JPH11306001A - Control block executing sequence deciding device and method and program recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To quickly and properly decide an executing sequence of control blocks by changing the executing sequence of the control blocks which are connected to an autoregressive link to be displayed on a display means according to an interactive process. SOLUTION: A setting means 12 sets the connecting relation among control blocks according to an interactive process, and a management means 13 manages the information on the control block connecting relation set by the means 12. A deciding means 14 tracks the control block connecting relation set by the means 12 and decides an executing sequence of the control blocks. A detection means 15 detects the autoregressive link possessed by the control block connecting relation that is set by the means 12 and expanded to the means 14. A display means 16 shows the autoregressive link detected by the means 15 and the executing sequence that is decided by the means 14 for the control blocks connected to the autoregressive link, on a display 10. Then a changing means 17 changes the said executing sequence of the control blocks.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a control block execution order determining apparatus and method for determining an execution order of control blocks for controlling a process, and a program used for realizing the control block execution order determining apparatus. In particular, a control block execution order determining apparatus and method for enabling an appropriate execution order of control blocks to be determined at high speed, and a program used to realize the control block execution order determining apparatus are stored. And a program recording medium to be used.

[0002] In a control system for controlling a process using a control block composed of a program or the like,
Fine control is required, and the number of control blocks used is enormous. Under such circumstances, it is urgently necessary to automate the determination of the operation order of the control blocks in a suitable and high-speed manner in order to promote the efficiency of engineering. And, depending on the control method,
There is also a need to be able to easily change the operation order.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art When a connection relationship of a control block is set by a user, the connection relationship is traced from an output port of the control block, which is a starting point, as a starting point. The execution order of the control blocks defined by the relationship can be determined.

Conventionally, when the connection relation of a control block is set by a user, the connection relation is tracked from an output port of the control block serving as a starting point, whereby the control block in which the connection relation is defined is controlled. The execution order was determined automatically.

[0005]

When the control block traces the autoregressive link (the connection relation of the control block,
(A link that returns to the starting control block), the control block connected to the autoregressive link has one executable execution order instead of one.
There are multiple.

In the prior art, when this autoregressive link exists, one execution order is automatically determined from a plurality of executable execution orders according to a method defined by an algorithm for tracking the connection relation of control blocks. I was taking the method of doing.

For example, as shown in FIG. 14, the output port (OUT) of the control block A is connected to the input port 1 (IN1) of the control block B, and the output port 1 (OUT1) of the control block B is connected to the control block A. Input port (I
N) and the output port 2 (OU) of the control block B.
T2) is connected to the input port (IN) of the control block C and the output port (OUT) of the control block C is connected to the input port (IN) of the control block B. If so, there are a plurality of execution orders such as control block C → control block B → control block A or control block A → control block B → control block C.

In the prior art, in such a case, one of the plurality of execution orders is automatically determined as an actually used execution order according to a method defined by an algorithm for tracing the connection relation of control blocks. Was adopted.

However, according to such a conventional technique, although an execution order other than the automatically determined execution order can realize a more appropriate control process,
There is a problem that the execution order cannot be used.

When the control block connected to the auto-regressive link is activated, it does not immediately enter a predetermined control process, but enters a predetermined control process after a predetermined cycle. Become.

To explain with the auto-regressive link in FIG. 14, for example, first, the control block C is activated,
At this stage, since data from the control block B has not been received, some data corresponding to the data is output to the control block B. Subsequently, the control block B is activated, and at this stage, data from the control block A is transmitted. Since it has not been received, it outputs some data corresponding to it to the control blocks A and C. Subsequently, the control block A is activated, performs processing according to the data from the control block B, and sends the result to the control block B. By repeating the output operation for a specified cycle, the control blocks A, B, and C enter a predetermined control process.

As described above, according to the related art, there is a problem that an appropriate control process cannot be executed on a control target because an execution order of an appropriate control block cannot be used.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a new control for determining an appropriate execution order when determining the execution order of control blocks for controlling a process. It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for determining a block execution order and to provide a new program recording medium in which a program used to realize the control block execution order determining apparatus is stored.

[0014]

FIG. 1 shows the principle configuration of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a control block execution order determining device provided with the present invention, which determines an execution order of control blocks that control a process of a process.

A control block execution order determining apparatus 1 according to the present invention.
Is the display 10 and the control block information management means 1
1, setting means 12, management means 13, and determination means 14
, Detection means 15, display means 16, and change means 17.

The display 10 functions as a device for interacting with the user. Control block information management means 11
Manages information held by the control block. Setting means 12
Sets the connection relation of the control blocks according to the interactive processing. The management unit 13 manages the control block connection relation information set by the setting unit 12.

The determining means 14 determines the execution order of the control blocks by tracking the control block connection relation set by the setting means 12. The detecting unit 15 is developed by the determining unit 14 and detects an auto-regressive link having the control block connection relationship set by the setting unit 12.

The display means 16 displays on the display 10 the self-regression link detected by the detection means 15 and the execution order of the control blocks connected to the self-regression link determined by the determination means 14. The changing means 17 is a determining means 1
The execution order of the control blocks connected to the autoregressive link determined in step 4 is changed.

Here, the function of the control block execution order determining apparatus 1 of the present invention is specifically realized by a program, and the program executes the control block execution order determination via a floppy disk or a line. The present invention is realized by being installed in the device 1 and operating on the memory.

In the control block execution order determining apparatus 1 of the present invention configured as described above, the setting means 12 graphically displays the control blocks on the display screen and, according to the interactive processing, connects the control blocks. Is set, and the set connection relationship is stored in the management unit 13.

Receiving the connection relation of the control blocks set by the setting means 12, the determination means 14 tracks the control block connection relation set by the setting means 12 in accordance with the input / output information of the control block, thereby determining the control block connection. The execution order is automatically determined and registered in the management means 13. At this time, when the detecting unit 15 detects the autoregressive link of the control block, the determining unit 14 automatically determines the execution order of the control block connected to the autoregressive link according to a prescribed algorithm.

In response to the execution order of the control blocks determined by the determination means 14, the display means 16 displays an auto-regressive link of the control blocks detected by the detection means 15 and the determination means 1
4 and the execution order of the control block connected to the auto-regressive link determined is displayed on the display 10. In response to this, the changing means 17 connects to the auto-regressive link displayed by the display means 16 according to the interactive processing. The execution order of the control block to be executed is changed and registered in the management means 13.

As described above, in the control block execution order determining apparatus 1 according to the present invention, when the connection relation of the control blocks is set by the user, the connection relation is traced from the control block serving as the starting point, so that When adopting a configuration that automatically determines the execution order of the control block that defines the connection relationship, the control block connected in the form of an autoregressive link, considering that there are multiple executable execution orders, Since the auto-regression link portion is displayed on the display 16 while the automatically determined execution order is displayed, and the execution order of those control blocks is changed in accordance with the interactive processing, the control block is executed. The execution order can be determined appropriately and quickly.

[0024]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail according to embodiments. FIG. 2 illustrates a system configuration example of a control system including the present invention.

The control system shown in FIG. 1 includes a control station 20 for controlling an object to be controlled, an operator station 30 disposed in an instrument room, a configuration tool device 40 having the present invention, a control station 20 and an operator station. A communication path 50 connects between the configuration tool device 30 and the configuration tool device 40.

The control station 20 includes a plurality of control blocks 21 such as a PID control block including a program for controlling a process, and an execution order list 22 for managing the execution order of the control blocks 21.
And according to the execution order managed by the execution order list 22,
A control processing mechanism 23 that controls a control target by activating the control block 21 is provided.

The execution order list 22 developed in the control station 20 is loaded from the configuration tool device 40 having the present invention. For example, as shown in FIG. By managing the correspondence with the block numbers, the execution order of the control block 21 is managed.

On the other hand, the configuration tool device 40 according to the present invention executes the process of creating the execution order list 22 developed in the control station 20 and includes an input device 42 such as a mouse or a keyboard. The terminal 41, a database 43 for managing information on the control block 21, an execution order list 44 to be loaded into the control station 20 (the same as the execution order list 22), and a work file for creating the execution order list 44 are prepared. A connection relation editing program 46 for setting the connection relation of the control block 21 by interacting with the editing file 45 and the user, and an execution order list 44 from the connection relation of the control block 21 set by the connection relation editing program 46. And an execution order determination program 47 for performing the execution.

Here, the connection relation editing program 46 and the execution order determination program 47 are installed via a floppy disk, a line, or the like. FIG.
Next, an embodiment of a processing flow executed by the connection relationship editing program 46 is shown, and FIGS. 5 to 7 show an embodiment of a processing flow executed by the execution order determination program 47. FIG. Next, the processing of the present invention will be described in detail according to these processing flows.

First, the processing executed by the connection relation editing program 46 will be described with reference to the processing flow of FIG. When the connection relation editing program 46 issues a connection relation setting request of the control block 21 from the user, FIG.
As shown in the processing flow of FIG.
Then, an edit screen as shown in FIG. 8 used for setting the connection relation of the control block 21 is displayed on the display of the terminal 41. Here, a list of selection buttons of the control block 21 is arranged in the parts bar provided on the editing screen.

When the editing screen is displayed in this manner, subsequently, in step 2, it is determined whether or not the control block 21 has been selected from the parts bar of the editing screen according to a mouse operation. When it is determined that is selected, the process proceeds to step 3, where the selected control block 2 is located at the position indicated by the mouse operation.
Display one figure. Control block 2 to be displayed at this time
The figure 1 is managed by the database 43 and has a form in which information such as input ports and output ports of the control block 21 can be understood.

If it is determined in step 2 that the control block 21 is not selected, or if the selected control block 21 is arranged in a specified position in step 3, the process proceeds to step 4 where the user displays the control block 21 on the editing screen. When it is determined whether or not an edit request for the connection relation of the control block 21 is issued, and when it is determined that the edit request has been issued, the process proceeds to step 5 where a certain instruction is issued in accordance with a mouse operation instruction. By connecting between the input port of the control block 21 and the output port of another control block 21, changing the previously connected connection, or deleting the previously connected connection, the control block 21 Edit the connection while placing.

For example, as shown in FIG. 9, the output port of the control block A is connected to one input port of the control block C, and the output port of the control block B is connected to the control block C.
Is connected to the other input port and the output port of the control block C is connected to the input port of the control block D, and the connection relation is edited while the control block 21 is arranged on the edit screen.

At this time, when there is a prescribed restriction such as a connectable data type in the input / output port of the control block 21, it is checked whether or not the connection specified by the user satisfies the restriction. Then, when it is determined that the restriction is not satisfied, a process of displaying a message to that effect is executed.

In step 4, it is determined that the connection setting request of the control block 21 is not issued, or
In step 5, control block 2 responds to the user's instruction.
When the connection relation of No. 1 is edited, the process proceeds to step 6, where it is determined whether or not the user has issued a process end request. When it is determined that the process end request has been issued, the process proceeds to step 7. When it is determined that the connection relationship of the set control block 21 is registered in the edit file 45 and the process is terminated, and that the process termination request is not issued, the process returns to step 2 to return to the control block 21.
The connection setting process is continued.

As described above, when the connection relation setting program 46 issues a connection relation setting request of the control block 21 by the user, the connection relation editing program 46 interacts with the user using the edit screen, whereby the control block The processing for setting the connection relation and registering it in the edit file 45 is executed.

According to the processing of the connection relation editing program 46, the editing file 45 contains, as shown in FIG.
Using the control block 21 indicated by the control block number as a management unit, input port connection destination information indicating which output port of each control block 21 is connected to each input port of each control block 21, and each control block 21 And output port connection destination information indicating which control block 21 each output port has to which input port is connected.

Here, as shown in FIG. 10, the execution order of each control block 21 is registered in the edit file 45, and this execution order is determined by the execution order determination program 47. So it is not registered at this stage.

Next, the processing executed by the execution order determination program 47 will be described with reference to the processing flows of FIGS. When the execution order determination program 47 issues a request to determine the execution order of the control block 21 that defines the connection relationship set by the connection relationship editing program 46 from the user, as shown in the processing flows of FIGS. First, in step 1, according to the connection relation stored in the edit file 45, the control block 21 in the connected state
Are grouped to create an island of the control block 21 as shown in FIG.

Subsequently, in step 2, the control block 21 serving as a starting point is specified for each island of the created control block 21. That is, by specifying the control block 21 whose input port is not connected to any of the control blocks 21 on the island and whose output port is connected to any of the control blocks 21 on the island, the control block 21 serving as the starting point is specified.
Is to be specified. Note that there may be a plurality of control blocks 21 serving as the starting point on one island.

Subsequently, in step 3, one island of the control block 21 created in step 1 is selected, and in step 4 it is determined whether or not the island has been selected in step 3, and the island is selected. When it is determined that the operation has been completed, the process proceeds to step 5, in which a token (indicating a signal or data transition) is set to the output port of the control block serving as a starting point of the selected island, and connection is performed according to the set token. The execution order is determined by firing the related control block 21. That is, by tracing the connection relationship from the output port of the control block serving as the starting point from upstream to downstream, the control block 21 defining the connection relationship is fired and the execution order of the control block 21 is determined. is there.

Subsequently, in step 6, the control block 21 constituting the auto-regressive link that has not fired is specified.
The control block 21 constituting the autoregressive link is shown in FIG.
As described in, it is not possible to fire by tracking the connection relationship from upstream to downstream. From this, in step 6, the control block 21 that has not been fired by being connected to the autoregressive link is specified.

The specific processing of the unfired control block 21 executed in step 6 is, specifically, one control block 21 is selected from the control blocks 21 that have not fired, and the selected control block 21 is further selected. One of the output ports of the block 21 is selected, the connection relation is traced from the selected output port, and it is checked whether or not to return to the selected control block 21 (automatic regression link). If so, go back). If it is not possible to return, if the same processing is performed for another output port of the selected control block 21 and if the same processing is performed for all output ports, it is not possible to return. This is performed by selecting the next control block 21 from the control blocks 21 that did not fire and repeating the same processing.

In step 6, when the specific processing of the control block 21 which has not been fired due to being connected to the auto-regressive link is executed, subsequently, in step 7, whether the auto-regressive link could be specified by this specific processing? If it is determined whether or not it has been identified, the process proceeds to step 8 where a token is set at the output port of the unfired control block 21 that has become the tracking source of the autoregressive link, and the token is set. Control block 21 connected according to the token
To determine the execution order of the control block 21 connected to the autoregressive link, and then return to step 6 to execute the process for the next autoregressive link.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step 7 that the auto-regressive link cannot be specified by the specifying process in step 6, that is, when it is determined that the process in step 8 has been performed on all the auto-regressive links, In order to proceed to the next control block 21 for the island, step 3
Go back to

In this way, for each island of the control block 21, the execution order of the control blocks 21 constituting the island is determined, whereby the control blocks 21 for all the islands are determined.
When the process of determining the execution order is completed, it is determined in step 4 that all the islands have been selected. In that case, the process proceeds to step 9 (the processing flow in FIG. 6) and proceeds to FIG.
As shown in 2, while clarifying the location of the autoregressive link,
The determined execution order is displayed on the display of the terminal 41.

Although not described above, the control block 2
When one connection relationship branches or self-regresses, a plurality of execution routes exist in parallel in the order of execution. In such a case, it is necessary to adjust the execution order between the execution routes. However, since the execution order that flows from upstream to downstream in each execution route is guaranteed, as an adjustment method, A simple algorithm may be used. By performing this adjustment, the execution order of the control block 21 displayed on the display of the terminal 41 becomes 1
It will be represented by a serial number starting from the number.

In step 9, the determined execution order is displayed on the display while specifying the location of the autoregressive link. Subsequently, in step 10, in response to the display in step 9, the user selects the automatically determined self-regression link. It is determined whether or not a change request is to be issued for the execution order of the regression link portion. When a change request is to be issued, the process proceeds to step 11, where the execution order specified by the user is input.

For example, when the execution order of the control block 21 is displayed while clearly indicating the location of the autoregressive link according to the display screen as shown in FIG. 12, the user designates the third autoregressive link. Then, when a request to change the execution order of the autoregressive link portion is issued, for example, the designated autoregressive link portion, the automatically determined execution order of the autoregressive link portion, and the input entry of the new execution order By displaying the execution order change screen as shown in FIG. 13 having the area, the user inputs the execution order desired.

Subsequently, in step 12, it is checked whether there is any duplication in the execution order input in step 11. If it is determined in step 13 that there is any duplication, when there is a user input error, Therefore, the process proceeds to step 14, instructs the user to input again, and then returns to step 11.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step 13 that there is no duplication in the execution order input in step 11, the process proceeds to step 15 in which the control block 21 having the youngest execution order number designated by the user. By setting a token in the output port and firing the control block 21 connected to the autoregressive link for which the execution order change request has been made in accordance with the set token, is the execution order entered by the user consistent? Check whether or not.

Subsequently, in step 16, when it is determined by the check processing in step 15 that there is an inconsistency in the execution order input by the user, the process proceeds to step 17 because the input is incorrect by the user. To instruct re-input, and then return to step 11.

If it is determined in step 10 that a request for changing the execution order of the automatically determined autoregressive link portion is not issued, or if it is determined in step 16 that there is no inconsistency in the execution order input by the user. ,
Proceeding to step 18 (the processing flow in FIG. 7), the execution order of the determined control block 21 is registered in the edit file 45, and then in step 19, an execution order list having a data structure as shown in FIG. 44, and the process ends.

As described above, when the execution order determination program 47 issues a request to determine the execution order of the control block 21 that defines the connection relation set by the connection relation editing program 46, the execution order determination program 47 By tracking the connection relationship from the output port, the execution order of the control block 21 that defines the connection relationship is automatically determined, and the execution order of the control block 21 connected in the form of an autoregressive link. With respect to (3), the execution order list 44 is created by adopting the execution order specified by the user instead of the automatically determined one.

The execution order list 44 created in this way is loaded into the control station 20 so that
The execution order list 22 is developed in the control station 20, whereby the control processing mechanism 23 operates according to the execution order indicated by the loaded execution order list 22.
By activating the control block 21, the control target is controlled.

The present invention has been described with reference to the illustrated embodiments.
The present invention is not limited to this. For example, in the embodiment, the configuration tool device 40 including the present invention is provided separately from the operator station 30, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the configuration tool device including the present invention is not limited to this. The function of the device 40 may be built in the control station 20 or the operator station 30.

Also, for example, in the embodiment, only the autoregressive link portion is extracted and displayed. However, a configuration in which the display color is changed or the like is explicitly specified or the control block 21 is used. Various display methods, such as displaying the auto-regressive link portion only with the block number, can be used.

[0058]

As described above, in the control block execution order determining apparatus of the present invention, when the connection relation of the control blocks is set by the user, the connection relation is traced from the control block serving as the starting point. Then, when adopting a configuration for automatically determining the execution order of the control block that defines the connection relationship, when the control block connected in the form of an auto-regressive link, there is a plurality of executable execution order, Considering the configuration, the auto-regressive link part is displayed on the display while displaying the automatically determined execution order, and the execution order of those control blocks is changed according to the interactive processing. It becomes possible to determine the execution order of blocks appropriately and quickly.

According to the control block execution order determining apparatus of the present invention, the efficiency of engineering can be promoted in a situation where the number of control blocks is enormous, and the control method of the control method can be improved. Changes can be easily handled.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a principle configuration diagram of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a control system.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of an execution order list.

FIG. 4 is a processing flow executed by a connection relation editing program.

FIG. 5 is a processing flow executed by an execution order determination program.

FIG. 6 is a processing flow executed by an execution order determination program.

FIG. 7 is a processing flow executed by an execution order determination program.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of a display screen.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of a display screen.

FIG. 10 is an example of a data structure of an edit file.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of an island of a control block.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of a display screen.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of a display screen.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram of an auto-regressive link.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Control block execution order determination apparatus 10 Display 11 Control block information management means 12 Setting means 13 Management means 14 Determination means 15 Detection means 16 Display means 17 Changing means

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A control block execution order determining device for determining an execution order of control blocks for controlling processes of a process, wherein the control blocks are graphically displayed and displayed on a display screen, and the control blocks are controlled in accordance with an interactive process. Setting means for setting the connection relation; determining means for determining the execution order of the control blocks by tracking the control block connection relation set by the setting means according to the input / output information of the control block; and setting the setting means. Display means for displaying, on a display screen, an auto-regressive link having a control block connection relationship and an execution order of control blocks connected to the auto-regressive link determined by the determining means; Changing means for changing the execution order of the control blocks connected to the autoregressive link. Control block execution order determination apparatus characterized. 2. A control block execution order determining method for determining an execution order of a control block that controls a control process of a process, wherein the control block is graphically displayed on a display screen while the control block is displayed in accordance with an interactive process. A first processing step of setting a connection relation; and a second processing step of determining an execution order of control blocks by tracking a control block connection relation set in the first processing step according to input / output information of the control block. And displaying on a display screen an autoregressive link having a control block connection relationship set in the first process and an execution order of control blocks connected to the autoregressive link determined in the second process. The execution order of the control blocks connected to the autoregressive link displayed in the third process is changed according to the process 3 and the interactive process. Control block execution order determination method further comprising a fourth processing step, characterized. 3. A program recording medium for storing a program used for realizing a control block execution order determination device for determining an execution order of control blocks for controlling a control process of a process, wherein the control blocks are graphically displayed. A setting process of setting the connection relationship of the control block according to the interactive process, and the control block execution sequence set by the setting process according to the input / output information of the control block. Is displayed on the display screen, a determination process for determining the self-regression link having the control block connection relationship set by the setting process, and an execution order of the control block connected to the self-regression link determined by the determination process are determined. According to the display process and the interactive process, it is connected to the autoregressive link displayed by the above display process. That a program to execute a changing process for changing the order of execution of the control block on the computer is stored, a program recording medium characterized.