JP2003044277A - Program development support device, program development support program and recording medium having the same program recorded thereon - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the efficiency of program development by making the development environment and execution environment of a program coexist. SOLUTION: A computer system 3 is provided with an editor part 32 including a ladder editor 32a for preparing a ladder program for controlling the operation of input/output equipment 4 or the like with a PLC 2 and an image preparation editor 32b for preparing image data functioning as a program for display for performing the display of the operation of the input/output equipment 4 or the like and operation input in a programmable display device 1. Also, the computer system 3 is provided with a run time part 33 including a control run time part 33a for executing the ladder program and a display run time part 33b for executing the image data. Thus, in the computer system 3, the program prepared in the editor part 32 is executed in the run time part 33. Consequently, the program is debugged without downloading the program to the programmable display device 1 or the like.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a program development support apparatus, a program development support program, and a recording medium having the program recorded therein, the program development support apparatus being capable of being executed by an apparatus which has created a program relating to the operation of a controlled device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An industrial control device called a programmable logic controller (hereinafter referred to as a PLC) or the like has a hardware portion mainly including a CPU and a memory in order to realize various controls such as sequence control. , And the software part that controls it. The software part includes designing a sequence control flow for operating the PLC according to the control system at the time of designing, converting the control flow into an instruction word, writing the instruction word into a memory, and the like. Generally, this series of operations is called programming.

In such programming, a unique language is used so that a program can be easily created without having specialized knowledge of a computer, and various programming languages which are easy for users to use are successively developed. It became so. Currently, IEC (International Elect
The rotechnical Commission has established a standard programming language (IEC 6 1131-3). It is SFC (Sequential Function Chart), LD (Ladde
r Diagram), IL (Instruction List), FBD (Functio
n Block Diagram) and ST (Structured Text).

As described above, an environment is being prepared so that programs can be developed using various programming languages. For example, the ladder diagram (LD) has been widely used from the past because the ladder circuit can be relatively easily designed by using a relay symbol, and is still the most used programming language. Programming software such as a ladder editor has become widespread as a programming tool used in programming work in such a programming language. Since this software can create a ladder diagram or the like in a form including a ladder symbol in a computer device such as a personal computer, it is possible to easily create and edit a program.

On the other hand, HMI (Human Machine Interface)
The programmable display as a device is a dot display screen, input switch for operation, host controller (PL
It is an operation display including an interface with C), a program memory for control such as operation input on the screen, and the like. In general, the programmable display is capable of providing functions such as a control panel, a switch, and an indicator lamp because it displays a graphic display, and also various monitors and devices for management such as operation status of devices and work instructions. It has a function as a terminal for inputting setting values.

[0006] In recent years, by mounting an input / output unit or the like for connecting control target equipment, PL
Programmable displays with C control function have also appeared.

A control screen (display content program) displayed on such a programmable display can be created by the user by using screen creation software (drawing editor). When creating a screen, a user configures a desired control screen using components such as switches, lamps, ten keys, a meter display, a graph display, and a drawing function provided by drawing software in a personal computer or the like.

The created control screen is transferred to and stored in the programmable display as screen data. PLC
During operation, the programmable display displays each component or figure on the control screen according to the operating state of the controlled device based on the data exchanged with the PLC.

By the way, a program created by a computer device by the above-mentioned editor is downloaded to a PLC or a programmable display having an execution environment for the program. Then, by executing the program on the PLC or programmable display,
Device control by LC and screen display by a programmable display are realized.

[0010]

In the above method, since the execution environment is different between the computer device (development environment) for creating the program and the PLC and the programmable display (execution environment), the program is executed as described above. Need to download. Therefore, when a program is debugged, the program is executed in the execution environment, and if there is a problem, the program is modified in the development environment. Therefore, the program will be downloaded again after the completion of debugging.

As described above, in the conventional program downloading method, since the development environment and the execution environment are different,
Downloading had to be repeated, which reduced the efficiency of program development.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and a program development support apparatus capable of improving the efficiency of program development by making a program development environment and a program execution environment coexist. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a program and a recording medium recording the program.

[0013]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the program development support apparatus of the present invention comprises an editor means for creating a program relating to the operation of a controlled device, and a computer device provided with the editor means. And an execution unit for executing the program, wherein the editor unit displays an execution result of the program by the execution unit and downloads the program to an external device having a function equivalent to that of the execution unit. Or to download to the computer itself.

In the above configuration, for example, the program created by the editor means can be executed by the computer device by the execution means. As a result, in order to debug, etc., without downloading the program to the external device that is the execution subject, in the computer device,
The program can be executed. Further, the editor means displays the execution result of the program, so that it is possible to easily perform debugging on the computer device.

In the case where the executing means is caused to execute the program for debugging the program, the program is downloaded to the computer device itself, and when the program is executed in an external device which originally executes the program, the program is downloaded. Make the external device download the program. In this way, by selecting the download destination of the program, it is possible to establish the work procedure of downloading the program to the external device after the debugging is completed.

In the above program development support apparatus, as the editor means, a first editor means for creating a control procedure program for defining a control procedure for controlling the controlled equipment, and a state of the controlled equipment are displayed. It is preferable that the display means further comprises a second editor means for creating a display content program for defining the display content to be executed, and the execution means executes the control procedure program and the display content program in cooperation with each other.

The control procedure program is, for example, a sequence control program such as a ladder program, and the display content program is screen data displayed on a programmable display or the like. These programs are closely related in controlling the operation of the control target device, and are preferably executed together when performing debugging or the like. Therefore, by executing the control procedure program and the display content program in cooperation with each other, the executing means can debug both programs at the same time.

The program development support program of the present invention causes a computer to implement each means in each of the program development support devices described above. A recording medium of the present invention is a computer-readable recording medium in which the above program development support program is recorded.

Even if these program development support programs and recording media are used, the efficiency of program development realized by each of the above-mentioned program development support devices can be similarly realized.

[0020]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

The display / control system according to the present embodiment includes a programmable display 1 and a PLC 2 as shown in FIG.

The programmable display 1 includes a CPU 11,
Memory unit 12, VRAM 13, display 14, graphic controller 15, touch panel 16, touch panel controller 17, maintenance port 18, communication controller 19, input / output unit 20 (I / I in the figure)
An O unit), an I / O control interface 21 and a runtime unit 22.

The memory section 12 includes a DRAM 12a and a FEP.
ROM (Flash Erasable and Programmable ROM) 12b
Includes memory etc. The DRAM 12a is mainly used for work during arithmetic processing such as display control, and is also used for PL.
Used for temporary storage of data exchanged with C2. The SRAM 12c is used for logging data obtained from the PLC 2 and storing control data (recipe data) given to the PLC 2.
The FEPROM 12b is a rewritable read-only flash memory and plays a role of a hard disk drive in a general personal computer. Since the flash memory has no moving parts and is strong against shock, it operates stably even in a bad surrounding environment.

The FEPROM 12b shown in FIG.
As shown in, the display control system program, the communication protocol, and the screen data are stored in respective areas. The display control system program is a program for realizing a basic function for performing image display control. The communication protocol is a protocol used in communication processing with PLC2, and is a model (manufacturer) of PLC2.
It is uniquely defined according to. The screen data is created by the drawing editor 32b, which will be described later, and the FEPRO
It has been downloaded to M12b. The screen data includes a base screen to be displayed on the display 14, data of parts as graphic elements, and a processing instruction word W (see FIG. 3) given to each mark, which will be described later, and constitutes a display content program. is doing.

The above parts are a touch switch, a lamp,
It is prepared in advance as various imaged basic parts such as various display devices (for example, a numerical display device and a meter display device). In addition, as parts, in order to express dynamic changes such as switches and numerical displays at arbitrary positions on the screen, there is also a functional unit in which a desired moving image function is set in a rectangular area set at a desired position. included.

As shown in FIG. 3, the processing instruction word W included in the screen data is created for each event to be executed on the base screen. This processing instruction word W is basically
File number F of the base screen that should execute the display control operation
And an event name T that specifies the operation content to be executed on this base screen, and reference information I consisting of one or more data that is referenced for each execution event, as a set.

The CPU 11 is the above-mentioned FEPROM 12b.
The operation of each part of the programmable display device 1 is controlled according to the display control system program stored in.
Further, the CPU 11 has a maintenance port 18 which will be described later.
It has a function of controlling communication with the computer device 3 described later via the, and stores screen data in the FEPROM 12b when receiving screen data from the drawing editor 32b,
When it receives a ladder program (control procedure program) from the ladder editor 32a, it transfers it to the PLC2.

The VRAM 13 is a memory for temporarily holding the image of the screen displayed on the display 14, and stores the image of the screen data from the FEPROM 12b as dot data in the order of being displayed in the horizontal direction.

The display 14 is composed of a flat panel display element such as a liquid crystal panel or an EL panel.
The graphic controller 15 is driver software that draws an image of a screen expanded in the VRAM 13 on the display 14. The touch panel 16 is provided for inputting on the display screen of the display 14, and is preferably an analog resistance film type touch panel or the like. The touch panel controller 17 converts the output voltage of the touch panel 16 into input position information and outputs it to the CPU 11.

The maintenance port 18 is a communication port for communicating with the computer device 3 described later. On the other hand, the communication controller 19 is an interface that controls transfer of data relating to control and monitoring of the input / output devices 4 and the like with the PLC 2 via a communication cable (for example, RS-232C) and capture of output data of the PLC 2. .

The programmable display 1 may further be provided with a PLC function so as to directly control the input / output devices 4. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, the programmable display 1 includes an input / output unit 20 and an I / O control interface 21 in addition to the communication controller 19 described above.

When the FEPROM 12b has a PLC function, as shown in FIG. 4, in addition to areas for storing a display control system program, a communication protocol, and screen data, a control function program and a ladder program are respectively stored. It has an area for storing. The control function program is a program for realizing the basic function of sequence control.

Hereinafter, when the screen data and the ladder program are commonly referred to, they are simply called a program.

The input / output unit 20 is provided with a large number of input / output terminals, input / output circuits, etc. so that the input / output devices 4 ... Can be connected. I / O control interface 21
Is an interface circuit that mediates the exchange of signals between the CPU 11 and the input / output unit 20, and includes an input / output memory, a D / A converter, an A / D converter, and the like.

The PLC 2 has a built-in CPU section,
According to the control function program, ladder editor 32a
Ladder program (control procedure program) created in
The operation of the input / output devices 4 ... Is controlled according to the procedure defined by.

The memory in the PLC 2 is set so that the storage location of the word device and the bit device can be specified by designating an address. A word device is set for input / output data for word data such as a numerical value, and a bit device is set for bit data such as an on / off state. With such a setting, it is possible to control the input / output devices 4 ... Or to individually retrieve the information regarding the operation state thereof by only accessing an arbitrary word device or bit device in the PLC 2.

Of the status information indicated by the above bit device or word device, the programmable display 1 is
While the necessary information is read into the memory unit 12 in a timely manner, the processing instruction word W is repeatedly read and the operation of the content specified by the event name T of each processing instruction word W is executed while referring to the state information on the PLC 2 side. To do. As a result, the display operation that changes according to the change in the state of the bit device or the word device is executed.

The programmable display 1 that executes screen data, ladder programs (only for models having a PLC function), etc. is called a target in this system.
The target is a computer system that serves as a platform for executing the programs and settings created by the editor unit 32, which will be described later, and each computer system has an execution environment capable of absorbing the difference between the platforms. Therefore, the programmable display device 1 as the target includes the runtime unit 22 as the above-described execution environment in order to execute the same program and settings created by the editor unit 32 even if the models are different models.

Here, the programs and settings created by the editor unit 32 are bytecodes generated by compiling Java (registered trademark) source codes, for example. The runtime unit 22 includes a Java virtual machine (VM) layer that sequentially translates and executes the byte code, and an intermediate layer that absorbs a difference between OS layers of different programmable display devices 1. The intermediate layer is interposed between the operating system (OS) layer and the JavaVM layer of the programmable display 1. The run-time unit 22 having such a configuration has the programmable display 1 in advance.
It is installed in and executes programs and settings by executing the above bytecode.

The runtime section 22 is provided with a ladder program execution section and a screen data execution section independently. Further, these parts exchange data necessary for execution with each other.

The above-mentioned middle layer is realized as a group of functions, commands or utilities that can be called (used) from the JavaVM layer, and the programmable display 1
Method (API: Application Programming Interfac) from the Java VM layer
e) is unified. As the above-mentioned function, command, or utility, the processing required when the JavaVM layer executes the bytecode, specifically, the JavaVM
A layer is provided which performs necessary processing when instructing the screen display on the display 14, communicating with the PLC 2, or accessing the memory unit 12 of the programmable display 1 controlled to be linked to the state of the PLC 2. Has been done. These can hide the difference in the OS layer from the viewpoint of the JavaVM layer.

Next, the computer device 3 will be described.

The computer device 3 is composed of a general-purpose computer such as a personal computer. As shown in FIG. 1, this computer device 3 has a C
PU 31, editor unit 32, runtime unit 33, program file 34, memory unit 35, display 36,
An input device 37, an external storage device 38, and an interface unit (I / F in the figure) 39 are provided.

The CPU 31 is an OS (operating system) installed in the computer device 3.
The control and arithmetic processing of each unit when operating various application software including the editor unit 32 are performed.

The memory section 35 is provided with a memory such as a RAM and a ROM, and plays a role of storing fixed data, temporarily storing data, and providing a work area during arithmetic processing of the CPU 31.

The editor section 32 is a ladder editor 32a.
And a drawing editor 32b.

The ladder editor 32a as the editor means (first editor means) is programming software for creating a ladder program that determines the control procedure of the PLC 2 so that the input / output devices 4 ... Operate in accordance with a desired sequence. A ladder diagram (graphic element) corresponding to the operation of the input / output device 4 is arranged on the display screen of the display 36 so that a ladder diagram can be created. In the ladder editor 32a, for example, the above-mentioned programming language based on the international standard IEC is used. The ladder program created by the ladder editor 32a is P (directly) via the programmable display 1 together with I / O setting data described later.
It is transferred to LC2 and downloaded to the memory in PLC2.

In the drawing editor 32b as the editor means (second editor means), the programmable display 1 is
Screen creation software for creating a screen to be displayed on the display 14 so as to have various monitors for management such as the operating status of the input / output devices 4 and work instructions, and a function as a terminal for inputting setting values for the devices. Is. Generally, the drawing editor 32b is a component (graphics) such as a switch, a lamp, a ten-key pad, various indicators (for example, a numerical indicator, a meter indicator and a graph indicator) so that a user's own screen (user screen) can be created. Elements), drawing function, text input function, etc. Further, the drawing editor 32b can associate the variables set by the symbol editor 32c described later with the parts.

The user screen created in this way is
It is stored in the program file 34 as screen data,
The programmable display 1 via the interface unit 39 together with I / O setting data described later, if necessary.
And is downloaded to the FEPROM 12b as screen data.

The ladder editor 32a and the drawing editor 32b described above include a symbol editor. The symbol editor is an editor for creating variables (symbols) individually associated with the input / output devices 4 (devices). Examples of variables that are data related to the ladder program and screen data include a code corresponding to a device such as SW1 corresponding to a switch and LAMP1 corresponding to a lamp, an operation instruction, an event name such as an operation state of the device, and a comment. To be

The symbol editor also associates the input numbers and output numbers assigned to the input terminals and output terminals of the PLC 2 with the variables set for the input / output device 4 connected to each input / output terminal. I / O numbers are assigned (I / O assignment). The result of this allocation is registered as a temporary file in the RAM of the memory unit 35 at the time of the allocation work, and after the setting is completed, it is stored as the I / O setting data in the program file 34.
Stored in.

At the time of allocation, the memory section 35 stores the device name corresponding to each address with the input number and the output number as I / O addresses (hereinafter simply referred to as addresses). Conventionally, such allocation differs depending on the PLC manufacturer and is set by an absolute address, so it is necessary to prepare a memory table according to the manufacturer. However, the IEC-compliant ladder editor 32a does not require the memory table as described above, since the user can determine the input / output by the free variable. Further, the allocation once determined can be changed later. Therefore, even if the model of the PLC 2 is changed, the allocation can be changed by associating the address with the already set variable.

Further, in the symbol editor, as the type (attribute data) of input / output data which is data input to the device and data output from the device,
"Discrete (bit)", "counter", "timer", "integer", "real number" or "character string" can be set. For example, when a device such as a switch is turned on / off, “discrete” is selected. In addition, for example, in the case of a counter that counts the number of products produced, "counter" is selected, and in the case of a timer that counts up to a predetermined time,
"Timer" is selected. Further, for example, when dealing with a numerical value such as a meter, “integer” or “real number” is selected.

In addition, in the symbol editor, variables are
Whether it corresponds to a device (input device and output device) connected via the PLC 2 or an internal device of the programmable display 1 can be set as attribute data. The internal device is a device provided in the programmable display 1 that can obtain data without communicating with the PLC 2 by using the calculation function of the programmable display 1 such as a counter indicating the number of operations. In the former case, after accepting the “input” or “output” setting input, the input of the address associated with the device is accepted, while in the latter case, the “internal” setting input is accepted.

The computer device 3 functions as an editor device for creating and editing a ladder program, screen data, etc. by including the editor unit 32.

As shown in FIG. 6, the editor section 32 displays an editor screen 6 including a ladder window 6a and a drawing window 6b. On the right side of the editor screen 6, a ladder window 6a for programming with the ladder editor 32a is provided. On the left side of the editor screen 6, a drawing window 6b for performing drawing work with the drawing editor 32b is provided.

The runtime section 33 is a control runtime section 3
3a and a display runtime part 33b.

The control runtime unit 33a, as shown in FIG. 5A, is Java like the runtime unit 22 described above.
It comprises a virtual machine (VM) layer 33a ₁ and an intermediate layer 33a ₂ . The control runtime unit 33a executes the ladder program created by the ladder editor 32a.
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5B, the display runtime unit 33b includes a Java virtual machine (VM) layer 33b ₁ and an intermediate layer 33b ₂ as in the runtime unit 22 described above. The display runtime unit 33b is used by the drawing editor 32.
The screen data (display content program) created in b is executed. The intermediate layers 33a ₂ and 33b ₂ are made of different types of O.
Since the difference in the S layer 40 is absorbed, it is possible to execute the ladder program and the screen data display even if the type of OS installed in the computer apparatus 3 is different.

The control runtime unit 33a displays the executed ladder program on the ladder window 6a by the running ladder editor 32a. The display runtime unit 33b causes the executed screen editor 32b to display the executed screen data in the screen drawing window 6b. Further, the control runtime unit 33a and the display runtime unit 33b exchange data with each other to execute the ladder program and the screen data in cooperation with each other.

Editor section 32 and runtime section 33
Is software that can be provided in the form of a program medium as packaged software or made-to-order software, and is recorded in, for example, a recording medium 5 that is separable from the computer device 3. Then, the editor unit 32 can exert the editor function by being installed in the computer device 3 from the recording medium 5. Further, the editor unit 32 is installed in the computer device 3 as a single application program provided on a common frame.

The above program media are tape systems such as magnetic tapes and cassette tapes, magnetic disk systems such as floppy disks and hard disks, CD-ROMs,
Optical disc systems such as MO, MD, and DVD, card systems such as IC cards (including memory cards) and optical cards are suitable. In addition, the above program media are mask ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash RO
It may be a medium including a semiconductor memory such as M that holds a program fixedly.

Further, since the computer device 3 can be connected to a communication network including the Internet, it may be a medium that carries the program fluidly so as to download the program from the communication network. However, when the program is downloaded from the communication network in this way, the download program is stored in advance in the computer device 3,
Alternatively, it may be installed from another recording medium.

The program file 34 includes a ladder file 34a, a screen file 34b and a variable file. The program file 34 manages related programs (ladder program and screen data) and variable data as a common file.
The program file 34 is provided for each target described above.

The ladder program stored in the ladder file 34a includes mnemonics (ladder instructions) and operands corresponding to the input ladder symbols.
The screen data stored in the screen file 34b is
It is graphic data about the input parts and the like.
The variable data stored in the program file 34 is a variable, data of the above-mentioned attribute relating to the variable, and the above-mentioned I / O setting data.

The above-mentioned graphic data includes graphic data, text data and component data. Graphic data includes lines, circles, ellipses, triangles, rectangles,
This is graphic data such as a filled-in graphic. The text data includes the title and text of the user screen composed of characters and symbols. The component data is data regarding the above-described components prepared in advance in the drawing editor 32b.

The display 36 is composed of a CRT, LCD or the like, but in the computer device 3 which is a panel computer, it is composed of a flat panel display element such as a liquid crystal panel or an EL panel. Input device 3
Reference numeral 7 is a device for performing an input operation such as a keyboard and a mouse, and in particular, a GUI (Graphical User Interface)
A device such as a mouse is suitable for input work in the editor unit 32 operating in the environment.

The external storage device 38 is a device such as a magnetic disk drive such as a hard disk device, an optical disk drive such as a CD-ROM drive, or a memory card drive such as an IC card. This external storage device 38
Includes at least a device capable of reading information such as a program recorded in the recording medium 5.

The interface section 39 is an input / output section for performing data communication with the programmable display 1.
The ladder program created by the ladder editor 32a and the screen data created by the drawing editor 32b are transferred to the programmable display device 1 via the interface unit 39.

Next, a program execution process in the computer device 3 in the display / control system configured as described above will be described.

First, in the computer device 3, the ladder editor 32a and the drawing editor 32b are activated, and the display section (not shown) of the display 36 is
As shown in FIG. 6, the editor screen 6 is displayed.
At this time, the ladder editor 32a and the drawing editor 3
2b has transitioned to an execution mode in which the program can be executed by the runtime unit 33. In this execution mode, when a user selects a program to be executed, each program is displayed in the ladder window 6a and the drawing window 6b. The program displayed in the ladder window 6a can be represented by a mnemonic as shown in FIG.

Prior to the execution mode, the created program is downloaded to the device to be executed. Also,
When the download destination is designated and execution of the download is instructed, the program is downloaded to the device. At this time, if the download destination is designated as "remote", it is downloaded to a device other than the computer device 3 designated in advance as "remote", for example, the programmable display 1. On the other hand, if the download destination is designated as "local", the download is made to the computer device 3 itself. When the program is downloaded,
It is compiled into an executable format that can be executed by the runtime unit 33. In the computer device 3, the executable program is recorded in a dedicated file different from the program file 34.

The ladder editor 32a and the drawing editor 32b have a function of downloading the program to the designated download destination as described above and a function of compiling the program.

In this state, the user draws the drawing window 6
When only the ON button B1 displayed on b is pressed, the control runtime unit 33a receiving the data causes the ON button B1 to
The a contact (normally open contact) X1 corresponding to 1 is turned on (“1”). At this time, since the OFF button B2 is not pressed, the corresponding b contact (normally closed contact) X
2 does not turn on (“1”). Therefore, both contact points X1 and X
AND (“1”) of 2 is output to the internal memory M1,
It is held by the a contact (M1) connected in an OR relationship with the a contact X1.

The ladder editor 32a receiving this data
Changes the display color of the a-contact X1 temporarily and the display color of the internal memory M1 so as to represent the ON operation of the a-contact X1 on the ladder window 6a. The display runtime unit 33b receives the data (“1”) in the internal memory M1 from the control runtime unit 33a, and rewrites the bit for turning on the light L from “0” to “1”. Then, the drawing editor 32b receives it, and the drawing window 6
Turn on the light L on b.

Further, when the user presses only the OFF button B2 displayed on the drawing window 6b, the control runtime section 33a which receives the data receives the OFF button B2.
The b contact X2 corresponding to 2 is turned on (“0”). Then, the AND of the contacts X1 and X2 becomes "0", and the self-holding state of the internal memory M1 is released ("0").

The ladder editor 32a receiving this data
Changes the display color of the b-contact X2 temporarily so as to represent the ON operation of the b-contact X2 on the ladder window 6a, and restores the display color of the internal memory M1. The display runtime unit 33b receives the data (“0”) in the internal memory M1 from the control runtime unit 33a, and rewrites the bit for turning on the light L from “1” to “0”. Then,
In response to this, the drawing editor 32b turns off the light L on the drawing window 6b.

When the ladder program is executed independently, the a-contact X1 and the b-contact X2 are clicked on the ladder window 6a instead of operating the ON button B1 and the OFF button B2 on the drawing window 6b. Thereby, as described above, the ladder program is executed by the control runtime unit 33a, and the state thereof is displayed on the ladder window 6a by the ladder editor 32a.

As described above, the computer apparatus 3 according to the present embodiment includes the runtime environment by including the runtime section 33 in addition to the editor section 32 as the development environment. As a result, the program created by the editor unit 32 can be executed by the runtime unit 33 in the same computer device 3. Therefore, it is only necessary to debug the program in the computer device 3 and download the program to the programmable display 1 after the debugging is completed. Therefore, when the created program is simply executed for debugging or the like, it is not necessary to download it to the programmable display 1. Therefore, the operation associated with the download becomes unnecessary, and the computer device 3 does not have to be connected to the programmable display 1 (may be separated from the connection place). Therefore, the efficiency of program development can be improved.

For example, in the case of a ladder program, the result executed by the control runtime unit 33a is returned to the ladder editor 32a and displayed on the ladder window 6a as described above, which enables online monitoring.
In the case of screen data, the result executed by the display runtime unit 33b is returned to the drawing editor 32b and displayed on the drawing window 6b as described above. You can check.

In the present embodiment, an example in which a ladder diagram is used as the control procedure program has been described, but the present invention is not limited to the ladder diagram, and the above-mentioned IEC 6 1131-
Of course, it is also applied to programming in other languages including the 5 languages defined in 3.

[0081]

As described above, the program development support apparatus of the present invention is provided in the editor means for creating a program relating to the operation of the equipment to be controlled, and the computer device provided with the editor means, and executes the program. An execution unit for displaying the execution result of the program by the execution unit and selecting whether to download the program to an external device having a function equivalent to that of the execution unit or to the computer device itself. This is the configuration.

As a result, the program can be executed in the computer device without downloading the program to an external device which is the execution subject for debugging or the like. In addition, since the program is displayed, it is possible to easily perform debugging on the computer device. Therefore, the program development can be efficiently performed by performing the development environment and the execution environment of the program on the computer device. Furthermore, by selecting whether to download the program to the external device or the computer itself, it is possible to establish a work procedure of downloading the program to the external device after the debugging is completed. Therefore, there is an effect that the development efficiency of the program can be further improved.

In the above program development support apparatus, as the editor means, a first editor means for creating a control procedure program for defining a control procedure for controlling the controlled equipment and a state of the controlled equipment are displayed. Second display means for creating a display content program for determining the display content to be executed, and the executing means executes the control procedure program and the display content program in cooperation with each other.

Since these programs that are closely related to each other in controlling the operation of the controlled device are executed by the executing means in cooperation with each other, both programs can be debugged at the same time. Therefore, there is an effect that the control procedure program and the display content program created by the first and second editor means can be efficiently developed.

The program development support program of the present invention causes a computer to implement each means in each of the program development support devices described above. A recording medium of the present invention is a computer-readable recording medium in which the above program development support program is recorded. Even if you use the program development support program and recording medium,
The above-described effects produced by the respective program development support devices described above can be similarly exhibited.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a display / control system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a program configuration stored in an FEPROM of a programmable display in the display / control system.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a basic format of an instruction processing word included in screen data of a user screen displayed on the programmable display.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing another program configuration stored in the FEPROM of the programmable display in the display / control system.

5A is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control runtime unit included in a runtime unit in a computer device of the display / control system, and FIG. 5B is a diagram showing a configuration of a display runtime unit included in the runtime unit. It is a block diagram shown.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an editor screen displayed by an editor unit in the computer device.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a ladder program executed by the control runtime unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 programmable display device 3 computer device 4 input / output device (device to be controlled) 5 recording medium 6 editor screen 6a ladder window 6b drawing window 32 editor section 32a ladder editor (editor means, first editor means) 32b drawing editor (editor means, editor means, Second editor means) 33 Runtime section (execution means) 33a Control runtime section 33b Display runtime section

Continued front page    F term (reference) 5B076 AB02 BB06 BB16 DA00 DB01                       DB08 DF06 DF10 EC01 EC05                       EC06 EC07                 5H220 BB12 CC07 CX01 DD01 DD04                       EE01 HH01 JJ13 JJ24 JJ42                       JJ55 JJ57 JJ59 KK08                 5H223 CC03 CC08 EE19

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An editor means for creating a program relating to the operation of a control target device, and an execution means provided in a computer device provided with the editor means for executing the program, the editor means comprising the execution means. Program execution support by displaying the execution result of the program by the above, and selecting whether to download the program to an external device having a function equivalent to the executing means or to the computer itself. apparatus. 2. As the editor means, a first editor means for creating a control procedure program for defining a control procedure for controlling the controlled equipment, and a display content for displaying a state of the controlled equipment. 2. The program development support apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a second editor means for creating a display content program, wherein the executing means executes the control procedure program and the display content program in cooperation with each other. 3. A program development support program for causing a computer to realize each unit in the program development support apparatus according to claim 1. 4. A computer-readable recording medium recording the program development support program according to claim 3.