JP2008158813A - Programmable display unit, display control program and recording medium with this program recorded - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To display a character string relating to the information of alarm acquired from a controller in list display without dividing it into independent display regions. <P>SOLUTION: When data stored in a device memory 13a of a PLC 13 are turned to a state of showing the generation of alarm, a character string display processing part 81 displays a character string (message) associated with alarm at an alarm display on a user picture displayed on a display 2 of a programmable display unit 1. The character string display processing part 81 judges whether or not the number of characters of the character string exceeds the preliminarily set specific number of display characters, and when it exceeds, performs the scroll display of the character string. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a programmable display that displays information related to a control state of a control device as a character string.

  The programmable display has an interface with the host controller (PLC), displays the operating status of the device connected to the host controller, and accepts an operation input for giving a control instruction to the device from the screen. This is an operation-type display with a function. In general, since the programmable display has a graphic display function, it can display an operation panel, a switch, an indicator lamp, and the like, and serves as an operation terminal in the control system. In such a control system, the display of the operating status of each PLC and the control instruction to the PLC are performed by a programmable display arranged near the PLC.

  Moreover, in such a control system, when abnormality and malfunction generate | occur | produce, it detects that with PLC and displays on a programmable display as an alarm (patent document 1). As the alarm information, the date and time of occurrence, the content (message) of the alarm, etc. are displayed. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228561 describes that a screen for displaying a list of alarm information (main window) and a screen for displaying detailed information (subwindow) are displayed on one alarm display screen. .

  Thereby, the operator can grasp the occurrence of the alarm and can promptly respond to the work for recovery. Moreover, in the above alarm display method, while displaying general information on the main window, detailed information and long messages are displayed on the sub-window so that necessary alarm information can be displayed in a limited display area. Can do.

Regarding the alarm display method, Patent Document 2 discloses that an alarm message window is provided with a portion for displaying a long message in addition to a portion for displaying a short message in a fixed manner. The flow display portion is provided at the lower end of the screen independently of the fixed display portion. Even with such a display method, necessary alarm information can be displayed in a limited display area.
Patent No. 3031888 (issued on April 10, 2000) JP 2002-268704 A (published on September 20, 2002)

  However, as described in Patent Document 1, if a sub-window for displaying detailed information is provided on the alarm display screen, an area for displaying other information on the alarm display screen is narrowed. There is an inconvenience.

  Also, as described in Patent Document 2, if the flow display portion is provided separately from the short message fixed display portion, the area for displaying other information is also narrowed on the alarm display screen. There is an inconvenience.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to display a list of character strings related to information such as alarms obtained from a control device without displaying them in separate display areas. An object of the present invention is to provide a programmable display that can be made to operate.

  The programmable display according to the present invention acquires the state of specific data stored in the memory of the control device by communicating with the control device, and the state of the specific data has changed to a specified state. Sometimes, in a programmable display that displays a character string registered for the specific data on a display unit having a character string display area, in order to solve the above problem, a display amount in which the character string is defined Scroll display control means is provided for determining whether or not the character string is to be exceeded, and for displaying the character string in a fixed manner when it does not exceed, and for scrolling and displaying the character string in the character string display area for one line when exceeding the character string. It is a feature.

  In the above configuration, it is determined by the scroll display control means whether or not the character string displayed on the display unit exceeds the specified display amount. If it does not exceed, the character string is fixedly displayed. Is scrolled to the character string display area. This makes it possible to display a long message even in a limited character string display area. Therefore, the area for displaying the character string can be greatly reduced.

  Note that the display amount is, for example, the number of characters or the number of bytes, and is preferably the number of single-byte characters or the number of bytes. When the display amount is the number of single-byte characters, alphanumeric characters and single-byte kana characters are one character, and kanji characters and double-byte kana characters are two characters. When the display amount is the number of bytes, alphanumeric characters and half-width kana characters are 1 byte, and kanji and full-width kana characters are 2 bytes.

  In the programmable display, the specific data indicates whether or not an alarm has occurred, and a level indicating the importance of the alarm is preset in the alarm, and the level and the scroll speed are associated with each other. The scroll display control means displays the character string on the display unit when the specific data changes to a state indicating the occurrence of an alarm, and displays the level set for the alarm and the scroll speed. It is preferable to switch the scroll speed of the scroll display by the scroll display control means based on the association.

  In this manner, the character string can be displayed by switching the scroll speed according to the importance of the alarm. Thus, for example, for a character string that has a low degree of importance and a relatively simple handling method and requires emergency response, the content of the message can be quickly grasped by scrolling and displaying quickly. In addition, for a character string that has a high degree of importance and a relatively complicated handling method, the content of the message can be surely grasped by scrolling and displaying slowly.

  In the programmable display, the character strings are registered for a plurality of languages, the programmable display includes language switching means for switching the language of the character strings displayed on the display unit, and the scroll display control means It is preferable to determine whether or not the character string exceeds the display amount when the language of the character string is switched.

  When the language of the character string is switched by the language switching means, the scroll display control means determines whether or not the character string exceeds the specified display amount, and as a result, when it exceeds, the character string is displayed in the character string display area. Scroll display. As a result, when the display amount (number of characters) increases, such as when the character string switches from Japanese to English, if the character string does not exceed the display amount in the language before switching, the character string is not scrolled. However, when the character string exceeds the display amount in the language after switching, the character string is scroll-displayed.

  In addition, the other programmable display of the present invention acquires the state of specific data indicating the presence or absence of an alarm stored in the memory of the control device by communicating with the control device, and the specific data In a programmable display that displays a character string registered for the specific data on a display unit having a character string display area in order to notify the occurrence of an alarm when the state changes to a state indicating the occurrence of an alarm Scroll the character string display area in one line of the character string display area and switch the scroll speed of the scroll display based on the correspondence between the level indicating the importance set in advance in the alarm and the scroll speed. A display control means is provided.

  In this configuration, the character string displayed on the display unit is scroll-displayed by the scroll display control means. This makes it possible to display a long message even in a limited character string display area. Therefore, the area for displaying the character string can be greatly reduced. Moreover, since the character string is displayed by switching the scroll speed according to the importance of the alarm as in the above-described programmable display, the importance of the alarm can be visually determined from the scroll speed.

  The program for the programmable display of the present invention is a program for causing a computer that realizes each programmable display configured as described above to function as each means. The program is provided by being recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. Thereby, even a long character string exceeding the number of display characters can be displayed in a limited display area.

  As described above, the programmable display according to the present invention determines whether or not the character string displayed in the character string display area exceeds the specified number of display characters. Since the scroll display control means for scrolling the character string display area is provided, a long message can be displayed even in a limited character string display area.

  In addition, as described above, the programmable display according to the present invention causes the character string to be scroll-displayed in the character string display area for one line, and the level indicating the importance set in advance in the alarm is associated with the scroll speed. Since the scroll display control means for switching the scroll speed of the scroll display is provided based on the above, a long message can be displayed even in a limited character string display area. In addition, the importance of the alarm can be visually determined from the scroll speed.

  Therefore, the area of the character string display area on the screen can be reduced, and the screen can be used effectively. As a result, it is also possible to display the character string related to information such as an alarm obtained from the control device in a list display without being divided and displayed in an independent display area.

  The embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8 as follows.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a programmable display 1 as an operation display device includes an arithmetic processing unit such as a CPU, and displays an input operation created by a user and screen data for display. It is a dedicated computer that realizes the operation function and display function.

  The programmable display 1 acquires the state of each device 11 displayed on the display screen via the PLC 13 through communication with the PLC 13 via the serial cable 12. It has a function to display the status. The programmable display 1 has a function of instructing the PLC 13 to control the state of the device 11 in accordance with an operation on the touch panel 3 described later.

  In order to realize the above functions, the programmable display 1 includes a display 2, a touch panel 3, interface units (I / F in the figure) 4, 5, a data memory 6, a work memory 7, and an HMI process. Part 8. Hereinafter, each main part of the programmable display device 1 will be described in detail.

  As the display 2, a flat panel display such as a liquid crystal display, an EL display, or a plasma display is preferably used in order to configure the programmable display 1 to be thin. The touch panel 3 is an input device provided for performing touch input on the display image of the display 2.

  The interface unit 4 is a communication control unit for the programmable display 1 to perform serial communication with the PLC 13, and each is connected by a serial cable 12. The interface unit 4 performs communication using a communication protocol corresponding to the manufacturer and model of the PLC 13 based on the connected device data. The connected device data and the communication protocol are stored in, for example, a data memory 6 described later.

  Note that the connection between the programmable display 1 and the PLC 13 is not limited to the serial cable 12, and may be made by a network such as Ethernet (registered trademark) or other communication means.

  Here, the PLC 13 will be described.

  The PLC 13 captures the state of the input device 11 via the input unit and outputs it at every predetermined scan time such as several tens of ms, for example, according to a sequence program (ladder program or the like) created by the user. A control instruction is given to the device 11 for changing the state.

  As the input device 11, devices such as sensors (temperature sensors, optical sensors, etc.) and switches (push button switches, limit switches, pressure switches, etc.) are used. As the output device 11, an actuator, a relay, a solenoid valve, a display, or the like is used. These devices 11 are arranged in required parts such as a production line. Further, switch parts and display parts provided on the user screen displayed on the programmable display 1 are also handled as the device 11.

  The device 11 may be a specific memory area in the programmable display device 1 (for example, a user area in a system area described later), or may be a specific memory area in a memory in the PLC 13. These memory areas are set as internal devices.

  The device memory 13a, which is a memory in the PLC 13, stores data (word data or bit data) indicating the state of the device 11 (the output value from the device 11 or the set value to the device 11) in an area specified by the device address. Storing. In the device memory 13a, a word device and a bit device are set. The word device is set as an area for storing word data such as numeric values as input / output data, and is designated by a word address (device address). The bit device is set as an area for storing bit data such as an on / off state, and is set by a bit address (device address). With such a setting, the device 11 can be controlled by simply specifying and accessing an arbitrary word device or bit device in the device memory 13a as a device address, or information regarding the state can be individually taken out.

  A variable is associated with a device address called by a unique name for each manufacturer of the PLC 13. The variable is a name that can be arbitrarily set by the user, and a comment described later can be handled as a variable.

  In the following description, the device address is appropriately referred to as an address.

  The interface unit 5 is a communication control unit for the programmable display device 1 to communicate with the editor computer 21. The interface unit 5 is connected to a transfer cable 14 for transferring screen data and the like from the editor computer 21 to the programmable display 1. For example, a USB cable is used as the transfer cable 14.

  The data memory 6 is a memory for storing screen data, a character string table, the above-described communication protocol, and the like, and FEPROM (Flash Erasable and Programmable ROM) is used. Since FEPROM is a rewritable read-only flash memory, it plays the role of a hard disk drive in a general personal computer. A flash memory does not have a movable part and is resistant to impacts, and thus operates stably even in a poor ambient environment.

  The screen data is a data file of a user screen (unit screen configured by screen data for one frame) displayed on the programmable display 1. The screen data includes processing definition information and attribute data assigned to objects such as a base screen and parts to be displayed on the display 2. The process definition information defines (defines) various processes executed by the HMI processing unit 8, and the attribute data includes object attributes (size, shape, color, data) necessary for executing the process. Acquisition destination, data transmission destination, etc.). In general, a series of related screen data corresponding to a target system or a product manufactured by the target system is prepared as a set of project files and stored in the data memory 6. The project file also includes alarm setting data described later.

  The programmable display 1 selects one screen data based on a unique screen number given to each screen number from the project file, and displays a user screen based on an object included in the screen data.

  In the character string table, character strings to be displayed on various display parts are registered. The character string registered in this character string table is used as a message to be displayed when an alarm occurs, as will be described later. As will be described later, the character string table includes a character string for each table number corresponding to the number of lines, the number of characters, and the display language.

  The work memory 7 is composed of, for example, a DRAM, and is used for work during arithmetic processing such as display control. The work memory 7 is used for temporary storage of the acquired data of the device 11. The working memory 7 has a state memory area for transferring the state of the device 11 (the contents of the device address) stored in the device memory 13a of the PLC 13 to and from the device memory 13a.

  The memory of the programmable display 1 is provided with a system area. The system area includes a system data area that stores data necessary for the operation of the programmable display 1, a user area that can be used as an internal device by a user, a special relay area that is used as a special relay, and the like. This system area is provided in the work memory 7, for example.

  The HMI processing unit 8 is provided as the center of control in order to realize the HMI function. The HMI processing unit 8 is a functional block realized by executing a program.

  The program for realizing the HMI processing unit 8 can be recorded on a recording medium configured to be separable from the programmable display 1 and may be installed in the programmable display 1 from the recording medium. The program is prepared individually for each model in order to exhibit a function corresponding to the model of the programmable display 2.

  The above recording media include tape systems such as magnetic tapes and cassette tapes, magnetic disk systems such as flexible disks and hard disks, optical disk systems such as CD-ROM, MO, MD, and DVD, IC cards (including memory cards), optical A card system such as a card is preferred. In addition, the program medium may be a medium that carries a fixed program including a semiconductor memory such as a mask ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash ROM, or the like.

  Further, if the programmable display 1 is configured to be connectable to a communication network including the Internet, it may be a medium that fluidly carries the program so as to download the program from the communication network. However, when the program is downloaded from the communication network in this way, the download program may be stored in advance in the programmable display 2 or may be installed from another recording medium.

  The HMI processing unit 8 acquires the state of the device 11 as state data from the device memory 13a of the PLC 13 by communicating with the PLC 13 at predetermined time intervals or at predetermined events. Are written in a temporary memory space prepared in the above, for example, a specific area (state memory area) of the working memory 7. Further, the HMI processing unit 8 rewrites the state data of the device 11 in the state memory area so as to update the state data in the device memory 13 a of the PLC 3, and transmits it to the PLC 13. Based on the screen data created by combining the above-mentioned objects, the HMI processing unit 8 acquires the state data of the device 11 from the PLC 13 and draws and displays it on the programmable display 1 and performs operations on the screen. Accordingly, the operation when the change of the state of the device 11 is instructed is specified by the process definition information.

  The HMI processing unit 8 includes a character string display processing unit 81 and a character string language switching unit 82.

  When the occurrence of an alarm is notified from the PLC 13, the character string display processing unit 81 is notified from the PLC 13 based on the attribute data set in various displays described later and the alarm setting data included in the screen data (project file) in advance. Based on the notification, processing for displaying a message (character string) regarding the alarm is performed. Here, in order to display a message regarding an alarm, an alarm display screen 101 as shown in FIG. 2 is prepared as a user screen.

  The alarm display screen 101 includes an alarm indicator 102 and language changeover switches 103 and 104 as components.

  The alarm indicator 102 is a component provided for displaying various types of information about alarms currently or in the past in the PLC 13. This alarm display 102 includes a display area for displaying the date, time of issue, message and level in one line as items to be displayed, and these information are displayed in one line for one alarm. It is configured. By displaying various information about past alarms, the history of alarms can be confirmed.

  “Date” is the date when the alarm occurred, and “alarm time” is the time when the alarm occurred.

  “Message” is pre-registered information that needs to be notified of an alarm that has occurred. As the “message”, a very short message indicating the content of the alarm and a relatively long message explaining how to deal with the alarm are prepared. The number of characters (number of display characters) that can be displayed as a “message” in the “message” display area (message display area) in the alarm display 102 is set in the alarm display 102 in advance. Whether or not the character string is scroll-displayed (flow-displayed) when the number of characters to be displayed exceeds the number of displayed characters is set in the alarm display 102 in advance.

  “Level” is information that ranks and indicates the importance of the alarm, and is included in the alarm setting data. As the “level”, for example, eight levels from “0” to “7” are provided, the “0” level being the least important alarm, and the “7” level being the most important alarm. It is shown that. Therefore, the operator can take an appropriate response according to the indicated level.

  Registered in the alarm display 102 are a bit address or word address for identifying the storage location of bit data or word data indicating the occurrence of an alarm, and a message (character string) or the message to be displayed for the alarm. The word address (table designation address) of the word device storing the index number (row number) of the character string table being stored is preset. Further, the alarm setting data included in the screen data (project file) described above includes the above level. This level setting is performed by the screen editor unit 24 described later.

  When the bit address or word address data of the bit device changes to a state indicating an alarm, the character string display processing unit 81 includes the alarm string in the character string and alarm setting data set directly on the alarm display 102 for the alarm. The character string registered at the index number specified by the table specified address in the character string or character string table to be displayed is displayed. In addition, the character string display processing unit 81 uses the calendar function and the clock function provided in the programmable display device 1 to set the date and time when the event that an alarm has occurred from the PLC 13 is acquired to the alarm display device 102, respectively. It is displayed as the notification time.

  The character string display processing unit 81 determines whether or not the number of characters in the character string to be displayed as a message on the alarm display device 102 exceeds the set number of display characters (display amount). If the character string display processing unit 81 determines that the character string is not exceeded, the character string is fixedly displayed on the alarm display unit 102. If it is determined that the character string is exceeded, the character string display processing unit 81 scrolls and displays the character string on the alarm display unit 102. If set, scroll the string.

  The display amount used as a criterion for determining whether or not to scroll the character string can be expressed by, for example, the number of display characters of the character string displayed in the message display area, but preferably the number of single-byte characters or the number of bytes It is. When the display amount is defined by the number of single-byte characters, alphanumeric characters and single-byte kana characters are one character, and kanji (double-byte) and double-byte kana characters have a capacity of two characters. That is, when displaying full-width characters, only half the number of half-width characters can be displayed.

  Also, even when full-width characters and half-width characters are mixed, if the display amount is defined by the number of half-width characters, it can be easily determined whether or not to perform crawling display.

  Further, since it is known that a full-width character is 2 bytes and a half-width character is 1 byte, the prescribed display amount is the same as described above in terms of the number of bytes.

  When the character string display processing unit 81 scrolls and displays the character string based on the data indicating the level acquired from the alarm setting data included in the screen data (project file) via the HMI processing unit 8. Change the scroll speed. Since the scroll speed corresponding to each level is assigned, the character string display processing unit 81 scrolls the character string at a speed corresponding to the level when scrolling the character string. To do.

  The allocation between the level and the scrolling speed is set so that the higher the level, the lower the scrolling speed. Alternatively, the assignment of the level and the scroll speed may be set so that the scroll speed increases as the level increases, contrary to the above assignment. The assignment of the level and the scroll speed may be prepared as a separate table and may be given as additional data to the screen data.

  Note that the allocation of the scroll speed level is not necessarily one-to-one. For example, the level “0” to “2” is a high speed scroll display, the level “3” to “5” is a medium speed scroll display, and the level “6” to “8” is a low speed scroll display. The scroll display may be switched at a speed.

  Alternatively, the character string display processing unit 81 does not determine whether or not the number of characters in the character string exceeds the set number of display characters (display amount), and scrolls the alarm display 102 regardless of the number of characters. If it is set to do, the character string may be scrolled. In this case, the character string display processing unit 81 may also change the scroll speed according to the level as described above. As a result, the importance of the alarm can be visually determined.

  The language changeover switches 103 and 104 are switch parts provided for switching the language of the message. In the language selector switches 103 and 104, a word address (table number address) for storing a table number indicating each language registered in the character string table in the word device is set in advance.

  The character string language switching unit 82 reads the table number specified by the table number address from the character string table and notifies the character string display processing unit 81 when any of the language switching switches 103 and 104 is touched by the operator. To do. The character string display processing unit 81 switches the table to be used so as to display the character string of the notified table number.

  The alarm display screen 101 described above may include a text alarm display 105 shown in FIG. 3 instead of the alarm display 102 as a component.

  As shown in FIG. 3A, the text alarm indicator 105 has a function of displaying only the “message” in the alarm indicator 102. The text alarm display 105 has a display area for displaying a “message” for each alarm in one line. For this purpose, the text alarm display 105 is set with the above-mentioned setting items set for the display of “message” in the alarm display 102, and the number of characters that can be displayed and the number of messages that can be displayed (number of lines). ) Is preset.

  The character string display processing unit 81 and the character string language switching unit 82 display the character string on the text alarm display unit 105 by performing the same processing as that described above for displaying the character string performed on the alarm display unit 102. Sometimes.

  Here, the alarm display part is not limited to the alarm display 102 and the text alarm display 105 described above. For example, a message display 202 provided on the user screen 201 as shown in FIG. 4 or a character string data display (not shown) can also display alarm information as a character string in a display area for one line. The message display 202 also registers an event for displaying a character string when the bit data of the bit address or the word data of the word address preset in the display changes to a specified state. Displays a string. For this reason, if the above bit data and word data are provided as data indicating the presence or absence of the occurrence of an alarm, the message display 202 can also cope with an alarm like the alarm display 102 and the text alarm display 105. It is possible to display a character string.

  Therefore, the character string display processing unit 81 and the character string language switching unit 82 perform the same processing as the above-described processing for displaying the character string performed on the text alarm display unit 105 on the message display unit 202. Also when displaying.

  The character string data display has a function of displaying the character address data (character code data) of the word address as a character string, but displays a pre-registered character string or sets the alarm level. I can't refer to it. However, since the character string data display has a character string, the character string display processing unit 81 also performs processing for displaying the character string on the character string data display. Here, the character string display processing unit 81 determines whether or not the number of characters of the character string displayed on the character string data display exceeds the number of display characters preset in the character string data display. If it is determined that the character string is displayed, the scrolling display is performed on the character string data display, but the scroll speed is not switched.

  Next, the editor computer 21 will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the editor computer 21 has a function as an editor computer that creates a screen displayed on the programmable display 1.

  The editor computer 21 is constituted by a personal computer having a CPU, a memory (RAM, ROM, etc.), an external storage device (hard disk drive, MO drive, etc.), a display device and an input device (keyboard, mouse, etc.). The editor computer 21 includes a control unit 22, an interface unit (I / F in the figure) 23, a screen editor unit 24, and a data storage unit 25.

  The interface unit 23 is a communication control unit for performing communication with the programmable display 1 and is connected to the transfer cable 14.

  The control unit 22 is a functional block realized by hardware (CPU, memory, etc.) and software (operating system, etc.), and controls the execution of application programs and the operation of peripheral devices. The control unit 22 has a work memory 22a to fulfill its function. The work memory 22a is constituted by a DRAM or the like, and is used for developing a screen data file.

  The control unit 22 implements the screen editor unit 24 by executing editor software that is an application program. The application program is recorded on a recording medium configured to be separable from the editor computer 21 and can be installed in the editor computer 21 from this storage medium.

  The above-mentioned recording medium (program medium) is a computer-readable recording medium, such as a tape system such as a magnetic tape or a cassette tape, a magnetic disk system such as a flexible disk or a hard disk, CD-ROM, MO, MD, DVD, etc. A card system such as an optical disk system, an IC card (including a memory card), or an optical card is suitable. In addition, the program medium may be a medium that carries a fixed program including a semiconductor memory such as a mask ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash ROM, or the like.

  Further, if the editor computer 21 is placed in an environment that can be connected to a communication network including the Internet, the editor computer 21 may be a medium that fluidly carries the program so as to download the program from the communication network. However, when the program is downloaded from the communication network in this way, the download program may be stored in the editor computer 21 in advance, or may be installed from another recording medium.

  The screen editor unit 24 supports components (such as a switch, a lamp, a numeric keypad, and various displays (for example, a numerical display, a meter display, and a graph display) so as to support the creation of a user screen that is a user-specific screen. Object), drawing function, text input function, etc. Objects are registered in a library format so that the user can easily select them.

  Further, the screen editor unit 24 stores the created screen data and a character string table described later in the data storage unit 25 configured by the external storage device. Further, the screen editor unit 24 reads the screen data and the character string table from the data storage unit 25 and transfers them to the programmable display device 1 via the transfer cable 14.

  The screen editor unit 24 creates the alarm setting unit 24a for creating the above-described alarm setting data, the display unit setting unit 24b for setting the attribute data for each of the above-mentioned display units, and the above-described character string table. And a character string table creation unit 24c.

  The alarm setting unit 24a provides an alarm setting screen 301 as shown in FIG. 5 as a user interface in order to create alarm setting data.

  The alarm setting screen 301 includes a language switching setting button 302, a table number selection display box 303, a language display box 304, a monitoring form selection button 305, a character string check box 306, and an alarm information setting field 307. ing.

  The language switching setting button 302 is provided for performing settings necessary for switching and using a table of a plurality of languages registered in the character string table. This setting will be described in detail later.

  The table number selection display box 303 is provided for displaying the table number used in the initial state. This table number selection display field 303 is provided in the form of a spin box, for example.

  The language display box 304 is provided for displaying the language of the character string registered in the table of the table number selected in the table number selection display field 303.

  The monitoring form selection button 305 is a button for selecting whether to display a character string based on the state of bit data (bit monitoring) or word data (word monitoring). The monitoring form selection button 305 is provided in the form of a radio button.

  The character string check box 306 is provided for checking when the character string table is used.

  The alarm information setting field 307 is provided for setting alarm information. As information set in the alarm information setting field 307, a bit address or a word address, a notification condition, a message, and a level can be set.

  “Bit address” is bit data for monitoring the presence / absence of an alarm when bit monitoring is selected by the monitoring mode selection button 305. “Word address” is word data for monitoring the presence or absence of an alarm when word monitoring is selected by the monitoring mode selection button 305.

  The “reporting condition” is the state of bit data when it is recognized that an alarm has occurred in the case of bit monitoring. The “reporting condition” is the state of word data when it is recognized that an alarm has occurred in the case of word monitoring.

  “Message” is a character string constituting a message to be displayed when the “reporting condition” is satisfied.

  The “level” is information (signs indicating numerical values or order (for example, alphabet)) indicating the importance of the alarm.

  The alarm setting unit 24a stores each item input by the user on the alarm setting screen 301 configured as described above in the data storage unit 25 as alarm setting data attached to the screen data.

  The display setting unit 24b provides a dialog box as a user interface in order to set attribute data in the various displays described above.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 6, a dialog box 401 for setting attribute data for the alarm indicator 102 will be described.

  As shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the dialog box 401 includes a basic setting tab and a display setting tab.

  The dialog box 401 includes an operation mode designation box 402 and an address designation box 403 in the basic setting tab. On the other hand, the dialog box 401 includes a character string type selection button 404, a character string table registration address specification box 405, a display character number specification box 406, a scroll display check box 407, and a character string registration box in the display setting tab. 408.

  The operation mode designation box 402 is provided for selecting and designating either the bit operation mode or the word operation mode as the operation mode of the alarm display 102. The bit operation mode is an operation mode for displaying the occurrence of an alarm when the bit data specified by the bit address changes to a specified state. The word operation mode is an operation mode for displaying the occurrence of an alarm when word data specified by a word address changes to a specified state.

  The address input box 403 is a bit address that specifies the storage location of the bit data to be monitored when the bit operation mode is specified, or the word address that specifies the storage location of the word data to be monitored when the word operation mode is specified. Is provided to enter.

  The character string type selection button 404 is provided in the form of a radio button in order to select the registration form of the message regarding the alarm as the character string type. Direct character string types and character string table types are prepared as selectable character string types. The direct character string type is selected when a character string directly set in the alarm indicator 102 by using a character string registration box 408 described later is used. The character string table type is selected when using a character string registered in the character string table.

  The character string table registration address designation box 405 is provided for inputting and designating the word address of the word device storing the index number in which the character string used in the character string table is registered when the character string table is used. It has been.

  The display character number designation box 406 is provided for designating the number of characters that can be displayed as a message. The display character number designation box 406 is provided, for example, in the form of a spin box.

  When the number of single-byte characters or the number of bytes is used as the display amount, the dialog box 401 is provided with a box for designating the number of single-byte characters or the number of bytes instead of the display character number designation box 406, although not shown.

  The scroll display check box 407 is provided for designating whether or not to scroll the number of characters displayed as a message.

  The character string registration box 408 is provided for filling in when the character string type is directly selected by the character string type selection button 404.

  The display setting unit 24b sets each item input by the user in the dialog box 401 configured as described above as attribute data in the alarm display 102 and stores it in the data storage unit 25 as part of the screen data. To do. The display setting unit 24b prepares a similar dialog box (not shown) for the above-described text alarm display 105 and message display 202, and sets each item input in the dialog box. Set as attribute data. Furthermore, the display setting unit 24b provides a dialog box for setting the word address of the word device for storing the character string data of the character string to be displayed and the number of display characters for the character string data display described above. Each item entered in the dialog box is set as attribute data.

  The character string table creating unit 24c provides a character string table setting screen 501 shown in FIG. 7 as a user interface in order to create a character string table.

  The character string table setting screen 501 has a language switching setting button 502 and a character string information setting field 503.

  The language switching setting button 502 has the same function as the language switching setting button 302 described above, and is provided for performing settings necessary for switching and using a table of a plurality of languages registered in the character string table. It is done. When the language switching setting button 502 is clicked by the user, the character string table creation unit 24c displays a dialog box 601 shown in FIG. This dialog box 601 includes a language switching check box 602, a switching control address designation box 603, an initial table designation box 604, and a table name display field 605.

  The language switching check box 602 is provided to select and specify whether or not to use the language switching function.

  The switching control address designation box 603 is provided for designating the word address of the word device that stores the table number of the table to be switched and displayed. An initial table designation box 604 is provided for designating a table used in the initial state by a table name.

  The table name display field 605 is provided for displaying the table name of the table used by switching together with the corresponding language.

  The character string information setting field 503 shown in FIG. 7 includes blocks for setting an index number (indicated by “No.” in the figure), the number of characters, the number of character lines, and a character string. .

  The “index number” is a line number for specifying each character string to be used. “Number of characters” is the maximum number of characters that can be registered. “Number of character lines” is the number of lines of the character string to be registered. When the character string is displayed on each of the aforementioned display devices, 1 is designated as the number of character lines. “Character string” is a registered character string, and is registered as a table corresponding to the language. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 7, a table with the table name “Table1” is prepared with a table number “1” for registering a Japanese character string, and a table number “2” for registering an English character string. The table with the table name “Table2” is prepared. The usable languages are not limited to Japanese and English, and various languages such as Chinese (traditional and simplified) and Korean may be provided.

Text Table unit 24c, a character string is set as data for constituting the string table the items input by the user to the Text Table screen 50 1 and dialog box 601 configured as described above A table is created and the character string table is stored in the data storage unit 25.

  Here, the display operation of a message when an alarm is generated by the programmable display device 1 will be described.

  First, a case where an alarm occurrence is displayed on the alarm display 102 will be described. Here, an example of displaying an alarm message using a character string table will be described.

  The HMI processing unit 8 communicates with the PLC 13 in a predetermined communication cycle, thereby acquiring the latest state of the bit address or word address for monitoring the presence or absence of an alarm. When the state of the bit address or the word address changes to the state set as “alert condition” in the alarm setting data, the HMI processing unit 8 displays the date and time at that time on the alarm display screen 101. Displayed on the alarm display 102. Further, the HMI processing unit 8 specifies the level corresponding to the alarm by referring to the alarm setting data, and displays it on the alarm indicator 102. Further, the HMI processing unit 8 instructs the character string display processing unit 81 to display the character string.

  In response to the instruction, the character string display processing unit 81 displays the character string registered in the index number set as the character string table registration address set in the alarm display unit 102 in the message display of the alarm display unit 102. Display in the area. At this time, if a Japanese table is set as the initial table, as shown in FIG. 2, the alarm display 102 displays the message with the number of display characters designated in Japanese. At this time, the character string display processing unit 81 determines whether or not the character string to be displayed exceeds the number of characters to be displayed. If not, the character string is fixedly displayed. Scroll to display.

  At this time, when the scroll display processing unit 81 provides the character string display processing unit 81 with data corresponding to the level acquired from the HMI processing unit 8, the character string display processing unit 81 performs character processing at a speed corresponding to the data. Scroll through columns. As a result, the message is scrolled and displayed at a speed corresponding to the level, that is, the importance of the alarm. For example, for messages that are low in importance and relatively easy to deal with and require urgent response, the contents of the message can be quickly grasped by quickly scrolling and displaying. In addition, messages that have a high degree of importance and are relatively complicated to deal with can be surely grasped by slowly scrolling and displaying the messages.

  In addition, when language switching is set in the alarm setting data or the character string table, when the language switching switch 104 on the alarm display screen 101 is touched, the table number of the table used by the character string language switching unit 82 is changed to the character number. Read from the column table to validate the table of the table number (English table). As a result, the character string display processing unit 81 switches the character string display to the English character string registered in the table and displays it. As a result, even when the number of characters in the character string when the Japanese character string is displayed is less than the number of displayed characters, the number of characters in the character string increases in English. Therefore, in this case, the character string display processing unit 81 determines that the English character string exceeds the display character string, and scrolls and displays the character string.

  Next, when displaying an alarm message on the text alarm display 105, the character string display processing unit 81 displays the text alarm as shown in FIG. 3 (b) when the displayed character string exceeds the number of display characters. The character string of each line in the device 105 is scroll-displayed. In the text alarm display 105, similarly to the alarm display 102, the scroll display processing unit 81 switches the scroll speed according to the level, and the character string language switching unit 82 switches the character string language.

  Further, when displaying an alarm message on the message display 202, the character string display processing unit 81, as shown in FIG. 4, displays the character string in the message display 201 when the displayed character string exceeds the number of display characters. Scroll the display. Also in the message display 202, as with the alarm display 102, the scroll display processing unit 81 switches the scrolling speed according to the level, and the character string language switching unit 82 switches the character string language.

  As described above, the programmable display device 1 according to the present embodiment includes the character string display processing unit 81 so that when a message about an alarm is displayed on one line, the message is displayed when the number of display characters exceeds a limited number. Scroll display. As a result, a long message can be displayed even in a limited display area in the display device arranged at a desired position on the user screen. Therefore, the area for displaying the alarm message can be greatly reduced, and the user screen can be used effectively.

  In addition, the programmable display 1 includes the character string language switching unit 82 to switch the language of the character string. When the number of characters exceeds the number of displayed characters due to this switching, a message is displayed by the character string display processing unit 81. Scroll display.

  Moreover, the programmable display 1 is provided with the scroll display process part 81, and a scroll speed is switched according to the level of an alarm. In particular, the alarm display character string having high importance is excellent in visibility and readability by lowering the scroll speed as the importance of the alarm is higher.

  The programmable display of the present invention, when an alarm message is displayed as a character string on a display part provided on the screen when an alarm occurs, if the character string exceeds the specified number of display characters, the character string is scrolled and displayed. Therefore, a long message can be displayed in a limited area, which can be suitably used for alarm display.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the programmable display and editor computer which concern on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the alarm display screen containing the alarm indicator displayed by the character string display process part of the HMI process part in the said programmable display. (A) And (b) is a figure which shows the text alarm indicator displayed by the said character string display process part. It is a figure which shows the user screen containing the message display or data display displayed by the said HMI process part. It is a figure which shows the alarm setting screen displayed by the alarm setting part of the screen editor part in the said editor computer. (A) And (b) is a figure which shows the dialog box for setting the attribute of the alarm indicator displayed by the indicator setting part of the said screen editor part. It is a figure which shows a character string table preparation screen by the character string table preparation part in the said editor computer. It is a figure which shows the dialog box for the language switching setting displayed by the said character string table preparation part.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Programmable display 8 HMI processing part 13 PLC (control apparatus)
13a Device memory (memory)
21 Editor Computer 81 Character String Display Processing Unit 82 Character String Language Switching Unit 102 Alarm Display (Display Unit)
105 Text alarm display (display unit)
201 Message display (display unit)

Claims (7)

Acquire the status of specific data stored in the memory of the control device by communicating with the control device, and register the specific data when the status of the specific data changes to the specified status In a programmable display for displaying a character string being displayed on a display unit having a character string display area,
It is determined whether or not the character string exceeds a specified display amount. If not, the character string is fixedly displayed, and if it exceeds, the character string is scroll-displayed in the character string display area for one line. A programmable display comprising scroll display control means.   The programmable display device according to claim 1, wherein the display amount is the number of single-byte characters or the number of bytes. The specific data represents whether or not an alarm has occurred, a level indicating the importance of the alarm is set in advance for the alarm, and the level and the scroll speed are associated with each other,
The scroll display control means displays the character string on the display unit when the specific data changes to a state indicating the occurrence of an alarm, and associates the level set for the alarm with the scroll speed. The programmable display device according to claim 1, wherein a scroll speed of the scroll display by the scroll display control means is switched based on the attachment. The character string is registered for a plurality of languages,
The programmable display comprises language switching means for switching the language of the character string displayed on the display unit,
The programmable display device according to claim 1, wherein the scroll display control unit determines whether or not the character string exceeds the display amount when a language of the character string is switched. By communicating with the control device, the state of the specific data indicating the presence or absence of the occurrence of the alarm stored in the memory of the control device is acquired, and the state of the specific data has changed to a state indicating the occurrence of the alarm Sometimes, in a programmable display that displays a character string registered for the specific data in order to notify the occurrence of an alarm on a display unit having a character string display area,
Scroll display that scrolls the character string in the character string display area for one line and switches the scroll speed of the scroll display based on the correspondence between the level indicating the importance set in advance in the alarm and the scroll speed A programmable display comprising control means.   The display control program for functioning the computer which implement | achieves the programmable display of any one of Claim 1 thru | or 5 as said each means.   A computer-readable recording medium on which the display control program according to claim 6 is recorded.

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