JP2007280201A - Programmable display device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To eliminate the need for time and labor for updating the version of a firmware and unify the version in each of a plurality of programmable display devices connected to a network. <P>SOLUTION: The programmable display devices 11 to 14 each include a version information management part, an information deciding part and an updating execution part, wherein a first programmable display device updates the version by the information deciding part according to the condition of version updating with reference to the version information with another programmable display device. For example, supposing that the condition of version updating uses the latest version, when the versions of the other three programmable display devices 12 to 14 are No.B newer than the No.A, the first programmable display device 11 obtains the version No.B from the second programmable display device 12 and updates its own version. Thus, updating is performed to unify the version without requiring the time and labor. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a programmable display that is network-connected to a programmable logic controller (PLC).

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, programmable displays that are used by being connected to a PLC via a network are known. For example, this programmable display can be arranged on a production line in a factory to display the production status and the like, and can request materials from the programmable display. In general, the version of firmware for operating this type of programmable display and the version of images such as photographs to be displayed are appropriately updated.

The version is updated by connecting a personal computer to each programmable display. For example, as shown in Patent Document 1, in a system in which one master programmable display and a plurality of slave programmable displays are connected, a personal computer is connected to the master programmable display and the mode is changed to a predetermined mode. It is known that data communication can be performed through a master programmable display from a personal computer to an arbitrary slave programmable display to update the version of firmware or the like.
JP 2005-135176 A

  However, it takes time and effort to update the version by connecting a PC to each programmable display unit when updating the version of firmware etc. as before, and depending on the installation location of the programmable display unit, It was difficult to connect. Also, in the programmable display as shown in Patent Document 1 described above, it takes time to update the version, and the version may not be unified due to human error.

  The present invention solves the above problem, and when multiple programmable displays are connected to a network, it requires time and effort to update the firmware version of each programmable display regardless of the installation location. It is an object of the present invention to provide a programmable display that can be easily performed and can unify the versions of all programmable displays connected to a network.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 is directed to a memory unit that stores a program, a control unit that controls the entire device based on the program in the memory unit, and an image displayed by an instruction from the control unit. In a programmable display device comprising a display unit, a version information management unit for holding each version information of firmware and screen information used by itself and other programmable displays connected to the network in the memory unit The version information of the other programmable display is obtained from the version information management unit of the programmable display and delivered to its own version information management unit. Also, each version of the firmware and screen information used by itself is obtained. Judgment whether or not to update, and where to obtain the new version An information determination unit that selects a programmable display device and an update execution unit that updates each version of its own firmware and screen information, and each device between the other programmable display devices connected to the network The version information of the firmware and the screen information used by itself are updated based on the version information.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the programmable display device according to the first aspect of the present invention, the update execution unit is such that an update target is screen information.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the programmable display device according to the first or second aspect, the information determining unit determines whether to update each version of the firmware and screen information by using a date in the version information. It is done by data.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the programmable display device according to the first or second aspect, the information determination unit determines whether to update each version of the firmware and screen information, and determines the version of the version information. No. And date data.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the programmable display device according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the information determination unit uses each version of firmware and screen information in the most programmable display devices. Update to the existing version.

  A sixth aspect of the present invention is the programmable display device according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein the information determination unit is configured to receive firmware and screen information from all other programmable display devices connected to the network. Version information is acquired at predetermined time intervals.

  A seventh aspect of the present invention is the programmable display device according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, wherein the information determining unit is connected to a network from other predetermined programmable display devices. When each version information of the firmware and screen information of the programmable display is received, it is judged that each version of the firmware and screen information is updated, the version information data is corrected, and the version information is determined in advance. To the next programmable display.

  According to the invention of claim 1, when the programmable display is connected to a network, the programmable display refers to the version information of each device with another programmable display connected to the network. Since each version of the firmware and screen information used by itself is automatically updated based on the version information, it is easy to update the version without any effort and effort regardless of the location of the programmable display. Can be done. In addition, the versions of all programmable displays connected to the network can be unified.

  According to the second aspect of the invention, the number of update targets is reduced, so that the version update time can be shortened.

  According to the invention of claim 3, since the update execution determination is made based on the date data in the version information, the version number. The version can be updated without being trapped.

  According to the invention of claim 4, the update execution is determined based on the version number in the version information. And date data, the version can be updated accurately.

  According to invention of Claim 5, since it updates to the version used with the most programmable display, a version can be unified in replacement | exchange of the small number of programmable display connected to a network.

  According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, since version information is acquired at predetermined time intervals, the amount of version update processing can be reduced.

  According to the invention of claim 7, the firmware of all other programmable displays connected to the network and the version information of the screen information are sequentially transferred between the programmable displays, so that the number of communications is reduced. Can do.

(First embodiment)
A programmable display device 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 shows the configuration of the programmable display 1. The programmable display 1 includes a memory unit 2 that stores programs and data, a control unit 3 that controls the entire device based on the program in the memory unit 2, and a display unit 4 that displays an image according to instructions from the control unit 3. A switch unit 5 for giving a command to the control unit 3 and an interface unit 6 for exchanging data with other devices connected to the network 7.

  As an application of this programmable display device 1, for example, a plurality of units are installed in a customer's seat of a restaurant such as a factory production line or a sushi restaurant, and each is connected to a network. Now, using an example of a sushi restaurant, the memory unit 2 stores a program for displaying a method for a customer to order food and drink from the programmable display 1 and a picture of the food and drink. A picture of food and drink is shown. Further, the switch unit 5 is provided as a screen operation switch on the display unit 4 and can transmit order information to other devices connected to the network 7 through the interface unit 6 by pressing a photograph of food or drink. it can.

  FIG. 2 shows a state in which a plurality of the programmable display devices 1 are connected to the network 7. A programmable logic controller (hereinafter referred to as PLC) 8 is connected to the network 7 by, for example, a serial RS485 system. The programmable display 1 and the PLC 8 communicate data with each other, and the programmable display 1 is controlled by the PLC 8. The PLC 8 outputs a command to an arbitrary programmable display 1 connected to the network, and receives data transmitted from the programmable display 1. The programmable display 1 receives an instruction output from the PLC 8 and displays an image stored in the memory unit 2 on the display unit 4 in accordance with a program stored in the memory unit 2. Moreover, the programmable display 1 outputs a command signal to PLC8 and the other programmable display 1 by the switch part 5 being operated by the user. The programmable display 1 communicates with other programmable displays 1 connected to the network 7 and operates in conjunction with the programmable display 1.

  FIG. 3 shows the configuration of the memory unit 2 of the programmable display 1. The memory unit 2 includes a version unit 21 having a version information management unit 211, an information determination unit 212, and an update execution unit 213, firmware 22, screen information 23, and its own programmable display (hereinafter abbreviated as self). The program 24 etc. which move The version information management unit 211 holds version information of itself and other programmable display devices 1 connected to the network 7. The information determination unit 212 acquires the version information of the other programmable display devices 1 held in the version information management unit 211 from each programmable display device 1, and stores the versions of the firmware 22 and the screen information 23 used by the information determination unit 212. It is determined whether or not to update, and the programmable display device 1 from which a new version to be used is obtained is selected. The update execution unit 213 updates the version according to an instruction from the information determination unit 212. The “version information” referred to in this specification refers to the version data of the firmware 22 and the screen information 23 used by each programmable display 1. The version data is the version number assigned to each version. And date data. Version No. For example, English characters may be given in order for each new version, and for example, the date on which the version was created may be used as the date data. The “screen information” refers to data for displaying an image such as a photograph displayed on the display unit 4.

  FIG. 4 shows the relationship among the version information management unit 211, the information determination unit 212, and the update execution unit 213 of the memory unit 2 configured as described above. The information determination unit 212 acquires each version information of the other programmable display device 1 and delivers it to the version information management unit 211. The version information management unit 211 holds the version information of the other programmable display devices 1 connected to itself and the network in the version information file 9. The information determination unit 212 determines whether or not to update each version of the firmware 22 and the screen information 23 used by the information determination unit 212 based on the data of the version information file 9. The programmable display device 1 from which the version is obtained is selected, and the update execution unit 213 is instructed to update. The instructed update execution unit 213 acquires a new version to be used from the programmable display 1 selected by the information determination unit 212 and updates the version. The “version information file” referred to in this specification refers to a list in which the version information of all the programmable display devices 1 connected to the network is registered.

  FIG. 5 shows a flow of update processing of each version of the firmware 22 and the screen information 23. In this embodiment, the version update target may be the firmware 22 and the screen information 23, or may be limited to only the screen information 23. By limiting to the screen information 23 only, the time required for updating can be shortened.

  The information determination unit 212 of the programmable display 1 acquires the version information of all the other programmable displays 1 connected to the network in order, and hands it over to its own version information management unit 211 (S1). Then, the version information management unit 211 modifies the data of the held version information file 9 according to the delivered version information data (S2). Next, the information determination unit 212 sets the firmware 22 and screen information 23 used by the information determination unit 212 based on the data in the version information file 9 of the version information management unit 211 according to the version update conditions determined by the program 24. Determine whether each version needs to be updated. When it is necessary to update, the process is continued. When it is not necessary, the version update process is taken over to the next programmable display 1 (S3). The update condition is, for example, the latest version number. Is the version number used by itself. Newer version No. If there is a programmable display 1 that uses, the version is updated. The update condition may be updated to the version used in the most programmable displays 1 connected to the network. Under this condition, even if a small number of programmable displays 1 are replaced, the version used by a large number of programmable displays 1 is unified. In addition, the information determination unit 212 determines whether to update the version number. Or by date data. In addition, the version No. And date data.

  When performing the update, the information determination unit 212 selects the programmable display device 1 from which the version to be newly used is obtained from the programmable display devices 1 using the version (S4). For example, the machine no. The smallest programmable display 1 may be selected. Then, the information determination unit 212 causes the update execution unit 213 to update the version. The update execution unit 213 obtains the version to be updated from the selected programmable display device 1 and updates it (S5). When the update is completed, the version information management unit 211 corrects the data in the version information file 9 (S6). The information determination unit 212 takes over the process of updating the version to the next programmable display 1 and the next programmable display 1 starts the process (S7).

  The information determination unit 212 may always perform the update process or may perform it every predetermined time. If it is always performed, it is corrected immediately even if the version is changed due to an error, and if it is performed every predetermined time, the amount of update processing can be reduced.

  FIG. 6 illustrates a specific operation of the above-described version update process between the plurality of programmable displays 1. In this example, four programmable displays 1 and one PLC 8 are connected to the network 7, and the version number with the latest version update condition is set. The version update operation when using is used. The 1st programmable display 11 acquires each version information from three other units. The version used by the first programmable display 11 is No. A, and the other three programmable displays 1 are No. A newer version of No. A. Since B is used, the information determination unit 212 of the first programmable display 11 determines that updating is necessary. Next, the information determination unit 212 is No. as the source of the version to be updated. Among the three programmable displays 1 using B, the machine no. The second programmable display 12 having the smallest is selected. Then, the update execution unit 213 of the first programmable display 11 receives the version number from the second programmable display 12. Get B and update. Then, the version information data is corrected, and the second programmable display 12 takes over the process of updating the version.

  Since the version is updated in this way, the programmable display 1 is automatically used by itself and the other programmable display 1 without connecting the personal computer to each programmable display 1 and performing the version update. The versions to be used are compared and the versions are updated. Therefore, the versions to be used are always unified, and the versions can be updated without requiring labor and effort.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, the programmable display 1 which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated with reference to FIG.7 and FIG.8. FIG. 7 shows a flow of update processing of each version of the firmware 22 and the screen information 23 in the second embodiment. The configuration of the programmable display 1 according to the second embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, but the method for obtaining version information is different. In the first embodiment, each programmable display 1 obtains version information from all the programmable displays 1, but in the second embodiment, the programmable display 1 is a version owned by itself. The information file 9 is assigned the installation number assigned to each programmable display 1. Version information is obtained by handing over to the next programmable display 1 in this order.

  The information determination unit 212 of the programmable display 1 is installed No. The version information file 9 is received from the previous programmable display 1 (S11). Then, the version information management unit 211 corrects the stored data of the version information file 9 in accordance with the transferred data of the version information file 9 (S12). Next, the information determination unit 212 sets the firmware 22 and screen information 23 used by the information determination unit 212 based on the data in the version information file 9 of the version information management unit 211 according to the version update conditions determined by the program 24. Judge whether to update each version. If it is necessary to update, the process is continued. If it is not necessary, the version update file is transferred to the next programmable display 1 and the version update process is taken over (S13). When performing the update, the information determining unit 212 selects the programmable display device 1 from which the version to be used is obtained from the programmable display devices 1 using the version (S14). Then, the information determination unit 212 causes the update execution unit 213 to update the version. The update execution unit 213 obtains a version to be updated from the selected programmable display device 1 and updates it (S15). When the update is completed, the version information management unit 211 corrects the data in the version information file 9 (S16). The information determination unit 212 delivers the version update file to the next programmable display 1 and takes over the version update process, and the next programmable display 1 starts the process (S17).

  FIG. 8 illustrates a specific operation of the above-described version update process between the plurality of programmable displays 1. In this example, four programmable displays 1 and one PLC 8 are connected to the network 7, and the version number with the latest version update condition is set. The version used by the first programmable display 11 to the fourth programmable display 14 is No. 1. The version update operation of the first programmable display 11 when A is shown.

  The first programmable display 11 displays the data of the version information file 9 as No. A to No. Modify to B. Then, the version information file 9 is delivered to the second programmable display 12. The information management unit 211 of the second programmable display 12 adjusts the data of the first programmable display 11 of the held version information file 9 in accordance with the data of the version information file 9 that has been transferred. A to No. Modify to B. The information judging unit 212 of the second programmable display 12 has the version used by itself. A, and the first programmable display 11 is No. A newer version of No. A. Since B is used, it is determined that updating is necessary. Then, the information determination unit 212 is No. as the source of the version to be updated. Since the programmable display 1 using B is only the first programmable display 11, the first programmable display 11 is selected. Then, the update execution unit 213 of the second programmable display 12 receives the version number from the first programmable display 11. Obtain and update B. Then, the data of the version information file 9 is corrected, the version information file 9 is transferred to the second programmable display device 12, and the update process is taken over. Thereafter, the update process is sequentially performed in the same manner.

  When the programmable display 1 delivers the version information file 9 in order, all the programmable displays 1 can obtain the version information of all the other programmable displays 1 and can perform the update process. All the programmable displays 1 transfer the version information file 9 in order, so that the number of communications can be reduced.

  In addition, this invention is not restricted to the structure of the said various embodiment, A various deformation | transformation is possible in the range which does not change the meaning of invention. For example, the update command may be performed not only automatically by the own program 24 but also by the switch unit 5 as appropriate, or from a PLC 8 or a personal computer connected to the network 7. Further, the update condition may be the same as the version used by a specific programmable display device 1. Further, the update target is not limited to the firmware 22 and the screen information 23, and all programs 24 and data used by the programmable display device 1 may be targeted. The date data may be given an arbitrary date, or may be given up to the time as well as the date.

The block diagram of the programmable display which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. The block diagram of the network of the programmable display. The block diagram of the memory part of the programmable display. The related figure of each part in the memory part of the programmable display. The flowchart of the update process of the version of the programmable display. The operation | movement figure of version update of the programmable display. The flowchart of the update process of the version of the programmable display which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. The operation | movement figure of version update of the programmable display.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Programmable display 2 Memory part 3 Control part 4 Display part 7 Network 22 Firmware 23 Screen information 24 Program 211 Version information management part 212 Information judgment part 213 Update execution part

Claims (7)

A memory unit storing the program;
A control unit for controlling the entire device based on the program of the memory unit;
In a programmable display provided with a display unit that displays an image according to an instruction from the control unit,
In the memory unit,
A version information management unit that holds version information of firmware and screen information used by other programmable displays connected to itself and the network;
The version information of the other programmable display device is acquired from the version information management unit of the programmable display device, delivered to its own version information management unit, and each version of the firmware and screen information used by itself is updated. An information determination unit that selects a programmable display device from which to obtain a new version to be used by updating,
An update execution unit that updates each version of its own firmware and screen information,
The version information of each device is mutually referred to with other programmable displays connected to the network, and the versions of the firmware and screen information used by itself are updated based on the version information. A programmable display characterized by the above.   The programmable display device according to claim 1, wherein the update execution unit is screen information.   The programmable display according to claim 1, wherein the information determination unit determines whether to update each version of firmware and screen information based on date data in each version information.   The information determination unit determines whether to update each version of the firmware and screen information according to the version number of each version information. The programmable display according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the programmable display is performed by using date and date data.   5. The programmable display according to claim 1, wherein the information determination unit updates each version of firmware and screen information to a version used in the most programmable display devices. vessel.   The information determination unit performs acquisition of version information of firmware and screen information from all other programmable displays connected to the network at predetermined time intervals. The programmable display according to any one of 5.   When the information determination unit receives version information of firmware and screen information of all other programmable displays connected to the network from other predetermined programmable displays, each of the firmware and screen information of its own 7. The version update is determined, the version information data is corrected, and the version information is sent to a predetermined next programmable display. Programmable display.

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