Numerical control device, screen creation system, and storage medium storing instructions readable by the numerical control device

Abstract

This numerical control device for displaying a user interface screen and receiving input of operations from a user, acquires setting of operation buttons for display states of composite components included in the user interface screen, determines the arrangement of the operation buttons for the display states of the user interface screen on the basis of the setting of the operation buttons for the display states of the composite components, detects a change in the display states of the user interface screen, and switches the arrangement of the operation buttons in the user interface screen.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a screen creation device, a screen creation system, and a computer-readable storage medium.

Background Art

[0002] A numerical control device is a machine that controls a machine tool. A numerical control device is provided with a user interface screen (referred to as a UI screen). The UI screen displays the state of the machine tool and receives input from the operator.

[0003] Examples of the control targets of the numerical control device include a lathe, a ball screw machine, a boring machine, a milling machine, a grinding machine, a machining center, a turning center, an electric discharge machine, and the like. The developer of the UI screen creates the UI screen in accordance with the type of machine tool, the mechanical configuration of the machine tool, and the required specifications of the user.

[0004] For example, FIG. 3 of Patent Document 1 is an example of a display screen for spindle load. This screen displays the state of the machine tool "automatic operation", the current time "2002 / 4 / 23 21:53:40", a graph of the spindle load, the program being executed, and screen operation buttons.

[0005] Conventionally, there has been dedicated software for operating the screen of a numerical control device. This software provides components for screen creation. The developer of the UI screen arranges these components on the UI screen, sets the properties (attributes and functions) of each component, and completes the UI screen.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0006]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0007] The UI screen is composed of a plurality of sub - screens. Each sub - screen displays a state corresponding to its respective purpose. The display content of the sub - screen includes tool coordinates, machining programs, modal states, etc. By displaying a plurality of sub - screens, a plurality of pieces of information can be confirmed simultaneously. The display state of the UI screen changes according to the mode of the numerical control device, the display content of the sub - screen, the selection state of the screen, etc. When the display state changes, the operation content of the UI screen also changes. The operation buttons displayed on the UI screen are not fixed and change dynamically according to the display state of the UI screen. Therefore, the creator of the UI screen needs to set the operation buttons while assuming the transition of the display state, which is complicated.

[0008] In the field of numerical control devices, a technology for simplifying the creation of user interfaces is desired.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0009] A numerical control device according to an aspect of the present disclosure is a numerical control device that displays a user interface screen, and acquires display state information associating a composite part included in the user interface screen, the display state of the composite part, and the setting of operation buttons, and based on the display state of the composite part and the setting of the operation buttons, determines the arrangement of operation buttons for each display state of the user interface screen including the composite part. The numerical control device includes an arrangement determination unit, and a detection unit that detects a change in the display state of the user interface screen and switches the arrangement of the operation buttons on the user interface screen based on the determination of the arrangement determination unit. An image creation system according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes a part library that stores parts constituting a user interface screen and composite parts formed by combining the parts. the aforesaidA display state setting unit that receives a setting of display state information associating a composite component included in a user interface screen, a display state of the composite component, and a setting of an operation button for the composite component; an arrangement determination unit that determines an arrangement of operation buttons for each display state of a user interface screen including the composite component based on the display state of the composite component and the setting of the operation button; and an operation button switching unit that detects a change in the display state of the user interface screen and changes the arrangement of the operation buttons to be displayed on the UI screen of the numerical control device based on the determination of the arrangement determination unit. A storage medium according to an aspect of the present disclosure stores instructions readable by a numerical control device that, when executed by one or more processors, acquire display state information associating a composite component included in a user interface screen of the numerical control device, a display state of the composite component, and a setting of an operation button for the composite component, determine an arrangement of operation buttons for each display state of a user interface screen including the composite component based on the setting of the operation button for each display state of the composite component, detect a change in the display state of the user interface screen, and switch the arrangement of the operation buttons according to the display state of the user interface screen.

Advantages of the Invention

[0010] According to one aspect of the present invention, the creation of a user interface can be simplified.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0011]

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Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0012] Hereinafter, the screen creation system 300 of the present disclosure will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the screen creation system 300 is composed of a screen creation device 100 and a numerical control device 200. The screen creation device 100 is installed in an information processing device such as a PC (personal computer), for example. Dedicated software for creating the operation screen of the numerical control device 200 is installed in the screen creation device 100. The user operates the software to create a UI screen. The UI screen created with the dedicated software is transferred to the numerical control device 200 and displayed on the numerical control device 200.

[0013] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the screen creation device 100 that constitutes the screen creation system 300. The screen creation device 100 includes a display unit 10, an input unit 11, an editing unit 12, a program generation unit 13, a component library 14, and a display state setting unit 15.

[0014] The editing unit 12 displays the UI editing screen 20 on the display unit 10 of the screen creation device 100 and accepts editing operations by the user. The editing unit 12 updates the layout of the screen and the properties (attributes, execution functions (operations)) of the components according to the user's input.

[0015] The program generation unit 13 converts the layout and properties of the UI screen created by the editing unit 12 into an executable program. The executable program is installed in the numerical control device 200 and functions as a UI screen.

[0016] FIG. 3 is an example of the UI editing screen 20. The UI editing screen 20 in FIG. 3 is composed of a UI editing area 21, a property display area 22, and a component library display area 23. Components to be arranged on the UI screen can be selected from the component library display area 23. Five components (operation buttons 24) are arranged in the UI editing area 21. One of the five operation buttons 24 is in a selected state. The properties of the selected operation button 24 are displayed in the property display area 22.

[0017] In the property display area 22, information related to components can be set, such as visual information like the size, shape, and coordinates of components, labels such as numerical values, icons, and character strings to be displayed on components, the type of components, the name of components, and the operations (execution functions) of components.

[0018] The component library 14 stores the components on the UI screen. Components include single components and composite components 50. A single component is an independent component. Single components include, but are not limited to, operation buttons 24, key input buttons, labels, etc.

[0019] A composite component 50 is a component formed by combining a plurality of single components. The composite component 50 (program editing component) in FIG. 4 is composed of a plurality of single components (label display component 31, graphic display component 32, multi-line character string display component 33, input reception component 34). The label display component 31 is a component that displays a character string. Here, the program name "O0003" is displayed. The graphic display component 32 is a component used for screen design. Here, it has a blue background. The multi-line character string display component 33 is a component that displays a plurality of character strings. Here, a machining program is displayed on the multi-line character string display component 33. The input reception component 34 receives the input of the character string to be edited. By pressing the "Enter" key, the character string input to the input reception component 34 is reflected on the multi-line character string display component 33.

[0020] The UI screen with the composite component 50 arranged will be described with reference to FIG. 5. In the UI editing area 21 of FIG. 5, a base component 51 and a composite component 50 are arranged. As shown in FIG. 5, operation buttons 24 for operating the UI screen are arranged in the lower and right areas of the base component 51. In the central area of the base component 51, composite components 50 and single components can be arranged. Four composite components 50 (coordinate display component, information display component, manual numerical command input component, program display component) are arranged on the base component 51 in FIG. 5. The operation buttons 24 of the base component 51 are associated with the display states of the composite components 50. The relationship between the operation buttons 24 and the composite components 50 will be described later.

[0021] The display state setting unit 15 receives the setting of the operation button 24 for the display state of the composite component 50, and creates display state information based on the acquired information. The display state information associates the composite component 50, the display state of the composite component 50, and the arrangement of the operation button 24 for each display state of the composite component 50. The display state of the composite component 50 includes at least one of the mode of the numerical control device 200, "display / non-display" of the composite component 50, and "selection / non-selection" of the composite component 50.

[0022] The mode of the numerical control device 200 is the working state of the numerical control device 200. The modes of the numerical control device 200 include the mode set by the operator of the numerical control device 200, the mode automatically started by the signal of the numerical control device 200, etc. The modes set by the operator include the memory mode, the MDI mode, etc. The modes that occur automatically include the execution of the operation of workpiece coordinate measurement, etc. In addition, "independent of mode" in the following description means that the mode of the numerical control device 2 00 does not affect the setting of the operation button 24.

[0023] The display of the composite component 50 means whether the composite component 50 included in the UI screen is displayed or not. There is more than one UI screen. Different composite components 50 are arranged on multiple UI screens. The display / non-display of the composite component 50 changes depending on which UI screen is displayed. Also, as shown in FIG. 6, two or more composite components 50 may be arranged overlapping in one display area of the UI screen. When one of the overlapping composite components 50 is displayed, the other composite components 50 become non-displayed.

[0024] The selection / non-selection of the composite component 50 means whether the composite component 50 included in the UI screen is selected or not. The selection / non-selection of the composite component 50 changes by the operation of the operator. In addition, "independent of selection" in the following description means that the selection / non-selection does not affect the setting of the operation button 24.

[0025] Figs. 7 to 11 show setting examples of the operation buttons 24 for each display state of the composite part 50. As shown in Fig. 7, for the coordinate display part, four operation buttons 24, namely, "Display Switching", "Machine Coordinates", "Absolute Coordinates", and "Relative Coordinates", are set for the display states of "Display", "Independent of Selection", and "Independent of Mode". As shown in Fig. 8, for the information display part, three operation buttons 24, namely, "Display Switching", "Modal List", and "Work / Tool Information", are set for the display states of "Display", "Independent of Selection", and "Independent of Mode". The operation buttons 24, "Modal List" and "Work / Tool Information", switch the display of the information display part. As shown in Fig. 9, different operation buttons 24 are set for each mode in the program display part. In the program display part, nine operation buttons 24, namely, "Display Switching", "Copy", "Paste", "Cut", "Delete", "Search", "Machining Cycle", "Measurement Cycle", and "Delete All", are set for the display states of "Display", "Selection", and "Edit Mode". In the display states of "Display", "Selection", and "MDI Mode", eight operation buttons 24, namely, "Display Switching", "Copy", "Paste", "Cut", "Delete", "Search", "MDI History", and "Delete All", are set. As shown in Fig. 10, for the manual numerical command part, four operation buttons 24, namely, "Display Switching", "MST", "G00", and "G01", are set for the display states of "Display", "Selection", and "Independent of Mode". The operation buttons 24, "MST", "G00", and "G01", switch the display of the manual numerical command part. As shown in Fig. 11, for the fixed text part, four operation buttons 24, namely, "Display Switching", "Fixed Text Insertion", "Fixed Text Registration", and "Fixed Text Registration Deletion", are set for the display states of "Display", "Selection", and "Independent of Mode". The operation buttons 24, "Fixed Text Registration", "Fixed Text Registration Deletion", and "Fixed Text Insertion", perform the registration and deletion of fixed texts and the insertion of the registered fixed texts into the program editing part.

[0026] In the screen creation system 300 of the present disclosure, the user sets the operation buttons 24 for each display state of the composite component 50 in the screen creation device 100. The numerical control device 200 automatically switches the arrangement of the operation buttons 24 based on the operation buttons 24 for each display state set in the screen creation device 100 and the actual display state of the UI screen. Hereinafter, the numerical control device 200 will be described.

[0027] FIG. 12 is a block diagram of the numerical control device 200. The numerical control device 200 includes a display unit 61, an input unit 62, a UI screen display unit 63, an arrangement determination unit 64, and an operation button switching unit 65. The UI screen display unit 63 causes the UI screen created by the screen creation device 100 to be displayed on the display unit 61 such as a display.

[0028] The arrangement determination unit 64 determines the arrangement of the operation buttons 24 for each display state of the UI screen based on the display state information. Hereinafter, an example of a method for determining the arrangement of the operation buttons 24 will be shown, but the method for determining the arrangement is not limited thereto. In the first method, when "selected / unselected" in the display state information is "selected", the arrangement of the operation buttons 24 corresponding to this display state is set as the arrangement of the operation buttons 24 on the UI screen. For example, in FIGS. 9 to 11, since the item "selected / unselected" is "selected", the arrangement of the operation buttons 24 corresponding to this display state is set as the arrangement of the operation buttons 24 on the UI screen. In the second method, when there are a plurality of composite components 50 with "display" and "no selection dependency" in the display state information, the operation buttons 24 of the composite components 50 with the same "mode" are arranged together. When arranging the operation buttons 24 together, they may be arranged so that no empty operation buttons 24 are generated, such as automatically arranging them packed to the right or automatically arranging them packed to the left, or they may be arranged at fixed positions. In the present disclosure, the operation buttons 24 are arranged at fixed positions. For example, since both the coordinate display component in FIG. 7 and the information display component in FIG. 8 are "display" and "mode-independent", as shown in the first row of FIG. 13 described later, the combination of the arrangement of the operation buttons 24 set for the coordinate display component and the arrangement of the operation buttons 24 set for the information display component is used as the arrangement of the operation buttons 24 on the UI screen.

[0029] FIG. 13 shows the determination result of the arrangement determination unit 64. This is called the operation button arrangement table. The operation button arrangement table stores the arrangement of the operation buttons 24 on the UI screen for each display state. The operation button arrangement table associates the "name of the composite component", "display / non-display", the "mode" of the numerical control device 200, "selected / non-selected", which are the display states of each composite component 50, with the "arrangement of the operation buttons" in that display state.

[0030] The operation button switching unit 65 detects changes in the display state (display / non-display of the composite component 50, mode of the numerical control device 200, selected / non-selected of the composite component 50), and switches the arrangement of the operation buttons 24.

[0031] FIGS. 14 to 19 show changes in the arrangement of the operation buttons 24 on the UI screen. When the numerical control device 200 is in the "memory mode" and none of the composite components 50 are selected, as shown in FIG. 14, "machine coordinates", "absolute coordinates", "relative coordinates" are used as the operation buttons 24 for the coordinate display component, and the operation buttons 24 for the two composite components 50 of "modal list" and "work / tool information" are arranged as the operation buttons 24 for the information display component. Since the coordinate display component and the information display component are "mode-independent", the same operation buttons are arranged even when the mode is switched.

[0032] When the numerical control device 200 is in the "edit mode" and the program editing component is selected, as shown in FIG. 15, as the operation buttons 24 for the program display component 「Display Switching」 "Copy", "Paste", "Cut", "Delete", "Search", "processing cycle", "measurement cycle", "delete all" are arranged.

[0033] When the numerical control device 200 is in the "MDI mode" and a program editing component is selected, as shown in FIG. 16, as the operation buttons 24 of the program display component 「Display Switching」 "Copy", "Paste", "Cut", "Delete", "Search", "MDI History", and "Delete All" are arranged.

[0034] When the numerical control device 200 is in the "MDI mode" and a canned text component is selected, as shown in FIG. 17, as the operation buttons 24 of the canned text component 「Display Switching」 "Insert Canned Text", "Register Canned Text", and "Delete Registered Canned Text" are arranged. Since the canned text component is "independent of mode", the same operation buttons 24 are arranged even when the mode is switched.

[0035] When the display state of the manual numerical command component is "Display" or "Selected", as shown in FIG. 18, "Display Switch", "MST", "G00", and "G01" are arranged as the operation buttons 24. Since the manual numerical command component is "independent of mode", the same operation buttons 24 are arranged even when the mode is changed. FIG. 18 is a UI screen when the operation button 24 "MST" is pressed. When the operation button 24 "G00" in FIG. 18 is pressed, it switches from "Manual Numerical Command (MST)" to "Manual Numerical Command (G00)" as shown in FIG. 19.

[0036] FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing the operation of the screen creation system 300 of the present disclosure. In the following flowchart, steps S1 to S2 are processes executed by the screen creation device 100, and steps S3 to S7 are processes executed by the numerical control device 200. First, the composite component 50 is arranged on the UI editing screen 20 (step S1). For the composite component 50 arranged on the UI screen, operation buttons 24 for each display state are set to create display state information (step S2). The display state information has the operation buttons 24 set for each display state of the composite component 50. The display states include the mode of the numerical control device 200, the display / non-display of the composite component 50, the selection / non-selection of the composite component 50, and the like.

[0037] The numerical control device 200 reads the UI screen and the display state information created by the screen creation device 100 (step S3). Based on the display state information, the numerical control device 200 determines the arrangement of the operation buttons 24 in each display state of the UI screen, and creates an arrangement table of the operation buttons 24 on the UI screen (step S4). The numerical control device 200 displays the UI screen created by the screen creation device 100 and monitors changes in the display state (step S5). When the numerical control device 200 detects a change in the display state due to an operator's operation or an internal signal of the numerical control device 200 (step S6; Yes), it changes the arrangement of the operation buttons 24 according to the change in the display state (step S7). After changing the arrangement of the operation buttons 24, it proceeds to step S5 to continue monitoring. If the display state does not change (step S6; No), it proceeds to step S5 to continue monitoring.

[0038] As described above, in the screen creation system 300 of the present disclosure, when the operation buttons 24 in each display state of the composite part 50 are set, the numerical control device 200 determines the arrangement of the operation buttons 24 for each display state of the UI screen. The numerical control device 200 detects a change in the display state and automatically changes the arrangement of the operation buttons 24. According to the screen creation system 300 of the present disclosure, the creation of the UI screen is simplified. Since the setting of the operation buttons 24 for each composite part 50 can be reused on different UI screens, it is simpler than setting the arrangement of the operation buttons 24 for each UI screen.

[0039] [Hardware Configuration] Referring to FIG. 21, the hardware configuration of the numerical control device will be described. The CPU 111 included in the numerical control device 200 is a processor that controls the numerical control device 200 as a whole. The CPU 111 reads the system program processed in the ROM 112 via the bus, and controls the entire numerical control device 200 according to the system program. Temporary calculation data, display data, various data input by the user via the input unit 62, etc. are temporarily stored in the RAM 113.

[0040] The display unit 61 is a monitor or the like attached to the numerical control device 200. The display unit 61 displays an operation screen, a setting screen, etc. of the numerical control device 200.

[0041] The input unit 62 is an integrated unit with the display unit 61 or a separate keyboard, touch panel, etc. from the display unit 61. The user operates the input unit 62 to input to the screen displayed on the display unit 61. Note that the display unit 61 and the input unit 62 may be a mobile terminal.

[0042] The non-volatile memory 114 is a memory whose storage state is maintained even when the power of the numerical control device 200 is turned off, for example, backed up by a battery (not shown). Programs read from an external device via an interface (not shown), programs input via the input unit 62, and various data (for example, setting parameters obtained from the numerical control device 200 or a machine tool) obtained from each part of the numerical control device 200 or a machine tool are stored in the non-volatile memory 114. The programs and various data stored in the non-volatile memory 114 may be expanded to the RAM 113 during execution / use. Also, various system programs are pre-written in the ROM 112.

[0043] The controller 40 that controls the tools of the machine tool converts the axis movement command from the CPU 111 into a pulse signal and outputs it to the driver 41. The driver 41 converts the pulse signal into a current and drives the servo motor of the machine tool. The servo motor moves the tool and the table according to the control of the numerical control device 200.

[0044] The screen creation device 100 does not include the controller 40 and the driver 41, but has a hardware configuration substantially the same as that in FIG. 20. The description of the hardware configuration of the screen creation device 100 is omitted.

Explanation of Signs

[0045] 100 Screen creation device 200 Numerical control device 300 Screen creation system 10 Display unit 11 Input section 12 Editing section 13 Program generation section 14 Component library 50 Composite component 61 Display section 62 Input section 63 UI screen display section 64 Arrangement determination section 65 Operation button switching section 111 CPU 112 ROM 113 RAM 114 Non-volatile memory

Claims

1. A numerical control device that displays a user interface screen, obtains display state information associating a plurality of composite components included in the user interface screen, the display state of each of the composite components, and the setting of an operation button, an arrangement determination unit that creates an operation button arrangement table for determining the arrangement of operation buttons for each display state of a user interface screen including a plurality of the composite components based on the display state of each of the composite components and the setting of the operation button, a numerical control device comprising: an operation button switching unit that detects a change in the display state of the user interface screen and switches the arrangement of operation buttons on the user interface screen based on the operation button arrangement table created by the arrangement determination unit.

2. The numerical control device according to claim 1, wherein the display state includes information on whether or not the plurality of composite components are being displayed.

3. The numerical control device according to claim 1, wherein the display state includes the mode of the numerical control device.

4. The numerical control device according to claim 1, wherein the display state includes information on whether or not the plurality of composite components are selected.

5. a component library that stores components constituting a user interface screen and a plurality of composite components formed by combining the components, a display state setting unit that receives a setting of display state information associating a plurality of composite components included in the user interface screen, the display state of each of the composite components, and the setting of an operation button for the composite components, an arrangement determination unit that creates an operation button arrangement table for determining the arrangement of operation buttons for each display state of a user interface screen including a plurality of the composite components based on the display state of each of the composite components and the setting of the operation button, a screen creation system comprising: an operation button switching unit that detects a change in the display state of the user interface screen and changes the arrangement of operation buttons displayed on the UI screen of the numerical control device based on the operation button arrangement table created by the arrangement determination unit.

6. By one or more processors executing, obtain display state information associating a plurality of composite components included in the user interface screen of the numerical control device, the display state of each of the composite components, and the setting of an operation button for the composite components, Based on the setting of the operation buttons for each display state of each of the composite components, create an operation button arrangement table for determining the arrangement of the operation buttons for each display state of the user interface screen including the plurality of composite components, detect a change in the display state of the user interface screen, switch the arrangement of the operation buttons according to the display state of the user interface screen based on the created operation button arrangement table, a storage medium that stores instructions readable by the numerical control device.

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