JPS6349902A - Controlling method for programmable controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To shorten processing time and to improve processing capacity by executing one computer program in accordance with priority even if the other computer program is in waiting. CONSTITUTION:In a programmable controller, a general purpose processor 3 is coupled with a sequence processor 4 through a linkage device 5 and various programs are stored in a memory 6. The linkage device 5 is constituted of a program counter 7, a start command F/F 8 and an end informing F/F 9. A control program or the like is stored in the memory 6, and when a computer program Cig starts a sequence program Skl based on said program, the program Cig is waited until the program Skl is ended. On the other hand, the other computer program is executed in accordance with its assigned priority. Consequently, the processing time of the whole system can be shortened.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a method of controlling a programmable controller, and particularly to a method of controlling a programmable controller in which a sequence processor and a general-purpose processor are combined.

[Conventional technology]

In general, conventional programmable controllers that can execute both sequence programs and computer programs share one processor 1 and store 5 kilos of sequence programs in a program memory 2.
It was a type of system in which each task was executed by time-sharing control based on the computer program C1j and the computer program C1j (see Fig. 2).

However, recently there has been a demand for high-speed control operations, and in order to meet this demand, as shown in FIG. 3, a general-purpose processor 3 that executes a computer program C and a sequence processor 4 that exclusively executes a sequence program [Problems to be Solved by the Invention] The problem with the above-mentioned parallel programmable controller is that it is difficult to efficiently execute sequence programs and computer programs. The problem is that there is not enough management.

That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the sequence program Sll is executed when the internal register G010 is activated, and is stopped when the internal register G011 is turned ON (FIG. 4(a)).

If the sequence program is executed along with the execution of the computer programs C11 and Ctx.

First, the computer program C11 is executed, and when it is finished, it is determined whether or not there is a request to execute the sequence program, and then the next computer program Cxx is executed (FIG. 4(b)). In this way, the processors are activated alternately, and while one processor is running, the other processors are running. As a result, the performance of the programmable controller as a whole is determined by whichever processor has the slower processing speed, and even though it is equipped with two processors, it cannot be operated efficiently. There are limits to sexuality.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a control method capable of efficiently operating each processor in a programmable controller equipped with two dedicated processors.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a method for controlling a programmable controller including a sequence processor that exclusively executes a sequence program and a general-purpose processor that executes a computer program, including: activating the sequence processor by the general-purpose processor. When executing a specific sequence program, the computer program that gave the activation command is kept in the timing state until the execution of the activated sequence program is completed, and during this period, other programs are activated according to the priority registered in advance. It is characterized by causing a computer program to be executed.

[Effect]

According to the present invention having the above configuration, the computer program that has given the startup command to the sequence program will wait until the execution of the sequence program is completed, but during this period, the priority registered in advance is Since other computer programs are executed according to the programmable controller, it is possible to prevent the general-purpose processor from having any idle time, and therefore each processor can operate effectively, and the programmable controller as a whole can perform its processing efficiently. It is possible to reduce time and improve abilities.

〔Example〕

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

First, FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of correspondence between computer programs Ctx to C, la, sequence programs 311 to Sns, and each equipment 1 to n in a programmable controller. It is assumed that each sequence program and computer program are assigned.

FIG. 6 shows a configuration example of a programmable controller that executes the control method of the present invention. A general-purpose processor 3 and a sequence processor 4 are coupled via a linkage device 5, and various programs are stored in a memory 6. There is.

Linkage device t! 5 is a program counter 7 that indicates a program address to be executed by the sequence processor 3, a start command flip-flop (F/F) 8 for starting the sequence processor, and a flip-flop (F/F) 8 for starting a sequence processor when a sequence end command is detected during a sequence program. It is configured to include a completion reporting flip-flop (F/F) 9 for reporting completion to the general-purpose processor 3.

The memory 6 stores a management program (operation system:
O8), a sequence program Sij, and a computer program Ck12 (as an application program) are stored, respectively.

Next, the control method according to the present invention will be explained according to the order of operation. Note that the operation is controlled by a management program. The gist of the present invention is that when the computer program C1j starts the sequence program SkQ by the management program, the period until the sequence program SkQ ends.

The computer program C1j is executed. - direction,
The point is that other computer programs are executed according to their assigned priorities.

The general operation is as follows. As shown in FIG. 6, the computer program C1j includes P1 to P4.
Assume that there are four. Each computer program P1
~P4 starts the sequence programs 81~S3 in a specific control step.

The priority of the computer program Pr-Pl is determined to suit the characteristics of the plant to which it is applied, for example, PL>P.
Let l>Pa>Pl. First, Pl starts moving and starts St. After activating Sl, Pz with the next priority starts moving and activates S3. Sa starts moving after St ends. P
After 'z starts 88, Pa with the next priority starts moving. S
After completion of l, the sequence processor 4 executes Sa. When St ends, Pa is in operation, but since Pl has a higher priority, Pa is interrupted and PL operates. Similarly, as shown in the time chart of Figure 6, Pz~
P4°S1 to S11 operate.

Next, each operation mode will be explained in detail. As shown in FIG. 7(a), from the computer program C1j.

When starting the sequence program Ski, CALL
l5UB (P, NO) Describe. P and NO are the program numbers of the sequence program to be started.

Conversely, when starting a computer program from a sequence program, a special coil Po1o is used as shown in FIG. 7(b). As a parameter, program NOP 1 of the computer program you want to start
and the attribute (task or subroutine) Pa.

FIG. 10 shows the wait table of the sequence processor when the sequence program SkQ is started from the computer program C1j. Each block contains the program number of the sequence program, 100, the start address of the sequence program, 101, and the computer program started. Information about the program number, 102, and the start address 103 of the next block is stored.

FIG. 8 shows a schematic flow of the management program when the sequence program SkQ is started from the computer program C1j (FIG. 7(a)).

First, the parameter (program number) is extracted (step 200), the status of the computer program C1j is set to "waiting for sequence processor" (step 201), and then it is registered in the sequence processor waiting table shown in FIG. 10 (step 200). 202), if the sequence processor 4 is not executing another sequence program, it immediately starts the sequence program (steps 203, 205). The computer program is then operated according to the priority level.

FIG. 9 shows a schematic flow of the management program when the sequence processor 4 detects a "sequence program end instruction" and reports it to the general-purpose processor 3. First, the computer program is deleted from the sequence processor waiting table in FIG. 10 (step 30o), and the status of the computer program is updated from the "sequence processor waiting" state (step 301).

Next, if there is a waiting block in the sequence processor waiting table, that sequence program is started (steps 302, 303), and then the computer program is operated according to the priority level (step 304).
.

Thereby, the sequence processor 4 and the general-purpose processor 3 can be used efficiently without being idle.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, other computer programs are executed according to the priority even if the - computer program is in progress, thereby suppressing the occurrence of idle time in the operation of the general-purpose processor. be able to.

As a result, in a programmable controller that uses processors in parallel, it is possible to shorten the overall processing time and improve processing capacity.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1(a) is a flowchart showing an embodiment of the present invention;
(b) is a time chart thereof, and FIG. 2(a) is a block diagram showing the configuration of a conventional program controller.
b) is its time chart, Fig. 4 (a) is a flow chart of a conventional sequence program, (b) is a flow chart of a computer program, (Q) is its time chart, and Fig. 5 is the correspondence between the program controller and equipment. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a programmable controller that executes the control method of the present invention, FIG. 7(a) is a flowchart when starting a sequence program from a computer program, and FIG. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of a management program; FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing another example of a management program; FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a management table. . 3... General-purpose processor, 4... Sequence processor, 5... Linkage device, 6... Memory, O8.
...Management program, C1j...Computer program, 5kfl...Sequence program.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A method for controlling a programmable controller including a sequence processor that exclusively executes a sequence program and a general-purpose processor that executes a computer program, wherein the general-purpose processor starts up the sequence processor to execute a specific sequence program. When executing the computer program, the computer program that gave the activation command is placed in a standby state until the sequence program that has been started finishes execution, and during this waiting period, other programs are executed according to the priority registered in advance. A method for controlling a programmable controller, the method comprising: executing a computer program.