SAFETY CONTROLLER AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING AN AUTOMATED INSTALLATION

• US 20120005748A1
• Filed: 05/25/2011
• Published: 01/05/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/25/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: PILZ GmbH & Company KG
• Original Assignee: PILZ GmbH & Company KG
• Inventors: ZONDLER, Martin, Woehrle, Stefan, Ehrhart, Helmut
• Granted Patent: US 8,595,827 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/21
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 9/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/02 Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]

Abstract

A safety controller for controlling an automated installation has a control unit to which a plurality of control input signals are supplied from the sensors of the installation. The control unit produces a plurality of control output signals on the basis of the control input signals in accordance with a user program running in said control unit in an automatic mode. The plurality of control output signals actuate the actuators. The safety controller also has a diagnosis evaluation unit that ascertains which one of a plurality of operating states is present at a defined instant of time and produces an operating state signal which represents the ascertained operating state. A diagnosis selection unit generates a diagnosis report as a function of the operating state signal and as a function of a user access authorization signal and/or a special operating mode signal. The diagnosis report representing the ascertained operating state thus varies depending on specific circumstances, such as a certain user access authorization or a certain operating mode.

Claims

1. A safety controller for controlling an automated installation which comprises a plurality of sensors and a plurality of actuators, comprising:

a control unit to which a plurality of control input signals are supplied by the sensors, wherein the control unit is designed to produce a plurality of control output signals on the basis of the control input signals in accordance with a user program running in said control unit in an automatic mode, wherein the plurality of control output signals are used to actuate the plurality of actuators,

a diagnosis evaluation unit to which a number of diagnosis input signals are supplied, wherein the diagnosis evaluation unit is designed to take the number of diagnosis input signals as a basis for ascertaining which of a plurality of operating states is present at a defined instant of time, wherein the plurality of operating states comprise at least one process state for the installation to be controlled and at least one system state for the safety controller, wherein the diagnosis evaluation unit produces at least one operating state signal which represents an ascertained operating state,

a display unit designed to display diagnosis reports,

an operating mode selection unit which is designed to select one of a plurality of special operating modes which are different from one another, wherein the special operating modes each are different from the automatic mode, wherein the mode selection unit provides a special operating mode signal which represents a selected special operating mode, wherein said special operating mode signal is supplied to the control unit in order to operate the installation in the selected special operating mode,

a detection unit, wherein the detection unit is designed to detect an access authorization associated with a person interacting with the safety controller, wherein the detection unit provides an access authorization signal which represents the detected access authorization, and

a diagnosis selection unit to which the operating state signal and at least one of the special operating mode signal and the access authorization signal are supplied, wherein the diagnosis selection unit determines a diagnosis report which represents the ascertained operating state as a function of the ascertained operating state and the at least one of the selected special operating mode and the detected access authorization, wherein the diagnosis selection unit produces a diagnosis signal which represents the diagnosis report and which is supplied to the interface for the display unit for the purpose of displaying the diagnosis report.

2. The safety controller of claim 1, wherein the diagnosis selection unit stores a plurality of predefined diagnosis reports which are different from one another, wherein each of said diagnosis reports represents said ascertained operating state, wherein the diagnosis selection unit selects one of said diagnosis reports as a function of the ascertained operating state and the at least one of the selected special operating mode and the detected access authorization.

3. The safety controller of claim 1, wherein a plurality of predefined diagnosis reports which are different from one another are stored for each of the plurality of operating states.

4. The safety controller of claim 3, wherein the detected access authorization is one of a plurality of predefined access authorizations which are different from one another, and wherein the plurality of diagnosis reports comprises a respective diagnosis report associated with each combination of the ascertained operating state and the detected access authorization.

5. The safety controller of claim 3, wherein the selected special operating mode is one of a plurality of predefined special operating modes which are different from one another, wherein the plurality of diagnosis reports comprises a respective diagnosis report associated with each combination of the ascertained operating state and the selected special operating mode.

6. The safety controller of claim 1, wherein the detection unit and the display unit form one structural unit.

7. The safety controller of claim 1, wherein the detection unit is designed to detect the access authorization by virtue of interaction with a mobile access authorization unit.

8. The safety controller of claim 7, wherein the detection unit comprises a key holder for receiving a mobile access authorization key.

9. The safety controller of claim 7, wherein the detection unit comprises a transponder reader and said access authorization unit comprises a transponder having access authorization data representing the access authorization.

10. The safety controller of claim 1, wherein the detection unit has a number of input elements which allow to input the access authorization manually.

11. The safety controller of claim 1, wherein the mode selection unit is designed to select the special operating mode by virtue of interaction with a mobile special operating mode unit.

12. The safety controller of claim 11, wherein the special operating mode unit comprises a transponder having special operating mode data which represent a defined special operating mode.

13. The safety controller of claim 1, wherein the user program has at least one safety control module, in which safety-related control input signals are processed in a failsafe manner, and has at least one standard control module, in which process-related control input signals are processed.

14. The safety controller of claim 1, wherein the system state represents a faulty actuator or faulty sensor.

15. The safety controller of claim 14, wherein the diagnosis selection unit is designed to determine the diagnosis report also as a function of a location statement, wherein the location statement represents a spatial location of the faulty actuator or the faulty sensor within the installation.

16. A method for controlling an automated installation which comprises a plurality of sensors and a plurality of actuators, the method comprising the following steps:

supplying a plurality of control input signals to a control unit by the sensors, wherein the control unit produces a plurality of control output signals in an automatic mode on the basis of the control input signals and in accordance with a user program running in said control unit, wherein the plurality of control output signals actuate the plurality of actuators,

ascertaining which of a plurality of operating states is present at a defined instant of time on the basis of a number of diagnosis input signals, wherein the plurality of operating states comprise at least one process state for the installation to be controlled and at least one system state for the safety controller, and producing an operating state signal which represents an ascertained operating state,

selecting one of a plurality of special operating modes which are different from one another, wherein the special operating modes each are different from the automatic mode, and providing a special operating mode signal which represents the selected special operating mode,

detecting an access authorization associated with a person interacting with the safety controller, and providing an access authorization signal which represents the detected access authorization,

supplying the operating state signal and at least one of the special operating mode signal and the access authorization signal to a diagnosis selection unit,

determining a diagnosis report representing the ascertained operating state as a function of the ascertained operating state and as a function of at least one of the selected special operating mode and the detected access authorization, and producing a diagnosis signal representing the diagnosis report in the diagnosis selection unit, and

supplying the diagnosis signal to a display unit for the purpose of displaying the diagnosis report.

17. A computer program product comprising a data storage medium having program code designed to run on a control unit of a safety controller for controlling an automated installation which comprises a plurality of sensors and a plurality of actuators, wherein said program code is further designed to carry out a method comprising the following steps, when the program code is executed on the control unit:

receiving a plurality of control input signals from the sensors at the control unit and producing a plurality of control output signals in an automatic mode on the basis of the control input signals, wherein the plurality of control output signals actuate the plurality of actuators,

ascertaining which of a plurality of operating states is present at a defined instant of time, wherein the plurality of operating states comprise at least one process state for the installation to be controlled and at least one system state for the safety controller, and producing an operating state signal which represents an ascertained operating state,

selecting one of a plurality of special operating modes which are different from one another, wherein the special operating modes each are different from the automatic mode, and providing a special operating mode signal which represents the selected special operating mode,

detecting an access authorization associated with a person interacting with the safety controller, and providing an access authorization signal which represents the detected access authorization,

supplying the operating state signal and at least one of the special operating mode signal and the access authorization signal to a diagnosis selection unit,

determining a diagnosis report representing the ascertained operating state as a function of the ascertained operating state and as a function of at least one of the selected special operating mode and the detected access authorization, and producing a diagnosis signal representing the diagnosis report in the diagnosis selection unit, and

supplying the diagnosis signal to a display unit for the purpose of displaying the diagnosis report.