JP2003241805A - Development support system and program product - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a development support system capable of connecting with PLC having errors in an easy and quick operation and making it in a debug state by obtaining necessary information. <P>SOLUTION: The development support system uses a communication condition selected in sequence from the front position of a plurality of communication conditions (communication speed, protocol or the like) required for communication with a PLC body 2 housed in a communication conditions database 13, and transmits a return request of a machine code of the PLC to the PLC body via a communication interface 11, and determines proper communication conditions based on present responses from the PLC body. The connection with the PLC body is established under the determined proper communication conditions, and then, a pre-processing function (mounted in MPU 12) obtaining necessary information from the PLC body for debugging is prepared. Thus, debugging operation becomes feasible by performing the pre-processing function. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a development support device and a program product.

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION As is well known, a programmable controller (PLC) used in FA (factory automation) inputs ON / OFF information of an input device (switch, sensor, etc.) and writes it in a ladder language or the like. The logical operation is executed according to the created sequence program (user program), and the output device (relay, valve, actuator, etc.) is turned on / off according to the operation result.
Control is performed by outputting a signal of OFF information.

By the way, when an abnormality occurs in the PLC,
In order to identify the abnormal portion, a PLC user program or the like is read onto the development support device, and a connection between the PLC and the development support device is established. After that, the problem area is identified by the debug function of the development support device. In addition,
Once the problematic portion is identified, the user program and the like are appropriately modified, and the corrected user program and the like are downloaded to the PLC to recover abnormally, and normal system operation can be performed.

Conventionally, the following operations and procedures are performed as a procedure until the above-mentioned debug processing can be performed. That is, as an example, while reading the backup data into the development support device,
Some of them perform debugging while connected to a PLC. However, in this method, it is necessary to prepare backup data for all PLCs around all the PLCs in order to immediately deal with an abnormality. Furthermore, in order to debug correctly, the contents of the backup data and the contents of the data held by the PLC must match, and it is unknown when the abnormality will occur. Therefore, it is necessary to build and execute a mechanism for always matching the data content of the PLC with the backup data content. Then, the load of the processing for matching the contents of the backup is applied, and the original processing of the PLC is affected.

As another method, a development support device (for example, CX-Programmer: a product of the applicant)
After the PLC project to be maintained is generated, it is connected to the PLC and necessary data is read from the PLC and loaded into the development support device.
Then, it is possible to perform a debug process based on the captured data.

By the way, in order to generate a project, first, the model code (model) of the target PLC
And communication conditions need to be set. Therefore, the user must acquire the model code of the PLC in which the abnormality has occurred and the communication conditions by a manual or the like, and register the information via the input device of the development support device. But,
It is troublesome to find out and register the model code and the like under a tense situation when an abnormality occurs. In addition, if the PLC itself is exposed to the outside, the model code may be able to be visually checked directly, but
When C is built in the device, the model code cannot be seen, it is difficult to distinguish the model code, it takes time to generate a project, and it becomes possible to debug. There is a problem that it takes time.

Further, in any of the above cases, the user (maintenance staff) needs to perform various operations as a pre-process for starting the work of identifying the abnormal portion by the debug function, which is complicated. Moreover, since the user does not necessarily have a thorough knowledge of the operation of the development support apparatus, the larger the number of operations, the more difficult it is to solve the problem in a short time. In particular, when performing maintenance, the FA system including the target PLC will be stopped, and production processing cannot be performed during that stop period, so abnormal locations can be quickly identified and maintenance can be performed to restore the system. Since it is important to do so, it takes a long time to start debugging as described above, which is a problem.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a development support device and a program product which can be connected to a PLC in which an abnormality has occurred quickly by a simple operation and can acquire necessary information and put it in a debuggable state. And

[0009]

A development support device according to the present invention is a development support device for a PLC including a communication means for communicating with a PLC and a debug means for debugging based on the information of the PLC acquired through the communication means. It is a support device.
The communication is performed using a communication condition storage unit that stores a plurality of communication conditions for communicating with the PLC, and a communication condition that is alternatively selected from the plurality of communication conditions stored in the communication condition storage unit. A request for returning specific information for identifying the PLC to the PLC via means,
A means for determining a correct communication condition based on the presence or absence of a response from the PLC, and a means for establishing a connection with the PLC according to the determined correct communication condition, and acquiring information necessary for debugging from the PLC while the connection is established. It is configured to include an acquisition means for
In the embodiment, the means for establishing the connection and the means for acquiring are realized by the preprocessing function. This communication means may be, for example, a communication means for performing serial communication as shown in the embodiment.

According to the present invention, when the development support device is connected to the PLC in which an abnormality has occurred and the operation is started, first, a return request is made by sequentially using the communication conditions prepared in advance. Then, when the PLC receives a return request under the communication conditions that the PLC supports, the PLC can return a response to it, but if it is sent under different reply conditions, the PLC can return the response.
Cannot properly receive the return request and therefore cannot return the response. Therefore, the development support apparatus can determine whether or not the communication conditions when the return request is transmitted are correct depending on the presence or absence of the response. That is, when the response is received, it can be determined that the communication condition sent at that time is the correct communication condition supported by the target PLC. Further, since specific information (a model code (model) in the embodiment) that identifies the PLC is sent to the response, the specific information can be used when performing debugging processing and the like. Further, since the communication condition and the specific information can be automatically acquired, it is possible to easily and quickly perform the debugging.

That is, it has a function of generating a project required for debugging based on the specific information acquired in the response, operates the acquisition means after generating the project, and transfers the acquired information to the project. It can be configured to add. Further, the project can be performed based on the determined correct communication condition and the specific information acquired by the response. By creating this project and adding information, debugging is enabled.

Further, on the premise of each of the above-mentioned inventions, it is preferable that the communication conditions selected as the alternative are preferentially selected as the communication conditions selected as correct communication conditions. In this way, by using the development support device, the communication condition set in the PLC often used in the factory or the like is preferentially selected. Therefore, the correct communication condition can be determined more quickly, and the debug state can be set quickly.

More preferably, it is provided with an output means for outputting and displaying the information on the specific information acquired by the response on a display device. By doing so, it is possible to know the target PLC model and the like.

Further, it is provided with a function of checking whether or not the code can be used when modifying the user program based on the specific information acquired in the response, and making only the usable code available. Good. With this configuration, it is possible to prevent the user program or the like from being modified by using a code that cannot be used by mistake. Especially, it works effectively when performing online editing.

A program product according to the present invention is a program product for a development support device equipped with a debug means for debugging based on the information of the PLC obtained through a communication means for communicating with the PLC, and communicates with the PLC. Access to a communication condition storage unit that stores a plurality of communication conditions for performing, and a process of selectively acquiring communication conditions from the plurality of communication conditions, and using the acquired communication conditions, via the communication unit A process of transmitting a request for returning specific information specifying the PLC to the PLC, and determining a correct communication condition from the presence or absence of a response from the PLC, and establishing a connection with the PLC according to the determined correct communication condition. Executes a process for obtaining and a process for obtaining information necessary for debugging from the PLC while the connection is established It is to have a program portion.

[0016]

FIG. 1 shows an example of a system configuration including a development support device 10 according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, various units such as a power supply unit 1, a PLC main body (also referred to as a CPU unit) 2, an I / O unit 3 are electrically and mechanically connected by a CPU bus, etc.
It constitutes the LC. The PLC main body 2 is provided with a serial port 2a, and the development support device 10 can be connected to the serial port 2a via a communication cable 5. The PLC main body 2 and the development support device 10 are RS
The 232C enables transmission / reception of information (user program, other data, etc.). Although not specifically shown, the memory of the PLC main body 2 stores a user program, data indicating an operating state such as input / output information, specific information identifying itself such as a machine code (model), and the like. , According to the instruction from the development support device 10,
It also has a function of returning necessary information to the development support device 10.

FIG. 2 shows the internal structure of a preferred embodiment of the development support device 10 according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the communication interface 11 for RS-232C
, And exchanges information with the PLC main body 2 via the communication interface 11. Also, the information received is M
The MPU 12 takes in the data and controls transmission / reception of specific information. The MPU 12 has a debug function and a pre-processing function in relation to the present invention. The debug function is a conventionally known one, and information (user program, data, etc.) acquired from the PLC main body 2
Based on the above, it has a function of performing a debugging process and identifying an abnormal portion. Further, it also has a function of correcting an abnormal portion and downloading the corrected program or the like to the PLC main body 2. Since a specific algorithm for performing such processing can be the same as the conventional one,
Detailed description thereof will be omitted.

According to the present invention, the communication condition database 13 is provided in the storage unit 16 such as a hard disk. As shown in FIG. 3, the communication condition database 13 is a table in which PLC types (PLC series), network types (communication procedures), and communication speeds are associated with each other. P of the maintenance target of the development support device 10
All communication conditions (14 types in this example) of the LC body are prepared.

The preprocessing function implemented in the MPU 12 sequentially executes a plurality of communication conditions registered in the communication condition database 13 from the beginning to attempt connection with the PLC main body 2 and communicate with the PLC main body 2 to be connected. Determine the conditions, then generate a project for the target PLC body 2,
It has a function of executing a process of reading out necessary information from the LC body 2. Then, specifically, it has a function of implementing the flowchart shown in FIG. That is, first, the communication condition database 13 is accessed to acquire one communication condition (ST1). Since the communication conditions to be acquired are sequentially performed from the beginning, the communication condition stored next to the communication condition acquired last time is acquired. And 1
As a matter of course, the first time (in the case of FIG. 3, “C S
, communication, 9600 ").

Next, it is judged whether or not a new communication condition has been acquired (ST2). That is, the process of step 1 is executed to determine whether a new communication condition has been acquired. If there is no communication condition, all the communication conditions are checked in the processing up to the previous time, and it means that there is no communication condition that corresponds, so an error is notified and this End processing (ST
3).

If a new condition can be acquired, the PLC main unit 2 is requested to return the "model code (model)" under the communication condition, and an attempt is made to acquire the model code (S).
T4). When the PLC main body 2 normally receives the return request, the PLC main body 2 returns its own model code to the development support device 10 as a response in response to the return request.

That is, since the PLC main body 2 corresponds to any one of the above 14 kinds of communication conditions (may be compatible with a plurality of kinds), the communication which the PLC main body 2 can correspond to. If a return request is sent under the conditions, the content is analyzed and a normal response is returned, but if it is sent under an unsupported communication condition, the response cannot be received normally. Cannot be returned.

In other words, when standing on the side of the development support device 10, when there is a response from the PLC main body 2, step 4
It can be determined that the communication conditions used when the call was made are correct, and if there is no response within a certain period of time, it can be estimated that the communication conditions were incorrect. Therefore, in the branch determination of step 5, it is determined whether or not there is a response, and if there is no response, the process returns to step 1 and the process based on the next communication condition is executed.

On the other hand, when the response is received, it can be judged that the communication condition of the target PLC body 2 is the communication condition used in step 4, so the process proceeds to step 6 and the history information of the communication condition database 13 is stored. Update.
Actually, the communication condition used this time is moved to the top of the communication condition database 13. For example, in the specific example of the data structure shown in FIG. 3, the tenth “CS1 Ser” is assumed.
When the response is “yes, SYSWAY, 115000”, this communication condition is set to the head, that is, “C
"Series, SYSWAY, 9600", and one by one. This allows the same P
When the LC main body 2 is to be maintained next time, the communication condition is finally decided at the 10th time this time, but next time,
The first time, "CS1 Series, SYSWAY, 11
5000 "(when communication with the PLC main unit having another communication condition is not being performed during that time), the communication condition is immediately determined.

The communication condition of the PLC main body installed in one factory is not limited to one, but is often summarized into several types. Therefore, this development support device 1
By using 0 several times, the communication conditions used in the factory are gathered in the higher order (top side) of the communication condition database 13, and thereafter, the determination of the communication conditions for each PLC main body 2 is compared. It can be done in a very short time.

The method of preferentially selecting is not limited to the method of bringing the one determined as the correct communication condition as described above to the beginning, and, for example, the number of times of selection is accumulated. It is also possible to select in descending order of the number of times of integration.

Further, in the process of obtaining the communication conditions in order from the beginning in step 1, for example, when the communication conditions to be read are designated by the pointer,
This can be performed by moving the pointer to the next communication condition each time the communication condition is acquired in step 1 and returning the position of the pointer to the head of the communication condition database 13 in step 6. Alternatively, for example, n = 0 may be set before step 1, and in step 1, “n = n + 1” is calculated and then the nth communication condition from the beginning is acquired.

On the other hand, in the present invention, since the model code information is acquired as a response when the communication condition is confirmed, if the communication condition of the target PLC body 2 can be determined as described above, Target P from content
The model code (model) of the LC body 2 can also be acquired at the same time.
Therefore, based on the acquired model code and communication conditions, a project for the PLC main body 2 of this time is generated (ST7). The generated project 14 is stored in the storage unit 16 such as a hard disk. The project may be generated based on the model code and the communication condition may not be used.

The project data structure of the project generated here is PLC model information (model, communication condition), I / O table, system setting, initial value data,
Areas for storing various information such as variable tables, programs, etc. other than PLC model information are secured. Also, if the project is generated based on the model code (model) (does not use communication conditions), PL
Only the model is available as C model information. Furthermore, when a project is generated based on PLC model information (model or communication conditions), PLC model information, which is a reference for generating any of them, is registered as project data, but the present invention is not limited to this. Alternatively, the PLC model information may not be stored in the project.

Although this project was described in the section of the background of the invention, for example, CX-Programmer
(Applicant's product) is also generated prior to the debug processing. Although the name may be different for other companies' products, this is for setting an area for storing the information read from the PLC thereafter.

After the project is generated, online connection is made with the PLC main body 2 according to the determined communication conditions to establish the connection (ST8). Next, necessary information (user program, variable table, other data, etc.) is read from the PLC main body 2 and the acquired information is stored in the corresponding area of the generated project (ST9). After that, the program starts monitoring based on the project in which the necessary information is generated and stored.

That is, the debug function is activated, desired debug processing is executed, and an abnormal portion is specified. Also,
Necessary correction processing will also be performed. At this time, since the code that can be used is determined depending on the model of the PLC main body, it is also checked whether the code used for the modified program or the like is usable based on the acquired model code. Especially in the case of online editing, this check function is effective. In this way, the acquired model code can be used not only for the project generation but also for the check.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the user only needs to connect the target PLC main body 2 and the development support device 10 and perform a simple operation such as operating the preprocessing function. The pre-processing function can automatically perform the steps from the establishment of the connection to the reading of information until the debuggable state. Therefore, the operability is good and the debug state can be achieved in a short time, so that the total time required for maintenance can be shortened.

Also, although the explanation goes back and forth, monitoring,
At the time of debugging, as shown in FIG. 2, necessary information is output and displayed on the display 10a via the display interface 15. Since the functions themselves of the MPU 12 and the display interface 15 for displaying the output are known in the related art, description thereof will be omitted.

In this embodiment, the PLC to be processed such as the acquired model code or the model name based on the acquired model code.
Information for identifying the main body is displayed on the display 10a. When the acquired model code is not displayed as it is but displayed with a name that the user can easily understand, a table in which the model code and the name are associated with each other is stored in advance in a storage means such as a memory, and the MPU 12 stores the table. The information to be displayed can be acquired by accessing and referring to the table. This is because in the present embodiment, the user can establish a connection with the PLC main body and read the information without knowing the model code of the PLC main body to be processed. There is a possibility that it may affect the identification and correction work of the abnormal part because the model of the PLC main body is not known (such as the usable code is unknown). Therefore, by outputting and displaying the specific information for identifying the model such as the model code of the processing target, the model of the PLC main body as the target can be easily known, and quick and accurate maintenance can be performed.

The preprocessing function for executing the flowchart shown in FIG. 4 is constituted by an application program (program product) in this embodiment.
It is installed in the computer which is the development support device 10 and operates as each processing unit in the MPU.
Also, the information that should be stored in the communication condition database,
It may be supplied as the program product or together with the program product.

[0037]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the correct communication condition can be determined and the specific information can be automatically obtained, the necessary information can be connected by the simple operation and the quick connection to the PLC. Can be obtained and put in a debuggable state.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of an entire system.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of an internal structure of a development support device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of an internal structure of a communication condition database.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating the function of the MPU.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 power supply unit 2 PLC body 2a serial port 3 I / O unit 10 Development support device 10a display 11 Communication interface 12 MPU 13 Communication condition database 14 projects 15 Display interface 16 Memory

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A development support device for a PLC, comprising: a communication means for communicating with the PLC; and a debug means for debugging based on the information of the PLC acquired via the communication means. Communication condition storing means for storing the communication condition of the PLC and the communication condition selected from the plurality of communication conditions stored in the communication condition storing means, A means for transmitting a request for returning specific information for identifying a PLC, determining a correct communication condition based on the presence or absence of a response from the PLC, establishing a connection with the PLC according to the determined correct communication condition, and establishing a connection. In a state, a development support device comprising an acquisition unit for acquiring information necessary for debugging from the PLC. 2. A function for generating a project required for debugging based on the specific information acquired by a response, the acquisition means is operated after the project is generated, and the acquired information is stored in the project. The development support apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the development support apparatus is added. 3. A function for generating a project necessary for debugging based on the determined correct communication condition and the specific information acquired by a response, and while operating the acquisition means after generating the project, The development support apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the acquired information is added to the project. 4. The communication condition selected as the alternative is
4. The development support device according to claim 1, wherein the development support device is configured to preferentially select one selected as a correct communication condition. 5. The development support apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an output unit configured to output and display information related to the specific information acquired by a response on a display device. 6. A function of checking whether or not the code can be used when modifying a user program based on the specific information acquired by a response and making only the usable code available The development support apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the development support apparatus is a development support apparatus. 7. A program product for a development support device, comprising: a debug means for debugging based on information of the PLC obtained through a communication means for communicating with the PLC, wherein a plurality of communications for communicating with the PLC are provided. A process of accessing a communication condition storage unit that stores a condition and selectively acquiring a communication condition from the plurality of communication conditions, and using the acquired communication condition, the PLC to the PLC via the communication unit. A process for issuing a request to return specific information for identifying a specific communication condition, a process for determining a correct communication condition based on the presence / absence of a response from the PLC, and a process for establishing a connection with the PLC according to the determined correct communication condition; And, it has a program part for executing a process for acquiring information necessary for debugging from the PLC. Program product that.