TW201447727A - Programmable display and program for same - Google Patents

Abstract

According to the present invention, a first data acquisition unit (41) acquires data from an external memory relating to each item on an arbitrary screen being displayed, and stores the acquired data in a first internal memory. A screen image display unit (42) displays/updates, on the basis of the stored data in the first internal memory, a screen image relating to the screen being displayed. A second data acquisition unit (43) acquires data from an external memory relating to each of the items on another screen, and stores the acquired data in a second internal memory. When there is an instruction to perform a switch from the arbitrary screen to the other screen, a screen switching processor (44) uses the stored data in the second internal memory to perform a switch to the other screen.

Description

Programmable display and its program

The present invention relates to a programmable display or the like.

A programmable display is generally connected to various connected devices such as a PLC main body or a temperature control device, and displays a numerical display such as a status display of such a connected device or a light bulb or the like, or is used for An image of an item such as a switch that allows the user to give an arbitrary instruction. In addition, the item is also referred to as a screen member or the like. On a screen of a programmable display (referred to as an operation display screen), an image of a plurality of screen members (items) is usually displayed. The information for displaying such an operation display screen (referred to as screen material or the like) is arbitrarily created by a developer in a support device (not shown), and is downloaded from the support device to the programmable display.

In the above-mentioned screen data, each of the above-mentioned items includes an image of the item (an image of a switch or an image of a light bulb) and a display position coordinate, and further includes a predetermined area of an external memory to be described later. Information such as the address (allocation memory address). Further, there are cases where some programs are included.

Each of the above-described items (screen members) is associated with an arbitrary component of an arbitrary connected device, and displays the state of the component or receives an ON/OFF instructor of the component. For example, when it is an item for numerically displaying the temperature measurement value of the temperature adjustment device, the current temperature is displayed by the numerical value at any time. Alternatively, if it is a light bulb item that represents the ON/OFF state of the temperature adjustment device, if the temperature adjustment device is in the ON state, the display lamp is turned on, and if it is in the OFF state, the display lamp is turned off.

In addition, in the support device, a light bulb lighting image and a light bulb light-off image are registered in advance as a project image, and in the screen data, a light bulb lighting image and a light bulb lighting image are included for one light bulb item. Of course, it is not limited to the case of a light bulb, and is also the same for other types of items (such as switches).

The display control relating to the above various items is realized by, for example, periodically performing predetermined processing for each of the above items. The predetermined processing is, for example, reading the stored data (the stored data of the allocated memory area) of a predetermined area of the memory device (assumed to be an external memory) connected to the device, and determining based on the stored data, The processing of displaying the display content of the item (display content update processing) and the like are displayed. Further, the connection device updates the stored data of the predetermined area of the external memory at any time (for example, in the above-described temperature adjustment device, the temperature measurement value is updated at any time).

Moreover, there is also a general configuration in which the data read from the allocated memory area is temporarily stored in the The programmed area of the memory device (assumed to be a shared memory) in the display is programmed, and the display content of the item is determined and displayed based on the stored data.

In the case of this example, the predetermined function portion of the programmable display (herein assumed to be a communication unit (not shown)) is periodically executed, for example, to read and store the stored data of the allocated memory area. Processing in shared memory. The communication unit communicates with various connection devices such as the PLC main body or the temperature adjustment device, and acquires stored data of a predetermined memory area of the external memory connected to the device (the storage data of the allocated memory area). ), and then overwrite the data in the predetermined area of the above shared memory. Further, in the programmable display, a function unit (assuming that the item display unit) is connected to the display control of the various items described above, and the item display content is controlled by periodically accessing the shared memory. .

Further, from the prior art, the above-mentioned screen material is usually composed of a plurality of screens (screens). Each screen is basically composed of one or more screen members (items), and is a dedicated switching key (screen switching switch) that is useful for switching to other screens. At the screen change switch, the identification ID of the screen to which the switching target is assigned, and the like are assigned.

Regarding such a screen switching, for example, the prior art described in Patent Document 1 is known.

The invention of Patent Document 1 relates to a programmable display, and eliminates waste of resource use and suppresses processing load to be low to reduce picture cut. Change the time for the purpose.

Therefore, in the invention of Patent Document 1, if the screen switching key is detected, the information corresponding to the screen constituting the screen switching key to be pressed is specified as the next screen. The data information is read and registered, and if the release of the screen switching key is detected, the data read from the control object based on the read data information for the next screen is replaced with the display on the display screen. The current screen is used to read the data.

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2008-191986

In the case of a programmable display, when the screen switching is performed, it is necessary to reflect the contents of the stored data of the current allocated memory area in the display content of each item on the screen of the target. Conversely, if the stored data of the allocated memory area of each item on the screen that does not acquire the switching target is obtained, the screen is substantially unable to display the switching target.

On the other hand, for example, when it is configured to temporarily use an arbitrary preset image (for example, all items are OFF) to display a screen of a fake switching target, of course, since this screen is not related to each item. The status quo is reflected, so there will be problems. For example, when the item is a light bulb item representing the ON/OFF state of the above-described temperature control device, it can be inferred that although the temperature adjustment state is actually ON, it is displayed (as a preset image). The case where the light bulb is turned off. Of course, if the storage data of the allocated memory area is acquired after a certain period of time, the screen display is performed in a normal state. However, if the user sees the first display screen and misunderstands the temperature. Adjusting the device to the OFF state can cause problems.

Therefore, in the prior art, the stored data of the allocated memory area is obtained first, and then the screen of the switching target is displayed. Here, in general, access processing for the allocated memory area is time consuming. Therefore, it takes time until the screen of the switching destination is displayed.

For the above reasons, in the prior art, it takes time to switch between screens.

In the invention of Patent Document 1, since the process for switching the screen is started when the phase of the screen switching key is detected, the prior art (in the case of detecting the screen switching key) is detected. When the release phase is started for screen switching, the screen switching system becomes faster.

However, in the invention cited in the document 1, the result is that the processing is started only after the screen switching key has been operated. In general, the above-described process of reading the stored data of the allocated memory area is time consuming, and in particular, when there are a large number of items on the screen of the switching destination, it takes more time. Therefore, in the method of Patent Document 1, it is not sufficient to realize that the screen switching can be performed immediately by the operation of the screen switching key.

The present invention is to provide a programmable display The programmable display and its programs are quickly switched between screens in the display.

In the present invention, for example, the programmable display includes the following means.

The first data acquisition means acquires data from an external memory associated with each item on the screen displayed on the screen, and stores the acquired data in the first internal memory; the screen display means The screen display/update associated with the screen displayed in the display is performed based on the stored data of the first internal memory; and the second data acquisition means acquires data from external memory associated with each item on the other screen. And storing the acquired data in the second internal memory; the screen switching processing means switching when using the storage data of the second internal memory when there is a switching instruction for switching from the arbitrary screen to the other screen To the other screens mentioned above.

1‧‧‧Programmable display

2‧‧‧Communication interface

3‧‧‧Communication lines

4‧‧‧Connecting machine

4-1‧‧‧Connected machine

4-2‧‧‧Connected machine

5‧‧‧ Painting editing device

6‧‧‧Communication lines

10‧‧‧Display operation control device

11‧‧‧CPU

12‧‧‧ROM

13‧‧‧RAM

14‧‧‧Communication controller

15‧‧‧Graphics controller

16‧‧‧Touch Panel Controller

17‧‧‧ Busbar

18‧‧‧Touch panel

19‧‧‧ Display

21‧‧‧ body program

22‧‧‧ Screen Information

23‧‧‧Communication program

31‧‧‧painting editor

32‧‧‧Screen data file

33‧‧‧Communication Program Files

41‧‧‧First Data Acquisition Department

42‧‧‧ Screen display

43‧‧‧Second Data Acquisition Department

44‧‧‧Screen Switching Processing Department

51‧‧‧Project Generation Department

52‧‧‧Project Processing Schedule

53‧‧‧Project Processing Department

54‧‧‧Communication Processing Department

54-1‧‧‧Communication Processing Department

54-2‧‧‧Communication Processing Department

55‧‧‧Common memory

56‧‧‧Project list

57‧‧‧Communication Memory

61‧‧‧埠

62‧‧‧Device name

63‧‧‧ address

64‧‧‧Information

65‧‧‧Error information

71‧‧‧埠

72‧‧‧Device name

73‧‧‧ address

74‧‧‧Information

75‧‧‧Update time

81‧‧‧Project type

82‧‧‧ coordinates

83‧‧‧ size

84‧‧‧Device name

85‧‧‧ address

86‧‧‧Information on each project type

87‧‧‧Complete the processing flag

90‧‧‧ memory list

91‧‧‧Device name

92‧‧‧ address

93‧‧‧Information

94‧‧‧Error information

100‧‧‧ memory information

101‧‧‧Information

102‧‧‧Error Information

Fig. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of the entire system including the programmable display of this example.

FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration example of the programmable display of this example.

[Fig. 3] is a software composition diagram of the system.

[Fig. 4] is a functional block diagram of the programmable display of this example.

[Fig. 5] is a schematic operation example of the programmable display of this example. A flow chart for the display.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing a detailed example of the processing of step S2 of FIG. 5.

[Fig. 7] An example of additional related information of a plurality of screens.

Fig. 8 is a view showing the configuration and processing function of the programmable display of the present embodiment.

[Fig. 9] (a) to (d) are data structure examples/data storage examples of shared memory.

[Fig. 10] (a) and (b) are examples of data structures of the item list.

[Fig. 11] (a) is a memory list, and (b) is a data structure example of memory information.

[Fig. 12] A diagram showing the appearance of each item before and after the screen switching.

Fig. 13 is a flowchart (1/4) of the processing of the communication processing unit.

Fig. 14 is a flowchart (2/4) of the processing of the communication processing unit.

Fig. 15 is a flowchart (3/4) of the processing of the communication processing unit.

Fig. 16 is a flowchart (4/4) of the processing of the communication processing unit.

Fig. 17 is a flowchart showing the processing of the item processing unit.

FIG. 18 is a view showing an example of processing time of each processing unit.

Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, the embodiments of the present invention are made. Description.

Fig. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of the entire system including the programmable display 1 of this example.

In addition, the configuration shown in FIG. 1 is merely an example, and is not limited to this example. For example, it is not absolutely necessary to connect the programmable display 1 to the drawing editing apparatus 5 via the communication line 3. The programmable display 1 and the drawing editing device 5 may also exist independently of each other. The programmable display 1 can be configured as long as it stores the screen data obtained by the method and displays the screen for the programmable display using the screen data.

The programmable display controller system shown in FIG. 1 is provided with various connected devices 4 and a programmable display 1 connected to various connected devices 4 via a communication line 6. Further, the programmable display 1 is configured to be connected to the drawing editing device 5 via the communication line 3. At the programmable display 1, there is a plurality of communication interfaces 2 (communication ports), and through various communication lines 3/communication lines 6 connected to the communication interfaces 2, and various connection devices 4 or drawing editing devices 5 Make a connection.

The drawing editing device 5 is a support device corresponding to the above-described background art, and is provided with a material for allowing the user to arbitrarily create the operation display screen on the programmable display 1. ) The way to support. In the prior art, various item images are prepared in advance, and the user repeatedly performs an operation of selecting a desired item image and arranging it at a desired position. The creation of the above picture materials.

This screen data is as described above, and is composed of a plurality of screens, and any one or more items are arranged on each screen. Moreover, as one of such items, there are switching switches for other screens. As the information related to the changeover switch, of course, it is identification information (screen No.) of the screen including the switching target. In addition, regarding this matter, it may be slightly the same as the prior art.

However, in the prior art, if the switch is operated, the above-mentioned "distribution memory for each item of the switching target screen" is performed as "processing for obtaining data necessary for screen switching". "Access to the area", however, in this method, basically, when performing screen switching, access to the allocated memory area is not required (however, it is not 100% unnecessary). Of course, it is necessary to perform the above-described display content update processing by access to the allocated memory area (external memory access) at any time after the switching of the screen. The details will be described later.

The drawing editing device 5 can be regarded as an example of a supporting device for supporting the creation of a screen (screen material) for a programmable display. Thereafter, it is assumed that the support device 5 is also described.

The above screen data is downloaded to the programmable display 1. The programmable display 1 performs display of any of a plurality of screens constituting a plurality of screen materials in the same manner as in the prior art. In addition, on each screen, an item display relating to the screen is displayed, and the above-described switch for switching the screen is also displayed. Also, in the display of any screen For example, the display content update process described above is periodically performed. Therefore, the above-mentioned access to the allocated memory area of each item on the screen being displayed is performed, and the latest information is acquired, and the latest information is used to display the screen.

Further, in any of the screen displays, if the above-described screen changeover switch is operated, it is switched to a predetermined other screen corresponding to the switch and displayed. At this time, as described above, if the latest data is not obtained for each item on the other screen to be the switching destination, the display of the other screen is not performed.

Therefore, in the prior art, in order to perform the above switching to other screens and display, it is necessary to access the corresponding allocated memory area (external memory access), but in this method, This is not necessary (however, it is not absolute, and there may be cases where access is required), so it is necessary to quickly switch screens. The details will be described later.

Further, the drawing editing device 5 is realized by, for example, a general-purpose computer (personal computer or the like). Therefore, although it is not particularly illustrated, it has a configuration of a general personal computer or the like. In other words, for example, a calculation processor such as a CPU, a memory device such as a memory or a hard disk, an operation unit such as a keyboard or a mouse, a display unit such as a display, a communication function unit, and the like are provided.

In the above memory device, a predetermined application is stored in advance, and the arithmetic processor realizes various functions of the drawing editing device 5 by executing the application. In addition, each of the painting editing devices 5 The function is not described further because it is an existing function that has been briefly explained.

Further, the programmable display 1 may have a general configuration of the hardware itself. Therefore, the following is briefly explained with reference to FIG.

FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration example of the programmable display 1 of the present example.

The programmable display 1 has a function of performing display or screen switching of each screen (operation display screen) based on the above-described screen data or the like, which is slightly the same as the above-described prior art example. However, regarding the screen switching, it is different from the prior art, and the details thereof will be described later.

The programmable display 1 shown is provided with a display operation control device 10, a touch panel 18, a display 19, and the communication interface 2 described above.

The display operation control device 10 is formed by the CPU 11, the ROM 12 (flash memory, etc.), the RAM 13, the communication controller 14, the graphics controller 15, the touch panel controller 16, etc., and these systems are connected to the bus bar 17 connection.

The CPU 11 is a central processing unit (calculation processor) that controls the entire display operation control device 10. The CPU 11 performs various arithmetic operations (processing) of the programmable display 1 by executing a program (for example, a main body program 21 to be described later) stored in the ROM 12 in advance. Although this processing has been briefly described, it will be described in more detail later.

Moreover, in the ROM 12, the background technology is stored The screen data (the screen material 22 described later) described in the above. As in the above, in this example, the picture material 22 is composed of a plurality of (typically, majority) screen materials. The information of each screen (operation display screen) is formed, for example, by the above-described image of each of the switches, the light bulb, and the like arranged on the screen, the coordinates of the display position coordinates, the size, and the like, and the position of the distribution memory. Further, in each of the screens, the above-described screen changeover switch is also disposed. In addition, the screen change switch can be regarded as one of the items, and is a type that does not perform external memory access.

Here, the above external memory address is implemented in the prior art as an item only related to the screen currently displayed. However, in this method, not only the screen currently displayed, but also the external memory access to the screen of the switching target candidate. Thereafter, the acquired data is stored in advance in a predetermined memory area (internal buffer, etc.) in the programmable display 1.

By the processing of the CPU 11, for example, the display target data configured based on the screen data 22 or the acquired data obtained by the external memory access is expanded (drawn) in, for example, the RAM 13 (or not shown). On the VIDEO RAM). The details will be described later. Based on this depiction, the graphics controller 15 is displayed on the display 19 to display the above-described operation display screen and the like.

The display 19 is formed, for example, by a liquid crystal panel or the like, and is provided with a touch panel 18 so as to be superposed on the liquid crystal panel. On the display 19, any of the plurality of screens is displayed. On each screen, as in the above, each item image is displayed at a predetermined position.

Further, the communication controller 14 performs communication with the connection device 4 or the drawing editing device 5, which is a PLC main body or the like, or a temperature adjustment device, via the communication interface 2 (data transmission and reception, etc.) ).

The detection result of the pressing operation (touch) position on the touch panel 18 by the operator or the like is introduced into the CPU 11 or the like via the touch panel controller 16 and analyzed. For example, it is analyzed based on the above-described display position coordinates and size of each item. For example, if the operator or the like touches the display position of the portrait of the switch, the CPU 11 or the like analyzes the operation of the switch.

In Fig. 3, the software composition diagram of the above system is shown.

In the programmable display 1, various programs/materials such as the main body program 21, the screen data 22, and the communication program 23 are stored, for example, in the ROM 12 (flash memory or the like). By causing the CPU 11 to read, execute, or reference such programs/data, etc., display control of each operation display screen (each screen or the like) for the programmable display is performed.

This operation display screen is formed by the above-described numerical display, image display of various items such as a light bulb, a switch, and the like, and the display content of each item is, for example, a predetermined memory area for the external memory from each connected device 4 ( Information obtained by allocating memory area) (acquiring information) The form of reflection is made and is updated at any time.

In other words, the CPU 11 performs display control of the operation display screen based on the main program 21 and the screen data 22 and the acquired data. At this time, the display content of each item (each screen member) on the operation display screen is reflected by the content of the acquired data (the numerical value display of temperature or the like, or the lighting/lighting of the light bulb, etc.).

Therefore, in the case of screen switching, it is also necessary to reflect the most recent (current/latest) stored data for the allocated memory area for each of the various items related to the switching target screen. The form to start showing. Therefore, in the prior art, if the screen changeover switch is operated, firstly, it is compared with each of the allocated memory areas corresponding to each item on the screen of the switching target, and the data is acquired, so that it is expensive to process. time. However, in this method, even if the access memory area is not accessed, the latest stored data of the allocated memory area can be displayed. The details will be described later.

The screen material 22 is, for example, a screen material file 32 which is arbitrarily created on the side of the drawing editing apparatus 5, and is downloaded to the programmable display 1 and stored. That is, the screen material 22 and the screen material file 23 can be regarded as substantially identical. In addition, hereinafter, it is assumed that the screen material file 32 is described as the screen material 22, and the screen data file 32 is not particularly distinguished.

Further, the communication program 23 is, for example, a communication program file 33 (partial portion) to be stored in advance on the side of the drawing editing device 5. Downloaded to the programmable display 1 and made a storage.

The communication program 23 of the programmable display 1 is a program for communicating with the connection device 4 via the communication line 6. Usually, each of the models connected to the device 4 has an inherent communication protocol to perform communication between the programmable display 1 and the connected device 4 in accordance with the communication protocol. Therefore, the communication program 23 needs to be separately developed for each model of each connected device 4. Further, of course, communication processing with the connected device 4 is realized by causing the CPU 11 or the like to execute the communication program 23.

As a connection device 4 such as a PLC main body, there are various manufacturers and models. In each manufacturer/model, there is a separate communication program, and the communication program 23 is manufactured in response to the connection device 4. Provider/model, and depending on the situation, it becomes a person with multiple types.

Further, communication between the programmable display 1 and the drawing editing device 5 is performed, for example, by the main body program 21 and the drawing editor 31 (the communication function is incorporated in the drawing editor 31). In this regard, since it is not important, it is not illustrated and described.

The communication program 23 is usually pre-made as a plurality of communication program files 33 groups (communication programs developed for each model) in an HD (hard disk) not shown in the drawing editing device 5. memory. Further, if the drawing editing device 5 selects and designates any of the connected devices 4 by the drawing editor 31, the communication program file 33 corresponding to the selected connected device 4 is transferred to the programmable device. display At the device 1, it is memorized as the above communication program 23.

Further, the above-described program for realizing various processes such as access to the memory area and screen display, for example, may be included in the main body program 21 or may be included in the picture material file 32 (picture material 22). In any case, various operations of the programmable display 1 are realized by, for example, executing the program by the CPU 11 described above.

Here, the painting editor 31 of the drawing editing device 5 is also provided with a support function for allowing the user to create a desired operation display screen (the screen material). In this regard, as described above, various items prepared in advance are memorized in a hard disk or the like of the drawing editing apparatus 5. The various items are displayed in a list by the creation support function of the operation display screen obtained by the drawing editor 31, and the user selects the desired item and arranges it at a desired position. The function itself is slightly the same as the prior art.

In addition, the drawing editing device 5 is, for example, a personal computer or the like, and is not particularly illustrated, but has a general-purpose computer (CPU, memory unit (hard disk, memory, etc.), communication). Department, operation department (mouse, etc.), display). The processing function of the painting editor 31 is realized by causing the CPU to execute an application previously stored in the memory unit. However, as described above, since the processing function of the drawing editor 31 itself is as long as the prior art, it will not be further explained.

4 is a functional block diagram of the programmable display 1 of the present example. The programmable display 1 of this example is, for example, provided with the first capital shown in the figure. Various function units of the material acquisition unit 41, the screen display unit 42, the second data acquisition unit 43, and the screen switching processing unit 44. Further, the various functional units are realized by causing the CPU 11 to execute, for example, a predetermined application program that is previously stored in the ROM 12 or the like.

The first data acquisition unit 41 acquires data from an external memory associated with each item on the screen displayed on the screen, and stores the acquired data in the first internal memory (for example, the shared memory 55 to be described later). in.

The screen display unit 42 (for example, the item processing unit 53 to be described later) displays and updates the screen associated with the screen being displayed based on the stored data of the first internal memory.

The second data acquisition unit 43 acquires data from an external memory associated with each item on another screen (for example, switching the candidate screen) by the background execution (BACKGROUND) while the arbitrary screen is being displayed. The acquired data is stored in the second internal memory (for example, the communication memory 57 to be described later).

In addition, the above-mentioned "execution by the background" is performed by, for example, the data is acquired on the other screen (for example, switching the candidate screen), but (at least in the state where the arbitrary screen is being displayed), but the display is not performed, but The system is not limited to this. In the following description, the "background execution" is not described one by one. However, for example, the memory read processing of the switching candidate screen described later is performed by "background execution".

The screen switching processing unit 44 is present if any When the screen is switched to the switching instruction of the other screens described above, the storage data of the second internal memory is used to switch to the other screens.

In addition, for example, the communication processing unit 54 to be described later may be regarded as equivalent to, for example, the first data acquisition unit 41 and the second data acquisition unit 43 described above, but is not limited thereto. In addition, the processing function of the screen switching processing unit 44 may be regarded as one of (or both) the communication processing unit 54 and the item generation unit 51 to be described later, but is not limited thereto.

Further, the screen switching processing unit 44 stores, for example, the stored data of the second internal memory in the first internal memory (for example, copying). As a result, even if the processing by the first data acquisition unit 41 is not performed during the screen switching, the screen display unit 42 displays the screens that are related to other screens. That is, the above switching to other screens is achieved.

However, when there is a case in which items are not stored in the second internal memory in each item on the other screens at the time of screen switching, it is necessary to perform the first item for the item. The processing by the data acquisition unit 41. In this case, by performing this processing, the above switching to other screens is achieved.

Further, the above-described switching to the other screen by the screen switching processing unit 44 is not limited to any configuration as long as it is performed using the stored data of the second internal memory as described above. The example of "storing the stored data of the second internal memory in the first internal memory (for example, copying)" is limited to the above. E.g, As another example, there is a method of performing memory management control such that the second internal memory is processed as the first internal memory.

In addition, the data acquisition and storage processing by the first data acquisition unit 41 is performed preferentially, and the data acquisition and storage processing by the second data acquisition unit 43 is performed during the idle time. For this reason, for example, the second data acquisition unit 43 sets a part of each of the other items on the screen as the processing target item during the execution of each of the processes. In other words, the data acquisition from the external memory is not performed once for all the items on the other screens, but the data is acquired in a small amount (for example, only one item is acquired at a time). Therefore, it is necessary to select a processing target item (an item that acquires data from an external memory) when each processing is performed. In the selection method, various methods can be employed. For example, it is configured to preferentially treat a project that has not been subjected to data acquisition as a processing target item, but it is of course not limited thereto.

Fig. 5 is a flow chart showing an exemplary operation of the programmable display 1 of this example.

Fig. 6 is a flow chart showing a detailed example of the processing of step S2 of Fig. 5.

In the example of FIG. 5, in the period in which the screen is being displayed for any screen, the above-described existing display content update processing relating to the screen currently being displayed is performed (step S1), and " External memory read processing in the background execution" Step S2), repeating. Thereafter, at any time during the period in which the processes of steps S1 and S2 are repeatedly performed as described above, if there is a screen switching instruction (for example, the user operates the screen switching switch (not shown)), the icon is displayed. The determination in step S3 is YES, and the process proceeds to the process after step S4.

The details of the processing of step S2 will be described later with reference to FIG. 6, but in summary, the screen regarding the possibility of being displayed next to the screen in the current display (called For switching the candidate screen, the stored data is read in advance from each of the "allocated memory areas" associated with each of the switching candidate screens.

Here, for convenience of explanation, it is assumed that each screen has only one item (but does not include a switch), and it is assumed that only one of the switching candidate screens is present. Further, for example, it is assumed that the "allocated memory address" of the item on the screen currently displayed is D100, and the "allocated memory address" of the item on the switching candidate screen is D200.

In the case of this example, in the above-described step S1, the stored data of D100 is read and the existing display content update processing is performed based on the read data. Further, in the above step S2, the stored data of D200 is read and the read data is temporarily held in a predetermined memory area (internal buffer).

In addition, when there is a plurality of switching candidate screens, it is also possible to read and retain data from the "allocated memory area" of the item on the screen for the other switching candidate screens. In the buffer.

However, basically, since the processing relating to the screen in the above-described current display is preferentially performed (reading data and displaying update processing from the allocation of the memory area, etc.), it is possible to use the idle processing which does not perform such processing. It is desirable to perform data reading processing related to the above-described switching candidate screen.

Further, after that, in the process of step S2, it is difficult to perform the process of reading the data related to all the items of all the switching candidate screens. Therefore, when processing of step S2 is performed each time, data reading is performed in a small amount (in each processing, only a part of each item of the switching candidate screen is read). Therefore, depending on the situation, when a screen switching operation to be described later is performed, data reading that is not necessarily related to all items on the switching target screen is not necessarily performed.

Thereafter, if the user performs a screen switching operation on the screen of the current display device (step S3), the following step S4 is performed for each of the items on the screen, and the corresponding step S4 is determined. The determination result is performed by one of the following steps S5 and S6.

In other words, it is determined whether the read data from the "allocated memory area" associated with the item exists in the internal buffer in response to each of the items on the switching target screen (step S4). . However, when the read data is present in the internal buffer (step S4, YES), the data of the internal buffer is read (step S5). On the other hand, when the read data does not exist in the internal buffer (NO in step S4), the data is read from the "allocated memory area" associated with the item (step S6).

Then, if the data is read by the processing of one of the above steps S5 and S6 for all the items on the switching target screen, the screen display of the switching target screen is performed based on the read data (screening is performed) Switch) (step S7).

Thereafter, the process returns to step S1, and the switching target screen becomes a new screen in the current display, and the processing in the above step S1 is performed. Thereafter, for example, a screen (a new switching target candidate screen) that is likely to be a target for switching from a new current display screen is performed, and the processing of the above step S2 is performed.

In addition, it is assumed that when the determination of step S4 is NO for all the items on the switching target screen, the processing similar to the prior art is substantially performed, and it takes time to switch between screens. However, in addition to this special case, the time spent in screen switching is further shortened compared to the prior art. Of course, this is because the time taken in the process of step S5 is shorter than the time taken in the process of step S6.

Hereinafter, the processing of the above step S2 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG.

As described above, the data reading from the external memory (and the temporary memory for the internal buffer) is performed a small amount each time the processing of step S2 is performed. So every step of the implementation In the case of S2, it is necessary to make a decision on a few (1 or more) items which are data reading targets at this time. The main processing for selecting the read object memory is the processing of step S55 shown in FIG. 6.

Further, various methods can be employed for selecting the method of selecting the target memory, and the method shown in Fig. 6 described here is only one example.

In the example of Fig. 6, first, it is determined whether or not there is picture related additional information (step S51).

In Fig. 7, one of the examples of screen related additional information is shown. Further, the screen-related additional information is downloaded to the programmable display 1 together with the screen material 22, for example, on the side of the drawing editing apparatus 5 with the developer's arbitrary screen data 22 being created. Memory.

The screen related additional information, for example, is a display for the transition relationship between the screens (switching the starting point and switching target) constituting the plurality of screen materials 22. In Figure 7, the names within each rectangle and rectangle represent the names of the screens and screens. Further, a straight line connecting the rectangles is a representative of the migration relationship (switching start point and switching target) of each screen. For example, there is only a "Production Line 1" screen for the switching destination from the "Management Screen" screen shown. The switching destination from the "Production Line 1-2" screen shown in the figure is the "Production Line 1" screen or the "Production Line 1-1" screen. The switching target from the "Production Line 1" screen shown in the figure is the "Production Line 1-1" screen or the "Production Line 1-2" screen or the "Production Line 2" screen or the "Management Screen" screen.

However, the screen is not necessarily related to additional information. Therefore, first, it is determined whether or not the screen is related to the additional information (step S51). After that, if there is a screen related additional information (YES in step S51), the screen is connected to the additional information, and the screen may be the switching target (switching candidate screen) from the screen currently displayed. A screen having a high priority is selected (step S52). Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S53. In addition, "the screen with the highest priority selected" can also be referred to as the "external memory read target screen".

On the other hand, if there is no screen related additional information (NO in step S51), the process proceeds directly to step S53.

In addition, this is only an example, and is not limited to this example. For example, it may be configured to determine the selected screen with a higher priority based on the data of the specific item (the above-mentioned screen switch) on the screen currently displayed, even if there is no such screen related additional information. . That is, in the project data related to the screen switch, the identification information of the screen to be the switching target is included. Therefore, it is only necessary to set the screen represented by the identification information to the screen with the selected priority being high.

Further, when there is a plurality of screens that can be used as switching targets from any of the screens, the above-described screen switching switches are displayed on the arbitrary screen. In this case, the plurality of screens corresponding to the plurality of screen switching switches are screens having the selected priority higher. In addition, these plural screens, It becomes a switching target candidate screen and becomes a screen that is switched to correspond to the screen change switch operated by the user. Therefore, it is preferable that when the user operation is performed, the external memory read processing is performed once for all the items related to all of the switching target candidate screens. If this is the case, the determination of the above-described step S4 for all the items of the screen is YES regardless of which of the plurality of switching target candidate screens is specified. Therefore, it is not necessary to perform screen switching. External memory access.

Further, in step S53, it is determined whether or not all the data has been stored in the internal buffer. In this step, for example, it is determined whether or not all the items of the switching target candidate screen are related to each other and the data is read from the allocated memory area at least once and stored in the internal buffer area (whether it has been read from all). Those who have obtained data from the object memory.

For example, in one of the preceding read memory selection processes in step S55, until the state in which "all data has been stored in the internal buffer" is performed, the read target memory from which data has not been acquired is performed. The selected mode is selected in the body (the data does not have the memory priority mode). Then, if there is no memory of the read target that has not yet acquired the data (it is stored in the internal buffer), then it is sequentially stored from the oldest data for the data stored in the internal buffer. Update to the latest data mode (old data priority update mode).

In addition, after the situation in which the step S53 becomes YES, as in the above, even if the user is the switching target Selecting which screen to use will result in YES in step S4. Therefore, it is completely unnecessary to perform external memory access in order to switch screens.

Until the determination in the above step S53 is YES, the memory acquisition priority mode is set, and if the determination in the above step S53 is YES, the mode is switched to the old data priority update mode (step S54). After that, the old data priority update mode is maintained until the screen switching is performed. On the other hand, if the screen switching in step S7 is performed, the memory priority mode is first restored, and the process returns to step S1.

If one or more of the above-described steps S51 to S54 are executed, the preceding read memory selection processing of step S55 is executed.

In the case of the processing of the step S55, for example, when the memory priority mode is not obtained, the memory is preferentially selected from the items (the allocated memory) of which the data has not yet been acquired. In this case, the item having the highest priority selected in the item that has not yet obtained the data may be used as the priority selector, but is not limited to this example. Further, in the processing of step S56 to be described later, the data is read from the selected preceding read memory.

On the other hand, when it is now the case of the above-mentioned old data priority update mode, it is the item corresponding to the oldest data in the internal buffer storage data (for example, based on the update time 75 described later). (The allocated memory) is selected to read the memory first.

In addition, in any case, the read memory is not limited to one, but may be plural (may also be set to a predetermined number determined in advance).

The above is a basic method for selecting the memory to be read first. However, it is not limited to these examples. For example, when there is an idle physical device, the idle physical device may be used. The external memory (allocation memory) that is accessed is preferentially selected. In this case, for example, in the example of FIG. 8 to be described later, there are a port connected to the connection device 4-1 shown in the drawing, and a port connected to the connection device 4-2. In this example, when the memory access processing related to the screen currently being displayed is caused by the connection with the connected device 4-1, the connection to the connected device 4-2 is performed. For the above idle physical 埠. Therefore, in the case of this example, the item whose memory is connected to the memory in the device 4-2 may be preferentially selected as the look-ahead memory.

Alternatively, it may be configured to perform data reading (and storage for an internal buffer) along with the allocated memory access processing associated with the screen currently being displayed for the item satisfying the predetermined condition. .

The item that satisfies the predetermined condition is, for example, an item that is synthesized (added) to the memory list 90 to be described later by combining the data of the memory list P2 described later in the item. An example of such an item is listed below, but is not limited to these examples. . For access to the screen associated with the above-mentioned current display A memory device that accesses the same memory device.

. An item for accessing a memory area (in this example, D104 or the like) that is continuous with the allocated memory area (for example, D100 to D103) of the screen currently being displayed. In other words, for example, it is an item that can be collectively accessed for D100 to D104 and the like.

Thereafter, the data is read from the preceding read memory selected in the above-described step S55 (step S56), and the read data is temporarily stored in the internal buffer (step S57).

Further, of course, if it is possible, all of the read target memories may be selected as the look-ahead memory in step S55.

In the present method, when it is instructed to switch to an arbitrary screen, when the processing of the above steps S56 and S57 is performed for all the items on the switching target screen, the data of the internal buffer is used. To display the switching target screen (the initial state). In other words, it is not necessary to acquire data from the external memory when the screen is switched (it is not necessary to communicate with the connected device 4). Therefore, the screen switching is realized in a very short time.

Further, even in the case where the processing of the above-described steps S56 and S57 is performed only for a part of the items on the switching target screen, the screen switching is realized in a shorter time than in the prior art. In addition, in general, the screen switching is not performed if the data acquisition of all the items related to the switching target screen has not been performed yet. Switch.

Fig. 8 is a view showing the configuration and processing function of the programmable display 1 of the present embodiment.

The CPU 11 realizes, for example, various processing function units shown by broken lines in Fig. 8 by executing a predetermined program (e.g., the main body program 21, the communication program 23, and the like) stored in the ROM 12. In other words, the following processing function units such as the item generation unit 51, the item processing scheduling unit 52, the item processing unit 53, and the communication processing unit 54 (54-1, 54-2, etc.) are shown. Processing function.

Further, for example, the item generation unit 51, the item processing schedule unit 52, and the item processing unit 53 are realized by the body program 21. The communication processing unit 54 is realized by the main body program 21 and the communication program 23.

The item generation unit 51 generates a item list 56 based on the above-described screen material 22 and the like. This is generated, for example, by extracting a part of the screen material 22 (and adding the completion processing flag 87 described later).

Here, as in the above, the screen material 22 is formed by data related to a plurality of screens. In the item list 56, basically, the data relating to the screen connected to the current display is stored. Therefore, the project generating unit 51 eliminates the data of the existing item list 56 and the shared memory 55 every time the screen change switch is operated, and generates a new item list 56 corresponding to the switching target screen and Shared memory 55 (however, at this point in time, in the data 64 of the shared memory 55 There is no data, but it is a material that is copied, for example, to the communication memory 57.

The item generating unit 51 further eliminates the data of the communication memory 57 at a time point after copying the data of the communication memory 57 to the shared memory 55, and generates a screen corresponding to the screen of the next switching target candidate. The new communication memory 57 (however, at this point in time, there is no data in the data 74 of the communication memory 57). However, this processing may be performed by the communication processing unit 54. Further, the above-mentioned "screen of the next switching target candidate" is a screen corresponding to the screen switching switch in the switching target screen.

The item processing schedule unit 52 performs schedule management such as display update processing for each item by the item processing unit 53. In other words, the item processing schedule unit 52 periodically calls the item processing unit 53 to perform the processing of FIG. 17 which will be described later (in other words, the processing of FIG. 17 is cyclically performed).

The item processing unit 53 performs processing for displaying each of the items at a predetermined position and updating the display contents based on the item list 56 or the stored data of the shared memory 55 to be described later. (For example, switching of ON/OFF images or numerical display of numerical values, etc.).

The item processing unit 53 draws (expands) various types of portraits on the RAM 13 in accordance with the above processing. Thereby, the graphics controller 15 displays the display operation screen by displaying the drawing material on the display. This drawing data is, for example, by the item processing unit 53 It is updated at any time during the execution of the processing of Fig. 17 described later. Further, the processing itself of the item processing unit 53 can basically be slightly the same as the prior art.

The communication processing unit 54 is a communication processing unit 54-1 and 54-1 provided in association with each of the connected devices 4 (4-1, 4-2). The communication processing unit 54 performs, for example, update processing of the stored data of the shared memory 55.

In other words, the communication processing unit 54-1 shown in the figure uses the communication 埠 WAY1 corresponding to the connection device 4-1, and communicates with the connection device 4-1 via the communication line 6, and acquires it. The stored data of the established area (distributed memory area) of the external memory. This refers to the acquisition of the data of the item connected to the external memory in the connected machine 4-1 among the items on the screen currently displayed. The acquired data is overwritten and stored in a predetermined area of the shared memory 55.

Similarly, the communication processing unit 54-2 shown in the figure uses the communication 埠 WAY 2 corresponding to the connection device 4-2, and communicates with the connection device 4-2 via the communication line 6, and obtains the communication device 6-2. Storage data for a given area of the external memory (allocation memory area). This refers to the acquisition of data related to the items of the external memory connected to the machine 4-2 among the items on the screen currently displayed. The acquired data is overwritten and stored in a predetermined area of the shared memory 55.

However, the update processing of the stored data of the shared memory 55 described above is slightly the same as the existing processing. Each of the communication processing units 54 of this example performs not only the above-described existing processing but also the following new Regulation processing.

In other words, each of the communication processing units 54 further performs processing for updating the stored data of the communication memory 57. Here, in the communication memory 57, the data related to the switching candidate screen is stored. As described above, for example, the screen of the switching candidate is a screen corresponding to the screen switching switch on the screen currently displayed.

Further, the communication processing unit 54 acquires data from the corresponding external memory in the same manner as the screen in the current display for the switching candidate screen. However, the acquired data is not stored in the shared memory 55, but is stored in the internal buffer. The equivalent of this internal buffer is the communication memory 57. In other words, the communication processing unit 54 reads the stored data of the allocated memory area of each item on the switching candidate screen and stores it in the communication memory 57. Of course, each of the communication processing units 54-1 and 54-2 reads only the data from the connection device 4 in charge of itself.

The above new regulation processing can be said to be the update processing of the stored data of the communication memory 57. An example of this processing is the processing of FIG. 6 described above.

Further, based on the above description, the data structure (each data item) of the communication memory 57 is basically the same as the shared memory 55. The data structure of the shared memory 55 and the communication memory 57 is shown in Fig. 9 and will be described later.

Further, when the screen switch is operated by the user at an arbitrary timing, the communication processing unit 54 (or the item) The generating unit 51 or the like copies (overwrites) the stored data of the communication memory 57 into the shared memory 55. By this means, it is not necessary to access the external memory (allocated memory area), and the switching target screen can be displayed.

Here, a specific example of the item list 56, the shared memory 55, and the communication memory 57 will be described first.

In Fig. 9(a), a data structure example of the shared memory 55 is shown, and in Fig. 9(b), a data storage example of the shared memory 55 is shown.

In the illustrated example, the shared memory 55 is formed by each data item of 埠61, device name 62, address 63, data 64, and error information 65.

埠61 is information for identifying the communication device and the like, and is substantially information for identifying the connection device 4 of the communication target. The device 62 is identification information of a memory device (external memory) in the connection device 4 of the communication target. The address 63 is the address of a predetermined memory area in the external memory represented by the device 62. In the data 64, the data obtained from the memory area is stored.

Further, the device name 62 and the address 63 can be regarded as equivalent to the above-mentioned "allocated memory address" of each item. For example, the device name 84 and the address 85 of the item list 56 to be described later are copied. Further, the parameter 61 may be, for example, a communication number or the like determined by discriminating the connected device 4 based on the device name 62. Alternatively, in the device name 84 described later, the system may be in addition to the memory. In addition to the name of the device, it further includes communication and identification information.

Further, in the error information 65, when a communication error or the like with the connected device 4 occurs, the error information ("error" or the like shown in FIG. 9(b)) is stored.

In Fig. 9(c), a data structure example of the communication memory 57 is shown, and in Fig. 9(d), a data storage example of the communication memory 57 is shown.

The communication memory 57 is formed by each data item of 埠71, device name 72, address 73, data 74, and update time 75. The data items of the device 71, the device name 72, the address 73, and the data 74 may be slightly the same as the data items 61, 62, 63, and 64 of the shared memory 55. In the update time 75, each time the stored data of the material 74 is updated, the time of the time (for example, the time elapsed since the start of the start, etc.) is stored. The update processing of the material 74 to be described later, for example, the record in which the update time 75 in all the records is the smallest (in other words, the oldest time from the previous update) is the update processing target record.

For example, in the example shown in Fig. 9(d), the start record (update time 75 = '5000' record) is the update process target record. Of course, the system is not limited to this example. For example, the update processing object record system may be plural. That is to say, it is also possible to record not only the oldest record but also the second oldest or third oldest record as the update processing target.

Further, in Fig. 10(a), the data structure example of the item list 56 is shown.

The item list 56 of the illustrated example is composed of item type 81, coordinate 82, size 83, device name 84, address 85, "data for each item type" 86, and various data items of the processing flag 67. Made into.

As in the above, in the item list 56, the established information about each item connected to the screen currently displayed is stored. Basically, each record is a counterpart to each item. Therefore, the item list 56 is updated each time the screen is switched. That is, at the time of screen switching, the stored data of the item list 56 at that point in time is eliminated, and new material is generated and stored based on the picture material 22. Of course, the new information is the data that is related to each item on the switching target screen.

In the project type 81, item type identification information representing the type of the item (switch, bulb, numerical display, etc.) is stored. In addition, as a project type, it is also possible to further use a "screen switch".

Further, the device name 84 and the address 85 are information related to the external memory access of each item, and correspond to the above-mentioned allocated memory address. That is, the memory area represented by the address 85 in the external memory represented by the device name 84 is the area allocated to the item (the above-mentioned allocated memory area). The stored data of the allocated memory area is the current state representative of the monitoring/control object associated with the item. For example, if the item type 81 is a light bulb, the flag data indicating the lighting/lighting of the light bulb is the above stored data. This stored data is updated on the side of the connected machine 4 at any time. Moreover, the stored data of the allocated memory area is periodically read and temporarily stored on the upper side. The information of the recorded records of the shared memory 55 is 64.

In the "data for each item type" 86, for example, an image relating to the item is stored (for example, in the case of a light bulb item, a light bulb lighting portrait and a light bulb light-off image, or, if it is a switch item, It is a series of project images such as a switch ON image and a switch OFF image).

In the coordinates 82 and the size 83, information indicating the display position and size of the above-described item portrait on the operation display screen (screen) is stored.

Here, the above-mentioned screen changeover switch is also one of the above items, and thus the information related to the screen changeover switch is also stored in the item list 56.

In Fig. 10(b), a data construction example of the screen change switch in the item list 56 is shown.

First, since the screen switching relationship is one of the switches, in the item list 81, the "switch" is stored. However, the present invention is not limited to this example. When the "screen switching switch" is specified as the item type, the "screen switching switch" is stored in the item type 81. In this description, it is assumed that the example is adopted.

Further, since it is not necessary to perform an external memory access item, the stored data of the device name 84 and the address 85 is "None".

In addition, in the "data for each item type" 86, not only the image of the above item but also the screen switch is stored. The identification ID (screen number, etc.) of the switching target screen.

In Fig. 12, the appearance of each item before and after the screen switching is shown.

In the illustrated example, the appearance of switching from the screen of screen No. 1 to the screen of screen No. 2 is shown. In other words, if the screen switching switch ("Switch to screen SW of screen No. 2") is operated while the screen No. 1 is being displayed, the screen is switched to the screen. Screen of No. 2. Further, although not shown, a screen change switch is also present on the screen of the screen No. 2.

The five rectangles on each screen shown represent the items displayed on the screen, but they are not representative of the actual display. That is, the text in each rectangle represents the allocated memory address of each item. As shown in the figure, by switching the screen, the displayed items are changed, and therefore, the position of the allocated memory is also changed.

In other words, for example, when the screen of the screen No. 1 is being displayed, the communication processing unit 54 allocates the memories 'D100', 'D200', 'D300', 'X0' from the respective pictures, The stored data is read and stored in the shared memory 55 of 'Y0'. Further, the item processing unit 53 displays the screen of the screen No. 1 based on the stored data of the shared memory 55. The processing itself is slightly the same as the prior art. However, in the present method, the communication processing unit 54 further performs the distribution memory 'D1100', 'from the diagram connected to the screen of the screen No. 2. D1200', 'D1300', 'M0', 'M1' read the stored data and memorize it in the communication memory 57, respectively. In this method, Further, when the "switch to screen No. 2" is operated, the communication processing unit 54 or the like also performs a process of copying the stored data of the communication memory 57 to the shared memory 55.

Hereinafter, the processing of the communication processing unit 54 and the item processing unit 53 will be described in more detail.

13 , 14 , 15 , and 16 are flowcharts (1/4), (2/4), (3/4), and (4/4) of the processing by the communication processing unit 54.

Hereinafter, the communication processing unit 54 will be described with reference to FIG. 13 , FIG. 14 , FIG. 15 , and FIG. 16 (which are described as FIG. 13 and the like without being particularly distinguished).

For example, in the example of FIG. 8, each of the communication processing units 54-1 and 54-2 performs the processing of FIG. 13 and the like in a cycle (with a predetermined period).

In the processing example of FIG. 13 and the like, first, referring to the shared memory 55, a memory list 90 associated with the connected device 4 for which it is responsible is generated (step S11). For example, in the case of the processing by the communication processing unit 54-1, the memory list 90 associated with the connection device 4-1 is generated from the shared memory 55.

In Fig. 11(a), a data construction example of this memory list 90 is shown.

In the illustrated example, the memory list 90 is formed by each of the device name 91, the address 92, the data 93, and the error information 94. In addition, the error message 94 is not absolutely necessary.

For example, the communication processing unit 54-1 described above is a shared memory. In the case of the body 55, all the records in which the 埠61 is "WAY1" are extracted. Thereafter, the information of the device name 62, the address 63, and the data 64 of each extracted record is stored (copied) into the device name 91, the address 92, and the data 93. As a result, a memory list 90 associated with the connected device 4-1 is generated. In addition, the information 93 is not absolutely necessary.

Thereafter, the processing between steps S12 to S23 shown in the figure is repeatedly performed while referring to the generated memory list 90 until the determination in step S23 becomes NO.

In other words, the unprocessed record (as the processing target record) is taken out from the memory list 90, and a memory read command is generated based on the content of the process target record, and is sent to the user via the communication line 6. The machine 4 is connected (step S16). Thereafter, it is a response to the memory read command from the connected device 4 (step S17). However, before the process of step S16 is performed, the status check is performed and it is determined whether or not the screen is being switched (step S12).

Regarding this, for example, a predetermined memory area corresponding to the above-described screen changeover switch is set in advance, and a flag is stored in the predetermined memory area. However, the flag is turned ON each time the screen change switch is operated. Further, in the predetermined memory area, not only the flag but also the identification ID (screen number or the like) of the switching target screen may be stored.

In addition, the item generation 埠51 is constantly monitored for this flag, and the generation process of the above item list 56 is executed every time the flag is turned ON. That is, the current data of the project list 56 is eliminated. In addition, the information of each item of the switching target screen is extracted from the screen data 22, and then stored in the item list 56.

The determination processing of the above-described step S12 is, for example, a reference to the flag, and if the flag is ON, it is determined that the screen is being switched (YES in step S12), and the process proceeds to step S13. In step S13, the communication memory 57 is searched, and for example, a matching record to be described later is detected, and then the matching record is checked to confirm whether or not the data storage has been completed (whether or not any material is stored in the data 74, There is a prior reading of the data) (step S14).

Here, the determination of the above-described step S14 is performed as an example of all of the items of the switching target screen. However, when there is a plural number of the switching candidate screens, the communication memory 57 is a material for storing a plurality of items related to the plurality of switching candidate screens connected thereto. Therefore, it is necessary to discriminate the above-mentioned items of the switching target screen from such a large number of items. Therefore, for example, as an example, each of the records of the communication memory 57 may be configured to store the identification ID (screen number or the like) of the screen corresponding to the record (item), but it is not It is limited to this example.

In any case, the determination of the above step S14 is performed for all the records (conformance records) corresponding to the items of the switching target screen in the communication memory 57. Thereafter, the record (copy target record) determined to be the above-described completed material storage (step S14, YES) in the coincidence record is all copied to the shared memory 55 (step S15). For example, the data item 71 recorded by each of the above-mentioned copy objects is ~73 and data 74 are copied to data items 61-63 and data 64 of the shared memory 55. Further, at this time, the records in which the data are not stored may be configured to copy the data items 71 to 73 to the data items 61 to 63 of the shared memory 55.

Further, before the copying of the shared memory 55 is performed, the existing data of the shared memory 55 may be completely eliminated.

On the other hand, when there is a case where the determination of the above-described step S14 is one of the NO items (the data acquisition target item) in each of the items of the switching target screen, each of the data acquisition target items is used. Then, the external memory access is performed by the processing of steps S16 and S17, and the data is acquired, and the acquired data is stored in the data 64 of the matching record of the shared memory 55 by the processing of step S19. In addition, the external memory access target in this case is not based on the memory list 90 created in the above step S11, but is configured based on the device name 72 and the address 73 of the communication memory 57. However, it is not limited to this example.

Of course, when the determination of the above step S14 is YES for all the items on the switching target screen, it is not necessary to perform the processing of the above steps S16, S17 and the like. Further, of course, this is a case where the screen switching is performed, and after the switching is performed, the processing of executing steps S16, S17, and the like for each item on the screen currently being displayed is periodically performed.

In addition, before the processing of the above step S13 is carried out, The process of setting the above flag to the flag OFF can be performed. Further, all of the data in the memory list 90 may be set to the completion processing state (by which the step S23 is forcibly set to the NO determination).

Further, the processing in the case where the determination in the above step S12 is YES (particularly, the processing in steps S13, S14, and S15) is not limited to the above-described example. For example, although the item generating unit 51 reproduces the item list 56 in response to the flag ON as described above, the shared memory 55 may be regenerated in association with this. In the case of this example, for example, when the processing of the above step S15 is performed, when the data items 61 to 63 of the shared memory 55 have become corresponding to the switching target screen, it is only necessary to copy the material 74 to the data 64. You can do it (you don't need to copy other data items together).

The above description has been made on the case where there is a case where there is a screen switching instruction.

On the other hand, when there is no screen switching instruction (step S12, NO), based on the memory list 90 created in the above step S11, for each item on the screen currently displayed, The processing between steps S16 to S23 is repeated until step S23 becomes NO.

In the above-described step S16, the memory read command includes information on the allocated memory address caused by the device name 91 or the address 92 of the memory list 90. The connection machine 4 reads the data from the memory area represented by the memory address, and performs a response process for returning the read data. However, there will also be a pass. In the case of an error, in this case (YES in step S18), "error" is stored in the error information 65 of the coincidence record of the shared memory 55 (step S22), and the process proceeds to step S23.

When there is no communication error (step S18, NO) and the communication device 4 normally responds (step S17), the communication processing unit 54 reads the data contained in the response. The shared memory 55 overwrites the data stored in the record corresponding to the record of the processing target (step S19). However, the above-described record (referred to as a coincidence record) corresponding to the record of the processing target may be present in the communication memory 57 instead of the shared memory 55. In this case, the processing target is temporarily added to the memory list 90 by the processing of step S31 which will be described later.

For example, when the above-described step S19 is normally performed, it is determined in step S20 that there is no synthesis (step S20, NO), and the process proceeds to step S23. On the other hand, when the coincidence record does not exist in the shared memory 55, it is determined to be "synthesized" (step S20, YES), and the read data obtained by the above step S17 is stored. It is recorded in the recorded data 74 in the communication memory 57 (step S21). Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S23.

In addition, the process of step S11 is performed at the beginning of the process of FIG. 13 every time, but it is not limited to this example. This is because, as long as the content of the shared memory 55 has not changed (that is, as long as it has not been screen switched), The necessity of the memory list 90 is not made one by one. Of course, when the screen switching is performed, since the content of the shared memory 55 is changed to correspond to the switching target screen, it is necessary to perform the processing of step S11. In this case, for example, when the step S12 is YES, it is also possible to set a time point after the execution of the above-described various processes corresponding thereto, for example, immediately after the NO is reached in step S23. The processing of step S11 is carried out.

When there is an unprocessed record remaining in the memory list 90 (YES in step S23), the process returns to step S12, and if there is no unprocessed record (step S23, NO), in the prior art, In the present process, if there is an idle time (YES in step S24), the following data read processing associated with the switching candidate screen is executed.

First, initially, the memory list P2 is generated based on the communication memory 57 (step S26). Since the memory list P2 has the same data structure as the memory list 90 described above, the data items 91 to 94 shown in Fig. 11(a) are used here for explanation.

In this example, for example, each time the present process is performed, any one of the records in the memory list P2 is used as the processing target, and the data read-out processing is executed. In this regard, for example, an item that has not obtained data is treated as a priority. That is, when there is a case where the records of the memory list P2 are present in the data 93 and there is no record of the stored data (step S27, YES), this is taken as Process object records. When there is a case where there is a plural number of records of the unobtained data, for example, from the top, the processing is sequentially performed (in the order of registration) as the processing target (step S28).

On the other hand, when all the records of the memory list P2 are the acquired data (NO in step S27), the record of the oldest data is recorded as the processing target (step S29). In this regard, for example, it is determined that the data value of the update time 75 in each record of the communication memory 57 is the smallest, and the record corresponding to the memory list P2 of this record is recorded as the processing target.

Further, in the memory list P2, a data item in which the update time 75 is copied (an update time 95 not shown) may be set. In this case, the processing of step S29 is to record from the respective records of the memory list P2, and the data value of the update time 95 is the smallest, and is recorded as the processing target.

Further, the processing target record is subjected to the generation, transmission, and response of the memory read command in a slightly similar manner to the above-described steps S16 and S17 (steps S32 and S33). On the other hand, when there is no communication error (step S34, NO) and the response is normally received, the received data is overwritten in the data 74 of the matching record of the communication memory 57 (steps) S35). Further, at this time, the update time 75 is updated (for example, the elapsed time from the start of the time up to the current time point is stored). In addition, when there is a communication error (YES in step S34), it is set as unprocessed (step S36).

Alternatively, after determining the processing target record by the above step S28 or S29, it is determined whether the external memory access processing related to the processing target record and the external memory connected to the current display screen are determined. It is preferable that the access processing is synthesized (step S30). The specific example of this determination method has been described because it has been described here.

When it is determined that the combination is preferable (YES in step S30), the processing target record may be temporarily combined (added and stored) in the memory list 90 (step S31). In this case, the processing target record is deleted from the memory list P2.

The item to be subjected to the processing of the above-described step S31 is subjected to the advance reading processing of the material together with the data acquisition processing from the allocated memory area of the screen currently being displayed. Further, by the processing of the above-described step S21, the acquired data obtained by the preceding reading processing is overwritten with the data 74 stored in the matching record of the communication memory 57.

13 to FIG. 16 are shown as examples of processing corresponding to the selection method of the basicity in the selection method described in step S55 of FIG. 6 described above, and are not limited thereto. This example. Other selection methods described in step S55 may be added, but specific examples thereof are omitted here.

Fig. 17 is a flowchart showing the processing of the item processing unit 53.

As mentioned above, the processing of Figure 17 is in the project processing scheduling department. Under the management of 52, it is implemented cyclically.

In the processing example of FIG. 17, the item processing unit 53 first performs the initialization processing of the item list 56 (step S41). In this regard, for example, the completion processing flag 87 of all the records of the item list 56 is set to "unprocessed". Thereafter, the processing of steps S42 to S47 is repeatedly executed until step S47 described later becomes NO.

In other words, any record in the item list 56 and the flag 87 is "unprocessed" is recorded as a processing target, and the device name 84, address 85, etc. obtained by referring to the processing target record are obtained. (Step S42), the matching record of the shared memory 55 is searched for and the data is acquired (step S43). That is, for example, the device name 62 and the address 63 are the same records as the device name 84 and the address 85 described above, and are the above-described matching records. Thereafter, the matching recorded data 64 and the error information 65 are obtained as the memory information 100 (step S43).

In addition, the memory information 100 is formed by the data 101 and the error information 102 shown in FIG. 11(b), and these are the obtained data 64 and error information 65.

On the other hand, if the error information 102 is not "error" (NO in step S44), the normal item drawing processing (for example, using the data 101 and the information of the processing target (the image, the coordinates, the size, etc.) of the processing target is performed (for example, It is expanded on the RAM 13) (step S45). Thereafter, the completion processing flag 87 of the processing target record is set to flag ON (complete processing) (step S46).

On the other hand, when the error information 102 is "error" (YES in step S44), the processing of the above-described step S46 is directly executed without performing the processing of the above-described step S45.

Thereafter, when there is an unprocessed record remaining (YES in step S47), the process returns to step S42. If the processing is performed for all the records (step S47, NO), the processing ends.

The processing of the item processing unit 53 described above may be slightly the same as the prior art. Further, in the prior art, when there is no material 64 in the step S43, the determination in the step S44 is YES, so that the item drawing is not performed. Therefore, for example, when any data has not been stored in the shared memory 55 immediately after the screen switching, the processing of acquiring the data from the allocated memory area and storing it in the shared memory 55 is completed. , the system will not be painted. In other words, it is not necessary to display the screen of the switching target until the end of the above-described processing, and it takes time to switch between screens. In this method, it is possible to solve the problems of this prior art.

In Fig. 18, an example of the processing time of each processing unit is shown.

The item processing schedule unit 52 starts the item processing unit 53 cyclically (the item processing time of the current screen shown; the display loop) as described above, and executes the processing shown in Fig. 17, for example.

For example, basically, each communication processing unit 54 ends the processing of FIG. 17 at an arbitrary timing from the item processing unit 53. In the period from the start of the execution until the next processing of FIG. 17 is performed, the execution of the data acquisition processing (the next external memory access processing) related to the current display screen may be completed. In the prior art, since the setting is performed in such a manner that the processing of each communication processing unit 54 is performed with a margin, the possibility of occurrence of an idle time as shown in the figure is high.

In this manner, the communication processing unit 54 generates a predetermined communication process for each of the display cycles (for each of the items on the screen currently displayed, the allocated memory is obtained. The execution time and idle time of the area where the data is stored and memorized in the shared memory 55). Therefore, in this method, the idle time is used to perform the above-mentioned data read processing.

As described above, according to the programmable display 1 of this example, it is possible to quickly perform screen switching in the programmable display.

1‧‧‧Programmable display

41‧‧‧First Data Acquisition Department

42‧‧‧ Screen display

43‧‧‧Second Data Acquisition Department

44‧‧‧Screen Switching Processing Department

Claims (11)

A programmable display device comprising: a first data acquisition means for acquiring data from an external memory associated with each item on an on-screen display, and storing the acquired data in In the first internal memory; and the screen display means, based on the stored data of the first internal memory, the screen display/update associated with the screen displayed in the display; and the second data acquisition means are The external memory associated with each item on the screen acquires the data, and stores the acquired data in the second internal memory; and the screen switching processing means is to switch from any of the foregoing screens to the other screens. At the time of the instruction, the storage data of the second internal memory is used to switch to the other screens described above. The programmable display according to claim 1, wherein the screen switching processing means realizes the other by storing the stored data of the second internal memory in the first internal memory. Screen switching. The programmable display according to the second aspect of the invention, wherein the screen switching processing means performs screen switching by storing the stored data of the second internal memory in the first internal memory. At this time, even if the processing of the first data obtaining means is not performed, the screen display means connected to the other screen can be displayed by the screen display means. The programmable display according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, in the screen switching, when the items on the other screens are present, the data is not stored in the second internal memory. In the case of the item in the middle, the data acquisition by the first data acquisition means and the data storage of the first internal memory are performed for the item, thereby switching to the other screens. The programmable display according to the first aspect of the invention, wherein the data acquisition and storage processing by the first data acquisition means is performed preferentially, and the second data acquisition means is performed during the idle time. Data acquisition and storage processing. The programmable display according to the first or fifth aspect of the invention, wherein the second data acquisition means is configured to use a part of each of the other items on the other screen as the processing item Process object projects. The programmable display according to the sixth aspect of the invention, wherein the second data acquisition means selects an item whose data is not stored in the second internal memory, and preferentially selects the item to be processed. The programmable display according to claim 5, wherein when the data of all the items on the other screens are stored in the second internal memory, the item of the oldest data is given priority. Select the item to be processed as described above. The programmable display according to claim 1, wherein the other screen is capable of being any of the above displays. The screen of the switching target of the screen is 1 or more. The programmable display according to the first aspect of the invention, wherein the external memory is a memory provided in a connection device of any device connected to the programmable display, the first The internal memory and the second internal memory are memory devices provided in the programmable display. A program for causing a computer of a programmable display to function as a means for acquiring an external memory associated with each item on an arbitrary screen displayed on the display. Acquiring and storing the acquired data in the first internal memory; and displaying the screen based on the stored data of the first internal memory to display/update the screen associated with the display; and The second data acquisition means acquires data from external memory associated with each item on the other screen, and stores the acquired data in the second internal memory; and the screen switching processing means exists from the foregoing When any screen is switched to the switching instruction of the other screens described above, the storage data of the second internal memory is used to switch to the other screens.