JPS6165314A - Graphic display method and apparatus for computer numerical controller - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Invention Related to the Present Application] The present invention relates to a “customization window for a computer numerical control device”.
ForA Computer Numerical C
ontrol S) rstem) 19 named J
No. 415,041, filed Sep. 7, 1982. This related application is assigned to the assignee of the present invention and is hereby incorporated by reference.

[Technical field of invention]

This invention relates generally to computer numerical control systems for machine tools, and more particularly to graphical representations of information related to such machine tools and machining processes.

Numerical control devices that control machine tools according to programs stored in digital computers are well known. Such a device controls the operation of a single machining process in response to one or more part programs stored in the memory, such as edges loaded into the memory by means of a perforation tape. Given a demand, the part program directs the machine tool through a series of steps. For example, if a machine tool includes a cutting tool, the relative motion between the workpiece and the cutting tool is typically along three mutually perpendicular axes, according to a part program that directs the movement of the cutting tool.3. Also, computer numerical control (CNC)
The device is also adapted to control other functions such as tool conversion, spindle speed, coolant flow, pallet selection, and graphic and message generation. The number and types of functions vary depending on the type of machine tool being controlled.

In the past, detected conditions in machine tools and
Control was performed by a dedicated hard-wired circuit that operated according to commands in the part program.

However, recently, the logic associated with the control device of a machine tool is entirely controlled by a set of stored programs, ie, software, in a computerized device.

The software is purpose-built and can be easily modified to meet the demands of special power needs. Several advantages are gained by adding a programmable controller to a numerical control device.

The first major advantage is that the numerical controller can be interfaced with a particular machine tool so that the controller can simply be reprogrammed. It is also relatively easy to program by the user due to the type of instruction set commonly employed and the editing features commonly available.

A computerized numerical controller, or CNC, for controlling the operation of a machine tool consists of two separate software sets, each with a more or less fixed content.
, "numerical control logic" called NC software, and MCL that is flexible and can be custom-made for specific machine tools.
It uses a program called "machine tool control logic." In industry, this customization is done by the original equipment manufacturer (
This is typically done by the OEM. N
The C software controls part fabrication, axis movement, CRT displays, and other auxiliary functions, while the MCL program primarily (but not exclusively) controls machine tool operation. The US Patent Application ``Customized Windows for Computer Numerical Control Devices'' describes a software interface.

That is, custom windows are also disclosed. The custom window contains the program group, the input/'output array,
It consists of NC software, MCL programs, and status flags that link the machine tool. By using custom windows! l) OgM, or to the customer, CN
A high degree of flexibility is provided in adapting C to a particular machine tool. In one aspect, the invention uses custom windows.

Once programmed and operated, the computer numerical controller functions automatically with little operator intervention. However, this operation result 1 machining data 1 machine conditions etc. must be explained to the operator (or other person).
must always be quickly identified. In short, there is a need to easily communicate between a CNC and those with an interest in the process being controlled. A typical CNC performs this communication through a visual display on a cathode ray tube (CRT).

However, most of the displayed information is in the form of text that requires reading the entire text to fully understand it. Therefore, there is a need for a graphics device that allows an operator to quickly view and easily understand operating conditions such as spindle speed and cumulative tool usage on a CRT screen.

[Summary of the invention]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to improve numerical control devices for machine tools.

More specifically, it is an object of the present invention to provide a computer numerical control system for use in a computer numerical control device so that machine tool operators, maintenance workers, and other related parties can easily and quickly know the operating status and performance of the machine tool. An object of the present invention is to improve a device for displaying information on a graphic display device.

In summary, these and other objectives.

Machine Tool Control Logic (MCL) made specifically accessible to adapt the CNC to a specific machine tool
This is achieved by providing a new package of subprograms contained in a program section.3 Those subprograms are executed when the machine tool operator requests the display page of machine tool status information. be done. These subprograms include routines for initializing certain graphical displays from numerical control (NC) software display control files. A second routine reads this edge. The second routine is executed periodically when the figure is being displayed, and dynamically updates the displayed figure.During the execution of each of the two routines, the desired figure is displayed. One or more of six types of "draw" procedures are called. These procedures include moving a graphical cursor to a given location on a CRT screen, drawing a line, drawing a rectangle, arc, circle, etc., filling a given area, and filling an area that includes the entire screen of the display. including removing.

By combining these procedures, it is possible to graphically represent physical quantities on a CRT screen. These figures have shapes that can be quickly understood by the viewer. Their shape is in some cases somewhat similar to that of an analogue indicating instrument; for example, by combining two adjacent circular arcs, the analogue value of the spindle speed can be displayed as a ratio of the total speed. . In that case, the cursor is moved to a particular location, then a first arc is drawn with a magnitude representing the actual spindle speed, and then a second arc is drawn adjacent to the first arc.

Those two arcs together represent the total speed of the spindle3.
As the spindle speed changes, the angle between the arcs changes. The impression given by this figure is somewhat similar to the indication from an analog tachometer. It is also possible to create bar graphs, pie charts, and other various graphs.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

Reference is first made to diagram M1, which is shown to illustrate the operating environment in which the present invention is situated. for example.

A computer numerical control (CNC) system for controlling a machine tool 10 is shown in FIG. This device includes three main hardware components. These eight-domains are a numerical control station 12, a machine tool control station 14, and an NC equipment rack 16 whose purpose is to house the main printed circuit board (not shown). A typical example of this equipment is General Electric Co.
Mark CenturyX Trademark (Electric company) 2000
Mention may be made of computer numerical control devices. This device can store all computer programs, call them in the desired order, edit the programs by adding or deleting subprograms in parts called packages, and afterwards.

It is possible to execute a complete set of instructions that cause a machine tool, such as a lathe or milling machine, to perform a specific task.

The numerical control station 12 inputs a video monitor in the form of a cathode ray tube screen display 18 and sets of information, called files, into memory and then commands retrieval of the file information in a well-known manner at the sixth step of program execution. and a keyboard 20 having special function keys for performing functions.

The machine tool control station 14 selects a mode.

Offset access, jog, spindle speed.

It includes a set of manual controls and pushbuttons 22 utilized for setting functions such as feed speed, etc.

The functions performed by the CNC shown in FIG.
C) is determined by the built-in program that is detected by the software.

It consists of a set of CNCNC software type programs and includes numerical control logic 24 (hereinafter referred to as NC software), an MCL window 26, and machine tool control logic 28 (hereinafter referred to as MCL program). N.C.
Software 24 controls the fabrication of the part, the movement of the machine tool axes, and the display of messages on a cathode ray tube (CRT). The NC software 24 constitutes a fixed or permanent part of the CNC machine. The fixed part cannot be changed by normal users. The MCL program specifically controls the operation of the machine tool and is composed of many subprograms in modular parts called packages. These subprograms allow users to customize them by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). MCL window 26 includes a suite of software such as that disclosed in Related Application Box 415,041, supra. Depending on the software
The McL program 28 can communicate with the NC software 24 and have access to the input and output terminals of the machine tool 10.

As further shown in FIG.
B consists of a fixed MCL 30 and a custom-made MCL 32.

Customized MCL 32 contains programs that control the operation of machine tool 10 and configures the necessary machine tool interfaces using MCL window 26 software. It is the customized MCL 32 that is created to customize the CNC for specific machine tool control operations. -・way,
The fixed MClO is located at the machine tool control station 14 (first
A set of software whose basic function is to monitor and control the operator equipment in Figure),
is used for most purposes.

The MCL window 26 has a series of window dimensions;
It consists of a function 34, a status flag-play 36, and an input and output array 38. Since these are largely unalterable, the NC software o consistency is not altered by any of the functions programmable by the user or by the procedures programmed into the MCL2B.

The NC software 24 is comprised of a part fabrication 1 control routine 40, an axis motion control routine 42, and an operator display control routine 44, which control 5 spindle motion, a timer, 5 mathematical functions, and machine tool setup data. Display control routine 44 is a routine of particular interest in the present invention, and is a routine that provides data to the display page routine with the NC software to display desired status information of the machine tool to the operator on demand. allows the customized MCL 32 to select or call one.

Before explaining the present invention in detail, the structure of the MCL program 28 will be briefly explained. The MCL program is
Consists of an executable sequence of subprograms expressed in a high-level computational programming language similar to a natural language such as English. Programmable control language (
This language, called PCL, uses a set of related data and Pascal (PASCAT) to perform a specific operation.
, ) consists of a group of statements similar to 3
, subprograms are created separately and can be used as many times as necessary to perform a procedure that performs an operation, or a function that performs an operation and returns a value. Each gobulum (known as a "call") has an identifier. The identifier, when encountered, causes the program to run. Each subprogram is introduced by a declaration followed by any constant, variable, array, or number of data types it contains.
(Trademark) 2000CNC, PCL issued by General Electric Company in November 1983.
Introduction to PCL, /MCL, a detailed language commentary (
IntroductionT.

PCL/MCL) Please refer to J NEC1214. The present invention is based on Mark Centiyuri (trademark) 2000CN
Although particularly useful when used with C, the present invention is not limited thereto and can be used with other numerical control devices as well.1 Referring now to FIG. MCL of
Customization of the program 28 begins when a series of PCL subprograms are entered into the CNC machine by the machine designer via the keyboard 20 of the numerical control station 12.

From there, those subprograms are created using the file editor 48
sent to. In the file editor, the subprograms are converted to PCL files and then stored in memory (not shown). PCL file is PC
It is also sent to an L compiler 52 where it is converted into machine code and stored as a machine code file 54. To complete program processing, machine language file
The file is then sent to combiner 56. This combiner produces an academic machine code file 58. The combined machine code file is then sent to a locator 60, which stores the addresses in random access memory (not shown). Assign addresses in the combiner output file to the information contained in the combiner output file and create a new file containing the RAM memory allocation. The information from the combiner file is the last machine code version of the MCL program that is subsequently executed when machine tool 10 is put into operation.

Once the CNC software containing the MCL program 28 is in place, as the NC software 24 is executed, it repeatedly calls the MCL program 28, as shown in FIG. Each result pass through the MCL program is called a sweep. During each MCL program sweep,
A fixed MCL routine is executed first to monitor and control the equipment at machine tool control station 14. This is followed by execution of the customized MCL routine. These MCL routines are sequence 1. Call the machine tool subprogram.

Customized MCL program 32 may include several subprogram packages. Each package is available for individual customization. The number of packages in any particular customization can be increased or decreased depending on the near future application.

FIG. 7 shows typical subprogram packages that are available. The present invention relates to one of the subprogram packages, namely the MCL display page 321. However, by way of example, the subprogram package includes a power supply package 322 that includes a start routine and a safety interlocking routine that are utilized on the machine tool for starting the machine tool.

32 conveyor packages that contain all manual and part program controls for transport, a tailstock pange 324 that controls the tailstock of the lathe, and a lubrication pange that provides lubrication of automatic machines that must be monitored or performed on a regular basis. 32g, a tile package 326 that controls the tailstock tiles under part program control, 32 chuck packages that control all the tightening and loosening of the chucks during the part program, and a heart program control. A machine tool turret package 328 that controls the turret of the machine tool, a spindle package 32g that controls the spindle speed of the lathe, and a coolant package 321o that controls the coolant of the machine tool may not be included.

The operating environment has been described above, and now the present invention will be described in detail. The invention itself concerns the graphical information of the information on the CRT of the video monitor 18 of the numerical control station 12 shown in FIG. The keyboard 20 of the numerical control station 12 has 10 keyboards arranged in one row.
keys 66. These keys 66 select any one of the ten frequently used main display pages.
The operator can select the page. Each display page includes a raster video display and is generated from a display control file stored in memory (not shown). The display control file forms part of the NC software. A row of display page keys 66 is also shown in FIG. 6.3 Additional display pages, called subpages, can also be selected by a set of keys or pushbuttons shown at 68 in FIG. Four cursor keys are included for up/down and left/right cursor control for data editing and vertical scrolling. The right subpage selection is shown immediately above the display page key column 66, and the left subpage selection is shown below the display page key column and are designated by reference numerals 67.69, respectively. The right subpage selection 67 includes, for example, "tool status", "program position", "machining data", etc., and the left subpage selection 6
9 includes "TECH state", "program position", etc.

CNC equipment software is available via custom MCL32.
This gives the machine tool manufacturer or OEM designer the option to unify the three-page "machine tool" display page1, thus providing any desired status information of the machine tool to the operator "i!" Customizations can be used to display materials to assist maintenance personnel.These display pages are shown in Figure 6 under "Machine" 70 and right subpage display page option 12 and left subpage display page option 74. 1. Next, when the operator selects one of the machine tool display pages 1 and 3 referring to Figure 8, 1. The selected page will be either the left page, right page, or main page. 1, the NC software 24 is caused to respond to a display page procedure 78, 1 and a display control file 8 containing textual information rather than graphics.
3 called from 0, the document information is CR in the appropriate format.
T display device 18 .

When including graphics as part of a complete CRT display, "calls" embedded in display control file 80 trigger the initiation of the procedures necessary to implement the graphics portion of the display. A display page routine 78 accesses entry point 7 of window 26 in response to an embedded request for graphical display.
9 initiates a call to the MOL display page routine 3, and the graphical display change routine 82 accordingly.
is executed. This routine 82 can be accessed, for example, by an original equipment manufacturer who adapts the controls to a particular machine tool in order to customize the static portions of the graphical display. As mentioned above, customization is written in PCL.

The graphical displays produced by the graphical display modification routine 82 are static in the sense that once the display format and contacts are selected, the graphics remain unchanged until they are customized again.

The graphical display modification routine 82 can invoke certain basic graphical functions through an entry point 83 within the window 26.
For example, the functions available to the graphical display modification routine 82 include: 0) moving the CRT cursor to a particular location on the screen; (2) drawing a line between specified points; (4) drawing an arc of given radius and angle; (5) drawing a circle; (6) filling a particular area of the screen; 7) Removing certain areas of the screen.

The three graphics functions are themselves software routines of the usual type and are available by call from CNC memory (not shown); these functions are combined to form the graphics display routine 84. A separate window entry point 83 is provided for each graphical function so that each graphical function can be used as needed in constructing a custom display. The static portion of the 1° graphical representation, blended into the elements and displayed on the CRT 18, constitutes a background or frame.

From this background, motion data is displayed in the form of graphics in real time. 1 graphical display update routine 86 provides this dynamic motion data in substantially real time. When in display page mode, display page procedure 78 makes periodic calls, eg, every 150 milliseconds, to graphical display update routine 86 via window entry point 81. Routine 86 is arranged to sample the desired information that is naturally available within the numerical control device. For example, in the case of a lathe, information is readily available in real-time spindle speed. The information is simply resized (by the graphical display update routine 86). Routine 86 then mimics one or more graphical functions (through entry point 83) such that the graphical functions are displayed in proportion to the actual real-time values.

Thus, the graphical display update routine 86 is substantially the same as the graphical display modification routine 82, except that the graphical display modification routine 82 is called repeatedly and adjusted to include direct motion data. The static and dynamic graphics thus generated are mixed with text material via the display control file 8o and display page routine 18 for display on the CRT.

It will be helpful to understand the invention if a description of a typical graphical representation is desired. For example, to display a bar graph of lathe spindle speed as a percentage of maximum spindle speed, the customized MCL 32 is simply adjusted to display two adjacent rectangles, such as rectangle 88 shown on CRT 1g in FIG. and make it. Although there are still parts of the entire display,
The bar graph to be created consists mostly of all the data that is repeatedly updated in real time. Since the stationary part and the dynamic part are constructed in completely similar ways, it is sufficient to explain only the dynamic part of the figure to be displayed.

To create the bar graph shown in FIG. 8, display page routine 78 calls graphical display update routine 86 through MCL window entry point 81 every 150 milliseconds.

The graphical display update routine 86 is as follows.

Real-time data about lathe spindle speed can be obtained from the controller. After the size of this information is adjusted, one drawing command is generated according to the size-adjusted information. For example, the following four types of information are required: 3. (1) A command to move the kernel to a preselected lower left corner starting point for the first rectangle. (2) Command to draw a rectangle I@l to the end point in the upper right corner. The end point is a function of the actual speed of the spindle. (3) A command to move the cursor again to the lower left corner start point for the second rectangle so that the second rectangle starts from the end point of the first rectangle, 1 (
4) Then command 1. to draw a second rectangle to the top right corner representing the maximum spindle speed. This appearance is that of a bar graph showing the actual spindle speed.

Appendix 2 is a PCL program for creating the above bar graph, and the routines that supply window calls to generate the graphics are included in Table 1.

Referring now to FIG. 9, there is shown a flowchart illustrating the operational steps implemented in software to generate graphics on a customized OEM MCL display page displayed on video monitor 18. In the first step 90, when an operator requests a particular MCL display page and a hole is being drilled, one of three "machine tool" display pages is called up via the IMcL page display package 32. As previously stated, this call is performed by entering the keyboard set 66, 68 of the numerical control station 12 (FIG. 2).
This was done by the operator pressing one of the keys included in the . Next, as shown in step 92, a determination is made as to whether the particular page exists and is available. The next value of the desired parameter to be the subject of the graphical display is obtained as shown in step 94.

Once the display page and parameter values have been determined, a call is made to display the display page, and the display page routine 78 is then executed as shown at step 96. Next, the initialization portion of graphics generation is performed (step 98), followed by periodic updating of the graphics display in step 100. At each figure generation step 98, 100, a program call 8 is made from the customized MCL program 32 to execute seven drawing procedures 102, 104, . . . 114 with appropriate parameters.
2.86 is performed, and the desired graphic is displayed simply by realizing the seven types of functions mentioned above, such as moving the graphic kernel to a given location, drawing a rectangle, etc.

The above describes the method and device for generating figures on the display monitor of a numerically controlled machine tool in response to an operator's request to display an OEM display page.
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[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a simplified block diagram of a conventional computerized numerical control (CNC) device that controls a machine tool; Figure 2 is a block diagram broadly showing the software included in the ONC device shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a block diagram showing the CNC software shown in Figure 2 in more detail, Figure 1 is an explanatory diagram showing how the numerical control (MCL) program is generated, and Figure 5 is the operation of the CNC software. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing the various display pages that can be shown on the screen of the cathode ray tube contained within the numerical control station shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the overall sequence; FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a subprogram called "package" in the OEMMCL program, and FIG.
FIG. 9 is a block diagram further illustrating a preferred embodiment of the present invention in which graphics are added to a display page formatted by EM); FIG. 9 implements a graphics display on an OEM display page shown at a numerical control station 70--Chart of method 1, 12...Numerical control station, 14...Machine tool control station, 18...Cathode ray tube display, 20...Keyboard, 22...Numerical control logic 1 Patent applicant General. Electric Company Sub-Agent Masaki Yamakawa (and 2 others) A-L... is arrogant ~

Claims (16)

[Claims] (1) In a method of controlling the operation of a computer numerical control (CNC) device for displaying predetermined information related to the operation of a machine tool in the form of a graphic, b) determining the value of said predetermined information that is requested to be displayed; c) initially generating a graphic of said predetermined information; and d) said predetermined information. 1. A method for displaying graphics in a computer numerical control device, comprising the step of periodically updating the occurrence of the graphics to display changing values of the information. (2) The method according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined information includes machining state information. (3) The method of claim 1, wherein the raster-type display is a plurality of displays generated on a video monitor to display machine tool status information specified by the original equipment manufacturer. A method characterized in that it comprises one of the pages. (4) The method according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined display page further includes alphanumeric message information. (5) The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of generating the figure and the step of updating the figure include:
moving a graphic cursor to a given location; drawing a line; drawing a rectangle; drawing an arc; drawing a circle; filling a predetermined area of the graphic location; selectively removing a predetermined region of the graphic location. (6) The method according to claim 5, wherein the CNC device is a software-implemented numerical control logic (
an NC) unit and a machine tool control logic (MCL) unit, wherein the step of requesting the display page includes requesting an MCL display page of predetermined machine tool status information. (7) The method according to claim 6, comprising:
The process of requesting an L display page further comprises including a call in a display control file of an NC unit for generation of graphics, and the NC unit initiates a call to an MCL unit in response to the call. , the MCL section executes one or more routines including a callback to the NC section to generate the graphics. (8) The method according to claim 7, wherein the CNC further includes an interface implemented by software, and the interface connects the NC unit, the MCL unit, and the input/output device of the machine tool. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of configuring a communication link between and performing a call comprises transmitting the call over the interface. (9) The method according to claim 8, wherein the MCL section includes a customization section realized by software that can be programmed by the original equipment manufacturer, and the execution of the software is a subsystem of the customization MCL section. A method comprising making a call to a graphical display generated from a program package. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the display device comprises a video-type monitor including a viewing portion, and the step of generating and updating the graphics comprises moving a graphics cursor onto the viewing screen. The process of moving to a given location, the process of drawing a line of a predetermined length, the process of drawing a rectangle of a predetermined size, the process of drawing an arc of a predetermined length, and the process of drawing a circle of a predetermined diameter. . Filling a predetermined area of the screen; and removing a predetermined area of the screen. (11) A numerical control device for controlling the operation of a machine tool, including means for displaying information to an operator, including a stored computer program that can be executed on demand to control the operation of the device. 1st
and a second set of numerical control logic (NC
) software and machine tool control logic (MCL) software, the first set of programs being operable when called to access and recall a display control file to display textual information to an operator. a signal to the display device and initiate a call to the second program set to generate a graphical display, the second program set including a set of subprograms; is executed in response to the call, calls back the first program set, and displays predetermined information in the form of the graphic display. Device. (12) The device according to claim 11,
The second program set includes a plurality of subprogram packages that can be customized by the original device manufacturer.
A device characterized in that it is at least partially configured. (13) The device according to claim 12,
The apparatus characterized in that the subprogram package includes a package that calls at least one graphical display in the form of a display package of machine tool status information. (14) The device according to claim 13,
The package for calling the graphical display includes a first subprogram that initially calls generation of graphical information, and a second subprogram that periodically updates the initially generated graphical display. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein updating includes removing the graphical display from the screen. (15) The device according to claim 14,
The subprograms include a routine that calls the NC program, and the NC program includes a routine for realizing figure/cursor movement, a line drawing routine, a rectangle drawing routine, an arc drawing routine, and a circle drawing routine. An apparatus comprising: a routine for drawing, a routine for filling a predetermined area, a routine for removing a predetermined area, and a routine for removing a graphical representation. (16) The device according to claim 15,
further comprising an interface configured with a third stored program set, a plurality of status flags, and an input/output array set, the interface communicating with the first and second program sets and the machine tool. and wherein program calls between the first and second program sets are communicated via the interface.