Analog conversion device and programmable controller system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9369145-B2
Application number	US-201214425106-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 28, 2012
Priority date	Oct 26, 2012
Publication date	Jun 14, 2016
Grant date	Jun 14, 2016

Abstract

An analog conversion device includes an analog-to-digital (A/D) converter; a shared memory that has an A/D conversion-value storage area for storing the converted digital value and a log storage area for logging a digital value that is stored in the A/D conversion-value storage area and that can be read and accessed from a central processing unit (CPU) that controls an entire programmable controller; a logging execution unit that stores the digital value stored in the A/D conversion-value storage area in the log storage area as logging data; a fixed-number logging detection unit that monitors whether the number of the logging data to be stored in the log storage area has reached a predetermined number since the last interrupt generation request has been made; and an interrupt generation unit that makes an interrupt generation request to the CPU when the number of the logging data has reached the predetermined number.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An analog conversion device that is attached to a programmable controller and is connected to a central processing unit (CPU) via an inter-unit bus to convert an analog value input from outside to a digital value sequentially and to output the digital value to the CPU, the analog conversion device comprising:
an analog-to-digital (A/D) converter that converts an analog value input from outside to a digital value;
a first memory unit that
has an A/D conversion-value storage area for storing the converted digital value, a log storage area having a ring buffer configuration for logging the digital value stored in the A/D conversion-value storage area, and a read-only parameter storage area for storing read-only parameters including a current logging readout pointer indicating a storage position of logging data to be read next, and logging readout number, the logging readout number being a number of the logging data to be read and
is read and accessed from the CPU that controls the entire programmable controller;

a logging execution unit that stores the digital value stored in the A/D conversion-value storage area in the log storage area as logging data;
a fixed-number logging detection unit that stores the current logging readout pointer and a previous logging readout pointer indicating a read start position of the logging data at the time of a previous interrupt in the read-only parameter storage area in response to the number of the logging data to be stored in the log storage area reaching the logging readout number since the last interrupt generation request has been made to the CPU; and
an interrupt generation unit that instructs the CPU to perform a process of making an interrupt generation request when the number of the logging data has reached the logging readout number so that the CPU performs a reading process of the logging data by suspending a cyclic process being performed by the CPU.

2. The analog conversion device according to claim 1 , wherein the fixed-number logging detection unit
monitors whether the number of the logging data to be stored in the log since the last time an interrupt generation request was made, and
when the number of the logging data has reached the logging readout number, writes, as a new one of the current logging readout pointer in the read-only parameter storage area, a storage position acquired by adding the logging readout number to the current logging readout pointer stored in the read-only parameter storage area.

3. A programmable controller system in which an analog conversion device that converts an analog value input from outside to a digital value sequentially is connected with a central processing unit (CPU) via an inter-unit bus, wherein
the analog conversion device includes
an analog-to-digital (A/D) converter that converts an analog value input from outside to a digital value,
a first memory unit that
has an A/D conversion-value storage area for storing the converted digital value, a log storage area having a ring buffer configuration for logging the digital value stored in the A/D conversion-value storage area, and a read-only parameter storage area for storing read-only parameters including a current logging readout pointer indicating a storage position of logging data to be read next, a logging readout number, which is number of the logging data to be read and
is read and accessed from the CPU,

a logging execution unit that stores the digital value stored in the A/D conversion-value storage area in the log storage area as logging data,
a fixed-number logging detection unit that stores the current logging readout pointer and a previous logging readout pointer indicating a read start position of the logging data at the time of a previous interrupt in the read-only parameter storage area in response to the number of the logging data to be stored in the log storage area reaching the logging readout number since the last time an interrupt generation request was made to the CPU, and
an interrupt generation unit that instructs the CPU to perform a process of making an interrupt generation request when the number of the logging data has reached the logging readout number, so that the CPU performs a reading process of the logging data by suspending a cyclic process being performed by the CPU, and
the CPU includes
an interrupt-program execution instructing unit that instructs a calculation unit to execute an interrupt program for executing read of the logging data from the analog conversion device, upon reception of the interrupt generation request from the analog conversion device,
a calculation unit that performs the cyclic process according to a user program and, upon reception of an execution instruction of the interrupt program from the interrupt-program execution instructing unit, suspends the cyclic process and executes an interrupt program for reading the logging data from the log storage area in the first memory unit of the analog conversion device, and
a second memory unit that stores therein the logging data read by the calculation unit.

4. The programmable controller system according to claim 3 , wherein the calculation unit of the CPU uses the read-only parameters in the read-only parameter storage area to read the logging data for number of the logging readout number from a position indicated by the current logging readout pointer in the log storage area of the analog conversion device.

5. The programmable controller system according to claim 3 , wherein
the read-only parameters further includes a previous logging readout pointer, the previous logging readout pointer being a read position of logging data the last time an interrupt generation request was made,
when the number of the logging data has reached the logging readout number, the fixed-number logging detection unit of the analog conversion device sets the current logging readout pointer stored in the read-only parameter storage area at that time as a new one of the previous logging readout pointer, and the fixed-number logging detection unit then writes, as a new one of the current logging readout pointer in the read-only parameter storage area, a position acquired by adding the logging readout number to the current logging readout pointer stored in the read-only parameter storage area at present, and
upon reception of an execution instruction of the interrupt program from the interrupt-program execution instructing unit, the calculation unit of the CPU compares a position read last time in the log storage area of the analog conversion device with the previous logging readout pointer, and outputs a warning if the position does not match the previous logging readout pointer.

6. The programmable controller system according to claim 3 , further comprising an information processing terminal having a third memory unit, wherein
the CPU stores the logging data stored in the second memory unit in the third memory unit of the information processing terminal.

7. The programmable controller system according to claim 3 , further comprising an external memory device, wherein
the CPU stores the logging data stored in the second memory unit in the external memory device.

Assignees

• Ochiai Shinichiro
• Mitsubishi Electric Corp

Inventors

• Ochiai Shinichiro

Classifications

• G06F3/0614

  Improving the reliability of storage systems · CPC title

• H03M1/12 Primary

  Analogue/digital converters ({H03M1/001 – } H03M1/10 take precedence) · CPC title

• G06F3/0653

  Monitoring storage devices or systems · CPC title

• G06F3/0683

  Plurality of storage devices · CPC title

• G01D9/005 Primary

  Solid-state data loggers · CPC title