JPH06259047A - Display controller - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Object] The present invention relates to a display control device for displaying data generated by a plurality of control devices on a common display unit, and preferentially displays data of high importance to reduce the amount of information. The purpose is to make the display unit common. [Structure] The NR 21 supplies the display control device 10 with information on the tightening quality of bolts by the equipment 20. The PC 22 controls the operation of the equipment 20 and supplies information on the operation status to the display control device 10. The priority determination device 12 determines whether to display the content emitted by the PC 22 or the content emitted by the NR 21, and prioritizes the content of the PC 22 when the signal from the PC 22 is an abnormality detection signal. The data converter 11 is NR
Both the signal emitted by 21 and the signal emitted by the PC 22 are converted into signals of common standard.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a display control device, and more particularly to a display control device for automatically selecting the most important data from the data generated by a plurality of control devices and displaying it on a common display unit.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In constructing a production line in which a plurality of equipments each equipped with one or more control devices are arranged, various types of control devices have been used in order to handle the plurality of control devices easily and highly efficiently. Has been made.

For example, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 4-28944 discloses
Flexible Manufacturing System (FMS)
It discloses a device capable of executing a setup instruction of a plurality of facilities constituting the above with one terminal. This device connects a plurality of control devices to one terminal through a selector switch, and a host computer (FMS computer)
When an instruction is issued from each equipment to change the processing conditions, the selector switch is switched to perform the setup in order.

According to this apparatus, unlike general FMS, desired processing conditions can be set at any time according to the instruction of the FMS computer without installing a terminal for each facility. Therefore, according to the apparatus described in the above publication, high-mix low-volume production can be realized with high efficiency, and the laying cost of the entire production line can be reduced.

[0005]

On the other hand, a mechanism for displaying information for each facility and each control device is generally provided for each individual facility or control device. It is necessary to install these display devices in each facility, etc., to check the condition of each facility such as whether there is no abnormality in each facility or whether the processing accuracy in the process has passed the standard. I want to know more.

That is, in the device described in the above publication, information is sent from the terminal to each facility, and the information does not have to be constantly sent. On the other hand, in general, the display device provided in each facility must be provided with information on the facility in real time so that an operator can immediately detect any abnormality or the like. For this reason, conventionally, no device has been proposed for displaying the states of a plurality of facilities or the like on a common display unit.

However, the display by the display device installed for each facility is not always displayed with a certain degree of importance. That is, as long as the equipment is operating normally, the display content has almost no information value as long as the equipment is operating normally, and the operator does not pay attention to the display content. Further, in the device for displaying the product quality on the production line, it is less necessary for the operator to pay attention to the displayed contents unless the product has a defect.

That is, such a display device is required to display data relating to an abnormality, a location where the defect occurs, a cause of occurrence, etc., when an abnormality occurs in the equipment or a defect occurs in the product. Therefore, it is not required to constantly display the status of all equipment and control devices.

Therefore, if only important data can be selected and displayed from the data indicating the respective states of a plurality of equipments and control devices, the same number of display devices as the number of equipments and control devices is installed. There is no need to do so, and the laying cost of the production line can be reduced.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and converts the data representing the state of a plurality of equipment into a signal of a common standard and determines the importance of each data, and the importance is high. It is an object of the present invention to provide a display control device that enables a common display unit by displaying data preferentially.

[0011]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the principle of a display control device that achieves the above object.

In FIG. 1, the priority determination means 1 determines the priority of data issued by a plurality of control devices 2 and gives an instruction of data to be displayed according to the priority. The data conversion means 3 converts the data emitted by the plurality of control devices 2 into display data of a common standard. Display data supply means 4
Is the display data instructed by the priority determination means 1 and converted into a predetermined standard by the data conversion means 3,
Supply to the display unit 5.

[0013]

In the display control device according to the present invention,
The priority determination means 1 monitors the data supplied from the plurality of control devices 2 and determines the importance of each data by setting the data representing the abnormality of the control device 2 as the high importance. Then, the data of high importance is designated as the data to be displayed.

Further, since the data emitted from the plurality of control means 2 are converted into the common standard by the data conversion means 3, it is possible to display them on the common display unit 5. Therefore, when an abnormality or the like occurs in any of the control devices 2, the display unit displays data representing the state.

[0015]

2 is a block diagram of a display system constructed by using a display control device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the drawing, the display control device 10 is connected to a display data output device (NR) 21 of a facility 20 having a nut runner known as a device for tightening a plurality of bolts and nuts.

In this case, the NR 21 supplies the display control device 10 with data representing the tightening condition of the bolts and nuts tightened by the equipment 20. That is, for example, when the bolts and nuts to be tightened are all tightened in accordance with the standard, data indicating OK is displayed, and when a tightening failure occurs, data indicating an abnormal portion is displayed.
To be sent to.

A programmable controller (PC) 22 for controlling the operation of the equipment 20 is connected to the display control device 10. The PC 22 has a function of controlling the operation of the equipment 20 and detecting an abnormal operation thereof, for example, when a cylinder as a drive source does not reach the forward end or the backward end within a predetermined time.
Then, when an abnormality is detected, display data is supplied to display the content. That is, NR21 and PC2
2 corresponds to the plurality of control devices 2 described above.

By the way, the NR exemplified in this embodiment
Conventionally, no unified standard is provided between the PC 21 and the PC 22. Therefore, in order to actually display the display data supplied from the NR21, a display unit capable of displaying the display data conforming to the communication standard of the NR21 is necessary, and similarly, in order to display the display data of the PC22, ,
A display unit conforming to the communication standard of the PC 22 is required.

Therefore, the display control device 10 of this embodiment is provided with a data conversion device 11 corresponding to the above-mentioned data conversion means 3. That is, the data conversion device 11 uses the display data supplied from the NR 21 and the PC 2
2 is a device for converting display data supplied from the device 2 into a signal of a common communication standard. Therefore, the display data after passing through the data conversion device 11 can be both displayed on the display unit 30.

On the other hand, the apparatus of this embodiment is composed of NR21 and PC.
2 types of display data respectively supplied from 22
The display unit 30 is to be displayed.
Therefore, these two types of display data cannot always be displayed. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the display control device 10 has a built-in priority determination device 12 corresponding to the above-described priority determination means 1, and the data is prioritized based on the importance of the two types of display data supplied. Is set.

The display unit 30 of the present embodiment has a function of displaying the display data supplied from the display control device 10 on the display, and is a touch key switch for designating display contents to the display control device 10. It also has a function. That is, the display control device 10 selects an appropriate display content in consideration of the priority of the data set by the priority determination device 12 and the content designated by the operator or the like via the display unit 30.

The configuration of the display control device 10 will be described in detail below with reference to the block diagram shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3, the data converter 11
Is the NR that stores the display data supplied from the NR 21.
The data register 13, the conversion unit 14 corresponding to the display data supply unit 4 described above, and the character data register 1 storing the information for forming the display contents based on the instruction of the PC 22.
5 and the standard screen data register 16.

The priority determination device 12 includes a PC data register 17 for storing display data supplied from the PC 22, a touch key data register 18 for storing a command from the display unit 30 as a touch key switch, and these. The determination unit 19 determines the priority of the display data of the PC 22 based on the stored data and supplies the determination result to the conversion unit 14.

In this case, NR in this embodiment
The display data emitted by 21 is output in the form of a video signal which can be directly displayed on the display unit 30. That is, N
The R data register 13 stores data that can display a desired image only by transferring it to the display unit 30. Therefore, it is not necessary to convert the display data of NR21.

On the other hand, the PC 22 cannot generate a signal that can be directly displayed on the display unit 30. Therefore, in order to display a desired image on the display unit 30, it is necessary to convert the display data supplied from the PC 22 in the display control device 10 into a predetermined image signal.

Therefore, the character data register 15 described above is used.
Also, the standard screen data register 16 stores data that can form a desired video signal by combining them, and combines them appropriately based on the data of the PC data register 17.

That is, the conversion unit 14 appropriately displays the display data or the character data register 1 stored in the NR data register 13 in accordance with the determination of the priority by the determination unit 19.
5 and the combined data of the data stored in the standard screen data register 16 are output to the display unit 30.

Next, the flowchart shown in FIG. 4 and FIG.
The operation of the display control device 10 will be described in detail with reference to the forms of the data register and the display data shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 4, when the display control device 10 is activated, the judging section 19 first takes out the data from the PC data register 17 (step 100). Here, the display data of the PC 22 in the present embodiment is composed of bit signals of addresses 0 to 99 as shown in FIG. 5, for example, and represents a total of 100 states. That is, a maximum of 100 abnormality detection items are set for the operating state of the equipment 20 having a nutrunner, and when an abnormality occurs in any of the items, "1" is set in the corresponding address.

Therefore, if the data stored in the PC data register 17 is "0", it can be determined that the equipment 20 is operating normally as far as the control of the PC 22 is concerned, while the PC data register 17 is on the other hand. If "1" is set at any of the addresses, it can be determined that an abnormality has occurred in the item corresponding to that address.

By the way, the configuration in which the display data is supplied from the PC 22 and the contents thereof are displayed to notify the operator or the like is adopted so that when an abnormality occurs in the equipment, it is notified that the abnormality has occurred. This is because. Therefore, PC2
The display data generated by 2 has important meaning when an abnormal operation occurs in the equipment 20, and is of low importance as long as it is operating normally.

Therefore, in this embodiment, it is judged whether the data in the PC data register 17 fetched in the above step 100 is "0" or more (step 11).
0), the priority of the display data issued by the PC 22 is determined. That is, when an abnormality occurs in the equipment 20 and the data in the PC data register 17 is "0" or more, the display data of the PC 22 in the step 110 is NR.
It is determined that the display data of 21 has priority.

Then, in such a case, as shown in FIG. 6, the bit of the address assigned as the judgment data is set to, for example, "01" (step 120), and it is displayed that the display data of the PC 22 needs to be preferentially displayed. To do.

The conversion unit 14 looks at the value of this judgment data, and when the value is "01", the standard screen data is formed so as to form the display data according to the data stored in the PC data register 17. Appropriate data is taken out from the register 16 and the character data register 15 to form desired display data (step 130).

That is, the standard screen data register 16 in this embodiment stores data relating to the frame of display data as shown in FIG. 7, for example. Further, in the character data register 15, as shown in FIG. 8, character data representing an abnormality content corresponding to the information data supplied from the PC 22 is stored.

Then, for example, when the data in which "1" is set at the address "0" is supplied from the PC 22, the signal name "tightening error" is displayed in the error column of the standard screen (FIG. 7). "Please check the cap tightening portion." Is inserted in the column, and screen data representing a screen as shown in FIG. 9 is formed.

Thereafter, the screen data is output from the conversion unit 14 to the display unit 30 (step 14).
0), the screen shown in FIG. 9 is displayed on the display unit 30.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step 110 that the data stored in the PC data register 17 is "0", that is, if no data indicating an abnormality is issued from the PC 22, step 150,
At 160, the state of the touch key day register 18 is determined.

Here, the touch key data register 18 stores information relating to the instruction of the display contents made through the display unit 30 as described above. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG.
57 is assigned as an address for storing touch key data, and when an operator or the like gives an instruction to display the display data of NR21, the addresses 256 and 257 are displayed.
The state becomes “10”. Also, when an instruction is given to display the display data of the PC 22, the state of those addresses becomes "01".

Therefore, the address 256 is "0" at step 150, and the address 25 is at step 160.
When it is determined that 7 is “1”, it can be determined that the display data of the PC 22 is instructed to be displayed. In such a case, the above steps 130 and 140 are executed and the result shown in FIG. Display the screen as shown.

On the other hand, in step 150, the address 2
56 is determined to be "1", or step 160
When it is determined that the address 257 is not “1” in the display unit 3, the display data generated by the NR 21 is displayed.
It can be determined that the instruction to display 0 is given. Therefore, in such a case, the conversion unit 14 takes out the data of the NR data register 13 (step 170) and displays the display data in step 140 in the display unit 3.
Display on screen 0.

The NR 21 generates display data as shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B according to the tightening result of the bolts and nuts by the equipment 20 having a nut runner. That is, if all the bolts to be tightened can be tightened in accordance with the standard, "OK" is displayed, and if any of the bolts is not tightened in accordance with the standard, an indication indicating the defective portion is displayed.

As a result, in this embodiment, when the equipment 20 is operating normally, the NR 21 is excluded unless the display contents are manually operated by an operator or the like.
Information on the tightening quality of the bolts emitted from the display unit 30 will be displayed. That is, all the necessary information is displayed on the display unit 30 while the equipment 20 is operating normally.

When an abnormal operation occurs in the equipment 20, the display data of the PC 22 is prioritized and the display unit 30 displays the equipment abnormality display and the abnormality treatment display. By the way, when abnormality occurs in the equipment 20 itself, it is meaningless to determine whether or not the tightening quality of the bolt in the middle of processing conforms to the standard. Therefore, also in this case, all necessary information is displayed on the display unit 30.

As described above, according to the display control device of the present embodiment, the display data supplied from the PC 22 as the information showing the operating state of the equipment 20 and the NR 21 as the information showing the bolt tightening quality by the equipment 20. The supplied data is automatically switched and displayed on the display unit 30. Therefore, NR21 and PC22
However, it is possible to display all truly necessary information without separately providing a display unit.

Therefore, unlike the conventional nut runner, it is not necessary to separately provide a display unit for displaying the tightening quality of the bolt and a display unit for indicating the operating state of the equipment, which makes it possible to reduce the cost of the equipment. .

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the display control device 10. As shown in the figure, the display control device 10 includes an NR connection terminal 21a used for connection with the NR 21 and a PC connection terminal 2 used for connection with the PC 22.
2a, a display unit connection terminal 30a used for connection with the display unit 30 is provided.

In addition to these terminals, an RS232C terminal 10a conforming to the RS232C standard known as a data serial communication system is provided, and a program in the display control device 10, a character data register 15 and a standard screen are provided. The display data or the like stored in the data register 16 or the like can be appropriately rewritten.

In this embodiment, the control devices connected to the display control device 10 are NR21 and PC22.
It is limited to two units, but it is not limited to this,
For example, a plurality of devices such as robots and NC devices that require a display unit may be connected to share the display units of more devices.

In this case, for example, a data register corresponding to the PC data register 17 is set corresponding to each device, and whether or not the value of the register is "0" is abnormal (step 110 in FIG. 4 above). It is possible to display only important information about a plurality of control devices on the display unit by sequentially performing the above) corresponding to each device.

[0052]

As described above, according to the present invention, the priority of the data to be displayed is set based on the importance of the display data supplied from the plurality of control devices, and the data is supplied from the individual control devices. The display data is converted into a display signal satisfying a common communication standard. Therefore, it becomes possible to share the display unit for a plurality of control devices, and
It becomes possible to always display the truly necessary information on the display unit.

As a result, according to the display control device of the present invention, the number of display units can be reduced without sacrificing the amount of information in equipment which conventionally requires a plurality of display units. Alternatively, it has a feature that a significant cost reduction can be realized for each production line.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a principle diagram of a display control device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an overall diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of a display control device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing in detail the configuration of the apparatus of this embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of processing performed by the device of this embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an example of a data register that stores data issued by the programmable controller of the present embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an example of a data register that stores a priority determination result in the present embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an example of standard screen data forming an example of display data of the apparatus of this embodiment.

FIG. 8 is an example of character data forming an example of display data of the apparatus of this embodiment.

FIG. 9 is an example of display data of the apparatus of this embodiment.

FIG. 10 is an example of a data register that stores a display content instruction state in the present embodiment.

FIG. 11 is another example of display data of the device of this embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a display control device of this embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 priority determination means 2 control device 3 data conversion means 4 display data supply means 5, 30 display unit 10 display control device 11 data conversion device 12 priority determination device 13 NR data register 14 conversion unit 15 character data register 16 standard screen data Register 17 PC data register 18 Touch key data register 19 Judgment unit 20 Equipment 21 Display data output device (NR) 22 Programmable controller (PC)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Priority determination means for determining the priority of data issued by a plurality of control devices and designating the data to be displayed according to the priority, and displaying the data issued by the plurality of control devices according to a predetermined standard. It is characterized by comprising data conversion means for converting into data, and display data supply means for supplying the display data instructed by the priority determination means and converted by the data conversion means to a predetermined display unit. Display control device.