JPH0895617A - Controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a controller which can control continuous amounts, can easily produce a control program together with its input/output setting without knowledge needed for the programming language and hardware, and also can improve the universal applicability of the input/output setting. CONSTITUTION: The controller is provided with a host processor 1 which consists of a computer having a function to produce a control program, an operational processor 15 consisting of a digital signal processor which carries out the control program for control of a controlled system 16, and an input/output processor 10 which is provided with plural input/output boards 14a, 14b... that are placed between both processors 1 and 15 and the system 16. Furthermore, the processor 1 is provided with a means which graphically shows and produces a control program by the selection and combination of various symbol marks of computing elements displayed on a screen, and a means which performs the selection and the setting of conditions of those input/output boards on the display screen.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a highly versatile computer-configured control device used for plant control, sequence control, control of a moving body, and the like, and more particularly to a control having a function of creating and executing a control program. Regarding the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a controller having a board computer configuration using a sequencer and a VME bus is used for various plant controls and sequence controls. In addition, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-310993 (G09B 9/04) discloses that
For real-time simulation control of a moving body, a simulation device that combines a computer-configured upper processing device and a digital signal processor (hereinafter referred to as DSP) configured arithmetic processing device is used. It describes that a control program is created and executed.

[0003]

The above-mentioned conventional sequencer is suitable for control of ON / OFF signals (binary control), but cannot control continuous amount such as control of accelerator and brake of automobile. However, there is a problem that the application is limited. Further, the control program is created using a specific programming language (ladder language), and in this case, it takes time to learn the language, and there is a problem that the control program cannot be created efficiently. Further, there is a problem that the control state cannot be monitored in real time during execution of control, and real time monitoring cannot be performed using a trend graph or bar graph of the control state.

Next, in the case of the conventional controller having the board computer configuration, the degree of freedom in the configuration is high, and various boards such as a microprocessor board, a memory board, and an input / output board are provided. It has a high degree of versatility and is suitable for continuous quantity control.
Since a control program can be created (software development) using various general-purpose languages (high-level languages), there is an advantage that it is not necessary to learn a new language.

However, in a control device of this type of board computer, a control program can be created only by an expert who is familiar with a programming language, as in general computer programming, and it takes a long time to create it. Not only that, there is a problem that access to the input / output board between the control target and the control device requires some knowledge about hardware.
In addition, if the control state is monitored in real time during execution of control, the load on the computer is increased and the processing speed is reduced.

Next, in the case of the simulation device described in the above publication, a high-order processing device having a high processing capacity is responsible for creating the control program and displaying the simulation result.
Since the arithmetic processing unit with high processing speed shares the execution of the control program, etc., the control processing speed will not be lowered, and the host processor can select and combine the symbol marks of various arithmetic units of graphic display. A control program is created, and the control program can be easily created even if you are not familiar with programming languages. But,
There is no freedom in selecting an I / O board between the control target and the simulation device, that is, there is no versatility in I / O settings,
There is a problem in that a highly versatile device cannot be realized.

Moreover, there is a problem that the control state cannot be displayed in real time on a trend graph or a bar graph during execution of the control program, and the control state cannot be monitored in real time. It is an object of the present invention to control a continuous amount and to easily create a control program and input / output setting without knowledge of programming language, hardware, etc., and further improve versatility of input / output setting. And Another object is to enable real-time monitoring of control status.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, in a control device of the present invention, a host processor having a computer configuration having a control program creating function,
An arithmetic processing unit having a digital signal processor configuration for executing a control program to control the control target, and a plurality of input / output boards interposed between the host processing unit, the arithmetic processing unit and the control target, and connected to the control target. A means for creating a control program graphically by selecting and combining the symbol marks of various arithmetic units displayed on the screen on the upper processing unit, which is provided with the input / output processing device, and selecting each input / output board , A means for performing condition setting by selecting from the display screen is provided.

Further, in order to enable real-time monitoring of the control state, the arithmetic processing unit transfers data from the control target to the upper processing unit during execution of the control program in response to a control state monitoring request from the upper processing unit. And a means for issuing a monitor request and displaying and processing the data transferred from the arithmetic processing device to display the control state of the controlled object in real time.

[0010]

In the case of the control device of the present invention according to claim 1 configured as described above, the control program is created by the host processing device, and the control program is executed by the arithmetic processing device having the DSP processing speed which is high. Execution is performed, and due to the division of labor between the upper processing device and the arithmetic processing device, the control program is created and executed without lowering the processing speed.
Also suitable for continuous quantity control.

When the control program is created, the host processor can easily create the control program from the selection and combination of the symbol marks of the various arithmetic units displayed on the screen. Furthermore, selection of each I / O board according to the control target and condition setting can be easily done by selecting from the display screen.
I / O settings can be done easily and freely.

Next, in the control device of the present invention according to claim 2, when a monitor request is issued from the upper processing device to the arithmetic processing device during execution of the control program, the arithmetic processing device controls the upper processing device. The status monitor data is transferred, and the monitor data transferred by the host processor is processed to display the control status of the control target in real time.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 shows an apparatus configuration. In the figure, 1
Is a high-order processing device of a general-purpose computer configuration having a high processing capability such as a workstation, and is formed by bus-connecting a CPU 2, a keyboard 3, a CRT 4, a storage unit 5, a printer 6, an interface 8 of an Ethernet 7, and the like. A mouse 9 is a pointing device connected to the keyboard 3. Reference numeral 10 is an input / output processing device connected to the host processing device 1 via the Ethernet 7, and the interface 11 of the Ethernet 7 and the CPU 1
2, memory 13 and various input / output boards 14a, 14
b, 14c, ...

Reference numeral 15 is an arithmetic processing unit which is bus-coupled to the input / output processing unit 10, and is formed by a 32-bit DSP in order to perform continuous quantity control with high speed and high accuracy, which is difficult with a conventional sequencer. Reference numeral 16 is a control target of plant control, sequence control, simulation control based on a motion equation, or actual machine control.
14b, 14c, ..., speed, temperature, flow rate, concentration,
... are monitored and controlled.

The processing program shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 3, FIG. 5, and FIG. 8 is preset in the storage unit 5 of the upper processing apparatus 1, and has a function of creating a control program based on the execution of this processing program. It has a means for graphically displaying the control program and a means for displaying the control state of the controlled object 16 in real time. That is, FIG. 2 is a main program, and based on the execution of step S2 of this program, the host processor 1 displays a menu screen for selecting a processing mode on the CRT 4.

There are three processing modes, a setting mode, an editing mode, and an execution mode.
A processing mode is selected by operating the mouse 9 on the screen of RT4. This selection is determined in steps S3 to S5,
When the setting mode is selected, each input / output board 14a, 1
4b, 14c, ..., Condition setting processing, that is, the input / output condition setting processing of step S6 is executed, and the setting processing program of steps T1 to T5 of FIG. 3 is executed.

Then, in step T2, the display screen of the CRT 4 is switched to the screen 17 of FIG. 4, and the window screen 18 of the input / output board selection menu is opened on this screen 17. At this time, the operator selects a necessary input / output board from the screen by operating the mouse, and further sets various conditions of the selected input / output board.

When these selections and settings are completed, the results of the selections and settings are stored in the storage section 5 as an input / output device of the control program in step T4. Then, when this storage is completed, it is extracted from the setting processing mode, and
In step S2, the display screen of the CRT 4 is returned to the menu screen for selecting the processing mode.

Next, when the edit mode is selected from this screen, a control program is created in step S7 of FIG.
5, the model editing process is performed, and steps U1 to U5 in FIG.
Execute the model editing processing program. At this time, C
The display screen of RT4 is switched to the model edit screen 19 of FIG.

On this screen 19, required window screens 20 and 21 including a window screen 20 for selecting arithmetic units are opened, and symbol marks 22 of various arithmetic units are displayed on the window screen 20. Then, the operator selects a symbol mark 22 of a necessary arithmetic unit from the window screen 20 by operating the mouse, connects the wiring, etc., and displays a required control program on the edit screen 19 as a graphic model.

When the graphic model display is completed and the control program is created, the process proceeds from step U2 to U3 in FIG. 5, and the input / output device selections, condition settings, etc. stored in the storage unit 5 are also read out. Double-compile the control program and translate (convert) it into an execution program.
At this time, if the link of the separately created C language program is required, the link function is selected by a mouse operation or the like, and the display screen of the CRT 4 is switched to the link screen 23 of FIG.

On this screen 23, required window screens 24 to 26 necessary for file specification and the like are opened, and the module of the required C language program is linked to the control program by operating the mouse. When the execution program is created, the execution program is stored in the storage unit 5 in step U4 of FIG. 5, the process proceeds to step U5, and the edit mode is extracted. The display screen of the CRT 4 is selected for processing mode selection in step S2 of FIG. Return to the menu screen of.

Therefore, the control program is displayed in the graphic model by selecting and connecting the symbol mark by the mouse operation, and the control program can be extremely easily created by a method that is visually easy to understand even without knowledge of programming language. . In addition, I / O boards can be selected and conditions can be set by menu selection by mouse operation, and various I / O boards can be freely combined and used without any knowledge of hardware. In addition, there is no need to recreate a program for changing or adding an input / output board, and a highly versatile device applicable to various controls can be provided.

Further, since the program can be linked with the C language program, the existing program can be utilized and the control program can be created very efficiently. In addition, in the case of this embodiment, since the arithmetic unit displayed by the symbol mark 22 of the window screen 20 includes the PID arithmetic unit and the low-pass filter, there is an advantage that the control program can be more easily created.

Next, when the execution mode is selected from the menu screen for processing mode selection, the model execution processing of step S8 of FIG. 2 is executed, and steps V1 to V14 of FIG. 8 are executed.
The model execution processing program of is executed. Then, in step V2, the higher-level processing device 1 transfers the execution program of the storage unit 5 to the arithmetic processing device 15 via the input / output processing device 10. At this time, the execution program is backed up and held in the memory 13 of the input / output processing device 10.

Then, when the start operation of step V3 in FIG. 8 by the host processor 1 or the start operation by the input / output processor 10 is given to the arithmetic processor 15, the transferred program is executed. During this execution, data such as speed, temperature, flow rate, and concentration of the controlled object 16 are taken into the input / output processing unit 10 via the selected input / output boards 14a, 14b, 14c ,. The data is passed to the bus-coupled arithmetic processing unit 15 for high-speed arithmetic.

The result of this calculation is the arithmetic processing unit 1.
5 is passed to the input / output processing device 10, and this processing device 10
Is fed back to the controlled object 16 via. At this time, the arithmetic processing unit 15 is formed by a 32-bit DSP, and has a significantly large processing capacity and processing speed as compared with a conventional sequencer or the like, and continuous quantity control, which was difficult with a sequencer or the like, can be performed at high speed and with high accuracy. You can do it.

Further, the host processor 1 is running during program execution.
When a control state monitor request is issued from the control unit 15, the process proceeds from step V4 to step V5 in FIG.
Switches to the real-time monitor mode and performs online real-time monitor processing. By this processing, various input / output data of the control target 16 is transferred (uploaded) from the arithmetic processing unit 15 to the upper processing unit 1 via the input / output processing unit 10 in real time.

Furthermore, the host processor 1 processes the data transferred by the real-time monitor processing to create a trend graph showing the control state (operating state) of the controlled object 16, for example, and displays the trend shown in FIG. 9 on the CRT 4. The monitor screen 27 of the graph is displayed to enable visual real-time monitoring of the control state.

Therefore, the control state of the controlled object 16 associated with the execution of the control program is displayed on the screen of the CRT 4 so that it can be visually grasped in real time, and the execution status of the program can be grasped very easily. Based on the selection of the graph display or the like, instead of the trend graph display, it is also possible to display the control state in real time by a bar graph display, an XY graph display, or the like.

Next, when the host processor 1 issues an online change of control constants (circuit constants) and a forced change of input / output data during execution of the control program, steps V6 and V8 of FIG. 8 are issued. By the processing unit 15
Becomes the circuit constant change mode and forced input / output mode. Then, in the circuit constant changing mode, the arithmetic processing unit 15 executes the circuit constant changing process of step V7 of FIG. 8 and sets the circuit constant (control constant) of the execution program on the basis of the constant given from the upper processing unit 1. Make changes online.

In the forced input / output mode, the arithmetic processing unit 15 executes the forced input / output processing of step V9 in FIG. 8 and changes each input / output data based on the instruction from the host processing unit 1. Therefore, without recreating the control program, the mouse operation of the host processor 1,
It is very easy to debug and adjust the execution program by operating the keyboard.

When a control stop is issued from the upper processing unit 1 to end the control, step V1 in FIG.
The processing proceeds from 0 to step V11, and the arithmetic processing unit 15 stops the execution of the program. Then, step V in FIG.
12, V13 transfers (upload) the input / output data and the like collected during execution from the arithmetic processing unit 15 to the upper processing unit 1 according to a request from the upper processing unit 1.

The present invention can be applied to various plant controls, sequence controls, control of moving bodies, and the like.
Since it is suitable for continuous quantity control, it is remarkably applied to reactor temperature control and data collection, rolling stock (train) simulator, iron rolling simulator, refuse incinerator training simulator, fusion plasma control, etc. Produce an effect.

[0035]

Since the present invention is configured as described above, it has the following effects. First, the host processor 1 creates a control program and the like, and the processor 15 having a digital signal processor configuration having a high processing speed executes the control program. Therefore, the host processor 1 and the processor 15 are connected to each other. Due to the division of labor, the control program is created and executed without lowering the processing speed, and it is possible to provide a control device suitable for continuous quantity control, which is difficult with a conventional sequencer or the like.

Further, at the time of creating the control program, by selecting and combining the symbol marks 22 of various arithmetic units displayed on the screen of the host processor 1, the control program can be created without any knowledge of the programming language. Moreover, each of the input / output boards 14a, 14 according to the controlled object 16
b, 14c, ..., and condition setting can be easily performed by selecting from the display screen, and input / output setting can be easily performed without any knowledge of hardware and the versatility of input / output setting is high. A control program of input / output conditions according to the controlled object 16 can be created very easily without knowledge of hardware and software.

Further, based on the monitor request issued by the upper processing unit 1, the data from the control target 16 is transferred from the arithmetic processing unit 15 to the upper processing unit 1, and the control state of the control target 16 is real-time controlled by the upper processing unit 1. Since it is displayed on the screen, the control state can be monitored in real time by a graph display or the like during the execution of the control program, and the control state associated with the execution of the control program can be grasped very easily.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a detailed flowchart of the input / output condition setting process of FIG.

4 is an explanatory diagram of a display screen in a setting mode of FIG.

5 is a detailed flowchart of the model editing process of FIG.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a first display screen in the edit mode of FIG.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a second display screen in the edit mode of FIG.

8 is a detailed flowchart of the model execution process of FIG.

9 is an explanatory diagram of a display screen in the real-time monitor mode of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Upper processing device 10 Input / output processing device 14a, 14b, 14c Input / output board 15 Arithmetic processing device 16 Control object 22 Symbol mark of arithmetic unit

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An upper processing position of a computer configuration having a control program creating function, an arithmetic processing unit of a digital signal processor configuration for executing the control program to control a control target, the upper processing unit, and the arithmetic operation. An input / output processing device provided with a plurality of input / output boards connected between the processing device and the control target and connected to the control target, and various arithmetic units displayed on the screen in the host processing device. Selection of the symbol mark of
A control device comprising: means for graphically displaying and creating the control program by combination; and means for performing selection of each of the input / output boards and condition setting by selection from a display screen. 2. The arithmetic processing unit is provided with means for transferring data from a control target to the upper processing unit in response to a control status monitor request from the upper processing unit executing the control program, and the upper processing unit is provided with the monitor. 2. The control device according to claim 1, further comprising means for issuing a request and displaying and processing the data transferred from the arithmetic processing device to display a control state of the control target in real time.