JP2007248579A - Method for editing screen and screen editing device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce load on editing operation by seamlessly executing editing operation. <P>SOLUTION: The screen editing method comprises a step for dividing a display screen into three elements, i.e. a screen, its background picture and the background color; a step for displaying a final state, obtained by combining all the elements on the same editing screen; and a step for executing the edition of the screen, the display/non-display and setting/change of the background screen and the display/non-display and selection/change of the background color, without selecting a function from a menu and separately opening a window, while reading the display state on the editing screen. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a screen editing method for editing a screen displayed on a display screen of a display, for example, and a screen editing apparatus such as a personal computer. In particular, the present invention is used in connection with a programmable logic controller (PLC) or the like. The present invention relates to a screen editing method for editing a screen to be displayed on a display device, and a screen editing apparatus used for carrying out this method.

  For example, PLC controls the sequence of multiple external devices, and displays the status of the external devices and controls the operation of external devices using components arranged and displayed on the display screen of the display connected to the PLC, and hosts each display. There are control systems such as power control and factory equipment that are commonly connected to a computer and can be managed collectively by the host computer. Examples of external devices in such a control system include operation panels, sensors, switches, actuators, meters, and indicator lights.

  In such a control system, the display screen of the display unit displays the status of the external device and parts for operating the external device. This part is defined as an HMI (Human Machine Interface) part. The HMI component includes a meter display component, a graph display component, a switch display component, and other display components. In recent years, it has become possible to control an external device by touching a component displayed on the display screen as a touch panel display screen (see Patent Document 1, etc.).

  There are various types of display components and arrangements according to the purpose of such display devices, and they are edited on an edit screen called up on the display of a personal computer, and the edited display screen is transferred from the personal computer to the display device. To be transferred.

  In this personal computer, application software for screen editing is installed using a storage medium such as a CD-ROM, and the user invokes the editing screen on the personal computer by starting the application software, and the editing screen is displayed on the editing screen. The display screen can be edited independently.

  In such editing on the editing screen, the present applicant has developed the following editing method which is not publicly known.

  That is, the display screen displayed on the display device is divided into three screen elements: a screen, a background screen set to be displayed as a background behind the screen, and a background color of the screen. Then, these divided screen elements are separately edited or set, and finally displayed on the editing screen. In such screen editing, since the background screen can be used in common for editing each display screen, the editing work is simplified.

  However, after combining the screen elements of the screen, background screen, and background color, for example, if it is necessary to change the background screen, the function for selecting the background screen is called from the menu and displayed on a separate setting window. The background screen is selected and the background screen settings are confirmed.

  Also, when changing the background color, call the function to select the background color from the menu in the same way as the background screen change procedure, select the background color on the separately displayed setting window, and confirm the background color setting. Follow the change procedure.

  As described above, when the background screen and the background color are changed after the screen, the background screen, and the background color are combined, the procedure of calling, selecting, setting, and combining the setting window as described above is repeated.

  For this reason, although the final screen can be displayed on the editing screen, there are several background screen candidates that you want to adjust by displaying only the content screen with the background screen hidden. When it is desired to switch to see the tone, it is necessary to repeat the above procedure many times, which is very troublesome and disturbs the editing tempo.

Such editing work is difficult, and in the situation where the number of displays increases with the increase in the number of installed PLCs in factory facilities and the like as in recent years, the screen editing work time from the screen editing operator There is an increasing demand for shortening and reducing the work burden.
JP 7-129364 A

  The present invention makes it possible to shorten the editing time and work burden in editing the display screen.

  The screen editing method according to the present invention can display a final state in which three screen elements of a screen, a background screen thereof, and a background color thereof are combined on the same editing screen portion, and the display state on the editing screen portion. While viewing the above, edit the above screen, display / hide and set / change the background screen, and display / hide and select / change the background color without selecting the function from the menu and opening a separate window It is characterized in that it is possible to do this without.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to seamlessly edit the state finally displayed by combining all screen elements (screen, background screen, background color) on the same editing screen. You will be able to work without disturbing.

  The display is preferably a display used in connection with a programmable logic controller.

  The screen editing device is preferably a personal computer in which screen editing software for executing the screen editing method is installed.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to smoothly edit the screen and reduce the work burden.

  Hereinafter, a screen editing method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a screen editing device 2 such as a personal computer and a display 4 to which an editing screen is transferred from the screen editing device 2.

  The screen editing device 2 is configured by a personal computer or the like, and a detailed description of the configuration is omitted, but includes a display, an input device such as a keyboard and a mouse, and a personal computer main body. The personal computer main body includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, a recording medium drive, an external storage device, an input device, a communication control unit, and the like.

  The display can display an editing screen for creating or editing a display screen. The input device is operated to create and edit a display screen on the editing screen. The recording medium drive can read / write data from / to a recording medium such as a CD-ROM or a floppy disk. The external storage device can store application software for creating or editing a display screen read from a recording medium. The communication control unit can transfer the edited display screen data to the display. The screen editing apparatus may also download application software for screen editing from a recording medium, or may have the application software inside.

  On the other hand, the display device 4 of the embodiment is used by being connected to the PLC, and has a large number of display screens required in the above-described control system, and in addition to this display screen, it is necessary for other display control operations. There are many setting items. For this reason, screen data and setting data are transferred from the screen editing device 2 to the display 4.

  In the screen editing apparatus 2 described above, each of the many display screens can be edited using the editing screen.

  The screen editing method according to this embodiment includes a step of dividing a display screen into three screen elements, that is, a screen, its background screen and its background color, and finally combining all screen elements on one editing screen. A step of displaying a state, viewing the display state on the editing screen, editing the screen, displaying / hiding and setting / changing the background screen, displaying / hiding and selecting / changing the background color And without selecting a function from the menu and without opening a separate window.

  On the edit screen, without selecting a function from the menu or opening a separate window, the screen, background screen, background color can be displayed, hidden, background screen settings and changes, background color Can be selected or changed. The above functions are functions related to display / non-display and setting / change of the background screen, and display / non-display and selection / change of the background color.

  The background screen is a screen displayed behind the screen.

  The background screen will be described with reference to FIGS. First, referring to FIG. 2, screen 1 and screen 2 are displayed in the screen of FIG. In the screen of FIG. 2B, screen 1 and screen 3 are displayed. In the screen of FIG. 2C, screen 1 and screen 4 are displayed. In the screen of FIG. 2D, screen 1 and screen 5 are displayed. In each of the screens of FIGS. 2A to 2D, no color is not hatched, colored is indicated by hatching, and different colors are indicated by different hatching modes. The same applies to the following. The screen 1 is common to the screens of FIGS. 2A to 2D. Therefore, the screen 1 can be a background screen that can be used in common for each screen.

  FIG. 3 shows a screen 1 created as a background screen.

  On the other hand, the screens 2 to 5 shown in FIGS. 2A to 2D are edited as shown in FIGS. 4A to 4D as screens for editing. Then, the background screen shown in FIG. 3 and the screens shown in FIGS. 4A to 4D are combined as shown in FIGS. 5A to 5D.

  The concept will be further described on the background screen described above.

  6A and 6B are separate screens 1 and 2, respectively. Of these screens 1 and 2, for example, screen 1 in FIG. 6A can be divided into screen 1 and its background color as shown in FIG. 7A. The screen 2 in FIG. 6B can be divided into the screen 2 and its background color as shown in FIG. 7B.

  The background screen is not set at this stage.

  When the screen 2 is the background screen of the screen 1, the screen 2 is displayed behind the screen 1 as shown in FIG. In this case, the background color set on the screen 2 is not carried over to the screen 1. Even if the screen 2 is set as the background screen of the screen 1, the background screen of the screen 2 is not taken over by the screen 1.

  Next, the screen editing method will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 9 shows an editing screen displayed by starting up application software built in the screen editing apparatus or starting up application software downloaded from the outside. As shown in FIG. 9, the editing screen of the embodiment has the positional relationship and size shown in the figure from the title bar 1, menu bar 2, tool bar 3, navigation window 4, status bar 5, object list 6, and editing screen unit 7. And is composed. Details of the positional relationship and size will be omitted.

  The edit screen unit 7 can divide the display screen on the display device into three screen elements of a screen, its background screen, and its background color, and can edit only the screen among the three screen elements, The final state obtained by combining these three screen elements can be displayed.

  The navigation window 4 includes a preview unit 41 and a setting operation unit 42. The preview unit 41 previews the screen and the background screen. The setting operation unit 42 includes a screen setting operation unit 421, a background screen setting operation unit 422, and a background color setting operation unit 423.

  FIG. 10 shows the setting operation unit 42 in an enlarged manner. Referring to FIG. 10, screen setting operation unit 421 includes a selection unit 421a for selecting display / non-display of the currently edited screen and a preview unit 421b for the currently edited screen. In addition, a screen number display unit 421c of the screen and a screen name display unit 421d of the screen are provided.

  The selection unit 421a is a box, and a screen can be displayed on the editing screen unit 7 by checking with a mouse or the like, and can be hidden from the editing screen unit 7 by removing the check. In the preview unit 421b, a screen currently being edited in the editing screen unit 7 is previewed. The screen number display unit 421c displays the screen number of the screen currently being edited. The screen name display portion 421d is the screen name of the screen currently being edited. These screen numbers and screen names make screen management easy and easy to handle.

  The background screen setting operation unit 422 includes a selection unit 422a for selecting display / non-display of the background screen that is currently being edited, a background screen preview unit 422b, and a button 422c for calling a background screen selection list. By operating the button 422c, a background screen selection list window 422d is shown in the direction of the arrow. Also, a screen number display unit 422e for the background screen and a screen name display unit 422f for the background screen are provided.

  The selection unit 422a is a box, and a background screen can be displayed on the editing screen unit 7 by checking it with a mouse or the like, and can be hidden from the editing screen unit 7 by removing the check. In the preview unit 422b, the background screen currently being edited in the editing screen unit 7 is previewed. The window 422d called by the operation of the button 422c displays a list of background screens as “None, 1-Screen1, 2-Screen2,...”. By selecting this list with a mouse or the like, for example, “1” of “1-Screen1” is displayed as the screen number on the screen number display unit 422e, and “1-Screen1” “1” is displayed on the screen name display unit 422f. “Screen1” is displayed as the screen name.

  The background color setting operation unit 423 includes a selection unit 423a that selects display / non-display of the background color of the currently edited screen n, a display unit 423b that displays a sample of the background color of the currently edited screen n, And a button 423c for calling a background color selection dialog. By operating the button 423c, a background color selection dialog window 423d is shown in the direction of the arrow.

  The selection unit 423a is a box, and the background color can be displayed on the editing screen unit 7 by checking it with a mouse or the like, and can be hidden from the editing screen unit 7 by removing the check. On the display unit 423b, the background color currently being edited on the editing screen unit 7 is previewed. A background color window 423d called by the operation of the button 423c is displayed. The background color can be selected by selecting the background color in this window 423d with a mouse or the like.

  The screen setting operation unit 421 will be described with reference to FIG.

  11A is an enlarged view of the screen setting operation unit 421, FIG. 11B is a screen currently being edited, FIG. 11C is a background screen, and FIG. 11D is displayed on the editing screen unit 7. It is an editing screen.

  In the editing screen of FIG. 11D, a screen, a background screen, and a background color are shown. In this case, a part of the background screen is hidden behind the screen. Therefore, when the selection unit 421a is operated to hide the screen, the entire background screen is displayed on the editing screen unit 7 as shown in FIG. Only the screen of FIG. 11B is displayed in a small size in the preview portion 421b.

  The background screen setting operation unit 422 will be described with reference to FIG.

  12A is an enlarged view of the background screen setting operation unit 422, FIG. 12B is a screen currently being edited, FIG. 12C is a background screen, and FIG. 12D is displayed on the editing screen unit 7. It is an editing screen.

  In the editing screen of FIG. 12D, a screen, a background screen, and a background color are shown. When the selection unit 422a is operated to hide the background screen, the background screen is hidden and the screen is displayed on the editing screen unit 7 as shown in FIG. In the preview portion 422b, the background screen of FIG. In the preview portion 422b, the screen or the screen currently being displayed on the editing screen portion 7 is not displayed. When the button 422c is operated, a window 422d on the background screen is called. The background screen in the window 422d can be selected by operating the button 423c.

  The background color setting operation unit 423 will be described with reference to FIG.

  13A is an enlarged view of the background color setting operation unit 423, FIG. 13B is a screen currently being edited, FIG. 13C is a background screen, and FIG. 13D is a screen showing a background color. FIG. 13E shows an editing screen displayed on the editing screen unit 7.

  In the editing screen of FIG. 13E, a screen, a background screen, and a background color are shown. The background color can be hidden by operating the selection unit 423a. The display unit 423b displays a sample of the background color of the screen currently being edited. When the button 423c is operated, the window 423d of the background color selection dialog is called. The background color in the window 423d can be selected by operating the button 423c.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the screen to be displayed on the display unit is displayed on the editing screen with three elements of the screen, the background screen, and the background color. The background screen is displayed / hidden and set / changed, and the background color is displayed / hidden and selected / changed without selecting a function from the menu and opening a separate window.

  Thus, in this embodiment, screen editing can be performed seamlessly on the same editing screen, so that the work can be advanced without disturbing the tempo of the editing work.

 The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and includes various changes or modifications within the scope described in the claims.

It is a figure which shows a screen editing apparatus and a display. It is a figure used for description of a screen. It is a figure which shows a background screen. It is a figure which shows a screen. It is a figure which shows the edit screen which synthesize | combined the screen and the background screen. It is a figure which shows the screen 1 and the screen 2. FIG. It is a figure which divides and shows the screen 1 and the screen 2 into a screen element. It is a figure which shows the screen which synthesize | combined the screen 1 and the screen 2. FIG. It is a figure which shows the edit screen of embodiment. It is a figure which expands and shows the setting operation part of FIG. It is a figure which shows the screen for demonstrating a screen setting operation part. It is a figure which shows the screen for demonstrating a background screen setting operation part. It is a figure which shows the screen for demonstrating a background color setting operation part.

Explanation of symbols

4 navigation window 41 preview section 42 setting operation section 421 screen setting operation section 422 background screen setting operation section 423 background color setting operation section 7 editing screen section

Claims (2)

The final state combining the three screen elements of the screen, its background screen and its background color can be displayed on the same editing screen section.
While viewing the display state on the edit screen section, functions for editing the screen, displaying / hiding and setting / changing the background screen, and displaying / hiding and selecting / changing the background color from the menu. Made it possible to do without selecting and opening a separate window,
A screen editing method characterized by that. In a screen editing device equipped with an editing screen for editing the display screen displayed on the display unit,
On the above edit screen,
An editing screen section that displays a combination of the three screen elements of the screen, the background screen and the background color, and is capable of editing the screen among the three screen elements;
On the editing screen section, the display / non-display of the screen currently being edited, the setting / change of the background screen, the display / non-display, and the display / non-display and selection / change of the background color are set. A setting operation unit that can
A screen editing device characterized by the arrangement of

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