GUI creation support apparatus, application software, and computer-readable storage medium

Abstract

A GUI creation support apparatus according to the present disclosure comprises: a GUI configuration information generation unit that generates GUI configuration information relating to an operation screen for accepting operations for a numerical control device on a plurality of exclusively controlled display devices; and an application output unit that outputs an application for changing a behavior of the operation screen on the basis of control information relating to numerical control information including operation rights of the display devices. The application comprises: an acquisition unit that acquires control information of the numerical control device for accepting operations of the plurality of exclusively controlled display devices; an operation right determination unit that determines the statuses of the operation rights of the display devices from the control information; an operation right notification unit that provides notification of the statuses of the operation rights; and a UI change unit that changes a GUI on the basis of the statuses of the operation rights and the control information of the numerical control device.

Description

GUI Creation Support Device, Application Software, and Computer-Readable Storage Medium 【0001】 The present disclosure relates to a GUI creation support device, application software, and a computer-readable storage medium. 【0002】 In conventional industrial machines, there are some that connect to an external operation terminal and accept operations from both the operation screen of the industrial machine main body and the external operation terminal. For example, Patent Document 1. 【0003】 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2022-154330 【0004】 Since there is a risk of competition when accepting operations from multiple terminals, exclusive control is performed. Even with exclusive control, not all operations are prohibited, and there may be cases where screen transitions are possible. When an operation screen is displayed due to a screen transition, the displayed operation screen appears to be operable, so it is difficult to determine which operation screen operations are restricted. 【0005】 In the field of industrial machines, an improvement in operability when performing exclusive control on a plurality of display devices connected to a control device of an industrial machine is desired. 【0006】 The GUI creation support device according to the present disclosure includes a GUI configuration information generation unit that generates GUI configuration information for an operation screen that accepts operations of a numerical control device in a plurality of display devices under exclusive control, and an application output unit that outputs an application that changes the behavior of the operation screen based on control information of the numerical control device including the operation right of the display device. The application includes an acquisition unit that acquires control information of the numerical control device that accepts operations of a plurality of display devices under exclusive control, an operation right determination unit that determines the state of the operation right of the display device from the control information, an operation right notification unit that notifies the state of the operation right, and a UI change unit that changes the GUI based on the state of the operation right and the control information of the numerical control device. 【0007】This diagram shows the relationship between a numerical control device and a display device. This is a block diagram of a GUI creation support device. This is a block diagram of a numerical control device equipped with an application and a display device. This diagram shows an example of an operation screen that changes depending on the operator's rights. This diagram shows an example of an operation screen that changes depending on parameter information. This is a block of a GUI creation support device equipped with an emulation function. This diagram shows an example of a preview GUI. This is a block diagram of a GUI creation support device that displays a preview GUI with fixed conditions. This is a block diagram explaining the hardware configuration of a GUI creation support device. 【0008】 Embodiments of this disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following description, components having the same or similar functions will be denoted by the same reference numerals. Duplication of these components may be omitted. 【0009】 In this application, "based on XX" means "based on at least XX," and includes cases where it is based on another element in addition to XX. Furthermore, "based on XX" is not limited to cases where XX is used directly, but also includes cases where it is based on something that has been calculated or processed. "XX" is any element (for example, any information). 【0010】 The GUI creation support device 100 is actually an information processing device such as an industrial PC (personal computer). The GUI creation support device 100 assists in the creation of the GUI for application 30. Application 30 outputs the GUI to the display device 20 on the numerical control device 10. 【0011】 The relationship between the control device (numerical control device 10) and the display device 20 of the industrial machine in this embodiment will be explained. As shown in Figure 1, the numerical control device 10 can be connected to a plurality of display devices 20. The numerical control device 10 also includes a display device (operation panel). The operating rights of these display devices are mutually exclusive. 【0012】The GUI creation support device 100 assists in the creation of an application 30 that outputs a GUI to a display device. The application 30 is provided to the numerical control device 10. The application 30 changes the behavior of the operation screen based on the status of the operation rights of the display device 20 and the control information of the numerical control device 10. The user of the display device 20 visually recognizes their authority from the behavior of the operation screen. 【0013】 The display device 20 is not fixed, but connects to the numerical control device 10 as needed and disconnects as needed. The display device 20 may be a display device 20 that stores GUI templates, or a display device 20 equipped with a browser that displays web scripts. The type of display device 20 is not particularly limited. Specifically, it may be a tablet, a programmable display, a display screen of an industrial PC, a mobile phone, etc. 【0014】 Figure 2 is a block diagram of the GUI creation support device 100. The GUI creation support device 100 includes a GUI configuration information generation unit 11 and an application output unit 12. 【0015】 The GUI configuration information generation unit 11 generates GUI configuration information for the application 30 that runs on the display device 20. The GUI configuration information is information about the configuration of the operation screen of the application 30. Each operation screen is composed of multiple UI elements. UI elements are elements that constitute the GUI, such as windows, checkboxes, text fields, dropdown lists, etc. 【0016】Attributes are attached to UI elements. These attributes change the behavior (appearance and function) of the UI elements. The GUI configuration information includes, as attributes, at least one of the following: the coordinate information of the UI elements in application 30, the type of UI element, the number of UI elements, the property settings of the UI elements, the color of the UI elements, the activation / deactivation status of the UI elements, and the display / hide status of the UI elements. The application output unit 12 outputs an application based on the GUI configuration information, which includes an acquisition unit 31, an operation right determination unit 32, an operation right notification unit 33, a UI modification unit 34, and an output unit 35. Application 30 includes the GUI configuration information generated by the GUI configuration information generation unit 11. Application 30 is provided to the numerical control device 10. 【0017】 Figure 3 is a block diagram of a numerical control device 10 equipped with an application 30 and a display device 20. Multiple display devices 20 are connected to the numerical control device 10. The display devices 20 display the operation screen of the numerical control device 10. Operation rights of the display devices 20 are mutually exclusive, so there is no conflict in the operation of the display devices 20. 【0018】 Application 30 comprises an acquisition unit 31, an operation rights determination unit 32, an operation rights notification unit 33, a UI change unit 34, and an output unit 35. The acquisition unit 31 acquires control information of the numerical control device 10. The control information of the numerical control device 10 includes parameter information of the numerical control device 10, the operating status of the numerical control device 10, the alarm occurrence status of the numerical control device 10, the input / output status of the I / O module, PLC signals, computer peripherals such as USB dongles and RFID, an operation rights determination flag, logged-in user information, authorization information linked to the logged-in user information, and authentication of automatic recognition devices. Of the control information of the numerical control device 10, the input / output status of the I / O module, PLC signals, computer peripherals, an operation rights determination flag, logged-in user information, authorization information linked to the logged-in user information, and authentication of automatic recognition devices are used to determine the status of operation rights. 【0019】 The operation rights determination unit 32 determines the operation rights status of the display device 20 connected to the numerical control device 10 based on control information such as the input / output status of the I / O module and PLC signals. 【0020】For example, the acquisition unit 31 acquires a PLC signal corresponding to the control switch for the display device 20. The control switch is provided on a specific display device 20 and accepts manual control switching. By checking this PLC signal, the display device 20 that has control can be determined. 【0021】 The operation rights notification unit 33 notifies the UI change unit 34 of the status of the operation rights determined by the operation rights determination unit 32. 【0022】 The UI modification unit 34 modifies the UI behavior based on the status of the operation rights and control information from the numerical control device 10, such as parameter information. To change the behavior, a GUI for "operation rights granted" and a GUI for "operation rights denied" are prepared, and the entire screen displayed is changed depending on whether or not operation rights are granted. Alternatively, only the attributes of some UI elements may be changed. 【0023】 The output unit 35 outputs to the display device 20 an operation screen with adjusted attributes based on the control information (operation rights status and parameter information) from the numerical control device 10, as well as the operation rights status. 【0024】 The display device 20 displays the operation screen acquired from the numerical control device 10. The display device 20 may acquire the entire operation screen, or it may acquire only the parts that have been changed. 【0025】 Figure 4 shows an example of an operation screen. The upper part of Figure 4 shows that the operation screen includes four display areas and operation buttons arranged in a horizontal row at the bottom of the screen. The operation screen shown in the drawing is the operation screen when the display device 20 does not have control. Since the display device 20 does not have control, the attributes of all operation buttons are deactivated. Deactivated operation buttons do not accept operator input. The operation screen shown in the drawing is the operation screen when the display device 20 has control. Since the display device has control, the function buttons in the lower part of the operation screen are activated. Activated operation buttons accept operator input. 【0026】Deactivated and activated control buttons differ not only in function but also in appearance. In the example in Figure 4, the background color of the deactivated control button is darker, reducing its visibility. In this way, the deactivation of the control button is visually represented by intentionally reducing its visibility. The function and appearance of a control button are determined by the attributes of the UI element. 【0027】 Figure 5 shows an example of how the operation screen changes based on parameter information. The operation screen shown in the diagram is the operation screen when the display device has control and is not subject to operation restrictions based on parameter information. The function buttons in the lower part of the operation screen are activated. Activated operation buttons accept operator input. The operation screen shown below the diagram is the operation screen that has changed based on parameter information. In this operation screen, operations prohibited by parameters are deactivated. An example of a parameter that prohibits operations is the operation of relative coordinate system presets. The parameter information allows enabling / disabling the prohibition. The UI modification unit 34 refers to the parameter information associated with the UI element and changes the attribute value of the UI element based on the parameter information. 【0028】 The GUI creation support device 100 may also include an emulation function. Figure 6 is a block diagram of the GUI creation support device 100 equipped with an emulation function. The GUI creation support device 100 includes a GUI configuration information generation unit 11, a preview setting acquisition unit 13, a preview GUI generation unit 14, and an emulation unit 15. 【0029】 The GUI configuration information generation unit 11 creates GUI configuration information. The GUI configuration information created here is incomplete. The application (for preview) switches the display of the incomplete GUI according to the control rights and control information of the numerical control device. 【0030】 The preview settings acquisition unit 13 acquires setting information that serves as the conditions for previewing, etc., as preview settings. 【0031】 The preview GUI generation unit 14 generates a preview GUI. The preview GUI generation unit 14 adds UI elements that prompt the user to input preview settings, for example, as shown in Figure 7. 【0032】 The emulation unit 15 emulates the preview settings acquired by the preview settings acquisition unit 13 into a format that can be acquired by the acquisition unit 31. 【0033】 Application 30 (for preview) is an incomplete application. The acquisition unit 31 acquires information on the numerical control device 10 and display device 20 emulated by the emulation unit 15, and a preview GUI based on experimentally created GUI configuration information. The operation rights determination unit 32, operation rights notification unit 33, UI change unit 34, and output unit 35 of Application (for preview) 30 operate in substantially the same way as the previous Application 30. When emulation is performed, inputs (control information of the numerical control device, operation rights status of the display device 20) and outputs (display of the operation screen) are associated. By adjusting the output (display of the operation screen) for various input patterns, the developer can achieve an ideal association between input and output. 【0034】 Figure 7 shows an example of a preview GUI. The preview GUI displays a tab for selecting whether or not to have control over the display screen. The developer selects whether or not to have control over the screen by operating an input device (such as a PC keyboard). In addition to whether or not to have control over the screen, the preview GUI may also accept input such as parameter information for the numerical control device 10. 【0035】 The emulation unit 15 generates control information for the numerical control device 10, emulating the environment when the user has control rights or when the user does not, in response to the input. The acquisition unit 31 acquires the control information for the numerical control device 10 from the emulation unit 15. The control information also includes signals such as PLC signals. The control rights determination unit 32 determines the status of control rights based on the control information. 【0036】 The operation rights notification unit 33 notifies the UI change unit 34 of the change in the operation rights status. The UI change unit 34 changes the behavior of the UI based on the operation rights status determined by the operation rights determination unit 32 and control information such as parameter information. 【0037】Alternatively, the preview GUI may be displayed by fixing the conditions without performing emulation. Figure 8 is a block diagram of the GUI creation support device 100 that displays the preview GUI by fixing the conditions. The GUI creation support device 100 does not have an emulation unit 15, and the application 30 (for preview) only has an output unit 35. The conditions are set in advance. For example, the preview GUI is displayed by setting the situation to "no operation rights" or "operation rights granted". 【0038】 As described above, the GUI creation support device 100 of this embodiment is connected to a plurality of display devices 20 and, in a numerical control device 10 that accepts operations from the plurality of display devices 20, it supports the generation of GUI configuration information that changes the behavior of the attributes of the GUI's UI elements by determining the state of operation rights for exclusive control of the operations of the display devices 20. 【0039】 The functions operable on the display device 20 change depending on the user's permissions and other factors. The GUI creation support device 100 accepts the setting of attributes for UI elements of the operation screen that correspond to these usage conditions. Furthermore, during operation of the numerical control device 10, the operating status of the numerical control device 10 and the alarm status of the numerical control device 10 change. Therefore, the GUI creation support device 100 accepts the setting of attributes for UI operations on the operation screen that correspond to these changes in the environment of the numerical control device 10. 【0040】 The GUI creation support device 100 also includes an emulation function. The emulation unit 15 mimics the operation of the numerical control device 10 and the display device 20, creating an environment that closely resembles the operation of the display device 20 and the numerical control device 10. The GUI creation support device 100 may also include a simulation function instead of an emulation function. 【0041】 The input device for emulation may be an actual device. By using the actual display device 20 and numerical control device 10, the realism of the preview can be enhanced. 【0042】Hereinafter, the hardware configuration of the GUI creation support device 100 to which the present disclosure is applied will be described. FIG. 9 is a hardware configuration diagram of the GUI creation support device 100. As shown in FIG. 9, the GUI creation support device 100 includes a CPU 111 that controls the entire GUI creation support device 100, a ROM 112 that records programs and data, and a RAM 113 that temporarily expands data. The CPU 111 reads out the system program recorded in the ROM 112 via a bus. 【0043】 The non-volatile memory 114, for example, is backed up by a battery (not shown) so that the storage state is maintained even when the power of the GUI creation support device 100 is turned off. Various data such as programs read from the external device 120 via the interfaces 115, 118, 119 and operation inputs input via the input device 121 are stored in the non-volatile memory 114. The non-volatile memory 114 may store programs and data for executing the GUI creation support device 100 of the present embodiment. 【0044】 The interface 115 is an interface for connecting the GUI creation support device 100 and an external device 120 such as an adapter. Programs and various parameters are read from the external device 120 side. The interface 118 is an interface for connecting the GUI creation support device 100 and a display unit 131 such as a liquid crystal display. Data read onto the memory, data obtained as a result of executing programs, etc. are displayed on the display unit 131. The interface 119 is an interface for connecting the numerical control device 10 and an input device 121 such as a keyboard and a pointing device. The input device 121 passes commands, data, etc. based on operations by the operator to the CPU 111 via the interface 119. 【0045】While embodiments of this disclosure have been described in detail above, this disclosure is not limited to the individual embodiments described above. These embodiments can be added, replaced, modified, partially deleted, etc., in any way that does not depart from the spirit of the invention or from the idea and intent of this disclosure derived from the claims and their equivalents. For example, the order of operations and processes in the embodiments described above are shown as examples only and are not limited thereto. The same applies when numerical values ​​or mathematical formulas are used in the description of the embodiments described above. 【0046】The following are annotations relating to embodiments of the present disclosure. (Annotation 1) A GUI creation support device (100) according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a GUI configuration information generation unit (11) that generates GUI configuration information for an operation screen that accepts operations of a numerical control device (10) on a plurality of mutually controlled display devices, and an application output unit (12) that outputs an application that changes the behavior of the operation screen based on control information of the numerical control device (10), including the operation rights of the display device (20). The application includes an acquisition unit (31) that acquires control information of a numerical control device that accepts operations of a plurality of mutually controlled display devices, an operation rights determination unit (32) that determines the state of the operation rights of the display device from the control information, an operation rights notification unit (33) that notifies the state of the operation rights, and a UI change unit (34) that changes the GUI based on the state of the operation rights and the control information of the numerical control device. (Annotation 2) The UI change unit (34) changes the behavior of UI elements included in the GUI configuration information based on the state of the operation rights. (Note 3) The UI modification unit (34) changes the behavior of the UI elements included in the GUI configuration information based on the control information of the numerical control device (100). (Note 4) The GUI creation support device (100) includes a preview setting acquisition unit (13) that acquires setting information that serves as the conditions for previewing, and an emulation unit (15) that emulates the preview conditions into a format of control information of the numerical control device (10) that can be acquired by the acquisition unit (31). (Note 5) The GUI creation support device (100) includes a preview setting acquisition unit (13) that acquires setting information that serves as fixed conditions, and a preview GUI generation unit (14) that generates a preview GUI with the fixed conditions. (Note 6) The UI modification unit (34) changes the behavior of at least one of the following: the coordinate information of a UI element, the type of UI element, the number of UI elements, the property settings of a UI element, the color of a UI element, the activation / deactivation of a UI element, or the display / hide status of a UI element.(Note 7) The control information of the numerical control device (10) includes at least one of the parameter information of the numerical control device (10), the operating status of the numerical control device (10), the alarm status of the numerical control device (10), the input / output status of the I / O module, PLC signals, computer peripherals, operation rights determination flags, logged-in user information, authorization information associated with the user, and authentication information authenticated by an automatic recognition device. (Note 8) Application software (30) according to one aspect of the present disclosure is created by any one of the GUI creation support devices (100) described in claims 1 to 7. (Note 9) A computer-readable storage medium (112, 113, 114) according to one aspect of the present disclosure causes the computer (111) to operate as a GUI configuration information generation unit (11) that generates GUI configuration information for an operation screen that accepts operations of a numerical control device (10) on a plurality of mutually controlled display devices (20), and an application output unit (12) that outputs an application (30) that changes the behavior of the operation screen based on control information of the numerical control device (10), including the operation rights of the display devices (20). The application (30) operates as an acquisition unit (31) that acquires control information of the numerical control device (10) that accepts operations of a plurality of mutually controlled display devices (20), an operation rights determination unit (32) that determines the status of the operation rights of the display devices (20) from the control information, an operation rights notification unit (33) that notifies the status of the operation rights, and a UI change unit (34) that changes the GUI based on the status of the operation rights and the control information of the numerical control device (10). 【0047】 100 GUI creation support device 11 GUI configuration information generation unit 12 Application output unit 13 Preview setting acquisition unit 14 Preview GUI generation unit 31 Acquisition unit 32 Operation rights determination unit 33 Operation rights notification unit 34 UI change unit 35 Output unit 111 CPU 112 ROM 113 RAM 114 Non-volatile memory

Claims

1. A GUI creation support device comprising: a GUI configuration information generation unit that generates GUI configuration information for an operation screen that accepts operations of a numerical control device on a plurality of mutually controlled display devices; and an application output unit that outputs an application that changes the behavior of the operation screen based on control information of a numerical control device, including the operation rights of the display devices, wherein the application comprises: an acquisition unit that acquires control information of a numerical control device that accepts operations of a plurality of mutually controlled display devices; an operation rights determination unit that determines the status of the operation rights of the display devices from the control information; an operation rights notification unit that notifies the status of the operation rights; and a UI change unit that changes the GUI based on the status of the operation rights and the control information of the numerical control device.

2. The GUI creation support device according to claim 1, wherein the UI modification unit changes the behavior of the UI elements included in the GUI configuration information based on the status of the operation rights.

3. The GUI creation support device according to claim 1, wherein the UI modification unit changes the behavior of UI elements included in the GUI configuration information based on the control information of the numerical control device.

4. A GUI creation support device according to claim 1, comprising: a preview setting acquisition unit that acquires setting information that serves as the conditions for previewing; and an emulation unit that emulates the preview conditions into a format of control information for a numerical control device that can be acquired by the acquisition unit.

5. A GUI creation support device according to claim 1, comprising: a preview setting acquisition unit that acquires setting information which is a fixed set of conditions; and a preview GUI generation unit that generates a preview GUI based on the fixed set of conditions.

6. The GUI creation support device according to claim 1, wherein the UI modification unit changes the behavior of at least one of the following: the coordinate information of a UI element, the type of UI element, the number of UI elements, the property settings of a UI element, the color of a UI element, the activation / deactivation of a UI element, and the display / hide status of a UI element.

7. The GUI creation support device according to claim 1, wherein the control information of the numerical control device includes at least one of the parameter information of the numerical control device, the operating status of the numerical control device, the alarm status of the numerical control device, the input / output status of the I / O module, PLC signals, computer peripheral devices, operation rights determination flag, logged-in user information, authorization information associated with the user, and authentication information authenticated by an automatic recognition device.

8. Application software created by any one of the GUI creation support devices described in claims 1 to 7.

9. A computer is configured to operate as a GUI configuration information generation unit that generates GUI configuration information for an operation screen that accepts operations of a numerical control device on a plurality of mutually controlled display devices, and an application output unit that outputs an application that changes the behavior of the operation screen based on control information of a numerical control device, including the operation rights of the display devices, and the application is configured as a computer-readable storage medium that records a program that operates as: an acquisition unit that acquires control information of a numerical control device that accepts operations of a plurality of mutually controlled display devices; an operation rights determination unit that determines the status of the operation rights of the display devices from the control information; an operation rights notification unit that notifies the status of the operation rights; and a UI change unit that changes the GUI based on the status of the operation rights and the control information of the numerical control device.

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