Soft Systems Help - Burglar Alarm

Soft Systems Help - Burglar Alarm
Burglar Alarm - 1
Using an Input Device (1)

Soft Systems
for Logicator
From the System> Soft Systems menu, select Burglar Alarm
From the Soft System window menu, select Help>Quick Help

This displays a list of the Outputs and Inputs in the system.
If you can already do this, complete the following tasks by yourself. If not, use the Instructions to
do Task 1A; then do Task 1B by yourself.
Task 1A: Build a program that checks if a burglar enters by the left hand door. If a burglar
enters, the alarm is switched on for 3 seconds and then switched off.
Task 1B: Build a program that checks if a burglar enters by the left hand door. If a burglar
enters, the alarm is switched on until the RESET button is pressed. When this button is
pressed, the alarm is switched off and the program goes back to checking the door.
ACTIVITIES
Skill Covered: Build, test and edit a program with a loop to monitor an input from a digital
device, and produce an output when it is on.
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Instructions
1. Place a Decision
command two
spaces under Start.
Double click on the Decision command.
The left hand door sensor is input 0, so click on input digit 0 to change it to a 1. This sets the
command to check if the pressure pad inside the door is pressed.
Type in a label to remind you what the command does. Click OK.
2. Add Outputs and Wait

commands under the
Decision command, to
switch on the alarm for
3 seconds; then switch
it off.
“Pelican Crossing” sheets

1 and 2 and ” Car Park”
sheets 1 and 2 show how
to do this.
Reminder

When you set an

Outputs command:
set the output to

1 to switch it on
set the output to

0 to switch it off.
Burglar Alarm - 2
Using an Input Device (2)

Soft Systems
for Logicator
3. Read the information below about how to draw lines. Then draw the lines in your program as
shown in Instructions 4 to 6.
Drawing Lines
Click with the right mouse

button on the command at
the start of the line.
From the menu that appears,
choose ‘Start Line’. The
cursor will turn to a pen
symbol.
Then click with the right mouse button on the place where you want the line to end.
To draw more lines, simply click with the right mouse button at the starting point, and then click
again on the ending point for your line.
4. Start the first line on

the Start command.
End it in the space
after the last command

5. Now draw the repeat loop as three more lines, as shown below:
as shown below:
6. Draw a line from the

side of the Decision
command, back into
the line above it.
See Help>Building and Editing Flowsheets for more information on drawing and deleting lines.

Drawing Lines from Decision Commands
The first line drawn from a Decision command will always be the “Yes” route. The second line
drawn will label itself the “No” route.
If you need to swap

them over, click on
the Decision
command with the
right mouse button,
and select:
“Swap Yes and No”.
7. Click the green Run button

to run your program.
Click on the left hand door

In the Soft System. The
alarm should switch on for
3 seconds; then switch off.
Click the red Stop button

to stop the program.
These instructions have shown you how to do Task 1A. Now do Task 1B by yourself.
Burglar Alarm - 3
Using more than one input device (1)

Soft Systems
for Logicator
If you can already do this, complete the following tasks by yourself. If not, use the Instructions to
do Task 2A; then do Task 2B by yourself.
Task 2A: Extend the program that you built for Task 1B, so that it checks if a burglar enters by
either the left hand door or the right hand window. If a burglar enters, the alarm is switched
on until the RESET button is pressed. When this button is pressed, the alarm is switched off
and the program goes back to checking the door and window.
Task 2B: Extend the program again so that now it checks all four sensors in the room: - the
light beam across the door at the back of the room, and the pressure pad under the vase; as
well as the left hand door and the right hand window.
ACTIVITIES
Skill Covered: Build, test and edit a program with a loop to monitor input from TWO OR MORE
digital devices, and produce an output if one OR another is on.
Instructions
1. Before you begin to edit your program, do the following investigation of how some of the
sensors work:
Click this button to

open the Digital Panel

The Digital Panel shows

the state of the inputs and
outputs in the system.
If the input displays1, it

means it is “on”.
If it displays 0, it means
that the input is “off”.
Click on the left hand door (input 0). The panel will change to show that this input is on.
Notice that inputs 1 and 3 are already displayed as “on”.
Input 1 is a pressure pad.

The vase is pressing on
the pad, so the input is on (1).
Click and hold on the window behind the vase to see the input change to 0 when the burglar
lifts the vase.
Input 3 is a reed switch on

the right hand window.
When the window is
closed, the input is on (1).
Click on the window to see the input change to 0 when the burglar appears.

Burglar Alarm - 4
Using more than one input device (2)
Soft Systems
for Logicator
2. Place another Decision command in the program you built for Task 1B, as shown below:
Double click on this Decision

command. The reed switch on
the window is input 3, so click
on input digit 3 to change it
to a 0.
The command will now check

to see if the sensor goes off.
Type a label. Click OK.
3. Draw the lines in your program as shown below:

See Help>Building and Editing Flowsheets for more information on drawing and deleting lines.
4. Run the program to check that it responds if a burglar enters by either the door or the window.

These instructions have shown you how to do Task 2A. Now do Task 2B by yourself.
Help
Just add another Decision command to check the pad under the vase, but read the information
below about using the light beam before you add the final part of the program.
Using the Light Beam
You can set a light beam

(output 6) to shine across
the bottom of the door.
When the beam shines

on the light sensor, the
sensor is on (1).
When you click on the door,

the burglar breaks the beam
and the sensor is off (0).
You will need to add an Outputs command to switch on the beam, at the start of your
program.
The beam must stay on all the time the program is running. So you will need to open the two
Outputs commands that switch the alarm on and off, and set output 6 (the beam) to the
“ignore” state as shown below:
Ignore the beam
If you don’t do this, these commands will also switch the beam off when they switch the alarm.

Burglar Alarm - 5
Using Variables to Store Information (1)
Soft Systems
for Logicator
Task 3: Extend the program that you built for Task 2A, so that when the alarm is activated, a
message is displayed that identifies where the burglar has entered.
The following Instructions will help you to do this task, but you will also do parts of it by yourself
ACTIVITIES

Skills Covered: Build a program that uses variables as a way of storing and using information.
Use procedures as building blocks to build a larger program.
Instructions – 1: Using Procedures
The best way to start this Task is to build the instructions for operating the alarm as a separate
procedure.
1. Place a Procedure
command beside Start:
Double click on the Procedure command.

Type alarm. Click OK.
The Procedure command gives the procedure its name.
2. Move the commands

that operate the alarm,
and place them under the
Procedure command.
Redraw the lines.
3. Complete the
procedure by adding
an End command.
This command tells the

program that the
procedure has ended.
4. Place a Do Procedure
command in the main part of
the program as shown below:

Double click on the Do Procedure command.

Select ALARM from
the list.
This command tells the

program to run the
procedure with this name.
5. Run the program to check that it still works as it did before you made these changes.
Burglar Alarm - 6
Using Variables to Store Information (2)
Soft Systems
for Logicator
Instructions – 2: Using Variables to Store Information
1. Redraw the lines below the Decision commands as shown below, to make room for more
commands:
Lines redrawn here
2. Scroll down the Commands

list to find the Expression
command (shortened to Express.)
Place an Expression command as shown below:
Double click on the Expression command.

Select A from the first box.

Type 1 in the second box. Click OK.
This command stores the number 1 in variable A if the door sensor is activated.
3. Decide for yourself where to place another Expression command in the program, and set it
so that the number 2 is stored in variable A if the window sensor is activated.
4. Place another Procedure command in space on the flowsheet. Double click on this Procedure
command. Type identify. Click OK.
5. Place a Compare
command under the
Procedure command.
Double click on this

command.
Select A from the first box.

Select = (“equal to”) from the second box.
Type 1 in the third box. Click OK.
This command checks to see if the number 1

is stored in variable A.
6. Place a Message command beside the Compare command:
Double click on the Message command. Type in your own message that says the burglar has
entered by the side door. Click OK.
7. Add another Compare command and another Message command to the procedure.
Set the Compare command to check if the number 2 is stored in variable A.
Type your own message in the Message command to say the burglar has opened the

side window.
8. Add an End command to the procedure and draw the lines as shown below.
Take care to draw the lines correctly.
Reminder
Remember that you can

click on a Compare
command with the right
mouse button to swap
over the “Yes” and “No”
lines.
9. Now edit your

ALARM procedure
as follows:
Move commands
down, and add a
Do Proc command
set to run the
IDENTIFY procedure.
Add a Hide Message

command as shown:
Set it to hide All

messages:

10. Run the program to test that it displays the correct message when a burglar enters by either
the door or the window.
Extensions
1. Extend your program so that it covers all four sensors in the system.
2. Add these two

commands to your
ALARM procedure
so that the alarm
cannot be reset
until the correct code
number has been
input.
This uses a new variable (B) to store different information. You can use a code number of your
own.
See Help> Logicator Commands for more information on the Input command.

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Soft Systems Help - Burglar Alarm

Using an Input Device (1)

From the System> Soft Systems menu, select Burglar Alarm

From the Soft System window menu, select Help>Quick Help

file:///C|/Program Files/Economatics/Logicator/Logicator Teaching Materials/Burglar Alarm.htm (1 of 15) [16/11/2007 13:38:41]

Double click on the Decision command.

2. Add Outputs and Wait

“Pelican Crossing” sheets

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When you set an

set the output to

set the output to

Using an Input Device (2)

Click with the right mouse

4. Start the first line on

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6. Draw a line from the

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Drawing Lines from Decision Commands

If you need to swap

7. Click the green Run button

Click on the left hand door

Click the red Stop button

Using more than one input device (1)

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Click this button to

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The Digital Panel shows

If the input displays1, it

Notice that inputs 1 and 3 are already displayed as “on”.

Input 1 is a pressure pad.

Input 3 is a reed switch on

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Using more than one input device (2)

Double click on this Decision

The command will now check

Type a label. Click OK.

3. Draw the lines in your program as shown below:

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Using the Light Beam

You can set a light beam

When the beam shines

When you click on the door,

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Using Variables to Store Information (1)

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Use procedures as building blocks to build a larger program.

Instructions – 1: Using Procedures

Double click on the Procedure command.

The Procedure command gives the procedure its name.

2. Move the commands

Redraw the lines.

This command tells the

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Double click on the Do Procedure command.

This command tells the

Using Variables to Store Information (2)

Instructions – 2: Using Variables to Store Information

Lines redrawn here

2. Scroll down the Commands

Place an Expression command as shown below:

Double click on the Expression command.

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