JP2017021663A - Programming tool - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simplify correction work of a safety response time.SOLUTION: A programming tool which can adjust a safety response time of a safety system according to a request includes: a user processing reception part 23 for processing input information and output information including a setting safety response time being a user's request; a delay management part for managing delay information in the safety system; a safety response time adjustment part 25 for transmitting/receiving information to/from the user processing reception part 23 to perform adjustment processing of a safety response time; a safety response time calculation part 26 for calculating the safety response time; and a safety response time adjustment method presentation part 27 for presenting an adjustment method for a safety response time until a calculation result is equal to or less than the setting safety response time in the case that the calculation result of the safety response time calculation part 26 exceeds the setting safety response time.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a programming tool applied to a safety system.

  In the safety system, the safety distance is determined from the safety response time, which is the time from when the emergency stop signal is transmitted by the safety sensor until the emergency stop instruction is output until the device stops. The safe distance refers to the minimum distance necessary for the device to stop before the human body enters the detection area and reaches the dangerous area. Since the layout of the factory is changed depending on the safety distance from the safety sensor to the device, it is necessary to set a safety response time according to the safe distance that can be secured. By the way, the safety response time includes the total value of communication delay, program scan time, and device response time. The safety distance is calculated from the safety response time and information determined by the standard.

  Patent Document 1, which is an example of the prior art for calculating the safety response time and the safety distance of such a safety system, states that “a safety network can be obtained without understanding the specifications of each device used in an actual system. "Providing a safety condition setting support device capable of setting various parameters for constructing a system", "Information on internal processing time of safety devices including safety input device 6 and safety output device 7 connected to network 5" Is stored in the parts database 13d ", and" at least one of a transmission interval between connected safety devices, a safety distance from the safety input device to the control target device, and connection information indicating a connection relationship between the safety devices is acquired. The safety condition setting support device and the program manufactured by the program for obtaining the safety condition (determination of the uninput condition, etc.) based on the acquired information and the internal processing time There has been disclosed. When the calculated safety response time exceeds the required safety response time, the safety response time is adjusted by taking measures such as reducing the communication delay and correcting the program.

JP 2003-263202 A

  However, according to the above conventional technique, when the safety response time exceeds the required safety response time, it is necessary to correct it by trial and error while referring to the specification. Therefore, there has been a problem that the correction work is complicated.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to obtain a programming tool capable of simplifying the correction work when the safety response time exceeds the requested set safety response time.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the object, the present invention provides a programming tool capable of adjusting a safety response time of a safety system according to a request, and includes input information including a set safety response time as a user request, and A user response accepting unit for processing output information, a delay managing unit for managing delay information in the safety system, and a safety response time for performing transmission / reception of information with the user process accepting unit and adjusting the safety response time. When the calculation result of the adjustment unit, the safety response time calculation unit that calculates the safety response time, and the safety response time calculation unit exceeds the set safety response time, the calculation result is the set safety response And a safety response time adjustment method presenting unit that presents the adjustment method of the safety response time until the time becomes less than or equal to the time.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a programming tool that can simplify the correction work when the safety response time exceeds the requested set safety response time.

1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration including a computer to which a programming tool according to a first embodiment is applied. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a computer to which a programming tool according to a first embodiment is applied. The flowchart which shows the operation example of the programming tool which concerns on Embodiment 1 Figure showing an example of the initial screen for safety response time adjustment The figure which shows the example of a screen of safety response time adjustment in which the calculated safety response time was shown The flowchart which shows the operation example of a safety response time adjustment method presentation process The figure which shows the example of a screen of the safety response time adjustment by which the safety response time adjustment method was shown The figure which shows the example of a screen of the 1st step in the safety response time adjustment which presents the safety response time adjustment method The figure which shows the example of a screen of the 2nd step in the safety response time adjustment which presents the safety response time adjustment method FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a computer to which a programming tool according to a second embodiment is applied. The figure which shows the hardware structural example of the computer to which the programming tool which concerns on Embodiment 1, 2 is applied.

  Hereinafter, a programming tool according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration example of a safety system including a computer to which a programming tool according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention is applied. A safety system 10 shown in FIG. 1 includes a computer 11 to which the programming tool according to the first embodiment is applied, a controller 12 that transmits / receives information to / from the computer 11, and a communication device 13 that transmits / receives information to / from the controller 12. Communication devices 14 and 16 that transmit and receive information to and from the communication device 13, a safety input device 15 that is connected to the communication device 14 and inputs information, and a safety output that is connected to the communication device 16 and outputs output information The apparatus 17 is comprised. The safety input device 15 can be exemplified by a sensor, and the safety output device 17 can be exemplified by a robot. When input data is generated in the safety input device 15, the input data is transmitted to the controller 12 via the communication devices 13 and 14. The controller 12 that has received the input data executes a program corresponding to the input data, and transmits the output data to the safety output device 17 via the communication devices 13 and 16. The safety output device 17 performs an operation corresponding to the output data. The computer 11 includes a programming tool for adjusting or changing the program executed by the controller 12.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a computer to which the programming tool according to the first embodiment is applied. This programming tool is a programming tool that can adjust the safety response time of the safety system according to requirements. The computer 11 shown in FIG. 2 is connected to an input unit 22 that generates input information by a user input operation, a display unit 24 that displays output information to the user, and the input unit 22 and the display unit 24. A user process receiving unit 23 that processes input information and output information including a set safety response time that is a user request, a device input / output delay management unit 21 that manages device input / output delay information, and network communication delay information. A network response delay managing unit 28 for managing, a program execution delay managing unit 29 for managing program execution delay information, and a safety response time adjusting unit for performing a process of adjusting a safety response time by transmitting / receiving information to / from the user process receiving unit 23 25, the safety response time calculation unit 26 that calculates the safety response time, and the calculation result of the safety response time calculation unit 26 exceeds the set safety response time It is provided with a safety response time adjusting method presenting unit 27 that the calculation result presents a method of adjusting the safety response time until the following safety response time setting, the safety response time adjusted to meet the requirements of the user. Further, the device input / output delay management unit 21, the network communication delay management unit 28, and the program execution delay management unit 29 are collectively referred to as a delay management unit 30. The delay management unit 30 manages various delay information in the safety system. In FIG. 1, the delay management unit 30 includes a device input / output delay management unit 21, a network communication delay management unit 28, and a program execution delay management unit 29. The delay information managed by the delay management unit 30 is as follows. It is not limited to these, You may provide the other delay management part.

  When an input operation is performed by the user in the input unit 22, the input unit 22 generates input information, and the user process reception unit 23 processes the input information. The user process reception unit 23 processes the output information according to the input information from the input unit 22 and the safety response time input from the safety response time adjustment unit 25 and outputs the processed output information to the display unit 24. The safety response time adjustment unit 25 performs a safety response time adjustment process according to the input information input from the user process reception unit 23. The safety response time calculation unit 26 acquires network communication delay information from the network communication delay management unit 28, acquires program execution delay information from the program execution delay management unit 29, and acquires device execution delay information from the device input / output delay management unit 21. I / O delay information is acquired, and safety response time is calculated from network communication delay information, program execution delay information, and device I / O delay information. The safety response time adjustment method presentation unit 27 presents a safety response time adjustment method for changing the safety response time to the set safety response time requested by the user. The network communication delay management unit 28 manages network communication delay information according to the current setting. The program execution delay management unit 29 holds program execution delay information corresponding to the current setting.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the programming tool according to the first embodiment. First, the process is started, and the user requests adjustment of the safety response time by operating the input unit 22 (S11). The request is transmitted to the user process accepting unit 23 in the computer 11, and the user process accepting unit 23 displays the safety response time adjustment screen on the display unit 24 (S12).

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of an initial screen for safety response time adjustment. When the user inputs a numerical value for the set safety response time in the text box between “set safety response time” and “ms” on the safety response time adjustment screen shown in FIG. 4 (S13), the safety response time in the computer 11 is calculated. The unit 26 calculates the safety response time and transmits it to the user process reception unit 23, and the user process reception unit 23 presents the calculation result (S14).

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a screen example of the safety response time adjustment on which the calculated safety response time is presented. On the safety response time adjustment screen shown in FIG. 5, the safety response time is displayed as “78 ms”. Here, the safety response time is the sum of the delay times described in the network communication delay information, program execution delay information, and device input / output delay information, but some of these information may be deleted or added depending on the configuration. May be.

  Next, the user process reception unit 23 in the computer 11 determines whether the calculated safety response time exceeds the set safety response time requested by the user (S15). If the calculated safety response time is less than or equal to the set safety response time (S15: No), the process is terminated. That is, the process ends when the user's request is satisfied. When the calculated safety response time exceeds the set safety response time (S15: Yes), the safety response time adjustment method presentation unit 27 executes a safety response time adjustment method presentation process (S16). The user performs input processing of the presented safety response time adjustment method (S17).

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation example of the safety response time adjustment method presentation processing. That is, it is a flowchart showing the operation of the safety response time adjustment method presentation unit 27. First, the process is started, and the safety response time adjustment method presentation unit 27 acquires the network communication delay adjustment method from the network communication delay management unit 28 (S21), and acquires the program execution delay adjustment method from the program execution delay management unit 29. Then, a device input / output delay adjustment method is acquired from the device input / output delay management unit 21 (S23). Thereafter, using each adjustment method, an adjustment method necessary for realizing the set safety response time as the safety response time is calculated, the safety response time adjustment method is presented to the user, and the process is ended. The network communication delay adjustment method is a method of reducing the safety response time by reducing the network communication delay. The program execution delay adjustment method is a method of reducing the safety response time by reducing the program execution delay. The device input / output delay adjustment method is a method of reducing the safety response time by reducing the device input / output delay. As an adjustment method necessary to realize the set safe response time as the safe response time, in order to reduce the network delay when the set safe response time is realized as the safe response time by adjusting the network communication delay An adjustment method can be exemplified in which the number of slave stations that need to be reduced is calculated and presented to the user.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a safety response time adjustment screen on which a safety response time adjustment method is presented. In FIG. 7, similarly to FIG. 5, the set safety response time is displayed as 70 ms, the safety response time is displayed as 78 ms, and the network communication delay adjustment method indicates that the number of network slave stations should be reduced and the set safety response. The number of slave stations to be reduced in order to realize the time as the safety response time is displayed, and as a program execution delay adjustment method, the program step method should be reduced and the set safety response time to be realized as the safety response time The number of steps to be reduced is displayed. In addition, the input / output delay adjustment method should be changed to a device with less input delay and input to be changed and connected to realize the set safety response time as a safety response time. The model number of the device is displayed. In the screen example shown in FIG. 7, the number of slave stations to be reduced is displayed as 3, the number of steps to be reduced is displayed as 42 steps, and the model number of the input device to be connected is displayed as model number A. In this screen example, a network communication delay adjustment method, a program execution delay adjustment method, and a device input / output delay adjustment method are presented as safety response time adjustment methods, but the present invention is not limited to these. Other delay adjustment methods may be presented.

  In S17, the user performs input processing according to the safety response time adjustment method presented as shown in FIG. Here, although the number of slave stations to be reduced is displayed as three stations, the number of slave stations input by the user is not limited to this, and the number of slave stations to be reduced may be input as one station or as two stations It is also possible to have three or more stations. That is, the number of slave stations to be reduced is not limited. The safety response time calculation unit 26 performs recalculation according to the input content and presents the changed safety response time (S14).

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a screen example of the first stage during the safety response time adjustment that presents the safety response time adjustment method. In FIG. 8, the number of slave stations to be reduced is input by the user as one station, and by this input operation, the safety response time calculation unit 26 performs recalculation, and the safety response time is reduced from 78 ms in FIG. 5 to 75 ms. However, since the safety response time 75 ms exceeds the set safety response time 70 ms, the process branches to Yes in the determination of S15, and the safety response time adjustment method presentation process is executed again (S16).

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a second-stage screen example during the safety response time adjustment that presents the safety response time adjustment method. In FIG. 9, after the number of slave stations to be reduced in FIG. 8 is input as 1 station, the number of steps to be reduced is input by the user as 30 steps, and the safety response time calculation unit 26 performs recalculation by this input operation. The safety response time is reduced from 75 ms in FIG. 8 to 70 ms. Here, since the safety response time is equal to or shorter than the set safety response time, the process branches to No in the determination of S15 and ends the process.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the safety response time adjustment method presentation unit 27 keeps repeatedly presenting the safety response time adjustment method until the safety response time becomes equal to or less than the set safety response time. Operate. Note that the screen examples shown in FIGS. 7, 8, and 9 are created by the safety response time adjustment method presentation unit 27.

  When adjusting the safety response time in the conventional programming tool, the system developer has investigated and examined while referring to the specification to confirm the correction method, but as explained in this embodiment, By displaying the interactive adjustment screen and performing processing, it is possible to reduce the man-hours for investigation and examination when adjusting the safety response time, and the adjustment work can be simplified.

  As shown in FIGS. 4, 5, 7, 8, and 9, a “close button” is shown in the upper right of the screen example of the present embodiment. In the present embodiment, the safety response time adjustment method presentation unit 27 repeatedly presents the safety response time adjustment method until the safety response time is equal to or less than the set safety response time. If the user wants to cancel, the screen can be closed by the “close button”.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
In the second embodiment, an embodiment using a computer 11a different from the first embodiment will be described. The hardware configuration of the programming tool according to the second embodiment is the same as that shown in FIG. 1 except that a computer 11a is provided instead of the computer 11.

  FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a computer to which the programming tool according to the second embodiment is applied. That is, FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the computer 11a. A computer 11a shown in FIG. 10 has a configuration in which a user input storage DB 31 as a database is added to the computer 11 shown in FIG. 2 and includes a safety response time adjustment method presentation unit 27a instead of the safety response time adjustment method presentation unit 27. is there. In the present embodiment, during the input process in S17 of FIG. 3, the safety response time adjustment method presentation unit 27a accumulates information on the input adjustment method, which is an input result, in the user input storage DB 31. Here, it is preferable that the input information on the adjustment method is stored in association with the user information. After that, when the safety response time adjustment method presenting unit 27a presents the safety response time adjustment method, the information stored in the user input storage DB 31 is referred to and displayed in order from the most frequently input adjustment method. Display at the top of the screen. The user input storage DB 31 is realized by a nonvolatile memory for accumulating information.

  According to the second embodiment, since the adjustment method that is frequently input by the user is displayed at the top, workability can be improved.

  In the first and second embodiments described above, the computers 11 and 11a include at least a processor and a memory, and a user process reception unit 23, a safety response time adjustment unit 25, a safety response time calculation unit 26, and a safety response time adjustment. The operations of the method presentation units 27 and 27a and the delay management unit 30 can be realized by software. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a general configuration of hardware for realizing each of these devices. The apparatus shown in FIG. 11 includes a processor 40 and a memory 41. The processor 40 performs calculation and control by software using the input data, and the memory 41 is used when the input data or the processor 40 performs calculation and control. Store the necessary data. A plurality of processors 40 and memories 41 may be provided.

  The configuration described in the above embodiment shows an example of the contents of the present invention, and can be combined with another known technique, and can be combined with other configurations without departing from the gist of the present invention. It is also possible to omit or change the part.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Safety system 11, 11a Computer, 12 Controller, 13, 14, 16 Communication equipment, 15 Safety input equipment, 17 Safety output equipment, 21 Equipment input / output delay management part, 22 Input part, 23 User process reception part, 24 Display Unit, 25 safety response time adjustment unit, 26 safety response time calculation unit, 27, 27a safety response time adjustment method presentation unit, 28 network communication delay management unit, 29 program execution delay management unit, 30 delay management unit, 31 user input storage DB, 40 processor, 41 memory.

Claims (3)

A programming tool that can adjust the safety response time of the safety system according to requirements,
A user process accepting unit that processes input information and output information including a set safety response time that is a user request;
A delay management unit for managing delay information in the safety system;
A safety response time adjustment unit that performs transmission and reception of information with the user process reception unit and performs an adjustment process of the safety response time;
A safety response time calculation unit for calculating the safety response time;
When the calculation result of the safety response time calculation unit exceeds the set safety response time, the safety response time adjustment presents a method for adjusting the safety response time until the calculation result becomes equal to or less than the set safety response time. A programming tool comprising a method presentation unit.   The delay management unit manages device input / output delay information in the safety system, network communication delay information in the safety system, and program execution delay information in the safety system. Programming tools described in A user input storage database for accumulating input results of the presented adjustment method;
The said safety response time adjustment method presentation part displays on the upper rank of a display screen in an order from the adjustment method with high frequency input with reference to the said user input storage database. Programming tools.

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