Safety Program Generation for Input-Output Device Mapping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current technologies lack a method to facilitate the design of safety programs in relation to the input and output relationships between safety input devices and output devices, which is essential for ensuring safety in manufacturing sites with automated machinery.
Innovation Solution
An information processing apparatus and method that allows users to select input and output devices, set signal duplication options, and activate maintenance modes, generating safety programs that shift output devices to a safety state based on input signal changes, thereby simplifying the design of safety programs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If safety programs are manually designed with proper input/output relationships between safety input devices and output devices, then safety reliability is improved, but design time and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-configures safety input devices and output devices with their relationships before actual safety program design. By preliminarily establishing device associations, signal mappings, and communication protocols, the system eliminates the need for time-consuming manual configuration during program design, thus improving safety reliability while reducing design time
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary configuration system that mediates between safety input devices and output devices. This intermediary layer automatically manages the complex input/output relationships, signal routing, and device associations, allowing designers to focus on safety logic rather than low-level device configuration, thereby reducing design complexity and time
2Adaptability or versatility
If comprehensive input/output relationships are configured between safety input devices and output devices, then safety functionality is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the complex safety system into independent, modular components including safety input devices, output devices, and their relationships. Each device and relationship is configured as a separate entity that can be independently managed, associated, and validated. This modular segmentation allows comprehensive safety functionality to be achieved while keeping individual configuration tasks simple and manageable
3Adaptability or versatility
If manual configuration of safety input/output relationships is performed, then design flexibility is maintained, but ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system provides self-service capabilities by automatically generating device associations, signal mappings, and communication configurations based on selected safety devices. The system serves itself by autonomously establishing input/output relationships without requiring manual configuration, thereby dramatically improving ease of operation while maintaining design flexibility through automated adaptation
Data Source
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AI summary
It is desirable to provide a technology for facilitating design of a safety program in relation to an input and output relationship between input devices and output devices. An information processing apparatus (200) for generating a safety program (10) for causing output devices to operate such that safety is maintained if a predetermined condition is satisfied includes: an acquisition unit (284) acquiring an input/output setting (230) that correlates respective input devices with output devices that respond to changes in values of input signals from the input devices from a first input value that is an initial value to a second input value; and a generation unit (286) generating, in a case in which a value of an input signal from any of the input devices defined in the input/output setting (230) has changed from the first input value to the second input value, a safety program (10) for shifting an operation state of an output device correlated with the input device to a safety state.