JP2001125605A - Operation control console panel - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an operation control console panel which enables even an unskilled operator to easily operate. SOLUTION: According to whether operation conditions and start condition of a sequence controller are satisfied, operation buttons for individual operations constituted on a touch panel 15 having the functions of both an input means and an output means are displayed visually discriminatingly in three states wherein the operation conditions are not met, the operation conditions are met, but the start conditions are not met, and the operation conditions and start conditions are both satisfied.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an operation control operation panel for obtaining a predetermined operation of a machine by outputting an output signal to an output element when the state of an input signal from an input element becomes a predetermined state. More particularly, the present invention relates to an operation control operation panel having a touch panel type input / output means.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 10, an operation control operation panel 100 has a sequence controller (hereinafter, PLC).
), And a numerical controller (hereinafter, referred to as CNC) 102 and various actuators 103. When the operator operates various buttons provided on the operation panel 100, the PLC 101 determines the state of the input signal from the various input elements, and when the input signal reaches a predetermined state, the PLC 101 determines the state of the output element. By outputting the output signal, the mechanical equipment such as the CNC 102 and the actuator 103 performs a predetermined operation.

The operation control operation panel 100 is provided with various buttons and switches as input means, and display means such as a lamp and a display as output means. As these input / output means, use of a touch panel has become mainstream because of its high versatility and high functionality. On the other hand, the operation control operation panel 100 includes, in addition to input means such as various buttons for automatic operation for causing the mechanical equipment to perform automatic operation, individual operation for individually performing each operation of the mechanical equipment by MDI operation. Input means is provided. And
When a failure or abnormal stop occurs in the mechanical equipment, the operator operates the operation button for each individual operation to cause the mechanical equipment to perform the individual operation and restore.

[0004]

FIG. 11 shows operation buttons for individual operation. However, since the conventional operation buttons are simply arranged in a row, the current state of the facility machine (to the PLC 101). Input signal state), which individual operation should be performed, that is, which operation button should be pressed next, or which individual operation should be performed in the current state of the facility machine (the state of the input signal to the PLC 101). Can be performed, that is, it is not clear which operation buttons can be operated just by looking at the operation buttons. For this reason, individual operations such as recovery from abnormal stop can be performed only by skilled workers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problem, and only by looking at the operation buttons for individual operations of the operation control operation panel, can the operation buttons to be operated next, or Understand the operable operation buttons,
It is an object of the present invention to provide an operation control operation panel capable of performing individual operations without requiring a skilled operator.

[0006]

Means for achieving the above-mentioned object are a facility connected to a sequence controller and connected to the sequence controller by transmitting and receiving input / output signals to and from the sequence controller. In an operation control operation panel for controlling the operation of a machine, a touch panel having both functions of an input unit and an output unit, and a plurality of operation buttons formed on the touch panel are displayed on a predetermined input / output signal state in the sequence controller. And an operation button display means for visually distinguishing and displaying the operation buttons according to the conditions. With the above configuration, the operation buttons on the touch panel
The information is visually distinguished and displayed according to the state of a predetermined input / output signal in the controller. This allows the operator to visually know the operation button to be selected,
The operation control operation panel can be operated without being aware of the state of the input / output signals of the sequence controller, or even without being skilled in them. Note that, in the above configuration, as specific means for visually distinguishing and displaying, various means such as changing the size of operation buttons and characters in addition to color-coded display and blinking display are adopted. obtain.

Another means for solving the above-mentioned problems is as follows.
In the above configuration, the plurality of operation buttons are operation buttons for performing individual operations obtained by dividing operations performed during a series of automatic operations of the mechanical equipment into individual operations. . With the above configuration, the operation buttons for performing the individual operations are visually distinguished and displayed according to the state of the predetermined input / output signal in the sequence controller. Thus, the operator can know the operation button for each individual operation to be selected, and can perform each individual operation even if the operator is not a skilled operator. In addition,
In the above configuration, each individual operation divides an operation performed during a series of automatic operations of the facility machine into individual operations, and performs each of the divided operations independently of other operations. It is used for recovery work at the time of a stop or abnormal stop.

Another means for solving the above-mentioned problem is as follows.
In the above configuration, the predetermined input / output signal in the sequence controller may further include operating conditions that are always satisfied during operation of the operation performed by the operation button, and operation performed by the operation button. At least one of the starting conditions that should be satisfied at the start of the process. According to the above configuration, the operation buttons are visually distinguished and displayed depending on whether the operating condition and the starting condition are satisfied. This allows
The operation buttons of the operation that satisfies the driving conditions and the operation buttons of the operation that satisfies the activation condition are visually distinguished, so that the operator can operate the operation button to be operated next or now. You can know the operation buttons. In the above configuration, the operating condition is a condition that must always be satisfied from the start of the operation performed by the operation button to the end of the operation, and the activation condition is defined by the operation button. The condition that must be satisfied at the start of the operation to be performed, that is, the condition that triggers the start of the operation.

Another means for solving the above-mentioned problems is as follows.
In the above configuration, it is characterized in that whether or not the operating condition and the starting condition are satisfied is determined by the sequence controller. With the above configuration, the determination as to whether the operating condition and the starting condition are satisfied is performed by the sequence controller. Thus, the operation control operation panel does not need to be provided with a special determination means when displaying the operation buttons, and may simply be visually distinguished and displayed based on the output signal from the sequence controller.

Another means for solving the above-mentioned problem is that, in the above configuration, the display means further comprises: when the operating condition is not satisfied, when the operating condition is satisfied but the starting condition is not satisfied. The present invention is characterized in that three states when both the operating condition and the starting condition are satisfied are visually distinguished and displayed. According to the above configuration, three states when the operating condition is not satisfied, when the operating condition is satisfied but the starting condition is not satisfied, and when both the operating condition and the starting condition are satisfied are visually distinguished and displayed. Thereby, the operation button of the operation that does not satisfy the driving condition,
That is, an operation button that cannot be operated now and an operation button that satisfies the driving condition but does not satisfy the activation condition, that is, an operation button that can be operated now and an operation that satisfies both the operation condition and the activation condition button,
That is, it is possible to visually know the three types of states of the operation buttons to be operated next.

Another means for solving the above-mentioned problem is a warning display for notifying that the operating condition is not satisfied when an operation button which does not satisfy the operating condition is pressed in the above configuration. Is provided. According to the above configuration, when an operation button for an operation that does not satisfy the driving conditions is pressed, a warning to that effect is displayed, so that the operator can know that an operation button that should not be selected has been selected.

Another means for solving the above-mentioned problems is as follows.
The above configuration further includes a circuit monitor unit that displays a ladder circuit diagram of the operation condition of the operation button that does not satisfy the operation condition displayed by the warning display unit. With the above configuration,
A ladder circuit diagram of operating conditions that are not satisfied is displayed.
Thus, the operator can know why the operating conditions are not satisfied.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 shows an operation control operation panel 10.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the PLC 20. The operation control operation panel 10 includes a CPU 11 as an arithmetic unit, a ROM 12 storing system programs and the like, and a RAM 13 storing screen definition data, operation condition addresses, and start condition addresses, which will be described later. , CPU 11 and interface (I /
The main configuration is a touch panel 15 connected via the F) 14, an output device 16 and an input device 17, and an interface (communication I / F) 18 for communication with the PLC 20.

Here, in FIG. 1, the output device 16 is an output device (see FIG. 7) constituted by hardware such as a lamp which indicates that power is being supplied or running, and the input device 17 is a start-up of automatic operation. This is an input device (see FIG. 7) constituted by hardware such as a switch and an emergency stop button. On the other hand, the touch panel 15 that is configured by software and has both functions of the input unit and the output unit is shown separately from the input / output devices 16 and 17 that are configured by these hardware.

The operation panel setting means 20 is specifically realized by a personal computer, and is connected to the operation control operation panel 10 as necessary to change various settings of the operation control operation panel 10. Means. The operation panel setting means 20 allows the operation control operation panel 2
Since the screen display of the touch panel 15 and the input items of the touch panel 15 can be changed, the versatility of the operation control operation panel is improved as compared with the operation control operation panel having only hardware input / output devices. Can be. That is, even if the equipment machine controlled by the operation control operation panel changes,
By setting the touch panel according to the equipment machine, various equipment machines can be controlled with the same operation panel.

The PLC 30 includes a CPU 31 as an arithmetic unit.
A ROM 32 storing a system program and the like, a RAM 33 storing a sequence program and the like assembled by a ladder circuit, and a communication I / F 18 of the operation control operation panel 10.
The main configuration is a communication I / F 24 connected to the communication interface.
In addition, the communication I / F 34 is connected to a facility machine 40 to be controlled such as a CNC, a transport device, an actuator, and the like, and an input / output signal is exchanged between the facility machine 40 and the PLC 30. The operation of the facility machine 40 is controlled based on the operation of the operator on the operation control operation panel 10 and the sequence program stored in the PLC 30.

Here, input / output (also referred to as I / O) through the touch panel 15 is exchanged with the PLC 30 via the CPU 11, while the output device 16 and the input device 17 are directly wired to the PLC 30 and connected to the PLC 30. I / O is directly exchanged between the two.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described based on the flowcharts of FIGS. 2, 3 and 6. FIG.
Is a main flowchart of the operation control operation panel 10,
When the power is turned on, an initial screen display process is performed in S50. The initial screen is provided with a screen switch button for switching to various function screens. In S51, it is determined whether this screen switch button has been pressed. At this time, if the selected screen is an individual operation screen, the process proceeds to S53 to perform individual operation button processing. If a screen other than the individual operation screen is selected, the process proceeds to S52 and the number of tools and The screen processing selected by the screen switching button is performed, such as a counter screen for managing the number of machining, an abnormal lamp screen for displaying various information of equipment on a lamp, an information screen for displaying the number of abnormalities, abnormal time, mobility, etc. Will be

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a subprogram for individual button processing called in S53 of FIG. 2. First, it is determined whether or not a menu button displayed on the lower part of the touch panel 15 of FIG. 7 has been pressed. If the menu button is pressed, the sub-program is returned. If the menu button is not pressed, the process proceeds to S61. In addition, about the process after S61, each process is performed about all the buttons displayed by each button process.

In S61, it is determined whether or not the lamp address signal is ON. That is, the touch panel 1
Since the display screen 5 has not only the function of a button as input means but also the function of a lamp as output means,
As a function of this lamp, it is determined whether or not to turn on the lamp. The judgment of whether to turn on this lamp is P
It depends on whether or not the signal (lamp address signal) of the address in the LC 30 is ON.

Then, when the lamp address signal is turned ON / OFF,
By turning OFF, it is determined whether or not each lamp is turned on.
If the lamp address signal is ON, the process proceeds to S62 to perform a lamp lighting process, and if the lamp address signal is OFF, S62.
Proceeding to 63, a lamp extinguishing process is performed. That is, S
At 62, the button with the lamp lit is displayed,
In S63, a button with the lamp turned off is displayed. Here, the state in which the lamp is turned off is a state in which the background color of a button described later is black.

Next, after the lamp extinguishing process in S63,
Proceeding to S64, ON / OFF of the operation condition address signal
And at S66, the activation condition address signal O
N / OFF is determined. Operation condition address signal is OFF
In the case of, the process proceeds to S65 to perform a lamp gray display process,
If the operation condition address signal is ON and the start condition address signal is ON, the process proceeds to S67 to perform a frame blinking display process. After the lamp lighting process in S62, after the lamp gray display process in S65, after the frame blinking display process in S67, and when the operation condition address signal is ON and the start condition address signal is OFF, S68 is executed. Proceed to.

Here, the operation condition address signal and the start condition address signal will be described. FIG. 4 shows an example of a ladder circuit diagram in the PLC 30. In order to perform a certain operation, the output M01 is turned on by a predetermined input signal.
N, various input signals (X01, X02, X0
3), the output M01 is turned on when the input signal satisfies the predetermined state. These various input signals include input conditions (X01,
X02, X03) and input conditions (X0, X0)
4, X05, X06) are set.

The operating condition is a condition that must be maintained at all times from the start to the end of the operation executed by turning on the output M01.
Conditions include whether power is being supplied, whether the door is closed, and whether the operation preparation button has been pressed. The start condition is a condition that triggers the start of the operation of the operation performed by turning on the output M01. Specifically, the start condition is determined as to whether the tightening of the tool has been completed or the machining of the previous workpiece has been completed. It is a condition such as completion. In other words, the activation condition may change the state after the operation is started. Therefore, a hold circuit is provided.

The display state of each lamp on the touch panel 15 is changed according to the operating condition and the starting condition. In other words, if the operating conditions are not satisfied, it means that the operation cannot be performed now, and if the operating conditions are satisfied, the operation can be performed now, and further, the start condition is satisfied. If so, that operation is the next operation to be performed.

Whether or not these operating conditions and starting conditions are satisfied is determined by the CPU 31 of the PLC 30 based on an input signal to the PLC 30. The operation condition address signal and the start condition address signal which are turned ON or OFF by the PLC 30 are output to the RAM 13 of the operation control operation panel 10. The display state of the operation buttons may be changed depending on only the operation state.

Next, with reference to FIG. 5, a description will be given of the difference between the display states of the buttons according to the above-mentioned operating conditions and starting conditions. As shown in the table of FIG.
There are four combinations of / OFF, and for each of the four combinations, there are two display states: normal and when the button is pressed.

When the operating condition is normally OFF, as shown in a display example (A), the display is displayed in a lamp color (green) frame and a gray base color (S65). In this case, the operating condition is O
Since this is an FF, this operation cannot be performed. That is, the background color gray indicates that the operation cannot be selected.

When the operating condition is ON and the starting condition is OFF, as shown in a display example (B), the display is displayed in a lamp color (green) frame and a black base color. In this case, since the operation condition is ON, this operation can be performed. In other words, it indicates that the black background can select the operation. And
When this button is pressed, the frame is displayed in red as shown in a display example (D). That is, the background color red indicates that the process is selected.

When both the operating condition and the start condition are ON, as shown in a display example (C), the outer frame of the lamp color (green), the inner frame of the blinking display (S67), and the black base color are displayed. You. In this case, since both the operating condition and the starting condition are ON, this operation is the next operation to be performed in each operation. That is, the blinking display of the inner frame means that the operation is the next operation to be performed.

Here, since the above-mentioned operating conditions and starting conditions are determined by the PLC 30 as to whether or not each condition is satisfied, the operation control operation panel 10 side uses the PLC 3
Only by judging ON / OFF of the operation condition address signal corresponding to the operation button (S64) and ON / OFF of the start condition address signal (S66) based on the output signal from 0, the operation of FIG. Different display states can be set as shown in D).

Returning to the flowchart of FIG. 3, the description will be continued. In S68, it is determined whether or not there is a touch input, that is, whether or not the button has been pressed. If it has not been pressed, the process returns to S60, and if it has been pressed, the process proceeds to S69. S69
Then, as in S64, the operation condition address signal is turned on.
/ OFF is determined. If the operation condition address signal is OFF, the operation cannot be performed as described above (it means that the button for displaying the background color gray has been pressed). Therefore, a warning window display process is performed in S70, and the process proceeds to S60.
Return to If the operation condition address signal is ON, the operation can be performed (it means that the button for displaying the base color black has been pressed), and the process proceeds to S71.

At S71, ON / O of the output address is performed.
If FF is determined and the output address is OFF,
At S72, the output of turning on the output address of the PLC 30 is turned on. When the output address is turned on, at S73, the output of turning off the output address of the PLC 30 is turned off, and the process returns to S60.

Here, the processing from S71 to S73 is as follows.
This indicates that when the button in the ON state is pressed, the state is set to the OFF state, and when the button in the OFF state is pressed, the state is set to the ON state. That is, each time the button is pressed, ON / OFF is switched. Note that the processing from S71 to S73 is performed, for example, when the Y-axis button is pressed while the X-axis button is ON in the three buttons for the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis, the X-axis button is pressed. Turn off the output address of
Other forms may be used, such as turning on the output address of the Y-axis button.

Next, the warning window process in S70 of FIG. 3 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. In S80, a warning window as shown in FIG. 8 is displayed. Since the driving condition is not satisfied according to the determination in S69 of FIG. 3, the process corresponding to the button is warned that the operation cannot be performed because the driving condition is not satisfied, and the driving that the condition is not seen is performed. Displays the output address of the condition.

The warning window includes a "monitor" button,
A "return" button is provided, and it is determined in S81 whether these buttons have been pressed. When the “monitor” button is pressed, a ladder circuit monitor of the operating condition is displayed as shown in FIG. This allows the operator to refer to the ladder circuit diagram and pursue the cause of the unsatisfied operating conditions. In S83, it is determined whether or not the “return” button shown in FIG. 9 has been pressed. If the “return” button has been pressed, the process returns to S81, and if not, the process returns to S82.

FIG. 7 shows an example of the screen display state of the operation control operation panel. The buttons on the individual operation screens are the buttons that cannot be operated now (ground color gray) and the buttons that can be operated now (the background color is gray). Since the background color (black) and the button to be operated next (blinking of the inner frame) are visually distinguished, even individual workers who are not skilled in individual operations can perform individual operations such as recovery from abnormal stop. It can be carried out.

The lamp display screen in the upper part of the touch panel 15 is similar to the abnormal lamp screen in S52, but the lamp display in S52 is a lamp display in order to display as much information (lamp) as possible. On the other hand, in the lamp display in the individual button processing, a minimum necessary lamp for performing each individual operation is displayed, and the other part of the touch panel 15 is an individual operation screen.

The layout of the screen and the items of each button on the touch panel 15 are set in advance by the operation panel setting means, and are stored in the RAM 1 as screen definition data.
3 is stored. Then, a display as shown in FIG. 7 is performed based on the screen definition data.

[0040]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the operation buttons are visually distinguished and displayed on the touch panel in accordance with the state of a predetermined input / output signal in the sequence controller, and the operator selects the operation button. Since the operation button to be operated can be visually recognized, the operation control operation panel can be operated without being conscious of the state of the input / output signals of the sequence controller or without being skilled in them.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the operation buttons for performing the individual operations are visually distinguished and displayed according to the state of the predetermined input / output signal in the sequence controller. In addition to the effects, the operator can know the operation button for each individual action to be selected,
Each individual operation can be performed even by a skilled worker.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the operation buttons are visually distinguished and displayed depending on whether or not the operating condition and the starting condition are satisfied. The operation buttons of the operation that is being performed and the operation button that satisfies the activation condition are visually distinguished and displayed, so that the worker knows the operation button to be operated next or the operation button that can be operated now. be able to.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the determination as to whether the operating conditions and the starting conditions are satisfied is made by the sequence controller. It is not necessary to provide a special determination means when displaying the button, and the button may be simply visually distinguished and displayed based on the output signal from the sequence controller.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, when the operating condition is not satisfied, when the operating condition is satisfied but the starting condition is not satisfied, and when both the operating condition and the starting condition are satisfied, three states are visually recognized. Are displayed separately, so in addition to the above effects, operation buttons for operations that do not satisfy the driving conditions,
That is, an operation button that cannot be operated now and an operation button that satisfies the driving condition but does not satisfy the activation condition, that is, an operation button that can be operated now and an operation that satisfies both the operation condition and the activation condition button,
That is, it is possible to visually know the three types of states of the operation buttons to be operated next.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, when the operation button of the operation that does not satisfy the driving conditions is pressed, a warning to that effect is displayed. It is possible to know that an operation button that should not be selected has been selected.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, since a ladder circuit diagram of an operating condition that is not satisfied is displayed, in addition to the above-described effects, the operator can determine why the operating condition is not satisfied. You can know.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an operation control operation panel according to an embodiment of the present invention;
It is a block diagram of a sequence controller and an equipment machine.

FIG. 2 is a main flowchart of an operation control operation panel according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of individual operation button processing in the flowchart of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an example of a ladder circuit diagram for explaining operating conditions and starting conditions.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a table for explaining a display state of operation buttons and an example of a display state of operation buttons according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a warning window display process in the flowchart of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a display state of each screen of the operation control operation panel according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a display example of a warning window according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a display example of a circuit monitor according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a relationship among an operation panel, a sequence controller, a numerical controller, and an actuator according to a conventional technique.

FIG. 11 is a view showing individual operation buttons according to a conventional technique.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10: Operation control operation panel 15: Touch panel 30: Sequence controller 40: Equipment machine

Continued on the front page F term (reference)

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. An operation control operation panel connected to a sequence controller and controlling the operation of facility machines connected to the sequence controller by transmitting and receiving input / output signals to and from the sequence controller, comprising: an input means; A touch panel having both functions of output means, and operation button display means for visually distinguishing and displaying a plurality of operation buttons formed on the touch panel according to the state of a predetermined input / output signal in the sequence controller. An operation control operation panel comprising: 2. The operation control operation panel according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of operation buttons are used to perform individual operations by dividing operations performed during a series of automatic operations of the machine equipment into individual operations. An operation control operation panel characterized by being a button. 3. The operation control operation panel according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined input / output signal in the sequence controller is always satisfied during an operation performed by the operation button. An operation control operation panel, which is at least one of a driving condition, which is a condition, and a start condition, which is a condition to be satisfied at the start of an operation performed by the operation button. 4. The operation control operation panel according to claim 3, wherein whether the operation condition and the activation condition are satisfied is determined by the sequence controller. 5. The operation control operation panel according to claim 3, wherein the display means performs the operation when the operation condition is not satisfied, but the operation condition is satisfied but the start condition is not satisfied. An operation control operation panel characterized in that three states when both of a condition and the start condition are satisfied are visually distinguished and displayed. 6. The operation control operation panel according to claim 3, wherein when an operation button that does not satisfy the operation condition is pressed, a notification that the operation condition is not satisfied is issued. An operation control operation panel comprising a warning display means for displaying a warning. 7. The operation control operation panel according to claim 6, further comprising circuit monitor means for displaying a ladder circuit diagram of the operation conditions of the operation buttons not satisfying the operation conditions displayed by the warning display means. An operation control operation panel characterized in that: