Building and Facilities Information Screen System

Abstract

To provide a screen builder by which a user who is unfamiliar with information technology can easily create a building / equipment guidance screen.SOLUTION: A screen builder (7) includes a main screen (24) which is always displayed on a browser (12), the main screen (24) including project management means (26), a map setting button (27), a scene setting button (28), an indoor photo image setting button (29), and an icon setting button (30). The project management means (26) manages a project prepared for each building / equipment guidance screen. The map setting button (27) sets a map which is a floor plan of a building. The scene setting button (28) sets each room in the building. The indoor photo image setting button (29) designates an image file of indoor photo images of the room. The icon setting button (30) pastes information display icons (47, 50) to equipment displayed in the indoor photo images and puts a link to an equipment information file.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

Technical Field

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[0001] The present invention relates to a building and equipment guidance screen displayed on a browser for explaining and guiding buildings and equipment provided in buildings or within buildings. Building and facility information screen system for managing these facilities. It relates thereto.

Background Art

[0002] Factories are equipped with various types of equipment such as machine tools and industrial machines necessary for product production. Manuals are prepared for each piece of equipment, and users need to read the manuals to operate the equipment. By the way, many of these manuals are managed in paper form, and it is necessary to go to the storage location of the manual to search for the manual, which is cumbersome. In recent years, electronic file manuals have also been provided, but it is similarly cumbersome in that users need to search within servers and folders to obtain the manuals. In addition to manuals, such equipment has a lot of useful information such as videos and photos for the use of the equipment. Such information is also stored in various places or saved in various folders on the server, so there is a problem that users have to search for it. Furthermore, there is also know-how and tacit knowledge that is not stored as information. For example, regarding a predetermined operation or procedure, information such as why it is necessary to perform it in that way and what its purpose is is known only to on-site users. Such know-how and tacit knowledge have been verbally explained among users from generation to generation, but technological inheritance is not always ensured. Even if the know-how is summarized in a document, it is difficult to search because the storage locations of the documents are scattered, and there is also a risk of dissipation.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] Patent Document 1 proposes a facility information viewing system that displays a screen on a touch panel or the like, allowing users to obtain information about facilities and equipment from this screen. According to this document, the screen displays a 3D image of the interior of the facility, i.e., the building, and 3D operation is possible using a touch panel, mouse, or other pointer device. In other words, the user can operate as if they were actually in the building, moving freely within the building and changing the direction of their viewpoint. Various equipment is installed inside the building, and icons are placed on these pieces of equipment in the 3D image. By selecting an icon, information about that piece of equipment can be displayed.

[0005] If a building and equipment guide screen for a factory can be provided, similar to the facility information viewing system described in Patent Document 1, the user will be freed from the hassle of searching for manuals and other information, and the problem of information such as know-how being scattered. Specifically, the building and equipment guide screen would display 3D photographic images of the factory's interior and allow 3D manipulation using a pointer device. Icons would be attached to each piece of equipment installed in the factory within the 3D photographic images, and links to electronic files of various information such as manuals would be attached to them. The user would then be able to freely move around the factory's interior using 3D manipulation by displaying the building and equipment guide screen. By selecting an icon for any piece of equipment, the user can obtain information about that equipment. In other words, the user would be freed from the hassle of searching for information. Furthermore, if know-how and other information are compiled into documents and converted into electronic files, and links to these files are attached to the icons of the target equipment, the problem of information being scattered would also be solved. In short, a large amount of various types of information can be effectively managed in a centralized manner. As a result, such a building and equipment guide screen can also be used as an educational screen for users unfamiliar with the factory. In other words, technology can be reliably transferred, and users can be educated quickly.

[0006] However, there are some issues that need to be addressed regarding such building and facility information screens. Specifically, there is a lack of a user-friendly and appropriate screen builder for creating building and facility information screens. For example, it is possible to create building and facility information screens using a development environment such as UNITY®. However, such development environments are designed to allow for the development of various general-purpose applications, which inevitably makes them complex to operate. This is to increase the degree of freedom in development.

[0007] Consequently, when creating a building / facility guide screen, the development environment requires the main screen to be displayed. For example, when assigning a 3D photo image or attaching an icon to an image, the user must find the corresponding item in the menu bar assigned to the main screen. Furthermore, even when selecting from the menu bar, the user must find the necessary item from multiple dropdown options. Moreover, after selecting an item, the screen may expand to a different screen than the main screen, confusing the user. The main reason for requiring operations from a menu bar in such a general-purpose development environment is likely to maximize the display area of ​​the main screen and improve development efficiency. However, this can be stressful for IT-unfamiliar users, causing them to abandon the creation of the building / facility guide screen altogether.

[0008] This invention provides a screen builder that allows even IT-unfamiliar users to intuitively and easily create a building and facility guide screen that can be displayed in a browser to explain and guide them about a building and the facilities installed within it. The building and facilities information screen system provided for management The purpose is to provide it. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] This invention provides a screen builder for creating building and facility information screens that are displayed on a device's browser. Equipped with a building and facilities information screen system.The system is structured as follows: The building and equipment guide screen to be created includes a map consisting of floor plans showing the rooms within the building, interior photographs taken of the interiors of the rooms, and equipment information that stores relevant information about the equipment installed in the rooms. Links to the interior photographs corresponding to each room are provided on the map, and when selected by a pointer device, the interior photographs are displayed in the browser. Each interior photograph has an information display icon attached to it for each piece of equipment displayed in the image, and when an information display icon is selected by a pointer device, a sub-window is created on the terminal and the corresponding equipment information is displayed.

[0010] The screen builder according to the present invention includes a main screen that is always displayed in the browser while it is running. The main screen is provided with a project management means, a map setting button, a scene setting button, an interior photo image setting button, and an icon setting button. The project management means manages projects prepared for each building / facility guide screen, and by specifying a predetermined project through new creation or loading, the corresponding building / facility guide screen can be created and maintained on the main screen. When the map setting button is selected with a pointer device, a map selection subwindow is displayed, and when any map file containing a map is selected from a predetermined folder, the selected map is displayed on the main screen. When the scene setting button is selected with a pointer device, a scene setting subwindow is displayed, allowing the user to set a scene to identify each room in the displayed map and to select one arbitrary scene as the editing target. When the interior photo image setting button is selected with a pointer device, an interior photo image selection subwindow is displayed, allowing the user to select an image file of an interior photo image corresponding to the scene to be edited from a predetermined folder, and when selected, the interior photo image is displayed on the main screen as the editing target. When the icon setting button is selected with the pointer device, an icon setting subwindow is displayed, allowing users to attach information display icons to each piece of equipment in the interior photo image being edited. Furthermore, it is possible to select an equipment information file containing the corresponding equipment information from a designated folder and link it to the information display icon. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] This invention provides the main screen of the screen builder with a project management system, a map setting button, a scene setting button, an interior photo image setting button, and an icon setting button. Although these buttons consume a small amount of display space on the main screen, even users unfamiliar with IT can intuitively perform the desired operations when creating building and facility guide screens. This is because virtually all operations necessary for screen creation can be performed from the main screen. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0012] [Figure 1] This is a block diagram of the building and equipment information screen system according to this embodiment. [Figure 2] This diagram shows the folder hierarchy of the document storage area in the building and equipment information screen system according to this embodiment. [Figure 3] This figure shows a building and facilities information screen according to this embodiment, where (A), (B), and (C) are building and facilities information screens operated by the user, respectively. [Figure 4] This figure shows the screen builder according to this embodiment, where (A), (B), and (C) are the main screens of the screen builder being operated by the user. [Figure 5] This figure shows the screen builder according to this embodiment, where (A), (B), and (C) are the main screens of the screen builder being operated by the user. [Figure 6] This figure shows the screen builder according to this embodiment, where (A), (B), and (C) are the main screens of the screen builder being operated by the user. [Figure 7] This figure shows the screen builder according to this embodiment, where (A), (B), and (C) are the main screens of the screen builder being operated by the user. [Figure 8] This figure shows the screen builder according to this embodiment, where (A), (B), and (C) are the main screens of the screen builder being operated by the user. [Figure 9] A diagram showing a screen builder according to a modification of the present embodiment, where (A) and (B) are the main screens of the screen builder being operated by the user respectively.

Embodiments for Carrying out the Invention

[0013] <The Present Embodiment> Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 shows a building / equipment guidance screen system 1 according to the present embodiment. The building / equipment guidance screen system 1 is composed of a network 2 consisting of wired or wireless, a server 3 connected to this network 2, and a plurality of terminals 4a, b, 4c,... also connected to the network 2. For the terminals 4a, 4b, 4c,..., a personal computer, a tablet, a smartphone, etc. can be used, and there is no limitation on the type of device as long as it has a browser. The server 3 can also be composed of one or a plurality of computer groups, and there is no limitation on its configuration.

[0014] The building / equipment guidance screen system 1 is provided with a WEB server 6, a screen builder 7, a plurality of building / equipment guidance screens 9, 9,... and a document storage area 10 that stores information accessed by the building / equipment guidance screens 9, 9,... and the screen builder 7. The screen builder 7 according to the present embodiment will be described in detail later, but it is designed to operate on the WEB server 6. The plurality of building / equipment guidance screens 9, 9,... are a group of screens created by the user using the screen builder 7, and these also operate on the WEB server 6.

[0015] <Document Storage Area> In the building and facility guidance screen system 1 according to this embodiment, various types of information displayed on the building and facility guidance screens 9, 9, … created by the user are to be placed in specific folders according to rules. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, folders are prepared in advance. First, folders “project”, “ap_html”, and “document” are prepared in a predetermined layer. Then, under the folder “document”, folders “image”, “movie”, “panorama”, and “pdf” are prepared. The folder “project” stores project files created by the screen builder 7, which will be described later, that is, project files. The folder “ap_html” stores html files for calling the building and facility guidance screens 9, 9, …. Image files are stored in the folder “image”, video files are stored in the folder “movie”, image files of 3D photo images or 2D photo images are stored in the folder “panorama”, and PDF files are stored in the folder “pdf” respectively.

[0016] Since various types of information are thus to be placed in specific folders according to rules respectively, when the user creates the building and facility guidance screens 9, 9, … using the screen builder 7, the necessary information can be easily searched for. That is, the efficiency of screen creation is high. Note that the configuration of the folders does not need to be limited to the configuration shown in FIG. 2, and other configurations may be used.

[0017] <Building and Facility Guidance Screen> Before describing the screen builder 7 according to this embodiment, the building and facility guide screen created by the screen builder 7 will be explained with reference to Figure 3. In terminals 4a, 4b, and 4c, the URL of the building and facility guide screen is called from the browser 12, as shown in (A) of Figure 3. Then, the building name 13, which indicates the name of the building, and the map 14, which is a floor plan of the building, are displayed in the browser 12. The map 14 is always displayed in the foreground, and its position and size can be freely changed using a pointer device such as a mouse or touch panel. The floor plan of the map 14 shows one or more rooms, and each room has a scene movement icon 16, 16 attached to it. A scene is used to identify an area within a building, and is generally used to identify a room. Typically, one scene is associated with each room.

[0018] In map 14, select the scene movement icon 16 placed in the designated room. Then, as shown in Figure 3(B), the 3D photo image set for the selected scene, i.e., the selected room, is loaded and displayed in browser 12. The scene name 17 is then displayed. The browser 12 of terminals 4a, 4b, and 4c supports, for example, WebGL (registered trademark), and the 3D photo image showing the interior of the room can be manipulated in 3D using a pointing device. That is, it is possible to move around inside the room and change orientation within the room.

[0019] In the 3D photographic image, one or more information display icons 19, 20, ... are attached to the equipment installed in the room, such as machine tool S1 and vertical injection molding machine S2. These information display icons 19, 20, ... are linked to PDF files, image files, or video files. For example, clicking on the information display icon 19 attached to the vertical injection molding machine S2, which indicates a link to a PDF file, will display a sub-window, as shown in Figure 3(C), allowing the user to view the PDF file. In this way, the user can virtually move around the building and easily obtain relevant information about the equipment in the room.

[0020] <Screen Builder> The screen builder 7 according to this embodiment will now be described. The screen builder 7 is capable of creating various building and facility guide screens 9, 9, ... as described above. The screen builder 7 is launched by specifying a predetermined URL on terminals 4a, 4b, and 4c. When this is done, the main screen 24 is displayed as shown in Figure 4(A). The main screen 24 has a configuration characteristic of the present invention. Specifically, the main screen 24 is provided with a project management box 26, which is a project management means, a map setting button 27, a scene setting button 28, an interior photo image setting button 29, an icon setting button 30, a building name display field 32, and a scene name display field 33. As will be explained in detail below, with the main screen 24 open, substantially all operations necessary to create building and facility guide screens 9, 9, ... can be performed from the main screen 24.

[0021] The Project Management Box 26 is a group of icons for creating, saving, and loading projects. A project is a development management unit, with one project created for each of the Building / Equipment Guide Screens 9, 9, ... One Building / Equipment Guide Screen 9 is created for each project. Clicking the New button 26a in the Project Management Box 26 displays the Project Creation Subwindow 35, as shown in Figure 4(B). In the Project Creation Subwindow 35, you can create a new project and assign a name to it. In this example, the project name is "Factory No. 2".

[0022] You can also load and open previously developed projects. Figure 4(C) shows the project load subwindow 36 displayed after clicking the open button 26b in the project management box 26. In this subwindow, you can select and open previously created projects, or delete them. When you create a project in the project creation subwindow 35 in Figure 4(B), or select an existing project in the project load subwindow 36 in Figure 4(C), the project name will be displayed in the building name display field 32 as shown in Figure 4(C). Then the project creation subwindow 35 or project load subwindow 36 will close.

[0023] The map setting button 27 is used to set a map. Clicking it displays the map selection subwindow 38, as shown in Figure 5(A). One map needs to be set for the project. The map file, which stores the map, consists of an image file and is placed in the folder "image" as explained in Figure 2. In other words, this folder is the default folder where map files are placed, or the map folder. When the map selection subwindow 38 is opened, the map files in this folder are automatically listed. The user selects the floor plan showing the building in question, i.e., "Factory No. 2," from these map files. Once a map file is selected, the map 39 is displayed, as shown in Figure 5(B).

[0024] The Scene Setting button 28 is used to set a scene, and clicking it displays the Scene Setting subwindow 40 as shown in Figure 5(C). As shown in Map 39, the building "Factory No. 2" has two rooms. Therefore, in the Scene Setting subwindow 40, new scenes are created for each room. When a specific scene, for example, the "Room 1" scene "room1" is selected in the Scene Setting subwindow 40, it becomes possible to edit "Room 1" from then on. When a scene is selected, the scene name is displayed in the Scene Name Display Field 33 as shown in Figure 6(A).

[0025] The Indoor Photo Image Setting button 29 is used to set the indoor photo image for the scene being edited. Clicking it displays the Indoor Photo Image Selection subwindow 42, as shown in Figure 6(A). The Indoor Photo Image Selection subwindow 42 lists the image files in the folder "panorama," as shown in Figure 2. In other words, the folder "panorama" is the default folder where indoor photo image files are placed, i.e., the indoor photo image folder. While 3D photo images are preferred, 2D photo images are also acceptable. For example, selecting the 3D photo image file "room1.insp" corresponding to the currently edited scene, "Room 1," displays the 3D photo image of "Room 1" on the main screen 24, as shown in Figure 6(B). From this point onward, 3D manipulation becomes possible using the pointer device. That is, the display can be changed three-dimensionally, allowing you to move around the room or change your orientation within the room. Note that if a 2D photo image file is selected, movement using the pointer device is limited to two-dimensional movement, i.e., sliding only.

[0026] The icon setting button 30 is used to set various information display icons for indoor photo images in the scene being edited. Clicking it displays the icon setting subwindow 43, as shown in Figure 6(C). The icon setting subwindow 43 has buttons assigned to it, such as button 43a for setting a move icon, button 43b for setting an information display icon for a video, button 43c for setting an information display icon for a PDF, button 43d for setting an information display icon for an Excel fill, button 43e for setting an information display icon for an image, and button 43f for setting an information display icon for a URL.

[0027] As shown in Figure 7(A), select button 43a for setting the move icon and drag it to a room displayed on map 39. This will place the move icon 45 in the room on map 39. The move icon 45 can also be placed anywhere in the interior photo image. If you select the placed move icon 45, for example with the right mouse button, the destination scene setting subwindow 46 will appear, as shown in Figure 7(B). Here, set the desired destination scene. This will associate the scene with the move icon 45. Then, in the completed building / facility guide screen, when the move icon 45 is selected by the pointer device, the user will move to that scene.

[0028] As shown in Figure 7(C), select button 43c for setting the PDF information display icon and drag it to any location in the interior photo image. For example, drag it to the vertical injection molding machine S2. Then, the PDF information display icon 47 will be attached to the vertical injection molding machine S2. The screen builder 7 recognizes the 3D coordinates of all objects displayed in the 3D photo image, including not only the vertical injection molding machine S2 but also other equipment, walls, floors, etc. Therefore, when you drag the information display icon 47 to any piece of equipment, the information display icon 47 will be attached to the 3D coordinates of the surface of that equipment corresponding to the dragged position. Consequently, when you manipulate the interior photo image in 3D using the pointer device in the completed building / equipment guide screen, the information display icon 47 will move along with the target equipment.

[0029] When the pasted PDF information display icon 47 is selected, for example, with the right mouse button, the PDF link settings subwindow 49 is displayed, as shown in Figure 8 (A). The PDF files are stored in the folder "pdf" shown in Figure 2, and all PDF files in this folder are displayed in the PDF link settings subwindow 49. When a desired PDF file is selected, a link to that PDF file is created on the PDF information display icon 47. In the completed building / facility guide screen, the corresponding PDF file will be displayed when the PDF information display icon 47 is selected by the pointer device.

[0030] In the icon settings subwindow 43, buttons 43b for setting video information display icons, 43d for setting Excel fill information display icons, and 43e for setting image information display icons are used to attach information display icons for video files, Excel files, and image files, respectively, to the indoor photo image equipment, similar to how they are used for PDF files. Selecting each information display icon, for example with the right mouse button, allows you to select and link to a video file, Excel file, or image file. Button 43f for setting URL information display icons allows you to link a desired URL after attaching an information display icon to the indoor photo image. This enables the display of any information on the network.

[0031] Figure 8(B) shows the interior photo image with various information display icons 47, 50, 51, ... pasted onto it. Selecting the preview button 26d in the project management box 26 switches to preview mode, as shown in Figure 8(C), allowing you to operate the building / equipment guide screen. In other words, you can check the operation of the information display icons 47, 50, 51, move icons 45, 45, etc., that are pasted onto the equipment. When in preview mode, the project management box 26 displays the preview end button 53. Selecting this preview end button 53 exits preview mode and returns to normal mode, as shown in Figure 8(B). Selecting the save button 26c in the project management box 26 saves the project. That is, the building / equipment guide screen is completed. Close the browser 12 and exit the screen builder 7.

[0032] <Modification of the embodiment> The screen builder 7 according to this embodiment can be modified in various ways. For example, the project management means can be modified. In this embodiment, the project management means is provided as a project management box 26 and displayed on the main screen 24. This may be provided as a project button 55, as shown in Figure 9(A). The preview button 57 may also be displayed as a separate button on the main screen 24. When the project button 55 is selected, the project management subwindow 59 is displayed, as shown in Figure 9(B). From this subwindow 59, operations such as creating, loading (opening), and saving projects can be performed. The number of buttons displayed on the main screen 24 can also be increased. As shown in Figures 9(A) and (B), the number of environment setting buttons 60 can be increased. The environment setting buttons 60 allow the display color of the main screen 24 to be changed, or the attributes of the main screen 24 to be changed. [Explanation of symbols]

[0033] 1. Building and facility information screen system 2. Network 3 servers 4a, 4b, 4c terminals 6. Web server 7. Screen builder 9. Building / Facilities Information Screen 10. Document Storage Area 12 Browser 13 Building name 14 Map 16 Scene transition icon 17 Scene name 19 Icon for displaying information 20 Information display icons 21 Information display icons 24 Main screen 26 Project management box 27 Map settings button 28 Scene settings button 29. Indoor photo image setting button 30. Icon setting button 32 Building name display field 33 Scene name display field 35. Project creation subwindow 36. Project loading subwindow 38 Map selection subwindow 39 Map 40 Scene settings subwindow 42 Indoor photo image selection subwindow 43 Icon settings subwindow 45 Move icon 46 Destination scene setting subwindow 47 Icon for displaying PDF information 49 PDF link settings subwindow 50 Information display icon 51 Information display icon 53 Preview end button 55 Project button 57 Preview button 59 Project Management Subwindow 60 Preferences Button S1 Machine tool S2 Vertical injection molding machine

Claims

1. Comprising a network, a server connected to the network, and a terminal connected to the network and operated by a user, The server is provided with a web server, a building and facilities information screen that runs on the web server and is displayed in the browser of the terminal, and a screen builder that runs on the web server and is configured to create the building and facilities information screen. The aforementioned building and facilities information screen consists of a map comprising floor plans showing the rooms within the building, Interior photographic images taken of the inside of a room in the aforementioned building, The system includes equipment information, which stores relevant information about the equipment installed in the aforementioned room, The map contains links to the corresponding interior photographs of each room, and when selected by a pointer device operated by the user, the interior photographs are displayed on the browser. The aforementioned interior photographic image has an information display icon attached to each of the pieces of equipment displayed in the image, and when the information display icon is selected by the pointer device, a sub-window is generated on the terminal and the corresponding equipment information is displayed. The aforementioned screen builder includes a main screen that is always displayed in the browser while it is running. The aforementioned main screen is equipped with a project management tool, a map setting button, a scene setting button, an indoor photo image setting button, and an icon setting button. The project management means manages projects prepared for each building and equipment guide screen, and when a user creates a new project or loads a predetermined project, the corresponding building and equipment guide screen can be created and maintained on the main screen. When the aforementioned map setting button is selected with the pointer device, a map selection subwindow is displayed, and when the user selects any map file containing the map from a predetermined folder, the selected map is displayed on the main screen. When the aforementioned scene setting button is selected with the pointer device, a scene setting subwindow is displayed, allowing the user to set a scene to identify each of the rooms in the currently displayed map, and to select one of the aforementioned scenes as the editing target. When the aforementioned indoor photo image setting button is selected with the pointer device, an indoor photo image selection subwindow is displayed, allowing the user to select an image file of the indoor photo image corresponding to the scene to be edited from a predetermined folder. When selected with the pointer device, the indoor photo image is displayed on the main screen as the editing target. A building and equipment information screen system in which, when the aforementioned icon setting button is selected with the pointer device, an icon setting subwindow is displayed, allowing the user to attach the information display icon to each of the equipment in the interior photo image to be edited, and to select an equipment information file containing the corresponding equipment information from a predetermined folder and attach a link to the information display icon.

2. The building and facility guidance screen system according to claim 1, wherein the interior photo image consists of a 3D photo image and 3D operation is possible on the browser using the pointer device.

3. The aforementioned map selection subwindow is configured to select the map file from the default folder, which is the map folder. The building and facility guidance screen system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the indoor photo image selection subwindow is configured to select the image file from a designated folder, which is the indoor photo image folder.

4. The building and equipment information screen system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the equipment information file is a PDF file, an image file, a video file, an Excel file, or a web information file.

Images