JP2013168031A - Programmable controller system, support device thereof, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To check that a program is accommodated to a change for operating PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) during operation and update it.SOLUTION: A compilation unit 12 compiles a source code 16 of any updated-version program and generates a machine language object 17 in conformity to constraint conditions, for example, "to retain an address of existing variables". When succeeding in compilation, the compilation unit generates unique identification information 18 corresponding to the machine language object 17 generated by an identification information generation unit 13 and the like and adds and registers it in a list. When the newest-version machine language object 17 is downloaded into a PLC 20, a programmable controller system acquires current identification information 23 of the PLC 20, determines whether or not the current identification information is registered in the list and permits the download, only when it is registered.

Description

  The present invention relates to a support device that can update a program without stopping the operation of an operating programmable controller.

  With respect to the programmable controller (PLC), once the operation is started, the programmable controller (PLC) may be operated in a situation in which it can not be stopped except for a periodical inspection, for example. On the other hand, there are many cases where the PLC program needs to be changed for reasons such as version upgrade. For this reason, conventionally, it has been possible to change the program using a support device or the like while the PLC is operating.

  When the user uses the support device to change the program running on the PLC while the PLC is running, the support device can change the PLC program only by the following procedure for safety. ing.

  First, the PLC program can be changed only by online update from the support device. When updating online, first, the support apparatus is connected to the PLC. Basically, a user edits (modifies / changes) the program held on the support device side to create a new program (updated program). The online update of the PLC program is performed by downloading the program.

  (A) The support measure executes a process for confirming that the program to be changed and the program operating in the PLC match before the user starts changing the program (authentication step). .

  (B) The support device permits the change (update) of the program and the download of the updated version program to the PLC only when both programs match. Thus, after confirming the program match, the user changes the program, and the support apparatus compiles an updated version (such as an upgraded version) of the program, converts it into a machine language object, and transmits it to the PLC.

  Of course, if the user changes the program in a state where the authentication in the authentication step has failed (due to program mismatch), the updated version program is not transferred to the PLC (because download is not permitted).

  (C) After receiving the machine language object, the PLC executes the program by switching from the currently operating machine language object to the received machine language object. For example, the program is updated / switched in synchronization with the scan end of the program being executed.

  However, in the above-described conventional method, since the contents changed by the user are immediately reflected in the operating PLC, there is a possibility that the system may be seriously damaged if the user's program description is wrong. For this reason, the above-mentioned updated version of the program is verified in a different environment (a verification system different from the actual system) and verified to verify that there are no defects in the verification. The actual situation was.

  However, an updated version program that has been confirmed to operate normally in another environment cannot be directly downloaded from the support apparatus to the PLC. This is because, as described above, the support device is a mechanism that allows only the updated program obtained by editing / changing the program that has been confirmed to match on the support device to be downloaded to the PLC. .

  For this reason, in order to reflect the updated version program whose operation has been confirmed in another environment to the operating PLC, the user copies the updated version program verified in the other environment to the support apparatus, and in the support apparatus, before the change After the program (original program) is opened and checked with the PLC program in the authentication step (a) to confirm the match, the contents of the updated program are manually copied to the original program, etc. It was. For example, the content of the verified updated program is copied and pasted into the original program while referring to the text editor or the like. This operation is complicated and wastes work time. In addition, human error may occur due to such manual operation.

  In addition, there are some restrictions on changing the PLC program in operation. Therefore, in order to ensure that the change to the program satisfies the constraint conditions, the support apparatus allows the user to perform only operations within the constraint conditions after confirming that the programs match. In other words, after confirming the match of the program, the user creates an updated program by making a desired change to this program, and then the compilation is executed, but the user makes a change outside the constraint conditions If the compilation is not successful.

  As a method of managing a program with unique identification information, for example, there is a conventional technique described in Patent Document 1. In Patent Document 1, the identification information is updated in accordance with the change of the program, the updated identification information is stored as previous data (when the program is transferred to the PLC), and further stored in the memory of the PLC. The PLC system which compares the identification information which has been stored with the identification information which it memorize | stored, and discriminate | determines a last updater is disclosed. In this way, programs created by others are prevented from being overwritten inadvertently.

JP 2008-282362 A

  Here, even if it is ensured that the change to the program satisfies the constraint condition as described above, there may be a problem if the program is downloaded to the PLC and updated.

  This is due to the fact that the program is not adapted to changes to the running PLC. This can also occur when changes to the program satisfy the constraints. However, this should have been guaranteed that the constraint condition was satisfied, but it can also be said that the constraint condition was not actually satisfied.

  In other words, even a program that is successfully compiled by the function of the conventional compiler may not be a program that is suitable for changes to the running PLC.

  In addition, in the prior art of the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, it is possible to manage the latest program. However, a human error such as causing the user to erroneously transfer a non-conforming program that does not conform to the running PLC to the PLC. Prevention is not considered.

  An object of the present invention is to make it possible to confirm and update a program suitable for a change to a running PLC in a PLC system in which a program can be updated while the PLC is running by a support device connected to the PLC. Thus, it is to provide a programmable controller system, its supporting device and the like that can surely prevent the occurrence of a failure due to transfer of a program that does not conform.

  The programmable controller system of the present invention is a programmable controller system having a support device and a programmable controller, and the support device is means for allowing a user to arbitrarily create a program for the programmable controller, and edits an existing program. A program creation support unit that creates an updated version of the program, a compile unit that compiles the program of the updated version to generate a machine language object, and the machine language object is successfully compiled by the compile unit. Each time it is generated, corresponding unique identification information is generated, and the generated identification information is additionally registered in the identification information storage unit related to the program, and when the download is permitted , Update Download means for downloading the program and the corresponding identification information to the programmable controller, the programmable controller storing a program for the programmable controller, and an identification information storage for storing the identification information And the management device for updating the storage contents of the program storage means and the identification information storage means with the identification information corresponding to the updated version of the program downloaded by the download means, and the support device The download unit acquires the identification information stored in the identification information storage unit, and determines that the download is permitted when the identification information is registered in the identification information storage unit.

  For example, when the program update is divided into two systems, and the update program of one system is downloaded and operated in the programmable controller, the latest update program is created in the other system. Since the identification information stored in the identification information storage means of the PLC is not registered in the system identification information storage unit, the download can be prohibited by this. This is because in this example, it is not guaranteed that the updated version program of the other system is a program adapted to the change to the operating PLC.

  According to the programmable controller system of the present invention, its support device, etc., in the PLC system in which the program can be updated even when the PLC is operating by the support device connected to the PLC, the program is adapted to the change to the operating PLC. This makes it possible to check and update the program, thereby reliably preventing the occurrence of a failure due to transfer of a program that does not conform.

It is a block diagram of the PLC system of this example. It is an example of an identification information management table. It is a figure for demonstrating the conventional subject which concerns on a constraint condition, and the subject solution by this method. It is a process flowchart figure at the time of program edit and compilation. It is a process flowchart figure at the time of download.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a PLC (programmable controller) system of this example.
In this system, the support device 10 operating on a computer such as a personal computer is connected to a PLC (programmable controller) 20 so that data can be transmitted / received to / from each other. In addition, although illustration is abbreviate | omitted, some control object apparatus is connected to PLC20.

  The support device 10 includes various functional units such as a user interface function unit 11, a compiler unit 12, an identification information generation unit 13, and an identification information management unit 14. The support device 10 also includes a calculation processor such as a CPU / MPU (not shown) and a storage device such as a hard disk and a memory, and a predetermined application program is stored in the storage device in advance. Processing functions to be described later of the various functional units are realized when the arithmetic processor (not shown) reads and executes the application program.

It should be noted that when simply described as a program in this description, it basically means a PLC program (control program).
The support device 10 also has a display screen, an input device, and the like.

  The user interface function unit 11 has a function of assisting the user in creating a desired PLC program. Since this function itself has been well known in the art, it is not particularly described here, but in general, the user interface function unit 11 displays a predetermined editing screen (not shown) on the display, The user is made to create a desired PLC program on this editing screen. A user operates an input device such as a keyboard and a mouse to create source code 16 of an arbitrary program. The created program / source code 16 is stored in the storage device (not shown) or the like.

  The compiler unit 12 converts the source code 16 created by the user into a machine language object 17 that operates on the target (PLC 20). The compiler unit 12 assigns an address to each variable at the time of this conversion (compilation). For example, the compiler unit 12 assigns an address so that it can be considered that a constraint condition “fix the address of an existing variable” described later is satisfied. If such constraints cannot be satisfied, compilation fails.

  The machine language object 17 is downloaded to the PLC 20 by the communication function unit 15. However, before that, as described in the related art, the operation check / operation verification of the updated version program is performed in another environment (a verification system different from the actual system), and if the verification is OK, the updated version program ( It is desirable to download the machine language object 17) to the PLC 20. In this method, since there is no process (authentication step) for confirming that the program to be changed and the PLC program match with each other as in the prior art, the program can be downloaded without any problem.

  The creation of the PLC program basically creates an updated version (such as an upgraded version) of an existing program. In such a case, the user opens the stored source code 16 file and makes a desired change by the function of the user interface function unit 11. Such a modified / updated program is compiled by the compiler unit 12 and converted into a machine language object 17 (for example, after performing operation check / operation verification in another environment) by the communication function unit 15. It is downloaded to the PLC 20 via a communication line (not shown).

  The processing function described so far may be regarded as substantially the same as the existing processing function of the existing support device (however, as described above, there is no program matching process (authentication step)). ). The support device 10 according to the present method further has the following processing functions.

  First, every time the compilation is successful, the compiling unit 12 uses the function of the identification information generating unit 13 to generate identification information 18 as unique data. The identification information 18 is managed by the identification information management unit 14. The identification information 18 is stored and managed, for example, in an identification information management table 30 described later. Further, when the machine function object 17 is downloaded to the PLC 20, the communication function unit 15 adds the identification information 18 generated corresponding to the machine language object 17 and downloads it.

  Here, the unique data is not limited to the support device 10 but includes all other support devices 10. For example, if there are three support devices 10 of the support device A, the support device B, and the support device C, if the identification information 18 created at a certain point in the support device A is assumed to be the identification information α, Thereafter, the identification information 18 is generated for each successful compilation in the support device A, but the identification information α is not generated. Further, in this method, the identification information α is not generated in the support device B and the support device C. This does not mean “after a certain time”, and the identification information α is not generated even before “a certain time”.

  The generation process of the identification information 18 will be described later with a specific example. The identification information generation unit 13 generates unique information using, for example, date, time, PC-specific information, and the like. To do.

The identification information management unit 14 performs generation management of the identification information 18 generated by the identification information generation unit 13. For example, the identification information 18 is managed by the identification information management table 30 shown in FIG.
The identification information management table 30 shown in FIG. 2 includes a generation 31 and identification information 32.

  In the identification information 32, the identification information 18 generated by the identification information generation unit 13 is stored. The generation 31 is a generation management number assigned to the identification information 32 every time new identification information 18 is stored in the identification information 32. In this example, the generation 31 is set to an initial value of '1. It is assumed that 'is incremented by +1 every time a new record is added.

  Here, the above-mentioned “generate identification information 18 every time compilation is successful” may mean “generate identification information 18 every time a new program (update version) is created”. In this case, the identification information 32 having the smallest generation number ('1') in FIG. 2 is the identification information 18 generated corresponding to the oldest (first edition) program, and the generation 31 number is the highest. The large ('3') identification information 32 means the identification information 18 generated corresponding to the latest version of the program. Then, if new identification information 18 is generated and stored in the identification information management table 30 in the state shown in FIG. 2, the number of the generation 31 is “4”.

  1 will be briefly described. The PLC 20 includes various functional units such as a communication function unit 21 and a program execution management function unit 22. Here, the PLC 20 also includes an arithmetic processor such as a CPU / MPU (not shown), and a storage device (not shown) such as a memory, and a predetermined application program is stored in the storage device in advance. Processing functions to be described later of the various functional units are realized when the arithmetic processor (not shown) reads and executes the application program.

  The storage device (not shown) stores identification information 23, a machine language object 24, and the like. The PLC 20 executes, for example, the machine language object 24 to control, for example, a control target device (not shown). In this example, it is assumed that the machine language object 24 is updated during operation without stopping the PLC 20.

  The communication function unit 21 is a function unit that performs data transmission / reception and the like with the support device 10 via the communication line (not shown). In particular, the machine language object 17 with the identification information 18 is downloaded from the communication function unit 15. Then, the identification information 18 is overwritten and stored as new identification information 23, and the machine language object 17 is stored as a new machine language object 24 in the storage device (not shown) or the like. However, the machine language object is not overwritten, and therefore the existing machine language object 24 remains as it is at least at this stage. Since it is in operation, the existing machine language object 24 is being executed, and thereafter, switching to execution of a new machine language object 24 at a predetermined timing. The program execution management function unit 22 performs execution management of the machine language object 24 including switching between execution of the machine language object 24 and old and new. The existing machine language object 24 may be deleted when the new / old switching is completed.

  Here, in order to change the program (machine language object 24) while the PLC 20 is in operation, there are restrictions as described above. One of the constraint conditions is “fix (maintain) the address of an existing variable”. Therefore, it is necessary to continue the compilation specification to fix the address of the existing variable.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a conventional problem related to such a constraint condition and a problem solution by this technique.
However, before describing FIG. 3, the function of the compiler 12 for satisfying the above condition “fix (maintain) the address of an existing variable” will be described.

  For example, the compiler 12 may be provided with the function proposed in the prior application (Japanese Patent Application No. 2011-100991) by the applicant of the present application. However, the present invention is not limited to this example. Technology may be used. Here, this prior art will be described.

  As described in the background art of the previous application, when changing the program while the PLC is running (upgrading the program, etc.), change the address of the variable already assigned (referred to as an existing variable). (If the variable allocation position changes, the program cannot correctly handle the variable value before and after the change, and malfunctions .; By changing the variable address, the address before and after the change is changed. Data can't be passed on later).

  Therefore, in the prior art, a spare area is provided to prevent the address of an existing variable from being changed even if a variable is added, and the added variable (referred to as an additional variable) is allocated to this spare area. I have to. By assigning the additional variable to the spare area, it is possible to add the variable without changing the assignment position of the already assigned variable (existing variable). Of course, it is necessary to record the allocation position (address) of an existing variable.

  For example, in the first version program, there are variable A and variable B. If variable A is assigned address 1000 and variable B is assigned address 1001, the assigned position (address) of these variables is stored. Further, for example, addresses 1002 and 1003 are reserved as spare areas.

  Thereafter, it is assumed that a new variable C is added to the second version program created by the user changing the first version program. In this case, the compiler first determines whether or not each variable is stored. In this example, the variables A and B are stored, but the variable C is not stored. Therefore, variables A and B are assigned addresses 1000 and 1001 according to the stored contents, and variable C is assigned the spare area (for example, address 1002).

  Alternatively, it is assumed that the second version program has not only added the variable C but also deleted the variable B. In this case, variable A is stored, but variable C is not stored. Therefore, variable A is assigned 1000 addresses according to the stored contents, and variable C is assigned the spare area (for example, address 1002).

  However, if the user changes a program that involves adding a variable that exceeds the number of spare areas, it is necessary to change the address (allocation position) of the existing variable, and if the address of the existing variable is changed As described above, normal data transfer cannot be performed. For this reason, the program cannot be changed (online change) while the operation of the PLC is continued.

  On the other hand, in the prior application, it is possible to cope with the addition of a variable that is not sufficient in the spare area, and the function for satisfying the above-mentioned condition of “fixing (maintaining) the address of the existing variable” As such, it may be substantially the same as the above prior art, and therefore, the prior application is not particularly described here.

  In FIG. 3, a specific example of the identification information management table 30 will be described first. In this example, the identification information 32 is DID1, DID2,. Further, DID1 is the first generation (generation 31 is “1”), DID2 is the second generation, and DID10 is the tenth generation. At this point, DID10 is identification information corresponding to the latest version of the program. Hereinafter, for example, a program corresponding to DID10 may be referred to as program DID10 or the like.

  For example, the first version of the program DID1 has a variable A and a variable B, and arbitrary addresses (addresses 1000 and 1001) are assigned to these variables when compiling by the compiler unit 12. . As a result, as shown in the figure, the variable A is assigned address 1000 and the variable B is assigned address 1001 on the PLC 20 side.

  Then, it is assumed that the program DID2 is created on the basis of the program DID1, and then the program DID3 is created on the basis of the program DID2, so that the generation update is repeated up to the 10th generation program DID10. Further, it is assumed that the variables A and B are not changed in any generation. In this case, the compiler unit 12 assigns the address 1000 to the variable A and the address 1001 to the variable B in the same way as the first version of the program DID1 when compiling the program DID2 to the program DID10. This is a process for satisfying “fix (maintain) the address of an existing variable” which is one of the above-mentioned constraints.

  Naturally, when compiling to relocate the address of a variable, the constraint condition is not satisfied because the variable address is not fixed. For example, if address 1001 is assigned to variable A and address 1000 is assigned to variable B, for example, the current value of variable A should be read, but the current value of variable B is actually read and the value is updated based on this Therefore, there is a high possibility that normal operation will not be achieved.

  On the other hand, even if the compiler unit 12 performs the process of satisfying “fix (maintain) the address of an existing variable” which is one of the above-mentioned constraints, the variable address may be fixed. When a program is copied for backup or the like, there is a possibility that the user changes the program separately.

  That is, in the above situation, a user A creates a new updated program (program DID11) based on the program DID10. For example, another user copies the program DID10 at the same time, and this program It is assumed that a new updated program (program DID12) is created based on a copy of DID10. That is, it is assumed that the program DID10 is updated for one system, but is divided into two systems.

In this case, in order to safely change the program while the PLC is operating, it is important to check the continuity of the constraint conditions, not the latest management of the program.
That is, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, it is assumed that a new variable C is added in the program DID11 and another new variable D is added in the program DID12. It is assumed that the program DID11 is first compiled and downloaded to the PLC 20.

  In this case, since the variables A and B are fixed (maintain / continue), the addresses of the variables are 1000 and 1001 as described above, but the variable C is newly allocated, and for example, the address 1002 is assigned. Will be assigned. Then, the machine language object 17 to which such variable assignment is made is downloaded to the PLC 20 and switched between old and new during operation.

  Thereafter, when the program DID12 is compiled, the variable addresses are assigned to the addresses A and B of the addresses 1000 and 1001, and the variable D is assigned the address 1002, for example. However, because the variable C is already assigned to the address 1002 on the PLC 20 side, the machine language object of the program DID12 is transferred to the PLC 20 and switched, so that it may not be normally taken over and may not operate normally. Will be expensive.

  Alternatively, for example, in the program DID11, as a result of adding and compiling variables C and D in this order, variable C is assigned to address 1002 and variable D is assigned to address 1003, for example. Assume that the program DID12 is compiled and downloaded to the PLC 20 after the program is transferred to the PLC 20 and switched. For example, it is assumed that the program DID12 is added in the order of variable D → variable C. As a result of compiling this by the compiler unit 12, for example, it is assumed that variable C is assigned to address 1003 and variable D is assigned to address 1002. Therefore, even when such a program DID12 (its machine language) is transferred to the PLC 20 and switched during operation, there is a high possibility that the PLC 20 will not operate normally because it is not continued normally.

  As described above, the constraint condition is satisfied if only the program is copied. However, if the program is changed separately thereafter, the constraint condition may not be satisfied (continuity may be lost). In other words, even when the program is successfully compiled, that is, when it is considered that the constraints are satisfied, it is guaranteed that the program is a program that conforms to the changes to the running PLC 20. I don't mean. If it is not guaranteed that the program conforms to the change to the operating PLC 20, the PLC 20 may not operate normally, so the program DID12 (its machine language) must not be downloaded to the PLC 20.

  For this purpose, in this method, the identification information 18 is generated and stored in the table 30 for generation management. Then, for example, in the case of the above example, the program DID12 (its machine language) can be prevented from being downloaded to the PLC 20 by performing the processing of the flowchart diagram described below using these pieces of information.

This flowchart will be described later, and will be schematically described here with reference to FIG.
First, when the compiling of the program DID11 by the compiler unit 12 is completed, the PLC 20 stores and executes the program DID10 (the machine language) as the machine language object 24 and stores “DID10” as the identification information 23. Has been. On the other hand, DID1, DID2,... DID9, DID10, and DID11 are stored in the table 30 as the state of the support apparatus 10. When downloading of the program DID11 is instructed in this state, the support apparatus 10 acquires the identification information 23 (DID10) and determines whether or not the same identification information is stored in the table 30. Allow downloads only if stored.

  In this case, since the DID 10 is stored in the table 30 as described above, the download is permitted. As a result, the PLC 20 stores / executes the program DID11 (the machine language) as the machine language object 24, and stores “DID11” as the identification information 23.

  Thereafter, for example, it is assumed that the program DID12 is created by another support device (denoted as 10 '), the compiler D12 compiles the program DID12, and the compilation succeeds to generate a machine language.

  It is assumed that the table 30 is also copied when the program DID10 is copied (referred to as table 30 '). If there is no table 30 ′, the check process itself using the identification information 23 cannot be executed, and eventually it cannot be downloaded.

  When the compilation of the program DID12 is completed, DID1, DID2,..., DID9, DID10, and DID12 are stored in the table 30 '. When the download of the program DID12 is instructed in this state, the support apparatus 10 ′ acquires the identification information 23 (at this time, “DID11” as described above), like the support apparatus 10, It is determined whether or not the same identification information is stored in the table 30 ′, and download is permitted only when it is stored.

  Here, in this case, the same identification information as the identification information 23 (DID11) does not exist in the table 30 ', so that downloading is not permitted. In this way, even if the PLC program is updated while the PLC 20 is in operation while satisfying one of the above-described constraints, “fix (maintain) the address of an existing variable”, an abnormality occurs in the operation of the PLC 20. There can be no.

  Note that it is permitted to download the program DID12 from the support apparatus 10 'while the program DID10 (the machine language) is still stored and executed in the PLC 20. In this case, subsequent attempts to download the program DID11 from the support device 10 are disapproved.

  In addition, for example, if the program DID10 (its machine language) is still stored and executed in the PLC 20, after the compilation of the program DID11 is completed in the support device 10, the machine language is not downloaded to the PLC 20. Furthermore, it is assumed that an updated version program (referred to as program DID13) based on the program DID11 is created.

  This is because, for example, the program DID10 has a variable A and a variable B, and the program DID11 added the variable C. However, since the user felt the necessity to add the variable D after compilation, the program DID10 The case where the variable D is added etc. can be considered. In this case, the table 30 stores DID1, DID2,..., DID9, DID10, DID11, and DID13. Since the DID 10 is held on the PLC 20 side, downloading is permitted when the DID 10 is in the table 30. As a result, the program DID13 is downloaded to the PLC 20 and updated.

  In this case, one generation is extracted (program DID11 is extracted) and updated, but there is no particular problem. For example, in the above example, assume that variable A and variable B are assigned to addresses 1000 and 1001 when compiling program DID10. Thereafter, when the program DID11 is compiled, the assignment of the variables A and B to the addresses 1000 and 1001 is maintained, and the variable C is assigned, for example, the address 1002. Thereafter, at the time of compiling the program DID13, the assignment of the variables A, B, and C to the addresses 1000, 1001, and 1002 is maintained, and for example, the address 1003 is assigned to the variable D.

  Therefore, even if the program DID10 is held and executed in the PLC 20 and the program DID13 is downloaded and updated, the address assignment of the variables A and B does not change, and no problem occurs in operation.

  In the above example, the download target program DID13 is not the next generation of the program DID10 (master program) held and executed by the PLC 20 (in other words, it is not created based on the master program directly). It can be said that it is a derived program (generation-managed program) based on the master program. In such a case, the download is permitted because there is no particular problem even if the download is performed as described above.

  In this way, in order to check whether or not the program to be downloaded is a derived program based on the current master program, in this method, the identification information 23 and the identification information 18 group (table 30) as described above are used. ) Is used.

  Here, for example, in a program such as an OS and word processor software installed in a personal computer, the update program is a standard program created by the manufacturer, and there is only one program in the world. Therefore, if the update program created by the manufacturer is unilaterally installed, the update of the program can be completed without any problem.

  On the other hand, in the PLC system, since the required specifications of each customer are different, it is not necessary to provide a uniform function, and it is necessary to provide a different function (application) for each customer. In order to update this application, it is necessary to download and update a program that maintains compatibility (derivation) with respect to the program that is actually executed by the PLC system at that time. Function or existing variable address assignment must be inherited).

  For this reason, it is necessary to confirm that the program to be downloaded is a derived program (a generation-managed program) based on a program (referred to as a master program) held in the PLC 20. In order to realize this, a check process using unique identification information is performed as described above.

  As described above, in the past, confirmation by the authentication step (a) was performed, but in this method, a derived program (a generation-managed program) based on the master program held in the PLC. It is characterized by confirming that. In other words, if the program is generation-managed based on the master program, it is assumed that the program is suitable for changes to the operating PLC. In order to confirm that the program is a generation-managed program, the identification information management table 30 is used to manage the unique identification information 18.

  In addition, in the process of the flowchart to be described later, in addition to the above-described features, a process for further downloading a difference is performed, but the difference download is not essential. For example, in the case of downloading the program DID11 (its machine language), the difference download means downloading only a portion of the program DID11 that is different from the program DID10.

  In addition, when the support device 10 first downloads the program to the PLC 20, the PLC 20 is stopped and the program and its identification information are downloaded to the PLC 20 using the communication function. Thereafter, the PLC 20 is brought into an operating state. This is because, in the initial state, the program is not yet stored in the PLC 20, and therefore the identification information is not stored. This method cannot be applied (downloading is not permitted), and the PLC 20 is stopped. The program is downloaded (no problem because it is not in operation).

Specific processing examples of the processing described above are shown in the flowcharts of FIGS.
Hereinafter, the flowcharts of FIGS. 4 and 5 will be described.
FIG. 4 shows the program editing (updating) and compiling process.

  In FIG. 4, the user creates an arbitrary source program (source code 16) in the support apparatus 10. This is basically created by making some desired changes based on the existing source program. Then, when the user instructs to compile the generated source code 16, the compiler unit 12 executes the compile of the source code 16 (step S11). When the compilation is successful (YES in step S12) and the machine language object 17 is generated, the identification information generation unit 13 generates unique identification information 18 associated with the generated machine language object 17 (step S13).

  The above compilation will not succeed if the constraints are not met. For example, in the conventional technique described as the background art of the prior application, for example, when “addition of a variable that is not sufficient in the spare area” is performed, the “address of the existing variable” is fixed (maintained). Since the condition is not satisfied, the compilation is substantially failed.

  Therefore, when step S12 is YES, a machine language object 17 that should satisfy the constraint condition is generated, and the identification information 18 is generated only for such a machine language object 17 and is stored in the table. 30 will be registered and managed. However, even if such a machine language object 17 is downloaded to the PLC 20 and executed, an operation abnormality may occur (the reason has already been described). For this reason, in this method, determination of download permission is performed using identification information. For example, when the download is permitted with reference to the table 30 in the processing of FIG. 5 described later, the machine language object 17 to be downloaded satisfies the constraint condition (in particular, fixing (maintaining) the address of the existing variable). Is guaranteed. This will be described in detail later.

  The identification information 18 is generated using, for example, the current date and time information, the program identification information, and the identification information of the support device 10 (but not limited to this example). It is unique identification information in which the same identification information is not generated even in other support apparatuses 10.

Here, the generation of the identification information 18 will be described with a specific example.
For example, “identification information 18 = Mac + PJ + date and time”
Thus, the identification information 18 is generated. The Mac is the MAC address of the support apparatus 10. However, the present invention is not limited to this example, and any information may be used as long as the information can uniquely identify each support apparatus 10, and for example, a production number may be used. The PJ is a project file name. That is, it is the name of the project file when the program is managed in units of projects, but may be a folder name or the like. Of course, a program file name or the like may be used instead of PJ. “Project” is defined in IEC61131-3, for example, but is not limited to this definition. For example, generally, a plurality of POUs (programs) and setting information associated therewith are stored in a personal computer or the like as project information.

  Alternatively, a project is managed in units of folders, and various files (program files, setting information files, etc.) related to the project are stored in the folder. The identification information management table 30 is also included in the project. It may be stored as one of the files.

  The date and time are indicated at the level of year / month / day / hour / minute / second (second is 1/100 second), for example, December 26, 2011, 14: 27: 35.078 seconds. At this level, it is difficult for the support device 10 to generate a plurality of identification information 18 at exactly the same date and time, and it is possible for other support devices 10 to generate the identification information 18 at the exact same date and time. But this time, Mac will be different. Therefore, for example, it can be considered that the identification number 18 generated as described above is necessarily unique.

  The identification information management unit 14 stores the identification information 18 generated in step S13 in the identification information management table 30 as the latest generation (step S14). For example, the current latest generation 31 in the table 30 is incremented by +1 to increase the number of generations by one, and the new latest generation number and the generated identification information 18 are identified by the identification information. The new record generation 31 and the identification information 32 are stored in the management table 30.

Next, the download process in FIG. 5 will be described.
When a new program (updated version program) is downloaded from the support apparatus 10 to the PLC 20 in order to update the program while the PLC 20 is in operation, the support apparatus 10 uses the identification information management table 30 or the like in this method. Determine whether to allow download.

  That is, when the user or the like connects the support apparatus 10 to the PLC 20, the online mode starts, and the support apparatus 10 first acquires the identification information 23 held by the PLC 20 from the PLC 20 (step S21). As already described, the identification information 23 is identification information corresponding to the machine language object 24 currently held and executed by the PLC 20.

  Subsequently, the support apparatus 10 determines whether or not the acquired identification information 23 exists in the identification information management table 30. That is, it is checked whether or not the same identification information as the identification information 23 exists in each identification information 32 of the identification information management table 30 (step S22).

  If there is no item that matches the identification information 23 in the identification information management table 30 (step S22, NO), the download is not permitted and, for example, a message indicating that the download cannot be performed is displayed. (Step S26), and this process is terminated.

  On the other hand, if there is a thing that matches the identification information 23 in the identification information management table 30 (step S22, YES), it is determined that the download is permitted and only the difference is downloaded in this example. Find the part.

  That is, collation processing with the program in the PLC 20 is performed, and different portions are transmitted to the PLC. For example, when the program is composed of a plurality of POUs (or program files, etc.), the POUs constituting the modified version program 17 of the support apparatus 10 and the programs held and operated in the PLC 20 24 POUs are compared with each other (by comparing the contents of the POUs). If they do not completely match, it is determined that they do not match, and all “POUs that do not match” (difference) are extracted and displayed in a list. (Step S23). Note that the POU means a program structural unit. For example, there are types such as PG (program), FB (function block), and FCT (function), but the present invention is not limited to this example.

  After that, when the user who refers to this difference list display arbitrarily selects and designates POUs to be downloaded (of course, all may be selected) and issues a difference download start instruction (YES in step S24). The support apparatus 10 downloads all the POUs designated by the user that are the above-mentioned “POUs that do not match” (difference) to the PLC 20 (step S25). If the user cancels the download (step S24, NO), the process ends without downloading.

  Even if the determination in step S22 is YES, if the identification information that has been confirmed to match is the latest, the processing from step S23 onward may not be executed. This is because when the identification information 23 of the PLC 20 matches the identification information of the latest program, it means that the latest program has already been downloaded to the PLC 20, and therefore it is not necessary to download the same program again. In this example, the identification information 32 having the largest generation number (generation 31) is the latest (corresponding to the latest program). For this purpose, not only the identification information 32 but also the information of the generation 31 is generated and stored.

  From the above, for example, if the determination in step S22 is YES, whether the generation corresponding to the identification information 23 is also the latest generation (maximum of the generations registered as the generation 31) or not. As can be understood by referring to the identification information management table 30, if the generation corresponding to the identification information 23 is the latest generation, this processing is terminated without executing the processing after step S23, and the generation is not the latest generation. In this case, the processing after step S23 is executed.

  In this processing example, only a part arbitrarily selected by the user from the differences is downloaded. However, the present invention is not limited to this example, and the latest version of the program retained in the PLC 20 can be downloaded by forcibly downloading all the differences. You may make it update to. Basically, it is necessary for the PLC 20 to hold the latest version of the program (otherwise, the monitoring process on the support apparatus 10 side will be hindered).

  As described above, by performing generation management, if there is already the latest program on the PLC 20 side, meaningless download processing is not executed, and the user can immediately monitor.

  The PLC program (control program) to be executed by the programmable controller such as the source code 16 and the machine language objects 17 and 24 may be managed and executed in units of projects (project files or project data). The project is composed of, for example, a plurality of POUs (Program Organization Units), that is, POU groups. The POU group is all the elements that make up the program created by the user, and includes, for example, execution codes such as functions and function blocks.

  Thus, the support apparatus 10 may manage programs and various settings described by the user on a project basis. The project includes a plurality of programs (POU group etc.) and various setting information. This method can check the continuity of constraints not only on a program basis but also on a project basis.

  In order to change the program of the running PLC, there are some restrictions. Therefore, in order to ensure that the change to the program satisfies the constraint condition, the support device allows the user to perform only operations within the constraint condition after confirming the matching of the program (however, as already described). As such, it is not always guaranteed that the constraints are satisfied). This is because of the function of the compiler already described in the prior art, and a program in which a change that does not satisfy the constraint condition is made will not compile successfully. However, even if the compilation is successful, that is, even if it is assumed that it is guaranteed that the constraints are satisfied, it must be a program that conforms to the changes to the running PLC. Satisfaction) is not guaranteed.

  For example, when the program update is divided into two systems, and the update program of one system is downloaded and operated in the programmable controller, the latest update program is created in the other system. It is not guaranteed that the updated program of the system is a program adapted to a change to the operating PLC 20. According to this method, the current identification information 23 of the PLC 20 is not registered in the identification information management table 30 of the other system.

  On the other hand, according to the above-described method, since the changed / updated program can be confirmed and updated as a program suitable for the change to the running PLC, for example, it is compatible with the system. It is possible to provide a highly reliable programmable controller system that can reliably prevent human error due to transfer of a program that is not executed.

  In other words, the support device of this example guarantees continuity of program change within the constraint conditions by managing the identification information, and the support device does not need to reflect the updated version program manually by the user. By transferring the changed program to the PLC, it is possible to prevent human error and reduce work time.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Support apparatus 11 User interface function part 12 Compiler part 13 Identification information generation part 14 Identification information management part 15 Communication function part 16 Source code 17 Machine language object 18 Identification information 20 PLC
21 Communication Function Unit 22 Program Execution Management Function Unit 23 Identification Information 24 Machine Language Object 30 Identification Information Management Table 31 Generation 32 Identification Information

Claims (8)

A programmable controller system having a support device and a programmable controller,
The support device includes:
Means for arbitrarily creating a program for the programmable controller by a user, and a program creation support means for creating an updated version of the program by editing an existing program;
Compiling means for compiling the updated version of the program to generate a machine language object;
Each time the machine language object is generated by the compiling unit, corresponding unique identification information is generated, and the generated identification information is additionally registered in the identification information storage unit according to the program. When,
If the download is permitted, the update program and the download information for downloading the corresponding identification information to the programmable controller,
The programmable controller is
Program storage means for storing a program for the programmable controller;
Identification information storage means for storing identification information;
The program storage means and a management means for updating the storage contents of the identification information storage means with the identification information corresponding to the updated version of the program downloaded by the download means,
The download unit of the support apparatus acquires the identification information stored in the identification information storage unit, and determines that the download is permitted when the identification information is registered in the identification information storage unit. A programmable controller system characterized by that.
  2. The programmable controller system according to claim 1, wherein the compiling unit performs variable address assignment so that at least a constraint condition for maintaining an address of an existing variable is observed when the machine language object is generated.   The identification information is unique identification information in which the same identification information is not generated not only by the support device of the generation source but also by another support device. Programmable controller system.   The programmable controller system according to claim 3, wherein the identification information is generated using current date and time information, identification information of the program, and identification information of the support device.   The identification information generation / registration unit generates generation information corresponding to the generated identification information, and additionally registers the generation information in association with the identification information in the identification information storage unit. The programmable controller system in any one of 1-4.   The download means extracts and displays a list of differences between the program stored in the program storage means of the programmable controller and the updated version of the program to be downloaded, and all or part of the differences are displayed. The programmable controller system according to claim 1, wherein the selection is performed by a user and only the selected portion is downloaded to the programmable controller. The support device of a programmable controller system having a support device and a programmable controller,
Means for arbitrarily creating a program for the programmable controller by a user, and a program creation support means for creating an updated version of the program by editing an existing program;
Compiling means for compiling the updated version of the program to generate a machine language object;
Each time the machine language object is generated by the compiling unit, corresponding unique identification information is generated, and the generated identification information is additionally registered in the identification information storage unit according to the program. When,
If the download is permitted, the update program and the download information for downloading the corresponding identification information to the programmable controller,
The download unit acquires identification information stored in the programmable controller and corresponding to a program held and executed by the programmable controller, and the acquired identification information is registered in the identification information storage unit. A programmable controller support device that determines that download is permitted when the download is permitted. A computer of the support device of the programmable controller system having the support device and the programmable controller,
Means for arbitrarily creating a program for the programmable controller by a user, and a program creation support means for creating an updated version of the program by editing an existing program;
Compiling means for compiling the updated version of the program to generate a machine language object;
Each time the machine language object is generated by the compiling unit, corresponding unique identification information is generated, and the generated identification information is additionally registered in the identification information storage unit according to the program. When,
When downloading is permitted, the program is a means for downloading the updated version of the program and the corresponding identification information to the programmable controller, which is stored and executed by the programmable controller. Downloading means for acquiring identification information corresponding to a program, and determining that downloading is permitted when the acquired identification information is registered in the identification information storage unit;
Program to function as.

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