WO2019054929A1 - A method of configuring an automation system - Google Patents

A method of configuring an automation system Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2019054929A1
WO2019054929A1 PCT/SE2018/050931 SE2018050931W WO2019054929A1 WO 2019054929 A1 WO2019054929 A1 WO 2019054929A1 SE 2018050931 W SE2018050931 W SE 2018050931W WO 2019054929 A1 WO2019054929 A1 WO 2019054929A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
hmi
plc
device functionality
computer
functional object
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/SE2018/050931
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Tommy HÅKANSSON
Mats Carlsson
Original Assignee
Beijer Electronics Ab
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Beijer Electronics Ab filed Critical Beijer Electronics Ab
Publication of WO2019054929A1 publication Critical patent/WO2019054929A1/en

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Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F9/00—Arrangements for program control, e.g. control units
    • G06F9/06—Arrangements for program control, e.g. control units using stored programs, i.e. using an internal store of processing equipment to receive or retain programs
    • G06F9/44—Arrangements for executing specific programs
    • G06F9/445—Program loading or initiating
    • G06F9/44505—Configuring for program initiating, e.g. using registry, configuration files
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
    • G05B—CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS
    • G05B19/00—Programme-control systems
    • G05B19/02—Programme-control systems electric
    • G05B19/04—Programme control other than numerical control, i.e. in sequence controllers or logic controllers
    • G05B19/05—Programmable logic controllers, e.g. simulating logic interconnections of signals according to ladder diagrams or function charts
    • G05B19/058—Safety, monitoring
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
    • G05B—CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS
    • G05B19/00—Programme-control systems
    • G05B19/02—Programme-control systems electric
    • G05B19/18—Numerical control [NC], i.e. automatically operating machines, in particular machine tools, e.g. in a manufacturing environment, so as to execute positioning, movement or co-ordinated operations by means of programme data in numerical form
    • G05B19/408—Numerical control [NC], i.e. automatically operating machines, in particular machine tools, e.g. in a manufacturing environment, so as to execute positioning, movement or co-ordinated operations by means of programme data in numerical form characterised by data handling or data format, e.g. reading, buffering or conversion of data
    • G05B19/4083—Adapting programme, configuration
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F8/00—Arrangements for software engineering
    • G06F8/70—Software maintenance or management
    • G06F8/71—Version control; Configuration management
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
    • G05B—CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS
    • G05B19/00—Programme-control systems
    • G05B19/02—Programme-control systems electric
    • G05B19/04—Programme control other than numerical control, i.e. in sequence controllers or logic controllers
    • G05B19/05—Programmable logic controllers, e.g. simulating logic interconnections of signals according to ladder diagrams or function charts
    • G05B19/052—Linking several PLC's
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
    • G05B—CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS
    • G05B19/00—Programme-control systems
    • G05B19/02—Programme-control systems electric
    • G05B19/04—Programme control other than numerical control, i.e. in sequence controllers or logic controllers
    • G05B19/05—Programmable logic controllers, e.g. simulating logic interconnections of signals according to ladder diagrams or function charts
    • G05B19/054—Input/output
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
    • G05B—CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS
    • G05B19/00—Programme-control systems
    • G05B19/02—Programme-control systems electric
    • G05B19/04—Programme control other than numerical control, i.e. in sequence controllers or logic controllers
    • G05B19/05—Programmable logic controllers, e.g. simulating logic interconnections of signals according to ladder diagrams or function charts
    • G05B19/056—Programming the PLC
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
    • G05B—CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS
    • G05B19/00—Programme-control systems
    • G05B19/02—Programme-control systems electric
    • G05B19/418—Total factory control, i.e. centrally controlling a plurality of machines, e.g. direct or distributed numerical control [DNC], flexible manufacturing systems [FMS], integrated manufacturing systems [IMS] or computer integrated manufacturing [CIM]
    • G05B19/4185—Total factory control, i.e. centrally controlling a plurality of machines, e.g. direct or distributed numerical control [DNC], flexible manufacturing systems [FMS], integrated manufacturing systems [IMS] or computer integrated manufacturing [CIM] characterised by the network communication
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
    • G05B—CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS
    • G05B2219/00—Program-control systems
    • G05B2219/10—Plc systems
    • G05B2219/11—Plc I-O input output
    • G05B2219/1139—By using software configurable circuit, integrated, pga between cpu and I-O
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
    • G05B—CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS
    • G05B2219/00—Program-control systems
    • G05B2219/10—Plc systems
    • G05B2219/11—Plc I-O input output
    • G05B2219/1141—Modify manually, using keyboard configuration of module
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
    • G05B—CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS
    • G05B2219/00—Program-control systems
    • G05B2219/10—Plc systems
    • G05B2219/13—Plc programming
    • G05B2219/13144—GUI graphical user interface, icon, function bloc editor, OI operator interface
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
    • G05B—CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS
    • G05B2219/00—Program-control systems
    • G05B2219/20—Pc systems
    • G05B2219/23—Pc programming
    • G05B2219/23258—GUI graphical user interface, icon, function bloc editor, labview
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
    • G05B—CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS
    • G05B2219/00—Program-control systems
    • G05B2219/20—Pc systems
    • G05B2219/25—Pc structure of the system
    • G05B2219/25056—Automatic configuration of monitoring, control system as function of operator input, events

Definitions

  • the present invention relates generally to the field of industrial automation, and more particularly, it relates to a method and computer program for configuring an automation system.
  • Industrial automation is the use of various control systems, such as computers or robots, and information technologies for operating and controlling equipment such as industrial processes in factories, telephone networks, vehicles, ships, aircrafts, and other applications without significant human intervention.
  • Industrial automation facilitates to increase the product quality, accuracy, precision, reliability and production rate while reducing production and design cost. Since the automation reduces the human involvement, the possibility of human errors also decreases.
  • the automatic operation and control of industrial processes involve the use of automatic control devices including PLCs (programmable logic controllers), PACs (programmable automation controllers), PCs, etc. and technologies include various industrial communication systems.
  • PLCs programmable logic controllers
  • PACs programmable automation controllers
  • PCs etc.
  • technologies include various industrial communication systems.
  • an erroneous alarm signals may be generated in response to a sensor signal based on real time parameters like temperature, pressure, level etc or not occur at all, or a controller may generate incorrect electrical signals to control the processes, including pneumatic actuators, relays, DC motors etc resulting in reduced product quality, accuracy, precision, reliability and/or production rate.
  • HMI Human Machine Interface
  • this is achieved by a method of configuring an automation system.
  • the method comprises:
  • accessing the HMI tool comprises selecting the HMI device functionality from a storage storing at least one HMI device functionality for controlling the operation of a HMI device.
  • selecting the specific HMI device functionality comprises adding one or more HMI items to the functional object.
  • the HMI item comprises at least one HMI screen and/or tag and/or C# scripting.
  • accessing the PLC tool comprises selecting the PLC device functionality from the storage storing at least one PLC device functionality for controlling the operation of a PLC device.
  • selecting the specific PLC device functionality comprises adding a Program Organization Unit, POU, to the functional object, said POU including PLC program code, and/or at least one functional block, and/or at least one global variable.
  • POU Program Organization Unit
  • establishing functional connections between the specific HMI device functionality and the PLC device functionality of the functional object comprises connecting said PLC program code, and/or at least one functional block, and/or at least one global variable of said PLC tool and at least a screen, and/or alarms and/or C# scripting of said HMI tool by means of tags forming said functional connections between said specific HMI device functionality and PLC device functionality.
  • said functional object is provided with at least one editable property, wherein each property is associated with a particular PLC program code and/or HMI program code forming part of the functional object, wherein a PLC device and/or HMI device provided with the particular PLC program code and/or HMI program code is connected to different devices, such as sensors and/or actuators, for each instance of the functional object depending on the name of the property.
  • the HMI tool is an iX Developer tool.
  • the PLC tool is a CODES YS tool.
  • the method further comprises: in response to a fourth user input, downloading the functional object to a selected PLC device in the automation system communicatively connected to the computing device, thereby providing the PLC device functionality for controlling the operation of the PLC device and HMI device functionality for communicating HMI functionality to a HMI device communicatively connected to the PLC device in said automation system.
  • a computer program comprises program instructions for causing a computer to perform the method of configuring an automation system, when the program is run on a computer.
  • the computer program is provided on a carrier and comprises computer executable instructions for causing a computer to perform the method of configuring an automation system, when said program is run on the computer.
  • a computer program product comprises a computer-readable medium, having thereon: computer program code means, when said program is loaded, to make the computer execute the method of configuring an automation system.
  • an improved design process of industrial automation systems is provided, thereby reducing logic errors in an earlier stage of automation projects before the implementation of control logic.
  • a more effective and reliable way of designing and implementing automation projects is provided.
  • FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example industrial automation system topology
  • FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a computer implemented setup for configuration of industrial automation systems according to an embodiment
  • FIG. 3 is a schematic view of an example process plant and associated automation systems configured by means of the computer implemented setup in FIG. 2;
  • FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method of configuring an automation system according to an embodiment
  • FIGs. 5-18 are example depictions of configuration screen interface used by a configuration operator or user to configure an automation system.
  • FIG. 19 shows a schematic view of a computer-readable medium implementing the method of configuring an automation system according to an embodiment.
  • industrial communication networks are used in the industrial automation systems for transferring the information from one level to the other.
  • FIG. 2A is a schematic block diagram of a computer implemented setup for configuration of an industrial automation system 100 including an operating environment comprising functional modules and hardware according to one
  • the computing device 101 or computer system may comprise, but is not limited to, a central processing unit or microprocessor 105 operatively connected to internal memory 106, including at least RAM and ROM, input devices such as the mouse 103 and keyboard 104, output devices such as the display 102 and at least non-volatile storage device 107 such as a hard disk drive and/or solid- state disk drive (SSD) etc.
  • the computer system 100 is adapted for communicating with a network 108, such as an industrial network of an automation system, and/or an intranet, and/or the Internet.
  • the HMI tool may be, but is not limited to, the iX Developer toolTM provided by Beijer Electronics.
  • the PLC tool is a computer implemented software platform for industrial automation technology for creating programmable and configurable automation components.
  • the PLC tool may be, but is not limited to, the CODESYSTM Development System, an IEC 61131-3 programming tool, provided by 3S-Smart Software Solutions GmbH. This tool covers project engineering, programming, operation on workstations, as well as execution, debugging of application code on the controller or drive, and evaluation of field devices.
  • a device for example a soft control device 150 is represented by a virtual soft control component 150' in the virtual automation system 100', which is selected from the product list 126' by drag and drop, to the workspace forming the virtual automation system 100', which is illustrated by a curved arrow 127.
  • the system parts may operate independently or forming an integrated system of two or more system parts 301, 302, 303.
  • the method of configuring an automation system including functional objects will be described with reference to the a flowchart in FIG. 4 and the example depictions in FIGs. 5-18 of a configuration screen interface on the display used by a configuration operator or user to configure an automation system.
  • a configuration of a functional object 125 is initiated by receiving 200, at the computing device 101, a user input indicative of configuration of a functional object.
  • the user input may be, but is not limited to, a user or operator action, such as a click on an activation button 200' in an electronic form on the display 102 as illustrated in FIG. 5.
  • the functional object configuration system installed on the computing device 101 detects the action and initiates the configuration process by generating another electronic form as illustrated in FIG. 6.
  • the user fills in the form with basic information, for example the Name, Version, Title, Folder and pictures for the functional object and click a continue button 20 ⁇ in the form.
  • the functional object configuration system 120 receives and detects the action and initiates the configuration process by generating another electronic form as illustrated in FIG. 7. According to this form, the user may select to add a UMI functionality and/or a PLC functionality.
  • the functional object configuration system is responsive to receiving the user action, i.e detecting either the click on an Add iX button for adding a HMI functionality or an Add Codesys for adding a PLC functionality.
  • the user input i.e a click on the Add iX button 205', is received 205 by the computing device 101 and detected as an indication of adding a specific HMI device functionality 135 to the functional object 125.
  • the functional object configuration system accesses 210 the HMI tool 130 installed on the computing device 101 for selecting the specific HMI device functionality 135 from the storage 107, and another electronic form is generated as illustrated in FIG. 8.
  • the object configuration system embeds 220 the specific HMI device functionality 135 into the functional object 125 in response to a user input, which may be, but is not limited to, a user or operator action, such as a click on a the Select button 220' in the electronic form on the display 102 as illustrated in FIG. 9.
  • a user input which may be, but is not limited to, a user or operator action, such as a click on a the Select button 220' in the electronic form on the display 102 as illustrated in FIG. 9.
  • a user input which may be, but is not limited to, a user or operator action, such as a click on a the Select button 220' in the electronic form on the display 102 as illustrated in FIG. 9.
  • a user input which may be, but is not limited to, a user or operator action, such as a click on a the Select button 220' in the electronic form on the display 102 as illustrated in FIG. 9.
  • FIG. 10 shows another electronic form on which the selected HMI items as well as the Add Code
  • the functional object configuration system 120 is responsive to receive the user action, i.e detecting the click on the Add Codesys button 225' for adding a PLC functionality.
  • the user input is received 225 by the computing device 101 and detected by the functional object configuration system 120 as an indication of adding a specific PLC device functionality 145 to the functional object 125.
  • the functional object configuration system accesses 230 the PLC tool 140 installed on the computing device 101 for selecting the specific PLC device functionality 145 from the storage 107 and another electronic form is generated as illustrated in FIG. 11.
  • the user may browse and select a PLC project and click an Open button 230' .
  • the functional object configuration system may select 235 a PIDControl project from the storage 107 storing at least one PLC device functionality for controlling the operation of the PLC device 160, 160' in this embodiment, and another electronic form is generated as illustrated in FIG. 12.
  • the user marks relevant PLC objects, "Program: PIDControl" and "Function Block:
  • the BE Regulator in this embodiment, from a list in the form, thereby forming a Program Organization Unit (POU) to be added to the functional object.
  • the POU may including PLC program code, and/or at least one functional block, and/or at least one global variable.
  • tags and properties in Both HMI and PLC may be selected 236 in response to a user input 236' in another form as shown in FIG 13.
  • functional objects may be provided with a particular type of editable properties.
  • a property of this particular type may be identified by a combination of characters, for example, but not limited to, "ABCD", "QXZ” etc, identifying the property as being editable.
  • An editable property may be associated with a particular PLC program code and/or HMI program code forming part of a functional object for controlling and communicating with sensors and/or actuators.
  • PLC devices and/or HMI devices provided with such particular PLC program code and/or HMI program code as part of a functional object, may be connected to different devices, such as different sensors or actuators, for each instance of the functional object, only by changing the value of the property.
  • the functional object configuration system 120 is configured to recognize the combination of characters ("ABCD", "QXZ” etc,) forming part of the name of the editable properties.
  • An instance of the functional object, which is created by the functional object configuration system 120 in response to user input, which has been provided with at least an editable property, i.e a particular PLC program code and/or HMI program code, may be embedded in a PLC device or HMI device. Thereby, the PLC device or HMI device is connected to a particular device
  • Still another form is generated, which shows the selected HMI items and PLC objects as illustrated in FIG 14.
  • the object configuration system is configured to be responsive to additional HMI items and/or PLC objects.
  • the object configuration system may optionally be configured to add a script in response to user input 237', 238', 239' as illustrated in FIGs. 14-16.
  • Still another form is generated, which shows the selected HMI items, PLC objects, and script as illustrated in FIG 17.
  • the object configuration system embeds 240 the specific PLC device functionality 135 into the functional object 125 in response to a user a user input, which may be, but is not limited to, a user or operator action, such as a click on an activation button 240' in the electronic form on the display 102 as illustrated in FIG. 17.
  • a user input which may be, but is not limited to, a user or operator action, such as a click on an activation button 240' in the electronic form on the display 102 as illustrated in FIG. 17.
  • Still another electronic form shows the information content of the created functional object 125, including, but not limited to: Type, Name, Version, Title, Folder, Descriptors, HMI items, PLC objects and one or more optional scripts as illustrated in FIG. 18.
  • the created functional object 125 is validated by the user and functional connections is established between the specific HMI device functionality 135 and the PLC device functionality 145 of said functional object 125 by means of the functional object configuration system 120 in response to a user input, such as a click on an activation button 245' in the electronic form on the display 102 as illustrated in FIG. 18.
  • the functional object 125 may be stored in the product catalog 126 in the storage 107 for reuse in the configuration of any automation system 100, 100'.
  • the step of establishing 245 functional connections between the specific HMI device functionality 135 and the PLC device functionality 145 of the functional object 120 may comprise connecting the PLC program code, and/or at least one functional block, and/or at least one global variable of the PLC tool 140 and at least a screen, and/or alarms and/or C# scripting of the HMI tool 130 by means of tags forming the functional connections between said specific HMI device functionality 135 and said PLC device functionality 145.
  • the functional object 120 may be downloaded 250 to a selected PLC device 150 in the automation system 100
  • the carrier may be a record medium, computer memory, read- only memory, computer-readable medium or an electrical carrier signal.
  • Embodiments according to the technology may be carried out when the computer program product is loaded and run in a system or device having computer capabilities, i.e the computing device 101.
  • Embodiments of the present invention have been described herein with reference to flowchart and/or block diagrams. It will be understood that some or all of the illustrated blocks may be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions when executed create means for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart otherwise described.

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  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Automation & Control Theory (AREA)
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Abstract

A method of configuring an automation system (100,100'), the method comprising: receiving (200) computing device ( 101), a first user input indicative of a configuration of a functional object (125); receiving (205), a second user input indicative of adding a specific HMI device functionality (135) to said functional object (125), in response to said second user input, accessing (210) a HMI tool (130) for selecting said specific HMI device functionality (135); embedding (220) said specific HMI device functionality (135) into said functional object (125); receiving (225) a third user input indicative of adding a specific PLC device functionality (145) to said functional object (125); in response to said third user input, accessing (230) a PLC tool (140) installed on said computing device (101) for selecting (235) said specific PLC device functionality (145); embedding (240) said specific PLC device functionality (145) into said functional object (125); establishing (245) functional connections between said specific HMI device functionality (135) and said PLC device functionality (145) of said functional object (120).

Description

A METHOD OF CONFIGURING AN AUTOMATION SYSTEM
Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to the field of industrial automation, and more particularly, it relates to a method and computer program for configuring an automation system.
Background
Industrial automation is the use of various control systems, such as computers or robots, and information technologies for operating and controlling equipment such as industrial processes in factories, telephone networks, vehicles, ships, aircrafts, and other applications without significant human intervention. Industrial automation facilitates to increase the product quality, accuracy, precision, reliability and production rate while reducing production and design cost. Since the automation reduces the human involvement, the possibility of human errors also decreases.
The automatic operation and control of industrial processes involve the use of automatic control devices including PLCs (programmable logic controllers), PACs (programmable automation controllers), PCs, etc. and technologies include various industrial communication systems.
Although industrial automation may be associated with a high initial cost, it saves the monthly wages of the workers which leads to substantial cost savings for the companies. The maintenance cost associated with machinery used for industrial automation is less because it does not often fail.
Industrial automation systems can be very complex, including a large number of devices working in synchronization with automation technologies. As the level of automation increases, process control become more complicated. Currently, the control logic of programmable logic controllers (PLC) is usually programmed using a ladder diagram (LD) or a functional block diagram (FBD) or structured text supported by standard IEC 61131-3. Designing and implementing complex industrial automation systems involves extensive PLC programming. Logical errors introduced by human errors of the PLC programmers may delay delivery and start-up of the automation system due to debugging. In addition to a time consuming programming phase involving extensive programming resources, logical errors introduced by human errors may cause fatal consequences during the operation of the industrial automation system. For example, an erroneous alarm signals may be generated in response to a sensor signal based on real time parameters like temperature, pressure, level etc or not occur at all, or a controller may generate incorrect electrical signals to control the processes, including pneumatic actuators, relays, DC motors etc resulting in reduced product quality, accuracy, precision, reliability and/or production rate.
HMI (Human Machine Interface) devices provide the means by which process operators interact with the PLC control system for monitoring and/or setting various parameters like temperature, pressure, flow, level, etc of the process.
While a poorly adapted interface between PLC's and HMFs most likely will increase the demand for more programming resources and an increased occurrence of human errors, a well designed combination of PLC's and HMI's can be a solid foundation for high process automation demands. Hence, the present inventors have realized that there is room for improvements in the technical field of the design process of industrial automation systems.
It is essential to reduce logic errors in an earlier stage of automation projects before the implementation of control logic. Hence, a more effective and reliable way of designing and implementing automation projects is desired.
Summary
It should be emphasized that the term "comprises/comprising" when used in this specification is taken to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, or components, but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, components, or groups thereof.
It is an object of the technology to obviate at least some of the above disadvantages and to provide improved method of configuring an automation system.
According to a first aspect, this is achieved by a method of configuring an automation system. The method comprises:
receiving, at a computing device, a first user input indicative of a configuration of a functional object;
receiving, at the computing device, a second user input indicative of adding a specific HMI device functionality to the functional object,
in response to the second user input, accessing a HMI tool installed on the computing device for selecting said specific HMI device functionality; embedding the specific HMI device functionality into the functional object;
receiving, at the computing device, a third user input indicative of adding a specific PLC device functionality to the functional object,
in response to the third user input, accessing a PLC tool installed on the computing device for selecting the specific PLC device functionality;
embedding the specific PLC device functionality into the functional object;
establishing functional connections between the specific HMI device functionality and the PLC device functionality of the functional object.
In some embodiments, accessing the HMI tool comprises selecting the HMI device functionality from a storage storing at least one HMI device functionality for controlling the operation of a HMI device.
In some embodiments, selecting the specific HMI device functionality comprises adding one or more HMI items to the functional object.
In some embodiments, the HMI item comprises at least one HMI screen and/or tag and/or C# scripting.
In some embodiments, accessing the PLC tool comprises selecting the PLC device functionality from the storage storing at least one PLC device functionality for controlling the operation of a PLC device.
In some embodiments selecting the specific PLC device functionality comprises adding a Program Organization Unit, POU, to the functional object, said POU including PLC program code, and/or at least one functional block, and/or at least one global variable.
In some embodiments, establishing functional connections between the specific HMI device functionality and the PLC device functionality of the functional object comprises connecting said PLC program code, and/or at least one functional block, and/or at least one global variable of said PLC tool and at least a screen, and/or alarms and/or C# scripting of said HMI tool by means of tags forming said functional connections between said specific HMI device functionality and PLC device functionality.
In some embodiment, said functional object is provided with at least one editable property, wherein each property is associated with a particular PLC program code and/or HMI program code forming part of the functional object, wherein a PLC device and/or HMI device provided with the particular PLC program code and/or HMI program code is connected to different devices, such as sensors and/or actuators, for each instance of the functional object depending on the name of the property.
In some embodiments, the HMI tool is an iX Developer tool.
In some embodiments, the PLC tool is a CODES YS tool.
In some embodiments, the method further comprises: in response to a fourth user input, downloading the functional object to a selected PLC device in the automation system communicatively connected to the computing device, thereby providing the PLC device functionality for controlling the operation of the PLC device and HMI device functionality for communicating HMI functionality to a HMI device communicatively connected to the PLC device in said automation system.
According to a second aspect, a computer program comprises program instructions for causing a computer to perform the method of configuring an automation system, when the program is run on a computer.
In some embodiments, the computer program is provided on a carrier and comprises computer executable instructions for causing a computer to perform the method of configuring an automation system, when said program is run on the computer.
In some embodiments, the carrier is a record medium, computer memory, read-only memory, computer-readable medium or an electrical carrier signal. According to a third aspect, a computer program product comprises a computer-readable medium, having thereon: computer program code means, when said program is loaded, to make the computer execute the method of configuring an automation system.
Advantageously, an improved design process of industrial automation systems is provided, thereby reducing logic errors in an earlier stage of automation projects before the implementation of control logic. Hence, a more effective and reliable way of designing and implementing automation projects is provided.
Further benefits and advantages of the present invention will become apparent after a careful reading of the detailed description with appropriate reference to the accompanying drawings.
Brief Description of the Drawings
Further objects, features and advantages of the invention will appear from the following detailed description of embodiments of the invention, with reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example industrial automation system topology;
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a computer implemented setup for configuration of industrial automation systems according to an embodiment;
FIG. 3 is a schematic view of an example process plant and associated automation systems configured by means of the computer implemented setup in FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method of configuring an automation system according to an embodiment;
FIGs. 5-18 are example depictions of configuration screen interface used by a configuration operator or user to configure an automation system; and
FIG. 19 shows a schematic view of a computer-readable medium implementing the method of configuring an automation system according to an embodiment. Detailed Description
Embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to FIGs 1-19. In cooperation with attached drawings, the technical contents and detailed description of the present invention are described thereinafter according to a preferable embodiment, being not used to limit its executing scope. Any equivalent variation and modification made according to appended claims is all covered by the claims.
Reference will now be made to the figures to describe the embodiments in detail. The same reference signs are used for corresponding features in different figures.
Reference is made to FIG. 1 which is a schematic block diagram illustrating an example industrial automation system configuration including different hierarchical levels forming a hierarchical arrangement of the automation system.
The lowest level 10 of the automation hierarchy includes devices like sensors 11, 12 and actuators 13, 14, 15.
The sensors may be, but is not limited to, flowmeters, temperature sensors, photo-diodes, thermistors, proximity sensors, etc. The sensors 11, 12 are configured to detect events or changes, such as temperature, light, pressure, flow, level, etc in its environment and converting these real time parameters into electrical signals forming data of processes and machines to be transferred to the next higher level, i.e the control level 20 for monitoring and analysis. The environment may be, but is not limited to, industrial processes in factories, packaging machinery, machine tools, food and beverage industry, oil and gas industry, vehicles, ships, aircraft, and other applications.
The control level 20 of the automation hierarchy may include, but is not limited to, various automation devices like PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) devices 21, 22, robots 23 and CNC machines 24 etc., which acquire the process parameters from the various sensors. The automatic controllers of the various automation devices drive the actuators on the lower field level based on the processed sensor signals and control programs. The actuators, may be but is not limited to relays 13, control valves 14, DC/Server motors 15, pneumatic actuators etc configured to convert the electrical signals from the controllers of the automation devices 21, 22, 23, 24 into mechanical means to control the processes. The PLCs are robust industrial controllers configured to deliver automatic control functions to the actuators based on input from the sensors. A PLC device may comprise, but is not limited to a central processing unit (CPU/Controller) or
microprocessor, memory/storage, input and output (I/O) units (analog and digital) and communication modules for wired and/or wireless communication. The PLC device allows the operator to program control functions to perform automatic operation on the process.
The next level above the control level in the automation hierarchy is the supervising and production control level 30. In this level, PCs (Personal Computers) 31 or special purpose computers 32 and monitoring system 33, such as Human Machine Interface (HMI) devices for supervising and setting various parameters, logging data about the process, etc.
The top level of the industrial automation hierarchy is the Information or Enterprise Level 40, which may comprise computer systems 41 for managing the overall automation system, including but not limited to commercial activities such as production planning, customer and market analysis, orders and sales, etc.
Generally, industrial communication networks are used in the industrial automation systems for transferring the information from one level to the other.
The present invention provides a method and means for configuring an automation system. FIG. 2A is a schematic block diagram of a computer implemented setup for configuration of an industrial automation system 100 including an operating environment comprising functional modules and hardware according to one
embodiment. The setup may comprise, but is not limited to, a computing device 101 including a display 102, input devices such as a mouse 103 and keyboard 104. An example embodiment of the computing device 101 is described in further detail with reference to FIG 2B.
As shown in FIG 2B the computing device 101 or computer system may comprise, but is not limited to, a central processing unit or microprocessor 105 operatively connected to internal memory 106, including at least RAM and ROM, input devices such as the mouse 103 and keyboard 104, output devices such as the display 102 and at least non-volatile storage device 107 such as a hard disk drive and/or solid- state disk drive (SSD) etc. In addition, the computer system 100 is adapted for communicating with a network 108, such as an industrial network of an automation system, and/or an intranet, and/or the Internet.
Again with reference to FIG 2 A, the operating environment further comprises a functional object configuration (FOC) system 120, a HMI tool 130 and a PLC tool 140. The HMI tool is a computer implemented software platform configured and used for designing HMI (Human Machine Interface) devices to enable interactions between humans (operator or user) and the devices and machines in the industrial automation system 100. The interaction by means of the HMI allows for effective operation and control of the machine from the human end, whilst the machine simultaneously feeds back information to the operator for decision-making.
The HMI (Human Machine Interface) devices provide the means by which process operators interact with the PLC control system for monitoring and/or setting various parameters like temperature, pressure, flow, level, etc of the process.
The HMI tool may be, but is not limited to, the iX Developer tool™ provided by Beijer Electronics.
The PLC tool is a computer implemented software platform for industrial automation technology for creating programmable and configurable automation components. The PLC tool may be, but is not limited to, the CODESYS™ Development System, an IEC 61131-3 programming tool, provided by 3S-Smart Software Solutions GmbH. This tool covers project engineering, programming, operation on workstations, as well as execution, debugging of application code on the controller or drive, and evaluation of field devices.
The FOC system is a computer implemented platform of configuring an automation system. Automation systems or industrial automation systems can be very complex, including a large number of devices working in synchronization with automation technologies. The automation system 100 in FIG. 2A is an illustrative example of an automation system including a few modules and is not intended to limit the scope of the claimed invention. The display 102 shows a virtual automation system 100' representing the real world implementation of the automation system 100 including different physical devices. The virtual automation system 100' is created and configured by means of the HMI tool 130 operating in response to a user or operator interaction with the HMI tool through the user interface including, but not limited to, the display 102, the mouse 103 and/or keyboard 104. The virtual automation system 100' may be a soft control project in this embodiment.
One or more components may be selected from a product catalog 126 including software components defining different selectable devices stored in the storage 107 of the computing device 101. The operator or user may search and filter for a specific item or just pick one in a product list 126' representing the product catalog 126 in the display 102
A device, for example a soft control device 150 is represented by a virtual soft control component 150' in the virtual automation system 100', which is selected from the product list 126' by drag and drop, to the workspace forming the virtual automation system 100', which is illustrated by a curved arrow 127.
Hence, the soft control project 100' is created by drag and drop of the soft control component 150', first and second virtual distributed I/O components 15 and 152', representing first and second distributed I/O devices 151 and 152, and a inverter component (BFI1) 160' from the product list 126' representing a inverter device (BFI1) 160 to be connected to for example, but not limited to, EtherCAT and Modbus TCP.
An advantageous feature of the method and means of the invention is the user or operator creation and use of functional objects 125. A functional object includes, but is not limited to ready-made, embedded functionality such as PLC code, HMI screens, Tags, Alarms and even C# scripting. A functional object may be stored in the product catalog 126 and selectable from the product list 126' by drag it into the work space 100' and just drop it on a device. All embedded code is then injected into the targeted devices. For example, an operator may drag the functional object from the product list 126' and drop it on the SoftControl l component 150' or inverter component 160' in the workspace 100' to add the new functionality.
In this embodiment the functional object 125 will add on both PLC and HMI application parts to the Inverter component 160' . For example function blocks, program code and global variables of CODES YS are connected to tags and a screen in the iX Developer application. FIG. 3 is a schematic view of another example process plant 300 and associated automation system parts 301, 302, 303 configured according to the computer implemented method and by means of the setup in FIG. 2. Each system part 301, 302, 303 may comprise one or more different components, including but not limited to, soft control components, UMI components, PLC components, inverter components, IO components, servo amplifiers, CODES YS projects, iX projects. The system parts may operate independently or forming an integrated system of two or more system parts 301, 302, 303. The method of configuring an automation system including functional objects will be described with reference to the a flowchart in FIG. 4 and the example depictions in FIGs. 5-18 of a configuration screen interface on the display used by a configuration operator or user to configure an automation system.
A configuration of a functional object 125 is initiated by receiving 200, at the computing device 101, a user input indicative of configuration of a functional object. The user input may be, but is not limited to, a user or operator action, such as a click on an activation button 200' in an electronic form on the display 102 as illustrated in FIG. 5. In response to the user action, i.e the click, the functional object configuration system installed on the computing device 101 detects the action and initiates the configuration process by generating another electronic form as illustrated in FIG. 6. The user fills in the form with basic information, for example the Name, Version, Title, Folder and pictures for the functional object and click a continue button 20 Γ in the form. In response to the user action, the functional object configuration system 120 receives and detects the action and initiates the configuration process by generating another electronic form as illustrated in FIG. 7. According to this form, the user may select to add a UMI functionality and/or a PLC functionality. Hence, the functional object configuration system is responsive to receiving the user action, i.e detecting either the click on an Add iX button for adding a HMI functionality or an Add Codesys for adding a PLC functionality. In this embodiment of the method, the user input, i.e a click on the Add iX button 205', is received 205 by the computing device 101 and detected as an indication of adding a specific HMI device functionality 135 to the functional object 125. In response to the user input, the functional object configuration system accesses 210 the HMI tool 130 installed on the computing device 101 for selecting the specific HMI device functionality 135 from the storage 107, and another electronic form is generated as illustrated in FIG. 8.
According to this form, the user may browse and select a HMI project and click the Open button 215' . In response to the user input, the functional object configuration system selects 215 a PIDControl project from the storage 107 storing at least one HMI device functionality, which may comprise HMI program code for controlling the operation of a HMI device 150 represented by the HMI, 150' in this embodiment, and another electronic form is generated as illustrated in FIG. 9. The user marks relevant HMI items, "Screen: PIDControl" and "Alarm: PID High Temp" in this embodiment, from a list in the form to be added to the functional object. In a next step, the object configuration system embeds 220 the specific HMI device functionality 135 into the functional object 125 in response to a user input, which may be, but is not limited to, a user or operator action, such as a click on a the Select button 220' in the electronic form on the display 102 as illustrated in FIG. 9. As a result, another electronic form appears as shown in FIG. 10, on which the selected HMI items as well as the Add Codesys button 225' appears for adding PLC functionality to the functional object 125.
The functional object configuration system 120 is responsive to receive the user action, i.e detecting the click on the Add Codesys button 225' for adding a PLC functionality. In this embodiment of the method, the user input is received 225 by the computing device 101 and detected by the functional object configuration system 120 as an indication of adding a specific PLC device functionality 145 to the functional object 125. In response to the user input, the functional object configuration system accesses 230 the PLC tool 140 installed on the computing device 101 for selecting the specific PLC device functionality 145 from the storage 107 and another electronic form is generated as illustrated in FIG. 11.
According to this form, the user may browse and select a PLC project and click an Open button 230' . In response to the user input, the functional object configuration system may select 235 a PIDControl project from the storage 107 storing at least one PLC device functionality for controlling the operation of the PLC device 160, 160' in this embodiment, and another electronic form is generated as illustrated in FIG. 12. The user marks relevant PLC objects, "Program: PIDControl" and "Function Block:
BE Regulator" in this embodiment, from a list in the form, thereby forming a Program Organization Unit (POU) to be added to the functional object. The POU may including PLC program code, and/or at least one functional block, and/or at least one global variable.
Additionally, tags and properties in Both HMI and PLC may be selected 236 in response to a user input 236' in another form as shown in FIG 13.
In some embodiments, functional objects may be provided with a particular type of editable properties. A property of this particular type may be identified by a combination of characters, for example, but not limited to, "ABCD", "QXZ" etc, identifying the property as being editable. An editable property may be associated with a particular PLC program code and/or HMI program code forming part of a functional object for controlling and communicating with sensors and/or actuators. Thereby, PLC devices and/or HMI devices, provided with such particular PLC program code and/or HMI program code as part of a functional object, may be connected to different devices, such as different sensors or actuators, for each instance of the functional object, only by changing the value of the property. The functional object configuration system 120 is configured to recognize the combination of characters ("ABCD", "QXZ" etc,) forming part of the name of the editable properties. An instance of the functional object, which is created by the functional object configuration system 120 in response to user input, which has been provided with at least an editable property, i.e a particular PLC program code and/or HMI program code, may be embedded in a PLC device or HMI device. Thereby, the PLC device or HMI device is connected to a particular device
(sensor/actuator) depending on the value of the property.
Still another form is generated, which shows the selected HMI items and PLC objects as illustrated in FIG 14. In this embodiment, the object configuration system is configured to be responsive to additional HMI items and/or PLC objects.
In a next step, the object configuration system may optionally be configured to add a script in response to user input 237', 238', 239' as illustrated in FIGs. 14-16. Still another form is generated, which shows the selected HMI items, PLC objects, and script as illustrated in FIG 17.
In a next step, the object configuration system embeds 240 the specific PLC device functionality 135 into the functional object 125 in response to a user a user input, which may be, but is not limited to, a user or operator action, such as a click on an activation button 240' in the electronic form on the display 102 as illustrated in FIG. 17.
Still another electronic form shows the information content of the created functional object 125, including, but not limited to: Type, Name, Version, Title, Folder, Descriptors, HMI items, PLC objects and one or more optional scripts as illustrated in FIG. 18. The created functional object 125 is validated by the user and functional connections is established between the specific HMI device functionality 135 and the PLC device functionality 145 of said functional object 125 by means of the functional object configuration system 120 in response to a user input, such as a click on an activation button 245' in the electronic form on the display 102 as illustrated in FIG. 18. Thereby, the functional object 125 may be stored in the product catalog 126 in the storage 107 for reuse in the configuration of any automation system 100, 100'.
The step of establishing 245 functional connections between the specific HMI device functionality 135 and the PLC device functionality 145 of the functional object 120 may comprise connecting the PLC program code, and/or at least one functional block, and/or at least one global variable of the PLC tool 140 and at least a screen, and/or alarms and/or C# scripting of the HMI tool 130 by means of tags forming the functional connections between said specific HMI device functionality 135 and said PLC device functionality 145.
Again with reference to FIG. 2 A and FIG. 4, the functional object 120 may be downloaded 250 to a selected PLC device 150 in the automation system 100
communicatively connected 165 to the computing device 101, thereby providing the PLC device functionality 145 for controlling the operation of a PLC device 160, and HMI device functionality 135 for communicating HMI functionality to a HMI device 150 communicatively connected 165 via distributed I/O components 151 and 152 to the PLC device 160 in the automation system 100. The technology has been described herein with reference to various
embodiments. However, a person skilled in the art would recognize numerous variations to the described embodiments that would still fall within the scope of the technology. Functional blocks described herein as one unit may be split into two or more units. In the same manner, functional blocks that are described herein as being implemented as two or more units may be implemented as a single unit without departing from the scope of the invention.
The present technology may be embodied as a method in a device, device, or system with a computer program product. Accordingly, the present technology may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects all generally referred to herein as a device. Furthermore, the software of the present technology may take the form of a computer program product. The computer program product may be stored on a computer-usable storage medium having computer-usable program code embodied in the medium. The embodiments of the invention described with reference to the drawings comprise a computer apparatus and processes performed in the computer apparatus. The program may be in the form of source code, object code a code suitable for use in the implementation of the method according to the invention. The carrier can be any entity or device capable of carrying the program. For example the carrier may be a record medium, computer memory, read- only memory, computer-readable medium or an electrical carrier signal. Embodiments according to the technology may be carried out when the computer program product is loaded and run in a system or device having computer capabilities, i.e the computing device 101.
FIG 19 shows a schematic view of a computer-readable medium as described above. The computer-readable medium 500 is in this embodiment a memory stick, such as a Universal Serial Bus (USB) stick. The USB stick 500 comprises a housing 501 having an interface, such as a connector 502, and a memory chip 503. The memory chip 503 is a flash memory, that is, a non-volatile data storage that can be electrically erased and re-programmed. The memory chip 503 is programmed with instructions 504 that when loaded (possibly via the interface 502) into a controller such as a processor of the computing device 101, for example a PC or special purpose computer, executes a method or procedure according to the embodiments disclosed above. The USB stick is arranged to be connected to and read by a reading device, such as the computing device 101, for loading the instructions into the controller. It should be noted that a computer- readable medium can also be other mediums such as compact discs, digital video discs, hard drives or other memory technologies commonly used. The instructions can also be downloaded from the computer-readable medium via a wireless interface to be loaded into the controller.
Embodiments of the present invention have been described herein with reference to flowchart and/or block diagrams. It will be understood that some or all of the illustrated blocks may be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions when executed create means for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart otherwise described.
It is to be understood that the functions/acts noted in the flowchart may occur out of the order noted in the operational illustrations. For example, two blocks shown in succession may in fact be executed substantially concurrently or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality/acts involved. For example, the steps of embedding the UMI functionality and the PLC functionality may be performed in the reversed order or in response to a single user activation in other embodiments of the method.
A computer program product may comprise computer program code portions for executing the method, as described in the description and the claims, for providing control data when the computer program code portions are run by an electronic device having computer capabilities, i.e the computing device 101.
The computer readable medium 500 having stored thereon a computer program product may comprise computer program code portions for executing the method, as described in the description and the claims, for providing control data when the computer program code portions are run by an electronic device having computer capabilities, i.e the computing device 101.
The features and advantages of the invention are apparent from the detailed specification, and thus, it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such features and advantages of the invention, which fall within the scope of the technology.
However, although embodiments of the method and apparatus of the technology has been illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described in the foregoing detailed description, the disclosure is illustrative only and changes, modifications and substitutions may be made without departing from the scope of the technology as set forth and defined by the following claims. Hence, it should be understood that the limitations of the described embodiments are merely for illustrative purpose and by no means limiting. Instead, the scope of the technology is defined by the appended claims rather than by the description, and all variations that fall within the range of the claims are intended to be embraced therein.

Claims

1. A method of configuring an automation system (100, 100'), the method comprising:
receiving (200), at a computing device (101), a first user input indicative of a configuration of a functional object (125);
receiving (205), at the computing device (101), a second user input indicative of adding a specific HMI device functionality (135) to said functional object (125),
in response to said second user input, accessing (210) a HMI tool (130) installed on said computing device ( 101) for selecting said specific HMI device functionality (135);
embedding (220) said specific HMI device functionality (135) into said functional object (125);
receiving (225), at the computing device (101), a third user input indicative of adding a specific PLC device functionality (145) to said functional object (125),
in response to said third user input, accessing (230) a PLC tool (140) installed on said computing device (101) for selecting (235) said specific PLC device functionality (145);
embedding (240) said specific PLC device functionality (145) into said functional object (125);
establishing (245) functional connections between said specific HMI device functionality (135) and said PLC device functionality (145) of said functional object (125).
2. The method of claim 1, wherein accessing (210) said HMI tool (130) comprises selecting (215) the HMI device functionality (135) from a storage (107) storing at least one HMI device functionality for controlling the operation of a HMI device (150, 150').
3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein selecting (215) said specific HMI device functionality (135) comprises adding one or more HMI items to said functional object.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein said HMI item comprises at least one HMI screen, and/or alarm, and/or tag and/or C# scripting.
5. The method of any of the claims 2-4, wherein accessing (230) said PLC tool (140) comprises selecting (235) the PLC device functionality (145) from the storage (107) storing at least one PLC device functionality for controlling the operation of a PLC device (160, 160').
6. The method of claim 5, wherein selecting (235) said specific PLC device functionality (145) comprises adding a Program Organization Unit, POU, to said functional object (120), said POU including PLC program code, and/or at least one functional block, and/or at least one global variable.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein establishing (245) functional connections between said specific HMI device functionality (135) and said PLC device functionality (145) of said functional object (120) comprises connecting said PLC program code, and/or at least one functional block, and/or at least one global variable of said PLC tool (140) and at least a screen, and/or alarms and/or C# scripting of said HMI tool (130) by means of tags forming said functional connections between said specific HMI device functionality (135) and said PLC device functionality (145).
8. The method of claim 7, wherein said functional object is provided with at least one editable property, wherein each property is associated with a particular PLC program code and/or HMI program code forming part of the functional object, wherein a PLC device and/or HMI device provided with the particular PLC program code and/or HMI program code is connected to different devices, such as sensors and/or actuators, for each instance of the functional object depending on the value of the property.
9. The method of any of the preceding claims, further comprising: in response to a fourth user input, downloading (250) the functional object (120) to a selected PLC device (160) in the automation system (100) communicatively connected (165) to the computing device (101), thereby providing the PLC device functionality (145) for controlling the operation of the PLC device (160) and HMI device functionality (135) for communicating HMI functionality to a HMI device (150) communicatively connected (165) to the PLC device (160) in said automation system (100).
10. A computer program comprising program instructions for causing a computer to perform the method of any of the claims 1-9, when said program is run on a computer (110).
11. A computer program on a carrier comprising computer executable instructions for causing a computer (101) to perform the method according to any of the claims 1-9, when said program is run on the computer (101).
12. The computer program according to claim 11, wherein said carrier is a record medium, computer memory, read-only memory, computer-readable medium or an electrical carrier signal.
13. A computer program product comprising a computer-readable medium (500), having thereon: computer program code means (501), when said program is loaded, to make the computer execute the method of any of the claims 1-9.
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