JP6033394B2 - Programmable display, its program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a programmable display and the like.

  In general, a programmable display is connected to various connected devices such as a PLC main body and a temperature control device, and items such as numerical displays and lamps for displaying the status of these connected devices, and for users to give arbitrary instructions. Displays an image of items such as switches. An item is also called a screen component or the like. Usually, images of a plurality of screen components (items) are displayed on the screen of the programmable display (referred to as an operation display screen). Data or the like for displaying such an operation display screen (referred to as screen data or the like) is arbitrarily created in advance by a developer or the like in a support device (not shown) and downloaded from the support device to a programmable display. .

  The screen data includes, for each item, data such as an image of the item (switch image or lamp image), display position coordinates, and an address (assigned memory address) of a predetermined area of the external memory described later. It is. In addition, some programs may be included.

  Each of the items (screen parts) is, for example, a status display of the component corresponding to an arbitrary component of an arbitrary connected device, or receiving an ON / OFF instruction for the component. is there. For example, in the case of an item that displays the temperature measurement value of the temperature control device as a numerical value, the current temperature is displayed as a numerical value as needed. Or if it is the item of the lamp | ramp which shows the ON / OFF state of a temperature control apparatus, lamp lighting will be displayed if a temperature control apparatus is an ON state, and lamp OFF will be displayed if it is an OFF state.

  In the support device, a lamp-on image and a lamp-off image are registered in advance as item images, and the screen data includes a lamp-on image and a lamp-off image for one lamp item. Of course, this is not limited to the case of lamps, and the same applies to other item types (for example, switches).

  The display control related to the various items is realized, for example, by periodically executing a predetermined process for each item. Predetermined processing refers to, for example, reading stored data (stored data in an allocated memory area) in a predetermined area of a memory device (external memory) in a connected device, and determining the display content of an item based on this stored data Processing to display (display content refresh processing) and the like. The connected device updates the stored data in a predetermined area of the external memory as needed (for example, the temperature measurement value is updated as needed in the temperature control device).

  The data read from the allocated memory area is temporarily stored in a predetermined area of a memory device (shared memory) in the programmable display, and the display contents of the item are determined and displayed based on the stored data. There is also a configuration to do.

  In the case of this example, the process of reading the stored data in the allocated memory area and storing it in the shared memory is executed periodically by a predetermined functional unit (here, a communication unit not shown) of the programmable display, for example. . For example, the communication unit communicates with various connected devices such as the PLC main body and the temperature control device, and stores stored data in a predetermined storage area of the external memory (stored data in the allocated memory area) in the connected device. The data is acquired and overwritten in a predetermined area of the shared memory. And the function part (it shall be called an item display part) which performs the display control which concerns on the said various items in a programmable display controls item display content by accessing a shared memory regularly.

  Conventionally, the screen data is usually composed of a plurality of screens (screens). Each screen is basically composed of one or more screen components (items), and displays a dedicated switching button (screen switching switch) for switching to another screen. The screen changeover switch is assigned an identification ID of the screen to be changed over.

For such screen switching, for example, a conventional technique described in Patent Document 1 is known.
The invention of Patent Document 1 aims to reduce screen switching time by eliminating wasteful use of resources and keeping processing load low for a programmable display.

For this purpose, in the invention of Patent Document 1, when pressing of the screen switching button is detected, information for specifying data constituting the screen associated with the pressed screen switching button is used as read data for the next screen. When it is registered as information and the release of the screen switching button is detected, the data read from the control object is replaced with the read data for the current screen displayed on the display screen based on the read data information for the next screen.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2008-191986

  When the screen is switched in the programmable display, it is necessary that the display contents of each item on the screen to be switched reflect the contents of the current stored data in the allocated memory area. In other words, unless the data stored in the allocated memory area of each item on the switching destination screen is acquired, the switching destination screen cannot be substantially displayed.

  On the other hand, for example, when a temporary switching destination screen is displayed using an arbitrary default image (for example, all items are OFF), this is naturally a display reflecting the current state of each item. This is not a problem. For example, in the case of an item of a lamp indicating the ON / OFF state of the temperature control device, there may be a case where a lamp extinction image (which is a default image) is displayed even though the temperature control device is actually ON. It is done. Of course, after a certain amount of time has passed, the stored data in the allocated memory area can be acquired, so that a normal screen display is performed. However, the user sees the initial display and the temperature control device is in the OFF state. It is a problem to misunderstand that there is.

  For this reason, conventionally, after the storage data of the allocated memory area is acquired, the switching destination screen is displayed. Here, the access processing to the allocated memory area usually takes time. Therefore, it takes time until the switching destination screen is displayed.

For the reasons described above, conventionally, screen switching has taken time.
In the invention of the above-mentioned patent document 1, since the process for switching the screen is started when the pressing of the screen switching button is detected, the conventional technique (for switching the screen when the release of the screen switching button is detected). Compared to (start processing), screen switching is faster.

  However, according to the invention of Cited Document 1, the process starts after the screen switching button is operated. Usually, the process of reading the stored data in the allocated memory area takes time, and particularly when there are a large number of items on the screen to be switched to, it takes time. For this reason, the method of Patent Document 1 is still insufficient to realize that the screen is switched immediately by the operation of the screen switching button.

The subject of this invention is providing the programmable display which can perform screen switching in a programmable display rapidly, its program, etc.
The present invention includes, for example, the following units in a programmable display.
First data acquisition means for acquiring data from an external memory associated with each item on an arbitrary screen being displayed and storing the acquired data in a first internal memory;
Screen display means for displaying / updating a screen related to the screen being displayed based on data stored in the first internal memory;
Second data acquisition means for acquiring data from an external memory associated with each item on another screen and storing the acquired data in a second internal memory;
Screen switching processing means for switching to the other screen using data stored in the second internal memory when there is an instruction to switch from the arbitrary screen to the other screen;

It is a schematic block diagram of the whole system containing the programmable display of this example. It is a hardware structural example of the programmable display of this example. It is a software block diagram of this system. It is a functional block diagram of the programmable display of this example. It is a flowchart figure which shows the schematic operation example of the programmable display of this example. It is a flowchart figure which shows the detailed example of the process of step S2 of FIG. It is an example of the association information of a plurality of screens. It is a structure and processing function figure of the programmable display of this example. (A) to (d) are a data structure example / data storage example of the shared memory. (A), (b) is an example of the data structure of an item list. (a) is a memory list, (b) is a data structure example of memory information. It is a figure which shows the mode of each item before and after screen switching. It is a process flowchart figure (1/4) of a communication processing part. It is a processing flowchart figure (2/4) of a communication processing part. It is a processing flowchart figure (3/4) of a communication processing part. It is a processing flowchart figure (4/4) of a communication processing part. It is a process flowchart figure of an item process part. It is a figure which shows an example of the processing time of each process part.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of the entire system including the programmable display 1 of this example.
The configuration shown in FIG. 1 is an example, and the present invention is not limited to this example. For example, the configuration in which the programmable display device 1 is not necessarily connected to the drawing editor device 5 via the communication line 3 may be used. The programmable display 1 and the drawing editor device 5 may exist separately. Any device may be used as long as the programmable display 1 stores screen data according to the present method and displays the screen for the programmable display using the screen data.

  The programmable controller system shown in FIG. 1 includes various connection devices 4 and a programmable display 1 that is connected to the various connection devices 4 via a communication line 6. Further, the programmable display device 1 is connected to the drawing editor device 5 via the communication line 3. The programmable display 1 is provided with a plurality of communication interfaces 2 (communication ports), and is connected to various connection devices 4 and the drawing editor device 5 by the communication line 3 / communication line 6 connected to each communication interface 2. ing.

  The drawing editor device 5 corresponds to the support device in the background art, and supports the user to arbitrarily create data (screen data) for displaying the operation display screen on the programmable display 1. It has the function to do. Conventionally, various item images are prepared in advance, and the user repeats the operation of selecting a desired item image and placing it at a desired position, thereby creating the screen data.

  This screen data is composed of a plurality of screens as described above, and one or more arbitrary items are arranged on each screen. As one of such items, there is a switch for switching to another screen. As a matter of course, information relating to the changeover switch includes identification information (screen No.) of the screen to be changed over. This point itself may be substantially the same as the conventional one.

  However, conventionally, when this changeover switch is operated, the above-mentioned “access to the allocated memory area of each item of the switching destination screen” is performed as “processing for acquiring data necessary for screen switching”. However, in this method, basically, it is not necessary to access the allocated memory area when the screen is switched (however, it is not 100%). Of course, after the screen is switched, it is necessary to perform the display content refresh process by accessing the allocated memory area (external memory access) at any time. Details will be described later.

  The drawing editor device 5 may be regarded as an example of a support device for supporting creation of a screen (screen data) for a programmable display. Henceforth, it may be described as the support device 5.

The screen data is downloaded to the programmable display 1.
The programmable display 1 displays an arbitrary screen among a plurality of screens constituting screen data, as in the conventional case. On each screen, the item related to the screen is displayed and the switch for switching the screen is also displayed. Further, during the arbitrary screen display, for example, the display content refreshing process is periodically performed. For this purpose, the allocated memory area related to each item on the screen being displayed is accessed, the latest data is acquired, and the screen is displayed using the latest data.

  When the screen changeover switch is operated during any screen display, the screen is changed over to a predetermined other screen corresponding to the switch. At that time, as described above, if the latest data is not obtained for each item on the other screen as the switching destination, the other screen is not displayed.

  Therefore, in the past, it was necessary to access the corresponding allocated memory area (external memory access) in order to switch and display to the other screens described above, but this method is not necessary (however, absolute (There is also a case where access is not limited, and screen switching is performed quickly.) Details will be described later.

  The drawing editor device 5 is realized by, for example, a general general-purpose computer (such as a personal computer). Therefore, although not shown in the drawings, it has a configuration of a general personal computer or the like. That is, for example, it has an arithmetic processor such as a CPU, a storage device such as a memory and a hard disk, an operation unit such as a keyboard and a mouse, a display unit such as a display, a communication function unit, and the like.

  A predetermined application program is stored in the storage device in advance, and various functions of the drawing editor device 5 are realized by the arithmetic processor executing the application program. The various functions of the drawing editor device 5 are the existing functions that have already been briefly described, and will not be described further.

The programmable display 1 may also have a general hardware configuration. Therefore, a brief description will be given below with reference to FIG.
FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration example of the programmable display device 1 of this example.

  The programmable display 1 has a function of performing display of each screen (operation display screen) based on the above-described screen data and the like, screen switching, and the like in substantially the same manner as the above-described conventional example. However, screen switching is different from the conventional one, and details will be described later.

The illustrated programmable display 1 includes a display operation control device 10, a touch panel 18, a display 19, the communication interface 2, and the like.
The display operation control device 10 includes a CPU 11, a ROM 12 (flash memory or the like), a RAM 13, a communication controller 14, a graphic controller 15, a touch panel controller 16, and the like, which are connected to a bus 17.

  The CPU 11 is a central processing unit (arithmetic processor) that controls the entire display operation control device 10. The CPU 11 performs various arithmetic operations (processing) of the programmable display 1 by executing a program (for example, a main body program 21 described later) stored in the ROM 12 in advance. Although this processing has already been briefly described, it will be described in detail later.

  The ROM 12 stores screen data (screen data 22 to be described later) described in the background art. As described above, in this example, the screen data 22 is composed of data of a plurality (typically a large number) of screens. The data of each screen (operation display screen) includes, for example, images of each item such as switches and lamps arranged on the screen described above, data such as display position coordinates and size, and the above-mentioned allocated memory address. Further, the screen changeover switch is also arranged for each screen. The screen changeover switch may be regarded as a kind of item, and is an item that does not perform external memory access.

  Here, the external memory access is conventionally executed only for an item on the screen that is currently displayed. However, in this method, the external memory access is executed not only for the currently displayed screen but also for the screen of the switching destination candidate. The acquired data is stored in a predetermined storage area (such as an internal buffer) in the programmable display 1.

  By the processing of the CPU 11, for example, display target data based on the screen data 22 or the acquired data obtained by accessing the external memory is developed (drawn) on, for example, the RAM 13 (or a video RAM (not shown)). Details will be described later. Based on this drawing, the graphic controller 15 displays the above-described operation display screen on the display 19.

  The display 19 is composed of, for example, a liquid crystal panel, and a touch panel 18 is provided so as to overlap the liquid crystal panel. On the display 19, an arbitrary screen of a plurality of screens is displayed. Each item image is displayed at a predetermined position on each screen as described above.

  Further, the communication controller 14 performs communication (data transmission / reception and the like) with the connection device 4 and the drawing editor device 5 such as a PLC main body (not shown), a temperature control device, and the like via the communication interface 2.

  The detection result of the pressing operation (touch) position on the touch panel 18 by an operator or the like is taken into the CPU 11 or the like via the touch panel controller 16 and analyzed. For example, analysis is performed based on the display position coordinates and size data of each item. For example, when an operator or the like touches the display position of the switch image, the CPU 11 or the like analyzes that an operation on the switch has been performed.

FIG. 3 shows a software configuration diagram of the system.
In the programmable display 1, various programs / data such as a main body program 21, screen data 22, and communication program 23 are stored in, for example, the ROM 12 (flash memory or the like). The CPU 11 reads / executes / references these programs / data, etc., thereby performing display control of each operation display screen (each screen, etc.) for the programmable display.

  This operation display screen is composed of the above-described numerical display, image display of various items such as lamps, switches, etc., and the display content of each item is, for example, from a predetermined storage area (allocation memory area) of the external memory of each connected device 4 Updated as needed to reflect the acquired data (acquired data).

  That is, the CPU 11 performs display control of the operation display screen based on the main body program 21, the screen data 22, and the acquired data. At that time, the display content of each item (each screen component) on the operation display screen reflects the content of the acquired data (numerical display such as temperature, lighting / extinguishing of the lamp, etc.).

  Therefore, when switching the screen, it is necessary to start displaying each item related to the screen to be switched in such a manner that the latest (current / latest) stored data in the allocated memory area is reflected. For this reason, conventionally, when the screen changeover switch is operated, it is first necessary to access each allocated memory area corresponding to each item on the screen to be changed to acquire data, and the processing time for that is required. It was hanging. However, according to the present method, it is possible to display the latest stored data in the allocated memory area without reflecting the allocated memory area. Details will be described later.

  The screen data 22 is, for example, a screen data file 32 arbitrarily created in advance on the drawing editor device 5 side, downloaded to the programmable display device 1 and stored. That is, the screen data 22 and the screen data file 32 may be regarded as substantially the same. Note that, for example, the screen data file 32 may be described as the screen data 22 without being particularly distinguished from each other.

  Also, the communication program 23 is a program in which, for example, a communication program file 33 (part thereof) stored in advance on the drawing editor device 5 side is downloaded and stored in the programmable display device 1.

  The communication program 23 of the programmable display device 1 is a program for communicating with the connection device 4 via the communication line 6. Usually, each connected device 4 has a unique communication protocol (communication rule) for each model and performs communication between the programmable display 1 and the connected device 4 in accordance with this communication rule. Therefore, the communication program 23 needs to be developed for each model of each connected device 4. Of course, the CPU 11 and the like execute the communication program 23 to realize communication processing with the connected device 4.

  The connection device 4 such as the PLC main body has various manufacturers and models, each manufacturer / model has its own communication program, and the communication program 23 depends on the manufacturer / model of the connection device 4 depending on the case. Multiple types will be provided.

  Communication between the programmable display 1 and the drawing editor device 5 is performed by, for example, the main body program 21 and the drawing editor 31 (a communication function is incorporated in the drawing editor 31). This is not particularly relevant and will not be shown or described.

  The communication program 23 is normally stored in advance as a plurality of communication program files 33 group (a plurality of communication programs developed for each model) in an HD (hard disk) (not shown) in the drawing editor device 5. Then, when the user selects / designates an arbitrary connected device 4 using the drawing editor 31, the drawing editor device 5 transfers the communication program file 33 corresponding to the selected connected device 4 to the programmable display device 1, The communication program 23 is stored.

  The program for realizing various processes such as access to the allocated memory area and screen display may be included in the main body program 21 or the screen data file 32 (screen data 22). Good. In any case, when the CPU 11 executes such a program, for example, various operations of the programmable display 1 are realized.

  Here, the drawing editor 31 of the drawing editor device 5 also has a support function that allows the user to create a desired operation display screen (screen data thereof). As described above, various items created in advance are stored in the hard disk or the like of the drawing editor device 5. These various items are displayed in a list by the creation support function of the operation display screen by the drawing editor 31, and the user selects a desired item and arranges it at a desired position. This function itself is substantially the same as the conventional one.

  Note that the drawing editor device 5 is, for example, a personal computer or the like, and has a general-purpose computer configuration (CPU, storage unit (hard disk, memory, etc.), communication unit, operation unit (mouse, etc.), display) although not particularly shown. Have. The processing function of the drawing editor 31 is realized when the CPU executes an application program stored in advance in the storage unit. However, as described above, the processing function itself of the drawing editor 31 may be the same as the conventional one, and will not be described in further detail.

FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of the programmable display 1 of this example.
The programmable display device 1 of this example has various functional units such as a first data acquisition unit 41, a screen display unit 42, a second data acquisition unit 43, and a screen switching processing unit 44 shown in the figure. These various function units are realized by the CPU 11 executing a predetermined application program stored in advance in the ROM 12 or the like, for example.

  The first data acquisition unit 41 acquires data from an external memory related to each item on an arbitrary screen being displayed, and stores the acquired data in a first internal memory (for example, a shared memory 55 described later).

The screen display unit 42 (for example, an item processing unit 53 to be described later) performs screen display / update related to the screen being displayed based on the data stored in the first internal memory.
The second data acquisition unit 43 acquires data from the external memory related to each item on another screen (for example, on the switching candidate screen) in the background while the arbitrary screen is being displayed, and acquires the data. Data is stored in a second internal memory (for example, a communication memory 57 described later).

  Note that “in the background” means, for example, that other screens (for example, switching candidate screens) are obtained, but are not displayed (at least while any screen is displayed). Although there is, it is not restricted to this example. In the following description, “background” will not be described one by one. However, for example, the memory prefetching process of the switching candidate screen described later is executed in “background”.

  When there is an instruction to switch from the arbitrary screen to the other screen, the screen switching processing unit 44 performs switching to the other screen using the data stored in the second internal memory.

  For example, the communication processing unit 54 described later may be regarded as corresponding to the first data acquisition unit 41 and the second data acquisition unit 43, but the present invention is not limited to this example. The processing function of the screen switching processing unit 44 may be considered to be realized by, for example, one (or both) of the communication processing unit 54 and the item generation unit 51 described later, but is not limited to this example. Absent.

  Further, the screen switching processing unit 44 stores (for example, copies) the stored data of the second internal memory in the first internal memory, for example. As a result, when the screen is switched, the screen display unit 42 displays a screen related to another screen even if the process of the first data acquisition unit 41 is not performed. That is, switching to the other screen is realized.

  However, when there is an item whose data is not stored in the second internal memory among the items on the other screens when the screen is switched, the processing of the first data acquisition unit 41 is necessary for the item. It becomes. In this case, by performing this process, switching to the other screen is realized.

  The switching to the other screen by the screen switching processing unit 44 is not particularly limited as long as it is performed using the data stored in the second internal memory as described above. It is not limited to the example of “store (for example, copy) in the first internal memory”. For example, as another example, there is a method of performing memory management control so that the second internal memory is handled as the first internal memory.

  Further, the data acquisition / storage process by the first data acquisition unit 41 is preferentially executed, and the data acquisition / storage process by the second data acquisition unit 43 is executed in an idle time. For this reason, for example, the 2nd data acquisition part 43 makes some items in each item on another screen a process target item for every execution of the process. In other words, data is acquired little by little (for example, only one item at a time) instead of acquiring data from the external memory at once for all items on other screens. For this reason, it is necessary to select a processing target item (item for acquiring data from an external memory) every time processing is executed. This selection method may be various. For example, an item for which data has not yet been acquired is preferentially set as a processing target item, but of course, the present invention is not limited to this example.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a schematic operation example of the programmable display 1 of this example.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a detailed example of the process in step S2 of FIG.

  In the example of FIG. 5, while the screen display is being performed for an arbitrary screen, the above-described existing display content refresh process related to the currently displayed screen is performed (step S <b> 1), and “external memory prefetching process in the background” is performed. "Is repeated (step S2). If there is a screen switching instruction at any time during the repeated execution of the processing of steps S1 and S2 in this way (for example, when the user operates the screen switching switch (not shown)), the determination at step S3 shown in FIG. It becomes YES and transfers to the process after step S4.

  The process of step S2 will be described later in detail with reference to FIG. 6, but generally, a screen that may be displayed next to the currently displayed screen (referred to as a switching candidate screen). The stored data is read out in advance from each “allocated memory area” of each item related to the switching candidate screen.

  Here, in order to simplify the description, it is assumed that each screen has only one item (except for the changeover switch), and that there is only one changeover candidate screen. For example, it is assumed that the “allocated memory address” of the item on the currently displayed screen is D100, and the “allocated memory address” of the item on the switching candidate screen is D200.

  In the case of this example, in step S1, the stored data at address D100 is read and the existing display content refresh process based on the read data is performed. In step S2, the stored data at address D200 is read and the read data is temporarily held in a predetermined storage area (internal buffer).

  If there are a plurality of switching candidate screens, data may be read from the “allocated memory area” of the items on the other switching candidate screens and held in the internal buffer.

  However, basically, the processing related to the currently displayed screen (data reading from the allocated memory area, display update processing, etc.) has priority, so the switching is performed using the idle time during which these processing are not performed. It is desirable to perform data read processing relating to the candidate screen.

  In addition, from this, it is difficult to perform the data reading process related to all items on all the switching candidate screens at the same time in the process of step S2. For this reason, every time the process of step S2 is executed, data reading is performed little by little (only a part of items of each item on the switching candidate screen is read). For this reason, in some cases, when a screen switching operation to be described later is performed, data reading related to all items on the switching destination screen is not necessarily performed.

  Thus, when the user performs a screen switching operation on the currently displayed screen (step S3), the following step S4 is determined for each item on the switching destination screen, and depending on the determination result, the following One of the processes in steps S5 and S6 is executed.

  That is, for each item on the switching destination screen, it is determined whether or not read data from the “allocated memory area” related to the item exists in the internal buffer (step S4). When the read data is in the internal buffer (step S4, YES), the data in the internal buffer is read (step S5). On the other hand, if the read data is not in the internal buffer (step S4, NO), the data is read from the “allocated memory area” related to the item (step S6).

  Then, when data is read for all items on the switching destination screen by the process in any of steps S5 and S6, the screen of the switching destination screen is displayed based on the read data (screen switching is performed) (step S7). ).

  Then, returning to step S1, the switching destination screen becomes the new currently displayed screen, and the process of step S1 is performed. Then, for example, the process of step S2 is performed on a screen (new switching destination candidate screen) that can be a switching destination from the new currently displayed screen.

  If the determination in step S4 is NO for all items on the switching destination screen, substantially the same processing as in the conventional case is performed, and it takes time to switch the screen. However, except for such special cases, the time required for screen switching is shortened compared to the conventional case. Needless to say, the time required for the process in step S5 is shorter than the time required for the process in step S6.

Hereinafter, the process of step S2 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG.
As described above, every time the process of step S2 is executed, data is read from the external memory little by little (and temporarily stored in the internal buffer). Thus, each time step S2 is executed, it is necessary to determine a small number (one or more) of items to be data read at that time. The main process for selecting the memory to be read is the process of step S55 shown in FIG.

Note that there are various methods for selecting the memory to be read, and the method shown in FIG. 6 and described here is merely an example.
In the example of FIG. 6, it is first determined whether there is screen association information (step S51).

  FIG. 7 shows an example of the screen association information. The screen association information, for example, created by the developer or the like on the drawing editor device 5 side along with the creation of the arbitrary screen data 22 is downloaded and stored together with the screen data 22 to the programmable display device 1. Is.

  The screen association information indicates, for example, a transition relationship (switching source and switching destination) between a plurality of screens constituting the screen data 22. In FIG. 7, each rectangle and the name in the rectangle indicate each screen and the screen name. A straight line connecting the rectangles indicates the transition relationship (switching source and switching destination) of each screen. For example, the “production line 1” screen is the only switching destination from the illustrated “management screen” screen. The switching destination from the illustrated “Line 1-2” screen is the “Production Line 1” screen or the “Line 1-1” screen. The switching destination from the “production line 1” screen shown in the figure is the “line 1-1” screen, the “line 1-2” screen, the “production line 2” screen, or the “management screen” screen.

  However, the screen association information is not always created. From this, first, the presence or absence of screen correlation information is determined (step S51). If there is screen association information (step S51, YES), a screen (switching candidate screen) that can be a switching destination from the currently displayed screen with reference to this screen association information is selected. (Step S52). Then, the process proceeds to step S53. The “screen having a high selection priority” may be referred to as an “external memory prefetch target screen”.

On the other hand, if there is no screen association information (step S51, NO), the process proceeds to step S53 as it is.
This is an example, and the present invention is not limited to this example. For example, even if there is no screen association information, a screen having a high selection priority may be determined based on data of a specific item (the screen changeover switch) on the currently displayed screen. That is, the item data related to the screen changeover switch includes identification information of the screen to be changed over. Therefore, the screen indicated by the identification information may be a screen having a high selection priority.

  In addition, when there are a plurality of screens that can serve as switching destinations from an arbitrary screen, a plurality of the screen switching switches are displayed on the arbitrary screen. In this case, a plurality of screens corresponding to the plurality of screen changeover switches are screens having a high selection priority. The plurality of screens become switching destination candidate screens, and among them, the screen is switched to a screen corresponding to the screen switching switch operated by the user. Thus, when the user operation is performed, it is desirable that the external memory prefetching process is already executed once for all items related to all the switching destination candidate screens. If so, no matter which one of the plurality of switching destination candidate screens is specified, the determination in step S4 is YES for all the items, and it is not necessary to perform external memory access when switching the screen. Become.

  In step S53, it is determined whether all data has been stored in the internal buffer. For example, for all items on all the switching destination candidate screens, whether or not data has been read from the allocated memory area and stored in the internal buffer at least once (whether or not data has been acquired from all read target memories). )).

  For example, in the prefetch memory selection process in step S55, a mode for selecting from among read target memories that have not yet acquired data (data not acquired memory priority) until the state of “all data stored in internal buffer” is reached. Mode). When there is no memory to be read that has not yet been acquired (when all data has been stored in the internal buffer), this time, the stored data in the internal buffer is updated to the latest data in order from the oldest data ( Old data priority update mode).

  After step S53 becomes YES, step S4 is YES regardless of which screen is selected by the user as described above, so external memory access is required for screen switching. There will be no.

  The non-acquisition memory priority mode is set until the determination in step S53 is YES, and the mode is switched to the old data priority update mode when the determination in step S53 is YES (step S54). Thereafter, the old data priority update mode is maintained until the screen is switched. If the screen is switched in step S7, the process returns to the non-acquisition memory priority mode and then returns to step S1.

When any one or more of the above-described steps S51 to S54 are executed, the prefetch memory selection process of step S55 is executed.
In the process of step S55, for example, when the current mode is the unacquired memory priority mode, the prefetch memory is preferentially selected from the items (the allocated memory) whose data is not acquired. At this time, the item of the screen having the high selection priority may be selected preferentially among the items for which data has not been acquired, but is not limited to this example. In the process of step S56 described later, data is read from the selected prefetch memory.

  On the other hand, if the old data priority update mode is currently set, the item (the allocated memory) corresponding to the oldest data (for example, discriminated based on the update time 75 described later) among the data stored in the internal buffer is selected. Select a pre-read memory.

In any case, the number of prefetch memories is not limited to one, but may be plural (may be a predetermined number determined in advance).
The above is the basic method of selecting the prefetch memory. However, the present invention is not limited to these examples. For example, when there is a free physical port, the external memory (allocated memory) accessed using the free physical port is given priority. May be selected. For example, in the example of FIG. 8 described later, there are a port connected to the illustrated connected device 4-1 and a port connected to the connected device 4-2. In this example, when currently communicating with the connected device 4-1 by the allocated memory access process for the currently displayed screen, the port connected to the connected device 4-2 is the free physical port. Accordingly, in this example, an item whose allocation memory is the memory in the connected device 4-2 may be preferentially selected as the prefetch memory.

  Alternatively, for items satisfying a predetermined condition, data reading (and storage in an internal buffer) may be performed by taking advantage of the allocated memory access processing relating to the currently displayed screen.

  The item satisfying the predetermined condition is, for example, an item that should be synthesized (added) to a memory list 90 to be described later with respect to data of a memory list P2 to be described later related to the item. Examples of such items are listed below, but are not limited to these examples. An item for accessing the same memory device as the access destination memory device related to the currently displayed screen.

  An item for accessing a memory area (such as address D104 in this example) continuous to the allocated memory area (for example, addresses D100 to D103) related to the currently displayed screen. In other words, for example, items that can be accessed collectively at addresses D100 to D104.

  Then, the data is read from the prefetch memory selected in step S55 (step S56), and the read data is temporarily stored in the internal buffer (step S57).

Of course, if possible, the entire read target memory may be selected as the prefetch memory in step S55.
In this method, when switching to an arbitrary screen is instructed, if the processing in steps S56 and S57 has been performed for all items on the switching destination screen, the switching is performed using the data in the internal buffer. The previous screen (its initial state) will be displayed. That is, it is not necessary to acquire data from the external memory at the time of screen switching (it is not necessary to communicate with the connection device 4). Therefore, screen switching is realized in a very short time.

  Even when only the part of the items on the switching destination screen is processed in steps S56 and S57, the screen switching can be realized in a shorter time compared to the conventional case. Normally, screen switching is configured not to be performed unless data acquisition of all items related to the switching destination screen is performed.

FIG. 8 is a configuration / processing function diagram of the programmable display device 1 of this example.
When the CPU 11 executes a predetermined program (for example, the main body program 21, the communication program 23, etc.) stored in the ROM 12, for example, various processing function units shown in a dotted line in FIG. 8 are realized. That is, the following processing functions of various processing function units such as the item generation unit 51, the item processing schedule unit 52, the item processing unit 53, and the communication processing unit 54 (54-1, 54-2, etc.) shown in the figure are realized.

  For example, the item generation unit 51, the item processing schedule unit 52, and the item processing unit 53 are realized by the main body program 21. The communication processing unit 54 is realized by the main body program 21 and the communication program 23.

  The item generation unit 51 generates an item list 56 based on the screen data 22 or the like. This is generated, for example, by extracting a part of the screen data 22 (further, a processed flag 87 described later is added).

  Here, as described above, the screen data 22 includes data relating to a plurality of screens, and the item list 56 basically stores data relating to the currently displayed screen. Thus, each time the screen changeover switch is operated, the item generation unit 51 deletes the data in the existing item list 56 and the shared memory 55, and a new item list 56 and the shared memory 55 corresponding to the switching destination screen. (However, there is no data in the data 64 of the shared memory 55 at this time, and data of the communication memory 57 is copied later, for example).

  The item generation unit 51 further deletes the data in the communication memory 57 after the data in the communication memory 57 has been copied to the shared memory 55, and a new communication memory 57 corresponding to the next switching destination candidate screen. (However, there is no data in the data 74 of the communication memory 57 at this time). However, this processing may be performed by the communication processing unit 54. The “next switching destination candidate screen” is a screen corresponding to the screen changeover switch in the switching destination screen.

  The item processing schedule unit 52 performs schedule management such as display update processing of each item by the item processing unit 53. That is, the item processing schedule unit 52 periodically calls the item processing unit 53, for example, and executes, for example, the processing of FIG. 17 described later (in other words, cyclically executes the processing of FIG. 17).

  The item processing unit 53 displays the image at a predetermined position and updates the display content (for example, an ON / OFF image) for each item based on the item list 56 and data stored in the shared memory 55 described later. Switch and update the numerical display).

  The item processing unit 53 draws (decompresses) various images on the RAM 13 in accordance with the above processing. As a result, the graphic controller 15 displays the drawing data on the display, whereby the display operation screen is displayed. This drawing data is updated by the item processing unit 53 whenever necessary, for example, every time processing shown in FIG. In addition, the process itself of the item processing unit 53 may be basically the same as the conventional one.

  The communication processing unit 54 is a communication processing unit 54-1, 54-1 provided corresponding to each connected device 4 (4-1, 4-2). For example, the communication processing unit 54 performs an update process of data stored in the shared memory 55.

  That is, the illustrated communication processing unit 54-1 performs communication with the connection device 4-1 via the communication line 6 using the communication port WAY1 corresponding to the connection device 4-1, and the external memory thereof. Stored data in a predetermined area (allocated memory area). This is to acquire data related to an item to which an external memory in the connected device 4-1 is allocated among items on the screen currently being displayed. The acquired data is overwritten and stored in a predetermined area of the shared memory 55.

  Similarly, the illustrated communication processing unit 54-2 performs communication with the connection device 4-2 via the communication line 6 using the communication port WAY2 corresponding to the connection device 4-2, and externally transmits the communication port WAY2. Data stored in a predetermined area (allocated memory area) of the memory is acquired. This is to acquire data related to an item to which an external memory in the connected device 4-2 is allocated among items on the screen currently being displayed. The acquired data is overwritten and stored in a predetermined area of the shared memory 55.

However, the update process itself of the data stored in the shared memory 55 is substantially the same as the existing process. Each communication processing unit 54 in this example executes not only the above existing process but also the following new process.
That is, each communication processing unit 54 further executes a process of updating data stored in the communication memory 57. Here, the communication memory 57 stores data relating to the above-described switching candidate screen. As described above, for example, the screen corresponding to the screen switch on the currently displayed screen is the switching candidate screen.

  The communication processing unit 54 also obtains data from the corresponding external memory in the same manner as the currently displayed screen for the switching candidate screen. However, the acquired data is stored not in the shared memory 55 but in the internal buffer. A communication memory 57 corresponds to the internal buffer. That is, the communication processing unit 54 reads the stored data in the allocated memory area of each item on the switching candidate screen and stores it in the communication memory 57. Of course, each of the communication processing units 54-1 and 54-2 only reads data from the connection device 4 that the communication processing unit 54-1 and 54-2 is responsible for.

The new process can be said to be an update process of data stored in the communication memory 57. An example of this process is the process of FIG. 6 described above.
From the above, the data structure (each data item) of the communication memory 57 is basically the same as that of the shared memory 55. The data structures of the shared memory 55 and the communication memory 57 are shown in FIG. 9 and will be described later.

  When the screen switch is operated by the user at an arbitrary timing, the communication processing unit 54 (or the item generation unit 51 or the like) copies (overwrites) the data stored in the communication memory 57 to the shared memory 55. This makes it possible to display the switching destination screen without having to access the external memory (allocated memory area).

Here, specific examples of the item list 56, the shared memory 55, and the communication memory 57 will be described.
FIG. 9A shows a data structure example of the shared memory 55, and FIG. 9B shows a data storage example of the shared memory 55.

In the illustrated example, the shared memory 55 includes data items of a port 61, a device name 62, an address 63, data 64, and error information 65.
The port 61 is identification information or the like of the communication port, and is substantially information for identifying the connection device 4 of the communication partner. The device 62 is identification information of a memory device (external memory) in the connection device 4 of the communication partner. The address 63 is an address of a predetermined storage area in the external memory indicated by the device 62, and the data 64 stores data acquired from this storage area.

  The device name 62 and the address 63 may be regarded as corresponding to the “allocated memory address” of each item. These are copies of, for example, a device name 84 and an address 85 of an item list 56 described later. The port 61 may be a communication port number determined by determining the corresponding connected device 4 based on the device name 62, for example. Alternatively, the device name 84 described later may include not only the memory device name but also communication port identification information.

The error information 65 stores error information (such as “error” shown in FIG. 9B) when there is a communication error with the connected device 4 or the like.
FIG. 9C shows a data structure example of the communication memory 57, and FIG. 9D shows a data storage example of the communication memory 57.

  The communication memory 57 includes data items of a port 71, a device name 72, an address 73, data 74, and an update time 75. Among these, the data items of the port 71, the device name 72, the address 73, and the data 74 may be substantially the same as the data items 61, 62, 63, and 64 of the shared memory 55. Each time the stored data of the data 74 is updated, the update time 75 stores the time at that time (for example, the elapsed time from the start-up time). In the update process of data 74 to be described later, for example, the record with the shortest update time 75 (in other words, the oldest time since the previous update; the oldest) among all the records becomes the update process target record. .

  For example, in the example shown in FIG. 9D, the first record (update time 75 = “5000” record) is the update process target record. Of course, the present invention is not limited to this example. For example, there may be a plurality of update process target records. That is, not only the oldest record but also the second oldest record or the third oldest record may be set as the update process target record.

FIG. 10A shows an example of the data structure of the item list 56.
The item list 56 in the illustrated example includes data items of item type 81, coordinates 82, size 83, device name 84, address 85, “data for each item type” 86, and processed flag 67.

  As described above, the item list 56 stores predetermined information related to each item on the currently displayed screen. Basically, each record corresponds to each item. Therefore, the item list 56 is updated every time the screen is switched. That is, at the time of screen switching, the stored data in the item list 56 at that time is deleted, and new data is generated and stored based on the screen data 22. Of course, the new data is data related to each item on the switching destination screen.

  The item type 81 stores item type identification information indicating the type (switch, lamp, numerical display, etc.) of the item. Note that the item type may further include a “screen changeover switch” or the like.

  The device name 84 and the address 85 are information related to the external memory access of each item, and correspond to the allocated memory address. That is, the storage area indicated by the address 85 in the external memory indicated by the device name 84 is an area assigned to the item (the assigned memory area). The stored data in the allocated memory area indicates the current state of the monitoring / control target related to the item. For example, if the item type 81 is a lamp, flag data indicating lighting / extinguishing of the lamp is the stored data. This stored data is updated at any time on the connected device 4 side. The stored data in the allocated memory area is periodically read out and temporarily stored in the data 64 of the corresponding record in the shared memory 55.

  “Data for each item type” 86 includes, for example, an image related to the item (for example, a lamp on image and a lamp off image for a lamp item, or a switch ON image and a switch OFF image for a switch item). Various item images) are stored.

The coordinates 82 and size 83 store information indicating the display position and size of the item image on the operation display screen (screen).
Here, the screen changeover switch is also a kind of the item, and therefore information regarding the screen changeover switch is also stored in the item list 56.

FIG. 10B shows a data storage example of the screen changeover switch in the item list 56.
First, since the screen changeover switch is a kind of switch, the item type 81 stores “switch”. However, not limited to this example, when “screen changeover switch” is defined as the item type, the item type 81 stores “screen changeover switch”. This example will be used in this description.

Further, since the external memory access is not required, the storage data of the device name 84 and the address 85 is “none”.
The “data for each item type” 86 stores not only the item image but also the identification ID (screen number or the like) of the switching destination screen corresponding to the screen switch.

FIG. 12 shows the state of each item before and after screen switching.
In the illustrated example, screen No. No. 1 screen no. The state of switching to the screen of 2 is shown. That is, screen No. When the screen changeover switch ("Switch SW to screen No. 2" in the figure) on the screen is operated while the screen of screen No. 1 is being displayed, screen No. 1 is displayed. It will switch to the second screen. Although not shown, screen No. There is also a screen changeover switch on the second screen.

  The five rectangles on each screen shown in the figure mean item display on the screen, but do not indicate actual display contents. That is, the character in each rectangle means the allocated memory address of each item. As shown in the figure, when the screen is switched, the displayed item is changed, and the allocated memory address is also changed.

  That is, for example, screen No. In the state where one screen is being displayed, the communication processing unit 54 reads out stored data from each of the allocated memories 'D100', 'D200', 'D300', 'X0', and 'Y0' shown in the figure. Store in the shared memory 55. Then, the item processing unit 53 displays the screen No. based on the data stored in the shared memory 55. 1 screen is displayed. This is substantially the same as the conventional one, but in this method, the communication processing unit 54 further displays the screen No. The stored data is read out from each of the allocated memories ‘D1100’, ‘D1200’, ‘D1300’, ‘M0’, and ‘M1’ related to the screen 2 and stored in the communication memory 57. In this method, the communication processing unit 54 or the like further executes a process of copying the data stored in the communication memory 57 to the shared memory 55 when the “switching to screen No. 2” is operated.

Hereinafter, the processes of the communication processing unit 54 and the item processing unit 53 will be described in more detail.
13, 14, 15, and 16 are process flowchart diagrams (1/4), (2/4), (3/4), and (4/4) of the communication processing unit 54.

Hereinafter, the communication processing unit 54 will be described with reference to FIGS. 13, 14, 15, and 16 (refer to FIG. 13 and the like without distinction).
For example, in the example of FIG. 8, each of the communication processing units 54-1 and 54-2 executes the process of FIG. 13 cyclically (at a constant cycle).

  In the processing example of FIG. 13 and the like, first, the shared memory 55 is referred to, and the memory list 90 related to the connected device 4 that the user is in charge of is generated (step S11). For example, in the case of processing by the communication processing unit 54-1, the memory list 90 related to the connected device 4-1 is generated from the shared memory 55.

FIG. 11A shows a data configuration example of the memory list 90.
In the illustrated example, the memory list 90 includes data items of a device name 91, an address 92, data 93, and error information 94. The error information 94 is not always necessary.

  For example, the communication processing unit 54-1 extracts all records in which the port 61 is “WAY 1” from the shared memory 55. The information of the device name 62, address 63, and data 64 of each extraction record is stored (copied) in the device name 91, address 92, and data 93. As a result, the memory list 90 related to the connected device 4-1 is generated. The data 93 is not always necessary.

Thereafter, while referring to the generated memory list 90, the processing between steps S12 to S23 shown in the figure is repeatedly executed until the determination in step S23 is NO.
In other words, an unprocessed record is taken out from the memory list 90 (as a process target record), a memory read command based on the contents of the process target record is generated, and transmitted to the connected device 4 that the user is in charge of via the communication line 6 (Step S16). Then, it waits for a response from the connected device 4 to this memory read command (step S17). However, before performing the process of step S16, the current state is checked to determine whether or not the screen is being switched (step S12).

  For example, a predetermined storage area corresponding to the screen changeover switch is set in advance, and a flag is stored in the predetermined storage area. Each time the screen changeover switch is operated, the flag is turned ON. The predetermined storage area may store not only the flag but also an identification ID (screen number or the like) of the switching destination screen.

  Note that the item generation unit 51 constantly monitors this flag, and executes the generation process of the item list 56 every time the flag is turned ON. That is, the current data in the item list 56 is deleted, information on each item on the switching destination screen is extracted from the screen data 22, and stored in the item list 56.

  For example, the determination process in step S12 is performed with reference to the flag. If the flag is ON, it is determined that the screen is being switched (step S12, YES), and the process proceeds to step S13. In step S13, the communication memory 57 is searched to detect a corresponding record to be described later, for example, whether data has been stored for the corresponding record (whether any data is stored in the data 74; whether pre-read data exists) ) Is checked (step S14).

  Here, as an example, the determination in step S14 is performed for all items on the switching destination screen. However, when there are a plurality of switching candidate screens, the communication memory 57 stores data of many items related to the plurality of switching candidate screens. Therefore, it is necessary to determine the item of the switching destination screen from among these many items. Therefore, for example, as an example, each record in the communication memory 57 may store the identification ID (screen number, etc.) of the screen corresponding to the record (item). Not exclusively.

  In any case, the determination in step S14 is performed for all records (corresponding records) corresponding to the items of the switching destination screen in the communication memory 57. Then, all the records (copy target records) that are determined to have been stored in the record (YES in step S14) are copied to the shared memory 55 (step S15). For example, the data items 71 to 73 and the data 74 of each copy target record are copied to the data items 61 to 63 and the data 64 of the shared memory 55. At this time, the data items 71 to 73 may be copied to the data items 61 to 63 of the shared memory 55 even for records in which no data is stored.

Note that all existing data in the shared memory 55 may be erased before the copy to the shared memory 55 is executed.
On the other hand, when there are one or more items (data acquisition target items) for which the determination in step S14 is NO among the items on the switching destination screen, the processing in steps S16 and S17 is performed for each data acquisition target item. The external memory is accessed to acquire data, and the process of storing the acquired data in the data 64 of the corresponding record in the shared memory 55 is executed by the process of step S19. The external memory access destination in this case is not based on the memory list 90 created in step S11, but based on the device name 72 and address 73 of the communication memory 57, but is not limited to this example. .

  Of course, if the determination in step S14 is YES for all items on the switching destination screen, the processes in steps S16 and S17 need not be performed. Of course, this is a story at the time of screen switching, and after the switching, processing such as steps S16 and S17 is periodically executed for each item on the currently displayed screen.

  Note that the flag may be turned off before the process of step S13 is executed. Further, all the data in the memory list 90 may be processed (this forces step S23 to be NO).

  In addition, the process (especially the process of step S13, S14, S15) when determination of the said step S12 becomes YES is not restricted to the example mentioned above. For example, the item generation unit 51 regenerates the item list 56 according to the flag ON as described above, but the shared memory 55 may be regenerated along with this. In the case of this example, for example, when the data items 61 to 63 in the shared memory 55 already correspond to the switching destination screen in the process of step S15, the data 74 is simply copied to the data 64. (There is no need to copy other data items).

The processing when the screen switching instruction is given has been described above.
On the other hand, if there is no screen switching instruction (step S12, NO), the process between steps S16-S23 is performed for each item on the screen currently displayed based on the memory list 90 created in step S11. The process is repeated until S23 becomes NO.

  Regarding the step S16, the memory read command includes information on the allocated memory address by the device name 91 and the address 92 of the memory list 90. The connected device 4 reads out data from the storage area indicated by the allocated memory address and performs response processing for returning the read data. However, a communication error may occur. In this case (step S18, YES), “error” is stored in the error information 65 of the corresponding record in the shared memory 55 (step S22), and the process proceeds to step S23. .

  If there is no communication error (NO in step S18) and there is a normal response from the connected device 4 (step S17), the communication processing unit 54 stores the read data included in this response in the shared memory 55 as a processing target record. Is overwritten and stored in the column of the data 64 in the record corresponding to (step S19). However, a record corresponding to the processing target record (referred to as a corresponding record) may exist in the communication memory 57 instead of the shared memory 55. This is a case where the record to be processed is temporarily added to the memory list 90 in the process of step S31 described later.

  For example, when step S19 is normally executed, it is determined in step S20 that there is no synthesis (NO in step S20), and the process proceeds to step S23. On the other hand, if the corresponding record does not exist in the shared memory 55, it is determined that “compositing is present” (step S20, YES), and the read data acquired in step S17 is stored in the data 74 of the corresponding record in the communication memory 57. Store (step S21). Then, the process proceeds to step S23.

  In addition, although the process of step S11 is first performed every time the process of FIG. 13 etc. is performed in the figure, it is not restricted to this example. This is because it is not necessary to create the memory list 90 one by one unless the contents of the shared memory 55 are changed (that is, unless screen switching is performed). Of course, when the screen is switched, the contents of the shared memory 55 are changed to those corresponding to the switching destination screen, so that the process of step S11 needs to be executed. In that sense, for example, when step S12 becomes YES, the process of step S11 may be executed immediately after the completion of the various processes corresponding thereto, for example, immediately after step S23 becomes NO. .

  If an unprocessed record remains in the memory list 90 (step S23, YES), the process returns to step S12. If there is free time in the process (step S24, YES), the following data prefetching process regarding the switching candidate screen is executed.

  First, the memory list P2 is generated based on the communication memory 57 (step S26). Since the data structure itself of the memory list P2 is the same as that of the memory list 90, it will be described using the data items 91 to 94 shown in FIG.

  In this example, for example, every time this process is performed, the data prefetching process is executed with any one of the records in the memory list P2 as a processing target. For example, an item for which data has not been acquired is preferentially processed. That is, if there is a record that does not contain stored data in the data 93 among the records in the memory list P2 (step S27, YES), this is set as a process target record. If there are a plurality of records for which data has not been acquired, for example, the records are processed in order from the top (registration order) (step S28).

  On the other hand, when all the records in the memory list P2 have been acquired (step S27, NO), the oldest data record is set as a process target record (step S29). For example, the record having the smallest data value of the update time 75 is determined from the records in the communication memory 57, and the record in the memory list P2 corresponding to this record is set as the processing target record.

  It should be noted that a data item (referred to as an update time 95 (not shown)) obtained by copying the update time 75 may be provided in the memory list P2. In this case, in the process of step S29, the record with the smallest data value of the update time 95 among the records in the memory list P2 is set as the process target record.

  Then, the memory record command is generated / transmitted and a response is received (steps S32, S33) in substantially the same manner as steps S16, S17. If there is no communication error (NO in step S34) and the response is normally received, the received data is overwritten and stored in the data 74 of the corresponding record in the communication memory 57 (step S35). Further, at that time, the update time 75 is updated (for example, the elapsed time from the start to the current time is stored). If there is a communication error (step S34, YES), it is not processed (step S36).

  Alternatively, after determining the processing target record in step S28 or S29, it is determined whether it is better to combine the external memory access process related to the processing target record with the external memory access process related to the currently displayed screen. You may make it like (step S30). Since a specific example of this determination method has already been described, it is omitted here.

  If it is determined that combining is better (step S30, YES), the processing target record may be temporarily combined (added storage) in the memory list 90 (step S31). In this case, the processing target record is deleted from the memory list P2.

  For the item for which the process of step S31 has been executed, the data prefetching process is performed together with the data acquisition process from the allocated memory area relating to the currently displayed screen. The acquired data obtained by the prefetch process is overwritten and stored in the data 74 of the corresponding record in the communication memory 57 by the process of step S21.

  13 to 16 show processing examples corresponding to the basic selection method among the selection methods described in step S55 of FIG. 6 described above, and the present invention is not limited to this example. Other selection methods described in step S55 may be added, but specific examples thereof are omitted.

FIG. 17 is a processing flowchart of the item processing unit 53.
As described above, the processing in FIG. 17 is cyclically executed under the management of the item processing schedule unit 52.

  In the processing example of FIG. 17, the item processing unit 53 first executes an initialization process for the item list 56 (step S41). For example, the processed flag 87 of all records in the item list 56 is set to “unprocessed”. Thereafter, the processing of steps S42 to S47 is repeatedly executed until step S47 described later becomes NO.

  That is, in the item list 56, an arbitrary record among the records whose flag 87 is “unprocessed” is set as a processing target record, and the device name 84, the address 85, and the like are acquired by referring to the processing target record (step S42), using these, the corresponding record in the shared memory 55 is searched to acquire the data (step S43). That is, for example, a record whose device name 62 and address 63 are the same as the device name 84 and address 85 is the corresponding record. Then, data 64 and error information 65 of the corresponding record are acquired as memory information 100 (step S43).

The memory information 100 includes data 101 and error information 102 shown in FIG. 11B, which are the acquired data 64 and error information 65.
If the error information 102 is not “error” (step S44, NO), a normal item drawing process (for example, the RAM 13) using the data 101 and information of the processing target record (item image, coordinates, size, etc.). Is expanded (step S45). Then, the processed flag 87 of the processing target record is set to ON (processed) (step S46).

  On the other hand, if the error information 102 is “error” (step S44, YES), the process of step S46 is executed as it is without executing the process of step S45.

  If an unprocessed record remains (step S47, YES), the process returns to step S42. When the process is executed for all the records (step S47, NO), this process ends.

  The process itself of the item processing unit 53 may be substantially the same as the conventional one. Conventionally, if there is no data 64 in step S43, the determination in step S44 is YES, and no item drawing is performed. For this reason, if no data is stored in the shared memory 55 yet, for example, immediately after screen switching, item drawing is not performed until the processing for acquiring data from the allocated memory area and storing it in the shared memory 55 is completed. Will not be done. That is, the screen to be switched is not displayed until the above processing is completed, and it takes time to switch the screen. This method can solve such a conventional problem.

FIG. 18 shows an example of the processing time of each processing unit.
As described above, the item processing schedule unit 52 cyclically activates the item processing unit 53 to execute the processing shown in FIG. 17, for example (item processing time of the current screen shown in the figure; display cycle).

  Each communication processing unit 54, for example, basically displays the currently displayed screen after the item processing unit 53 completes the processing of FIG. 17 at an arbitrary timing until the next processing of FIG. It is sufficient that the data acquisition process (next external memory access process) related to is completed. Conventionally, since the processing of each communication processing unit 54 is often set to be performed with a margin, there is a high possibility that idle time will occur as illustrated.

  In this way, with respect to the communication processing unit 54, for each display cycle, predetermined communication processing (for each item on the currently displayed screen, the storage data in the allocated memory area is acquired and stored in the shared memory 55. Execution time and idle time occur. Thus, in the present method, the data prefetching process is executed using this idle time.

As described above, according to the programmable display 1 of this example, screen switching in the programmable display can be performed quickly.

Claims (8)

First data acquisition means for acquiring data from an external memory related to each item on an arbitrary screen being displayed, and storing the acquired data in a first internal memory;
Screen display means for displaying / updating a screen related to the screen being displayed based on data stored in the first internal memory;
A switching destination candidate screen that can be a switching destination from the screen being displayed is determined based on screen association information indicating a transition relationship between a plurality of screens or data of a specific item on any screen being displayed. Second data acquisition means for acquiring data from an external memory related to each item on the switching destination candidate screen that is not being displayed, and storing the acquired data in a second internal memory;
If there is a switching instruction to the other screen from the arbitrary screen, it has a, a screen switching processing means for switching to the other screen using the data stored in the second internal memory,
The data acquisition / storage process by the first data acquisition unit is preferentially executed, the data acquisition / storage process by the second data acquisition unit is executed in a free time,
The said 2nd data acquisition means makes at least one part item of each item on the said other screen a process target item for every process execution, The programmable display characterized by the above-mentioned. The programmable display device according to claim 1, wherein the second data acquisition unit preferentially selects an item whose data is not yet stored in the second internal memory as the processing target item. The data of the oldest data is preferentially selected as the processing target item when data is stored in the second internal memory for all items on the other screen. The programmable display according to 2. The screen switching processing means realizes switching to the other screen by storing data stored in the second internal memory in the first internal memory . The programmable display according to item 1 . The screen switching processing means stores the data stored in the second internal memory in the first internal memory, so that when the screen is switched, the screen display means does not perform the processing of the first data acquisition means. The programmable display according to claim 4, wherein screen display relating to the other screen is performed. When there is an item that is not stored in the second internal memory among the items on the other screen at the time of screen switching, the data acquisition by the first data acquisition unit and the first by data stored to the internal memory is performed, the programmable display device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that switching to the other screen can be realized. The other screens are programmable display device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that one or more screens that can be a switching destination from any screen in the display. Programmable display computer,
First data acquisition means for acquiring data from an external memory related to each item on an arbitrary screen being displayed, and storing the acquired data in a first internal memory;
Screen display means for displaying / updating a screen related to the screen being displayed based on data stored in the first internal memory;
A switching destination candidate screen that can be a switching destination from the screen being displayed is determined based on screen association information indicating a transition relationship between a plurality of screens or data of a specific item on any screen being displayed. Second data acquisition means for acquiring data from an external memory related to each item on the switching destination candidate screen that is not being displayed, and storing the acquired data in a second internal memory;
When there is an instruction to switch from the arbitrary screen to another screen, it functions as a screen switching processing means for switching to the other screen using the data stored in the second internal memory ,
The data acquisition / storage process by the first data acquisition unit is preferentially executed, the data acquisition / storage process by the second data acquisition unit is executed in an idle time ,
The second data acquisition means is a program for setting at least some of the items on the other screens as processing target items for each processing execution .

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