itself that can be executed by the real machine and that has been accurately verified by using the virtual equipment at the time of designing the renewal can be operated by the real machine. In addition, even without an actual device, design verification can be performed in a form including the entire application from the application of the MES layer to the P / I / O sensor and actuator.

In other words, in the conventional method, it is necessary to finish the program and parameters according to the required specifications while making corrections in the actual machine adjustment stage.
Since most points can be verified in the pre-verification stage (a), the period and the number of steps can be reduced. This makes it possible to quickly improve control and renew equipment, and to provide it remotely as a design and verification service on the Internet.

[0065]

As described above, according to the present invention, the virtual equipment incorporating the control program to be verified is connected to the real equipment, and predetermined information is passed from the operating real equipment to the control program of the virtual equipment. Since the control program operates on the basis of the above, it is possible to monitor and verify the operation status. Therefore, at least the control program to be verified and the simulation means to be controlled need only be incorporated in the virtual equipment, and it is not necessary to model the entire system. Therefore, the PLC required for the improvement or renewal of the factory equipment is required.
The program for the control system or the like is verified, and the program can be easily downloaded to the actual equipment after the verification.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a communication sequence performed between a facility management server, a transport facility controller of a real facility, and a transport facility controller of a virtual facility.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a procedure of verification of an improved / changed control object → download → operation restart.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating functions of a management facility server.

FIG. 5 is a part of a flowchart showing functions of a transport equipment controller (control object) of the actual equipment.

FIG. 6 is a part of a flowchart showing functions of a transport equipment controller (control object) of the actual equipment.

FIG. 7 is a part of a flowchart showing functions of a transport facility controller (control object) of the virtual facility.

FIG. 8 is a part of a flowchart showing functions of a transport facility controller (control object) of the virtual facility.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Production factory 11a I / O device 11 Transfer robot 12 Transfer equipment controller 12a I / O interface 12b Virtual machine 12c Control object 13 Processing equipment controller 14 Equipment management server 14a Transfer application object 14a 'Virtual equipment application object 15 Equipment management server interface 16 Transport Equipment interface 20 Virtual equipment 21 Transfer robot operation simulator part 22 Transfer equipment controller 22a PI / O, SI / O function part 22b Virtual machine 22c Control object 22d Communication I / F function part 26 Virtual equipment interface 30 Internet

Continued on the front page F-term (reference) 5H220 AA04 BB12 CC05 CC09 CX09 EE08 EE10 HH04 JJ12 JJ24 JJ38 KK08 LL06 5H223 AA05 CC03 CC06 DD03 EE19 FF05 5H269 AB01 AB33 BB13 EE19 KK01 KK04 KK10 NN19 QE01

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A method for supporting a renewal design of a control program of an actual facility in a system in which a plurality of actual facilities cooperate, the method supporting a modified control program and an actual facility to be controlled by the modified control program A virtual facility provided with simulation means for performing the above, and connecting the virtual facility and the system via data communication means, the virtual facility communicates necessary information between the real facility and the virtual facility, Renewal design support, wherein the virtual facility executes the changed control program using information obtained by the communication, thereby operating the simulation means to verify the changed control program. Method. 2. The renewal design support method according to claim 1, wherein, after the verification, the changed control program is downloaded to the actual equipment via the data communication means. 3. A renewal design support system for a control program of the actual equipment in a system in which a plurality of actual equipments cooperate, wherein the system, a changed control program, and an object to be controlled by the changed control program. Virtual equipment provided with simulation means corresponding to real equipment; and data communication means for connecting the virtual equipment and the system, wherein the virtual equipment communicates necessary information between the real equipment and the virtual equipment. A renewal design having a function of executing the changed control program using information from the actual equipment and verifying the changed control program by operating the simulation means. Support system. 4. A virtual facility for implementing a method for supporting the renewal design of a control program of a real facility in a system in which a plurality of real facilities cooperate, comprising: a modified control program; and control of the modified control program. Using the simulation means corresponding to the target real equipment and the information from the real equipment obtained via the data communication means, executing the changed control program,
A virtual facility having a function of verifying the changed control program by operating the simulation means.