JPH0456321B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] <Industrial Application Field> The present invention relates to a program setting device for program setting control patterns for the temperature of a heat treatment furnace and control variables of various other controlled objects. In such a program setting device, the present invention relates to an improvement related to the generation of an on/off control signal for controlling on/off of a relay or the like in accordance with the progress of a control pattern.

<Prior art> In a program setting device, for example, a voltage or current is generated according to a control pattern to be given as a target value to a heat treatment furnace, and at the same time, control relays such as an auxiliary heater, a cooler, and an indicator light are turned on and off. generates multiple on/off control signals to In order to generate such on-off control signals, the on-time and off-time of each specified on-off control signal are memorized, and the arrival of the specified time is detected to determine the state of each on-off control signal (on state). or off state).

In the conventional program setting device, the on time and the off time of the on/off control signal are specified as the elapsed time from the start point of the control pattern and are stored. Then, the elapsed time from the start point of the control pattern is successively compared with the stored specified time, and when a match is found, the corresponding on/off control signal is turned on or off.

A specific example will be shown and explained in FIG. In this figure, P is a control pattern (here, a voltage pattern) consisting of five segments, and S
1, S2, and S3 are on/off control signals. In this case, for the on/off control signal S1, 0 minutes as the on time and 30 minutes as the off time are respectively designated and stored. Other on/off control signals S
The same applies to 2 and S3. Then, the program setting device turns each on/off control signal on or off by successively comparing the elapsed time from the start of execution of the control pattern P with the specified time stored for each on/off control signal.

<Problems to be solved by the invention> Now, in the case of the on/off control signal S3 in FIG.
We will specify 90 minutes as the on time and 245 minutes as the off time, but in order to find the specified time, we must perform cumulative addition of the time from the start point of control pattern P (30 + 60 = 90, 30 + 60 + 25 + 90 + 50 = 255). However, the specification process is complicated and mistakes are likely to occur. This is even more noticeable when there are a large number of on/off control signals and each on/off control signal is turned on and off multiple times.

Furthermore, since the designated time is quite long, a fairly large memory area is required to store the designated time data, and a large display with a large number of display digits is required to display it. This causes an increase in the cost of the device.

Furthermore, since such long specified time data must be compared with elapsed time data from the start point of the control pattern (which may be quite long), calculations for this purpose become complicated. If you try to perform that comparison operation in hardware,
This results in increased complexity of hardware, and if it is attempted to be executed using software, calculation time will increase.

It is an object of the present invention to solve the problems related to the generation of such on/off control signals.

<Means for Solving the Problems> In order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, the program setting device according to the present invention has a method for controlling each on/off control signal, as shown in the conceptual diagram of FIG. Time information is input as control data consisting of a combination of the segment number of the control pattern corresponding to the start time of the on/off control signal and the elapsed time from the start point of the segment, and the off time information is input as control data for the on/off control signal. an input means a for inputting control data consisting of a combination of the number of a segment of the control pattern corresponding to the time at which the control signal stops and the elapsed time from the start point of the segment; and the control input by the input means. Data storage means b for storing data
During the progress of the control pattern, the data storage means b
a data comparison means (c) that repeatedly compares the control data stored in the control pattern with the number of the currently executing segment of the control pattern and the elapsed time from the start point of the same segment, and the state of each on/off control signal according to the result of the comparison; signal state control means d for controlling
and is provided.

<Function> With such a configuration, for example, in the case of the on/off control signal S3 in FIG. 0 minutes,
Segment number 5 of the off time and the elapsed time of 50 minutes from the start point of the same segment can be immediately input as control data from the input means a. Since the time included in the control data is the elapsed time from the start point of the segment, which is generally much shorter than the elapsed time from the start point of the control pattern, the length of the control data is also reduced. Therefore, the memory area for control data of the data storage means b is reduced, and the comparison operation of the data comparison means c is simplified and speeded up.

<Example> An embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of a program setting device according to the present invention. In this figure, 1 is a microcomputer. This stores CPU (central processing unit) 2 and processing programs.
ROM (read-only memory) 3, for storing control pattern determination parameters, control data related to on/off control signals, intermediate data of calculations, etc.
It has a general configuration consisting of a RAM (random read/write memory) 4, an input port 5 and an output port 6 for interfacing with the outside. Processing such as control pattern generation and data comparison/judgment, which will be described later, is performed by the processing program in ROM3 and
It is executed by the CPU 2 according to the data in the RAM 4.

7 is a key input device for inputting data etc. to the microcomputer 1, and is connected to the CPU 2 via the input port 5.

8 is a display device for displaying characters, numbers, etc., and is connected to the CPU 2 via an output port 6. This display 8 is connected to the microcomputer 1
It has a built-in latch to temporarily hold the display data given by the controller.

3 is a digital/analog converter, which is connected to the CPU 2 via an output port 6. This digital/analog converter 9 temporarily holds control pattern data given from the microcomputer 1 in an internal latch, and outputs an analog voltage (control pattern voltage) V corresponding to the control pattern data.

10 is a signal state control circuit, and output port 6
The on/off control signals S1, S2, . . . , Sn are turned on or off according to instructions given via
This signal state control circuit 10 has a built-in latch for temporarily holding instructions from the microcomputer 1.

The operation of this program setting device will be explained below.

First, in order to program a control pattern, a specific key on the key input device 7 is pressed to instruct the CPU 2 to that effect. Then, the time, slope, and level of each segment of the control pattern are input as the control pattern determining parameters from the key input device 7, as in the conventional case. The input parameters are stored in a specific area of RAM 4 by CPU 2. At this time, the input parameters are also sent to the display 8 and displayed.

Next, after instructing the CPU 2 to input control data by pressing a specific key on the key input device 7,
Control data for on/off control signals S1, S2, . . . , Sn are input sequentially from the key input device 7. As shown in FIG. 4, this control data includes the setting serial number P of the on/off control signal, the number i (i=1,...,n) of the on/off control signal, the segment number SGon of the time when it is turned on, It consists of the elapsed time Ton from the starting point of the segment, the segment number SGoff at the time when the on/off control signal is turned off, and the elapsed time TOff from the starting point of the segment.
This control data is processed by the CPU as shown in Figure 4.
2, the data are stored in a specific area in the RAM 4 in the order of input, and simultaneously sent to the display 8 for display. In addition,
The input order of control data is arbitrary.

Such control data is much shorter than previously required for its storage and display.
The memory area of RAM 4 and the number of display digits of display 8 can be reduced.

RAM4 for the above parameters and control data
For storage and transfer to display unit 8,
This is done by executing the program in ROM3 with CPU2. Note that the RAM 4 is backed up by a battery, and its memory contents are preserved even after the device power is turned off. Therefore, once the control pattern and on/off control signals are programmed as described above, no reprogramming is necessary unless changed.

Assuming that such programming has been completed, the start key of the key input device 7 is pressed,
When a start instruction is input to the CPU 2 via the input port 5, the CPU 2 starts executing the control pattern generation program in the ROM 3, and generates the values at each point in time of the control pattern (control pattern data) according to the parameters in the RAM 4. ) is sequentially calculated and outputted to the display 8 and digital/analog converter 9 via the output port 6. Since this process may be the same as the conventional process, further details will not be described. The digital/analog converter 9 outputs a control pattern voltage V corresponding to the input control pattern data,
Further, the display 8 displays the value of the control pattern.

During execution of such control pattern generation processing,
Interrupts occur within the CPU 2 at regular time intervals to generate on/off control signals. When this interrupt occurs, the CPU 2 interrupts the control pattern generation process and executes the program in the ROM 3 for the on/off control signal generation process.

FIG. 5 is a simplified flowchart of the program. If you explain the process,
The CPU 2 reads the control data one by one from the RAM 4 in the order in which they are stored, and compares and determines the segment number SGon with the segment number SGr currently being executed (step 20). If SGr<SGon, the process jumps to step 26, and the CPU 2 issues an instruction to turn off the corresponding on/off control signal to the signal state control circuit 10 to turn off the signal. Incidentally, when the device is powered on, the on/off control signals S1, S2, . . . , Sn are reset to the off state.

If SGr<SGon, it is determined that SGr=SGon (step 21). If the determination result is NO, jump to step 23. If the judgment result is YES, the elapsed time Tr from the start point of the current segment and the control data
A comparison with Ton is made (Step 22). Tr≧
If it is not Ton, jump to step 26 and CPU2
instructs the signal state control circuit 10 to turn off the corresponding on/off control signal.

If Tr≧Ton in step 22, then
Or, if the judgment result in step 21 is NO, SGr
and SGoff (Step 23).
If SGr>SGoff, jump to step 26. SGr＜
If it is not SGoff, it is determined that SGr=SGoff (step 24). If the judgment result is NO, step 27
Then, the CPU 2 instructs the signal state control circuit 19 to turn on the corresponding on/off control signal.

If the judgment result in step 24 is YES, Tr≧
Perform Toff judgment (step 25) and check the judgment result.
If NO, turn on the corresponding on/off control signal,
If YES, the off instruction is given to the signal state control circuit 10.

When the above processing is completed up to the last control data stored in the RAM 4, the interrupted control pattern generation processing is resumed.

In this way, processing related to on/off control signals is frequently performed by interrupting control pattern generation processing, so it is necessary to shorten the processing time as much as possible. According to the present invention, since the control data and the data (time) to be compared with it are shorter than in the past, even if the comparison judgment operation is executed by software as in this embodiment, the processing time is can be sufficiently shortened. Moreover, if it is executed by hardware, the hardware for that purpose becomes simple.

Here, as is clear from the above description, in this embodiment, an OFF instruction is repeatedly issued during the OFF period of the ON/OFF control signal, and an ON instruction is repeatedly issued during the ON period of the ON/OFF control signal. In this way, even if the signal state control circuit 10 malfunctions due to noise or the like, the on/off control signal can be immediately restored to its normal state.

Additionally, the process shown in Figure 5 is designed to turn one on/off control signal on and off only once, but by partially changing the contents, the on/off control signal can be turned on and off multiple times. It is clear from the description.

Furthermore, it is also possible to replace the functions of the microcomputer 1 in this embodiment with hardware.

<Effects of the Invention> Since the present invention is as explained above, the following effects can be obtained.

(i) The on-time and off-time of the on-off control signal can be set without performing cumulative time calculations as in the conventional method, making the setting work easier and faster. Additionally, setting errors due to calculation errors can be prevented.

(ii) Since the control data of the on/off control signal is shorter than before, the memory area for storing the control data can be reduced, and the number of digits displayed on the display for displaying the control data can be reduced, reducing the cost of the device. You can try to bring it down.

(iii) Since both the control data and the data (time) to be compared with it are shortened, the comparison operation can be easily and quickly executed by software or simple hardware. This also
Contributes to reducing equipment costs.

(iv) In this way, an inexpensive program setting device with excellent operability can be realized.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a conceptual diagram of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a waveform diagram showing examples of control patterns and on/off control signals, Fig. 3 is a schematic block diagram showing a program setting device according to the invention, and Fig. 4 is a program setting device. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of control data and its storage format in the device, and is a schematic flowchart of processing related to on/off control signals in the program setting device. 1...Microcomputer, 2...CPU,
3...ROM, 4...RAM, 5...input port,
6... Output port, 7... Key input device, 8...
Display device, 9...Digital/analog converter, 10
...Signal state control circuit.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A program setting device that generates a voltage or current according to a preprogrammed control pattern P, and also generates a plurality of on/off control signals S1 _{to O} for turning on and off relays, etc. in accordance with the progress of the control pattern P, Information on the on-time of each of the on-off control signals S1 _{to o} is added to the on-off control signal
Input the control data consisting of a combination of the segment number SGon of the control pattern P corresponding to the start time of S ₁ to The number of the segment of the control pattern P that corresponds to the time when the signals S ₁ to o stop
SGoff and elapsed time Toff from the start point of the same segment
an input means a for inputting control data consisting of a combination of; a data storage means b for storing the control data inputted by the input means a; and a data storage means b for storing the control data inputted by the input means a; Data comparison means c repeatedly compares the control data stored in means b with the number SGr of the currently executing segment of the control pattern P and the elapsed time Tr of the same segment, and the respective on/off control according to the result of the comparison. 1. A program setting device comprising: signal state control means d for controlling states of signals _S1 to S0.