JP2019096160A - Conversion information acquisition device, program development support device, conversion information acquisition method and conversion information acquisition program - Google Patents

Abstract

To reduce work associated with generation of a control program.SOLUTION: A conversion information acquisition device comprises: an input control unit that receives input of instrument identification information being identification information indicating an instrument connected to a control device; and a conversion information acquisition unit that acquires conversion information for converting an output value being a value output from the instrument indicated by the instrument identification information to the control device, to an industrial quantity on the basis of the instrument identification information received in the input control unit, from a storage device which correspondingly stores the instrument identification information and the conversion information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a conversion information acquisition apparatus, a program development support apparatus, a conversion information acquisition method, and a conversion information acquisition program.

  A controller such as a programmable logic controller (PLC) acquires and holds values output from an input device such as a sensor or an output device such as a motor. In general, output values (hereinafter referred to as “device output values”) output from these devices are often analog values such as voltage values and current values. For example, even with a pressure sensor, the device output value is not a pressure value itself but a voltage value, a current value, or the like. Therefore, in order to perform aggregation and analysis of data, it is preferable to convert the device output value into a value having a meaning such as pressure or length (hereinafter referred to as “industrial quantity”) and then store it in the database.

  In order for the controller to execute the conversion process from the device output value to the industrial quantity, the user needs to generate a control program of the controller in advance. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for assisting a user in programming a control program.

Republished WO2013 / 191275

  Conventionally, a user obtains a data sheet (for example, a specification) of a device such as a sensor to be used from a device vendor or the like, reads a specification described in the data sheet and interprets it, and converts the device output value into an industrial quantity. Had to be incorporated into the control program. There is a problem that it takes time and effort to obtain the data sheet, and there is a problem that the terms described in the data sheet differ depending on the equipment vendor and the type of the equipment even if the contents are the same. Also, even if the terms described in the data sheet are the same, they may be used in different meanings depending on the equipment vendor and the type of equipment. Therefore, incorporation of the conversion formula into the control program is a complicated operation and may require a lot of time.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and provides a conversion information acquisition device, a program development support device, a conversion information acquisition method, and a conversion information acquisition program that can reduce the work involved in generating a control program of a controller. Intended to be provided.

  One aspect of the present invention is based on an input control unit that receives an input of device identification information that is identification information indicating a device connected to a control device, and the device identification information received by the input control unit. A storage in which conversion information for converting an output value, which is a value output from the device indicated by the device identification information to the control device, into an industrial quantity is associated with the device identification information and the conversion information. It is a conversion information acquisition device provided with the conversion information acquisition part acquired from an apparatus.

  One embodiment of the present invention is the conversion information acquisition device described above, wherein the conversion information includes information indicating a conversion formula for converting the output value into the industrial amount.

  One embodiment of the present invention is the conversion information acquisition device described above, wherein the conversion information includes information indicating a parameter value to be substituted into the conversion equation.

  One aspect of the present invention is the conversion information acquisition device described above, wherein the conversion information is predefined according to an A / D converter that converts the output value represented as an analog value into a digital value. It includes first conversion information for converting the output value to the digital value, and second conversion information for converting the digital value to the industrial amount, which is predetermined according to the device.

  One aspect of the present invention is based on an input control unit that receives an input of device identification information that is identification information indicating a device connected to a control device, and the device identification information received by the input control unit. A storage in which conversion information for converting an output value, which is a value output from the device indicated by the device identification information to the control device, into an industrial quantity is associated with the device identification information and the conversion information. A conversion information acquisition unit acquired from a device, and a program generation unit that generates a control program code for converting the output value into the industrial amount by being executed by the control device based on the conversion information; A program development support device.

  One aspect of the present invention is a conversion information acquisition method by a computer, which comprises an input control step of receiving an input of device identification information which is identification information indicating a device connected to a control device, and the input control step. An output value which is a value output from the device indicated by the device identification information to the control device is converted to an industrial amount based on the determined device identification information, or an industrial amount is converted from the control device to the device identification information A conversion information acquisition step of acquiring conversion information for inversely converting into an input value, which is a value input to the device indicated by, from a storage device that stores the device identification information and the conversion information in association with each other; Have.

  According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an input control step for receiving an input of device identification information which is identification information indicating a device connected to a control device, and the device identification information received in the input control step. Based on the device identification information, the conversion information is associated with conversion information for converting an output value, which is a value output from the device indicated by the device identification information to the control device, to an industrial quantity. It is a conversion information acquisition program for executing the conversion information acquisition step acquired from the storage device to be stored.

  According to the present invention, the work relating to the generation of a control program can be reduced.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an entire configuration of a control system 1 according to a first embodiment. It is a block diagram showing functional composition of terminal unit 30 in a 1st embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the table structure of industrial quantity LIB301. It is a figure showing an example of table composition of device LIB302. It is a figure showing an example of table composition of relay device LIB303. It is a figure which shows the example of a screen of a formatting setting screen. It is a figure which shows the example of a screen of a formatting setting screen. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation of the terminal device 30. It is a block diagram which shows the whole structure of the control system 2 which concerns on 2nd Embodiment.

First Embodiment
The first embodiment will be described below.
[Overall configuration of control system]
Hereinafter, the entire configuration of the control system 1 will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an entire configuration of a control system 1 according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the control system 1 includes a controller 10, input devices 20-1 to 20-m, output devices 21-1 to 21-n, a terminal device 30, and a DB (database) 40. It is comprised including. In addition, m and n show an integer greater than or equal to 1. The controller 10, the terminal device 30, and the DB 40 are configured using a network such as Ethernet (registered trademark), for example. The controller 10, the input devices 20-1 to 20-m, and the output devices 21-1 to 21-n may be individually connected by a cable, or may be connected using a network such as EtherCAT (registered trademark). Good.

  The controller 10 is, for example, a control device such as a PLC. The controller 10 can perform data communication with the input devices 20-1 to 20-m, the output devices 21-1 to 21-n, the terminal device 30, and the DB 40. The controller 10 acquires data indicating device output values output from the input devices 20-1 to 20-m and device output values output from the output devices 21-1 to 21-n.

  The controller 10 acquires and stores the control program output from the terminal device 30. The control program includes data conversion processing (scaling processing) from data representing device output values to data representing industrial quantities, semantic processing for giving meaning to industrial quantities, and a unit for uniting industrial quantities Processing is included. Further, the control program includes data conversion processing (scaling processing) from data representing the industrial amount to data representing the device input value.

  Hereinafter, the data conversion process, the meaning assignment process, and the unitization process are collectively referred to as “formatting”. The meaning giving process is, for example, a process in which the meaning indicated by the industrial amount such as "pressure" or "temperature" is associated with the industrial amount. The unitizing process is, for example, a process of associating industrial units such as “MPa” and “° C.” with industrial units.

  The controller 10 executes a control program to perform formatting on data indicating device output values acquired from the input devices 20-1 to 20-m and the output devices 21-1 to 21-n. The controller 10 outputs the data converted to the industrial quantity, the meaning and the unitization to the DB 40. At this time, the controller 10 may output the industrial amount to be output to the DB 40 by applying it to a predetermined data type.

  Further, the controller 10 performs control processing in accordance with a control program installed in advance to thereby determine an industrial quantity indicating command values for the output devices 21-1 to 21-n. The controller 10 determines an analog value (hereinafter referred to as “device input value”) to be input to each of the output devices 21-1 to 21-n according to the determined industrial amount. Then, the controller 10 instructs each of the output devices 21-1 to 21-n using data indicating the device input value.

  The input devices 20-1 to 20-m are, for example, input devices such as a temperature sensor and a pressure sensor. The output devices 21-1 to 21-n are, for example, devices such as servomotors. In the following description, the input device and the output device are collectively referred to as "device".

  The input devices 20-1 to 20-m each perform sensing on an object. The input devices 20-1 to 20-m transmit, to the controller 10, data indicating device output values obtained as a result of sensing. For example, a device output value corresponding to the temperature is obtained from the temperature sensor, and a device output value corresponding to the pressure is obtained from the pressure sensor. From the output devices 21-1 to 21-n such as servomotors, values according to the operation of the output devices 21-1 to 21-n are obtained as device output values. For example, from the servomotor, values indicating the number of rotations and the rotational position are obtained as device output values. Further, as described above, the controller 10 instructs the output devices 21-1 to 21-n to input device values. As a specific example of the device input value, for example, there is a value indicating the number of rotations or the rotational position of the servomotor. By using such an apparatus input value, a rotational speed command or rotational position command to the servomotor may be performed.

  The terminal device 30 (program development support device) is, for example, an information processing device such as a personal computer. The terminal device 30 receives an operation input by the user, and generates a control program of the controller 10 based on the operation input. The terminal device 30 transmits the generated control program to the controller 10.

  The DB 40 is an information processing apparatus such as a server apparatus. The DB 40 includes storage devices such as a magnetic hard disk drive and a semiconductor storage device. The DB 40 acquires data indicating the industrial amount output from the controller 10, and stores the acquired data.

[Functional configuration of terminal device]
Hereinafter, the functional configuration of the terminal device 30 will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the terminal device 30 in the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the terminal device 30 includes a library storage unit 300, a control unit 310, a communication unit 320, an input unit 330, and an output unit 340.

  The library storage unit 300 is configured using a storage device such as a magnetic hard disk drive or a semiconductor storage device. The library storage unit 300 stores in advance an industrial amount LIB (library) 301, a device LIB (library) 302, and a relay device LIB (library) 303. The industrial amount LIB 301, the device LIB 302, and the relay device LIB 303 are described in, for example, a data sheet provided by the vendor of each device such as the input devices 20-1 to 20-m and the output devices 21-1 to 21-n. Obtained based on information.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a table configuration of the industrial amount LIB301.
The industrial amount LIB 301 is, for example, a list of data in which unit information and semantic information are associated. Unit information is information indicating a unit of a value (industrial quantity) indicated by the device output value. The semantic information is information indicating the meaning of the industrial amount. The industrial quantity LIB 301 includes, for example, a unit "Pa (pascal)", a unit prefix such as "M (mega), k (kilo)", and the like, "pressure", "gauge pressure" and "absolute pressure". The meaning is associated with it. In the industrial amount LIB 301, for example, a unit of "° C., ° F." and a meaning of "temperature" are associated with each other.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the table configuration of the device LIB 302. As shown in FIG.
The device LIB 302 is a list of data in which industrial amount information, information on device input / output values (device input values and device output values), and scaling information are associated with each other. The information on the device input / output value is information that affects the value of the device input / output value. The information related to the device input / output value is, for example, information indicating a device that outputs the device output value or a device to which the device input value is input (hereinafter referred to as "device identification information"), the target industrial amount name, interface type, etc. It is. The device identification information may be represented using a value such as the model number of the device, for example.

  When the interface type is, for example, a general-purpose analog output, the device output value is, for example, a voltage value even when the industrial quantity handled by the device is pressure. In this case, the conversion method is, for example, a linear expression, and the device output value (for example, voltage value) can be converted into a pressure value in combination with the scaling parameter. Further, since the interface type is a general-purpose analog output, it is understood that the device is connected to the controller 10 via a corresponding relay device such as an A / D converter. The interface type may be, for example, a value indicating a network communication method (connection method) such as EthehrCAT (registered trademark). In this case, an industrial amount may be output as the device output value. In this case, the conversion method is not converted.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a table configuration of the relay device LIB303.
The relay device LIB 303 is a list of data in which information on device input / output values is associated with scaling information. The information on the device input / output value is information that affects the device input / output value. The information related to the device input / output value is, for example, information (hereinafter referred to as “relay device identification information”) indicating a device that inputs an analog signal and converts and outputs it to a digital value, and an input interface type. The relay device identification information may be represented using a value such as a device model number, for example. When the interface type is, for example, a general purpose analog input, the device input value is a voltage value or the like. In this case, the conversion method is, for example, a linear expression, and the device input value (for example, voltage value) can be converted into a digital value in combination with the scaling parameter. In general, in this analog-to-digital conversion, values are converted according to the resolution capability (hereinafter referred to as "resolution") of the conversion device in digital bit units. Therefore, depending on the resolution of the conversion device, different conversion results may be obtained even with the same device input value (for example, voltage value).

  The scaling information is, for example, information for converting a device output value into an industrial amount represented by a digital value via a relay device. The scaling information may be, for example, information indicating a mathematical expression used when converting the device output value into an industrial amount. More specifically, scaling information is information indicating the form of an equation (hereinafter referred to as "conversion equation") and information indicating a specific value of a parameter used in the conversion equation (hereinafter referred to as "scaling parameter"). And may be expressed in combination with The conversion formula has, for example, values such as “no conversion”, “primary expression”, “secondary expression” and the like. If the value of the conversion equation is "no conversion", it indicates that the device output value is already in industrial quantity. When the value of the conversion equation is “primary expression”, it is represented by y = ax + b when the device output value is “x” and the industrial amount is “y”. When the value of the conversion equation is a "secondary equation", it is represented by y = ax ^ 2 + bx + c when the device output value is "x" and the industrial quantity is "y". Here, "x ^ n" indicates the power of x. Each value of a, b and c used in these conversion formulas is represented by conversion parameters. If the conversion formula is not converted, the scaling parameter is not defined. Even in such a case, the controller 10 may perform meaning assignment and unitization on the device output value. By performing such a process, even if the data conversion process is not performed, it is possible to output the value to which the meaning and uniting have been performed to the upper apparatus (for example, the DB 40).

  For example, when converting a device output value into an industrial quantity by the controller 10 as a digital value obtained via a relay device such as an A / D converter, two-step conversion is performed as scaling processing. For example, when the digital value held by the controller 10 indicates the value of a general-purpose analog (output voltage) pressure sensor, the voltage value is determined from the digital value using the conversion equation and scaling parameters of the relay device LIB 303 as the first step. . Then, as a second step, the industrial quantity value is obtained from the voltage value using the conversion formula of the device LIB 302 and the scaling parameter. With this configuration, more accurate scaling can be performed according to the combination of the conversion device such as the A / D converter and the input device or the output device.

Returning to FIG. 2, the description of the terminal device 30 is continued.
The control unit 310 controls various processes in the terminal device 30. The control unit 310 includes, for example, a processor such as a central processing unit (CPU) and a memory. As shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 310 functions as a programming function unit 311, a library search unit 312, a data type definition unit 313, and a program generation unit 314 by executing a predetermined program.

  The programming function unit 311 provides, for example, a user interface for the user to create a control program. The programming function unit 311 incorporates the code generated by the program generation unit 314 into the control program generated by the user. The programming function unit 311 compiles the control program and outputs the control program to the controller 10.

  The library search unit 312 (conversion information acquisition unit) acquires data from the information stored in the library storage unit 300 according to the instruction information output from the programming function unit 311. Specifically, the library search unit 312 searches for one or more of the industrial amount LIB 301, the device LIB 302, and the relay device LIB 303, and acquires data. The library search unit 312 outputs the acquired data to the programming function unit 311.

  The data type definition unit 313 defines structure data used when the controller 10 transmits data including industrial quantities to the DB 40. The structure data means a group of plural data items added with meaning.

  The program generation unit 314 automatically generates a part of the control program code based on the value set by the user. For example, the program generation unit 314 automatically generates a code for formatting based on the value set by the user. The program generation unit 314 outputs the generated code to the programming function unit 311.

  The communication unit 320 is a communication interface for communication connection with the controller 10 via a communication network. The communication unit 320 transmits the control program generated by the control unit 310 to the controller 10.

  The input unit 330 (input control unit) is an input device that receives an operation input from a user. The input unit 330 is configured using an existing input device such as a keyboard, a pointing device (mouse, tablet or the like), a button, a touch panel or the like. The input unit 330 is operated by the user when inputting an instruction of the user to the terminal device 30. The input unit 330 may be an interface for connecting an input device to the terminal device 30. In this case, the input unit 330 inputs to the terminal device 30 an input signal generated in response to an input of the user in the input device.

  The output unit 340 is an output device for presenting a screen such as, for example, a formatting setting screen to the user. The output unit 340 includes, for example, a display such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic electroluminescence (EL) display, or a cathode ray tube (CRT).

  The input unit 330 and the output unit 340 may be configured by one device having an input / output function such as a touch panel.

[Example screen of formatting setting screen]
Hereinafter, an example of the formatting setting screen displayed on the output unit 340 of the terminal device 30 will be described with reference to the drawings. 6 and 7 are diagrams showing examples of the formatting setting screen.

  When the user inputs the setting of the formatting through the input unit 330, the programming function unit 311 displays the formatting setting screen scr 1 on the output unit 340. The user refers to the formatting setting screen scr1 displayed on the output unit 340 of the terminal device 30. By operating the formatting setting screen scr1, the user can generate code for acquiring the variable of the industrial amount used in the control program. The user first defines an industrial variable name as a variable name for a device that is the target of variable definition (hereinafter referred to as “target device”). The industrial quantity variable name is a name of a variable indicating the industrial quantity obtained based on the device output value output from the device. The user uses the input unit 330 to input a name in the field of “Industrial variable variable name” in the formatting setting screen scr1.

  As shown in FIG. 6, in the field of “Industrial variable name” in the formatting setting screen scr 1, for example, the user sets “Pipe A − as the name of a variable indicating the output of a sensor installed in the pipe A to measure the internal pressure. Input the text "Internal pressure" and select and input "Pressure" as "Product name".

  When “industrial quantity name” is selected and inputted, the library search unit 312 acquires a list of unit information associated with “industrial quantity name” from the industrial quantity LIB 301. The library search unit 312 acquires one or more unit information. The library search unit 312 outputs the value of the acquired unit information to the programming function unit 311. The programming function unit 311 registers the acquired list of unit information in the pull-down menu of the “unit” column in the formatting setting screen scr1. When the user instructs to display a pull-down menu in the “unit” column via the input unit 330, the programming function unit 311 displays one or more “units” as options as a pull-down menu in response to this instruction. The user selects a unit of industrial quantity (for example, “MPa” in FIG. 6) obtained by the sensor that measures the internal pressure of the pipe A, from the pull-down menu in the “unit” column.

  As described above, when the user selects and inputs the “industrial quantity name”, the list of corresponding units is automatically read out from the industrial quantity LIB 301. Therefore, the user can easily define the unitization.

  Next, the user selects the device name of the target device from the pull-down menu in the "device name" field of the formatting setting screen scr1. FIG. 7 is a view showing a display example of a pull-down menu of device names. The library search unit 312 acquires, from the device LIB 302, the device name of the device whose “manufacturing amount name” is “pressure”. The library search unit 312 outputs the acquired values of one or more device names to the programming function unit 311. The programming function unit 311 displays the device name acquired by the library search unit 312 in the pull-down menu as a selection candidate. In the example of FIG. 7, when “Piping A-Internal pressure” and “Pressure” are input in the “Industrial variable name” and “Unit” fields, “A Company A” is displayed in the pull-down of “Device identification information”. Three options, pressure sensor 1 "," D company pressure sensor 1 "and" D company pressure sensor 2 ", are displayed. The user selects a device name value (character string) indicating the target device from the displayed options. The selected value is input as the value of the "device identification information" field. Similarly, the library search unit 312 acquires the interface type of the device from the device LIB 302. For example, when the interface type is general purpose analog (voltage), the library search unit 312 selects and acquires the corresponding relay device identification information from the relay device LIB303. The programming function unit 311 displays the relay device identification information acquired by the library search unit 312 as a selection candidate on the pull-down menu, and inputs the value selected by the user as the value of the “relay device identification information” field.

  When values are input in the “device identification information” and “relay device identification information” fields in the formatting setting screen scr1, the library search unit 312 determines that the values of “device identification information” and “relay device identification information” are set. The scaling information associated with the combination is acquired from the device LIB 302 and the relay device LIB 303. In the example of the present embodiment, the library search unit 312 acquires the values of the “conversion equation” and the “conversion parameter” associated with the combination of the values of “device identification information” and “relay device identification information”. The library search unit 312 outputs the acquired values of “conversion equation” and “conversion parameter” to the programming function unit 311. The programming function unit 311 displays the acquired values of “conversion formula” and “conversion parameter” on the formatting setting screen scr1 as the values input in the respective columns. Thereafter, when the user inputs an instruction to automatically generate a program, the programming function unit 311 outputs the values input in the respective columns and the code generation instruction to the program generation unit 314. The program generation unit 314 generates a code of a control program for scaling based on each value in accordance with the code generation instruction. For example, the program generation unit 314 embeds the values of industrial quantity variable name, unit, conversion parameter, device name, and device variable in predetermined positions for a template of a code given in advance for each conversion formula. May be generated. At this time, the conversion equation and scaling parameters of the relay device LIB 303 may be used as the first stage information, and the conversion equation and scaling parameters of the device LIB 302 may be used as the second stage information. Thus, by using the values of the two stages, a control program code for performing more accurate scaling according to the combination of the conversion device such as the A / D converter and the input device or the output device is automatically generated. It is possible to

  As described above, when the user inputs information on the device output value, scaling information for converting the device output value to the industrial amount is automatically acquired from the device LIB 302 and the relay device LIB 303. Therefore, the user can easily set appropriate scaling information according to the device and A / D converter to be used.

[Operation of terminal]
Hereinafter, an example of the operation of the terminal device 30 will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation of the terminal device 30. In addition, the flow of the process which the flowchart shown below shows is only an example, and the terminal device 30 may be mounted by the flow of another process.

  In the process shown by the flowchart shown in FIG. 8, the input unit 330 of the terminal device 30 receives an operation input indicating a display instruction of the formatting setting screen scr1 by the user (step S01). The programming function unit 311 displays the formatting setting screen scr1 on the output unit 340 according to the display instruction (step S02). The programming function unit 311 receives an input of an industrial amount variable name and an industrial amount name from the user (step S03). The library search unit 312 acquires unit information from the industrial amount LIB 301 in accordance with the selected industrial amount name. Further, the library search unit 312 acquires an option of device identification information from the device LIB 302 and, if necessary, an option of relay device identification information from the relay device LIB 303 according to the selected industrial quantity name (step S04). When the user instructs to display options of device identification information and relay device identification information, the programming function unit 311 displays the options of the device identification information and relay device identification information acquired in step S04 as a pull-down menu.

  When the device identification information and the relay device identification information are input by the user (step S05), the library search unit 312 performs scaling information according to the input device identification information and the relay device identification information to the device LIB 302 and the relay device LIB 303. Are obtained from (step S06). As a specific example of the scaling information, in the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 8, values of the conversion formula and the conversion parameter are acquired. Thereafter, when the user inputs an instruction to automatically generate a program, the programming function unit 311 converts the device output value into an industrial quantity based on each value set by the user and the code generation instruction. A code is generated (step S07). Then, the programming function unit 311 generates a machine language code by compiling a control program including the code generated by the program generation unit 314, and outputs the machine language code to the controller 10 via the communication unit 320 (step S08).

Second Embodiment
The second embodiment will be described below. FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a control system 2 according to the second embodiment.

  In the control system 1 according to the first embodiment, various library data (the industrial amount LIB 301, the device LIB 302, and the relay device LIB 303) are stored in the terminal device 30. In the control system 2 according to the second embodiment, some or all of various library data are stored in another information processing apparatus communicably connected to the terminal apparatus 30 via the communication network 60. Specifically, the library server 50 stores a part or all of various library data (manufacturing amount LIB 301, device LIB 302, and relay device LIB 303).

  The library server 50 is an information processing apparatus that can communicate. The library server 50 is configured using, for example, a personal computer or a server device. The library server 50 includes storage devices such as a magnetic hard disk drive and a semiconductor storage device. In the storage device of the library server 50, some or all of the industrial amount LIB 301, the device LIB 302, and the relay device LIB 303 are recorded.

In the second embodiment, the terminal device 30 need not have the library storage unit 300 in advance. The terminal device 30 may acquire part or all of library data from the library server 50 at a predetermined timing. For example, the terminal device 30 may download library data from the library server 50 at a predetermined update timing. In this case, the downloaded library data is recorded in a storage device provided in the terminal device 30. For example, the library server 50 may notify the terminal device 30 that the library data has been updated, to the terminal device 30. In this case, the terminal device 30 may download the updated library data in response to the notification. The terminal device 30 may be configured not to store library data in its own storage device (local storage device). In this case, the library search unit 312 makes an inquiry to the library server 50 when acquiring information from library data. For example, the library search unit 312 inquires of the library server 50 when acquiring values of “conversion formula” and “conversion parameter” using “device name” and “device variable” as keys. The library search unit 312 may acquire “conversion formula” and “conversion parameter” as a result of the query.
The library server 50 may be designed and operated by an entity different from the administration entity of the terminal device 30 and the administration entity of the controller 10.

  The communication network 60 is configured by, for example, the Internet, various closed area networks (for example, a private line, or a VPN (Virtual Private Network)), or a combination of these communication networks. The communication network 60 may be a wired communication network, or a part or all of the communication network may be a wireless communication network.

  As described above, the terminal device 30 according to the embodiment converts information for converting a device output value, which is a value output from the device such as the input device 20 or the output device 21 to the controller 10, to an industrial quantity. Get from library. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the effort of the user required for formatting (meaning, uniting and conversion of values). Therefore, the user's work relating to the generation of the control program of the controller 10 can be facilitated.

(Modification)
As mentioned above, although embodiment was described in detail, a specific structure is not restricted to the above-mentioned thing, It is possible to make various design changes etc. For example, part of the functions performed by the control unit 310 of the terminal device 30 may be performed by another information processing apparatus. For example, among the functions executed by the control unit 310, the function of the program generation unit 314 may be provided by another information processing apparatus (for example, a cloud) that can communicate via a network. In this case, when generating the code, the programming function unit 311 may transmit the value and the code generation instruction to the program generation unit 314 provided via the network.

  The above-described terminal device 30 includes a function (a part of functions of the programming function unit 311) for providing the user interface as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 to the user, and a library search unit 312 It may be implemented as a conversion information acquisition device). In this case, the terminal device 30 implemented as a conversion information acquisition device searches each library stored in the library storage unit 300 according to the user's operation to obtain each value (conversion information) of the conversion formula and conversion parameter. get. Then, the terminal device 30 outputs the acquired conversion information to a program development support device that generates a control program based on the conversion information. Such a conversion information acquisition device also makes it possible to reduce the work of the user involved in generating the control program of the controller.

  A part or all of the terminal device 30 in the embodiment described above may be realized by a computer. In that case, a program for realizing the control function may be recorded in a computer readable recording medium, and the program recorded in the recording medium may be read and executed by a computer system.

  Here, the “computer system” is a computer system built in the terminal device 30, and includes an OS and hardware such as peripheral devices. The term "computer-readable recording medium" refers to a storage medium such as a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, a ROM, a portable medium such as a ROM or a CD-ROM, or a hard disk built in a computer system.

  Furthermore, the “computer-readable recording medium” is one that holds a program dynamically for a short time, such as a communication line when transmitting a program via a network such as the Internet or a communication line such as a telephone line. In this case, a volatile memory in a computer system serving as a server or a client in that case may also include one that holds a program for a certain period of time. Further, the above-described program may be for realizing a part of the above-described functions, and further, the above-described functions may be realized in combination with a program already recorded in a computer system. .

  Further, the terminal device 30 in the above-described embodiment may be realized as an integrated circuit such as an LSI (Large Scale Integration). Each functional block of the terminal device 30 may be individually processorized, or part or all may be integrated and processorized. Further, the method of circuit integration is not limited to LSI's, and implementation using dedicated circuitry or general purpose processors is also possible. In the case where integrated circuit technology comes out to replace LSI's as a result of the advancement of semiconductor technology, integrated circuits based on such technology may also be used.

1, 2 ... control system, 10 ... controller, 20-1 to 20-m ... input device, 21-1 to 21-n ... output device, 30 ... terminal device, 40 · · · · DB, 300 · · · library storage unit, 301 · · · · · · · · · · · industrial amount LIB, 302 · · · device LIB, 303 · · · relay device LIB, 311 · · · programming function unit, 312 · · · library search unit 313: data type definition unit 314: program generation unit 320: communication unit 330: input unit 340: output unit

Claims (7)

An input control unit that receives an input of device identification information that is identification information indicating a device connected to the control device;
According to the device identification information received by the input control unit, conversion information for converting an output value, which is a value output from the device indicated by the device identification information to the control device, to an industrial quantity, A conversion information acquisition unit acquired from a storage device that stores the device identification information and the conversion information in association with each other;
A conversion information acquisition device comprising: The conversion information acquisition apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the conversion information includes information indicating a conversion formula for converting the output value into the industrial amount. The conversion information acquisition apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the conversion information includes information indicating a parameter value substituted in the conversion formula.   The conversion information is first conversion information for converting the output value into the digital value, which is defined in advance according to an A / D converter that converts the output value expressed as an analog value into a digital value. The conversion information acquisition apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising second conversion information for converting the digital value into the industrial amount, which is predetermined according to the device. An input control unit that receives an input of device identification information that is identification information indicating a device connected to the control device;
According to the device identification information received by the input control unit, conversion information for converting an output value, which is a value output from the device indicated by the device identification information to the control device, to an industrial quantity, A conversion information acquisition unit acquired from a storage device that stores the device identification information and the conversion information in association with each other;
A program generation unit configured to generate a code of a control program for converting the output value into the industrial amount by being executed in the control device based on the conversion information;
Program development support apparatus comprising: It is a conversion information acquisition method by a computer, and
An input control step of receiving input of device identification information which is identification information indicating a device connected to the control device;
According to the device identification information received in the input control step, conversion information for converting an output value, which is a value output from the device indicated by the device identification information to the control device, to an industrial quantity, A conversion information acquisition step of acquiring from the storage device that stores the device identification information and the conversion information in association with each other;
Method of acquiring conversion information. On the computer
An input control step of receiving input of device identification information which is identification information indicating a device connected to the control device;
According to the device identification information received in the input control step, conversion information for converting an output value, which is a value output from the device indicated by the device identification information to the control device, to an industrial quantity, A conversion information acquisition step of acquiring from the storage device that stores the device identification information and the conversion information in association with each other;
Conversion information acquisition program to execute.

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