JP2016148887A - Ladder program edition device enabling edition with gesture operation of touch panel - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a ladder program edition device capable of efficiently editing a ladder program with gesture operation peculiar to a touch panel.SOLUTION: A ladder program edition device includes: display means of displaying a ladder program; gesture operation detection means of detecting user gesture operation to the ladder program displayed by the display means; gesture operation analysis means of analyzing the detected gesture operation, and specifying at least an operation kind of gesture operation and an operation object to be an object of gesture operation; edition operation specification means of specifying edition operation to the operation object on the basis of the operation kind and the operation object; and edition means of executing edition operation to the operation object.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a ladder program editing apparatus, and more particularly to a ladder program editing apparatus that can efficiently edit a ladder program by a gesture operation unique to a touch panel.

  When a ladder program is created on a personal computer, an editing operation is generally performed using a pointing device such as a mouse and a keyboard together. An apparatus equipped with a touch panel such as a tablet terminal usually does not include an input device such as a keyboard or a mouse. However, an operation similar to that of a personal computer can be performed by touching the screen with a fingertip.

  When editing a ladder program on a tablet device that mainly uses touch operations, you can use the mouse to perform editing operations using touch operations, and enter characters in the same way as a computer keyboard using touch operations on a virtual keyboard displayed on the screen. As a result, editing operations equivalent to those of a personal computer are realized.

Furthermore, the touch operation includes a gesture operation (pinch-in, pinch-out, etc.) using a plurality of fingers, and generally, for example, an image displayed on the screen is enlarged or reduced by the operation. (For example, patent document 1).
In addition, the gesture operation may be used for a character string conversion operation (for example, Patent Document 2), a file editing operation (for example, Patent Document 3), or the like.

Japanese Patent No. 4849412 Japanese Patent No. 5409896 Japanese Patent No. 5598584

  Conventionally, the editing operation of a ladder program is based on the operation of a mouse and a keyboard on a personal computer, and the editing function is realized by replacing the same operation with a touch operation on a tablet terminal or the like.

  However, gesture operations unique to touch panels are not used for ladder program editing operations themselves, even though they are used for general enlargement / reduction of the display. The operation itself was basically the same as the operation with the mouse and keyboard of a personal computer.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a ladder program editing apparatus that can efficiently edit a ladder program by a gesture operation unique to a touch panel.

  The invention according to claim 1 of the present application relates to a ladder program editing apparatus that edits a ladder program based on an operation by a user, a display unit that displays the ladder program, and a user for the ladder program displayed by the display unit. Gesture operation detection means for detecting a gesture operation, gesture operation analysis means for analyzing the gesture operation and identifying at least the operation type of the gesture operation and the operation target to be the gesture operation, the operation type and the A ladder program editing apparatus comprising: an editing operation specifying unit that specifies an editing operation on the operation target based on the operation target; and an editing unit that executes the editing operation on the operation target. is there.

  In the invention according to claim 2 of the present application, the gesture operation analyzing unit further specifies an operation direction corresponding to the operation type, and the editing operation specifying unit is based on the operation type, the operation direction, and the operation target. The ladder program editing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an editing operation for the operation target is specified.

  In the present invention, editing operations that are frequently performed at the time of editing a ladder program, such as addition / deletion of a contact point, are performed by a gesture operation peculiar to a touch panel. Since it can be implemented with one operation, the ladder program can be edited efficiently.

It is an example of editing operation of a ladder program by a toolbar interface. It is an example of a ladder program editing operation by a context menu interface. It is an example of editing operation of the ladder program by gesture operation in this invention. It is a principal part block diagram of the ladder program editing apparatus in one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the operation determination table in one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart of the process performed on the ladder program editing apparatus in one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart of the determination process of the operation target in one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining the "horizontal element" and the "vertical element" of the ladder program in this invention. It is an edit example (1) by gesture operation on the ladder program editing apparatus in one Embodiment of this invention. It is an example (2) of editing by gesture operation on the ladder program editing apparatus in one Embodiment of this invention. It is an example (3) of editing by gesture operation on the ladder program editing apparatus in one Embodiment of this invention. It is an example (4) of editing by gesture operation on the ladder program editing apparatus in one Embodiment of this invention.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
In the present invention, when editing a ladder program to be executed by a programmable controller on a tablet terminal capable of performing a gesture operation, an editing operation that frequently occurs during ladder program editing such as addition / deletion of contacts and connection lines can be performed by a gesture operation. By doing so, a ladder program editing apparatus capable of efficiently editing a ladder program is provided.

  In the case of a touch panel that can detect that multiple locations have been touched, it is often possible to use gesture operations in which two or more fingers are simultaneously touched and moved, and in particular, a pinch that moves the tips of two fingers to spread on the screen. In general, the pinch-in that is moved so as to be narrowed out is often used as an operation for enlarging or reducing the displayed image.

  In the present invention, a gesture operation such as pinch-in and pinch-out when a ladder program is displayed on the screen is detected, and the position where the operation is performed and the one displayed at the position (connection line, contact, etc.) The editing operation to be performed is determined, and the ladder program can be edited by a simpler operation.

In the following, the difference between the prior art and the present invention will be described by taking as an example a situation where editing is performed by inserting a contact into one of the ladder circuits constituting the ladder program.
FIG. 1 is an example of a ladder circuit editing operation using a toolbar interface in the prior art. When a new contact T1 is inserted between the contact S1 and the contact S2 with respect to the ladder circuit shown in FIG. 1A, the conventional toolbar operation using a mouse is generally operated in the following procedure. It is.

● Step 1: Select a contact to insert from the tool bar (Fig. 1 (b))
Step 2: Click the position between the contacts S1 and S2 with the mouse (FIG. 1 (c)).
Step 3: A contact is inserted at the clicked position (FIG. 1 (d))
Step 4: Name T1 indicating the signal referred to by the inserted contact is input from the keyboard (FIG. 1 (e)).

  FIG. 2 is an example of editing a ladder circuit using a context menu (right click menu) interface in the prior art. As in the case of FIG. 1, a procedure for inserting a new contact T1 between the contact S1 and the contact S2 in the ladder circuit shown in FIG.

Step 1: Right-click the position between the contact S1 and the contact S2 with the mouse (FIG. 2 (a))
Step 2: Select the menu for inserting the A contact from the displayed context menu (FIG. 2 (b)).
Step 3: A new contact is inserted between the contacts S1 and S2 (FIG. 2 (c)).
Step 4: Name T1 indicating the signal referred to by the inserted contact is input from the keyboard (FIG. 2 (d)).

  On the other hand, in the present invention, as shown in FIG. 3, it is possible to instruct until the contact is inserted by one gesture operation (pinch out). In the present invention, the procedure for inserting a new contact T1 between the contact S1 and the contact S2 in the ladder circuit shown in FIG.

Step 1: Touch the position between the contact S1 and the contact S2 with two fingers, for example, the index finger and the thumb (FIG. 3 (a)).
● Step 2: While touching, spread two fingers laterally (pinch out) (Figure 3 (b))
Step 3: A new contact is inserted between the contacts S1 and S2 (FIG. 3 (c)).
Step 4: Name T1 indicating a signal referred to by the inserted contact is input from the keyboard (FIG. 3 (d)).

  As shown in the above example, compared to the prior art, in the present invention, the contact can be inserted with a simpler and more intuitive operation, so that the efficiency of editing work can be expected. In the ladder program editing by the gesture operation introduced by the present invention, not only the above-described contact insertion, but also various operations such as contact deletion, connection line insertion and deletion, depending on the situation where the operation is performed. It is possible to perform various editing operations.

  FIG. 4 is a principal block diagram of a ladder program editing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The ladder program editing apparatus 10 of this embodiment includes a CPU 11, a ROM 12, a RAM 13, a secondary storage device 14, a touch panel 15, a display device 16, a network interface 17, and an external device interface 18.

  The CPU 11 provided in the ladder program editing apparatus 10 is a processor that controls the entire ladder program editing apparatus 10, reads a system program stored in the ROM 12 via a bus, and controls the ladder program editing apparatus 10 according to the system program. To do. The RAM 13 stores temporary calculation data, display data displayed on the display 16, a work memory area for storing various data input via the touch panel 15 or a keyboard (not shown), and a ladder program to be edited. An area for storing the sequence program is provided.

  The secondary storage device 14 includes a nonvolatile storage device such as a hard disk device, a memory card, and a USB memory, a battery-backed nonvolatile memory, and the like, and a sequence program such as a ladder program handled by the ladder program editing device 10. Various files such as setting files and parameter files are stored.

  The touch panel 15 is a position input device that is arranged so as to overlap the display screen of the display 16 and detects a touch operation, a proximity operation, a push operation, and the like with a fingertip or a pen tip on an image drawn on the display screen. The touch panel 15 can detect a gesture operation such as a touch operation, a flick, and a pinch in / out by detecting a position of an operation performed with a fingertip or a pen tip. The touch panel 15 can be configured as a separate device from the display 16 as shown in the figure, but may be configured as a single device with the display 16.

A network such as a LAN or WAN is connected to the network interface 17, and a sequence program such as a ladder program is transmitted / received to / from an external device via the network interface 17.
The external device interface 18 is connected to input devices such as a keyboard and a mouse (not shown) and various external devices that operate in cooperation with the ladder program editing device 10.

Hereinafter, a method of implementing various editing operations through gesture operations, which is introduced by the present invention, will be described.
FIG. 5 is an example of an operation determination table stored in the secondary storage device 14 of the ladder program editing device 10. In the operation determination table, as shown in FIG. 5, “operation type” indicating the type of operation performed, “operation direction” indicating the status of the operation, “operation target”, and what kind of editing is performed. The “editing operation” shown is associated and stored. Note that the content of the operation determination table shown in FIG. 5 is an example, and editing operations other than these may be assigned by determining other operation types and operation targets, or more detailed operation types and operation targets. .

  When the ladder program editing apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment detects a touch operation or a gesture operation on the touch panel 15 by the user during editing of the ladder program, the ladder program editing apparatus 10 is based on the operation status of the operation, the operation direction, the operation target, and the like. The corresponding operation is identified with reference to the operation determination table, and the identified editing operation is executed on the displayed ladder program.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart executed when a gesture operation is detected in a scene where a ladder program is edited on the ladder program editing apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment. With this process, an editing operation to be performed can be obtained from a gesture operation.
[Step SA01] The gesture operation detected by the touch panel 15 is analyzed, and the “operation type” and “operation direction” of the gesture operation are specified.
[Step SA02] If the “operation type” and “operation method” are successfully identified as effective gesture operations in step SA01, the process proceeds to step SA03. .

[Step SA03] The midpoint of the touch position at the start of the operation of the gesture operation detected by the touch panel 15 is obtained and set as the “operation position”.
[Step SA04] It is determined whether or not the “operation position” obtained in step SA03 is within the display area of the ladder program displayed on the display device 16. If it is within the display area, the process proceeds to step SA05. If not, the process in the current cycle is terminated.

[Step SA05] Based on the “operation type” and “operation direction” identified in step SA01 and the “operation position” obtained in step SA03, the “operation object” determination process described later is executed, Is specified.
[Step SA06] The “operation determination table” is searched based on the “operation type” and “operation direction” specified in step SA01 and the “operation target” specified in step SA05.

[Step SA07] In step SA06, it is determined whether or not matching data is retrieved from the “operation determination table”. If matching data is found, the process proceeds to step SA08, and if there is no matching data, the process in this cycle is terminated.
[Step SA08] The “editing operation” in the data retrieved in step SA06 is executed on the “operation target”.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of processing for specifying “operation target” based on “operation type”, “operation direction”, and “operation position”, which is called in step SA05 in the flowchart of FIG.
[Step SB01] The “operation direction” of the gesture operation specified in step SA01 is determined.
[Step SB02] It is determined whether or not the “operation direction” determined in step SB01 is the horizontal direction. If the “operation direction” is the horizontal direction, the process proceeds to step SB03, and if not, the process proceeds to step SB04.

[Step SB03] A “horizontal element” (described later) displayed in the “operation position” obtained in step SA03 is set as an “operation target”.
[Step SB04] The “vertical element” (described later) displayed in the “operation position” obtained in step SA03 is set as “operation target”.

  Here, the “lateral element” represents a graphic element connected in the horizontal direction in the ladder circuit diagram, and corresponds to a contact, a horizontal connection line, a coil, or the like. The “vertical element” represents a graphic element connected in the vertical direction in the ladder circuit diagram, and corresponds to a vertical connection line. Furthermore, “blank” representing a state of “no significant element” is also an element.

The “horizontal element” and “vertical element” will be further described with reference to FIG.
For example, when the ladder circuit shown in FIG. 8A is decomposed into elements, when the ladder circuit is divided into horizontal elements, the ladder circuit can be decomposed like a dotted frame shown in FIG. The contacts, horizontal connection lines, coils, and blanks in each dotted line frame are elements.
On the other hand, when dividing into vertical elements, it can be decomposed like a dotted frame shown in FIG. The vertical connection line in each dotted line frame is an element. In the case of this ladder circuit, only the shaded frame is a vertical connection line, and the other frame areas are blank.

  In the processing of step SB03 and step SB04, the ladder circuit is decomposed into “horizontal element” or “vertical element” as described above depending on whether the “operation direction” is the horizontal direction or the vertical direction, and the position indicated by the “operation position” The elements included in the dotted frame are identified as “operation targets”.

Hereinafter, an example in which a ladder program is edited by a series of gesture operations on the ladder program editing apparatus 10 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
When the ladder circuit shown in FIG. 9A is edited, as shown in FIG. 9B, a pinch-in operation is performed in the horizontal direction on the connection line arranged to the right of the contact D. Since this operation matches the condition No. 5 in comparison with the “operation determination table” shown in FIG. 5, the “connection line deletion” process is executed at the operation position, and the ladder circuit is shown in FIG. ) Is changed.

  Next, with respect to the ladder circuit shown in FIG. 10A, as shown in FIG. 10B, a pinch-in operation is performed in the vertical direction on a vertical connection line extending downward from the connection line between the contact B and the contact C. I do. Since this operation matches the condition No. 10 in comparison with the “operation determination table” shown in FIG. 5, the “connection line deletion” process is executed at the operation position, and the ladder circuit is shown in FIG. ) Is changed.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 11B, a pinch-in operation is performed on the ladder circuit shown in FIG. 11A vertically between the contact A and the contact B and the right side of the contact D in a blank space. Since this operation matches the condition No. 9 in comparison with the “operation determination table” shown in FIG. 5, the “insertion of connection line” process is executed at the operation position, and the ladder circuit is shown in FIG. ) Is changed.

Then, with respect to the ladder circuit shown in FIG. 12A, a pinch-out operation is performed in the lateral direction at the right half position of the contact D as shown in FIG. Since this operation matches the condition No. 1 in comparison with the “operation determination table” shown in FIG. 5, the “contact right insertion” process is executed at the operation position, and the ladder circuit is shown in FIG. ) Is changed.
Finally, the signal name “F” is set by operating the keyboard or the like for the inserted setting, and the ladder circuit shown in FIG. 12D is completed.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be implemented in various modes by making appropriate modifications.
For example, the ladder program editing operation by such a gesture operation can define various operation systems depending on the contents of the above-described “operation determination table”. In addition to the “operation type”, “operation direction”, and “operation target” given as examples, the starting point of the operation and how to move it (for example, flick, one touch position is fixed and only one is moved, the finger is changed to a letter If you use an “operation type” that does not require “operation direction”, you can set the “operation direction” item to A simple operation determination table may be omitted.

10 Ladder program editing device 11 CPU
12 ROM
13 RAM
14 Secondary Storage Device 15 Touch Panel 16 Display 17 Network Interface 18 External Device Interface

Claims (2)

In a ladder program editing device that edits a ladder program based on a user operation,
Display means for displaying the ladder program;
Gesture operation detection means for detecting a gesture operation by a user for the ladder program displayed by the display means;
A gesture operation analyzing means for analyzing the gesture operation and identifying at least an operation type of the gesture operation and an operation target to be the gesture operation;
An editing operation specifying means for specifying an editing operation for the operation object based on the operation type and the operation object;
Editing means for executing the editing operation on the operation target;
A ladder program editing apparatus comprising: The gesture operation analysis means further specifies an operation direction corresponding to the operation type,
The editing operation specifying means specifies an editing operation for the operation target based on the operation type, the operation direction, and the operation target;
The ladder program editing apparatus according to claim 1.