WO2019216199A1

WO2019216199A1 - Analysis assistance device and analysis assistance method

Info

Publication number: WO2019216199A1
Application number: PCT/JP2019/017209
Authority: WO
Inventors: 凌平椿野; 小松　幸広
Original assignee: オムロン株式会社
Priority date: 2018-05-11
Filing date: 2019-04-23
Publication date: 2019-11-14
Also published as: JP7192243B2; JP2019197461A

Abstract

This analysis assistance device comprises: a communication log acquisition means for acquiring communication log data that is a record of transmitted data transmitted between a control device and a target device; a state log acquisition means for acquiring state log data that is a record of the state of the target device and/or of the control device; and an information output means that, in order to make it possible to identify the temporal correspondence between the transmitted data and the state or states, outputs, to a display device, a first information screen in which the communication log data and the state log data are used as a basis to chronologically display the content of the transmitted data between the control device and the target device and a second information screen in which temporal change in the state of the target device and/or the control device is displayed.

Description

Analysis support apparatus and analysis support method

The present invention relates to technology for supporting cause identification when a problem occurs in an FA device.

In FA (Factory Automation), there is a control system composed of control devices such as PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) and various target devices (sensors, actuators, etc.) that operate according to control commands from the control devices. Widely used. In such a control system, the target device may not operate as designed, or an unintended operation or error may occur. Causes of such problems include, for example, bugs in programs that run on control devices (such as descriptions of control instructions and transmission timing errors), and bugs in programs that run on target devices (such as errors in measurement flow logic). Since various causes such as failure of the control device or target device, cable disconnection, network congestion, etc. are assumed, it is not easy to identify the problem location or cause. Conventionally, it has been unavoidable to view the communication log between the control device and the target device with viewer software and check whether there is an inappropriate packet for each data (one packet). The analysis work has a problem that it requires a high level of skill regarding the communication of the FA device, and enormous time (for example, several hundred hours) is required to identify the cause. In Patent Document 1, an apparatus for monitoring the behavior of the network inside the parallel computer is proposed, but it is difficult to divert the apparatus to the behavior monitoring of the control system described above.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-40224

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technique for facilitating analysis work of communication between a control device and a target device.

A first aspect of the present invention is an analysis support apparatus for supporting an analysis of communication between a control device and a target device controlled by the control device, between the control device and the target device. A communication log acquisition unit that acquires communication log data that is a record of transmitted transmission data; a status log acquisition unit that acquires status log data that is a record of the state of the target device and / or the control device; A first information screen for displaying the contents of transmission data between the control device and the target device in time series based on the communication log data and the status log data; and the target device and / or the control device. An information output means for outputting a second information screen for displaying a temporal change in state to a display device so that the temporal correspondence between the transmission data and the state can be identified. Providing analysis support apparatus according to claim.

According to this configuration, it is possible to easily compare the state change of the target device and / or the control device with the content of transmission data at the same time, so that the problem location and the cause can be easily found. As a result, the time required for the cause analysis work can be greatly shortened. In addition, by facilitating the analysis work, for example, secondary effects such as enabling investigation of the cause and maintenance on the user side and improving usability of the FA device can be expected.

A part of the transmission data displayed in time series on the first information screen, or a part of the temporal change in the state displayed on the second information screen User operation accepting means for accepting an operation to be selected from the user, and when the attention data is selected, the information output means is configured to receive the attention on both the first information screen and the second information screen. The data corresponding to the data may be displayed in a manner that can be distinguished from other data.

According to this configuration, when the user selects attention data, the corresponding data can be confirmed on both the first information screen and the second information screen. Therefore, regarding the attention data that the user is interested in, it is possible to easily compare the status change of the target device and / or the control device with the contents of the transmission data at the same time. Can be done well.

The user operation accepting means can accept a screen switching instruction for switching between the first information screen and the second information screen from a user, and the information output means can receive a part of the data on the first information screen. When the screen switching instruction is received in a state where the data is displayed in an identifiable manner, the data is switched to the second information screen and the data at the same time as the attention data is displayed in an identifiable manner. In the second information screen, When the screen switching instruction is received in a state where some data is identifiable as the attention data, the data is switched to the first information screen and the data at the same time as the attention data is displayed in an identifiable manner. May be.

By adopting a configuration in which two information screens are switched and displayed as described above, even a display device having a small size (or low resolution) can be displayed without reducing the visibility of the information screen. Since many display devices included in FA devices are small or have a low resolution, the switching display as described above is useful.

The transmission data transmitted between the control device and the target device includes information indicating the state of the control device or the state of the target device, and the state log acquisition unit is configured to transmit the communication log. The status log data may be acquired from the communication log data acquired by the acquisition unit. According to this configuration, since information related to communication and information related to the state can be obtained from the same information source, data processing is simplified such that processing for synchronizing the information related to communication and the information related to the state becomes unnecessary. There is an advantage of becoming.

The information output unit may display the change point where the state of the target device and / or the control device is changing in the first information screen and / or the second information screen so as to be identifiable. When a defect related to control occurs, the state of the target device or the control device often changes. Therefore, by displaying the status change points of the target device and control device in an easy-to-understand manner on the information screen, it is possible to easily narrow down the locations where there is a high possibility that a problem has occurred, and to efficiently search for the problem location and cause. it can.

The user operation accepting unit may include a selection assisting unit that assists the user in selecting the change point as the attention data. When a defect related to control occurs, the state of the target device or the control device often changes. Therefore, by making it easy to select the status change point of the target device or control device as the target data on the information screen, it is possible to easily narrow down the places where there is a high possibility that a problem has occurred. The cause can be searched efficiently.

The transmission data includes number information given in the order of transmission, and the information output means analyzes the number information of each transmission data recorded in the communication log data to thereby correct the transmission order. In this case, a transmission error portion where transmission data is not transmitted may be detected, and the transmission error portion may be displayed on the first information screen and / or the second information screen so as to be identifiable. There is a high possibility that defects related to control will occur due to transmission errors. Therefore, the problem location and the cause can be efficiently searched by automatically detecting the transmission error location and displaying the transmission error location together with the contents of the transmission data and the state change information.

According to the present invention, it is possible to facilitate analysis work of communication between the control device and the target device.

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a control system. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of the analysis support apparatus. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a timeline display screen. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a time chart display screen. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of normal state guide display. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a processing flow of the analysis support apparatus. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a processing flow of the analysis support apparatus. 8A and 8B are diagrams illustrating a processing flow of the analysis support apparatus.

<Application example>
The analysis support apparatus according to the present invention is applied to, for example, a control system 1 including a control device 11 and a target device 12 as shown in FIG. It is used for the purpose of supporting analysis work. The analysis support apparatus can read the communication log data between the control device 11 and the target device 12 and the status log data of the control system 1, and can output two types of information screens as shown in FIGS. is there. In the timeline display screen 30 of FIG. 3, the content of transmission data between the control device 11 and the target device 12 is displayed in time series. On the time chart display screen 40 in FIG. 4, a waveform indicating a temporal change in the state of the control system 1 is displayed. These information screens are displayed so that the temporal correspondence between the transmission data and the state of the control system 1 can be identified. Therefore, the user can easily compare, for example, the state change of the control system 1 and the content of the transmission data at the same time, so that the problem location and the cause can be easily and efficiently found.

<System configuration>
A control system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The control system 1 includes a PLC (programmable logic controller) 11 as a control device and a sensor 12 as a target device controlled by the control device. The PLC 11 and the sensor 12 are connected by a communication cable 13.

As the sensor 12, for example, an image sensor, a displacement sensor, a length measuring sensor, a code reader, an area sensor, or the like can be used. As the communication cable 13, for example, an Ethernet cable, a parallel I / O cable, a serial cable, or the like can be used. As a communication protocol, for example, parallel, PLC link, EtherNet / IP, EtherCAT, non-procedure, or the like is used. be able to. It is also possible to connect the PLC 11 and the sensor 12 by wireless communication instead of wired connection.

Hereinafter, the configuration of the image sensor will be described as an example of the sensor 12. The image sensor 12 is installed in a factory production line or the like, and performs various processes using an image (for example, acquisition of image data to be inspected, shape recognition, inspection, edge detection, number measurement, area measurement, color measurement) This is a device used for feature acquisition, labeling and segmentation, object recognition, barcode and two-dimensional code reading, OCR, individual identification, and the like. The image sensor 12 is also called a vision sensor or a vision system.

The image sensor 12 of the present embodiment is roughly composed of a sensor controller 120 and a camera 121, and the sensor controller 120 and the camera 121 are connected by a camera cable. The sensor controller 120 is provided with a plurality of camera I / Os so that a plurality of cameras 121 can be connected. In the present embodiment, the processing system (sensor controller 120) and the imaging system (camera 121) are configured separately, but a configuration in which the processing system and the imaging system are integrated can also be adopted. Such an integrated image sensor is also called a “smart camera”.

The camera 121 is a device that captures an image of a subject such as an inspection target and acquires image data, and includes an optical system such as a lens and an image sensor such as a CCD or CMOS. If necessary, the camera 121 may be provided with an autofocus mechanism, a pan / tilt / zoom mechanism, a lighting device, and the like.

The sensor controller 120 is a device that controls the entire image sensor 12 and performs various arithmetic processes. The sensor controller 120 includes, for example, a computer having a processor (CPU), a memory, a storage, a communication module, and an I / O, a display device such as a liquid crystal display, and an input device such as a mouse and a touch panel. Various programs are stored in the storage, and when the image sensor 12 is operated, necessary programs are loaded into the memory and executed by the processor, thereby providing processing and functions to be described later. Note that at least a part of the processing and functions provided by the image sensor 12 may be configured by a circuit such as an ASIC or FPGA, or may be configured by distributed computing or cloud computing.

When a control command (a control signal such as a measurement trigger or various control commands) is transmitted (input) from the PLC 11 to the sensor controller 120, the sensor controller 120 executes a predetermined measurement flow according to the control command. The measurement flow includes, for example, an image input step S10 from the camera 121, a measurement processing step S11 using an image (object detection, inspection, character reading, etc.), a measurement result (OK / NG determination result, etc.) output step S12 Composed. It is assumed that the user can freely design the processing items to be executed in each process. In response to the control command from the PLC 11, the sensor controller 120 notifies the PLC 11 of a status signal indicating the sensor status, and sends data such as measurement results (determination results, etc.), measurement values, and read character strings to the PLC 11. Send (output). In this way, measurement processing by the image sensor 12 is executed under the control of the PLC 11.

In the control system 1 as described above, the image sensor 12 may not operate as designed, or an unintended operation or error may occur. The cause of such a malfunction is, for example, a bug in a program that operates on the PLC 11 (such as a description of a control instruction or an error in transmission timing), or a bug in a program that operates on the image sensor 12 (such as an error in a measurement flow logic). Since various causes such as failure of the PLC 11 or the image sensor 12, cable disconnection, network congestion, and the like are assumed, it is not easy to identify the problem location and the cause.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, an analysis support program for supporting analysis of communication between the PLC 11 and the image sensor 12 is installed in the control system 1 to facilitate identification of the cause of the above-described problem. Note that the analysis support program may be installed in a target device such as the image sensor 12 and executed by a processor of the target device. In this case, the target device also serves as the analysis support device (or the target device provides a function as the analysis support device). The analysis support program may be installed in a control device such as the PLC 11 and executed by a processor of the control device. In this case, the control device also serves as the analysis support device (or the control device provides a function as the analysis support device). The analysis support program may be installed on a computer different from both the control device and the target device (for example, a computer for management and maintenance of the control system 1) and executed by a processor of the computer.

<Analysis support device>
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the analysis support apparatus according to the present embodiment. The analysis support apparatus 2 includes a monitor unit 20, a communication log acquisition unit 21, a status log acquisition unit 22, an information output unit 23, and a user operation reception unit 24 as main components. In this embodiment, the analysis support apparatus 2 is configured by installing an analysis support program in the image sensor 12, and each component shown in FIG. 2 is executed by the processor of the image sensor 12 executing the analysis support program. Realized in software. However, this configuration is an example, and some or all of the components shown in FIG. 2 may be configured by a circuit such as an ASIC or FPGA, or may be executed on another computer such as a server.

The monitor unit 20 monitors the communication between the PLC 11 and the image sensor 12, and records the transmission data transmitted (transmitted and received) between the two in the storage in the analysis support apparatus 2 (image sensor 12). I do. The time series data of the recorded transmission data is called “communication log data”. The monitor unit 20 may leave the transmission data in the communication log data in the form as it is, or information (for example, compressed or encoded information, information obtained by extracting only part of the data) obtained by processing the transmission data in the communication log It may be recorded as data.

Further, the monitor unit 20 may monitor the state of the control system 1 and perform a process of recording it in a storage in the analysis support apparatus 2 (image sensor 12). The recorded time series data of the state of the control system 1 is referred to as “state log data”. The state of the control system 1 can include one or both of the state of the image sensor 12 and the state of the PLC 11.

The state of the image sensor 12 is, for example, busy (a state in which processing is being executed and a new control command cannot be input from the outside), a command completed (a state in which execution of a control command input from the outside has been completed) ), Data output (a state in which data such as measurement results are output to the outside), ready (a state in which measurement can be started), and an error (a state in which an abnormality has occurred). The state of the image sensor 12 may be detected from the value of the state variable held in the memory of the image sensor 12 or from the value of the state signal included in the transmission data transmitted from the image sensor 12 to the PLC 11. It may be detected. In the latter case, the monitor unit 20 may extract information on the state of the image sensor 12 from the communication log data.

The state of the PLC 11 is, for example, command execution (a state in which a control command is transmitted to the target device), data output request (a state in which data output can be received from the target device), error (a state in which an abnormality has occurred), etc. There is. The state of the PLC 11 may be detected from a value of a state variable held in the memory of the PLC 11 or may be detected from a value of a control signal included in transmission data transmitted from the PLC 11 to the image sensor 12. Good. In the latter case, the monitor unit 20 may extract information on the state of the PLC 11 from the communication log data.

The communication log acquisition unit 21 performs processing for acquiring communication log data between the PLC 11 and the image sensor 12. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the communication log data accumulated by the monitor unit 20 is read from the storage, but the communication log acquisition unit 21 communicates from the outside via a network or a recording medium such as a USB memory. Log data may be read.

The status log acquisition unit 22 performs processing for acquiring status log data of the control system 1. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the status log data accumulated by the monitor unit 20 is read from the storage. However, the status log acquisition unit 22 is externally connected via a network or a recording medium such as a USB memory. Log data may be read.

The information output unit 23 generates an information screen for supporting the analysis work by the user based on the acquired communication log data and status log data, and performs a process of outputting the information screen to the display device. The user operation reception unit 24 performs processing for receiving various operations by the user. Details of the processing of the information output unit 23 and the user operation reception unit 24 will be described later.

<Example of information screen>
3 and 4 show an example of an information screen output by the analysis support apparatus 2. The analysis support apparatus 2 of the present embodiment can output two types of information screens, a timeline display screen 30 (FIG. 3) and a time chart display screen 40 (FIG. 4). The timeline display screen 30 is an example of a first information screen for displaying the contents of transmission data between the PLC 11 and the image sensor 12 in time series, and the time chart display screen 40 is a time of the state of the control system 1. It is an example of the 2nd information screen for displaying a typical change.

Hereinafter, a user interface (UI) provided by the user operation receiving unit 24 in each information screen will be described.

(Common UI)
The log file read button 320 is a UI for designating a file of communication log data and status log data to be analyzed. When the user presses the log file read button 320, a file selection screen (not shown) is opened and a log data file can be selected.

The view switching button 321 is a UI for switching between the timeline display screen 30 and the time chart display screen 40. Each time the user presses the view switching button 321 (that is, every time the user operation receiving unit 24 receives a screen switching instruction by the user), the information output unit 23 displays the timeline display screen 30 and the time chart display screen 40. Switch. In this embodiment, a UI that switches between two information screens is used. However, if the resolution of the display device is sufficiently high, the two information screens may be displayed side by side or vertically or displayed in separate windows. May be.

(Timeline display)
Each row of the timeline display screen 30 shows the contents of one transmission data. For example, when packet communication is performed between the PLC 11 and the image sensor 12, each row indicates the contents of one packet data. In the display example of FIG. 3, for each transmission data, “number”, “time stamp”, “time”, “source”, “destination”, “protocol”, “length”, “data”, “analysis” Information of 10 items “content” and “identifier” is displayed. The meaning of each item is as follows.

(1) Number: Number assigned to each transmission data when the analysis support apparatus 2 (monitor unit 20) records communication log data. Numbers are assigned sequentially from 1 in the transmission order.
(2) Time stamp: Elapsed time from when the analysis support apparatus 2 (monitor unit 20) starts monitoring until transmission data is received / transmitted.
(3) Time: Transmission data reception / transmission time.
(4) Source: The IP address of the device that transmitted the transmission data.
(5) Destination: the IP address of the device that received the transmission data.
(6) Protocol: Transmission data protocol (UDP, TCP, etc.).
(7) Length: Data length of transmission data.
(8) Data: Transmission data (hexadecimal display).
(9) Analyzed content: The meaning content of transmitted data is expressed in an easy-to-understand expression format. Items such as “control command type”, “control command content”, and “image sensor state” included in the transmission data may be converted into a natural language and displayed. Hereinafter, an example of transmission data (hexadecimal number display) and analysis contents thereof will be described.
[Example 1] 11-00-00-0A-05-06-64-0A-05-06
→ Execution command Measurement execution RES-CODE XXXXXX
[Example 2] 45-00-00-39-7D-B3-00-00-80-11
→ Write command data D102 Data register [Example 3] 06-64-0A-05-06-7B-25-80-25
→ 4 channels Response area CMD-CODE
(10) Identifier: A unique number assigned by the transmission data transmission source at the time of data transmission. Since numbers are assigned in the order of transmission, it is possible to detect missing transmission data, abnormal transmission data reception order, etc. by checking the identifier.

The user can select (mark) some transmission data as attention data on the timeline display screen 30. The selected row of attention data is displayed by a method (for example, coloring, inversion, emphasis, etc.) that can be distinguished from other transmission data. Although FIG. 3 shows an example in which one row is marked as attention data, a plurality of rows may be marked.

The narrowing-down function 301 is a function for extracting and displaying information that matches the conditions from the information displayed on the timeline display screen 30. In this example, it is possible to set narrowing conditions such as a time stamp, a protocol, and an arbitrary character string.

(Time chart display)
In the example of the time chart display screen 40 of FIG. 4, the time change of the state values of five signals of EXE, BUSY, FLG, DSA, and GATE is displayed. The horizontal axis is time, and the state value of each signal takes two values, OFF (Lo) and ON (Hi).

Here, EXE is a signal that changes from OFF to ON when the PLC 11 issues a control command to the image sensor 12. BUSY is a signal that changes from OFF to ON when the image sensor 12 starts processing according to the control command input from the PLC 11. FLG is a signal that changes from OFF to ON when the image sensor 12 completes execution of the control command. The DSA is a signal that changes from OFF to ON when the PLC 11 becomes capable of receiving data output from the image sensor 12. GATE is a signal that turns from OFF to ON when the image sensor 12 starts data output.

For example, when the measurement flow by the image sensor 12 is executed, first, EXE changes to ON, then BUSY changes to ON, and FLG changes to ON upon completion of execution of the measurement flow. Further, when outputting the measurement data of the image sensor 12 to the PLC 11, first, DSA changes to ON, and then GATE changes to ON. Thus, in a system in which the image sensor 12 operates according to the control of the PLC 11, the state values of the PLC 11 and the image sensor 12 need to change in a predetermined order. Therefore, on the time chart display screen 40, whether the PLC 11 and the image sensor 12 are operating normally by looking at the appearance order of the changing points of each signal (points where the state value changes), the interval between the changing points, and the like. Can be easily checked.

In the present embodiment, the information output unit 23 assigns change point numbers so that the change points of each signal are in ascending order in time stamps, and the change point portion of the graph of each signal on the time chart display screen 40 is displayed. Displays the change point number. This change point number display makes it possible to easily determine the order in which change points appear.

The user can select (mark) any change point as attention data on the time chart display screen 40. The selected change point is displayed by a method that can be distinguished from other change points (for example, coloring, inversion, and emphasis). In this example, the display range of the time stamp is adjusted so that the selected change point is displayed at the center of the time chart display screen 40. Further, the time stamp of the selected change point is displayed on the horizontal axis. In the example of FIG. 4, the changing point (number: 1) of the time stamp “4696” is displayed in the center.

The selection assist function 401 is a UI that assists in moving the position (time stamp) of data displayed on the time chart display screen 40 and selecting a change point. When the user inputs an arbitrary time stamp in the center text box, the display range is automatically adjusted so that the data of the time stamp is selected as the data of interest and displayed in the center of the time chart display screen 40. . When the user presses the arrow buttons arranged on the left and right of the text box, the selected change points move one by one in ascending or descending order. Such a selection assist function 401 facilitates selection of attention data.

The error location display 402 indicates a location (transmission error location) where data transmission is not performed in the correct transmission order. For example, a location where the reception order of transmission data received by the image sensor 12 from the PLC 11 is reversed, a location where transmission data is missing, and the like are displayed as transmission error locations.

(Cooperation between timeline display and time chart display)
One of the features of the UI of the present embodiment is that the timeline display screen 30 and the time chart display screen 40 are displayed in association with each other in time, that is, transmission data and time on the timeline display screen 30. Each display screen is generated and displayed so that the temporal correspondence with the state change on the chart display screen 40 can be identified. Specifically, when the attention data is selected on the timeline display screen 30 and the timeline display is switched to the time chart display, data having the same time stamp as the attention data is displayed on the time chart display screen 40. But it is selected and displayed in the center of the screen. On the contrary, when the change point is selected as the attention data on the time chart display screen 40 and the time chart display is switched to the timeline display, transmission data having the same time stamp as the attention data (change point) is displayed. It is also selected on the timeline display screen 30. By such cooperative display, it is possible to easily compare the change in the state of the control system with the content of the transmission data at that time, thereby facilitating the discovery of the problem location and the cause.

Further, the transmission data error location display 402 on the time chart display screen 40 is one of the displays showing the temporal correspondence between the transmission data and the state of the control system 1. Thereby, it is possible to easily check the state of the control system 1 at the time when a transmission error occurs, and it is possible to efficiently find the problem location and the cause. Note that the transmission error location may be displayed on the timeline display screen 30 so as to be identifiable. Also, the position of the state change point may be displayed on the timeline display screen 30 so as to be identifiable. Thus, by clearly indicating the transmission error location and the state change point on the timeline display screen 30, it can be used as a clue to finding the problem location and the cause.

(Normal state guide display)
The information output unit 23 may provide a function of superimposing and displaying a signal waveform indicating a normal state transition of the control system 1 (referred to as a “normal state guide”) on the time chart display screen 40. FIG. 5 shows a display example of the normal state guide. As described above, when the measurement flow is executed in accordance with the control command from the PLC 11, it is known in advance that the normal state transition is that the state value changes to ON in the order of EXE → BUSY → FLG. Therefore, the normal state guide 50 (thick broken line) indicating such a state transition is superimposed on the waveform of each signal displayed based on the state log data. Thereby, since the state transition actually generated in the control system 1 can be easily compared with the normal state transition, it can be used for finding the problem location and the cause. In the example of FIG. 5, it can be seen that there is an abnormality in the timing of the BUSY state change. The normal state guide 50 may be switched between display and non-display each time the guide display button 51 is pressed.

<Example of processing flow>
Next, an example of the processing flow of the analysis support apparatus 2 will be described using the flowcharts of FIGS. 6, 7, 8A, and 8B.

6 is started when a file to be analyzed is selected by the user. First, the communication log acquisition unit 21 and the status log acquisition unit 22 read the log data file selected by the user (step S60). At this time, the status log acquisition unit 22 may acquire the status log data of each signal from the communication log data acquired by the communication log acquisition unit 21. Next, the information output unit 23 analyzes each transmission data included in the communication log data, and extracts the items (1) to (10) described above (step S61). Thereafter, the information output unit 23 analyzes the identifier (number information given in the order of transmission) of each transmission data, detects a location where data transmission is not performed in the correct transmission order, and stores it in the memory (step S62). . Further, the information output unit 23 detects the state change point of each signal by analyzing the state log data, and stores it in the memory (step S63). And the information output part 23 produces | generates the timeline display screen 30 as an initial state, and outputs it to a display apparatus (step S64).

The processing flow of FIG. 7 shows processing executed when the user operation receiving unit 24 receives an operation event by the user. When the user operation is a screen switching operation (depressing the view switching button 321) (YES in step S70), the information output unit 23 determines that the time is displayed if the current screen is the time chart display screen 40 (NO in step S71). Switching to the line display screen 30 is performed (step S72). If the current screen is the timeline display screen 30 (YES in step S71), switching to the time chart display screen 40 is performed (step S73). Details of the processes in steps S72 and S73 will be described later. When the user operation is a selection operation of attention data (transmission data) on the timeline display screen 30 (step S74), the information output unit 23 stores the transmission data selected on the timeline display screen 30 as attention data. At the same time (step S75), the row of the data of interest is displayed in color (step S76). When the user operation is a selection operation of attention data (state change point) on the time chart display screen 40 (step S77), the information output unit 23 uses the change point selected on the time chart display screen 40 as attention data. In addition to storing (step S78), the display range of the time chart is updated so that the attention data is displayed in the center (step S79).

Details of step S72 are shown in FIG. 8A. The information output unit 23 determines whether or not attention data (change point) is selected on the time chart display screen 40 which is the current screen (screen before switching) (specifically, information on attention data is stored in the memory). Whether or not) (step S720). When attention data is selected, the information output unit 23 selects transmission data at a time corresponding to the attention data (step S721). And the information output part 23 produces | generates and outputs the timeline display screen 30 (step S722). At this time, the row of transmission data selected in step S721 is displayed in color.

Details of step S73 are shown in FIG. 8B. The information output unit 23 determines whether or not attention data (transmission data) is selected on the timeline display screen 30 that is the current screen (screen before switching) (specifically, information on attention data is stored in the memory). Whether or not) (step S730). When attention data is selected, the information output unit 23 changes the display range of the time chart so that the time state value corresponding to the attention data is displayed in the center (step S731). If attention data is not selected, the display range of the time chart is set to a default value (for example, the top of log data) (step S732). And the information output part 23 produces | generates and outputs the time chart display screen 40 (step S733).

Through the processing flow as described above, the above-described timeline display and time chart display can be linked and displayed.

<Others>
The above embodiment is merely illustrative of the configuration of the present invention. The present invention is not limited to the specific form described above, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the technical idea. For example, in the above-described embodiment, a control system including a PLC and an image sensor has been illustrated. However, various controllers and computers other than the PLC can be used as the control device, and the target device can be other than the image sensor. Also, various sensors / measurement devices, actuators, and the like can be used. That is, the present invention can be preferably applied to any control system including a control device and a target device that operate while communicating with each other. The number of target devices is not limited to one, and the present invention can be applied to a control system in which a plurality of target devices are connected. In this case, an analysis support device may be mounted for each target device, or only one target device may be mounted, and a single analysis support device may perform log analysis of a plurality of target devices. Also good. Further, it is also possible to perform log analysis of the control system using an offline analysis support device. In this case, log data accumulated in the control system may be read into the analysis support apparatus using a recording medium such as a USB memory. The information screens in FIGS. 3 and 4 are merely examples, and display items, display methods, and the like may be appropriately designed according to the format of data to be analyzed, the purpose and application of analysis, and the like.

<Appendix>
(1) An analysis support device (2) for supporting analysis of communication between a control device (11) and a target device (12) controlled by the control device (11),
Communication log acquisition means (21) for acquiring communication log data which is a record of transmission data transmitted between the control device (11) and the target device (12);
Status log acquisition means (22) for acquiring status log data which is a record of the status of the target device (12) and / or the control device (11);
A first information screen (30) for displaying the content of transmission data between the control device (11) and the target device (12) in time series based on the acquired communication log data and the status log data; The second information screen (40) that displays the temporal change in the state of the target device (12) and / or the control device (11) has a temporal correspondence relationship between the transmission data and the state. Information output means (23) for outputting to the display device so that it can be identified;
An analysis support apparatus (2) characterized by comprising:
(2) An analysis support method for supporting analysis of communication between a control device (11) and a target device (12) controlled by the control device (11),
Computer
Obtaining communication log data which is a record of transmission data transmitted between the control device (11) and the target device (12);
Obtaining status log data which is a record of the status of the target device (12) and / or the control device (11);
A first information screen (30) for displaying the content of transmission data between the control device (11) and the target device (12) in time series based on the acquired communication log data and the status log data; The second information screen (40) that displays the temporal change in the state of the target device (12) and / or the control device (11) has a temporal correspondence relationship between the transmission data and the state. Outputting to a display device for identification;
The analysis support method characterized by performing this.

1: Control system 2: Analysis support device 11: Control device, PLC
12: Target device, image sensor

Claims

An analysis support apparatus for supporting analysis of communication between a control device and a target device controlled by the control device,
Communication log acquisition means for acquiring communication log data that is a record of transmission data transmitted between the control device and the target device;
Status log acquisition means for acquiring status log data that is a record of the status of the target device and / or the control device;
Based on the acquired communication log data and status log data, a first information screen for displaying the contents of transmission data between the control device and the target device in time series, the target device and / or the control Information output means for outputting a second information screen for displaying a temporal change in the state of the device to the display device so that a temporal correspondence between the transmission data and the state can be identified;
An analysis support apparatus characterized by comprising:
A part of the transmission data displayed in time series on the first information screen, or a part of the temporal change in the state displayed on the second information screen User operation accepting means for accepting an operation to select as from the user,
When the attention data is selected, the information output means displays the data corresponding to the attention data on the first information screen and the second information screen in a manner that can be distinguished from other data. The analysis support apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:
The user operation accepting means can accept a screen switching instruction for switching between the first information screen and the second information screen from a user,
The information output means includes
When the screen switching instruction is received in a state where a part of the data is displayed as identifiable data on the first information screen, the data is switched to the second information screen and at the same time as the attention data. Is identifiable,
Data is switched to the first information screen and at the same time as the attention data when the screen switching instruction is received in a state where a part of the data is displayed as identifiable data on the second information screen. The analysis support apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the information is displayed in an identifiable manner.
The transmission data transmitted between the control device and the target device includes information indicating the state of the control device or the state of the target device,
The analysis support apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the status log acquisition unit acquires the status log data from the communication log data acquired by the communication log acquisition unit.
The information output means displays the change point where the state of the target device and / or the control device is changing in the first information screen and / or the second information screen so as to be identifiable. The analysis support apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 4.
The analysis support apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the user operation accepting unit includes a selection assisting unit that assists the user in selecting the change point as the attention data.
The transmission data includes number information assigned in the order of transmission,
The information output means detects transmission error locations where transmission data is not transmitted in the correct transmission order by analyzing number information of each transmission data recorded in the communication log data, and 7. The analysis support apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the transmission error part is displayed in an identifiable manner on the information screen and / or the second information screen.
An analysis support method for supporting analysis of communication between a control device and a target device controlled by the control device,
Computer
Obtaining communication log data that is a record of transmission data transmitted between the control device and the target device;
Obtaining status log data that is a record of the status of the target device and / or the control device;
Based on the acquired communication log data and status log data, a first information screen for displaying the contents of transmission data between the control device and the target device in time series, the target device and / or the control Outputting a second information screen for displaying a temporal change in the state of the device to the display device so that a temporal correspondence between the transmission data and the state can be identified;
The analysis support method characterized by performing this.
A program for causing a computer to function as each means of the analysis support apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7.