WO2018037513A1

WO2018037513A1 - Programmable logic controller

Info

Publication number: WO2018037513A1
Application number: PCT/JP2016/074711
Authority: WO
Inventors: 啓文甲斐; 拓也河合
Original assignee: 三菱電機株式会社
Priority date: 2016-08-24
Filing date: 2016-08-24
Publication date: 2018-03-01
Also published as: CN109643091A; CN109643091B; JP6207799B1; JPWO2018037513A1

Abstract

Provided is a programmable logic controller (PLC (5)), comprising a storage unit (56) which stores a control program (CP), and a control unit (59) which accepts commands and acquires comments which are associated with at least a portion of the commands, from among the accepted commands, aside from the commands for changing the control program (CP). The PLC (5) further comprises a comment requirement storage unit (57) which stores comment requirement information (AI) in which the commands for which the association of the comments therewith is required have been preset, and a history storage unit (58) which stores history information (HI) in which the at least a portion of the commands is associated with the acquired comments.

Description

Programmable logic controller

The present invention relates to a programmable logic controller that controls equipment in the FA (Factory Automation) field.

∙ Facilities in the FA field are generally realized by combining multiple devices. A plurality of devices constituting equipment in the FA field are controlled by a programmable logic controller that integrates control processing and information processing (see Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2).

The programmable logic controller shown in Patent Document 1 stores the change of the control program for controlling the device as history information, and the programmable logic controller shown in Patent Document 2 stores the operation timing of the device as history information. Yes. The programmable logic controllers shown in Patent Literature 1 and Patent Literature 2 store history information, thereby facilitating investigation of the cause when a problem occurs in equipment in the FA field.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-134011 JP 2003-248504 A

However, since the programmable logic controller shown in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 only stores the change of the control program or the operation timing of the device as history information, the cause when a problem occurs in the facility in the FA field. There was a problem that it was difficult to investigate.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object thereof is to obtain a programmable logic controller capable of easily investigating the cause when a problem occurs in equipment in the FA field.

In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the present invention provides a storage unit that stores a control program, and at least a part of a command other than a change in the control program that accepts a command and receives the command. And a control unit that acquires a comment associated with the command. The programmable logic controller includes a history storage unit that stores history information in which at least some commands are associated with acquired comments.

The programmable logic controller according to the present invention has an effect that it is easy to investigate the cause when a problem occurs in the facility in the FA field.

The figure which shows the structure of a control system provided with the programmable logic controller which concerns on Embodiment 1. The figure which shows an example of the comment necessity information which the programmable logic controller shown by FIG. 1 memorize | stored The figure which shows an example of the log | history information which the programmable logic controller shown by FIG. 1 memorize | stores The figure which shows the hardware constitutions of the computer of the control system which concerns on Embodiment 1. The figure which shows the hardware constitutions of HMI of the control system which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. Functional block diagram of the programmable logic controller according to the first embodiment The figure which shows the hardware constitutions of the programmable logic controller which concerns on Embodiment 1. The flowchart which shows an example of the operation | movement which produces the historical information of the programmable logic controller which concerns on Embodiment 1. The figure which shows an example of the log | history information created by the flowchart shown in FIG. The flowchart which shows an example of the operation | movement which monitors the historical information of the programmable logic controller which concerns on Embodiment 1. The figure which shows an example of the comment setting screen displayed on the display apparatus of a computer, when adding a comment to the log | history information shown by FIG. The figure which shows an example of the state by which the comment was added to the log | history information shown by FIG. The figure which shows the other example of the comment necessity information of the programmable logic controller which concerns on Embodiment 1. The figure which shows the other example of the log | history information created by the flowchart shown in FIG. The figure which shows the other example of the comment setting screen displayed on the display apparatus of a computer, when adding a comment to the log | history information shown by FIG. The figure which shows an example of the state by which the comment was added to the log | history information shown by FIG. The figure which shows an example of the comment necessity information which the programmable logic controller which concerns on Embodiment 2 memorize | stored The flowchart which shows an example of the operation | movement which produces the historical information of the programmable logic controller which concerns on Embodiment 2. The figure which shows an example of the log | history information created by the flowchart shown in FIG. Functional block diagram of a programmable logic controller according to the third embodiment The figure which shows an example of the comment setting screen notified to the user of the programmable logic controller which concerns on Embodiment 4.

Hereinafter, a programmable logic controller according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a control system including a programmable logic controller according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of comment necessity information stored by the programmable logic controller illustrated in FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of history information stored in the programmable logic controller illustrated in FIG. 1.

The control system 1 constitutes equipment in the FA (Factory Automation) field, and as shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of

devices

2, 3, 4 installed in the facility and a plurality of

devices

2, 3, 4 Programmable Logic Controllers (hereinafter referred to as PLC) 5, a computer 6 connected to PLC 5, and an HMI (Human Machine Interface) 7 connected to PLC 5. In Embodiment 1, although the control system 1 is provided with the three

apparatuses

2, 3, and 4, it is not limited to three. In the first embodiment, the

devices

2, 3, and 4 are sensors or driving devices. Examples of the sensor include a sensor that detects a flow rate, pressure, concentration, or temperature installed in the facility. Examples of the drive device include a drive device that performs an operation that is a switch, an adjustment valve, a solenoid valve, a motor, or a pump installed in the facility.

Further, the control system 1 includes a network N that connects the

devices

2, 3, 4, the PLC 5, the computer 6, and the HMI 7 so that they can communicate with each other. The network N is a computer network that connects the computer 6, the PLC 5, and the HMI 7 so that they can communicate with each other. In Embodiment 1, the network N is a LAN (Local Area Network) installed in the FA facility, but the network N is not limited to the LAN.

The computer 6 creates a control program CP to be executed by the PLC 5 and transmits it to the PLC 5. The PLC 5 controls the

devices

2, 3, and 4 by executing the control program CP. In the first embodiment, the PLC 5 is defined by JIS (Japanese Industrial Standards) B 3502: 2011. The HMI 7 is used for a user to input various commands to the PLC 5. The HMI 7 is a touch panel type terminal device in Embodiment 1, but the HMI 7 is not limited to a touch panel type terminal device.

The PLC 5 includes a memory 51 for storing information, a power switch 52 for turning on / off the power of the PLC 5, a reset switch 53 for resetting the PLC 5 itself, an external storage medium storage device 54, and an eject switch 55. Prepare. The external storage medium storage device 54 is detachable from the external storage medium, and stores the parameters acquired during execution of the control program CP in the external storage medium in the first embodiment. The information stored in the external storage medium is not limited to the parameters acquired during the execution of the control program CP. The external storage medium storage device 54 is detached from the external storage medium when the user operates the eject switch 55.

In the first embodiment, the external storage medium is composed of an SD memory card (Secure Digital memory card) or an SRAM (Static Random Access Memory) cassette, but is not limited to an SD memory card or an SRAM cassette. , An optical disk, or a magneto-optical disk. The eject switch 55 is operated when the external storage medium is removed from the PLC 5. The power switch 52, the reset switch 53, and the eject switch 55 are switches of the PLC 5, and are physical switches that are directly operated by the user.

The PLC 5 accepts various commands transmitted by the

switches

52, 53, 55, the computer 6 or the HMI 7 during the execution of the control program CP. The commands received by the PLC 5 are a program change command for changing at least a part of the control program CP, “power on” that is an operation for the power switch 52, “power off” that is an operation for the power switch 52, and a command for the reset switch 53 The operation includes “manual reset” which is an operation and “eject” which is an operation on the eject switch 55.

The commands received by the PLC 5 are “cable attachment” indicating that the cable used for the network N is attached to the PLC 5, “cable removal” indicating that the cable used for the network N is removed from the PLC 5, the computer 6 or the HMI 7 "Remote reset" to reset the operation of the PLC 5 by the operation from the "Remote stop" to stop the execution of the control program CP of the PLC 5 by the operation from the computer 6 or HMI 7, and control to the PLC 5 by the operation from the computer 6 or the HMI 7 It includes a “remote run” that causes the program CP to be executed.

The command received by the PLC 5 is “a command for changing a value stored in the storage area of the memory 51” by an operation from the computer 6, and “a value stored in the storage area of the memory 51 is read by an operation from the computer 6. And a “command for writing a value to the storage area of the memory 51” by an operation from the computer 6. The commands received by the PLC 5 are “commands for reading various files stored in the memory 51” by operations from the computer 6 and “commands for writing various files to the memory 51” by operations from the computer 6. Including. In the first embodiment, the various files are a setting file that defines information for executing the control program CP, or a logging file that stores parameters acquired during the execution of the control program CP. It is not limited.

“Power on”, “Power off”, “Manual reset”, “Eject”, “Cable attachment”, “Cable removal”, “Remote reset”, “Remote stop”, “Remote run”, “Memory 51 "Command for changing value stored in storage area", "Command for reading value stored in storage area of memory 51", "Command for writing value to storage area of memory 51", "Memory The “command for reading various files stored in 51” and the “command for writing various files in the memory 51” are commands other than the change of the control program CP. Accordingly, the commands other than the change of the control program CP include “power on” that is an operation for the power switch 52, “power off” that is an operation for the power switch 52, “manual reset” that is an operation for the reset switch 53, and eject “Eject” which is an operation for the switch 55 is included.

Further, the computer 6 creates comment necessity information AI shown as an example in FIG. 2 and transmits it to the PLC 5. That is, the comment necessity information AI can be set by the computer 6. The comment necessity information AI is set in advance with a command that needs to be associated with a comment. The comment necessity information AI associates a command and a comment on a one-to-one basis. In the first embodiment, the comment necessity information AI shown in FIG. 2 includes “power on” that is an operation on the power switch 52 among commands other than the control program CP change, and “person in charge: Yamada for device test. Is associated with the comment. The comment necessity information AI shown in FIG. 2 is a command for changing the value stored in the storage area “M0” of the memory 51 among the commands other than the change of the control program CP, A comment “Responsible person: Yamada, change of condition X” is associated. In the comment necessity information AI shown in FIG. 2, the comment associated with “write during RUN”, which is a program change command for changing the control program CP, is “not set”.

FIG. 2 shows “power on” and “device M0 change” as commands other than the control program CP change. However, in the present invention, the commands other than the control program CP change are “power on” and It is not limited to “change device M0”. That is, according to the present invention, commands other than the change of the control program CP set in the comment necessity information AI are set to “power off”, “manual reset”, “eject”, “cable attachment”, “cable removal”, “ “Remote reset”, “remote stop”, “remote run”, “command for reading the value stored in the storage area of the memory 51”, “command for writing the value stored in the storage area of the memory 51”, A “command for reading various files stored in the memory 51” or a “command for writing various files in the memory 51” may be used.

When PLC 5 receives a command set in comment necessity information AI during execution of control program CP, PLC 5 associates the comment associated with the command received in comment necessity information AI with the received command. The history information HI shown in FIG. In the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the history information HI associates the date and time when the command set in the comment necessity information AI is received with the received command and the comment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a computer of the control system according to the first embodiment. The computer 6 according to the first embodiment executes a computer program, and as shown in FIG. 4, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 61, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 62, and a ROM (Read Only Memory). ) 63, a storage device 64, an input device 65, a display device 66, and a communication interface 67. The CPU 61, RAM 62, ROM 63, storage device 64, input device 65, display device 66, and communication interface 67 are connected to each other via the bus B6.

The CPU 61 executes programs stored in the ROM 63 and the storage device 64 while using the RAM 62 as a work area. The program stored in the ROM 63 is BIOS (Basic Input / Output System) or UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface), but the program stored in the ROM 63 is not limited to BIOS or UEFI. In the first embodiment, the program stored in the storage device 64 is an operating system program and a programming tool program. However, the program stored in the storage device 64 is not limited to the operating system program and the programming tool program. In the first embodiment, the storage device 64 is an SSD (Solid State Drive) or an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), but the storage device 64 is not limited to an SSD or an HDD.

The input device 65 receives an operation input from the user. In the first embodiment, the input device 65 is a keyboard or a mouse, but is not limited to a keyboard or a mouse. The display device 66 displays characters and images. The communication interface 67 communicates with the PLC 5 via the network N.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the HMI of the control system according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5, the HMI 7 according to the first embodiment includes a CPU 71, a RAM 72, a ROM 73, a storage device 74, an input device 75, a display device 76, and a communication interface 77. The CPU 71, RAM 72, ROM 73, storage device 74, input device 75, display device 76, and communication interface 77 are connected via a bus B7.

The display device 76 includes a liquid crystal display (LCD: Liquid Crystal Display), an organic EL display (OELD: Organic Electro-Luminescence Display), or an inorganic EL display (IELD: Inorganic Electro-Luminescence Display). The display device 76 displays characters, still images, moving images, symbols, and graphics.

The input device 75 receives an operation input from the user. In the first embodiment, the input device 75 is a touch screen superimposed on the display device 76. The input device 75 detects contact or proximity of a finger, pen, or stylus pen. The input device 75 detects a position on the input device 75 when a finger, a pen, or a stylus pen touches or approaches. In this specification, a plurality of fingers, pens, and stylus pens detected by the input device 75 may be collectively referred to as “finger”. In this specification, a position where the finger detected by the input device 75 is in contact with or close to the finger may be referred to as a “detected position”. The input device 75 transmits the finger contact together with the detection position to the CPU 71.

The input device 75 includes a touch screen that employs a capacitance method, a resistive film method, a surface acoustic wave method, an ultrasonic method, an infrared method, an electromagnetic induction method, or a load detection method as a detection method. The communication interface 77 communicates with the PLC 5 via the network N.

The CPU 71 executes a program stored in the ROM 73 while using the RAM 72 as a work area. The program stored in the ROM 73 is realized by software, firmware, or a combination of software and firmware. The CPU 71 detects the finger contact detected by the input device 75, the detection position where the contact is detected, the change in the detection position where the contact is detected, the interval at which the finger contact is detected, and the number of times the finger contact is detected. The type of gesture is determined based on at least one of the following. A gesture is an operation performed on the input device 75 using a finger. The gestures that the CPU 71 determines via the input device 75 include, but are not limited to, touch, long touch, release, swipe, tap, double tap, long tap, drag, flick, pinch in, and pinch out.

The storage device 74 has an area for storing information that can be read by a computer. In the first embodiment, the storage device 74 is configured by a nonvolatile semiconductor memory or a volatile semiconductor memory. As a nonvolatile semiconductor memory or a volatile semiconductor memory, a RAM, a ROM, a flash memory, an EPROM, or an EEPROM can be used. The storage device 74 may be configured by at least one of a magnetic disk, an optical disk, and a magneto-optical disk.

FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram of the programmable logic controller according to the first embodiment.

In the first embodiment, the PLC 5 is a unit that executes the control program CP, acquires and stores information on the

devices

2, 3, and 4, and controls the operation of the

devices

2, 3, and 4. The PLC 5 is a unit that receives a command during execution of the control program CP, and stores history information HI in which a command received according to the comment necessity information AI is associated with a comment.

As shown in FIG. 6, in addition to the power switch 52, the reset switch 53, the eject switch 55, and the external storage medium storage device 54, the PLC 5 stores a storage unit 56 that stores the control program CP and comment necessity information AI. A comment necessity storage unit 57. The PLC 5 includes a history storage unit 58 that stores history information HI, a control unit 59 that is connected to the computer 6 and the HMI 7 and receives commands, a monitoring unit 81 that monitors the history information HI stored in the history storage unit 58, A notification unit 82 connected to the monitoring unit 81.

Operation units operated by the user of the power switch 52, the reset switch 53, and the eject switch 55 are exposed to the outside of the PLC 5. In the first embodiment, the power switch 52, the reset switch 53, and the eject switch 55 are push button switches that can push the operation unit, but are not limited to push button switches.

In the storage unit 56, a control program CP created using the computer 6 is written through the control unit 59, and a part of the control program CP is executed by the computer 6 through the control unit 59 during execution of the control program CP. Is changed. In the comment necessity storage unit 57, comment necessity information AI created using the computer 6 is written via the control unit 59.

The control unit 59 executes the control program CP to control the

devices

2, 3, and 4. The control unit 59 receives a command during execution of the control program CP. When the control unit 59 receives a command that is set to require a comment to be associated with the comment necessity information AI, the control unit 59 associates the command with a comment that is set to need to be associated with the comment necessity information AI. The comment is acquired from the comment necessity information AI. The control unit 59 stores, in the history storage unit 58, history information HI in which a command set to be associated with a comment by the comment necessity information AI and a comment acquired from the comment necessity information AI are associated with each other. Let The control unit 59 acquires, from the comment necessity information AI, a comment associated with a command that is set to require that a comment is associated with the comment necessity information AI. A comment associated with at least a part of commands other than the CP change is acquired. Note that the command that is set to be associated with the comment is a command set in the comment necessity information AI. The commands that are set to be required to be associated with a comment are a command that is associated with a comment in the comment necessity information AI, and a command that has a comment that is associated with the comment necessity information AI is “not set”. Both.

The history storage unit 58 stores history information HI in which a command set to be required to be associated with a comment by the comment necessity information AI and a comment acquired from the comment necessity information AI are associated with each other. The history storage unit 58 stores the history information HI in which the command set to be required to be associated with the comment by the comment necessity information AI and the comment acquired from the comment necessity information AI are associated with each other. The history information HI in which at least a part of commands other than the change of the control program CP among the commands received by the control unit 59 is associated with the comments acquired by the control unit 59 is stored.

The monitoring unit 81 determines whether or not there is a command in the history information HI in which a comment is set to be associated with the comment necessity information AI and the comment is not supported during execution of the control program CP of the control unit 59. The determination is made every predetermined time set in advance. That is, the monitoring unit 81 determines whether a command that is set in the comment necessity information AI and is not associated with a comment exists in the history information HI while the control program CP of the control unit 59 is being executed. The determination is made every predetermined time. When the monitoring unit 81 determines that a command that is set in the comment necessity information AI and that is not associated with a comment exists in the history information HI, the command that is set in the comment necessity information AI and the comment corresponds The notification unit 82 notifies the user that a command not attached is present in the history information HI.

The notification unit 82 is set so that a comment is associated with the history information HI stored in the history storage unit 58 by the comment necessity information AI during execution of the control program CP of the control unit 59 and the comment is not supported. Notify the user that the command exists. In Embodiment 1, the notification unit 82 notifies the user by emitting or blinking yellow or red light, but the notification method of the notification unit 82 is not limited to this.

Next, the hardware configuration of PLC5 will be described. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the programmable logic controller according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 7, the PLC 5 includes a CPU unit 5A that processes and executes the control program CP, and an I / O (Input / Output) unit 5B connected to the

devices

2, 3, and 4. In the first embodiment, three I / O units 5B are provided and connected to one of the

devices

2, 3, and 4, respectively. The I / O unit 5B includes at least a circuit board 5B1 and a CPU (not shown) that is mounted on the circuit board 5B1 and stores and executes a computer program.

The CPU unit 5A includes a circuit board 5A1, a CPU 5A2 that is mounted on the circuit board 5A1 and executes the control program CP, and a memory 51 that is connected to the CPU 5A2 via the internal bus B1. The CPU unit 5A includes a communication interface 5A4 for communicating with the computer 6, a bus interface 5A5 connected to the I / O unit 5B, a control program CP, a computer program for calculating history information HI, and a computer program for monitoring the history information HI. Storage device 5A6, LED (Light Emitting Diode) 5A7, power switch 52, reset switch 53, eject switch 55, and external storage medium storage device 54. The CPU 5A2, memory 51, communication interface 5A4, bus interface 5A5, storage device 5A6, LED 5A7, power switch 52, reset switch 53, eject switch 55, and external storage medium storage device 54 are connected via the internal bus B1. ing.

The bus interface 5A5 is a bus bridge circuit that connects the internal bus B1 and the expansion bus B2. The bus interface 5A5 is connected to the I / O unit 5B via the expansion bus B2. In the first embodiment, the storage device 5A6 is an SSD or an HDD, but is not limited to an SSD or an HDD.

The functions of the control unit 59 and the monitoring unit 81, that is, the function of the PLC 5, read and execute the control program CP stored in the storage device 5A6, the computer program for calculating the history information HI, and the computer program for monitoring the history information HI. It is realized by doing. The control program CP, the computer program for calculating the history information HI, and the computer program for monitoring the history information HI are realized by software, firmware, or a combination of software and firmware.

The functions of the storage unit 56, the comment necessity storage unit 57, and the history storage unit 58 are realized by the storage device 5A6. The function of the notification unit 82 is realized by the LED 5A7. In the first embodiment, the LED 5A7 is turned on or blinked when notifying the user by the CPU 5A2 and is turned off when not informing the user. The memory 51 is configured by a nonvolatile semiconductor memory or a volatile semiconductor memory. As the nonvolatile semiconductor memory or volatile semiconductor memory, RAM, ROM, flash memory, EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), or EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory) can be used. The memory 51 may be composed of at least one of a magnetic disk, an optical disk, and a magneto-optical disk.

Next, an example of the operation of the PLC 5 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation for creating history information of the programmable logic controller according to the first embodiment. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of history information created by the flowchart shown in FIG. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation of monitoring history information of the programmable logic controller according to the first embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a comment setting screen displayed on the display device of the computer when a comment is added to the history information shown in FIG. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a state in which a comment is added to the history information illustrated in FIG. 9.

The PLC 5 stores the comment necessity information AI in the comment necessity storage unit 57 before executing the control program CP. In the first embodiment, the PLC 5 stores the comment necessity information AI shown in FIG. The PLC 5 controls the

devices

2, 3, and 4 by executing the control program CP. When the PLC 5 receives a command during the execution of the control program CP, the PLC 5 executes the flowchart shown in FIG. The PLC 5 accepts a command when executing the flowchart shown in FIG. 8 (step ST1).

The PLC 5 refers to the comment necessity information AI stored in the comment necessity storage unit 57 (step ST2). The PLC 5 determines whether the received command is set in the comment necessity information AI, that is, whether it is necessary to associate a comment with the received command (step ST3). If the PLC 5 determines that it is not necessary to associate a comment with the received command (step ST3: No), the flowchart shown in FIG. When the PLC 5 determines that it is necessary to associate a comment with the received command (step ST3: Yes), the PLC 5 acquires a comment associated with the received command from the comment necessity information AI, and acquires the received command and acquisition. The history information HI-1A shown in FIG. 9 in which the comment is associated with the date and time when the command is received is stored (step ST4), and the flowchart shown in FIG. 8 is ended.

Thus, in the first embodiment, the PLC 5 executes the flowchart shown in FIG. 8 to create the history information HI-1A shown in FIG. The history information HI-1A shown in FIG. 9 stores commands in the order received. The history information HI-1A illustrated in FIG. 9 associates a comment with each of the command “power on”, the command “power on”, and the command “change device M0”. In the first embodiment, since the comment associated with the command “write during RUN” of the comment necessity information AI shown in FIG. 2 is “not set”, the history information HI-1A shown in FIG. No comment is associated with “writing during RUN”.

In the first embodiment, the PLC 5 executes the flowchart shown in FIG. 10 every predetermined time during the execution of the control program CP. In addition, PLC5 performs the flowchart shown in FIG. 10 independently of the flowchart shown in FIG. When the PLC 5 executes the flowchart shown in FIG. 10, first, the history information HI stored in the history storage unit 58 is referred to, and whether or not there is a command with no comment associated with the history information HI. Determine. When there is a command with no comment associated with the history information HI, the PLC 5 acquires a command with no comment associated with the history information HI (step ST11). In step ST11, the PLC 5 ends the flowchart shown in FIG. 10 when there is no command that is not associated with the history information HI.

The PLC 5 refers to the comment necessity information AI in the comment necessity storage unit 57 (step ST12). The PLC 5 determines whether or not a command not associated with the comment acquired in step ST11 is set in the comment necessity information AI (step ST13). When the PLC 5 determines that the command not associated with the comment acquired in step ST11 is set in the comment necessity information AI (step ST13: Yes), the PLC 5 notifies the notification unit 82 (step ST14). Then, the flowchart shown in FIG. When the PLC 5 determines that the command not associated with the comment acquired in step ST11 is not set in the comment necessity information AI (step ST13: No), the flowchart shown in FIG. 10 ends.

In the first embodiment, the history information HI-1A shown in FIG. 9 does not associate a comment with the command “write during RUN”. For this purpose, in step ST11, the PLC 5 obtains a command “write during RUN” not associated with a comment from the history information HI-1A. In the first embodiment, the comment necessity information AI shown in FIG. 2 sets the command “write during RUN”. For this purpose, the PLC 5 causes the notification unit 82 to notify in step ST14.

An operation when a comment is added to a command not associated with a comment of the history information HI of the PLC 5 according to the first embodiment will be described. When adding a comment to the command, the user operates the input device 65 of the computer 6 to display the comment setting screen 100 shown in FIG. 11 on the display device 66. The comment setting screen 100 determines a command information display area 101 for displaying information of a command not associated with a comment, a comment input area 102 for inputting a comment, and a comment input to the comment input area 102 And an area 103. The user operates the input device 65 to input a comment in the comment input area 102 of the comment setting screen 100 shown in FIG. Then, in the history information HI-1A, as shown in FIG. 12, a comment is added to a command not associated with a comment.

In the first embodiment, in the history information HI-1A shown in FIG. 9, no comment is associated with the command “write in RUN”, and in the comment necessity information AI shown in FIG. Since it is set, the command information display area 101 of the comment setting screen 100 shown in FIG. 11 displays information of the command “write during RUN”. In the first embodiment, the user inputs “person in charge: Yamada change contents Y” as a comment in the comment input area 102 of the comment setting screen 100 shown in FIG. In the first embodiment, in the history information HI-1A shown in FIG. 12, the comment “person in charge: Yamada change Y” is added to the command “write in RUN”. In the first embodiment, the PLC 5 stores the history information HI-1A shown in FIG. 12, so that the control unit 59 accepts the program change command, and the history storage unit 58 accepts the program change received by the control unit 59. History information HI-1A in which commands and comments are associated is stored.

Next, another example of the operation of the PLC 5 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating another example of comment necessity information of the programmable logic controller according to the first embodiment. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing another example of the history information created by the flowchart shown in FIG. FIG. 15 is a diagram showing another example of a comment setting screen displayed on the display device of the computer when a comment is added to the history information shown in FIG. FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of a state in which a comment is added to the history information illustrated in FIG.

The user performs “power on” that is an operation on the power switch 52 among commands other than the change of the control program CP, and “power off” that is an operation on the power switch 52 among commands other than the change of the control program CP. Is normally input to the PLC 5, and “manual reset”, which is an operation for the reset switch 53 among commands other than the change of the control program CP, is not input to the PLC 5. In this case, when the user inputs the command “manual reset” to the PLC 5 for some reason, the PLC 5 may desire to associate a comment with the command “manual reset” in the history information HI.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 13, the comment necessity information AI-1 associates the command “power-on” with the comment “person in charge: Sato regular start-up”, the command “power-off”, A comment “Responsible person: Sato Regular end” is associated. In the comment necessity information AI-1 shown in FIG. 13, the comment associated with the command “manual reset” is “not set”.

When the command “manual reset” is received during execution of the control program CP with the comment necessity information AI-1 shown in FIG. 13 set, the PLC 5 executes the flowchart shown in FIG. 8 to execute the history information shown in FIG. HI-1B is created. The history information HI-1B shown in FIG. 14 stores commands in the order received. The history information HI-1B shown in FIG. 14 associates a comment with each of the command “power on” and the command “power off”. In the first embodiment, since the comment associated with the command “manual reset” of the comment necessity information AI-1 shown in FIG. 13 is “not set”, the history information HI-1B shown in FIG. No comment is associated with the command “Manual reset”.

When associating a comment with the command “manual reset” of the history information HI-1B shown in FIG. 14, the user operates the input device 65 of the computer 6 to display the comment setting screen 100 shown in FIG. 66. The user operates the input device 65 to input a comment in the comment input area 102 of the comment setting screen 100 and operate the determination area 103 as shown in FIG. Then, in the history information HI-1B, as shown in FIG. 16, a comment is added to the command “manual reset”. In the first embodiment, the user enters a comment in the comment input area 102 of the comment setting screen 100 shown in FIG. 15 as “Responsible person: Sato, because the control system has entered an abnormal state, and is manually reset. The history information HI-1B shown in FIG. 16 is commented on the command “Manual reset”. “Responsible person: Sato Reset manually because the control system is in an abnormal state. It is as follows. "

According to the PLC 5 according to the first embodiment, the history storage stores the history information HI in which at least a part of commands other than the change of the control program CP among the commands received by the control unit 59 are associated with the comments. Part 58 is provided. For this purpose, the PLC 5 stores commands other than the change of the control program CP in association with the comments. As a result, the PLC 5 can facilitate the investigation of the cause when a problem occurs in the control system 1, and can facilitate the investigation of the cause when a problem occurs in equipment in the FA field.

When the PLC 5 receives a command set to require that a comment is associated with the comment necessity information AI, the PLC 5 stores the history information HI in which the received command is associated with the comment in the history storage unit 58. A preset command can be stored in association with a comment.

Also, the PLC 5 can change the comment associated with the command because the comment necessity information AI can be set by the computer 6.

In addition, since the comment necessity information AI associates a command and a comment, the PLC 5 receives a comment for the accepted command when receiving a command set to require a comment to be associated with the comment necessity information AI. A command can be associated with a comment without input.

Further, since the PLC 5 includes the notification unit 82 that notifies that there is a command for which no comment is set in the history information HI, it is possible to grasp that the command not associated with the comment is stored in the history information HI. it can.

Further, since the command other than the change of the control program CP is an operation on the

switches

52, 53, and 55, the PLC 5 can store the operation on the

switches

52, 53, and 55 in the history information HI in association with the comment.

Further, since the PLC 5 stores the program change command in the history information HI in association with the comment in addition to the command other than the change of the control program CP, the history of the control system 1 can be grasped.

Also, if there is no problem in the normal system, the PLC 5 is “powered on” every morning and “powered off” every night, and the “manual reset” operation for the reset switch 53 is not often performed. In this case, when the comment necessity information AI-1 shown in FIG. 13 is set, the PLC 5 receives the “manual reset” during the execution of the control program CP, and as shown in FIG. 16, the history information HI The reason why “manual reset” needs to be performed on -1B can be recorded in a comment, which can be used for analysis when a problem occurs in the subsequent operation. Further, the PLC 5 adds a comment to the command “manual reset” by setting the comment associated with the command “manual reset” to “unset” in the comment necessity information AI-1 Can do. As a result, the PLC 5 can associate the reason for the manual reset input by the user as a comment with respect to the command “manual reset” as shown in the history information HI-1B shown in FIG. It is possible to easily solve the problem that has occurred.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
Next, PLC5 which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention is demonstrated based on drawing. FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of comment necessity information stored by the programmable logic controller according to the second embodiment. FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation of creating history information of the programmable logic controller according to the second embodiment. FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of history information created by the flowchart shown in FIG. 17 to 19, the same parts as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof is omitted.

The PLC 5 according to the second embodiment has the same configuration as that of the first embodiment except that a part of the process of the flowchart for creating the history information HI is different from that of the first embodiment. In the second embodiment, the user changes the value stored in the storage area of the memory 51, adjusts the operation of each

device

2, 3, 4 of the control system 1 and stores the value in the storage area of the memory 51. Set the value to the optimal value. In the second embodiment, the user desires to store the status when the value stored in the storage area of the memory 51 is changed in the history information HI.

The user sets the comment necessity information AI-2 shown in FIG. 17 by the computer 6 and transmits it to the PLC 5. In the second embodiment, the comment necessity information AI-2 stored in the PLC 5 is a command “device” which is a command for changing a value stored in the storage area “D0” of the memory 51, as shown in FIG. “D0 change” is set. In the comment necessity information AI-2 shown in FIG. 17, the comment associated with the command “change device D0” is “not set” because the user wants to sequentially input comments.

In the second embodiment, the control unit 59 of the PLC 5 stores a predetermined number of commands that are set in the comment necessity information AI-2 and the comment is “not set” in the history information HI, and “not set”. After the number of stored commands exceeds a predetermined number, the notification unit 82 notifies the user. In the second embodiment, the predetermined number of the PLC 5 is 2, but the predetermined number is not limited to 2.

When the history information HI is created, the PLC 5 according to the second embodiment stores the command “change device D0” in the history information HI (step ST4), and then the comment stored in the history information HI is “not set”. It is determined whether or not the number of commands “change device D0” exceeds a predetermined number (step ST5). When the PLC 5 determines that the number of commands “change device D0” whose comment stored in the history information HI is “not set” does not exceed a predetermined number (step ST5: No), the process returns to step ST1. In the second embodiment, the PLC 5 determines that the number of commands “change device D0” whose comment is “unset” is 1 or 2, and does not exceed the predetermined number (step ST5: No). Return to step ST1. When the PLC 5 determines that the number of commands “change device D0” whose comment stored in the history information HI is “not set” has exceeded a predetermined number (step ST5: Yes), the notification unit 82 is used to notify the user. Is notified that the predetermined number has been exceeded (step ST6), and the flowchart shown in FIG. 18 is terminated. In the second embodiment, when the number of commands “change device D0” whose comment is “not set” is 3, the PLC 5 determines that the predetermined number has been exceeded (step ST5: Yes) and notifies the user. Then (step ST6), the flowchart shown in FIG.

In the second embodiment, when the notification unit 82 notifies, the history information HI-2 shown in FIG. 19 stores a command “change device D0” exceeding a predetermined number. As in the first embodiment, the user inputs a comment to each command “change device D0”.

As in the first embodiment, the PLC 5 according to the second embodiment has history information HI in which at least a part of commands other than the change of the control program CP among the commands received by the control unit 59 are associated with comments. Since the history storage unit 58 is stored, the cause when a problem occurs in the control system 1 can be easily determined, and the cause when a problem occurs in equipment in the FA field can be easily determined. be able to.

In addition, the PLC 5 according to the second embodiment notifies the notification unit 82 when the number of commands stored in the history information HI and whose comment is “unset” exceeds a predetermined number. Comments can be entered as appropriate in the “setting” command.

Embodiment 3 FIG.
Next, PLC 5-3 according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 20 is a functional block diagram of the programmable logic controller according to the third embodiment. In FIG. 20, the same parts as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

In the PLC 5-3 shown in FIG. 20 according to the third embodiment, the comment necessity information AI is directly input from the computer 6 to the comment necessity storage unit 57 without going through the control unit 59 and through the control unit 59. The configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment except that the history information HI stored in the history storage unit 58 is directly read from the computer 6. The PLC 5-3 according to the third embodiment executes the same operation as that of the first embodiment, but may execute the same operation as that of the second embodiment.

As in the first embodiment, the PLC 5-3 according to the third embodiment has a history in which at least a part of commands other than the change of the control program CP among the commands received by the control unit 59 are associated with comments. Since the history storage unit 58 for storing the information HI is provided, it is possible to easily investigate the cause when a problem occurs in the control system 1, and to investigate the cause when a problem occurs in the facility in the FA field. It can be made easier.

Embodiment 4 FIG.
Next, PLC5 which concerns on Embodiment 4 of this invention is demonstrated based on drawing. FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating an example of a comment setting screen notified to the user of the programmable logic controller according to the fourth embodiment. In FIG. 21, the same parts as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.

When the PLC 5 according to the fourth embodiment confirms the history information HI and notifies the user of the history information HI, instead of notifying the notification unit 82 in step ST14 of the flowchart of FIG. Except for displaying the comment setting screen 100 on the display device 66, the configuration is the same as in the first embodiment and the same processing as in the first embodiment is executed. Furthermore, the PLC 5 according to the fourth embodiment may display the comment setting screen 100 shown in FIG. 21 on the display device 66 and notify the notification unit 82 in step ST14.

Similar to the first embodiment, the PLC 5 according to the fourth embodiment includes history information HI in which at least a part of commands other than the change of the control program CP among the commands received by the control unit 59 are associated with comments. Since the history storage unit 58 is stored, the cause when a problem occurs in the control system 1 can be easily determined, and the cause when a problem occurs in equipment in the FA field can be easily determined. be able to.

The configuration described in the above embodiment shows an example of the contents of the present invention, and can be combined with another known technique, and can be combined with other configurations without departing from the gist of the present invention. It is also possible to omit or change the part.

5,5-3 PLC (Programmable Logic Controller), 6 Computer, 52 Power Switch (Switch), 53 Reset Switch (Switch), 55 Eject Switch (Switch), 56 Storage Unit, 57 Comment Necessity Storage Unit, 58 History Storage Section, 59 control section, 82 notification section, CP control program, HI, HI-1A, HI-1B, HI-2 history information, AI, AI-1, AI-2 comment necessity information.

Claims

A storage unit for storing the control program;
A control unit that receives a command, and acquires a comment associated with at least a part of commands of the received command other than the change of the control program;
A history storage unit that stores history information in which the at least some commands are associated with the acquired comments;
A programmable logic controller comprising:
A comment necessity storage unit that stores comment necessity information in which a command that needs to be associated with the comment is set in advance;
When the control unit receives a command set to require that a comment is associated with the comment necessity information, the control unit acquires a comment associated with the command set to be necessary, and is set as necessary. The programmable logic controller according to claim 1, wherein history information that associates the acquired command with the acquired comment is stored in the history storage unit.
The programmable logic controller according to claim 2, wherein the comment necessity information can be set by a computer connected to the control unit.
The programmable logic controller according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the comment necessity information associates the command with the comment.
The history information stored in the history storage unit further includes a notification unit configured to notify that the comment is set to be associated with the comment necessity information and that there is a command that does not support the comment. The programmable logic controller according to any one of claims 2 to 4.
The programmable logic controller according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the command other than the change in the control program is an operation on a switch of the programmable logic controller.
The control unit receives a program change command that is the command for changing the control program,
The history storage unit stores history information in which the program change command received by the control unit is associated with a comment acquired by the control unit. The programmable logic controller according to one item.