JP2008077146A - Screen display control method for display, and display - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable the operation of disabling the display of an operation screen as a start-up screen upon power application. <P>SOLUTION: A programmable display 20 that upon power application displays an operation picture P1 for graphically displaying the status of a target system 40 controlled by a PLC 30 and prompting user operations, on a display screen with a touch panel is configured to display a particular screen P2 instead of the operation screen P1 on the screen in response to a particular type of pressing on at least one particular area Tb of the touch panel 27a at power application. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a screen display control method for a display device and a display device when an arbitrary operation screen among various operation screens created by a computer is started up and displayed as a startup screen at the time of power activation of the display device.

  In a control system equipped with a programmable logic controller (PLC), a programmable display, and a personal computer (external PC), the device is sequence-controlled by the PLC, and the status of the device is displayed and operated by the programmable display. In addition, the external PC can control these PLCs and programmable displays by protocol communication.

  In such a control system, the programmable display displays devices such as operation panels, switches, and indicator lights in the factory equipment on its screen, and various management functions such as device operating status and work instructions. An operation screen for inputting set values for the monitor and device is displayed (see Patent Document 1).

  That is, various HMI (Human Machine Interface) parts such as meters, graphs, and switches are displayed on the operation screen of the programmable display in order to control and operate various devices. Such an operation screen uses an external PC as a drawing tool to display the editing screen on the display section of the external PC using drawing software built in or installed, and the user edits and creates the editing screen on the editing screen. be able to.

  In the programmable display, one or a plurality of such operation screens are provided according to the control system, so that any operation screen can be started up and displayed as a startup screen when the programmable display is turned on. It has become.

However, if the screen creator who created the operation screen does not want to start up and display the above startup screen when the power is turned on, delete any of the various operation screens before starting up and displaying the startup screen, or modify it. There are cases where you want to. Even in such a case, it is inconvenient if the operation screen is started up and displayed as the startup screen when the power is turned on.
JP 2000-194472 A.

  Therefore, a problem to be solved by the present invention is to enable operation so that an operation screen is not started up and displayed as a start-up screen as necessary when the power is turned on.

  The screen display method of the display according to the present invention is a display that starts up and displays an operation screen for displaying the status of a device controlled by the PLC as a graphic element or performing a user operation on a display screen with a touch panel. On the other hand, in response to a pressing operation in a specific form with respect to at least one specific area of the touch panel when the power is turned on, a specific screen is started up and displayed on the screen instead of the operation screen.

  It is preferable that the pushing operation is a continuous pushing operation that is continued for a predetermined time or more. By continuing for a certain period of time or longer, it is preferable that erroneous operations can be effectively prevented.

  The specific screen is preferably a system screen. This system screen has a maintenance screen. Maintenance personnel can preferably perform system diagnosis, device monitoring, contrast adjustment, project deletion, and the like from this maintenance screen.

  The touch panel may be digital or analog.

  The specific area may be formed by dividing the touch panel into a plurality of areas. In such a case, it is preferable that the operation screen can be displayed in another divided area without being affected by the operation on the specific area.

  The specific area may be a plurality of areas. This is preferable because it is possible to prevent an erroneous operation such as pressing a specific area by mistake when the power is turned on.

  The position of the specific area is not particularly limited, but may be any of the four corners of the display screen.

  The display form of the maintenance screen is not particularly limited.

  Maintenance includes, for example, project deletion and correction. A project is composed of a plurality of unit screen files.

  According to the present invention, if the screen creator who created the operation screen or maintenance personnel does not want to start up and display the start-up screen when the power is turned on, any of the various operation screens or the like before the start-up screen is displayed. If you want to delete the screen, modify the operation screen, etc., press and hold the touch panel for a certain period of time when the power is turned on to start up a specific screen such as a maintenance screen as the startup screen instead of the operation screen. Therefore, the contents of the operation screen and the maintenance for the contents need not be easily known to a third party.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to display a specific screen other than the operation screen without starting up and displaying the operation screen as a startup screen when the power is turned on. You don't need to know.

  Hereinafter, a screen display control method of a programmable display according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a control system according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view of a programmable display, FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an operation screen of the programmable display, and FIG. 4 is a specific screen of the programmable display. FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of display control of the programmable display.

  First, referring to FIG. 1, 10 is a personal computer (external PC), 20 is a programmable display, 30 is a programmable controller (PLC), and 40 is a target system (a plurality of devices). A control system for controlling the target system 40 installed in the factory by the external PC 10, the programmable display 20, and the PLC 30 is constructed.

  The external PC 10 has a CPU 11, a memory 12, an external storage device 13, a display device 14 and an input device 15, a communication control unit 16, an I / O unit 17, a drawing editor 18, and a database 19, as with a general-purpose personal computer. is doing. The external PC 10 is connected to the common network 50 in order to communicate with the programmable display device 20. The external PC 10 having the above configuration performs data communication processing with the programmable display 20 via the common network 50 and transfers the user screen created by the drawing editor 18 to the programmable display 20. The process which collects the input data and output data of PLC30 delivered from the programmable display 20 can be performed. The external PC 10 can register the user screen created by the drawing editor 18 and the input / output data of the PLC 30 in the database 19 and read out the data registered in the database 19.

  The programmable display 20 includes I / O units 21 and 22 with the external PC 10 and the PLC 30, communication control units 23 and 24, a memory 25, a display device 26, a touch panel device 27, and a graphic memory 28, and the programmable display 20 It has CPU29 which controls operation | movement of each part of these. The display device 26 includes a display screen 26a and a display controller 26b, and the touch panel device 27 includes a touch panel 27a and a touch panel controller 27b.

  The programmable display 20 can draw a user screen on the display screen 26 a of the display device 26 using a memory 25 such as a VRAM based on the user screen created by the drawing editor 18 of the external PC 10. On the user screen, HMI parts and tags are combined as image blocks. On the user screen, components and tags move according to the operation of the external input / output device, and the operation status of the target system 40 is visualized.

  The programmable display 20 includes a display control program, a communication program, firmware, an initialization program executed when the power is turned on, an internal startup program, a startup selection program, a maintenance program for maintaining screen data, Stores firmware, screen data, font data, and the like. The firmware is a program for controlling the hardware of the programmable display 20. The communication program is for communication with the PLC 30 and the external PC 10. The screen data is created by the drawing editor 18 of the external PC 10 and downloaded.

  The PLC 30 performs calculation processing of control data to be given to the output device of the target system 40 based on a signal input from the input device of the target system 40 according to the control sequence.

  Devices such as sensors (temperature sensors, optical sensors, etc.) and switches (push button switches, limit switches, pressure switches, etc.) are used as input devices. As the output device, an actuator, a relay, a solenoid valve, or the like is used. These target systems 40 are arranged in required parts such as a production line.

  In the above configuration, the screen data created by the external PC 10 is transferred to the programmable display 20 as a data format that can be decoded by the programmable display 20. The programmable display 20 stores the screen data in a file format that can be stored in a memory 25 such as a flash memory, and changes the operating state of the target system 40 based on the data exchanged with the PLC 30 when the PLC 30 is in operation. Accordingly, an operation screen P1 including parts and figures is displayed on the display screen 26a of the display device 26.

  FIG. 2 shows a front view of the programmable display 20. A transparent touch panel 27a is provided on the display screen 26a of the programmable display device 20, and this touch panel 27a pushes the operation screen P1 displayed on the display screen 26a (touch panel operation), and a power switch 26c. There is a specific operation area Tb that is pressed (touch panel operation) when the power is turned on. The specific operation area Tb is an area surrounded by a broken line.

  The specific operation area Tb is an area at the time of power activation. In order to widen the operation screen area, the operation screen can be displayed as a normal operation area Ta after the power activation.

  The number of arrangement of the specific operation area Tb may be one or plural.

  The arrangement position of the specific operation area Tb may be the center of the touch panel 27a or any of the four corners.

  Also, a plurality of specific operation areas Tb can be provided, and each specific operation area Tb can be an area associated with a specific area.

  Moreover, it can be set as the area | region matched further more specifically by carrying out multiple simultaneous pressing operation of specific operation area | region Tb.

  Further, in order to make it easy for the user to understand the location of the specific operation area Tb, specific identification may be given. For example, a specific identification may be displayed when the power is activated, and the identification may disappear after the power is activated.

  Alternatively, it is possible to incorporate a program in advance so that the specific identification display can be avoided every time the power is turned on.

  The touch panel controller 27b transmits touch panel coordinate information of each of the operation areas Ta and Tb to the CPU 29 by a touch panel operation on each of the areas Ta and Tb. Since the coordinates of the touch panel are well known, description thereof is omitted. In accordance with the touch panel coordinate information, the CPU 29 responds to the corresponding target system 40 by the PLC 30 in response to an ON operation of an operation component, for example, a switch contact on the operation screen P1 displayed on the display screen 26a corresponding to the region Ta in the normal region Ta. Turn on the switch contact. Alternatively, the component graphic data corresponding to the coordinates is read from the coordinate information on the area Ta and displayed on the corresponding coordinate range. FIG. 3 shows an example of the operation screen P1. There are many operation screens P1, and the operation screen P1 in FIG. 3 is a screen that is started up and displayed when the power is turned on. These operation screens P1 are composed of associated unit screens. A unit screen file is composed of various functional parts such as lamps and switches that change shape, blink, or change color on the base screen on which graphics and characters that do not need to be changed are displayed. . These unit screen files are combined into one to form a project file.

  In the specific operation area Tb, the display data of the specific screen P2 such as the maintenance screen and the system screen is read from the graphic memory 28 and displayed on the display screen 26a in accordance with the specific operation for the area Tb when the power is turned on. FIGS. 4A and 4B show the specific screen P2. The specific screen P2 can be a system screen. FIG. 4A shows a maintenance screen on the system screen using character strings. This maintenance screen shows the system mode, device monitor, and backlight adjustment. The system mode is initial setting and self-diagnosis. It is also possible to modify the project and delete the project. The device monitor displays device contents and writes data. This maintenance screen is one of the system screens. The system screen is a screen for performing various settings using operation mode switching, backlight adjustment, device monitor, and system menu.

  FIG. 4B shows a maintenance screen using pictograms. In this maintenance screen, “information” (various information on the display), “setting” (various settings of the display), “testmenu” (various tests of the display), and “memory” (various memory of the display) are displayed in English. The figure is displayed. Various maintenances can be further performed by operating the touch panel.

  As shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of specific operation areas Tb can be provided, and each specific operation area Tb can be an area associated with specific. For example, the specific operation area Tb is divided into a plurality of specific operation areas Tb1, Tb2, Tb3, and Tb4 at the four corners of the screen. In the specific operation area Tb1, “first maintenance” and in the specific operation area Tb2, “second maintenance menu” “The third maintenance menu” in the specific operation area Tb3, and the “fourth maintenance menu” in the specific operation area Tb4. When the power is turned on, any one of the specific operation areas Tb1 to Tb4 is continuously pressed or a plurality of simultaneous operations are performed. When the button is continuously pressed, the respective maintenance menu screens may be displayed in the respective operation areas. Further, the specific operation areas Tb1 to Tb4 may be color-coded by transparent colors.

  Furthermore, the operation mode of the specific operation area Tb can be coded. The power source is divided into the main power source and the auxiliary power source. The main power source is used as the power source for the entire display unit. The auxiliary power source is used as the display power source for the specific operation area Tb. This makes it possible to display and make the operation position clear to facilitate the operation, and to provide the user with the convenience of handling the display device.

  In the display control method for the screen 26 of the programmable display 20 according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the CPU 29 continues to push the specific area Tb for a certain time in step ST2 when the power is turned on in step ST1. Then, it is determined whether or not the continuous pressing operation has been performed. If the pressing operation for the specific area Tb is not continuously performed for a certain time, the data of the operation screen P1 is read from the graphic memory 28 in step ST3, and the operation screen P1 is displayed on the display screen 26a as shown in FIG. Is displayed. In addition, if the pressing operation on the specific area Tb is continuously performed for a predetermined time when the power is turned on, the CPU 29 correspondingly corresponds to the specific screen P2 from the graphic memory 28 instead of the data of the operation screen P1 in step ST4. The data of the maintenance screen, for example, the data of the maintenance screen is read and displayed on the corresponding coordinate range as shown in FIG.

  Thus, the CPU 29 starts up and displays the specific screen P2 as the start-up screen on the display screen 28a instead of the operation screen P1 when the touch panel operation in the specific area Tb continues for a predetermined time or more when the power is turned on.

  According to the present embodiment, when the screen creator who created the operation screen P1 or maintenance personnel does not want to start up and display the operation screen P1 as the start-up screen when the power is turned on, various operations are performed before the start-up screen is displayed. When it is desired to delete one of the screens or to modify the operation screen P1, the specific screen P2 is displayed instead of the operation screen P1 by continuously pressing the area Tb of the touch panel 27b for a certain time at the same time when the power is turned on. It is possible to start up and display it as a start-up screen, so that the contents of the operation screen P1 and the maintenance for the contents can be made unknown to a third party.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a control system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front view of the programmable display. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an operation screen of the programmable display. FIG. 4A is a diagram showing a specific screen of the programmable display, and FIG. 4B is a diagram showing another example of the specific screen. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing another example of the specific operation area. FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the display control operation of the programmable display.

Explanation of symbols

10 External PC
20 Programmable Display 26 Display Device 26a Display Screen 26b Display Controller 27 Touch Panel Device 27a Touch Panel 27b Touch Panel Controller 30 PLC
40 Target system P1 Operation screen P2 Specific screen Ta Normal area Tb Specific area

Claims (4)

  At least one of the touch panels when the power is turned on, with respect to a display that starts up and displays an operation screen for displaying the status of the device controlled by the PLC with graphic elements and operating the user on the display screen with the touch panel. A screen display control method for a display device, characterized in that, in response to a pressing operation in a specific form with respect to a specific region, a specific screen is started up and displayed on the screen instead of the operation screen.   The screen display control method for a display device according to claim 1, wherein the push operation is a continuous push operation that is continued for a predetermined time or longer.   3. The display screen display control method according to claim 1, wherein the specific screen is a system screen.   At least one specific area of the touch panel at the time of power activation in a display device that starts up and displays an operation screen for displaying a status of a device controlled by the PLC as a graphic element or operating by a user on a display screen with a touch panel. In response to a pressing operation in a specific form with respect to the display, a specific screen is launched and displayed on the screen instead of the operation screen.

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