JP2013149149A - Graph displaying device - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to enable quick and accurate enlargement / reduction of an area of interest.
A mouse cursor 5 is moved to a position to be focused on a graph G1 on a screen. The position of the mouse cursor 5 is determined, and the mouse wheel 4 is rotated in a specific direction (for example, the front side). Then, the display magnification in the direction of the data axis Y is enlarged according to the rotation amount of the mouse wheel 4 with the display position of the mouse cursor 5 as a fixed point (center). When the mouse wheel 4 is rotated in the opposite direction, the display magnification in the direction of the data axis Y is reduced according to the amount of rotation of the mouse wheel 4 with the display position of the mouse cursor 5 as the fixed point (center). Is done. Both the direction of the time axis X and the data axis Y may be enlarged / reduced, and the direction of the time axis X and the data axis Y may be enlarged / reduced independently.
[Selection] Figure 10

Description

  The present invention relates to a graph display device that displays data in a graph.

  Conventionally, in systems that monitor and control the operating state of plants, etc., measured values such as pressure, liquid volume, and temperature in the plant are collected in time series, and the measured values (time series data) collected in this time series are graphed. To be displayed on the screen of the monitoring / control device.

  For example, the horizontal axis is a time axis indicating time, the vertical axis orthogonal to the time axis is a data axis indicating a data value, and time series data is plotted on an orthogonal plane indicated by the time axis and the data axis. The plotted time series data is connected with a broken line and displayed as a trend graph on the screen.

  In such a trend graph, when confirming numerical values without misunderstanding the upper and lower relations of multiple data points, sufficient expansion is necessary, and when confirming a trend in a particularly long time span around these data, Sufficient reduction is necessary.

  For this reason, various enlargement / reduction methods have been proposed as graph display functions. For example, as a method of magnifying and displaying a part of interest on the graph, a method of magnifying and displaying a part of a rectangular region with a mouse or the like (see FIG. 11), a graph axis specifying a start value ( A method of expanding a display area by inputting a minimum value) and an end value (maximum value) from an input device such as a keyboard is widely used.

  Also, a method for providing a display range change instruction area on the screen and changing the display width of the graph axis to 2 times, 1/2 times, or the like when the mouse is clicked on the change instruction area (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Alternatively, a method of selecting an operation target graph by clicking the display area of an axis on the screen with a mouse and enlarging / reducing only the operation target graph by an operation such as a mouse wheel rotation (for example, has been proposed) , See Patent Document 2). In the example shown in FIG. 12 extracted from Patent Document 2, the graph DTA is selected and reduced.

JP-A-6-309140 JP 2002-251623 A

  However, in the method of enlarging and displaying a part of a rectangular area with a mouse or the like, the position of the data of the point of interest tends to shift in an unintended direction when the enlargement / reduction is repeated, and the original position is restored. Such extra operations may be required. In addition, the operation is not efficient when it is desired to expand only one axis, such as to expand only the time axis without changing the data axis. In addition, when a plurality of data is displayed on one graph at the same time, there is a problem that data other than the data to be focused on becomes an inappropriate partial display and the situation cannot be grasped.

  In addition, the method of entering the start value and end value of the axis, and the method of changing the display width of the graph axis by an operation such as clicking the display range change instruction area with the mouse, are repeated many times to display the desired area. Input may have to be repeated, and rapid expansion / contraction is difficult when the data is to be confirmed by quickly expanding or narrowing the time span.

  In addition, the method disclosed in Patent Document 2 is highly convenient for solving the above-mentioned problem, but the operation is complicated when it is desired to intensively enlarge a certain part focused on the graph. There is a problem of becoming.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 13A, when it is desired to enlarge by focusing on a position that is not the center of the display area of the graph, when the enlargement operation is performed, as shown in FIG. It is out of the display area and disappears.

  For this reason, as shown in FIGS. 14A and 14B, it is necessary to perform an operation of performing a scrolling operation to move the area of interest to the center of the display area of the graph and then performing an enlargement operation (FIG. 14). (C)). In this case, if the area of interest is not successfully moved to the center of the graph display area, it is necessary to perform the scrolling operation again so as not to deviate from the graph display area.

  Also, with this method, both the time axis and the data axis cannot be expanded, and when a very long time span is plotted and the data is dense, focus on a specific partial period. Cannot satisfy the demand to enlarge.

  The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a graph display device capable of quickly and accurately expanding and reducing the area of interest. .

  In order to achieve such an object, according to the present invention, a graph display means for displaying a graph on an orthogonal plane indicated by a first axis and a second axis orthogonal to the first axis, and the graph are displayed. A pointer display means for displaying a pointer on the screen, a pointer operating device for moving the pointer displayed on the screen, and a graph display using the pointer display position as a fixed point in response to a request to change the display magnification for the graph And display magnification changing means for changing the magnification.

  According to the present invention, when the pointer is moved to be positioned at a desired point on the graph and a display magnification change request is made, the display magnification of the graph changes with the display position of the pointer as a fixed point. That is, the graph is enlarged or reduced around the display position of the pointer. In this case, since the area centered on the display position of the pointer (the area of interest) does not move, there is no possibility of deviating from the display screen or moving the display position due to enlargement / reduction.

  In the present invention, the graph display magnification can be changed independently only in the direction of the first axis, or only in the direction of the second axis, or the direction of the first axis and the direction of the second axis can be changed. It may be possible to perform both directions independently. In this case, as the display magnification changing means, the display magnification in the direction of the first axis of the graph is changed using the display position of the pointer as a fixed point in response to a request for changing the display magnification in the direction of the first axis with respect to the graph. In response to a request to change the display magnification in the direction of the second axis relative to the first display magnification changing means, the display magnification in the direction of the second axis of the graph is changed with the display position of the pointer as a fixed point. It is assumed that at least one of the second display magnification changing means is provided.

  In the present invention, for example, a mouse is used as the pointer operation device. In this case, if the mouse has a wheel, the mouse wheel is used as an operation unit for inputting a display magnification change request for the graph. That is, when the mouse wheel is rotated in a specific direction, the display magnification in the enlargement direction is changed according to the rotation amount, and when the mouse wheel is rotated in the opposite direction, the display magnification in the reduction direction is changed according to the rotation amount. To change.

  In particular, maintenance (equipment maintenance) of field devices is not always performed by a normal monitoring / control operator. During maintenance, judgment based on a long time span trend and judgment based on detailed numerical values are mixed. Accordingly, trend confirmation and numerical confirmation are entrusted to an operator who is not familiar with data collection conditions and the like at the same time. In the present invention, when a mouse with a wheel is used as a pointer operation device, even an operator who is not familiar with data collection or numerical values can intuitively perform the simple operation of rotating the mouse wheel while aligning the pointer with the position to be enlarged. It is possible to manipulate the graph.

  According to the present invention, in response to a request to change the display magnification for the graph, the display magnification of the graph is changed with the display position of the pointer as a fixed point, so the graph is enlarged around the display position of the pointer. There is no possibility that the area of interest deviates from the display screen or the display position moves due to enlargement / reduction, and the area of interest can be enlarged / reduced quickly and accurately.

1 is a system configuration diagram showing an outline of an embodiment of a process monitoring / control system including a graph display device according to the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the principal part of the server apparatus in this process monitoring and control system. It is a block diagram which shows the outline of the hardware constitutions of the monitoring / control apparatus in this process monitoring / control system. It is a figure which shows the mouse | mouth with a wheel used as a pointer operating device in this monitoring and control apparatus. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of the time series data on the display of this monitoring and control apparatus. 6 is a diagram for explaining a change (enlargement) of display magnification in the first embodiment (an example in which the display magnification is changed on both the vertical axis and the horizontal axis). FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining display magnification change (reduction) in the first embodiment (an example in which the display magnification is changed on both the vertical axis and the horizontal axis). FIG. It is a figure explaining the change of display magnification (enlargement / reduction to the direction of a data axis) in Embodiment 2 (example which chooses a vertical axis and a horizontal axis and changes display magnification). It is a figure explaining the change of display magnification (enlargement / reduction to the direction of a time axis) in Embodiment 2 (example which chooses a vertical axis and a horizontal axis and changes display magnification). It is a functional block diagram of a monitoring and control apparatus. It is a figure which shows the example which designates and displays a part of rectangular area as a prior art example. It is a figure which shows the example which expands / reduces only the graph of operation object as a prior art example. It is a figure explaining the problem in the case of enlarging paying attention to the position which is not the center of the display area of a graph. It is a figure explaining operation required when enlarging paying attention to the position which is not the center of the display area of a graph.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing an outline of an embodiment of a process monitoring / control system including a graph display device according to the present invention.

  This process monitoring / control system controls not-shown field devices (for example, switches, valves, pumps, pressure gauges, flow meters, thermometers, etc.) installed in a plant or the like, and from the field devices, for example, pressure, liquid A controller 1 that collects measurement values such as quantity and temperature in time series, a server device 2 that periodically acquires measurement values (time series data) collected by the controller 1 in time series, and a controller according to an operator's instruction 1 and the server apparatus 2 and a monitoring / control apparatus 3 for editing and creating a plant monitoring / control screen.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a main part of the server device 2. The server device 2 includes a data acquisition unit 21 that periodically acquires time-series data of field devices from the controller 1 and a data storage unit 22 that stores the acquired time-series data. The time series data is stored in the data storage unit 22 as a pair of the data value and the time when the data is collected.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an outline of the hardware configuration of the monitoring / control apparatus 3. In the figure, 3-1 is a CPU, 3-2 is a RAM, 3-3 is a ROM, 3-4 is a storage device such as a hard disk, 3-5 to 3-7 are interfaces, 3-8 is a display, 9 is a keyboard, and 3-10 is a mouse. The mouse 3-10 serves as a pointer operation device in the present invention, and includes a mouse wheel 4 (see FIG. 4) as an operation unit for inputting a display magnification change request for the graph.

  The CPU 3-1 obtains various input information given via the interfaces 3-5 to 3-7, and operates according to programs stored in the ROM 3-3 and the storage device 3-4 while accessing the RAM 3-2. . The storage device 3-4 stores a trend graph display program as a program specific to the present embodiment. The trend graph display program is provided in a state of being recorded on a recording medium such as a CD-ROM, and is read from the recording medium and installed in the storage device 3-4.

  In this example, the server device 2 and the monitoring / control device 3 are provided separately, but they may be integrated. Further, the server device 2 and the controller 1 may be integrated.

[Embodiment 1: Example of changing display magnification on both vertical and horizontal axes]
Hereinafter, a first example (first embodiment) of the processing operation of the CPU 3-1 according to the trend graph display program stored in the storage device 3-4 will be described.

[Trend graph display]
When the CPU 3-1 issues a trend graph display request by designating a measurement point and a period as a request from the operator, the server device 2 stores time series data of the designated period for the designated measurement point. The obtained time series data is graphed and displayed on the display 3-8. FIG. 5 shows a display example of time series data on the display 3-8.

  In this case, the CPU 3-1 uses the time axis X indicating the time as the horizontal axis, the data axis Y indicating the data value as the vertical axis orthogonal to the time axis X, and the orthogonality indicated by the time axis X and the data axis Y. The time series data of the designated measurement points is plotted on the plane, and the plotted time series data is connected by a broken line and displayed on the display 3-8 as the trend graph G1.

[Change display magnification: Enlarge]
In the trend graph G1 shown in FIG. 5, when the operator wants to enlarge by focusing on the position of a part of the graph, the operator operates the mouse 3-10 to move the mouse cursor 5 to the desired position (FIG. 6 ( a)). FIG. 6A shows an example in which the mouse cursor 5 is moved to a position that is not the center of the graph display area AR1.

  In the state shown in FIG. 6A, the operator determines the position of the mouse cursor 5 and rotates the mouse wheel 4 in a specific direction (for example, the front side). Then, the CPU 3-1 enlarges (zooms in) the display magnification in the direction of the data axis Y according to the amount of rotation of the mouse wheel 4 with the display position of the mouse cursor 5 as the fixed point (center) (FIG. 6 ( b)).

  In this case, since the area centering on the display position of the mouse cursor 5 (the area of interest) does not move, it does not deviate from the display area AR1 or move the display position due to enlargement in the direction of the data axis Y. As a result, the operator can quickly and accurately expand the area of interest in the direction of the data axis Y, and can quickly perform detailed confirmation of the data of the point of interest and individual numerical value confirmation operations.

[Change display magnification: Reduce]
In the trend graph G1 shown in FIG. 5, when the operator wants to reduce the size by focusing on the position of a part of the graph, the operator operates the mouse 3-10 to move the mouse cursor 5 to the position to be focused (FIG. 7 ( a)). FIG. 7A shows an example in which the mouse cursor 5 is moved to a position that is not the center of the graph display area AR1.

  In the state shown in FIG. 7A, the operator determines the position of the mouse cursor 5 and rotates the mouse wheel 4 in the direction opposite to the above. Then, the CPU 3-1 reduces (zooms out) the display magnification in the direction of the data axis Y according to the rotation amount of the mouse wheel 4 with the display position of the mouse cursor 5 as a fixed point (center) (FIG. 7). (See (b)).

  In this case, the area centering on the display position of the mouse cursor 5 (the area of interest) does not move, so that it does not deviate from the display area AR1 or move the display position due to reduction in the direction of the data axis Y. Thus, the operator can quickly and accurately reduce the area of interest in the direction of the data axis Y, and can quickly confirm a trend in a particularly long time span around the data of the point of interest.

[Embodiment 2: Example of changing display magnification by selecting vertical axis and horizontal axis]
Next, a second example (second embodiment) of the processing operation of the CPU 3-1 according to the trend graph display program stored in the storage device 3-4 will be described. Note that “display of the trend graph” is the same as that in the first embodiment, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

[Change display magnification: Enlarge / reduce in the direction of the data axis]
In the trend graph G1 shown in FIG. 5, when the operator wants to zoom in / out by focusing on the position of a part of the graph, the operator operates the mouse 3-10 to move the mouse cursor 5 to the position of interest (FIG. 5). 8 (a)). FIG. 8A shows an example in which the mouse cursor 5 is moved to a position that is not the center of the graph display area AR1.

[Expansion in the direction of the data axis]
In the state shown in FIG. 8A, the operator determines the position of the mouse cursor 5 and rotates the mouse wheel 4 in a specific direction (for example, the front side). Then, the CPU 3-1 enlarges (zooms in) the display magnification in the direction of the data axis Y according to the amount of rotation of the mouse wheel 4 with the display position of the mouse cursor 5 as the fixed point (center) (FIG. 8 ( b)).

  In this case, since the area centering on the display position of the mouse cursor 5 (the area of interest) does not move, it does not deviate from the display area AR1 or move the display position due to enlargement in the direction of the data axis Y. As a result, the operator can quickly and accurately expand the area of interest in the direction of the data axis Y, and can quickly perform detailed confirmation of the data of the point of interest and individual numerical value confirmation operations.

[Reduction in the direction of the data axis]
In the state shown in FIG. 8A, the operator determines the position of the mouse cursor 5 and rotates the mouse wheel 4 in the direction opposite to the above. Then, the CPU 3-1 reduces (zooms out) the display magnification in the direction of the data axis Y according to the rotation amount of the mouse wheel 4 with the display position of the mouse cursor 5 as a fixed point (center) (FIG. 8). (See (c)).

  In this case, the area centering on the display position of the mouse cursor 5 (the area of interest) does not move, so that the display area AR1 does not deviate or the display position does not move due to the reduction. Thereby, the operator can quickly and accurately reduce the area of interest, and can quickly confirm a trend around the data of the point of interest, in particular, a large fluctuation width of the data.

[Change display magnification: Enlarge / reduce in time axis direction]
In the trend graph G1 shown in FIG. 5, when the operator wants to zoom in / out by focusing on the position of a part of the graph, the operator operates the mouse 3-10 to move the mouse cursor 5 to the position of interest (FIG. 5). 9 (a)). FIG. 9A shows an example in which the mouse cursor 5 is moved to a position other than the center of the graph display area AR1 after selecting the data axis as the axis in the direction of enlarging / reducing the display magnification.

[Expansion in time axis direction]
In the state shown in FIG. 9A, the operator determines the position of the mouse cursor 5 and rotates the mouse wheel 4 in a specific direction (for example, the front side) while pressing the shift key. Then, the CPU 3-1 enlarges (zooms in) the display magnification in the direction of the time axis X according to the rotation amount of the mouse wheel 4 with the display position of the mouse cursor 5 as a fixed point (center) (FIG. 9 ( b)).

  In this case, the area centering on the display position of the mouse cursor 5 (the area of interest) does not move, so that it does not deviate from the display area AR1 or move the display position due to expansion in the direction of the time axis X. As a result, the operator can quickly and accurately expand the area of interest in the direction of the time axis X, and can quickly perform detailed confirmation of the data of the point of interest and individual numerical value confirmation operations.

[Reduction in the direction of the time axis]
In the state shown in FIG. 8A, the operator determines the position of the mouse cursor 5 and rotates the mouse wheel 4 in the direction opposite to the above while holding down the shift key. Then, the CPU 3-1 reduces (zooms out) the display magnification in the direction of the time axis X according to the rotation amount of the mouse wheel 4 with the display position of the mouse cursor 5 as a fixed point (center) (FIG. 9). (See (c)).

  In this case, the area centering on the display position of the mouse cursor 5 (the area of interest) does not move, so that the display area AR1 does not deviate or the display position does not move due to the reduction. Thus, the operator can quickly and accurately reduce the area of interest, and can quickly confirm a trend in a particularly long time span around the data of the attention point.

  In the first and second embodiments described above, the position to be focused on is specified by the mouse cursor. However, the position can be specified by a hairline composed of a horizontal line and a vertical line, or by a cross-shaped mark or the like. It may be specified. In the present invention, a pointer is defined as a generic term for a mouse cursor, a hairline line, a mark, and the like.

  In the first and second embodiments described above, the graph to be displayed is the trend graph, but the vertical axis is the axis indicating the first type of data value, and the horizontal axis is the axis indicating the second type of data value. The data pair of the first type data value and the second type data value at the same time is a time series data pair, and the time series data pair in the display target period is orthogonal indicated by a vertical axis and a horizontal axis. It is good also as a scatter diagram etc. which are plotted and displayed on a plane.

  In the second embodiment described above, when the mouse wheel 4 is rotated while the shift key is being pressed, the time axis X is enlarged / reduced. When the mouse wheel 4 is rotated without pressing the shift key, the data axis Y is The axis to be enlarged / reduced can be selected by using a key different from the shift key, or by clicking a predetermined position or button on the screen. May be selected.

  FIG. 10 shows a functional block diagram of the monitoring / control device 3 described above. The monitoring / control device 3 has a horizontal axis as a time axis X indicating time, a vertical axis orthogonal to the time axis X as a data axis Y indicating data values, and an orthogonal plane indicated by the time axis X and the data axis Y. On the screen where the trend graph G1 is displayed, the graph display processing unit 31 plots the time series data on the top, and connects the plotted time series data with a broken line as a trend graph G1 on the display 3-8. A pointer display processing unit 32 that displays the mouse cursor 5 as a pointer, a pointer operator 33 (mouse 3-10) that moves the mouse cursor 5 displayed on the screen, and a change in display magnification from the pointer operator 33 A display magnification change processing unit 34 that changes the display magnification of the trend graph G1 with the display position of the mouse cursor 5 as a fixed point in response to a request. .

  In the first embodiment, in response to a display magnification change request from the pointer operation unit 33, the display magnification change processing unit 34 sets the display position of the mouse cursor 5 as a fixed point in the direction of the data axis Y of the trend graph G1. Change the display magnification of. In the first embodiment, in response to a display magnification change request from the pointer operating device 33, the display position of the mouse cursor 5 is used as a fixed point, and the trend graph G1 is displayed in the direction of the time axis X and the data axis Y. You may make it change both magnifications.

  In the second embodiment, the display magnification change processing unit 34 receives a graph axis selection command as an input, and changes the display position of the mouse cursor 5 as a fixed point in response to a display magnification change request from the pointer operator 33. The display magnification in the direction of the selected axis (time axis X / data axis Y) of the graph G1 is changed. That is, if a selection command for the time axis X is received, the display magnification in the direction of the time axis X is changed. If a selection command for the data axis Y is received, the display magnification in the direction of the data axis Y is changed. When the selection command for the data axis Y is received, both the display magnifications in the direction of the time axis X and the data axis Y are changed.

  Further, in the first and second embodiments, the display magnification change processing unit 34 performs a specific time interval in a situation where the rotation operation continues when the operator rotates the mouse wheel 4 of the pointer operation device 33 in a specific direction. When the operator rotates the mouse wheel 4 of the pointer operation device 33 in the direction opposite to the above, the reduction request instruction is input at a specific time interval in a situation where the rotation operation continues. Convert to input.

[Extension of the embodiment]
The present invention has been described above with reference to the embodiment, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. Various changes that can be understood by those skilled in the art can be made to the configuration and details of the present invention within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention. Each embodiment can be implemented in any combination within a consistent range.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Controller, 2 ... Server apparatus, 21 ... Data acquisition part, 22 ... Data storage part, 3 ... Monitoring and control apparatus, 3-1 ... CPU, 3-2 ... RAM, 3-3 ... ROM, 3-4 ... Storage device, 3-5 to 3-7 ... interface, 3-8 ... display, 3-9 ... keyboard, 3-10 ... mouse, 4 ... mouse wheel, 5 ... mouse cursor, AR1 ... display area, G1 ... trend graph 31 ... Graph display processing unit, 32 ... Pointer display processing unit, 33 ... Pointer operation unit, 34 ... Display magnification change processing unit.

Claims (3)

Graph display means for displaying a graph on an orthogonal plane indicated by a first axis and a second axis orthogonal to the first axis;
Pointer display means for displaying a pointer on the screen on which the graph is displayed;
A pointer operator for moving a pointer displayed on the screen;
A graph display device comprising: a display magnification changing means for changing the display magnification of the graph with the display position of the pointer as a fixed point in response to a display magnification change request for the graph. The graph display device according to claim 1,
The display magnification changing means includes
In response to a request to change the display magnification in the direction of the first axis with respect to the graph, a first display that changes the display magnification in the direction of the first axis of the graph using the display position of the pointer as a fixed point. In response to a request for changing the display magnification in the direction of the second axis with respect to the graph, the display magnification in the direction of the second axis of the graph is changed using the display position of the pointer as a fixed point A graph display device, comprising: at least one of second display magnification changing means. The graph display device according to claim 1,
The pointer operating device is a mouse,
The mouse includes an operation unit for inputting a display magnification change request for the graph.

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