JPH08194507A - Programmable controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To shorten the debugging time of a programmable controller by switching a reception mode to an operation mode by means of a timer. CONSTITUTION: The program produced by a programming device 2 is received by a communication circuit 15 and a power supply is turned on. Thus a timer means 17a starts to count the time. A switch means 17b keeps a program receivable mode through the circuit 15 until the time counting operation of the means 17a ends. If the program is downloaded from the device 2 under such conditions, the circuit 15 receives the program. Then the reception mode is switched to the program operation mode of a control circuit 10 when the time counting operation of the means 17a ends. A corrected program can be thereby downloaded as long as the power supply is turned off and then turned on again even when the operation of a program controller is discontinued by a wrong program. As a result, the debugging time can be shortened when a program is developed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a programmable controller for downloading a program from a programming device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is a programmable controller as shown in FIG. The programmable controller 22 receives a program transmitted from a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a personal computer) 21 via a communication line, and then stores the received program in a nonvolatile memory (not shown). Then, when the power is turned on, the programmable controller 22 automatically operates according to the program stored in the nonvolatile memory.

[0003]

However, in the programmable controller 22, when the program stored in the non-volatile memory has an error and the operation of the programmable controller 22 stops, the corrected program is received again from the personal computer 21. There is a drawback that you can not. In this case, the non-volatile memory in which the program of the programmable controller 22 is stored has to be replaced, and there is a problem that the debugging work takes time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a programmable controller which can shorten the debugging work time.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, a programmable controller according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises a receiving means for receiving a program created by a programming device, and the receiving means after receiving the program. In a programmable controller having control means for controlling input / output means in accordance with a program, a timer means for counting a predetermined time from a power-on time, and the receiving means until the time counting of the timer means ends from the power-on time. And a switching means for switching the reception mode of the program to an operation mode in which the control means controls the input / output means in accordance with the program when the timer means finishes measuring time. It is characterized by that.

A programmable controller according to a second aspect of the present invention is the programmable controller according to the first aspect, further comprising reporting means for reporting the reception mode by at least one of a display and a sound.

[0007]

According to the programmable controller of the first aspect, when the power is turned on after the program created by the programming device is received by the receiving means, the timer means starts time counting. Then, the switching means is set to the receiving mode in which the program can be received by the receiving means until the timer is timed after the power is turned on. At this time, when the program is downloaded from the programming device, the receiving means receives the program. Then, when the timing of the timer means is completed, the reception mode is switched to the operation mode of the program by the control means. Therefore, even if the programmable controller stops due to an incorrect program, by turning the power off and then on again, it automatically enters the receiving mode for a certain time, and the modified program is downloaded from the programming device to the programmable controller. it can.

Therefore, even if the operation of the program controller is stopped due to an erroneous program, the corrected program can be downloaded without replacing the non-volatile memory or the like in which the program is stored. You can save time.

Further, according to the programmable controller of the second aspect, since the notification means for notifying that the reception mode is in progress is provided by at least one of the display and the sound, the operator can use the notification means. It can be downloaded from the programming device to the programmable controller, making sure the program controller is in receive mode.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The programmable controller of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to an embodiment.

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a programmable controller and a personal computer according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Reference numeral 1 is a programmable controller, and 2 is a personal computer connected to the programmable controller 1 via a communication line.

This programmable controller 1 has a C
A PU (central processing unit) 10 and an IO (input / output) control circuit 1 connected to the CPU 10 via an internal bus 11, respectively.
2,13,14, a communication circuit 15 for receiving a program from the personal computer 2 through a communication line, a RAM (random access memory) 16, a ROM (read only memory) 17 storing basic software, and a non-volatile memory A memory 18 and a buzzer / LED display unit 19 are provided. The ROM 17 has a timer means 17a for counting a certain time when the power is turned on and a switching means 17b for switching between a reception mode and an operation mode. The timer means 17a and the switching means 17b are composed of software.

A program representing the control procedure of the programmable controller 1 is created in the personal computer 2,
The created program is downloaded to the programmable controller 1 via the communication line. And
The program downloaded from the personal computer 2 is
It is stored in the nonvolatile memory 18 of the programmable controller 1.

Next, as shown in the flow chart of FIG. 2, when the programmable controller 1 is powered on, the communication mode is monitored for a fixed time (for example, 2 to 3 seconds) in step S1. Then, when a certain time has elapsed in step S1, the normal mode is set, and the user program stored in the nonvolatile memory 18 is executed.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing the operation of the download mode, and the details will be described below with reference to FIG.

First, in step S11, a buzzer sound / LED
Display the download mode. Next, the timer is started in step S12, and the process proceeds to step S13 to determine whether or not the timer is up.
Then, if it is determined in step S13 that the timer has not expired, the process proceeds to step S14. Next, in step S14, it is determined whether or not there is communication data, and if it is determined that there is communication data, the process proceeds to step S15. If it is determined that there is no communication data, the process returns to step S13. .

Next, in step S15, it is determined whether or not a download command has been received. If it is determined that a download command has been received, the process proceeds to step S16, while if it is determined that no download command has been received, the process proceeds to step S13. Return.

Next, in step S16, data is taken out from the communication line and the program is written in the nonvolatile memory 18. Then, the process proceeds to step S17, it is determined whether or not all the programs have been written, and if it is determined that all the programs have been written, then the process proceeds to step S18 to notify the end of the download mode by a buzzer sound / LED display, This download mode ends. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S17 that all programs are not written, the process returns to step S16.

If it is determined in step S13 that the timer has timed out, steps S14 to S17 are skipped and the process proceeds to step S18.

In this way, the download mode in which the program can be transferred from the personal computer 2 is set for a certain time after the power of the programmable controller 1 is turned on.
Even if the program downloaded to the programmable controller 1 has an error and the operation of the CPU 10 is stopped, the corrected program can be downloaded by turning the power off and then on again. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the debug time during program development.

The operator can confirm the download mode state by the buzzer sound and display of the buzzer / LED display section 19 and download the program from the personal computer 2.

In the above embodiment, the download mode is set for a certain time by turning on the power of the programmable controller 1. However, the programmable controller 1 is provided with a watchdog timer so that the CPU is stopped when the CPU 10 is stopped.
By setting the watchdog timer to reset 10, the CPU may be automatically reset to the download mode when the CPU is stopped due to an error in the program.

[0023]

As is apparent from the above, in the programmable controller according to the first aspect of the present invention, the timer means counts a predetermined time from the power-on time, and the program created by the programming device from the power-on time. Is set to a receiving mode in which the receiving means can receive, and when the time counting of the timer means is completed, the switching means switches the receiving mode to an operation mode in which the control means controls the input / output means according to the program.

Therefore, according to the programmable controller of the first aspect of the present invention, for example, after the receiving means receives an incorrect program, the switching means switches to the operation mode, and the control means controls the input / output means in accordance with the program. When turning off the power even if the programmable controller stops due to an incorrect program,
When the power is turned on again, the reception mode is automatically entered so that the modified program can be downloaded from the programming device to the programmable controller. Therefore, it is possible to shorten the time for debugging work during program development.

A programmable controller according to a second aspect of the present invention is the programmable controller according to the first aspect, further comprising an informing means for informing that the reception mode is being performed by at least one of a display and a sound.

Therefore, according to the programmable controller of the invention of claim 2, the worker is
The program can be downloaded from the programming device to the programmable controller during the receive mode.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a programmable controller according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the programmable controller.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation of the programmable controller in a download mode.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a conventional programmable controller.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Programmable controller, 2 ... Personal computer, 10
... CPU, 11 ... Internal bus, 12, 13, 14 ... IO control circuit, 15 ... Communication circuit, 16 ... RAM, 17 ... ROM,
17a ... timer means, 17b ... switching means, 18 ... nonvolatile memory, 19 ... buzzer / LED display section.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Internal reference number FI technical display location G06F 9/445 G06F 9/06 420 G

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. Receiving means (15) for receiving a program created by a programming device (2), and said receiving means.
In a programmable controller having a control means (10) for controlling the input / output means (12, 13, 14) according to the program after (15) receives the program, a timer for counting a predetermined time from the time when the power is turned on. Means (17
a) and a receiving mode in which the program can be received by the receiving means (15) from the time when the power is turned on to the time when the timer means (17a) finishes counting,
When the time counting of (17a) is completed, there is provided a switching means (17b) for switching from the reception mode to an operation mode in which the control means (10) controls the input / output means (12, 13, 14) according to the program. A programmable controller characterized in that 2. The programmable controller according to claim 1, wherein the notification means (19) for notifying that the reception mode is in progress by at least one of a display and a sound.
A programmable controller characterized by having.