Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B23—MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B23K—SOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; WELDING; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM
  • B23K9/00—Arc welding or cutting
  • B23K9/095—Monitoring or automatic control of welding parameters
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B23—MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B23K—SOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; WELDING; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM
  • B23K9/00—Arc welding or cutting
  • B23K9/095—Monitoring or automatic control of welding parameters
  • B23K9/0953—Monitoring or automatic control of welding parameters using computing means
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B23—MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B23K—SOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; WELDING; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM
  • B23K9/00—Arc welding or cutting
  • B23K9/10—Other electric circuits therefor; Protective circuits; Remote controls
  • B23K9/1006—Power supply
  • B23K9/1043—Power supply characterised by the electric circuit
  • B23K9/1056—Power supply characterised by the electric circuit by using digital means
  • B23K9/1062—Power supply characterised by the electric circuit by using digital means with computing means
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B23—MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B23K—SOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; WELDING; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM
  • B23K9/00—Arc welding or cutting
  • B23K9/10—Other electric circuits therefor; Protective circuits; Remote controls
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
  • G05B—CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS
  • G05B19/00—Programme-control systems
  • G05B19/02—Programme-control systems electric
  • G05B19/18—Numerical control [NC], i.e. automatically operating machines, in particular machine tools, e.g. in a manufacturing environment, so as to execute positioning, movement or co-ordinated operations by means of programme data in numerical form
  • G05B19/409—Numerical control [NC], i.e. automatically operating machines, in particular machine tools, e.g. in a manufacturing environment, so as to execute positioning, movement or co-ordinated operations by means of programme data in numerical form characterised by using manual data input [MDI] or by using control panel, e.g. controlling functions with the panel; characterised by control panel details or by setting parameters
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
  • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
  • G06F3/00—Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
  • G06F3/01—Input arrangements or combined input and output arrangements for interaction between user and computer
  • G06F3/02—Input arrangements using manually operated switches, e.g. using keyboards or dials
  • G06F3/023—Arrangements for converting discrete items of information into a coded form, e.g. arrangements for interpreting keyboard generated codes as alphanumeric codes, operand codes or instruction codes
  • G06F3/0233—Character input methods
  • G06F3/0236—Character input methods using selection techniques to select from displayed items
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
  • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
  • G06F3/00—Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
  • G06F3/01—Input arrangements or combined input and output arrangements for interaction between user and computer
  • G06F3/03—Arrangements for converting the position or the displacement of a member into a coded form
  • G06F3/033—Pointing devices displaced or positioned by the user, e.g. mice, trackballs, pens or joysticks; Accessories therefor
  • G06F3/0362—Pointing devices displaced or positioned by the user, e.g. mice, trackballs, pens or joysticks; Accessories therefor with detection of 1D translations or rotations of an operating part of the device, e.g. scroll wheels, sliders, knobs, rollers or belts
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
  • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
  • G06F3/00—Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
  • G06F3/01—Input arrangements or combined input and output arrangements for interaction between user and computer
  • G06F3/048—Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI]
  • G06F3/0484—Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI] for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
  • G06F3/04847—Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials

Definitions

• the present invention relates to welding devices and especially to a control unit and a method for controlling operations of a welding device, as defined in the preambles of the independent claims.
• control refers generally to actions with which one exercises authoritative or dominating influence over a controlled object.
• control over entities or processes is typically performed with a control unit, a system with which a set of variable quantities may be held constant or caused to vary in a prescribed way.
• Welding refers here to a coalescence process in which materials are melted to form a weld pool that cools to become a strong joint.
• a welding device represents here a system with elements capable of providing materials and physical conditions with which coalescence of desired materials is achieved.
• Welds are often used in critical parts of industrial systems, like in pressure vessels and ships, and therefore requirements for the quality and strength of the weld are typically very high.
• some simple welding tasks can be modeled and designed accurately repeatable so that they can be performed automatically by industrial robots.
• Focus of this invention is in control units that provide a user interface with which a person can control operations of a welding device.
• Welders today are provided with a plurality of different welding processes and ranges of devices with different capabilities to perform and control these processes.
• a single industrial welding device may thus include numerous welding processes, and provide a plurality of parameters to control features of them.
• the problem with these devices is that when the aim is towards greatest versatility, the crucial role of the welder person and his focused concentration is easily overlooked.
• the user interface of a conventional control unit of a welding device includes typically a complex menu structure through which the welder is expected to navigate with a normal keyboard and/or a touch screen.
• the menu structure display provides a variety of different types of display objects, all available for activation.
• the keyboard is, however, seldom operable with a gloved hand, and it is also difficult to work on minuscule icons of a touch screen with gloved hands.
• the welder is hardly willing to familiarize oneself with complex menu structures and their adjustment options, and spend working time by roaming between them.
• the focus of a welder is and always remains in the accurate and demanding welding task at hand.
• the control operations must be an easy and natural part of welding work, not a distraction from it.
• the object of the present invention is to provide a solution with which a welder can in a straightforward manner control operations of a welding device in various welding conditions and with minimal diversion from the actual welding work.
• the objects of the present invention are achieved with a method, a control unit and a computer program according to the characterizing portions of the independent claims.
• the present invention applies a menu structure with two hierarchic levels, where the higher level includes an array of operative variables of the welding device and the lower level the values to be assigned for them. Selection of items in at least one of the two levels is facilitated by detecting a rotary movement, made with a hand of a user.
• the two levels provide to the user a flattened menu structure, which is clear and concise and therefore very easy for the welder to comprehend and use.
• the number of items in a level of the new menu structure may be sizeable, but said use of rotary movements for selection allows quick and efficient scrolling through numerous menu items. The user may thus operate the welding device with a simple and straightforward selection process. Further advantages of the invention are discussed in more detail with description of embodiments of the invention.
• Figure 2 illustrates a configuration of an exemplary control unit apparatus
• Figure 3 illustrates rotary movement of a hand of a person
• Figure 4 illustrates a side view of detection means applicable for indirect detection in the control unit
• Figure 5 illustrates a simplified hierarchical structure of a two-level menu applicable in a control unit
• Figure 6 illustrates an exemplary display configuration and use of rotary movements that can be applied with the hierarchic structure of Figure 5;
• Figure 7 illustrates a rotary knob suspended to the control unit to be moved in the direction of its rotary axis
• Figure 8 illustrates a further advantage achievable with the proposed use of two rotary movements
• Figure 9 illustrates en embodiment for inputting character strings
• Figure 10 shows an example of a display object for an exemplary menu item of Figure 6;
• Figure 11 discloses steps of an embodiment of a method performed in the control unit of Figure 1;
• Figure 12 discloses further steps for an embodiment of a method performed in the control unit of Figure 1;
• Figures 13A and 13B illustrate display of an exemplary user interface of the control unit.
• FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a welding device 10 that includes a welding control unit 11 according to the present invention.
• the welding device comprises one or more functional elements 12, 13, 14, 15 configured to provide materials and physical conditions to achieve a specified coalescence of desired metal materials.
• the welding device is exemplified herein by means of a gas metal arc welding device, in which an electric arc forms between a consumable wire electrode and workpiece metal material, causing them to melt and join.
• the wire electrode may be supplied to the process through a welding gun 12 that is connected to a wire feeding unit 13, a power supply 14, and a shielding gas supply 15.
• the wire feeding unit 13 may be a functional unit that feeds electrode wire to the welding gun during welding.
• the power supply 14 may be a functional unit that feeds electric power to the tip of the wire electrode to generate an electric field for the arc.
• the shielding gas supply 15 may be a functional unit that feeds a flow of shielding gas through the welding gun.
• the shielding gas may protect the welding area from atmospheric gases that easily compromise the weld if they come in contact with the electrode, the arc or the welding metal.
• the welding gun 12 may provide means, typically a switch, with which a welder can activate the wire feed, the electric power and the shielding gas flow, and thereby cause an electric arc to strike. It is noted, that these are exemplary functional units; in other welding processes, different types of functional units may be applied. Operations of the functional units 12, 13, 14, 15 may be varied in many ways. In order to provide desired materials and physical conditions for the welding process, each of the functional unit comprises one or more functions, and at least some of these functions vary according to an operative variable.
• the wire feeding unit 13 may apply different wire types and wire may be fed to the welding gun with varying speed.
• the type of current (AC/DC) and level of current output from the power supply 14 may be varied, as well as composition or level of flow of gases from the shielding gas supply 15.
• the welding machine comprises a control unit 11.
• the welding device 10 and the control unit 11 of figure 1 are operationally connected.
• the control unit 11 can output control data to one or more functional units of the welding device 10, and the functional units are responsive to the control data from the control unit 11.
• Advantageously communications between the control unit and the functional units flow in both ways, for example, control commands to the functional units from the control unit and status data from the functional units to the control unit.
• a functional unit is configured to operate its functions with a set of preset or input operative variables.
• the functional unit In response to reception of control data from the control unit, the functional unit is configured to check whether one or more values of its operative variables need to be changed, and implement a change in its operations, if necessary.
• the control data may include explicit operative variable values to be applied by the functional unit.
• the functional unit may also comprise one or more internal adjustment routines that run during operation and independently change values of the operative variables in the functional unit.
• the control data may thus include implicit operative variable values, for example threshold values that define a range within which the functional unit may operate independently.
• Hardware configuration of the operational connection may be varied in many ways.
• the control unit may be integrated into the welding device, or the control unit may be a separate physical element that includes one or more device or communication interfaces to the welding device.
• One or more control unit may connect to a welding device.
• Near Field Communication (NFC) can be used to establish a connection between a control unit and a welding device using a secondary bearer technology.
• NFC Near Field Communication
• the control unit 11 comprises also user interface, by means of which the welder can give commands and receive visual indication to manage the operations of the welding device.
• the user interface may be a local interface available only to a person with physical access to the control unit.
• the user interface may also provide a networked user interface by means of which an operator may remotely adjust operative variables of the welding device.
• a local unit may be a personal device, reserved only to use by one person, or access to a local control unit may be limited to a group of authorized users with a specific login procedure. Near Field Communication can be used as a part of such login procedure, as well.
• a personal piece of equipment of the welder like the helmet, may be equipped to include a NFC tag. When the welder wishes to take a local control unit into use, he may bring the helmet to the range of a corresponding NFC reader unit in the control unit for identification.
• Embodiments of the present invention include a computer apparatus, applicable as a control unit 11 of Figure 1.
• Figure 2 shows a block diagram that illustrates a configuration of an exemplary apparatus for the purpose.
• the apparatus comprises a processor unit 20 for performing systematic execution of operations upon predefined data.
• the processor unit 20 is an element that essentially comprises one or more arithmetic logic units, a number of special registers and control circuits.
• Memory unit 21 provides a data medium where computer-readable data or programs, or user data can be stored.
• the memory unit is connected to the processor unit 20.
• the memory unit 21 typically comprises volatile or non-volatile memory, for example EEPROM, ROM, PROM, RAM, DRAM, SRAM, firmware, programmable logic, etc.
• the apparatus also comprises an interface unit 22 with at least one input unit for inputting data to the internal processes of the apparatus and at least one output unit for outputting data from the internal processes of the apparatus.
• the interface unit 22 typically comprises plug-in units acting as a gateway for information delivered to its external connection points and/or for information fed to the lines connected to its external connection points.
• the interface unit 22 typically comprises a radio transceiver unit, which includes a transmitter and a receiver, and is also electrically connected to the processing unit 20.
• a transmitter of the interface unit 22 receives a bitstream from the processing unit 20, and converts it to a radio signal for transmission.
• the interface unit 22 converts received signals into a bitstream that is forwarded for further processing to the processing unit 20.
• Different line, network and radio interfaces well known to a person skilled in the art, may be applied in the interface unit.
• the interface unit 22 of the apparatus may also comprise a user interface with a keypad, a touch screen, a microphone, or equal input devices for inputting information from a user and a screen, a touch screen, a loudspeaker, or equal output devices for outputting data to the user. Configuration of the user interface will be discussed in more detail later in this document.
• the processor unit 20, the memory unit 21, and the interface unit 22 are electrically interconnected to provide means for performing systematic execution of operations on the received and/or stored data according to predefined, essentially programmed processes of the apparatus. These operations comprise the procedures of the control unit of the welding device described herein.
• various embodiments of the apparatus may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. Some functions may be implemented in hardware, while some other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software, which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device.
• Software routines which are also called as program products, are articles of manufacture and can be stored in any apparatus-readable data storage medium and they include program instructions to perform particular predefined tasks.
• the exemplary embodiments of this invention also provide a computer program, readable by a computer and encoding instructions for executing a control method in an apparatus of Figure 2.
• the user interface of the control unit is based on detecting rotary movements of a hand of a person.
• a rotary movement refers here to a movement that turns around an axis of rotation.
• Figure 3 shows a rotary movement 30 in the plane of the sheet or display around an axis of rotation 31 with non-zero radius R. It is noted that in the two-dimensional drawing, the rotation axis shows as a turning point.
• the control unit 11 of Figures 1 and 2 is configured to detect a rotary movement that a person makes with his or her hand, and translate this movement into explicit or implicit operative variable values for delivery to specific functional units of the welding machine.
• the rotary movement of the hand of a person may be detected in various ways.
• direct detection a signal representing the movement of the hand is generated by detecting the hand itself.
• Rotary movement of the fingers of the hand may be detected, for example, resistively, capacitively or with surface acoustic waves on a touch screen. Movement of the hand may alternatively be detected with a camera and optical detection algorithms from video image screening the hand of the user. It is also possible to detect movement of the hand with microelectromechanical sensors that are attached to the hand or a glove in which the hand is.
• indirect detection a signal representing the movement of the hand is generated by detecting movement of an object rotated by the hand.
• Figure 4 illustrates a side view of simplified detection means 40 applicable for indirect detection in the control unit.
• the detection means 40 may comprise a manual grip element 41, for example a circular knob, fixed coaxially to one end of a bar 42.
• the bar 42 may be secured with fixing elements 43 to the control unit in such a manner that the bar 42 cannot move linearly in relation to the control unit, only rotate around its elongated axial dimension.
• In the other end of the bar 42 may be fixed an indicator 44 that moves with the rotary movement of the bar.
• the indicator 44 interacts along the movement with a transducer 45, and thereby generates an electrical response SI that corresponds to the rotary movement of the knob 41.
• the detection means 40 may comprise a closed loop structure 41, for example a circular or angular knob, and a touch screen.
• the loop may be designed to generate an indication that may be detected resistively, capacitively or with surface acoustic waves on a touch screen when the loop is rotated on it.
• the circular knob may be a dual-mode object that can be detachably connected to the rotatable bar for interaction with the indicator and released from the bar for interaction with the touch screen.
• display objects are advantageously formatted such that the adjusted values remain visible to the user during the rotary movement.
• the closed loop structure and the adjusted value may be arranged to be mutually compatible so that the adjusted value is visible within the loop when the loop structure is on the touch screen.
• the fingers of the user may remain in the outer surface of the loop and surround the visible area when the welder rotates the loop.
• Various direct and indirect means for detecting rotary movement of a hand of a person are, as such, known to a person skilled in the art of control apparatuses. For conciseness, implementations of such means are not described in more detail in this document
• Advanced technical devices typically include a number of functional elements, each with a range of functions operating according to one or more operative variables. Control of these devices is conventionally performed through a treelike menu structure that begins from a main page and advances through level- specific selection steps towards a n th sub-level where the controlled operative variable is finally available for adjustment.
• These tree-like menu structures allow variability and freedom to user selection, but for focused and demanding industrial environment their displays are not optimal; they are considered much too complicated and extensive. For example, in welding devices the conventional user interfaces require far too much navigation before one actually finds a correct branch, and in there a level in which one can select a value for a specific parameter.
• Such navigation between levels and finding the point of adjustment from the plurality of different category levels is in most cases not possible without advanced knowledge of the whole system. Navigation also requires dedicated concentration to the control operations.
• a new type of user interface configuration is suggested.
• the adjusted options are structured into two levels, and the user of the control unit is provided with means to input rotary movements of his or her hand. At least one of the levels is associated with a corresponding rotary movement.
• the minimum amount of levels of hierarchy is two, because there must be one level for selecting an adjusted operative variable and one level for selecting the value for the operative variable.
• the optimal amount of levels is two, because the use of the rotary movement allows quick and efficient scrolling through a large number of menu items. In most cases all or nearly all functions that need to be adjusted in a welding device can, without compromising operative versatility of the device, be included in one level of selection. More than two hierarchic levels may, however, be included in the menu structure, without deviating from the scope of protection.
• the first menu level Nl may include a first array A of menu items in,, each of which corresponds to one operative variable of the welding machine.
• the first menu level Nl is associated with a rotary movement Rl.
• the second menu level N2 may then include arrays a, of menu items, each array a, of N2 being associated with a menu item m, of the first menu level Nl.
• Menu items of the first menu level Nl and menu items of the second menu level N2 are arranged into two selection windows wherein one selection window at a time may be active for selection.
• Each menu item is represented in the selection window by a display object.
• a selection window thus represents herein a block of display objects, which block may be displayed as one entity in a visual display device (e.g. a display screen). The user may visually scroll through data displayed in the selection window without making a selection, and menu items in the scrolled selection window are parallelly available for selection. Selection of a menu item in the selection window triggers a transition from one selection window to another selection window. Accordingly, for selection of a menu item m, in the first menu level Nl, a first selection window may be activated and displayed to the user.
• a second selection window may be activated and displayed to the user.
• menu items v of an array a may include many types of data elements, for example, images, characters, or values that can be given to the operative variable of the menu item m,.
• the values may be Boolean values, or numeral values within a predefined range and a predefined increment between successive values.
• the increments are small (tenth or more of the maximum value of the range) to give a user feeling of stepless control. This increases the number of menu items in an array, but this does not matter, because scrolling even through a larger group of menu values is quick and easy with the rotary control movement.
• the second menu level N2 is associated with a rotary movement R2.
• Figure 6 illustrates an exemplary display configuration and use of two separate rotary movements that can be applied with the hierarchic structure of Figure 5.
• the first selection window for the first array A of menu items of level Nl may be shown in the display 60 as a list of separate display objects.
• a display object 61 may include text, an image, an icon, or some other visual expression that identifies the controlled operative variable to the user.
• the display objects comprise texts listed to represent menu items m i to m 5 above.
• the display objects may be arranged in an order of succession such that one direction is intuitively associated as a forward direction F and the other direction as a backward direction B.
• display objects are arranged into a columns, and forward direction F corresponds to moving from an upper display object to a lower display object (downwards) in the screen, and backward direction B in the same manner to moving from a lower display object to an upper display object (upwards) in the screen.
• An alternative intuitive order of directions may be applied, for example, with display objects arranged into a consecutive row, wherein forward direction F corresponds to moving from one display object to a sequential display object (from left to right), and backward direction B to moving from one display object to a preceding display object (from right to left) in the screen.
• forward direction F corresponds to moving from one display object to a sequential display object (from left to right)
• backward direction B to moving from one display object to a preceding display object (from right to left) in the screen.
• an active selection window one display object may be shown in an emphasized manner.
• the first array A of menu items of the first level Nl is shown displayed in the screen as a first selection window with a continuous scrollable list of display objects. Emphasis may be displayed, for example, with highlight, changed font color, animated movement of the object, or the like. As long as a display object of a menu item corresponding to an operational variable is being selected, the selection may be changed by means of the rotary movement of Rl. As shown in Figure 6, rotary movement of Rl in the clockwise direction typically associates with scrolling the display objects to forward direction, and rotary movement in the counterclockwise direction associates with scrolling the display objects to backward direction.
• the arrays a, of menu items of level N2 may also be displayed as a continuous list of display objects. However, when the subordinate level is reserved for values of operative variable, the amount of possible values may easily be considerable, and some other display format may be better.
• the scroll element may include a value for selection, and this value can be increased by rotating R2 to the clockwise direction and decreased by rotating R2 to the counterclockwise direction without actually making the selection.
• Selection of the provisionally chosen emphasized value triggers a transition from the second selection window of level N2.
• the control operations may be further simplified by arranging the rotary movements Rl, R2 to be mutually interactive. While at any time only one selection window is active, also one of the rotary movements Rl, R2 may be active at a time.
• a transition from one rotary movement to another rotary movement may be directly interpreted to confirm selection in the transited level.
• the control unit may comprise two separate physical elements for the rotary movement. Let us assume that they are, for example, two rotary knobs 63, 64 positioned to the immediate vicinity of the screen, side by side under the lower edge of the screen such that their order can be associated with horizontal direction in the screen.
• the first knob 63 thus naturally associates with display objects in the left side of the screen and the second knob 64 with display objects in the right side of the screen.
• Operative variable to be adjusted may thus be scanned by rotating the first knob 63 and highlighting moves quickly in the string of display objects according to the movement of the welder's hand.
• the welder may be allowed to directly begin to move the second knob 64 and the selection of a menu item that corresponds to the highlighted display object is automatically confirmed in level Nl.
• the value of the operative variable of level N2 may then be quickly increased and decreased by rotating the second knob 64. Transition from detection of one rotary movement to detection of another rotary movement thus happens in response to a change of a moved physical object 63, 64.
• One or more of the physical objects 63, 64 may be adapted to provide an additional indication when they are available for selection.
• a physical knob may include a light emitting diode (LED) that is adapted to be on, or blink, when a selection is available. A similar effect may be implemented in a touch screen.
• LED light emitting diode
• the control unit may, however, comprise also an input element 65 which the user can move to indicate and confirm selection of display objects emphasized with the rotary movements.
• such input element is represented by a manual push button 65 integrated to the second rotary knob 64.
• the input element is, however, not necessarily part of an element used for detecting the rotary movement, and can be implemented in many ways.
• the input element may be a separate manual button in the body of the control unit, or a separate soft button in a touch screen.
• a conventional complex menu structure can be flattened to a simple two-level configuration.
• the control operations can be made with minimal or even without any explicit selection indications.
• the welder at work is thus provided with a simple route to the adjusted parameters; one does not have to click through a number of hierarchic levels and items to adjust one specific value in the welding process. Neither is it necessary to navigate back and forth through several and varying hierarchic levels to adjust several related features.
• the whole set of operative variables become readily available after selection of a value for one operative variable.
• control unit may comprise one physical element to input two separate rotary movements and to provide an explicit indication that separates the rotary movements from each other.
• the indication marks transition from one rotary movement to the other.
• Figure 7 illustrates such configuration with an example.
• the rotary knob 70 is again fixed to the control unit to rotate in Rl and R2 directions.
• the knob is also suspended to the control unit such that the knob may also be moved linearly up and down L1/L2 in the direction of its rotary axis (perpendicular to the sheet in Figure 7).
• the linear movement L1/L2 back and forth may be detected separate from the rotary movement and interpreted by the control unit as an indication of transition from one rotary movement to another.
• the suspension may be configured in a conventional manner to provide a tactile response such that pushing of the rotary knob corresponds to clicking of a computer mouse.
• the knob 70 may be positioned under the lower edge of the screen. Operative variable to be adjusted may thus be scanned first by rotating the knob 70 and, as in figure 6, highlighting moves quickly in the list of display objects according to the movement of the welder's hand. When the desired variable has been found, the welder may push to knob 70 and thereby select a menu item that corresponds to the highlighted display object in level Nl. At the same time, a menu item array that corresponds to the selected menu item is made active and value of the operative variable of level N2 may now be quickly increased and decreased by rotating the knob 70. In this embodiment, both rotary movements and the indication of transition between them are provided with the same knob 70, but the knob provides an additional movement for a separate and explicit indication for transition between the rotary movements.
• Emphasis in a selection window of one level may be arranged to be responsive to a non-rotary movement.
• the menu items of level Nl may be displayed in the first selection window with a group of display objects, available for selection in a touch screen.
• the display object at the touching point may be emphasized.
• the menu item corresponding to the emphasized display object of level Nl may become selected.
• Emphasis of the display object of level N2 is moved according to the detected rotary movement.
• Selection of the menu item corresponding to the emphasized display object of level N2 may be confirmed in another way, for example moving the fingers or the closed loop structure to another display object of the first selection window.
• an explicit indication may be provided, for example, by tapping the touch screen in the end of the rotary movement.
• Figure 8 illustrates a further advantage achievable with the proposed use of two rotary movements.
• control operations are often interrupted or disturbed, and unintentional inputs are activated and returning back to the initial point is typically very complicated. In practice, welders therefore tend to avoid advanced control operations, or they are even categorically forbidden to do them by the management.
• elements previously shown in Figure 6 are applied.
• the control unit may be further configured to store information on at least latest selected menu items.
• the control unit may be configured to display the display object of the earlier selected menu item of the second level N2 in the screen, for example as long as the new selection is made. In Figure 8, this is shown in the context of the earlier exemplary operative variable m 4 . After scrolling to m 4 with Rl, the corresponding subordinate array including the possible values for the maximum voltage becomes active and the user may directly begin to adjust the value for the maximum voltage with R2.
• the earlier selected maximum value 80 may be stored and shown in the display.
• the welder does not have to be overly concerned about errors when seeking the new value.
• Ease of adjustment may be further improved by showing the provisionally chosen value in comparison with the earlier selected value.
• the new value 81 is shown as a numeral in the scrolling screen, and also as a horizontal bar that lengthens and shortens according to the rotary movement of R2.
• the size of the new value is immediately comparable to the old value and return to the old value is very easy. Adjustment is thus more convenient, and not as easily disrupted by interrupts and disturbances of the challenging work conditions.
• menu items in both levels have included predefined elements of the user interface.
• the proposed configuration may be used for user input of character strings.
• any keyboard, tactile or one provided with a touch screen is too small and sensitive to be conveniently operated in industrial environments and gloved hands.
• Figure 9 illustrates en embodiment with exemplary structures, previously described with Figures 6 and 7. Let us assume the operational variable m, to be set with the control unit is now the username of the welder. The operative variable m, "username" may be selected from menu items of the first array A of the first level Nl with the first rotary movement Rl. The second level N2 array may include characters used in the system for usernames.
• a username comprises more than one values (characters), so the user interface preferably comprises an intermediate indication for confirming selection of a character, and an end of selection indication confirming termination of a selection chain and triggering generation of the control signal.
• the character emphasized with R2 is added to an intermediate selection, but the selection in the second level N2 is continued until the end of the selection indication.
• the indications may be given with separate input elements, but they can also be given with one input element.
• the control unit may be configured to interpret one push (click) of a knob as an intermediate indication and a double-click as an end of the selection indication.
• one menu item may be considered to be a value formed of a group of sub-values.
• the character string array in the second level N2 becomes active, only one sub-value at a time is active for selection. This may be shown with a visual effect in the display.
• Figure 9 illustrates such arrangement with an example, where a sub-value 90 active for input is shown as highlighted and the array 91 of characters available for selection for it is shown as a curvilinear band.
• the curvilinear form corresponds to the circular form of the rotary movement R2 used in the selection of the character.
• the curvilinear form again improves the user-friendliness of the interface by associating the actual movement of the hand with the display object shown in the screen.
• control unit may include the selected sub-value into the menu item and activate a subsequent sub-value for selection.
• the whole character string has been input, an end of the selection chain indication may be detected and the character string stored as the value for the menu item nrij "username".
• Figure 10 shows an example of a display object for an exemplary menu item of the second level N2 of Figure 6.
• Values of the second level N2 array may be shown in a scale 100 that turns in respect to a fixed point 101 along the rotary movement R2 102. This enhances the ease and accuracy of the adjustment with the rotary movement.
• the screen and the manual knob of R2 may be positioned in physical contact, or even made to overlap in the control unit.
• the display of the screen may then be programmed to provide display objects that visually integrate to the manual rotating object.
• the display object may alternatively be used to provide a fixed scale in which a fixed symbol moves along the rotary movement R2.
• the physical object may include a protrusion, and the position of the symbol of the display object in the touch screen may be arranged to correspond with the position of the physical object.
• control unit is configured to comprise two or more robustly formed input elements, for example manual buttons or soft buttons in a touch screen, with which the user may activate one two-level menu structure at a time.
• the essential aspect is, however, that selections in an active two-level menu structure are made as a combination of two rotary movements, one for an operational variable to be adjusted and one for values of the operational variable.
• Figure 11 discloses steps of an embodiment of a method performed in the control unit of Figure 1. Further details on the terms and expressions may thus be referred from description of any of the earlier Figures 1 to 9.
• the control unit is initialized (stage 110) to store a first array A of menu items mi for selections in a first menu level Nl.
• a menu item of the array A corresponds to an operational variable adjustable in the functional units of the welding device of Figure 1.
• the control unit is also initialized (stage 111) to store a group of second arrays a, for selections in a second menu level N2. Each of the second arrays a, corresponds to one menu item m, of the first array A.
• the control unit is also initialized to store a first selection window including display objects dl of menu items of the first array, and a second selection window including display objects d2 of menu items of a second array (stage 112).
• one of the first selection window and the second selection window wl/w2 (stage 113) is activated in a display unit, one menu item m(wl/w2) of the active selection window is emphasized (stage 114) and the control unit is standby to detect a rotary movement.
• the control unit detects (stage 115) a rotary movement R, it moves (stage 116) emphasis in the activated selection window in response to the detected rotary movement.
• the control unit detects (stage 117) selection of the emphasized display object dl or d2, it conveys the selection to (stage 118) a menu item m v ⁇ that corresponds to the selected display object, and activates (stage 119) the other selection window.
• Figure 12 discloses further steps for an embodiment of a method performed in the control unit of Figure 1. Further details on the terms and expressions may thus be referred from description of any of the earlier Figures 1 to 9. Stages 113 to 119 may correspond with the similarly denoted stages of Figure 11.
• information on the selected menu items m/Vjj may be stored (stage 120).
• the stored information on the selected menu items may be combined with further information maintained in the control unit or accessible to it (for example, time, date, location etc.) to compute (stage 121) statistical data STAT(mi/Vij) on the ongoing welding operation. This statistical data may be displayed (stage 122) to the welder in the control unit screen.
• the statistical data may be also, or alternatively, sent to a remote node for storing and further statistical analysis applying information from one or more welders.
• Embodiments and aspects described with Figure 3 to 10 are directly applicable by a person skilled in the art to the control unit of Figure 2, the welding device of Figure 1 and the method of Figure 11. While various aspects of the invention have been illustrated and described as block diagrams, message flow diagrams, flow charts and logic flow diagrams, or using some other pictorial representation, it is well understood that the illustrated units, blocks, device, system elements, procedures and methods may be implemented in, for example, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, a computing device or some combination thereof.
• a welder may have a preliminary understanding of a good combination of values applicable for different purposes. Such combinations may be based on welder's own experience or they may be provided to the welder in a memory channel through the user interface.
• the memory channel may include a group of pre-adjusted value sets that the user can take into use by changing into memory channel state and activating a corresponding memory channel.
• Figures 13A and 13B illustrate display of an exemplary user interface for providing a main view ( Figure 13A) and a memory channel view ( Figure 13b).
• a control unit may be configured to comprise two or more additional input elements, for example manual buttons or soft buttons in a touch screen, with which the user may to and/or from a two-level menu structure to another selection activity.
• Figures 13A and 13 B show an example where the user interface includes three views, a main view, a settings view and a memory view.
• the main view is a basic view that shows value settings presently in use; the settings view activates a two-level menu structure, and the memory view activates a menu structure for use of memory channels.
• the user interface may include one or more channel state activation elements.
• a first push button 130 is for activation of the settings view
• the second push button 131 for activation of the memory view.
• the display includes a list of memory channels that the user may activate.
• the memory view may be a simple one-dimensional, list or include a menu structure of two or more levels.
• the example of Figure 13B illustrates a three-level menu structure.
• the first level may comprise menu items for selection of a memory channel. As shown, selected details of the adjusted values of the memory channel may be provided with the channel number in the display. Part of the operative variables of the channel may be fixed and part of the operative variables may be adjustable.
• the second level may comprise adjustable operative variables, and the third level may comprise values for the adjustable operative variables.
• the user may make adjustments to the adjustable operative variables by means of rotary movements, as described in detail above. After the selection, the user interface may return to display the main view.
• the number 132 of the memory channel in use is advantageously displayed in the main view.
• the control unit may be configured to display the display object of an earlier selected menu item in the screen, and ease of adjustment may be further improved by showing the provisionally chosen value in comparison with the earlier selected value.
• ranges of values for operative variables are shown with two arcs 133, 134. In each of the arcs, the present value is shown as fill color, and pre-adjusted values of the memory channel are shown with pointer marks 135 pointing to corresponding value points in the arcs.
• the channel number 132 may be shown in normal upright vertical orientation, if no changes to the pre-adjusted memory channel values have been made, and in tilted orientation if the pre-adjusted memory channel values have been in the memory view.

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• 2013
  • 2013-01-29 FI FI20135082A patent/FI124470B/en active IP Right Grant
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