JP2013073399A - Program verification device and program verification method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To efficiently verify a control program of a conveying device.SOLUTION: When executing a control program of a conveying device and simulating conveyance by a virtual conveying device, a program verification device records a history of an execution position of the control program and a history of a conveying state in the virtual conveying device with their associated with a simulation time. The program verification device detects error states (W21 and W23) of the conveyance from the history of the conveying state, and further detects an execution position (W22) of the control program corresponding to the simulation time in the error state. This configuration can easily specify the conveying state and the execution position of the program in the occurrence of the error.

Description

  The present invention relates to a program verification apparatus and a program verification method for verifying a control program for a conveyance mechanism that conveys a sheet-like object to be conveyed.

  In recent years, a control target device is virtually built in a computer using a simulation technique, and a control program is verified using the control target device. For example, in order to design and verify a control program for transporting a sheet-like transported body, an example using a virtual transport device constructed by simulation is known.

  As an example of performing such verification, for example, a technique for simulating the deformation behavior of a sheet-like transported body in a virtual transport device using a three-dimensional model in conjunction with a control program is known (for example, a patent Reference 1).

  On the other hand, there is a technique for presenting a user with a correction part of a source code when an abnormal operation occurs during verification of the source program. As an example of this, a technique is known in which a user gives an expected value of an output item corresponding to an input item to a source program and presents a corrected portion of the source code (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

JP 2002-140372 A Japanese Patent No. 3058050

  According to the technique described in Patent Document 1, it is possible to perform a simulation by linking a virtual transport device configured on a computer and its control program. Thereby, it is possible to confirm the occurrence of abnormal operation or abnormal state of the virtual transport device caused by a malfunction of the control program. However, this technique only presents the user with an event that an abnormal operation or abnormal state of the transport device has occurred. Therefore, when the event is presented, it takes a large work load for the user to specify the correction portion to be dealt with on the source code of the control program. Specifically, it is often the case that the user repeatedly refines the simulation by trial and error, or analyzes the huge trace log output during the simulation to identify the correction. It was. In recent years, as the number of verification items increases, it is considered that the number of occurrences of abnormal operations during control program development is also increased, so that more work is required for such analysis work.

  Further, according to the technique described in the above-mentioned Patent Document 2, the correction part on the source code of the control program is automatically specified, but the expected value of the output item corresponding to the input item to the control program is determined by the user. Need to enter. In particular, in a control program for transporting a sheet-like transported body, it may be possible to give, for example, position information of the transported body for each time as an expected value, but the amount of data becomes enormous, and such an expected value Is difficult for the user to input. Furthermore, if the configuration of the virtual transport device is changed due to a design change, or the verification conditions such as the length, thickness, material, flexibility, and transport path of the sheet-like transport target may differ, it should be entered The amount of data expected is increasing and is not practical.

  It is an object of the present invention to provide a program verification apparatus and a program verification method that enable efficient verification of a control program for a transport apparatus.

  As a means for achieving the above object, a program verification apparatus of the present invention comprises the following arrangement.

  That is, a program verification device that executes a control program of a transfer device to simulate transfer by a virtual transfer device and verifies the control program, and execution position information indicating an execution position of the control program at the time of execution of the simulation An execution position history recording unit that records the history of the transfer state information in association with the simulation time, and at the time of execution of the simulation, the history of the transfer state information indicating the state of each component in the virtual transfer device and the position of the object to be transferred is simulated time A transfer history recording means for recording in association with an error status detection means for detecting transfer status information indicating a transfer error status from a history of transfer status information recorded in the transfer history recording means, and the execution position history record From the history of execution position information recorded in the means, the error state An error position detecting means for detecting the running position information corresponding to the simulation time of the output transfer state information detected by the means, and having a.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to efficiently verify the control program of the transport apparatus.

The block diagram which shows the structural example of the program verification apparatus in this embodiment, The figure which shows the example of a display screen of the paper conveyance simulation in this embodiment. The block diagram which shows the detailed structure of the conveyance simulation execution part in this embodiment, A flowchart showing a paper position calculation process in the present embodiment, The figure which shows the virtual paper conveyance path | route example in the paper conveyance simulation of this embodiment, The flowchart which shows the paper conveyance simulation in this embodiment, The figure which shows the example of the execution history by the paper conveyance simulation of this embodiment, The block diagram which shows the detailed structure of the execution log | history analysis part in this embodiment, The flowchart which shows the error detection process in this embodiment, The figure which shows the example of the error determination conditions in this embodiment, It is a figure which shows the example of a display of the error detection result in this embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The following embodiments do not limit the present invention related to the scope of claims, and all combinations of features described in the present embodiments are essential to the solution means of the present invention. Not necessarily.

<First Embodiment>
In the present embodiment, the control program of the transfer device is executed to simulate the transfer by the virtual transfer device, and the verification of the control program is made efficient. Specifically, at the time of executing the simulation, the history of the execution position information of the control program and the history of the transport state information in the virtual transport device are recorded in association with each simulation time. Then, an error state is detected from the conveyance state information history, and execution position information corresponding to the simulation time of the error state is detected from the execution position information history. This makes it possible to easily identify the error content and the execution position of the control program when an error occurs.

  In the present embodiment, a transport target configured in a computer is virtually transported in a transport path configured on a CAD (Computer Design Support Device), and the transport status is examined. That is, a case where a paper conveyance simulation of an image forming apparatus represented by a copying machine, a printer, or the like is performed will be described as an example. Note that a sheet-like paper is assumed as a transported body in the present embodiment. That is, in the present embodiment, a paper conveyance simulation in a virtual space in a computer will be described as an example. Hereinafter, in this embodiment, virtual paper that is a conveyance target in simulation is referred to as virtual paper, and a roller used for conveyance is referred to as a virtual roller. ) Also has the word “virtual”.

Apparatus Configuration FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration example of a program verification apparatus 9 that can be loaded with a verification program for a control program of a transport apparatus according to the present embodiment. The program verification device 9 is configured by installing a verification program that implements the functions of the present embodiment on a personal computer (hereinafter, PC).

  As shown in FIG. 1, a transfer simulation execution unit 1, an execution history recording unit 2, and an execution history analysis unit 3 are configured in a PC as the program verification device 9. The program verification device 9 is connected to an input monitoring unit 5 that monitors input from the operation input unit 6 such as a keyboard and a mouse, and a display control unit 7 that controls display on the display unit 8 such as a monitor. Yes.

  The transport simulation execution unit 1 virtually executes a control program for controlling the transport mechanism on the PC, and performs a mechanism simulation using information about the transport mechanism for paper transport. The transport mechanism is usually a roller for transporting a transported object, a guide for forming a transport path, a flapper for selecting a transport path, a drive motor for rotating the roller, intermittent motor driving force, regulation of the roller rotation direction, etc. A clutch, etc. The conveyance simulation execution unit 1 obtains by calculation which part in the paper conveyance mechanism the virtual paper is present from the speed of the virtual roller involved in the paper conveyance control that constitutes such a conveyance mechanism. Then, the obtained position information of the virtual paper and the necessary calculation result are passed to the display control unit 7, and the sensor signal value inside the transport mechanism is passed to the control program in the transport simulation execution unit 1. The execution history and the virtual paper position history of the control program executed in the conveyance simulation execution unit 1 are recorded in the execution history recording unit 2 in association with the simulation execution time (hereinafter referred to as simulation time). Details of the execution history will be described later. The execution history recording unit 2 is configured by an HDD, RAM, or the like in the PC.

  The execution history analysis unit 3 performs an error detection process for supporting the verification of the control program from the execution history recorded in the execution history recording unit 2 after execution of the conveyance simulation. When this error is detected, an error determination condition recorded in advance in the execution history analysis unit 3 is referred to. The detected error information is passed to the display control unit 7.

  The display unit 8 includes display means such as a liquid crystal display, a CRT, and a plasma display, and displays information sent from the display control unit 7. The display control unit 7 converts the image information (character information, still image information, moving image information, etc.) based on the error information sent from the program verification device 9 into a format that can be displayed on the display unit 8, and displays it on the display unit 8. Supply.

  The input monitoring unit 5 monitors the operation input unit 6 including an input device such as a keyboard or mouse as a user interface, and the information input from the operation input unit 6 is transferred to the transfer simulation execution unit 1 or the execution history as necessary. This is transmitted to the analysis unit 3. For example, when a simulation execution start request is input from the operation input unit 6, the information is sent to the transfer simulation executing unit 1, and the transfer simulation executing unit 1 starts executing the transfer simulation. Also, when an execution start request for simulation error detection is input from the operation input unit 6, the information is sent to the execution history analysis unit 3, whereby the execution history analysis unit 3 executes the execution recorded in the execution history recording unit 2. Start error detection based on history.

  Note that the programs related to the transfer simulation execution unit 1 and the execution history analysis unit 3 are stored in an HDD (not shown) in the PC before the execution thereof. At the time of execution, it is expanded as necessary on a RAM (not shown) in the PC.

  In the present embodiment, the operation of the control program that simulates the paper conveyance processing in the real-world image forming apparatus is verified using the program verification apparatus 9 having the above configuration.

  Here, FIG. 2 shows a display example of the paper transport simulation screen W1 displayed on the display unit 8. In the paper transport simulation screen W1, dotted lines indicate all the virtual paper transport paths 100. On the virtual paper transport path 100, the virtual paper P is indicated by a thick solid line, and the transport path 101 in which the virtual paper P is actually transported. Is indicated by a thin solid line. In addition, a circle installed near the virtual paper transport path 100 indicates a virtual roller pair 102 that controls the transport of the virtual paper P. A triangular mark on the virtual paper transport path 100 indicates the virtual sensor 103 that detects the arrival of the virtual paper P, and outputs a signal that indicates whether the virtual paper P has arrived or not.

  In the display example of FIG. 2, three stages of paper supply units capable of stocking virtual paper P are prepared, and the virtual paper P in the lowermost supply unit passes between one virtual roller pair 102 in the figure. A state of being conveyed upward is shown. Then, after the virtual paper P passes through the three virtual roller pairs 102 arranged in the vertical direction in the figure and the vicinity of the virtual sensor 103 provided immediately after the passage of each virtual roller pair 102, the transport path 101 is directed leftward. It is bent approximately 90 ° and conveyed in the horizontal left direction in the figure. In the horizontal left direction in which the virtual paper P is transported, a virtual roller group including three virtual roller pairs 102 and a virtual sensor 103 provided at the front and rear ends of the virtual roller group are provided. The virtual paper P that has passed near the virtual sensor group and the virtual sensors 103 at both ends of the virtual roller group is then bent again upward in the drawing in the drawing, passes through the two virtual roller pairs 102, and then passes near the virtual sensor 103. To do. Thereafter, the conveyance path 101 is bent in the horizontal right direction and conveyed so as to pass through the virtual roller pair 102 provided last.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of the conveyance simulation execution unit 1 and the execution history recording unit 2. As shown in the figure, the conveyance simulation execution unit 1 includes a control program execution unit 10, a control program recording unit 11, a sensor information input unit 12, a control information output unit 13, and an execution position recording unit 15. Further, it has a paper position calculation unit 20, a paper position / device state recording unit 21, a control information input unit 29, a sensor information output unit 27, and a paper position display unit 28. The execution history recording unit 2 includes an execution position history recording unit 16 and a transport history recording unit 22.
In the conveyance simulation execution unit 1, the control program recording unit 11 records a control program for performing paper conveyance control of an image forming apparatus in the real world. The control program execution unit 10 reads and executes the control program recorded in the control program recording unit 11. The control program execution unit 10 is fed back with the sensor information input unit 12 on / off information of the virtual sensor as the paper position information, which is the calculation result of the paper position calculation unit 20.

  The control information output unit 13 outputs control information such as the drive timing of each virtual device executed by the control program execution unit 10. The control information is, for example, control information of each virtual device that constitutes a transport mechanism such as a virtual motor, a virtual clutch, and a virtual flapper related to paper transport control. More specifically, it is necessary to perform paper transport control simulations such as virtual motor on / off, speed or acceleration / deceleration information, virtual clutch on / off, virtual flapper on / off, virtual solenoid on / off, etc. Information. The control information output here is input to the paper position calculation unit 20 via the control information input unit 29.

  Each time the paper transport simulation is executed, the execution position recording unit 15 records the step position currently being executed in the control program in the execution position history recording unit 16 in association with the execution time. Here, various forms are conceivable as the expression form of the execution position of the recorded control program. For example, the line number and address of the control program source and assembly, the position in the hierarchy in the module call or the function call, the state in the state transition model, the block in the flowchart, and the like are included.

  As described above, the control information output from the control information output unit 13 is input to the paper position calculation unit 20 via the control information input unit 29. Then, the paper position calculation unit 20 calculates the transport speed on the paper transport path from the control information of the virtual motor, virtual clutch, virtual flapper, etc. related to the paper transport control, and calculates the leading edge position and the trailing edge position of the virtual paper P. To do. The paper position display unit 28 generates image information to be sent to the display control unit 7 based on the leading edge position and the trailing edge position of the virtual paper P calculated by the paper position calculator 20. Based on this image information, a paper conveyance simulation screen W1 as shown in FIG.

  The paper position / device state recording unit 21 associates the paper position information indicating the position, speed, and state of the virtual paper P calculated by the paper position calculation unit 20 with the execution time each time the paper conveyance simulation is executed. Records in the transport history recording unit 22. The paper position information recorded here includes information such as the position and speed of the leading and trailing edges of the virtual paper P in the virtual paper transport path 100, the shape of the virtual paper P, and the on / off status of the virtual sensor. Information is also included. The paper position / apparatus status recording unit 21 also associates the status of each virtual device referred to when calculating the paper position information, that is, the control information, with the simulation execution time simultaneously with the recording of the virtual paper P position information and the like. And recorded in the transport history recording unit 22. The state of each virtual device recorded here includes the speed / acceleration of the virtual motor, the accompanying virtual roller on / off information, the virtual clutch / virtual flapper, and the virtual solenoid on / off information.

Virtual Paper Position Calculation Here, a calculation example of the position information of the virtual paper P in the paper position calculation unit 20 will be described using the flowchart of FIG.

  First, when the calculation in the paper position calculation unit 20 is started, the position in the transport path 101 where the virtual paper P is located at a desired time interval T is calculated. That is, the process of increasing the time t (S90) is repeated until the time t becomes an integral multiple of the time interval T, and the process proceeds to the next process when the time t becomes an integral multiple of the time interval T (S91).

  When the time interval T elapses, control information of each virtual device such as motor speed, virtual flapper on / off, virtual sensor on / off, etc., passed from the control information output unit 13 to the control information input unit 29 at that time is acquired. (S92).

  After obtaining the control information of each virtual device, the paper conveyance speed v is obtained from the motor speed, and the distance S = v × T traveled by the virtual paper P is calculated from the paper conveyance speed v and the time interval T. Change the position (S93). When the position of the virtual paper P is updated, the updated paper position information is transferred to the paper position display unit 28 and the paper position / device state recording unit 21. The paper position display unit 28 constructs image information to be displayed based on the received paper position information, and outputs it as a signal that can be displayed on the display unit 8 via the display control unit 7. As a result, the information on the paper transport simulation screen W1 as shown in FIG. 2 is rewritten to the latest information on the display unit 8.

  Then, the virtual sensor on / off information based on the change in the position of the virtual paper calculated in S92 is fed back to the control program execution unit 10 via the sensor information output unit 27 and the sensor information input unit 12 (S94).

  Then, it is determined whether or not the time t has reached a predetermined end time (S95). If the end time has been reached, the simulation ends. If not, the process returns to S90, and the above processing is repeated after the time interval T has elapsed.

Transport simulation Hereinafter, a transport simulation according to the control program of the present embodiment will be specifically described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an arrangement example of various virtual devices in the virtual paper transport path of the present embodiment. In the figure, R1, R2, and R3 are virtual roller pairs, and S1 and S2 are virtual sensors. A is a supply point of the virtual paper P, and B is a discharge point of the virtual paper P, that is, the start point and the end point of the transport path, respectively. The virtual roller pairs R1, R2, and R3 are connected to different virtual motors (not shown), and the virtual roller pairs R1, R2, and R3 rotate as the virtual motors rotate. For simplification of explanation, it is assumed that propagation of the rotational speed and acceleration / deceleration to the target speed of the motor and roller are performed within an infinitesimal time. The distance between the virtual devices is 200 mm for the virtual roller pairs R1 to R2 and 20 mm for R2 to R3. The distances from the virtual roller pair R1 to the virtual sensor S1 and from the virtual roller pair R2 to the virtual sensor S2 are each 10 mm. Further, it is assumed that the length of the virtual paper P along the transport path is 210 mm.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a paper conveyance simulation by a control program executed in the conveyance simulation execution unit 1. When the control program is started with the virtual paper P placed at the supply point A, the control program first drives the virtual roller pair R1 and R3 (S100) and waits for the virtual sensor S1 to be turned on (S101). The virtual paper P is transported along the transport path AB in the direction of the solid line arrow in FIG. 5, and the virtual sensor S1 is turned on when the upper end of the virtual paper P contacts the virtual sensor S1. When the control program detects that the virtual sensor S1 is turned on, it waits for the elapse of Ts milliseconds (S102) and drives the virtual roller pair R2 (S103).

  Then, when it is detected that the virtual paper P is transported in the direction of the discharge point B and the virtual sensor S2 is turned off (S104), the control program waits for the elapse of a predetermined period (in this case, 10 ms) (S105). The roller pair R1, R2, R3 is stopped (S106). In this embodiment, it is assumed that the paper conveyance speed when driving the virtual roller pairs R1, R2, and R3 is always constant at 2 m / s.

  Here, the execution history of the conveyance simulation will be specifically described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7A shows an example of history information recorded in the conveyance history recording unit 22 by the paper position / device state recording unit 21, and FIG. 7B shows an execution position history recording unit by the execution position recording unit 15. 16 is an example of history information recorded in FIG. These history information examples are results obtained by setting the value of the elapsed time Ts in S102 to 100 ms in the control program. The elapsed time Ts is a time limit from when the virtual sensor S1 is turned on to when the virtual roller pair R2 starts to be driven. Here, in order to explain the processing when an error occurs, it is determined that an error has occurred. Here is an example in which a simple value is given to Ts.

  First, the history information in the conveyance history recording unit 22 shown in FIG. 7A includes the leading edge position of the virtual paper P, the on / off states of the virtual sensors S1, S2, and the virtual roller pairs R1, R2 at each simulation time. The on / off state of each is recorded. Note that the tip position of the virtual paper P is expressed with the position of the virtual roller pair R1 as the origin and the transport direction of the virtual paper P as the positive direction. Note that information regarding the rear end position of the virtual paper P is not particularly shown in the drawing because it is not particularly necessary in the present embodiment. Further, in the history information in the execution position history recording unit 16 shown in FIG. 7B, information on the execution step position in the flowchart of FIG. 6 at each simulation time is recorded.

Error Detection Process Hereinafter, an execution history analysis process in the execution history analysis unit 3 in the present embodiment, that is, an error detection process in the transport simulation will be described. As described above, the error detection process in the present embodiment is executed after the simulation process shown in FIG. 6 is completed and the entire history of simulation is recorded in the execution history recording unit 2.

  FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of the execution history analysis unit 3 and the execution history recording unit 2. As shown in the figure, the execution history analysis unit 3 includes an error detection unit 31 that detects an error from the history information in the execution history recording unit 2 based on an error determination condition. In addition, an error determination condition recording unit 32 that holds error determination conditions in advance and an error display unit 33 that displays detected errors are provided. Here, the error determination condition is input from the operation input unit 6 or the like in accordance with a user instruction before execution of the execution history analysis by the execution history analysis unit 3, and is stored in the HDD or RAM in the PC. A determination condition recording unit 32 is configured. The input of the error determination condition is not limited to this example, and may be read from a recording medium attached to the PC, for example.

  Hereinafter, the error detection processing in the error detection unit 31 shown in FIG. 8 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. First, the error detection unit 31 reads the execution position history of the control program recorded in the execution position history recording unit 16 in the execution history recording unit 2 (S201). Further, a conveyance state history, which is recorded in the conveyance history recording unit 22 and includes paper position and device control information, is read (S202). Further, the error determination condition recorded in the error determination condition recording unit 32 is read (S203). Note that the processing order of S201 to S203 is arbitrary.

  After each reading process in S201 to S203 is finished, an actual error detection process is started. That is, first in S204, a conveyance state satisfying the error determination condition read in S203 is detected as an error state record from the conveyance state history read in S202 (error state detection). Next, in S205, the execution step position corresponding to the occurrence time of the error state record detected in S204 is detected as an error occurrence position from the execution position history read in S201 (error position detection). It should be noted that the error occurrence position detected here is not limited to being executed at exactly the same time as the occurrence time of the error state record, but for example, executed within a predetermined time interval from the occurrence time of the error state record It may correspond to a step. Further, as the error occurrence position, a plurality of step positions executed within a predetermined time width interval may be detected.

  Finally, in S206, the conveyance state detected as the error state record in S204 and the execution step position detected as the error occurrence position in S205 are associated with each other and transmitted to the error display unit 33. As a result, the virtual paper position and device control state at the simulation time recorded in the detected error state record, and information on the execution step position that is the error occurrence position can be displayed in association with each other.

  FIG. 10 shows an example of error determination conditions recorded in the error determination condition recording unit 32. As shown in the figure, the error determination condition is identified by “error number”. In each error determination condition, “error type” indicates the type of error displayed on the display unit 8 when an error is displayed. Further, the “error condition” is a condition that is referred to as a determination criterion at the time of error determination in the error detection unit 31, and here, an example of a determination condition for the virtual paper transport path illustrated in FIG. 5 is illustrated.

  For example, error numbers “E1” and “E2” indicate error conditions indicating that the transport time of the transported object in a predetermined section of the transport path exceeds a predetermined time limit. Specifically, the time required for “E1” from the first virtual roller pair R1 in the transport path to start operation until the first virtual sensor S1 detects the transport target exceeds the time limit. Error, that is, a “supply delay” state of the conveyed object. “E2” indicates an error that the time required for the transported body to pass between the virtual sensors S1 and S2 in the transport path exceeds the time limit, that is, the “transport delay” state of the transported body.

  The error numbers “E3” and “E4” indicate error conditions indicating that one of the virtual devices is still operating when the transport of the transported object is finished. Specifically, “E3” indicates an error that one of the virtual roller pairs R1, R2, and R3 is still operating despite the end of conveyance, that is, a “roller not stopped” state. “E4” indicates an error in which one of the virtual sensors S1 and S2 is detecting the transported object despite the end of transport, that is, a “paper remaining” state.

  Further, “occurrence time” in FIG. 10 indicates a time at which an error is determined. The “error condition” and “occurrence time” can be expressed by a description that can be interpreted by the error detection program executed by the error detection unit 31, including mathematical expressions, logical expressions, programming languages, and natural languages. . It is also possible to input a plurality of times, time intervals, etc. as the “occurrence time”.

Error Display Screen FIG. 11 shows an example of an error display screen in this embodiment, and a specific error detection process will be described. FIG. 11 shows an example of an error display screen W2 in which error information detected by the error detection unit 31 in the execution history analysis unit 3 is displayed on the display unit 8 via the error display unit 33 and the display control unit 7. FIG. As described above, the error detection unit 31 includes the history information recorded in the transport history recording unit 22 (FIG. 7A) and the history information recorded in the execution position history recording unit 16 (FIG. 7B). Among them, history information that satisfies the error determination condition (FIG. 10) is detected. The history information thus detected is associated with each other and displayed as error information on the error display screen W2.

  In the error display screen W2 shown in FIG. 11, the error information display part W21 displays the detected error occurrence time, the error number and the error type defined in FIG. The program execution position display unit W22 displays information indicating the execution position in the control program at the error occurrence time. In the example of FIG. 11, the step number in the flowchart shown in FIG. 6 is displayed as the information. The paper position / apparatus status display unit W23 displays the paper position at the time of error occurrence and the status of each device. In the example of FIG. 11, the paper position is displayed as a thick line in the transport path, and the state (ON or OFF) of each virtual device is displayed as a character string in the vicinity of each sensor and roller pair.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the execution position of the control program when an error occurs, the virtual paper position and the virtual device state in the virtual transport apparatus are associated with each other and displayed on the error display screen W2. By displaying the error display screen W2, the user can simultaneously confirm the position of the virtual paper P, the state of each virtual device, and the execution position of the control program when an error occurs.

  Specifically, according to the screen example of FIG. 11, during the process of S104 in the control program, the user satisfies the error determination condition of error number E2 when the virtual paper P reaches the virtual sensor S2. It can be read that a conveyance delay has occurred. Here, according to FIG. 10, the error number E2 is an error condition for detecting that the time from when the virtual sensor S1 is turned on until the virtual sensor S2 is turned on exceeds the time limit of 105 ms. Show. From this, the user can infer the cause of this error. That is, it can be inferred that there is some factor that reduces the transport speed of the virtual paper in the section from the virtual sensor S1 to the virtual sensor S2 on the virtual transport device or in the step near S104 on the control program. .

  In many cases, there are a plurality of detected error locations in one paper conveyance simulation. In this case, the virtual paper position detected for each error, the device control status, and the information on the error occurrence position are stored as a set in, for example, the execution history analysis unit 3, and can be displayed in units of errors. It is sufficient to control.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, when an error occurs in a paper conveyance simulation by the virtual conveyance device, error information such as the state of each virtual device, the position of the conveyed object, and the execution position of the control program is displayed to the user. Presented to. Therefore, the user can efficiently detect and correct the error occurrence position in the control program.

  In addition, since the error type, paper transport position, and execution location of the control program are displayed in association with each other, a substantial number of operation patterns can be verified against the predefined error judgment conditions by combining these error information. It becomes. That is, the load of the error determination condition input by the user can be reduced.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention can also be realized by executing the following processing. That is, software (program) that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus via a network or various storage media, and a computer (or CPU, MPU, or the like) of the system or apparatus reads the program. It is a process to be executed.

Claims (9)

A program verification device that executes a control program of a transport device to simulate transport by a virtual transport device and verifies the control program,
Execution position history recording means for recording the history of the execution position information indicating the execution position of the control program in association with the simulation time during the execution of the simulation;
A transport history recording means for recording a history of transport state information indicating the state of each component in the virtual transport device and the position of the transported object in association with the simulation time when the simulation is performed;
Error status detection means for detecting conveyance status information indicating an error status of conveyance from the history of conveyance status information recorded in the conveyance history recording means,
Error position detection means for detecting execution position information corresponding to the simulation time of the conveyance state information detected by the error state detection means from the history of execution position information recorded in the execution position history recording means;
A program verification apparatus comprising: 2. The program verification according to claim 1, further comprising display means for displaying the conveyance status information detected by the error status detection means in association with the execution position information detected by the error position detection means. apparatus. Furthermore, it has an error determination condition recording means for holding an error determination condition for the conveyance state information,
3. The program verification according to claim 1, wherein the error state detection unit detects conveyance state information satisfying the error determination condition from a history of conveyance state information recorded in the conveyance history recording unit. apparatus.   The error determination condition includes a condition indicating that a transport time of the transported object in a predetermined section of a transport path in the virtual transport device exceeds a predetermined time limit. Program verification device.   The program verification apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the error determination condition includes a condition indicating that one of the components in the virtual transport apparatus is operating when the transport of the transported object is finished. Further, an input means for inputting the error determination condition in response to a user instruction,
The program verification apparatus according to claim 3, comprising:   Each component in the virtual transport device includes at least one of a virtual sensor that detects the arrival of the transported body in a transport path in the virtual transport device, or a virtual roller pair that transports the transported body. The program verification apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the program verification apparatus is characterized in that: A program that includes an execution position history recording unit, a conveyance history recording unit, an error state detection unit, and an error position detection unit, executes a control program for the conveyance device, simulates conveyance by the virtual conveyance device, and verifies the control program A verification method in a verification device,
The execution position history recording unit records a history of execution position information indicating an execution position of the control program in association with a simulation time when the simulation is executed,
The conveyance history recording means records the history of conveyance state information indicating the state of each component in the virtual conveyance device and the position of the conveyed object in association with the simulation time when the simulation is executed,
The error state detection unit detects conveyance state information indicating an error state of conveyance from a history of conveyance state information recorded in the conveyance history recording unit,
The error position detection means detects execution position information corresponding to the simulation time of the conveyance state information detected by the error state detection means from the history of execution position information recorded in the execution position history recording means. A featured program verification method.   A program for causing a computer device to function as each unit of the program verification device according to any one of claims 1 to 7 when executed on the computer device.

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