This application claims foreign priority to German application number 10064798.7 filed Dec. 22, 2000 and German application number 10125384.2 filed May 23, 2001.
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for commissioning and diagnosing control systems. In particular, the present invention relates to an apparatus having an engineering system for compiling a control program.
The commissioning, operation and diagnosis of automation systems and drives are increasingly carried out completely electronically. Mechanical systems and drives of automatic machines are controlled by microcontrollers, using appropriate software (run-time systems). The corresponding control programs are developed on a PC in an engineering system, and subsequently loaded into the run-time system which is responsible for the timed control of the system to be controlled. The engineering system is also used for the commissioning, project engineering, configuration of controls and drives.
The increasing complexity of automatic machines likewise requires more complex control systems and therefore more complex control programs. Previous engineering tools provide rudimentary information, which is supplied to the user in the form of individual items of information. Data preparation is generally carried out manually.
The object of the present invention is to provide the user with the most intuitive and simplest way of observing and optimizing the state of the control system and the behavior of the machine sequence. This object is achieved by an apparatus for commissioning and/or diagnosing control systems, having a display device for displaying the functionality of the control system via an object model, and an engineering system for compiling a control program on the basis of the functionality of the control system displayed via the object model. The foresaid object is further achieved by means of a corresponding method.
Various preferred embodiments of the present invention are disclosed in the dependent claims which are hereby incorporated by reference in this specification. Further, it has been found to be particularly preferred where the method according to the present invention permits scaled and stepwise commissioning and diagnosis.
The present invention is explained below in greater detail in connection with a preferred embodiment and the drawings, in which:
The objects used in the object model can be categorized into different object types. Such object types are, for example:
The individual objects and their functional connections have to be visualized, in particular for the development of control projects. For this purpose, use is made of the project browser which is illustrated in
According to the present invention, the interplay of all the components involved in an application is displayed in the project browser. This ensures a total overview of the processes proceeding in the machine, and the user is enabled to call-up the depth of information required in each commissioning step. In particular, in distributed systems access to all the necessary information and the overview of the interplay of distributed functions is necessary in order to be able to carry out system optimization.
The ability to handle or use the system is improved significantly by the information being presented stepwise, and by the possibility of making changes. Depending on the selected instance depth, the user obtains different items of information or different options for changing parameters. It is therefore no longer necessary to search among a large number of system parameters where specific functionality is to be changed. Instead, the individual parameters are bundled by objects or functionalities and presented to the user in this bundled form.
In addition, the stepwise presentation of information offers direct links for the automated optimization of the machine sequence, thereby virtually achieving the aim of carrying out commissioning as far as possible without documentation. In addition, system optimization with respect to performance and more efficient memory use provides a significant decision base for the user. In this connection,
The system according to the present invention therefore has the following advantages:
Furthermore, the following advantages are to be particularly emphasized:
The system and method according to the present invention described above may be implemented as a computer program in languages known for this purpose. A computer program implemented in this way can be stored and transported via electronic data routes, in a likewise known way, or else on data carriers.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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100 64 798 | Dec 2000 | DE | national |
101 25 384 | May 2001 | DE | national |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20020082483 A1 | Jun 2002 | US |