JPWO2014091623A1 - Programmable controller system, its programmable display, support device, program - Google Patents

Abstract

In the drawing editor device (5), information of each symbol in which an arbitrary arithmetic expression is described is registered in advance. Among the items constituting the screen of the programmable display, the item to be subjected to the arithmetic processing is associated with the corresponding symbol. Thereby, in the programmable display, when processing related to this item is executed, arithmetic processing using an arithmetic expression of an associated symbol or the like is executed, and display based on the arithmetic processing result is performed.

Description

  The present invention relates to a system having a programmable display or the like.

  In general, a programmable display is connected to various connected devices such as a PLC main body and a temperature control device, and items such as numerical displays and lamps for displaying the status of these connected devices, and for users to give arbitrary instructions. Displays an image of items such as switches. An item is also called a screen component or the like. Usually, images of a plurality of screen components (items) are displayed on the screen of the programmable display (referred to as an operation display screen). Data or the like for displaying such an operation display screen (referred to as screen data or the like) is arbitrarily created in advance by a developer or the like in a support device (not shown) and downloaded from the support device to a programmable display. .

  The screen data includes, for each item, data such as an image of the item (switch image or lamp image), display position coordinates, and an address (assigned memory address) of a predetermined area of the external memory described later. It is. In addition, some programs may be included.

  Each of the items is for displaying the state of the component or accepting an ON / OFF instruction for the component corresponding to an arbitrary component of an arbitrary connected device, for example. For example, in the case of an item that displays the temperature measurement value of the temperature control device as a numerical value, the current temperature is displayed as a numerical value as needed.

  The display control related to the various items is realized, for example, by periodically executing a predetermined process for each item. Predetermined processing refers to, for example, reading stored data in the predetermined area (allocated memory) of a memory device (referred to as an external memory) in a connected device, and determining the display content of an item based on this stored data. To display. The connected device updates the stored data in a predetermined area of the external memory as needed (for example, the temperature measurement value is updated as needed in the temperature control device).

  The data read from the external memory is temporarily stored in a predetermined area of a memory device (shared memory) in the programmable display, and the display contents of the item are determined and displayed based on the stored data. There is also a configuration.

  In the case of this example, the process of reading the data stored in the external memory and storing it in the shared memory is executed, for example, periodically by a predetermined functional unit (here, a communication unit not shown) of the programmable display. For example, the communication unit communicates with various connected devices such as the PLC main body and a temperature control device, acquires data stored in a predetermined storage area of the external memory in the connected device, and shares the data with the shared device. Overwrite and store in a predetermined area of memory.

  And the function part (it shall be called an item display part) which performs the display control which concerns on the said various items in a programmable display controls item display content by accessing a shared memory regularly.

  At this time, depending on the item, a predetermined calculation may be performed on the data acquired from the shared memory (stored data in the allocated memory area), and the calculation result may be displayed. For example, if the stored data in the allocated memory area is a numerical value in g (grams), but there is an item that displays in kg (kilograms), an operation is performed to divide the acquired data by 1000. This calculation result is displayed.

In addition, when a function such as range conversion is given to the item, there is an example in which the arithmetic processing is performed using this function.
Further, for example, the invention of Patent Document 1 simplifies the input of incidental information about components arranged on a screen displayed by a symbol or a programmable display in a PLC control procedure program (such as a ladder diagram). It is an invention that makes it possible to efficiently create.

In the invention of Patent Document 1, a control procedure program is created on a ladder window by the ladder editor 32a, and a screen is created on the drawing window by the drawing editor 32b. For example, when the program is created, data including the address of the input / output device 4 relating to the ladder symbol and the corresponding variable name (for example, SW1) is registered in the data file 33. Subsequently, when creating a screen, the ladder symbol on the ladder window is dragged and dropped onto the drawing window. In response to this operation, the drawing editor 32b refers to the variable name copied to the memory unit 34 by the copy function unit 32c, displays a corresponding mark (part) on the drawing window, and displays the variable name as additional information. Is displayed on the mark.
JP 2001-75616 A

  Conventionally, it has been necessary to define (add) predetermined arithmetic processing for all items that require arithmetic processing. Alternatively, even when range conversion is used, not all items have a range conversion function. In addition, not all arithmetic processes can be realized by the range conversion function.

  Conventionally, the same calculation function may be added to a plurality of items, and the work load for that is not small, and there is a problem of wasteful use of resources. In particular, with the recent increase in the scale, diversification, and complexity of screens for programmable displays, the task of adding an arithmetic function for each item has become complicated.

  Conventionally, it has been necessary to perform an arithmetic process each time a cyclic item display process is performed. For this reason, even when the data used for the calculation does not change and the calculation result (display contents) does not change, the calculation is performed wastefully.

  An object of the present invention is to register each symbol information in which an arbitrary arithmetic expression is described in advance and associate an arbitrary item with arbitrary symbol information, thereby causing the item to be displayed based on arithmetic processing. It is to provide a programmable controller system, a programmable display device, a support device, and the like.

  The programmable controller system of this invention is a programmable controller system which has a programmable display and the assistance apparatus connected to this programmable display, Comprising: It has the following each structure.

The support apparatus includes symbol information storage means and symbol association means.
The symbol information storage means stores information on a symbol in which an external memory area is registered or a symbol in which an arithmetic expression is registered.

The symbol association means associates an arbitrary symbol with an item constituting screen data for the programmable display.
The programmable display has screen data storage means, item data processing means, and screen display means.

The screen data storage means stores the screen data including the item associated with the symbol.
The item data processing means executes an arithmetic process using the arithmetic expression for the item associated with the symbol in which the arithmetic expression is registered.

  The screen display means is means for performing screen display with the respective items, and for the item associated with the symbol in which the arithmetic expression is registered, display using the arithmetic processing result is performed.

It is a schematic block diagram of the whole system containing the programmable display of this example. It is a structural example of the programmable display of this example. It is a software block diagram of this system. (A)-(f) is the example of various screens which concern on the registration of symbol information and an association | work. It is a processing function figure of the programmable display of this example. (A), (b) is a specific example (part 1) of various data. (A)-(c) is a specific example (the 2) of various data. It is a process flowchart figure of a communication process part. It is a process flowchart figure of an item process part.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of the entire system including the programmable display 1 of this example.
The configuration shown in FIG. 1 is an example, and the present invention is not limited to this example. For example, the configuration in which the programmable display device 1 is not necessarily connected to the drawing editor device 5 may be used, and the programmable display device 1 and the drawing editor device 5 may exist separately. Any device can be used as long as the programmable display 1 stores screen data (including symbol information) or the like according to the present method and displays the screen for the programmable display using the screen data (including symbol information) or the like. good.

  The programmable controller system shown in FIG. 1 includes various connection devices 4 and a programmable display 1 that is connected to the various connection devices 4 via a communication line 6. Further, the programmable display device 1 is connected to the drawing editor device 5 via the communication line 3.

  The programmable display 1 is provided with a plurality of communication interfaces 2 (communication ports), and is connected to various connection devices 4 and the drawing editor device 5 by the communication line 3 / communication line 6 connected to each communication interface 2. ing.

  As described in the background art, the programmable display 1 displays an operation display screen based on the screen data as well as the memory device (external device) of the connection device 4 for each item on the screen. Data is acquired from a predetermined storage area (allocated memory area) of the memory), and the display content is controlled.

  The drawing editor device 5 corresponds to the support device in the background art, and supports the user to arbitrarily create data (screen data) for displaying the operation display screen on the programmable display 1. It has the function to do.

  As in the past, in this example as well, various item images are registered in the drawing editor device 5 in advance, and the user repeatedly creates the screen data by selecting a desired item image and placing it at a desired position. I do. The drawing editor device 5 may be regarded as an example of a support device for supporting creation of a screen (screen data) for a programmable display. Further, the user may set a desired storage area related to the memory device in the connected device 4 as the allocated memory area for the items arranged on the screen.

  The screen data includes predetermined information for each item arranged on the screen (referred to as item information; for example, the item image, the arrangement position coordinates, the address of the allocation memory area (allocation memory address), etc.) Is included.

In the above, regarding the drawing editor device 5 of the present example, the functions substantially similar to the conventional ones have been described.
Here, in this method, the allocated memory area may be registered in symbol information described later. In this case, the item information includes identification information (such as a symbol name and a symbol ID described later) of the corresponding symbol information.

  Further, conventionally, for items that require the above-described calculation processing, calculation processing is registered in the item information, but in this method, calculation processing is not registered in item information. In this method, the arithmetic processing is registered in the symbol information.

The symbol information is added to the screen data and downloaded to the programmable display 1.
The programmable display 1 displays the operation display screen based on the screen data (including symbol information) described above. However, the calculation process is executed in conjunction with the communication process with the connected device 4 to store the calculation result. In the display process of the operation display screen, display is performed using the calculation result (without performing the calculation process). Details will be described later.

FIG. 2 is a configuration example of the programmable display 1 of this example.
The illustrated programmable display 1 includes a display operation control device 10, a touch panel 18, a display 19, the communication interface 2, and the like.

  The display operation control device 10 includes a CPU 11, a ROM 12 (flash memory or the like), a RAM 13, a communication controller 14, a graphic controller 15, a touch panel controller 16, and the like, which are connected to a bus 17.

  The CPU 11 is a central processing unit (arithmetic processor) that controls the entire display operation control device 10. The CPU 11 performs a predetermined calculation operation (processing) by executing a program (for example, a main body program 21 described later) stored in the ROM 12 in advance. Various calculation results are stored in, for example, the RAM 13 or the ROM 12.

  The ROM 12 stores screen data 22 and symbol information 51, which will be described later. In this sense, the ROM 12 can also be referred to as a screen data storage unit or a symbol information storage unit.

  As described in the above background art, the screen data 22 includes, for example, data relating to display such as an image of the item, display position coordinates, and size for each item such as the switch and the lamp described above. Further, the screen data 22 may have data (allocated memory address or the like) related to access to the memory of the connected device 4 as in the conventional case. However, in this example, such data related to access to the memory of the connected device 4 may be included in the symbol information 51 instead of the screen data 22. The allocated memory address is an address of the allocated memory area.

  The allocated memory area may be called an “external memory area” in terms of a storage area of the “external memory” (memory device in the connected device). In particular, in the case of the symbol information 51, it should be called an “external memory area” rather than an “allocated memory area”. This is because the symbol information 51 is not a “memory area pre-assigned to each item”.

  However, the “external memory area” of a symbol can be regarded as substantially corresponding to the allocated memory area of the item by associating the item with the symbol.

  The process of the CPU 11 includes, for example, a process of periodically obtaining stored data in the allocated memory area. This acquired data is temporarily stored, for example, in the shared memory 53 described later. This data acquisition / storage process is executed for each item based on the screen data 22 (in some cases, based on the symbol information 51). In addition, depending on the item, a predetermined calculation process may be performed on the acquired data based on the symbol information 51. The calculation processing result is stored in a calculation result storage memory 54 described later.

The shared memory 53 and the calculation result storage memory 54 may be a part of the storage area of the RAM 13 or the ROM 12 or may be another memory (not shown).
Further, by the processing of the CPU 11, for example, display data based on the screen data 22, the acquired data, the arithmetic processing result, and the like are developed (drawn) on, for example, the RAM 13 (or a video RAM (not shown)). Based on this drawing, the graphic controller 15 displays the above-described operation display screen on the display 19.

  The display 19 is composed of, for example, a liquid crystal panel, and a touch panel 18 is provided so as to overlap the liquid crystal panel. On the display 19, the operation display screen is basically displayed in which a plurality of item images are arranged at predetermined positions.

  Further, the communication controller 14 performs communication (data transmission / reception and the like) with the connection device 4 and the drawing editor device 5 such as a PLC main body (not shown), a temperature control device, and the like via the communication interface 2.

  The detection result of the pressing operation (touch) position on the touch panel 18 by an operator or the like is taken into the CPU 11 or the like via the touch panel controller 16 and analyzed. For example, analysis is performed based on the display position coordinates and size data of each item. For example, when an operator or the like touches the display position of the image of the switch, the CPU 11 or the like analyzes that an operation on the switch has been performed.

FIG. 3 shows a software configuration diagram of the system.
The drawing editor device 5 includes a drawing editor 31. The drawing editor 31 has a function for assisting the user in creating a screen (operation display screen) for an arbitrary programmable display. As an existing function related to this support function, there is a function of selecting each desired item from various pre-registered items and placing it at a desired position on the screen. Further, there is an existing function that allows the user to set an address (allocated memory address) of an arbitrary memory device of an arbitrary connected device 4 to an item arranged on the screen.

The drawing editor 31 of this example has various functions of the symbol information registration unit 31a and the symbol association unit 31b shown in addition to the existing functions.
The symbol information registration unit 31a has a function of allowing a user to register desired symbol information by, for example, displaying various windows shown in FIGS. The symbol information includes a symbol name, a symbol type (“address” or “calculation”), an address, etc., as will be described later with reference to FIG. This “address” corresponds to the allocated memory address, but may further include an arithmetic expression. The symbol information created by the symbol information registration unit 31a is stored in the symbol information storage unit 31c.

  The symbol association unit 31b is a functional unit that allows a user to associate an arbitrary symbol with an arbitrary item arranged on the screen. This association is performed using, for example, the symbol name, but is not limited to this example. For items associated with symbols, it is not necessary to set the allocated memory address, and it is not necessary to set arithmetic expressions one by one.

A plurality of items may be associated with one symbol. Thereby, for example, the trouble of setting the allocated memory address can be reduced.
In the programmable display 1, various programs / data such as a main body program 21, screen data 22, and communication program 23 are stored in, for example, the ROM 12 (flash memory or the like). The CPU 11 reads / executes / references these programs / data, etc., thereby performing display control of the operation display screen for the programmable display.

  This operation display screen is composed of the above-described numerical display, image display of various items such as lamps, switches, etc., and the display content of each item is, for example, data acquired from the allocated memory area of the memory device in each connected device 4 (above (Acquired data) is updated at any time. In the following description, the memory device in the connected device 4 may be referred to as “external memory”. Note that the shared memory 53 and the calculation result storage memory 54 described later may be referred to as “internal memory”.

Basically, based on the main body program 21 and the communication program 23, the CPU 11 performs the acquisition / storage process of the acquisition data, the calculation process, the display control process of the operation display screen, and the like.
The display control process for the operation display screen is performed by using the screen data 22, the symbol information 51, the acquired data, the calculation processing result, and the like. In this way, the display content of each item image on the operation display screen (numerical display such as temperature, lighting / extinguishing of lamp, etc.) is updated at any time based on the acquired data and the calculation processing result. is there.

  As for the screen data 22 (symbol information 51 is added), for example, a screen data file 32 (symbol information 51 is added) arbitrarily created in advance on the drawing editor device 5 side is downloaded to the programmable display 1. Stored. Also, the communication program 23 is a program in which, for example, a part of a group of communication program files 33 previously stored on the drawing editor device 5 side is downloaded and stored in the programmable display 1.

  As described above, basically, the CPU 11 determines the operation display screen based on the main body program 21, the communication program 23, the screen data 22, the symbol information 51, the acquired data, the calculation processing result based on the acquired data, and the like. Perform display control.

  For example, regarding a numerical display item, the numerical display item is periodically read out from the assigned memory area of the numerical display item, and the numerical display item is determined according to the acquired data or the calculation processing result based on the acquired data. Update the display content of.

  The communication program 23 of the programmable display device 1 is a program for communicating with the connection device 4 via the communication line 6. Usually, each connected device 4 has a unique communication protocol (communication rule) for each model and performs communication between the programmable display 1 and the connected device 4 in accordance with this communication rule. Therefore, the communication program 23 needs to be developed for each model of each connected device 4. Of course, the CPU 11 and the like execute the communication program 23 to realize communication processing with the connected device 4.

  Communication between the programmable display 1 and the drawing editor device 5 is performed by, for example, the main body program 21 and the drawing editor 31 (a communication function is incorporated in the drawing editor 31). This is not particularly relevant and will not be shown or described. The connection device 4 such as the PLC main body has various manufacturers and models, each manufacturer / model has its own communication program, and the communication program 23 depends on the manufacturer / model of the connection device 4 depending on the case. Multiple types will be provided.

  The communication program 23 is normally stored in advance as a plurality of communication program files 33 (a plurality of communication programs developed for each model) in an HD (hard disk) (not shown) in the drawing editor device 5. Then, when the user selects / designates an arbitrary connected device 4 using the drawing editor 31, the drawing editor device 5 transfers the communication program file 33 corresponding to the selected connected device 4 to the programmable display device 1, The communication program 23 is stored.

  The various processing functions of the programmable display 1 of this example are basically realized by the CPU 11 executing the main body program 21 and the communication program 23 and referring to various data required during the processing. However, the calculation process based on the acquired data executes a calculation included in the symbol information 51.

  Further, this calculation process is executed not during the process related to display update but during the process related to data acquisition (communication with the connected device 4 or the like), and the calculation result is stored in the calculation result storage memory 54 described later. The In the processing related to the display update, the calculation result storage memory 54 is accessed to acquire and display the calculation result. As a result, it is not necessary to execute the calculation process for each process related to the display update, and the processing efficiency is improved. Details will be described later.

Here, the drawing editor 31 has a function of allowing the user (developer, etc.) to arbitrarily set the symbol information.
FIG. 4 shows examples of various windows related to the symbol information setting operation.

  FIG. 4A is an example of the symbol information registration window 34 (main setting window). For example, when the user designates (clicks) the “symbol type” column or “address” column of the record of an arbitrary item on the symbol information registration window 34, as shown in FIGS. Various windows are displayed. This supports the setting work by the user. Further, the window 38 shown in FIG. 4E is displayed by a predetermined operation on the window 37 shown in FIG.

  On the symbol information registration window 34, the user can arbitrarily set various symbol information such as the illustrated symbol name, symbol type, and address for each symbol. Note that the symbol ID shown is an ID for identifying each symbol, but in this example, serial numbers such as 0, 1, 2,.

  The user can set a desired name in the “symbol name” column shown in the figure for each symbol. In addition, the symbol type (whether only data acquisition or calculation is performed) can be set. For example, when the user designates the “symbol type” field shown in the figure, for example, a symbol type selection window 35 shown in FIG. 4B is displayed. As a result, the user selects either “address” or “calculation” shown in the figure on the symbol type selection window 35. Select “Address” if only data acquisition is required, and select “Calculation” if calculation is also performed.

  Further, the user can set an address corresponding to the allocated memory address in the “address” column on the symbol information registration window 34. At this time, an address selection window 36 shown in FIG. 4C is displayed for symbols having the symbol type “address”. Thus, the user can set, for example, a desired connected device, the desired memory device, and an address of a desired storage area in the memory device on the address selection window 36.

  As shown in FIG. 4C, a desired connected device (here, “PLC1 memory”) may be set. In this case, the connected device setting information is also stored in the item list 52, the symbol information 51, or the shared information. It is included in the memory 53 and the like. However, in the examples shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B and FIG. 7A and this description, the setting information of the connected device is basically omitted. However, it is only omitted, and actually, the device names 74 and 82 and the operation target device name 77 include not only the memory device name but also the identification information of the set connected device (the connected device name). ) May also be included.

  On the other hand, for a symbol whose symbol type is “calculation” (a symbol of “calculation” type), a calculation selection window 37 shown in FIG. 4D is displayed. Thus, the user can set a desired arithmetic expression or the like on the calculation selection window 37. This calculation formula is, for example, a calculation based on the “acquired data”. As a result, an address or the like corresponding to the allocated memory address is set in the “arithmetic memory” column shown in the figure. In the “calculation mode” column shown in the figure, calculations such as addition / subtraction and subtraction are set. Note that this may be selected, for example, on the calculation mode selection window 38 shown in FIG. Further, in the illustrated “operating memory” column on the calculation selection window 37, for example, a numerical value such as 100 or 1000 can be arbitrarily set, but other addresses other than the allocated memory address can also be set.

  In the example of the calculation selection window 37 shown in the figure, “D02100” meaning the address 02100 of the memory device D is set as “calculation memory”, and “D00300” is set as “memory to be calculated”. The “calculation mode” is addition. That is, an arithmetic expression is set to add the storage data “D00300” to the storage data “D02100”.

  As described above, symbol information arbitrarily set by the user or the like (including the content shown in FIG. 4A, for example) is stored in the storage device of the drawing editor device 5, and will be described below with reference to FIG. Referenced during association work. The symbol information is downloaded to the programmable display 1 together with the screen data.

FIG. 4F is a diagram for explaining the work of associating symbols with items.
When a user selects and designates an arbitrary item image in a state where a plurality of desired item images are arranged on the screen for creating an arbitrary operation display screen on the drawing editor device 5, various settings can be made for the item. A window is displayed. On this window, an illustrated symbol information association window 39 for associating an arbitrary symbol with this item is also displayed.

  On the symbol information association window 39, for example, a symbol name list is displayed as shown in the figure. When the user selects a desired symbol name from the list, this symbol is associated with this item. For example, the name or ID of the selected symbol is added as information (image, arrangement coordinates, etc.) of this item in the screen data file 32.

  Here, in the screen data 22, regarding the item associated with the symbol, there is no information such as an allocated memory address and an arithmetic expression, and instead there is the name of the associated symbol. On the other hand, the symbol information 51 includes information (an allocated memory address or an arithmetic expression using the allocated memory address, etc.) set in the “address” column shown in FIG. As a result, for an item associated with an arbitrary symbol, access to the allocated memory area, arithmetic processing, and the like are performed using the setting information of the associated symbol.

  Note that the correspondence between items and symbols is not limited to one-to-one, and may be many-to-one, for example. For example, since different display forms (for example, numerical display and graph display) may be made based on stored data at the same address, for example, a numerical display item and a graph display item are associated with one symbol. Also good. As a result, it is possible to reduce the trouble of setting the allocated memory address and the like.

FIG. 5 is a processing function diagram of the programmable display of this example.
When the CPU 11 executes a predetermined program (for example, the main body program 21, the communication program 23, etc.) stored in the ROM 12, for example, various processing function units shown within a dotted line in FIG. 5 are realized. That is, the illustrated item generation unit 41, item processing schedule unit 42, item processing unit 43, communication processing unit 44 (44-1, 44-2, etc.), shared memory generation processing unit 45, memory read processing unit 46, memory book The following processing functions of various processing function units such as the embedded processing unit 47 are realized.

  In addition, the programmable display 1 holds the screen data 22 to which the symbol information 51 is added as described above. In the programmable display 1, there are memory areas of a shared memory 53 and an operation result storage memory 54 shown in the figure.

  For example, the item generation unit 41, the item processing schedule unit 42, the item processing unit 43, the shared memory generation processing unit 45, the memory read processing unit 46, and the memory write processing unit 47 are realized by the main body program 21. The communication processing unit 44 is realized by the main body program 21 and the communication program 23. Further, the screen data 22 and the symbol information 51 may be referred to when executing the processing of the various processing functions.

  The item generation unit 41 generates an item list 52 based on the screen data 22 or the like. This is generated, for example, by extracting a part of the screen data 22 (a processed flag 68 described later may be added).

Here, FIG. 6A shows a data configuration diagram of the item list 52.
The item list 52 in the illustrated example includes data items of item type 61, coordinates 62, size 63, device name 64, address 65, “data for each item type” 66, symbol information 67, and processed flag 68. As will be described in detail later, the symbol information 67 is registered only in the case of an item associated with a symbol. Except for the symbol information 67, it may be regarded as the same as the prior art, and will be briefly described below.

The item type 61 stores item type identification information indicating the type of the item (switch, lamp, numerical display, etc.).
“Data for each item type” 66 stores accompanying information such as image data of the item (item image; an image of any switch if the item type is a switch). Data indicating the display position and size of the item image on the screen is stored in the coordinates 62 and size 63. These are data related to image display on the operation display screen of each item.

  The device name 64 and the address 65 are memory allocation information related to each item, and correspond to the allocated memory address. That is, the storage area indicated by the address 65 in the memory device indicated by the device name 64 is an area assigned to the item (the above-mentioned assigned memory area). The memory device indicated by the device name 64 is a memory device in the connected device 4.

  Here, in the case of an item associated with a symbol, basically, the symbol information 67 has data, but the device name 64 and the address 65 have no data. On the contrary, in the case of an item not associated with a symbol, basically, there is no data in the symbol information 67, but there is data in the device name 64 and the address 65.

  The symbol information 67 stores information (symbol name, symbol ID, etc.) indicating a symbol (for example, the symbol selected in FIG. 4F) associated with the item. Note that the information is not limited to the symbol name and symbol ID, and any information can be used as long as it can specify the symbol associated with the item. The symbol information 67 may further store an item type (“address” or “calculation”).

FIG. 6B shows a data configuration diagram of the symbol information 51.
The symbol information 51 in the illustrated example includes data items of a symbol ID 71, a symbol name 72, a symbol type 73, a device name 74, an address 75, an operation type 76, an operation target device name 77, and an operation target address 78.

  The symbol ID 71 is an ID for identifying each symbol, and is, for example, a serial number assigned for each new symbol registration such as “symbol ID” shown in FIG. 4A, but is not limited to this example.

The symbol name 72 is a name of each symbol, for example, a name arbitrarily set by the user in FIG.
For example, either “address” or “calculation” described in FIG. 4A is stored in the symbol type 73 (for example, the selection result on the symbol type selection window 35 in FIG. 4B is stored). )

  When the symbol type 73 is “address”, the device name 74 and the address 75 store, for example, the memory device name and address set on the window of FIG. 4A or 4C. However, data is not stored in the operation type 76, the operation target device name 77, and the operation target address 78.

  On the other hand, when the symbol type 73 is “calculation”, the device name 74 and the address 75 store, for example, the memory device name and address set in the “calculation memory” column of FIG. Furthermore, the device name 77 and the operation address 78 store the memory device name and address set in the “operation memory” column of FIG. However, when an arbitrary numerical value (for example, a memory device name (for example, 100) that is not a memory device name (for example, D)) is set in the “operation memory” column of FIG. There is no data, and the set value is stored in the operand address 78.

  Note that, for example, in the later-described processing by the communication processing unit 44, if there is data in the operation target device name 77, data acquisition processing based on the operation target device name 77 and the operation target address 78 is performed. However, when there is no data in the operation target device name 77, data acquisition processing based on the operation target device name 77 and the operation target address 78 is not performed. If there is no data in the operation target device name 77, the operation is performed using the value of the operation target address 78 as it is. Furthermore, the calculation type 76 stores calculation expressions such as addition and subtraction set in the “calculation mode” column on the window of FIG.

  As described above, the device name 74 and the operation target device name 77 may include not only the memory device name but also the connected device name described above. Further, the memory device name is not limited to the name, and may be information for identifying some memory device.

  When the programmable display 1 later performs access to the allocated memory area based on the symbol information 51 (or further calculation based on the access result), for example, the following processing is performed.

With reference to the symbol type 73, it is recognized whether it is “address” or “calculation”.
When the symbol type 73 is “address”, the storage data in the allocated memory area indicated by the device name 74 and the address 75 is acquired.

  When the symbol type 73 is “calculation”, the storage data in the allocated memory area indicated by the device name 74 and the address 75 is acquired, and the memory address indicated by the operation target device name 77 and the operation address 78 is stored. Acquire data for operation. Then, the calculation indicated by the calculation type 76 is executed using these two acquired data.

  The item processing schedule unit 42 performs schedule management such as display state update processing of each item image by the item processing unit 43. That is, the item processing schedule unit 42 periodically calls the item processing unit 43, for example, and executes, for example, the processing of FIG. 9 described later (in other words, cyclically executes the processing of FIG. 9).

  The item processing unit 43 executes processing related to update of the display content of the image for each item based on the item list 52, stored data in the shared memory 53 and the calculation result storage memory 54 described later, and the like. . At this time, according to the technique, the data read processing from the memories 53 and 54 is executed by the memory read processing unit 46. However, the memory read processing unit 46 may be regarded as a part of the function of the item processing unit 43. In this description, the memory read processing unit 46 is basically described as a part of the function of the item processing unit 43. Thus, the processing of the memory read processing unit 46 is also included in the processing flowchart of the item processing unit 43 of FIG. 9 described later.

The item processing unit 43 (including the memory read processing unit 46) may be referred to as a screen display unit.
The memory read processing unit 46 reads out data corresponding to each item, which may be read from the shared memory 53 or read from the calculation result storage memory 54 depending on the item.

The shared memory generation processing unit 45 generates a data storage area (record) for each item in the shared memory 53 based on the item list 52, the symbol information 51, and the like.
Here, the shared memory 53 and the calculation result storage memory 54 will be described.

FIG. 7A shows a specific example of the shared memory 53, and FIG. 7B shows a specific example of the calculation result storage memory 54.
The shared memory 53 in the example shown in FIG. 7A includes data items of a port 81, a device name 82, an address 83, data 84, and “calculation symbol association information” 85. Of these, the data items other than “association information to the calculation symbol” 85 may be substantially the same as the conventional one. Therefore, a brief description will be given below.

  The port 81 is identification information (communication port number) of the communication port, and is substantially information for identifying the connection device 4 of the communication partner. For example, based on the connected device name included in the device name 64 (74), a communication port number corresponding to the connected device can be determined (a connection device-communication port number correspondence table (not shown) or the like). , Registered in advance).

  The device 82 is identification information of a memory device (external memory) in the connection device 4 of the communication partner. The address 83 is an address of a predetermined storage area in the external memory indicated by the device 82, and the data 84 stores data acquired from this storage area.

  The shared memory generation processing unit 45 stores the determined communication port number in the port 81 for each item. Further, regarding the device name 82 and the address 83, the data storage area (record) for each item described above is generated by storing data as described below.

  For example, in the case of the example of FIG. 7A, the shared memory generation processing unit 45 sets the device name 64 and the address 65 when there is no data in the symbol information 67 for each item information of the item list 52, for example. And stored in the device name 82 and address 83 of the shared memory 53.

  On the other hand, in the case of an item having data in the symbol information 67, the symbol information 51 is searched using the symbol information 67 to recognize the corresponding record, and the device name 74 and address 75 of the corresponding record are stored in the shared memory 53. Stored in the device name 82 and address 83 of the device.

  Further, when the symbol type 73 is “calculation”, the symbol ID 71 is stored in the “association information to the calculation symbol” 85. In other words, the data is stored in the “calculation symbol association information” 85 only for items associated with the “calculation” type symbol.

The calculation result storage memory 54 in the example shown in FIG. 8B stores a calculation result 92 in association with the symbol ID 91.
In the data acquisition process from the allocated memory area regarding the item associated with the “calculation” type symbol, the calculation process is executed, and the calculation process result is stored in the calculation result 92. Then, for such an item, the memory read processing unit 46 acquires data of the calculation result 92.

Hereinafter, the memory read processing unit 46 will be described in more detail.
First, the memory read processing unit 46 refers to the item list 52 and determines, for each item, whether or not the item is associated with a symbol. In this example, when there is data in the symbol information 67, it is determined that the symbol information 67 is associated with the symbol. Regarding the items not associated with the symbol, there should be data in the device name 64 and the address 65, and based on these, the data 84 of the corresponding record in the shared memory 53 is read.

  On the other hand, regarding the item associated with the symbol, the symbol information 51 is searched using the symbol information 67 to refer to the corresponding record. When the symbol type 73 in the corresponding record is “address”, the data 84 of the corresponding record in the shared memory 53 is read based on the device name 74 and the address 75.

  On the other hand, when the symbol type 73 in the record is “calculation”, the calculation result is read from the calculation result storage memory 54 based on the symbol ID 71. As described above, according to this method, the item processing unit 43 does not need to execute the calculation process for each display update, and the processing load is reduced. The calculation processing is executed by the communication processing unit 44 during communication processing (data acquisition processing from the allocated memory area) as will be described later.

  The item processing unit 43 draws (decompresses) each item image on the RAM 13. At that time, depending on the type of item, the acquired data is also drawn (developed) on the RAM 13 together. As a result, the graphic controller 15 displays the drawing data on the display, whereby the operation display screen is displayed. The drawing data is updated by the item processing unit 43 as needed, for example, every time processing shown in FIG.

  The communication processing unit 44 is a communication processing unit 44-1 or 44-1 provided for each connection device 4 (4-1 or 4-2). That is, the illustrated communication processing unit 44-1 performs communication with the connection device 4-1 via the communication line 6 using the communication port WAY1 corresponding to the connection device 4-1, and the external memory thereof. Stored data in a predetermined area (allocated memory area).

  Similarly, the illustrated communication processing unit 44-2 performs communication with the connection device 4-2 via the communication line 6 using the communication port WAY2 corresponding to the connection device 4-2, and externally transmits the communication port WAY2. Data stored in a predetermined area (allocated memory area) of the memory is acquired.

  The process for acquiring the stored data in the allocated memory area itself may be basically the same as the conventional process, but in the case of this method, data may be acquired from a plurality of memory areas depending on the item. Such an item is basically an item associated with a “computation” type symbol, and data is also stored in the device name 77 to be computed. As described above, in the case of calculation such as “× 100”, there is no data in the operation target device name 77.

  Each of the communication processing units 44-1 and 44-2 in this example further includes a processing function of the memory write processing unit 47. Although shown separately in the figure, in this description, the memory write processing unit 47 is described as a part of the function of the communication processing unit 44. Therefore, the processing of the memory write processing unit 47 is also included in the flowchart of the communication processing unit 44 of FIG.

  First, the memory write processing unit 47 (item data processing unit) overwrites and stores the acquired storage data (referred to as acquisition data) in a predetermined area of the shared memory 53. Further, for an item associated with the “calculation” type symbol, a predetermined calculation is performed and the calculation result is stored in the calculation result storage memory 54.

  However, the memory write processing unit 47 may store the acquired data in the predetermined area of the shared memory 53 only when the existing data in the predetermined area of the shared memory 53 is different from the acquired data. Furthermore, only when the acquired data is overwritten and stored in a predetermined area of the shared memory 53, the predetermined calculation process may be executed and the calculation result stored in the calculation result storage memory 54 may be executed. As a result, useless calculations (calculations in which the calculation result is the same as the previous calculation) can be prevented from being executed, the processing load can be reduced, and the processing efficiency is improved.

FIG. 8 is a processing flowchart of the communication processing unit 44.
For example, in the example of FIG. 5, each of the communication processing units 44-1 and 44-2 executes the process of FIG. 8 cyclically (at a regular cycle).

  In the processing example of FIG. 8, first, the shared memory 53 is referenced to generate the memory list 55 related to the connected device 4 that the user is in charge of (step S1). For example, in the case of processing by the communication processing unit 44-1, the memory list 55 related to the connected device 4-1 is generated.

FIG. 7C shows a data configuration example of the memory list 55.
In the illustrated example, the memory list 55 includes data items of a device name 101, an address 102, data 103, and error information 104.

  For example, the communication processing unit 44-1 extracts all records in which the port 81 is “WAY 1” from the shared memory 53. The information of the device name 82, address 83, and data 84 of each extracted record is stored in the device name 101, address 102, and data 103. As a result, the memory list 55 related to the connected device 4-1 is generated.

The error information 74 is not necessarily required. Instead, flag information indicating whether or not the processing has been completed may be stored.
After that, referring to the generated memory list 55, the processes in steps S2 to S7 are repeatedly executed until the determination in step S7 becomes NO.

  That is, an unprocessed record is taken out from the memory list 55 (a record to be processed), and a memory read command based on the contents of this record is generated and transmitted to the connected device 4 in charge via the communication line 6 ( Step S2). Then, it waits for a response from the connected device 4 to this memory read command (step S3).

  The memory read command includes information (allocated memory address) for specifying an access destination such as the device name 71 and the address 72. The connected device 4 reads out data from the storage area indicated by the allocated memory address and performs response processing for returning the read data. However, if data read fails for some reason, a memory read error or the like is returned.

  When there is a normal response from the connected device 4, the communication processing unit 44 overwrites and stores the read data included in this response in the column of the data 84 in the record corresponding to the processing target record in the shared memory 53. (Step S4).

  However, as already described, when the existing data stored in the column of data 84 is the same as the read data included in the response, the overwrite storage process in step S4 may not be performed. .

  Then, it is determined whether or not there is an association with the calculation symbol (step S5). For example, when an arbitrary symbol ID is stored in the “association information to operation symbol” 55 in the record stored in step S4, it is determined that there is an association to the operation symbol ( Step S5, YES).

If step S5 is YES, a predetermined calculation process (step S6) is executed.
However, as described above, when the overwrite storage process of step S4 is not performed, the process of step S6 may not be executed regardless of the determination result of step S5. That is, when the read data from the allocated memory area is the same as the previous read data from the allocated memory area, the calculation result is the same as the previous data, so that the calculation is not performed. As a result, useless calculation execution can be avoided.

  In the process of step S6, for example, the corresponding record in the symbol information 51 is searched by using the symbol ID stored in the “association information with calculation symbol” 55. Then, the device name 77 and the operation address 78 in the corresponding record are used to access the connection device 4 to acquire the storage data in the corresponding storage area, and the acquired data and the data stored in the above step S4 (data 84). ) To execute the calculation of the calculation type 76 of the corresponding record.

  However, when there is no data in the operation target device name 77 in the corresponding record, the stored data of the operation target address 78 is regarded as an arbitrary numerical value, not an address, as described above. Therefore, in this case, the calculation of the calculation type 76 of the corresponding record is executed using the stored data of the calculation target address 78 and the data (data 84) stored in step S4.

  Further, not limited to the above example, for example, the “operating memory” (the operating device name 77 and the operating address 78) is also stored in the shared memory 53 and the memory list 55, and the processing of steps S3 and S4 is performed. At this time, the stored data in the “computed memory” may be read and stored in the shared memory 53. In this case, as a matter of course, it is not necessary to read out the stored data of the “memory to be operated” in step S6.

  In step S6, finally, the calculation result is stored in the corresponding record of the calculation result storage memory 54. The corresponding record is a record whose symbol ID 91 is the same as the symbol ID of the “association information with calculation symbol” 55 described above.

  If step S5 is NO or after executing the process of step S6, it is checked whether or not an unprocessed record remains in the memory list 55 (step S7, YES), the process returns to step S2. If it does not remain (step S7, NO), this process ends.

FIG. 9 is a processing flowchart of the item processing unit 43.
As described above, the processing in FIG. 9 is cyclically executed under the management of the item processing schedule unit 42.

  In the processing example of FIG. 9, the item processing unit 43 first executes an initialization process for the item list 52 (step S11). For example, the processed flag 68 of all records in the item list 52 is set to “unprocessed”. Thereafter, the processes in steps S12 to S20 are repeatedly executed until NO in step S20 described later.

That is, in the item list 52, the following processes are executed with an arbitrary record among the records whose flag 68 is “unprocessed” as a process target record.
Here, the symbol information 67 will be described using an example in which not only associated symbol identification information (symbol name, symbol ID, etc.) but also a symbol type is included. In the case of the example in which the symbol information 67 is only the symbol name or symbol ID, the symbol information 51 may be retrieved by searching the symbol information 51 using the symbol name or symbol ID.

  In the case of this example, first, with reference to the symbol information 67 of the processing target record, it is determined whether the symbol type is “calculation”, “address”, or there is no symbol association. As described above, if there is no stored data in the symbol information 67, it is assumed that there is no symbol association (NO in step S13 and NO in step S14), and the process of step S17 is executed as it is.

  That is, in this case, in the process of step S17, the corresponding record in the shared memory 53 is searched using the device name 64 and the address 65 of the process target record to acquire the data (step S17). That is, for example, a record whose device name 82 and address 83 are the same as the device name 64 and address 65 of the processing target record is the corresponding record. Then, the data 84 of the corresponding record is acquired (step S17).

  In addition, when there is a symbol association, the symbol type (“operation” or “address”) is also stored in the symbol information 67 in the above-described example, and by referring to this, it is “operation” or “address”. Determine if there is.

  When the symbol type is “address” (step S13 is NO and step S14 is YES), the symbol information 51 is searched using the symbol name stored in the symbol information 67, the device name 74 and the address 75 of the corresponding record. Is acquired (step S15). And the process of step S17 is performed. In the process of step S17 in this case, a record whose device name 82 and address 83 are the same as the acquired device name 74 and address 75 is the corresponding record. Then, the data 84 of the corresponding record is acquired (step S17).

  On the other hand, when the symbol type is “calculation” (step S13, YES), the calculation result storage memory 54 is searched using the symbol ID of the symbol information 67 to obtain the calculation result 92 of the corresponding record ( Step S16).

  After that, the conventional display process may be performed. That is, using the data acquired in step S16 or step S17, further using the information of the processing target record (item image, coordinates, size, etc.), a normal item drawing process (for example, developed on the RAM 13) is performed. This is performed (step S18).

When the execution of step S18 is completed, the processed flag 68 of the processing target record in the item list 52 is changed to “processed” (step S19).
If unprocessed records remain in the item list 52 (step S20, YES), the process returns to step S12. If all the records have been processed (step S19, NO), the process ends.

  As described above, according to the programmable controller system of the present example, the programmable display device, the support device, etc., each symbol information in which an arbitrary arithmetic expression is described in advance is registered in the support device, and an arbitrary item is registered. Is associated with arbitrary symbol information. Thereby, in a programmable display, the display based on arithmetic processing regarding this item can be performed.

  In particular, for items that need to be displayed after performing a predetermined calculation process based on acquired data from the allocated memory area, by using symbol information in which a predetermined calculation expression is registered in advance with an external memory area, There is no need to add a calculation function for each item, and the labor of developers and the like can be reduced. In particular, the same calculation function may be added to multiple items in the past, and the work burden for that is not small, and there is a problem of wasteful use of resources. Can be resolved.

  Furthermore, in the programmable display, the calculation process is executed at the time of data acquisition and the calculation result is stored, so that the display update is performed using the calculation result in the cyclic screen display update process. There is no need to perform arithmetic processing every time the display update process is performed, and the processing efficiency is improved. This effect is particularly noticeable when the processing cycle of FIG. 9 is shorter than the processing cycle of FIG. 8, in other words, when the processing of FIG. 9 is executed more frequently than the processing of FIG. Become.

Furthermore, it is possible to prevent unnecessary calculation execution.

The support apparatus includes symbol information storage means and symbol association means.
Symbol information storage unit stores the information symbols external memory area and Starring formula is registered.

The screen data storage means stores the screen data including the item associated with the symbol.
Item data processing means, for items before Symbol symbol is associated, performs arithmetic processing using the arithmetic expression.

The screen display means is a means for performing screen display by each item, and for the item associated with the symbol , display using the calculation processing result is performed.
The arithmetic expression is an arithmetic expression related to the data in the external memory area, and the item data processing means reads data from the external memory area, and performs the arithmetic processing based on the read data and the arithmetic expression. Run.

Claims (15)

A programmable controller system having a programmable display and a support device connected to the programmable display,
The support device includes:
Symbol information storage means for storing information of a symbol in which an external memory area is registered or a symbol in which an arithmetic expression is registered;
Symbol associating means for associating an arbitrary symbol with items constituting screen data for the programmable display,
The programmable display is
Screen data storage means for storing the screen data including the item associated with the symbol;
For an item associated with a symbol in which the arithmetic expression is registered, item data processing means for executing arithmetic processing using the arithmetic expression;
A means for performing screen display by each item, and for an item associated with the symbol in which the arithmetic expression is registered, a screen display means for performing display using the arithmetic processing result;
A programmable controller system comprising: The arithmetic expression is an arithmetic expression related to the data in the external memory area,
2. The programmable controller system according to claim 1, wherein the item data processing means reads data from the external memory area and executes the arithmetic processing based on the read data and the arithmetic expression. The programmable display has an internal memory;
The item data processing means stores the calculation processing result in the internal memory,
3. The programmable controller system according to claim 2, wherein the screen display means reads the arithmetic processing result from the internal memory and performs display using the arithmetic processing result.   3. The programmable controller system according to claim 2, wherein the item data processing means does not execute the arithmetic processing when the read data from the external memory area is the same as the previous read data. The item data processing means reads data from the external memory area for an item associated with the symbol in which the external memory area is registered,
2. The programmable controller system according to claim 1, wherein the screen display unit displays an item associated with a symbol in which the external memory area is registered based on data read from the external memory area. 3. . The programmable display is connected to a connection device,
The programmable controller system according to claim 1, wherein the external memory area is a predetermined storage area in a memory device in the connected device.   The programmable controller system according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of items are associated with any one symbol. The support device includes:
2. The programmable controller system according to claim 1, further comprising symbol information registration means for arbitrarily setting the symbol information and storing the symbol information in the symbol information storage means. Screen data storage means for storing screen data including an item associated with a symbol in which an external memory area is registered or a symbol in which an arithmetic expression is registered;
For an item associated with a symbol in which the arithmetic expression is registered, item data processing means for executing arithmetic processing using the arithmetic expression;
A means for performing screen display by each item, and for an item associated with the symbol in which the arithmetic expression is registered, a screen display means for performing display using the arithmetic processing result;
A programmable display device comprising: The arithmetic expression is an arithmetic expression related to the data in the external memory area,
10. The programmable display device according to claim 9, wherein the item data processing means reads data from the external memory area and executes the arithmetic processing based on the read data and the arithmetic expression. Has internal memory,
The item data processing means stores the calculation processing result in the internal memory,
11. The programmable display device according to claim 10, wherein the screen display means reads the arithmetic processing result from the internal memory and performs display using the arithmetic processing result. Symbol information storage means for storing information of a symbol in which an external memory area is registered or a symbol in which an arithmetic expression is registered;
Symbol associating means for associating an arbitrary symbol with an item constituting screen data for the programmable display;
A support device comprising:   13. The support apparatus according to claim 12, further comprising symbol information registration means for arbitrarily setting the symbol information and storing the symbol information in the symbol information storage means. Programmable display computer,
Screen data storage means for storing screen data including an item associated with a symbol in which an external memory area is registered or a symbol in which an arithmetic expression is registered;
For an item associated with a symbol in which the arithmetic expression is registered, item data processing means for executing arithmetic processing using the arithmetic expression;
Screen display means for each item, screen display means for performing display using the calculation processing result for the item associated with the symbol in which the calculation formula is registered,
Program to function as. The computer of the support device,
Symbol information storage means for storing information of a symbol in which an external memory area is registered or a symbol in which an arithmetic expression is registered;
Symbol associating means for associating an arbitrary symbol with an item constituting screen data for the programmable display,
Program to function as.

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