JPH04286002A - Programmable controller and method and device for programming - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce work manhour and input error by automating production and edition for a sequence program which has the many repeating parts of basic constitution. CONSTITUTION:When an operator inputs and sets basic program constitution and a repeated preparing rule, a program automatic generating means 11 operates and obtains variable names in the basic program according to the repeated preparing rule, and gives respective variable names as the names of contact points and the like in respective programs prepared by copying the basic program. Then, the sequence program generated automatically is displayed in a screen with a ladder circuit diagram.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

[Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a programmable controller, and in particular, a programmable controller and its programming method suitable for easily creating and editing a sequence program when the sequence program is composed of repeating basic structural units. and programming devices.

0002

[Prior Art] When creating and editing a sequence program for a programmable controller, a technology has been developed that displays the sequence program on the screen as a ladder circuit diagram to facilitate the creation and editing of the program (for example, 1987-141978, JP-A-60-22
No. 1807). FIG. 5 shows an example of a sequence program displayed in a ladder circuit diagram. When displayed as a ladder circuit diagram, the program creator can visually recognize the sequence program. The sequence program in FIG. 5 is a repetition of a basic structural unit, and each contact name (X00100, R000
, L00200, etc.) and the variable names such as the coil name (Y00300, etc.) are different. In this way, sequence programs are often constructed by repeating the same basic structure many times. Therefore, when creating and editing such a sequence program, the operator has to copy parts of the basic structural units many times and rewrite each variable name in each basic structural unit.

0003

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention] As mentioned above, creating a sequence program by repeating basic structural units,
When editing, copying and rewriting variable names are repeated. These operations are performed by the user of the programmable controller, and there is a problem in that the user's man-hours increase. Further, although such work is simple, there is also the problem that errors in rewriting variable names are likely to occur.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6, it is possible to create a regularity for changing variable names in a subroutine and automatically assign variable names, but in this case, the sequence program Since it is not displayed in the circuit diagram, the program cannot be visually recognized, resulting in poor debugging efficiency.

An object of the present invention is to provide a programming method and apparatus for a programmable controller that facilitates the creation, editing, and visual confirmation of a sequence program including repeated portions of basic structural units.

[0006]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The above object is to create and edit a sequence program that is composed of repeating basic structural units and has a repeating part in which only variable names change with regularity for each repeat. When the basic structural unit and the regularity of the variable name are specified, the repeated part is automatically generated by automatically repeating copies of the basic structural unit and automatically assigning variable names according to the regularity. This is achieved by converting the generated results into a ladder circuit and displaying it.

[0007]

[Function] The creation and editing results are displayed in a ladder circuit diagram, allowing the program creator to visually check the sequence program, and the device automatically performs simple tasks such as copying and rewriting variable names. This reduces input work and reduces errors.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a programmable controller and a programming device connected thereto according to an embodiment of the present invention. The programmable controller 1 includes a CPU 2 that performs various calculation processes, a memory 3 that stores sequence programs, an interface (I/F) 4,
Input/output ports (
I/O) 5. The programming device 10 is a device for programming a sequence program to be stored in the memory 3 of the programmable controller 1, and includes a CPU 11 that performs various calculations, a main memory 12,
A hard disk 13 and a flexible disk 14 as external memories, and a CRT and keyboard 15 that display ladder circuit diagrams of sequence programs to be created and edited.
, a printer 16, and an interface 17,
This interface 17 is connected to the interface 4 of the programmable controller 1, the sequence program to be modified or edited is copied from the memory 3 of the programmable controller 1 to the main memory 12, modified or edited, and the modified or edited results are transferred to the CRT 15. A ladder circuit diagram is displayed, printed out using a printer 16, and written into the memory 3 of the programmable controller 1 after confirming that there are no bugs.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a programming method according to an embodiment of the present invention. The work performed by the operator is
Program of basic structural unit (referred to as basic program. In the example of Fig. 1, contact L200 is connected in parallel to contacts X100 and R000 connected in series, and coil Y300 is connected in parallel to this.
on the screen, and specify the regularity of each contact name. In the illustrated example, each time the basic structural unit is repeated, the contact name X increases by +1, the contact name R remains unchanged, the coil name Y increases by +2, and the contact name L
specifies that it does not change. In addition, the number of repetitions of the basic structural unit, that is, the number of copies n is specified. As a result, as shown in FIG. 2, the program automatic generation means of the CPU 11 of the programming device 10 automatically copies the basic program n times on the main memory 12, and saves each contact name and coil name in each constituent unit. The sequence program shown on the right side of FIG. 1 is automatically assigned according to the specified rules, and is displayed on the CRT 15 in the form of a ladder circuit diagram. The operator visually checks this ladder circuit diagram and, if there is a bug, inputs correct data from the keyboard 15 to correct it.

FIG. 3 is a functional explanatory diagram of the above-mentioned automatic program generation means. The CPU 11, which automatically generates a sequence program by repeating a basic program, stores in the main memory 12 a basic program table 20, a creation rule table 21,
A generated program table 22 is prepared. When the operator inputs a basic program from the keyboard 15, the operation code and the variable name corresponding to each operation code are stored in the basic program table 20. In addition, the operator determines the regularity of each variable name, that is, each initial value, and the function (
When a set value (repetition rule) and setting value (repetition number n) are input and specified, these are stored in the creation rule table 21. When the CPU 12 receives an operation execution command input from the operator, the CPU 12 uses a counter for each variable name to calculate a number according to the variable name repetition rule. In the illustrated example, variable name A has an initial value of “X100” and a function of “X100”.
+1” and the setting value is “10”, so “X100,
Find the numbers (generated variable names) "X101, X102, ..., Y300”, the function is “+2”, and the setting value is “
10”, so “Y300, Y302, Y304,
..., Y320" (generated variable name).

The generated program table 22 has as many areas as the number of repetitions for storing the operation code and variable name of the basic program for each basic program.
Each generated variable name calculated using the counter as described above is sequentially allocated and stored in the variable name storage locations a, 22b, . . . , 22k. The sequence program automatically generated and stored in the table 22 in this way is
It is automatically converted into ladder circuit diagram data and displayed on the CRT 15.

0012

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention, the operator only needs to specify the structure of the basic program and the repetition rules, and a sequence program that repeats the basic program is automatically generated and displayed in a ladder circuit diagram. This reduces the occurrence of program bugs.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a sequence program programming method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual explanatory diagram of the programming method shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of an automatic generation function of the programming method shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a programmable controller and a programming device.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional sequence program.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional sequence program.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...Programmable controller, 10...Programming device, 11...CPU, 12...Main memory, 15...C
RT, keyboard, 20...basic program table, 2
1...Creation rule table, 22...Generation program table.

Claims (3)

[Claims] [Claim 1] In a programmable controller that converts a created and edited sequence program into a ladder circuit and displays it on a screen, a repeating part consisting of repeating basic structural units and only variable names changing with regularity with each repeat. When creating and editing a sequence program with A method for programming a programmable controller, characterized in that the repeating part is automatically generated by assigning the same to the programmable controller, and the result is converted into a ladder circuit and displayed. [Claim 2] In a programmable controller that converts a created and edited sequence program into a ladder circuit and displays it on a screen, a repeating part is composed of repeating basic structural units and only variable names change with regularity with each repeat. means for creating and editing a sequence program having: a means for externally specifying the regularity of the basic structural unit and the variable name; and a means for automatically repeating copying of the specified basic structural unit and specifying the variable name. A programming device for a programmable controller, comprising means for automatically generating the repeated portion by automatically adding it according to the regularity, and converting the automatically generated result into a ladder circuit and displaying it. [Claim 3] In a programmable controller that converts a created and edited sequence program into a ladder circuit and displays it on a screen, a repeating part is composed of repeating basic structural units and only variable names change with regularity with each repeat. a programming means for creating and editing a sequence program having: a means for externally specifying the regularity of the basic structural unit and the variable name;
programming means that automatically repeats a copy of the specified basic structural unit and automatically generates the repeated part by automatically assigning variable names according to the regularity, and converts the automatically generated result into a ladder. A programmable controller that converts into a circuit and displays it.