JP2019159895A - Wiring check device, wiring check method, and wiring check program - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a technology that makes it easy to check the wiring for connecting a safety controller to a safety device and prevents check errors.SOLUTION: An information processing device 5 is used for checking the connection between a safety controller 1 and safety devices belonging to a safety device group 3. A characteristic information storage unit 52 stores characteristic information indicating a relationship between the state of the safety devices and outputs, and a state estimation unit 51a of a control unit 51 acquires an output of a safety device, and estimates the state of this safety device based on the characteristic information. A display unit 53 displays a screen including an image indicating the state of the safety device estimated by the state estimation unit 51a of the control unit 51 on a display device 53a.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a technology for checking a connection between a safety controller and a safety device.

  In the FA system (Factory Automation System) that has been built at the manufacturing site where products are manufactured in the past, various types of industrial machines such as press machines, cutting machines, polishing machines, welding machines, industrial robots, etc. are PLCs. It is controlled by (programmable controller) (refer nonpatent literature 1). In the FA system, machine control for controlling industrial machines is combined with safety control for ensuring safety at the manufacturing site. The safety control is a control for restricting the operation of the industrial machine and stopping the industrial machine safely when safety is not ensured.

  In safety control, it is determined whether safety is ensured using safety devices such as an emergency stop button, safety light curtain, and safety mat. For example, when an emergency stop button is pressed or when an intruder entering a management area is detected by a safety light curtain or a safety mat, it is not determined that the safety is ensured. The safety device is connected to a PLC that performs safety control (herein, this PLC is referred to as a safety controller).

http://www.fa.omron.co.jp/data_pdf/cat/devicenetsafety_sjlb-001_4_13.pdf?id=1626

  However, safety control cannot be performed properly unless the safety controller and the safety device are properly connected. For this reason, the worker performs a wiring check to confirm whether the safety controller and the safety device are properly connected.

  This wiring check verifies that the safety device is properly connected to the safety controller (whether incorrect wiring has occurred) and that the wrong safety device has not been used (whether incorrect use has occurred). . Misuse here is not limited to using a different type of safety device (for example, a safety light curtain is used where an emergency stop button should be used). This includes the use of safety devices whose characteristics are not appropriate (for example, a normally closed emergency stop button is used where a normally closed emergency stop button should be used).

  In a general FA system, since a wide variety of safety devices are connected to the safety controller, the operator who performs the wiring check stores the type and circuit characteristics of the safety device to be connected to each terminal of the safety controller. It is difficult. For this reason, the wiring check of the safety device connected to the safety controller is performed by an operator while confirming a design drawing (circuit diagram) or the like, which is a complicated and troublesome operation.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of easily performing a wiring check for connection between a safety controller and a safety device and suppressing check mistakes.

  In order to achieve the above object, the safety device of the present invention is configured as follows.

  In the wiring check device according to the present invention, the characteristic information storage unit stores characteristic information indicating the relationship between the state of the safety device and the output in order to check the connection between the safety controller and the safety device. The state estimation unit acquires the output of the safety device and estimates the state of the safety device based on the characteristic information. And a display part displays the screen containing the image which shows the state of the safety device which the state estimation part estimated on a display.

  Therefore, when the operator operates the safety device connected to the safety controller and changes its state, the safety device whose state has been changed this time is displayed on the display unit, and the state of the displayed safety device If this is the state that has been changed this time, the safety device is properly connected to the safety controller (no miswiring has occurred) and the wrong safety device has not been used (the misuse has occurred) Can be confirmed. As a result, the operator does not need to check the design drawing (circuit diagram) etc. in the wiring check for connecting the safety controller and the safety device, so this wiring check can be easily performed and check errors can be suppressed. .

  The safety device may be configured to acquire the output of the safety device from the safety controller, or may be configured to acquire from the safety device.

  The display unit may be configured to display on the display a screen including an image indicating the state of the safety device estimated by the state estimation unit and an image indicating a wiring diagram including a circuit related to the safety device. If comprised in this way, the operator who is performing the wiring check can also be made to confirm the circuit concerning a safety device.

  In addition, a device selection unit that selects a safety device may be provided, and the state estimation unit may estimate the state of the safety device selected by the device selection unit. If comprised in this way, a wiring check can be performed about the selected safety device, making a worker select the safety device connected to the safety controller one by one.

  Furthermore, the state estimation unit may be configured to estimate the state of the safety device whose output has changed. If comprised in this way, the operator can perform the wiring check concerning connection with a safety controller and a safety device, without selecting a safety device.

  According to this invention, the wiring check concerning the connection between the safety controller and the safety device can be easily performed, and check errors can be suppressed.

It is the schematic which shows FA system (Factory Automation System). It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the principal part of a safety controller. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the principal part of information processing apparatus. It is a figure which shows the characteristic information which a characteristic information storage part memorize | stores. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the information processing apparatus in a wiring check. 6A and 6B show confirmation screens displayed on the display. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the information processing apparatus in a wiring check. It is the schematic which shows FA system (FactoryAutomation System) concerning another example.

  Hereinafter, a wiring check device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an FA system (Factory Automation System) using a wiring check device according to the present invention. This FA system is constructed at a manufacturing site where articles are manufactured. This FA system includes a safety controller 1, a machine controller 2, a safety device group 3, a line device group 4, and an information processing device 5. The safety controller 1 and the machine controller 2 constitute a PLC (Programmable Logic Controller). The safety controller 1 mainly executes a program for ensuring the safety of workers on the line. The machine controller 2 mainly executes a program for manufacturing articles in the line.

  The safety device group 3 shown in FIG. 1 collectively shows a plurality of safety devices. Safety devices such as an emergency stop button, a safety light curtain, and a safety mat belong to the safety device group 3. Further, the line device group 4 shown in FIG. 1 collectively shows a plurality of line devices that perform conveyance and processing for manufacturing articles. Line equipment such as a press machine, a cutting machine, a polishing machine, a welding machine, and an industrial robot belongs to the line equipment group 4.

  The information processing apparatus 5 is a terminal operated by an operator who checks the connection between the safety controller 1 and the safety device (an operator who performs wiring check) and the like. The information processing apparatus 5 can be realized by a known personal computer (PC) and corresponds to the wiring check apparatus of the present invention. The computer included in the information processing apparatus 5 executes the wiring check method according to the present invention. Furthermore, the wiring check program according to the present invention is installed in a computer included in the information processing apparatus 5.

  In FIG. 1, the information processing device 5 is connected to the safety controller 1 and the machine controller 2 via a network, but may be configured to be connected via a serial interface such as USB or RS-232C. The information processing device 5 may be configured to be individually connected to each of the safety controller 1 and the machine controller 2 (that is, the FA system in this example is an information processing device connected to the safety controller 1). 5 and two information processing devices 5 of the information processing device 5 connected to the machine controller 2 may be used. In this case, the information processing device 5 connected to the safety controller 1 corresponds to the wiring check device according to the present invention.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a main part of the safety controller. The safety controller 1 includes a control unit 11, a safety device connection interface 12 (hereinafter referred to as a safety device connection I / F 12), a line device connection interface 13 (hereinafter referred to as a line device connection I / F 13), A network connection interface 14 (hereinafter referred to as a network connection I / F 14).

  The control unit 11 mainly executes a program for ensuring the safety of workers on the line.

  Safety devices such as an emergency stop button 31, a safety light curtain 32, and a safety mat 33 belonging to the safety device group 3 are connected to the safety device connection I / F 12. Inputs of safety devices such as the emergency stop button 31, the safety light curtain 32, and the safety mat 33 connected to the safety device connection I / F 12 are used as variables of a program executed by the control unit 11. In FIG. 2, only three emergency stop buttons 31, safety light curtains 32, and safety mats 33 are illustrated as safety devices belonging to the safety device group 3, and other types of safety devices are safety devices. This does not mean that the connection I / F 12 is not connected. In addition, any one or more of the illustrated emergency stop button 31, safety light curtain 32, and safety mat 33 may not be connected to the safety device connection I / F 12.

  Line equipment such as a press 41, a cutting machine 42, and an industrial robot 43 belonging to the line equipment group 4 is connected to the line equipment connection I / F 13. In this example, the safety controller 1 performs control related to connection / disconnection of the main power source for each line device belonging to the line device group 4 connected to the line device connection I / F 13. That is, when the safety controller 1 does not determine that the safety of the worker on the line is ensured, the safety controller 1 performs control such as disconnecting the main power supply to the line equipment belonging to the line equipment group 4, Stop this line device safely. The safety controller 1 determines whether or not the safety of the worker on the line is ensured by a program executed by the control unit 11.

  When the safety controller 1 does not determine that the safety of the worker in the line is ensured, the safety controller 1 notifies the machine controller 2 to that effect, and the machine controller 2 belongs to the line device group 4. A configuration may be adopted in which the line device is stopped after the device is shifted to a safe state.

  When the safety controller 1 determines that the safety of the worker in the line is ensured, the safety controller 1 allows the operation of the line equipment, and conversely, the safety of the worker in the line is ensured. If it is not determined that the operation of the line device can be stopped, the line device may be controlled by any method.

  In FIG. 2, only three press machines 41, a cutting machine 42, and an industrial robot 43 are illustrated as line equipments belonging to the line equipment group 4, and other types of line equipment are connected to the line equipment. It does not mean that it is not connected to the I / F 13. Further, any one or more of the illustrated press machine 41, cutting machine 42, and industrial robot 43 may not be connected to the line device connection I / F 13.

  The information processing apparatus 5 is connected to the network connection I / F 14. The safety controller 1 receives a program executed by the control unit 11 from the information processing apparatus 5 connected to the network connection I / F 14. In addition, the safety controller 1 processes the output of the safety device for each safety device belonging to the safety device group 3 connected to the state of the program executed by the control unit 11 and the safety device connection I / F 12. Input to device 5.

  Although not particularly shown in FIG. 2, the safety controller 1 is connected to the machine controller 2 at the network connection I / F 14.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a main part of the information processing apparatus. The information processing apparatus 5 is a known PC as described above. The information processing apparatus 5 includes a control unit 51, a characteristic information storage unit 52, a display unit 53, an operation unit 54, and a network connection unit 55.

  The control unit 51 controls the operation of each part of the information processing apparatus 5 main body. Although details will be described later, the control unit 51 includes a state estimation unit 51a. The state estimation unit 51a determines, for each safety device belonging to the safety device group 3, whether the safety device is in a normal state or a non-normal state.

  The characteristic information storage unit 52 stores characteristic information for each safety device belonging to the safety device group 3. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the characteristic information stored in the characteristic information storage unit. As shown in FIG. 4, the characteristic information includes a device code for identifying a safety device, a device name, a relationship between the device state and output (normally closed, normally open, OSSD, etc.), an image of the safety device in the normal state, The image of the safety device in the normal state and the wiring diagram including the output circuit of the safety device are associated with each other. In FIG. 4, characteristic information is illustrated for three of the emergency stop button 31, the safety light curtain 32, and the safety mat 33. The characteristic information includes not only the output circuit in the normal state shown in FIG. 4 but also the output circuit in the non-normal state.

  The characteristic information storage unit 52 may associate a device code, a device name, a relationship between a device state and an output, an image in a normal state, an image in a non-normal state, and a wiring diagram including an output circuit of a safety device. If possible, the characteristic information may be stored in any format. The safety light curtain 32 and the safety mat 33 are output signal switching devices (OSSD).

  The display unit 53 performs screen display on the connected display unit 53a. The operation unit 54 includes input devices such as a mouse, a keyboard, and a touch panel, and detects an operation of the input device by the operator as an input to the information processing apparatus 5 main body. The operation unit 54 corresponds to the device selection unit referred to in the present invention. The network connection unit 55 performs data communication with the safety controller 1 and the machine controller 2 connected via a network.

  In the FA system according to this example, as in the known system, it is determined whether or not the safety of the worker is ensured by the program mainly executed by the safety controller 1, and the machine controller 2 This is a system for manufacturing an article by controlling a line device by a program being executed. The safety controller 1 determines whether or not the safety of workers on the line is ensured by the input of safety devices belonging to the safety device group 3 (emergency stop button 31, safety light curtain 32, safety mat 33, etc.). The FA system is controlled according to the determination result. Hereinafter, a wiring check for confirming the connection between the safety controller 1 and each safety device belonging to the safety device group 3 will be described.

  In this wiring check, each safety device belonging to the safety device group 3 is properly connected to the safety controller 1 (whether incorrect wiring has occurred), and whether an incorrect safety device is used (incorrect). Check if use has occurred.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the information processing apparatus in this wiring check. An operator who performs a wiring check performs an operation of selecting a safety device for performing a wiring check in the operation unit 54 of the information processing apparatus 5. When receiving the selection of the safety device (s1), the information processing apparatus 5 reads the characteristic information of the safety device selected this time from the characteristic information storage unit 52 (s2). Further, the information processing apparatus 5 acquires the current output of the safety device selected this time from the safety controller 1 (s3). The order of the processes concerning s2 and s3 may be reversed.

  The information processing apparatus 5 estimates the current state (normal state or non-normal state) of the safety device using the characteristic information read in s2 and the output of the safety device acquired in s3 (s4). For example, when the safety device selected this time is the emergency stop button 31 having the device code 0001 shown in FIG. 4, the information processing apparatus 5 outputs the emergency stop button 31 acquired from the safety controller 1 as a closed contact. It is estimated that the normal state. On the other hand, the information processing device 5 estimates that the emergency stop button 31 acquired from the safety controller 1 is in a non-normal state when the output is an open contact. The process related to s4 is performed in the state estimation unit 51a of the control unit 51.

  In the information processing apparatus 5, a confirmation screen is generated based on the estimation result of s4, and the display unit 53 displays the confirmation screen on the display 53a (s5). FIG. 6 shows a confirmation screen displayed on the display unit in s5. FIG. 6A is a confirmation screen when the emergency stop button 31 that is the device code 0001 is selected and its output is a closed contact. FIG. 6B is a confirmation screen when the emergency stop button 31 that is the device code 0001 is selected and the output is an open contact.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the confirmation screen displayed on the display device 53a includes an image showing the state of the emergency stop button 31 that is a safety device and a wiring diagram including a circuit of the safety device. The image indicating the state of the emergency stop button 31 is not limited to a still image but may be a moving image such as an animation.

Further, the information processing apparatus 5 is acquired from the safety controller 1. When the output of the safety device selected at this time changes (s6), the process returns to s4 and the above process is repeated. Therefore, the operator checks the safety device selected at that time to check whether there is any incorrect wiring or misuse, and changes the status of the selected safety device from the normal state to the non-normal state. Or, conversely, an operation of changing from a non-normal state to a normal state is performed, and it is possible to confirm whether or not the state of the safety device on the confirmation screen displayed on the display unit 53a changes according to this operation. . For example, when the operator has selected the emergency stop button 31, if two of the following (a) and (b) can be confirmed, incorrect wiring may occur in the connection between the emergency stop button 31 and the safety controller 1. It is determined that no misuse has occurred.
(A) When an operation for changing the emergency stop button 31 from the normal state to the non-normal state is performed, the image of the emergency stop button on the confirmation screen displayed on the display unit 53a is changed from the normal state to the non-normal state. .
(B) When the operation for changing the emergency stop button 31 from the non-normal state to the normal state is performed, the image of the emergency stop button on the confirmation screen displayed on the display unit 53a has changed from the non-normal state to the normal state. .

  Note that it is possible to determine whether miswiring or misuse has occurred for the safety device selected at that time by checking only one of (a) and (b), but from the viewpoint of reliability. It is preferable to determine whether or not miswiring or misuse has occurred by checking both (a) and (b).

  Further, when the information processing apparatus 5 newly accepts the selection of the safety device (s7), the information processing apparatus 5 returns to s2 and repeats the processing. Therefore, the worker who is performing the wiring check can confirm the wiring mistake of each safety device and the failure of the safety device by selecting the safety devices belonging to the safety device group 3 in order.

  Further, when the information processing apparatus 5 receives an input operation related to the completion of the work related to the wiring check (s8), the information processing apparatus 5 ends the present process.

  In addition, the order of the determination concerning s6, s7, and s8 may be performed in any order.

  Therefore, the operator can easily perform a wiring check for confirming whether or not the connection between each safety device belonging to the safety device group 3 and the safety controller 1 is appropriate, and check errors can be suppressed.

  Further, the information processing apparatus 5 may be configured to execute the processing shown in FIG. When there is a safety device whose output has changed among the safety devices belonging to the safety device group 3 (s11), the information processing apparatus 5 reads characteristic information on the safety device (s12). s12 is the same process as s2 described above.

  The information processing apparatus 5 estimates the state of the safety device (normal state or non-normal state) using the characteristic information read in s12 and the output of the safety device changed this time (s13). s13 is the same process as s4 described above. The information processing device 5 generates a confirmation screen based on the estimation result in s13, displays it on the display 53a (s14), and returns to s11. s14 is the same process as s5 described above.

  In this way, for example, when checking the wiring of the emergency stop button 31, the operator confirms the confirmation screen displayed by operating the emergency stop button 31. Check for device defects. That is, it is possible to eliminate the need for the operator to select a safety device for performing the wiring check.

  In the above example, the safety device group 3 is configured to be connected to the safety device connection I / F 12 of the safety controller 1. However, as illustrated in FIG. 8, the safety device group 3 is configured to be connected to the network. There may be. In this case, the information processing apparatus 5 may acquire the output of the safety device from the safety controller 1 as in the above example, or may directly acquire the output from the safety device via the network.

  Even in the configuration shown in FIG. 8, the safety controller 1 acquires the outputs of the safety devices belonging to the safety device group 3 and determines whether or not the safety of workers on the line is ensured. to decide. The safety controller 1 controls the FA system according to the disconnection result.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Safety controller 2 ... Machine controller 3 ... Safety device group 4 ... Line equipment group 5 ... Information processing apparatus 11 ... Control part 12 ... Safety device connection interface 13 ... Line equipment connection interface 14 ... Network connection interface 31 ... Emergency stop button 32 ... Safety light curtain 33 ... Safety mat 51 ... Control part 51a ... State estimation part 52 ... Characteristic information storage part 53 ... Display part 53a ... Display unit 54 ... Operation part 55 ... Network connection part

Claims (6)

A wiring check device used to check the connection between a safety controller and a safety device,
A characteristic information storage unit for storing characteristic information indicating a relationship between the state of the safety device and the output;
A state estimation unit that obtains an output of the safety device and estimates a state of the safety device based on the characteristic information;
And a display unit that displays a screen including an image indicating the state of the safety device estimated by the state estimation unit on a display.   The said display part displays the screen which contains the image which shows the image which shows the state of the said safety device which the said state estimation part estimated, and the wiring diagram containing the circuit concerning the said safety device on a display. Wiring check device. A device selection unit for selecting the safety device;
The wiring check apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the state estimation unit estimates a state of the safety device selected by the device selection unit.   The wiring check device according to claim 1, wherein the state estimation unit estimates a state of the safety device whose output has changed. A wiring check method for checking the connection between a safety controller and a safety device,
A state estimation step of obtaining the output of the safety device and estimating the state of the safety device based on the characteristic information indicating the relationship between the state of the safety device and the output stored in the characteristic information storage unit,
A wiring check method in which a computer executes a display step of causing a display to display a screen including an image indicating the state of the safety device estimated by the state estimation unit. A wiring check program for checking the connection between a safety controller and a safety device,
A state estimation step for estimating the state of the safety device based on the acquired output of the safety device and the characteristic information indicating the relationship between the state of the safety device and the output stored in the characteristic information storage unit;
The wiring check program which makes a computer perform the display step which displays on a display the screen containing the image which shows the state of the said safety device which the said state estimation part estimated.

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