JP3413860B2 - Debug method - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a sequential function chart (SFC).
hart) about the debugging method of the program programmed by.

2. Description of the Related Art Program controller (hereinafter PC
Is a sequencer in which the control procedure program can be easily changed by incorporating a microcomputer. Currently, it is widely used as a heart part that determines the work procedure of various automation equipment such as industrial robots. Is being used for. Conventional programming language for this PC, the drawing performing input using a keyboard having a plurality of keys as shown in FIG. 7 (b) (a)
Although the ladder diagram as shown in FIG. 2 is the mainstream, it is difficult to express the control sequence with this ladder diagram input, and it is difficult to decipher the program actually executed by the PC. For this reason, SFC (Sequential Function Chart) has been proposed as a new programming language for compensating for those weak points, and this SFC is the future P
It is expected to become the mainstream C programming language. FIG. 8 shows a configuration example of the SFC. In SFC,
One control unit is defined as a step. This process is performed by an arbitrary number of steps (S00, S01, S0) indicating the stage of the operation process of each process, as shown in FIGS.
2, S03, S04), (S10, S11, S12, S
13, S14) and transitions (TR00, TR01, TR02, TR0) indicating transition conditions for determining the step to be executed subsequently after the execution of each of the above steps.
3) and (TR10, TR11, TR12, TR13). In SFC, the first step (S00, S10) of each process is called an initial step, and after each step (S01, S02, S03) after this initial step, except the last step (S04). , Be sure to make a transition (TR00,
(TR01, TR02, TR03) are arranged. FIG (a), but SFC shown in (b) is of the single transition type, SFC Other FIG 9 (a), (b) in or selected branch migration type respectively, also parallel branches transitional is there. Although each step is simply represented by a rectangle in FIGS. 8 and 9 , the ladder diagram showing the corresponding sequence circuit is input in the rectangle representing each step during actual programming.

In programming by ladder diagram input, which has been the mainstream in the past, when a ladder diagram is input to a programming device, the ladder diagram is automatically described in the device by sequence control command words. The converted application program is converted into a mnemonic format, and the list of this application program can be output through the printer. Conventionally, debugging of this application program has been performed using a programming device having a debug function. That is, the application program is loaded from the programming device to the target PC, and the target PC is connected to the simulation box or the input / output device of the actual development system. Then, by the operation from the programming device, the above-mentioned application program is partially executed within a certain range, or a trace operation for executing it one instruction at a time is performed to find a program error. However, in the case of the application program created by SFC, it was not possible to perform debugging by the method like the application program created by the ladder diagram input as described above. For this reason, the time required for debugging becomes long and the development efficiency of the application program is poor. It is an object of the present invention to efficiently debug a program created by SFC with a simple structure.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the principle of the first invention. At least one of the first invention is
Includes one transition and at least one step
Described by sequential function chart
A program with multiple processes
A debug method, where each transition of the process is
Store the program for each step and the program for each step
Storage means 6 and whether to execute the process step by step
Storing step execution instruction information, which is information that instructs
Step execution instruction information storage means 7 and each of the above processes
This is a flag that stores the on / off state of the transition.
Transition relay that stores the transition relay
-The storage means 8 and the step execution instruction information
Transitions if there is an instruction to execute
Support the transition without executing the program
Refer to the transition relay and select the corresponding transition.
Switch to the step where the relay is on,
Execute only the program of the step that is on
The control means 9 is provided. Figure 2
It is a principle block diagram of invention of 2. This second invention is
At least one transition and at least one transition
Sequential function char including steps
A program with multiple processes described by
A debugging method for debugging, wherein the plurality of processes
Execution that specifies the process to be debugged from the
Process designation means 11 and sequential funk
Program of each transition of each chart
A storage means 14 for storing a step program, and
Information that indicates whether to step through the process
Step execution instruction information that stores the step execution instruction information
Information storage means 12 and each transition of the process
A transition that is a flag that stores the on / off state
Transition relay storage means 13 for storing relays
And the process designated by the process designation means 11.
When executing a process, the step execution instruction information
If the instruction to execute the step is given, the transition
The program that supports the transition without executing the program
Refer to the transition relay and the corresponding transition
Move to the step where the relay is on, and
Control to execute only the program of the step
The control means 15 is provided.

A program written in SFC (SFC program) corresponds to one process, and this process includes a step showing the operating state of control for each process and a transition from one step to the next step. And a transition showing a condition (transition condition) (see FIGS. 8 and 9 ). This SFC program is input through the programming device, and the programming device separates each process into a transition program and a step program, and the contents thereof are set to P
It is transferred and stored in the program memory of C (see FIG. 4 ).
In PC, one program is usually composed of a plurality of processes. In the first invention, the control is
The control means 9 executes the step execution according to the step execution instruction information.
Transition program if instructed
The transition that corresponds to the transition without executing
The corresponding transition relay is
Moved to the step that is on and is on
Execute only the program of the step. Therefore, S
The FC program developer sets the step execution instruction information.
To prevent execution of any transition
The transition corresponding to the transition.
You can set the target relay to
Can be executed in the sequence of steps that it intends
Also, selectively select only the steps that you want to debug
You can debug while running. In addition, the second
In the clear, the control means 15 is the process designation means 11
When executing the process specified by
The step execution instruction is given by the execution instruction information.
If the transition program is executed without executing the transition program,
Refer to the transition relay corresponding to the transition,
Stearyl the corresponding Transition relay is turned on
Program of the step that has been turned on and turned on
Only run. The execution process designation means 11
Specify the process to be targeted and perform the step transition condition procedure.
The step 12 shifts the steps of the debug target process.
When the line condition is set, the process execution means 13 causes the device
Only the target process is executed.
Move the debug target process to the step set above
In a step sequence according to the conditions
It Therefore, SFC program developers
When debugging a program consisting of processes,
You can selectively execute only the process you want to debug, and
Debug from the steps that make up the process
Only the steps you want to do
You can debug it while running it on your computer.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a system for debugging an SFC program by the debugging method according to the embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, the programming device 21 is
A device that creates an application program by SFC description, and is a keyboard 21-1 for SFC input.
And a display unit 21-2 for displaying the SFC input from the keyboard 21-1. And further,
This device 21 uses an SF of a predetermined format whose SFC description will be described later.
It has a function of translating into a C program and a function of transferring the SFC program to a program memory of a programmable controller (hereinafter referred to as PC) 22. The simulation box 23 is a device for simulating the operation of the input / output device connected to the PC 22 in the actual operating system, and is used for inputting the input signal from the actual input device to the PC 22. It is provided with a plurality of snap switches 23-1 and a plurality of display units (lamp boxes) 23-2 for displaying the states of input / output signals for the PC 22. In the programming device 21, the SFC created by key input from the keyboard 21-1 (see FIGS. 8 and 9 ) is converted into a process of the format shown in FIG. 4 and loaded into the program memory of the PC 22. It One application program represented by a plurality of SFCs is divided and stored in process units (corresponding to one SFC). Each process (process A, process B, ...) Begins with a process start instruction 101 that declares the start of a process, and ends the process 10 that declares the end of the process.
It ends in 4. Then, between the process start instruction 101 and the process end instruction 104, S
Transition section (TR00, TR01, ...) showing the transition condition to the next step in each step of FC
Program 102 and each step (S00, S01,
The program 103 of the step section, which is a collection of programs of (...), is arranged. Further, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5 , the data memory 22 in the PC 22 is
A process specification execution instruction information storage area 221 and a step execution instruction information storage area 222 for storing process specification execution instruction information and step execution instruction information, which are information for debugging an application program, are allocated in 0. The process specification execution instruction information directly specifies one process to be debugged to be executed at the time of debugging from among a plurality of processes constituting the application program, and in this embodiment, the execution process is specified in this information. If is not specified, all processes constituting the application program are executed in a predetermined order. In addition, the step execution instruction information indicates whether to execute the program of the transition part when executing the application program during debugging (whether to execute the step execution).
If there is a step execution instruction in this embodiment, the program of the transition section is not executed, and the program of the step section is immediately executed. Then, in this case, the program of the step section performs the step transition according to the ON / OFF state of the corresponding transition relay set by the operator via the programming device 21. The transition relay is a flag provided in a one-to-one correspondence with each transition of the process, and stores the execution result of the program of the corresponding transition. This transition relay takes a binary state of on or off, and when this transition relay is on,
Transition to the next step is performed in the SFC
If it is turned off , the transition to the next step is not performed.
I can't be damned. The area for storing these transition relays (transition relay storage area) 223 is also a PC
Reserved in the data memory 220 of 22. The data memory 220 can be accessed from the application device and the programming device 20 which are loaded into the program memory of the PC 22 and executed. Next, the operation of the embodiment having the above configuration will be described. In the execution of the application program having the configuration shown in FIG. 4 obtained by a plurality of SFC descriptions, first, the program 102 of the transition part of the process A is executed, and the execution result is stored in the transition relay storage area 223 in the data memory 220. Is set. Then, the program 103 of the step part of the process A is executed. In this execution, the transition relay storage area 22
ON / OFF status of corresponding transition relay in 3
Determines whether a transition to a step will be made.
As a result, only the program of the step that is on (ON) is executed. In the present embodiment, the program developer can independently debug only a specific process among a plurality of processes constituting the application program. In this case, one process to be debugged is designated from the programming device 21 by performing a key input on the keyboard 21-1, and information indicating this designated process is used as process designation execution instruction information in the data memory 220 of the PC 22. It is loaded into the storage area 221. It is also possible to execute only the program of a specific step in the above-mentioned designation process. Also in this case, the keyboard 21 from the programming device 21
The key input of -1 is performed, and the step to be debugged is selected from the plurality of steps constituting the designated process. This selection is made by setting a transition relay for turning on a step to be debugged in the data memory 220 to ON. Next, with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 6, illustrating the execution of the SFC program to be performed by the microprocessor in PC 22. From the keyboard 21-1 of the programming device 21 to the program memory 10 of the PC 22
When the execution instruction of the SFC program stored in 0 is input, first, the process designation execution instruction information is read from the process designation execution instruction information storage area 221 of the data memory 220 to determine whether or not there is a process designation execution instruction. It is determined (S11). If there is such an instruction (S1
1, Yes), and jump to the start address of the storage area of the process designated by the instruction information in the program memory 100 (S12). Then, the step execution instruction information is read from the step execution instruction information storage area 222 of the data memory 220, and it is determined whether or not the step execution instruction is given (S13). If the step execution instruction has been issued (S13, Yes), the transition relay storage area 2 in the data memory 220
Out read transitions relay to determine the transition of each step from 23, corresponding transitions relay is performed transition by an on (ON), and on (ON)
Only the program of the step which is set is read from the program storage area 103 of the step section of the program memory 100 and executed (S15). Then, when the execution of the designated process is completed, it is determined whether or not there is an instruction to execute the designated process in the same manner as the processing of step S11 (S16), and if there is an instruction to execute the designated process (S1).
6, Yes), the processing is immediately terminated. In this way, the program developer operates the keyboard 21-1 of the programming device 21 to input the execution instruction of the process desired to be debugged and the step execution instruction to the areas 221 and 222 in the data memory 220 of the PC 22, respectively. By setting each information and further setting ON / OFF of each transition relay so that only the program of the desired step is executed in the transition relay storage area 223 in the data memory 220,
With respect to the application program obtained by the SFC description, only a specific process can be debugged in steps. In this case, the operation of the program at each step can be confirmed on the display device 23-2 on the simulation box 23. On the other hand, the above step S13
If there is no step execution instruction (S13, No),
The program of the transition section is read from the area 102 of the program memory 100 and executed (S14). Then, next, the status (ON / OFF state) of the transition relay obtained by executing the program of the transition unit is read from the area 223 of the data memory 220, and only the step in which the corresponding transition relay is ON is shifted. Done and turned on
Only the step program is executed (S15). In this way, when the step execution instruction is not given, the snap switch 23-1 of the simulation box 23
The input signal is given to the PC 22 by the operation of. Then, by designating only the execution process and not instructing step execution, only a certain process can be individually debugged. If there is no instruction to execute the process designation in step S11 (S11, No),
Next, the process proceeds to step S13, and it is determined whether or not there is a step execution instruction, and based on the determination result, step S1
3 → S15 → S16 or the above steps S13 → S14
→ S15 → S16 is performed on the first process A of the SFC program. Then, the above step S16
After it is determined that there is no process specification execution instruction in (S16,
No), it is determined whether or not the processes (corresponding processes) of steps S13 to S15 have been completed for all processes of the SFC program (S17). And if the said process is not yet completed about all the processes, it will return to the said step S13 again, and will perform the process of the said step S13-S15 about the next process B. Such processing is repeated until it is determined in step S17 that the processing of steps S13 to S15 has been completed for all processes of the SFC program. Then, when it is determined that the process is completed for all processes of the SFC program (S17, Yes), the process is completed. In this way, when process specified execution is not instructed,
Step S above for all SFC program processes
The processing of 13 to S16 is performed in the order of execution. in this case,
By issuing a step execution instruction, it is possible to set the value of the transition relay by key operation of the snap switch 23-1 of the simulation box 23 and execute only the program of the desired step for each process. , Without executing the step execution instruction, the program of the transition part is actually executed, and the transition result turns to the step in which the corresponding transition relay is set to ON, and the transition relay is turned ON.
It is also possible to execute only the program of the specified step . Therefore, the case of no indication of process specifying execution, by selectively using the instruction steps executed, for example, in debug initial stage of performing step execution instruction to the former, whereas as the latter debug later stages of without performing the step execution instruction in, SFC
Debugging can be performed efficiently by executing the program. As described above, in this embodiment, the programming device 21 allows the data memory 2 of the PC 22 to be operated.
The application program can be debugged on a process-by-process basis simply by setting the respective information in the transition relay storage area 223, the process specification execution instruction information storage area 221, and the step execution instruction information storage area 222 of 20. It is also possible to debug while executing each process in a desired step sequence. When neither the process designation execution nor the step execution instruction is performed, the SFC program can be executed as in the actual operation. Although only one process to be debugged is designated in the above embodiment, a plurality of processes may be designated. Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the simulation box 23 is used to input signals to the PC and
Although the output signal is displayed, the input / output device used when the system is actually operated may be connected to the PC 21 instead of the simulation box 23.

According to the invention described in claim 1, debugging
Perform the desired process in the desired sequence of steps
it can. Therefore, debugging in steps is efficient.
You will be able to do well. According to the invention of claim 2,
Then, you can get the desired step sequence only for the desired process.
You can do it with a can. Therefore, the process unit and
It becomes possible to debug in steps.
As a result, debugging can be done very efficiently
become. Further, in both the first and second inventions, P
No special device is required because it can be realized by setting predetermined information in the data memory of C (programmable controller) and causing the PC to execute the program by referring to the predetermined information. Therefore, the above debugging can be realized at a low cost with a simple configuration.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram (1) of the principle of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram (No. 2) of the principle of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an SFC according to a debug method according to an embodiment of the present invention .
It is a block diagram of the system which debugs a program.

[Fig. 4] PC professional of the program described by SFC
It is a figure which shows the arrangement structure in a gram memory.

FIG. 5 shows information for debugging in the data memory of PC
It is a figure which shows arrangement | positioning structure.

FIG. 6 Execution process of SFC program executed by PC
It is a flow chart explaining a reason.

FIG. 7 illustrates a conventional method for creating a program for a PC .
It is a figure that shows.

FIG. 8 is a diagram explaining a programming method by SFC.
Is.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing another format of SFC.

[Explanation of reference numerals] 6,14 storage means 11 execution process designation means 7, 12 step execution instruction information storage means 8, 13 transition relay storage means 9, 15 control means

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. At least one transition and at least one transition
Sequential funk with at least one step
Have multiple processes described by an option chart
A debugging method for debugging a program that program and conceal each transition of the process
Storage means for storing the step program and information for instructing whether or not to execute the process stepwise
Step execution instruction that stores step execution instruction information
Indicator information storage means and the on / off state of each transition of the process
To store the transition relay, which is a flag to remember
An instruction for step execution is provided by the transition relay storage means and the step execution instruction information.
If so, run the transition program.
Transition transition corresponding to the transition without performing
The corresponding transition relay is turned on.
Has been turned on and has been turned on
A debugging method comprising: a control means for executing only the step program . 2. At least one transition and few
Sequential funk with at least one step
Have multiple processes described by an option chart
A debugging method for debugging a program that, processes to be debugged among the plurality of processes
Execution process designating means for designating each program, each transition program of the process and each process
Storage means for storing the step program and information for instructing whether or not to execute the process stepwise
Step execution instruction that stores step execution instruction information
Indicator information storage means and the on / off state of each transition of the process
To store the transition relay, which is a flag to remember
The transition relay storage means and the process designated by the process designation means are implemented.
When executing, the step execution instruction information
Transition program if line instructions are given
The transition that corresponds to the transition without executing
The corresponding transition relay is
Go to the step that is on and turn it on
Means for executing only the program of the step
And a debugging method comprising: