JP6974001B2 - Display controller and display system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a display control device that controls the display of a screen on a plurality of display devices.

In recent years, due to improvements in the graphic performance of computers and the diversification of computer usage patterns, multi-displays have come to be used in which multiple display devices are connected to one computer for display. It's coming. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an operating system that manages windows started on a plurality of applications for each window and outputs the display to a predetermined display in order to distribute a display for each window. ing. In this way, recent operating systems that support multiple displays have appeared.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2012-174150 (published on September 10, 2012)

The video transmission cable used in recent years for connecting a computer and a display device has a function of transmitting a connection detection signal for detecting a connection to a terminal. Therefore, even if the power of the display device is turned off, the computer can recognize the display device as long as the video transmission cable is connected. By using this connection detection signal, the display of the screen specified for each display device is maintained even when the power of the display device is turned on / off.

However, there are cases where the connection detection signal cannot be used, such as when the connection detection signal is cut off due to physical disconnection of the video transmission cable or when the display device is connected via a network. In such a case, the configuration of the display device connected to the computer may differ from the configuration of the specified display device due to a communication abnormality or the like. In such a state, a screen that is not originally specified to be displayed on the display device is displayed. Moreover, even if the connection between the computer and the display device is restored to the normal state, the screen displayed on the display device does not return to the normal screen.

For example, as shown in FIG. 11A, a display in which three first display devices D101, a second display device D102, and a third display device D103 are connected to one computer 101 via a network 102. Imagine a system. In this display system, the screen data of the first screen SA, the second screen SB, and the third screen SC stored in the computer 101 are the corresponding first display device D101, second display device D102, and third screen SC. It is transmitted to the display device D103. As a result, the first display device D101 displays the first screen SA in a state where no communication abnormality has occurred between the computer 101 and the first display device D101, the second display device D102, and the third display device D103. , The second display device D102 displays the second screen SB, and the third display device D103 displays the third screen SC.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 11B, when a communication abnormality has occurred between the computer 101 and the second display device D102, the second display device D102 is disconnected from the computer 101. Become. Therefore, when the computer 101 recognizes that the second display device D102 that should display the second screen SB is disconnected, the second screen SB is set to the third screen SB in order to avoid that the second screen SB is not displayed. It is displayed on the display device D103. Further, the computer 101 causes the first display device D101 to display the third screen SC that is no longer displayed on the third display device D103.

For this reason, in a system in which display devices are distributed and arranged in various places such as a factory production line, when the screen originally displayed as described above is switched to another screen and displayed, each display device is displayed. The operator placed in is unable to monitor a given screen. Moreover, when the display device is an operation-type display device having a touch panel, the operator cannot operate the predetermined screen.

One aspect of the present invention is to display a desired screen on a desired display device.

In order to solve the above problems, the display control device according to one aspect of the present invention is a screen display in which one or more display devices connected to the display control device and a screen displayed by the display device are associated with each other. A display screen determination unit that determines the screen to be displayed on the display device connected to the display control device by referring to the pattern information, and a display control unit that displays the determined screen on the corresponding display device. And have.

According to the above configuration, which screen is displayed on which display device is determined based on the correspondence between the display device and the screen specified in the screen display pattern information. As a result, when the display control device or the display device has a communication failure, the desired screen is displayed on another display device that is operating normally, or the other display control device that is operating normally causes a communication failure. The desired screen can be displayed on the display device in place of the generated display control device.

The display control device further includes a connection specifying unit for specifying one or more of the display devices connected to the display control device, and the display screen determining unit specifies the display screen pattern information with reference to the screen display pattern information. The screen to be displayed on the display device may be determined.

According to the above configuration, the screen corresponding to the display device identified as being connected to the display control device is determined. As a result, when a communication failure of a certain display device occurs, a desired screen can be displayed on another display device capable of normally communicating. Therefore, it is possible to avoid the inconvenience that a screen that is not originally displayed on another display device capable of normally communicating is unintentionally displayed.

In the display control device, the screen is given a priority to be displayed, and the display device and the screen are more likely to be displayed as the priority is higher. May be associated with.

According to the above configuration, when the communication of any display device is poor, the screen to be displayed can be preferentially displayed on the display device that is operating normally.

In the display control device, the screen display pattern information may be associated with the display device including a notification screen for notifying the occurrence of a predetermined event.

According to the above configuration, it is possible to set in advance which display device is to display the notification screen when an event occurs. As a result, the notification screen can be displayed on a desired display device when an event occurs.

In the display control device, the screen display pattern information is associated with the display device connected to the display control device via a network and the screen displayed by the display device, and further, other display control. The screen displayed by the display device corresponding to the device may be associated with the display device.

According to the above configuration, the plurality of display control devices can mutually recognize the operating state (communication state) via the network. Further, the screen displayed by the display device corresponding to the other display control device can be set in advance in the display control device (own machine). As a result, when the other display control device fails and is disconnected from the network, the display control device replaces the display device with the display device on which the other display control device is displaying the screen. Can be displayed.

The display control device acquires the display device specific information that identifies the display device connected to the display device, and also acquires the screen specific information that specifies the screen, and the display device specific information and the screen identification. A screen display pattern information creating unit that creates the screen display pattern information by associating with the information may be further provided.

According to the above configuration, screen display pattern information is automatically created. As a result, the user can easily use the display system without being bothered by creating screen display pattern information.

In the display control device, the screen display pattern information associates the display device specific information that identifies the display device with the screen, and the display control device is the display device specific information that identifies the replaced display device. It may be further provided with a screen display pattern information update unit for rewriting the display device specific information in the screen display pattern information.

According to the above configuration, the screen display pattern information can be easily updated according to the new configuration of the display device connected to the display control device, including the replaced display device. As a result, the display device can be easily replaced for maintenance or the like.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is an effect that a desired screen can be displayed on a desired display device.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the manufacturing system which concerns on each embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the main part of the computer in the said manufacturing system. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of making the screen display pattern data by the said computer which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the screen display control by the said computer in the state which the display device is disconnected from the said computer. It is a figure which shows the screen display example of the normal connection state of each display device. It is a figure which shows the screen display example in the state which a specific display device is disconnected from the said computer. It is a figure which shows the screen display example in the state which the specific display device is disconnected from the said computer in the manufacturing system which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the screen display example in the state which the specific display device is disconnected from the said computer in the manufacturing system which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the display system which concerns on Embodiment 4 of this invention. (A) is a diagram showing a normal screen display example in the display system, (b) is a diagram showing a screen display example in a state where one computer has failed in the display system, and (c) is a diagram showing the above screen display example. It is a figure which shows the other screen display example in the state which one computer has failed in the display system. (A) is a diagram showing a screen display example of a normal connection state of each display device in a conventional display system, and (b) is a diagram showing a screen display example of a state in which a specific display device is disconnected from the computer. be.

[Embodiment 1]
The first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a manufacturing system 10 according to each embodiment including the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a main part of the computer 1 in the manufacturing system 10.

First, the outline of the manufacturing system 10 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 1, the manufacturing system 10 includes a computer 1 (display control device), a manufacturing line 2, and a LAN (Local Area Network) 6. The computer 1 and the production line 2 are connected to each other via a LAN cable, a router, or the like so that communication can be performed via the LAN 6 (network).

The computer 1 has a function of controlling the production line 2 and collecting data obtained from the production line 2. Although the computer 1 is provided independently of the production line 2, it may be provided as a part of the production line 2.

The production line 2 includes a plurality of display devices 3, a control device 4, and a device 5.

The display device 3 has a display panel 31 composed of a liquid crystal display panel, an EL display panel, and the like, and a touch panel 32 arranged so as to be superimposed on the display surface of the display panel 31. The display device 3 functions as an operation-type display device that can be operated on the display surface of the display panel 31 by the touch panel 32. Further, the display device 3 is a LAN communication device and is connected to the LAN 6.

The display device 3 is not limited to the LAN 6, and may be connected to the computer 1 via another cable such as an RGB cable.

In the manufacturing system 10, the display system is constructed by the computer 1, the display device 3, and the LAN 6.

The control device 4 is a device that controls the device 5. The control device 4 is composed of devices such as a PLC (Programmable Logic Controller), a temperature controller, and an inverter. The control device 4 is also a LAN communication device and is connected to the LAN 6.

The control device 4 may directly perform serial communication with the computer 1 as long as it is a model having a serial communication function. In this case, the computer 1 needs to have a serial interface.

The device 5 performs various processes (processing, assembly, painting, transportation, inspection, etc.) related to manufacturing.

Subsequently, the computer 1 will be described in detail.

The computer 1 implements a general-purpose OS (Operating System) and has a function of executing an application program. Further, as the computer 1, a personal computer, a workstation, an industrial computer, or the like is used. An industrial computer is a dedicated computer with improved dust resistance, drip resistance, vibration resistance, etc. to suit the harsh environment such as factories.

In the present embodiment, the computer 1 is configured to operate as an HMI device by executing an HMI (Human Machine Interface) application program, and also execute other application programs. Examples of HMI devices include programmable displays that monitor and control controlled objects, and monitoring / control systems such as SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition). The HMI application program is an application program that realizes various functions such as communication with an external device, display of data acquired from the external device, and acceptance of operations by an operator using an input device, as performed by an HMI device. Is. The HMI application program may be supplied to the computer 1 via any transmission medium (communication network, broadcast wave, etc.) capable of transmitting the HMI application program. The HMI application program can also be realized in the form of a data signal embedded in a carrier wave, which is embodied by electronic transmission.

First, the hardware configuration of the computer 1 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 1, the computer 1 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11, a main memory 12, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 13, an auxiliary storage device 14, an input unit 15, an output unit 16, and the like. It is provided with a LAN interface unit 17.

The CPU 11 is a processing device that executes an application program. Specifically, the CPU 11 receives data from the main memory 12, the auxiliary storage device 14, the input unit 15, and the like when executing the application program, performs calculations or processing on the data, and then performs the calculation or processing on the data, and then the main memory 12. Output to the auxiliary storage device 14, the output unit 16, and the like.

The main memory 12 is a memory constituting the main storage device in the computer 1, and is configured by a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory).

The ROM 13 stores programs that are indispensable for the operation of the computer 1, such as a BIOS (Basic Input Output System) that is executed when the computer 1 is started up or reset.

The auxiliary storage device 14 is a large-capacity storage device that stores an OS, an application program, various data, and the like, and is composed of an HDD (Hard Disc Drive), an SSD (Solid State Drive), and the like.

The input unit 15 is used for input operations by the user, and is equipped with various input devices such as a mouse and a keyboard.

The output unit 16 is used to output various output information such as images, sounds, and characters generated inside the computer 1 when the OS and the application program are executed, and various outputs such as a display, a speaker, and a printer. The equipment is equipped.

The input unit 15 and the output unit 16 may be devices mounted on the computer 1, or may be devices connected to the computer 1 as external devices. Such an external device operates integrally with the computer 1 by being connected to the computer 1.

The LAN interface unit 17 is a connection unit for connecting an external device to the computer 1 so as to enable LAN (Local Area Network) communication.

Subsequently, the system configuration of the computer 1 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 2, the computer 1 is equipped with an operating system (hereinafter referred to as “OS”) 7 and an HMI control unit 8.

The OS 7 provides basic functions commonly used in application programs, such as management of the main memory 12, ROM 13, auxiliary storage device 14, input unit 15, output unit 16, and LAN interface unit 17, described above, and is a computer. It is a program that manages the entire system of 1. Further, the OS 7 has a registry management unit 71 that manages the registry R stored in the auxiliary storage device 14.

Registry R is a database of setting information, and includes basic information about OS7, setting information of application programs, extended information, and the like. The registry R also includes a unique ID (display device specific information) assigned to the display device 3 connected to the computer 1.

The registry management unit 71 sets, updates, and deletes various information contained in the registry R. Further, the registry management unit 71 notifies the display monitoring unit 83, which will be described later, included in the HMI control unit 8 of the ID of the display device 3.

The HMI control unit 8 is a part of the HMI function (human-machine interface function) realized by executing the HMI application program.

Here, the HMI function is to generate an instruction to the control device 4 in response to a user's input operation, acquire various data from the control device 4, display the acquired various data, and accept the above input operation. It is a function including the display of the HMI screen for performing. As an HMI function, the HMI control unit 8 has an operation control unit 81 that controls each unit based on a user's operation input, and a display control unit 82 that controls the display of the HMI screen. Further, the HMI control unit 8 has a display monitoring unit 83 for monitoring the display of the screen on the plurality of display devices 3.

The HMI screen is a screen including various objects for displaying the state of the device 5 connected to the control device 4 and accepting operations on the touch panel 32 of the display device 3. As objects provided on the HMI screen, various component images such as a lamp image, a data display image, and a switch image are prepared. The lamp image is an image imitating a lamp that shows the on / off of the device 5 as lighting / extinguishing. The data display image is an image imitating a data display that displays the output data of the device 5 collected by the control device 4. The switch image is an image imitating a switch for operating the device 5 on / off. The screen data Ds for displaying such an HMI screen is created in a personal computer and stored in, for example, an auxiliary storage device 14.

The operation control unit 81 generates an operation instruction according to an input operation by the user's touch on the touch panel 32. The operation instructions include start / stop instructions for the control device 4, change of control data given to the control device 4, and start instructions for starting the application program. The operation control unit 81 generates a start instruction by touching the switch image of the start switch provided on the HMI screen and gives the start instruction to the OS 7.

The display control unit 82 performs a control process for displaying the HMI screen on the display device 3 based on the screen data Ds. Further, the display control unit 82 performs a process of reflecting the data of the control device 4 acquired via the LAN interface unit 17 on the HMI screen. For example, the display control unit 82 performs a process of turning on / off the above-mentioned lamp image and displaying data on the above-mentioned data display image on the HMI screen. Further, the display control unit 82 performs a process of changing the state of the HMI screen in response to the above operation instruction. For example, the display control unit 82 receives the operation instruction for operating the switch image and performs a process of changing the display state (color, shape, etc.) of the switch image.

Further, the display control unit 82 sets each display device 3 so that each display device 3 displays the corresponding screen based on the relationship between the screen and the display device 3 determined by the display screen determination unit 833 described later. Control.

The display monitoring unit 83 includes a screen display pattern data creation unit 831 (screen display pattern information creation unit), a connection configuration specification unit 832 (connection specification unit), and a display screen in order to monitor the screen display on the display device 3. It has a determination unit 833.

The screen display pattern data creation unit 831 creates data (screen display pattern data Dptn) of a pattern (screen display pattern) indicating the screen displayed on each of the display devices 3 connected to the computer 1 for each display device 3. do. The screen display pattern data Dptn (screen display pattern information) created by the screen display pattern data creation unit 831 is stored in the auxiliary storage device 14.

The connection configuration specifying unit 832 specifies the connection configuration of the display device 3 as to which display device 3 is the display device 3 connected to the computer 1.

The display screen determination unit 833 refers to the screen display pattern data Dptn, and displays connected to the computer 1 based on the screen display pattern corresponding to the connection configuration of the display device 3 specified by the connection configuration specification unit 832. The screen to be displayed by the device 3 is determined.

Subsequently, the creation of the screen display pattern data Dptn by the computer 1 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a procedure in which the computer 1 creates screen display pattern data Dptn.

The screen display pattern data creation unit 831 executes the subsequent processes shown in FIG. 3 when an instruction for automatic creation is given while a plurality of display devices 3 are connected to the computer 1 in advance.

First, the screen display pattern data creation unit 831 acquires the ID of the display device 3 currently connected to the computer 1 from the registry management unit 71 (step S1). The registry management unit 71 reads the corresponding ID from the registry R stored in the auxiliary storage device 14 and passes it to the screen display pattern data creation unit 831 in response to the request of the screen display pattern data creation unit 831.

Next, the screen display pattern data creation unit 831 acquires screen identification information that specifies the screen displayed by each display device 3 (step S2). In the acquisition of screen specific information, the screen display pattern data creation unit 831 sets the screen specific information (screen numbers and screens unique to the screen) of the screen to be displayed for each display device 3 connected to the computer 1 in advance. ID) is acquired. The screen specific information may be set at the time of creating the screen data Ds.

Further, the screen display pattern data creation unit 831 determines the screen display pattern based on the acquired ID of the display device 3 and the screen identification information (step S3). In determining the screen display pattern, the screen display pattern data creation unit 831 represents the combination of all the display devices 3 connected to the computer 1 among the plurality of display devices 3 by the combination of IDs, and for each combination of IDs, The screen display pattern is determined by assigning the screen specific information to be displayed for each display device 3.

By automatically creating the screen display pattern data Dptn in this way, the user can easily use the display system without being bothered by creating the screen display pattern data Dptn.

The screen display pattern data creation unit 831 may automatically create the screen display pattern data Dptn as described above, or may assist the user in creating the screen display pattern data Dptn. In the screen display pattern data creation unit 831, in the user's support for creating the screen display pattern data Dptn, the ID of step S1 may be acquired by the user's instruction, or the screen specific information of step S2 may be acquired as screen specific information. A GUI (Graphical User Interface) that causes a user to input (a screen number or screen ID unique to the screen) is displayed on the display (output unit 16) of the computer 1.

As a result, the screen display pattern data Dptn can be created as desired by the user. For example, it is possible to immediately respond to a change in the situation such as a sudden change in the display device 3 connected to the computer 1.

Subsequently, the screen display control by the computer 1 in the state where the display device 3 is disconnected from the LAN 6 (computer 1) will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a procedure in which the computer 1 controls the screen display when the display device 3 is disconnected.

As shown in FIG. 4, first, the connection configuration specifying unit 832 detects that the connection configuration of the display device 3 has changed (step S11).

General network equipment confirms that the connection is valid on the network by communicating regularly. A device connected to the network cuts off the connection if the keepalive signal is not received from the communication partner device even after a certain period of time has passed.

The OS 7 monitors whether or not the display device 3 is connected, and determines that the display device 3 is disconnected when the keep-alive signal is no longer received from the display device 3 due to disconnection of the LAN cable, noise mixing, communication abnormality, or the like. In the detection of step S11, when the display device 3 is disconnected from the computer 1, the connection configuration specifying unit 832 recognizes by notifying the disconnection of the display device 3 from the OS 7.

Next, the display screen determination unit 833 acquires the IDs of all the connected display devices 3 (step S12). In acquiring the ID, the display screen determination unit 833 acquires the ID of the display device 3 currently connected to the computer 1 from the registry R via the registry management unit 71.

Further, the display screen determination unit 833 compares the combination of the acquired IDs for each display device 3 with all the combinations of the IDs in the screen display pattern data Dptn (step S13). Then, as a result of this comparison, the display screen determination unit 833 determines the screen to be displayed on each display device 3 according to the screen display pattern specified by the combination of both IDs (step S14).

Here, a specific example of controlling the screen display at the time of disconnection of the display device 3 based on the procedure as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a screen display example of a normal connection state of each display device 3. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of screen display in a state where the specific display device 3 is disconnected from the computer 1.

First, in the example described below, three display devices 3 are connected to one computer 1, one display device 3 is used as the main display device D1, and the other two display devices 3 are first. The sub-display device D2 and the second sub-display device D3 are used. In addition, Windows (registered trademark) is used as OS7. In Windows (registered trademark), when performing multi-display display, the main screen and the sub screen are defined.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the screens SA, SB, and SC stored as screen data Ds in the computer 1 are displayed on the main display device D1, the first sub-display device D2, and the second sub-display device D3, respectively. It is defined as a thing. Then, the IDs of the main display device D1, the first sub-display device D2, and the second sub-display device D3 are designated as ID1, ID2, and ID3, respectively.

The screen display pattern based on the configuration of the display device 3 described above is created as shown in Table 1.

As shown in FIG. 5, when the main display device D1, the first sub-display device D2, and the second sub-display device D3 are normally connected, the main display device D1 displays the screen SA and the first sub-display device. D2 displays the screen SB, and the second sub-display device D3 displays the screen SC.

From this state, when the first sub-display device D2 is disconnected from the computer 1, the screen SB cannot be displayed. In this case, the display screen determination unit 833 displays the screen SA on the main display device D1 based on the combination of ID1 and ID3 acquired from the registry management unit 71 and the screen display pattern shown in Table 1, and the second sub It is determined that the screen SC is displayed on the display device D3 and the first sub-display device D2 is hidden. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6, the main display device D1 and the second sub-display device D3 display the screens SA and SC, respectively, as in the normal state, but the first sub-display device D2 does not display anything.

By referring to the screen display pattern in this way, the display device 3 disconnected from the computer 1 does not display, and the display device 3 connected to the computer 1 maintains the display on the screen. As a result, as in the conventional display system shown in FIG. 11B, when a specific display device (second display device D102) is disconnected from the computer 101, the display device connected to the computer 101 ( It is possible to avoid that the first display device D101 and the third display device D103) display a screen different from the screen that should be originally displayed.

Therefore, the display device 3 connected to the computer 1 can be added or deleted depending on the application without affecting the manufacturing system 10 in operation. Further, it is not necessary to manually display the screen displayed on the disconnected display device 3 on another display device 3. As a result, a plurality of display devices 3 can be arranged at distant positions.

The computer 1 in this embodiment may be configured as follows. The following configurations can also be applied to embodiments 2 to 4 described later.

(1) Addition of management information The display monitoring unit 83 further manages the arrangement, resolution, orientation, extended display information, duplicate display information, etc. of each display device 3. Thereby, for example, the screen display pattern data Dptn for a maximum of three display devices 3 can be automatically created.

(2) Two-screen display The display monitoring unit 83 hides the screen displayed on the disconnected display device 3, and displays the screen in a display form such as a reduced display in the displayable area of the other display device 3. do. Therefore, the display monitoring unit 83 controls the size of the screen to be displayed based on the setting of the display ratio of both screens. As a result, both screens can be displayed on one display device 3.

(3) Changing the display position of the task bar When the main display device D1 shown in FIG. 6 is disconnected, the task bar displayed on the main display device D1 can be displayed on the first sub-display device D2 and the second sub-display device D3. Will disappear. In order to avoid such inconvenience, the display monitoring unit 83 gives an instruction to change the display position of the taskbar to the OS 7. As a result, the taskbar can be displayed on the first sub-display device D2 and the second sub-display device D3. Since the taskbar is treated as one of the windows, it is possible to change the display position of the taskbar to some extent like other application programs. The images displayed on the first sub-display device D2 and the second sub-display device D3 are not limited to the task bar.

(4) Replacement of Display Device 3 The screen display pattern data creation unit 831 (screen display pattern information update unit) rewrites the ID of the display device 3 in the screen display pattern data Dptn to the ID of the exchanged display device 3. When the display device 3 fails and is replaced, the registry management unit 71 replaces the ID of the display device 3 in the registry R with the ID of the replaced display device 3. The screen display pattern data creation unit 831 acquires a new ID replaced via the registry management unit 71, and rewrites the ID in the screen display pattern data Dptn to the acquired ID.

The screen display pattern data Dptn defines the configuration of the display device 3 connected to the computer 1 and the arrangement of the screens displayed on each display device 3. Therefore, the coordinates of the screen are determined for each configuration of the display device 3. Therefore, when the display device 3 is replaced, the information of the display device 3 before the replacement cannot be used. Even if only one display device 3 is replaced, the overall configuration of the display device 3 connected to the computer 1 changes, so it is necessary to newly create the screen display pattern data Dptn. Therefore, as described above, by replacing the ID in the screen display pattern data Dptn with the ID of the exchanged display device 3, the screen display pattern data Dptn can be easily updated according to the new configuration of the display device 3. Can be done. As a result, the display device 3 can be easily replaced for maintenance or the like.

(5) Input invalidation of the touch panel 32 The display monitoring unit 83 temporarily invalidates the input of the touch panel 32 when some input is performed when the display device 3 is disconnected or connected. To instruct. This makes it possible to prevent erroneous input when the display device 3 is disconnected and connected.

(6) Handling of Switch Operation The display monitoring unit 83 displays the display device 3 when the user is operating the switch image included in the displayed screen, which is turned on during an operation such as a momentary switch. When is disconnected, the operation control unit 81 is instructed to treat the operation for the switch image as an off operation. As a result, it is possible to avoid unintentionally continuing the on operation of the switch image as it is by disconnecting the display device 3 while the switch image is being turned on.

(7) Handling of Input Information The display monitoring unit 83 can select whether to retain or discard the input contents when the display device 3 is disconnected during the input to the keyboard or the like displayed on the display device 3. To do so. This allows the user to determine how to handle the input content during input.

[Embodiment 2]
The second embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1, 2, 5 and 7. In the present embodiment, the components having the same functions as the components in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

In the manufacturing system 10 shown in FIG. 1, the display screen determination unit 833 of the computer 1 according to the present embodiment determines a screen to be displayed on each display device 3 according to a predetermined display priority for each screen. .. Therefore, the screen display pattern data creation unit 831 creates the screen display pattern data Dptn with reference to the priority data Dpr stored in the auxiliary storage device 14. In the screen display pattern data Dptn, a screen display pattern for displaying on the display device 3 connected to the computer 1 is defined with priority given to the screen having the highest priority.

Here, a specific example of controlling the screen display at the time of disconnection of the display device 3 based on the procedure described in the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 7. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of screen display in a state where the specific display device 3 is disconnected from the computer 1 in the manufacturing system 10 according to the present embodiment.

Also in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, when the main display device D1, the first sub-display device D2, and the second sub-display device D3 are connected to the computer 1, the screens SA, SB, and SC are displayed, respectively. It shall be displayed.

First, in the priority data Dpr, as shown in Table 2, the display priority of each screen SA, SB, and SC is defined. In Table 2, the priority "1" represents the highest priority, and the priority "3" represents the lowest priority. Based on the following priorities, the screen SB has the highest priority, the screen SA has the second highest priority, and the screen SC has the lowest priority.

Then, the screen display pattern based on the configuration and priority of the display device 3 is created as shown in Table 3. In this screen display pattern, the display device 3 (ID) and the screen are associated with each other so that the screen having a higher priority is more likely to be displayed.

When the first sub-display device D2 is disconnected from the computer 1 from the normal connection state shown in FIG. 5, the screen SB cannot be displayed. In this case, the display screen determination unit 833 displays the screen SA on the main display device D1 based on the combination of ID1 and ID3 acquired from the registry management unit 71 and the screen display pattern shown in Table 3, and the second sub It is determined that the screen SB is displayed on the display device D3 and the first sub-display device D2 is hidden. As a result, as shown in FIG. 7, the second sub-display device D3 displays the screen SB having the highest priority unlike the normal state, and the main display device D1 displays the screen SA as in the normal state. However, the first sub-display device D2 does not display anything. Therefore, the screen SC having the lowest priority is not displayed.

In this way, by referring to the screen display pattern based on the priority of the screen display, the display device 3 disconnected from the computer 1 does not display, and the display device 3 connected to the computer 1 has a high priority. Display the screen. As a result, even if any display device 3 is disconnected from the computer 1, the screen to be displayed can be preferentially displayed on the display device 3.

[Embodiment 3]
The third embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1, 2, 5, and 8. In the present embodiment, the components having the same functions as the components in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

In the manufacturing system 10 shown in FIG. 1, the display screen determination unit 833 of the computer 1 according to the present embodiment sets an alarm as a screen displayed by the display device 3 connected to the computer 1 when an alarm (alarm) is generated. Determine the screen including the notification screen for notification. Therefore, the screen display pattern data creation unit 831 creates the screen display pattern data Dptn at the normal time and the screen display pattern data Dptn at the time of alarm occurrence.

Here, a specific example of controlling the screen display at the time of disconnection of the display device 3 based on the procedure described in the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of screen display in a state where the specific display device 3 is disconnected from the computer 1 in the manufacturing system 10 according to the present embodiment.

Also in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, when the main display device D1, the first sub-display device D2, and the second sub-display device D3 are connected to the computer 1, the screens SA, SB, and SC are displayed, respectively. It shall be displayed. Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the computer 1 stores screens SA, SB, SC, and SD as screen data Ds. The screen SD is a screen prepared as a notification screen.

First, a screen display pattern based on the configuration of the display device 3 is created as shown in Table 4.

When the first sub-display device D2 is disconnected from the computer 1 from the normal connection state shown in FIG. 5, the screen SB cannot be displayed. In this case, the display screen determination unit 833 determines the screen display pattern of Table 1 in the first embodiment based on the combination of ID1 and ID3 acquired from the registry management unit 71 and the normal screen display pattern shown in Table 4. As in the case of reference, it is determined that the screen SA is displayed on the main display device D1, the screen SC is displayed on the second sub-display device D3, and the first sub-display device D2 is hidden.

On the other hand, when an alarm is generated from this state, the display screen determination unit 833 is the main display device based on the combination of ID1 and ID3 acquired from the registry management unit 71 and the screen display pattern at the time of alarm occurrence shown in Table 4. It is determined that the screen SA is displayed on D1, the screen SD is displayed on the second sub-display device D3 as a notification screen, and the first sub-display device D2 is hidden. In this determination, the display screen determination unit 833 switches the screen display pattern in the normal state to the screen display pattern at the time of the alarm and refers to it, for example, based on the alarm data transmitted from the control device 4. As a result, as shown in FIG. 8, the second sub-display device D3 displays the alarm screen SD unlike the normal time.

In this way, when the alarm on the screen display is generated, the occurrence of the alarm can be confirmed on the desired display device 3 by displaying the notification screen on the display device 3 specified by the screen display pattern. Further, when the occurrence of the alarm disappears, the display screen determination unit 833 switches the screen display pattern at the time of the alarm occurrence to the screen display pattern at the normal time and refers to it. As a result, the display device 3 connected to the computer 1 displays a normal screen. Therefore, in a multi-display environment via a network where the connection tends to be unstable, it is possible to easily confirm the abnormality and recover from the abnormality.

In the screen display pattern shown in Table 4, the screen SD is displayed on one of the main display device D1, the first sub-display device D2, and the second sub-display device D3, but the screen SD is displayed on all of them. May be displayed.

Further, in the present embodiment, the notification screen for notifying the occurrence of the alarm is configured to be displayed, but the target to be notified may be any predetermined event. In addition to the alarm, the event includes various events caused by the operation of the user, the operation of the control device 4 and the device 5, and the like. As a result, the screen display pattern data Dptn can be dynamically changed when some event occurs.

[Embodiment 4]
The fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1, 2, 9 and 10. In the present embodiment, the components having the same functions as the components in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a display system according to the present embodiment.

In the manufacturing system 10 shown in FIG. 1, the display system 20 shown in FIG. 9 is provided. The display system 20 includes a plurality of display devices 3 like the display system of the first embodiment, but is different from the display system of the first embodiment in that the display system 1 includes a plurality of computers 1. FIG. 9 shows a configuration in which the display system 20 includes two computers 1 and two display devices 3, but the number of computers 1 and the display device 3 is not limited to two.

The computer 1 and the display device 3 are connected to each other via the LAN 6. The computer 1 is the computer 1 in any one of the first to third embodiments. Further, the computer 1 has an auxiliary storage device 14 in the form of screen data Ds, each of which displays a main screen normally displayed on the display device 3 corresponding to the own machine and a sub screen displayed on the display device 3 corresponding to the other machine. I remember in.

Each display screen determination unit 833 of the computer 1 determines a screen to be displayed on the display device 3 corresponding to the computer 1 of the other machine when the computer 1 of the other machine fails (including disconnection). Therefore, the screen display pattern data creation unit 831 defines the main screen to be displayed by the computer 1 of the own machine at normal times, and is a display device corresponding to the computer 1 of the other machine when the computer 1 of the other machine fails. The screen display pattern data Dptn is created so as to specify the sub screen to be displayed by 3.

The computers 1 in the present embodiment periodically check each other that the computers 1 of other machines are operating normally by the OS 7 by the above-mentioned keep-alive signal exchanged through the LAN 6. Therefore, the computer 1 can determine whether or not the computer 1 of another machine is out of order by the keep-alive signal.

Here, a specific example of controlling the screen display when the computer 1 fails will be described with reference to FIG. 10. FIG. 10A is a diagram showing a normal screen display example in the display system 20. FIG. 10B is a diagram showing an example of screen display in a state where one computer has failed in the display system 20. FIG. 10 (c) is a diagram showing another screen display example in a state where one computer has failed in the display system 20.

In the following description, the two computers 1 will be referred to as the first computer C1 and the second computer C2, respectively, and the two display devices 3 will be referred to as the first display device D11 and the second display device D12, respectively. Further, the first computer C1 and the second computer C2 store the screens SA and SB in the auxiliary storage device 14 in the form of screen data Ds, respectively.

The screen display pattern based on the configuration of the display system 20 described above is created as shown in Table 5. As shown in Table 5, in the screen display pattern, when only the main screen is displayed, the main screen to be displayed on the first display device D11 by the first computer C1 is the screen SA, and the second computer C2 is the second. It is stipulated that the main screen to be displayed on the display device D12 is the screen SB. Further, in the screen display pattern, when displaying the main screen and the sub screen, in addition to the above-mentioned provision of the main screen when displaying only the main screen, the sub screen displayed by the first computer C1 on the second display device D12. Is a screen SB, and it is defined that the sub screen displayed on the first display device D11 by the second computer C2 is the screen SA.

As shown in FIG. 10A, when the first computer C1 and the second computer C2 are operating normally, they operate normally by exchanging keep-alive signals with each other via LAN6. Recognize that. In this case, the first display device D11 displays the screen SA, and the second display device D12 displays the screen SB. Further, in this case, the first display device D11 does not display the screen SB, and the second display device D12 does not display the screen SA.

From this state, if the first computer C1 fails, the first computer C1 cannot transmit the screen data Ds to the first display device D11. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10B, nothing is displayed on the first display device D11. In this case, since the second computer C2 cannot receive the keep-alive signal from the first computer C1, it recognizes that the first computer C1 is not operating normally. Therefore, when the display monitoring unit 83 of the second computer C2 detects a failure of the first computer C1 by the notification from the OS 7, the display screen determination unit 833 determines the first display device based on the screen display pattern shown in Table 5. It is decided to display the screen SA as a sub screen on D11. As a result, the screen data Ds of the screen SA is transmitted from the second computer C2 to the first display device D11 via the LAN 6. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10 (c), the first display device D11 is in a normal state. Similarly, the screen SA is displayed.

When the first computer C1 returns from the failure state to the normal state, the exchange of the keep-alive signal via the LAN 6 also returns, so that the display monitoring unit 83 of the second computer C2 detects the normal operation of the first computer C1. .. The display screen determination unit 833 determines to hide the screen SA based on the screen display pattern shown in Table 5. As a result, the screen data Ds of the screen SA is not transmitted from the second computer C2 to the first display device D11. On the other hand, the display monitoring unit 83 of the first computer C1 determines that the display screen determination unit 833 displays the screen SA based on the screen display pattern shown in Table 5 while hiding the screen SB. As a result, as shown in FIG. 10A, the screen data Ds of the screen SA is transmitted from the first computer C1 to the first display device D11. As a result, the first display device D11 displays the screen SA as in the normal state.

In this way, by referring to the screen display pattern, even if one of the plurality of computers 1 fails, the other normally operating computer 1 fails in place of the failed computer 1. The screen is displayed on the display device 3 on which the computer 1 is displaying the screen. As a result, the display on the screen is maintained even when the computer 1 fails, so that the operation of the manufacturing system 10 can be continued. Therefore, it is possible to avoid the inconvenience that the operation of the manufacturing system 10 is hindered because the screen is not displayed due to the failure of the computer 1.

[Additional notes]
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims, and the embodiments obtained by appropriately combining the technical means disclosed in the different embodiments. Is also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

1 Computer (display control device)
3 Display device 6 LAN (network)
83 Display monitoring unit 831 Screen display pattern data creation unit (Screen display pattern information creation unit, Screen display pattern information update unit)
832 Connection configuration specification part (connection specification part)
833 Display screen determination unit C1 1st computer (display control device)
C2 2nd computer (display control device)
D1 Main display device (display device)
D2 1st sub-display device (display device)
D3 Second sub-display device (display device)
D11 1st display device (display device)
D12 Second display device (display device)
Dptn screen display pattern data (screen display pattern information)
SA-SC screen SD screen (notification screen)

Claims (6)

A connection monitoring unit that monitors the connection status of the display device to the display control device that controls the display of a plurality of display devices arranged at positions apart from each other based on the keep-alive signal from each display device.
When the connection monitoring unit recognizes the display device disconnected from the display control device, the connection identification unit that identifies one or more display devices connected to the display control device and the connection identification unit.
The display device to which the display device specific information is assigned to the display device is connected to the display device in any combination of the case where the display device is connected to the display control device and the case where the display device is disconnected from the display control device . A display screen determination unit that determines the screen to be displayed on the display device connected to the display control device by referring to the screen display pattern information to which the screen displayed by each display device is assigned to the combination.
It is provided with a display control unit for displaying the determined screen on the corresponding display device.
The display screen determination unit acquires the display device-specific information of the display device specified by the connection identification unit, and displays the screen displayed on the display device specified by the connection identification unit as the screen display pattern. A display control device comprising referring to information and determining a combination of acquired display device-specific information on the screen assigned to the display device specified by the connection specifying unit. The screen is given a priority to be displayed, and is given a priority.
The screen display pattern information is a screen having a high priority on the display device connected to the display control device when one or more of the display devices is disconnected from the display control device among the plurality of display devices. The display control device according to claim 1, wherein the display device and the screen are associated with each other so that the display device is displayed with priority. The display control device according to claim 1, wherein the screen display pattern information is associated with the display device including a notification screen for notifying the occurrence of a predetermined event. Screen display pattern information creation that creates the screen display pattern information by acquiring the display device-specific information, acquiring the screen-specific information that identifies the screen, and associating the display device-specific information with the screen-specific information. The display control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a unit. The screen display pattern information associates display device-specific information that identifies the display device with the screen.
The display control device further includes a screen display pattern information update unit that acquires the display device-specific information that identifies the replaced display device and rewrites the display device-specific information in the screen display pattern information. The display control device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the display control device is characterized. It includes a plurality of display devices arranged at positions separated from each other, and a plurality of display control devices that can be connected to each display device via a network and are associated with the plurality of display devices on a one-to-one basis. It's a display system
The display control device is
The main screen to be displayed on the display device corresponding to the own machine, the sub screen to be displayed on the display device corresponding to the other machine, and the own machine to display when the own machine and the other machine are operating normally. It is stipulated that the main screen is displayed on the corresponding display device, and further, when the other machine is not operating normally, the own machine causes the display device corresponding to the other machine to display the sub screen. A storage unit that stores screen display pattern information that specifies that
An operation state monitoring unit that monitors the operation state of the other machine by communicating with the other machine.
When the operation state monitoring unit recognizes that the other machine is not operating normally, the own machine causes the display device corresponding to the other machine to display the sub screen based on the screen display pattern information. The display screen decision unit that decides that,
A display system comprising a display control unit for displaying the sub screen on the display device corresponding to the other machine according to the determination of the display screen determination unit.

Images