Safety controller and method for controlling an automated installation

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

• supplying a plurality of control input signals from the sensors to a control unit, wherein the control unit produces a plurality of control output signals on the basis of the control input signals and in accordance with a user program running in an automatic mode in said control unit,
• actuating the plurality of actuators using the plurality of control output signals,
• ascertaining which particular operating state from a plurality of predefined possible operating states is present at a defined instant of time and producing an operating state data record which represents said particular operating state, said operating state data record comprising a diagnosis report including a Boolean status indicator which signals whether or not said particular operating state is actually present,
• displaying the diagnosis report on a display unit,
• retrieving and reading said Boolean status indicator as a Boolean variable in the user program, and
• actuating at least one of the actuators as a function of the Boolean status indicator.

A computer program product comprising a data storage medium having program code stored which is designed to be loaded into the memory of a safety controller for controlling an automated installation having a plurality of sensors and a plurality of actuators, with said program code being designed to carry out a method comprising the following steps when executed on the safety controller:

• receiving a plurality of control input signals from the sensors and producing a plurality of control output signals on the basis of the control input signals,
• providing the plurality of control output signals for actuating the plurality of actuators,
• ascertaining which particular operating state from a plurality of predefined possible operating states is present at a defined instant of time and producing an operating state data record which represents said particular operating state, said operating state data record comprising a diagnosis report including a Boolean status indicator which signals whether or not said particular operating state is actually present,
• displaying the diagnosis report on a display unit,
• retrieving and reading said Boolean status indicator as a Boolean variable in the user program, and
• actuating at least one of the actuators as a function of the Boolean status indicator.