JPH0628377A - Business form output device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a business form output device can improve the reduction of labor and the maintenance properties for development of a data collecting/ business form output program and also can optionally set the form and the data of the business form by using a spread sheet consisting of the rows and columns. CONSTITUTION:A business form production means 71 has a business form editing function which displays a spread sheet consisting of plural cells including the rows and columns on a display device 3 and inputs and edits the business form elements like the title, the output form, the ruled lines, etc., the data names which collect the tags or symbols for each row, the data types, the data collecting time each row, and the comments through a key input device 2. Thus, the means 71 produces a sheet file 8, an address file 9, a data collecting time file 10, and a process data file 11 based on the contents of the spread sheet inputted by the business form editing function. furthermore, the means 71 has a business form register/dele tion processing function to register the business form control information into a business form control file 12 and also deletes the business form control information with an instruction of a user.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a form output device for outputting a list of various data collected in a process control process in a computer system capable of multitasking processing for process control of various plant equipment, In particular, while saving labor in developing programs for data collection / form output and improving maintainability, the form of forms used in process control and the process data to be collected can be set by the user and output easily. The present invention relates to a form output device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a multitasking system for executing a plurality of multitask programs that can be executed in parallel has become the mainstream in computer systems for controlling the processes of various plant facilities. In such process control of plant equipment, a large number of application programs that collect / accumulate a large amount of control process data and edit and output as a form have been developed and used.

There are a great variety of forms used in these process controls, depending on the plant equipment, control method, and type of process data to be handled. In addition, the amount of data to be handled tends to increase rapidly due to improvements in control technology and computer system functions and processing capabilities.

Therefore, the development of a data collection / form output application program leads to an increase in development period and cost, and deterioration of program maintainability due to changes in data, form, etc. occurring after operation. .

[0005]

As described above, the data collection / form output application program used in the process control depends on the plant equipment, the control method, and the type and amount of the process data to be handled. -Not only was the cost greatly affected, but there was also the problem that it was difficult to quickly respond to the maintenance of the program in response to a number of problems that occurred after the operation, such as increase / decrease in collected data and changes in the form.

An object of the present invention is to save labor in developing a program for data collection / form output in a multi-task computer system for controlling processes of various plant facilities.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a form output device which allows a user to arbitrarily set the form of a form used in process control and process data to be collected and easily output it while improving maintainability.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, a multi-input multi-processor capable of performing process control of various plant facilities is provided with a key input device, a display device, a printer device, and an external device interface device. Task form that runs on a task computer system, collects arbitrary process data groups obtained from an external control device at arbitrary time intervals, and outputs a form according to a preset form form after all data collection is completed In the output device, first, the form output device of the invention according to claim 1 displays a spreadsheet consisting of rows and columns on a display device, and a key input device is used to form a form such as a title, an output format, and ruled lines, and each line. Input / edit the data name to be collected such as tags or symbols, data type, data collection time for each column, and comment Checks the consistency between the form edit function and the data name, data type, and data collection time for each row input by the form edit function, and if there is no error as a result, it is input by the form edit function. Form form information, input / output address and data attribute for each data name,
Generates each file for sampling time and form data collection, registers the form management information of these forms in the form management file, and has the form registration / deletion processing function that deletes the form management information of the form according to the instruction from the user. It is configured by including the form generation means that it has.

Further, in addition to the form output device of the invention described in claim 1, the form output device of the invention described in claim 2 includes each of the forms generated by the form generation means and registered in the form management file. Based on the management information of the form, when the system timer of the computer system reaches any data collection time set on the spreadsheet by the form generation means, all the data names specified on the spreadsheet A data collection task creation function that creates a data collection task that collects process data via an external device interface device and saves it in the corresponding form data collection file, and outputs each form registered in the form management file by the form creation means. If any of the times matches the time of the system timer, it is registered in the form management file. A form output task generation function that refers to the corresponding form form file and form data file, edits the data in the form data file according to the form described in the form form file, and generates a form output task to output to the printer device. It has a form management means.

[0009]

Therefore, in the form output device according to the present invention, the spreadsheet edited by the form editing means of the form generating means has the same function as the form registration / deletion processing function of the form generating means. Form form, tag / symbol information, process data collection time, process data storage form, and form management information are generated from the cell information and stored in a sheet file, address file, data collection time file, and process data file, respectively. The form management information regarding these forms is stored in the form management file.

On the other hand, in the form management means, the data collection task generation function and the form output task generation function cause the process data collection time and the form output time for all the form management information stored in the form management file by the form generation means. Is monitored, and a data collection task or a form output task is generated when the system timer of the computer system matches any of the process data collection time and the form output time.

Next, an address file name, a process data file name, and a write start position are obtained from all the form management information stored in the form management file by the data collection task generated by the data collection task generation function of the form management means. Is acquired, and process data is sequentially collected from the input / output address of the tag / symbol information described in the address file. The collected process data is stored in the order of tag / symbol information from the write start position of the process data file. When the collection of all process data is completed, the next data collection time of all the form management information stored in the form management file is updated with the next collection time value described in the data collection time file, The write start position of the process data file is also updated.

Further, the form output task generated by the form output task generation function of the form management means allows all the form management information stored in the form management file to be included in the form form information stored in the sheet file and the form management means. Data collection tasks generated by the data collection task generation function of
The process data of the symbol is edited according to the form information, and the result is passed to the print control routine of the computer system, and the form is output from the printer.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a multitask computer system used in a process control system to which a form output device according to the present invention is applied.

As shown in FIG. 1, the computer system of this embodiment is a multitasking system including a multitasking CPU 1, a key input device 2, a display device 3, a printer device 4, an external device interface device 5, and an external control device 6. With a calculator,
It is configured by a form output device 7 including a form generation unit 71 and a form management unit 72. Here, the multi-task computer is capable of parallel processing for performing process control of various plant equipment.

On the other hand, the form generation means 71 displays a spreadsheet composed of a plurality of cells consisting of rows and columns on the display device 3, and a title, an output format,
Form form such as ruled lines, name of data to be collected such as tags or symbols for each line, data type, data collection time for each column, form editing function for entering / editing comments, and each line entered by this form editing function Check the consistency of the data name, data type, and data collection time for each column. If an error occurs as a result, the error information is notified, and if there is no error, it is input by the form editing function. Form form information, input / output address and data attribute for each data name, sampling time, each file for collecting form data, that is, sheet file 8, address file 9, data collection time file 10, process data according to the contents of the created spreadsheet. Generate the file 11 and put the form management information of these forms in the form management file 12. Recorded, and also those having a form registration / deletion processing function to delete the document management information of the form in accordance with an instruction from the user.

Further, the form management means 72 is a computer system based on the management information (address file 9 and data collection time file 10) of each form generated by the form generation means 71 and registered in the form management file 12. When the system timer included in the spreadsheet generation means 71 reaches any of the data collection times set on the spreadsheet by the form generation means 71, the process data of all the data names designated on the spreadsheet is transferred to the external device interface device 5. Any one of a data collection task generation function for generating a data collection task 13 that is collected via the form and stored in the corresponding process data file 11 and an output time of each form registered in the form management file 12 by the form generation means 71. If the specified time matches the system timer time, the form management file A sheet output task 14 that refers to the sheet file 8 and the process data file 11 registered in the file 12 and edits the data in the process data file 11 according to the form described in the sheet file 8 and outputs the edited data to the printer device 4. And a form output task generation function for generating. Next, the operation of the present embodiment configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS.

In FIG. 1, the form editing function of the form generating means 71 is used to edit the form into an arbitrary form.
A spreadsheet c1 as shown in FIG. 2 is composed of a plurality of cells c2 each consisting of rows and columns, and each cell c2 has cell information c.
Has 32.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 2, cell information c
Reference numeral 3 denotes a column width that determines the cell width for each column, protection that indicates write permission / prohibition of cells, attributes that indicate what the cell value is, ruled lines that indicate the presence / absence of a ruled line / position, and if the cell value is a numeric value It is composed of a format indicating the display form, an adjustment indicating the display position of the cell value, a cell value pointer for storing the storage position of the cell value, and the like.

The actual cell value pointed to by the cell value pointer is a character string consisting of characters, mathematical expressions, tag / symbol names,
There is a column heading character that is determined for each column, a column heading that consists of the time to collect process data, a time to output a spreadsheet as a form, and a numeric value that consists of a numerical value and a process data pointer that indicates the file storage location of the collected process data. . The user can arbitrarily determine the cell information c3 while creating the cell information c3 in a form.

In FIG. 2, "TAG NO." Is an index character string representing a symbol name used in the process control system. “A18205” entered in the cell of this column,
"F18210S" ... has "tag" as a cell attribute.
Further, “9:00”, “12:00”, “15:00” ... Are “collection time” or “form output time” heading character strings representing process data collection time or form output time. The cell c4 located at the intersection of the row having the “tag” as the cell attribute and the column having the “collection time header” has the position attribute to the process data value stored in the process data file 11.

Next, the spreadsheet c1 edited by the above-mentioned form editing function is processed by the form registration / deletion processing function of the form generating means 71, from all the cell information c3 on the spreadsheet c1 to the form form information 21. ,
Tag / symbol information 22, process data collection time 2
3, the process data storage form 24, and the form management information 25 are generated and stored in the sheet file 8, the address file 9, the data collection time file 10, and the process data file 11, respectively, and the form management information 25 related to these forms is generated. Is stored in the form management file 12.

Next, in the form management means 72, all the form management stored in the form management file 12 is performed by the data collection task generation function and the form output task generation function, and the form registration / deletion processing function of the form generation means 71. Information 25
, The process data collection time and the form output time are monitored, and the system timer that the computer system has,
When either the process data collection time or the form output time matches, the data collection task 13 or the form output task 14 is generated.

Next, by the data collection task 13 generated by the data collection task generation function of the form management means 71,
The address file name, the process data file name, and the write start position are acquired from all the form management information 25 stored in the form management file 12, and the input / output address of the tag / symbol information 22 described in the address file 9 is acquired. Process data is collected sequentially. This collected process data is the process data file 1
The tag / symbol information 22 is stored in order from the write start position of 1. Then, when the collection of all process data is completed, the next data collection time of all the form management information 20 stored in the form management file 12 is updated with the next collection time value described in the data collection time file 10. At the same time, the write start position of the process data file 11 is updated.

All the form management information 20 stored in the form management file 12 is generated by the form output task 14 generated by the form output task generation function of the form management means 71.
Form form information 21 stored in the sheet file 8
And the data collection task 13 generated by the data collection task generation function of the form management means 72 is collected, the tag / symbol process data 24 stored in the process data file 11 is edited according to the form form information 21, and the result is It is passed to the print control routine of the computer system, and the form is output from the printer device 4. FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram in which the spreadsheet c1 edited in the form form by the form editing function is generated by the form registration / deletion processing function.

In FIG. 3, the sheet file 8 stores form form information 21. Also, address file 9
Acquires the tag / symbol information 22 held in advance by the computer system from the tag names of all cells having the cell attribute "tag" in the spreadsheet c1 and stores them in the order set in the spreadsheet c1. further,
The data collection time file 10 is the spreadsheet c1.
The time 23 of all cells having the cell attribute "collection time header" in is extracted and stored. Furthermore, the process data file 11 determines the file structure from the tag / symbol information 22 and its number stored in the address file 9, and the number of data collection times stored in the data collection time file 10.

The management information of each file generated by these form registration / deletion processing functions and the spreadsheet c1
The form management information 25 is generated from the form output time extracted from the cell having the only “form output time index” attribute in the table, and registered in the form management file 12.

The form management means 72 in the present embodiment collects process data for each registered form based on the form management information 25 generated by the form generation function means 71 and registered in the form management file 12. Monitor the timing and output timing of forms.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the operation of the data collection task generation function and the form output task generation function of the form management means 72. Further, FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the data collection task 13 that collects the process data generated by the data collection task generation function for each form. Further, FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the form output task 14 for outputting the form generated by the form output task generation function for each form.

On the other hand, FIG. 7 shows an example of a form output as an execution result of the data collection task 13 and the form output task 14 generated by the data collection task generation function and the form output task generation function of the form management means 72. FIG. In FIG. 7, f1 is a tag heading and f2
Is a column heading, f3 is a collection time heading, f4 is a tag name, f
5 shows the process data of the tags collected at 9:00.

As described above, the form output device in the multi-task computer system of this embodiment displays a spreadsheet composed of a plurality of cells consisting of rows and columns on the display device 3, and the title is input from the key input device 2. , Output format,
Form form such as ruled lines, data name to be collected such as tags or symbols, data type, data collection time for each column, form editing function to enter / edit comments, data name, data type input by this form editing function, Check the consistency of the data collection time for each column, notify the error information if an error occurs as a result, and if there is no error, follow the spreadsheet contents input by the form editing function. Form form information, input / output address and data attribute for each data name,
Sampling time, each file for form data collection, that is, a sheet file 8, an address file 9, a data collection time file 10, and a process data file 11 are generated, and form management information of these forms is registered in the form management file 12. A form generation unit 71 having a form registration / deletion processing function for deleting form management information of a form according to an instruction from a user, and management information of each form generated by the form generation unit 71 and registered in the form management file 12 ( Address file 9, data collection time file 1
Based on 0), when the system timer of the computer system reaches any data collection time set on the spreadsheet by the form generation means 71, the process of all data names specified on the spreadsheet A data collection task generation function for collecting data via the external device interface device 5 and generating a data collection task 13 to be stored in the corresponding process data file 11, and the form management file 12 by the form generation means 71.
If any of the output times of the respective forms registered in the table matches the time of the system timer, the corresponding sheet file 8 and process data file 11 registered in the form management file 12 are referred to Process data file 1 according to the described form
It is configured by a form management means 72 having a form output task generation function for editing the data in 1 and outputting the form output task 14 to be output to the printer device 4.

Therefore, not only is it possible for the user to easily and arbitrarily create a form form using the spreadsheet format that is generally used, but also the tags / symbols and the like used in the process control system can be created. By adding the control information and the time information to the cell attributes handled by the spreadsheet, it becomes possible to apply them to the process control. In addition, it is possible to save labor in developing a data collection / form output program that has been conventionally developed for various forms, and to improve maintainability.

In the above embodiment, the case in which the form output device 7 includes both the form generation means 71 and the form management means 72 has been described. However, the form output device 7 can be used to generate a form, if necessary. It may be configured to include only the means 71.

[0033]

As described above, according to the present invention, in a multi-task computer system for controlling the processes of various plant equipment, while saving labor in developing a program for data collection / form output and improving maintainability, It is possible to provide a form output device in which the user can arbitrarily set the form of the form used in process control and the process data to be collected and can easily output it.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a multitask computer system used in a process control system to which a form output device according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a spreadsheet used in the same embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a state in which a form generated using a spreadsheet in the embodiment is expanded into form management information by a form registration / deletion process.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the form management means in the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the data collection task generated by the form management means in the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the form output task generated by the form management means in the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a form output by the form output device in the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Multitask CPU, 2 ... Key input device, 3 ... Display device, 4 ... Printer device, 5 ... External device interface device, 6 ... External control device, 7 ... Form output device, 71 ...
Form generation means, 72 ... Form management means, 8 ... Sheet file, 9 ... Address file, 10 ... Data collection time file, 11 ... Process data file, 12 ... Form management file, 13 ... Data collection task, 14 ... Form output task , 21 ... Form form information, 22 ... Tag / symbol information, 23 ... Process data collection time, 24 ... Process data storage form, 25 ... Form management information, c1 ... Spreadsheet, c2, c4 ... Cell, c3 ... Cell information, f1 ... tag heading, f2 ... column heading, f3 ... collection time heading, f
4 ... Tag name, f5 ... Tag process data collected at 9:00.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A key input device, a display device, a printer device, and an external device interface device are provided to operate on a multitasking computer system capable of parallel processing for process control of various plant equipment, and to obtain from an external control device. In a form output device for a task that collects an arbitrary process data group that is collected every arbitrary time and outputs a form according to a form form that has been set after all data collection is completed, the display device includes rows and columns. Display a spreadsheet and enter / edit titles, output formats, form forms such as ruled lines, data names to be collected such as tags or symbols for each row, data collection time, data collection time for each column, and comments from the key input device. Form editing function, and the data name, data type for each line input by the form editing function,
The consistency of the data collection time for each column is checked, and if there is no error as a result, the form form information, the input / output address for each data name, and the data attribute according to the contents of the spreadsheet input by the form editing function. , A sample registration / deletion processing function that creates files for sampling time and form data collection, registers the form management information of these forms in the form management file, and deletes the form management information of the form according to an instruction from the user. A form output device comprising: a form generation unit having 2. A key input device, a display device, a printer device, and an external device interface device are provided to operate on a multitasking computer system capable of parallel processing for process control of various plant equipment, and to obtain from an external control device. In a form output device for a task that collects an arbitrary process data group that is collected every arbitrary time and outputs a form according to a form form that has been set after all data collection is completed, the display device includes rows and columns. Display a spreadsheet and enter / edit titles, output formats, form forms such as ruled lines, data names to be collected such as tags or symbols for each row, data collection time, data collection time for each column, and comments from the key input device. Form editing function, and the data name, data type for each line input by the form editing function,
The consistency of the data collection time for each column is checked, and if there is no error as a result, the form form information, the input / output address for each data name, and the data attribute according to the contents of the spreadsheet input by the form editing function. , Sampling time, each file for collecting form data, register form management information of these forms in the form management file, and form registration / deletion process to delete the form management information of the form according to the user's instruction. A form generation unit having a function, and a system timer included in the computer system based on the management information of each form generated by the form generation unit and registered in the form management file by the form generation unit. If any of the data collection times set above are reached, the sp A data collection task generation function that collects the process data of all data names specified on the red sheet through the external device interface device and generates a data collection task to save in the corresponding form data collection file, and the form generation When any of the output times of each form registered in the form management file by means matches the time of the system timer, refer to the corresponding form form file and form data file registered in the form management file, A form management unit having a form output task generation function for editing data in the form data file according to the form described in the form form file and generating a form output task to be output to the printer device. A form output device characterized by the above.