Communication System and Communication Method

Abstract

To provide a system and method for communication that can supply, in 1:N communication, discrete pieces of display information to each terminal device.SOLUTION: A system for communication S comprises a communication control apparatus 100 for controlling communication between a PLC and a plurality of terminal devices TA-TE. The communication control apparatus 100 comprises: a display-information control unit 110 that acquires control data related to control from the PLC and generates display information displaying the state of an industrial machine in each of the terminal devices TA-TE based on the acquired control data; and a relay unit 120 that is communicably connected with each of the terminal devices TA-TE and sequentially switches the communicating terminal devices TA-TE at regular time intervals, thereby acquiring request information requesting the information outputted from each of the terminal devices TA-TE and providing the display information generated by the display-information control unit 110.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a communication system and a communication method.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, for example, a machine tool management system disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known. The conventional machine tool management system includes a plurality of terminal devices that receive changes in the settings of the machine tool by an operator, and only one of the plurality of terminal devices has a change authority, which is the authority to change the settings of the machine tool. In the conventional machine tool management system, only the change of the machine tool settings from the terminal device having the change authority is allowed, and the transfer of the change authority is performed among the plurality of terminal devices.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] By the way, in the conventional machine tool management system, 1:N communication is possible, and when an operator changes the settings of the machine tool using the terminal device having the change authority, the settings of the machine tool can be changed. However, in the 1:N communication of the conventional machine tool management system, in other terminal devices that do not have the change authority, the changed settings of the machine tool are unidirectionally displayed. That is, an operator who has a terminal device without the change authority may unintentionally have the changed settings displayed when another operator with the change authority uses the terminal device to change the settings while the operator is viewing the settings he / she wants to check.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a communication system and a communication method capable of providing individual display information to each terminal device in 1:N communication.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The communication system is a communication system that communicates between a control device of an industrial machine and a plurality of terminal devices having a display function, and includes a communication control device that controls communication between the control device and the plurality of terminal devices. The communication control device acquires control data related to control from the control device, and a display information control unit that generates display information for displaying the state of the industrial machine in each of the terminal devices based on the acquired control data. A relay unit that is communicably connected to each of the plurality of terminal devices, acquires request information for requesting the provision of information output from each of the plurality of terminal devices by sequentially switching the communicating terminal devices at regular intervals, and provides the display information generated by the display information control unit. The display information generated by the display information control unit is control data that can be acquired from the control device, circuit data for controlling the operation of the industrial machine, edited circuit data obtained by editing the circuit data based on the request information, and is operation state data representing the operation state of the industrial machine controlled by the control device. When the display information is circuit data, the relay unit adds identification information for identifying the page number of the circuit data and provides it to the terminal device. The display information control unit generates circuit data as display information and generates the page number of the circuit data as identification information. When the display information is the edited circuit data, the relay unit adds identification information for identifying the page number of the edited circuit data and provides it to the terminal device The display information control unit generates the edited circuit data as display information and generates the page number of the edited circuit data as identification information. When the display information is operation state data, the display information control unit generates image data as operation state data representing the state of the operation panel when the industrial machine is individually operated as display information, and generates image data as operation state data representing the state of the operation panel after each individual operation as display information. The display information control unit generates a screen number for identifying the image data representing the state of the operation panel before each individual operation and the image data representing the state of the operation panel after each individual operation as identification information. The relay unit provides the terminal device by adding the screen number of the image data representing the state of the operation panel before each individual operation as identification information to the image data representing the state of the operation panel before each individual operation, and by adding the screen number of the image data representing the state of the operation panel after each individual operation as identification information to the image data representing the state of the operation panel after each individual operation. to do.

[0007] According to this, in a communication system, a communication control device enables communication between a control device of one industrial machine and a plurality of terminal devices, that is, 1:N communication, by sequentially switching the communicating terminal devices at regular intervals. And in 1:N communication, the communication control device can provide, to each terminal device, display information generated by a display information control unit in response to request information output from each terminal device, via a relay unit. That is, the communication control device can provide individual display information corresponding to each terminal device without being affected by request information from other terminal devices and regardless of the display information provided to other terminal devices.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

Figure 1

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Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] (1. Overview of Communication System S) Hereinafter, the communication system S of this example will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, the communication system S has a communication control device 100 that controls communication between an industrial computer H1 as a control device provided in an industrial machine H and a plurality of terminal devices T held by an operator. In this case, the communication control device 100 can be provided, for example, in the industrial computer H1. And the communication control device 100 enables communication with each of the plurality of terminal devices T by wire or wirelessly. Note that the industrial machine H having the industrial computer H1, that is, the communication control device 100 and the plurality of terminal devices T do not necessarily have to exist within the same factory. For example, they may each exist between factories separated from each other by using communication such as an Internet line network.

[0010] Here, examples of the industrial machine H can include machine tools such as a machining center, a lathe, a cutting device that performs cutting, and a grinding machine that performs grinding. Examples of the industrial computer H1 can include, for example, a PLC, an SFC monitor, etc., and has an operation panel (display screen) that displays the operation and operation state of the industrial machine H. Further, examples of the terminal device T can include a computer device that can be carried by an operator and has a display function, such as a smartphone, a tablet, or a notebook computer.

[0011] And in the communication system S, the communication control device 100 controls communication between the industrial computer H1 and each terminal device T so as to individually provide display information that is generated based on control data regarding the control of the industrial machine H that can be obtained from the industrial computer H1 and that displays the state of the industrial machine H in each terminal device T. That is, the communication control device 100 enables individual communication between one industrial computer H1 and a plurality of terminal devices T, and provides display information independent of other terminal devices T to each individual terminal device T while sequentially switching the terminal devices T to communicate. Thereby, in each terminal device T constituting the communication system S, the display information required by the operator can be independently displayed without being affected by the display information of other terminal devices T.

[0012] (2. Overview of the Configuration of the Communication Control Device 100) As shown in FIG. 2, the communication control device 100 in this example is provided in the industrial computer H1 and is communicably connected to each of a plurality of terminal devices T (for example, five). Note that the communication control device 100 is not limited to being provided in the industrial computer H1 and can also be provided as an independent device. Then, the communication control device 100 generates display information based on the control data output from the PLC (or SFC monitor) mainly constituting the industrial computer H1 in response to the request information that requests the provision of the display information output from each terminal device T. And the communication control device 100 controls the communication between the PLC of one industrial computer H1 and the plurality of terminal devices T, that is, 1:N communication, so as to independently provide the generated display information to the terminal device T that has output the request information without affecting the display information, that is, the display content, of the other terminal devices T.

[0013] For this reason, as shown in FIG. 2, the communication control device 100 includes a display information control unit 110 and a relay unit 120. The display information control unit 110 generates the display information to be displayed on each terminal device T in response to the request information output from each terminal device T. Here, the display information control unit 110 acquires the control data (including signals, etc.) that can be output by the PLC of the industrial computer H1 from the PLC and generates the display information based on the acquired control data.

[0014] The relay unit 120 is connected to the display information control unit 110 and is individually communicably connected to each terminal device T. The relay unit 120 sequentially acquires the request information from each terminal device T and outputs the acquired request information to the display information control unit 110. Also, the relay unit 120 acquires the display information generated in response to the request information by the display information control unit 110 and sequentially outputs the display information to the terminal device T that has output the request information at a predetermined communication timing at regular intervals.

[0015] (3. Details of the Configuration of the Communication Control Device 100) Next, the details of the configuration of the communication control device 100 in this example will be described. The communication control device 100 is a computer device mainly composed of a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and an interface. And the communication control device 100 mainly includes a display information control unit 110 and a relay unit 120.

[0016] As shown in FIG. 3, the display information control unit 110 includes a first communication unit 111, a second communication unit 112, and a display information generation unit 113. The first communication unit 111 is communicably connected to the relay unit 120 (more specifically, each I / O unit 121 described later), and acquires the request information output from each terminal device T. The second communication unit 112 is communicably connected to the industrial computer H1, specifically a PLC, and acquires control data from the PLC corresponding to the request information acquired by the first communication unit 111.

[0017] Based on the control data acquired by the second communication unit 112, the display information generation unit 113 generates display information corresponding to the request information acquired by the first communication unit 111, for example, circuit data of the PLC represented by a ladder diagram or image data representing the state of the operation panel when individually operating the industrial machine H. In this case, when, for example, editing (or changing) of circuit data by a ladder diagram is requested as the request information, the display information generation unit 113 generates, as display information, the edited (or changed) circuit data after editing based on the circuit data which is the control data acquired from the PLC.

[0018] Also, when an image of the operation panel when individually operating the industrial machine H is requested as the request information, the display information generation unit 113 generates, as image data which is operation state data representing the operation state of the operation panel after each individual operation controlled by the PLC based on the control data representing the state of the operation panel before each individual operation. That is, the display information generation unit 113 can generate, as display information, not only the control data acquired from the PLC as it is in accordance with the request information, but also the control data after being edited (or changed).

[0019] Further, the display information generation unit 113 assigns identification information to each generated display information. The identification information is assigned corresponding to the control data acquired from the industrial computer H1 (PLC). As described above, when the display information generation unit 113 acquires, in response to the request information, for example, the circuit data of the PLC in the form of a ladder diagram as control data, the display information generation unit 113 assigns, as the identification information, the page number for identifying the page in the ladder diagram and the page number after editing (after change). Alternatively, when the display information generation unit 113 acquires, in response to the request information, the image data regarding each individual operation of the industrial machine H as control data, the display information generation unit 113 assigns, as the identification information, the screen number for identifying the displayed image data, that is, the display screen.

[0020] Here, in this example, the communication control device 100 is configured to include the display information control unit 110, and the display information control unit 110 is configured to include the first communication unit 111, the second communication unit 112, and the display information generation unit 113. However, it is also possible to create a computer program (application) executable by the industrial computer H1 (or the communication control device 100), which is a computer device, and which realizes the operation of the display information control unit 110 (that is, the operations of the first communication unit 111, the second communication unit 112, and the display information generation unit 113). In this case, by executing the computer program (application) created by the industrial computer H1 (or the communication control device 100), which is a computer device, it is possible to realize the operation of the display information control unit 110 (that is, the operations of the first communication unit 111, the second communication unit 112, and the display information generation unit 113).

[0021] As shown in FIG. 4, the relay unit 120 includes a plurality of, specifically, I / O units 121 equal to or more than the number of terminal devices T owned by the operator, and an I / O unit switching unit 122. Here, "I / O" represents a so-called input / output interface.

[0022] Each I / O unit 121 is individually communicably connected to one terminal device T. As shown in FIG. 5, each I / O unit 121 includes a request information acquisition unit 121a, an identification information acquisition unit 121b, and a display information acquisition unit 121c. The request information acquisition unit 121a acquires request information (for example, a request for a ladder diagram or an image representing the state of an operation panel described above) input by an operator from the terminal device T communicably connected thereto. The identification information acquisition unit 121b acquires the identification information given by the display information generation unit 113 of the display information control unit 110. Here, by the identification information acquisition unit 121b acquiring the identification information, it is possible to prevent duplication or omission of information provided to the terminal device T. For example, taking the above-described ladder diagram as an example, by the display information generation unit 113 assigning a page number as identification information, it is possible to prevent duplication of pages or skipping of pages in a series of ladder diagrams. The display information acquisition unit 121c acquires and stores the display information generated by the display information generation unit 113.

[0023] The I / O unit switching unit 122 sequentially switches the I / O unit 121 that communicates with the terminal device T for a plurality of I / O units 121 at a predetermined communication timing, that is, at regular intervals. As a result, each I / O unit 121 can provide the display information acquired from the display information generation unit 113 and stored in the display information acquisition unit 121c to the corresponding terminal device T that outputs the request information at regular intervals. That is, in this example, each terminal device T communicably connected to the plurality of I / O units 121 communicates with the communication control device 100 in a time-division state. Therefore, the display information is switched at regular intervals in each terminal device T.

[0024] (4. Communication Method by Communication Control Device 100) Next, a communication method by the communication control device 100 will be described with reference to FIG. 6. In explaining the operation of the communication control device 100, the case where the communication control device 100 communicates with five terminal devices T will be exemplified, and in FIG. 6, each terminal device T is distinguished as terminal device TA, terminal device TB, terminal device TC, terminal device TD, and terminal device TE. Also, regarding the I / O unit 121 provided in the relay unit 120, in FIG. 6, it is distinguished as I / O unit 121A that communicates with terminal device TA, I / O unit 121B that communicates with terminal device TB, I / O unit 121C that communicates with terminal device TC, I / O unit 121D that communicates with terminal device TD, and I / O unit 121E that communicates with terminal device TE.

[0025] As described above, in the communication control device 100, when communicating with a plurality of terminal devices T, the I / O unit switching unit 122 of the relay unit 120 switches the I / O unit 121 to communicate with at regular intervals. For this reason, for example, when communicating with five terminal devices T, the I / O unit switching unit 122 of the relay unit 120 switches the I / O unit 121 to communicate with, for example, in the order of I / O unit 121A, I / O unit 121B, I / O unit 121C, I / O unit 121D, and I / O unit 121E at regular intervals. Therefore, the communication timing of the terminal device T communicating with the communication control device 100 is switched at regular intervals in the order of terminal device TA, terminal device TB, terminal device TC, terminal device TD, and terminal device TE. Note that the I / O unit switching unit 122 continues to switch the communication timing at regular intervals in the order of I / O unit 121A, I / O unit 121B, I / O unit 121C, I / O unit 121D, and I / O unit 121E during the operation of the communication control device 100.

[0026] Then, at communication timings that switch at regular intervals, terminal device TA, terminal device TB, terminal device TC, terminal device TD, and terminal device TE each output request information to I / O unit 121A, I / O unit 121B, I / O unit 121C, I / O unit 121D, and I / O unit 121E, respectively. As a result, in each of the I / O units 121A, 121B, 121C, 121D, and 121E, the request information acquisition unit 121a acquires the request information and outputs the acquired request information to the first communication unit 111 of the display information control unit 110.

[0027] In the first communication unit 111, request information is sequentially acquired from the request information acquisition units 121a of the I / O units 121A, 121B, 121C, 121D, and 121E. Then, the first communication unit 111 outputs the acquired request information to the second communication unit 112 and the display information generation unit 113. The second communication unit 112 acquires the request information from the first communication unit 111 and acquires control data corresponding to the request information from the industrial computer H1 (PLC). The display information generation unit 113 acquires the request information from the first communication unit 111 and acquires the control data corresponding to the request information from the second communication unit 112, and generates display information and identification information based on (or using) the acquired control data.

[0028] In this case, for example, when request information for requesting the provision of circuit data of the PLC is output from the terminal device TA, the second communication unit 112 acquires, as control data, a ladder diagram that is circuit data from the PLC as shown in FIG. 7. Then, the display information generation unit 113 generates display information for displaying the ladder diagram on the terminal device TA. Also, the display information generation unit 113 generates the page number of the ladder diagram acquired by the second communication unit 112 as identification information. Subsequently, the display information generation unit 113 outputs the generated display information of the ladder diagram to the display information acquisition unit 121c of the I / O unit 121A and outputs the identification information of the page number to the identification information acquisition unit 121b of the I / O unit 121A.

[0029] Also, for example, when an image of the operation panel corresponding to each individual operation of the industrial machine H is requested from the terminal device TB, the second communication unit 112 acquires, as control data, image data representing the state of the operation panel before each individual operation. Then, the display information generation unit 113 generates display information for displaying, on the terminal device TB, the image data representing the state of the operation panel before each individual operation, and also generates display information for displaying, on the terminal device TB, the image data representing the state of the operation panel after each individual operation. Further, the display information generation unit 113 generates, as identification information, a screen number for identifying the display information before each individual operation and the display information after each individual operation. Subsequently, the display information generation unit 113 outputs the generated display information of the operation panel to the display information acquisition unit 121c of the I / O unit 121B, and outputs the identification information of the screen number to the identification information acquisition unit 121b of the I / O unit 121B.

[0030] Incidentally, also for the terminal device TC, the terminal device TD, and the terminal device TE, the display information generation unit 113 generates display information corresponding to the request information output from each of the terminal device TC, the terminal device TD, and the terminal device TE, and also generates identification information. Then, the display information generation unit 113 outputs the generated display information to the display information acquisition unit 121c of each of the I / O unit 121C, the I / O unit 121D, and the I / O unit 121E, and outputs the identification information of the screen number to the identification information acquisition unit 121b of each of the I / O unit 121C, the I / O unit 121D, and the I / O unit 121E.

[0031] In the communication control device 100, the I / O unit switching unit 122 continues to switch the communication timing at regular intervals in the order of the I / O units 121A, 121B, 121C, 121D, and 121E. As a result, at the communication timing that switches at regular intervals, the I / O unit 121A outputs the display information (ladder diagram) stored in the display information acquisition unit 121c and the identification information (page number) stored in the identification information acquisition unit 121b only to the terminal device TA. Also, at the communication timing that switches at regular intervals, the I / O unit 121B outputs the display information (image of the operation panel) stored in the display information acquisition unit 121c and the identification information (screen number) stored in the identification information acquisition unit 121b only to the terminal device TB. Similarly, at the communication timing that switches at regular intervals, the I / O units 121C, 121D, and 121E output the display information stored in the display information acquisition unit 121c and the identification information stored in the identification information acquisition unit 121b only to the terminal devices TC, TD, and TE, respectively.

[0032] As a result, in the terminal devices TA, TB, TC, TD, and TE, the display information corresponding to the request information input by the operator is displayed respectively. In this case, the display information is provided independently for each of the terminal devices TA, TB, TC, TD, and TE. Therefore, for example, even if an image of the operation panel is displayed on the terminal device TB while a ladder diagram is displayed on the terminal device TA, the display on the terminal device TA will not be unidirectionally changed from the ladder diagram to the image of the operation panel. Conversely, even if a ladder diagram is displayed on the terminal device TA while an image of the operation panel is displayed on the terminal device TB, the display on the terminal device TB will not be unidirectionally changed from the image of the operation panel to the ladder diagram. The same applies to the other terminal devices TC, TD, and TE.

[0033] As can be understood from the above description, in the communication system S, the communication control device 100 enables communication between one industrial computer H1 and a plurality of terminal devices T, that is, 1:N communication, by sequentially switching the terminal devices T to be communicated with at regular intervals. And in 1:N communication, the communication control device 100 can provide display information corresponding to the request information to each terminal device T via the relay unit 120. That is, the communication control device 100 can provide individual display information to each terminal device T without being affected by the request information from other terminal devices T and regardless of the display information provided to other terminal devices T.

Explanation of Signs

[0034] S…Communication system, H…Industrial machine, H1…Industrial computer (control device), T…Terminal device, 100…Communication control device, 110…Display information control unit, 111…First communication unit, 112…Second communication unit, 113…Display information generation unit, 120…Relay unit, 121…Input / output unit, 121a…Request information acquisition unit, 121b…Identification information acquisition unit, 121c…Display information acquisition unit, 122…Input / output unit switching unit

Claims

1. A communication system that communicates between a control device for an industrial machine and a plurality of terminal devices having a display function, comprising a communication control device that controls communication between the control device and the plurality of terminal devices, wherein the communication control device includes a display information control unit that acquires control data related to control from the control device and generates display information for displaying the state of the industrial machine on each of the terminal devices based on the acquired control data; is communicably connected to each of the plurality of terminal devices, and acquires request information for requesting provision of information output from each of the plurality of terminal devices by sequentially switching the terminal devices to be communicated with at regular intervals, and relays the display information generated by the display information control unit; and the display information generated by the display information control unit is the control data that can be acquired from the control device, circuit data for controlling the operation of the industrial machine, edited circuit data obtained by editing the circuit data based on the request information, and operation state data representing the operating state of the industrial machine controlled by the control device, when the display information is the circuit data, the relay unit adds identification information for identifying the page number of the circuit data and provides it to the terminal device in addition to the circuit data, the display information control unit generates the circuit data as the display information and generates the page number of the circuit data as the identification information, when the display information is the edited circuit data, the relay unit adds identification information for identifying the page number of the edited circuit data and provides it to the terminal device in addition to the edited circuit data, the display information control unit generates the edited circuit data as the display information and generates the page number of the edited circuit data as the identification information, when the display information is the operation state data, the display information control unit generates, as the display information, image data as the operation state data representing the state of the operation panel when the industrial machine is individually operated, and generates, as the display information, image data as the operation state data representing the state of the operation panel after each individual operation. The display information control unit generates a screen number for identifying the image data representing the state of the operation panel before each individual operation and the image data representing the state of the operation panel after each individual operation as identification information, The relay unit In addition to the image data representing the state of the operation panel before each individual operation, the screen number of the image data representing the state of the operation panel before each individual operation is given as the identification information and provided to the terminal device, and In addition to the image data representing the state of the operation panel after each individual operation, the screen number of the image data representing the state of the operation panel after each individual operation is given as the identification information and provided to the terminal device. Communication system.

2. The communication control device sequentially switches the terminal devices to be communicated with at regular intervals, and provides the individual terminal devices with the display information independent of the other terminal devices. The communication system according to claim 1.

3. The relay unit A plurality of I / O units communicably connected to a plurality of the terminal devices, An I / O unit switching unit that sequentially switches the I / O unit communicating with the terminal device among the plurality of I / O units at regular intervals. The communication system according to claim 1 or 2.

4. Each of the plurality of I / O units A request information acquisition unit that acquires the request information output from the terminal device and outputs the acquired request information to the display information control unit, An identification information acquisition unit that acquires identification information for identifying the display information given by the display information control unit, A display information acquisition unit that acquires and stores the display information generated corresponding to the request information by the display information control unit from the display information control unit. The communication system according to claim 3.

5. A communication method for communicating between a control device of a processing device and a plurality of terminal devices having a display function, Comprising a communication control device for controlling communication between the control device and the plurality of terminal devices, The communication control device A display information control unit that acquires control data related to control from the control device and generates display information to be displayed on the terminal device based on the acquired control data, Connected communicably to each of the plurality of terminal devices, and sequentially switching the terminal devices to be communicated with at regular intervals, to obtain request information for requesting the provision of information output from the plurality of terminal devices, and a relay unit for providing the display information generated by the display information control unit, Comprising, The relay unit obtains the request information output from the plurality of terminal devices, The display information control unit generates the display information corresponding to the request information obtained by the relay unit, The relay unit provides the display information generated by the display information control unit to the terminal device that output the request information at regular intervals, The display information generated by the display information control unit is the control data that can be obtained from the control device, circuit data for controlling the operation of the processing device, edited circuit data obtained by editing the circuit data based on the request information, and operating state data representing the operating state of the processing device controlled by the control device, When the display information is the circuit data, The relay unit, in addition to the circuit data, assigns identification information for identifying the page number of the circuit data and provides it to the terminal device, The display information control unit generates the circuit data as the display information and generates the page number of the circuit data as the identification information, When the display information is the edited circuit data, The relay unit, in addition to the edited circuit data, assigns identification information for identifying the page number of the edited circuit data and provides it to the terminal device, The display information control unit generates the edited circuit data as the display information and generates the page number of the edited circuit data as the identification information, When the display information is the operating state data, The display information control unit, Generates the display information as image data as the operating state data representing the state of the operation panel when the processing device is individually operated, Generates the display information as image data as the operating state data representing the state of the operation panel after each individual operation, The display information control unit generates a screen number for identifying the image data representing the state of the operation panel before each individual operation and the image data representing the state of the operation panel after each individual operation as identification information, The relay unit, In addition to the image data representing the state of the operation panel before each operation, the screen number of the image data representing the state of the operation panel before each operation is provided as the identification information to the terminal device, and in addition to the image data representing the state of the operation panel after each operation, the screen number of the image data representing the state of the operation panel after each operation is provided as the identification information to the terminal device. Communication method.

6. The communication control device provides the display information independent of the other terminal devices to each individual terminal device while sequentially switching the terminal devices to be communicated with at regular intervals. The communication method according to claim 5.

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