Patent Application
20130139088
1. Technical Field
Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to file management technology, and more particularly to a system and method for managing a machining file in a computing device.
2. Description of Related Art
There are two main methods for designing machining programs using computer numerical control (CNC) machine tools. The first method is programming the machining programs using special codes (e.g., Numerical control G codes and M codes in numerical machining). The second method provides a dialog window on a display for users to input machining dimensions and other parameters, which then generates a procedure according to the parameters and predetermined machining templates, and constitutes the machining programs including a series of the procedures. Both of the two types of methods have respective advantages. However, there is no relevant method has combination advantages of the two methods to manage the machining programs in a machining file efficiently and conveniently.
The disclosure is illustrated by way of example and not by way of limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals indicate similar elements. It should be noted that references to “an” or “one” embodiment in this disclosure are not necessarily to the same embodiment, and such references can mean “at least one.”
In general, the word “module” as used herein refers to logic embodied in hardware or firmware, or to a collection of software instructions, written in a programming language, such as, Java, C, or assembly. One or more software instructions in the modules may be embedded in firmware, such as in an erasable-programmable read-only memory (EPROM). The modules described herein may be implemented as either software and/or hardware modules and may be stored in any type of non-transitory computer-readable medium or other storage device. Some non-limiting examples of non-transitory computer-readable media include compact discs (CDs), digital versatile discs (DVDs), Blu-ray disks, flash memory, and hard disk drives.
In one embodiment, each procedure has special codes (e.g. Numerical control G codes and M codes in numerical machining), and is stored in the storage system 30 according to a predetermined naming format. In some embodiments, the predetermined naming format may name user-defined procedures (written by user self) starting with “u_” (e.g., u_abc), name modified established procedures starting with “g_” (e.g., g_def), and name original established procedures starting with any other letter of an alphabet except “u_” and “g_” (e.g., a_ghi). The established procedures are fixed and custom-built procedures. As shown in
The user interface 40, which is displayed on the display screen 50, provides display of a management page 401 and an editing page 402 as shown in
The editing page 402 allows for user-editable deletion/additions to the stored procedures or the series of procedures in the machining file. The editing page 402 includes the procedure list area, an editing area, a template area, and a second shortcut area. The procedure list area also displays all the procedures in the machining file in sequence. The editing area displays one procedure to be edited by the user. The template area displays a plurality of templates of general procedures that are frequently-used. The user can click or select a shortcut (e.g. an icon) of one template for invoking the general procedure and insert the general procedure to a current editing position in the editing area. The second shortcut area also displays a plurality of second shortcut keys corresponding to predetermined functions for managing the stored procedures or the series of procedures in the machining file.
The computing device 1 may be connected an input unit 60. The input unit 60 may be a mouse and/or a keyboard used to click/press shortcut keys, select the stored procedures or the series of procedures or edit the selected procedures, for example.
In step S110, the setting module 200 sets a plurality of shortcut keys for executing different functions in the first and second shortcut areas. In one embodiment, the functions of the shortcut keys may include, but are not limited to creating, selecting, editing, inserting, adding, deleting, sorting, storing, or combining specific procedures, and storing the machining file. The specific procedures may be the stored procedures, or the series of procedures in the machining file, or new procedures created by user. If one of the shortcut keys is clicked or selected using the input unit 60, a corresponding function of the shortcut key is triggered to be executed. The plurality of shortcut keys may be shown as in
In step S111, the loading module 202 loads the machining file including a series of procedures from the storage system 30, and displays names of the series of procedures in the procedure list area in sequence on the display screen 50. In one embodiment, the series of procedures are displayed in the predetermined order under a name of the machining file, as shown in
In step S112, if the function of “create a procedure” or the function of “edit a procedure” is triggered by selection of one or more of the shortcut keys, the editing module 204 displays the editing page 402 for the user to create the procedure in the editing area or display the selected procedure in the editing area for the user to edit the selected procedure. The user may create or edit the procedure by inserting templates of the general procedures in the template area into the editing area, and/or inputting codes in the editing area using the input unit 60, and/or inserting the stored procedure in the database area into the editing area according to triggering the function of “insert a procedure”.
In step S113, if the function of “combine procedures” is triggered by selection of one or more of the shortcut keys, the combination module 206 displays the management page 401 for prompting the user to select at least two stored procedures in the database area to be combined, and combines the selected procedures to be a new procedure according to a predetermined combination format.
In step S114, if the function of “store a procedure” (including the created or edited or combined procedure) is triggered by selection of one or more of the shortcut keys, the first storing module 208 stores the procedure into the storage system 30 according to the predetermined naming format, adds the procedure to be displayed in the database area. In one embodiment, if a user-defined procedure is edited, the starting of “u_” in the name of the user-defined procedure is remained. If an original established procedure is edited, the name of the original established procedure is added the starting of “g_”. If a modified established procedure is edited, the starting of “g_” in the name of the procedure is remained. The name of the created procedure or the combined procedure is added the starting of “u_”.
In step S115, if the function of “add a procedure” is triggered by selection of one or more of the shortcut keys, the addition module 210 adds and displays the selected procedure orderly into the procedure list area. In one embodiment, if the function of “deleting a procedure” is triggered by selection of one or more of the shortcut keys, the addition module 210 deletes the selected procedure from the procedure list area, and adjusts sequences of the fields of the procedures after the deleted procedure in the procedure list area in sequence.
In step S116, if the function of “sort a procedure” is triggered by selection of one or more of the shortcut keys, the sorting module 212 adjusts a sequence of a field of the selected procedure in the procedure list area according to an upward key or a downward key of the input unit 60.
In step S117, if the function of “store the machining file” is triggered by selection of one or more of the shortcut keys, the second storing module 214 stores all the procedures displayed in the procedure list area into the machining file in sequence. In one embodiment, the second storing module 214 may store the machining file to be a new machining file in the storage system 30, or to overwrite the original machining file in the storage system 30.
It should be noted that, the above-mentioned steps S112-S117 may be executed in other orders different from
All of the processes described above may be embodied in, and be fully automated via, functional code modules executed by one or more general-purpose processors. The code modules may be stored in any type of non-transitory readable medium or other storage device. Some or all of the methods may alternatively be embodied in specialized hardware. Depending on the embodiment, the non-transitory readable medium may be a hard disk drive, a compact disc, a digital video disc, a tape drive or other suitable storage medium.
The described embodiments are merely possible examples of implementations, and have been set forth for a clear understanding of the principles of the present disclosure. Many variations and modifications may be made without departing substantially from the spirit and principles of the present disclosure. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure and the described inventive embodiments, and the present disclosure is protected by the following claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100143485 | Nov 2011 | TW | national |
