Automated Control System With Bilingual Status Display

The present invention is directed to automated control systems, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for displaying system status information graphically and textually in either of two selectable text languages.

It is currently a common occurrence for an automated control system to be designed and constructed in one geographic area or country, and to be installed and operated in another geographic area or country in which a different language is employed. Even when the system control programming is written in a single language, or separate interchangeable programs are written in the two languages in question, difficulties are encountered in displaying status information to system operators for set-up and maintenance purposes, and during normal operation. For example, where an automated transfer system is designed and built in the U.S., and then shipped to Russia for installation and use, the actual control programming can be written in either English or Russian DOS. However, it is desirable to have the ability to display system status information in either English or Cyrillic text, as well as in graphic indicia associated with the text and understandable by persons speaking either language. The system display may be switched to English display text during set-up or maintenance operations by representatives of the American manufacturer, for example, and to Russian display text during normal operation.

It is a general object of the present invention to provide a system and method for displaying status information associated with an automated control system in which the status information is displayed both graphically and texturally simultaneously, and in which the textural information is selectively displayed in either of two (or more) text languages. Another object of the present invention is to provide a system and method for status display of the described character that can be readily implemented, and that are structured such that the display text languages can be readily altered without substantial redesign or reconfiguration of the display system.

Automated control system status information is displayed to a system operator in accordance with the present invention by storing in electronic memory first fields of graphic indicia for generating at an operator display graphic representations of system conditions to be monitored and second fields of text indicia associated with the graphic indicia. The second fields of text indicia are stored in sets of separate sub-fields in each of two text languages, with each set in each sub-field being associated with a specific first field of graphic indicia. The system operator may alternately select between the sets of sub-fields of text indicia in such a way that the text fields displayed simultaneously with the graphic fields at the operator status display are all in one or the other of the two text languages.

The invention, together with additional objects, features and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description, the appended claims and the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of an operator status display system in accordance with the present invention associated with an automated transfer system; and

FIGS. 2A and 2B, 3A and 3B, and 4A and 4B illustrate pairs of status display screens containing common graphic indicia, and text indicia in accordance with the present invention in either Cyrillic or English.

The system and method of the present invention are disclosed in connection with a transfer system in an automotive manufacturing environment. However, it will be appreciated that the principles of the present invention in their broadest aspects would apply equally as well to other automated control environments.

FIG. 1 illustrates a control and status display system 10 associated with an automated transfer system 12 as including control/diagnostic electronics 14 coupled to transfer system 12 both for controlling operation thereof, and for receiving feedback information indicative of transfer system operating status. Control/diagnostic electronics 14 is coupled to an electronic memory 16 for obtaining control programming and information as is conventional in the art, and for obtaining display indicia from memory 16 in accordance with the present invention. Control/diagnostic electronics 14 is also connected to an operator display 18 that includes a display screen 20 and an operator keyboard 22. Keyboard 22 includes function keys for selectively controlling the operator display, as will be described. Alternatively, display 20 may comprise a touch-panel display in which the display language is selectively controlled by the operator through touch panel sections displayed on the screen, or a voice analyzer executing voice commands.

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate displays of overall transfer system status in Russian (FIG. 2A) and English (FIG. 2B). In each display, there is graphic display information such as the graphic illustration 30 of the transfer system and the various stations 1-25 thereof, and boxes and status indicators 32, 34 surrounding and adjacent to status information in the form of alphanumeric text indicia. Associated with the graphic indicia in both FIGS. 2A and 2B--i.e., boxes 32 and status indicator indicia 34--is a field of alphanumeric text indicia displayed simultaneously with the graphic indicia. This alphanumeric text indicia is stored in sub-fields for display either in Russian (FIG. 2A) or in English (FIG. 2B). These text sub-fields may be stored either as text files generated using an appropriate keyboard--i.e., an English keyboard in the case of FIG . 2B or a Russian keyboard in the case of FIG. 2A--or may be stored as a graphic sub-field. The graphic file may be generated employing any suitable conventional means, and is particularly advantageous for languages with non-Latin alphabets such as Russian and Chinese.

The lower portions 36 of each display in FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate function keys F1 through F10 for selecting various status and control features. For example, function key F1 in each display selects the option to "quit" the associated display, and function keys F2 and F4-F10 in each display select other status display options. Function key F3 in each display allows the operator to switch back and forth between the English and Russian text displays, the graphic portion of each display being the same. Thus, with information displayed in English as illustrated in FIG. 2B, depression of function key F3 with Russian description on keyboard 22 (FIG. 1), or touching the F3 section of a touch-panel display (or giving a voice command), automatically switches the textual portion of the display from English (FIG. 2B) to Russian (FIG. 2A). Once Russian is selected for the display text indicia, all further status displays will include Russian text until English text is reselected.

FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate a different status display showing the status of the gates and emergency stop elements at each of the transfer line stations 1-25, either in Russian (FIG. 3A) or English (FIG. 3B). In these displays, function key F8 is employed for selecting either Russian or English as the display language. Once again, the graphic portions of the displays are identical, while the adjacent text portions of the displays are selectively switchable between Russian and English. FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate another screen display, this time showing the status of the gates at transfer stations 1-13. Again, the graphic portions are identical, while the adjacent text portions are selectively switchable between Russian and English by means of function key F8.

There have thus been disclosed a method and apparatus for automated control system status display in which graphic indicia for each screen and text indicia for each screen are stored in memory as separate display fields. The text indicia is stored as separate sub-fields in each of two text languages, with the sub-fields being selectable by the operator. When the status display is generated, the graphic field and the selected text sub-field are displayed simultaneously so that the text in the selected language is associated with the appropriate portions of the graphic display. The text sub-fields are stored in separate portions of memory respectively associated with the two text languages, and are selectively accessed under control of the operator. The sub-fields of text indicia may be stored as either text or graphic files as may be appropriate for the language in question. The principles of the invention may be employed equally as well for selectively displaying status text information in more than two languages, if desired.