JP2011028563A - Recording device, recording method and computer program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a recording device, a recording method and a computer program, capable of acquiring operation history information for a user which is effective for failure countermeasures while reducing the communication load by effectively compressing moving image data relatively low in change frequency. <P>SOLUTION: Start instruction and stop instruction of recording for a display screen displaying operating conditions of an extension unit in a ladder form are accepted, and the transition of the display screen up to accept of the stop instruction is stored as one moving image data including head image data, a plurality of differential image data, and time stamp information showing the elapsed time from the acquisition of the head image data and/or the differential image data. The head image data is stored; a change of the display screen is detected, and differential image data corresponding to a difference changed from the head image data and/or the differential image data is stored. When the elapsed time at the time when the differential image data is acquired exceeds a predetermined time, time stamp information corresponding to the elapsed time is stored. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention is composed of a plurality of expansion units and CPU units connected to a controlled device, and a recording apparatus, a recording method, and a recording method for recording a creation process of a control program that operates with a programmable controller that realizes various functions It relates to a computer program.

  Conventionally, I / O units that extend I / O devices, communication units that add communication functions, positioning units that control the positioning of devices to be controlled, and expansion units such as temperature control units that adjust temperature 2. Description of the Related Art A programmable controller that controls the operation of an expansion unit using a control program is widely used. As functions diversify, control programs that control the operation of each expansion unit have become larger and more complex year by year, and can be resolved quickly if a failure occurs in the CPU unit, expansion unit, etc. It is becoming difficult.

  Therefore, when a failure occurs, an early solution is made by dispatching a technician directly to the site. However, it may be difficult due to the positional relationship with the site, the status of securing engineers, and the like. In many cases, communication devices such as telephones and e-mails are used. However, it may be difficult to grasp the failure status.

  Therefore, a method of analyzing the cause of a failure from a remote location using a so-called remote desktop function is often used. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a device control system in which the operation of a controlled device in a factory is remotely controlled by a control computer in a control center. Where an alarm is generated via a maintenance screen Etc. can be confirmed and verified remotely.

JP 2003-282387 A

  When trouble countermeasures are executed in a remote place, it is relatively easy to deal with if a history of what operations the user has performed is known. Therefore, a method of acquiring a user's operation history as moving image data indicating screen transition and attaching it to an e-mail or the like is often used.

  However, in the system such as Patent Document 1 described above, the control computer and the computer that controls the operation of the controlled device are often connected by a general line, and in addition to the security problem, the communication capacity and the communication speed are limited. There are certain constraints. Therefore, the communication capacity is insufficient to transmit / receive moving image data, which is large-capacity data, and there is a possibility that other data communication may be hindered such as a response deterioration.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and by effectively compressing moving image data that is relatively infrequently changed, user operation history information effective for countermeasures against troubles can be obtained while reducing communication load. It is an object to provide a recording apparatus, a recording method, and a computer program that can be acquired.

  To achieve the above object, a recording apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises a plurality of expansion units and CPU units connected to a controlled device, and a data transmission and reception with a programmable controller that sequentially controls the operation of the expansion units. In a recording apparatus for recording a display screen of a computer that displays the operation status of the expansion unit in a ladder format by transmitting and receiving data to and from the programmable controller, the operation status of the expansion unit is Start / stop instruction accepting means for accepting a recording start instruction and stop instruction on a display screen including a ladder diagram displayed in a format, and accepting a stop instruction after the start / stop instruction accepting means accepts the recording start instruction Display screen transitions until the start instruction is accepted Head image data that is image data of a surface, a plurality of difference image data following the head image data, and time stamp information indicating an elapsed time from the time when the head image data and / or the difference image data is acquired. Moving image storage means for storing as one moving image data including the moving image storage means, leading image data storage means for storing the leading image data, change detection means for detecting a change in display screen, After receiving the recording start instruction, when the change detection unit detects a change in the display screen, the difference image data corresponding to the difference changed from the head image data and / or the difference image data is stored. Difference image data storage means for determining whether or not the elapsed time at the time of acquiring the difference image data exceeds a predetermined time, and exceeding the predetermined time If it is determined that, characterized in that it comprises a time stamp information storage means for storing time stamp information corresponding to the elapsed time.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the recording apparatus according to the first aspect, the change detection means detects whether an event has occurred, and the event detection means detects whether an event has occurred. In this case, an event determination unit that determines whether or not the event changes the display screen is provided.

  The recording apparatus according to a third invention is characterized in that, in the first invention, the change detection means comprises a change determination means for determining whether or not the change has been made from the display screen at the time when the previous change was detected. And

  The recording apparatus according to a fourth aspect of the present invention further comprises a detection method selection reception unit that receives the selection of the change detection unit in the first invention, and when the selection is not received by the detection method selection reception unit, the change detection unit Is characterized in that it is determined whether or not it has been changed from the display screen when the previous change was detected.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, further comprising a pause instruction accepting unit that accepts an instruction to pause recording on the display screen, and accepts an instruction to start recording. Then, when a pause instruction is received and a stop instruction is received after a recording start instruction is received again, the moving image storage means stops after the start / stop instruction receiving means first receives a recording start instruction. A series of display screens until an instruction is received is stored as one moving image data.

  The recording apparatus according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is the recording apparatus according to the fifth aspect, wherein the start / stop instruction receiving means is constituted by a start button and a stop button, and the pause instruction receiving means is constituted by a pause button. The pause button is arranged between the start button and the stop button, and the start button, the pause button, and the stop button are arranged and displayed in a line. Features.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to sixth aspects, a recording area designation that accepts designation as a recording area for all or part of the image data of the display screen to be recorded. The moving picture storage means includes receiving means, and the screen transition in the recording area of the display screen is stored as moving picture data.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the seventh aspect of the invention, the start / stop instruction receiving means is arranged outside the recording area.

  Next, in order to achieve the above object, a recording method according to the ninth invention comprises a plurality of expansion units and CPU units connected to the controlled device, and a programmable controller that sequentially controls the operations of the expansion units. In a recording method for recording a display screen of a computer that displays the operation status of the expansion unit in a ladder format by transmitting and receiving data to and from the programmable controller, the computer includes the computer The display screen including the ladder diagram that displays the operation status of the expansion unit in the ladder format, accepting the recording start instruction and the stop instruction, and the transition of the display screen from the acceptance of the recording start instruction to the acceptance of the stop instruction, The destination that is the image data of the display screen when the start instruction is accepted One moving image data including image data, a plurality of difference image data following the start image data, and time stamp information indicating an elapsed time from the time when the start image data and / or the difference image data is acquired And storing the head image data, detecting a change of the display screen, and receiving the recording start instruction, and then detecting the change of the display screen, the head image data and / or the difference image The difference image data corresponding to the difference changed from the data is stored, it is determined whether or not the elapsed time at the time when the difference image data is acquired exceeds a predetermined time, and it is determined that the predetermined time is exceeded In this case, time stamp information corresponding to the elapsed time is stored.

  Next, in order to achieve the above object, a computer program according to the tenth invention comprises a plurality of expansion units and CPU units connected to the controlled device, and a programmable controller that sequentially controls the operations of the expansion units. In a computer program that can be executed by a computer that displays the operation status of the expansion unit in a ladder format by transmitting and receiving data to and from the programmable controller, the computer is A start / stop instruction receiving means for receiving a recording start instruction and a stop instruction on a display screen including a ladder diagram displaying the operation status of the extension unit in a ladder format, and the start / stop instruction receiving means is a start instruction for the recording Receive stop instructions after receiving Transition of the display screen until the start instruction is received, start image data which is image data of the display screen at the time when the start instruction is received, a plurality of difference image data following the start image data, the start image data and / or the The moving image storage means functions as moving image storage means for storing as one moving image data including time stamp information indicating the elapsed time from the time when the difference image data is acquired, and the moving image storage means stores the leading image data at the beginning. Image data storage means, change detection means for detecting a change in display screen, and after receiving the recording start instruction, if the change detection means detects a change in the display screen, the head image data and / or the Difference image data storage means for storing difference image data corresponding to the difference changed from the difference image data, and the time when the difference image data is acquired It is determined whether or not the elapsed time exceeds a predetermined time, and when it is determined that the predetermined time is exceeded, the time stamp information storage means for storing time stamp information corresponding to the elapsed time Features.

  The computer program according to an eleventh aspect of the invention is the computer program according to the tenth aspect, wherein the change detection means detects whether an event has occurred, and the event detection means detects that an event has occurred. In such a case, the event functions as an event judging means for judging whether or not the event changes the display screen.

  The computer program according to a twelfth aspect of the invention is the computer program according to the tenth aspect of the invention, wherein the change detection means functions as a change determination means for determining whether or not the display screen at the time when the previous change was detected has been changed. Features.

  The computer program according to the thirteenth invention is the computer program according to the tenth invention, wherein the computer is caused to function as a detection method selection receiving means for receiving selection of the change detection means, and the selection is not received by the detection method selection receiving means. The change detection means functions as means for determining whether or not the change has been made from the display screen at the time when the previous change was detected.

  According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer program according to any one of the tenth to thirteenth aspects, causing the computer to function as a pause instruction receiving unit that receives a pause instruction for recording the display screen. After accepting a start instruction, accepting a pause instruction, receiving a stop instruction after accepting a start instruction for recording again, and if the stop instruction is accepted, the start / stop instruction accepting means first instructs the start of recording A series of display screens from when the image is received until the stop instruction is received is made to function as means for storing as a single moving image data.

  A computer program according to a fifteenth invention is the computer program according to any one of the tenth to fourteenth inventions, wherein the computer designates all or part of the image data of the display screen to be recorded as a recording area. It functions as a recording area designation receiving means for receiving, and the moving image storage means functions as means for storing, as moving image data, screen transitions in the recording area of the display screen.

  In the first invention, the ninth invention, and the tenth invention, a plurality of extension units and CPU units connected to the controlled device are configured, and data can be transmitted to and received from a programmable controller that sequentially controls the operation of the extension units. The display screen of the computer that displays the operation status of the expansion unit in a ladder format is recorded by transmitting and receiving data to and from the programmable controller. Accepts recording start and stop instructions on the display screen that includes the ladder diagram that displays the operation status of the expansion unit in a ladder format, and starts the transition of the display screen from when the recording start instruction is accepted until the stop instruction is accepted The head image data that is the image data of the display screen at the time when the instruction is received, a plurality of difference image data following the head image data, and the elapsed time from the time when the head image data and / or difference image data is acquired. And stored as one moving image data including the time stamp information shown. First image data is stored, and when a change in the display screen is detected after receiving a recording start instruction, difference image data corresponding to a difference changed from the first image data and / or difference image data is stored. . It is determined whether or not the elapsed time at the time when the difference image data is acquired exceeds a predetermined time. If it is determined that the elapsed time exceeds the predetermined time, time stamp information corresponding to the elapsed time is stored.

  As a result, it is not necessary to constantly acquire moving image data indicating the transition of the display screen of the computer that monitors the operation status of the expansion unit, and the difference image data and the time stamp information are always obtained when a change in the display screen is detected. By storing, the storage capacity of the moving image data can be greatly compressed. For example, if the elapsed time until a change is detected is 1 ms or less, periodic time stamp information is stored at 1 ms intervals, and if the time when no change is detected is 10 ms or more, the time stamp information is stored. By storing the values together in units of 10 ms, 100 ms, 1 s, etc., the entire storage capacity of the moving image data can be greatly reduced. Therefore, it is possible to store moving image data indicating the transition of the display screen of the computer with a small storage capacity, and it is possible to easily identify the cause of occurrence when a failure occurs. It should be noted that the “time when image data is acquired” at which the elapsed time is started includes an acquisition time of a signal indicating a recording start instruction, a predetermined timing of processing for storing the head image data, and the like. “Elapsed time” directly or indirectly indicates the elapsed time from the time when the top image data was acquired, but “time stamp information” is not only the elapsed time from the time when the top image data was acquired. Alternatively, it may be the elapsed time from the previous acquisition of the difference image data.

  In the second invention and the eleventh invention, it is detected whether or not an event has occurred. When it is detected that an event has occurred, it is determined whether or not the event changes the display screen. Accordingly, by constantly monitoring the event occurrence status, it is possible to detect a change in the display screen and to acquire difference image data.

  In the third and twelfth inventions, it is possible to directly acquire the difference image data by determining whether or not the display screen has been changed from the time when the previous change was detected.

  In the fourth invention and the thirteenth invention, it is possible to accept selection of a method for detecting a change in the display screen. If the selection is not accepted, the display screen is changed from the point in time when the previous change was detected. A method for determining whether or not there is a problem is adopted. As a result, it is possible to select an appropriate display screen change method according to the application, and by determining whether or not the display screen has been changed from the time when the previous change was detected, It becomes possible to directly acquire the difference image data.

  In the fifth invention and the fourteenth invention, it is possible to accept an instruction to pause recording on the display screen. After accepting an instruction to start recording, accept an instruction to pause, and stop after accepting an instruction to start recording again. When the instruction is received, a series of display screens from when the recording start instruction is received first until the stop instruction is received is stored as one moving image data. Thus, even when a recording pause instruction is received, the stored moving image data is not subdivided, and a series of display screens until a stop signal is received is set as one moving image data. It is possible to store moving image data from which unnecessary portions are deleted.

  In the sixth invention, a pause button is arranged between the start button and the stop button, and the start button, the pause button, and the stop button are arranged and displayed in a line, so that a right-handed user can In addition to providing a user interface that is easy to use for mouse operations, it is also possible to avoid visually erroneous operations.

  In the seventh and fifteenth inventions, designation is accepted for all or part of the image data of the display screen to be recorded as a recording area, and the transition of the screen in the recording area of the display screen is stored as moving image data. As a result, it is possible to store moving image data only in a necessary area instead of the entire display screen, and it is possible to further reduce the storage capacity of the moving image data.

  In the eighth aspect of the invention, by accepting a recording start instruction and a stop instruction outside the recording area, it is possible to avoid the reflection of the cursor by the mouse operation and to store unnecessary difference image data. Thus, the storage capacity of the moving image data can be further reduced.

  According to the above configuration, there is no need to constantly acquire moving image data indicating the transition of the display screen of the computer that is monitoring the operation of the expansion unit, and difference image data and time stamp information are detected when a change in the display screen is detected. Can be stored at any time, so that the storage capacity of the moving image data can be greatly compressed. For example, if the elapsed time until a change is detected is 1 ms or less, periodic time stamp information is stored at 1 ms intervals, and if the time when no change is detected is 10 ms or more, the time stamp information is stored. By storing the values together in units of 10 ms, 100 ms, 1 s, etc., the entire storage capacity of the moving image data can be greatly reduced. Therefore, moving image data for monitoring the computer display screen can be stored with a small storage capacity, and the cause of the occurrence can be easily specified when a failure occurs.

It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of the programmable controller used as the monitoring object by the video recording apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure at the time of comprising the video recording apparatus concerning embodiment of this invention using control parts, such as CPU. It is a functional block diagram which shows the function of the video recording apparatus concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the change detection process of the recording device which concerns on embodiment of this invention, and a difference image data acquisition process. It is an image figure which shows the content of the difference image data memorize | stored with the video recording apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is an illustration figure of the data structure memorize | stored in the image history information storage part containing time stamp information of the video recording apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the video recording process of the video recording apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is an illustration figure of the screen in the case of designating a part of display screen as a recording area. It is an illustration figure of the setting file produced in advance. It is an illustration figure of a display screen at the time of describing a character etc. by freehand by operation of a mouse | mouth etc. FIG. It is an illustration figure of the display screen in the case of keying in with a keyboard. It is an illustration figure of the display screen which added the operation screen of the mouse.

  Hereinafter, a recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings. A recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is incorporated in a monitoring apparatus that monitors a programmable controller.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a programmable controller to be monitored by the recording apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the programmable controller 1 includes a CPU unit 2 and a plurality of expansion units 3, 3,. Are connected to controlled devices 5, 5,... To be controlled for each function, and each controlled device 5 is controlled according to a command from the CPU unit 2. To control the operation.

  The CPU unit 2 includes a CPU that sends a command to the connected expansion units 3a, 3b,... According to a control program stored in a built-in memory. Further, the expansion units 3a, 3b,... Control the operation of the connected controlled devices 5, 5,. Here, parameter information for controlling the operation of the controlled devices 5, 5,... Is stored in a memory built in the expansion units 3a, 3b,.

  The recording device 4 is connected so as to be able to perform data communication with the CPU unit 2 and displays a monitoring screen showing the operation status of the CPU unit 2 and the connected expansion units 3, 3,. Is functioning as By recording the displayed monitoring screen, it becomes easy to identify the cause when a failure or the like occurs in the programmable controller 1. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration when the recording device 4 according to the embodiment of the present invention is configured using a control unit such as a CPU.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the recording apparatus 4 according to the present embodiment includes at least a control unit (CPU) 41, a memory 42, a storage device 43 such as a hard disk, an I / O interface 44, a video interface 45, a communication interface 46, It comprises a portable disk drive 47 and an internal bus 48 for connecting the hardware described above.

  The control unit 41 is connected to each hardware unit as described above of the recording device 4 via the internal bus 48, controls the operation of each hardware unit described above, and stores the computer program stored in the storage device 43. According to 100, various software functions are performed. The memory 42 is composed of a volatile memory such as SRAM or SDRAM, and a load module is expanded when the computer program 100 is executed, and stores temporary data generated when the computer program 100 is executed.

  The storage device 43 includes a built-in fixed storage device (hard disk), a ROM, and the like. The computer program 100 stored in the storage device 43 is downloaded by a portable disk drive 47 from a portable recording medium 90 such as a DVD or CD-ROM in which information such as programs and data is recorded. To the memory 42 and executed. Of course, a computer program downloaded from an external computer connected to the network via the communication interface 46 may be used.

  The storage device 43 includes an image history information storage unit 431. The image history information storage unit 431 is a recording device that the CPU unit 2 grasps the operation status of the extension units 3a, 3b,... To which the controlled devices 5, 5,. The transition of the display screen displayed in 4 indicating the execution status of the ladder program is stored as image history information.

  The I / O interface 44 is connected to input devices such as a keyboard 441 and a mouse 442 and receives data input. The video interface 45 is connected to a display device 451 such as a CRT monitor or LCD, and displays a predetermined image.

  The communication interface 46 is connected to an internal bus 48, and is connected to an external network such as the Internet, a LAN, or a WAN, so that data can be transmitted / received to / from an external computer or the like. In addition, data can be transmitted / received to / from the CPU unit 2 via a communication line.

  FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing functions of the recording apparatus 4 according to the embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 3, a start / stop instruction receiving unit 301 receives a start instruction for starting recording of a display screen for monitoring the operation status of the programmable controller 1 or a stop instruction for stopping recording. The method for accepting the start instruction or the stop instruction is not particularly limited. For example, when it is detected that the start button or the stop button displayed on the screen is clicked with the mouse 442, the start instruction or the stop instruction is received. Accept instructions.

  The moving image storage unit 302 does not store the moving image data displayed on the display device 451 as it is, but stores it in the image history information storage unit 431 with a new data structure that reduces the storage capacity. That is, the head image data storage unit 311 stores, in the image history information storage unit 431, the screen displayed on the display device 451 when the start instruction is received as head image data.

  Next, the change detection unit 312 detects that the screen displayed on the display device 451 has been changed from the top image data or has been changed to image data different from the image data stored immediately before. The method for detecting the change is not particularly limited. For example, when information is added to the ladder program, the position information on the screen to which the information is added and the image information corresponding to the position information are directly displayed. A detection method is preferable (hereinafter referred to as a signal hook method). That is, it is possible to obtain the position information and image information of the changed image as a change signal by determining whether or not the display screen has been changed from the point in time when the previous change was detected. It becomes possible to directly acquire the difference image data from the difference image data or the image data stored immediately before.

  On the other hand, Windows (registered trademark), which is an operation system manufactured by Microsoft, can detect the occurrence of some event when the display screen is changed (hereinafter referred to as a screen hook method). Therefore, when it is detected that an event has occurred, a change in the display screen can be detected by determining whether the event changes the display screen. In this case, since only the position information of the display screen changed by the event that has occurred can be acquired, based on the acquired position information, from the difference image data from the top image data or the image data stored immediately before It is necessary to acquire the difference image data.

  A plurality of methods such as a signal hook method and a screen hook method can be executed as a method for detecting a change, and selection of a detection method may be accepted. Thereby, the change of the screen can be detected by an appropriate detection method. In this case, when the selection of the detection method is not accepted, it is preferable to select the signal hook method. In particular, when the selection is not accepted, the difference image data can be directly acquired by adopting the signal hook method.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a procedure of change detection processing and difference image data acquisition processing of the recording apparatus 4 according to the embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the control unit 41 of the recording device 4 determines whether or not selection of a detection method has been accepted (step S <b> 401). The selection of the detection method is not particularly limited, for example, parameter setting on a setting screen or the like may be accepted.

  When the control unit 41 determines that the selection of the detection method has been received (step S401: YES), the control unit 41 determines whether or not the detection method that has received the selection is the signal hook method (step S402). When the control unit 41 determines that the detection method that has received the selection is the signal hook method (step S402: YES), or when it is determined that the selection of the detection method has not been received (step S401: NO), the control unit 41 determines whether the display screen has been changed (step S403).

  When the control unit 41 determines that the display screen has not been changed (step S403: NO), the control unit 41 enters a display screen monitoring state. When the control unit 41 determines that the display screen has been changed (step S403: YES), the control unit 41 acquires difference image data from the display screen before the change (step S404).

  When the control unit 41 determines that the detection method that has received the selection is not the signal hook method (step S402: NO), the control unit 41 determines that the detection method that has received the designation is the screen hook method, It is detected whether or not an event has occurred (step S405). When the control unit 41 detects that some event has occurred (step S405: YES), the control unit 41 determines whether or not the screen has been changed (step S406).

  When the control unit 41 determines that the screen has not been changed (step S406: NO), or when no event has been detected (step S405: NO), the control unit 41 generates a new event. It will be in a waiting state. When the control unit 41 determines that the screen has been changed (step S406: YES), the control unit 41 acquires the position information of the portion where the screen has been changed (step S407), and based on the acquired position information, Difference image data corresponding to the difference changed by comparison with the head image data and / or difference image data is acquired (step S408).

  FIG. 5 is an image diagram showing the contents of the difference image data stored in the recording device 4 according to the embodiment of the present invention. In the example of FIG. 5, an example of a display screen of a ladder diagram showing the operation status of the programmable controller 1 and acquired image data is shown. FIGS. 5A to 5C show examples of display screens of ladder diagrams, and FIGS. 5D to 5F show examples of image data corresponding to the display screens.

  The ladder diagram in FIG. 5A is a display screen when a start instruction is received. FIG. 5A describes two commands. The display screen itself of FIG. 5A is acquired as the first image data shown in FIG. 5D and stored in the image history information storage unit 431. The head image data is not limited to acquiring the display screen itself when the start instruction is received, and may be acquired as difference image data from the blank image. In this case, the display screen at an arbitrary time can be restored by sequentially superimposing the difference image data stored in the image history information storage unit 431 on the blank image.

  In FIG. 5B, a black rectangle 51 is shown to indicate that the first command has been executed. In this case, instead of storing the image data corresponding to FIG. 5B in which the square 51 is described, as shown in FIG. 5E, difference image data in which only the updated square 52 is described. Is stored in the image history information storage unit 431.

  Similarly, in FIG. 5C, a circle 53 filled with black is described so as to indicate that the second command has also been executed. Also in this case, the image data corresponding to FIG. 5C in which the circle 53 is described is not stored, but as shown in FIG. 5F, the difference image in which only the updated circle 54 is described. Data is acquired and stored in the image history information storage unit 431.

  As illustrated in FIG. 3, the difference image data storage unit 313 stores the difference image data acquired by the processing as described above in the image history information storage unit 431. The time stamp information storage unit 314 stores the elapsed time from the time when the head image data is stored as time stamp information. Specifically, the elapsed time from the acquisition of the first image data to the acquisition of the next difference image data, the elapsed time from the acquisition of the difference image data to the acquisition of the next difference image data, a predetermined time If it is shorter, the time stamp information is stored at predetermined time intervals. When the time is longer than the predetermined time, the elapsed time until the next difference image data is acquired is stored in association with the acquired difference image data. For the time stamp information, the time interval may be calculated based on a reference time, for example, the elapsed time from the time when the first image data is acquired, or the elapsed time from the time when the difference image data is acquired is directly counted. May be.

  Note that the time point when the image data is acquired is the process of storing the image data in the storage device 43 at a predetermined time from the start to the end of the storage process at the start of the process of storing the image data in the storage device 43. It is a broad concept including the end time of. Further, the time stamp information is not stored independently, but is stored in association with the difference image data.

  FIG. 6 is a view showing an example of the data structure stored in the image history information storage unit 431 including time stamp information in the recording apparatus 4 according to the embodiment of the present invention. In the example of FIG. 6, the time stamp information is stored every 1 ms from the time when the top image data is stored. When difference image data is stored at intervals of 1 ms or less, one or a plurality of difference image data is stored between the time stamp information and the time stamp information.

  On the other hand, if the difference image data is not stored even if it exceeds 1 ms, the time measurement is continued without storing the time stamp information every 1 ms, and when the difference image data is stored, the time corresponds to the difference image data. In addition, it is stored as time stamp information. In the example of FIG. 6, time stamp information of 100 ms is stored in association with the difference image data. Note that the “mouse position data” shown in FIG. 6 is cursor position information that fluctuates by a mouse operation on the screen.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a recording process procedure of the recording apparatus 4 according to the embodiment of the present invention. The control unit 41 of the recording device 4 receives an instruction to start recording (step S701), and stores the screen displayed on the display device 451 when the start instruction is received in the image history information storage unit 431 as the top image data. (Step S702). Moreover, the control part 41 starts time measurement using the built-in timer, when the start instruction is received (step S703). Note that the start of timing is not limited to the time when the start instruction is received, but the time when the top image data is acquired, that is, the time when the processing for storing the top image data in the image history information storage unit 431 is started. The time may be any of a predetermined time from the start to the end of the process, or the end of the process of storing the top image data in the image history information storage unit 431.

  The control unit 41 determines whether or not a change in the display screen is detected (step S704), and when the control unit 41 determines that a change in the display screen is detected (step S704: YES), the control unit 41 The difference image data is stored in the image history information storage unit 431 (step S705), and it is determined whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed (step S706). When the control unit 41 determines that the predetermined time has not elapsed (step S706: NO), the control unit 41 determines whether a change in the display screen has been detected (step S707).

  When the control unit 41 determines that a change in the display screen has been detected (step S707: YES), the control unit 41 returns the processing to step S705 and repeats the above-described processing. When the control unit 41 determines that the display screen change is not detected (step S707: NO), the control unit 41 returns the process to step S706 and repeats the above-described processing.

  When the control unit 41 determines that the predetermined time has elapsed (step S706: YES), the control unit 41 stores the time stamp information for each predetermined time in the image history information storage unit 431 (step S708) and measures the time. Reset to zero (step S709). The control unit 41 determines whether or not a recording end instruction has been received (step S710), and if the control unit 41 determines that a recording end instruction has not been received (step S710: NO), the control unit 41 The process returns to step S704 to repeat the above-described process. When the control unit 41 determines that a recording end instruction has been received (step S710: YES), the control unit 41 ends the process.

  When the control unit 41 determines that a change in the display screen has not been detected (step S704: NO), the control unit 41 determines whether a predetermined time has elapsed (step S711). When the control unit 41 determines that the predetermined time has not elapsed (step S711: NO), the control unit 41 returns the processing to step S704 and repeats the above-described processing.

  When the control unit 41 determines that the predetermined time has elapsed (step S711: YES), the control unit 41 determines whether a change in the display screen has been detected (step S712). When the control unit 41 determines that a change in the display screen is not detected (step S712: NO), the control unit 41 enters a detection waiting state.

  When the control unit 41 determines that a change in the display screen has been detected (step S712: YES), the control unit 41 stores the difference image data in the image history information storage unit 431 (step S713) and detects the change. The elapsed time until is stored as time stamp information in the image history information storage unit 431 (step S714). The control unit 41 proceeds with the process to step S709 and continues the above-described process. By doing so, the transition of the display screen is stored in the image history information storage unit 431 with the data structure as shown in FIG.

  In this way, by storing the top image data, difference image data, and time stamp information in the image history information storage unit 431, at the time of playback, playback starts from the top image data, and the difference image data is sequentially overlapped according to the time stamp information. By combining them, it is possible to reproduce as moving image data.

  Note that the target to be recorded may be the entire display screen or only a necessary portion of the display screen. That is, the recording area designation receiving unit 304 shown in FIG. 3 may be provided, and designation may be received as a recording area for all or part of the image data of the display screen to be recorded.

  FIG. 8 is a view showing an example of a screen when a part of the display screen is designated as a recording area. As shown in FIG. 8, the entire display screen 81 is not a target to be recorded. For example, an area where buttons for executing a drag operation of the mouse 442 and the like are arranged is avoided and designated as a recording area 82. Accept. Thereby, only the image data corresponding to the recording area 82 is stored, and the difference image data is also stored corresponding to the transition of the screen in the recording area 82.

  In addition, it is preferable to accept a recording start instruction, a stop instruction, or the like using a button or the like arranged outside the recording area 82. This is because a cursor is reflected by the operation of the mouse 442 in the recording area 82, and a large amount of unnecessary difference image data may be stored.

  In the example of FIG. 8, an operation area 83 that includes a recording button (start button) 831, a pause button 832 that pauses recording, a stop button 833, a setting button 834 that sets recording conditions, and the like is included in the target to be recorded. By designating the recording area 82 so that there is no change, the difference image data in the recording area 82 can be stored without detecting the reflection of the cursor by the operation of the mouse 442 as a screen change.

  The pause button 832 functions as a pause instruction accepting unit 303 shown in FIG. 3 that accepts a pause instruction for recording on the display screen. That is, when a recording start instruction is received by the recording button 831 and then a pause instruction is received by the pause button 832, the storage of the difference image data and the counting of the elapsed time are temporarily stopped. When the recording start instruction is received again by the recording button 831, the storage of the difference image data and the counting of the elapsed time are resumed. When the stop instruction is received by the stop button 833, the period from when the recording start instruction is first received until the stop instruction is received is stored in the image history information storage unit 431 as one moving image data.

  The pause button 832 is disposed between the recording button 831 and the stop button 833, and the recording button 831, the pause button 832, and the stop button 833 are displayed in a line. As a result, a right-handed user can be provided with a user interface that is convenient for mouse operation, and a visually erroneous operation can be avoided.

  Furthermore, the recording conditions that can be set with the setting button 834 are, for example, selection of whether to adopt the signal hook method or the screen hook method as a method for detecting a change in the display screen, and the difference image data acquisition interval. The selection is not particularly limited as long as it is a condition necessary for acquiring difference image data, such as selection of image quality, selection of image quality, and selection of maximum recording time.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is not necessary to constantly acquire moving image data indicating the transition of the display screen of the computer that is monitoring the operation status of the expansion unit 3, and when the change of the display screen is detected By storing the difference image data and the time stamp information at any time, the storage capacity of the moving image data can be greatly compressed. For example, when the elapsed time until the change is detected is 1 ms or less, the time stamp information is periodically stored, and when the time when the change is not detected is 10 ms or more, the time stamp information is 10 ms or 100 ms. By storing as a value collected in units of 1 s or the like, the storage capacity of moving image data as a whole can be greatly reduced. Therefore, moving image data for monitoring the computer display screen can be stored with a small storage capacity, and the cause of the occurrence can be easily specified when a failure occurs.

  Further, the operation status of the extension unit 3 can be acquired as a monitor value on the display screen. For example, the monitor value can be acquired for each expansion unit 3 by receiving selection of the expansion unit 3 to be monitored.

  Specifically, a plurality of devices are stored in advance in the storage device 43 as the expansion units 3, 3,..., And a selection from a pull-down menu, for example, which device is to be monitored is accepted. By constantly displaying the monitor value of the device that has received the selection in synchronization with the moving image data indicating the transition of the display screen, the operation status of the device can be grasped on the display screen.

  In addition, in order to facilitate the work of local engineers in the event of a failure, an engineer familiar with the failure device creates a program that collects failure information and acquires moving image data when the program is executed You may make it do. In this case, a setting file for each program for collecting failure information is created in advance and transmitted to a local engineer. FIG. 9 is an exemplary diagram of a configuration file created in advance.

  In the example of FIG. 9, the module name indicates the name of a ladder-type program that is executed for collecting failure information. The row number and column number indicate the recording target portion of the program, and the recording time indicates the time for recording as moving image data. The local engineer can record the operation status of the program that collects fault information by selecting the module name, and send the recorded moving image data to the technician who is familiar with the faulty device. It becomes possible to investigate the cause of occurrence and the like early and reliably.

  It is also possible to store mouse position data when characters and the like are written freehand by operating the mouse 442 or the like in the recording area 82. FIG. 10 is a view showing an example of a display screen when characters or the like are written freehand by operating the mouse 442 or the like. In the example of FIG. 10, characters or the like written freehand by operating the mouse 442 or the like in the recording area 82 are stored in the image history information storage unit 431 as mouse position data. As a result, in addition to the first image data, difference image data, and time stamp information stored in the image history information storage unit 431, the mouse position data is used to reproduce the freehand characters and the like. It becomes possible.

  Furthermore, text data associated with the time stamp information at the time of reproduction can also be stored so that the predetermined time can be reliably reproduced. FIG. 11 is an exemplary view of a display screen when key-in is performed with the keyboard 441. As shown in FIG. 11, text data is keyed in from the keyboard 441 when the display screen becomes FIG. 11 (a) so that the screen of FIG. 11 (a) can be reproduced, and corresponds to the time stamp information. Add and remember. Then, by receiving the selection of the text data keyed in from the text data list display screen as shown in FIG. 11B, the display screen at the time when the selected text data is stored can be reproduced. It becomes possible.

  Further, an image diagram of the operated mouse or the like may be stored in a superimposed manner on the display screen. FIG. 12 is a view showing an example of a display screen including a mouse operation screen. As shown in FIG. 12, the image diagram of the mouse 442 is displayed superimposed on the display screen, and a symbol indicating whether the click operation is a left click or a right click is described. In the example of FIG. 12, since a symbol indicating that a left click operation has been added, it can be visually confirmed that the operation is a left click operation.

  In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it goes without saying that various modifications and replacements are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Programmable controller 2 CPU unit 3, 3a, 3b Expansion unit 4 Recording apparatus 5 Controlled apparatus 41 Control part 42 Memory 43 Memory | storage device 44 I / O interface 45 Video interface 46 Communication interface 47 Portable disk drive 431 Image history information storage part

Claims (15)

It is composed of a plurality of expansion units and CPU units connected to the controlled device, and is connected so as to be able to send / receive data to / from a programmable controller that sequentially controls the operation of the extension unit. In a recording device for recording a display screen of a computer that displays the operation status of the expansion unit in a ladder format by
A start / stop instruction receiving means for receiving a recording start instruction and a stop instruction on a display screen including a ladder diagram displaying the operation status of the expansion unit in a ladder format;
The transition of the display screen from when the start / stop instruction accepting unit accepts the recording start instruction until the stop instruction is accepted, and the top image data that is the image data of the display screen when the start instruction is accepted, A moving image storage that stores a plurality of difference image data following the start image data and one moving image data including the start image data and / or time stamp information indicating an elapsed time from the time when the difference image data was acquired. Means and
The moving image storage means includes
First image data storage means for storing the first image data;
Change detection means for detecting changes in the display screen;
After receiving the recording start instruction, when the change detection unit detects a change in the display screen, the difference image data corresponding to the difference changed from the head image data and / or the difference image data is stored. Differential image data storage means for
It is determined whether or not the elapsed time at the time of acquiring the difference image data exceeds a predetermined time, and when it is determined that the predetermined time is exceeded, a time for storing time stamp information corresponding to the elapsed time A recording apparatus comprising: stamp information storage means. The change detection means includes
Event detection means for detecting whether an event has occurred;
The recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: an event determination unit that determines whether or not the event changes a display screen when the event detection unit detects that an event has occurred. The change detection means includes
The recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a change determination unit that determines whether or not the display screen has been changed from a point in time when the previous change was detected. A detection method selection receiving means for receiving selection of the change detection means;
When the selection is not accepted by the detection method selection acceptance means, the change detection means judges whether or not the change has been made from the display screen at the time when the previous change was detected. Item 2. The recording device according to Item 1. Comprising a pause instruction receiving means for receiving a pause instruction for recording on the display screen;
When the recording start instruction is received, the pause instruction is received, the recording start instruction is received again, and then the stop instruction is received. 5. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a series of display screens from when a start instruction is received to when a stop instruction is received is stored as one moving image data. The start / stop instruction receiving means includes a start button and a stop button,
The pause instruction receiving means is composed of a pause button,
The pause button is disposed between the start button and the stop button, and the start button, the pause button, and the stop button are arranged and displayed in a line. The recording device according to claim 5. A recording area designation accepting means for accepting designation as a recording area for all or part of the image data of the display screen to be recorded;
7. The recording according to claim 1, wherein the moving image storage means stores a transition of a screen in the recording area of the display screen as moving image data. apparatus.   8. A recording apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said start / stop instruction receiving means is arranged outside said recording area. It is composed of a plurality of expansion units and CPU units connected to the controlled device, and is connected so as to be able to send / receive data to / from a programmable controller that sequentially controls the operation of the extension unit. In a recording method for recording a display screen of a computer that displays the operation status of the expansion unit in a ladder format by
The computer
Accepting a recording start instruction and a stop instruction on a display screen including a ladder diagram that displays the operation status of the expansion unit in a ladder format;
The transition of the display screen from when the start instruction for recording is received until the stop instruction is received, the top image data which is the image data of the display screen at the time when the start instruction is received, and a plurality of differences following the top image data Storing as one moving image data including image data and time stamp information indicating an elapsed time from the time when the head image data and / or the difference image data is acquired;
Storing the head image data;
Detect changes in the display screen,
When the change of the display screen is detected after receiving the recording start instruction, the difference image data corresponding to the difference changed from the head image data and / or the difference image data is stored,
It is determined whether or not the elapsed time at the time when the differential image data is acquired exceeds a predetermined time, and when it is determined that the predetermined time is exceeded, time stamp information corresponding to the elapsed time is stored. A video recording method. It is composed of a plurality of expansion units and CPU units connected to the controlled device, and is connected so as to be able to send / receive data to / from a programmable controller that sequentially controls the operation of the extension unit. In a computer program that can be executed by a computer that displays the operation status of the expansion unit in a ladder format by
The computer,
Start / stop instruction receiving means for receiving a recording start instruction and a stop instruction on a display screen including a ladder diagram that displays the operation status of the extension unit in a ladder format, and the start / stop instruction receiving means is a start instruction for the recording Transition of the display screen from when the start instruction is received, to the start image data that is the image data of the display screen at the time when the start instruction is received, a plurality of difference image data following the start image data, Function as moving image storage means for storing as one moving image data including time stamp information indicating elapsed time from the time when the first image data and / or the difference image data is acquired;
The moving image storage means;
Head image data storage means for storing the head image data;
Change detection means for detecting changes in the display screen,
After receiving the recording start instruction, when the change detection unit detects a change in the display screen, the difference image data corresponding to the difference changed from the head image data and / or the difference image data is stored. Difference image data storage means, and whether or not the elapsed time at the time of acquisition of the difference image data exceeds a predetermined time, and if it is determined that the predetermined time is exceeded, corresponds to the elapsed time A computer program that functions as time stamp information storage means for storing time stamp information to be stored. The change detection means;
Event detection means for detecting whether or not an event has occurred, and functioning as event determination means for determining whether or not the event changes the display screen when the event detection means detects that an event has occurred The computer program according to claim 10, wherein: The change detection means;
11. The computer program according to claim 10, wherein the computer program functions as change determination means for determining whether or not the display screen has been changed from the point in time when the previous change was detected. The computer,
Function as a detection method selection reception means for receiving selection of the change detection means,
When the selection is not received by the detection method selection receiving unit, the change detection unit is caused to function as a unit for determining whether or not the display screen at the time when the previous change is detected is changed. Item 11. A computer program according to Item 10. The computer,
Function as a pause instruction receiving means for receiving a pause instruction for recording on the display screen;
When a recording start instruction is received, a pause instruction is received, a recording start instruction is received again, and then a stop instruction is received, the moving image storage means is first recorded by the start / stop instruction receiving means. The computer program according to any one of claims 10 to 13, wherein the computer program functions as means for storing a series of display screens from when a start instruction is received to when a stop instruction is received as one moving image data. The computer,
Function as recording area designation receiving means for accepting designation as a recording area for all or part of the image data of the display screen to be recorded,
15. The computer according to claim 10, wherein the moving image storage unit functions as a unit that stores, as moving image data, a screen transition in the recording area of the display screen. program.

Images