Technical Field

The present application relates to a user interface, and more particularly to a user interface for operating a heating furnace.

Background

The heating furnace has a drying furnace and/or a sintering furnace including a plurality of heating segments, respectively. Corresponding to the plurality of heating segments, the user interface is characterized by a plurality of corresponding heating sub-unit state areas that are displayed on a display screen to facilitate user operations and monitor a plurality of corresponding heating segments in the heating furnace.

Summary

A first aspect of the present application discloses a user interface for operating a heating furnace including a plurality of heating sub-units, the user interface including a plurality of heating sub-unit state areas, a plurality of heating sub-unit target temperature display areas, and a plurality of heating sub-unit current temperature display areas. The plurality of heating sub-unit state areas are corresponding to the plurality of heating sub-units, the heating sub-unit state areas are configured to display an on state and an off state of the plurality of heating sub-units, the on state and the off state of the plurality of heating sub-units are corresponding to an operation state of a plurality of sintered heating sub-units. The plurality of heating sub-unit target temperature display areas are configured to display a target temperature of each heating sub-unit. The plurality of heating sub-unit current temperature display areas are configured to display a current temperature of each heating sub-unit.

In the user interface for operating a heating furnace disclosed in the first aspect above, the on state and the off state of the plurality of heating sub-units are represented by different colors. In the user interface for operating a heating furnace disclosed in the first aspect above, a corresponding heating sub-unit of the plurality of sintered heating sub-units is started or stopped by clicking on one of the plurality of heating sub-unit state areas.

In the user interface for operating a heating furnace disclosed in the first aspect above, the user interface is further characterized by a plurality of heating sub-unit temperature graphical display areas configured to graphically display a current temperature and a target temperature of each heating sub-unit.

In the user interface for operating a heating furnace as disclosed in the first aspect above, the plurality of heating sub-unit temperature graphical display areas are configured to be capable of displaying a rectangle and a line segment, a height of the rectangle representing a current temperature value of each heating sub-unit, a distance between the line segment and the rectangle representing a difference between the target temperature and the current temperature of each heating subunit.

In the user interface for operating a heating furnace disclosed in the first aspect above, the plurality of heating sub-unit state areas include a plurality of upper heating sub-unit state areas and a plurality of lower heating sub-unit state areas, the plurality of heating sub-unit target temperature display areas include a plurality of upper heating sub-unit target temperature display areas and a plurality of lower heating sub-unit target temperature display areas, the plurality of heating sub-unit current temperature display areas include a plurality of upper heating sub-unit current temperature display areas and a plurality of lower heating sub-unit current temperature display areas, and the plurality of heating sub-unit temperature graphical display areas include a plurality of upper heating sub-unit temperature graphical display areas and a plurality of lower heating sub-unit temperature graphical display areas. The plurality of upper heating sub-unit temperature graphical display areas, the plurality of upper heating sub-unit target temperature display areas, the plurality of upper heating sub-unit current temperature display areas, the plurality of upper heating sub-unit state areas, the plurality of lower heating sub-unit state areas, the plurality of lower heating sub-unit current temperature display areas, the plurality of lower heating sub-unit target temperature display areas, and the plurality of lower heating sub-unit temperature graphical display areas are arranged sequentially from top to bottom. In the user interface for operating a heating furnace disclosed in the first aspect above, the user interface is further characterized by a conveyor belt display area corresponding to a conveyor belt and configured to display an on state and an off state of the conveyor belt. The conveyor belt display area is disposed between the plurality of upper heating sub-unit state areas and the plurality of lower heating subunit state areas.

In the user interface for operating a heating furnace as disclosed in the first aspect above, the conveyor belt display area is characterized by a first conveyor belt portion displayed in a first color, a second conveyor belt portion displayed in a second color, and a third conveyor belt portion displayed in a third color.

In the user interface for operating a heating furnace as disclosed in the first aspect above, the conveyor belt display area is configured to: when a first conveyor belt, a second conveyor belt, and/or a third conveyor belt of the conveyor belt operate, the first conveyor belt portion, the second conveyor belt portion, and the third conveyor belt portion corresponding to the first conveyor belt, the second conveyor belt, and the third conveyor belt flash.

In the user interface for operating a heating furnace disclosed in the first aspect above, the user interface is further characterized by an inlet display area and an outlet display area. The inlet display area shows whether a photovoltaic panel enters the heating furnace and is configured to: The inlet display area flashes when a photovoltaic panel enters the heating furnace. The outlet display area shows whether a photovoltaic panel exits the heating furnace and is configured to: The outlet display area flashes when a photovoltaic panel exits the heating furnace.

In the user interface for operating a heating furnace disclosed in the first aspect above, the user interface is further characterized by a functional area, a heating subunit control and display area, a system control area, and a message display area. The heating sub-unit control and display area are characterized by the plurality of heating sub-unit state areas, the plurality of heating sub-unit target temperature display areas, and the plurality of heating sub-unit current temperature display areas. The functional area is provided above the heating sub-unit control and display area, the system control area is provided below the heating sub-unit control and display area, and the message area is provided to the right of the heating sub-unit control and display area. In the user interface for operating a heating furnace disclosed in the first aspect above, the functional area is characterized by a start-stop icon to start or stop all the plurality of heating sub-unit state areas by clicking the start-stop icon.

In the user interface for operating a heating furnace disclosed in the first aspect above, the message display area is configured to expand and collapse information by clicking on the message display area.

In the user interface for operating a heating furnace disclosed in the first aspect above, the functional area is characterized by a storage icon, and at least one of the plurality of heating sub-units is selected by clicking on the storage icon to store information of the plurality of heating sub-units selected.

In the user interface for operating a heating furnace disclosed in the first aspect above, the user interface is a drying furnace user interface.

In the user interface for operating a heating furnace disclosed in the first aspect above, the user interface is a sintering furnace user interface.

According to a second aspect of the present application, the present application discloses a user interface for operating a heating furnace including the drying furnace user interface disclosed in the first aspect and the sintering furnace user interface disclosed in the first aspect.

According to a third aspect of the present application, the present application discloses a heating furnace including a drying furnace and a sintering furnace including the drying furnace user interface disclosed in the first aspect and the sintering furnace user interface disclosed in the first aspect. The drying furnace user interface and the sintering furnace user interface form a user system user interface.

In the heating furnace as disclosed in the third aspect above, the sintering furnace user interface is located on the right side of the drying furnace user interface or the drying furnace user interface is located on the left side of the sintering furnace user interface such that an order of arrangement of the sintering furnace user interface and the drying furnace user interface is consistent with an order of arrangement of the drying furnace and the sintering furnace.

In the heating furnace as disclosed in the third aspect above, the heating furnace is further characterized by a display component and a control unit. The display component is used for displaying the user interface disclosed in the first aspect above. The control unit is used for controlling the user interface for operating and monitoring the heating furnace. The user interface for operating a heating furnace of the present application is characterized by the following advanced technical effects:

1 . Easy to display a current temperature and a target temperature of each subunit;

2. Visually display the current temperature and the target temperature of each sub-unit in a graphical manner, so that a user can understand a current state and a target state of each sub-unit;

3. The message display area for expanding and collapsing information does not take up space of the user interface and facilitate the user to read the message;

4. On and off of each sub-unit can be independently controlled, so as to facilitate the user’s repair for each sub-unit;

5. The order of arrangement of the drying furnace user interface and the sintering furnace user interface and the order of arrangement of the drying furnace and the sintering furnace can be enabled to be consistent, so as to facilitate the user to intuitively understand the current state of the drying furnace and the sintering furnace;

6. Able to display a current speed and a target speed and the on state and the off state of each conveyor belt;

7. Able to display a current speed, a target speed, and an on/off state of a blower, an exhaust fan, and a cooling fan;

8. Able to display the quantity of products being produced in the current furnace;

9. Able to show whether there are parts to be machined in a furnace inlet and whether there are machined parts out of a furnace outlet;

10. Able to modify the settings for each sub-unit in real time.

Brief Description of Drawings

These and other features and advantages of the present application may be better understood by reading the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which same reference numerals represent some parts throughout the accompanying drawings, where:

Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view of a heating furnace according to the present application to show components in the heating furnace; Figure 2 is an exemplary block diagram of the heating furnace shown in Figure

1 ;

Figure 3 is a diagram of a user interface for operating a heating furnace with a plurality of heating sub-units all in an off state;

Figure 4 is a diagram of a user interface for operating a heating furnace with a plurality of heating sub-units all in an on state;

Figure 5 is a diagram of a user interface for operating a heating furnace with a portion of a plurality of heating sub-units in an on state and a portion in an off state;

Figure 6 is a diagram of a user interface for operating a heating furnace with a message display area in an expanded state;

Figure 7 is a diagram of a user interface for operating a heating furnace, where an interface for naming data when the data is stored is shown;

Figure 8 is a diagram of a user interface for operating a heating furnace, where a data interface when data is loaded is shown;

Figure 9 is another embodiment of an arrangement of a drying furnace user interface and a sintering furnace user interface in a user interface;

Figure 10 is a diagram of a user interface of a heating furnace 100 connected to an external device; and

Figure 11 is an internal structural diagram of a control unit shown in Figure 2.

Detailed Description

Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view of a heating furnace 100 according to the present application to show components in the heating furnace 100. The heating furnace 100 may be configured to heat components to be machined (e.g., solar panels). As shown in Figure 1 , the heating furnace 100 is characterized by a furnace housing 101 . The furnace housing 101 has a furnace inlet 102 and a furnace outlet 103. A drying furnace 112 and a sintering furnace 114 are provided in the furnace housing 101. The drying furnace 112 is arranged to the left of the sintering furnace 114. The components to be machined are able to pass through the drying furnace 112 and the sintering furnace 114 to the furnace outlet 103 after entering from the furnace inlet 102.

In particular, the drying furnace 112 has three heating sub-units 111.1 , 111.2, 111.3. The sintering furnace 114 has 11 heating sub-units 121.1 , 121.2 ... 111.11 and one cooling sub-unit 131 . Each heating sub-unit is characterized by an upper heating sub-unit and a lower heating sub-unit, and a heating component 141 is provided in each upper heating sub-unit and a lower heating sub-unit, respectively, such that each upper heating sub-unit and each lower heating sub-unit are heated independently. A temperature sensor 171 is provided in each heating sub-unit for detecting a current temperature in the heating sub-unit. A cooling component 143 is provided in the cooling sub-unit 131 , thereby cooling a component to be machined in the cooling sub-unit 131 . A conveyor belt 105 is provided between the upper heating sub-unit and the lower heating sub-unit. The conveyor belt 105 is capable of carrying components to be machined from the furnace inlet 102 and then passing through the drying furnace 112 and the sintering furnace 114 to the furnace outlet 103.

As shown in Figure 1 , the conveyor belt 105 is characterized by a first conveyor belt 161 , a second conveyor belt 162, and a third conveyor belt 163. They are driven by a first motor 181 , a second motor 182, and a third motor 183, respectively. The first conveyor belt 161 , the second conveyor belt 162, and the third conveyor belt 163 are capable of forming a continuous conveyor carrier between the furnace inlet 102 and the furnace outlet 103, thereby conveying the components to be machined carried by it from the furnace inlet 102 to the furnace outlet 103.

As shown in Figure 1 , the heating furnace 100 also is characterized by a blower 144, an exhaust fan 146, and a cooling fan 145. One blower 144 and one exhaust fan 146 are provided in the drying furnace 112, thereby enabling gas in the heating sub-unit to enter and exit the drying furnace 112. The cooling fan 145 is disposed on the cooling sub-unit 131 , accelerating gas flowing through the cooling sub-unit 131 to the component to be machined on the conveyor belt 105, and accelerating cooling of the component to be machined.

As shown in Figure 1 , the heating furnace 100 is further characterized by an inlet sensor 191 and an outlet sensor 192 respectively provided at the furnace inlet 102 and the furnace outlet 103, respectively for detecting whether there are any components to be machined entering the heating furnace 100 and detecting whether there are any machined components exiting the heating furnace 100 and for recording the plurality of components entering the heating furnace 100 and exiting the heating furnace 100.

Figure 2 is an exemplary block diagram of the heating furnace 100 shown in Figure 1. The heating furnace 100 is further characterized by a control unit 202, a display component 204 and a mouse/keyboard 206. The control unit 202 is in communication with the heating component 141 , the cooling fan 145, the temperature sensor 171 , the first motor 181 , the second motor 182, the third motor 183, the exhaust fan 146, the blower 144, the inlet sensor 191 , the outlet sensor 192, the display component 204, and the mouse/keyboard 206. The control unit 202 is capable of controlling on/off of the heating component 141 , the cooling fan 145, the first motor 181 , the second motor 182, the third motor 183, the exhaust fan 145, and the blower 144. The temperature sensor 171 , the inlet sensor 191 , and the outlet sensor 192 are capable of communicating data to the control unit 202. A user interface for operating the heating furnace is displayed on the display component 204. The control unit 202 is capable of processing information related to the heating furnace 100 as visual information presented on the user interface. A user is able to operate and monitor the components in the heating furnace 100 by entering in the user interface via the mouse/keyboard 206.

Figure 3 is a diagram of a user interface for operating a heating furnace 100 with a plurality of heating sub-units all in an off state. Figure 4 is a diagram of a user interface for operating a heating furnace 100 with a plurality of heating sub-units all in an on state. As shown in Figures 3-4, the user interface is characterized by a functional area 341 , a heating sub-unit control and display area 342, and a system control area 343. The functional area 341 is located at the top of the user interface for illustrating each shortcut functional area. The heating sub-unit control and display area 342 is located at the lower portion of the functional area 341 for illustrating each heating sub-unit and cooling sub-unit in the drying furnace 112 and the sintering furnace 114. A display area corresponding to the drying furnace 112 is located to the left of a display area corresponding to the sintering furnace 114. The system control area 343 is located at the lower portion of the heating sub-unit control and display area 342 for illustrating the state of components such as the blower 144, the exhaust fan 146, the first motor 181 , the second motor 182, and the third motor 183.

As shown in Figures 3-4, the heating sub-unit control and display area 342 is characterized by 14 upper heating sub-unit temperature graphical display areas 301 , 14 upper heating sub-unit target temperature display areas 303, 14 upper heating sub-unit current temperature display areas 305, 14 upper heating sub-unit state areas 307, a conveyor belt display area 321 , 14 lower heating sub-unit state areas 317, 14 lower heating sub-unit current temperature display areas 315, 14 lower heating sub-unit target temperature display areas 313, and 14 lower heating sub-unit temperature graphical display areas 311. The 14 display areas in each area are arranged in a left-right direction, so that the 14 display areas correspond to the 14 heating sub-units. The conveyor belt display area 321 is located in the middle of the heating sub-unit control and display area 342 and is arranged in the left-right direction for displaying the conveyor belt 105. The conveyor belt display area 321 is characterized by a first conveyor belt portion 321 shown in a first color (e.g., red), a second conveyor belt portion 322 shown in a second color (e.g., yellow), and a third conveyor belt portion 323 shown in a third color (e.g., blue), corresponding to states of the first conveyor belt 161 , the second conveyor belt 162, and the third conveyor belt 163, respectively. When at least one of the first conveyor belt 161 , the second conveyor belt 162, and the third conveyor belt 163 is running, its corresponding first conveyor belt portion 321 , second conveyor belt portion 322, or third conveyor belt portion 323 flashes to indicate that it is running. The conveyor belt display area 321 has the advantage of allowing the user to visually observe the operation of the conveyor belt.

As shown in Figures 3-4, the 14 upper heating sub-unit temperature graphical display areas 301 , the 14 upper heating sub-unit target temperature display areas 303, the 14 upper heating sub-unit current temperature display areas 305, and the 14 upper heating sub-unit state areas 307 are arranged sequentially in the up-down direction above the conveyor belt display area 321 . The 14 lower heating sub-unit state areas 317, the 14 lower heating sub-unit current temperature display areas 315, the 14 lower heating sub-unit target temperature display areas 313, and the 14 lower heating sub-unit temperature graphical display areas 311 are arranged sequentially in the up-down direction below the conveyor belt display area 321 . The upper heating sub-unit state areas 307 and the lower heating sub-unit state areas 317 are configured to display on and off states of their corresponding upper heating sub-units and lower heating sub-units. On and off states of the upper heating subunit state areas 307 and the lower heating sub-unit state areas 317 correspond to operation states of the upper heating sub-units and the lower heating sub-units. The on and off states are represented by different colors. As one example, when a heating sub-unit is in the off state, its corresponding heating sub-unit state area is displayed in gray (as shown in Figure 3); when a heating sub-unit is in the on state, its corresponding heating sub-unit state area is displayed in red (as shown in Figure 4). The upper heating sub-unit current temperature display area 305 and the lower heating sub-unit current temperature display area 315 are configured to display current temperatures of the upper heating sub-unit and the lower heating sub-unit. The current temperature is digitally displayed. In the user interface shown in Figure 3, the current temperature of each heating sub-unit is 0°C (i.e. the row of PV shown in Figure 3). The upper heating sub-unit target temperature display area 303 and the lower heating sub-unit target temperature display area 313 are configured to display target temperatures of the upper heating sub-unit and the lower heating sub-unit. The target temperature is digitally displayed (i.e., the row of SP shown in Figure 3). The upper heating sub-unit temperature graphical display area 301 and the lower heating sub-unit target temperature display area 313 are configured to graphically display the current temperature and the target temperature of the upper heating subunit and the lower heating sub-unit. As one example, as shown in Figure 4, the target temperature is represented as a line segment and the current temperature is represented as a rectangle. The height of the rectangle represents the current temperature value of the heating sub-unit, and the distance between the line segment and the rectangle represents the difference between the target temperature and the current temperature of the heating sub-unit. It can be understood that in other examples, the target temperature and the current temperature may also be displayed as a dot or a broken line. The heating sub-unit state area, the heating subunit target temperature display area, and the heating sub-unit current temperature display area have at least the following advantages: They graphically show the current and target temperatures of each sub-unit and digitally accurately show the current and target temperatures of each sub-unit, making it easy for the user to observe, so that the user understands the operation of each sub-unit. Especially when an operator is only concerned about whether the overall state of the heating furnace 100 reaches a predetermined state, the operator can understand which heating sub-units do not reach the predetermined state by observing graphics and colors of the graphics without reading comparison data one by one.

As shown in Figures 3-4, the user interface is further characterized by an inlet display area 331 and an outlet display area 332. The inlet display area 331 is provided to the left of the conveyor belt display area 321 . More specifically, the inlet display area 331 is provided at the left end of the first conveyor belt portion 321. The inlet display area 331 is used to show whether there are components to be machined entering the heating furnace 100 and is configured to: The inlet display area 331 flashes when there are components to be machined entering the heating furnace. The outlet display area 332 is provided to the right of the conveyor belt display area 321. More specifically, the outlet display area 332 is disposed at the right end of the third conveyor belt portion 323. The outlet display area 332 is used to display whether there are machined components exiting the heating furnace 100 and is configured to: The outlet display area 332 flashes when there are machined components exiting the heating furnace 100.

As shown in Figures 3-4, the functional area 341 is located at the top of the user interface for illustrating each shortcut functional area. The functional area 341 is characterized by a start-stop icon 351 , a storage icon 352, a load icon 353, and an edit icon 354. The start-stop icon 351 is used to control start and stop of all heating sub-units. Specifically, the user starts or stops all the heating sub-units by clicking on the start-stop icon 351 , and the start-stop icon 351 is configured to: turn off all the heating sub-units (as shown in Figure 3) when the start-stop icon 351 is in a first start-stop color (e.g., green); and turn on all the heating sub-units (as shown in Figure 4) when the start-stop icon 351 is in a second start-stop color (e.g., yellow). The edit icon 354 is used to edit the target temperature shown in each heating subunit target temperature display area 303. The load icon 353 and the storage icon 352 will be described below in connection with Figures 7-8.

As shown in Figures 3-4, the system control area 343 is located at the bottom of the user interface to illustrate states of components such as the blower 144, the exhaust fan 146, the cooling fan 145, the first motor 181 , the second motor 182, and the third motor 183. In particular, the system control area 343 is characterized by a drying furnace display area 361 and a sintering furnace display area 362. The drying furnace display area 361 is characterized by an air entry air display area 363, a combustion improver display area 364, a blower display area 365, and an exhaust fan display area 366. The air entry air display area 363 is used to display a target temperature, a current temperature, and an on/off state of air. The combustion improver display area 364 is used to display a target temperature, a current temperature, and an on/off state of a combustion improver. The blower display area 365 is used to display input frequency, output frequency, and an on/off state of the blower 144 in a heating area. The exhaust fan display area 366 is used to display the input frequency, the output frequency, and the on-off state of the exhaust fan 146 in the heating area. As another example, the blower display area 365 is used to display a current speed and a target speed of the blower 144 in the heating area. The exhaust fan display area 366 is used to display the current speed and the target speed of the exhaust fan 146 in the heating area. The sintering furnace display area 362 is characterized by a product tracking display area 371 , a hot area conveyor belt display area 372, a cold area conveyor belt first display area 373, a cold area conveyor belt second display area 374, and a cooling fan output frequency area 375. The product tracking display area 371 is used to display a quantity of machined components in the current heating furnace 100, the total quantity of machined components from start-up to a current moment, a quantity of machined components in an estimated time (e.g., 1 hour) since the current moment, and the on/off state. The hot area conveyor belt display area 372 is used to display a target speed, a current speed, and an on/off state of the first conveyor belt 161 . The cold area conveyor belt first display area 373 is used to display a speed of the second conveyor belt 162. The cold area conveyor belt second display area 374 is used to display a speed of the third conveyor belt 163. The cooling fan output frequency area 375 is used to display frequency of the cooling fan 145.

Figure 5 is a diagram of a user interface for operating a heating furnace 100 with a portion of a plurality of heating sub-units in an on state and a portion in an off state. As shown in Figure 5, the functional area 341 is characterized by a settings icon 511. The user opens a submenu 513 by clicking the settings icon 511. The submenu 513 is displayed to the right of the user interface. In particular, there is a manual control area 521 in the submenu 513. The manual control area 521 has a manual off state and a manual on state. The manual off state and the manual on state are indicated by different colors. As one example, the manual control area 521 is in gray when it is in the manual off state and green when it is in the manual on state (as shown in Figure 5). When the manual control area 521 is in the manual on state, the user may click one or more of the 14 upper heating sub-unit state areas 307 and the 14 lower heating sub-unit state areas 317 to turn on their corresponding one or more heating sub-units. The user can check each heating sub-unit for damage by separately starting one or more of the 14 upper heating sub-unit state areas 307 and the 14 lower heating sub-unit state areas 317.

Returning below to Figure 3, a message display area 344 is described. As shown in Figure 3, the user interface further is characterized by the message display area 344. The message display area 344 is located to the right of the heating subunit control and display area 342 to display state information for the heating furnace 100. The message display area 344 is configured to expand and collapse information by clicking on the message display area 344. As shown in Figure 3, the message display area 344 collapses information when the user does not click on the message display area 344.

Figure 6 is a diagram of a user interface for operating a heating furnace 100 with the message display area 344 in an expanded state. Specifically, when the user clicks on the message display area 344, the message display area 344 expands the information to facilitate reading of the message by the user. The message display area 344 has the following advantages: The message display area 344 does not occupy the user interface space in the collapsed state when the user does not want to read the message, and is able to expand the message to facilitate reading by the user when the user needs to read the message.

Figure 7 is a diagram of a user interface for operating a heating furnace 100, where an interface for naming data when the data is stored is shown. Figure 8 is an interface for naming data when the data is loaded in a user interface. The storage icon 352 in the user interface is described below with reference to Figure 3. As shown in Figure 3, when the user wants to store data, the user may click the storage icon 352 and select at least one of the heating sub-units. When the user selects the heating sub-unit, an interface for naming data as shown in Figure 7 is presented in the user interface. For each stored heating sub-unit information, the user may enter a name in a naming block 701 to store corresponding data information in the control unit 202 (as shown in Figure 2).

Figure 8 is a diagram of a user interface for operating a heating furnace 100, where a data interface when data is loaded is shown. The load icon 353 in the user interface is described below with reference to Figure 3. As shown in Figure 3, when the user wants to load data, the user may click the load icon 353. When the user clicks the load icon 353, an interface for loading data as shown in Figure 8 is presented in the user interface. The user may choose to load any one of data in a load data list 801 , thereby retrieving the data stored in the control unit 202 (as shown in Figure 2) for display on the user interface.

Further, as shown in Figure 3, the user interface of the present application is characterized by a drying furnace user interface 381 corresponding to the drying furnace 112 and a sintering furnace user interface 382 corresponding to the sintering furnace 114. In this application, an order of arrangement of the drying furnace user interface 381 and the sintering furnace user interface 382 and an order of arrangement of the drying furnace 112 and the sintering furnace 114 are consistent. As shown in Figures 3-8, the drying furnace user interface 381 is located on the left side of the sintering furnace user interface 382 because the drying furnace 112 is located on the left side of the sintering furnace 114.

Figure 9 is another embodiment of an arrangement of a drying furnace user interface 381 and a sintering furnace user interface 382 in a user interface. As shown in Figure 9, the drying furnace user interface 381 is located on the right side of the sintering furnace user interface 382 because the drying furnace 112 is located on the right side of the sintering furnace 114.

It is to be noted that the user interface of the embodiments of the present application is characterized by the drying furnace user interface and the sintering furnace user interface, but those skilled in the art may understand that the user interface in other embodiments may include a drying furnace user interface or a sintering furnace user interface.

Figure 10 is a diagram of a user interface of a heating furnace 100 connected to an external device. When the furnace 100 shown in the present application is disposed in a plant, it may also be connected to an external device (e.g., a plant local exhaust fan) to enable wind to be discharged out of the plant. As shown in Figure 10, the heating furnace 100 shown in the present application is connected to four local exhaust fans. One of the four local exhaust fans is provided in the heating sub-unit 111.1 of the drying furnace 112, and the other three local exhaust fans are respectively provided in the heating sub-units 121.2, 121.5, and 111.11 of the sintering furnace 114. As can be seen from the diagram of the user interface shown in Figure 10, in the upper heating sub-unit state areas 307 corresponding to the dry heating sub-unit 111.1 and the heating sub-unit 121.2, 121.5, and 111.11 , the local exhaust fan is shown with a fan icon, thereby enabling the operator to visually see the setting position of the local exhaust fan. Additionally, when the operator moves the mouse over the fan icon, a current air volume and a current temperature of the fan are displayed on the user interface.

Figure 11 is an internal structural diagram of the control unit 202 in Figure 2. As shown in Figure 11 , the control unit 202 is characterized by a bus 1002, a processor 1004, an input interface 1008, an output interface 1012, and a memory 1018 having a control program. The various components in the control unit 202, including the bus 1002, the processor 1004, the input interface 1008, the output interface 1012, and the memory 1018 are communicatively connected to the bus 1002, enabling the processor 1004 to control operation of the input interface 1008, the output interface 1012, and the memory 1018. Specifically, the memory 1018 is used to store a program 1015, instructions, a parameter 1016, and an area 1017, while the processor 1004 reads the program, instructions, and data, etc., from the memory 1018 and is capable of writing data to the memory 1018. By executing the memory 1018 to read the program and instructions, etc., the processor 1004 controls the operation of the input interface 1008 and the output interface 1012. As shown in Figure 11 , the input interface 1008 is communicatively connected to the temperature sensor 171 , the inlet sensor 191 , the outlet sensor 192, and the mouse/keyboard 206 via communication connections 1021 , 1022, 1023, and 1024, respectively. The input interface 1008 receives a temperature parameter of the temperature sensor 171 via the communication connection 1021. The input interface 1008 receives a signal from the inlet sensor 191 via the communication connection 1022. The input interface 1008 receives a temperature parameter of the outlet sensor 192 via the communication connection 1023. The input interface 1008 receives an input parameter of the mouse/keyboard 206 via the communication connection 1024. The various parameters are displayed in the display component 204 via the output interface 1012 and a communication connection 1038 after being processed by the program 1015 in the memory 1018. The output interface 1012 is communicatively connected to the heating component 141 , the cooling fan 145, the first motor 181 , the second motor 182, the third motor 183, the blower 144, and the exhaust fan 146 through communication connections 1031 , 1032, 1033, 1034, 1035, 1036, and 1037, respectively, to control the start and stop of the heating component 141 , the cooling fan 145, the first motor 181 , the second motor 182, the third motor 183, the blower 144, and the exhaust fan 146.

In the embodiment of the present application, the processor 1004 is able to read the corresponding program 1015 from the memory 1018 to perform a corresponding operation. The above mentioned upper heating sub-unit state area 307, the lower heating sub-unit state area 317, icons in the functional area 341 , and the heating sub-unit control and display area 342 and parameters associated with these areas (including temperature, state, and email information) are stored into respective storage units of the memory 1018. The processor 1004 executes the program 1015 in the memory 1018 to operate and control the areas and the parameters. When the user clicks one of the above areas or icons displayed on the display component 204 when the program 1015 is running, this click generates a control signal that is delivered to the processor 1004 via the input interface 1008 for corresponding processing by the processor 1004. Similarly, the processor 1004 stores the acquired parameters in respective units of the memory 1004 and displays them in respective areas of the display component 204 via the output interface 1012.

The user interface of the present application is characterized by the following advantageous technical effects:

1 . Easy to display a current temperature and a target temperature of each subunit;

2. Visually display the current temperature and the target temperature of each sub-unit in a graphical manner, so that a user can understand a current state of each sub-unit;

3. The message display area for expanding and collapsing information does not take up space of the user interface and facilitate the user to read the message;

4. On and off of each sub-unit can be independently controlled, so as to facilitate the user’s repair for each sub-unit;

5. The order of arrangement of the drying furnace user interface and the sintering furnace user interface and the order of arrangement of the drying furnace and the sintering furnace can be enabled to be consistent, so as to facilitate the user to intuitively understand the current state of the drying furnace and the sintering furnace;

6. Able to display a current speed and a target speed and the on state and the off state of each conveyor belt;

7. Able to display a current speed, a target speed, and an on/off state of a blower, an exhaust fan, and a cooling fan;

8. Able to display the quantity of products being produced in the current furnace;

9. Able to show whether there are parts to be machined in a furnace inlet 102 and whether there are machined parts out of a furnace outlet 103;

10. Able to modify the settings for each sub-unit in real time. Although the present disclosure has been described in connection with examples of the embodiments outlined above, various alternatives, modifications, variations, improvements, and/or substantial equivalents, whether known or foreseeable now or in the near future, may be apparent to those having at least ordinary skill in the art. In addition, the technical effects and/or technical problems described in this Specification are exemplary and not limiting; therefore, the disclosure in this Specification may be used to solve other technical problems and have other technical effects and/or may solve other technical problems. Therefore, examples of embodiments of the present disclosure as set forth above are intended to be illustrative and not limiting. Various changes may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the present disclosure is intended to include all known or earlier developed alternatives, modifications, variations, improvements and/or substantial equivalents.