Programmable Controller Functional Device Circuit Configuration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional programmable controllers face challenges in easily changing or adding functions to their functional devices, leading to complicated address calculations and unclear roles of input, logic, and output interfaces due to fixed circuit settings.
Innovation Solution
A programmable controller system that allows users to easily set or change the functions of its functional device by using a graphical user interface to specify circuit control and state acquisition parameters, associating buffer memory addresses with logic addresses, enabling operation and state data transfer without needing to know the logic addresses.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the circuit settings are fixed in conventional programmable controllers, then the structure is simple and stable, but the functions cannot be changed or added and address calculations become complicated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic circuit settings where the circuit selector can be arbitrarily changed by the user to select different logic circuits (AND, OR, NOT, etc.) for each bit position. This dynamic configuration allows the same hardware to adapt to different functional requirements without fixed wiring, enabling function changeability while maintaining a relatively simple address calculation system through standardized buffer memory access patterns.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a universal functional device where each bit position can be configured to perform different logical operations through the circuit selector. The same buffer memory structure and access method serve multiple different circuit configuration scenarios, making the system universally applicable to various logic functions without requiring separate address spaces for each function type.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the circuit selector is arbitrarily changed to realize various functions, then the versatility is improved, but the roles of input interface, logic circuit, and output interface cannot be determined uniquely
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the functional device into distinct components: input interface (buffer memory), logic circuit (circuit selector + logic units), and output interface (functional device control). Each segment has a clearly defined role regardless of the circuit selector configuration. The input interface always receives data, the logic circuit always performs logical operations, and the output interface always outputs results, maintaining role clarity even as the specific logic operations change.
3Stability of the object's composition
If address maps in buffer memory are arranged according to certain rules, then the memory structure is organized, but accessing the functional device requires complicated address calculations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces the circuit selector as an intermediary layer between the buffer memory and the functional device. The buffer memory maintains its organized address structure, while the circuit selector translates between the simplified user-facing interface and the underlying memory address structure. This intermediary absorbs the complexity of address mapping, allowing users to access functional devices through simple, standardized addresses without performing complicated calculations.
Data Source
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AI summary
A programmable controller system that can easily set or change functions of a functional device of a programmable controller is obtained. A programmable controller system (1) includes a control device (200); a functional device (100) including a buffer memory (130) and a general-purpose logic unit (110); and a peripheral device (300) that creates a user program. The peripheral device (300) includes a circuit setting unit (302), which sets operation data indicating the operation of a logic (120) of the general-purpose logic unit (110); and a circuit-control-parameter setting unit (303), which sets a circuit control parameter representing the relation between a buffer memory address indicating an address in the buffer memory (130) and a logic address indicating an address in the logic. The functional device (100) includes a circuit control unit (131) that transfers the operation data to the logic address on the basis of the specified buffer memory address and the circuit control parameter.