JP2003263205A - Design support equipment and design support program for control system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate operations in each step, relating to establishment of a control system, and to design a high quality system. <P>SOLUTION: Devices 10 are provided, in each of which elements essential for realizing given functions are collected, such as a control apparatus 21, an apparatus control program required for driving and controlling the control apparatus 21, a processing function property required for carrying out the apparatus control program, or the like. The information on the elements, contained in each device 10, is controlled as device information 10d. In designing a system, a required device 10 is retrieved according with requested specifications, and based on which the number of inputs/outputs, capacity of processing function, and the like, which are essential for the whole system, are calculated. The apparatus control program is controlled, in terms of a function block FB that corresponds thereto, and system control program preparation is carried out, by using the function block FB that corresponds to the device 10 for the requested specifications. <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 control system design support apparatus, and more particularly to a control system design support apparatus and a design support program that enable efficient system design.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when building a control system, motion control devices such as servos and inverters have been used.
A system is constructed by combining sensors, actuators and the like through a network based on an I / O interface and creating applications for controlling them on a CPU module.

That is, the system engineer grasps all control devices such as I / O modules necessary for constructing the control system based on the specifications required for the control system, and controls these control devices. An application program for doing so is described on the CPU module.

[0004]

Here, the system engineer needs the I / O necessary for constructing the control system.
If the module is grasped and the program is created, the required specifications are completely analyzed, all the required modules are listed, and if the application that controls this is not considered, the control system of the design target It is difficult to estimate the I / O points and application capacity required by the.

Further, it is inefficient to carry out such a detailed examination at the stage of request from the customer. Therefore, in practice, an estimate is often made based on the experience and intuition of a system engineer. However, when an estimate is made based on the experience and intuition of the system engineer in this way, if an error occurs in the estimation of the I / O points,
Depending on the amount of error, it may be necessary to change the number of I / O modules, and in some cases, the system configuration or the layout may have to be changed.

Further, when an error occurs in the estimation of the application capacity, the CPU may depend on the error amount.
There is a problem that the capacity of the module must be changed, the number of CPU modules must be increased, and the configuration of the entire system can be changed. Also, depending on the type of control equipment used in the control system, the optimal system configuration may be determined to some extent, but such know-how information cannot be known unless the control equipment is actually handled. Therefore, some system engineers have a problem that such know-how information may not be reflected in the system design.

Further, in recent years, in order to reduce the size and cost of equipment in the market, the application execution unit such as a CPU module is downsized, and a plurality of Cs are used.
A method of distributing and arranging PU modules has also been used. In such a distributed control system, I / O
It is necessary to estimate the capacity and number of CPU modules in addition to the estimation of points, and the influence of estimation errors will be large.

Further, considering the stage of creating an application program, since a program for exchanging input / output with respect to each I / O module is created, what is controlled by the program at first glance. Another problem is that it is difficult to understand. Furthermore, one CPU module is loaded with application programs for a plurality of control devices, and although it is possible to register these application programs as separate programs, it is possible to register these application programs between these application programs. It is necessary to consider the relationship such as the priority order and the execution order, and the entire application program installed in the CPU module tends to be complicated.

Further, the application programs considering the priority order and the execution order among the application programs in this manner are based on the priority order and the execution order based on, for example, the control status of the control device controlled by another application program. And the processing is done procedurally,
When one of the control devices controlled by this CPU module fails in a certain CPU module, it is necessary to stop the application program that is performing processing based on the control status of this control device. Since it is not possible to recognize whether or not to stop the CPU, the entire CPU module must be stopped as a result, which makes the system vulnerable to a local failure.

Further, even in the debug stage of the application program, it is difficult to perform the debug work unless all the modules are prepared, and the debug item also depends on the complexity of the processing of the control device handled by the CPU module. As the number of items increases, items that are not verified or items that are insufficiently verified appear, which is a factor that deteriorates the quality of the entire control system.

Furthermore, as described above, it is difficult to extract a part of the program for procedurally processing and reuse it, and it is difficult to reuse the application program. In this way, there is a problem that the load on the system engineer is heavy at each stage of estimation, production, and verification of the control system, the time required to complete the system increases, and the quality of the system may deteriorate. is there.

Therefore, the present invention has been made by paying attention to the above-mentioned unsolved problems of the prior art, facilitates the work at each stage involved in the construction of a control system, and designs a high quality system. It is an object of the present invention to provide a design support device and a design support program for a control system capable of performing the above.

[0013]

In order to achieve the above object, the design support apparatus for a control system according to claim 1 of the present invention comprises one or a plurality of means necessary for realizing a preset function. A function realizing means that is a collection of elements necessary for realizing the function, and managing means for managing preset element information for specifying the elements included in the function realizing means, for each function realizing means; The element information corresponding to the function realizing means specified by the means is selected from the management information managed by the managing means, and the function configuration information selecting means is provided to present the element information.

Further, a design support apparatus for a control system according to a second aspect of the present invention includes one or a plurality of control devices, a device control program for controlling the control devices to perform a preset predetermined operation, and A control calculation unit that executes a device control program is a function realizing unit that is a group of elements necessary for realizing the predetermined operation, and the control device, the device control program, and the unit included in the function realizing unit. A management unit that manages preset information for specifying the control calculation unit as element information for each function realizing unit, and management information that manages the element information corresponding to the function realizing unit designated by the input unit by the management unit. And a function information selection unit that presents the selected information.

A design support device for a control system according to a third aspect is the design support device for a control system according to the second aspect, further comprising a program storage means for storing the device control program specified by the element information. A program selection unit that selects a device control program corresponding to the function realizing unit designated by the input unit from the program storage unit based on element information managed by the management unit and presents the selected program. Is characterized by.

Further, a design support device for a control system according to claim 4 is the design support device for a control system according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the device control program is associated with a functional block in a functional block diagram language. It is characterized by being. A design support device for a control system according to claim 5 is the design support device for a control system according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the element information is information for identifying the control device and its use. , The device control program and information specifying the program capacity thereof, and information specifying the required capacity of the control calculation means.

A design support device for a control system according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is the design support device for a control system according to the fourth or fifth aspect, wherein the element information is signal contents of input and output in the functional block. It is characterized by including information to represent. A design support device for a control system according to claim 7 is the design support device for a control system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, and is formed to be connectable to the control device via a communication line. The control device is characterized in that the management information managed by the management means and / or the device control program stored in the program storage means can be read and updated.

A design support program according to claim 8 of the present invention is one or a plurality of control devices, and a device control program for controlling the control devices to perform a preset predetermined operation. A control calculation unit that executes the device control program is a function realizing unit that is a group of elements necessary to realize the predetermined operation, and the control device included in the function realizing unit, the device control program, and A management unit that manages preset information that identifies the control calculation unit as element information for each function realizing unit, and a management unit that manages the element information corresponding to the function realizing unit designated by the input unit. Function information selecting means for selecting from information and presenting it, and program storing means for storing the device control program specified by the element information, The device control program corresponding to the function implementing unit that is specified by the force means, and a program selection means for presenting it to select from among the program storage means on the basis of the element information to be managed by the management means,
Moreover, it is characterized in that the computer is executable.

Further, in the design support program according to claim 9, the design support program includes communication means for communicating with the control device via a communication line, and management information and / or management information managed by the management means. The device control program stored in the program storage means is readable and updatable by the control device.

[0020]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a design support apparatus for designing a control system and creating a system control program therefor according to the present invention.
Is an input device 11 for a system engineer who designs the control system or creates an application program thereof to perform an input operation, and a display device 12 for displaying predetermined data according to an input on the input device 11.
A recording medium 13 for recording the created application program and the like, and a processing device 14 for controlling the input device 11, the display device 12 and the recording medium 13 are further provided.

The system control program generated by the processing unit 14 is compiled by the transfer unit 2 in a known procedure and converted into a machine language program, and then transferred to a predetermined arithmetic processing unit of the control system 5. It has become. Incidentally, the transfer device 2 is adapted to perform a compile process on the user-defined function block FB as well as the existing function block FB.

Further, the recording medium 13 stores device information regarding devices, which will be described later, and a device control program specified by the device information. here,
The device will be described. FIG. 2 shows the device 10
The device 10 includes one or more control devices 21 to be controlled, one or more device control programs 22 required to drive and control the control devices 21, and the device 10. It is configured to include at least an arithmetic processing function 23 such as a CPU for executing the device control program 22. The device control program 2
2 also includes a function of performing input / output processing between the arithmetic processing function 23 and the control device 21. That is, the device 10 is configured to handle the control device 21 and those necessary for driving and controlling the control device 21 as one unit. In addition, it also includes parameter definition information 24 such as the execution timing of the device control program 22 and the operation when an abnormality occurs in the device control program, as necessary.

Therefore, the control system 5 can be constructed by combining a plurality of devices 10 as shown in the conceptual diagram of FIG. The arithmetic processing function 23 is, for example,
It may be included in the control device 21 side, such as a known PLC card optionally installed in the inverter,
It may also exist as an independent module. When the device 10 is defined, the arithmetic processing function 23
In this device 10, it suffices if it can be distinguished from the arithmetic processing function 23 of another device 10 as an execution unit that executes a device control program 22 for performing a predetermined control process. That is, if it is logically distinguishable, one CPU module can physically operate as the arithmetic processing function 23 of the plurality of devices 10.

The device information 10d is stored in the control device 21.
The information required to control the driving of the vehicle is managed as one unit. For example, as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, information for identifying the device 10, for example, a device name d1 in which the name of the control device 21 is set, information d2 indicating a function such as control content of the device 10, and the control device 21 to be used. Information to identify d
3. The location of the arithmetic processing function for executing the device control program 22 for driving and controlling the control device 21, the capacity of the arithmetic processing function required for executing the device control program 22, and the required amount. The information d4 regarding the arithmetic processing function such as the specification and the device control program 22 for driving and controlling the control device 21 are specified by, for example, IEC
Function block F defined by 61131-3
When represented by B, information such as a name for specifying the function block FB, the function block FB diagram, information indicating the input and output signal contents, the number of input and output signals, etc. It is composed of information d5 regarding the above, and the parameter definition information d6 described above.

The device control program 22 managed by the device information 10d is created in advance, managed as a function block FB, and recorded in the recording medium 13. Information specifying the input signal to the function block FB and the output signal of the function block FB is registered as the device information 10d.

FIG. 5 shows the outer shape of the function block FB used in the present invention. The rectangle represents the body of the function block FB, and the character string (CTU in this case) 31 shown in the upper center of the rectangle is the name that identifies this function block FB. The line 32 connected to the left side of the rectangle represents the input to the function block FB, and the character shown on the left side of the rectangle that is paired with this is the input variable name. Similarly, a line 33 connecting to the right side of the rectangle
Indicates the output from the function block FB, and the output variable name is shown on the right side of the rectangle that is paired with the output.

FIG. 6 shows the internal structure of the function block FB shown in FIG. This notation is IEC
61131-3. In FIG. 6, reference numeral 41 represents the name of the function block FB, and this declaration indicates the beginning of the description of the function block FB. 42 is an input declaration to the function block FB, 43 is an output declaration from the function block FB, 44 is an internal variable declaration of the function block FB, and 45 is a processing content of the function block FB. In the case of FIG. 6, when the rising edge of the CU is detected, the CV is counted up, and when it becomes equal to the set value PV, Q is output, and the input of R clears the CV. In the figure, reference numeral 46 is a pair with a declaration indicating the beginning of the description of the function block 41, and indicates the end of the description of the function block FB.

Returning to FIG. 1, in the processing device 14, the device information 1 is input in response to an input operation on the input device 11.
0d is displayed to execute a system design support process for supporting the system configuration design of the control system 5 and a system control program creation process for supporting the creation of the system control program. FIG. 7 shows an example of a processing procedure of the system design support processing.

In this system design support process, when activated, first, in step S1, the device information 10d recorded in the recording medium 13 is displayed on the display device 12. Then, when one of the devices 10 is selected by operating the input device 11 (step S2), the process proceeds to step S3, and information specifying the selected device 10, for example, its name is used as the selected device. Store in a predetermined storage area. Then, the process proceeds to step S4. On the other hand, when none of the devices 10 is selected, the process directly proceeds to step S4.

In step S4, it is determined whether or not a list display instruction of the selected device has been issued by operating the input device 11. Then, when the list display instruction of the selected device is issued, the process proceeds to step S5 and step S5.
When the device 10 is selected in the process of 3, all the devices stored in the predetermined storage area are read out and displayed on the display device 12 as a selected device list. Then, the process proceeds to step S6. On the other hand, if the list display instruction is not issued in step S4, the process directly proceeds to step S6, and if the end operation is not performed, the process returns to step S1.
When the ending operation is performed, the system design support process is ended.

FIG. 8 shows an example of a processing procedure of the system control program creation processing. When this system control program creation process is activated, first, in step S11, a known program creation screen for creating a program composed of a circuit diagram by the function block FB is displayed using the functional block diagram language on the display device 1
2, and the program creation process is performed according to a known procedure according to the operation on the input device 11.

When a device information display instruction is issued by the input device 11, the process proceeds to step S13 and the device information 10d stored in the recording medium 13 is stored.
Is displayed on the display device 12. At this time, device information 1
0d is displayed on a window screen different from the program creation screen, for example. When the device 10 is selected from the device information 10d by the operation of the input device 11, the process proceeds from step S14 to step S15, and the function block FB corresponding to the device 10 selected in step S14 is displayed. The name is searched based on the device information 10d, the corresponding function block FB diagram is searched, and this is displayed on the program creation screen of the display device 12. Then, step S16
Move to.

On the other hand, when the device information display instruction is not issued in step S12, or when the device selection is not performed in step S14, the step is directly performed.
Move to 16. In this step S16, it is determined whether or not an ending operation for ending the system control program creation processing has been performed. If the ending operation has not been performed, the processing returns to step S11, and if the ending operation has been performed, the processing ends.

The processing program for performing the system design support processing and the system control program creation processing is
It is electronically stored in a recording medium such as a ROM, a flexible disk, a compact disk or a hard disk, and the processing device 14 reads out a predetermined processing program from the recording medium and executes it.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described.
Now, it is assumed that the design support apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 is used to design the control system 5 shown in FIG. The recording medium 1
3, device information having a function that satisfies the specifications required as the control system 5 is created and stored in advance, and a device control program specified by this device information is created, and the function block FB and It is associated and stored.

First, the system scale of the control system 5 according to the required specifications and the scale of the system control program are estimated. The system engineer operates the input device 11 to activate the system design support process shown in FIG. 7. As a result, the processing device 14 operates and the device information 10d shown in FIG. 4 is displayed on the display device 12 (step S1).

The system engineer refers to the device information 10d, searches for a device that satisfies the specifications required for the control system 5, and sequentially selects the corresponding device. Then, when the devices that can satisfy the required specifications of the control system 5 have been selected, a list display instruction of the selected devices is issued. The processing device 14 stores the selected device in a predetermined storage area (steps S2, S
3) When the list display instruction is issued, the device information 10 corresponding to the device selected by referring to this storage area 10
The list of d is displayed on the display device 12 (steps S4, S
5).

Therefore, the system engineer refers to the device information 10d of the displayed selected device and refers to, for example, the capacity of the arithmetic processing function set as the information regarding the arithmetic processing function or the number of input / output points of the function block FB. By calculating the total of these with reference to, it is possible to easily recognize the system scale of the entire control system 5 or the scale of the system control program.

At this time, when the list of selected devices is displayed in the process of step S5, the total capacity of the arithmetic processing functions, the total number of input / output points of the function block FB, or the total number of control devices used, Etc., and the calculation result may be displayed on the display device 12 together with the list when the list of the selected devices is displayed.

Since the device 10 is a group of devices required to realize one function, the entire system is based on the capacity of the arithmetic processing function required for each device 10d based on the device information 10d. If the control system is constructed using the control equipment required for each device 10 specified by the arithmetic processing device and the device information 10d, the function of This means that the hardware configuration of the control system has been built, including all the hardware necessary to realize the.

Next, the system engineer activates the system control program creation process to create the system control program. When the system control program creation process is activated, a program creation screen is displayed on the display device 12. The system engineer uses the well-known procedure on this program creation screen to execute the function block FB.
Is displayed (step S11), and the input and output of the function block FB are connected.

At this time, the input device 11 is operated to give a device information display instruction, and the device information 10 shown in FIG.
When d is displayed (steps S12 and S13) and the device 10 corresponding to the required specifications of the control system 5 is selected, the processing device 14 searches the function block FB corresponding to the selected device 10 and creates a program for it. It is displayed on the screen (step S15).

Then, using the function block FB corresponding to the device 10, a system control program is created by a known procedure. Here, since the device 10 selected when estimating the scale of the control system 5, the scale of the system control program, etc. is a device necessary to satisfy the required specifications of the control system 5,
A program may be created using the function block FB corresponding to these.

At this time, this function block F
The signal name corresponding to the input and output of B is the device information 1
Since it is described in 0d, the input and output signal names can be easily recognized by referring to the device information 10d. Then, an input source or an output source of a signal designated as an input or an output of this function block FB is connected according to a known procedure to create a program. By repeating this process, the devices 10 corresponding to the required specifications of the control system 5 are sequentially selected, the function blocks FB corresponding to the selected devices are displayed on the program creation screen, and these are connected to meet the required specifications. A system control program will be created. For example, in the case of FIG. 9, five function blocks FB-A to FB-E are combined to create a system control program. That is, the control system 5 controlled by the system control program is configured to include the five devices 10A to 10E.

When the system control program according to the required specifications is created, the ending operation is performed to end the program creation. When the transfer device 2 compiles the system control program 10 created in this way, the transfer device 2 creates the device 10
Since the function block FB corresponding to the above is also compiled in the same manner as the existing function block FB, a program for executing the function corresponding to the selected device 10 is incorporated into the system control program. .

At this time, the device information 10d is set according to the control device 21 to be controlled, and the device control program for controlling this control device 21 is generated in association with the function block FB. Therefore,
The system engineer does not need to create a device control program related to control processing for the control device 21, and only needs to create a program that combines the function blocks FB. Therefore, the working time required to create the system control program for the control system 5 can be significantly reduced.

At this time, since the device control program corresponding to the device 10 is created in advance, the system engineer does not need to create the device control program, and the operation of the control device 21 itself is detailed. You don't have to understand. Therefore, even a system engineer who is not familiar with the control device 21 used in the control system 5 can easily create the system control program.

At this time, when the device control program corresponding to the device 10 is created, the device 10
If a system engineer who is familiar with the control device 21 corresponding to the above creates a device control program for the control device 21 and stores it in the recording medium 13,
Even if a system engineer unfamiliar with the control device 21 creates a system control program for the entire control system 5, the control device 21 having the same quality as the system control program created by the familiar system engineer 21.
You can create a program that takes full advantage of the performance of.

At this time, since the input or output signal of the function block FB corresponding to the device 10 can be easily recognized by referring to the device information 10d, which information is input or output? You can easily recognize whether to connect. Therefore, the time required to create the system control program can be shortened. Further, since the system control program is created by using the functional block diagram language by combining the function blocks FB corresponding to the device 10, by referring to this program, it is possible to determine what kind of processing each unit is performing. It can be easily recognized and the readability of the system control program can be improved.

Since the device 10 is handled as a unit having one function and the device control program is created for each device 10, verification can be performed for each device 10. After performing verification on a device 10 unit basis, by verifying the entire control system 5 including these devices 10, it is possible to prevent the verification omission, and at the time of already verifying the entire control system 5. Since detailed verification corresponding to each control device 21 has already been performed, the processing time required for verification of the entire control system 5 can be shortened.

Further, even when not all the control devices 21 are prepared when performing verification of the entire control system 5,
Only by changing the connection of the function block FB in the system control program, it is possible to easily perform verification on the part excluding the control device 21, and the verification work can be performed efficiently. Further, as described above, the scale of the control system 5 or the scale of the system control program is estimated based on the device information 10d, and the system control program is created using the function block FB corresponding to the estimated device 10. Device 10
If the control system 5 is configured by using a CPU module that satisfies the control device 21 or the arithmetic processing function 23 corresponding to the above, the control system 5 that is the system scale at the time of estimation and the scale of the system control program is formed. Will be. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the scale of the control system 5 and the scale of the system control program from being significantly changed in the process of creating the control system 5, and it is possible to perform highly accurate estimation.

Since each device 10 defines the control equipment or the arithmetic processing function necessary to realize its function, a hardware system construction should be performed based on the device information 10d. As a result, it is possible to prevent leakage of components, differences in specifications, etc., and it is possible to design the control system easily and accurately.

Further, since the device control program corresponding to the device 10 is associated with the function block FB and is combined to create the system control program, the range affected by the failure of a certain device 10 is connected to this. Limited to the devices that are being used. Therefore, the replacement of the device 10 or the other device 10 is not affected.
It is possible to create a system control program that is resistant to local failures such as disconnection of the device 10 when a failure occurs.

For example, in the system control program shown in FIG. 9, the control system 5 includes five devices 10A.
10E, the system control program is created by the function block FB corresponding to each device 10. For example, when the function block FB-B receives the operation status from the FB-A as an input and displays it on the display, even if the device 10B corresponding to the function block FB-B fails, the entire control system 5 Is not significantly affected, the function block FB-A is executed and the control device is continuously operated while the device 10B is in failure, and the device 10B in which the failure occurs at a later time. It is also possible to exchange.

Further, when performing the verification work, if the devices 10A corresponding to the function block FB-A are not available, the function block FB-B is provided with a test input to make the function block FB-B. The device 10B corresponding to −B can be verified. Alternatively, a test function block that can replace the function block FB-A is prepared, the terminal name is combined with the regular function block FB-A, and the test function block is used to control the control system 5
Verification, and as soon as a legitimate device 10A is available,
The function block for testing and the device 10A may be replaced.

At this time, the replacement of the test function block with the regular function block is
A device using a test function block is incorporated in the control system 5, the test function block is deleted, and a regular function block is connected instead. Therefore, a correction error is unlikely to occur. . Moreover, since the function blocks other than these can be used as they are, the verification work can be efficiently performed.

Once the device 10 is created,
Thereafter, by diversion of the device 10, the device 10 can be repeatedly used, the efficiency of system design can be improved, and the quality of the entire control system can be improved. At this time, since the device control program of the device 10 and the control device 21 are handled as one unit, it is not necessary to change the device control program by designing the control system 5 for each device.

In the above embodiment, the device information 10d may be managed as a database DB. Further, as shown in FIG. 10, a management device 61 that manages the database DB and a design support device 62 are connected via a communication line L or the like to build a network system, and the management device 61 serves as a server and design support. The device 62 operates as a client, and the design support device 62
The information of the database DB may be read out from the device via the communication line L, and the design support device 62 may design the control system 5 in the same manner as described above based on the information.

At this time, the device control program of each device 10 may be managed as the database DB. By doing so, the database DB can be effectively used and the versatility is expanded. By allowing the database DB to be referred to by the plurality of design support devices 62, more system engineers can create a high-quality control system.

At this time, when the system engineer who designed the control system using the database DB detects a defect or the like, the system engineer 61 is notified of the defect, and this information is also included in the device information 10d. You may manage with it. At this time, database D
When the user registers and manages the design support device 62 designing the control system by using B, the database DB is updated, or when the defect information or the like is notified, the communication line L or e-mail, etc. May be used to notify the design support device 62 of which the user is registered. Further, the database DB is configured to be rewritable from the design support device 62, and when a defect or the like is found, it is corrected and the correction history or the like is stored in the device information 1
It may be added as 0d.

Here, in the above embodiment, the device 10 corresponds to the function realizing means, the processing device 14 corresponds to the managing means, the input device 11 corresponds to the input means, and the device information 10d corresponds to the element information. Then, the processes of steps S1 and S5 correspond to the function configuration information selecting means, the arithmetic processing function d4 of FIG. 4 corresponds to the control arithmetic means, the recording medium 13 corresponds to the program storing means, and step S15 of FIG. Processing corresponds to the program selection means.

[0062]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention.
According to the design support device for a control system according to the above, by selecting the function realizing means that satisfies the function required as the control system and referring to the element information, the element necessary to realize the function or this element Information can be easily obtained, and thus the total number of elements required for realizing the entire control system, the specifications of the elements, etc. can be easily obtained.

According to the design support apparatus for the control system of the second aspect, the function is realized by selecting the function realizing means satisfying the function required as the control system and referring to the element information. Since it is possible to specify the control devices, device control programs, and control calculation means necessary for this, the types and total number of control devices and types of device control programs necessary to satisfy the functions required for the entire control system. And its scale, and the specification and scale of the control calculation means can be easily grasped, and the estimation work can be performed easily and accurately.

According to the design support apparatus for the control system of the third aspect, the device control program corresponding to the designated function realizing means is selected from the program storing means,
Since this is presented, by selecting the function realizing means required to satisfy the functions required for the entire control system, it is possible to easily create a device control program that satisfies this function without the work of creating it. By storing a high-quality device control program in the program storage means, a control system using the high-quality device control program can be constructed.

Further, according to the design support apparatus for the control system of the fourth aspect, the device control program is made to correspond to the functional block in the functional block diagram language. Therefore, the device control program is referred to by referring to the functional block. The readability and reusability of the system can be improved, and the program of the entire control system can be handled in functional block units, so a system that is resistant to local failures such as replacement of function implementation means and disconnection at the time of failure. Can be designed.

Further, according to the design support apparatus for the control system of the fifth aspect, the information for specifying the control device and its use, the device control program and its program capacity necessary for realizing the desired function are specified. Information, and information for specifying the required capacity of the control calculation means are stored, and by referring to these, the system capacity of the entire control system The information necessary for construction can be easily obtained.

Further, according to the design support apparatus for the control system of the sixth aspect, since the information indicating the input and output signal contents in the functional block is included as the element information, by referring to the element information, It is possible to easily recognize the contents of input and output signals to the device control program. Further, according to the design support device for the control system of claim 7, the control information connected to the control device connected via the communication line and / or the device control program stored in the program storage device is read. Also, since it can be updated, versatility can be improved.

Further, according to the design support program according to the eighth and ninth aspects, the function is realized by selecting the function realizing means satisfying the function required as the control system and referring to the element information. Control equipment required for
Since the device control program and the control calculation means can be specified, the type and total number of control devices, the type and scale of the device control program, and the control required to satisfy the functions required for the entire control system. The specifications, scale, etc. of the computing means can be easily grasped, the estimation work can be carried out easily and accurately, and the device control program satisfying this function can be easily obtained without the creation work.

Particularly, according to the design support program according to the ninth aspect, the device control program stored in the management information and / or the program storage unit managed by the management unit by the control unit connected through the communication line is stored. Since it can be read and updated, versatility can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an example of a design support device 1 to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram of a device 10.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram when the control system 5 is configured by the device 10.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of device information 10d.

FIG. 5 is an example of a function block FB.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an internal program of a function block FB.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure of a system design support processing in the processing device.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure of a system control program creation processing in the processing device.

FIG. 9 is a circuit diagram of a function block FB showing an example when a system control program is created using the function block FB.

FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram showing an example of a case where a network system is configured using a design support device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Design support device 11 Input device 12 Display 13 recording media 14 Processor 2 Transfer device 5 control system 10 devices 10a Device information 21 Control equipment 22 Equipment control program 23 Arithmetic processing function 24 Parameter definition information

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Yugo Sunaga             1-1 Tanabe Nitta, Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa             Within Fuji Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Fumihiko Anzai             1-1 Tanabe Nitta, Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa             Within Fuji Electric Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 5B076 DC09 DD06 DE01 DE08 EC07                       EC08                 5H220 AA10 BB12 CC06 CX06 EE08                       EE10 FF01 JJ13 JJ57

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. One or a plurality of means necessary for realizing a preset function is a function realizing means which is a group of elements necessary for realizing the function, and an element included in the function realizing means. The management means for managing the preset element information for specifying each function realizing means and the element information corresponding to the function realizing means designated by the input means are selected from the management information managed by the managing means. And a functional configuration information selecting means for presenting the information, and a design support device for a control system. 2. One or a plurality of control devices, a device control program for controlling the control devices to perform a preset predetermined operation, and a control calculation means for executing the device control program. A function realizing unit that is a group of elements necessary for realizing a predetermined operation is set, and preset information for specifying the control device, the device control program, and the control calculating unit included in the function realizing unit is set as an element. Management means for managing each function realizing means as information, and function information selecting means for selecting and presenting element information corresponding to the function realizing means designated by the input means from the management information managed by the managing means. A design support device for a control system, comprising: 3. A program storage unit for storing the device control program specified by the element information, and a device control program corresponding to the function realizing unit specified by the input unit, as element information managed by the managing unit. 3. The design support device for a control system according to claim 2, further comprising: program selection means for selecting from the program storage means on the basis of the program storage means and presenting the selected program storage means. 4. The design support device for a control system according to claim 2, wherein the device control program is associated with a functional block in a functional block diagram language. 5. The element information includes information for specifying the control device and its use, information for specifying the device control program and its program capacity, and information for specifying a required capacity of the control calculation means. Claim 2
5. A design support device for a control system according to any one of 4 to 4. 6. The design support apparatus for a control system according to claim 4, wherein the element information includes information representing input and output signal contents in the functional block. 7. The control device is configured to be connectable to a control device via a communication line, and the control device reads management information managed by the management device and / or the device control program stored in the program storage device. 7. The design support device for a control system according to claim 1, wherein the design support device is configured to be updatable. 8. One or a plurality of control devices, a device control program for controlling the control devices to perform a preset predetermined operation, and a control calculation means for executing the device control program. A function realizing unit that is a group of elements necessary for realizing a predetermined operation is set, and preset information for specifying the control device, the device control program, and the control calculating unit included in the function realizing unit is set as an element. Management means for managing each function realizing means as information, and function information selecting means for selecting and presenting element information corresponding to the function realizing means designated by the input means from the management information managed by the managing means. And a program storage unit for storing the device control program specified by the element information, and a device control corresponding to the function realizing unit specified by the input unit. And a program selection unit that selects a program from the program storage unit based on element information managed by the management unit and presents the program, and a computer-executable design support program. 9. The design support program includes a communication unit that communicates with a control device via a communication line, and the device control stored in the management information managed by the management unit and / or the program storage unit. 9. The design support program according to claim 8, wherein the program is formed so that it can be read and updated by the control device.