JP2006048189A - Monitoring display device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a monitoring display device connecting a direct print communication standard ready printer for printing a graphic image of high flexibility printing layout. <P>SOLUTION: This monitoring display device is provided with a printing condition setting part 43, utilizing a communication standard for direct connection between an image output apparatus, such as a camera and a printer via a communication cable for printing an image, a print image generating part 44, and a print communication part 45, in addition to a status information acquisition part 42 acquiring status information from a control apparatus and a liquid crystal display 12. The printing condition setting part 43 is provided with a means setting printing conditions, including a size of print paper, a printing position of a graphic display image on the printing paper, and a printing scaling factor for the graphic display image. When a printing start instruction signal is given, the printing image generating part 44 generates a print image for the whole of the print paper, including the graphic image based on the printing conditions set by the printing condition setting part 43 and transfers the data to the printing communication part 45. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a monitoring display device for monitoring the latest status information from a control device using a graphic display image.

  2. Description of the Related Art Some display devices for monitoring facilities such as factories and plants include a graphic display such as an LCD (liquid crystal display) (see, for example, Patent Document 1). This monitoring display device obtains status information from various control devices such as a programmable logic controller (PLC) provided in the facility, and combines a prestored figure or table basic image with the obtained status information. Thus, a highly visible graphic display image is generated and displayed as a monitoring image on the graphic display. Some types of monitoring display devices of this type include a so-called touch panel configured with transparent electrodes or the like as an input device on the display surface of a graphic display. There is also a so-called program display, which can be used to edit a diagram or table of a basic image or control a control device using a personal computer.

In the monitoring display device as described above, there are cases where it is desired not only to display a graphic image such as a monitoring image on a graphic display, but also to print from a printer in order to create an operation method manual or a form. Therefore, in a conventional monitoring display device, a connection unit for connecting to a printer is prepared as an option (extension unit), or such a function is provided in the main body. A general-purpose printer that is commercially available for personal computers is used for printing.
JP 2000-242306 A

  Many general-purpose printers as described above are connected to a personal computer using a parallel interface (Centronics standard), but in recent years, connection using a USB (Universal Serial Bus) has become mainstream. Some new commercially available printers do not have a parallel interface but only have a USB port. For this reason, it has become necessary to make the printer connection function provided in the monitoring display device or its extension unit compatible with USB.

  In addition, since general-purpose printers provided by each manufacturer use different control commands for each manufacturer or printer model, each control command is used to support each printer. An interface program (driver) is required. In the case of a personal computer, driver software that is used in a general-purpose operating system is provided by the printer manufacturer, so it can be used, but operating systems that do not provide driver software or dedicated system software In the case of an operating monitoring display device, it is necessary for the manufacturer to develop and provide driver software for each printer. If it is intended to support a large number of printers, the burden of developing driver software will increase.

  In recent years, with the popularization of digital cameras, standardized communication standards for directly connecting digital cameras and printers with USB cables and printing images stored in digital cameras directly with printers have been proposed and put into practical use. Yes. This is called camera direct or card direct, and there is a communication standard called PictBridge (registered trademark) as an example. For printers and image output devices (digital cameras, etc.) compliant with such communication standards (hereinafter referred to as direct printing communication standards), even if the manufacturer and model are different, they can be connected to each other and directly print images. Can do.

  Therefore, it is conceivable that the printer connection function of the monitoring display device conforms to the direct printing communication standard represented by PictBridge. Then, any printer that complies with the direct printing communication standard can be connected without preparing an interface program for each printer. However, PictBridge is a standard standardized for the purpose of printing by directly connecting a digital camera and a printer without using a personal computer, and has a limited printing function. In other words, it has only a function for selecting one or a plurality of images to be printed from a plurality of images stored in the digital camera and an interface for designating a print layout (format). Therefore, for example, the position of the print image with respect to the print paper and the print magnification cannot be set. However, when printing an image for creating an operation manual, a form, or the like, it is often desirable to print by changing the print position and print magnification of the image on the printing paper. Therefore, in order to use the direct printing communication standard such as PictBridge for the printer connection function of the monitoring display device, it is necessary to devise a technique for increasing the degree of freedom of the printing layout.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a monitoring display device capable of printing a graphic image with a highly flexible print layout by connecting an arbitrary printer compatible with the direct printing communication standard. And

  The first configuration of the monitoring display device according to the present invention includes a state information acquisition unit that acquires state information from a control device, a basic image of a figure or table stored in advance, and state information acquired by the state information acquisition unit A display image generation unit that generates a graphic display image by combining the display device and a graphic display that displays the graphic display image generated by the display image generation unit, and displays the latest state information from the control device as a graphic display image. A monitoring display device for monitoring by a print condition setting unit for printing an image using a communication standard for directly connecting an image output device such as a camera and a printing device with a communication cable, A printing image generation unit and a printing communication unit, and the printing condition setting unit includes a printing paper size, a printing position of a graphic display image in the printing paper, and Means for setting a printing condition including a printing magnification of the graphic display image, and the print image generation unit displays a graphic based on the printing condition set by the printing condition setting unit when a print start instruction signal is given A print image of the entire print sheet including the image is generated, and the data is transferred to the print communication unit.

  According to such a configuration, an arbitrary printer that supports a communication standard (direct printing communication standard) for directly connecting an image output device such as a camera and a printing device with a communication cable is connected to the monitoring display device. Thus, a graphic display image can be printed. At that time, the printing condition setting unit can set printing conditions including the size of the printing paper, the printing position of the graphic display image on the printing paper, and the printing magnification of the graphic display image. Accordingly, it is possible to create and secure a margin area. That is, it is possible to print a graphic display image with a highly flexible print layout.

  According to a second configuration of the monitoring display device of the present invention, in the first configuration, the print condition setting unit includes a print condition setting screen displayed on the graphic display, an input unit, and an input-set print. And means for storing conditions. According to such a configuration, the print condition setting unit can be realized by using a hardware configuration such as graphic display or input means originally provided in the monitoring display device. The input means may be a so-called touch panel configured with a transparent electrode or the like on the display surface of the graphic display, or may be an input device such as a keyboard provided separately from the graphic display.

  A third configuration of the monitoring display device according to the present invention shows one embodiment of each of the above-described configurations. As one of the graphic display images, a basic image of a diagram or a table that does not have status information is provided. It is included. That is, not only a graphic display image as a monitoring image including state information but also a basic image can be printed.

  According to a fourth configuration of the monitoring display device of the present invention, in any one of the above-described configurations, a display device body including a status information acquisition unit, a display image generation unit, and a graphic display, and a print auxiliary unit including a print communication unit And is detachable. According to such a configuration, the printing auxiliary unit is prepared as an optional extension unit, and the configuration of the display device main body can be suppressed to the minimum necessary, which is advantageous for downsizing and cost reduction of the display device main body. It is.

  According to a fifth configuration of the monitoring display apparatus of the present invention, in any one of the configurations described above, as one of the printing conditions set by the printing condition setting unit, the relative direction between the printing paper and the graphic display image is set. It can be set. According to such a configuration, it is possible to print a graphic display image with a print layout with a high degree of freedom.

  A sixth configuration of the monitoring display device according to the present invention shows an embodiment of each of the above-described configurations, and the print image generation unit enlarges or reduces the graphic display image by the print magnification and the print paper. A print image is generated by superimposing an entire margin image according to a print position.

  The seventh configuration of the monitoring display device according to the present invention shows another embodiment different from the sixth configuration described above, and the print image generation unit generates the entire margin image of the print sheet by the reciprocal of the print magnification. A print image is generated by superimposing an enlarged or reduced image and a graphic display image in accordance with a print position.

  In the direct printing communication standard (Pictobridge), an image magnification conversion function for enlarging or reducing an image received on the printing apparatus (printer) side according to the size of the printing paper is provided. The same print result as that of the configuration is obtained. That is, according to any of the sixth and seventh configurations, it is possible to generate a print image of the entire printing paper including the graphic display image, that is, a print image in which a margin is added around the graphic display image.

  According to an eighth aspect of the monitoring display device of the present invention, in any of the above-described configurations, the portable storage medium reading device is further provided, and an image stored in the portable storage medium is read to obtain a graphic display image. It is possible to do this. According to such a configuration, for example, the graphic display image generated by the display image generation unit is stored in the portable storage medium, and is stored at another opportunity or using another monitoring display device. It is possible to display or print the graphic display image read from the medium.

  According to a ninth configuration of the monitoring display apparatus of the present invention, in any one of the configurations described above, the monitor display device further includes a portable storage medium writing device, and the print image can be stored in the portable storage medium. . According to such a configuration, a print image generated from a graphic display image can be stored in a portable storage medium and used at another opportunity or with another monitoring display device.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is an external view schematically showing a monitoring display device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1A is a front view, FIG. 1B is a side view, and FIG. 1C is a rear view. This display device incorporates an electronic circuit board on which a microcomputer and its peripheral circuits are mounted in a display device body 11 having a substantially rectangular resin case, and a graphic display is provided on the front side of the display device body 11. Liquid crystal display 12 and a touch panel sensor.

  The liquid crystal display 12 can perform color display with a resolution of SVGA (800 × 600 dots), for example. On the display surface of the liquid crystal display 12, a touch panel sensor made of a transparent electrode is provided. For example, a keyboard image can be displayed on a liquid crystal display, and a touch panel sensor can detect that a specific key is pressed (touched). Since this type of touch panel sensor (sometimes simply referred to as a touch panel) is well known, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

  An extension connector 14 for connecting an extension unit prepared as an option is provided at a substantially central portion on the back surface of the display device main body 11. In the example of FIG. 1, a printing auxiliary unit 13 for connecting a printer is attached to the back surface of the display device body 11 as an expansion unit. The auxiliary printing unit 13 is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped resin case in which an electronic circuit board having a communication function with a printer and the like is built, a connector 15 directly connected to the expansion connector 14 of the display device main body 11, a USB, (Universal Serial Bus) A USB port 17 for connecting a cable 16 is provided. That is, the auxiliary printing unit 13 attached to the back surface of the display device main body 11 and the external printer (printing device) are connected via the USB cable 16. In addition to the auxiliary printing unit 13, an Ethernet (registered trademark) unit for connecting to a LAN (local area network), a video input unit, and the like are prepared as expansion units.

  In addition, a PLC connector 18 for connecting a cable to a control device such as a PLC (programmable logic controller) is provided at the lower back of the display device body 11. The monitoring display device obtains status information from a control device such as a PLC, generates a graphic display image by combining a basic image of a diagram or table stored in advance and the obtained status information, and the liquid crystal display 12. To display. In addition, a connector 19 for connecting a barcode reader, a terminal block 21 for connecting various I / O units, two types of communication ports 22 for connecting a communication cable with a personal computer, and a video input unit are connected. A second expansion connector 23 and the like are provided on the back surface of the display device main body 11.

  Further, a memory card slot 24 to which a memory card as a portable storage medium can be attached and detached is provided in the upper right part of the back surface of the display device main body 11, and a card reader / writer for reading and writing data in the memory card is provided therein. It has been. As will be described later, the memory card is used for storing a print image and reading (reusing) a graphic display image.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a system configuration in which a printer is connected to the monitoring display device according to the embodiment of the present invention. This display device has a function of printing an image by connecting to a printer compatible with Pictbridge (registered trademark), which is a direct printing communication standard, through a print auxiliary unit 13 attached to the back surface of the display device body 11. Have. FIG. 2 mainly shows a graphic image display and printing function among various functions executed by a microcomputer (MPU) 31 built in the display device body 11 according to a program.

  As shown in the block diagram of FIG. 2, the display device body 11 includes, in addition to the liquid crystal display (and touch panel) 12 and the microcomputer 31, a card reader / writer 32, a memory 33, and an I for a control device. / O34 and the like. The card reader / writer 32 reads data from a memory card 35 that is a portable storage medium and passes the data to the microcomputer 31 or writes data to the memory card 35 in accordance with a command from the microcomputer 31. Further, the microcomputer 31 includes a display image generation unit 41, a state information acquisition unit 42, a print condition setting unit 43, and a print image generation unit 44 by programs stored in the built-in ROM.

  Status information from the control device 36 such as a PLC (for example, values such as temperature, voltage, and current detected by various sensors, or counter values output from the counter) is input to the microcomputer 31 via the I / O 34. And acquired by the state information acquisition unit 42. The acquired state information is combined with a basic image of a figure or table stored in advance to become a graphic display image. The basic image is created in advance using, for example, a personal computer and stored in the memory 33 of the display device body 11. The display image generation unit 41 of the microcomputer 31 generates a graphic display image, which is a monitoring image, by reflecting state information on the basic image of the figure or table read from the memory 33. This graphic display image is displayed on the liquid crystal display 12 which is a graphic display.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a graphic display image. This example is a monitoring image for production management in a factory, and the product number, target value, and current value are displayed on the liquid crystal display 12 as a table. The form of this table is created in advance using a personal computer. It can also be created using the liquid crystal display 12 and the touch panel of this monitoring display device. A target value (target production quantity) is also set in advance. As the current value (current production number), a value (counter value) that is constantly input from the control device 36 such as a PLC installed in the production line is displayed.

  Below the table, three buttons (keys) for inputting using the touch panel are arranged. The “menu” button is a button for moving to the menu screen. On the menu screen, for example, sub-menus such as target value setting, table editing, basic image or monitoring image storage, readout, and printing can be selected. The “BACK” button is a button for moving to the previous page, and the “NEXT” button is a button for moving to the next page. With these buttons, you can refer to a table that spans multiple pages.

  A table in which the current value column that changes from moment to moment is blank is stored in advance in the memory 33 as a basic image. The display image generation unit 41 of the microcomputer 31 reflects the state information (current value) acquired from the control device 36 by the state information acquisition unit 42 in the basic image read from the memory 33, as shown in FIG. A graphic display image that is a monitoring image is generated.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating another example of the graphic display image. This example is an image for monitoring the temperature and liquid amount of each tank in the plant. A plurality of tanks in the plant and piping connecting them are displayed on the liquid crystal display 12 so that the visibility is enhanced as a three-dimensional figure (picture). For the tank to be monitored, the amount of liquid inside is displayed as a bar graph, and the liquid temperature is numerically displayed below it. The liquid amount and the liquid temperature are configured such that detection signals of the liquid amount sensor and the liquid temperature sensor provided in each tank of the actual plant are input via the control device 36 such as a PLC. When the liquid volume or liquid temperature becomes abnormal in any of the tanks, an “EMERGENCY” mark is displayed at the center of the screen to alert the monitor.

  In the lower left corner of the screen, a plant automatic / manual switching button and on / off switching buttons for pumps, fans, etc. are displayed. These buttons are input using a touch panel provided in the liquid crystal display 12. Although omitted in the block diagram of FIG. 2, the input command is transmitted from the microcomputer 31 to the target device / equipment via the I / O and PLC.

  In the lower right of the screen, four buttons (keys) for performing input using the touch panel are also arranged. In order from the left, there are a “previous page” button, a “menu 1” button, a “menu 2” button, and a “next page” button. The “menu 1” button and the “menu 2” button are buttons for moving to the menu screen. A plurality of submenus are distributed on two menu screens. The plurality of submenus include a menu for editing a figure (basic image), a menu for setting a threshold value for determining an abnormality, a menu for saving, reading, and printing a basic image or a monitoring image.

  The graphic display image of FIG. 4 is stored in advance in the memory 33 as a basic image except for the display of the liquid amount and the liquid temperature that change every moment. The display image generation unit 41 of the microcomputer 31 reflects the state information (liquid amount, liquid temperature, and the like) acquired from the control device 36 by the state information acquisition unit 42 in the basic image read from the memory 33, so that FIG. A graphic display image which is a monitoring image as shown in FIG.

  Returning to FIG. 2, the image printing function will be described. The monitoring display device of the present invention has a function of printing a monitoring image, a basic image, or the like by connecting to a printer compatible with the direct printing communication standard (Pictobridge) as described above. For this function, the microcomputer 31 includes a print condition setting unit 43 and a print image generation unit 44. Further, the print auxiliary unit 13 having the print communication unit 45 corresponding to the direct print communication standard is connected to the display device body 11 and is connected to the printer 51 via the USB cable.

  The printer 51 temporarily stores the print data received via the I / O 52 in the buffer memory 53, and the print data is transferred from the buffer memory 53 to the printer engine 54. Further, an image magnification conversion unit 55 is provided in a printer compatible with the direct printing communication standard. This is a function of enlarging or reducing the received print image (data) so that the photo image received from the digital camera fits on the entire sheet. Usually, this function is realized by a microcomputer mounted on the printer 51.

  Therefore, for example, when a graphic display image such as a monitoring image generated by the monitoring display device is converted into a print image as it is and transmitted to the printer 51, the image is printed on the entire printing paper (for example, A4 paper). become. However, unlike printing a photograph, printing an image on a monitoring display device requires printing on a part of a sheet at an arbitrary position at an arbitrary magnification. In other words, it is necessary to compensate for the low degree of freedom related to the print layout in the direct printing communication standard.

  Therefore, in the monitoring display device of the present embodiment, the user can set printing conditions such as printing magnification and printing position by the printing condition setting unit 43 and the printing image generation unit 44 provided in the microcomputer 31. A print image obtained by converting the graphic display image in accordance with the set print conditions is transmitted to the printer 51. When setting the printing conditions by the printing condition setting unit 43, a setting screen is displayed on the liquid crystal display 12, and the user can perform setting input through the touch panel.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print condition setting screen. This setting screen is roughly divided into an upper “common setting” and a lower “print setting”. The “printer model” of “common setting” assumes a case where a printer other than the printer compatible with the direct printing communication standard supports a limited number of models. If you touch the triangle mark at the right end of the input box, a list of compatible printer models other than printers that support the direct printing communication standard appears as a pull-down menu, from which you can select. This setting item is not required for specifications that can be connected only to a printer that supports the direct printing communication standard. In “paper size”, the size of paper to be printed (A4, B5, etc.) is selected from the list appearing in the pull-down menu. “Save memory card” is set when the print image is to be saved in the memory card. In other words, a check mark is displayed when the left square box is touched, and the memory card saving is enabled.

  The “printing direction” in the “print setting” can set the relative direction of the printing paper and the graphic display image to either the portrait orientation or the landscape orientation. In the illustrated example, a check mark is placed on the left side of “vertical”, and the vertical orientation is set. As the “color mode”, either color printing or monochrome printing can be selected. With “print quality”, the print quality that is in a trade-off relationship with the printing speed can be set to either standard (high quality) or high speed (low quality). The “printing magnification” is, for example, that the magnification for printing a display image of 800 × 600 dots on the entire printing paper is 1, and the display image is printed on a part of the printing paper at a printing magnification smaller than that. If you touch the triangle mark at the right end of the input box, you can select the print magnification from the pull-down menu list that appears.

  “Upper margin” and “Left margin” are input to set the print position when a display image is printed on a part of the printing paper. By touching the upper and lower triangular marks at the right end of each input box, the set value of the input box can be increased or decreased. The upper margin represents the distance (mm) from the upper end of the print sheet to the upper end of the print image, and the left margin represents the distance (mm) from the left end of the print sheet to the left end of the print image. If the upper margin and the left margin are set, the lower margin and the right margin are uniquely determined from the paper size, printing direction, and printing magnification.

  When the printing conditions are input on the setting screen as described above and the “return to menu” button at the upper right of the screen is pressed, the screen is moved to the menu screen, and the input printing conditions are transferred to the printing condition setting unit 43 and confirmed. . Thereafter, when the print start button is touched, a print start instruction signal is given to the print image generation unit 44. The print image generation unit 44 generates a print image of the entire print sheet including the graphic display image based on the print conditions from the print condition setting unit 43. That is, a print image is generated by adding a margin around the graphic display image and converting it to print image data. There are the following two methods for processing this print image.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a print image generation method according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In step # 101, the print image generation unit 44 acquires a print target image and a print condition. The print target image is not limited to the monitoring image (graphic display image) acquired from the display image generation unit 41 and may be any image that can be displayed on the liquid crystal display 12. For example, a basic image acquired from the memory 33 or an image read from the memory card 35 may be used. The printing conditions are set by the printing condition setting unit 43 as described above.

  In the next step # 102, an entire margin image of the printing paper is generated. In other words, margin (solid white) image data corresponding to the size of the entire print sheet is generated, and the print size and print direction set as print conditions are referred to. In subsequent step # 103, enlargement or reduction processing of the image to be printed is executed. At this time, the print magnification set as the print condition is referred to. For example, when the print magnification is 1/2, the size of the print target image is reduced to 1/2.

  In the next step # 104, the image to be printed and the entire margin image are combined. At this time, the print position set as the print condition is referred to. For example, when an upper margin of 50 mm and a left margin of 20 mm are set as printing positions, it is uniquely determined from the range from the upper end of the printing paper to 50 mm and from the left end to 20 mm, the paper size, the printing direction, and the printing magnification. Margin data remains in the range of the determined lower margin and right margin, and image data in which the other portion (center portion) is replaced with the data of the print target image after enlargement or reduction is obtained.

  The obtained image data is converted into a printable image format in the next step # 105 to become a print image. In the subsequent step # 106, it is checked whether or not saving of the print image to the memory card is set. This setting is as described with reference to FIG. If saving to the memory card is not set, a print image is output to the print communication unit 45 (step # 107). If saving to the memory card is set, the print image is transferred to the card reader / writer 32 instead of the print output, and is written to the memory card 35 (step # 108).

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a print image generation method according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In step # 201, the print image generation unit 44 acquires the print target image and the print condition, and generates a full-page margin image of the printing paper in the next step # 202. These processes are the same as those in the first embodiment. In the subsequent step # 203, the entire margin image is enlarged / reduced. At this time, the printing magnification set as the printing condition is referred to, and the entire margin image is enlarged or reduced by the reciprocal thereof. For example, when the print magnification is ½, the entire margin image is enlarged twice. In the first embodiment, the print target image is enlarged or reduced according to the print magnification without changing the entire blank image. In the second embodiment, the entire blank image is enlarged or reduced at the reciprocal of the print magnification without changing the print target image. Accordingly, the ratio of the size of the print target image and the entire margin image is the same in the first and second embodiments.

  In the next step # 204, the image to be printed and the entire margin image are combined. This synthesis process is the same as that described in the first embodiment except for the following points. That is, in the second embodiment, the entire margin image is enlarged or reduced by the reciprocal of the printing magnification, and therefore, the printing position is set as numerical values (mm) of the upper margin and the left margin as in the example shown in FIG. The numerical value needs to be enlarged or reduced by the reciprocal of the printing magnification. Since the processing after step # 206 is exactly the same as the processing after step # 106 of the first embodiment, the description thereof will be omitted.

  The print image output to the print communication unit 45 in the second embodiment is enlarged or reduced by the reciprocal of the print magnification. However, the image magnification conversion process is performed on the printer side so that the entire print image fits on the print paper. Will not be a problem. That is, as described above, the image data received by the printer 51 from the print communication unit 45 of the monitoring display device is enlarged or reduced by the image magnification conversion unit 55 so that the entire print image just fits on the entire sheet. Passed to the printer engine 54. In the case of the above-described first embodiment, a print image having a size that just fits on the print paper is sent from the print communication unit 45 to the printer 51, so that the image magnification conversion process on the printer 51 side is not substantially performed. (Magnification 1).

  Although the embodiments and modifications of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments and modifications, and can be implemented in other forms. For example, in the flowcharts of FIGS. 6 and 7, a processing step of saving the acquired print target image (and printing conditions) in the memory card 35 may be added after step # 101 or step # 201.

  In the above embodiment, the print auxiliary unit 13 including the print communication unit 45 is detachable from the display device main body as an extension unit. However, the print communication unit 45 is incorporated in the display device main body 11 and the extension unit is used. Alternatively, the printer connection function may be realized. Alternatively, the print auxiliary unit 13 may be equipped with a microcomputer so that the print auxiliary unit 13 is provided with functions such as the print image generation unit 44 instead of the display device main body 11.

  The print condition setting screen (user interface) shown in FIG. 5 is merely an example, and various changes can be made. For example, as a method for setting the print position, instead of entering the margin value, display the outline of the paper and print image on the screen, and touch the up, down, left, and right arrow buttons displayed on or near it to display the print position on the screen. It may be possible to visually set the movement above. Further, as setting items, page modification such as adding a frame decoration, a header, a footer, or the like to the margin part may be added. Further, the printing conditions may be set using an external personal computer or the like, and the set printing conditions may be transferred to the monitoring display device.

It is an external view which shows the outline of the display apparatus for monitoring which concerns on the Example of this invention. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a system configuration in which a printer is connected to a monitoring display device according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows an example of a graphic display image. It is a figure which shows another example of a graphic display image. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print condition setting screen. FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method for generating a print image according to the first embodiment of the invention. It is a flowchart which shows the production | generation method of the printing image which concerns on Example 2 of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

11 Display device body 12 Liquid crystal display (graphic display)
13 Print Auxiliary Unit 32 Card Reader / Writer (Read / Write Device)
35 Memory card (portable storage medium)
36 PLC (control equipment)
41 Display Image Generation Unit 42 Status Information Acquisition Unit 43 Print Condition Setting Unit 44 Print Image Generation Unit 45 Print Communication Unit

Claims (9)

A display image that generates a graphic display image by combining a state information acquisition unit that acquires state information from a control device, a basic image of a diagram or table stored in advance, and the state information acquired by the state information acquisition unit A monitoring display device that includes a generation unit and a graphic display that displays the graphic display image generated by the display image generation unit, and monitors the latest state information from the control device using the graphic display image. And
A printing condition setting unit for printing an image using a communication standard for directly connecting an image output device such as a camera and a printing apparatus with a communication cable, a printing image generation unit, and a printing communication unit;
The printing condition setting unit has means for setting printing conditions including a printing paper size, a printing position of the graphic display image in the printing paper, and a printing magnification of the graphic display image,
When the print start instruction signal is given, the print image generation unit generates a print image of the entire print sheet including the graphic display image based on the print conditions set by the print condition setting unit, and the data A monitoring display device, which is passed to the print communication unit. The monitoring according to claim 1, wherein the printing condition setting unit includes a printing condition setting screen displayed on the graphic display, an input unit, and a unit that stores the input printing condition. Display device. The monitoring display device according to claim 1, wherein one of the graphic display images includes a basic image of a diagram or a table that does not have the state information. The display apparatus main body including the status information acquisition unit, the display image generation unit, and the graphic display, and a print auxiliary unit including the print communication unit are detachable. The monitoring display device described. 5. The monitoring according to claim 1, wherein a relative direction between the printing paper and the graphic display image can be set as one of the printing conditions set by the printing condition setting unit. Display device. The print image generation unit generates the print image by superimposing an enlarged or reduced image of the graphic display image at the print magnification and an entire margin image of the print paper according to the print position. The monitoring display device according to any one of claims 1 to 5. The print image generation unit generates the print image by superimposing an image obtained by enlarging or reducing an entire margin image of the print sheet with a reciprocal of the print magnification and the graphic display image according to the print position. The monitoring display device according to any one of claims 1 to 5. The portable storage medium reading device is further provided, and an image stored in the portable storage medium can be read and used as the graphic display image. Display device for monitoring. The monitoring display device according to claim 1, further comprising a portable storage medium writing device, wherein the print image can be stored in the portable storage medium.

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