CN109643091B

CN109643091B - Programmable logic controller

Info

Publication number: CN109643091B
Application number: CN201680088579.9A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 甲斐启文; 河合拓也
Original assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corp
Current assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corp
Priority date: 2016-08-24
Filing date: 2016-08-24
Publication date: 2020-07-14
Anticipated expiration: 2036-08-24
Also published as: JP6207799B1; JPWO2018037513A1; CN109643091A; WO2018037513A1

Abstract

A P L C (5) as a programmable logic controller is provided with a storage unit (56) for storing a Control Program (CP), and a control unit (59) for receiving commands and acquiring comments associated with at least some of the received commands except for a command for changing the Control Program (CP). the P L C (5) is provided with a comment necessity/unnecessity storage unit (57) for storing comment necessity/unnecessity information (AI) in which a command necessary to be associated with a comment is set in advance, and a history storage unit (58) for storing History Information (HI) in which at least some of the commands and the acquired comment are associated with each other.

Description

Programmable logic controller

Technical Field

The invention relates to a programmable logic controller for controlling equipment in the field of FA (factory automation).

Background

The FA field of equipment is generally implemented by combining a plurality of instruments. A plurality of devices constituting the FA domain are controlled by a programmable logic controller that integrates control processing and information processing (see patent documents 1 and 2).

The programmable logic controller shown in patent document 1 stores a change in a control program for controlling an instrument as history information, and the programmable logic controller shown in patent document 2 stores operation timing of the instrument as history information. The programmable logic controllers disclosed in

patent documents

1 and 2 store history information, and thereby easily find the cause when a problem occurs in the device in the FA field.

Patent document 1: japanese laid-open patent publication No. 11-134011

Patent document 2: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2003-248504

Disclosure of Invention

However, the programmable logic controllers disclosed in

patent documents

1 and 2 store only the change of the control program and the operation timing of the equipment as history information, and therefore have a problem that it is difficult to find the cause when a problem occurs in the equipment in the FA field.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a programmable logic controller capable of easily finding a cause when a problem occurs in a device in the FA field.

In order to solve the above problems and achieve the object, the present invention is a programmable logic controller including: a storage unit that stores a control program; and a control unit that receives the commands and acquires comments associated with at least some of the received commands other than the command for changing the control program. The programmable logic controller has: a history storage unit for storing history information in which at least a part of the commands and the acquired comments are associated; and a comment necessity storage unit that stores comment necessity information in which a command that needs to be associated with a comment is set in advance. The control unit acquires a comment associated with the command set as necessary to be associated with the comment if the command set as necessary to be associated with the comment is received by the comment necessity/unnecessity information, and stores history information in which the command set as necessary to be associated with the comment and the acquired comment are associated with each other in the history storage unit.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION

The programmable logic controller according to the present invention achieves an effect that it is possible to easily find the cause when a problem occurs in a device in the FA field.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a control system including a programmable logic controller according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an example of comment necessity information stored in the programmable logic controller shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of history information stored in the programmable logic controller shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration of a computer of the control system according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 5 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration of an HMI of the control system according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 6 is a functional block diagram of the programmable logic controller according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 7 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration of the programmable logic controller according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation of creating history information of the programmable logic controller according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 9 is a diagram showing an example of history information created by the flowchart shown in fig. 8.

Fig. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation of monitoring history information by the programmable logic controller according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a comment setting screen displayed on a display device of a computer when a comment is added to the history information shown in fig. 9.

Fig. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a state in which a comment is added to the history information shown in fig. 9.

Fig. 13 is a diagram showing another example of the comment necessity information of the programmable logic controller according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 14 is a diagram showing another example of history information created by the flowchart shown in fig. 8.

Fig. 15 is a diagram showing another example of an annotation setting screen displayed on a display device of a computer when an annotation is added to the history information shown in fig. 9.

Fig. 16 is a diagram showing an example of a state in which a comment is added to the history information shown in fig. 14.

Fig. 17 is a diagram showing an example of comment necessity information stored in the programmable logic controller according to embodiment 2.

Fig. 18 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation of creating history information of the programmable logic controller according to embodiment 2.

Fig. 19 is a diagram showing an example of history information created by the flowchart shown in fig. 18.

Fig. 20 is a functional block diagram of a programmable logic controller according to embodiment 3.

Fig. 21 is a diagram showing an example of a comment setting screen for notifying a user of the programmable logic controller according to embodiment 4.

Detailed Description

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

Embodiment 1.

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a control system including a programmable logic controller according to embodiment 1. Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an example of comment necessity information stored in the programmable logic controller shown in fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of history information stored in the programmable logic controller shown in fig. 1.

The control system 1 constitutes a device in the fa (factory automation) field, and as shown in fig. 1, includes a plurality of

devices

2, 3, 4 installed in the device, a Programmable logic controller (Programmable L logiccontrollers (hereinafter referred to as P L C))5 connected to the plurality of

devices

2, 3, 4, a computer 6 connected to the P L C5, and an hmi (human machine interface)7 connected to the P L C5. in embodiment 1, the control system 1 includes three

devices

2, 3, 4, but is not limited to three devices.in embodiment 1, the

devices

2, 3, 4 are sensors or driving devices.a sensor provided in the device detects a flow rate, a pressure, a concentration, or a temperature.a driving device is a driving device that performs an operation of a switch, a regulating valve, a solenoid valve, a motor, or a pump provided in the device.

The control system 1 includes a Network N for communicably connecting the

devices

2, 3, 4, P L C5, the computer 6, and the HMI7, the Network N is a computer Network for communicably connecting the computer 6, P L C5, and the HMI7, and in embodiment 1, the Network N is L AN (L oral Area Network) provided in the FA device, but the Network N is not limited to L AN.

The computer 6 creates a control program CP executed by P L C5, transmits the control program CP to P L C5. P L C5, and controls the

devices

2, 3, and 4 by executing the control program CP, in embodiment 1, P L C5 is defined by JIS (japanese industrial standard) B3502: 2011, HMI7 is used for a user to input various commands to P L C5, and in embodiment 1, HMI7 is a touch-panel terminal device, but HMI7 is not limited to a touch-panel terminal device.

The P L C5 includes a memory 51 for storing information, a power switch 52 for turning on and off the power of the P L C5 itself, a reset switch 53 for resetting the P L C5 itself, an external storage medium storage device 54, and an eject switch 55. the external storage medium storage device 54 is configured such that an external storage medium is detachable, and in embodiment 1, parameters acquired during execution of the control program CP are stored in the external storage medium, information stored in the external storage medium is not limited to the parameters acquired during execution of the control program CP, and the external storage medium storage device 54 is configured such that the external storage medium is detached by a user operating the eject switch 55.

In embodiment 1, the external storage medium is constituted by an SD memory card (Secure Digital memory card) or an SRAM (static Random Access memory) cartridge, but is not limited to the SD memory card or the SRAM cartridge, and may be constituted by a magnetic disk, an optical disk, or an optical magnetic disk, the eject switch 55 is operated when the external storage medium is detached from P L C5, and the power switch 52, the reset switch 53, and the eject switch 55 are switches of P L C5, and are physical switches directly operated by the user.

The P L C5 receives various commands transmitted by the

switches

52, 53, 55, the computer 6, or the HMI7 during execution of the control program CP the commands received by the P L C5 include a program change command for changing at least a part of the control program CP, "power on" as an operation for the power switch 52, "power off" as an operation for the power switch 52, "manual reset" as an operation for the reset switch 53, and "pop-up" as an operation for the pop-up switch 55.

The commands received by the P L C5 include "cable install" which indicates that the cable used by the network N is installed in the P L C5, "cable detach" which indicates that the cable used by the network N is detached from the P L C5, "remote reset" which resets the action of the P L C5 by an operation from the computer 6 or the HMI7, "remote stop" which stops the execution of the control program CP of the P L C5 by an operation from the computer 6 or the HMI7, and "remote run" which causes the P L C5 to execute the control program CP by an operation from the computer 6 or the HMI 7.

The commands received by P L C5 include, but are not limited to, a "command for changing a value stored in the storage area of the memory 51" by an operation from the computer 6, a "command for reading a value stored in the storage area of the memory 51" by an operation from the computer 6, and a "command for writing a value into the storage area of the memory 51" by an operation from the computer 6, and the commands received by P L C5 include, a "command for reading various files stored in the memory 51" by an operation from the computer 6, and a "command for writing various files into the memory 51" by an operation from the computer 6.

Further, "power on", "power off", "manual reset", "eject", "cable installation", "cable removal", "remote reset", "remote stop", "remote operation", "command for changing a value stored in a storage area of the memory 51", "command for reading a value stored in a storage area of the memory 51", "command for writing a value into a storage area of the memory 51", "command for reading various files stored in the memory 51", and "command for writing various files into the memory 51" are commands other than the command for changing the control program CP. Therefore, commands other than changing the control program CP include: "power on" as an operation for the power switch 52, "power off" as an operation for the power switch 52, "manual reset" as an operation for the reset switch 53, and "pop-up" as an operation for the pop-up switch 55.

The computer 6 creates comment necessity information AI, an example of which is shown in fig. 2, and transmits the comment necessity information AI to the P L C5, that is, the comment necessity information AI can be set by the computer 6, the comment necessity information AI is information in which a command that needs to be associated with a comment is set in advance, the comment necessity information AI associates a command and a comment in a 1-to-1 manner, in embodiment 1, the comment necessity information AI shown in fig. 2 associates a comment that is "power on" and "responsible person for device testing" as operations on the power switch 52 among commands other than a change to the control program CP, the comment necessity information AI shown in fig. 2 associates a comment that is a command for changing a value stored in the storage area "M0" of the memory 51, that is "device M0 change" and a comment that is for changing the person responsible for the mountain farm condition X "among commands other than a change to the control program CP, and the comment necessity information AI shown in fig. 2 is associated with a comment setting command for a change to the control program CP" RUN ".

In addition, although "power on" and "device M0 change" are shown as commands other than the change of the control program CP in fig. 2, the commands other than the change of the control program CP in the present invention are not limited to "power on" and "device M0 change". That is, in the present invention, the command other than the change to the control program CP set in the comment necessity information AI may be "power off", "manual reset", "eject", "cable attachment", "cable detachment", "remote reset", "remote stop", "remote operation", "a command for reading a value stored in the storage area of the memory 51", "a command for writing a value stored in the storage area of the memory 51", "a command for reading various files stored in the memory 51", or "a command for writing various files in the memory 51".

If a command set to the comment-on-or-not-required information AI is received during execution of the control program CP, P L C5 stores history information HI shown in fig. 3 that associates the received command with a comment associated with the received command in the comment-on-or-not-required information AI, in embodiment 1, as shown in fig. 3, the history information HI associates the received command with the date and time at which the command set to the comment-on-or-not-required information AI was received, and the received command.

Fig. 4 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration of a computer of the control system according to embodiment 1. The computer 6 according to embodiment 1 executes a computer program, and as shown in fig. 4, includes a cpu (central Processing unit)61, a ram (random Access memory)62, a rom (read Only memory)63, a storage device 64, an input device 65, a display device 66, and a communication interface 67. The CPU 61, RAM 62, ROM 63, storage device 64, input device 65, display device 66, and communication interface 67 are mutually connected via a bus B6.

The CPU 61 uses the RAM 62 as a work area, and executes programs stored in the ROM 63 and the storage device 64. The program stored in the ROM 63 is a BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) or UEFI (unified extensible firmware interface), but the program stored in the ROM 63 is not limited to the BIOS or UEFI. In embodiment 1, the programs stored in the storage device 64 are an operating system program and an engineering tool program, but the programs stored in the storage device 64 are not limited to the operating system program and the engineering tool program. In embodiment 1, the storage device 64 is SSD (solid state drive) or HDD (hard Disk drive), but the storage device 64 is not limited to the SSD or HDD.

The input device 65 receives an operation input from a user, in embodiment 1, the input device 65 is a keyboard or a mouse, but is not limited to a keyboard or a mouse, the display device 66 displays characters and images, and the communication interface 67 communicates with the P L C5 via the network N.

Fig. 5 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration of an HMI of the control system according to embodiment 1. As shown in fig. 5, the HMI7 according to embodiment 1 includes a CPU 71, a RAM 72, a ROM 73, a storage device 74, an input device 75, a display device 76, and a communication interface 77. The CPU 71, RAM 72, ROM 73, storage device 74, input device 75, display device 76, and communication interface 77 are connected via a bus B7.

The Display device 76 is composed of a liquid Crystal Display (L CD: L acquired Crystal Display), an Organic E L Display (OE L D: Organic Electro-L timing Display) or an Inorganic E L Display (IE L D: Organic Electro-L timing Display). the Display device 76 displays characters, still images, moving images, symbols, and graphics.

The input device 75 receives an operation input from a user. In embodiment 1, the input device 75 is a touch panel superimposed on the display device 76. The input device 75 detects contact or proximity of a finger, pen, or stylus. The input device 75 detects a position on the input device 75 when a finger, a pen, or a stylus is in contact with or in proximity to the input device 75. In the present specification, a plurality of fingers, a pen, and a stylus pen detected by the input device 75 are collectively referred to as "fingers". In this specification, a position where the finger is in contact with or close to the input device 75 is sometimes referred to as a "detection position". The input device 75 transmits the contact of the finger to the CPU 71 together with the detected position.

The input device 75 is constituted by a touch panel using a capacitance system, a resistance film system, a surface acoustic wave system, an ultrasonic system, an infrared system, an electromagnetic induction system, or a load detection system as a detection system, and the communication interface 77 communicates with P L C5 via the network N.

The CPU 71 uses the RAM 72 as a work area, and executes programs stored in the ROM 73. The program stored in the ROM 73 is realized by software, firmware, or a combination of software and firmware. The CPU 71 determines the type of the gesture based on at least 1 of the contact of the finger detected by the input device 75, the detection position where the contact is detected, the change in the detection position where the contact is detected, the interval where the contact of the finger is detected, and the number of times the contact of the finger is detected. The gesture is an operation performed on the input device 75 using a finger. The gestures determined by the CPU 71 through the input device 75 include, but are not limited to, touch, long touch, release, swipe, touch, double click, long touch, drag, flick, retraction, and enlargement.

The storage device 74 has an area for storing information readable by a computer, and in embodiment 1, the storage device 74 is configured by a nonvolatile semiconductor memory or a volatile semiconductor memory. As the nonvolatile semiconductor memory or the volatile semiconductor memory, a RAM, a ROM, a flash memory, an EPROM, or an EEPROM can be used. The storage device 74 may be configured by at least one of a magnetic disk, an optical disk, and a magneto-optical disk.

In embodiment 1, P L C5 is a unit that executes the control program CP, acquires and stores information on the

devices

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

devices

2, 3, and 4, and P L C5 is a unit that receives a command during execution of the control program CP, and stores history information HI in which the received command and the comment are associated with each other based on the comment necessity information AI.

As shown in fig. 6, P L C5 includes a storage unit 56 for storing the control program CP and a comment necessity storage unit 57 for storing comment necessity information AI in addition to the power switch 52, the reset switch 53, the eject switch 55, and the external storage medium storage device 54, and P L C5 includes a history storage unit 58 for storing history information HI, a control unit 59 connected to the computer 6 and the HMI7 and receiving a command, a monitoring unit 81 for monitoring the history information HI stored in the history storage unit 58, and a notification unit 82 connected to the monitoring unit 81.

The operation portions of the power switch 52, the reset switch 53, and the eject switch 55 operated by the user are exposed to the outside of P L C5, in embodiment 1, the power switch 52, the reset switch 53, and the eject switch 55 are push-button switches that can be pressed by the operation portions, but are not limited to push-button switches.

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

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

devices

2, 3, and 4. The control section 59 receives a command during execution of the control program CP. If a command set to require association with a comment by the comment necessity information AI is received, the control section 59 acquires, from the comment necessity information AI, a comment associated with the command set to require association with a comment by the comment necessity information AI. The control unit 59 stores history information HI in which a command that requires association with a comment is set by the comment necessity information AI and a comment acquired from the comment necessity information AI are associated with each other in the history storage unit 58. The control unit 59 acquires, from the comment necessity information AI, a comment associated with a command set to be associated with the comment as a result of the comment necessity information AI, and thereby acquires a comment associated with at least a part of commands other than a command for changing the control program CP among the received commands. The command set to require association with the comment is a command set to comment necessity information AI. The command set to require association with the comment is both a command associated with the comment in the comment-on-no-information AI and a command that the comment associated in the comment-on-no-information AI is "unset".

The history storage unit 58 stores history information HI in which a command that needs to be associated with a comment is set by the comment necessity information AI and a comment acquired from the comment necessity information AI are associated with each other. The history storage unit 58 stores history information HI in which a command associated with the comment is set as necessary by the comment necessity information AI and a comment acquired from the comment necessity information AI are associated with each other, and thereby stores history information HI in which at least a part of commands other than a command for changing the control program CP among the commands received by the control unit 59 and the comment acquired by the control unit 59 are associated with each other.

The monitoring unit 81 determines whether or not there is a command set by the comment necessity information AI to be associated with a comment and not to fill a comment in the history information HI in units of a predetermined time set in advance while the control unit 59 executes the control program CP. That is, the monitoring unit 81 determines whether or not there is a command set in the history information HI and not associated with the comment, in units of a predetermined time, while the control unit 59 is executing the control program CP. If it is determined that there is a command that is set to the comment-on-or-not-related information AI and that is not related to a comment in the history information HI, the monitoring section 81 notifies the user, via the notification section 82, that there is a command that is set to the comment-on-or-not-related information AI and that is not related to a comment in the history information HI.

While the control unit 59 is executing the control program CP, the notification unit 82 notifies the user that there is a command set to be associated with a comment by the comment necessity information AI and that the comment is not filled in, in the history information HI stored in the history storage unit 58. In embodiment 1, the notification unit 82 notifies the user by emitting yellow or red light or blinking, but the notification method of the notification unit 82 is not limited to this.

Next, the hardware configuration of P L C5 will be described, fig. 7 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the programmable logic controller according to embodiment 1, and as shown in fig. 7, P L C5 includes a CPU unit 5A that processes and executes the control program CP and an I/O (Input/Output) unit 5B connected to the

devices

2, 3, and 4, in embodiment 1, three I/O units 5B are provided and connected to each of the

devices

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

The CPU unit 5A includes a circuit board 5A1, a CPU5A2 mounted on the circuit board 5A1 and executing a control program CP, and a memory 51 connected to the CPU5A2 via an internal bus B1, the CPU unit 5A includes a communication interface 5A4 communicating with the computer 6, a bus interface 5A5 connected to the I/O unit 5B, a storage device 5A6 storing the control program CP, a computer program for calculating history information HI, and a computer program for monitoring history information HI, L ED (L height judging diode)5A7, a power switch 52, a reset switch 53, a pop-up switch 55, and an external storage medium storage device 54, the CPU5A2, the memory 51, the communication interface 5A4, the bus interface 5A 38, the storage device 5A6, L ED 5A7, the power switch 52, the reset switch 53, the reset switch 55, and the external storage medium storage device 54 are connected via the internal bus 2.

The bus interface 5a5 is a bus bridge circuit that connects the internal bus B1 and the expansion bus B2. The bus interface 5a5 is connected to the I/O unit 5B via an expansion bus B2. In embodiment 1, the storage device 5a6 is an SSD or an HDD, but is not limited to an SSD or an HDD.

The functions of the control unit 59 and the monitoring unit 81, that is, the functions of the P L C5, are realized by the CPU5a2 reading and executing the control program CP stored in the storage device 5a6, the computer program for calculating the history information HI, and the computer program for monitoring the history information HI, and the control program CP, the computer program for calculating the history information HI, and the computer program for monitoring the history information HI are realized by software, firmware, or a combination of software and firmware.

The functions of the storage unit 56, the comment necessity storage unit 57, and the history storage unit 58 are realized by the storage device 5a6, the function of the notification unit 82 is realized by L ED 5a7, in embodiment 1, when the CPU5a2 notifies the user, L ED 5a7 lights up or blinks, and when the user is not notified, L ED 5a7 lights off, the memory 51 is configured by a nonvolatile semiconductor memory or a volatile semiconductor memory, and as the nonvolatile semiconductor memory or the volatile semiconductor memory, a RAM, a ROM, a flash memory, an eprom (Erasable Programmable Read Only memory), an eeprom (electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only memory), or the memory 51 may be configured by at least one of a magnetic disk, an optical disk, and a magneto-optical disk.

Next, an example of the operation of P L C5 according to embodiment 1 will be described with reference to the drawings, fig. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of creating history information of the programmable logic controller according to embodiment 1, fig. 9 is a diagram showing an example of history information created by the flowchart shown in fig. 8, fig. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of monitoring history information of the programmable logic controller according to embodiment 1, fig. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a comment setting screen displayed on a display device of a computer when a comment is added to the history information shown in fig. 9, and fig. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a state where a comment is added to the history information shown in fig. 9.

P L C5 stores comment necessity information AI in the comment necessity storage unit 57 before executing the control program CP, in embodiment 1, P L C5 stores comment necessity information AI shown in fig. 2 in the comment necessity storage unit 57, and P L C5 controls the

instruments

2, 3, 4 by executing the control program CP, if a command is received during execution of the control program CP, P L C5 executes the flowchart shown in fig. 8, and P L C5 receives a command when executing the flowchart shown in fig. 8 (step ST 1).

P L C5 refers to comment necessity information AI stored in the comment necessity/unnecessity storage unit 57 (step ST2), P L C5 determines whether or not the received command is set in the comment necessity/unnecessity information AI, that is, whether or not it is necessary to associate the comment with the received command (step ST3), and P L C5, if it is determined that it is not necessary to associate the comment with the received command (step ST 3: No), ends the flowchart shown in fig. 8, and P L C5, if it is determined that it is necessary to associate the comment with the received command (step ST 3: Yes), acquires the comment associated with the received command from the comment necessity/unnecessity information AI, stores history information-1A shown in fig. 9 in which the received command, the acquired comment, and the date and time at which the command was received are associated (step ST4 HI), and ends the flowchart shown in fig. 8.

In this way, in embodiment 1, the P L C5 executes the flowchart shown in fig. 8, creates the history information HI-1A shown in fig. 9, stores the commands in the order of reception, and associates the comments with the command "power on", and the command "device M0 change", respectively, in the history information HI-1A shown in fig. 9, since the comment associated with the command "write in RUN" of the comment necessity information AI shown in fig. 2 is "unset", the history information HI-1A shown in fig. 9 does not associate the comment with the command "write in RUN".

In embodiment 1, P L C5 executes the flowchart shown in fig. 10 in units of a predetermined time during execution of the control program CP, P L C5 executes the flowchart shown in fig. 10 independently of the flowchart shown in fig. 8, and P L C5, when executing the flowchart shown in fig. 10, first, refers to the history information HI stored in the history storage unit 58, and determines whether or not there is a command that is not associated with a comment in the history information HI, and when there is a command that is not associated with a comment in the history information HI, P L C5 acquires a command that is not associated with a comment from the history information HI (step ST11), and when there is no command that is not associated with a comment in the history information HI in step ST11, P L C5 ends the flowchart shown in fig. 10.

The P L C5 refers to the comment necessity information AI in the comment necessity storage unit 57 (step ST12), the P L C5 determines whether or not the command acquired in step ST11 and not associated with the comment is set in the comment necessity information AI (step ST13), the P L C5, if it is determined that the command acquired in step ST11 and not associated with the comment is set in the comment necessity information AI (step ST 13: Yes), notifies the notification unit 82 (step ST14), and the flowchart shown in fig. 10 is completed, and the P L C5, if it is determined that the command acquired in step ST11 and not associated with the comment is not set in the comment necessity information AI (step ST 13: No), ends the flowchart shown in fig. 10.

In embodiment 1, the history information HI-1A shown in fig. 9 does not associate the comment with the command "write in RUN", and therefore, in step ST11, the P L C5 acquires the command "write in RUN" that is not associated with the comment from the history information HI-1A, and in embodiment 1, the command "write in RUN" is set in the comment necessity information AI shown in fig. 2, and therefore, in step ST14, the P L C5 causes the notification unit 82 to notify.

An explanation will be given of an operation of P L C5 according to embodiment 1 when adding a comment to a command that is not associated with a comment in the history information HI, wherein the user operates the input device 65 of the computer 6 to display the comment setting screen 100 shown in fig. 11 on the display device 66, the comment setting screen 100 includes a command information display area 101 that displays information of the command that is not associated with a comment, a comment input area 102 that inputs a comment, and a specification area 103 that specifies a comment that is input to the comment input area 102, the user operates the input device 65 to input a comment into the comment input area 102 of the comment setting screen 100 shown in fig. 11 to operate the specification area 103, and thus, in the history information HI-1A, a comment is added for the command that is not associated with a comment as shown in fig. 12.

In embodiment 1, the command "write in RUN" is not associated with the comment in history information HI-1A shown in fig. 9, and the command "write in RUN" is set in the comment necessity information AI shown in fig. 2, and therefore, the command information display area 101 of the comment setting screen 100 shown in fig. 11 displays the information of the command "write in RUN".

Next, another example of the operation of P L C5 according to embodiment 1 will be described with reference to the drawings, fig. 13 is a diagram showing another example of comment necessity information of the programmable logic controller according to embodiment 1, fig. 14 is a diagram showing another example of history information created by the flowchart shown in fig. 8, fig. 15 is a diagram showing another example of a comment setting screen displayed on a display device of a computer when a comment is added to the history information shown in fig. 9, and fig. 16 is a diagram showing one example of a state where a comment is added to the history information shown in fig. 14.

The user inputs "power on" as an operation to the power switch 52 among commands other than the command to change the control program CP and "power off" as an operation to the power switch 52 among commands other than the command to change the control program CP to the P L C5, and sometimes, the user does not normally input "manual reset" as an operation to the reset switch 53 among commands other than the command to change the control program CP to the P L C5, in this case, when the user inputs the command "manual reset" to the P L C5 for some reason, it is sometimes desirable that the P L C5 associates the comment with the command "manual reset" in the history information HI.

In this case, in the annotation availability information AI-1, as shown in fig. 13, the commands "power on" and "person in charge: the note of zornia's routine initiation' is associated, commanding "power off" and "person in charge: the note "the usual end of the zotoclower routine" is associated. In the annotation attainment information AI-1 shown in fig. 13, the annotation associated with the command "manual reset" is "unset".

P L C5, if the comment necessity information AI-1 shown in fig. 13 is set and a command "manual reset" is received during execution of the control program CP, creates history information HI-1B shown in fig. 14 by executing the flowchart shown in fig. 8, stores the commands in the order of reception, and in the history information HI-1B shown in fig. 14, comments are associated with the command "power on" and the command "power off", respectively, in embodiment 1, since the comment associated with the command "manual reset" of the comment necessity information AI-1 shown in fig. 13 is "unset", the comment is not associated with the command "manual reset" in the history information HI-1B shown in fig. 14.

When the comment is associated with the command "manual reset" of the history information HI-1B shown in fig. 14, the user operates the input device 65 of the computer 6 to display the comment setting screen 100 shown in fig. 15 on the display device 66. As shown in fig. 15, the user operates the input device 65 to input a comment into the comment input area 102 of the comment setting screen 100 and operates the determination area 103. In this way, in the history information HI-1B, a comment is added to the command "manual reset" as shown in fig. 16. In embodiment 1, the user inputs "person in charge: the detailed state of the zornia by manual reset is as follows, since the control system is in an abnormal state. "note that, in the history information HI-1B shown in fig. 16," person in charge: the detailed state of the zornia by manual reset is as follows, since the control system is in an abnormal state. "append command" manual reset ".

According to the P L C5 of embodiment 1, since the history storage unit 58 is provided, and the history storage unit 58 stores the history information HI. in which the comment is associated with at least a part of the commands other than the command for changing the control program CP among the commands received by the control unit 59, the P L C5 stores the comment in association with the commands other than the command for changing the control program CP, and as a result, the P L C5 can easily identify the cause when a problem occurs in the control system 1, and can easily identify the cause when a problem occurs in the equipment in the FA domain.

In addition, if the P L C5 receives a command that is set to require association with a comment by the comment necessity information AI, the history information HI that associates the received command with the comment is stored in the history storage unit 58, and therefore, a preset command can be stored in association with a comment.

Note that, since the comment necessity information AI can be set by the computer 6, P L C5 can change the comment associated with the command.

In addition, since the comment necessity information AI associates a comment with a command, if a command set to require association with a comment by the comment necessity information AI is received, P L C5 can associate the command with the comment without inputting a comment for the received command.

Further, since the P L C5 includes the notification unit 82 that notifies that there is a command in the history information HI that the comment is not set, it is possible to grasp that there is a command in the history information HI that is not associated with a comment.

Since the commands other than the change of the control program CP are operations on the

switches

52, 53, and 55, the P L C5 can store the operations on the

switches

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

In addition to the command for changing the control program CP, the program change command is stored in the history information HI in association with the comment, so that the P L C5 can grasp the history of the control system 1.

In addition, in the case of P L C5, in general, if there is no problem or the like in the system, it is most cases that "power on" is performed every morning and "power off" is performed every evening without performing "manual reset" as an operation to the reset switch 53, in this case, in the case where the comment necessity information AI-1 shown in fig. 13 is set, if "manual reset" is received during execution of the control program CP, it is possible to record at the comment in the history information HI-1B, as shown in fig. 16, why "manual reset" needs to be performed, and it is possible to facilitate analysis in the case where a problem occurs in the subsequent operation, and in the case of P L C5, it is possible to easily solve the problem after the comment is manually input as a cause by setting the comment associated with the command "manual reset" in advance to the comment necessity information AI-1 as "unset" as shown in fig. 16, and as a result, the comment is easily input as a cause for the manual reset by the user.

Embodiment 2.

Next, P L C5 according to embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, fig. 17 is a diagram showing an example of comment necessity information stored in the programmable logic controller according to embodiment 2, fig. 18 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation of creating history information by the programmable logic controller according to embodiment 2, fig. 19 is a diagram showing an example of history information created by the flowchart shown in fig. 18, and in fig. 17 to 19, the same parts as those in embodiment 1 are given the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

P L C5 according to embodiment 2 is the same as embodiment 1 except that the processing of a part of the flowchart for creating history information HI is different from embodiment 1, and in embodiment 2, the user changes the value stored in the storage area of the memory 51, adjusts the operation of each of the

devices

2, 3, and 4 of the control system 1, and sets the value stored in the storage area of the memory 51 to an optimum value, and in embodiment 2, the user desires to store the history information HI in a state where the value stored in the storage area of the memory 51 is changed.

The comment necessity information AI-2 shown in fig. 17 is set by the user via the computer 6 and transmitted to the P L C5. in embodiment 2, the comment necessity information AI-2 stored in the P L C5 is a command "device D0 change" set as shown in fig. 17, and this command "device D0 change" is a command for changing the value stored in the storage area "D0" of the memory 51. in the comment necessity information AI-2 shown in fig. 17, the comment associated with the command "device D0 change" is "unset" because the user wishes to input comments one by one.

In embodiment 2, the control unit 59 of P L C5 stores the commands that are set in the comment necessity information AI-2 and that the comment is "unset" in the history information HI by a predetermined number that is set in advance, and notifies the user through the notification unit 82 after the stored number of "unset" commands exceeds the predetermined number, and in embodiment 2, the predetermined number is set to 2 by P L C5, but the predetermined number is not limited to 2.

In the case where the history information HI is created, P L C5 according to embodiment 2 determines whether or not the number of commands "device D0 change" stored in the history information HI and annotated as "unset" exceeds a predetermined number (step ST5) after storing the command "device D0 change" in the history information HI (step ST4), and if it is determined that the number of commands "device D0 change" stored in the history information HI and annotated as "unset" does not exceed the predetermined number (step ST 5: No), P L C5 returns to step ST 1. further, in embodiment 2, if the number of commands "device D0 change" and annotated as "unset" is 1 or 2, P L C5 determines that the predetermined number is not exceeded (step ST 5: No), returns to step ST 1. P L C5, if it is determined that the number of commands "device D0 change" stored in the history information HI and does not exceed the predetermined number of comments (step ST 6329: No), and if it is determined that the number of commands "device D6326 change" stored in the history information HI and the process returns to step ST 638, and if it is determined that the number of changes "does not exceed the predetermined number of comments exceeds the user D6318, the process is notified (step ST 0, and if it is notified to step ST 6318, the process is notified to step ST 6318, and the process shown in fig. 2, then the process is notified (step ST 6318).

In embodiment 2, after the notification by the notification unit 82, the history information HI-2 shown in fig. 19 stores more than a predetermined number of commands "change of the device D0". The user inputs a comment to each command "device D0 change" as in embodiment 1.

P L C5 according to embodiment 2 has a history storage unit 58 that stores history information HI that associates comments with at least some of the commands received by the control unit 59, except for a change to the control program CP, as in embodiment 1, and therefore can easily identify the cause when a problem occurs in the control system 1 and can easily identify the cause when a problem occurs in the equipment in the FA domain.

In P L C5 according to embodiment 2, if the number of commands for which the comment is "unset" stored in the history information HI exceeds a predetermined number, the notification unit 82 notifies that, and therefore, the user can appropriately input the comment to the command for which the comment is "unset".

Embodiment 3.

Next, P L C5-3 according to embodiment 3 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, fig. 20 is a functional block diagram of a programmable logic controller according to embodiment 3, and in fig. 20, the same components as those in embodiment 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

P L C5-3 shown in fig. 20 according to embodiment 3 has the same configuration as that of embodiment 1 except that the comment necessity information AI is directly input from the computer 6 to the comment necessity storage unit 57 without going through the control unit 59, and the history information HI stored in the history storage unit 58 is directly read from the computer 6 without going through the control unit 59, and P L C5-3 according to embodiment 3 performs the same operation as that of embodiment 1, but may perform the same operation as that of embodiment 2.

P L C5-3 according to embodiment 3 has a history storage unit 58 that stores history information HI that associates comments with at least some of the commands received by the control unit 59, except for the command that changes the control program CP, as in embodiment 1, and therefore can easily identify the cause when a problem occurs in the control system 1 and can easily identify the cause when a problem occurs in the equipment in the FA domain.

Embodiment 4.

Next, P L C5 according to embodiment 4 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, fig. 21 is a diagram showing an example of a comment setting screen for notifying a user of a programmable logic controller according to embodiment 4, and in fig. 21, the same parts as those in embodiment 1 are given the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

P L C5 according to embodiment 4 has the same configuration as that of embodiment 1 and executes the same processing as that of embodiment 1 except that, in step ST14 of the flowchart of fig. 10, the notification unit 82 is caused to notify the user of history information HI by checking it, and the comment setting screen 100 is caused to be displayed on the display device 66 of the computer 6 as shown in fig. 21, as well as, P L C5 according to embodiment 4 may be caused to notify the user by causing the notification unit 82 to display the comment setting screen 100 shown in fig. 21 in step ST 14.

P L C5 according to embodiment 4 has a history storage unit 58 that stores history information HI that associates comments with at least some of the commands received by the control unit 59, except for a change to the control program CP, as in embodiment 1, and therefore can easily identify the cause when a problem occurs in the control system 1 and can easily identify the cause when a problem occurs in the equipment in the FA domain.

The configuration shown in the above embodiments is an example of the contents of the present invention, and may be combined with other known techniques, and a part of the configuration may be omitted or modified without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Description of the reference numerals

5. 5-3P L C (programmable logic controller), 6 computer, 52 power switch (switch), 53 reset switch (switch), 55 pop-up switch (switch), 56 storage unit, 57 comment necessity storage unit, 58 history storage unit, 59 control unit, 82 notification unit, CP control program, HI-1A, HI-1B, HI-2 history information, and AI, AI-1, AI-2 comment necessity information.

Claims

1. A programmable logic controller, comprising:

a storage unit that stores a control program;

a control unit that receives commands and acquires comments associated with at least some of the received commands other than the command for changing the control program;

a history storage unit for storing history information in which the at least one part of the command and the acquired comment are associated with each other; and

a comment necessity storage unit that stores comment necessity information in which a command that needs to be associated with the comment is set in advance,

the control unit acquires a comment associated with the command set as necessary to be associated with a comment if the command set as necessary to be associated with a comment is received by the comment necessity information, and stores history information in which the command set as necessary to be associated with a comment and the acquired comment are associated with each other in the history storage unit.

2. The programmable logic controller of claim 1,

the comment necessity information can be set by a computer connected to the control unit.

3. The programmable logic controller according to claim 1 or 2,

the annotation requirement information associates the command and the annotation.

4. The programmable logic controller according to claim 1 or 2,

the recording device further includes a notification unit configured to notify that there is a command set by the comment necessity/unnecessity information to be associated with the comment and not to fill the comment in the history information stored in the history storage unit.

5. The programmable logic controller according to claim 1 or 2,

commands other than altering the control program are directed to the operation of the switches of the programmable logic controller.

6. The programmable logic controller according to claim 1 or 2,

the control unit receives a program change command which is the command for changing the control program,

the history storage unit stores history information in which the program change command received by the control unit and the comment acquired by the control unit are associated with each other.