JP2007280379A - Program monitor device for programmable controller - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a program monitor device which quickly displays an action program corresponding to each step even in an action block invisible mode. <P>SOLUTION: The program monitor device for displaying a user program to be operated by a programmable controller, is provided with: a storage means storing sequential function chart SFC graphic information, SFC factor information, and action program information; an SFC drawing means; an action program drawing means; an action block display switching means; and an action program switching tab allocation means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a program monitor device for a programmable controller (hereinafter referred to as PLC), and more particularly to a program monitor device for a PLC that displays a user program in a sequential function chart (hereinafter referred to as SFC).

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a PLC program monitor device that displays a user program executed by a PLC using an SFC is known. The IEC 61131-3 standard defines that each SFC is composed of a plurality of steps that sequentially transition when a predetermined transition condition (transition) is established, and a plurality of actions can be registered in each step.

In SFC, by assigning multiple actions for each step,
(1) The programming language can be switched for each action and programming can be performed in a language suitable for processing.
(2) Action qualifiers can be specified for actions, and the execution timing can be switched for each action.
(3) Since an action is a program composition unit, it can be used in another step, and the program can be reused, contributing to a reduction in program capacity.
There is an advantage that said.

  On the other hand, it is often the case that only one action is allocated to one step, and there are many cases where the execution start timing of the action may be executed simultaneously with the step. Considering these points, there is little merit in displaying the action information on the screen of the program monitor device at all times, and conversely, it is a factor that hinders visibility, which is also a merit of SFC. It was found to be obtained.

For the above reasons, in order to simplify the screen display, a PLC program monitor device that hides the action assigned to each step has been known. As such an invention, Patent Document 1 discloses a control device capable of displaying the contents of an operation program of the control device in an easy-to-understand manner for an operator.
JP 2002-099310 A

  However, in the PLC program monitor device, if the action for each step is not displayed, the following problems may occur. For example, when programming or testing is performed using SFC, if the action for each step is hidden, the content of the action assigned to each step (such as a ladder program corresponding to the action) is suddenly displayed. When it is necessary to confirm the action, it may be necessary to go through a number of operation procedures to display the content of the action.

  FIG. 10 shows a display example of the conventional monitor device when the action block corresponding to the action of each step is not displayed. In the figure, 1001 is an SFC chart display area, 1002 is an action program display area, 1003a and b are step blocks indicating each step of SFC, 1004 is a transition indicating an inter-step transition condition of SFC, and 1005 is the content of an action program. Ladder diagrams shown, 1006a to 1006d are scroll bars.

  According to this display example, although the step blocks 1003a and 1003b are displayed in the SFC chart display area 1001, the action blocks associated therewith are not displayed, so that the screen visibility is good. If it is desired to see the contents of an action program in any step (for example, “Step 2”), the step block 1003b is captured by a predetermined operation. Then, a ladder diagram corresponding to all the action programs included in the step is displayed as an action. It is displayed in the program display area 1002.

  The action program display area 1002 is a rectangular shape that is elongated in the left-right direction and has a limited space. Therefore, for a ladder diagram corresponding to an action program that cannot be displayed in the display area 1002, the screen is scrolled by operating the scroll bars 1006c and 1006d. However, it takes time to refer to the target action program, which is inconvenient.

  On the other hand, if all the actions and the corresponding action programs are always displayed on the screen, there is a problem that the information displayed on the screen becomes very large and the visibility is remarkably lowered.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to such a conventional problem, and its purpose is to promptly display an action program corresponding to each step even when the action block is not displayed. An object of the present invention is to provide a programmable PLC program monitor device.

  Other objects and operational effects of the present invention will be easily understood by those skilled in the art by referring to the following description of the specification.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the program monitoring apparatus of the present application is for displaying a user program executed by a programmable controller, and includes sequential function chart display information for drawing a sequential function chart, and sequential information. Sequential function chart element information including memory address information included in the programmable controller associated with the function chart element, and actions associated with the sequential function chart element information corresponding to the actions assigned to each step of the sequential function chart The storage means storing the program information and the sequential function chart display information Sequential function chart drawing means for drawing a sequential function chart in the sequential function chart display area, and an action associated with the sequential function chart element information based on the sequential function chart element information corresponding to each step of the displayed sequential function chart Action program drawing means for extracting program information and drawing an action program in the action program display area; action block display switching means for switching display / non-display of the action block for the sequential function chart drawn in the sequential function chart display area; The action program drawing means When drawing an action program, if a step including the action includes a plurality of actions, action program changeover switch assigning means for providing a switch for changing the display of each action program in the action program display area is provided. Have.

  According to such a configuration, the action program can be easily displayed and switched without displaying the action block, so that the action program can be referred to easily. In addition, since the changeover switch is provided in the action program display area, the range of movement of the pointing device is reduced and the operability is improved when selection / determination is performed with a pointing device such as a mouse.

  In the program monitor device of the present invention, an action program switching tab may be used instead of the action program switching switch.

  The present invention can also be realized as a programmable controller system in which a programmable controller and a program monitor device are connected via communication. In this programmable controller system, the program monitor device includes a sequential function chart display information for drawing a sequential function chart, and a sequential function chart element including address information of a memory included in the programmable controller associated with the element of the sequential function chart. Information, a storage means for storing action program information associated with sequential function chart element information corresponding to actions assigned to each step of the sequential function chart, and a sequential function chart using the sequential function chart graphical information The sequential function chart table Based on the sequential function chart drawing means for drawing in the area and the sequential function chart element information corresponding to each step of the displayed sequential function chart, the action program information associated with the sequential function chart element information is extracted and the action program is extracted. The action program drawing means for drawing in the action program display area, the sequential function chart element information is extracted from the sequential function chart displayed in the sequential function chart display area, and the memory of the programmable controller associated with the element of the sequential function chart is provided. Based on the address information Transmitting means for transmitting the current value read command to read the current value of the address corresponding to the programmable controller, sequential function chart updating means for updating the display of the sequential function chart based on the current value received from the programmable controller, and sequential function chart Action block display switching means for switching display / non-display of an action block for a sequential function chart drawn in the display area, and when the action program is drawn by the action program drawing means, a step including the action includes a plurality of steps If actions are included, the tab for switching the display of each action program is displayed in the action program display Action program switching tab assignment means provided at the rear.

  On the other hand, when receiving a current value read command from the program monitor device, the programmable controller has return means for returning the current value in the memory corresponding to the address included in the command to the program monitor device.

  According to such a configuration, in addition to the visibility, the SFC chart display can be monitored and updated in real time, so that the SFC execution state can always be displayed in accordance with the current situation.

  According to the program monitor device of the present invention, it is possible to promptly display the action program corresponding to each step even when the action block is not displayed.

  Further, according to the programmable controller system of the present invention, in addition to promptly displaying the action program, the SFC chart display can be monitored and updated in real time, so that it is possible to always display the SFC according to the current situation.

  A preferred embodiment of a program monitor device for PLC according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiment described below is merely an example of the present invention, and the gist of the present invention is defined only by the description of the claims.

  As described above, the PLC program monitor apparatus according to the present invention can promptly display an action program corresponding to each step even when the action block is not displayed. A hardware configuration diagram of such a program monitor apparatus is shown in FIG. In the figure, 10 is a PLC, 100 is a program monitoring device, 101 is a COM port (communication interface with PLC), 102 is a memory, 103 is a display (image display device), 104 is a keyboard, 105 is a pointing device, and 106 is A hard disk drive, 107 is a CPU, and 108 is a CD-ROM drive. The program monitor device 100 displays an SFC chart on the display 103, and transmits information on the SFC chart to the PLC 10 via the COM port 101, whereby processing corresponding to the SFC chart is executed in the PLC 10.

A functional block diagram of the program monitor apparatus according to the present invention is shown in FIG. In the figure, 100 is a program monitor device, 100a is an SFC chart drawing processing unit, 100b is SFC chart information, 100c is communication middleware, 100d is a ladder diagram (LD) drawing processing unit, and 100e is a structured text (ST) drawing processing unit. , 100f is an action program management unit, and 100g is action program information. The SFC chart information 100b is stored in the memory, and includes SFC graphic information for drawing the SFC, SFC element information including address information of the memory provided in the PLC associated with the SFC element, and the like. Here, the SFC graphic information includes coordinate data indicating the display position of the step block, transition, etc., shape data indicating the display shape of the step block, and the like. The address information of the memory provided in the PLC associated with the SFC element is the state of the SFC element such as a step or transition (for example, the execution state of active or inactive if it is a step, and the transition condition if it is a transition) Address information of the PLC memory storing the (status).
In this example, it is assumed that a ladder diagram and structured text are adopted as the description language of the action program, but it goes without saying that other languages may be used.

  When the program monitor apparatus 100 receives an SFC drawing command via the keyboard 104 or the pointing device 105, the SFC chart drawing processing unit 100 a draws the SFC chart on the display 103 using the SFC chart information 100 b stored in the memory 102. To do. When the monitor display of the SFC chart is performed, the SFC element is extracted from the SFC chart displayed on the screen, and the address information of the memory included in the PLC associated with the SFC element is stored in the memory 102. Get from. Next, the program monitor device 100 acquires the current value of the memory address of the PLC 10 corresponding to the previously acquired address information via the communication middleware 100c, and updates the SFC chart based on the acquired current value.

  Further, in the program monitor device 100, when there is an action program display request, the action program of the selected action can be displayed in the action program display area on the display screen. Here, as described later, when the SFC chart display is in the action block display mode, an action program corresponding to the action block is displayed on the display 103 by selecting the action block to which the program is to be referred. Displayed in the area. On the other hand, when the SFC chart display is in the action block non-display mode, the action program assigned to the step is selected as the action program of the display 103 by selecting the step block including the action to be referred to. Displayed in the display area.

Display examples of such SFC charts and action programs are shown in FIGS. In FIG. 3, 301 is an SFC chart display area, 302 is an action program display area, 303a and b are step blocks corresponding to each step, 304a and b are action blocks corresponding to each action, 305 is a transition, and 306 is an action program. Ladder diagrams corresponding to 307a to 307d are scroll bars. In FIG. 4, 401 is an SFC chart display area, 402 is an action program display area, 403a and b are step blocks corresponding to each step, 404a and b are action blocks corresponding to each action, 405 is a transition, and 406 is Ladder diagrams corresponding to the action program, 407a to 407d are scroll bars. In FIG. 5, 501 is an SFC chart display area, 502 is an action program display area, 503a and b are step blocks corresponding to each step, 504a and b are action blocks corresponding to each action, 505 is a transition, and 506 is Ladder diagrams corresponding to the action program, 507a to 507d are scroll bars. 3 to 5 are display examples in the action block display mode. Accordingly, not only the step blocks (303a, 303b, 403a, 403b, 503a, 503b) but also the action blocks (304a, 304b, 404a, 404b, 504a, 504b) are displayed in the SFC chart display areas 301, 401, 501. Has been.

  In the example of FIGS. 3 and 5, the SFC chart display area 301 and the action program display area 302 are displayed side by side on the top and bottom of the screen so as to divide the screen into top and bottom. In the example of FIG. 4, the SFC chart display area 301 and the action program display area 302 are displayed side by side on the left and right of the screen so as to divide the screen into left and right. When the operator selects one of the action blocks displayed in the SFC display areas 301, 401, and 501 using a pointing device (such as a mouse) (304a, 404a, and 504b), the action program display area 302 is displayed. , 402, 502 display an action program corresponding to the selected action block. In any example, the arrangement ratio between the SFC chart display area and the action program display area can be selected as appropriate, and other buttons or the like may be provided as necessary.

  Returning to FIG. 2, the operation of each part of the program monitor device will be described more specifically. In the action block display mode, when the user selects an action (see 304a in FIG. 3, 404a in FIG. 4, and 504b in FIG. 5), the CPU 107 assigns an action code (code for identifying the action) assigned to the action. Is obtained from the SFC element information of the SFC chart information 100b in the memory 102, and an action code is sent to the action program management unit 100f. The action program management unit 100f acquires an action program corresponding to the sent action code from the action program information 100g stored in the memory 102, and uses the ladder diagram drawing processing unit 100d or the structured text drawing processing unit 100e. The action program is displayed in areas 302, 402, and 502 on the screen of the display 103.

  FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of the action program display process in the action block display mode. When the processing of FIG. 6 is started, SFC is first displayed in the SFC chart display areas 301, 401, 501 (step 601). When one of the displayed action blocks of the SFC is selected (YES in step 602), the action program corresponding to the selected action block 304a, 404a, 504b is displayed in the action program display areas 302, 402, 502 ( Step 603). When it is desired to refer to an action program other than the displayed action program, the action program displayed on the action program display unit is switched by selecting the action block to be referred to in the SFC chart display area (YES in step 604). Step 605). If there is no other action program to be referred to and reference to the action program is not necessary (YES in step 606), the process is terminated.

  In the above example, the action program display is switched by selecting the action block. However, as in the action block non-display mode, all action programs assigned to the same step are displayed as tabs. You may comprise. By adopting a tab display, for example, when operating with a mouse, it is necessary to reciprocate between the SFC chart display area and the action program display area many times in order to change the display of the action program. And operability is improved.

  Next, an example in the action block non-display mode will be described. In the present invention, an action program display flowchart in the action block non-display mode is shown in FIG. Examples of action program display in the action block non-display mode are shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, 701 is an SFC display area, 702 is an action program display area, 703a and b are step blocks corresponding to each step, 704 is a transition, 705a and b are ladder diagrams corresponding to an action program, 706a, b is a switching tab for switching the action program to be displayed, and 707a to 707d are scroll bars. In the following, the flowchart of FIG. 9 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  When the process of FIG. 9 is started, an SFC chart is first displayed in the SFC display area 701 (step 901). When any step block 703 of the displayed SFC is selected (YES in step 902), the top action (if there are multiple actions in the step depending on some condition) among the action programs assigned to the selected step. The action program 705a (meaning the first action of the ordered actions) is displayed as a tab in the action program display area 702 (step 903). An example of the action program display at this time is shown in FIG. 7. In the example of FIG. 7, the switching tab is a switching tab 706a corresponding to the first action, and the action program 705a corresponding to Action 1 is displayed. I understand that.

  Next, when it is desired to refer to an action program different from the displayed action program 705a, the switching tab 706b corresponding to the action program to be referred to is selected (step 904), and another action program 705b is displayed (step 905). ). An example of the action program display at this time is shown in FIG. 8. In the example of FIG. 8, the switching tab is the switching tab 706b of Action 2, and the action program 705b corresponding to Action 2 is tabbed in the action program display area 702. You can see that it is displayed.

  Returning to step 904, if no other action program is referred to, the process proceeds to determination of the end of the action program display (NO in step 904). If reference of the action program is not required (YES in step 906), the process is ended. In this example, the action program to be displayed is switched by the switching tabs 706a and 706b. However, a switching button or the like corresponding to each action may be provided in the action program display area instead of the switching tab.

  In the above example, as an example of a method for switching the action program displayed in the action program display area in the action block non-display mode, the switching tab and the switching button are provided in the action program display area. As another embodiment, an example in which a changeover switch is provided in the action program display area will be described with reference to FIG. 11, elements having the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 7 perform the same functions as the corresponding elements in FIG. In FIG. 11, reference numerals 1101b and 1101c correspond to changeover switches, and when 110b or 110c is pressed, the contents of action programs in the rear or front are displayed according to the order of a plurality of action programs arranged in advance. . 1101a can be configured to display the name of the action program selected by the changeover switch.

  As described above, according to the present invention, even when the action block is not displayed, the action program can be displayed promptly. In addition, the SFC chart display is monitored and updated in real time, so that it always matches the current situation. It is possible to provide a programmable controller system that can display the SFC.

It is a figure which shows the hardware constitutions of a program monitor apparatus. It is a functional block diagram of a program monitor device. It is a display example (the 1) of the SFC chart and action program at the time of action block display mode. It is a display example (the 2) of the SFC chart and action program at the time of action block display mode. It is a display example (the 3) of the SFC chart and action program at the time of action block display mode. It is an action program display flowchart at the time of action block display mode. It is the example (1) of an action program display at the time of action block non-display mode. It is the example 2 of an action program display at the time of action block non-display mode. It is a flowchart of the action program display process at the time of action block non-display mode. It is an example of a screen display in the conventional program monitor apparatus. It is the example 3 of an action program display at the time of action block non-display mode.

Explanation of symbols

10 PLC
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Program monitor apparatus 100a SFC chart drawing process part 100b SFC chart information 100c Communication middleware 100d Ladder diagram (LD) drawing process part 100e Structured text (ST) drawing process part 100f Action program management part 100g Action program information 101 COM port 102 Memory 103 Display 104 Keyboard 105 Pointing device 106 Hard disk drive 107 CPU
108 CD-ROM drives 301, 401, 501, 701, 1001 SFC chart display areas 302, 402, 502, 702, 1002 Action program display areas 303, 403, 503, 703, 1003 Step blocks 304, 404 corresponding to the respective steps , 504 Action blocks 305, 405, 505, 704, 1004 corresponding to each action Character strings 306, 406, 506, 705, 1005 representing transitions FIG. 307, 407, 507, 707, 1006 Scroll corresponding to the action program Bar 706 switching tab

Claims (3)

A program monitor device for displaying a user program to be executed by a programmable controller,
Sequential function chart graphical information for drawing sequential function charts, sequential function chart element information including memory address information of the programmable controller associated with the elements of the sequential function chart, and assigned to each step of the sequential function chart Storage means for storing action program information associated with sequential action chart element information corresponding to a given action;
Sequential function chart drawing means for drawing a sequential function chart in the sequential function chart display area using the sequential function chart display information;
Action program drawing means for extracting action program information associated with sequential function chart element information based on sequential function chart element information corresponding to each step of the displayed sequential function chart and drawing the action program in the action program display area When,
Action block display switching means for switching display / non-display of the action block with respect to the sequential function chart drawn in the sequential function chart display area;
When an action program is drawn by the action program drawing means, when a plurality of actions are included in a step including the action, an action for providing a switch for switching display of each action program in the action program display area Program changeover switch assigning means;
A program monitor device comprising: A program monitor device for displaying a user program to be executed by a programmable controller,
Sequential function chart graphical information for drawing sequential function charts, sequential function chart element information including memory address information of the programmable controller associated with the elements of the sequential function chart, and assigned to each step of the sequential function chart Storage means for storing action program information associated with sequential action chart element information corresponding to a given action;
Sequential function chart drawing means for drawing a sequential function chart in the sequential function chart display area using the sequential function chart display information;
Action program drawing means for extracting action program information associated with sequential function chart element information based on sequential function chart element information corresponding to each step of the displayed sequential function chart and drawing the action program in the action program display area When,
Action block display switching means for switching display / non-display of the action block with respect to the sequential function chart drawn in the sequential function chart display area;
When an action program is drawn by the action program drawing means, if a plurality of actions are included in the step including the action, an action for providing a tab for switching the display of each action program in the action program display area Program switching tab assignment means,
A program monitor device comprising: A programmable controller system in which a programmable controller and a program monitor device are connected via communication,
Program monitor device
Sequential function chart graphical information for drawing sequential function charts, sequential function chart element information including memory address information of the programmable controller associated with the elements of the sequential function chart, and assigned to each step of the sequential function chart Storage means for storing action program information associated with sequential action chart element information corresponding to a given action;
Sequential function chart drawing means for drawing a sequential function chart in the sequential function chart display area using the sequential function chart display information;
Action program drawing means for extracting action program information associated with sequential function chart element information based on sequential function chart element information corresponding to each step of the displayed sequential function chart and drawing the action program in the action program display area When,
Sequential function chart element information is extracted from the sequential function chart displayed in the sequential function chart display area. Based on the address information of the memory included in the programmable controller associated with the elements of the sequential function chart, the address corresponding to the address information is extracted. A transmission means for transmitting a current value read command for reading the current value to the programmable controller;
Sequential function chart updating means for updating the display of the sequential function chart based on the current value received from the programmable controller;
Action block display switching means for switching display / non-display of the action block with respect to the sequential function chart drawn in the sequential function chart display area;
When drawing an action program by the action program drawing means, if a plurality of actions are included in the step including the action, an action for providing a tab for switching the display of each action program in the action program display area A program switching tab assignment means,
When the programmable controller receives a current value read command from the program monitor device, the programmable controller has return means for returning the current value of the memory corresponding to the address included in the command to the program monitor device.
A programmable controller system characterized by that.

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