Trace target signal selection device and trace target signal selection method

Abstract

According to the present invention, a user can save or reduce the effort when the user selects a trace target signal, and the trace is facilitated.　This trace target signal selection device comprises: a signal state acquisition unit that acquires at least two signal states at different timings; a comparison unit that compares the differences between the at least two signal states; an extraction unit that extracts, from the comparison result of the comparison unit, signal information about a signal having the difference; and a trace management unit that traces and records a signal state on the basis of the signal information extracted by the extraction unit.

Description

Trace target signal selection device and trace target signal selection method

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a tracing target signal selection device and a tracing target signal selection method, and more particularly to a tracing target signal selection device and a tracing target signal selection method that select a signal to be traced based on a difference between at least two signal states of the signal.

[0002] Devices for tracing target signals are described, for example, in Patent Documents 1 to 5. Patent Document 1 describes a ladder program display device that automatically detects self-holding circuits and automatically and continuously traces related signals, thereby reducing the amount of work required to debug a ladder program when an abnormality occurs. Specifically, Patent Document 1 describes a ladder program display device that displays the operating status of a ladder program executed by a sequence control device, comprising: a self-holding circuit extraction unit that extracts self-holding circuits from the ladder program; a trace target setting unit that sets signal addresses used in the self-holding circuits extracted by the self-holding circuit extraction unit as trace targets; and a trace result display unit that outputs a display of the results of the sequence control device tracing the signal addresses that are set as trace targets by the trace target setting unit.

[0003] Patent Document 2 describes a numerical control device having an automatic tracing function for related signals linked to NC program operation. Specifically, Patent Document 2 describes that the numerical control device includes a programmable controller that inputs and outputs signals based on a ladder program and controls a machine based on an NC program, and includes: an NC function-related signal table that associates functions used to control the machine with input and output signals; a function-specific sampling signal table that associates signals that are dependent on the input and output signals; a command analysis unit that reads ahead blocks of the NC program and outputs function codes of functions commanded by the blocks; a trace signal extraction unit that refers to each table based on the function codes output by the command analysis unit and identifies signals to be automatically traced; and a signal tracing unit that traces the signals to be automatically traced extracted by the trace signal extraction unit.

[0004] Patent Document 3 describes a peripheral device for a programmable controller that can easily grasp the operating state of a program at any time using a trend graph. Specifically, Patent Document 3 describes that the peripheral device for the programmable controller includes display means, program storage means, history information storage means that stores history information that records arithmetic processing information during execution of a user program by the programmable controller under predetermined conditions, program display processing means that displays a specified user program in a user program display area provided on the display means, trend graph display processing means that displays a first trend graph that graphs first history information corresponding to the specified user program and a cursor that indicates a position on the first trend graph in the trend graph display area of ​​the display means, and cursor information acquisition means that acquires the position of the cursor on the first trend graph and acquires arithmetic processing information corresponding to the cursor position from the first history information, and that the program display processing means displays the arithmetic processing information superimposed on the user program in the user program display area.

[0005] Patent Document 4 describes a trace information recording device that traces a system in which many CPUs are used. Specifically, Patent Document 4 describes that the trace information recording device, which records trace information for analyzing the execution progress of a program including a plurality of instructions executed by the CPUs of a system in which a plurality of CPUs are implemented, comprises: an interface connected to a status signal output by the CPU to the outside and to a bus to which the CPU is connected; condition monitoring means that stores trace start and end conditions and monitors the occurrence of the start and end conditions to generate a trace execution signal; recording control means that starts and ends the trace based on the trace execution signal generated by the condition monitoring means and records the trace information in a trace area during the trace execution period; and a trace area for recording the trace information.

[0006] Patent Document 5 describes an information processing device with a built-in trace memory that sequentially collects and stores the internal state of the information processing device. Specifically, Patent Document 5 describes that the information processing device with a built-in trace memory that sequentially collects and stores the internal state of the device comprises a trace condition memory that stores a plurality of tracing conditions, an address register for selecting one of the plurality of trace conditions, and a trace instruction circuit that outputs a trace instruction to the trace memory when the output of the trace condition memory matches the trace condition information output from the device.

[0007] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2017-134493 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2017-058973 International Publication No. 14 / 167726 Pamphlet Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-165825 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 62-121556

[0008] When a user such as an operator sets a signal to be traced, the operator or operator is required to specify which signal to trace by input. However, the user who traces the signal is not necessarily the same as the developer who defines the signal address or signal name and its function. Therefore, for example, when a user wants to trace a signal related to a certain function, the user may not know the signal address or signal name. In this case, the user must refer to information such as the manual or the comments in the signal definition to find the signal that corresponds to the purpose, which is a time-consuming task.

[0009] Therefore, there is a need for a tracing target signal selection device and a tracing target signal selection method that can eliminate or reduce the effort required to select a tracing target signal, thereby facilitating tracing.

[0010] A first representative aspect of the present disclosure is a tracing target signal selection device including: a signal state acquisition unit that acquires at least two signal states of a signal at different timings; a comparison unit that compares the difference between the at least two signal states; and an extraction unit that extracts signal information of a signal that has a difference from the comparison result by the comparison unit.

[0011] A second representative aspect of the present disclosure is a method for selecting a signal to be traced, in which a computer acquires at least two signal states of a signal at different times, compares the difference between the at least two signal states, and extracts signal information of a signal that has a difference from the comparison result.

[0012] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of a trace target signal selection device according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the operation of the trace target signal selection device. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of signal information stored in a signal information storage unit. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing changes in traced and recorded signal states. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of a trace target signal selection method. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of a trace target signal selection system including a trace target signal selection device according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of a trace target signal selection device according to a third embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a JSON setting file stored in an acquisition trigger setting condition storage unit. FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of a trace target signal selection device according to a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0013] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, a "signal" refers to, for example, a signal with a variable name "OPEN_DOOR" used in a PLC device, and "signal information" refers to, for example, the information shown in FIG. 3 (described later), which is information composed of a combination of variables, signal names, signal comments, data types, and addresses (also referred to as signal area address information) determined during compilation or runtime when creating a PLC sequence program. A "signal state" refers to the value of the signal area of ​​a signal to be traced.

[0014] (First Embodiment) Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of a tracing target signal selection device according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Fig. 1, the tracing target signal selection device 10 includes a signal storage unit 101, a signal state acquisition unit 102, a signal state storage unit 103, a comparison unit 104, an extraction unit 105, a signal information storage unit 106, a trace management unit 107, and a trace recording unit 108. The tracing target signal selection device 10 is not particularly limited in its use, but may be installed in a PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) device, for example, and used to trace signals within the PLC device. A PLC device replaces electrical mechanical control using a relay circuit, which is a type of electrical circuit. Since the configuration and operation of the PLC device are well known, a description thereof will be omitted.

[0015] The signal storage unit 101 stores the value of the signal area of ​​the tracing target signal. The value of the signal area indicates the signal state. The signal state acquisition unit 102 acquires the value of the signal area at a first timing as a first signal state and stores it in the signal state storage unit 103. The signal state acquisition unit 102 also acquires the value of the signal area at a second timing different from the first timing as a second signal state and stores it in the signal state storage unit 103. One of the first timing and the second timing can be, for example, upon startup, upon occurrence of an alarm, or upon a change in the state of a specific signal. As described in a third embodiment, one of the first timing and the second timing may be when an acquisition instruction is received from the input unit 110, which will be described later.

[0016] Here, the signal state acquisition unit 102 acquires two signal states, but may acquire three or more signal states. For example, in the case of one second of change data in a 1 msec cycle, all signal states for 1000 frames may be acquired.

[0017] The comparison unit 104 reads out and compares the first signal state and the second signal state stored in the signal state storage unit 103, and if there is a difference between the first signal state and the second signal state, outputs the comparison result to the extraction unit 105. If the signal state acquisition unit 102 acquires three or more signal states, it compares the signal states among the three or more signal states, and if there is a difference between the three or more signal states, outputs the comparison result to the extraction unit 105. The extraction unit 105 extracts signal information of signals that have a difference from the comparison result from the signal information storage unit 106, and outputs the signal information to the trace management unit 107.

[0018] The trace management unit 107 sets a trace of the signal state of the signal to be traced based on the signal information extracted by the extraction unit 105, executes the trace, and records the signal state in the trace recording unit 108. The trace management unit 107 may exclude or add certain signal information from the extracted signal information to the trace target and record the trace. For example, there may be cases where it is not necessary to extract signals whose signal state changes every execution cycle, so it is possible to specify to the trace management unit 107 that such signals are not to be traced during programming. Furthermore, it is possible to set a threshold value for the difference in the signal state and instruct the trace management unit 107 to include the signal in the trace recording target if the difference is equal to or greater than a certain value. In this case, the trace management unit 107 obtains the value of the difference in the signal state from the extraction unit 105.

[0019] When the trace management unit 107 excludes predetermined signal information from the extracted signal information from the tracing target, information stating "signal is not extracted even if there is a difference" may be added for each signal to the signal information stored in the signal information storage unit 106. In this case, when the extraction unit 105 extracts signal information including the information "signal is not extracted even if there is a difference" from the signal information storage unit 106, the trace management unit 107 can exclude the predetermined signal information from the extracted signal information from the tracing target.

[0020] An example of the operation of the tracing target signal selection device 10 will be specifically described below with reference to FIG. 2 . FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the operation of the tracing target signal selection device. The signal storage unit 101 stores the value of the tracing target signal. The signal state acquisition unit 102 acquires the value of the signal region from signal region addresses 0x00000120 to 0x00000123 at a first timing as a first signal state ST1 and stores it in the signal state storage unit 103. The signal state acquisition unit 102 also acquires the value of the signal region from signal region addresses 0x00000120 to 0x00000123 at a second timing as a second signal state ST2 and stores it in the signal state storage unit 103.

[0021] The comparison unit 104 compares the first signal state ST1 and the second signal state ST2 stored in the signal state storage unit 103, and if there is a difference between the first signal state ST1 and the second signal state ST2, outputs the comparison result to the extraction unit 105. For example, as shown in Fig. 2, if the first signal state ST1 of the signal area address 0x00000121 at the first timing is "OFF" and the second signal state ST2 of the signal area address 0x00000121 at the second timing is "ON" and there is a difference, but there is no difference between the first timing and the second timing at the other signal area addresses, the comparison unit 104 outputs the signal area address 0x00000121 of the signal with the difference to the extraction unit 105 as the comparison result.

[0022] The extraction unit 105 extracts signal information from the signal information storage unit 106 based on the signal area address 0x00000121 of the signal with a difference. An example of signal information stored in the signal information storage unit 106 is shown in FIG. 3 . In FIG. 3 , xESP is a variable name indicating an abnormal stop, JOGplus is a variable name indicating that JOG operation is in the positive direction, and JOGminus is a variable name indicating that JOG operation is in the negative direction. The signal information shown in FIG. 3 indicates information signals when the trace target signal selection device 10 is applied to a PLC device. The signal information is information composed of a combination of variable names, signal names, signal comments, data types, and addresses (signal area address information) determined during compilation or runtime when a PLC sequence program is created. Either the variable name or the signal name can be omitted, and the comments and data types can also be omitted.

[0023] 2 indicates information extracted from the signal information storage unit 106. The extraction unit 105 extracts, as signal information, information including at least one of the variable name "OPEN_DOOR", the signal name "%X0012.1", and the comment "door open / close sensor", for example. Table 1 shows an example of signal information that can be extracted. The trace management unit 107 traces and records the signal state of the signal to be traced in the trace recording unit 108 based on at least one of the signal information extracted by the extraction unit 105, i.e., the variable name "OPEN_DOOR", the signal name "%X0012.1", and the comment "door open / close sensor". FIG. 4 is a diagram showing changes in the signal state that have been traced and recorded. In FIG. 4, for example, the signal with the variable name "OPEN_DOOR" is shown over a period of 5 seconds with a resolution of 8 msec (1 memory is 8 msec).

[0024] Next, the tracing target signal selection method of this embodiment will be described using a flowchart. In the following description, an example will be described in which the tracing target signal selection method is executed by the tracing target signal selection device 10 shown in Fig. 1, but the tracing target signal selection method of this embodiment is not limited to the configuration of the tracing target signal selection device 10 shown in Fig. 1.

[0025] 5 is a flowchart showing an example of a method for selecting a signal to be traced. In step S11, the signal state acquisition unit 102 acquires the value of the signal region at the first timing as a first signal state and stores it in the signal state storage unit 103.

[0026] In step S12 , the signal state acquisition unit 102 acquires the value of the signal region at the second timing as a second signal state, and stores it in the signal state storage unit 103 .

[0027] In step S13, the comparison unit 104 compares the first signal state with the second signal state, obtains the difference between the first signal state and the second signal state, and if there is a difference between the first signal state and the second signal state, outputs the comparison result (e.g., a signal area address) to the extraction unit 105.

[0028] In step S14, the extraction unit 105 extracts the signal information of the signal having the difference from the signal information storage unit 106.

[0029] In step S15, the trace management unit 107 sets a trace of the signal state of the signal to be traced based on the signal information extracted by the extraction unit 105, and in step S16 executes the trace and records the signal state in the trace recording unit 108.

[0030] According to the tracing target signal selection device and tracing target signal selection method of this embodiment described above, when a user wants to trace a signal related to a certain function, even if the user does not know the signal address or signal name, the user can avoid the trouble of looking up the signal, making tracing easier.

[0031] Second Embodiment Fig. 6 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of a trace target signal selection system including a trace target signal selection device according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure. The trace target signal selection system includes a trace target signal selection device 10A according to this embodiment and an external device 20 such as a PLC device. The trace target signal selection device 10A does not include the signal storage unit 101, the trace management unit 107, and the trace recording unit 108 of the trace target signal selection device 10 of Fig. 1, and the external device 20 includes the signal storage unit 101, the trace management unit 107, and the trace recording unit 108.

[0032] The signal state acquisition unit 102 of the trace target signal selection device 10A acquires the first signal state and the second signal state from the signal storage unit 101 of the external device 20 via a network or the like. The extraction unit 105 transmits signal information to the trace management unit 107 of the external device 20 via a network or the like. The operations of the signal storage unit 101, the trace management unit 107, and the trace recording unit 108 have been described in the first embodiment, so description thereof will be omitted in this embodiment.

[0033] The tracing target signal selection device 10A may include a signal storage unit similar to the signal storage unit 101, and may store one of the first signal state and the second signal state in the signal storage unit within the tracing target signal selection device 10A, and obtain the other from the signal storage unit 101 of the external device 20. The operation of the tracing target signal selection device 10A is the same as that shown in the flowchart of Fig. 5 except that steps S15 and S16 are omitted.

[0034] In this embodiment, in addition to the effects described in the first embodiment, the absence of a signal storage unit in the tracing target signal selection device reduces the storage capacity of the device. Also, the absence of a trace management unit and a trace recording unit in the tracing target signal selection device simplifies the configuration of the device.

[0035] 7 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a tracing target signal selection device according to a third embodiment of the present disclosure. A tracing target signal selection device 10B of this embodiment includes an acquisition trigger setting condition storage unit 109, an input unit 110, and an output unit 111 added to the tracing target signal selection device 10 of FIG.

[0036] In the tracing target signal selection device 10B, the input unit 110 outputs a signal state acquisition instruction to the signal state acquisition unit 102 based on a user operation. The signal state acquisition unit 102 acquires the signal state of the signal at the timing when the signal state acquisition instruction is received. The signal state acquisition unit 102 may acquire the signal state of the signal at any timing of startup, when an alarm is generated, or when the state of a specific signal changes, as the signal state of one of the signals at the first timing and the second timing.

[0037] The acquisition trigger setting condition storage unit 109 stores acquisition trigger setting conditions for acquiring a signal state. The signal state acquisition unit 102 acquires the signal state of a signal based on the acquisition trigger setting conditions. The acquisition trigger setting conditions are, for example, when an acquisition instruction is received from the input unit 110, at startup, when an alarm occurs, or when the state of a specific signal changes. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a JSON setting file stored in the acquisition trigger setting condition storage unit 109. "JSON" refers to a data exchange format using the object notation of JavaScript (registered trademark).

[0038] The output unit 111 outputs the signal information extracted by the extraction unit 105. The extraction unit 105 outputs the signal information stored in the signal information storage unit 106 to the trace management unit 107 and also to the output unit 111. The output unit 111 may be, for example, a liquid crystal display device or a printer. Based on the signal information output from the output unit 111, the user can input a selection instruction to the input unit 110 as to whether or not to trace the signal state of the signal to be traced.

[0039] The input unit 110 outputs a selection instruction to the trace management unit 107, and the trace management unit 107 selects, based on the selection instruction, whether or not to trace the signal state of the signal to be traced based on the signal information extracted by the extraction unit 105. If multiple pieces of signal information are extracted from the extraction unit 105 and output from the output unit 111 between the first timing and the second timing, the user can select a signal whose signal state should be traced from the multiple pieces of signal information and input a selection instruction to the input unit 110 to instruct tracing of the signal state.

[0040] The acquisition trigger setting condition storage unit 109, the input unit 110, and the output unit 111 may be provided as necessary, and one or more of the acquisition trigger setting condition storage unit 109, the input unit 110, and the output unit 111 may be provided. The input unit 110 may perform one of outputting an instruction to acquire a signal state to the signal state acquisition unit 102 and outputting a selection instruction to the trace management unit 107.

[0041] The input unit 110 may be divided into a first input unit that outputs an instruction to acquire the signal state to the signal state acquisition unit, and a second input unit that outputs an instruction to the trace management unit as to whether or not to trace the signal state of the signal to be traced based on the signal information extracted by the extraction unit.

[0042] In this embodiment, in addition to the effects described in the first embodiment, by providing an acquisition trigger setting condition storage unit, the signal status acquisition unit can acquire the signal status of a signal under certain conditions. Furthermore, by providing an output unit, the user can be notified of signal information of a signal that has caused a difference in signal status. Furthermore, by providing an input unit, the user can issue an instruction to the signal status acquisition unit to acquire the signal status. Furthermore, by providing an input unit, the user can issue an instruction to the trace management unit as to whether or not to trace the signal status of a signal to be traced based on the signal information extracted by the extraction unit. When a user wants to trace a signal related to a certain function, they simply look at the signal information output from the output unit and confirm whether it is the relevant signal. This eliminates the need for the user to refer to information such as a manual or signal definition comments to search for a signal that meets their needs.

[0043] 9 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a tracing target signal selection device according to a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure. A tracing target signal selection device 10C of this embodiment includes a comparison unit 104A and a signal storage unit 106A instead of the comparison unit 104 and the signal information storage unit 106 of the tracing target signal selection device 10 of FIG.

[0044] 3, like the signal information storage unit 106, the signal storage unit 106A also stores data types, addresses (indicating signal area address information), and comparison conditions as shown in Table 2. Table 2 lists the data types, addresses (indicating signal area address information), and comparison conditions, but the data types and addresses (indicating signal area address information) in the table of FIG. 3 may also be in a format in which comparison conditions are added. The comparison unit 104A compares the signal states according to the comparison conditions stored in the signal storage unit 106A, and if the comparison conditions are met, it outputs the comparison result (e.g., the address of the signal that meets the comparison conditions) to the extraction unit 105. For example, if the signal state at the first timing is OFF and the second signal state is ON, it outputs the address "0x00000121", and if the signal state values ​​at the address "0xFE000000" at the first and second timings are both 10000 or greater, it outputs the address "0xFE000000".

[0045] In this embodiment, an example has been described in which the comparison unit 104A is replaced with the comparison unit 104 of the third embodiment, but it may also be replaced with the comparison unit 104 of the first or second embodiment.

[0046] In this embodiment, in addition to the effects described in the first to third embodiments, the conditions for comparison in the comparison section can be set for each signal.

[0047] The embodiments of the tracing target signal selection device and the tracing target signal selection method of the present disclosure have been described above. Below, an example of using the tracing target signal selection device and the tracing target signal selection method of the present embodiments will be described.

[0048] (Example of Use) The tracing target signal selection device and the tracing target signal selection method of the first to fourth embodiments described above are not particularly limited in their applications, but may be used, for example, to debug a ladder program of a PLC device, investigate defects in a PLC device, verify signals when an alarm occurs, compare signals during simulation execution in a PLC device with signals during actual operation of the device, and detect operational differences in a digital twin by setting the signals as tracing target signals if there are any differences, etc. When the tracing target signal selection device of the embodiments of the present disclosure is used for a PLC device, the tracing target signal selection device may be provided within the PLC device as in the first, third, and fourth embodiments, or may be provided as an external device outside the PLC device.

[0049] (First Usage Example) The tracing target signal selection device described in the third or fourth embodiment is provided inside or outside the PLC device, the signal states at two or more timings are stored, the two or more signal states are compared to determine the difference, the signal information of the signal with the difference is notified to the user by the output unit, and the signal selected by the user is set as the signal to be traced.

[0050] (Second Usage Example) The tracing target signal selection device described in the first to fourth embodiments is provided inside or outside the PLC device, and the signal states during normal operation (such as immediately after startup) and when an alarm occurs are stored, and the difference between the two or more signal states is determined by comparing them, and the signal information of the signal with the difference is set as the signal to be traced. In this usage example, the use of the tracing target signal selection device can reduce the man-hours required for verifying alarm reproduction.

[0051] (Third Usage Example) The tracing target signal selection device described in the first to fourth embodiments is installed inside or outside the PLC device, receives signal states during simulation execution by an external PLC device simulator, stores two or more signal states during simulation execution and two or more signal states during actual machine operation received from the PLC device or external PLC device, compares each of the two signal states to determine the difference, and sets each signal information signal of the signal during simulation execution and the signal during actual machine operation where there is a difference as a tracing target signal. In this usage example, it is possible to extract operational differences between the digital twin and compare it with the signal during simulation execution to enable signal analysis in the event of a failure in the actual machine.

[0052] In order to realize the functional blocks included in the tracing target signal selection device in each embodiment described above, the tracing target signal selection device can be realized by hardware, software, or a combination of these. The tracing target signal selection method can also be realized by hardware, software, or a combination of these. Here, "realized by software" means that it is realized by a computer reading and executing a program.

[0053] To realize the components included in the tracing target signal selection device by software or a combination thereof, the tracing target signal selection device includes a processing unit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The processing unit functions as an execution unit. The tracing target signal selection device also includes an auxiliary storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) that stores various control programs such as application software or an OS (Operating System), and a main storage device such as a RAM (Random Access Memory) that stores data temporarily required for the processing unit to execute the programs.

[0054] The tracing target signal selection device then has the arithmetic processing unit read application software or an OS from the auxiliary storage device, and executes arithmetic processing based on the application software or OS while expanding the read application software or OS into the main storage device. Furthermore, based on the results of this arithmetic processing, the tracing target signal selection device controls various pieces of hardware. This realizes the functional blocks of this embodiment. The tracing target signal selection method can also be implemented using a configuration similar to that of the tracing target signal selection device.

[0055] The components included in the trace target signal selection device can be realized by hardware including electronic circuits, etc. When the trace target signal selection device is configured by hardware, some or all of the functions of the components included in the trace target signal selection device can be configured by an integrated circuit (IC), such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a gate array, an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or a CPLD (Complex Programmable Logic Device).

[0056] The program can be stored and supplied to a computer using various types of non-transitory computer-readable media. Non-transitory computer-readable media include various types of tangible storage media. Examples of non-transitory computer-readable media include magnetic recording media (e.g., hard disk drives), magneto-optical recording media (e.g., magneto-optical disks), CD-ROMs (Read Only Memory), CD-Rs, CD-R / Ws, and semiconductor memories (e.g., mask ROMs, PROMs (Programmable ROMs), EPROMs (Erasable PROMs), flash ROMs, and RAMs (Random Access Memory)). The program may also be supplied to the computer by various types of transient computer readable media.

[0057] According to the tracing target signal selection device and tracing target signal selection method of the present disclosure, including the embodiments described above, it is possible to eliminate or reduce the effort required to select a tracing target signal, making tracing easier.

[0058] Although the above-described embodiments are preferred embodiments of the present invention, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and the present invention can be implemented in various modified forms within the scope that does not deviate from the gist of the present invention.

[0059] The following supplementary note is further disclosed regarding the above embodiment: (Supplementary note 1) A tracing target signal selection device (10, 10A, 10B, 10C) comprising: a signal state acquisition unit (102) that acquires at least two signal states of a signal at different timings; a comparison unit (104, 104A) that compares the at least two signal states to determine a difference; and an extraction unit (105) that extracts signal information of a signal that has a difference from the comparison result by the comparison unit.

[0060] (Supplementary Note 2) The tracing target signal selection device according to Supplementary Note 1, further comprising a trace management unit (107) that traces and records the signal state of the signal having the difference based on the signal information extracted by the extraction unit (105).

[0061] (Supplementary Note 3) The tracing target signal selection device according to Supplementary Note 1, wherein the extraction unit (105) extracts the signal information including at least one of a signal name, a variable name, and a comment based on a signal area address of a signal having a difference in the signal state.

[0062] (Appendix 4) The timing at which the signal state acquisition unit (102) acquires the at least two signal states is when an acquisition trigger setting is established, including when an acquisition instruction is received, when startup occurs, when an alarm occurs, and when the state of a specific signal changes. This is the trace target signal selection device described in Appendix 1.

[0063] (Supplementary Note 5) The tracing target signal selection device according to Supplementary Note 1, further comprising an output unit (111) that outputs the signal information extracted by the extraction unit.

[0064] (Supplementary Note 6) The tracing target signal selection device according to Supplementary Note 1, wherein the comparison unit (104A) compares signal states according to predetermined comparison conditions, and outputs the comparison result to the extraction unit when the comparison conditions are met.

[0065] (Supplementary Note 7) The tracing target signal selection device according to Supplementary Note 2, wherein the trace management unit (107) performs tracing and recording by excluding or adding predetermined signal information from the extracted signal information to the tracing target.

[0066] (Supplementary Note 8) The tracing target signal selection device according to claim 2, further comprising an input unit (110) for inputting a selection instruction to the tracing management unit (107) as to whether or not to select a signal to be traced based on the signal information extracted by the extraction unit (105).

[0067] (Supplementary Note 9) The tracing target signal selection device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, which is included in a PLC device.

[0068] (Supplementary Note 10) A method for selecting a signal to be traced, in which a computer acquires at least two signal states of a signal at different times, compares the difference between the at least two signal states, and extracts signal information of a signal having a difference from the comparison result.

[0069] 10, 10A, 10B, 10C Trace target signal selection device 20 External device 101 Signal storage unit 102 Signal state acquisition unit 103 Signal state storage unit 104, 104A Comparison unit 105 Extraction unit 106, 106A Signal information storage unit 107 Trace management unit 108 Trace recording unit 109 Acquisition trigger setting condition storage unit 110 Input unit 111 Output unit

Claims

1. A tracing target signal selection device comprising: a signal state acquisition unit that acquires at least two signal states of a signal at different times; a comparison unit that compares the at least two signal states to determine the difference; and an extraction unit that extracts signal information of a signal that has a difference from the comparison result by the comparison unit.

2. The tracing target signal selecting device according to claim 1, further comprising a trace management section that traces and records the signal state of the signal having the difference based on the signal information extracted by the extraction section.

3. The tracing target signal selection device according to claim 1, wherein the extraction unit extracts the signal information including at least one of a signal name, a variable name, and a comment based on the signal area address of the signal where the difference in signal state occurred.

4. The tracing target signal selection device according to claim 1, wherein the timing at which the signal state acquisition unit acquires the at least two signal states is when an acquisition trigger setting is established, including when an acquisition instruction is received, when started up, when an alarm occurs, or when the state of a specific signal changes.

5. The tracing target signal selection device according to claim 1, further comprising an output section for outputting the signal information extracted by the extraction section.

6. The tracing target signal selection device according to claim 1, wherein the comparison unit compares the signal state in accordance with a predetermined comparison condition, and outputs the comparison result to the extraction unit when the comparison condition is met.

7. The tracing target signal selection device according to claim 2, wherein the tracing management unit performs tracing and recording by excluding or adding predetermined signal information from the extracted signal information to the tracing target.

8. The tracing target signal selection device according to claim 2, further comprising an input section in said tracing management section for inputting a selection instruction as to whether or not to select a signal to be traced based on said signal information extracted by said extraction section.

9. A trace target signal selection device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, included in a PLC device.

10. A method for selecting a signal to be traced, in which a computer acquires at least two signal states of a signal at different times, compares the difference between the at least two signal states, and extracts signal information of a signal that has a difference from the comparison result.

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