JP2013250810A - Programmable controller, support device of the same, program and program transfer method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To distinguish and download all updated programs related to a predetermined facility, in a support device.SOLUTION: A compiler function part 12 compiles each source code 15 of each control program corresponding to each device of each facility, and generates a machine language object 16 for each. At that time, there is also generated a used variable list 17 or the like indicating correspondence between each control program and each I/O module. A system configuration definition function part 13 registers module information 19 indicating correspondence between each facility and each I/O module. At the time of transfer processing for which an arbitrary facility is specified, the used variable list 17 and the module information 19 are referred to, and thereby only a machine language object 16 related to the specified facility is transferred to a PLC 30.

Description

  The present invention relates to a programmable controller system having a programmable controller and a support device.

  A programmable controller (PLC) that controls various devices to be controlled (each device of each facility) via each I / O module or the like performs the control by executing a control program held by itself.

  This control program is created on the support device connected to the PLC and downloaded to the PLC. In many cases, an updated version (such as an upgraded version) of a control program that is already held and executed on the PLC is created and downloaded to the PLC. On the other hand, on the PLC side, the control program is switched from the old version to the new version (upgraded version, etc.), and the various devices to be controlled are continuously controlled. Since there are many cases where the control target device cannot be stopped, such program download and switching are often performed during system operation (PLC operation).

Here, for example, the prior art described in Patent Document 1 is known.
Patent Document 1 is an invention related to a programmable controller that enables online change of a program during program execution.

  The invention of Patent Document 1 guarantees the contents of a pulse memory that has changed during execution in a programmable controller equipped with a program memory and a pulse memory for execution and change, respectively. It is an invention that maintains real-time controllability, maintains the sameness between the contents of program changes and the contents of execution, and can perform switching between execution and change at high speed.

JP-A-9-120306

A method in which the user safely changes the control program operating on the PLC using the support device while the PLC is operating is a known technique as described above.
Incidentally, the control program is updated for various reasons. For example, the control program may be updated along with the update (replacement, remodeling, etc.) of the equipment. When the scale of the system is large, multiple facilities in the system are often updated (replaced), but instead of updating all the devices to be updated (replaced at once), each facility is replaced sequentially. To do. When the system scale is large, the replacement work does not need to replace all the system equipment at once, but it is necessary to repeat the partial replacement in order.

  The “equipment” is not clearly defined, but, for example, a large number of devices constituting the system are classified by functional unit, and is composed of one or more (usually a plurality of) devices. Functional units are related to each other, for example, a device that drives a belt conveyor (such as a motor) and a device that drills holes in a workpiece to be processed that is conveyed on the belt conveyor (such as a drill). It realizes some function (here, holes are made sequentially in the conveyed product). Therefore, the replacement work is often performed in units of “equipment”.

  On the other hand, the PLC control program is developed, designed, manufactured, and tested in the final form of the entire system (all the equipment to be replaced is replaced), so the control program is developed only for the equipment to be changed. It is difficult to do and is a heavy burden on the user.

  For this reason, in many cases, the user collectively creates an updated version of the control program for all the equipment to be updated (replaced, remodeled, etc.) in the support device. For this reason, each time a replacement operation for an arbitrary facility is completed, only one or a plurality of control programs (updated versions) for controlling the replaced facility need to be downloaded to the PLC and changed. This is because, even if a control program (updated version) corresponding to equipment that has not yet been replaced is downloaded to the PLC and changed, the operation of the system may naturally be adversely affected.

  On the other hand, for example, by displaying a list of all control programs held and managed on the support device side, the user can select one or more desired control programs (in this case, a control program corresponding to the replaced equipment (particularly, A method of transferring only the control program specified by the user to the PLC by selecting and specifying the update version)) is conceivable.

  However, normally, there are a plurality of control programs (a number in some cases) for each facility, and it is difficult for the user to specify correctly. In other words, the user needs to select and specify all the control programs corresponding to the equipment to be updated, and not to specify other control programs by mistake, but this takes time and effort. And further mistakes may occur. In other words, the control program to be specified is not specified (specified omission occurs), and conversely, the control program (updated version) corresponding to the equipment that has not been replaced is selected and specified by mistake, and the PLC side There is a possibility that a mistake such as updating the program may occur, which adversely affects the operation of the system.

  An object of the present invention relates to a programmable controller system that controls a plurality of facilities, and when a plurality of facilities are sequentially changed, but those control program changes are collectively performed by the support device, any facility in the support device A programmable controller system capable of discriminating and downloading all the modified versions of the program, a support device thereof, and the like are provided.

  The programmable controller system of the present invention has a system configuration composed of a plurality of facilities, and controls the various devices of each facility by executing the control programs with the plurality of facilities as control targets. A programmable controller system comprising a programmable controller that performs control via one or more I / O modules for each facility, and a support device connected to the programmable controller, wherein the support device includes the I / O modules. System configuration registration means for registering and storing the correspondence relationship between each facility and each facility, and generating a machine language object by compiling the source code of each control program, and each control program obtained at the time of the compilation A component that stores the correspondence with the I / O module in the storage unit. If any facility is specified, the system configuration registration unit and the storage unit are referred to determine all the control programs corresponding to the specified facility, and the determined control is performed. Transfer management means for transferring the entire program to the programmable controller.

  According to the programmable controller system of the present invention, its support device, etc., it is related to the programmable controller system that controls a plurality of facilities, and the plurality of facilities are changed sequentially, but those program changes are collectively performed by the support device. In some cases, the support apparatus can discriminate and download all the modified programs related to arbitrary equipment.

It is a whole block diagram of the programmable controller system of this example. It is a figure which shows the structure regarding control of each installation by PLC. It is an example of a data structure of a used variable list. (A) is a setting screen, (b) is a specific example of module information. (A), (b) is a data structural example of each program list. It is an example of a transfer selection screen. It is a flowchart figure of the pre-process regarding a program download. It is a flowchart figure of a program download process.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of the programmable controller system of this example.
The programmable controller system of this example includes a PLC (programmable controller) 30 and a support device (loader) 10 that are connected in a communicable state (via a communication line (not shown)). Although not shown in FIG. 1, as shown in FIG. 2, the PLC 30 can further control various devices to be controlled in each facility via each I / O module. The I / O module is, for example, a servo or an inverter, but is not limited to this example.

  The PLC 30 controls, for example, various control objects (not shown) (equipment of each facility), and holds a program (control program; machine language object 33) therefor. This control program may need to be updated (such as version upgrade) at any time.

  The support device (loader) 10 has a function of supporting the user so that the user can arbitrarily create / update / change the control program (its source code 15). The support device (loader) 10 is realized by a personal computer, for example, and includes a CPU and storage device (not shown), a display 20 and an input device 21 (keyboard, mouse, touch panel, etc.) shown in the figure.

  The support device (loader) 10 includes various function units such as a user interface function unit 11, a compiler function unit 12, a system configuration definition function unit 13, and a communication function unit 14. These various functional units create, generate, and hold the illustrated source code 15, machine language object 16, used variable list 17, program list (support) 18, module information 19, and the like.

  A predetermined application program or the like is stored in advance in the storage device (not shown), and the processing of the various functional units 11, 12, 13, 14 and the like is executed by the CPU (not shown) executing the application program. Function is realized.

  The user interface function unit 11 has a function for assisting the user in creating the source code 15 of an arbitrary control program (this function itself is an existing general function). The user interface function unit 11 displays a predetermined program creation support screen on the display 20, for example. The user operates the input device 21 to describe the desired source code 15 on the program creation support screen. The generated source code 15 is basically held on the support apparatus 10 side even after generation and transfer of a machine language object 16 described later.

  Here, for example, the control program is created corresponding to each device of each of the above-mentioned facilities, and is changed (version-up etc.) in accordance with the above-described facility update (replacement) or the like. It is. At the time of version upgrade or the like, the user interface function unit 11 edits the stored source code 15 by the user. When any one piece of equipment is replaced, normally, all control programs related to this equipment are changed (upgrading, etc.).

  From the above, the source code 15 and the machine language objects 16 and 33 are not described one by one. However, there are a plurality of source codes 15 and machine language objects 16 and 33 corresponding to various devices of each facility. It may be regarded as a word object group. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and in this description, the source code 15 and machine language objects 16 and 33 may mean any one source code or machine language object in the source code group or machine language object group. Shall.

  The compiler function unit 12 converts the source code 15 created by the user by the user interface function unit 11 into a machine language object 16 that operates on the target (PLC 30). Further, along with this compilation process, a used variable list 17 and a program list 18 are generated, which will be described later.

The system configuration definition function unit 13 allows the user to input arbitrary system configuration information, and generates module information 19 based on the system configuration information. This will also be described later.
The communication function unit 14 downloads the generated machine language object 16 to the target (PLC 30). However, not all of the generated machine language objects 16 are downloaded to the PLC 30, but only one or more (basically a plurality of) machine language objects 16 determined according to the user designation are downloaded.

  When the machine language object 16 such as an update / correction version is downloaded from the support device 10 in accordance with the update / correction of the control program (its source code 15), the PLC 30 retains and executes the old one. Instead of the program (the machine language object 33 held at that time), the received machine language object is held as a new machine language object 33 and the execution is started. In this way, the PLC 30 switches the control program to the new version (upgraded version) during operation.

The PLC (target) 30 has various function units such as a program execution management function unit 31 and a communication function unit 32.
When the communication function unit 32 performs communication processing with the communication function unit 14 of the support apparatus 10 and receives, for example, the downloaded machine language object 16 or the like, the data is transmitted to the new machine language object 33 as described above. Is stored in a memory (not shown). The communication function unit 32 further generates and stores a program list (PLC) 34 based on the received data. This will be described later. The communication function unit 32 transmits, for example, a machine language object 33 and a program list (PLC) 34 to the support apparatus 10 (upload) in response to a request from the support apparatus 10.

The program execution management function unit 31 controls various devices to be controlled (various devices in each facility shown in FIG. 2 described later) by executing the machine language object 33 held above.
The PLC 30 includes a CPU, memory, and the like (not shown), and a predetermined application program and the like are stored in advance in the memory (not shown), and the CPU (not shown) executes the application program. Thus, the processing functions of the various functional units 31 and 32 are realized.

Here, the source code 15 and the machine language object 16 of the support apparatus 10 will be described with reference to an example shown in FIG.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration relating to control of each facility by the PLC.

  One example of the various control objects (various devices of each facility) not shown in FIG. 1 is two facilities, facility 1 and facility 2 shown in FIG. Each of these facilities 1 and 2 is composed of one or more devices (usually a plurality of devices). Here, it is assumed that the facility 1 includes the illustrated device 1-1 and the device 1-2, and the facility 2 includes the illustrated device 2-1 and the device 2-2. Note that FIG. 2 does not necessarily illustrate all the facilities constituting the entire system (there may be more than two facilities).

  As described above, the PLC 30 controls various devices of each facility (for example, the facility 1 and the facility 2) via each I / O module. For example, one I / O module is provided for one device. Each of the above control programs may be regarded as controlling one or more devices of this facility via one or more I / O modules related to one specific (non-overlapping) facility. .

  As described above, the control program (the source code 15 and the machine language objects 16 and 33) in this description can be said to be a control program group including the control programs.

  For example, assume that there are four control programs PG1, PG2, PG3, and PG4 shown in the figure. For example, the control program PG1 is a program for controlling the device 2-1 of the facility 2, and the control program PG2 is a program for controlling the device 2-2 of the facility 2. Further, for example, it is assumed that the control program PG3 is a program for controlling the device 1-1 of the facility 1, and the control program PG4 is a program for controlling the device 1-2 of the facility 1.

  Here, as described above, the source code 15 of the control programs PG1, PG2, PG3, and PG4 is created (edited / updated) at a time in consideration of the user burden and work efficiency, and at the same time. In many cases, the machine language objects 16 are generated by compiling them together. In addition, the creation of the source code 15 is not limited to a new creation, but rather some kind of upgraded version (for example, in accordance with the replacement of equipment) is often performed.

  Here, when the facilities 1 and 2 are changed, the source codes 15 of the control programs PG1, PG2, PG3, and PG4 may be changed together. However, it is difficult to change (replace) equipment at the same time, and usually the change work is performed sequentially.

  For example, the equipment 1 is changed this week, and the equipment 2 is changed next week. In this case, when the change work of the facility 1 is completed, it is necessary to change the control program held and executed on the PLC 30 side by downloading the modified version of the control programs PG3 and PG4 to the target (PLC30). It is necessary not to download the modified versions of the programs PG1 and PG2 to the target (PLC 30) (note that although not described one by one, as already explained, it is the machine language object 16 that is downloaded, and the source code 15 is not downloaded).

  In this way, for example, when the change (replacement) of an arbitrary facility is completed, only one or more (basically a plurality of) control programs related to the facility are downloaded to the target (PLC 30) from the control program group. There is a need to. However, it is difficult for the user to make such selection / determination, and mistakes may occur. For example, in the above example, it is easy for the user to recognize that the equipment for which the change work has been completed is the equipment 1, but it is difficult to recognize all the control programs related to the equipment 1 (see above). In this example, there are two, but in reality there are many cases where there are many).

  This method solves such a problem, which will be described later. Here, the programmable controller system of this example will be described in more detail with reference to FIG.

  As already described, the PLC 30 controls various devices to be controlled by executing the various control programs. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, each device is controlled via each I / O module. The PLC 30 is basically connected to all I / O modules via, for example, a serial line. Each I / O module is basically connected to one device on a one-to-one basis. Each I / O module is assigned a predetermined identification number (referred to as a station number) in advance.

  For example, each number of 1, 2, 3,... 7 described in each illustrated I / O module means a station number assigned to that I / O module. Henceforth, using this station number, for example, I / O module "1" etc. shall be described. In the illustrated example, the I / O module ‘2’ and the I / O module ‘3’ are I / O modules corresponding to each device of the facility 2. The I / O module ‘1’ and the I / O module ‘4’ are I / O modules corresponding to each device of the facility 1.

  Further, in each control program described above, the station number of the I / O module corresponding to the device is usually described with respect to control of an arbitrary device. This is because the source code 15 of the control program has a description related to each variable, such as a variable name and access information. The access information is a memory address or the like, but may include a station number of the corresponding I / O module. In the case of this example, a variable for which the station number is not described means that the variable is not allocated to the I / O module but is used inside the PLC 30.

  Note that the allocation destination memory is a memory in the PLC 30, whether it is a variable allocated to the I / O module or a variable used in the PLC 30. This memory has each storage area assigned to each I / O module. Thus, even if there is no station number in the description related to the variable, if the access destination address is described, the corresponding I / O module can be determined by determining the storage area to which the address belongs.

  The configuration of the existing programmable controller system and an example of the control program have been described above. Specific examples of the used variable list 17 and the module information 19 corresponding to this example are shown in FIGS. 3 and 4B. Hereinafter, these specific examples will be described.

  First, as already described, when the compile function unit 12 converts the source code 15 into the machine language object 16 for each control program, based on the description relating to each variable in the program, the use variable A list 17 is generated. This is a function for generating access information (memory address allocation, etc.) of each variable described in the source code 15 as an existing general compiling function, and a used variable list 17 is generated based on this function. To do.

FIG. 3 shows a data configuration example of the used variable list 17.
In the illustrated example, the used variable list (table) 17 includes data items of a program name 41, a variable name 42, and a station number 43. The program name 41 stores the program name of the source code 15 (file name; arbitrarily determined by the user). The variable name 42 stores the variable name of each variable described in the program (source code 15). The variable name is arbitrarily determined by the user. The station number 43 stores the station number included in the access information related to the variable with the variable name 42 in the program with the program name 41 (source code 15). This access information (designation of assigned address, etc.) may be arbitrarily determined and described by the user, but there are variables for which no address is designated. For example, the compiler function unit 11 assigns an arbitrary address to a variable for which no address is specified.

  The stored content of the used variable list 17 shown in FIG. 3 shows an example in the case where the following control program (its source code 15) is a processing target, for example. It is assumed that the file name of the following control program is “program 1” and a part thereof is shown.

Here, the user usually describes the declaration of variables used in the program.
The following is an example of variable declaration in IEC61131-3.
VAR
Variable 1: INT;
Variable 2 AT% IW 2.0: INT;
Variable 3 AT% QW 3.0: INT;
END_VAR
“AT” after the variable name is described when the user specifies the variable assignment address (the address is specified after “%”).

The specification of the address of the variable declaration is defined by the following rules in the case of an I / O module.
・ In the case of an input module;% IW station number.word position / in the case of an output module; Then, the address (station number. Word position) specified for the variable 2 is “2.0”, and the address (station number. Word position) specified for the variable 3 is “3.0”. Therefore, it can be determined that the station number corresponding to the variable 2 is “2” and the station number corresponding to the variable 3 is “3”. The station number is a management number for identifying each I / O module, and is a unique number for each I / O module.

  The compiler function unit 12 can extract each variable name and the corresponding station number according to the above rules. Of course, the file name (program name) can also be acquired as described above. The program name, variable name, and station number acquired in this way are stored in the program name 41, variable name 42, and station number 43 of the used variable list 17. This process is executed when compiling each control program.

  If there is no description of “AT” (and therefore there is no address designation) as in variable 1, the compiler function unit 12 automatically assigns an arbitrary address. However, in this case, since this variable is not assigned to the I / O module as described above, there is no station number. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, no data (station number) is stored in the station number 43 whose variable name 42 is “variable 1”.

  As in this example, for one control program (program 1), even if there are various variables such as no station number, station number = '2', station number = '3', etc., the access to the I / O module is the same. It is limited to the I / O module related to the facility (in the example of the figure, only the I / O module related to the facility 2).

  The system configuration definition function unit 13 is a function unit for allowing a user to input a system configuration (for example, a configuration of an I / O module used in a programmable controller system). The user inputs according to the actual system configuration, and FIG. 4 shows an input example according to the system configuration shown in FIG.

  The system configuration definition function unit 13 displays a system configuration definition screen 50 as shown in FIG. The user can input a desired definition regarding the system configuration on this screen 50.

  When the user constructs a system, the user uses the system configuration definition screen 50 to define the module configuration after considering what kind of module configuration is to be assembled. In particular, when defining an I / O module, it is set which equipment the I / O module is related to. Thus, for example, as shown in the figure, for each I / O module, the identification information (name, station number, etc.) of the I / O module and the equipment (connected equipment) corresponding to the I / O module are provided. Identification information (equipment name etc.) etc. is defined.

Based on such definition contents, module information 19 is generated and stored.
The definition content shown in FIG. 4A conforms to the system configuration shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the I / O module '1' and the I / O module '4' are I / O modules related to the facility 1, and the I / O module '2' and the I / O module '3' are It is defined to be an I / O module related to the facility 2. Although not shown in FIG. 2, according to the definition shown in FIG. 4A, the I / O modules '5''6''7' It is an O module.

FIG. 4B shows a specific example of the module information 19.
In the illustrated module information 19, an equipment name 62 is stored in association with the station number 61. However, the present invention is not limited to this example, and the module name may be further stored, or the module name may be stored instead of the station number 61. This is because the identification information of each I / O module only needs to have either a station number or a module name. Further, the identification information of the I / O module is not limited to the station number and the module name, and may be some other information. However, in this example, it is assumed that the station number is used.

The data contents of the station number 61 and the equipment name 62 shown in FIG. 4 conform to the definition shown in FIG. As described above, this is a definition corresponding to the system configuration shown in FIG.
The compiler function unit 12 generates not only the used variable list 17 but also a program list (support) 18 along with the compilation process. That is, when the source program is compiled, information for associating the machine language object generated thereby with the original source program is generated.

FIG. 5A shows a specific example of the program list (support) 18.
In the illustrated example, the program list (support) 18 includes data items of a management number 71, a program name 72, a machine language object file name 73, and a machine language object size 74.

  The management number 71 is a unique number for the support apparatus 10 to identify each control program. The program name 72 is the program name (file name) of the source code 15, and the file name of the machine language object 16 generated by compiling the source code 15 of the program name 72 is stored in the machine language object file name 73. . Further, the data size of the machine language object 16 is stored in the machine language object size 74. For example, the compiler function unit 12 arbitrarily determines the file name of each machine language object 16.

  When the support device 10 (for example, the communication function unit 14) downloads the machine language object 16 generated by the compile processing to the PLC 30, the support device 10 refers to the program list (support) 18 and the management number and Machine language object information is also transmitted. The machine language object information is, for example, the machine language object size 74 or the like, but is not limited to this example.

When receiving the download information, the PLC 30 generates a program list (PLC) 34 based on the download information.
FIG. 5B shows a specific example of the program list (PLC) 34.

The program list (PLC) 34 in the illustrated example includes data items of a management number 81, a machine language object storage destination address 82, and a machine language object size 83.
In the management number 81 and the machine language object size 83, the management number and machine language object information downloaded together with the machine language object 16 from the support device 10 are stored.

  Further, the PLC 30 stores the machine language object 16 downloaded from the support device 10 in an arbitrary storage area (holds it as a new machine language object 33). The start address of this storage area is registered in the machine language object storage destination address 82.

  Later, when there is an upload instruction for a predetermined machine language object 33 (specified by a management number) from the support apparatus 10, the corresponding machine language can be obtained by referring to the program list (PLC) 34 using the specified management number. Since the storage area (start address and size) in which the object 33 is stored is known, the machine language object 33 can be read from the storage area and transmitted (uploaded) to the support apparatus 10.

  Here, the PLC 30 controls a plurality of facilities constituting the system (here, it is assumed that the facility 1, the facility 2, and the facility 3), and each control program for controlling these facilities ( Assume that each machine language object 33) is held and executed. The program execution management function unit 31 of the PLC 30 executes these machine language objects 33 in accordance with, for example, preset schedule information. In addition, a program list (PLC) 34 corresponding to each machine language object 33 is stored.

  On the other hand, on the support apparatus 10 side, the source codes 15 and machine language objects 16 generated by compiling them are held. At some point, if the machine language object 33 and the machine language object 16 of a certain control program match, the PLC 30 may be regarded as holding and executing the latest version of this control program. Therefore, it is not necessary to download the machine language object 33 of this control program to the PLC 30.

  On the other hand, if the machine language object 33 and the machine language object 16 of a certain control program do not match at a certain point in time, basically, the machine language object 16 is the latest version and the machine language object 33 is the old version. You can assume that there is. Therefore, in this case, basically, it is better to download the machine language object 33 of this control program to the PLC 30 and update the control program held and executed by the PLC 30 to the latest version. However, as already mentioned, there are cases where it is better not to update to the latest version in the situation assumed in this method. That is, the control program (latest version; updated version) for which the corresponding equipment update (replacement) has not yet been executed must not be downloaded to the PLC 30 yet. Note that the file name is not changed even if the version is upgraded.

  In many cases, the source code 15 is upgraded all at once in consideration of work efficiency and the like as described above. Even if equipment 1 and equipment 2 are remodeled and equipment 2 is remodeled this week and equipment 1 is remodeled next week, the source code of the control program for both equipment 1 and 2 Fifteen version upgrade operations are performed collectively. Then, the compile function unit 12 executes compile processing on the updated version of the source code 15 to generate an updated version of the machine language object 16, and a new used variable list 17 and program list (support) 18 are also added. Will be generated.

  Also, if the system configuration changes with the modification of the equipment, it is necessary to redefine the module information 19. For example, when an I / O module with a station number = 8 is added to the facility 1, this information needs to be added to the module information 19.

  When the user completes the above work and operates the support apparatus 10 to instruct execution of the program-facility association process, for example, the process of FIG. 7 is executed. Further, after that, when the user instructs execution of downloading the control program, the processing of FIG. 8 is executed. Hereinafter, the processing of FIGS. 7 and 8 will be described.

  7 and 8 may be executed by any one of the function units (for example, the user interface function unit 11 and the communication function unit 14) shown in FIG. Department may do. In any case, there is no change in execution in the support apparatus 10, and the function unit that executes the processes in FIGS. 7 and 8 is called, for example, a “transfer management function unit”.

7 and 8 is realized by the CPU (not shown) of the support apparatus 10 executing an application program stored in the storage device (not shown).
First, the process of FIG. 7 will be described.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of pre-processing related to program download.
As described above, the support apparatus 10 executes the process of FIG.
When the support apparatus 10 starts executing the processing of FIG. 7 in response to the instruction, first, the program list (support) 18 is read (step S1), and the program list (PLC) 34 is acquired and read from the PLC 30 (step S1). Step S2).

  Then, referring to these program lists 18 and 34, machine language objects (same management numbers) related to the same control program are sequentially compared to determine whether or not they match (steps S3 to S5). If they do not match, steps S7 to S10 are executed. For example, each record in the program list (support) 18 is sequentially processed.

  Here, if the management numbers are the same, for example, even if the versions are different, it is assumed that they are “the same control program”. In other words, in the support device 10, after an arbitrary management number is assigned to the program when an arbitrary new control program is created, the program may be later changed to upgrade the program. The management number is not changed and is managed and controlled so that a new management number is not assigned.

The processes in steps S3 to S5 are performed as follows, for example.
That is, the machine language object file name 73 is acquired by referring to an arbitrary processing target record in the program list (support) 18, and the machine language object 16 having this file name is read (step S3). Next, the machine language object 33 corresponding to the machine language object 16 is read from the PLC 30. That is, by using the management number 71 of the processing target record, the corresponding record in the program list (PLC) 34 is recognized, and the PLC 30 indicated by the machine language object storage destination address 82 and the machine language object size 83 of the corresponding record is stored. Data (corresponding machine language object 33) is read from the storage area (step S4).

  For example, when the first record of the program list (support) 18 is a processing target, the machine language object 16 with the file name = “PG0001.dat” is first read in step S3. Further, since the management number 71 of the first record is “1”, the corresponding record in the program list (PLC) 34 is a record of the management number 81 = “1”, and its address 82 = “10000” and size 83. = '100' is acquired, and based on these, the data (corresponding machine language object 33) in the corresponding storage area of the memory of the PLC 30 is read.

  Then, the machine language object 16 acquired in step S3 and the machine language object 33 acquired in step S4 are compared with each other to determine whether or not they are the same (step S5). If both are the same (step S5, YES), the process proceeds to step S6, and unless all the programs (all processing target records) have been processed (NO in step S6), the process proceeds to step S3. Returning, the same processing is performed for the next processing target record.

  On the other hand, when both are not the same (step S5, NO), the process of step S7-S10 is performed. In this case, basically, the machine language object 16 should be the latest version and the machine language object 33 should be the old version. Therefore, by downloading the latest version to the PLC 30, the machine language object 33 on the PLC 30 side is updated to the latest version. It must be replaced with a version. However, since this method is not necessarily a situation that should be downloaded at that time, it is registered as a download candidate. At that time, it is registered in association with the corresponding equipment name by the processing of steps S7 to S10. Thus, this is used for, for example, the display of the transfer selection screen 90 as shown in FIG. 6 later and the processing of FIG. Note that the processing of FIG. 8 described later includes display of the transfer selection screen 90, arbitrary selection by the user on this screen 90, execution of download processing according to this selection, and the like.

Hereinafter, the process of steps S7 to S10 will be described.
First, the used variable list 17 is searched using the program name 72 of the processing target record, and the station number (identification information of the I / O module accessed by the program) related to each variable of the program is obtained (step) S7). For example, when the program name 72 is “program 1”, the station number “2” and the station number “3” are acquired. However, the process of step S7 may be terminated when one station number is acquired. Usually, one program does not control a plurality of facilities, and even if a plurality of station numbers are acquired, they should all be station numbers of I / O modules related to the same facility.

  Next, the module information 19 is searched using the station number obtained in step S7, and the corresponding equipment name is acquired (step S8). In the above example, the station number “2” and the station number “3” are acquired, so the corresponding facility name is “facility 2”.

  The program name (in this example, “program 1”) and the equipment name obtained in step S8 (in this example, “equipment 2”) are stored in association with each other (stored in a program-equipment table (not shown)). (Step S9). This is stored, for example, as a download candidate.

  Then, although the process of step S10 may be performed, you may transfer to step S6 as it is, without performing. In step S10, the process returns to step S7 without proceeding to step S6 unless the processes in steps S7 to S9 are executed for all variables of the program to be processed (in this example, “program 1”). It is.

When the user gives a predetermined program transfer instruction after completing the processing of FIG. 7, a transfer selection screen 90 shown in FIG. 6 is displayed.
Here, an example of the transfer selection screen 90 in FIG. 6 will be described.

  The contents of the program-equipment table (not shown) are displayed in the list display section 91 on the transfer selection screen 90 shown in the figure. That is, a list of pairs of download candidate program names and corresponding equipment names is displayed. Further, for each of these pairs, a check box indicating “transfer presence / absence” is displayed. In other words, “transfer presence / absence” is a check box field for allowing the user to select a desired program (or equipment).

  For example, the user displays the transfer selection screen 90 every time a replacement operation of an arbitrary facility is completed. In this method, it is assumed that the user knows the degree of which equipment has been replaced. Thus, the user can easily and accurately recognize the program to be transferred at that time by referring to the transfer selection screen 90.

  If the replacement work of the equipment 2 is completed, in the example of FIG. 6, at least “Program 1” and “Program 2” are programs to be downloaded at this time, while at least “Program 3” is at this time. Can be grasped as a program that should not be downloaded.

  As a result, when the user sets the check box corresponding to “Program 1” and the check box corresponding to “Program 2” (by pressing the “Transfer Start” button 92 thereafter), “ The machine language objects 16 of “program 1” and “program 2” can be downloaded to the PLC 30.

  In this way, if the user knows the name of the equipment to be updated, the user can download only the necessary program at that time without having to know the name of the program corresponding to this equipment. It is possible to prevent a situation where a program that should not be downloaded at that time is accidentally downloaded.

  Note that a program that does not need to be downloaded by the processing of FIG. 7 (for example, a program whose latest version is already held and executed on the PLC 30 side) is not displayed in the list display portion 91 in the first place, and therefore is not downloaded. . In this way, an effect of avoiding useless selection work and useless download processing can be obtained.

  However, on the other hand, for example, the number of programs as a whole is large, there are many pairs displayed on the list display unit 91 of the transfer selection screen 90, and the number of programs corresponding to the equipment 2 may be small. . In such a case, for example, the user needs to sequentially check (specify) the check boxes corresponding to all the programs corresponding to the equipment 2 while scrolling the display. Etc.) may occur.

Thus, FIG. 8 shows a process that can reduce such time and effort.
In this example, for example, in the case of the facility 2, the user only has to specify one of the programs corresponding to the facility 2 (in FIG. 6, the corresponding check box is checked only for the program 1. ). If the “transfer start” button 92 is pressed in this state (step S11 in FIG. 8), the processing after step S12 in FIG. 8 is executed.

  First, the first record of the program-equipment table (not shown) related to the list display unit 91 is set as a default processing target (step S12). Then, it is determined whether or not the processing target record program is a transfer target (step S13). This is determined as a transfer target when the check box of the processing target record is checked (step S13, YES), and the processing of steps S14 to S16 is executed. On the other hand, when the check box is not checked, it is determined that it is not a transfer target (NO in step S13), and the process proceeds to step S17.

  In step S14, the equipment name of the processing target record is acquired in the program-equipment table, the program-equipment table is searched using the equipment name, and all the corresponding records are extracted. The program name is also determined as a transfer target (step S15). For example, in the example of FIG. 6, since the first record is checked, the equipment name “equipment 2” is acquired. In this case, by performing the above search, all records having the equipment name “equipment 2” among the other records are extracted. In the example of FIG. 6, the second record becomes the corresponding record, and the control program with the program name “program 2” is also determined as the transfer target.

  And all the control programs (the machine language object 16) of the program name determined to be transferred are downloaded to the PLC 30 (step S16). That is, not only the control program for the record to be processed (program 1 in the example) but also all the programs to be transferred in the process of step S15 are downloaded to the PLC 30. In other words, all the programs related to the equipment specified (checked) by the user are downloaded to the PLC 30. Then, the process proceeds to step S17.

  In the download process in step S16, the corresponding machine language object 16 is determined by searching the program list (support) 18 using the program name determined as the transfer target. (The machine language object file name 73 of the corresponding record is acquired).

  In this way, when the user wants to download and update all the control programs related to an arbitrary facility to the PLC 30, it is not necessary to specify all of them one by one. Check etc.). Thus, the work load is reduced and no mistakes (designated omissions) occur.

  In step S17, the next record in the program-equipment table (not shown) is set as a new process target record, and the process returns to step S13. However, when there is no next record, that is, when the processing is completed for all the records (step S18, YES), this processing is terminated.

In step S17, if the control program for the next record has already been downloaded, the next record is set as a new processing target record.
Note that the transfer selection screen 90 is not limited to the example shown in FIG. 6, and for example, only the facility names may be displayed as a list (of course, a check box is displayed). Then, the user may be allowed to select and specify a desired facility name. Even in this case, processing similar to that shown in FIG. 8 is executed, and the same effect can be obtained. In other words, in any case, at least the equipment name will be displayed, and the user can make an accurate decision by looking at the display of the equipment name and make an accurate selection. Will come to be.

  In the above example, the station number is used for explanation, but this shows an example of the identification information of the I / O module, and the identification information is not limited to the station number. For example, the compiler of the support apparatus 10 generally assigns each variable to a memory in the PLC. This assigns not only the variable related to the PLC itself (variable 1 in the example) but also the variables related to the I / O module (variable 2 and variable 3 in the example) to the memory in the PLC. As a result, even if the facility name is associated with the variable (program name) using the assigned address instead of the station number, the same processing as in the above example can be realized. In this case, registration information that allows the corresponding I / O module to be identified by the assigned address may be separately required.

  Here, processing (referred to as online update processing) for executing each control program held and executed by the PLC without stopping the PLC (during operation) will be described. Here, the method by the present applicant is shown. This is also described in, for example, Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-100991.

  Note that this method can be applied even when the online update process is not performed, but the case where the online update process is performed has a more remarkable effect. In particular, regarding equipment related to a control program that should not be downloaded at that time, if such a control program is accidentally downloaded to the PLC, it will be updated to the wrong program during operation of the equipment. This is because there is a high possibility that some trouble will occur in the equipment.

  The PLC (programmable controller) support tool compiles a program written by the user (source code; including variables) to generate a machine language object that operates on the PLC. Assign each variable (to any address) (perform address assignment). Then, the machine language object is downloaded and stored in the PLC. As a result, the PLC executes various processes by executing this program, and accesses the address (allocation position) assigned to the variable in the process of reading / writing the value of each variable. become.

  In addition, when the address is assigned in the source code, the address assigned to each variable is used. For variables that are not addressed, for example, the compiler assigns an arbitrary address, but this is not restrictive.

  If the program is changed while the PLC is running (program version upgrade, etc.), the address of a variable that has already been assigned (referred to as an existing variable) cannot be changed (if the variable assignment position changes, (Because the variable value cannot be handled normally by the program before and after the change, it malfunctions.) By changing the address of the variable, data cannot be transferred before and after the change of the address).

  Therefore, conventionally, 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 assigned to this spare area. Yes. 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). Since the spare area has a program configuration unit (hereinafter referred to as POU), the size of the spare area is usually from several W (WORD) to several tens of W.

  Here, the POU includes types such as PG (program), FB (function block), and FCT (function). Basically, PG may be regarded as a main program and FB or FCT as a subprogram, and PG calls FB, FCT, or the like during execution of the processing. In addition, the FB may call another FB or FCT during execution of the process.

The above-described program 1, program 2, and the like are, for example, the above PG (program), but are not limited to this example.
Here, in the source code of various POUs such as PG (program), FB (function block), and FCT (function), an arbitrary variable is usually described. When compiling a program having various POUs, instantiating each POU (assigning each variable of each POU to a memory) is performed by a compiler function. If a variable is added to an arbitrary POU, for example, by correcting (upgrading) the program later, this additional variable is allocated to the spare area.

  Here, it is a case where the user makes a program correction (for example, creation of upgraded source code 15) on the support device 10 while the PLC 30 is in operation, and the control program (machine) of the PLC 30 without stopping the PLC 30 in particular. In order to prevent abnormal operation even if the word object 33) is changed, it is necessary not to change the memory allocation position of the variable (existing variable) already allocated to the memory. This is not particularly problematic for those addressed in the source code 15 such as the variables 2 and 3 of the program 1 as long as the user does not change the address by mistake when modifying the source code 15. .

  However, in the case of the variable 1, if the compiler assigns an arbitrary address every time the compilation is executed, the memory allocation position changes. Thus, the compiler function unit 12 stores the memory allocation status of each variable, for example, when the first version of the source code 15 is compiled. That is, information indicating which variable is assigned to which storage area (address) is stored in a table (not shown). After that, when compiling the upgraded version of the source code 15, the same address as the current state is assigned to the existing variable by referring to the table (not shown). If there is a new variable, an arbitrary address is assigned and additionally registered in the table (not shown).

For example, in the variable address assignment, a single storage area is assigned for each program (for each POU).
As described above, in the present technique, the following configuration / operation is provided in a programmable controller system having a programmable controller and a support device.

  The support device has, as an existing function, a program creation support function for allowing the user to arbitrarily create a PLC control program (its source code), and a format (machine language) that can compile this source code and execute it on the PLC. A compiling function for converting to an object) and a transfer function for downloading the machine language object to the PLC.

  In general, the compile function assigns an address to each variable of the source code during execution of the compile process. In this example, the program name (source code file name, etc.) to be processed and the name of each variable are further added. , Information indicating the I / O module related to each variable (access destination I / O module by each variable; I / O module corresponding to the assigned address) is registered in association with each other.

  Furthermore, it is a function that allows the user to set the system configuration definition of the programmable controller system, and has the function of setting and registering information on the equipment related to each I / O module as well as setting the name of each I / O module. .

  When a control program is transferred to the PLC, the control program (machine language) operating on the PLC is compared with the control program (machine language) generated by the compiler of the support apparatus, and non-identical programs are determined as transfer candidates. Then, a transfer target program (one or more; basically a plurality) is determined from the transfer candidate program group and transferred to the PLC.

  The registration data is used for this determination process. That is, by referring to the registration data, an I / O module related to an arbitrary facility can be determined, and a program related to the I / O module can be determined. As a result, all programs related to any equipment are transferred to the PLC, and programs not related to the equipment are not erroneously transferred to the PLC. The above-mentioned arbitrary equipment is, for example, arbitrarily designated by the user. For example, in the case where a plurality of equipment is sequentially updated, it is equipment that has been updated at that time.

  The designation by the user is not limited to the designation of the equipment, and may be designation of a program, for example. Even in this case, by referring to the registered data, the I / O module related to the designated program can be determined, and the equipment related to the I / O module can be determined, so that all the programs related to the determined equipment can be determined. Can do. For example, this method can be applied when the name of the facility for which the update work has been completed is not known but one program name related to the facility is known.

  By this method described above, especially when updating each facility sequentially (replacement) with respect to program update of a programmable controller that controls a plurality of facilities, all control program updates (version upgrades, etc.) associated with the facility update are collected. Can solve the problem of doing. That is, one or more (usually a plurality of) control programs to be transferred to the PLC and updated at that time in the updated version program group can be automatically determined and transferred. Conversely, a control program that should not be transferred to the PLC at that time can be prevented from being erroneously transferred to the PLC. That is, as compared with a method in which the user manually determines the control program to be transferred to the PLC and updated, the user's workload can be reduced and no mistakes occur.

  The control program that should not be transferred to the PLC is, for example, an updated program related to equipment that has not yet been updated (replaced). Since the updated version program has control contents corresponding to the equipment after the update, if it is transferred to the PLC and replaced with the old program and executed, the system operation will be adversely affected. Conventionally, such a problem may occur due to a user's mistake or the like, but according to the present technique, such a problem does not occur.

  However, the above description is an example, and the present method is not limited to this example, and the present technique can be applied to all cases where the system configuration is changed. When the system configuration is changed, for example, the case where the existing equipment is updated (replaced) is shown in the above-described example. However, the equipment update (replacement) includes addition of new equipment and the like. To do. In this case, the support apparatus needs to additionally create a new control program corresponding to the new facility and download it to the PLC. In this case, since there is no program corresponding to the new program in the PLC, the determination in step S5 is NO (the programs are not the same). Alternatively, even when existing equipment is updated (replaced), the present invention is not limited to an example in which an existing control program is updated as described above, and a new control program may be created. This technique can be applied to such various cases. In addition, there may be cases where such various cases are mixed.

  As described above, according to this method, when the system configuration is changed, it is possible to improve the efficiency of the user program development in the support apparatus and to efficiently and accurately update the PLC program in accordance with the facility update or the like. Even in a large-scale system, it is possible to safely update the operating PLC program without taking time and effort in accordance with the facility update plan.

10 Support device (loader)
11 User Interface Function Unit 12 Compiler Function Unit 13 System Configuration Definition Function Unit 14 Communication Function Unit 15 Source Code 16 Machine Language Object 17 Used Variable List 18 Program List (Support)
19 Module information 20 Display 21 Input device 30 PLC (target)
31 Program Execution Management Function Unit 32 Communication Function Unit 33 Machine Language Object 34 Program List (PLC)
35 Identification information 41 Program name 42 Variable name 43 Station number 50 System configuration definition screen 61 Station number 62 Equipment name 71 Management number 72 Program name 73 Machine language object file name 74 Machine language object size 81 Management number 82 Machine language object storage destination address 83 Machine Word object size 90 Transfer selection screen 90
91 List Display 92 “Start Transfer” Button

Claims (10)

It has a system configuration composed of a plurality of facilities, and controls the various devices of each facility by executing each control program with the plurality of facilities being controlled, and each facility has one or more I A programmable controller system having a programmable controller that performs control via the / O module and a support device connected to the programmable controller,
The support device includes:
System configuration registration means for registering and storing the correspondence between each I / O module and each facility;
Compiling means for generating a machine language object by compiling the source code of each control program, and storing a correspondence relationship between each control program and the I / O module obtained in the compilation in a storage unit;
When an arbitrary facility is specified, all the control programs corresponding to the specified facility are determined by referring to the system configuration registration unit and the storage unit, and all the determined control programs are Transfer management means for transferring to a programmable controller;
A programmable controller system comprising: When the equipment is sequentially replaced with the change in the system configuration, the control program held by the support device is all changed before the first equipment is designated by the transfer management unit. It is a control program according to
The programmable controller system according to claim 1, wherein the designated facility is the replaced facility.   The transfer management unit refers to the system configuration registration unit and the storage unit by using, as transfer candidates, control programs different from the control programs held by the programmable controller among the control programs held by the support device. The equipment related to each control program of the transfer candidate is discriminated, and at least the equipment related to each control program of the transfer candidate is displayed as a list, and a selection screen for performing the designation is displayed. The programmable controller system according to 1.   4. The programmable controller system according to claim 3, wherein the selection screen displays a list of each control program of the transfer candidate in association with the equipment related to the control program.   2. The programmable controller holds and executes each control program transferred by the transfer management unit during operation instead of the control program held and executed by itself. Programmable controller system.   The compiling means holds an address assigned to each variable of the source code at the time of compilation, and assigns the same address to a variable that has already been assigned an address at the time of past compilation. The programmable controller system according to claim 5. For each variable of the source code that has an address specification, the address specification includes identification information of the I / O module,
The programmable controller according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the compiling unit generates a correspondence relationship between the control program and the I / O module using the I / O module identification information. system. It has a system configuration composed of a plurality of facilities, and controls the various devices of each facility by executing each control program with the plurality of facilities being controlled, and each facility has one or more I A support device in a programmable controller system comprising a programmable controller that performs control via a / O module and a support device that is connected to the programmable controller,
System configuration registration means for registering and storing the correspondence between each I / O module and each facility;
Compiling means for generating a machine language object by compiling the source code of each control program, and storing a correspondence relationship between each control program and the I / O module obtained in the compilation in a storage unit;
When an arbitrary facility is specified, all the control programs corresponding to the specified facility are determined by referring to the system configuration registration unit and the storage unit, and all the determined control programs are Transfer management means for transferring to a programmable controller;
An apparatus for supporting a programmable controller system, comprising: It has a system configuration composed of a plurality of facilities, and controls the various devices of each facility by executing each control program with the plurality of facilities being controlled, and each facility has one or more I A computer of the support device in a programmable controller system having a programmable controller that performs control via the / O module and a support device connected to the programmable controller;
System configuration registration means for registering and storing the correspondence between each I / O module and each facility;
Compiling means for generating a machine language object by compiling the source code of each control program, and storing a correspondence relationship between each control program and the I / O module obtained in the compilation in a storage unit;
When an arbitrary facility is specified, all the control programs corresponding to the specified facility are determined by referring to the system configuration registration unit and the storage unit, and all the determined control programs are Transfer management means for transferring to a programmable controller;
Program to function as. It has a system configuration composed of a plurality of facilities, and controls the various devices of each facility by executing each control program with the plurality of facilities being controlled, and each facility has one or more I A method of transferring the control program to the programmable controller in the support device of the programmable controller system having a programmable controller that performs control via the / O module and a support device connected to the programmable controller,
The correspondence between each I / O module and each facility is registered and stored in advance.
Compiling source code of each control program to generate a machine language object, and storing a correspondence relationship between each control program and the I / O module obtained at the time of compilation in a storage unit,
When an arbitrary facility is specified, all the control programs corresponding to the specified facility are determined by referring to the registered corresponding relationship and the corresponding relationship stored in the storage unit, and the determined A program transfer method comprising transferring all control programs to the programmable controller.