Method for operating a progammable control device

• US 20040030869A1
• Filed: 05/21/2003
• Published: 02/12/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 11/22/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Siemens AG
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: Spichtinger, Klaus
• Application Number:
  US10/432,366
• Publication Number:
  US 20040030869A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 712/223
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/0428 Safety, monitoring G05B19/0423 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/058 Safety, monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/25428 Field device

Abstract

The method is characterised in that comparison operations (31) which can be evaluated by an evaluation routine (4) can be formulated at the time the programme (8) of the control device (1) is running and in that actions (32, 33) that can also be formulated at the time the programme (8) is running are triggered according to the result of the respective comparison operation (31). This enables the control device (1) to be diagnosed and/or monitored without interrupting its operation.

Claims

1. A method for operating a programmable control device (1) which has a memory (3) and a processor unit (7),

where the memory (3) stores an evaluation routine (4) which can be executed by the processing unit (7) and, independently of said evaluation routine, an operand (34), a comparison operator (36) and a comparison value (37),

where the operand (34), the comparison value (37) and the comparison operator (36) form a binary comparison operation (31) which delivers either a first or a second result and which have associated first and second actions (32, 33), and

where executing the evaluation routine (4) involves evaluation of the binary comparison operation (31) and, on the basis of the result of the binary comparison operation (31), performance of either the first or the second action (32, 33).

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, where the memory (3) stores a masking value (35), and the operand (34) and the masking value (35) are operands for a masking operation using a masking operator, the result of said masking operation forming the binary comparison operation (31) together with the comparison value (37) and the comparison operator (36).

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, where the comparison operation (31) is coded by the content (34, 36, 37) of a respective operation area (31) which is stored in the memory (3) and comprises at least the operand (34), the comparison value (37) and the comparison operator (36).

4. The method as claimed in claim 2, where the comparison operation (31) is coded by the content (34, 35, 36, 37) of a respective operation area (31) which is stored in the memory (3) and comprises at least the operand (34), the masking value (35), the comparison value (37) and the comparison operator (36).

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, where each action (32, 33) is coded by the content (38, 38′

, 39, 39′

) of a first and a second action area (32, 33) respectively stored in the memory (3), and where each action area (32, 33) comprises either

a secondary action (38, 38′

) or

a combinational logic reference (39, 39′

) or

a secondary action (38, 38′

) and a combinational logic reference (39, 39′

).

6. The method as claimed in one of claims 3 to 5, where the operation area (31) and the first and second action areas (32, 33) form a condition block (30) in the memory (3).

7. The method as claimed in claim 6, where each action (32, 33) has a respective associated combinational logic reference (39, 39′

) which is suitable for referencing a condition block (30) by indicating the corresponding address in the memory (3), and the action (32, 33) comprises evaluation of the combinational logic reference (39, 39′

).

8. The method as claimed in claim 1, where each action (32, 33) has a respective associated secondary action (38, 38′

), and the action (32, 33) comprises initiation of the secondary action (38, 38′

).

9. The method as claimed in claim 8, where initiation of the secondary action (38, 38′

) comprises execution of a routine stored in the memory (3) from the start address (38, 38′

) indicated as the secondary action (38, 38′

).

10. The method as claimed in one of claims 7 to 9, where the first or the second action (32, 33) comprises both initiation of the secondary action (38, 38′

) and evaluation of the combinational logic reference (39, 39′

).

11. The method as claimed in claim 1, where the control device (1) has a bus port (6) for connection to a bus (5) and is suitable for receiving a telegram (10) via the bus (5), where reception of a telegram (10) involves at least one data area (13) of the telegram (10) being copied to a reception memory (2) in the memory (3), and where the operand (34) is an element of the reception memory (2) or denotes a position in the reception memory (2).

12. The method as claimed in claim 1, where the evaluation routine (4) is hard-coded.