JP2023134106A - Terminal control device, control method of terminal control device, terminal control program, slave device, and master device - Google Patents

Abstract

To allow workers or the like to easily distinguish a communication cable to be replaced in an industrial network.SOLUTION: A terminal control device (10) is connected to a network (1) to which a master device (20) and a slave device (40) controlled by the master device (20) are connected. An instruction receiving unit (13) of the terminal control device (10) receives an instruction from a user to select any one of communication ports provided in at least one of the master device (20) and the slave device (40). A light emission instruction unit (14) of the terminal control device (10) instructs the master device (20) or slave device (40) on control of causing at least part of an intermediate portion of a communication cable connected to the communication port received by the instruction receiving unit (13) to emit light.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

The present invention relates to a terminal control device, a method for controlling a terminal control device, a terminal control program, a slave device, and a master device.

In the field of factory automation (FA), various types of devices that share work processes are controlled. In order to operate various controllers, I/O control devices, manufacturing equipment, etc. used in certain areas such as factory facilities in a coordinated manner, an industrial network, also called a field network, is constructed to connect these devices. has been done.

A typical industrial network employs a master-slave system that includes various slave devices and a master device. A slave device is a network terminal that controls or collects data on equipment installed in a factory or devices such as sensors and controllers. The master device is, for example, a device called (PLC: Programmable Logic Controller) that centrally manages these slave devices.

In such an industrial network, a large number of communication cables are stretched between each device to construct a network. Ethernet/IP (Ethernet Industrial Protocol) and EtherCAT (Ethernet For Control Automation Technology) are examples of such industrial network systems (ETHERNET: registered trademark, Ethernet: registered trademark, EtherCAT: registered trademark).

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a terminal monitoring device that acquires terminal information including addresses, type information, and communication status information from terminals on a network. In this terminal monitoring device, when an administrator or the like operates a lamp lighting instruction box on the communication status screen, the lamp of a specific slave device whose information is displayed on the communication status screen is lit. This allows the administrator and the like to easily know where the slave device displayed on the communication status screen is located at the site.

JP 2021-145273 Publication Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2006-325121

When replacing the above communication cables during regular maintenance or line expansion, or when replacing a communication cable due to a cable break or short circuit, on-site workers need to know which cable is in question and where it is wired. It may not be easy to distinguish. Additionally, when instructing replacement from a remote location, multiple cables of the same color may be bundled together, making it difficult for the instructor to accurately convey information to the on-site worker, and the on-site worker cannot draw the drawings. Skills such as looking at and making judgments are required. Furthermore, it is difficult for a worker at the site to determine which unit has the cable to be worked on, and which port of the unit has the cable.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and provides a terminal control device, a terminal control device control method, a terminal control program, and a slave device that allow a worker to easily determine which communication cable should be replaced in an industrial network. The purpose is to realize a device and a master device.

The present invention adopts the following configuration in order to solve the above-mentioned problems. A terminal control device according to one aspect of the present invention is a terminal control device connected to a network to which a master device and a slave device controlled by the master device are connected, wherein at least one of the master device and the slave device an instruction receiving unit that receives an instruction from a user to select one of the communication ports provided in the device; and control for causing at least a portion of an intermediate portion of a communication cable connected to the communication port accepted by the instruction receiving unit to emit light. a light emission instruction section that instructs the master device or the slave device to perform the following.

According to the above configuration, first, the user selects one of the communication ports provided in at least one of the master device and the slave device. Then, at least a portion of the intermediate portion of the communication cable connected to the selected communication port emits light. Therefore, it is possible to cause at least a portion of the intermediate portion of a particular communication cable to emit light according to an instruction from the user. This makes it possible to clearly inform on-site workers of the communication cable that should be replaced, for example, when replacing a communication cable or when a communication cable needs to be replaced due to a disconnection or short circuit. .

In the terminal control device according to the above aspect, the light emission instruction section causes a light emitting section to emit light to a light receiving section provided on a connector of the communication cable connected to the communication port. The instruction may be given to the master device or the slave device that includes a communication port and the light projector.

In the above configuration, the communication cable can emit light by receiving light from the light receiving section provided in the connector. Therefore, by controlling the light projecting section provided in the master device or the slave device, the communication cable can be caused to emit light.

The terminal control device according to the above aspect further includes a display control unit that displays a network configuration indicating a connection state of the master device and the slave device, and the instruction reception unit is configured to control the network displayed by the display control unit. The master device or the slave device having the communication port to be selected may be specified by a selection instruction from the user who selects either the master device or the slave device shown in the configuration.

According to the above configuration, the user can select the master device or the slave device connected to the communication cable to which the user wants to emit light from the displayed network configuration. Therefore, it is possible to more easily select and instruct the communication cable to emit light.

In the terminal control device according to the above aspect, the display control unit displays one or more communication ports included in the master device or the slave device specified by the instruction reception unit, and the instruction reception unit displays the display The communication port to be selected may be specified by a selection instruction from the user who selects one of the communication ports displayed by the control unit.

According to the above configuration, the user selects the master device or slave device to which the communication cable to be emitted is connected from the displayed network configuration, and selects the communication port from among the communication ports of the selected master device or slave device. A communication port connected to a communication cable to be emitted can be selected. Therefore, it is possible to more easily select and instruct the communication cable to emit light.

In the terminal control device according to the above aspect, the instruction receiving unit receives an instruction from a user specifying a light emission state of the communication cable connected to the communication port selected by the user, and the light emission instruction unit , the communication cable may be controlled to emit light in the light emitting state accepted by the instruction receiving unit.

According to the above configuration, the user can specify the lighting state of the communication cable. Therefore, it is possible to cause a plurality of communication cables to emit light while changing the light emission state, so even if it is preferable to make a plurality of communication cables emit light at the same time, it is possible to distinguish each one and have the operator recognize it.

A method for controlling a terminal control device according to one aspect of the present invention is a method for controlling a terminal control device connected to a network to which a master device and a slave device controlled by the master device are connected, the method comprising: an instruction receiving step for receiving an instruction from a user to select one of the communication ports provided in at least one of the slave devices; and at least an intermediate portion of a communication cable connected to the communication port accepted by the instruction receiving step. and a light emission control step for controlling a portion of the light to emit light.

A terminal control program according to one aspect of the present invention is a terminal control program for causing a computer to function as any one of the above-mentioned terminal control devices, and is a terminal control program for causing the computer to function as each of the units.

A slave device according to one aspect of the present invention is a slave device connected to any one of the terminal control devices described above, and is configured to emit at least a portion of an intermediate portion of the communication cable according to instructions from the light emission instruction section. The light emitting controller includes a light emission control section that performs control.

A master device according to one aspect of the present invention is a master device connected to any of the above-mentioned terminal control devices, and causes at least a part of an intermediate portion of the communication cable to emit light according to an instruction from the light emission instruction section. It includes a light emission control section that performs control.

According to the terminal control device according to one aspect of the present invention, a worker or the like can easily determine which communication cable should be replaced in an industrial network.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an industrial network to which a terminal control device according to an application example or each embodiment of the present invention is applied. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a specific example of a slave device applied to an industrial network. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a terminal control device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a master device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a slave device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a communication cable according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a communication cable according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an end portion of a communication cable according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for instructing a communication cable to emit light by a control unit of a terminal control device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. It is a figure showing an example of screen D1 displayed on a display part by a display control part concerning Embodiment 1 of the present invention. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure for light emission control of a communication cable by a control unit of a slave device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. 12 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for instructing a communication cable to emit light by a control unit of a terminal control device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen D2 which the display control part based on Embodiment 2 of this invention generates, and is displayed on a display part. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen D3 produced|generated by the display control part based on Embodiment 2 of this invention, and displayed on a display part. 12 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for instructing an LED to emit light by a control unit of a terminal control device according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen D4 which the display control part based on Embodiment 3 of this invention generates, and is displayed on a display part. It is a schematic diagram which shows a part of screen D4 when a lighting button is pressed down. It is a schematic diagram which shows a part of screen D4 when red is selected.

Hereinafter, an embodiment (hereinafter also referred to as "this embodiment") according to one aspect of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

§1 Application Example First, an example of a situation where the present invention is applied will be described. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an industrial network 1 in a production factory or the like to which a terminal control device 10 according to this application example is applied.

The industrial network 1 includes a master device 20 and a plurality of slave devices (slave devices 40, etc.) as network terminals. Each slave device is controlled by a master device 20 through an industrial network 1, and constructs various processes in a production factory or the like.

As shown in FIG. 1, the slave device is connected to the master device 20 via a hub 30 or other slave device. Alternatively, the slave device may configure a partial network of ring topology in the industrial network 1 together with the ring supervisor 60.

The terminal control device 10 according to this application example is also connected to the industrial network 1. A control section 11 of the terminal control device 10, which will be described later, includes an instruction receiving section 13 and a light emission instruction section 14 (see FIG. 3).

The instruction receiving unit 13 receives an instruction from a user (for example, an administrator; hereinafter, a case where the user is an administrator) selects one of the communication ports provided in at least one of the master device 20 and the slave device. . The light emission instruction unit 14 instructs the master device 20 or the slave device 40 or the like to control to cause at least part of the intermediate portion of the communication cable connected to the communication port accepted by the instruction reception unit 13 to emit light.

Thereby, at least a part of the intermediate portion of a specific communication cable can be caused to emit light according to an instruction from the administrator. Therefore, for example, when replacing a communication cable, or when it is desired to replace a communication cable due to breakage or short circuit of the cable, it is possible to clearly inform on-site workers etc. of the cable to be replaced. Note that the communication cable may emit light from a part of the middle portion of the communication cable, or may emit light over the length of the cable. A communication cable that emits light over its length may be one in which a light emitting region is provided continuously from one end of the communication cable to the other end, or one in which a plurality of light emitting regions are provided in the region from one end to the other end of the communication cable. It may be arranged in a dispersed manner. Furthermore, when emitting light over the length of the cable, the light emitting state may be such that the amount of light gradually decreases from the light emitting side.

§2 Configuration example [Embodiment 1]
<Industrial network>
The industrial network 1 to which the terminal control device 10 according to the first embodiment is applied will be described in more detail using FIG. 1. As a specific example, Ethernet/IP is applied to the industrial network 1 (ETHERNET: registered trademark, Ethernet: registered trademark).

The industrial network 1 includes a master device 20 and a plurality of slave devices (slave device 40, slave device 50, and other slave devices not shown). In this embodiment, the slave device also includes a ring supervisor 60, which will be described later. Hereinafter, the master device 20, a plurality of slave devices, the hub 30, and the ring supervisor 60 may be collectively referred to as a terminal. The industrial network 1 is also configured to include the terminal control device 10 according to the first embodiment. The terminal control device 10 has a screen display section 17 . Furthermore, a control computer (not shown), also called a tool, may be connected to the industrial network 1.

A programmable logic controller can be applied to the master device 20. Slave devices (slave device 40, slave device 50, and other slave devices not shown) managed or controlled by master device 20 are linked to master device 20 via hub 30 or other slave devices as appropriate. The hub 30 is a communication device that branches a communication path from the master device 20 side (upstream side).

Alternatively, the ring supervisor 60 may configure a partial network of ring topology in the industrial network 1 together with other slave devices. Hereinafter, such a partial network will be referred to as a ring network 2. The ring supervisor 60 is a communication device that constructs a ring network 2 including a plurality of slave devices under its control. The ring supervisor 60 is also referred to as an Ethernet/IP tap (ETAP).

At this time, the ring supervisor 60 and the slave device 40 managed by the ring supervisor 60 constitute a partial network of the ring topology. The slave device 40 managed by the ring supervisor 60 is linked to the master device 20 side (upstream side) of the industrial network 1 through the ring supervisor 60.

A communication cable 70 connects the terminal control device 10, the master device 20, the hub 30, the ring supervisor 60, and the slave device. As shown in the figure, the slave device may be connected to a communication cable 70 not only on the master side but also on the opposite side (downstream side), and may further be linked to other slave devices (other devices).

<Example of slave device>
FIG. 2 shows a slave device 40, which is a specific example of a slave device applied to the industrial network 1. The slave device 40 is a terminal in the industrial network 1, has a rectangular shape, and includes two Ethernet ports (communication ports) for connection to the industrial network 1.

Ethernet connectors 41 and 42 for connecting the communication cable 70 are provided in the two Ethernet ports ETN1 and ETN2 so as to be lined up in the lateral direction of the upper part of the slave device 40. In FIG. 2, M12 type connectors are shown as the Ethernet connectors 41 and 42. The Ethernet connectors 41 and 42 may be of other types such as RJ45 type. LEDs (light projectors) 47 are provided on both sides of the Ethernet connectors 41 and 42 in the short direction.

In this embodiment, the slave device 40 is a terminal also called an I/O control device. A plurality of devices such as sensors and controllers can be connected to the slave device 40, which is an I/O control device. The slave device 40 has a plurality of device ports for this purpose, each of which is provided with a device connector 43. In the specific example of FIG. 2, the slave device 40 includes eight device ports, and symbols P1 to P8 are attached next to the device connectors 43 corresponding to the respective ports.

The slave device 40 can supply power at a required voltage to the device through the device port. The slave device 40 can also receive voltage signals from the device through the device port. Further, the slave device 40 can communicate with a device through a device port in accordance with a predetermined communication standard. IO-LINK may be applied as a specific example of the predetermined communication standard.

The slave device 40 further includes a power input port PWR_IN and a power output port PWR_OUT. The power input port PWR_IN and the power output port PWR_OUT are provided with a power input connector 44 and a power output connector 45, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 2, the above-mentioned connectors (Ethernet connector 41, Ethernet connector 42, device connector 43, power input connector 44, and power output connector 45) are arranged on the front of the slave device 40. There is. Hereinafter, the front surface of the slave device 40 will be referred to as a panel surface.

In FIG. 2, the Ethernet connector 41, the Ethernet connector 42, the device connector 43, the power input connector 44, and the power output connector 45 are each schematically drawn, and their shapes are not accurately represented. It's not something you have.

A lamp 461 is arranged on the panel surface of the slave device 40 to notify the occurrence of an abnormal operation in the slave device 40. Further, on the panel surface of the slave device 40, an indicator 462 is arranged that can display the operating state of the slave device 40, the communication state by the Ethernet ports ETN1 and ETN2, and the like.

As a specific example shown in FIG. 2, the indicator 462 includes a lamp U/IN_PWR, a lamp OUT_PWR, a lamp L/A_ETH1, a lamp L/A_ETH2, a communication abnormality indicator lamp NS, and a device abnormality indicator lamp MS. The lamp U/IN_PWR indicates the state of power supply to the slave device 40 through the power input port PWR_IN. The lamp OUT_PWR indicates the state of power output through the power output port PWR_OUT.

Lamp L/A_ETH1 displays the status of communication via Ethernet port ETN1. Lamp L/A_ETH2 displays the status of communication via Ethernet port ETN2. The communication abnormality display lamp NS displays the communication status (Network Status) regarding the presence or absence of an abnormality in these communications. The device abnormality display lamp MS indicates a device abnormality in the slave device 40 itself.

Further, on the panel surface of the slave device 40, adjacent to the device connector 43 of each device port, there is a device display that displays the connection of the device to each device port or the status of the connected device. A status display lamp 463 is arranged.

<Terminal control device (10)>
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the terminal control device 10 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 also shows a state in which the terminal control device 10, the master device 20, the slave device 40, the slave device 50, and the ring supervisor 60 are connected via the network N. The terminal control device 10 includes a control section 11 , an input section 16 , a display section 17 , a storage section 18 , and a communication section 19 . The control section 11 includes a management section 12 , an instruction reception section 13 , a light emission instruction section 14 , and a display control section 15 .

The control unit 11 is a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and controls the terminal control device 10 to execute processing of each function. The control unit 11 receives an instruction from an administrator to select a communication port of a terminal, and instructs the terminal to control a communication cable connected to the selected communication port to cause an LED to emit light.

The management unit 12 is a functional block that acquires terminal information including addresses, type information, and communication status information from each terminal forming the industrial network 1 through the communication unit 19. When the terminal is the ring supervisor 60, the terminal information may include the address of the slave device 40 that constitutes the ring network 2 managed by the ring supervisor 60.

The instruction receiving unit 13 receives an instruction from an administrator to select a communication port provided in one of the terminals. Specifically, the instruction receiving unit 13 specifies a terminal equipped with a communication port to be selected based on a selection instruction from an administrator to select one of the terminals shown in the network configuration displayed by the display control unit 15. .

The light emission instruction unit 14 instructs the terminal to control the communication cable connected to the communication port accepted by the instruction reception unit 13 to emit light over the length of the cable. The light emission instruction unit 14 instructs a terminal equipped with a communication port to emit light from a light emitting unit (LED) that emits light to a light receiving unit (optical fiber cable) provided in a connector of a communication cable connected to the communication port. Give instructions.

The display control unit 15 displays the network configuration indicating the connection status of the terminals on the display unit 17. The screen D1 displayed on the display unit 17 by the display control unit 15 will be described later.

The input unit 16 is a user interface that accepts input operations from the administrator. As a method for receiving instructions from the administrator, known techniques may be applied as appropriate. For example, a touch panel display integrated with the display unit 17 may be applied. Alternatively, technologies such as a keyboard, movement buttons (so-called arrow keys), a mouse, a trackball, and a touch pen may be employed.

The display unit 17 is, for example, a liquid crystal display, and information is transmitted to the administrator through the screen displayed on the display unit 17. Furthermore, the display unit 17 displays various images generated by the display control unit 15 based on input operations by the administrator.

The storage unit 18 is a storage device that stores various computer programs read by the control unit 11 and data used in various processes executed by the control unit 11. The storage unit 18 also stores a program (terminal control program) 181 that receives an instruction from an administrator to select a communication port of a terminal and instructs the terminal to control a communication cable connected to the communication port to emit light. .

The communication unit 19 is a communication interface that performs communication with the master device 20 and each terminal that constitute the industrial network 1. The communication unit 19 may be provided with a plurality of communication ports for connection to an industrial network. In that case, the terminal control device 10 can switch and connect to any one of the plurality of industrial networks by switching the communication port.

<Master device (20)>
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the master device 20. As shown in FIG. The master device 20 includes a control section 21, a storage section 23, a communication section 24, and an LED 25. The control unit 21 is a CPU, and controls the master device 20 to execute processing of each function. The control section 21 includes a light emission control section 22. The light emission control section 22 controls the communication cable 70 to emit light according to instructions from the light emission instruction section 14 . Specifically, the light emission control unit 22 lights up the LED 25. The storage unit 23 is a storage device similar to the storage unit 18. The communication unit 24 is a communication interface that performs communication with the terminal control device 10. The LEDs 25 are provided on both sides of the communication port of the master device 20. When the light emission control unit 22 turns on the LED 25, light enters (is projected) into an optical fiber cable 73 (to be described later) provided on a communication cable 70 connected to a communication port, and the optical fiber cable 73 emits light.

<Slave device (40)>
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the slave device 40. The slave device 40 includes a control section 48, a storage section 51, a communication section 52, and the LED 47 described above. The control unit 48 is a CPU, and controls the slave device 40 to execute processing of each function. The control section 48 includes a light emission control section 49. The light emission control section 49 controls the communication cable to emit light according to instructions from the light emission instruction section 14 . Specifically, the light emission control unit 49 lights up the LEDs 47 provided on both sides of the selected one of the Ethernet ports ETN1 and ETN2. As a result, light enters an optical fiber cable 73 (described later) provided on the communication cable 70 connected to the communication port, and the optical fiber cable 73 emits light.

<Communication cable (70)>
6 is a perspective view showing the communication cable 70, and FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the communication cable 70. The communication cable 70 has a cylindrical portion 71, and an internal cable connection wire portion 72 inside the cylindrical portion 71 includes, for example, four conducting wires. Two optical fiber cables 73 are provided in the cylindrical portion 71 so as to face each other with the center of the inner connecting wire portion 72 interposed therebetween. The optical fiber cable 73 is provided over the cable length of the communication cable 70. In this case, the communication cable 70 can emit light over its entire length.

FIG. 8 is a diagram schematically showing an end portion of the communication cable 70. As an example, a state in which the communication cable 70 is connected to the Ethernet connector 41 of the slave device 40 via the connector 81 is shown. The connector 81 includes an internal connector connecting line section 82 connected to the internal cable connecting line section 72 and an internal optical fiber (light receiving section) 83 connected to the optical fiber cable 73. When the connector 81 is connected to the Ethernet connector 41, the optical fiber 83 in the connector comes into contact with the LED 47. When the LED 47 is turned on by the light emission control unit 49, the light from the LED 47 enters the optical fiber 83 in the connector and is further propagated to the optical fiber cable 73, so that the optical fiber cable 73 emits light.

Although FIG. 8 shows a state in which the connector 81 is connected to the slave device 40, a similar connection is made when the connector 81 is connected to the master device 20. When the connector 81 is connected to the communication port of the master device 20, the optical fiber 83 in the connector comes into contact with the LED 25. When the LED 25 is turned on by the light emission control unit 22, the light from the LED 25 enters the optical fiber 83 in the connector and is further propagated to the optical fiber cable 73, so that the optical fiber cable 73 emits light.

<Processing of terminal control device (10)>
The processing of the communication cable light emission instruction by the terminal control device 10 will be described below. The control unit 11 reads the program 181 from the storage unit 18 and executes the process. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for instructing the communication cable to emit light by the control unit 11 of the terminal control device 10.

The display control unit 15 of the control unit 11 displays a screen D1 for the administrator to select a terminal that causes a connected communication cable to emit light among slave devices such as the master device 20 and the slave device 40 (S1 ). Screen D1 will be described later.

The instruction receiving unit 13 determines whether or not the administrator has accepted the selection of the terminal that causes the communication cable to emit light (S2). If the instruction receiving unit 13 determines that the selection of the terminal has not been accepted by the administrator (S2: NO), it repeats S2.

When the instruction reception unit 13 determines that the selection of the terminal has been accepted by the administrator (S2: YES), it determines whether the selection of the communication port of the terminal to which the communication cable that emits light is connected has been accepted (S3 ). If the instruction receiving unit 13 determines that the selection of the communication port has not been accepted by the administrator (S3: NO), it repeats S3.

The light emission instruction unit 14 transmits to the terminal an instruction to cause the LED corresponding to the optical fiber cable of the selected communication cable to emit light (S4), and ends the process. Thereby, for example, the administrator causes the light from the LED 47 to enter the optical fiber cable 73 of the desired communication cable 70, causing the communication cable 70 to emit light.

<Screen D1>
FIG. 10 illustrates a screen D1 that the display control unit 15 displays on the display unit 17. The screen D1 has a "configuration/setting list" display Ca on the left side of the screen D1. Examples of the display Ca include "Ethernet" and "Programming". In FIG. 10, Ca1 indicating the configuration of "Ethernet" is selected by the administrator. When Ca1 indicating the configuration of "Ethernet" is selected, the display control unit 15 displays a terminal display Cb for selecting a terminal. Here, for ease of understanding, only three slave devices 40 of the industrial network 1 are shown as terminals in display Cb. In each bar of display Cb, the ID No. of each terminal is displayed. and model information are shown. In FIG. 10, No. The bar Cb2 of the slave device 40 whose "ID No. 2" is "E002" is selected.

If the device is selected (S2: YES), the display control unit 15 displays the processing content display Cc. Display Cc includes "Cable redundancy", "Cable lighting command", "Format change", "Import slave settings and add new", "Export slave settings", "Reset node address", "Slave terminal configuration" "editing" etc. FIG. 10 shows a state in which the "cable lighting command" bar of Cc6 is selected. When the "cable lighting command" is selected, the display control unit 15 selects a communication port and displays a display Cd for lighting or extinguishing the LED 47. Examples of the display Cd include "Port1 lighting enabled", "Port1 lighting disabled", "Port2 lighting enabled", and "Port2 lighting disabled". Here, Port1 and Port2 correspond to Ethernet port ETN1 and Ethernet port ETN2. In FIG. 10, when Cd1 is selected, "Port1 lighting enabled" is selected (S3: YES). Here, the selection of the communication port and the lighting instruction are performed at the same time. Here, "Port1" corresponds to "Ethernet port ETN1". In the case of "Port1 lighting enabled", in order to light up the communication cable 70 that connects the slave device 40 whose "ID No." is "E001" and the slave device 40 whose "ID No." is "E002", The LEDs 47 on both sides of the connector 41 will be lit. The communication cable 70 emits light over its length from one end to the other.

As described above, the administrator can select the communication port connected to the communication cable 70 that emits light, and light up the LED 47 provided in the communication port. While the LED 47 is lit, if the C-shaped portion Cb0 on the display Cb, which corresponds to the communication cable 70 that connects the slave devices 40, is colored differently from the normal color, the lit location can be easily identified. When the administrator wants to turn off the LED, the administrator presses the "lighting disable" button of the corresponding communication port.

Although the bar indicating the master device 20 is omitted on the screen D1, when the master device 20 is selected by the administrator in the same manner as the slave device 40, the instruction receiving unit 13 receives this selection instruction. The light emission instruction section 14 instructs the master device 20 to turn on the LED 25, and the light emission control section 22 turns on the LED 25 and causes the optical fiber cable 73 of the corresponding communication cable 70 to emit light.

<Processing of slave device (40)>
Hereinafter, a case where the slave device 40 is selected as a terminal that causes a communication cable to emit light will be described as an example. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for controlling light emission of the communication cable by the control unit 48 of the slave device 40. As shown in FIG.

The light emission control unit 49 of the control unit 48 determines whether an instruction to emit light from the LED has been received from the terminal control device 10 (S11). If the light emission control unit 49 determines that it has not received an instruction to emit light from the LED (S11: NO), it repeats S11.

When the light emission control unit 49 determines that an instruction to light up the LED has been received from the terminal control device 10 (S11: YES), the light emission control unit 49 causes the LED provided in the corresponding communication port to emit light (S12), that is, lights up and processes. end. As a result, the light from the LED 47 enters the optical fiber cable 73 of the communication cable 70 desired by the administrator, and the communication cable 70 emits light.

In the example shown in FIG. 10, "Port1 lighting enabled" is selected, so the light emission control unit 49 lights up the two LEDs 47 provided in the Ethernet connector 41. As a result, light enters the optical fiber cable 73 of the communication cable 70 connected to the Ethernet connector 41, and the optical fiber cable 73 emits light.

In the master device 20 as well, the light emission control process of the LED 25 is performed in the same manner as described above.

<Control method of terminal control device (10)>
The method for controlling the terminal control device 10 includes an instruction receiving step of receiving an instruction from a user to select one of the communication ports provided in at least one of the master device 20 and the slave device 40. Further, the control method for the terminal control device 10 includes a light emission control step of controlling at least a part of the intermediate portion of the communication cable connected to the communication port accepted in the instruction receiving step to emit light. The above S3 corresponds to the instruction receiving step. The above S4 corresponds to the light emission control step.

<Effect>
As described above, the administrator can cause at least a portion of the intermediate portion of the communication cable 70 to emit light, and the operator can clearly identify the communication cable 70 to be replaced at a glance. The operator can easily identify the communication cable 70 even without knowledge of factory drawings or the like. The administrator can remotely instruct the operator to replace the communication cable 70. It is also possible to trace the terminal to which the communication cable 70 is connected from the communication cable 70 that has emitted light. For example, if the communication cable 70 is emitted over the length of the cable from one end to the other, even if the location of the terminal is unknown, the terminal can be easily reached by tracing the communication cable 70. Note that the communication cable 70 connecting the hub 30 and the terminal control device 10, another hub 30, or the ring supervisor 60 can also be made to emit light when it needs to be replaced.

[Embodiment 2]
In the second embodiment, the display control unit 15 displays a screen D2 showing a list of terminals, and displays a screen D3 showing one or more communication ports included in the terminal specified by the instruction receiving unit 13. Here, a case will be described in which the screen D3 represents information on the selected terminal and a lighting button. In the second embodiment, the instruction receiving unit 13 specifies a communication port to be selected based on a selection instruction from an administrator who selects one of the communication ports displayed by the display control unit 15.

<Processing of terminal control device (10)>
FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for instructing the communication cable to emit light by the control unit 11 of the terminal control device 10. The control unit 11 reads the program 181 from the storage unit 18 and executes the process.

The display control unit 15 of the control unit 11 displays a screen D2 representing the terminal (S21). Screen D2 will be described later.

The instruction receiving unit 13 determines whether or not the administrator has accepted the selection of the terminal that causes the communication cable to emit light (S22). If the instruction receiving unit 13 determines that the selection of the terminal has not been accepted by the administrator (S22: NO), it repeats S22.

If the instruction receiving unit 13 determines that the selection of the terminal has been accepted by the administrator (S22: YES), the display control unit 15 displays a screen D3 representing the communication port provided by the selected terminal (D23).

The instruction receiving unit 13 determines whether or not the selection of the communication port to which the communication cable for emitting light is connected has been received (S24). If the instruction receiving unit 13 determines that the selection of the communication port has not been accepted by the administrator (S24: NO), it repeats S24.

If the instruction receiving unit 13 determines that the selection of the communication port has been accepted by the administrator (S24: YES), the light emission instruction unit 14 instructs the terminal to cause the LED corresponding to the optical fiber cable of the selected communication cable to emit light. It is transmitted (S25), and the process ends. Thereby, for example, the administrator causes the light from the LED 47 to enter the optical fiber cable 73 of the desired communication cable 70, causing the communication cable 70 to emit light.

<Screen D2>
FIG. 13 illustrates a screen D2 generated by the display control unit 15 and displayed on the display unit 17. The screen D2 has the following display.

The character display Cp1 indicates that the screen displayed on the display unit 17 is the screen D2. This allows the administrator to clearly recognize that the screen in question is screen D2. Here, as an example, "Ethernet/IP Monitor" is written.

The administrator can easily select a desired screen and display it on the display unit 17 by selecting the screen using the screen selection box Bp. In FIG. 13, the screen selection box labeled "Ethernet/IP Monitor" indicating screen D2 is selected.

The character display Ctm displays the time. The configuration readout box Br (information acquisition instruction box) is used during an operation to read the configuration of the industrial network 1. The function of the configuration readout box Br will be described later. A selection box Bn represents each terminal in the industrial network 1. By selecting a terminal using the selection box Bn representing the terminal, the administrator can obtain detailed information related to the terminal by displaying it on the display unit 17 as a separate screen. Become. Furthermore, the administrator can select a terminal, select a communication port on the screen D3, and cause the communication cable connected to the communication port to emit light.

When the communication unit 19 is provided with a plurality of communication ports, the port list box Spt is used to specify the communication port. The administrator selects a communication port from the list of a plurality of communication ports of the communication unit 19 displayed by operating the port list box Spt. Then, a screen D2 regarding the industrial network to which the communication port is connected is generated by the control unit 11 and displayed on the display unit 17.

As shown in FIG. 13, selection boxes Bn representing terminals are arranged on the screen D2 in order of IP address (Internet Protocol Address). At this time, if there is a vacant number in the arrangement order of the IP addresses, the position of the vacant number is displayed as a blank field in which the selection box Bn representing the terminal is not placed.

Therefore, even if there is an increase or decrease in the number of terminals in the industrial network 1, the selection box Bn representing a specific terminal is placed at the same position. In the industrial network 1, connections of terminals such as slave devices may be changed, or the power of unused equipment may be turned off due to process changes or setup changes.

Even in such a case, the selection box Bn representing a specific terminal continues to be placed at the same position, making it easier for the administrator viewing the screen D2 to grasp the status of the terminals within the industrial network 1.

Since the number of terminals such as slave devices in the industrial network 1 may be several hundred or more, the selection boxes Bn representing terminals for all terminals often do not fit on one screen. Therefore, the screen D2 is configured to allow page turning.

In the specific example of FIG. 13, page forwarding boxes Bpg, which are used for forward and backward page forwarding operations, are arranged at both ends of the lower part of the screen D2. Further, in the center of the lower part of the screen D2, an image display Ppg indicating pages is arranged, in which figures representing each page are arranged for the total number of pages.

In the image display Ppg that shows pages, the shape representing the currently displayed page is displayed in a different color from the shapes representing other pages, so it is difficult to tell which page is being displayed among all the pages. can be easily recognized by the administrator.

On the selection box Bn representing the terminal, a character display Cmd of model information of the terminal and a character display Cip of the IP address are displayed. This allows the administrator to easily recognize which model of device the terminal within the industrial network 1 specified by the IP address is.

A selection box Bn representing a terminal has a display representing an attribute of the terminal. Here, as an example of the attributes of the terminal, a graphic display Prm indicating that the terminal is the ring supervisor 60 and a graphic display Prs indicating that the terminal is a slave device constituting the ring network 2 are displayed.

Moreover, the fact that these displays are not made indicates that the terminal is not a terminal that constitutes the ring network 2. These allow the administrator to easily recognize the existence of the ring network 2 constructed within the industrial network 1 and its constituent devices.

Furthermore, a selection box Bn representing a terminal displays a lamp-like image display indicating the status of the terminal. Here, as an example of the status of the terminal, a machine status image display Lms is displayed in which the machine status (Machine Status) indicating whether or not there is an equipment abnormality in the terminal itself is expressed in color.

Furthermore, in the selection box Bn representing the terminal, a communication status image display Lns is displayed, which indicates in color the communication status (Network Status) of whether or not there is an abnormality in the communication of the terminal. These allow the administrator to easily recognize the presence or absence of an abnormality at each terminal in the industrial network 1 by viewing a list of a large number of terminals.

<Generation of screen D2>
Screen D2 is generated as follows. The instruction receiving unit 13 detects that the administrator has operated the configuration readout box Br. The management unit 12 broadcasts to the industrial network 1 through the communication unit 19.

Each terminal in the industrial network 1 that has received the broadcast returns a message containing the IP address and model information to the terminal control device 10. The management unit 12 acquires part of the device information of each terminal from these messages. The display control unit 15 generates a screen D2 on which selection boxes Bn representing each terminal are arranged based on the device information.

Further, if the device information of the terminal is a ring supervisor device, the management unit 12 inquires of the terminal about the addresses of the slave devices forming the ring network 2, and receives the result. According to the information, the display control unit 15 displays a graphic display Prm indicating that the terminal is the ring supervisor 60 and a graphic display indicating that the terminal is a slave device constituting the ring network 2 in the selection box Bn representing the terminal. Attach Prs.

When the administrator operates the configuration readout box Br again, the series of operations described above is executed, and a screen D2 representing each terminal that is capable of communicating in the industrial network 1 at that time is generated.

The management unit 12 periodically inquires about the status of each terminal that has acquired an IP address, and receives the information. The display control unit 15 determines the color of the device status image display Lms and the communication status image display Lns of the selection box Bn representing the terminal according to the information. This allows the administrator to know the status of each terminal on the display unit 17 in real time. You can check for cable breaks, short circuits, etc.

The administrator can view the screen D2 and select the master device 20, slave device 40, etc. to which the communication cable 70 to be emitted is connected. Examples of cases where the administrator selects a terminal include when replacing the communication cable 70 connected to the terminal during regular maintenance or line expansion, when wanting to replace the communication cable 70 due to breakage or short circuit of the communication cable 70, etc. There is. Whether or not the communication cable 70 is disconnected or short-circuited may be determined by looking at the color of the communication status image display Lns.

A case will be described below in which the administrator instructs replacement of the communication cable 70 connected to the Ethernet port ENT2 of the slave device 40 represented by Bn1 when the screen D2 of FIG. 13 is displayed. The administrator presses the selection box Bn1 of the selection boxes Bn on the screen D2. When the selection box Bn1 is selected by the administrator, the display control unit 15 displays the screen D3.

<Screen D3>
FIG. 14 illustrates a screen D3 generated by the display control unit 15 and displayed on the display unit 17. Screen D3 is a screen for displaying detailed information about the communication status of a specific slave device 40 and for instructing to turn on a specific communication port. The following display is displayed on the screen D3.

The character display Cp2 indicates that the screen relates to a specific slave device 40. Here, as an example, "GI-xxxxxxx Monitor", which is the model name and characters indicating that the model is being monitored, is written. This allows the administrator to clearly recognize that the screen is a screen showing information regarding the slave device 40 of a specific model.

The slave information selection box Bsi indicates that for a specific slave device 40, there is a screen D3 and a screen related to detailed information other than the communication status. The administrator can easily select a desired screen and display it on the display unit 17 by selecting the screen using the slave information selection box Bsi. Here, as an example, "Ethernet/IP statistical information and lighting" is written for screen D3.

The character display Ctm indicates the time. The port list box Spt and configuration readout box Br are the same as above. The address list box Sip indicates the IP address of the selected slave device 40.

The image display Pst represents the status of the slave device 40 as a list. The image display Pst imitates the display of each lamp of the indicator 462 provided in the slave device 40 shown in FIG. 2, and is displayed in synchronization with the indicator 462 of the slave device 40. The administrator can grasp the status of the slave device 40 using the terminal control device 10 without seeing the actual slave device 40. The lamp lighting instruction box Bih will be described later.

The image display Pet imitates the Ethernet connectors 41 and 42 and the indicator 462 of the slave device 40. Cable information character displays Ccb are displayed at the ends of lines extending from the displays of the Ethernet connectors 41 and 42, respectively. Examples of the cable information character display Ccb include "normal communication", "disconnection", "short circuit", etc. The cable information character display Ccb displays the status of the communication cable 70 connected to each Ethernet port. The cable information character display Ccb is displayed in association with each Ethernet port, so that it can be recognized at a glance to which communication cable the information shown is connected to which Ethernet port.

A lighting button Ccp is displayed below each cable information character display Ccb. When any of the lighting buttons Ccp is pressed by the administrator, the instruction receiving unit 13 receives an instruction to select a communication port, and also receives an instruction to turn on the LED 47 included in the communication port. The light emission instruction section 14 of the terminal control device 10 instructs the slave device 40 to emit light from the LED 47, and the light emission control section 49 of the slave device 40 lights up the LED 47 and causes the optical fiber cable 73 of the corresponding communication cable 70 to emit light. When the same lighting button Ccp is pressed again by the administrator, the light emission control section 49 turns off the LED 47 and the light emission of the optical fiber cable 73 is stopped. The administrator may decide to turn on the LED 47 by looking at the cable information character display Ccb and press the lighting button Ccp, or may press the corresponding lighting button Ccp based on his/her own judgment.

By displaying the image display Pst imitating a part of the slave device 40, the administrator can recognize at a glance that the content displayed on the screen D3 is information regarding the slave device 40 of the model. In addition, by displaying the image display Pet imitating each Ethernet connector of the slave device 40, the administrator can confirm that the content displayed on the screen D3 is particularly information related to the Ethernet port of the slave device 40. can be recognized at a glance.

As shown in FIG. 14, for example, when a disconnection failure occurs in the communication cable 70 connected to the Ethernet port ETN2, "disconnection" is displayed in the cable information character display Ccb. Further, a warning image display Wcb is displayed on a line extending from the Ethernet connector 42, which imitates the communication cable 70.

Furthermore, the distance from the Ethernet connector 42 to the location where the failure has occurred is displayed as a distance character display Cds. As a result, when a failure occurs in the communication cable 70, the administrator can recognize the fact, the details of the failure, and the location of the failure in real time on the screen D3. Note that, as information on failures in the communication cable 70, in addition to disconnection, short-circuit failures are also displayed in the same manner.

The Ethernet port character information Cet indicates information about the communication status by each of the Ethernet ports ETN1 and ETN2. Here, the information regarding the communication status is, for example, statistical information regarding communication errors, and various information regarding communication by each Ethernet port held by the slave device 40.

When the administrator operates the lamp lighting instruction box Bih (I'm Here button) on the screen D3, the screen D3 turns on the lamp 461 of the specific slave device 40 displaying information. Moreover, the lighting will be canceled by further operation by the administrator thereafter.

At this time, the management unit 12 instructs the slave device 40 through the communication unit 19 to turn on or turn off the lamp 461. Note that lighting here includes causing the lamp 461 to blink.

This allows the administrator to easily know where the slave device 40 displayed on the screen D3 is located at the site. In particular, when an abnormality such as a break in the communication cable 70 or an abnormality in the slave device 40 itself is reported on the screen D3, the position where the abnormality is occurring can be immediately recognized by operating the lamp lighting instruction box Bih. become able to.

The administrator can cause the lamp 461 to light up using the management unit 12 and cause the corresponding communication cable 70 to emit light using the light emission instruction unit 14 and the light emission control unit 49. Thereby, it is possible to inform the operator of the communication cable 70 to be replaced, and also to inform the operator of the slave device 40 to which the communication cable 70 is connected.

<Generation of screen D3>
Screen D3 is generated as follows. The instruction receiving unit 13 receives an instruction from the administrator to transition to screen D3.

Examples of instructions include: When the selection box Bn representing the terminal that is the slave device 40 is selected on the screen D2. When the selection box "Ethernet/IP statistical information and lighting" indicating screen D3 is selected from the slave information selection box Bsi on a screen other than screen D3 for the slave device 40. When the IP address of a specific slave device 40 is selected from the list of IP addresses of slave devices 40 displayed by operating the address list box Sip on screen D3.

When the instruction reception unit 13 receives an instruction to transition to the screen D3 for a specific slave device 40, the management unit 12 inquires of the slave device 40 through the communication unit 19 regarding terminal information regarding communication. The display control unit 15 generates a screen D3 based on the information, and causes the display unit 17 to display the screen D3.

Furthermore, at that time, if the terminal information includes information indicating that there is an abnormality in communication of one of the Ethernet ports, the management unit 12 sends the communication cable 70 connected to the abnormal Ethernet port to the slave device 40. Run cable diagnostics for The management unit 12 then receives the cable diagnosis results from the slave device 40.

The result of cable diagnosis may be normal, disconnected, or shorted. Furthermore, in the case of a disconnection or short circuit, the distance from the slave device 40 to the fault location may be included. Based on this information, the display control unit 15 generates a screen D3 including information on the failure of the communication cable, and causes the display unit 17 to display the screen D3. The administrator can know the occurrence of a failure in the communication cable 70 and its contents by simply displaying the screen D3 without giving any special instructions to the slave device 40.

The terminal information inquiry for generating screen D3 is repeatedly executed while screen D3 is displayed, and detailed information about the communication status of a specific slave device 40 is displayed in real time on screen D3. be done.

The list of IP addresses of the slave devices 40 that can be displayed in the address list box Sip on the screen D3 is generated by being extracted based on the type information in the terminal information.

<Effect>
As described above, the administrator selects the terminal to which the communication cable to emit light is connected on screen D2 of the displayed network configuration, and selects the terminal to which the communication cable to emit light is connected from among the communication ports on screen D3. You can select the communication port that is connected. Therefore, it is possible to more easily select and instruct the communication cable to emit light.

Furthermore, when the administrator determines that the communication state of the communication cable 70 is abnormal by looking at the cable information character display Ccb on the screen D3, the administrator can select a communication port of the communication cable 70. For example, as shown in FIG. 14, if a disconnection failure has occurred in the communication cable 70 connected to the Ethernet port ETN2, the administrator presses the lighting button Ccp corresponding to the Ethernet port ETN2.

Note that although a case has been described in which information indicating the communication status of the communication cable 70 is displayed on the screen D3, the screen D3 is not limited to this case. On the screen D3, information indicating the communication status may not be displayed, and the communication cable 70 to be emitted may be selected at the discretion of the administrator.

[Embodiment 3]
In the third embodiment, the display control unit 15 displays a screen D4 showing a list of device ports. Here, a case will be described in which the screen D4 represents information on the status of the device port and a lighting button. In the third embodiment, the instruction receiving unit 13 specifies a device port to be selected based on a selection instruction from an administrator who selects one of the device ports displayed by the display control unit 15.

Further, in the third embodiment, the instruction receiving unit 13 receives an instruction from the administrator specifying the light emission state of the communication cable connected to the communication port selected by the administrator. In this embodiment, a case where the communication port is the device port described above will be described. LEDs 53 are provided on both sides of the device connector 43 of the device port.

The light emission instruction section 14 controls the communication cable to emit light in the light emission state accepted by the instruction reception section 13 .

<Processing of terminal control device (10)>
FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for instructing the control unit 11 of the terminal control device 10 to emit light from the LED. The control unit 11 reads the program 181 from the storage unit 18 and executes the process.

The display control unit 15 of the control unit 11 displays a screen D2 for the administrator to select a terminal that causes the connected communication cable to emit light (S31).

The instruction receiving unit 13 determines whether or not the administrator has accepted the selection of the terminal that causes the communication cable to emit light (S32). If the instruction receiving unit 13 determines that the selection of the terminal has not been accepted by the administrator (S32: NO), it repeats S32.

When the instruction receiving unit 13 determines that the selection of a terminal has been accepted by the administrator (S32: YES), the display control unit 15 displays a screen related to the selected terminal (S33). When the terminal is the slave device 40, the administrator presses "Ethernet/IP and lighting" in the slave information selection box Bsi, the display control unit 15 displays screen D3, and the "I/O" button in the slave information selection box Bsi is pressed. When "Setting Status and Lighting" is pressed, screen D4 is displayed (S33).

The instruction receiving unit 13 determines whether the lighting button of the communication port to which the communication cable 70 that emits light is connected is pressed (S34). Here, if the lighting button is pressed, it means that the communication port is also selected. When the instruction receiving unit 13 determines that the lighting button is not pressed (S34: NO), it repeats S34.

When the instruction receiving unit 13 determines that the lighting button has been pressed (S34: YES), it determines whether a color to emit light has been selected (S35). If the instruction receiving unit 13 determines that no color is selected (S35: NO), it repeats S35.

When the instruction receiving unit 13 determines that a color has been selected (S35: YES), it determines whether continuous lighting or blinking has been selected (S36). If the instruction receiving unit 13 determines that either continuous lighting or blinking is not selected (S36: NO), it repeats S36.

If the light emission instruction unit 14 determines that continuous lighting or blinking has been selected (S36: YES), the light emission instruction unit 14 instructs the terminal to cause the LED 53 corresponding to the optical fiber cable 73 of the communication cable 70 to emit light in the selected light emission state. It is transmitted (S37), and the process ends.

Hereinafter, a case will be described in which the administrator selects the screen D4 representing the device port, and the administrator selects the light emitting state of the communication cable 70 connected to the device port.

<Screen D4>
FIG. 16 illustrates a screen D4 generated by the display control unit 15 and displayed on the display unit 17. The screen D4 is a screen showing detailed information and a lighting button regarding the connection state of the slave device 40, which is a specific I/O control device, to a device. The screen D4 has the following display.

The character display Cp4 indicates that the screen relates to a specific slave device 40. This is similar to the character display Cp2 on the screen D3. The slave information selection box Bsi indicates that for a specific slave device 40, there are screen D4 and screens other than screen D4.

Here, as an example, "I/O Setting Status and lighting" is written for screen D4. Further, regarding screen D3, "Ethernet/IP statistical information and lighting" is written. The present invention is not limited to such an example, and there may be a screen that displays other types of information.

By selecting a screen using the slave information selection box Bsi, the administrator can easily select a screen that displays required information about a specific slave device 40 and display it on the display unit 17. By making such a slave information selection box Bsi common to various screens for a specific slave device 40, it becomes easy for the administrator to perform a selection operation.

The character display Ctm indicates the time. Port list box Spt. The address list box Sip, the configuration readout box Br, the image display Pst that lists and displays the status of the slave device 40, and the lamp lighting instruction box Bih are the same as described above.

The image display Pdp imitates the form of the device connector 43 of the slave device 40, including the arrangement. By displaying such an image display Pdp, the administrator can recognize at a glance that the content displayed on the screen D4 is information regarding the slave device 40 of the relevant model.

Further, the administrator can recognize at a glance that the content displayed on the screen D4 is information particularly related to the device port of the slave device 40. Furthermore, by displaying the device port information character display Cpi in association with each device connector 43, it is possible to recognize at a glance which device port the information it represents relates to.

As shown in FIG. 16, the device port information character display Cpi may include the following information. Display regarding setting the connection mode with the device. Display regarding the status of the connection with the device. Display of the model name of the connected device. The administrator can easily grasp detailed information about the devices set and connected to the slave device 40, which is such an I/O control device, from the display on the display unit 17.

<Generation of screen D4>
Screen D4 is generated as follows. The instruction receiving unit 13 receives an instruction from the administrator to transition to screen D4. As this instruction, for example, when the selection box Bn representing the terminal that is the slave device 40 is selected on the screen D2, and the selection box "I/O Setting Status" representing the screen D4 is selected from the slave information selection box Bsi. can be mentioned.

When the instruction receiving unit 13 receives an instruction to transition to the screen D4 for a specific slave device 40, the management unit 12 inquires of the slave device 40 through the communication unit 19 about terminal information regarding the device connection state. The display control unit 15 generates the screen D4 based on the information, and displays it on the display unit 17.

The inquiry for terminal information for generating screen D4 is repeatedly executed while screen D4 is being displayed. Then, on the screen D4, detailed information indicating the connection state with the device at each device port of the specific slave device 40 is displayed in real time.

In the device port information character display Cpi of the device port P3, if "Short circuit abnormality" is displayed as the Status, the administrator presses the lighting button of the device port P3, and the light emission instruction unit 14 turns on the device port P3. It is possible to instruct the communication cable 70 connected to the communication cable 70 to emit light.

<Transition of screen display of screen D4>
The transition of screen display when the lighting button is pressed on screen D4 will be described below.

FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram showing a part of the screen D4 when the lighting button is pressed. As shown in FIG. 17, when the lighting button is pressed, a bar for selecting "red", "yellow", "blue", and "green" appears. When a color is selected by the administrator (S35 above), the instruction receiving unit 13 specifies the color.

FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram showing a part of the screen D4 when "red" is selected. As shown in FIG. 18, when the color selection button is pressed, a bar appears for selecting "continue lighting" and "flashing". When the administrator selects "continue lighting," the light emission control unit 49 causes the LED 53 to continue lighting, that is, the communication cable 70 continues to emit light. When the administrator selects "flash", the light emission control unit 49 causes the LED 53 to blink, that is, the light emission from the communication cable 70 blinks.

<Effect>
As described above, the administrator can specify the lighting state of the communication cable. Therefore, it is possible to cause a plurality of communication cables to emit light while changing the light emission state, so when it is preferable to make a plurality of communication cables emit light at the same time, it is possible to distinguish each one and have the operator recognize it. By using a plurality of lighting colors, even if a plurality of communication cables 70 are cross-wired in a duct or the like, it is possible to determine which line the communication cable 70 belongs to.

In addition, in the said embodiment, the case where the light emission state of LED53 provided on both sides of the device connector 43 was specified was demonstrated, but it is not limited to this case. The lighting state of the LED 47 provided in the Ethernet port ETN1 or the like may be specified. Further, the light emitting state is not limited to the color, continuous lighting, or blinking. For example, there is a case where one optical fiber cable 73 of the communication cable 70 is made to emit light. In this case, for example, it can be indicated that the conductor in the cylindrical portion 71 on the optical fiber cable 73 side is broken and needs to be replaced.

[Example of implementation using software]
In the embodiment described above, the terminal control device 10, the master device 20, and the slave device 40 are equipped with a computer that executes instructions of a program that is software that implements each function. This computer includes, for example, one or more processors and a computer-readable recording medium that stores the above program. In the computer, the processor reads the program from the recording medium and executes the program, thereby achieving the object of the present invention.

As the processor, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) can be used. As the recording medium, in addition to "non-temporary tangible media" such as ROM (Read Only Memory), tapes, disks, cards, semiconductor memories, programmable logic circuits, etc. can be used.

Further, the computer may further include a RAM (Random Access Memory) for expanding the above program. Furthermore, the program may be supplied to the computer via any transmission medium (communication network, broadcast waves, etc.) that can transmit the program. Note that one aspect of the present invention can also be realized in the form of a data signal embedded in a carrier wave, in which the program is embodied by electronic transmission.

The functional blocks of the terminal control device 10, the master device 20, and the slave device 40 (in particular, the instruction receiving section 13, the light emission instruction section 14, the display control section 15, the light emission control section 22, and the light emission control section 49) are realized by software. .

The functional blocks of the terminal control device 10, the master device 20, and the slave device 40 (in particular, the instruction receiving section 13, the light emission instruction section 14, the display control section 15, the light emission control section 22, and the light emission control section 49) are integrated circuits (IC chips). ), etc., may be realized by a logic circuit (hardware) formed in the above.

The present invention is not limited to the application examples, configuration examples, and embodiments described above, and various changes can be made within the scope of the claims, and can be obtained by appropriately combining the disclosed technical means. The embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

1 industrial network 2 ring network 10 terminal control device 11, 21, 48 control section 12 management section 13 instruction reception section 14 light emission instruction section 15 display control section 16 input section 17 display section 18, 23, 51 storage section 181 program 19, 24, 52 Communication Department 20 Master Device 22, 49 Light Emission Control 25, 47, 53 LED (Light Emitter)
26 Connector 30 Hub 40, 50 Slave device 41, 42 Ethernet connector 43 Device connector 44 Power input connector 45 Power output connector ETN1, ETN2 Ethernet port P1 to P8 Device port 70 Communication cable 73 Optical fiber cable 81 Connector 83 Connector Internal optical fiber (light receiving section)

Claims (9)

A terminal control device connected to a network to which a master device and a slave device controlled by the master device are connected,
an instruction receiving unit that receives an instruction from a user to select one of the communication ports included in at least one of the master device and the slave device;
a light emission instruction unit that instructs the master device or the slave device to control to cause at least a part of an intermediate portion of a communication cable connected to the communication port accepted by the instruction reception unit to emit light;
A terminal control device comprising: The light emitting instruction section includes the communication port and the light projecting section so as to cause the light projecting section to emit light to a light receiving section provided on a connector of the communication cable connected to the communication port. The terminal control device according to claim 1, wherein the terminal control device instructs a master device or the slave device. further comprising a display control unit that displays a network configuration indicating a connection state of the master device and the slave device,
The instruction receiving unit is configured to control the communication port provided with the communication port to be selected in response to a selection instruction from the user who selects either the master device or the slave device shown in the network configuration displayed by the display control unit. The terminal control device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the terminal control device specifies a master device or the slave device. The display control unit displays one or more communication ports included in the master device or the slave device specified by the instruction reception unit,
The terminal control device according to claim 3, wherein the instruction receiving unit specifies the communication port to be selected in response to a selection instruction from the user who selects one of the communication ports displayed by the display control unit. . The instruction receiving unit receives an instruction from a user specifying a lighting state of the communication cable connected to the communication port selected by the user,
5. The terminal control device according to claim 1, wherein the light emission instruction section controls the communication cable to emit light in the light emission state accepted by the instruction reception section. A method for controlling a terminal control device connected to a network to which a master device and a slave device controlled by the master device are connected, the method comprising:
an instruction receiving step of receiving an instruction from a user to select one of communication ports provided in at least one of the master device and the slave device;
a light emission control step of controlling at least a portion of an intermediate portion of the communication cable connected to the communication port accepted in the instruction receiving step to emit light;
A method for controlling a terminal control device having the following. A terminal control program for causing a computer to function as the terminal control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, the terminal control program for causing the computer to function as each of the units. A slave device connected to the terminal control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
A slave device including a light emission control section that controls at least a portion of an intermediate portion of the communication cable to emit light according to instructions from the light emission instruction section. A master device connected to the terminal control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
A master device including a light emission control section that controls to cause at least a part of an intermediate portion of the communication cable to emit light according to instructions from the light emission instruction section.

Images