Patent ID: 8910121
Filing Date: 2014-12-09
Classification: G05B

Abstract:
1. A method of programming an industrial controller for controlling an automated installation, the installation having a plurality of possible real system states and comprising at least one sensor for providing sensor data representing a current real system state from the plurality of possible real system states and at least one actuator for acting on the current real system state, and the controller comprising a data memory for storing the sensor data and a program memory for storing a machine code program, the method comprising the steps of: providing a programming tool having a program editor, a debugging tool and a compiler, the debugging tool having a database comprising a plurality of pictograms each graphically illustrating one from the plurality of possible real system states, creating a high level control program by means of the program editor, the high level control program comprising a plurality of high level control instructions, compiling the high level control program by means of the compiler in order to create a machine code program comprising machine code instructions for repeatedly reading the sensor data into the data memory and for processing the sensor data, loading the machine code program into the program memory, and activating the debugging tool for debugging the high level control program, wherein at least one high level control instruction from the plurality of high level control instructions is shown in the program editor, wherein the machine code program is executed on the controller while the debugging tool is activated, wherein the debugging tool reads the sensor data from the data memory, and wherein the debugging tool assigns the sensor data from the data memory to the at least one high level control instruction, thereby linking the at least one high level control instruction to the current real system state during the execution of the machine code program, and wherein the at least one high level control instruction is a line of text and the debugging tool displays one from the plurality of pictograms at a position within the text of the at least one high level control instruction as a function of the assigned sensor data in order to symbolically mirror the current real system state into the high level control program.