JP7003648B2 - File change support device, file change support method and file change support program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a technique for assisting online modification of application software of a programmable controller (hereinafter referred to as PLC).

To change the PLC application software online, the PLC application program is changed by using a PADT (Programming and debugging tool) or a loader while the PLC is normally started and operated, and the PLC is loaded into the PLC.

As a technique for supporting online change of PLC application software, for example, a method of replacing a sequence program disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known.

A method of replacing the conventional sequence program will be described with reference to FIG.

First, in the process of starting the PLC for loading the application (S1), the application file of the PLC2 created by the PADT or the loader 1 is loaded into the PLC2 and started. (1) shows "file of PLC2 application newly created by PADT or loader 1". (2) indicates "a file of a PLC2 application newly created by being loaded by PLC2 from PADT or loader 1".

Next, in the application backup process (S2) of the PLC2, the application stored in the PLC2 is stored in the PADT or the loader 1 and then stored in the internal (other location) server. In the figure, (3) shows "a file of a newly created PLC2 application started by PLC2". (4) indicates "a file of the application of PLC2 newly created after being started by PLC2 and saved in the PAD or the loader 1". (5) indicates "a PLC2 application file newly created and saved on an in-house (other location) file server".

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2015-162179

In the software online change process (S3) exemplified in FIG. 4, the application change is performed after the application backup process (S2) of the PLC2. At this time, the backup may not be performed again, and the contents of the application stored in the PADT or the loader 1 and the application stored in the internal (other location) server may not match. In the figure, (6) shows "a file in which a newly created PLC2 application stored in PADT or loader 1 is modified". (7) shows "a file in which a newly created PLC2 application loaded from a PADT or a loader is modified".

When adding or changing an application using the application saved on the server in the company (in another location), add from the state where the content does not match the application saved in the local PADT or loader 1. It is an online change work of change. Changing this situation can send the wrong application program.

In view of the above problems, it is an object of the present invention to be able to appropriately support the change of the application software when the application software of the programmable controller is changed online.

Therefore, one aspect of the present invention is a file change support device that supports online change of the application file of the programmable controller, based on the change history of the application file held by the programmable controller and the application file scheduled to be transferred to the programmable controller. It is equipped with a comparison processing unit that detects the differences between these application files and displays them as output.

One aspect of the present invention is to output and display an application file to be transferred to the programmable controller in the file change support device in a state where the corrected part of the application file to be transferred is clearly indicated based on the change history and the difference. It is further provided with a change processing unit for making the change.

In one aspect of the present invention, in the file change support device, the change processing unit has a merge policy for creating the application file to be transferred based on the retained application file and the application file to be transferred. Display.

One aspect of the present invention is a file change support method executed by a computer that supports online change of an application file of a programmable controller, and is a change history of an application file held by the programmable controller and an application file scheduled to be transferred to the programmable controller. It has a process of detecting the difference between these application files and displaying the output based on the above.

One aspect of the present invention is a file change support program that causes a computer to function as the above file change support device, or a file change support program that causes the computer to execute the above file change support method.

According to the above invention, it is possible to appropriately support the modification of the application file when the application file of the programmable controller is modified online.

The block block diagram of the file change support apparatus in embodiment of this invention. Explanatory diagram of the state where an incorrect application file was created The explanatory view of the specific example which cancels the online change of FIG. Explanatory diagram of traditional online changes.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(Overview)
The file change support device 10 of the present embodiment shown in FIG. 1 clearly presents the change contents of the application file created by the user when the application file is changed online by the PADT or the loader 1 (hereinafter, loader 1). Further, a new appropriate change content is proposed to the user.

The loader 1 shown in FIG. 2 is communicably connected to the PLC 2 via a serial cable. For example, after performing the operation of "(a) the state where the application file of PLC2 is changed (first time) in the field", "(b) the state where the application file of PLC2 is changed (first time) in the company" is performed. In that case, the local PLC2 and the application file saved in the company are in a different state. Here, as shown in FIG. 3, when the application file (3) of "(b) the state in which the application file of the PLC is changed (first time) in the company" is transferred to the local PLC2, the file of the loader 1 is used. The change support device 10 detects that "the application file is an erroneous application file". Then, the file change support device 10 stops the transfer of the "wrong application file", displays the details of the wrong part of the application file to the user, and prompts the user to correct the application file and take countermeasures.

(Example of a mode of the file change support device 10)
As shown in FIG. 1, the file change support device 10 is mounted on the loader 1 and implements the following comparison processing unit 11 and change processing unit 12 in cooperation with the hardware resources and software resources of the computer. ..

The comparison processing unit 11 detects the difference between the application file held by the PLC 2 and the change history of the application file scheduled to be transferred to the programmable controller, and displays the output.

The change processing unit 12 outputs and displays the application file to be transferred to the PLC 2 in a state where the corrected portion of the application file to be transferred is clearly indicated based on the change history and the difference. In addition, it is possible to present a merge policy for creating the application file to be transferred.

(Operation example of file change support device 10)
A specific operation example of the file change support device 10 will be described below.

(1) Detection of erroneous application file Detection of erroneous application file is realized by comparing and managing the change history of the application file on the PLC2 side on the receiving side and the application file on the loader 1 side on the transmitting side.

S101: Application file backup operation When the locally created PLC2 application file is saved in the loader 1, the backup function of the loader 1 saves the application file as a backup application file. Also, on the PLC2 side, the date and time when the operation of the backup application file is executed is saved as the operation code and three unique additional information as a history. Further, the backup function of the loader 1 saves the operation code and three unique additional information on the loader 1 side, and the same operation code and additional information are stored in each other.

S102: Local PLC application file change (first time) operation When the PLC2 application file change (first time) operation is performed locally, first, the operation of the application file of the history information saved in PLC2. The code, the three unique additional information, the operation code of the history information stored in the loader 1, and the three unique additional information are compared. If the comparison confirms that these information match on the PLC2 and the loader 1, the application file can be modified.

After that, in PLC2, the date and time when the operation of changing the application file is executed is saved as a history of the operation code and three unique additional information. The loader 1 also stores the operation code and three unique additional information. In this way, the PLC 2 and the loader 1 store the same operation code and additional information for each other.

S103: Operation to change the PLC2 application file in-house (first time) When the operation to change the PLC2 application file in-house (first time) is performed, the operation code and three unique additional information are added to the loader 1. Is saved.

S104: Local PLC2 application file change (second) operation When the local PLC2 application file change (second) operation is performed, first, the operation code for changing the application file of the history information inside the PLC2 is performed. And the three unique additional information, the operation code of the history information inside the loader 1, and the three unique additional information are compared. If PLC2 and Loader 1 confirm that these information match by this comparison, the application file can be modified. On the other hand, if the operation code and the additional information do not match, the change of the application file is not permitted and the change operation is canceled.

S105: Detection of difference from backup application The comparison processing unit 11 executes the following two difference detection functions.

The first difference detection function detects and saves the difference between the application file for changing the application (second time) of the loader 1 and the application file for backup as difference information. The difference information obtained by this first difference detection function is referred to as difference information A.

The second difference detection function detects and saves the difference between the current application file inside PLC2 and the backup application file as difference information. This second difference detection information is referred to as difference information B.

Then, the difference between the difference information A and the difference information B is detected and stored. This difference is output and displayed on the screen of the loader 1.

(2) Automatic creation of correct application file The correct application file is created based on the application file on the PLC2 side by the following merge processing (S201 to S204) by the change processing unit 12 of the loader 1. The changes made in are corrected. This modified application file is output and displayed on the screen of the loader 1 as an application file to be transferred to PLC2.

S201: Confirmation of difference information The comparison processing unit 11 outputs and displays the difference information of these application files detected based on the change history of the application file held by the PLC 2 and the application file scheduled to be transferred to the PLC 2 on the screen of the loader 1.

This difference information becomes the target location of the incorrect application file. This target location is output and displayed on the screen of the loader 1. As described above, the user can visually confirm the difference information between the application files on the loader 1 side and the PLC 2 side.

S202: Provision of merge policy of changed application The change processing unit 12 merges the changed contents of the application file on the loader 2 side based on the difference information output and displayed on the loader 1 and the application file on the PLC2 side. The merge policy at this time is clearly output on the screen of the loader 1, and the user can arbitrarily select it.

The specific merge policy is illustrated below.
-The address change of the same instruction is the target of merging.
-The command change of the same address is the target of merging.
-If the previous and next instructions or addresses are the same, the instruction addition is targeted for merging.
-If the previous and next instructions or addresses are the same, the instruction deletion is targeted for merging.
-The addition of a series of instructions from the start point to the end point is targeted for merging.

S203: Display of merge result of changed application When the merge policy is selected by the user in loader 1, the change processing unit 12 creates an application file to be transferred to PLC1 by the merge process based on the merge policy, and loader 1 Output is displayed on the screen of. At this time, for example, in the application file to be transferred, the portion corrected by the merge process is output and displayed on the screen of the loader 1 in a color-coded state.

S204: Modification and transfer of modified application The merged modified application file (the application file to be transferred) displayed on the screen of the loader 1 is confirmed by the user, and then arbitrarily modified by the user as necessary. Then, this modified application file is transferred to PLC2 as a correct modified application file.

(Effect of this embodiment)
According to the above embodiment, when the application file of PLC2 is changed online, the change of the application file can be appropriately supported.

In particular, the target location of the erroneous application file is displayed, and the user can more specifically confirm the erroneous part, so that the online modification of the erroneous application file can be stopped. Further, by displaying the target portion of the erroneous application file, the user can prevent the erroneous application program from being transferred to PLC2.

In addition, since the correct change application file to be changed online is automatically created, it is possible to save the user the trouble of changing the application file in a hurry on site and prevent the input error of the application file to be changed.

Furthermore, the date and time when the application file change operation and backup operation were performed by the loader 1 and PLC2 are saved and recorded as a history of the operation code and three unique additional information, so that an incorrect application file based on that information can be saved. Can be detected.

In addition, when the operation to change the application file of PLC2 is performed locally, first, the operation code of the application file of the history information inside PLC2 and three unique additional information, the operation code of the history information inside the loader and three unique operations are performed. It can be confirmed by PLC2 and loader 1 that the additional information matches, and the application file can be changed.

Further, since the difference between the application files in the PLC 2 and the loader 1 is clearly shown to the user, the user can visually confirm the changed part of the application file.

Further, since the user can arbitrarily select the merge policy for creating the application file to be transferred, an appropriate application file according to the user's needs can be automatically created by starting the merge of the loader 1.

(Aspect of the present invention as a program)
As another aspect of the present invention, there is a file change support program that causes the computer to function as the file change support device 10 or to execute the process of the above-mentioned file change support method. This program can be provided via a well-known computer-readable recording medium or a network such as the Internet.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and can be implemented in various embodiments within the scope of the claims of the present invention.

1 ... Loader 2 ... PLC (programmable controller)
10 ... File change support device, 11 ... Comparison processing unit, 12 ... Change processing unit

Claims (5)

A file change that is implemented in a PADT (Programming and debugging tool) or loader that is connected to a programmable controller that is normally started or operating, and that modifies the application file of the programmable controller to support online changes that load it into the programmable controller. It ’s a support device,
The first difference detection information which is the difference between the application file scheduled to be transferred from the PADT or the loader to the programmable controller and the backup application file of the programmable controller stored in advance in the PADT or the loader.
File change support characterized by having a comparison processing unit that detects and outputs the difference between the second difference detection information , which is the difference between the current application file inside the programmable controller and the backup application file . Device. A change processing unit that outputs and displays the application file to be transferred to the programmable controller with the corrected part of the application file to be transferred based on the difference between the first difference detection information and the second difference detection information clearly indicated. The file change support device according to claim 1, further comprising. The file according to claim 2, wherein the change processing unit displays a merge policy for creating the application file to be transferred based on the saved application file and the application file to be transferred. Change support device. A file change that is implemented in a PADT (Programming and debugging tool) or loader connected to a programmable controller that is normally started or operating, and that modifies the application file of the programmable controller to support online changes that load it into the programmable controller. It is a file change support method executed by the support device .
The first difference detection information which is the difference between the application file scheduled to be transferred from the PADT or the loader to the programmable controller and the backup application file of the programmable controller stored in advance in the PADT or the loader.
A file change support method comprising a process of detecting a difference between a second difference detection information , which is a difference between the current application file inside the programmable controller and the backup application file , and displaying an output. A file change support program that causes a computer to function as the file change support device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

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