JP2004021831A - Display device, drawing device for display device, drawing program, and recording medium recording the program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a display device capable of displaying character strings by using a plurality of languages without requiring user's complicated operation. <P>SOLUTION: In the display device, a screen of a screen number specified by a programmable controller 2 is displayed on a display part 11. A flash memory 19 is provided with a font storage area storing the fonts of a plurality of languages and a screen data storage area for storing screen data. The screen data including language sort information and character data are stored in the screen data storage area. A CPU 12 reads out screen data from the flash memory 19, reads out a font which is prepared for the language specified by the language sort information and corresponds to the character data in the screen data from the flash memory 19 and displays the read contents on the display part 11. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a display device such as an LED (light emitting diode) display or a liquid crystal display, a drawing device for creating screen data corresponding to a screen to be displayed on such a display device, and a computer using such a drawing device. The present invention relates to a drawing program for functioning as a program, and a recording medium on which such a drawing program is recorded.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A dot matrix type LED display device in which a plurality of LED elements are arranged in a matrix can variably display a two-dimensional image including characters and figures by two-dimensionally arranged dots, and various messages in a factory. It is used for applications such as display and street advertisement display.
Such an LED display device includes a display unit in which a large number of LED elements are arranged on a substrate, a font storage unit that stores fonts of characters that can be displayed, and screen data that is data representing a screen to be displayed on the display unit. And a system control unit for controlling these.
[0003]
The system control unit communicates with, for example, a host device such as a programmable controller (PLC) and causes the display unit to display display contents specified by the host device. More specifically, screen data corresponding to a plurality of screens is stored in the screen data storage unit in advance, and these can be designated by screen numbers. By giving a screen number from the host device to the system control unit of the display device, a display control process based on screen data corresponding to the screen number is executed by the function of the system control unit. As a result, a screen display corresponding to the screen data corresponding to the selected screen number is performed on the display unit.
[0004]
The screen data for displaying a screen including characters includes a character code, and the control unit reads out a font specified by the character code from the font storage unit and causes the display unit to display the font.
Such an LED display device may be designed on the assumption that it is used in a plurality of regions where different languages are used. In this case, the font storage unit stores fonts of a plurality of languages such as Japanese characters, European characters, Hangul characters, Chinese simplified characters, and Chinese traditional characters. On the other hand, projects corresponding to a plurality of languages are stored in the screen data storage unit. For example, when attempting to display characters in three languages, Japanese, European, and Chinese Simplified, a Japanese project, a European project, and a Chinese Simplified project are stored in the screen data storage unit. Each project includes a plurality of screen data corresponding to a plurality of screen numbers, and each screen data includes a character code of each language, and further includes graphic data as needed.
[0005]
When the power of the LED display device is turned on or when a predetermined reset button is operated, a language selection screen is displayed, and the user selects one of the languages. As a result, one of the Japanese project, the European project and the Chinese simplified project is selected, and the display is performed in any one of the languages.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, such a configuration requires a power-on operation or an operation of a reset button to switch the language used, so that the language switching operation is troublesome. In addition, since messages in two or more languages cannot be displayed at the same time, for example, when a plurality of workers in different languages are used in a factory, a common message is given to these workers. Is difficult.
[0007]
More specifically, for example, in Singapore, there are many Chinese, Korean, and English speakers, respectively, in the Philippines, there are many English and Tagalog speakers, and in the United States, In addition to English-speaking people, there are many Spanish, Chinese and Vietnamese-speaking people.
In these areas, it is necessary to switch the display language, for example, when a worker is changed, and in some cases, simultaneous display in a plurality of languages may be desired.
[0008]
In addition, in the above-described conventional configuration, when it is desired to include a graphic on a screen of a certain screen number, it is necessary to include common graphic data in the screen data of the screen number in a project in a plurality of languages. There must be. That is, in order to display a graphic that does not depend on the type of language, it is necessary to store common graphic data in the same number as the number of selectable languages in duplicate. As a result, there is a problem that the storage capacity of the screen data storage unit is squeezed.
[0009]
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a display device capable of displaying character strings in a plurality of languages without requiring a complicated operation by a user.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a display device capable of displaying character strings in a plurality of languages while reducing the amount of screen data to be stored.
Still another object of the present invention is to allow a display language to be designated by an external command, thereby enabling display language switching and message display in a plurality of languages without requiring operation on the display device. It is to provide a display device.
[0010]
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a drawing device for creating screen data for a display device as described above.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a program for causing a computer to function as the above-described image forming apparatus and a recording medium on which the program is recorded.
[0011]
Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention
According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a display unit (11) capable of displaying an image by two-dimensionally arranged dots, and a font storage unit (4) storing fonts of a plurality of languages. 19a) for storing screen data including language type information for designating a language type and character data representing a character string to be displayed on the display unit and associated with the language type information. The screen data storage unit (19b) reads out the screen data stored in the screen data storage unit, and is a font of a language specified by the language type information in the read-out screen data. A display device comprising: display control means (12) for reading a font corresponding to character data from the font storage unit and displaying the font on the display unit. It should be noted that the alphanumeric characters in parentheses indicate corresponding components and the like in embodiments described later. Hereinafter, the same applies in this section.
[0012]
According to this configuration, in the screen data, the language type information for specifying the language type is associated with the character data representing the character string to be displayed on the display unit. Therefore, the display control means can read the font of the language specified by the language type information and display a character string on the display unit using the read font.
Therefore, screen data including pairs of language type information of a plurality of types of languages and character data is stored in the screen data storage unit, and language type information of the plurality of types of languages and By sequentially decoding character data and performing display control processing, character strings in a plurality of languages can be displayed on the display unit, for example, sequentially or almost simultaneously. In this case, the character strings of a plurality of languages may be displayed at a time on the display screen of the display unit, or the character strings of the plurality of languages may be sequentially or almost simultaneously displayed by switching or scrolling the screen. It may be.
[0013]
In this manner, character strings in a plurality of languages can be displayed without complicated operations such as a power-on operation or a reset operation of the display device, and messages in a plurality of languages (for example, common contents) can be displayed. They can be displayed almost simultaneously. According to a third aspect of the present invention, the screen data storage unit can store screen data of a plurality of screens, and the screen data of one screen includes graphic data for graphic display. The display control means reads out the graphic data when the graphic data is included in the screen data, and causes the display unit to display a graphic corresponding to the graphic data. A display device according to claim 1.
[0014]
According to the present invention, graphic data for graphic display can be included in each screen data. That is, for example, one screen data can include pairs of language type information and character data of a plurality of languages, and further include graphic data.
As a result, for example, a screen including a character string having common contents in a plurality of languages and a predetermined figure can be associated with screen identification information (for example, a screen number) for specifying each screen. This eliminates the need to duplicately store graphic data common to character strings in individual languages, thereby reducing the storage capacity for storing screen data. In other words, if the screen data storage unit is configured using memories of the same capacity, more screen data can be stored in the screen data storage unit.
[0015]
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a display unit (11) capable of displaying an image by two-dimensionally arranged dots, a font storage unit (19a) storing fonts of a plurality of languages, and a language type. A display data receiving means (20) for externally receiving display data indicating language type information for designating and a character string to be displayed on the display unit and including character data associated with the language type information; A font of a language specified by the language type information in the display data received by the display data receiving means, the font corresponding to the character data in the display data being read from the font storage unit; And a display control means (12) for displaying on a display unit.
[0016]
According to the present invention, display data can be received from an external host device such as a programmable controller, and a character string corresponding to the display data can be displayed. In this case, by providing display data including language type information and character data from the host device to the display device, a character string using a font of the language specified by the language type information is displayed.
In this way, a character string display in a plurality of languages can be realized without requiring a complicated operation such as a power-on operation or a reset operation of the display device. Further, by repeatedly providing display data specifying a plurality of languages to the display device from an external host device, character strings in a plurality of languages are sequentially or almost simultaneously displayed on the display unit. In this manner, display in a plurality of languages can be realized without requiring operation on the display device.
[0017]
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a drawing device (3) for creating screen data constituting a screen to be displayed on the display device (1), wherein an image can be displayed by two-dimensionally arranged dots. Display means (32), edit screen display control means (111) for displaying an edit screen (70) for creating screen data on the display means, and font storage means (46) storing fonts of a plurality of languages. ), Font selection input means (34, 61-65) operated by an operator to select one language font from a plurality of language fonts stored in the font storage means, and A character input means (33) operated by an operator for inputting characters on the screen, and responding to the input operation from the character input means, A font corresponding to the input operation of the selected language from the font storage means, and a character display control means (110) for displaying the read font on the edit screen; Screen data generation that generates screen data corresponding to the created screen, the language type information indicating the language type of the font input in the edit screen, and screen data including character data corresponding to the font (108).
[0018]
By using this drawing device, a screen for the display device is created by inputting one or more fonts selected from a plurality of languages in an editing screen displayed on the display means. be able to. Then, screen data representing the screen created in the editing screen is generated. Since the screen data includes language type information indicating the language type of the font input in the editing screen and character data corresponding to the font, such screen data is transferred to the display device and stored. By doing so, for example, display of a character string using fonts of two or more languages can be realized without requiring an operation such as power-on or reset of the display device.
[0019]
The invention according to claim 6 is the drawing device according to claim 5, further comprising communication means (49, 113) for downloading the created screen data to a display device.
With this configuration, the created screen data can be transferred to the display device. According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a drawing program for causing a computer (3) to function as a drawing device for forming screen data constituting a screen to be displayed on a display device (1). Edit screen display control means (111) for displaying an edit screen (70) for creating screen data on a display means (32) capable of displaying an image by dots arranged in a dimension, a font storage means (46) (112) providing font selection input means (61-65) operated by an operator to select a font of one language from a plurality of fonts of languages stored in the Phone corresponding to the input of the language selected by the font selection input means in response to an input operation from the character input means (33). And character display control means (110) for displaying the read font on the edit screen, and screen data corresponding to the screen created on the edit screen. A screen drawing program characterized by functioning as screen data generation means (108) for generating screen type data including language type information indicating a language type of a font input in a screen and character data corresponding to the font. is there.
[0020]
By installing this drawing program on a computer, the drawing device according to the fifth aspect can be configured.
The invention according to claim 8 is the drawing program according to claim 7, wherein the computer further causes the computer to function as communication means (113) for downloading the created screen data to a display device.
By installing this drawing program on a computer, the drawing device according to claim 6 can be configured.
[0021]
According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording medium which records the drawing program according to the seventh or eighth aspect in a computer-readable format.
Such a recording medium includes an optical disk such as a CD-ROM, a magneto-optical disk, a magnetic disk, and the like, and a read-only or rewritable or additionally recordable recording medium.
[0022]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining an electrical configuration of an LED display device 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The LED display device 1 includes a display unit 11 as a dot matrix display module in which a plurality of LED elements are two-dimensionally arranged in a matrix. The display on the display unit 11 is driven by a driver 14 controlled by the CPU 12 and the graphic chip 13. A graphic memory 15 for developing a bit image of an image (including characters and graphics) to be displayed on the display unit 11 is connected to the graphic chip 13. The graphic chip 13 is connected to a bus 16 connected to the CPU 12.
[0023]
The bus 16 is connected to a boot memory 17 storing an operating system, a general-purpose memory 18 used as a work area of the CPU 12, and a flash memory 19 storing system programs and screen data.
A serial interface 20 is connected to the CPU 12, and a programmable controller (PLC) 2 or a personal computer 3 as an external host device can be selectively connected to the serial interface 20. .
[0024]
Screen data representing a screen to be displayed on the display unit 11 is created by using a drawing program operating on the personal computer 3. The created screen data is downloaded from the personal computer 3 to the LED display device 1 via the serial interface 20. The downloaded screen data is written and stored in the flash memory 19 by the operation of the CPU 12.
The flash memory 19 can store screen data corresponding to a plurality of screens. The plurality of screen data is identified by a screen number, and the programmable controller 2 inputs a screen number corresponding to a screen to be displayed on the display unit 11 to the LED display device 1. In response to this, the CPU 12 reads out the screen data of the designated screen number from the flash memory 19 and, in cooperation with the graphic chip 13, reads the character string or graphic designated in the screen data. Then, a display control process for displaying the image on the display 11 is executed.
[0025]
FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a display example on the display unit 11. The LED display device 1 according to this embodiment can display a character string in a plurality of languages without requiring a power-on operation or a reset operation. In other words, as shown in FIG. 2A, the Japanese character string JS, the Chinese character string CS, and the European character string ES can be displayed almost simultaneously by the horizontal scroll display. . FIG. 2B shows an example in which a Japanese character string JS, a Chinese character string CS, and a European character string ES are displayed almost simultaneously by scrolling up and down.
[0026]
Such display eliminates the need to perform a complicated operation for switching languages even in a factory or the like where workers using different languages coexist. Also, if the character strings JS, CS, and ES represent common contents, a common message can be given to a plurality of workers who use different languages almost simultaneously.
Of course, this function can also be used for the purpose of displaying advertising messages on the street. That is, a common advertisement message can be given to people who use different languages.
[0027]
FIG. 3 is a simplified memory map for explaining an example of a storage mode in the flash memory 19. The flash memory 19 stores a system program and character fonts of a plurality of languages in a font storage area 19a. Character fonts of a plurality of languages include, for example, Japanese character fonts, European character fonts, Hangul character fonts, Chinese simplified character fonts, and Chinese traditional character fonts. Fonts in various languages are downloaded in advance from the personal computer 3 to the font storage area 19a as necessary.
[0028]
Further, the flash memory 19 is provided with a screen data storage area 19b. The screen data storage area 19b has a plurality of screen data 1 to N for switching and displaying a plurality of types of screens on the display unit 11. Can be stored. These screen data 1 to N are created by the personal computer 3, transferred to the LED display device 1, and stored in the flash memory 19 by the operation of the CPU 12.
[0029]
A configuration example of each screen data is also shown in FIG. One screen data includes character string data C for displaying a character string, graphic data D for displaying a graphic, and part data P for displaying a part which is a predetermined part graphic image. Can be included. The character string data C, the graphic data D and the part data P represent display type information for identifying whether the displayed image is a “character string”, a “graphic”, or a “part”. Has at the beginning.
[0030]
The character string data C is specified by the “code type” for specifying the type of language (font type) used for displaying the character string, and the code type, in addition to the display type information “character string”. "Character data" which is a character code of a character constituting a character string to be displayed by the font. In the example of FIG. 3, character data stored from the subsequent addresses are associated with code types 1, 2, and 3, respectively, and display of a character string in three languages (fonts) is specified. I have.
[0031]
The character string data C further specifies "scroll information" for specifying a scroll direction (vertical direction or horizontal direction) and a font size when a plurality of font sizes are prepared for the same language. For example, a “font size” for specifying the display size, a “magnification” for specifying the display magnification, a “display style” for specifying the display style, and a “display coordinate” for specifying the display position are included.
The graphic data D includes display type information “graphic” and “graphic data” of a graphic to be displayed. The parts data P includes display type information “parts” and “parts data” representing a part figure to be displayed.
[0032]
As described above, a code type and character data corresponding to the code type can be stored in one screen data, and a plurality of types of code type and character data pairs can be stored. Thus, scroll display of character strings in a plurality of languages as shown in FIG. 2 becomes possible.
In the prior art, in which a project was prepared for each type of language and stored in the display device, graphics and parts had to be stored for each project. Although the storage area in the screen data storage unit is consumed by the number of languages to be displayed, the screen data in the form shown in FIG. 3 is employed to reduce the number of languages to be displayed. Regardless, the figure or parts data need only be stored once for each screen number, and there is no need to store those data redundantly.
[0033]
FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation executed by CPU 12 according to the system program. The CPU 12 monitors a command input from the programmable controller 2 through the serial interface 20 and determines whether the screen number has been changed (step S1). When the screen number is changed, the CPU 12 reads out the screen data corresponding to the screen number from the flash memory 19 and performs a character / graphic display process based on the screen data (step S2).
[0034]
Thereafter, the CPU 12 performs a designated character string display process (step S3) for displaying the character string designated by the display data from the programmable controller 2 on the display unit 11, and returns to the process of step S1. If the screen number is not changed (NO in step S1), the designated character string display processing (step S3) is performed without executing the character / graphic display processing (step S2).
FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the character / graphic display processing in step S2 of FIG. The CPU 12 reads out the screen data corresponding to the screen number designated by the programmable controller 2 from the flash memory 19, and sequentially decodes the screen data. The processing branches according to the display type (character string, graphic or part). If the display type is "character string", the character string display processing (step S4) is performed, and the display type is "graphic". If the display type is "parts", the part display processing (step S6) is performed.
[0035]
FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the character string display processing in step S4 in FIG. The CPU 12 acquires the display style and the coordinate data with reference to the character string data C (steps S11 and S12), and further acquires the code type and the character data associated therewith (steps S13 and S14). Then, based on the obtained information, the CPU 12 executes a process for drawing a character string (step S15).
[0036]
FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the character string drawing processing in step S15 of FIG. The processing branches according to the code type. If the code type represents "Japanese", Japanese display processing (step S21) is performed, and if the code type is "European characters" The European language display process (Step S22) is performed. If the code type is “Hangul”, the Hangul display process (Step S23) is performed. If the code type is “Chinese Simplified”, the Chinese simplified display process (Step S24) is performed. When the code type is “Chinese traditional”, the Chinese traditional display processing (step S25) is executed.
[0037]
For example, in the Japanese display process (step S21), a Japanese character font is selected as a font used for displaying a character string. Then, the character data included in the screen data following the code type "Japanese" is regarded as a character code for designating a Japanese character, and the Japanese character font corresponding to the character code is set to the flash memory. 19 to be given to the graphic chip 13. The graphic chip 13 expands the given Japanese character font in the graphic memory 15, whereby the Japanese character is displayed on the display unit 11. Similarly, the Western character display process (Step S22), the Hangul display process (Step S23), the Chinese simplified display process (Step S24), and the Chinese traditional display process (Step S25) are respectively a Western character font, a Korean character font, and a Chinese simplified character. Character display in each language is realized using fonts and Chinese traditional character fonts.
[0038]
FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining the designated character string display processing in step S3 of FIG. The programmable controller 2 inputs display data to the serial interface 20 of the LED display device 1. The CPU 12 displays a character string on the display unit 11 based on the display data. The CPU 12 acquires the display style and the coordinate data included in the display data provided from the programmable controller 2 (Steps S31 and S32). Further, the CPU 12 obtains a code type and character data included in the display data (step S33), and uses a font of a language type specified by the code type to display a character string of the font on the display unit 11. It is displayed (step S34). The character string drawing processing (step S34) executed at this time is the processing shown in FIG.
[0039]
FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining a communication format of display data given to the LED display device 1 by the programmable controller 2. The display data includes code type information and character data (character code group) representing a character string to be displayed by a font specified by the code type information. Further, the display data includes “display mode”, “character style”, “display magnification”, “display coordinates”, “display state”, and “message data amount”.
[0040]
The display mode is information for designating normal display, reverse display, blinking display, and the like. The character style is information for specifying standard display, highlight display, shadow display, and the like. The display magnification is information for specifying a magnification when displaying a font. The display coordinates are information for specifying the display start position of the character string on the display screen. The display state is information for specifying still display, scroll display, scroll direction, switching display, and the like. The message data amount is information indicating the data amount of character data.
[0041]
The CPU 12 of the LED display device 1 executes a process for displaying a character string according to the content of such display data. That is, as a result of the execution of the character string drawing processing shown in FIG. 7, the font corresponding to the character data in the language type specified by the code type information is developed in the graphic memory 15. Thus, the display language of the LED display device 1 can be specified from the programmable controller 2. Therefore, if the type of language is switched from the programmable controller 2 and the display data is repeatedly provided to the LED display device 1, the automatic switching of the display language can be realized without the necessity of operation on the LED display device 1. Therefore, the display data for instructing that a message having a common content (but a different language) should be displayed from the programmable controller 2 is repeatedly provided to the LED display device 1 by switching the language type, so that a plurality of languages can be used. A common message can be displayed almost simultaneously.
[0042]
FIG. 10 is a block diagram for explaining the configuration of the personal computer 3. The personal computer 3 includes a computer main body 31, a display 32 connected to the computer main body 31 as display means, and a keyboard 33 and a pointing device 34 (such as a mouse) as input devices connected to the computer main body 31. ing. The computer main body 31 is provided with a CPU 41, and a ROM 45 and a RAM 43 are connected to a bus 45 connected to the CPU 41.
[0043]
Further, a hard disk drive (HDD) 46, a floppy disk drive (FDD) 47, a CD-ROM drive 48, the display 32, the keyboard 33, and the pointing device 34 are connected to the bus 45 via an appropriate interface. ing. A serial interface 49 used for data communication with the LED display device 1 is connected to the bus 45.
[0044]
The screen data to be downloaded to the LED display device 1 is created using, for example, a drawing program provided in a state recorded on the CD-ROM 50. That is, by loading the CD-ROM 50 into the CD-ROM drive 48 and performing a predetermined installation operation, the execution file of the drawing program and the like are copied to the hard disk drive 46. By causing the CPU 41 to execute the execution file, the personal computer 3 functions as a drawing device for creating screen data. The screen data created using the drawing program can be downloaded to the LED display device 1 connected to the personal computer 3 via the serial interface 49, for example, once stored in the hard disk drive 46.
[0045]
FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an editing screen 70 displayed on the screen of the display 32 when the drawing program is executed. A drawing window 60 is displayed in the editing screen 70, and a screen to be displayed on the LED display device 1 is created in the drawing window 60.
In the editing screen 70, a Japanese button 61 as an interface for selecting a Japanese character font, a Korean character button 62 as an interface for selecting a Korean character font, and a Chinese simplified character font are selected. A simplified Chinese character button 63 as an interface of the Japanese language, a Chinese traditional character button 64 as an interface for selecting a traditional Chinese character font, and a Western character button 65 as an interface for selecting a European character font are provided. I have. After operating (clicking) any one of these buttons 61 to 65 with the pointing device 34, reading is performed from the keyboard 33 using a predetermined character input operation (for example, an input method editor (IME) of a corresponding language). When the user performs an operation of inputting and converting), the selected font is displayed in the drawing window 60. Therefore, if a character input operation is performed while switching the type of language to be used by operating the buttons 61 to 65, a screen in which characters of a plurality of types of languages are mixed can be created.
[0046]
In the editing screen 70, a drawing tool button group 71 for creating a figure, a magnification specification button group 72 for specifying a font display magnification, and a part selection for selecting a previously prepared part are further provided. An operation unit 80 and the like are provided. By operating these, a screen in which character strings, graphics, and parts of a plurality of languages are mixed in the drawing window 60 can be created.
The screen data corresponding to the screen created in this way can be saved in the hard disk drive 46 by operating the save button 73. If the LED display device 1 is connected to the serial interface 49 in advance and, for example, a download function is selected from a menu displayed by operating a “tool” 74 in a menu bar, the created screen data is displayed. It can be downloaded to the LED display device 1.
[0047]
Usually, screen data of a plurality of screens is created, and a group of these screen data is stored in the hard disk drive 46 as a “project”. The screen data group constituting this project is downloaded to the flash memory 19 of the LED display device 1.
FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the drawing program. In the hard disk drive 46, a character font database is formed in advance. In the example of FIG. 12, this character font database includes Japanese character font data, Chinese traditional character font data, Chinese simplified character font data, Hangul character font data, and European character font data.
[0048]
The drawing program displays an editing screen display control unit 111 that performs processing for displaying the editing screen 70 (see FIG. 11) on the display 32, and font selection buttons 61 to 65 as interfaces in the editing screen 70. The input interface unit 112 performs a process of recognizing an input from the font selection buttons 61 to 65, and a communication control unit 113 that manages a communication process for downloading the created screen data to the LED display device 1. are doing.
[0049]
The drawing program further includes a Japanese character input control unit 101, a Chinese traditional character input control unit 102, a Chinese simplified character input control unit 103, a Hangul character input control unit 104, and a European character input control unit 105. The character input process corresponding to the type of language selected by the font selection buttons 61 to 65 is executed.
That is, when the language is selected by the font selection buttons 61 to 65 and the character is input by operating the keyboard 33, the code type representing the language is input by the screen data generation unit 108 in the drawing program. The screen data associated with the character data (character code) is generated. Based on this screen data, a character font database is referred to by the operation of the character display control unit 110 in the drawing program, and a font corresponding to the character code is read out of the font data specified by the code type. Thus, it is displayed in the drawing window 60 of the display 32.
[0050]
On the other hand, the screen data generated by the screen data generation unit 108 is saved in the hard disk drive 46. The screen data is read out from the hard disk drive 46 and downloaded to the LED display device 1 by the operation of the communication control unit 113 by performing a predetermined operation.
In this way, by using the drawing program, screen data including character strings in a plurality of languages can be easily created.
[0051]
As described above, one embodiment of the present invention has been described, but the present invention can be embodied in other forms. For example, in the designated character string display processing, display data may be obtained by a memory link method in which the programmable controller 2 writes a code type, character data, and the like in a memory inside the LED display device 1, or the LED display from the programmable controller 2 may be performed. Only an address (device address) of an internal memory (a memory inside the programmable controller 2) in which a code type and character data are stored is given to the device 1, and the data of this address is read from the LED display device 1 side. May obtain the display data.
[0052]
Further, in the above-described embodiment, a configuration has been described in which messages in a plurality of languages are displayed by scrolling. However, messages in a plurality of languages may be switched and displayed at predetermined time intervals.
Further, in the above embodiment, the LED display device is taken as an example, but the present invention can be applied to any display device that can perform character display with two-dimensionally arranged dots, for example, a liquid crystal display device. The present invention is also applicable to a liquid crystal display device that displays a character string or a graphic by a panel. In general, the present invention incorporates a CPU and a graphic chip, can store fonts of a plurality of languages in an internal memory, and can store screen data including character data in the internal memory. The present invention can be applied to a display device having a configuration.
[0053]
In addition, various design changes can be made within the scope of the matters described in the claims.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an electrical configuration of an LED display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a display example of the LED display device.
FIG. 3 is a simplified memory map for explaining an example of a storage mode in a flash memory.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation performed by a CPU according to a system program.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a character / graphic display process.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a character string display process.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a character string drawing process.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a designated character string display process.
FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining a communication format of display data given to the LED display device by the programmable controller.
FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a personal computer.
FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an editing screen displayed on a screen of a display when a drawing program is executed.
FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining the operation of a drawing program.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 LED display device
2 Programmable controller
3 Personal computer
11 Display
12 CPU
13 Graphic chip
14 Driver
15 Graphic memory
16 bus
17 Boot memory
18 General-purpose memory
19 Flash memory
19a Font storage area
19b Screen data storage area
20 Serial interface
31 Computer
32 displays
33 keyboard
34 pointing device
45 bus
46 Hard Disk Drive
48 CD-ROM drive
49 Serial Interface
50 CD-ROM
60 drawing window
61-65 Font select button
70 Edit screen
71 Drawing tool buttons
72 Magnification specification button group
73 Save button
80 Parts selection operation section
101 Japanese character input control section
102 Chinese Traditional Character Input Control Unit
103 Chinese Simplified Character Input Control Unit
104 Hangul character input control section
105 European character input control unit
108 Screen data generator
110 Character display control unit
111 Edit screen display control unit
112 Input interface
113 Communication control unit
C Character string data
D Graphic data
P Parts data

Claims (9)

A display unit that can display an image by two-dimensionally arranged dots,
A font storage unit storing fonts of a plurality of languages,
A screen data storage unit for storing screen data including language type information for designating a language type and character data representing a character string to be displayed on the display unit and corresponding to the language type information; When,
The screen data stored in the screen data storage unit is read, and the font of the language specified by the language type information in the read screen data, and the font corresponding to the character data in the screen data is described above. A display control means for reading from the font storage unit and displaying the readout on the display unit. The screen data storage unit can store screen data of a plurality of screens, and the screen data of one screen can include pairs of language type information and character data of a plurality of languages,
When the screen data of one screen includes a pair of language type information and character data of a plurality of languages, the display control means sequentially decodes the pairs to convert the character strings of the plurality of languages. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the display device displays the information on the display unit. The screen data storage unit can store screen data of a plurality of screens, and the screen data of one screen can include graphic data for graphic display,
The display control means, when graphic data is included in the screen data, reads the graphic data and causes the display unit to display a graphic corresponding to the graphic data. 3. The display device according to 1 or 2. A display unit that can display an image by two-dimensionally arranged dots,
A font storage unit storing fonts of a plurality of languages,
Display data receiving means for externally receiving display data representing language type information for designating a language type and character data to be displayed on the display unit and including character data associated with the language type information When,
The font of the language specified by the language type information in the display data received by the display data receiving means, the font corresponding to the character data in the display data is read from the font storage unit, and And a display control means for causing the display unit to display. A drawing device for creating screen data constituting a screen to be displayed on a display device,
Display means for displaying an image by two-dimensionally arranged dots,
Edit screen display control means for displaying an edit screen for creating screen data on the display means,
Font storage means for storing fonts of a plurality of languages,
Font selection input means operated by an operator to select one language font from a plurality of language fonts stored in the font storage means;
Character input means operated by an operator to input characters on the editing screen,
In response to the input operation from the character input unit, a font corresponding to the input operation of the language selected by the font selection input unit is read from the font storage unit, and the read font is displayed on the edit screen. Character display control means for displaying
Screen data corresponding to the screen created on the edit screen, language type information indicating the language type of the font input in the edit screen, and screen data including character data corresponding to the font A screen data generating means for generating the image data. 6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a communication unit for downloading the created screen data to a display device. A drawing program for causing a computer to function as a drawing device for creating screen data configuring a screen to be displayed on a display device, wherein the computer
Edit screen display control means for displaying an edit screen for creating screen data on display means capable of displaying an image by two-dimensionally arranged dots,
Means for providing font selection input means operated by an operator to select one language font from a plurality of language fonts stored in the font storage means;
In response to an input operation from the character input unit operated by the operator, a font corresponding to the input of the language selected by the font selection input unit is read from the font storage unit, and the read font is edited by the editing unit. Character display control means to be displayed on the screen, and language type information representing the language type of the font input in the edit screen, which is screen data corresponding to the screen created on the edit screen, and A drawing program for functioning as screen data generating means for generating screen data including character data corresponding to a font. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 7, wherein the computer further causes the computer to function as a communication unit that downloads the created screen data to a display device. A recording medium which records the drawing program according to claim 7 or 8 in a format readable by a computer.

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