JPH1115697A - Debugging method for program type display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simplify debugging operation through the use of a general purpose personal computer device by simulating the functions of an external device excepting for a communication part strongly depending on the hardware of an adopting device kind. SOLUTION: A simulating means 7 simulates the functions excepting for a data communication function on the side of the external device 1 through the use of the general purpose computer device 6. A data communication means 3a on the side of a program-type display device 10a simulates a function a function capable of communicating data with a communication means 9 on the side of the device 6. The devices 6 and 10a are provided with means 8 and 8a mutually converting a device name depending on a device kind previously set on the side of the device 1 a processing instructing word respectively refers to and a general purpose code data. Then it is possible to access to the device 6 from the device 10a provided with a processing instructing word depending on a specific device kind through the general purpose communication means 3a and 9.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to the transfer of an arbitrary coordinate position on a display screen of a display between various external devices such as a general-purpose computer and a programmable logic controller (hereinafter referred to as "PLC"). The present invention relates to a method for debugging data built in a programmable display device for displaying a screen for operating an external device composed of figures, graphs, numbers, characters, etc., based on the data.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, this type of debugging is generally connected to a PLC to be actually used, and a final operation check is generally performed. On the other hand, there has been proposed a method of performing debugging without actually connecting to a PLC by directly simulating the function of the PLC on a general-purpose personal computer device.

[0003]

However, in order to simulate the PLC function on a personal computer,
It is necessary to simulate all functions including the data communication function and communication ladder program that each PLC has in its own specifications. There was a problem that it was difficult to develop the debugging device itself.

The inventor of the present invention has examined the above problem, and as a result, it is found that only the data communication portion differs mainly in the specifications for each model, but the necessary functions can be mechanically replaced in the final stage of debugging. On the other hand, it has been found that what needs to be debugged substantially frequently is a portion where an operator directly intervenes, such as addressing on the PLC side.

The present invention has been made on the basis of such knowledge, and simulates the function of a PLC by generalizing a data communication function, thereby making it possible to use a general-purpose personal computer device to provide various types of information provided in a programmable display device. An object of the present invention is to provide a method for easily debugging data.

[0006]

A debugging method according to the present invention is shown in FIG.
A data communication means 3 connected to a predetermined external device 1 via a communication path 18 and capable of transferring data to and from the memory means 2 of the external apparatus 1 through the communication path 18;
An event data storage unit 4 capable of storing a plurality of processing instruction words including information for specifying the content of a unit operation to be processed;
The program type display device 10 having the data display means 5 for sequentially decoding the processing instruction words provided in the event data storage means 4 and displaying on the display screen 14 corresponding to the information referred to by each processing instruction word. This applies to:

Further, using a general-purpose personal computer 6, the functions excluding the data communication function of the external device 1 to be connected are simulated by the simulating means 7, while the data of the program display 10 a are simulated. The communication means 3a simulates a function capable of performing data communication with the general-purpose communication means 9 on the personal computer device 6 side, and also simulates the personal computer device 6 and the programmable display device 1 described above.
0a is the external device 1 to which each of the above-mentioned processing instructions refers.
By providing means 8.8a that can mutually convert a device name and general-purpose code data set in advance on the device side from a program type display device 10a provided with a processing instruction word depending on a specific model. It is characterized in that the general-purpose personal computer device 6 can be accessed via the general-purpose communication means 3a and 9.

The above-mentioned external device 1 is constituted by a PLC 16 as shown in FIG. 3, and the general-purpose communication means 3a provided in the above-mentioned programmable display device 10a
It is preferable that when the debugging is completed, it is mechanically replaced with a protocol depending on the type of the PLC 16 to be connected.

[0009]

As described above, according to the present invention, the external device 1 is excluded except for the communication part which strongly depends on the hardware of the adopted model.
The functions to be simulated are simplified as much as possible by simulating the functions of
The debugging operation can be easily performed by using.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As shown in FIG. 2, a programmable display device 10 embodying the present invention has a small size in which the volume of a main body case 12 and a display screen 14 exposed on the front thereof are suppressed to a minimum. At the time of use, the target PLC 16 is directly connected to the target PLC 16 via the communication path 18 as shown in FIG. 3, and performs necessary data transfer operations with a specific PLC 16. .

The PLC 16 to which the programmable display device 10 is accessed as its external device is, for example, a circuit unitized for each required function, as shown in FIG. 20 can be connected in parallel as needed to allow the PLC 16
Generally has a configuration capable of increasing or decreasing the functions achieved as a whole, but the type and configuration of the applied PLC are not limited.

In this example, a CPU unit 22 for controlling the entire PLC 16 and a target system 24
An input unit 26 that enables the direct capture of the detection signal sent from the controller, and an output unit 28 that enables the output of a predetermined control signal to the target system 24
And a memory unit 30 for storing various data and a computer link unit 32 for enabling predetermined data communication with the programmable display device 10 as basic units.

The storage location of various types of information input / output to / from the target system 24 is controlled by passive components such as level gauges and limit switches provided on the target system 24 to be controlled or displayed, or relays and motors. A word device is specified for word data whose input / output data is a numerical value, and a bit device is specified for bit data such as on / off information. At the same time, by setting a device-specific device name such as “D100” for each device, data necessary for specifying a storage location by designating the device name is stored in the memory unit 30.

Accordingly, the target system 24 can be accessed from inside or outside the PLC 16 simply by specifying a device name for an arbitrary word device or bit device in the memory unit 30 without knowing the actual address in the PLC 16. The corresponding position is controlled or data relating to the operation state can be individually taken out.

The program type display device 10 is provided with the above-mentioned P
It is integrated with the console of the target system 24 together with the LC 16, or is independently provided, and is used as data input and display means for the target system 24.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, C
A display 34 selected from various display means such as RT, EL, plasma or liquid crystal is arranged.

The display control circuit 36 shown in FIG.
4 is a transparent touch panel 3 on the front surface of the display screen 14.
8 to cover in close contact. This touch panel 38
An instruction by a pressing operation is input and analyzed via the touch panel controller 40, and enables various manual operations at the time of a test, at the time of initial setting before the start of operation of the entire system, or during the operation.

The basic configuration of the display control circuit 36 is substantially the same as that of a general personal computer. A CPU 44, a ROM 46, a RAM 48, or a graphic controller 50 is connected via a bus line 42 and stored in the ROM 46. While the CPU 44 performs a predetermined data processing operation in accordance with the system program, various calculation results appropriately stored in the RAM 48 are obtained by using the graphic controller 5 using drawing data including a processing instruction word described in detail later.
0 on the video RAM 52 and the video RA
A display corresponding to the contents written into the M52 is performed on the display 34.

A communication program having a communication protocol matching the communication protocol provided in the computer link unit 32 of the PLC 16 is provided.
In addition, data can be exchanged at high speed with the computer link unit 32 on the PLC 16 side via the communication path 18.

Meanwhile, in the programmable display device 10, a base screen 56 such as a table or graph frame illustrated in FIG. Graphic data such as a graphic to be changed is created by designating one file number for each required display unit.

On the other hand, of the data indicated by the bit or word device formed in the memory unit 30 of the PLC 16, necessary data are transferred to the P through the communication path 18 at an appropriate time.
From the LC 16 to the RAM 4 on the programmable display device 10 side
8 while reading them in association with each other.
The processing instruction words W illustrated in FIG. 4B stored in advance are read out intermittently every minute time, and each processing instruction word W is read.
By executing the operation of the content specified by the event name N using the device name in the reference information r while referring to the data extracted from the PLC 16 side, the bit device or the word on the PLC 16 side is executed. The display operation of the variable information 57 such as a numerical value or a graph that changes in response to a change in the content of the device is performed.

The present invention has a feature in a method for finally debugging a setting error of a device name in a processing instruction word W in the above-mentioned programmable display device 10.

That is, in the programmable display device 10a provided with various data for which debugging has not been completed,
As shown in FIG. 5, a dedicated OS configured for embedded devices
58 is provided as a center of control of the entire device, and various units 60 or a shared memory 62 operating on the OS 58 are connected to the communication unit 64 in software or hardware via an interface. It is configured so that data can be transferred.

Here, the debugging device 6 embodying the present invention
Reference numeral 6 denotes a general-purpose personal computer device on which a general-purpose OS 68 is mounted, and a PLC 1 to which a display device 10 to be debugged is actually connected on the general-purpose OS 68.
The function of the sixth side is configured to be simulated by a program by the PLC simulator 70 except for the communication unit 71.

On the other hand, the communication section 64 in the program type display device 10a is simulated by a communication protocol required on the general-purpose OS simulator 73 in the above-mentioned general-purpose personal computer apparatus, and the above-mentioned general-purpose communication section on the debug device 66 side is used. It is configured so that data communication can be performed with the G.71.

Further, the programmable display device 10a is provided with a data conversion unit 72 for converting a unique device name set in a plurality of PLCs to be handled into a general-purpose code number, for example, in a database format, so that a program can be programmed. The model-dependent device name added as the reference information r in the processing instruction word W on the expression display device 10a side corresponds to the device name but does not depend on a specific model before data transfer to the debug device 66. Is converted to a unique code number.

The debugging device 66 also has a built-in data converter 74 having substantially the same functions as those provided in the program display device 10a.
The code number received via the debugging device 6
6 is converted into a device name specified by the unique PLC 16 simulated, and data is written to or read from the memory specified by the device name, and data necessary for the programmable display device 10a is exchanged. Hand over.

Here, if a non-existent device name or an incorrect device name is specified as the device name in the processing instruction word W stored in the programmable display device 10a, the read data is displayed on the display of the programmable display device 10a. An abnormality appears in the display content displayed on the display 34.

On the other hand, if the device name on the data writing side is incorrect, a device that does not exist on the debug device 66 is accessed, or a device different from the device specified on the programmable display device 10a is accessed. , An error in the device name is detected.

As described above, the programmable display device 10a
There is no part depending on the model including the data itself to be transferred, and the debug device 66 and the debugger 66 exchange data with each other, and can be used in common. Therefore, when simulating the function of the PLC 16 on the debugging device 66 side, it is not necessary to simulate a ladder program for data communication, and it is sufficient to simulate only the substantial function achieved by the PLC 16.

Further, before the debugging is completed, the communication unit 64 of the programmable display device 10a uses a method substantially similar to the conventional one at the stage when the above-mentioned debugging is completed, to mechanically change the type depending on the model. Replacement is performed automatically by the operation.

In the above-described embodiment, an example is shown in which a general-purpose personal computer device is configured as a device 66 dedicated to debugging. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a function for creating display screen data on the program-type display device side, Needless to say, an environment for comprehensively developing various data for a programmable display device, such as a function for creating a communication program, can be provided at the same time.

[Brief description of the drawings]

1A and 1B are explanatory diagrams showing a process of debugging a communication program, wherein FIG. 1A shows an operation state actually connected to an external device, and FIG. 1B shows a debug state connected to a debug device.

FIG. 2 is a partially broken perspective view showing an external shape of a program type display device and a debug device embodying the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of an electrical configuration of a programmable display device and a PLC.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of drawing data,
(A) shows graphic data, and (b) shows a processing instruction word.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a specific configuration during debugging in which a program type display device is connected to a debugging device;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 External device 2 Memory means 3 Data communication means 4 Event data storage means 5 Data display means 6 Personal computer device 7 External device simulation means 8 Data conversion means 9 General-purpose data communication means 10 Program display device 14 Display screen 16 PLC 18 Communication Path 30 Memory unit 32 Computer link unit 34 Display 36 Display control circuit 38 Touch panel 48 RAM 50 Graphic controller 52 Video RAM 54 Communication controller 56 Base screen 57 Variable information 58 Dedicated OS 60 Object 62 Shared memory 64 Display unit communication unit 66 Debug Device 68 General-purpose OS 70 PLC simulator 71 General-purpose communication unit 72 Data conversion unit on display device 74 Data conversion unit on debug device side

Claims (2)

[Claims] An external device (1) and a communication path (18)
A data communication means (3) for enabling data transfer between the external device (1) and the memory means (2) through the communication path (18); Event data storage means (4) capable of storing a plurality of processing instructions including information for specifying contents
Data display means (5) for sequentially decoding the processing instruction words provided in the event data storage means (4) and displaying on the display screen (14) corresponding to the information referred to by each processing instruction word
A method for debugging a programmable display device comprising: a general-purpose personal computer device (6), the function of which excludes the data communication function of the external device (1) to be connected; While simulating, the data communication means (3a) of the programmable display device (10a) simulates a function capable of performing data communication with the personal computer device (6), and also performs a program-based display with the personal computer device (6). Each of the devices (10a) is capable of mutually converting a model-dependent device name and general-purpose code data preset on the external device (1) side referred to by the processing instruction word. , A general-purpose communication from a programmable display device (10a) having a processing instruction word depending on a specific model to a general-purpose personal computer device (6). A debugging method for a programmable display device, characterized in that the method is accessible via communication means (3a). 2. The external device (1) is a PLC, and the general-purpose communication means (3a) provided in the programmable display device (10a) includes:
2. The debugging method according to claim 1, wherein the protocol is mechanically replaced with a protocol that depends on the type of PLC to be connected.