JPH10149207A - Man-machine interface device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To identify an operator and to automatically change and set the operation range, etc., of a screen function, operator by operator, by identifying an operator who tries to operate and allowing the identified operator to operate by referring to data on an operation authority range in response to some operation input. SOLUTION: When the identification code of an operator is inputted to an arithmetic processor 18, an operation-parameter-by-operator setting part sets the kind and range of parameters that can be operated corresponding to the authority level of the operator by referring to operation-parameter-by-operator setting range data 19d in a storage device 19. Then the operator is enabled to make a visual judgement by changing the display colors of parameters by display screens according to whether operation is allowed or not. Further, whether or not parameters that can be operated can be adjusted and their adjustment permissible ranges are sets by the parameters according to the authority level of the operator to make it possible to visually judge the corresponding parameters on the display screens by color differences and other methods.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a man-machine interface device which is connected to a plant monitoring and control device and serves as an interface between an operator and a control device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a distributed digital controller is widely used for automatic control of various industrial plants, and the operating state of a plant is monitored by the controller.
A man-machine interface device including a display device, a keyboard, and a pointing device is used to perform necessary operations.

Conventionally, a man-machine interface device used for such plant monitoring control has a configuration as shown in FIG. That is, one or a plurality of display devices (here, a CRT display device) 1 and a keyboard 2
And an arithmetic processing unit 3 for performing various arithmetic processing, an input processing unit 4 for receiving an input signal from an external peripheral device to the arithmetic processing device 3, and an output signal from the arithmetic processing device 3 to an external peripheral device or a plant. It comprises an output processing unit 5 for outputting to the monitoring and control device. Also, a touch panel (not shown) is attached to the screen of the display device 1 as a pointing device, and input by touch operation is also possible. To further ensure safety, a key 6 is used to limit the input operation range according to the responsibility level of the operator, and the operation stage, supervisor stage, and engineering stage are defined by the position of the key 6, An input limiting unit 7 for limiting the types of parameters and limit values that can be changed according to each stage is provided. In addition, an area for which the man-machine interface device is controlled in the distributed digital controller by receiving a CRT number is provided. A selection device 8 for selecting is provided.

[0004]

However, the conventional man-machine interface device having such a configuration has no function of automatically identifying an operator who performs an operation, and sets an operable range. Is limited in control station units corresponding to the target devices / devices to be operated. The setting range of parameters is limited by changing the operable stage by the position of the hard key switch, and the function is assigned to each key of the keyboard However, since only one type is determined in advance for each stage, and only a few fixed types of screen configurations can be displayed as a system, the following problems arise.

[0005] As described above, since there is no function for automatically identifying an operator, the type of operation screen, the assignment of functions to each key of the keyboard, the changeable range of control parameters, and the like are different for each driving authority level. Uniquely determined, the screen functions defined by each operator cannot be automatically reproduced within the operable range corresponding to the operator's driving authority level, which greatly restricts usability. There was a problem that the operation history could not be taken out.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of such conventional problems, and has been made in consideration of the above-described problems. It is an object of the present invention to provide a man-machine interface device capable of automatically changing and setting for each operator and easily extracting an operation history for each operator.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a display device, a keyboard, and a pointing device,
In a man-machine interface device that interfaces between a plant monitoring control device and an operator, an operator identification unit that identifies an operator operating the device, and an operator that stores an operating authority range for each of the plurality of operators. Another authority range storage unit, and an operator identified by the operator identification unit by referring to data in the operator-specific authority range storage unit when an operator performs an input operation with the pointing device or an input operation with the keyboard. And valid input determination means for determining whether or not the operation input is permitted.

In the man-machine interface device according to the first aspect of the present invention, the operator who attempts to operate the device is identified by the operator identification means, and the valid input determination means responds to a certain operation input by the operator-specific authority range. Referring to the data of the operation authority range stored in the storage means, it is determined whether or not the input operation is permitted for the identified operator. If the input operation is permitted, the operation is performed. Enter the input as valid and reject the operation input if it is not allowed.

Therefore, if each operator starts operation while sitting in front of the apparatus without being conscious of setting the position of the hard key switch as in the prior art, only operations corresponding to the authority range of the operator are input. You can do it.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the man-machine interface device according to the first aspect, further comprising: an operator-specific screen characteristic storing means for storing operation screen characteristics of each of the plurality of operators; Screen display control means for displaying an operation screen on the display device with operation screen characteristics corresponding to the operator identified by the operator identification means by referring to data in the storage means.

In the man-machine interface device according to the second aspect of the present invention, if an operator attempts to sit down in front of the device and perform an operation, the operator identifying means identifies the operator and the screen display control means. Refers to the data of the operator-specific operation screen storage unit that stores the operation screens of the plurality of operators, and displays the operation screen corresponding to the operator identified by the operator identification unit on the display device. Therefore, just by sitting in front of the apparatus, each of the plurality of operators can automatically change the operation screen to an operation screen corresponding to the operator, thereby improving the usability.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the man-machine interface device according to the first or second aspect, further comprising: an operator-specific keyboard storage means for storing keyboard function assignments for a plurality of operators; Key input interpreting means for converting the input signal into a control signal corresponding to the operator identified by the operator identifying means with reference to the data of the operator-specific keyboard storage means and inputting the control signal. is there.

In the human-machine interface device according to the third aspect of the present invention, if an operator performs a key input operation while sitting in front of the present device, the operator identification means identifies the operator and the key input interpretation means. Refers to the data in the keyboard storage means for each operator, which stores the keyboard function assignments for a plurality of operators, and displays the operation screen assigned to the key for the operator in response to the operated key input. It can be found out and displayed on the display device, and the operation screen can be developed according to the individual difference and authority range of each operator, thereby improving the usability.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the man-machine interface device according to any one of the first to third aspects, an operation screen displayed on the display device by each of a plurality of operators is stored in chronological order for each operator. The operator-specific screen history storage means, referring to the data of the operator-specific screen history storage means, read the operation screen of the operator identified by the operator identification means from the operator-specific screen history storage means, Operation screen history display control means to be displayed on the display device.

In the man-machine interface device according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, when a certain operator operates the apparatus, the operator identification means identifies the operator, and the operation screen history display control means controls the plurality of operator. The operation screen of the operator identified by the operator identification means is read out from the data of the operator-specific screen history storage means, which stores the operation screens displayed on the display device in chronological order for each operator, and is read to the display device. Can be displayed. For this reason, each operator can display his / her own past operation screen on the display device and check it, thereby improving usability.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the man-machine interface device according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, further comprising operation history storage means for storing the history relating to the operation of each of the plurality of operators, and the operation history storage means. From the data of the operation history search means for each operator to search and output the operation history data for each operator, if necessary, display the operation history data for each operator on the display device, or The data can be output to a printer, and the usability can be improved.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the man-machine interface device according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, further comprising an operator presence determining means for determining whether an operator is present on the front surface of the display device. And an operation right presence / absence determining means for determining that the operation right has been abandoned when the operator presence determining means determines that the operator is absent.

In the man-machine interface device according to the sixth aspect of the present invention, a certain operator is operating while sitting in front of the present device. The absence is determined, the operation right presence / absence determination means determines that the operation right has been abandoned, and the operator identification up to that point is canceled. Therefore, when another operator comes to the operation seat, the operator is identified and automatically switched to the screen setting, keyboard function assignment, etc. according to the operator, and the operation by another new operator is continued. Can be realized, and usability can be improved.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the man-machine interface device according to any of the first to sixth aspects, a password analyzing means, an ID card reading means,
It employs a barcode reading means, a retina determination means or a fingerprint determination means, and can automatically identify an operator by these means.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the man-machine interface device of the sixth aspect, the operator presence determining means is attached to an infrared detecting means for detecting an operator present at an operating position or a chair used by the operator. The weight detection means is employed, and by these means, it is possible to automatically detect that the operator has left the operation seat.

[0021]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a functional configuration of an embodiment of the present invention. A man-machine interface device of this embodiment includes an operator recognition device 11 for recognizing an operator by any means described later, A CRT display device 12 for displaying various information to an operator, a touch panel 13 for input by touch operation, and a keyboard 14 for key input (preferably an electronic item key). It is prepared as.

The man-machine interface device receives signals from the operator recognition device 11, the touch panel 13 and the keyboard 14 as internal elements, and receives a signal from a plant monitoring and control device (not shown) connected to the device via the LAN 15. An input / output processing unit 16 that controls an input / output interface with an external device, such as receiving a signal, outputting the received signal to a CRT display device 12 or a keyboard 14, and outputting an operation command to a plant through a LAN 15, performs various arithmetic processing described later. A storage device 1 comprising a hard disk drive, an MO drive, or other large-capacity auxiliary storage device, which includes an arithmetic processing unit 18 for executing the arithmetic processing unit 18 and stores various data necessary for performing the arithmetic operation of the arithmetic processing unit 18
9 is provided.

The operator recognition device 11 (actually, a function of collation processing with personal identification information registered in the storage device 19 by the arithmetic processing device 18, but here, it will be described as a device that executes one function) As shown in FIG. 2, (1) a keyword is collated by inputting a password from the keyboard 14, and when the collation is established, the name is registered as personal information of the corresponding operator registered in the personal information data 110. A method of taking out an authority range (operator mode only, operation up to supervisor mode) and outputting it to the arithmetic processing unit 18; (2) ID card 111 possessed by each operator is read by ID card reader 11
(3) a method in which a barcode 113 owned by each operator is read by a barcode reader 114 to perform an operator verification;
(4) A method in which the operator wears the retinal recognition device 115 and reads and identifies the retinal pattern of the eyeball 116 of the operator.
(5) The fingerprint 118 of the operator by the fingerprint determination device 117
For example, various known recognition methods for identifying an individual operator, such as a method of collating the operator, can be adopted.

In the storage device 19, together with various program data to be executed by the arithmetic processing device 18, an operation screen for displaying an operation screen on which only operations permitted by the operator operating the man-machine interface device can be performed. Operator-specific operation screen data 19a, keyboard-function-assignment data 19b for storing keyboard function assignments according to individual settings for each operator, whether or not adjustment is possible according to the authority level for each operator, and a range of control parameters that can be adjusted Control parameter setting range data 1 for each operator
9c, operator-specific operation parameter setting range data 19d defining the range of parameters that can be operated according to the authority level for each operator, history data 19e of an operation screen for each operator, and operation history data 19f for each operator Has been saved.

The arithmetic processing device 18 performs various functions by executing various programs registered in the storage device 19.
1 is called from the operator-specific operation screen data 19a and is displayed on the CRT display device 1.
2, an operator-specific keyboard function allocating unit 18b that performs an operator-specific keyboard function allocation with reference to the operator-specific keyboard function allocation data 19b that displays the operation screen on the operator 18 is recognized. In response to the operator's parameter adjustment operation, the operator-specific control parameter setting range data 19c is searched and the parameters that can be adjusted and the operator-specific control parameter setting unit 18c that sets the adjustable range are set by the operator. The operator-specific operation parameter setting unit 18 that searches the operator-specific operation parameter setting range data 19d for the operation and determines whether the operation is possible or not.
d, and sequentially write the operation screen for each operator to the operation screen history data 19e for each operator, and upon receiving a display request, read the operation screen for each operator from the data 19e and develop and display it on the CRT display device 12. The operator-specific operation screen history search unit 18e sequentially writes operator-specific operation histories in the operator-specific operation history data 19f, and upon receiving an output request, displays the operator-specific operation history data from the data 19f on the display device 12. An operator-specific operation history search unit 18f for displaying or outputting to a printer is provided.

Next, the operation of the man-machine interface device having the above configuration will be described. In operation, the operator sits in front of the man-machine interface device and
An operation screen is to be displayed on the display device 12. At this time, it is necessary to first recognize who the operator is and what level of authority the operator has. The operator is recognized by the recognition device 11.

This operator recognition procedure is performed by inputting a password to the keyboard 14 if the password is input as described above. In addition, if it is based on the other system shown in FIG. 2, the procedure is followed. The operator recognition device 11 reads a password or other identification code unique to the operator, checks it against a pre-registered identification code, and if a match is obtained, determines that the operator is an authorized operator. The authority level of the operator recognized with reference to 110 is determined, and the authority level data is given to the arithmetic processing unit 18 together with the operator name data (or an identification code in place of the operator name data), and the subsequent driving operation is enabled. If the operator cannot be identified here, it is regarded as an operation by an unauthorized user, and all subsequent operation inputs are invalidated.

When the processor 18 receives the operator recognition signal, the operator-specific operation screen search unit 18a causes
The operation screen data 19a for each operator in the storage device 19 is searched based on the identification code of the operator, and the operation screen registered for the corresponding operator is called. At the same time, as shown in FIG. 4, in the operator-specific keyboard function allocation section 18b of the arithmetic processing unit 18, the operator-specific keyboard function allocation data 19b is searched and the keyboard function allocation registered for the corresponding operator is performed. Reads data and assigns keyboard functions. For example, a key (1
-1) is a screen, key (1-2) is a screen b,..., Key (4-3) is a function key as a call key of an n screen.
Displays the name of the screen function corresponding to each keytop, so that the operator can easily understand which key should be operated for the necessary screen development.

The identification code of the operator is
5, the operator-specific operation parameter setting unit 18d refers to the operator-specific operation parameter setting range data 19d in the storage device 19 and operates according to the authority level of the operator A, as shown in FIG. The type and range of parameters that can be set are set, and the display color of the parameters is changed depending on the display screen depending on whether or not operation is possible, or only the parameters that can be operated are displayed so that the operator can visually determine them. I do. The operator-specific control parameter setting unit 18c
Refers to the operator-specific control parameter setting range data 19c in the storage device 19, sets whether or not adjustment is possible for each operable parameter in accordance with the authority level of the operator A and the allowable adjustment range, and responds on the display screen. The parameters to be displayed are displayed so that they can be visually judged by color coding or other methods.

In this way, the operator A is recognized, and if it is determined that the operator A is an authorized operator, an operation screen (a large number of images) registered in advance for the operation of the operator A is prepared. Assign keyboard function and assign keyboard 14
Screen functions corresponding to the respective keys are displayed, and the arithmetic processing unit 18 internally allows the operator A to perform any parameter operation up to the authority range and further to perform any parameter adjustment operation. Also, the operator A can perform an operation according to the authority level.

Then, while the operator A develops an operation screen appropriate for the plant state and operates the plant, as shown in FIG. 6, the operation history search section 18f for each operator, as shown in FIG.
The information synthesizing unit 18f1 receives the operation signal of the touch panel 13 and the operation input of the keyboard 14 through the input / output processing unit 16, synthesizes it with the operator identification code from the operator recognition device 11, adds a time stamp, and Operation data, which is the operation history data 1 for each operator in the storage device 19
9f. A plant response signal sent from a plant monitoring and control device (not shown) via the LAN 15 is received by the equipment operation response detection unit 18f2, and an operator identification code and a time stamp are added to the operation history data 19f for each operator. Save sequentially. The operator-specific operation history search unit 18f has an operation history data output function, displays a list of operation history data for each operator on the CRT display device 12 as necessary, and prints out the data by a printer.

Further, an operation screen history search section 18e for each operator
Is a screen displayed on the CRT display device 12 by the operation screen detection unit 18e1, and what operation has been performed on the screen by the keyboard 14 or the touch panel 13, and an operator identification input from the operator recognition device 11 is detected. A time stamp is added together with the code, and the time stamp is sequentially stored in the storage device 19 as operator-specific operation screen history data 19e. If it is necessary to display a list of the operation screen histories for each operator, the operation screen history display processing unit 18e2 receives the display instruction and searches the operation screen history data 19e for each operator, and the last operation unit data is obtained for each operator. CR on which screen and what kind of operation was performed during the operation of
A list is displayed on the T display device 12.

As described above, according to the man-machine interface apparatus of the first embodiment, the identification code is input as a password for each operator, and is input using an ID card or a bar code and collated, or An operator is identified by the recognition processing by the recognition means and the fingerprint determination means, and at the same time, the authority level is also determined. Function assignments are also performed, and operation histories and operation screen histories for each operator are also saved, and operation histories and operation screen histories are output for each operator as necessary. Operational monitoring operation of the plant can be performed for each operator with settings according to the operator, and operation history can be output for each operator, improving operability. Achieved.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The man-machine interface device according to the second embodiment includes an operator recognition device 11 for recognizing an operator sitting in an operation seat, as shown in detail in FIG. The operator is seated by the infrared sensor 201 as the operator presence detecting means or the weight sensor 203 attached to the operation chair 202 in order to determine whether or not the operator has left the operation seat and abandoned the operation right. A weight determination device 204 is provided to determine whether or not there is an operation right when an operator presence signal is received from the operator presence detection means, and it is determined that there is no operation right when an operator absence signal is received. The right / absence determining device 20 and the operator recognizing device 11 perform the operator identification, and the right / non-right determining device 20 determines that the operation right exists. Given operator identification signal to the arithmetic processing device 18 is characterized in that an information combining unit 21 to Ready.

Therefore, in the case of this embodiment,
The operator having the operation authority is seated in the operator's seat, and performs the same operation as in the first embodiment in the unit of the operator only while the operator detecting means detects the presence of the operator. Although the operation history data can be output, when the operator leaves the operator's seat and the operator detecting means detects the absence of the operator, the right / non-permission judging device 20 considers that the operator has abandoned the operation right. The determination that there is no right is output to the information synthesizing unit 21, and the information synthesizing unit 21 does not input the operator identification code to the arithmetic processing unit 18, and the operation is prohibited.

As described above, according to the second embodiment, similarly to the first embodiment, the operator is individually identified and the operation is performed on the operation screen according to the authority level of the operator. In addition to this, if the operator leaves the operator's seat, the operation right is abandoned, and the operation cannot be restarted unless a new operator or the person returns to the operator's seat again. Thus, the reliability of the operation input can be improved.

[0037]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention,
If each operator sits in front of the device and starts operation without being conscious of the setting of the hard key switch position as in the past, only operations in accordance with the authority range of the operator can be input, and reliability can be improved. Convenience can be enhanced together with the nature.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, a plurality of operators can automatically prepare and operate an operation screen corresponding to the operator only by sitting in front of the apparatus, and Usability can be improved.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, when a certain operator sits in front of the apparatus and performs a key input operation, an operation screen assigned to the key corresponding to the operated key input for the operator Can be expanded and displayed, and usability can be improved.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the past operation screen of the operator can be displayed and confirmed on the display device for each operator, and the usability can be improved.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the operation history data for each operator can be displayed on the display device or output to the printer as needed, thereby improving usability.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, when a certain operator sits in front of the apparatus and operates, but leaves the seat and leaves, it is determined that the operation right has been abandoned and the operation is prohibited. Thereby, the reliability of the operation can be improved.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the password analyzing means, the ID card reading means, the bar code reading means,
Operators can be individually and automatically identified by the retina determining means or the fingerprint determining means.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, the presence or absence of the operator is automatically detected by infrared detecting means for detecting the operator present at the operating position or weight detecting means attached to the chair used by the operator. Can be determined.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing various means that can be adopted as the operator recognition device in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the arithmetic processing device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing keyboard function assignment processing for each operator in the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an operator-specific operation parameter setting process and an operator-specific control parameter setting process in the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an operation history saving and searching process for each operator in the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an operation screen history saving and searching process for each operator in the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a functional block diagram according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing various means that can be adopted as the operator recognition device and the operator presence detecting means in the embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a functional block diagram of a conventional example.

[Description of Signs] 11 Operator Recognition Device 12 CRT Display Device 13 Touch Panel 14 Keyboard 15 LAN 16 Input / Output Processing Unit 18 Arithmetic Processing Device 19 Storage Device 20 Rights Existence Judgment Device 21 Information Synthesizing Unit 18a Operator-Specific Operation Screen Searching Unit 18b Operator-specific keyboard function assignment unit 18c Operator-specific control parameter setting unit 18d Operator-specific operation parameter setting unit 18e Operator-specific operation screen history search unit 18f Operator-specific operation history search unit

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A man-machine interface device having a display device, a keyboard, and a pointing device, and interfacing a plant monitoring and control device with an operator, comprising: an operator identification means for identifying an operator operating the device; An operator-specific authority range storage unit that stores an operating authority range for each of a plurality of operators; and an operator-specific authority range storage when an operator performs an input operation using the pointing device or an input operation using the keyboard. A man-machine interface device comprising: a valid input determination unit configured to determine whether the operation input is permitted to the operator identified by the operator identification unit with reference to data of the unit. 2. The man-machine interface device according to claim 1, wherein the operator-specific operation screen storage means storing the operation screens of the plurality of operators, and data of the operator-specific operation screen storage means. A man-machine interface device comprising: a screen display control means for displaying an operation screen corresponding to the operator identified by the operator identification means on the display device. 3. The man-machine interface device according to claim 1, wherein a keyboard storage means for each operator which stores a keyboard function assignment for each of a plurality of operators, and a key input signal of a certain operator. A key input interpreting means for referring to data in the operator-specific keyboard storage means and converting the input into a control signal corresponding to the operator identified by the operator identifying means and inputting the control signal. 4. The man-machine interface device according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of operators stores the operation screens displayed on the display device in a time-series manner for each operator. With reference to data in a history storage unit and the operator-specific screen history storage unit, an operation screen of the operator identified by the operator identification unit is read from the operator-specific screen history storage unit and displayed on the display device. A man-machine interface device comprising: an operation screen history display control means for causing the operation screen history display control means. 5. The man-machine interface device according to claim 1, wherein an operation history storage unit that stores a history related to an operation of each of the plurality of operators, and data of the operation history storage unit. A man-machine interface device comprising operator-specific operation history search means for searching and outputting operator-specific operation history data. 6. The man-machine interface device according to claim 1, wherein an operator presence determining unit that determines whether an operator is present on a front surface of the display device, and the operator. A man-machine interface device comprising: operation right presence / absence determination means for determining that the operation right has been abandoned when the presence determination means determines that the operator is absent. 7. The operator identification means includes a password analysis means, an ID card reading means, a bar code reading means,
The man-machine interface device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the device is a retinal determination unit or a fingerprint determination unit. 8. The operator presence determination means is infrared detection means for detecting an operator present at an operation position or weight detection means attached to a chair used by the operator. 2. The man-machine interface device according to 1.