JP2010218042A - Program development support device for plc - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To connect a development support device to a programmable display unit, and to, in performing an online operation to one desired PLC (programmable controller) among one or two or more PLCs connected to the programmable display unit, simplify the setting operation of a format or address corresponding to the desired PLC as much as possible. <P>SOLUTION: In response to a prescribed PLC selecting operation performed by a user by an operation part, on the basis of PLC-categorized address information obtained by a PLC-categorized address information obtaining means and PLC-categorized format information obtained by a format information obtaining means, a development support device and one PLC selected from a PLC screen by the operation are automatically set in an online operation validating state. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a program development support apparatus for a programmable controller (hereinafter referred to as “PLC”), and more particularly, to a program development support apparatus for a PLC that can be connected to a PLC via a programmable display.

  Generally, the PLC is stored in a control panel with a door together with the control device as a part of the control device of various devices. Therefore, work such as PLC status monitoring and setting change was installed outside the control panel in an easy-to-operate position, and was connected to the PLC in the control panel via a network such as general-purpose serial communication or Ethernet (registered trademark). It is often performed through operation of a programmable display (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  Operations such as PLC status monitoring and setting value change can be easily performed by operation on the touch panel of the programmable display. However, in the case of work that requires complicated settings such as program changes and unit parameter changes and a large amount of data, the programmable display cannot be used because of the lack of screen size or poor graphic user interface (GUI). The operability is not good.

  Therefore, when it becomes advanced work such as PLC program change and parameter change of each unit, the development support device configured by installing dedicated software on a personal computer is connected to the programmable display, and the PLC is connected via the programmable display. In general, it is possible to cope with such high-level work by operating a keyboard and a mouse while indirectly looking at the display of a personal computer constituting the development support apparatus.

  Conventionally, when a PLC connected to a programmable display is used to perform advanced operations such as program change and parameter change of each unit online from a development support device connected to the programmable display, online operation is required. It has been necessary to manually set the target PLC type, network address, node address, and communication form to be used in the development support apparatus, and establish communication between the development support apparatus and the PLC.

JP 2008-171054 A

  Therefore, conventionally, connecting a development support device to a programmable display device and connecting to the PLC that is the object of online operation via the programmable display device leads to a programmable display device to connect the development support device. If the type and address of the PLC that is being used are not known, there is a problem that the development support apparatus cannot perform an online operation related to the desired PLC.

  In addition, even if the PLC format or address to be operated online is known, when setting the format or address, relying on the system configuration diagram etc. to avoid inadvertently making mistakes. While checking the format display and address display one by one, it is necessary to perform key input operations carefully, which is very time consuming and troublesome.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to the above-mentioned problems, and the object of the present invention is to connect a development support apparatus to a programmable display, and one or more PLCs connected to the programmable display. When it is desired to perform an online operation on a desired one of them, a development support apparatus that can make the setting operation of the format and address corresponding to the desired PLC as simple as possible Is to provide.

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

  The problem to be solved by the above-described invention can be solved by a PLC development support apparatus having the following configuration.

That is, this development support apparatus is a PLC development support apparatus that can be connected to a programmable display connected to one or more PLCs.
A display that can display text and images,
An operation unit having a character input unit such as a keyboard and a pointing device such as a mouse;
Necessary when accessing one or more PLCs connected to the programmable display via the programmable display in response to a predetermined information acquisition request operation performed by the user in the operation unit. PLC-specific address information acquisition means for acquiring PLC-specific address information from the programmable display;
Format information acquisition means for acquiring the format information from each of all the PLCs connected to the programmable display, based on the address information by PLC acquired by the address information acquisition means by PLC,
A list of selectable PLCs on the display based on the PLC-specific address information acquired by the PLC-specific address information acquisition means and / or the PLC-specific format information acquired by the format information acquisition means. PLC selection screen display means for displaying a PLC selection screen formed by:
In response to a predetermined PLC selection operation performed by the user in the operation unit, the PLC-specific address information acquired by the PLC-specific address information acquisition unit, and the PLC-specific format information acquired by the format information acquisition unit And an automatic setting means for setting the development support apparatus and one PLC selected from the PLC screen by the operation to an online operable state.

  According to such a configuration, when the user performs a predetermined information acquisition request operation in the operation unit, in response to this, the programmable display device is connected to each of one or more PLCs connected to the programmable display device. The address information for each PLC necessary for accessing via the PLC is acquired from the programmable display, and the format information is obtained from each of the PLCs connected to the programmable display based on the address information for each PLC. Then, on the display based on the PLC-specific address information acquired by the PLC-specific address information acquisition means and / or the PLC-specific format information acquired by the format information acquisition means. A PLC selection screen displaying a list of selectable PLCs is displayed.

  In this state, when the user performs a predetermined PLC selection operation, in response to this, the PLC-specific address information acquired by the PLC-specific address information acquisition means and the PLC acquired by the format information acquisition means Based on the different format information, the development support device and the one PLC selected from the PLC screen by the operation are set in an online operable state.

  Therefore, when the development support apparatus is connected to a programmable display and it is desired to perform an online operation on a desired one of one or more PLCs connected to the programmable display, It is only necessary to perform an information acquisition request operation and a predetermined PLC selection operation, and the operation for setting the format and address corresponding to the desired PLC can be made as simple as possible.

  As a preferred embodiment of the development support apparatus described above, the PLC-specific address information acquisition means transmits a predetermined transmission request command to the programmable display and, as a response, the PLC-specific address information. You may acquire.

  According to such a configuration, it is possible to smoothly execute acquisition of address information for each PLC by simply defining a PLC-specific address information return process corresponding to such a transmission request command on the programmable display side.

  Here, the address information by PLC is essential information for the programmable display to be connected to one or more PLCs, and is not newly provided in connection with the present invention. In the present invention, the PLC-specific address information originally possessed by such a programmable display device is effectively utilized for automatic connection for on-line operation. is not.

  As a preferred embodiment of the development support apparatus described above, the format information acquisition means transmits a predetermined transmission request command addressed to each PLC to the programmable display device based on the address information by PLC. As the response, the PLC-specific format information may be acquired.

  According to such a configuration, it is only necessary to define a format information transmission request addressed to each PLC corresponding to such a transmission request command and a relay process of a response corresponding to the PLC on the programmable display side. Acquisition can be executed smoothly.

  As a preferred embodiment of the development support apparatus described above, the PLC-specific address information may include port information of a programmable display to be used, network address information, and node address information.

  According to such a configuration, communication that mediates a programmable display between the development support apparatus and one PLC can be smoothly executed.

  At this time, the address information for each PLC may further include presence / absence information beyond a hierarchy.

  According to such a configuration, not only between the development support apparatus and the PLC on the network directly connected to the programmable display, but also between the PLC connected to another network via any PLC, Online operation via a programmable display becomes possible.

  The problem to be solved by the above-described invention can also be solved by a computer program having the following configuration.

That is, the computer program includes a computer having a display capable of displaying characters and images, an operation unit having a character input unit such as a keyboard and a pointing device such as a mouse, a memory serving as a work area, and a CPU. A computer program for functioning as a PLC development support device connectable to a programmable display connected to one or more PLCs,
Necessary when accessing one or more PLCs connected to the programmable display via the programmable display in response to a predetermined information acquisition request operation performed by the user in the operation unit. PLC-specific address information acquisition step of acquiring PLC-specific address information from the programmable display;
Based on the PLC-specific address information acquired by the PLC-specific address information acquisition means, a format information acquisition step of acquiring the format information from each of all the PLCs connected to the programmable display;
A list of selectable PLCs on the display based on the PLC-specific address information acquired by the PLC-specific address information acquisition means and / or the PLC-specific format information acquired by the format information acquisition means. A PLC selection screen display step for displaying a PLC selection screen,
In response to a predetermined PLC selection operation performed by the user in the operation unit, the PLC-specific address information acquired by the PLC-specific address information acquisition unit, and the PLC-specific format information acquired by the format information acquisition unit And an automatic setting step of setting the development support apparatus and one PLC selected from the PLC screen by the operation to an online operable state.

  As one preferred embodiment of the computer program, the PLC address information acquisition step transmits a predetermined transmission request command to the programmable display and acquires the PLC address information as a response. It may be a thing.

  As a preferred embodiment of the computer program, the format information obtaining step transmits a predetermined transmission request command addressed to each PLC to the programmable display device based on the address information for each PLC, and As the response, the PLC-specific format information may be acquired.

  As a preferred embodiment of this computer program, the PLC-specific address information may include port information of a programmable display to be used, network address information, and node address information.

  As one preferred embodiment of this computer program, the address information by PLC may further include presence / absence information on the presence or absence of a hierarchy.

  According to the above-described computer program and each embodiment thereof, the same special effects as those in the above-described development support apparatus and each embodiment thereof can be achieved.

  According to the present invention, when the user performs a predetermined information acquisition request operation in the operation unit, in response to this, one or more PLCs connected to the programmable display are routed through the programmable display. The address information for each PLC required for access is acquired from the programmable display, and the format information is acquired from each of all the PLCs connected to the programmable display based on the address information for each PLC. After that, it can be selected on the display based on the PLC-specific address information acquired by the PLC-specific address information acquisition means and / or the PLC-specific format information acquired by the format information acquisition means. A PLC selection screen that displays a list of various PLCs is displayed.

  In this state, when the user performs a predetermined PLC selection operation, in response to this, the PLC-specific address information acquired by the PLC-specific address information acquisition means and the PLC acquired by the format information acquisition means Based on the different format information, the development support device and the one PLC selected from the PLC screen by the operation are set in an online operable state.

  Therefore, when the development support apparatus is connected to a programmable display and it is desired to perform an online operation on a desired one of one or more PLCs connected to the programmable display, It is only necessary to perform an information acquisition request operation and a predetermined PLC selection operation, and the operation for setting the format and address corresponding to the desired PLC can be made as simple as possible.

It is a lineblock diagram showing an example of a PLC system to which the present invention is applied. It is a hardware block diagram of the development assistance apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a hardware block diagram of a programmable display. It is a hardware block diagram of PLC. It is the software block diagram (the 1) of a development assistance apparatus. It is a software block diagram (the 2) of a development assistance apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the address table which a programmable display hold | maintains. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the screen for PLC selection guidance.

  A preferred embodiment of a PLC development support apparatus according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  A block diagram showing an example of a PLC system to which the present invention is applied is shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, this PLC system includes a development support apparatus 1 in which dedicated software is installed in a personal computer, a programmable display 2 mainly composed of a touch panel, and four PLCs 311, 321 and 322. , 331.

  Each of the four PLCs 311, 321, 322, and 331 includes one I / O unit 31, one CPU unit 32, and one or two or more communication units 311 in the illustrated example. Composed. Details of these units will be described later.

  The programmable display 2 is connected to a two-system network composed of a network A and a network B. One PLC 311 is connected to the network A, and two PLCs 321 and 322 are connected to the network B. The networks A and B and each PLC are connected via a communication unit 33.

  The PLC 322 includes two communication units 33 and 33. The communication unit 332 on the right side in the drawing is further connected to a network C, and one PLC 331 is connected to the network C. That is, the network B is connected to the programmable display 2, and the network C is further connected to the network B as a lower layer, and one PLC 331 is connected to the network C which is the lower layer. It is.

  FIG. 2 shows a hardware configuration diagram of the development support apparatus according to the present invention. As shown in the figure, the development support apparatus 1 is mainly composed of personal computer hardware, and functions as a development support apparatus are realized by installing dedicated development support apparatus software therein. .

  That is, the development support apparatus 1 includes a keyboard 11 for inputting characters, numbers, symbols, and the like, a pointing device 12 such as a mouse, a display 13 including a liquid crystal display capable of displaying characters and images, and various types. A work memory 14 composed of a RAM stored as a work area for program execution, a CPU 15 mainly composed of a microprocessor and controlling the entire apparatus, and the development support apparatus 1 as a programmable display 2 And a communication interface 16 for connection. In the figure, an external storage device such as a hard disk for installing the program is not shown.

  Next, a hardware configuration diagram of the programmable display is shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, in this example, the programmable display device 2 includes a display 21 composed of a liquid crystal display with a touch panel and screen information (for example, operation buttons, display windows) created by the user. A user screen memory 23 for storing various display lamps, a system memory 24 for storing various system programs for realizing the functions of the programmable display, and an address table related to the present invention. Address table memory 25, a communication interface 26 for connecting the programmable display to the development support apparatus, a communication interface 27 for connecting the PLC to the network A, and the programmable display 2 to the network B Communication interface for connecting to Configured to include a scan 28.

  Then, various system programs stored in the system memory 24 are appropriately read out and executed by the MPU 22 to display various screen data read from the user screen memory 23 on the display 21. In addition to realizing the functions, the communication interfaces 26, 27, and 28 are appropriately controlled to perform communication between the development support apparatus 1 and the PLCs connected to the networks A and B. . Since the basic processing of the programmable display device 2 is already known in various documents, further detailed description is omitted.

  Next, a hardware configuration diagram of the PLC is shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the PLC includes one I / O unit 31, one CPU unit 32, and two communication units 33 and 33. Although not shown, these units 31, 32, and 33 are connected to a backplane (not shown), and can exchange signals with each other via a system bus.

  The I / O unit 31 is provided with a plurality of external input / output terminals, and external devices such as switches and relays are connected to these input / output terminals. Inside these input / output terminals, an input / output circuit for taking in an input signal and sending out an output signal to the outside is provided. Such an input / output circuit is connected to the CPU unit 32 via an internal system bus. Can be accessed from time to time.

  The CPU unit 32 includes a microprocessor (MPU) 32a, a system memory 32b, a data memory 32c, a user program memory 32d, an I / O memory 32e, and a work memory 32f.

  The microprocessor (MPU) 32a performs overall control with the entire CPU unit, reads various system programs stored in the system memory 32b, and executes them as a work area by using the work memory 32f as a work area. Various functions are realized.

  The I / O memory 32e is used as a buffer area for input / output data taken in or sent out from an external input / output terminal of the I / O unit 31. The user program memory 32d is a memory for storing a user program such as a ladder diagram program created by the user as appropriate. The data memory 32c is for storing various data when the user program is executed.

  Examples of basic operations of the CPU unit 32 include I / O refresh processing, instruction execution processing, and peripheral service processing. In the I / O refresh process, the input data fetched from the I / O unit 31 is written to the input area of the I / O memory, and the output data stored in the output area of the I / O memory is written to the I / O unit. The process of transferring to 32 and outputting to the outside is executed.

  In the instruction execution process, each instruction constituting the user program is sequentially read from the user program memory 32d and executed while referring to input / output data of the I / O memory 32e. The contents of the output data of the memory 32e are rewritten.

  In the peripheral service processing, peripheral processing such as communication with other PLCs and programmable displays on the network is performed via the communication unit 33 described later.

  The communication unit 33 includes a microprocessor (MPU) 33a, a system memory 33b for storing various system programs, a work memory 33c, and a communication interface 33d.

  The MPU 33a implements basic operations as the communication unit 33 by reading and executing various system programs from the system memory 33b. As this basic operation, an incoming command is executed via the communication interface 33d, a process designated by the command is executed, and a response is returned to the network via the communication interface 33d. The processing is performed. The basic operations of the I / O unit 31, the CPU unit 32, and the communication unit 33 are already known in various documents, and thus detailed description thereof is omitted.

  As will be described later, in the present invention, settings such as PLC program change and unit parameter change are performed. However, the PLC program is stored in the user program memory 32d, and various parameters are set in I / O memory 32e and data memory 32c. These programs and parameters are sent out or taken in from the network by the MPU 32a on the CPU unit 32 side and the MPU 33a on the communication unit 33 side cooperating with each other.

  Next, FIG. 5 shows a software configuration diagram (part 1) of the development support apparatus, and FIG. 6 shows a configuration diagram (part 2) thereof. The operation of the development support apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to these flowcharts.

  When processing is started in FIG. 5, first, in step 101, communication between the development support apparatus 1 and the programmable display 2 is performed while interacting with the user via the keyboard 11, the pointing device 12, and the display 13. A process of selecting a form is executed.

  In the subsequent step 102, the communication test selected from the above-described processing is performed to perform a communication test from the development support apparatus 1 to the programmable display 2. That is, a predetermined transmission request command is sent to the programmable display device 2 to determine whether or not a response arrives.

  In the subsequent step 103, it is determined whether or not a response has arrived from the programmable display 2 with respect to the communication test described above. If no response has arrived (NO in step 103), the process proceeds to FIG. The process ends without doing so. On the other hand, if it is determined in step 103 that there is some response from the programmable display device 2 (step 103 YES), the process proceeds to the subsequent step 104.

  In step 104, processing for obtaining a PLC address table from the programmable display 2 is executed. In this process, a predetermined transmission request command is sent from the development support apparatus 1 to the programmable display device 2, and a response from the programmable display device 2 corresponding thereto is received, and the PLC address table is acquired. For this purpose, the programmable display device 2 also identifies the transmission request command from the development support apparatus 1, reads out the PLC address table from the address table memory 25 corresponding to this command, and reads this from the development support apparatus 1 The process of returning to is incorporated.

  Here, FIG. 7 shows an explanatory diagram showing an example of an address table held by the programmable display. As shown in the figure, this PLC address table corresponds to the case where five PLCs are connected to the programmable display 2. More specifically, the first PLC is accessed from the serial port A of the programmable display, the network address is “111”, the node address is “1”, and the presence / absence of the hierarchy is “none”. " Similarly, the second PLC is accessed from the serial port B of the programmable display, the network address is “112”, the node address is “1”, and the presence / absence of hierarchy is “none”. On the other hand, for example, the fifth PLC is accessed via Ethernet (registered trademark), the network address is “2”, the node address is “10”, and the presence / absence of the hierarchy is “present”.

  In other words, in the case of this fifth PLC, it can be seen that it does not exist on the network directly connected to the programmable display, but exists in the network one level below through some other PLC. . Therefore, according to such a PLC address table, the PLC corresponding to the presence / absence of “exceeding hierarchy” is directly communicated with the programmable display, whereas the presence / absence of “exceeding hierarchy” is present. It can be seen that the PLC corresponding to 行 う performs communication via a relay via some other PLC.

  Returning to the flowchart of FIG. 5, when acquisition of the PLC address table (see FIG. 7) is completed from the programmable display device in this way, in the subsequent step 105, processing for acquiring format information from each PLC using the PLC address table. Is executed.

  That is, in this format acquisition process, each PLC is identified by referring to the PLC address table shown in FIG. 7 to recognize the access route to each PLC, setting the corresponding address and selecting a command. In response to this, a predetermined transmission request command is transmitted and a response is waited for, thereby obtaining format information from each PLC. This format information acquisition process is repeatedly executed until acquisition of formats from all the PLCs is completed (step 106).

  Subsequently, moving to FIG. 6, in step 107, a process of displaying the PLC address and format list on the PLC selection screen is executed. By this display processing, a PLC selection guidance screen is displayed on the screen of the display 13 of the development support apparatus.

  An explanatory diagram showing an example of the PLC selection guidance screen is shown in FIG. In the illustrated PLC selection screen, address information and format information regarding five PLCs are displayed.

  That is, for the first PLC, the port of the programmable display to be used is “serial port A”, the format is “CJ1M-CPU23”, the network address is “111”, and the node address is “1”. It is said. Similarly, for the third PLC, the port of the programmable display to be used is “Ethernet (registered trademark)”, the format is “CS1G-CPU45H”, the network address is “1”, and the node address Is set to “1”.

  If such a screen is displayed on the display 13, the user operates the pointing device 12 or the arrow keys on the keyboard 11 as appropriate to move the cursor up and down to select a desired PLC. In the figure, reference numeral 41 indicates a selected row. In this state, the user turns on the confirmation button 42 by operating the pointing device 12. As a result, a desired PLC on the PLC selection screen is selected.

  In this example, the selection screen is configured by displaying a list of all the information acquired up to that point. However, for the purpose of simply selecting the PLC that is the target of program change or parameter change. For example, instead of displaying a list of all acquired data in this way, it is a matter of course that only information that allows the user to easily specify a PLC, such as format information, may be displayed as a list.

  Returning to FIG. 6, in step 108, a process of setting the network address, node address, and communication form between the development support apparatus and the programmable display of the PLC selected from the list in the development support apparatus is executed. With this setting process, preparation for communication via a programmable display for a desired PLC is completed.

  In subsequent step 109, a communication test is performed on the selected PLC, and in subsequent step 110, it is determined whether or not there is a response to the communication test from the selected PLC. If there is no response (NO at step 110), the process ends without doing anything. On the other hand, if there is a response from the selected PLC (step 110 YES), in the subsequent step 111, a process for making the development support apparatus in an online operable state with the PLC is executed.

  As a result of the execution of the processing 111, an online operation via the programmable display 2 can be performed between the development support apparatus 1 and the selected PLC without actively performing any setting operation by the user. By using this, settings such as program change and unit parameter change in the selected PLC using the keyboard 11, pointing device 12, and display 13 of the development support apparatus 1 are complicated. A large amount of work can be easily performed using the operability of a personal computer.

  According to the above embodiment, when performing online operation of the PLC connected to the programmable display device 2 using the development support apparatus 1, the user can automatically collect and display a list of PLC information necessary for setting. It is only necessary to select the PLC to be used from the list, so that setting errors and labor can be saved, and debugging and maintenance can be performed efficiently.

  The present invention can be used when a development support apparatus is connected to a programmable display and it is desired to perform an online operation on a desired one of one or more PLCs connected to the programmable display. .

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Development support apparatus 2 Programmable display 31 I / O unit 32 CPU unit 33 Communication unit 11 Keyboard 12 Pointing device 13 Display 14 Work memory 15 CPU
16 Communication interface 21 Display 22 Microprocessor (MPU)
23 User screen memory 24 System memory 25 Address table memory 26, 27, 28 Communication interface 32a Microprocessor (MPU)
32b System memory 32c Data memory 32d User program memory 32e I / O memory 32f Work memory 33a Microprocessor (MPU)
33b System memory 33c Work memory 33d Communication interface 41 Selected line 42 Confirm button 311, 321, 322, 331 PLC

Claims (10)

A PLC development support device that can be connected to a programmable display connected to one or more PLCs,
A display that can display text and images,
An operation unit having a character input unit such as a keyboard and a pointing device such as a mouse;
Necessary when accessing one or more PLCs connected to the programmable display via the programmable display in response to a predetermined information acquisition request operation performed by a user in the operation unit. PLC-specific address information acquisition means for acquiring PLC-specific address information from the programmable display;
Format information acquisition means for acquiring the format information from each of all the PLCs connected to the programmable display, based on the address information by PLC acquired by the address information acquisition means by PLC,
A list of selectable PLCs on the display based on the PLC-specific address information acquired by the PLC-specific address information acquisition means and / or the PLC-specific format information acquired by the format information acquisition means. PLC selection screen display means for displaying a PLC selection screen formed by:
In response to a predetermined PLC selection operation performed by the user in the operation unit, the PLC-specific address information acquired by the PLC-specific address information acquisition unit, and the PLC-specific format information acquired by the format information acquisition unit A PLC development support apparatus, comprising: an automatic setting unit that sets the development support apparatus and one PLC selected from the PLC screen by the operation to an online operable state.   2. The PLC-specific address information acquisition unit transmits a predetermined transmission request command to the programmable display and acquires the PLC-specific address information as a response thereof. PLC development support equipment.   The format information acquisition means transmits a predetermined transmission request command addressed to each PLC to the programmable display based on the PLC-specific address information, and acquires the PLC-specific format information as a response thereof. The PLC development support apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein   The PLC development according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the address information by PLC includes port information of a programmable display to be used, network address information, and node address information. Support device.   5. The PLC development support apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the PLC-specific address information further includes information on presence / absence of exceeding a hierarchy. A computer having a display capable of displaying characters and images, a character input unit such as a keyboard and a pointing device such as a mouse, a memory serving as a work area, and a CPU, and one or more PLCs A computer program for functioning as a PLC development support apparatus that can be connected to a connected programmable display,
Necessary when accessing one or more PLCs connected to the programmable display via the programmable display in response to a predetermined information acquisition request operation performed by the user in the operation unit. PLC-specific address information acquisition step of acquiring PLC-specific address information from the programmable display;
Based on the PLC-specific address information acquired by the PLC-specific address information acquisition means, a format information acquisition step of acquiring the format information from each of all the PLCs connected to the programmable display;
A list of selectable PLCs on the display based on the PLC-specific address information acquired by the PLC-specific address information acquisition means and / or the PLC-specific format information acquired by the format information acquisition means. A PLC selection screen display step for displaying a PLC selection screen,
In response to a predetermined PLC selection operation performed by the user in the operation unit, the PLC-specific address information acquired by the PLC-specific address information acquisition unit, and the PLC-specific format information acquired by the format information acquisition unit And an automatic setting step of setting the development support apparatus and one PLC selected from the PLC screen by the operation to an online operable state.   7. The PLC-specific address information acquisition step transmits a predetermined transmission request command to the programmable display, and acquires the PLC-specific address information as a response thereof. Computer program.   The format information acquisition step transmits a predetermined transmission request command addressed to each PLC to the programmable display based on the PLC-specific address information, and acquires the PLC-specific format information as a response thereof. The computer program according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that   The computer program according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein the PLC-specific address information includes port information of a programmable display to be used, network address information, and node address information.   The computer program according to claim 9, wherein the PLC-specific address information further includes information on presence / absence of exceeding a hierarchy.

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