WO2022079800A1

WO2022079800A1 - Programmable controller, program execution device, and communication method

Info

Publication number: WO2022079800A1
Application number: PCT/JP2020/038620
Authority: WO
Inventors: 堅太藤本; 照昌安井
Original assignee: 三菱電機株式会社
Priority date: 2020-10-13
Filing date: 2020-10-13
Publication date: 2022-04-21
Also published as: JP7325658B2; JPWO2022079800A1

Abstract

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a technique which makes it possible to keep constant the execution time of a program which includes a ladder program and a FB. The programmable controller is provided with an asynchronous external communication processing unit which has: a transmission function for transmitting commands to a service execution device asynchronously with a scan processing unit and a refresh processing unit; and a receiving function for receiving, as receiving data, data from the service execution device asynchronously with the scan processing unit and the refresh processing unit, and for storing said received data in a memory region in order to set the same in a device.

Description

Programmable controller, program execution device, and communication method

This disclosure relates to a programmable controller, a program execution device, and a communication method.

There are five languages including LD, FBD, ST, IL, and SFC defined in IEC61131-3 in the program that controls the PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) that causes the machine to execute the procedure ordered in advance. .. Among them, in the FBD, a block having an input parameter, an output parameter, and a function for outputting a calculation result based on the input parameter to the output parameter is graphically defined as an FB (function block). A function block in which a plurality of processes are made into parts by combining arbitrary functions is displayed as one command.

Various techniques have been proposed for such programs. For example, in the technique of Patent Document 1, a means for executing a controller scan including solving ladder logic and a web server for collecting data related to a control function are provided, and the web server is data from a remote computer. It has a function to answer the request of.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 2004-511845

In the technique of Patent Document 1, the controller has a function of collecting data in the controller, but does not have a function of collecting data from an external web server. Therefore, it was necessary to add a function for communicating with the web server to the controller. In addition, when the controller executes the ladder program and FB to use the service of the web server, in order to exchange data with the web server asynchronously with the scan cycle, the service is called and the completion notification is given within the processing of the FB. You need to wait and do. As a result, when the controller uses the service of the web server, there is a problem that the load on the controller becomes large.

Therefore, the present disclosure has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and an object thereof is to provide a technique capable of keeping the execution time of a ladder program and a program including FB constant.

The programmable controller according to the present disclosure is a programmable controller capable of communicating with a service execution device that provides a service, and is a scan processing unit that periodically executes a program including a ladder program and a function block, and execution of the scan processing unit. Alternately, the refresh processing unit that performs data processing for exchanging data with the input / output device based on the execution result of the scan processing unit, and the scan processing unit and the refresh processing unit are asynchronous with the service. In order to receive data from the service execution device as received data and set the received data in the device, asynchronously with the transmission function for transmitting a command to the execution device and the scan processing unit and the refresh processing unit. It is provided with an asynchronous external communication processing unit having a receiving function stored in a memory area.

According to the present disclosure, the transmission function that sends a command to the service execution device asynchronously with the scan process and the refresh process, and the data received from the service execution device as received data asynchronously with the scan process and the refresh process, Moreover, it has a receiving function of storing the received data in a memory area in order to set it in the device. As a result, the execution time of the ladder program and the program including the FB can be kept constant.

The purposes, features, aspects and advantages of this disclosure will be made clearer by the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.

It is a block diagram which shows the whole structure of the program execution apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the offline processing in the program generation apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1. It is a figure which shows an example of the ladder program which concerns on Embodiment 1 and the program which includes FB. It is a figure which shows an example of the asynchronous transmission FB parameter which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the asynchronous reception FB parameter which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the online processing in the programmable controller which concerns on Embodiment 1. It is a timing chart which shows the online processing in the programmable controller which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the external communication processing which concerns on Embodiment 1. It is a figure which shows an example of the ladder program which concerns on Embodiment 2, and the program which includes FB. It is a figure which shows an example of the asynchronous transmission FB parameter which concerns on Embodiment 2. It is a figure which shows an example of the asynchronous reception FB parameter which concerns on Embodiment 2. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the online processing in the programmable controller which concerns on Embodiment 2. It is a timing chart which shows the online processing in the programmable controller which concerns on Embodiment 2. It is a figure which shows an example of the user-defined program generated by the program generation apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 3. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the external communication processing which concerns on Embodiment 3. It is a figure which shows an example of the user-defined program generated by the program generation apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 4. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the asynchronous reception FB which concerns on Embodiment 4. It is a figure which shows an example of the asynchronous reception FB parameter which concerns on Embodiment 4. It is a figure which shows an example of the asynchronous reception FB parameter which concerns on Embodiment 5. It is a flowchart which shows the external communication processing which concerns on Embodiment 5. It is a figure which shows an example of the asynchronous reception FB parameter which concerns on Embodiment 6. It is a flowchart which shows the external communication processing which concerns on Embodiment 6. It is a flowchart which shows the external communication processing which concerns on Embodiment 7. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the online processing in the programmable controller which concerns on Embodiment 7. It is a block diagram which shows the hardware composition of the programmable controller which concerns on other modification. It is a block diagram which shows the hardware composition of the programmable controller which concerns on other modification.

<Embodiment 1>
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a program execution device according to the first embodiment. The overall configuration of the program execution device according to another embodiment described later is the same as the overall configuration of the program execution device of FIG.

The program execution device of FIG. 1 includes a programmable controller 1, a program generation device 51, and a service execution device 61 that provides services, and is communicably connected to the input / output device 41.

The programmable controller 1 can communicate with the service execution device 61, and exchanges data with the input / output device 41 while using the service of the service execution device 61. The programmable controller 1 includes a scan processing unit 11, a refresh processing unit 12, an asynchronous external communication processing unit 13, an input / output control unit 14, a memory 15, and a communication function unit 16. When the processor 2 executes various programs stored in the memory 15 or the like, the scan processing unit 11, the refresh processing unit 12, and the asynchronous external communication processing unit 13 are realized.

The scan processing unit 11 periodically executes a program including a ladder program and an FB (function block). In the following description, the process performed by the scan process unit 11 may be referred to as "scan process".

The refresh processing unit 12 alternately performs data processing for exchanging data with the input / output device 41 based on the execution result of the scan processing unit 11. This data processing may include, for example, a process of exchanging data with the memory 15. In the following description, the process performed by the refresh process unit 12 may be referred to as "refresh process".

The asynchronous external communication processing unit 13 has a transmission function 13a and a reception function 13b.

The transmission function 13a is asynchronous with the scan processing unit 11 and the refresh processing unit 12, and transmits a command to the service execution device 61 based on a request to the service execution device 61. The request is obtained from, for example, the refresh processing unit 12. In the following, requests and commands are substantially the same and will be described without distinguishing between them.

The reception function 13b is asynchronous with the scan processing unit 11 and the refresh processing unit 12, receives data from the service execution device 61 as received data, and is designated in the memory 15 or the like in order to set the received data in the device. Store in the memory area. This device includes, for example, a completion notification device, an input / output device 41, and the like.

In the following description, the processing performed by the asynchronous external communication processing unit 13 may be referred to as "external communication processing".

The input / output control unit 14 sets data in the input / output device 41 and exchanges data with the input / output device 41 based on the processing result of the refresh processing unit 12. The memory 15 stores the program and the data acquired from the service execution device 61. The communication function unit 16 communicates with the program generation device 51 and the service execution device 61.

The program generation device 51 includes a program generation function unit 52 and a communication function unit 53. The program generation function unit 52 generates a program including a ladder program and FB. The communication function unit 53 transmits the program generated by the program generation function unit 52 to the programmable controller 1. The program generation device 51 configured as described above can communicate with the programmable controller 1 and generates a program including the ladder program and the FB used in the programmable controller 1.

The service execution device 61 is, for example, an external server, and includes a communication function unit 62 and a service processing execution unit 63. The communication function unit 62 receives a request (command) from the programmable controller 1 and transmits the data generated by the service processing execution unit 63 to the programmable controller 1. The service processing execution unit 63 generates data according to the command received by the communication function unit 62. The service execution device 61 configured as described above provides a service for transmitting data to the programmable controller 1 in response to a request (command) from the programmable controller 1. In the following description, the service provided by the service execution device 61 may be referred to as an "external service".

The program execution device according to the first embodiment has two phases, that is, offline processing performed before the execution of the program including the ladder program and the FB, and online processing during the execution of the program.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a procedure of offline processing in which the program generation device 51 according to the first embodiment generates a program including a ladder program and an FB.

In step S1, the program generation function unit 52 describes a program including a ladder program and FB by using an engineering tool.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a program including the ladder program and the FB according to the first embodiment, and specifically, is a diagram showing an example of a program including the ladder program and the FB and keeping the execution time constant. Is. The program of FIG. 3 has an input contact (X0, X1, X2) that can execute the processing of the subsequent block when the input / output value is true, and a device value (M0, M1, M2,) that holds the execution result of the FB. It is composed of D10), an asynchronous transmission FB (Send FB) related to the transmission function 13a, and an asynchronous reception FB (Recv FB) related to the reception function 13b.

The asynchronous transmission FB of FIG. 3 has four inputs of "enable", "trigger", "URL", and "start flag", and one output of "enout". When the value of "enable" is true, the asynchronous transmission FB is allowed to be in the executable state. When the value of "trigger" is true, the asynchronous transmission FB is executed. The "URL" indicates an access destination (access point) for the programmable controller 1 to access the service execution device 61. The "start flag" is a flag indicating whether or not the transmission function 13a of the asynchronous external communication processing unit 13 is activated, and this flag includes true (= 1) indicating activation of the transmission function 13a and false (=) indicating stop. 0) is selectively set. Any device is assigned to the "start flag". "Enout" is true when execution is complete.

The asynchronous reception FB of FIG. 3 has two inputs of "enable" and "completion flag" and three outputs of "enout", "ready", and "data". When the value of "enable" is true, the asynchronous receive FB is allowed to be in the executable state. The "completion flag" is a flag indicating whether or not there is a response (answer) from the service execution device 61, and true (= 1) indicating that there is a response and false (= 0) indicating that there is no response are selected for this flag. Is set. Any device is assigned to the "completion flag". "Enout" is true when execution is complete. "Ready" is true when there is a response from the service execution device 61. The data received from the service execution device 61 is set in "data".

When the description of the program in step S1 of FIG. 2 is completed, in step S2, the program generation function unit 52 converts the program into a machine language for execution by the programmable controller 1. At this time, the program generation function unit 52 acquires the "URL" and the "start flag" from the asynchronous transmission FB, saves them as asynchronous transmission FB parameters, and acquires the "completion flag" and "data" from the asynchronous reception FB. And save it as an asynchronous reception FB parameter.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an asynchronous transmission FB parameter according to the first embodiment. The asynchronous transmission FB parameter is a transmission parameter used in the asynchronous transmission FB and the transmission function 13a. The asynchronous transmission FB parameter of FIG. 4 includes a parameter of “URL” and a parameter (M10) of “start flag”.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of asynchronous reception FB parameters according to the first embodiment. The asynchronous reception FB parameter is a reception parameter used in the asynchronous reception FB and the reception function 13b. The asynchronous reception FB parameter of FIG. 5 includes a parameter (M11) of the “completion flag” and a parameter (D10) of the “data”.

When the conversion of step S2 in FIG. 2 to the machine language is completed, in step S3, the program generation function unit 52 converts the program converted into the machine language, the asynchronous transmission FB parameter, and the asynchronous reception FB parameter into a programmable controller. Download to send to 1.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a procedure of online processing in which the programmable controller 1 according to the first embodiment executes a program including a ladder program and an FB. FIG. 7 is a timing chart showing online processing in which the programmable controller 1 according to the first embodiment executes a program including a ladder program and an FB.

<Scan processing and refresh processing>
As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the programmable controller 1 alternately repeats the scan process and the refresh process.

In the scan process, the scan process unit 11 executes a program including the ladder program and the FB as shown in FIG. 3 based on the machine language generated by the program generation device 51.

In the scan process, if "trigger" is true ("trigger" = 1), the asynchronous transmission FB is executed, and the asynchronous transmission FB parameter related to the "start flag" becomes true (M10 = 1).

In the scan process, if the asynchronous receive FB parameter for the "completion flag" is true (M11 = 1), the asynchronous receive FB is executed, "ready" is set to true ("ready" = 1), and "data". Is set in the received data ("data" = received data). Although not shown, after these are set, the asynchronous receive FB parameter regarding the "completion flag" becomes false (M11 = 0).

In the refresh process, the refresh process unit 12 cooperates with the input / output control unit 14 to output the execution result of the scan processing unit 11 to the input / output device 41, and acquires the value detected by the sensor or the like from the input / output device 41. do.

<External communication processing>
As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the programmable controller 1 performs external communication processing in parallel with the scan processing and the refresh processing, asynchronously with the scan processing and the refresh processing.

In the external communication processing, the asynchronous external communication processing unit 13 exchanges data with the service execution device 61 using the transmission function 13a and the reception function 13b. Although the transmission function 13a is asynchronous with the scan processing unit 11, the asynchronous transmission FB parameter of FIG. 4 used in the asynchronous transmission FB executed by the scan processing unit 11 is shared with the scan processing unit 11. Similarly, although the reception function 13b is asynchronous with the scan processing unit 11, the asynchronous reception FB parameter of FIG. 5 used in the asynchronous reception FB executed by the scan processing unit 11 is shared with the scan processing unit 11.

As shown in FIG. 7, when the asynchronous transmission FB parameter related to the "start flag" becomes true (M10 = 1), the asynchronous external communication processing unit 13 transmits a request to the service execution device 61 by the transmission function 13a. Although not shown, in parallel with the transmission of this request, the asynchronous external communication processing unit 13 sets the asynchronous transmission FB parameter related to the "start flag" to false (M10 = 0).

Further, when the asynchronous external communication processing unit 13 receives the response from the service execution device 61 by the reception function 13b, the asynchronous external communication processing unit 13 inputs the reception data from the service execution device 61 to the asynchronous reception FB parameter related to the device value "data". Set (D10 = received data). Further, in this case, the asynchronous external communication processing unit 13 sets the asynchronous reception FB parameter related to the "completion flag" to true (M11 = 1).

In the example of FIG. 7, the scan process and the refresh process are assigned to the thread [0], and the external communication process is assigned to the thread [1]. Thread [0] and thread [1] may be executed logically in parallel on the same processor, or may be physically executed in parallel on a multi-core processor.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an external communication process performed by the asynchronous external communication processing unit 13 according to the first embodiment. The external communication process of FIG. 8 corresponds to the execution of the external communication process of FIG.

In step S11, the asynchronous external communication processing unit 13 refers to the asynchronous transmission FB parameter related to the "start flag", checks the "start flag" of the device, and checks whether the "start flag" is true or not. judge. If it is determined that the "start flag" is true, the process proceeds to step S12, and if it is determined that the "start flag" is false, the process of step S11 is performed again.

In step S12, the transmission function 13a of the asynchronous external communication processing unit 13 refers to the asynchronous transmission FB parameter related to the "URL", accesses the service execution device 61 based on the parameter, and requests data. Further, the asynchronous external communication processing unit 13 sets the asynchronous transmission FB parameter related to the "start flag" to be false.

In step S13, the asynchronous external communication processing unit 13 determines whether or not the reception function 13b has received the response from the service execution device 61. If it is determined that the response has been received, the process proceeds to step S14, and if it is determined that the response has not been received, the process of step S13 is performed again. For the response wait, polling may be used, or the thread may be transitioned to the wait state and started by the response from the service execution device 61 as a trigger.

In step S14, the reception function 13b of the asynchronous external communication processing unit 13 sets true to the asynchronous reception FB parameter related to the "completion flag" of the device of the completion notification. Further, the reception function 13b of the asynchronous external communication processing unit 13 sets the reception data from the service execution device 61 in the asynchronous reception FB parameter related to the device "data" of the completion notification. After that, the process returns to step S11.

After step S14, as shown in FIG. 7, based on the fact that the asynchronous receive FB parameter related to the "completion flag" is true, the asynchronous receive FB is executed in the next scan process. As a result, "ready" is truly set ("ready" = 1) and "data" is set in the received data ("data" = received data).

<Summary of Embodiment 1>
In the first embodiment as described above, the transmission function 13a transmits a command to the service execution device 61 asynchronously with the scan processing unit 11 and the refresh processing unit 12. Then, the reception function 13b receives the received data from the service execution device 61 asynchronously with the scan processing unit 11 and the refresh processing unit 12, and stores the received data in the memory area in order to set the received data in the device. According to such a configuration, even if the time from the access to the service execution device 61 to the response is not constant, the execution time of the ladder program and the program including the FB can be kept constant. Therefore, the load on the programmable controller 1 can be reduced.

<Embodiment 2>
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a program including a ladder program and FB according to the second embodiment. The program of FIG. 9 includes a plurality of asynchronous transmission FBs (first and second asynchronous transmission FBs) and a plurality of asynchronous reception FBs (first and second asynchronous reception FBs).

Each of the first and second asynchronous transmission FBs is substantially the same as the FB in which the input of the "related ID" is added to the asynchronous transmission FB (FIG. 3) according to the first embodiment. Similarly, each of the first and second asynchronous reception FBs is substantially the same as the FB to which the input of the "related ID" is added to the asynchronous reception FB (FIG. 3) according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of an asynchronous transmission FB parameter according to the second embodiment, and FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of an asynchronous reception FB parameter according to the second embodiment. As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, in the second embodiment, each of the asynchronous transmission FB parameter and the asynchronous reception FB parameter includes an "related ID" that associates the asynchronous transmission FB parameter and the asynchronous reception FB parameter with each other. ..

The first asynchronous transmission FB parameter on the upper side of FIG. 10 used in the first asynchronous transmission FB and the first asynchronous reception FB parameter on the upper side in FIG. 11 used in the first asynchronous reception FB are "related IDs". They are associated with each other by the parameter "123". Similarly, the lower second asynchronous transmission FB parameter of FIG. 10 used in the second asynchronous transmission FB and the lower second asynchronous reception FB parameter of FIG. 11 used in the second asynchronous reception FB are They are associated with each other by the parameter "121" of the "association ID".

According to such a configuration, after the transmission function 13a transmits a request for one asynchronous transmission FB, the reception function 13b is associated with the one asynchronous transmission FB by "related ID". It is possible to receive a response for the received FB.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a procedure of online processing in which the programmable controller 1 according to the second embodiment executes a program including a ladder program and an FB. In FIG. 12, the external communication process in which the asynchronous external communication processing unit 13 uses the first asynchronous transmission FB parameter and the first asynchronous reception FB parameter is described as the first external communication process. The external communication processing in which the asynchronous external communication processing unit 13 uses the second asynchronous transmission FB parameter and the second asynchronous reception FB parameter is described as the second external communication processing.

FIG. 13 is a timing chart showing an online process in which the programmable controller 1 according to the second embodiment executes a program including a ladder program and an FB. In FIG. 13, the timing at which the transmission function 13a transmits using the first asynchronous transmission FB parameter is described as the first transmission function, and the timing at which the reception function 13b performs reception using the first asynchronous reception FB parameter. However, it is described as the first reception function. Similarly, the timing at which the transmission function 13a transmits using the second asynchronous transmission FB parameter is described as the second transmission function, and the timing at which the reception function 13b receives using the second asynchronous reception FB parameter is the second. 2 It is described as a reception function.

As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, threads that perform external communication processing are used as many as the number of sets of asynchronous transmission FB parameters. When there are two sets of asynchronous transmission FB parameters as shown in FIG. 10, one external communication process using one set of asynchronous transmission FB parameters is assigned to thread [1], and another set of asynchronous transmission FB parameters is assigned. Another external communication process to be used is assigned to thread [2]. Threads [0] to [2] may be executed logically in parallel on the same processor, or may be physically executed in parallel on a multi-core processor.

When the "trigger" of the first asynchronous reception FB is true, the first asynchronous transmission FB is executed in the scan process, and the first asynchronous transmission FB parameter related to the "start flag" becomes true (M10 = 1). When the "trigger" of the second asynchronous reception FB is true, the second asynchronous transmission FB is executed in the scan process, and the second asynchronous transmission FB parameter regarding the "start flag" becomes true (M20 = 1).

When the first asynchronous transmission FB parameter related to the "start flag" becomes true (M10 = 1), the asynchronous external communication processing unit 13 transmits the first request to the service execution device 61 by the transmission function 13a. In parallel with the transmission of the first request, the asynchronous external communication processing unit 13 sets the first asynchronous transmission FB parameter related to the "start flag" to false (M10 = 0).

Further, the asynchronous external communication processing unit 13 reads out the first asynchronous transmission FB parameter related to the "URL" associated with the first asynchronous reception FB parameter by the "related ID", and the service execution device indicated by the first asynchronous transmission FB parameter. It is determined whether the first response from 61 is received by the reception function 13b. When it is determined that the first response has been received, the asynchronous external communication processing unit 13 sets the reception data from the service execution device 61 in the first asynchronous reception FB parameter related to the device value "data" (D10 =). received data). Further, in this case, the asynchronous external communication processing unit 13 sets the first asynchronous reception FB parameter regarding the "completion flag" to true (M11 = 1).

The same processing as the first asynchronous transmission FB parameter and the first asynchronous reception FB parameter is performed for the second asynchronous transmission FB parameter and the second asynchronous reception FB parameter.

That is, when the second asynchronous transmission FB parameter regarding the "start flag" becomes true (M20 = 1), the asynchronous external communication processing unit 13 transmits a second request to the service execution device 61 by the transmission function 13a. In parallel with the transmission of the second request, the asynchronous external communication processing unit 13 sets the second asynchronous transmission FB parameter related to the "start flag" to false (M20 = 0).

Further, the asynchronous external communication processing unit 13 reads out the second asynchronous transmission FB parameter related to the "URL" associated with the second asynchronous reception FB parameter by the "related ID", and the service execution device indicated by the second asynchronous transmission FB parameter. It is determined whether or not the second response from 61 has been received by the reception function 13b. When it is determined that the second response has been received, the asynchronous external communication processing unit 13 sets the reception data from the service execution device 61 in the second asynchronous reception FB parameter related to the device value "data" (D20 =). received data). Further, in this case, the asynchronous external communication processing unit 13 sets the second asynchronous reception FB parameter regarding the "completion flag" to true (M21 = 1).

According to the program execution device according to the second embodiment as described above, even when one program includes a plurality of asynchronous transmission FBs and a plurality of asynchronous reception FBs, the asynchronous transmission FB and the asynchronous reception FB Processing can be performed for each group. Therefore, it is possible to acquire a plurality of types of data from one service execution device 61, or to acquire data from a plurality of service execution devices 61.

<Embodiment 3>
FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a user-defined program generated by the program generation device 51 according to the third embodiment. The user-defined program defines the processing of the asynchronous external communication processing unit 13, that is, the external communication processing. The user-defined program of FIG. 14 stipulates that the asynchronous external communication processing unit 13 executes external communication processing as follows when the "start flag" is true.

First, the transmission function 13a transmits the data in the subuf to the service execution device 61 in 1024 bytes. Next, the reception function 13b waits for a response from the service execution device 61, sets 1024 bytes of data in rbuf if there is a response, and sets true in the "completion flag".

The user-defined program is transmitted to the programmable controller 1 by downloading in step S3 of FIG. 2, and the programmable controller 1 loads the user-defined program into the memory 15.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing an external communication process performed by the asynchronous external communication processing unit 13 according to the third embodiment. In the flowchart of FIG. 15, user-defined program execution is added before the external communication processing execution of FIG. This user-defined program execution is executed at system startup. When this processing is performed, the user-defined program is executed and a thread for external communication processing is created. After that, the external communication process of FIG. 8 is performed in the execution of the external communication process.

According to the program execution device according to the third embodiment as described above, the external communication process can be changed by changing the user-defined program.

<Embodiment 4>
FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of a user-defined program generated by the program generation device 51 according to the fourth embodiment. The user-defined program of FIG. 16 is substantially the same as the user-defined program of FIG. 14, but the asynchronous external communication processing unit 13 may divide the received data according to a plurality of devices and set a plurality of received data. It is stipulated.

Specifically, in FIG. 16, in the sixth line, the received data of 32 bytes from the beginning of the receive buffer is set in the parameter (D10), and in the seventh line, the received data of the 33rd byte to the 32 bytes of the receive buffer is set as a parameter. It is stipulated that the data should be set to (D100), and that the reception data of 128 bytes from the 65th byte of the reception buffer should be set to the parameter (D200) in the 8th line. That is, in FIG. 16, the parameters (D10, D100, D200) of the three received data divided corresponding to the three devices are defined.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of an asynchronous reception FB according to the fourth embodiment. The asynchronous reception FB of FIG. 17 has outputs of “data1”, “data2”, and “data3” in which three divided reception data are set, respectively, instead of the “data” of the asynchronous reception FB of FIG.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of asynchronous reception FB parameters according to the fourth embodiment. The asynchronous reception FB parameter of FIG. 18 includes the parameters (D10, D100, D200) of “data1”, “data2”, and “data3” instead of the “data” of the asynchronous reception FB parameter of FIG.

According to the program execution device according to the fourth embodiment as described above, the received data from the service execution device 61 can be divided and set corresponding to a plurality of devices. As a result, it can be expected that the data size will be reduced, the data from the ladder program will be reduced, and the data access time will be shortened accordingly.

<Embodiment 5>
FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of an asynchronous reception FB parameter according to the fifth embodiment. As for the asynchronous reception FB parameter of FIG. 19, an "error flag" indicating the presence or absence of a communication error of the received data by the reception function 13b is added to the asynchronous reception FB parameter of FIG. 5 described in the first embodiment, and communication is performed. The presence or absence of an error is set on the device.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart of the external communication process according to the fifth embodiment. The flowchart of FIG. 20 is the same as the flowchart in which steps S21 and S22 are added to the flowchart of FIG. 8 described in the first embodiment. Therefore, in the following, steps S21 and S22 will be mainly described.

In step S13, if it is determined that the response has been received, the process proceeds to step S21, and if it is determined that the response has not been received, the process of step S13 is performed again.

In step S21, in the function of waiting for the received data to be received together with the response from the service execution device 61, the asynchronous external communication processing unit 13 has an error in the return value or the reception status, that is, whether there is a communication error. Judge whether or not. If it is determined that there is a communication error, the process proceeds to step S22, and if it is determined that there is no received communication error, the process proceeds to step S14.

In step S22, the asynchronous reception FB parameter related to the "error flag" is truly set. After that, the process returns to step S11.

According to the program execution device according to the fifth embodiment as described above, the scan processing unit 11 that executes the program including the ladder program and the FB can detect the communication error of the received data in the next scan process. .. Therefore, it is possible to handle the error.

<Embodiment 6>
FIG. 21 is a diagram showing an example of asynchronous reception FB parameters according to the sixth embodiment. The asynchronous reception FB parameter of FIG. 21 indicates the threshold time of the time from the start of transmission of the command by the transmission function 13a to the reception of the reception data by the reception function 13b in the asynchronous reception FB parameter of FIG. 19 described in the fifth embodiment. "Timeout time" has been added. The timeout time is set numerically.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart of the external communication process according to the sixth embodiment. The flowchart of FIG. 22 is the same as the flowchart in which steps S26, S27, and S28 are added to the flowchart of FIG. 20 described in the fifth embodiment. Therefore, in the following, steps S26 to S28 will be mainly described.

If it is determined in step S11 that the "start flag" is true, the process proceeds to step S26, and if it is determined that the "start flag" is false, the process of step S11 is performed again. ..

In step S26, the asynchronous external communication processing unit 13 acquires the time at that time as the start time. After that, the process proceeds to step S12.

In step S27 after step S12, the asynchronous external communication processing unit 13 acquires the time at that time as the current time.

In step S28, the asynchronous external communication processing unit 13 determines whether or not the difference between the start time and the current time is equal to or less than the timeout time. If it is determined that the difference is less than or equal to the time-out time, the process proceeds to step S13, and if it is determined that the difference is larger than the time-out time, the process proceeds to step S22.

In step S13, if it is determined that the response has been received, the process proceeds to step S21, and if it is determined that the response has not been received, the process returns to step S27.

According to the program execution device according to the sixth embodiment as described above, the scan processing unit 11 that executes the program including the ladder program and the FB may detect a timeout in receiving the received data in the next scan process. can. Therefore, it is possible to handle the error.

<Embodiment 7>
FIG. 23 is a flowchart of the external communication process according to the seventh embodiment. In step S14 of the external communication processing (FIG. 8) of the first embodiment, the asynchronous external communication processing unit 13 sets the asynchronous reception FB parameters related to the “completion flag” and the “data” for the device of the completion notification of the asynchronous reception FB parameters. bottom. That is, in step S14, the asynchronous external communication processing unit 13 sets the asynchronous reception FB parameters related to the "completion flag" and "data" for the area read / written in the scan process. On the other hand, in step S14 of FIG. 23, the asynchronous external communication processing unit 13 sets the asynchronous reception FB parameters related to the “completion flag” and “data” to the temporary device that is not read / written in the scan process.

FIG. 24 is a flowchart showing a procedure of online processing in which the programmable controller 1 according to the seventh embodiment executes a program including a ladder program and an FB. In the online process of FIG. 6 according to the first embodiment, the scan process was performed using the "completion flag" and the "data" set in the device by the external communication process. On the other hand, in the online processing of FIG. 24, the "completion flag" and "data", which are temporary device values set in the primary device by the external communication processing unit, are scanned before the fresh processing is executed. Set on the device read / written by. That is, the programmable controller 1 has a period other than the period during which the scan processing unit 11 executes the received data set in the temporary device by the asynchronous external communication processing unit 13 to the device read / written by the scan processing unit 11. Set to.

According to the program execution device according to the sixth embodiment as described above, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the "completion flag" and the "data" are updated during the scanning process. This makes it possible to enhance the atomicity of the "completion flag" and "data" used in the scanning process.

<Modification example>
The programmable controller 1 may learn the "URL" which is the access destination in the background based on the reception history of the received data from the service execution device 61. For example, the programmable controller 1 may learn the "URL" based on the reception history such as the reception time and reception frequency of the reception data from the service execution device 61. Further, for example, AI (artificial intelligence) learning may be used for learning.

<Other variants>
The scan processing unit 11, the refresh processing unit 12, and the asynchronous external communication processing unit 13 of FIG. 1 described above are hereinafter referred to as “scan processing unit 11 and the like”. The scan processing unit 11 and the like are realized by the processing circuit 81 shown in FIG. That is, the processing circuit 81 is a scan processing unit 11 that periodically executes a program including a ladder program and a function block, and an input / output device based on the execution result of the scan processing unit, alternating with the execution of the scan processing unit. The refresh processing unit 12 that performs data processing for exchanging data, the transmission function 13a that sends commands to the service execution device asynchronously with the scan processing unit and the refresh processing unit, and the scan processing unit and the refresh processing unit Asynchronous external communication processing unit 13 having a receiving function 13b that receives data as received data from a service execution device and stores the received data in a memory area in order to set the received data in the device. Dedicated hardware may be applied to the processing circuit 81, or a processor that executes a program stored in the memory may be applied to the processing circuit 81. The processor corresponds to, for example, a central processing unit, a processing unit, an arithmetic unit, a microprocessor, a microcomputer, a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), and the like.

When the processing circuit 81 is dedicated hardware, the processing circuit 81 may be, for example, a single circuit, a composite circuit, a programmed processor, a parallel programmed processor, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate). Array), or a combination of these. Each of the functions of each part such as the scan processing unit 11 may be realized by a circuit in which the processing circuits are dispersed, or the functions of each part may be collectively realized by one processing circuit.

When the processing circuit 81 is a processor, the functions of the scan processing unit 11 and the like are realized by combining with software and the like. The software or the like corresponds to, for example, software, firmware, or software and firmware. Software and the like are described as programs and stored in memory. As shown in FIG. 26, the processor 82 applied to the processing circuit 81 realizes the functions of each part by reading and executing the program stored in the memory 83. That is, the programmable controller 1 has a scan process for periodically executing a program including a ladder program and a function block when executed by the processing circuit 81, and a refresh process for performing data processing based on the execution result of the scan process. The step of alternately performing the scan process and the refresh process are asynchronous, and the transmission function that sends a command to the service execution device is asynchronous, and the scan process and the refresh process are asynchronous, and data is received from the service execution device as received data. In addition, a step of performing an external communication process having a receiving function of storing the received data in a memory area for setting the received data in the device, and a memory 83 for storing a program to be executed as a result are provided. Be prepared. In other words, it can be said that this program causes the computer to execute the procedure or method of the scan processing unit 11 or the like. Here, the memory 83 is a non-volatile or non-volatile memory such as a RAM (RandomAccessMemory), a ROM (ReadOnlyMemory), a flash memory, an EPROM (ErasableProgrammableReadOnlyMemory), and an EPROM (ElectricallyErasableProgrammableReadOnlyMemory). Volatile semiconductor memory, HDD (Hard Disk Drive), magnetic disk, flexible disk, optical disk, compact disk, mini disk, DVD (DigitalVersatileDisc), its drive device, etc., or any storage medium that will be used in the future. You may.

The configuration in which each function of the scan processing unit 11 and the like is realized by either hardware or software has been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a configuration may be configured in which a part of the scan processing unit 11 or the like is realized by dedicated hardware and another part is realized by software or the like. For example, the scan processing unit 11 realizes its function by a processing circuit 81 as dedicated hardware and an interface, and other than that, the processing circuit 81 as a processor 82 reads a program stored in the memory 83. It is possible to realize the function by executing it.

As described above, the processing circuit 81 can realize each of the above-mentioned functions by hardware, software, or a combination thereof. Further, each function or each component of the programmable controller 1 described above may be distributed to each device or may be centrally arranged to any device.

It is possible to freely combine each embodiment and each modification, and appropriately modify or omit each embodiment and each modification.

The above explanation is an example, not a limitation, in all aspects. A myriad of variants not illustrated are understood to be conceivable.

1 programmable controller, 11 scan processing unit, 12 refresh processing unit, 13 asynchronous external communication processing unit, 13a transmission function, 13b reception function, 41 input / output device, 51 program generation device, 61 service execution device.

Claims

A programmable controller that can communicate with the service execution device that provides the service.
A scan processing unit that periodically executes programs including ladder programs and function blocks,
A refresh processing unit that performs data processing for exchanging data with input / output devices based on the execution result of the scan processing unit, alternately with the execution of the scan processing unit.
A transmission function that sends a command to the service execution device asynchronously with the scan processing unit and the refresh processing unit, and data received from the service execution device asynchronously with the scan processing unit and the refresh processing unit. A programmable controller including an asynchronous external communication processing unit having a receiving function of receiving data as a device and storing the received data in a memory area in order to set the data in the device.
The programmable controller according to claim 1 and
With the service execution device
A program execution device that can communicate with the programmable controller and includes a program generation device that generates the program used in the programmable controller.
The program execution device according to claim 2.
The transmission parameters used in the function block and the transmission function include an access destination for accessing the service execution device and a start flag indicating whether or not the transmission function is activated.
The reception parameter used in the function block and the reception function is a program execution device including a completion flag indicating the presence / absence of a response from the service execution device and the reception data.
The program execution device according to claim 2.
Each of the transmission parameter used in the function block and the transmission function and the reception parameter used in the function block and the reception function includes a program execution device including a related ID for associating the transmission parameter and the reception parameter with each other. ..
The program execution device according to claim 2.
The program generator is
A program execution device that generates a definition program that defines the processing of the asynchronous external communication processing unit.
The program execution device according to claim 2.
The reception parameter used in the function block and the reception function is a program execution device including the plurality of reception data.
The program execution device according to claim 2.
The reception parameter used in the function block and the reception function is a program execution device including an error flag indicating the presence or absence of a communication error of the reception data in the reception function.
The program execution device according to claim 2.
The reception parameter used in the function block and the reception function is a program execution device including a timeout time indicating a threshold value of the time from the transmission of the command by the transmission function to the reception of the reception data by the reception function.
The program execution device according to claim 2.
The programmable controller is
Program execution that sets the received data set in the temporary device that is not read / written by the scan processing unit to the device that is read / written by the scan processing unit during a period other than the period in which the scan processing unit is executed. Device.
The program execution device according to claim 2.
The transmission parameters used in the function block and the transmission function include an access destination for accessing the service execution device.
The programmable controller is
A program execution device that learns the access destination based on the reception history of data received from the service execution device.
It is a communication method of a programmable controller that can communicate with a service execution device that provides a service.
A scan process for periodically executing a program including a ladder program and a function block and a refresh process for performing data processing based on the execution result of the scan process are alternately performed.
A transmission function for transmitting a command to the service execution device asynchronously with the scan process and the refresh process, and data received from the service execution device as received data asynchronously with the scan process and the refresh process. A communication method that performs external communication processing having a reception function of storing the received data in a memory area in order to set the received data in the device.