JPH10326184A - Interface method of programmable controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make it possible to change settings on a PC card module side according to the kind of a PC card by loading a starting software and setting files, read out of a floppy disk, in the PC card module through a programmable controller. SOLUTION: A general computer 1 and the programmable controller 2 are connected by a signal line and the starting software and setting files to be loaded are recorded on the floppy disk 4 in advance. The starting software and setting files are read out of the floppy disk by the general computer 1 and installed in the PC card module 3 through the programmable controller 2. Consequently, the settings on the PC card module side can be changed according to the kind of the PC card (memory card).

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a programmable controller interface method for connecting a programmable controller to a general-purpose computer such as a personal computer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A programmable controller is known as a control device for automatically controlling an electronic device based on a sequence program created in advance. The sequence program is created by a dedicated programming device called a loader and transferred to the programmable controller.
With the recent spread of personal computers, personal computers can be used as programming devices.

Therefore, a PC card module for reading and writing a PC card (memory card) exclusively is connected to a programmable controller, and information such as various kinds of information relating to automatic sequence control is stored in the PC card.
2. Description of the Related Art A programmable controller system that allows a C card module to read and transfer information to a programmable controller has been proposed.

[0004]

Conventionally, in this type of system, software and setting contents necessary for operation of a PC card expected to be used in advance are mounted on a PC card module, and the software is used when the mounted card is recognized. Is running.

[0005] However, in the above-mentioned conventional example, if a PC card module is set for a PC card module, different types of PC cards may not be operated in some cases.

In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide an interface method for a programmable controller that can change the settings of a PC card module according to the type of a PC card.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, information is written to a PC card by a general-purpose computer, and the PC card is stored in a PC card.
The PC card module reads the information by a C card module and transfers the read information to a programmable controller via a signal line, and the PC card module controls the operation of the PC card by a start-up software and a setting file mounted on the PC card module. In the controller interface method, the general-purpose computer and the programmable controller are connected by a signal line, the start-up software and a setting file to be mounted are recorded on a floppy disk in advance, and the mounting target recorded on the floppy disk is recorded. The startup software and the setting file are read by the general-purpose computer, and the read startup software and the setting file are mounted on the PC card module via the programmable controller. Characterized in that it.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the interface method of the programmable controller according to the first aspect, the general-purpose computer can recognize the PC card module, and the general-purpose computer connects the programmable controller to the PC card module. The starting software and the setting file are transferred to the programmable controller as a part.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the interface method of the programmable controller according to the second aspect, the general-purpose computer visually displays the recognized PC card module in a graphic or character form.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, information is written to a PC card by a general-purpose computer, the PC card is read by a PC card module, and the read information is transferred to a programmable controller via a signal line. The PC card module is an interface method of a programmable controller that controls the operation of the PC card by a start-up software and a setting file mounted on the PC card module, wherein a programming device and the programmable controller are connected by a signal line, The starting software and the setting file are recorded in advance on a floppy disk, and the starting software and the setting file to be mounted, which are recorded on the floppy disk, are read by the general-purpose computer. The startup software and configuration files recorded on the PC card by the general-purpose computers, the P
A C card is mounted on the PC card module, a download instruction is given from the programming device to the PC card module via the programmable controller, and in accordance with the instruction, the PC card module is loaded from the mounted PC card. The boot software and the setting file are read out and mounted inside.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. 1 and 2 show a connection configuration according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 1, a personal computer (referred to as a PC) 1 and a programmable controller 2 are connected by an interface such as RS232C. The programmable controller 2 and the PC card module 3 are connected by a dedicated communication interface. The PC card module 3 is detachable, as will be described later.

With such a connection configuration, information recorded on the floppy disk 4 mounted on the PC 1, in this case,
Startup software for PC card, its setting file, etc.
The transfer can be performed via 1 → programmable controller 2 → PC card module 3. It should be noted that conventionally, the startup software and the setting file itself are written in a storage device such as a hard disk storage device in the PC card module 3 via the programmable controller 2 by a programming device called a loader.

The difference from the prior art is that the startup software and the setting file that the user wants to use are read out from the floppy disk 4 on which the startup software and the setting file are recorded to the PC 1 and can be transferred to the PC card module 3. The point is that the side can recognize the PC card module 3 as, for example, an external hard disk storage device. This allows the user to copy and store the startup software and the setting file in a predetermined area of the storage device in the PC card module 3 as if the startup software and the setting file were stored in an external hard disk storage device. Thereafter, when the PC card is inserted, the PC card module 3 uses the copy-stored start-up software and setting file as in the related art.
Control the operation of the card.

FIG. 2 shows another connection configuration. In FIG. 2, the same devices as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals. In the connection configuration shown in FIG. 2, the PC 1 copies the start-up software and the setting file recorded on the floppy disk 4 of the PC card 5 to the PC card 5, and the PC card module 3 copies the start-up software and the setting file (from the PC card 5). Record information) and installs it in the internal system memory. After the PC card module 3 is installed, the installed PC card 5 is controlled by the installed boot software and its setting file.
Note that a dedicated programming device 6 called a loader is connected to the programmable controller 2, and an instruction to read (download) the recording information of the PC card is given from the loader 6 to the PC card module 3 via the programmable controller 2. .

FIG. 3 shows the internal configuration of the personal computer 1 in the programmable controller system that enables the above two connection configurations. Note that the hardware itself of the personal computer 1 can use a well-known general-purpose hardware, and thus the description will be briefly omitted. In FIG.
The CPU 11 is, for example, a Microsoft WIND.
OS (Operating System) such as OWS95
To read a floppy disk, execute an application program, and communicate information with a connected peripheral device (in this case, the program controller 2). The application program includes a program for creating a sequence program (ladder diagram) executed by the programmable controller 2.

The system memory 12 is a ROM and a RAM
And stores input / output information for a part of the OS and the CPU 11. Hard disk storage (HD
D) 13 stores the OS and application programs and other files for storage, for example, the created ladder diagram. Input / output interface (I / O) 1
Reference numeral 4 is connected to the programmable controller 2 to transfer information. For the I / O 14, an interface called RS232C can be used.

The keyboard 15 is used to input system operation instructions to the CPU 11 and information such as characters and numbers required by the application. A pointing device 16 such as a mouse inputs an operation instruction to the CPU 11 and various information by designating a position on a display screen of a cathode ray tube display (CRT) 18.

The floppy disk drive 17 receives the floppy disk 4 and reads / writes information from / to the floppy disk 4 under the control of the CPU 11. CR
T18 displays various types of information. The information according to the present invention includes, for example, information indicating that the PC card module 3 is connected to the programmable controller 2 when the ladder diagram creating program is executed, for example, Displays icons and the like. The reader / writer 19 receives the PC card 5 and reads and writes information under the control of the CPU 11.

Next, the internal configuration of the programmable controller 2 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 4, the CPU
21 executes a sequence program (a device control program converted from a ladder diagram to be executable by the CPU 21) stored in the user memory 23 to determine an instruction to be given to a device to be controlled, and via the input / output module 26 The determined instruction is given to the control target device. The CPU 21 executes a system program stored in the system memory to transfer information and read / write information from / to the memory. In the process according to the present invention, when the PC 1 requests the PC card module 3 to read / write information, the information is transferred between the PC 1 and the PC card module 3. PC card module 3
Is electrically connected, the connection is automatically detected, and the connection is transmitted to the PC 1.

The system memory 22 stores a system program (see FIG. 7) defining system processing to be executed by the CPU 21. The user memory 23 stores the above-described system program. I / O 24 is PC1 and CPU21
And transfer information. I / O25 is PC
Information is transferred between the card module 3 and the CPU 21. The input / output module 26 converts an operation instruction sent from the CPU 21 to the control device, for example, by converting a digital signal into an analog signal and transfers the converted signal, converts an analog information signal sent from the control device into a digital signal,
Transfer to 1.

FIG. 5 shows the internal configuration of the PC card module 3.
This will be described with reference to FIG. CPU 31 is a system memory 32
The information input / output process and the information read / write process for the PC card 5 and the HDD 35 are executed based on the system program stored in the.

The reader / writer 34 reads and writes information from and to the PC card 34 under the control of the CPU 31. I
/ O33 is the programmable controller 2 and CPU 31
And transfer information.

The loader 6 can be the same as the PC 1 except that a special key for creating a ladder diagram is provided among the keys of the keyboard. The size of the loader 6 is portable.

The information transfer processing of such a system configuration will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. FIG.
Indicates an information communication control processing procedure of the CPU 11 of the PC 1;
FIG. 7 shows an information communication control processing procedure of the CPU 21 of the programmable controller 2. FIG. 8 shows a control processing procedure executed by the CPU 31 of the PC card module 3.

In the case of the connection configuration shown in FIG. 1, the CPU of the programmable controller 2
21 checks whether the PC card module 3 is connected or not. As a confirmation method, the programmable controller 2 requests the PC card module 3 to transmit a response, and when a response is received from the PC card module 3, it can be determined that there is a connection (step S200 in FIG. 7).
YES determination). In this case, in the programmable controller 2, the CPU 21 transmits to the PC 1 that the PC card module 3 is connected (step S210 in FIG. 7).

The CP of the PC 1 that has received the information indicating that the connection has been established.
U11 displays, for example, a graphic such as an icon or a character on the CRT 18 to notify the user that the PC card module 3 is connected to the programmable controller 2 (steps S60 → S70 in FIG. 6).
Next, the user attaches the floppy disk 4 to the PC 1 and instructs the keyboard 15 or the pointing device 16 to copy and transfer the boot software and the setting file recorded on the floppy disk 4 to the PC card module 3. This operation can be the same operation as a conventional copy transfer to an external hard disk storage device.

Upon detecting this instruction, the CPU 11 of the PC 1 regards the programmable controller 2 as a part of the PC card module 3, temporarily stores the startup software and the setting file from the floppy disk 4 in the system memory 12, and then writes the program together with the write command. Transfer to the controller 2 (Steps S10 → S20 → S in FIG. 6)
40).

In response, the CPU 21 of the programmable controller 2 confirms that there has been a write request (access request) from the PC 1 (step S10 in FIG. 7).
(0 → S130) Then, it is confirmed that the content of the access is writing (NO in step S140 in FIG. 7).
The CPU 21 of the programmable controller 2 temporarily stores the startup software and the setting file transmitted from the PC 1 in the system memory 22, and then transfers the boot software and the setting file to the PC card module 3 via the I / O 25.

When the CPU 31 of the PC card module 3 determines that writing is to be performed on the HDD 35 from the write address specified in the write command (steps S300 → S320 in FIG. 8), the start file and the setting file are stored in the specified address area of the HDD 35. Is stored (step S330 in FIG. 8).

With the above processing, the start-up software for operating the PC card and the setting file are mounted on the PC card module 5, and thereafter, the same processing as the conventional one is performed.

When the connection configuration shown in FIG. 2 is adopted, the PC
Similarly, the CPU 11 of the floppy disk 4
Startup software and setting file recorded in the PC
It is copied and stored in the card 5 (steps S10 to S10 in FIG. 6).
S80). The transfer of information between two storage media is conventional and will not require detailed description.

After the user inserts the PC card 5 into the PC card module 3, the user gives a download (read command) instruction from the loader 6. The CPU 21 of the programmable controller 2 having received this instruction transmits a read instruction to the CPU 31 of the PC card unit 3. The CPU 31 reads out the startup software and the setting file from the PC card 5 and writes them into a predetermined storage area of the HDD 35.

Thus, the start-up software and the setting file are mounted on the PC card unit 3, and thereafter the PC card 5 can be operated in the same manner as in the related art.

As described above, conventionally, the user had to input the starting software and the setting file from the loader 6, whereas in the above-described embodiment, the starting software and the setting The floppy disk 4 on which the setting file is recorded is prepared, and the user only has to transfer the starting software of the floppy disk 4 and the setting file.

The following embodiment can be carried out in addition to the above-described embodiment.

1) In the connection example of FIG. 1 of the above-described embodiment,
Although the example in which the PC 1 recognizes the HDD 35 of the PC card module 3 has been described, the PC card 5 which is further mounted may be recognized.

2) In the connection configuration shown in FIG. 1, when the recording information of the floppy disk is transferred to the PC card module 3, the transfer processing may be performed by using the OS of the PC 1, or may be performed in the sequence program creation program. Information transfer may be performed by a sequence program including a program for information transfer.

3) Although the storage device for storing the startup software and the setting file in the PC card module has been described as the hard disk storage device in the above embodiment,
When the startup software and the setting file have a small capacity, a nonvolatile memory, for example, an EEPROM can be used as the storage device.

[0039]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the boot software and the setting file recorded on the floppy disk are transferred to the general-purpose computer and various boot software and the setting file are transferred to the PC card module via the programmable controller. Therefore, the PC card can record suitable information without being aware of the type and version. Further, there is an effect that a modification for upgrading the startup software and the setting file can be performed only by replacing the new setting file and the setting file.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, even if the programmable controller is interposed between the general-purpose computer and the PC card module, the general-purpose computer regards the programmable controller as a part of the PC card module. This allows the general-purpose computer to transfer the startup software and the configuration file to the programmable controller using the conventional communication protocol used for communication with the peripheral device directly connected to the general-purpose computer. Further, the programmable controller can transfer the start-up file and the setting file to the PC card module by using a communication protocol for the PC card module which has been conventionally used.

According to the third aspect of the invention, the connection of the PC card module can be visually confirmed by the user himself / herself by visualizing the connected PC card module with a graphic or a character on the general-purpose computer side.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the start-up software and the setting file recorded on the floppy disk are recorded on the PC card, and transferred off-line to the PC card module. As a result, the PC card records the startup software and the setting file suitable for its own record information.
Different types of PC cards can be handled by the PC card module.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a connection configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing another connection configuration of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the personal computer 1.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the programmable controller 2.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the PC card module 3.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the personal computer 1.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of the programmable controller 2;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of the PC card module 3;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Personal computer 2 Programmable controller 3 PC card module 4 Floppy disk 5 PC card

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A general-purpose computer writes information to a PC card, reads the PC card by a PC card module, transfers the read information to a programmable controller via a signal line, and stores the information in the PC card module. An interface method of a programmable controller that controls the operation of the PC card by using startup software and a setting file mounted on a card module, wherein the general-purpose computer and the programmable controller are connected by a signal line, and the startup software and settings to be mounted are provided. The file is recorded on a floppy disk in advance, the boot software and the setting file to be mounted recorded on the floppy disk are read by the general-purpose computer, and the read boot software is read. And interface methods of the programmable controller, characterized by mounting a configuration file to the PC Card module via the programmable controller. 2. The interface method for a programmable controller according to claim 1, wherein the general-purpose computer is capable of recognizing the PC card module.
An interface method for a programmable controller, wherein the general-purpose computer regards the programmable controller as a part of the PC card module, and transfers the boot software and a setting file to the programmable controller. 3. The interface method for a programmable controller according to claim 2, wherein the general-purpose computer visually displays the recognized PC card module in a graphic or character form. 4. A general-purpose computer writes information to a PC card, reads the PC card by a PC card module, transfers the read information to a programmable controller via a signal line, and stores the information in the PC card module. An interface method for a programmable controller that controls the operation of the PC card by using startup software and a setting file mounted on a card module, comprising: connecting a programming device and the programmable controller by a signal line; Is stored in advance on a floppy disk, and the boot software and setting file to be mounted recorded on the floppy disk are read by the general-purpose computer, and the read boot software is read. And a setting file recorded on a PC card by the general-purpose computer. The PC card is mounted on the PC card module. A download instruction is given from the programming device to the PC card module via the programmable controller. Accordingly, the PC card module reads out the boot software and the setting file from the mounted PC card and mounts the boot software and the setting file inside the PC card module.