[go: up one dir, main page]

US20060206866A1 - Methods and apparatus for control configuration using live data - Google Patents

Methods and apparatus for control configuration using live data Download PDF

Info

Publication number
US20060206866A1
US20060206866A1 US11/434,005 US43400506A US2006206866A1 US 20060206866 A1 US20060206866 A1 US 20060206866A1 US 43400506 A US43400506 A US 43400506A US 2006206866 A1 US2006206866 A1 US 2006206866A1
Authority
US
United States
Prior art keywords
objects
type
parameter
editor
user
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Abandoned
Application number
US11/434,005
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Keith Eldrige
Paul Meskonis
Robert Hall
Kenneth Burke
Scott Volk
Mark Johnson
Brian Mackay
Steven Dardinski
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Schneider Electric Systems USA Inc
Original Assignee
Invensys Systems Inc
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority claimed from US09/448,845 external-priority patent/US6754885B1/en
Priority claimed from US09/448,374 external-priority patent/US7096465B1/en
Priority claimed from US09/448,223 external-priority patent/US7089530B1/en
Priority claimed from US09/572,343 external-priority patent/US7272815B1/en
Priority to US11/434,005 priority Critical patent/US20060206866A1/en
Application filed by Invensys Systems Inc filed Critical Invensys Systems Inc
Publication of US20060206866A1 publication Critical patent/US20060206866A1/en
Priority to US12/247,872 priority patent/US7890927B2/en
Priority to US12/265,544 priority patent/US8060222B2/en
Priority to US12/265,527 priority patent/US8028272B2/en
Priority to US12/265,474 priority patent/US8229579B2/en
Priority to US12/265,560 priority patent/US8028275B2/en
Priority to US12/265,506 priority patent/US7984420B2/en
Priority to US12/265,837 priority patent/US8225271B2/en
Priority to US12/717,845 priority patent/US8056056B2/en
Priority to US12/717,848 priority patent/US8060862B2/en
Abandoned legal-status Critical Current

Links

Images

Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING OR CALCULATING; COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F8/00—Arrangements for software engineering
    • G06F8/70—Software maintenance or management
    • G06F8/71—Version control; Configuration management
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
    • G05B—CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS
    • G05B15/00—Systems controlled by a computer
    • G05B15/02—Systems controlled by a computer electric
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
    • G05B—CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS
    • G05B19/00—Programme-control systems
    • G05B19/02—Programme-control systems electric
    • G05B19/04—Programme control other than numerical control, i.e. in sequence controllers or logic controllers
    • G05B19/042—Programme control other than numerical control, i.e. in sequence controllers or logic controllers using digital processors
    • G05B19/0426—Programming the control sequence
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
    • G05B—CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS
    • G05B19/00—Programme-control systems
    • G05B19/02—Programme-control systems electric
    • G05B19/418—Total factory control, i.e. centrally controlling a plurality of machines, e.g. direct or distributed numerical control [DNC], flexible manufacturing systems [FMS], integrated manufacturing systems [IMS] or computer integrated manufacturing [CIM]
    • G05B19/41845—Total factory control, i.e. centrally controlling a plurality of machines, e.g. direct or distributed numerical control [DNC], flexible manufacturing systems [FMS], integrated manufacturing systems [IMS] or computer integrated manufacturing [CIM] characterised by system universality, reconfigurability, modularity
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
    • G05B—CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS
    • G05B2219/00—Program-control systems
    • G05B2219/20—Pc systems
    • G05B2219/23—Pc programming
    • G05B2219/23255—Object oriented programming, OOP
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
    • G05B—CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS
    • G05B2219/00—Program-control systems
    • G05B2219/20—Pc systems
    • G05B2219/23—Pc programming
    • G05B2219/23258—GUI graphical user interface, icon, function bloc editor, labview
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
    • G05B—CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS
    • G05B2219/00—Program-control systems
    • G05B2219/20—Pc systems
    • G05B2219/23—Pc programming
    • G05B2219/23261—Use control template library
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
    • G05B—CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS
    • G05B2219/00—Program-control systems
    • G05B2219/20—Pc systems
    • G05B2219/24—Pc safety
    • G05B2219/24055—Trace, store a working, operation history
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
    • G05B—CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS
    • G05B2219/00—Program-control systems
    • G05B2219/20—Pc systems
    • G05B2219/24—Pc safety
    • G05B2219/24167—Encryption, password, user access privileges
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
    • G05B—CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS
    • G05B2219/00—Program-control systems
    • G05B2219/20—Pc systems
    • G05B2219/25—Pc structure of the system
    • G05B2219/25067—Graphic configuration control system
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
    • G05B—CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS
    • G05B2219/00—Program-control systems
    • G05B2219/20—Pc systems
    • G05B2219/25—Pc structure of the system
    • G05B2219/25428—Field device
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
    • G05B—CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS
    • G05B2219/00—Program-control systems
    • G05B2219/30—Nc systems
    • G05B2219/31—From computer integrated manufacturing till monitoring
    • G05B2219/31104—Remote configuration of parameters of controlled devices
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
    • G05B—CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS
    • G05B2219/00—Program-control systems
    • G05B2219/30—Nc systems
    • G05B2219/33—Director till display
    • G05B2219/33125—System configuration, reconfiguration, customization, automatic
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02P—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS
    • Y02P90/00—Enabling technologies with a potential contribution to greenhouse gas [GHG] emissions mitigation
    • Y02P90/02—Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
    • Y10S—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10S707/00—Data processing: database and file management or data structures
    • Y10S707/99951—File or database maintenance
    • Y10S707/99952—Coherency, e.g. same view to multiple users
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
    • Y10S—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10S707/00—Data processing: database and file management or data structures
    • Y10S707/99951—File or database maintenance
    • Y10S707/99952—Coherency, e.g. same view to multiple users
    • Y10S707/99954—Version management

Definitions

  • the invention pertains to control and, more particularly, to methods and apparatus for configuring control systems.
  • control and “control systems” refer to the control of a device or system by monitoring one or more of its characteristics. This is used to insure that output, processing, quality and/or efficiency remain within desired parameters over the course of time.
  • digital data processing or other automated apparatus monitor a device, process or system and automatically adjust its operational parameters.
  • such apparatus monitor the device, process or system and display alarms or other indicia of its characteristics, leaving responsibility for adjustment to the operator.
  • Control is used in a number of fields.
  • Process control for example, is typically employed in the manufacturing sector for process, repetitive and discrete manufactures, though, it also has wide application in utility and other service industries.
  • Environmental control finds application in residential, commercial, institutional and industrial settings, where temperature and other environmental factors must be properly maintained.
  • Control is also used in articles of manufacture, from toasters to aircraft, to monitor and control device operation.
  • Modern day control systems typically include a combination of field devices, control devices, and controllers, the functions of which may overlap or be combined.
  • Field devices include temperature, flow and other sensors that measure characteristics of the device, process or system being controlled.
  • Control devices include valves, actuators, and the like, that control the device, process or system itself.
  • Controllers generate settings for the control devices based on measurements from the field devices. Controller operation is typically based on a “control algorithm” that maintains a controlled system at a desired level, or drives it to that level, by minimizing differences between the values measured by the sensors and, for example, a setpoint defined by the operator.
  • a controller can be used to maintain a soup stock at a simmer or low boil. This is done by comparing measurements of vapor pressure in the processing vessel with a desired setpoint. If the vessel pressure is too low, the control algorithm may call for incrementally opening the heating gas valves, thereby, driving the pressure and boiling activity upwards. As the pressure approaches the desired setpoint, the algorithm requires incrementally leveling the valves to maintain the roil of the boil.
  • Controllers may be networked or otherwise connected to other computing apparatus that facilitate monitoring or administration.
  • S88 industry standard described in Batch Control—Part 1 : Models and Terminology (The International Society for Measurement and Control 1995), for example, defines a hierarchy of processing and control equipment (“equipment entities”) that can be used to model and control an automated manufacturing process.
  • equipment entities At the lowest level of the hierarchy are control modules that directly manipulate field devices (e.g., opening and closing valves) and, possibly, other control modules.
  • equipment modules coordinate the functions control modules, as well as of other equipment modules, and may execute phases of the manufacturing process (such as setting controller constants and modes).
  • “Units,” at still a higher level of the hierarchy coordinate the functions of equipment and control modules.
  • Process cells orchestrate all processing activities required to produce a manufacturing batch, e.g., scheduling, preparing and monitoring equipment or resources, and so forth.
  • controllers The principal function of controllers is executing control algorithms for the real-time monitoring and control of devices, processes or systems. They typically have neither the computing power nor user interfaces required to facilitate the design of a control algorithm. Instead, the art has developed configurators. These are typically general purpose computers (e.g., workstations) running software that permit an engineer or operator to graphically model a device, process or system and the desired strategy for controlling it. This includes enumerating field devices, control devices, controllers and other apparatus that will be used for control, specifying their interrelationships and the information that will be transferred among them, as well as detailing the calculations and methodology they will apply for purposes of control. Once modeling is complete and tested, the control algorithm is downloaded to the controllers.
  • workstations e.g., workstations
  • IAS I/A Series®
  • I/A I/A Series®
  • FoxCAE graphical interface permitting an engineer to model a process hierarchically and to define a control algorithm from that hierarchy.
  • Multiple editors are provided for defining and modifying modules within the hierarchy.
  • an object of the present invention is to provide improved methods and apparatus for control and, particularly, for configuring control systems.
  • a related object of the invention is to provide methods and apparatus for configuring a process control systems.
  • a further object of the invention is to provide such methods and apparatus as facilitate configuring large or complex control systems
  • Still yet a further object of the invention is to provide such methods and apparatus as can be used in configuring a range of control systems, whether hierarchical or not, whether pertaining to process control or otherwise.
  • a configuration apparatus generates and utilizes a model representing a configuration of a control system and/or the system being controlled by it.
  • the apparatus maintains a record of changes to the model or the configuration represented by it and thereby, for example, provides bases for determining their current states, prior states and histories of changes. This information can be tracked, for example, from the moment a model or its components are created through the most current versions.
  • objects can represent, by way of non-limiting example, field devices, control devices, control processors, blocks, loops, compounds, historians, object type categories, object connections, parameter connections, display placeholders, graphical display entities, and reports. They can also represent entities of a control level hierarchy, e.g., sites, areas, process cells, units, and the like.
  • a configuration apparatus can record changes by maintaining current and historical versions of the objects that make up the model. This permits, for example, tracing the genealogy of those objects forward and backward throughout the entire genealogy representing each object's life cycle.
  • a configuration apparatus can maintain not only the modeling objects but, also, versions representing configuration data that has been downloaded to the control system for execution. That data can be, for example, binary or other machine-readable data of the type understandable by the target control system equipment.
  • offline versions objects reflecting the model are referred to as “offline” versions.
  • a plurality of such objects are referred as an “offline database.”
  • Versions of the objects reflecting data downloaded to, and running on, the control system are referred to as “online” versions.
  • a plurality of these are referred to as an “online database.”
  • Further aspects of the invention provide for the coordination/synchronization of the object versions and control of changes made to them.
  • identity of an object (or version) and/or the address, pointers or other references thereof or thereto remain constant during the lifetime of that object.
  • references to an object do not have to be updated each time an object is edited.
  • an object that has been “checked out” for editing or other modification, e.g., by a user, is locked from modification by other users.
  • a copy of that object maintained for purposes of editing, e.g., in a user “workspace” database, can be locked from all access by other users.
  • the current and/or workspace versions of the object being edited can include a designation of the user who is making the modification. These locks can be released when editing is completed and the modified version is “checked in.”
  • a modified version of an object replaces the current version which, itself, is retained as a prior historical version.
  • the modified object or the current version it replaces are, according to aspects of the invention, marked to indicate the user responsible for the modification, as well as the modification made and the reason therefor, e.g., based on information input by the user.
  • the versions can cross-reference one another, forming a doubly-linked list that allows traversal of the version tree for the object.
  • the online version of an object is updated for correspondence with a new version of an offline object, thereby synchronizing the online and offline databases.
  • the object is compiled (or otherwise validated) and downloaded during this process, for operation on the control system.
  • aspects of the invention provide for generating a modified offline version that corresponds to it, e.g., via an “upload” procedure. That modified version can replace the then-current offline version of the object in the same manner discussed above.
  • Still further aspects of the invention provide mechanisms for viewing or editing information pertaining to the changes recorded by a configuration apparatus of the type described above.
  • Yet still further aspects of the invention provide apparatus as described above that provide for system configuration on a computer that is disconnected from that on which the offline database resides. Changes made to that “disconnected” database can subsequently be merged into the offline (and online) databases.
  • a configuration apparatus maintains a model comprising one or more objects that represent entities in the control system, a system controlled thereby, a control level hierarchy, and the apparatus for configuring the control system.
  • Each of the objects has a plurality of characteristics such as, according to aspects of the invention, an object type characteristic and an area characteristic. Users can have corresponding permissions, e.g., to access objects of defined types and/or within specified areas.
  • a security mechanism controls access by users, e.g., via applications programs such as editors, to the objects.
  • the level of access e.g., read-only vs. update, is a function of the multiple permissions held by the user and the multiple characteristics of the object subject to access.
  • the security mechanism permits a process engineer having appropriate permissions to create and maintain objects modeling control loops for any building in a manufacturing plant configured by apparatus. It may, however, permit a nighttime operator to access only loops within his own building and to modify only those in the area to which he/she is assigned.
  • Object types identify objects exhibiting related appearance and behavior. This may relate to the appearance/behavior of the entity modeled by the object or to the object itself vis-a-vis the configuration apparatus.
  • objects that model two respective application workstations may be of a common object type (i.e., a type indicating that they are applications workstations), notwithstanding that the workstations themselves have different physical characteristics.
  • Area characteristics identify locations in which any of the control system and the system controlled thereby are disposed.
  • Area types can relate to, for example, plants, buildings or areas therein.
  • objects that model process control equipment in the same area of a plant may have the same area characteristic.
  • Object type characteristics and permissions, as well as area characteristics and permissions can, according to aspects of the invention form respective hierarchies.
  • a user having permissions for a designated area inherits permissions for any area contained therein, as defined in the hierarchy.
  • FIG. 1 For example, in a process control aspect of the invention, a given user can belong to both Process Engineer and Advanced Operator groups, thus, affording him/her access to any objects types and areas permitted for members of either group.
  • the groups form a hierarchy, with groups containing other groups, e.g., Operator group containing the Test Operator group.
  • Each group holds the permissions of a group from which it descends, as well as any other permissions assigned, e.g., by the system administrator.
  • a user can change his/her permissions, e.g., during the course of a session on the configurator. This is accomplished, for example, by activating specific permissions from among a listing of allowable permissible, e.g., presented in a dialog box.
  • a user can to perform the majority of his/her daily operations with a default minimal security setting, then switch to a more restrictive security setting.
  • a user can temporarily log-in as another user, e.g., as may be desirable to allow a supervisor to intervene during a user's session, perform a restricted operation, then log-out and return security to its previous settings.
  • a configuration apparatus maintains a model made up of objects that represent entities in the control system or the system controlled by it.
  • the objects are composite objects made up of other objects of types suitable for inclusion in the model independent of the composite objects.
  • the composite objects are defined by definition objects that can be changed, e.g., using an editor or other applications program. These changes carry through to the composite object, regardless of whether the changes are made after the composite objects are created.
  • a configurator adapted for process control maintains a model including a composite object made up objects representing control blocks.
  • the model includes additional objects, some of which also model control blocks, but which are not included in the composite object. Changes to an object that defines the composite object carry through to that object, even if the changes are made after the composite object is created and placed into the model.
  • components objects have parameters reflecting characteristics of the respective entities those parameters represent.
  • the characteristics include, for example, inputs, outputs, alarm limits, control functions and display characteristics.
  • Each parameter can, in turn, have attributes such as parameter name, parameter grouping, display label, data type, behavior, help information, edit type, data value range, formula definition, display format, and so forth.
  • Selected parameters of a composite's component objects are exposed for connection to other objects in the model.
  • An application such as a control strategy editor, executing within the configurator permits connection between the composite and other objects via those selected parameters. Conversely, such an application prevents external connection with component object parameters that are not exposed and that, instead, service connections internal to the composite object.
  • input/output points e.g., associated with sensors and actuators
  • Still further aspects of the invention provide a configuration apparatus as described above in which a composite object modifies a definition inherited from its associated definition object. This can be achieved via a modifier object that overrides one or more parameters supplied by control block or other objects that make up the composite object.
  • Yet other aspects of the invention relate to configuration apparatus as described above in which the application selectively displays the composite object in an encapsulated format or an expanded format.
  • the former depict the object substantially with a single icon; the latter, with multiple icons that represent the respective composite's component objects.
  • a configuration apparatus maintains objects that represent entities in the control system, the system controlled by it, a control level hierarchy and/or the configuration apparatus itself.
  • At least a selected object includes an edit control type identifier.
  • An editor or other functionality permits editing of at least the selected object. To this end, it presents the object for editing using an edit control that is based on the edit control type identifier.
  • An edit control includes a dialog box, list box, edit box, check box, or a combo box. It can also include a cell in a spreadsheet or property sheet.
  • a configurator adapted for process control maintains objects representing control blocks and other elements of the control system.
  • a display presents a hierarchical listing of the objects and permits a user to designate one for editing.
  • a user designates an object of interest, e.g., via a mouse click or other selection mechanism, an aspect of it is presented for editing using an edit control based on the edit control type identifier provided with the object.
  • the edit control type identifier can directly indicate the edit control to be used in presenting the selected object for editing.
  • the identifier can be a numeric code corresponding to one of the foregoing edit control types.
  • the edit control type identifier moreover, can be selected from among several identifiers permissible for the selected object or other object with which it is associated.
  • an editable aspect of the selected object can be list of values amenable to editing with a list box or check box.
  • the object can include an edit control type identifier indicating that one of those formats (e.g., the list box) and not the other is to be used when the object is selected for editing.
  • Still further aspects of the invention provide a configuration system as described above in which at least the selected object has parameters identifying characteristics of the entity represented by the object.
  • the characteristics include, for example, inputs, outputs, alarm limits, control functions and display characteristics.
  • Each parameter can, in turn, have attributes such as parameter name, parameter grouping, display label, data type, behavior, help information, edit type, data value range, formula definition, display format, and so forth.
  • the editor or other such functionality of a configurator presents at least a selected attribute with an edit control identified by the edit control type identifier.
  • That attribute can be, for example, the data value of the parameters.
  • aspects of the invention provide a configurator as described above an edit control is populated with dynamically determined data.
  • a list box providing a list of workstations for selection by a user can be populated with identifiers of workstations present at the time the list box is displayed.
  • aspects of the invention provide for the display of non-dynamic or predetermined values in an edit, e.g., yes/no, true/false, etc.
  • a configuration apparatus has a graphical user interface that graphically depicts objects representing entities in the control system, the system controlled by it, a control level hierarchy, and/or the apparatus for configuring the control system.
  • An editor, or other functionality that is coupled with the graphical user interface displays icons or other representations of a first object and a second object. It responds to a selected user command by transferring characteristics of the first object to the second object.
  • the command can be, according to one aspect of the invention, a drag-and-drop whereby an icon depicting the second object is graphically dragged and dropped onto an icon depicting the first object.
  • a configurator that is adapted for process control maintains objects representing control blocks and other elements of a control system.
  • a graphical user interface e.g., employed as part of a control strategy editor, displays an icon depicting an IAS analog input block included in a control loop.
  • An icon representing a Fieldbus Foundation analog input block is graphically dropped onto the first icon by the user.
  • the editor or a configurator resource used by it transfers characteristics from the object modeling the IAS analog input block to the object modeling the Fieldbus Foundation block, swapping the latter for the former and, thereby, facilitating configuration of the system.
  • Further aspects of the invention provide a configuration system as described above in which the objects have parameters identifying characteristics of the entities represented by them.
  • the characteristics include, for example, inputs, outputs, alarm limits, control functions and display characteristics.
  • Each parameter can, in turn, have attributes such as parameter name, parameter grouping, display label, data type, behavior, help information, edit type, data value range, formula definition, display format, and so forth.
  • a configurator can transfer parameters, attributes and/or values from the source object (representing the IAS analog input block in the example) to the destination object (representing the Foundation Fieldbus block in the second example) in response to the drag-and-drop operation. Transferred values can be converted, e.g., to compensate for differences in scaling, units, and so forth, while they are being transferred.
  • a configuration apparatus has a plurality of objects modeling entities in the control system or a system it controls.
  • One or more of the objects have values that are represented by formulas.
  • Others have values that are constants.
  • Functionality is provided to download portions of at least selected objects to the control system.
  • Object values that are constants can be downloaded directly, e.g., after any appropriate scaling, compilation and/or conversion, with the corresponding objects.
  • the functionality evaluates (or invokes evaluation of) values that are formulas prior to their being downloaded. Evaluation entails, according to aspects of the invention, changing the formulas into numerical or other constants.
  • a configurator that is adapted for process control maintains objects representing control blocks and other elements of a control system.
  • One of the objects can have real-valued parameters including, e.g., a high alarm value, HAL, and a low alarm value, LAL.
  • An editor can be used to set the former, HAL, to the constant 100.0. Rather than using a constant for the latter, LAL, the editor permits its entry as a formula, e.g., my.HAL—100.0.
  • the LAL formula is converted, prior to downloading, to 0.0 (i.e., the value of the same object's HAL parameter minus 100).
  • Yet still further aspects of the invention provide configuration apparatus as described above that provide an editor for entry and editing of formulas.
  • Such editor can facilitate the inclusion of objects, object characteristics or mathematical functions in formulas, e.g., via display of lists of choices.
  • the objects have parameters identifying characteristics of the entities represented by them.
  • the characteristics include, for example, inputs, outputs, alarm limits, control functions and display characteristics.
  • Each parameter can, in turn, have attributes such as the aforementioned constant or fomulaic values, as well as parameter name, parameter grouping, display label, data type, behavior, help information, edit type, data value range, display format, and so forth.
  • An apparatus for configuring control systems employs objects (or other data and/or programming constructs) that inherit parameters from their ancestors. Changes to an ancestor during configuration are effective as to its descendant objects.
  • a “configurator” apparatus according to the invention can be used to model and define control algorithms for process control, environmental control, industrial and other control systems.
  • the apparatus can be used to define at configuration time a further object, one that models an analog input device for use in high-temperature environments. That object can descend from the general AIN object and inherit its parameters, e.g., the high-high alarm and high-low alarm parameters. Configuration-time changes to the parameters of the general AIN object can automatically carry through to the high-temperature AIN object, thus, facilitating configuration of the process control system.
  • Objects used in apparatus can represent elements within a device, process or system being controlled or entities within the configuration apparatus itself.
  • objects can represent, by way of non-limiting example, field devices, control devices, control processors, blocks, loops, compounds, historians, object type categories, object connections, parameter connections, display placeholders, graphical display entities, and reports. They can also represent entities of a control level hierarchy, e.g., sites, areas, process cells, units, and the like.
  • Parameters define characteristics of each object and, therefore, of the element or entity the object represents. Depending on the type of object, these include inputs, outputs, alarm limits, control functions and display characteristics, among others.
  • Each parameter can have attributes that define the parameter's value and other attributes. These include, for example, parameter name, parameter grouping, display label, data type, behavior, help information, edit type, data value range, formula definition, and display format.
  • apparatus can be defined or modified without recompilation. This is, in part, because the parameters on which they are based can be assigned and modified during configuration and, in this regard, are analogous to data.
  • apparatus according to the related aspects of the invention can include an editor that facilitates definition, during configuration, of an association between an parameter and an object.
  • the apparatus can further include editors or other functionality that permit an object to be defined as a descendant of another object at the time of configuration.
  • An object so defined derives parameters from its ancestor which, in turn, derives parameters from its own ancestors, and so forth. Unless otherwise overridden, a change to the parameters of an ancestor object is effective as to its descendants, regardless of whether that change is made before or after the descendant is defined or instantiated. Thus, for example, the characteristics of an entire ancestral “family” of objects can be changed, simply, by modifying the distant-most ancestor object.
  • the apparatus can be used to define at configuration time a further object, one that models an analog input device for use in high-temperature environments. That object can descend from the general AIN object and inherit its parameters, e.g., the high-high alarm and high-low alarm parameters. Configuration-time changes to the parameters of the general AIN object can automatically carry through to the high-temperature AIN object, thus, facilitating configuration of the process control system.
  • an object can be associated with parameters other than those inherited from ancestors.
  • a high-temperature AIN object that inherits parameters from a general AIN object can be defined to include additional alarm parameters. Though definition of the additional alarm parameters does not affect the parent object (i.e., the general AIN object), it does carry through to children, grandchildren, etc., of the high-temperature AIN object.
  • control system configuration apparatus as described above in which an object is associated with a parameter override or parameter modification.
  • the former redefines attributes for parameters inherited from an ancestor object, while the latter can add entirely new parameters.
  • Parameter overrides and modifications carry through to descendants of an object to which they are applied.
  • Still further aspects of the invention provide apparatus as described above in which the objects have parameters groups. These identify groupings of parameters and relate to how they are presented to the engineer or operator during configuration, e.g., for editing. As with parameters, the groupings are inherited and can be overridden.
  • an object that models a general proportional-integral derivative (PID) control block can be associated with two parameter groups, A and B, where Group A contains parameters X and Y, while Group B contains parameters M and N. If edited during configuration, that object can appear with two sheets, one showing the parameters (X and Y) of Group A and one showing the parameters (M and N) of Group B.
  • a new PID object can be defined that descends from the first object. The definition can add a new group, Group C, that contains parameters W and X. If edited during configuration, the new object appears with three sheets, one showing the parameters (X and Y) of Group A, one showing the parameters (M and N) of Group B, and one showing the parameters (W and X) of Group C.
  • Improved apparatus for configuring process, environmental, industrial and other control systems employ “appearance” objects (or other data and/or programming constructs) defining the appearance of configurable system components in graphical editors or other views in which the components may be depicted.
  • “Placeholder” objects or other constructs
  • a process control configuration apparatus uses “configurable” objects to define blocks, loops and other components of a process control system.
  • Appearance objects provide (or reference) icons or representations indicating how the configurable objects are to be depicted, e.g., in a configuration editor.
  • Placeholder objects are created for each configurable object that is placed in a configuration using that editor.
  • the placeholder objects identify the sizes, locations, colors, etc., of the icons used in the editor to represent the configurable objects.
  • an appearance object can include macro strings, such as “$NAME”, “$TYPE”, “$ICON”, that are replaced subsequent to configuration, e.g., with a configurable object name, type and icon, respectively.
  • each configurable object has one or more parameters that identify the appearance of that object in views in which it may appear.
  • the parameters may refer to appearance objects (or other constructs) as described above or they may contain appearance information (e.g., icons and textual identifiers) themselves.
  • the configurable objects of such an apparatus can be associated with one another in a hierarchical relationship, such that at least one such object is a descendant of another.
  • Descendants inherit parameters from their ancestors. Accordingly, icons or other appearance information identified in a “parent” configuration object is passed on to its children. Inherited information may be overridden, according to aspects of the invention.
  • Each persistent document may represent a specific configuration, e.g., created by a specific editor and displayed in accord with a selected view.
  • the configuration of a process control system may be represented in several documents, each edited by control algorithm diagram editor, covering different portions of the system.
  • the persistent document may contain connector graphics that depict relationships between configurable objects.
  • a graphic may indicate, for example, that one configurable object, e.g., representing an analog input block, is a source for another configurable object, e.g., representing a PID controller.
  • Such connector graphics can represent peer-to-peer relationships (such as source/sink relationships), in addition to hierarchical relationships (such as parent/child relationships).
  • configurable objects can, for example, represent entities within any of (i) a controlled process, (ii) the process control system, (iii) the apparatus for configuring the process control system, (iv) a level in a control level hierarchy, such as the aforementioned S88 standard.
  • entities include, by way of non-limiting example, field devices, control processors, blocks, loops, compounds, historians, object type category, display placeholders, graphical display entities, and reports.
  • connection objects or other data and/or programming constructs that indicate the permissibility of relationships between other types of objects.
  • the apparatus validate potential relationships between those other objects by comparing their types with the permissible combinations identified in connection objects.
  • Those other objects can, for example, represent entities within any of (i) a controlled system, (ii) a control system, (iii) an apparatus for configuring the control system, (iv) a control level hierarchy.
  • entities include, by way of non-limiting example, field devices, control processors, blocks, loops, compounds, historians, object type category, display placeholders, graphical display entities, and reports.
  • An apparatus as described above can be used, for example, to facilitate configuring a process control system.
  • a user can “drag-and-drop” an object that models one system component (e.g., a printer) onto an object that models another component (e.g., an applications workstation), indicating that the user wishes to establish a relationship between those two objects.
  • the apparatus validates that relationship and determines its type—in this case, a parent/child (or other hierarchical) relationship.
  • connection objects can use connection objects to validate relationships that are peer-to-peer in nature, i.e., source/sink relationships.
  • the user of can select objects that represent field devices and indicate (e.g., via a drag-and-drop operation, a menu option or other command) that she wishes to establish a relationship with an object that represents a control processor.
  • the apparatus can validate that relationship, and determine its type (i.e., source/sink), by comparing the proposed combination against permissible pairings in the connection objects.
  • Object types can be hierarchical, according to further aspects of the invention.
  • AIN user-defined analog input
  • a specific class of personal computer can be defined as descending from branches of a hierarchy indicating that it is subcategory of applications workstation and, more particularly, a subcategory of WindowsTM NT workstation
  • An apparatus can utilize this object type hierarchy in validating relationships between objects.
  • a relationship proposed by the user can be validated if the implicated objects or their hierarchical ancestors are identified as permissible pairings in a connection object.
  • connection objects specify roles that objects serve in actual or potential relationships. Those roles can include, for example, a source or sink in a source/sink relationship, or a parent or child in a parent/child relationship.
  • an apparatus as described above can utilize the connection objects to identify the maximum capacity of an object that serves as a “parent” to support objects that serve as “children” in a parent/child relationship.
  • the connection objects can likewise identify the weight (or other quantitative attribute) each child object contributes in its role in such a relationship.
  • An apparatus as described above can similarly utilize the connection objects to identify the minimum and maximum numbers of relationships that can be established with sources or sinks in source/sink relationships.
  • a connection object may indicate that a control processor object type can serve as a parent to a specified number of field devices.
  • the apparatus totals weights associated with the latter. If the combined weight exceeds the parent control processor's specified capacity, the apparatus prevents establishment of the relationships.
  • connection object identifies not only permissible relationships between object types, but also actual relationships between specific objects.
  • aspects of the invention pertain to configuration apparatus paralleling those described above, in which connection objects identify permissible combinations of parameter types (as opposed to, or in addition to, object types) that can form valid parent/child and source/sink relationships.
  • Such apparatus can automatically establish parameter-to-parameter connections of selected objects by comparing the types of those parameters with valid pairings identified in a connection object.
  • an apparatus according to this aspect of the invention can form a connection or relationship between the PNT (point) output of the AIN object and the MEAS (measurement) input of the PID object.
  • Such apparatus can also validate parameter-level relationships identified by an operator, e.g., in a drag-and-drop operation.
  • a user can “drag-and-drop” a parameter of one object (e.g., the parallel output of an object representing an applications workstation) onto the parameter of another object (e.g., the parallel input of an object representing a printer), indicating that the user wishes to establish a relationship between those two objects.
  • the apparatus validates that relationship and determines its type—in this case, a source/sink relationship.
  • Still further aspects of the invention provide apparatus as described above in which establishment of certain connections (e.g., “master” connections) between parameters automatically causes others (“slave” connections) to be established.
  • certain connections e.g., “master” connections
  • slave connections are made between related parameter pairs (e.g., low and high scale parameters) of these objects. Slave connections are automatically updated or destroyed when the corresponding master connection is updated or destroyed.
  • Still further aspects of the invention provide combinations of the systems and apparatus described above.
  • Yet still further aspects of the invention provide methods for paralleling the operations described above.
  • Methods and apparatus according to the invention have numerous advantages over the prior art. Among these is the ability to quickly, flexibly and accurately design and modify control configurations.
  • FIG. 1 depicts a a digital data processing environment of the type in which the invention is practiced
  • FIG. 2 depicts a process control system of the type with which the invention is practiced
  • FIG. 3 depicts control algorithm configurator components in a system according to the invention
  • FIG. 4 depicts component interaction in a system according to the invention
  • FIG. 5 depicts an IDA framework object model in a system according to the invention
  • FIG. 6 depicts an object model notation used in this application
  • FIG. 7 depicts a parameterized object model in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 8 depicts parameter group inheritance in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 9 depicts a parameterized object example in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 10 depicts the creation of a parameter list in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 11 depicts a parameter definition editor in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 12 is a parameter editor example in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 13 depicts object types in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 14 depicts an object type hierarchy in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 15 depicts the creation of new object types in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 16 is a type awareness example in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 17 depicts a connection object model in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 18 depicts a parameterized object override endpoint triad in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 19 depicts an object connection type object model in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 20 is an example of simultaneous parent/child object connectivity in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 21 depicts a parameter connection type object model in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 22 is an example of simultaneous source/sink parameter connectivity in a system according to the invention.
  • FIGS. 23-25 are parent/child connectivity examples in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 26 is a source/sink connectivity example in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 27 depicts an appearance object model in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 28 is an appearance definition example in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 29A depicts a placeholders object model in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 29B depicts a combined appearance and placeholder object model in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 30 depicts a MFC document/view architecture in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 31 depicts an IDA application class architecture in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 32 depicts an IDA document architecture in a system according to the invention
  • FIG. 33 depicts IDA hierarchy classes in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 34 depicts IDA view classes in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 35 depicts IDA frame classes in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 36 depicts a sheet templates object model in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 37 depicts a sample use of macros in sheet template in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 38 depicts a sheet template editor in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 39 depicts an IDA report manager object model in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 40 depicts the application of filter rules to POC in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 41 depicts a filter editor in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 42 depicts a composite report template editor in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 43 depicts a report editor in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 44 depicts organizational folders in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 45 depicts version control basic concepts in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 46 depicts an object check out in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 47 depicts an check in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 48 depicts a revision editor in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 49 depicts a create revision dialog box in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 50 depicts parameterized object versions in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 51 depicts a version control object model in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 52 depicts a version history in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 53 depicts an object compare utility in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 54 depicts an historical archive with playback macro in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 55 depicts performing a macro playback in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 56 depicts a sample audit trail report in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 57 depicts an undo manager object model in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 58 depicts an users and security object model in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 59 is an users and groups example in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 60 is a process area and assignable objects example in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 61 depicts a IDA permissions hierarchy in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 62 depicts a switch group/user capability in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 63 depicts managing groups in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 64 depicts assigning users to groups in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 65 depicts groups, object types and permissions in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 66 depicts managing process areas in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 67 depicts groups and process area permissions in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 68 depicts a system tree view in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 69 depicts a block definition editor in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 70 depicts a block definition classes in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 71 depicts a simple loop in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 72 depicts a composite block definition in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 73 depicts a composite block in loop in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 74 depicts an expanded composite block in loop in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 75 depicts a block with connections in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 76 depicts the anatomy of a block placeholder in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 77 depicts a block connection dialog in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 78 depicts template/definition internal connections in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 79 depicts template/definition exposed connections in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 80 depicts a parameter property sheet in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 81 depicts a composite block property sheet in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 82 depicts a parameter formula builder in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 83 depicts control object derivations in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 84 depicts a block object model in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 85 depicts a modifier block object model in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 86 depicts a modifier block parameter override precedence in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 87 depicts a composite block definition object model in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 88 depicts a loop template object model in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 89 depicts a simple loop object model in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 90 depicts a composite block object model in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 91 depicts a template derived loop object model in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 92 depicts object placeholder derivations in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 93 depicts persistent document object derivations in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 94 depicts a PLB to ladder relationship in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 95 depicts a ladder editor view in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 96 depicts ladder objects in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 97 depicts persistent document objects; in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 98 depicts a PLB block model in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 99 depicts a block execution scheduler editor in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 100 depicts a station statistics dialog in a system according to the invention
  • FIG. 101 depicts a block execution editor object model in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 102 depicts a tag list data entry screen in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 103 depicts a tag list import from ASCII file in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 104 depicts a tag list export to ASCII file in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 105 depicts a tag list import/export from database table in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 106 depicts a tag list object model in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 107 depicts download target selection in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 108 depicts a download manager document object in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 109 depicts a download services object model in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 110 is an historian assignment overview in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 111 depicts an individual compound assignment in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 112 depicts an historian object model in a system according to the invention
  • FIG. 113 depicts an enclosure group view in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 114 depicts an enclosure loading view and tag assignment dialog in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 115 depicts an enclosure input/output termination view in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 116 depicts an enclosure loading model in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 117 depicts an enclosure definition detail model in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 118 depicts persistent document objects in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 119 depicts an IDA main application architecture in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 120 depicts a typical IDA generic editor frame in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 121 depicts IDA & OLE compound documents in a system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 1 depicts a digital data processing system of the type with which apparatus and methods according to the invention may be practiced.
  • the illustrated system is particularly adapted for use in connection with process control, as discussed further below.
  • process control as discussed further below.
  • processes 12 A, 12 B can represent any industrial, manufacturing, service, environmental or other process, device or system amenable to monitoring or control (hereinafter, collectively, “control”).
  • the system of FIG. 1 includes a workstation 11 that is coupled to one or more controllers 10 A, 10 B on which reside process control systems for monitoring and/or controlling one or more processes 12 A, 12 B. These may represent independent processes or different aspects of the same or related processes. Moreover, the processes 12 A, 12 B may reside within a single plant, site or area, cell or unit or, conversely, they may dispersed among many plants, sites, areas, cell or units.
  • Workstation 11 represents an engineering workstation, personal computer, mainframe computer or other digital data processing device suitable for operation in accord with the methods described herein for purposes of modeling a control system and configuring controllers 10 A, 10 B or other control or controlled apparatus in accord with the teachings herein.
  • workstation 11 is an engineering workstation or personal computer executing the Windows NT operating system. Though illustrated as being carried out on workstation 11 , those skilled in the art will appreciate that the modeling and configuration functions described herein can be executed on suitably configured controllers 10 A, 10 B (e.g., those having sufficient processing power and interfaces to provide the graphical and other configuration functions described herein).
  • Server 16 represents an optional additional source of classes defining objects for modeling a control system and for configuring controllers 10 A, 10 B (or other control or controlled apparatus) in accord with the teachings herein.
  • This can include, for example, a retail store, warehouse or other distribution point of CDROMs, diskettes or other magnetic medium on which such classes are stored.
  • it represents a digital data processor that functions as a server, e.g., maintained by a manufacturer or other distributor, from which such classes can downloaded to workstation 11 , e.g., as part of an e-commerce transaction, for configuration prior to downloading to controllers 10 A, 10 B.
  • Network 14 provides a communications medium permitting the downloading of control algorithms and other configuration information to controllers 10 A, 10 B, e.g., from workstation 11 . It can also of provide a medium for uploading information from controllers 10 A, 10 B to those other digital data processors 11 , 16 . Still further, it can provide a medium for communications, real-time or otherwise, between the controllers 10 A, 10 B and other devices, e.g., workstation 11 and server 16 . Though illustrated to represent a LAN, WAN, or global network (Internet), those skilled in the art will appreciate that element 14 may represent any medium or mechanism through which control algorithms and other information may be transported, electronically, physically or otherwise, to and from controllers 10 A, 10 B.
  • FIG. 2 An exemplary control process 12 A is illustrated in greater detail in FIG. 2 . It shows a process including valve 18 that governs the rate of fluid flow to aeration tank 20 which, in turn, transfers the liquid to storage tank 22 .
  • Field devices i.e., sensors 24 and 26 , monitor the state of process 12 A and, thereby, facilitate its control by process control system 28 operating on controller 10 A.
  • sensor 24 is disposed in or adjacent to tank 20 for measuring the temperature of fluid therein, while sensor 26 measures the flow of fluid from aeration tank 20 to storage tank 22 .
  • FIG. 2 further illustrates a control algorithm 28 of the type that can be configured by methods and apparatus according to the invention.
  • the algorithm 28 is exercised by controller 10 A to control process 12 A.
  • the algorithm 28 includes blocks or other entities 29 , 30 , 32 , that model field devices, control devices and other elements within process 12 A and that monitor and/or control the states and interactions between those entities.
  • Entities 29 , 30 , 32 comprise software components which may include, by non-limiting example, source, intermediate or executable code, databases, of the type conventionally used in the art for operating controllers, field devices, control devices and other process control equipment.
  • Referenced in this regard in the discussion below are software components, and process control systems in general, marketed as the I/A Series® systems (hereinafter, “IAS” or “I/A”) available from the assignee hereof.
  • IAS I/A Series® systems
  • the Configurator includes a Framework, a Database, a project manager and a set of editors.
  • the Framework provides common resources, such as menus, toolbars, dialogs, and security services, used by the editors to manipulate, display and report configuration data stored in the IDA database.
  • the IDA Control Algorithm Configurator and Framework are packaged as a single application. This software package can be installed on either a stand-alone PC, workstation (e.g., element 11 of FIG. 1 ) or other digital data processor, e.g., running Windows NT or any other suitable operating system.
  • the editors are used by the implementation creator to create and maintain standard control scheme definition objects distributed with the implementation and by users to create their own plant control schemes.
  • the Project Manager allows the user to browse through the project configuration hierarchies and data. Interactions among the editors and the project manager/navigator are shown in FIG. 4 .
  • the database forms part of an object oriented database management system (OODBMS), which may be any type commercially available in the marketplace.
  • OODBMS object oriented database management system
  • the database can be deployed in a client/server configuration with a single centralized database per plant servicing multiple clients, or otherwise. It resides on the workstation 11 , e.g., or on a digital data processor coupled therewith.
  • FIG. 5 presents the primary component parts of the overall IDA Framework object model.
  • the model may be broken into two major areas:
  • Parameterized objects Almost all objects in IDA are parameterized—i.e., their type is determined by the parameter set they support, and the data that these objects represent is contained within their associated parameters. Parameterized objects have the capability to inherit their parameter set from another Parameterized Object which acts as the definition for the new object.
  • a Parameterized Object's definition is, itself, a Parameterized Object.
  • Parameterized Object Given the complex nature of Parameterized Objects and their parameter sets, a simple interface for the developer is provided in which it appears that a Parameterized Object consists of a self-contained, cohesive set of parameters when in reality, data inheritance, parameter overrides, and modifications are all acting together to determine final parameter values.
  • the overall object model for Parameterized Objects, and Parameterized Object Collections is depicted in FIG. 7 .
  • a Parameterized Object is a persistent object.
  • the parameters associated with a Parameterized Object are both locally defined (as depicted in the object model) and inherited.
  • the locally defined parameters are those defined by the Parameter Definition objects.
  • the inherited parameters are those that are inherited through an association to another Parameterized Object typically serving as a definition.
  • a Parameterized Object Collection is just that—a collection of one or more Parameterized Objects. Applications programs can add or delete elements from the collection, and iterate through it. Parameterized Object Collections have the ability to support multiple collections. For example, a loop could collect both blocks and connections, whereas a compound could have a separate collection of blocks for each control zone.
  • Parameterized Object Collection classes have been separated into two classes, each of which will be able to support many different collection types, which include Lists (insert after/before), Arrays (indexed access, and “null” locations), and possibly Maps (or Dictionaries). These collection classes are:
  • the Parameter Definition object defines the values for the attributes in a parameter. Even though it is only directly associated with one Parameterized Object, it may indirectly belong to many other Parameterized Objects via the parameter inheritance mechanism described in the discussion on Parameterized Objects.
  • the parameter object consists of a set of attributes.
  • the attribute set is compiled-in behavior, and the value of each attribute is changed as needed to satisfy the requirements of the associated Parameterized Object.
  • a Parameter Definition does not exist alone, but only in the context of a Parameterized Object.
  • the minimum attribute set for a Parameter Definition is as follows:
  • An instance of the Parameter Value object is created whenever specific attributes of a Parameter Definition instance are overridden—namely, value, high range and low range. Any other attribute of a Parameter Definition which is overridden is specified by a Parameter Override object. It is important to note that a Parameter Value exists by exception only—in other words, it exists only if the associated Parameter Definition is overridden by a Parameterized Object located “down” the ancestral tree from the Parameterized Object where the Parameter Definition was originally defined. Overrides of a locally defined Parameter Definition simply replace the appropriate value within the Parameter Definition itself.
  • the Parameter Override object is used by a Parameterized Object to override attributes of inherited parameters other than value, high range, and low range. Attributes which are typically overridden using this object include which parameter groups a parameter belongs to, format, and help strings.
  • the parameter set that defines the structure of a Parameterized Object is segregated into named Parameter Groups. These groups are directly related to the tabs contained within the property sheet for the Parameterized Object when it is edited, as well as the tabs visible on the Parameterized Object editor. Each parameter defined in an object belongs to one or more Parameter Groups.
  • Parameterized Objects inherit their Parameter Groups in the same way they inherit Parameter Definitions. As depicted in FIG. 8 , a Parameterized Object may add additional groups to the inherited list. The order of Parameter Groups, and the parameters within those groups, is also inherited, and is determined by the ordered list of parameters maintained by the Parameterized Object hierarchy chain.
  • an object Foxboro_PID is associated with two groups, A and B.
  • Group A contains two parameters, X and Y, while Group B contains parameters M and N.
  • a new object is created, using Foxboro_PID as it's definition object.
  • a new group, C has been defined for My_PID, which contains parameters W and X.
  • a new parameter, Z has been added to the inherited group, A.
  • the user can add new parameters (and define their order) to an inherited group, but not change the order of any of the inherited parameters contained in the group. All inherited parameters appear first on the property page, followed by the parameters which were added locally. Similarly, the user can add local groups, but cannot change the order of inherited groups when displayed on the property sheet. Local groups appear after inherited groups.
  • FIG. 9 shows how a parameter set of a simple Parameterized Object is constructed.
  • Parameterized object “Y” has an association to its definition “X”, and is modified by “Z”.
  • a call to a method to retrieve on parameterized object “Y” results in the list of parameters as shown.
  • the Parameterized Object has the capability to construct a list of parameter objects that are associated with it.
  • the parameter list for a Parameterized Object is composed from two sources: the parameters that are inherited (including all overrides and modifiers, possibly n levels up the parameter inheritance tree), and the parameters which have been defined locally.
  • FIG. 10 shows a instance model of the objects involved in constructing a parameter list for a simple Parameterized Object.
  • step 2 which causes recursive behavior in that the inheritance tree is traversed all the way to the root Parameterized Object.
  • the root Parameterized Object constructs a parameter list, finishes all 5 steps outlined below, and then returns that list to the next Parameterized Object down, and so, until the original calling Parameterized Object gets a list from step two. It then finishes steps 2, 3, 4, and 5 and the list is complete.
  • the Framework Two user interfaces are supplied by the Framework for working with Parameterized Objects on a daily basis.
  • the first user interface supplied by the Framework to manipulate Parameterized Objects is a generic Parameter Definition Editor, which could appear as shown in FIG. 11 .
  • the Parameter Definition Editor is an interface which allows Parameter Definitions to be created for a Parameterized Object. This interface will most likely be utilized by someone with administrative and/or supervisory capability.
  • FIG. 11 provides a depiction of the Parameter Definition Editor.
  • the Framework automatically provides the menu and toolbar services which the editor may need, a tabbed tree pane (shown on the left side of the figure), and a generic view pane which the application programmer can use for just about anything—e.g., a graphical “canvas”, or a grid control able to display data in a spreadsheet-like format.
  • the second user interface is a generic Parameter Property Sheet mechanism which is used whenever anyone needs to edit the Value attribute of a parameter on any object.
  • the property sheet can appear as FIG. 12 .
  • a property sheet is created and displayed by the Framework.
  • the individual property pages within the sheet correspond to each Parameter Group found to be associated with the object being edited.
  • Each page displays only those parameters which have been associated to the corresponding Parameter Group.
  • the current values of each parameter in the group are displayed, providing the user with the ability to change the values of configurable parameters, possibly creating Parameter Override objects.
  • the “look-and-feel” of each parameter value displayed on the property page is determined by the edit control type which was associated with the corresponding Parameter Definition.
  • All configurable objects have an associated classification, or type, which they inherently belong to.
  • An object's type is used to classify what it is, and is used primarily to segregate objects into groupings of objects exhibiting similar appearance and behavior (e.g., an AW70 and AW51, although both application workstations, have different physical characteristics which necessitates distinguishing between them at configuration time. Thus, multiple instances of AW70's would each have a unique identifier in the configuration, but each would have a type of AW70).
  • the symbols Awxxx, where xxx is a number identifies an applications workstation available from the assignee hereof, The Foxboro Company, or other digital data processing apparatus.
  • FBM or symbol FBMxxx, where xxx is a number identifies a field device available from The Foxboro Company, or other field device for use in process control.
  • CP refers to a control processor or other digital data processing apparatus suited for that function.
  • the Framework provides methods to return an object's type to the application. This type information may be used for a number of reasons, including: preliminary lookup to see if two objects can establish a connection; satisfy a search which uses a type filter; display of type information on an object's placeholder.
  • the concept of type may be further abstracted into the concept of type category, which is a broader classification of type.
  • object types may belong to the same category (e.g. an AW70 and AW51 both belong the category Application Workstation). All objects in the same category exhibit the same general behavior as that defined by that category.
  • an FBM would be an object type category
  • an FBM02 and FBM04 are examples of specific object types.
  • each branch in the hierarchy would correspond to an object type category, whereas the leaves, or endpoints, of each branch would correspond to specific object types.
  • the remainder of this section will present the data model, with examples, of this type hierarchy for IDA.
  • the object model used in the illustrated embodiment to support the concept of object types is shown in FIG. 13 .
  • This abstract base class is used only as a placeholder for containing data and methods common to all “type-ish” classes.
  • the only one shown in the illustration is Object Type, but this can be expanded to include other types such as Parameter Type, etc.
  • An object's type is used to classify what it is—i.e., all objects of the same type have the same appearance, and behave identically, differentiated only by minimal differences in associated data (e.g. name, ID, etc.) which is used to uniquely identify them.
  • the Object Type class is hierarchical—the branches of the hierarchy represent type categories, with the leaves, or endpoints, of the hierarchy being actual object types with which objects are associated.
  • Instances of Object Types are Parameterized Objects, and may only be directly associated to a single type category (i.e., a specific object type cannot belong to more than one type category). Note, however, that even though an object type can only be directly associated with one type category, it may indirectly be associated with several type categories depending upon where it is in the type hierarchy. Every instance of Object Type has a pointer back to its containing type category, regardless of whether it's acting as a simple object type, or a type category itself.
  • All instances in the Object Type hierarchy are able to act as collections of Typed Objects. That is, each Object Type is able to maintain a list of all Typed Objects which are directly associated with the type itself. For example, all instances of an AIN block will contain a pointer back to the AIN instance of Object Type. In turn, the AIN instance of Object Type will maintain a list of all instances of AIN blocks in the configuration. This containment is meant to be only one level deep—in other words, there is no need for I/A Block, the containing instance of AIN, to also maintain a list of all AIN blocks (although nothing in the design would prevent it, if desired).
  • each instance of the Object Type hierarchy which serves as a reference for a Typed Object requires a definition reference to the defining Parameterized Object which defines that Typed Object.
  • This relationship provides quick access to the definition object when a symbolic representation of that definition is dragged and dropped into a view. For example, if the user clicks and drags an AOUT definition (either from the System Hierarchy, or from a library template) to a view, then drops it, this relationship provides access to the Parameterized Object which actually defines an AOUT block so that it can be created quickly.
  • an Object Type which can be referenced by a Typed Object requires a reference to the defining Parameterized Object, only those instances in the Object Type hierarchy be used to serve as the collection point for those same types of objects as they are created. If an Object Type doesn't have a defining reference, is not a container of Typed Objects.
  • the Object Type class is an abstract class—no instances of Object Type may exist in the database. Subclasses of Object Type are the implementation-standard Object Type class, and the User-Defined Object Type class.
  • the Object Type class contains those methods common between the two subclasses, e.g. methods used to support the hierarchical relationship(s) in the type hierarchy, the containment relationship to Typed Object class, and the reference to its associated definition Type Object instance.
  • FIG. 14 depicts an example of how the object type hierarchy can appear in IDA.
  • branches form type categories, to which one or more object types belong.
  • type categories In the example shown in FIG. 14 are all examples of type categories.
  • AIN Block, AOUT Block, and PID Block are examples of implementation-standard object types
  • User-X Block Types is an example of a user-defined object type.
  • Each instance of implementation-standard Object Type defined in the database may be specified as the inherent type for one or more configuration objects. All Implementation-standard Object Types have a direct association with a type category, which is preferably also be Implementation-standard. In other words, a Implementation-standard Object Type may not be associated with a user-defined type category.
  • All Implementation-standard Object Types have three additional attributes—they are: configurable—all instances of this object type are able to be configured in an I/A configuration; assignable—all instances of this object type are able to be assigned to a process area; and downloadable—able to be realized (as an entity) on a target platform. Whether an object type is configurable, assignable and/or downloadable is determined at the time the instance of the Implementation-standard Object Type is created.
  • Users may create their own, customized object types, which may be assigned to typed objects.
  • the primary purpose of a User-Defined Object Type is to allow the user to create their own object classification system in the event that the set Implementation-standard Object Types doesn't satisfy all their needs.
  • a Typed Object is a Parameterized Object which is able to be inserted into an I/A configuration, and is considered an integral part of the configuration, in such a way that the configuration would be considered incomplete without it.
  • typed objects include CPs, FBMs, blocks, loops, and compounds.
  • Objects such as graphical objects used to enhance documentation would not be considered Typed Objects.
  • Typed objects inherently have an associated Implementation-standard object type. The fact that an object is configurable is determined by whether or not its inherent object type is or not. Typed Objects may also have a User-Defined Object Type associated with them, although this relationship is optional.
  • a Typed Object is prevented from associating with an Object Type (and thereby prevented from being created), unless that Object Type also references an associated defining Parameterized Object which acts as the definition for the Typed Object being created.
  • a Typed Object is created and a reference made to its associated Object Type, if that Object Type doesn't have a reference to the defining Parameterized Object, it simply uses the one from the Typed Object itself.
  • the Configuration class exists to serve as an entry point into the two primary hierarchies which comprise the configuration itself—the System Hierarchy, and the Plant Hierarchy. These two hierarchies are, however, by no means mutually exclusive.
  • the primary method(s) and data incorporated in this class exist to serve the establishment and maintenance of hierarchical relationships. Other configuration-wide data and/or methods may also reside with this class.
  • the System Hierarchy represents those objects which are contained within the configuration, and are organized by various categories, primarily object type. There are potentially several subclasses of System Hierarchy objects in the System Hierarchy itself. However, for present purposes, only two of these subclasses are discussed:
  • a Network Hierarchy could display a view of the configuration from a System Definition point of view, showing a hierarchy of networks, nodes, stations, FBMs and other hardware. Since the only grouping of configuration objects in the current design is by object type, these subclasses have to use the relationships specified in the Connections discussion in order to know what to display (i.e., by network, by location, etc.).
  • the primary reason that subclasses exist within the System Hierarchy is due to the differences in behavior when dealing with objects in each subclass. For example, the act of dragging and dropping an object from the definition portion of the System Hierarchy results in the creation of a Typed Object of the proper type, whereas when an object from the components portion of the System Hierarchy is dragged and dropped, it results in that object being copied and placed in the view, or connected to another object, depending upon where it was dropped.
  • the visible portion of the System Hierarchy tree control actually consists of two types of elements: actual instances of System Hierarchy objects (of which there are very few), and derived (non-persistent) instances of tree control objects.
  • Actual instances of the System Hierarchy may reference one or more instances in the Object Type Hierarchy. This relationship provides the mechanism by which the majority of the visible System Hierarchy is constructed dynamically as elements are “exploded” by the user in the tree control.
  • the Plant Hierarchy also represents those objects which are contained within the configuration, but are organized by location, rather than by type. This hierarchy represents another view of already-existing configuration components, and may be constructed using a subclass of System Hierarchy.
  • the user can create a new instance of an Object Type by selecting “New” on a pulldown menu within the definition portion of the System Hierarchy.
  • Object Type” menu selection is available on any IDA application.
  • the action can result in the display of a dialog box similar to that in FIG. 15 .
  • the user enters the new Object Type, and provides a description for the new type.
  • the user picks an already existing object type in the type hierarchy to act as its “template” type, or object type to be used to create from.
  • the user can create a new object type from an existing one in two ways:
  • the user additionally specifies such things as:
  • a dialog similar to the one shown in FIG. 15 is displayed, already populated with the information dealing with this object type (i.e., the configurable, assignable and/or downloadable flags checkboxes are selected appropriately).
  • the only things that can be changed are the object's description, and whether or not the object is configurable, assignable and/or downloadable. Some of the attribute and assignable selections may be disabled when the object type is displayed, depending upon the settings of the object type's containing category.
  • the user To delete an instance of an Object Type in the hierarchy, the user must preferably explicitly decide to remove it. If the object being deleted is a type category, the user is informed, and asked if they wish to continue—if they confirm the delete, then everything in the type hierarchy from the object type downward is removed.
  • An IDA configuration consists not only of objects, but objects which are related to each other in a number of ways. These relationships may be physical (e.g. a serial connection between a serial printer and a station) or logical (e.g. a host relationship between an AP and a CP, or a collection point relationship between a block and an historian). These relationships are all called connections.
  • Any Parameterized Object in IDA has an inherent Implementation-standard object type. This object type, in turn, has a direct relationship to a single type category, but may be indirectly related to several type categories.
  • an instance of an AW70X knows that it's an AW70X, by virtue of the fact that AW70X is its inherent Implementation-standard object type.
  • the instance is preferably also “aware” that it is also an AW70, NT Application Workstation, or control processor (here, identified as a “Z-Module,” in reference to a control processor available from the assignee hereof, The Foxboro Company), going backward through the type hierarchy.
  • This awareness may be used in a number of ways, particularly when a process is dealing with the concept of object types at different granularities.
  • the Framework provides methods for allowing the application developer to “walk” the type hierarchy tree in order to obtain the direct, and all the indirect, type categories which a specific object type is related to.
  • a connection in IDA can describe a Source/Sink, or Parent/Child relationship between two objects. There are very subtle differences in the two types of relationships, but they are different enough to warrant separation of behavior.
  • a Parent/Child relationship is typically used to model the relationship between two objects in a hierarchical, or containment relationship whereas a Source/Sink relationship is usually used in a peer-to-peer type of relationship. These differences are presented in the table below: Relation Data Data Description Parent Capacity Data represents the maximum combined “weight” of the children which can be associated to that object. Child Weight Data represents the weight of a single instance of the child object.
  • Source Min, Max Specifies the minimum and maximum number of connections to other objects, or sinks, which can be supported by that object. Supports the concept of a “fan-out” capability.
  • Sink Min, Max Specifies the minimum and maximum number of connections from other objects, or sources, which can be supported by that object. Supports the concept of a “fan-in” capability.
  • a Parent/Child type relationship would be that of a CP to its connected FBMs.
  • the CP acts as a parent in that it acts as a common control connection for all the FBMs which are physically connected to it.
  • the CP is able to support a certain number of FBMs.
  • Each FBM acts as a child in that it relies on the CP to perform certain duties, and it contributes a specific weight toward the total capacity supported by the CP.
  • a fan-out connection can be used to model a relationship in which the source (parent) object supports connections to one or more sinks (children) objects in the database.
  • One example of such a connection type is a output (or “PNT”) parameter on an AIN block and its associated output signal flows.
  • the PNT parameter, acting as a source would provide measurement values to one or more input parameters (conventionally referred as “MEAS” or “SPT”) in other blocks, each input parameter acting as a sink.
  • FIG. 17 depicts the classes used in the illustrated embodiment to support connectivity at the object level.
  • This shows the model used to support a source (parent) Parameterized Object, connecting to the sink (child) Parameterized Object.
  • the model is not intended to suggest that two connectable parameters of the same object can't be connected together (i.e., the same Parameterized Object can be both source and sink at the same time).
  • An example of when this might occur is a calculation output parameter (conventionally referred to as “BCALCO”) parameter acting as calculation input parameter (conventionally referred to as “BCALCI”) parameter in the same I/A block.
  • BCALCO calculation output parameter
  • BCALCI calculation input parameter
  • a Connection contains the data and methods that defines a relationship, or link, between two Parameterized Objects (or more specifically, between two connectable parameters).
  • a connection could can be used to model the logical relationship between two blocks, or the host relationship between two stations, etc.
  • a Connection is a Parameterized Object. This allows Connections to be primarily data driven, rather than compiled behavior, allowing the establishment of connections with new objects to be done in an easier fashion. For example, some Connections probably are not displayed in a graphical environment (such as the relationship between an historian and its associated historizable points). Whether or not to display a Connection is, preferably, parameter-driven.
  • a Connection in IDA can be a Parent/Child relationship, or a Source/Sink.
  • a Connection preferably has exactly one Source (or Parent) Endpoint, and one Sink (or Child) Endpoint.
  • the two endpoints may exist without a Connection having yet been established between them.
  • the endpoints of the Connection will not be instantiated until the Connection itself is about to be established. Conversely, endpoint objects remain persistent even after the associated Connection has been removed.
  • connections between two objects will be connected at the edge of the rectangular area representing each object.
  • the system will also support connections connected to a point at the center of the object as well. Connections are represented by segmented polylines made up of alternating horizontal and vertical segments. The system also supports single segment lines representing an association.
  • a Connection is a Parameterized Object
  • a Connection if it exists, preferably has both a Source (or Parent) and a Sink (or Child) Endpoint. Note, however, that certain operations (e.g. selection state) deal with the Association, and only one (or none) of its associated Endpoints; a Connection has a relationship to an Association Placeholder.
  • a Connection Endpoint is an abstract class from which all connection endpoints are derived. No instances of this class may exist by themselves.
  • the Connection Endpoint contains a reference to the Parameter Override which is either the source (parent) or sink (child) parameter representing one end of a connection.
  • Connection Endpoints provide a mechanism for associating the connection to the object.
  • the endpoints relate the Connection to the Parameter Override to (or from) which the Connection is attached.
  • Endpoints also relate the Connection to the position (side/direction, or center) where the Connection is attached to the object.
  • Each Connection Endpoint is described by two coordinates, the side of the object it is on, and the relative position of the endpoint along the side of the rectangle representing the parameterized object. This allows the endpoint to retain its relative position along the side, even if the object is resized.
  • Connection Endpoints only come into existence whenever a connection between any two objects (or parameters) is about to be established. Once the Framework approves the creation of the connection, it instantiates the endpoint class instances, along the associated parameter overrides, inserting a reference to the parameterized object in each.
  • Connection Endpoints have a direct relationship to a Point Placeholder, allowing a depiction of the endpoint itself to be displayed on the screen.
  • a Source (or Parent) Endpoint is the endpoint which is specific to the source (or parent) end of the Connection between two Parameterized Objects, and is a simple sub-class of the abstract Connection Endpoint class.
  • the Parameterized Object maintains a list of its Source/Parent Endpoints.
  • the Source/Parent Endpoint can be the source of several connections, supporting “fan-out” connectivity.
  • the Source/Parent Endpoint may exist without a Connection to a Sink/Child Endpoint.
  • the Endpoint object can support the concept of a reference counter, which represents the number of connections currently associated with it.
  • a Sink (or Child) Endpoint is the endpoint which is specific to the sink (or child) end of the Connection between two Parameterized Objects, and is a simple sub-class of the abstract Connection Endpoint class.
  • the Parameterized Object maintains a list of its Sink/Child Endpoints.
  • the Sink/Child Endpoint may only be the sink (child) of a single connection.
  • the Sink/Child Endpoint may exist without a Connection to a Source/Parent Endpoint.
  • FIG. 19 depicts additional classes used in the illustrated embodiment to support connectivity at the object level.
  • the primary function of the Object Connection Type Specifier is to provide a list of Object Types to Parameterized Objects, allowing objects to be “extended” such that they encapsulate the behavior of an object in terms of being a parent/child, or source/sink.
  • the Object Connection Type Specifier is an abstract class from which four basic object connection type specifiers are derived: parent, child, source and sink.
  • Each Object Connection Type Specifier is directly related to a Parameterized Object, and is used to help determine the nature of connectivity that the Parameterized Object is allowed to participate in.
  • the same Parameterized Object can act simultaneously as a parent (or source) and a child (or sink). This gives rise to the one-to-many relationship between Parameterized Object and Object Connection Type Specifier shown in the model
  • an Historian acts as a parent to all historized points associated with it, yet simultaneously acts as a child when discussed in terms of being associated with a software host.
  • a “historian” is a block or other functionality used to track parameter values during runtime operation of a process control system configured in accord with the teachings hereof. Each parameter so tracked is referred to as a “point,” a “historized point,” or the like.
  • the object type for a H historiann is the same, no matter how many Object Connection Type Specifiers a Parameterized Object may be associated with.
  • Parent Object Connection Type Specifiers extend the abstract Object Connection Type Specifier class to handle object types capable of fulfilling a parent role when connecting to another object. As such, they specify the capacity, or total weight, of all the child objects which they are capable of supporting, and provide other functionality used by a parent object.
  • Examples of a Parent Object Connection Type Specifier would include a CP which has the capacity to support 48 FBMs in an I/A fieldbus relationship, an AP which allows two serial printers to be connected via a serial connection, or an historian able to support 4000 collection points.
  • any object capable of playing a parent role keeps track of the total “weight” of the connections which have been established for each connection type it is able to support. This value can be associated with the parameter associated with the endpoint of a connection.
  • Child Object Connection Type Specifiers extend the abstract Object Connection Type Specifier class to handle object types capable of fulfilling a child role when connecting to another object. As such, they specify their weight which they will contribute to the total accumulative weight when connecting to a parent. Examples of Child Object Connection Type Specifiers include an FBM connecting to a CP, or a serial printer connected to an AP. Each connection causes the total accumulative weight for that connection type to be incremented by the child's weight. Prior to actually establishing a connection, the Framework checks to ensure that the weight supported by the parent object does not exceed its capacity for that connection type. If it does, the connection attempt will fail, and the application program will be informed that the pending connection is no longer feasible.
  • Source Object Connection Type Specifiers extends the abstract Object Connection Type Specifier class to handle object types capable of fulfilling a source role when connecting to another object. There are no additional data or methods beyond those provided by the Object Connection Type Specifier class. This subclass provides consistency and flexibility during implementation.
  • a Sink Object Connection Type Specifier extends the abstract Object Connection Type Specifier class to handle object types capable of fulfilling a sink role when connecting to another object. There are no additional data or methods beyond those provided by the Object Connection Type Specifier class.
  • the subclass provides consistency and flexibility during implementation.
  • Source Object Type Connection Type Sink Object Type AIN Block Connection PID PID Block Connection AOUT 1.3.4.8 Object Connection Type
  • Object Connection Type provides a means of establishing the outermost layer of connectivity between any two objects. This class is used to describe the “legal” combinations of object types or type categories (i.e., Source/Sink vs. Parent/Child) which are able to form a connection. These connections can be physical (e.g. an electrical signal flow between a serial port and a serial device) or logical (e.g. a host relationship between an AP and a CP, or a collection point association between a block and an historian).
  • object types or type categories i.e., Source/Sink vs. Parent/Child
  • connections can be physical (e.g. an electrical signal flow between a serial port and a serial device) or logical (e.g. a host relationship between an AP and a CP, or a collection point association between a block and an historian).
  • each instance of an Object Connection Type has with the Object Connection Type Specifier class—one is used to specify the source (parent) type, and the other is to specify the sink (child) type.
  • the Object Connection Type class acts as a join table, relating two object types to determine whether there is a potential connection possible. This class is therefore used as an initial “filter” to determine whether two objects are able to establish a connection before the more complex negotiation between two parameters is allowed to continue.
  • the Framework may encounter more than one instance which satisfies the criteria. If this occurs, the user will have to manually resolve the ambiguity, and select the connection type being sought.
  • the Framework While making a determination as to whether two object types can connect together or not, the Framework takes into account the fact that instances of Object Connection Types may not go all the way “down” to the object type level, but may specify type categories instead. In this manner, for example, a specific type of serial printer could be specified as being able to be connected to all NT application workstations, rather than specific types of NT stations.
  • the Framework takes into account type “awareness”, which was discussed in a previous section, in order to accomplish this.
  • bitmasking operation In order to efficiently implement type “awareness”, a bitmasking operation can be used, in which each unique type category, as well as object type, gets assigned a unique bitmask value. By “or'ing” all of the bitmasks together of all the type categories which an object belongs to, the matter of comparing an object's type bitmask with that of the types contained in each instance of the Object Connection Type class becomes a single operation, rather than a series of string compares.
  • FIG. 21 depicts the classes used in the illustrated embodiment to support connectivity at the parameter level. Note that the class structure presented in FIG. 21 closely parallels that of the object connection type object model presented in FIG. 19 .
  • the Parameter Type class is just that—a class used to describe all the various types of connectable parameters which can exist in I/A. Examples of Parameter Types includes serial ports, serial devices, analog input, analog output, historian hosts, and historizable points. Any “connectable” parameter in I/A preferably has an associated Parameter Type. Summarizing relationships:
  • the Parameter Type class can be implemented as another type category in the Object Type hierarchy. In this manner, any code developed to deal with object types (esp. if implementing bitmask operations) may also be used to deal with parameter types.
  • the primary function of the Parameter Connection Type Specifier is to provide a list of Parameter Types to Parameter Definitions, and to fine-tune the “connectable-ness” of that Parameter Definition with the connection.
  • the Parameter Connection Type Specifier class is an abstract class, from which four basic parameter connection type specifiers are derived: parent, child, source and sink.
  • Each Parameter Connection Type Specifier is directly related to one or more connectable Parameter Definitions, and is ultimately used to describe the nature of connection that the parameter is allowed to participate in.
  • the parameter to act simultaneously as a parent/source, and a child/sink, thus the one to many relationship between Parameter Override and Parameter Connection Type Specifier.
  • a MEAS parameter override acts as a source for other input parameters (e.g., a MEAS parameter in a REALM block), yet simultaneously acts as the sink when connected to a parameter such as a PNT parameter in an AIN block.
  • a parameter such as a PNT parameter in an AIN block.
  • the parameter type “MEAS” is the same, no matter how many Parameter Connection Type Specifiers a parameter override may be associated with.
  • Parent Parameter Connection Type Specifiers extends the abstract Parameter Connection Type Specifier class to handle parameters capable of fulfilling a parent role when connecting to another object. There are no additional data or methods beyond those provided by the Parameter Connection Type Specifier class. The subclass provides consistency and flexibility during implementation.
  • Child Parameter Connection Type Specifiers extends the abstract Parameter Connection Type Specifier class to handle parameters capable of fulfilling a child role when connecting to another object. There are no additional data or methods beyond those provided by the Parameter Connection Type Specifier class. The subclass provides consistency and flexibility during implementation.
  • Source Parameter Connection Type Specifiers extend the abstract Parameter Connection Type Specifier class to handle source-type endpoints of a connection. As such, they will specify the minimum and maximum number of sinks with which they are able to establish a Connection. Examples of a Source Parameter Connection Type Specifier would be an I/O point in I/A, represented by the PNT parameter in a AIN block. The PNT parameter acts as the source for signals flowing to one or more input parameters.
  • Sink Parameter Connection Type Specifiers extend the abstract Parameter Connection Type Specifier class to handle sink-type endpoints of an association. As such, they will specify the minimum and maximum number of sources with which they are able to establish a connection.
  • An example in I/A of a Sink Parameter Connection Type Specifier would be a MEAS or SPT parameter in a PID block, either of which is able to receive signal input from another block.
  • the “Min” data associated with a Sink represents an optional/required feature, with a zero (0) representing an optional connection, and a one (1) representing a required connection.
  • Parameter Connection Type class represent the innermost layer of associativity between any two objects. This class is used to describe the “legal” combinations of parameter types which are able to form a connection. These connections can be physical (e.g. an electrical signal flow a serial port and a serial device) or logical (e.g. a collection point connection between a MEAS parameter and an historian).
  • Parameter Connection Type Specifier class There are two relationships that each instance of a Parameter Connection Type has with the Parameter Connection Type Specifier class—one is used to specify the source (parent) type, and the other is to specify the sink (child) type.
  • the Parameter Connection Type class acts as a join table, relating two parameter types together to determine the connection endpoints. This class is therefore used as the final “filter” to determine whether two objects are able to establish a connection.
  • the listing below represents the sequence of events which preferably occur before a Connection can be made between two parameters. This logic is used when an object is being “dragged” around the view, looking for a drop target. Additionally, this logic is valid whether the object being dragged is a potential Source/Parent in a relationship, or Sink/Child.
  • the final responsibility for establishing a connection between two objects rests with the methods responsible for negotiating the “handshake” between the two parameters. These methods check for adequate capacity on the source(parent) object, and establish the actual connection instance itself. This code resides with the source object or the sink object.
  • Parameter-level connections can be automatically established as described in steps 4-8 above.
  • the creation of certain connections between parameters causes other to be automatically established. These are referred to as master and slave connections (or “connection propagation”).
  • master and slave connections or “connection propagation”.
  • connection propagation By way of example, once a connection is established between the PNT parameter of an AIN object and the MEAS input parameter of a PID object, related (or “slave”) connections are made between related parameter pairs (e.g., low and high scale parameters) of these objects.
  • slave connections can be modified by the operator, as desired.
  • Slave connections are automatically updated or destroyed when the corresponding master connection is updated or destroyed.
  • the destruction of a connection between the PNT parameter of an AIN object and the MEAS input parameter of a PID object automatically results in destruction of low-scale, high-scale and other parameter-level slave connections between these objects.
  • FIG. 23 depicts the connections between an Historian to all the historizable points which have been assigned to it.
  • the following table depicts the connectivity data needed to support these connections at the object level: Parent Child Object Type Capacity Connection Type Object Type Weight HISTORIAN 4000 Historian Connection AIN Block 1 HISTORIAN 4000 Historian Connection PID Block 1
  • This example depicts how data can be structured to handle the parent/child situation where the child does not need to have a sense of which point it is (e.g., the MEAS parameter doesn't need to know it's the 2nd historized point in this example), simply that it's connected the HIST parameter of the historian.
  • This example also provides the means to establish a “fan-out” relationship for a parent/child connection.
  • FIG. 24 is similar to the first, except that now the Parameter Definitions have been provided in such a way so as to “split” the parameter representing two serial ports into two separate parameters, each parameter representing a single serial port.
  • the following table depicts the connectivity data needed to support these connections at the object level: Parent Child Object Type Capacity Connection Type Object Type Weight AW70A 2 Serial Connection BW132 (Serial 1 (NT Station) Printer) AW70A 2 Serial Connection BW80 (Serial 1 (NT Station) Printer)
  • This example depicts how data is structured to handle the parent/child situation where the child has to “know”, or be aware of, the specific parent parameter instance they are connected to.
  • the parameter definitions for the AW70 could be modeled in such as way that there was only one Serial Port parameter, and one endpoint object, to which all serial devices would connect.
  • FIG. 25 depicts how a nest can be implemented within IDA.
  • the following table depicts the connectivity data needed to support these connections at the object level: Parent Child Object Type Capacity Connection Type Object Type Weight IE32 4 Nest Connection 1 ⁇ 8CELL (Cell) 1 (Enclosure) 1 ⁇ 8CELL 8 Nest Connection FBM04 (FBM) 1 (Cell)
  • This example depicts how data can be structured to handle the parent/child connections used to support a multilevel nesting scenario.
  • This implementation takes into account that each object connecting to its parent needs to know which “slot” it occupies, and in turn, each “slot” needs to know what object is currently occupying it (if any).
  • This design allows object differentiation between the slots. For example, it is easy to model (in the parameter definitions) the fact that the first two slots of a cell (represented by the first two parameter overrides) can only accommodate a power supply, and the remaining slots available for modules.
  • FIG. 26 depicts an implementation of how source/sink relationships can be implemented in IDA.
  • the following table depicts the connectivity data needed to support these connections at the object level: Source Object Type Connection Type Sink Object Type AIN Block Block Connection PID Block PID Block Block Connection REALM Block
  • This example depicts how data can be structured to handle a source/sink connection. More importantly, it shows how the same parameter (i.e., in this case, the MEAS parameter of the PID block) can function as both source and sink simultaneously.
  • the same parameter i.e., in this case, the MEAS parameter of the PID block
  • Placeholders The primary purpose of Placeholders is to preserve the location and appearance of an object on a Persistent Document, enabling an object to retain its appearance between viewings.
  • Placeholders present an object model, depicting all the objects, their connections, and the endpoints of those connections in a single diagram. Consequently, the object model dealing with placeholders will broken into two sections:
  • Appearance Object Model Objects of the same type appear in a certain way, depending upon which view it's being displayed in. This appearance is defined in an instance of the Appearance Definition class, which describe through the use of macros how a certain type of object appears.
  • the Framework supports both a Implementation-standard, as well as a user-defined, appearance definition of an object type.
  • a Placeholder Type class links an object type with a view type, with the appearance definition which is dictates how the object type appears on that view type.
  • the object model depicted in FIG. 27 centers around how objects of a certain type appear when displayed on various types of views.
  • the Placeholder Type class is analogous to a join table between instances of the Object Type class and The View Type class, representing valid combinations of object types vs. view types. If a specific object type is not found in any instance of the Placeholder Type class, then no objects of that type will be able to be displayed on any view of that view type.
  • the Placeholder Type class is also responsible for determining how an object of a specific Object Type appears on each view type it is able to be displayed on.
  • the View Type class represents the document (and supporting view, speaking in MFC terms) on which Parameterized Objects are displayed. Not all view types display all object types, and valid combinations are dictated by instances of the Placeholder Type class.
  • the Appearance Definition class is just that—it defines the appearance of an object type on one or more types of views.
  • the Appearance Definition object may be thought of as a small-scaled Sheet Template (refer to the section on “Sheet Templates”).
  • the appearance of an object, if specified as a template, is macro-driven, allowing the user to edit and modify the way objects appear in certain View Types.
  • a possible Appearance Definition for a Parameterized Object might appear as that shown in FIG. 28 , where the macros [$NAME], [$ICON] and [$TYPE] have specific values which have been obtained from the associated Parameterized Object at runtime.
  • All Parameterized Objects have a default Implementation-standard Appearance Definition for every View Type which they are allowed to appear on in IDA. The user can modify these Appearance Definitions, and save them as the new “default” Appearance Definition for that object type/view type pair.
  • Implementation-standard Appearance Definition objects represent the default appearance of an object when placed on an instance of a specific View Type.
  • a Implementation-standard Appearance Definition object may be overridden by a User-Defined Appearance Definition object at runtime to produce customized displays and printouts to satisfy unique customer documentation requirements.
  • Every Object Type/View Type pair found in instances of the Placeholder Types class has an inherent Implementation-standard Appearance Definition associated with it.
  • a User-Defined Appearance Definition object is a “copy” of a Implementation-standard Appearance Definition object which has been customized by the user to satisfy unique documentation requirements.
  • the user can modify the default appearance definition by using an editing tool similar to the Sheet Template Editor to modify the appearance of an object type when displayed on a specific view type.
  • the default appearance definition for an object will be overridden simply by virtue of the fact that a User-Defined Appearance Definition object exists for the object type/view type pair.
  • a placeholder is created at runtime whenever a new instance of a Parameterized Object, Connection, or Endpoint is placed on a view.
  • the placeholder retains geometric information (e.g. size and location) and a reference to the object's Appearance Definition which determines how the object appears in the view.
  • the placeholder is the mechanism by which all this information is kept persistent within the document ( FIG. 29 ).
  • the Abstract Placeholder class is an abstract class which is used to provide the mechanism by which the representation of objects on a Persistent Document object are made persistent. Every object which needs to be represented on an instance of a Persistent Document (e.g. an Endpoint, an Connection, or a Parameterized Object) uses a subclass of the Abstract Placeholder class and extend it to meet its specific requirements in terms of being able to reconstruct itself visually. Placeholders are used to represent an object regardless of the nature of the Persistent Document (e.g. graphical vs. tabular).
  • the data which an Abstract Placeholder contains includes the origin (x,y) of the object, and its extents.
  • the ordered list maintained by the Persistent Document determines the order in which objects are drawn.
  • a Parameterized Object Placeholder object extends the Abstract Placeholder class with data and/or methods to allow the associated Parameterized Object to be displayed on the Persistent Document object.
  • all non-configurable Graphical Objects discussed under the section entitled “Sheet Template Editor”) are also derived from Parameterized Object so that they may benefit from the Object->Placeholder->Document relationship.
  • Parameterized Objects which subclass the Abstract Placeholder with object-specific data include:
  • Implementation can set these properties for all objects within the collection.
  • objects would include nests, loops and compounds.
  • a Connection Placeholder object extends the Abstract Placeholder class with data and/or methods to allow the Connection to be displayed on the Persistent Document object.
  • Data with which the Abstract Placeholder is subclassed for a Connection Placeholder include line weight, line style, and color. Examples of Connection Placeholders are those used to represent the block connection between blocks and their respective parameters, or a fieldbus connecting a CP to an FBM.
  • a Point Placeholder object extends the Abstract Placeholder class with data and/or methods to allow the associated EndPoint object to be displayed on the Persistent Document object.
  • Data with which the Abstract Placeholder is subclassed for a Point Placeholder object might include shape, line weight, line style, and color. Examples of instances of Point Placeholders are those that could be used to represent a parameter on a block, or a point on an FBM.
  • a Persistent Document object is used to contain the data associated with a specific document within IDA. It's important to note that a Persistent Document is directly related to an MFC Document, although differences do exist.
  • a Persistent Document may only be associated to one and only one Sheet Template (see section entitled “Sheet Template Editor”). When the document is displayed, the Sheet Template is drawn first, as a type of background, then the Placeholder objects associated with the document is superimposed upon the drawing surface.
  • the Sheet Template which is used during printing and/or print preview, is user-selectable from the Page Setup dialog. In the absence of a user-specified Sheet Template, a default implementation-standard template is used.
  • FIG. 29B depicts a combined placeholder and appearance object model used in one practice of the invention.
  • the classes illustrated in the drawing are defined as discussed above, with the following caveats.
  • Each configurable Parameterized Object utilizes parameters (here, identified as Appearance Parameters) that reference (or contain) instances of an Appearance Definition class specifying how that Parameterized Object appears in respective views—and, particularly, in the respective editors (e.g., the Block Definition Editor, Control Algorithm Diagram Editor, and so forth).
  • Appearance Parameters substitutes for (or supplements) the above-described use of the Placeholder Type class.
  • Appearance Parameters are treated in the manner of other Parameterized Object parameters and hence, for example, are inherited from parent objects, may be edited and/or may be overridden.
  • a “default” Appearance Definition associated with a configurable object as a consequence of inheritance may be changed, e.g., through use of the Block Definition Editor.
  • Appearance Definitions required for depiction of a configurable object in additional editors may be added to a “child” Parameterized Object, e.g., in the manner that other parameters are added to an Parameterized Object definition.
  • Embodiments utilizing the model of FIG. 29B forego Connection Placeholders in favor of Connector Graphics that are integral to the graphical display of each Persistent Document.
  • Each Connector Graphic in a Persistent Document references the corresponding parameterized Connection Objects. By checking those references, an editor that display the Persistent Document can verify the existence of each Connection Object before displaying the Connector Graphic.
  • the IDA application in general, and the IDA editors in particular are based on the Microsoft Foundation Classes' (MFC) Document/View model.
  • MFC Microsoft Foundation Classes'
  • the MFC Document/View model relies on the interaction of several classes (as shown in FIG. 30 ).
  • An Application object (using a contained CDocManager object) maintains a list of one or more Document Templates.
  • Each of the Document Template objects represents a tuple consisting of a Frame class, a Document Class, and a View class. Together, this triplet of classes, when instantiated as objects, defines the appearance of the program, the data being edited, and the program's user interface, respectively.
  • the document objects define and maintain the data being edited.
  • the frame objects define the menus and toolbars available when the documents are edited.
  • the view objects draw the objects being edited on the screen (or during printing) and manage the details of the user interface interactions.
  • Each of the editors is packaged as a Win32 DLL (dynamic link library).
  • the DLL includes the supporting code for the sub-classes of CFrameWnd, CDocument, and CView that make up the editor's code.
  • a document template instance containing references to these classes is created and passed to the application.
  • the editor is available for use. This isolation from the application object's code (which is compiled into the process's EXE) and the editors' code (compiled into various DLLs) is illustrated by the DLL Boundary shown in FIG. 30 .
  • the application may, at a later time unload the document template once the editor the code implements is no longer in use. At that time, the DLL can then be released.
  • the application retrieves the appropriate Document Template instance from its manager. It then asks the template to create new instances of the appropriate frame, document and view objects, placing the windows in the edit pane of a main editor window.
  • the framework attaches an instance of the appropriate Frame class to the frame window (detaching the previous Frame class). This causes the menus and toolbars for the frame to change to those appropriate for the new editor.
  • the editor's View class is then instantiated as the new View Pane of the frame.
  • the IDA Framework provides several base classes to facilitate the creation of IDA applications. Most are derived from the standard MFC Document/View architecture classes defining the application, the frame, the document and the view.
  • COM Component Object Model
  • OLE Windows NT Object Linking and Embedding
  • the framework used for automating parameterized objects and IDA is independent from the parameterized object and Framework Services framework classes, and can be implemented separately. However, there are some coding practices that make integration of parameterized objects with the automation framework easier.
  • the framework used for interaction in IDA and its editors needs to be tightly coupled with the MFC classes.
  • Scripting This type of automation is typically referred to as “Scripting”.
  • a scripting engine such as VBScript
  • VBScript a scripting engine
  • parameterized objects provide a pseudo-implementation of IDispatch.
  • An automation wrapper class is used to handle all calls to the methods of IDispatch on behalf of the parameterized object using an ObjectStore reference.
  • the wrapper object is created through an automation manager that is also used for firing events for parameterized objects.
  • An event is handled using a script (VBScript) that is persisted in a parameterized object and passed with the object itself to the automation manager.
  • An editor is provided to manage the scripts associated with an object.
  • a script has the context of the object it belongs to, along with the global IDA application object discussed in the next section. From the global IDA application object, one has access to all the functionality exposed through automation for IDA and the editors. This includes access to parameterized objects in the system and plant hierarchies.
  • All automation interfaces used for external automation are dual interfaces to provide the best level of efficiency and ease of use.
  • a dual interface is a custom interface that derives from IDispatch.
  • IDA has an Application object that serves as the automation entry point.
  • the object is registered with Windows as a local server allowing Visual Basic or C++ developers to create one and use it in their own application. From this entry point, developers have access to all the functionality exposed through automation for IDA and the editors. This includes access to parameterized objects in the system and plant hierarchies using an automation wrapper object. Examples of objects that would be properties of the Application object are the palette window, the project manager window, output window and the editor manager.
  • the Application object may also have methods or child objects with methods that provide helper services and routines living in DLLs.
  • IDA GUI classes are exposed through automation by aggregating a dual interface into an MFC class and adding it as a property of the Application object. Developers can choose to implement their functionality in either the MFC class or the aggregated interface, and call one from the other. IDA also abstracts the editor manager with an automation object. Editors provide one or more automation interfaces to expose their functionality through automation. Although all the editors may have one or more common automation interfaces, each can have as many unique ones as necessary.
  • these interfaces do not support automation, and are implemented in non-MFC/non-parameterized object classes.
  • COM interfaces that are implemented by the IDA application, and managers that are used to synchronize GUI-related and other operations.
  • These are non-automation custom interfaces with associated proxy/stub classes provided by IDA used for marshalling data. The difference between these interfaces and the ones used for external automation is that these are used solely for the coordination of the editors with IDA and are not editor-specific.
  • the automation interfaces are typically unique to the editor they belong to.
  • pointers are passed to parameterized objects and OID's using the “long” data type and casting appropriately. This is permissible because the embodiment operates in a single process, that is linked to the DLLs exporting its classes, and is integrated with ObjectStore.
  • a COM interface/class can be implemented for each parameterized object defined. These classes can live in non-extension DLLs and can wrap their corresponding parameterized objects using OID handles. Additional application/editor interfaces can be implemented using the object interfaces instead of the “long” data type.
  • the application class is derived from MFC's CWinApp class.
  • An intermediate abstract class (which implements most of the application's services) is shown.
  • This class manages the document templates for each editor. This class is used to manage the loading and unloading of editor DLLs. When an editor is unloaded, its document template is preferably be removed from the list of available templates. The document templates contain pointers to objects which reside in the editor DLL, and might be located differently if the editor is reloaded.
  • the third item, IDA editor information, is stored in the registry via the use of the COM Components Categories Manager (COM-CCM).
  • COM-CCM COM Components Categories Manager
  • the COM-CCM is a single instance COM component which allows applications like IDA to register a category (i.e. IDA editors) and servers that support objects in that category (e.g., Block Definition editor, etc.)
  • CDocManager retrieves a list of available editors via the COM-CCM. Once that list is retrieved, an editor can be started by instantiating it via COM using the GUID stored in the appropriate component category.
  • the editor Once the editor is loaded, it registers the document template with the main application, and can then be used like any other document template.
  • FIG. 32 shows a class diagram for IDA documents.
  • the document classes differ from the other Document/View components, in that they represent persistent data.
  • the figure consists of many categories of object classes. These include:
  • the base IDA document classes include provisions for embedding OLE objects within an IDA document, and for providing linkings to IDA editors via OLE from other applications.
  • the IDA Hierarchy Tree provides two hierarchical views of the components of an IDA configuration.
  • FIG. 33 shows an approximation of the class inter-relationships for the IDA Hierarchy Tree.
  • the IDA Hierarchy class provides most of the services available in the two hierarchy trees. These include general database connectivity, dynamic update from the database, and drag and drop, cut/paste services.
  • the Plant and System Hierarchy sub-classes are simple specializations of this class.
  • the Specialized Tabbed View class acts to hold the two views in a single tabbed container (i.e., the IDA Hierarchy Tree).
  • the IDA Framework provides base view classes (derived from MFC's view classes) providing application developers with much of the user interface behavior they need in their applications.
  • FIG. 34 shows a model of the relationships of these classes.
  • the Specialized IDA Document Base Class shown in FIG. 34 corresponds to the same class as shown in the IDA Document classes.
  • the “Virtual Relationship” between the CView and CDocument classes is common to all MFC document/view applications, and is actually implemented in most derived application-specific view and document classes.
  • the Base IDA View Class provides the basic user interface services. These include page and print services (most IDA applications are page-based—their final output is a page, or pages, in a book of system documentation), notification services, invalidation and the relationship to an IDA Hierarchy Tree control.
  • the Graphical IDA View Base Class provides the facilities needed for a simple graphical editor (object placement on a page, or “canvas”). Two sub-classes of this view, the Block and Connection View Class, and the Enclosure View Class, add connection and containment user interface attributes to the services already provided by the graphics class. Similarly, the Tabular IDA View Base Class adds the data and methods necessary to provide a grid, or spreadsheet-like, user interface. Two sub-classes of the tabular base class are the List View class, used for listing properties and attributes of items selected in the IDA Hierarchy Tree, and the Grid View class, used for other spreadsheet editors such as the Parameterized Object Definition editor.
  • FIG. 35 shows the structure and relationships of the base IDA Frame Class.
  • the MFC frame classes provide the menus and toolbars, and some generalized behavior of MFC applications. Many classes presented in the previous section in FIG. 34 and FIG. 35 are shown here to depict the relationships between the various classes involved.
  • the IDA Editor Frame controls lines of communication between the IDA Document Base Class, and the IDA Main Frame.
  • the IDA system has specialized menu and toolbar management, allowing the dynamically loaded menus and toolbars to negotiate with the standard IDA facilities. Menus and toolbars associated with the main application are merged with the menus and toolbars associated with each editor as it becomes active.
  • Sheet Template objects are used to allow the user to define a template, or sheet layout, to be used during the printing and/or print preview process.
  • a Sheet Template typically includes combinations of graphical symbols which have been defined (e.g. rectangles, circles, bitmaps, etc. . . . ) to satisfy a customer's unique requirements for documentation.
  • Sheet templates are used to augment the documentation process with information which may be used to point out, or highlight, portions of the configuration.
  • Sheet templates support the inclusion of a variety of graphical objects to help in this task, such as geometric shapes, bitmaps, and annotators (text blocks).
  • Sheet templates are created and modified by the Sheet Template Editor.
  • This graphical-based utility allows the user to modify existing graphical objects, add new ones, and change the size of the drawable surface area on which output is displayed.
  • the object model used in the illustrated embodiment to support Sheet Template objects appears in FIG. 36 .
  • Sheet Templates objects are actually specialized Persistent Document objects created and maintained by the Sheet Template Editor.
  • Each Sheet Template object contains a reference to one or more representations of Graphical Objects, via instances of the Abstract Placeholder class. Placeholders are used to provide the mechanism for persistent storage of the placement of various objects in the Sheet Template.
  • the Sheet Template object which is actually used during print and/or print preview is defined by the Page Setup dialog box. Should the user elect not to use Page Setup capabilities, a default Sheet Template object is available while the configurator is providing normal printing services.
  • Graphical Objects require the management of graphical characteristics such as line weight, line style, line color, fill color, etc. These properties may vary depending upon the object type being modified, and are displayed on that object's property pages appropriately when edited.
  • Annotators or text strings, support the use of macro substitution, allowing the user to enter specific, predefined macros embedded within text strings.
  • the macro is replaced with the appropriate value. Examples of things for which macros are defined include: report name; customer name; user name; and date and time in various formats.
  • the Sheet Template Editor ( FIG. 38 ) may be used to create new Sheet Template objects, or customize existing ones.
  • the Sheet Template Editor is similar to many drawing packages which exist on other platforms and systems today. The editor provides the primary mechanism for allowing users to modify graphical characteristics of the Graphical Objects displayed on a Sheet Template. A full range of graphically related commands allow the user to manipulate objects which have been placed on the Sheet Template, such as various alignment commands, send to front/back, etc.
  • One important feature of the Sheet Template Editor is to allow the definition of the size and orientation of the area representing the physical paper surface (e.g., 81 ⁇ 2 ⁇ 11 portrait). Also defineable within the editor is the drawing area, which is essentially used to define the top, bottom, left and right margins of the drawing surface available to the user for placement of configurable objects. While in the editor, instances of Graphical Objects may be placed outside the normal margin depicted by the drawing area (e.g., a Title Block at the bottom of a sheet). Graphical Objects preferably still remain within the physical boundaries of the selected sheet. Any Graphical Object may be created, modified, moved, or deleted from the template, regardless of the size and position of the drawing area.
  • the IDA Report Manager allows users to create, edit, and print reports.
  • a report is an association between a collection of IDA configurable objects (possibly filtered) and templates describing how to print them. Reports are composed of report templates that organize the data to be printed—describing what should be printed, how it should be printed, and in what order. This enables the user to produce a printed document that combines information from various sources organized in one of many different ways ( FIG. 46 ). For the remainder of this section, IDA configurable objects will be referred to as simply “objects”.
  • An object may be associated with one or more named views, each used to render a specific representation of it inside an IDA editor.
  • Editors are components of the IDA application. Each editor provides a graphical user interface (GUI) to allow the user to edit one or more objects, each object being associated with one or more object types.
  • GUI graphical user interface
  • a central view registry keeps a list of views for each object type, and for each view, the name of the editor that implements the GUI for it. In addition, for each object type, one of the views is marked as the default.
  • Each of the IDA editors is a Microsoft Windows server implemented in a DLL using the MFC document/view architecture.
  • an MFC document is associated with an object and an MFC view is associated with either an IDA named view, or the placeholder object used to render that named view of the object.
  • An object can be printed either as part of a report or individually through an IDA editor. All printing is performed using the MFC printing mechanism up until either the report or the object actually prints itself. At this point, the MFC view calls into either the report or the placeholder/appearance object associated with the object being printed. A report is responsible for making the calls into the placeholders/appearance objects for the objects it is currently printing.
  • FIG. 39 depicts the object model used in the illustrated embodiment to support the Report Manager, which maintains the following three lists: reports; report templates; and property filter rules.
  • only one Report Manager can exist in an IDA system, and it is a top-level member of the System Hierarchy.
  • its representation in the System Hierarchy is an untyped collection, only capable of being opened and closed. It contains three lists, each being a Parameterized Object. None can be added to the Report Manager's “folder” on the System Hierarchy, and none of the three lists can be deleted.
  • the IDA Report Manager relies on a parallel registry of printable views with the following conditions: one or more print views is registered for each Object Type; and of the Object Type's print views is registered as the default.
  • a Printable Object Collection organizes a list of references to objects (typically, a subset of the Plant or System Hierarchies) intended to be printed together to form a “book” of printed output.
  • the list of objects is transient, and are preferably first generated using the Scope and Property Filter Rule objects before being used by a Report.
  • the POC uses its Scope and Property Filter Rules to populate itself with objects fitting certain criteria. They also apply an ordering to objects. All functionality for populating the object list lies within the POC class.
  • Object filtering happens at two different levels. First, objects are added to a temporary list that passes through the Scope Filter Rule. Then objects in the temporary list pass through the Property Filter Rules, and are added to the final list that is used by the Report.
  • the only object that is treated differently by the POC than other objects is the type that is a link to an Active Document object. These objects are added to the final object list during the POC's first pass through the Scope Filter Rule and are not affected by the Property Filter Rule.
  • a Property Filter Rule acts to populate a Printable Object Collection (POC) by specifying one or more property filter expressions that preferably evaluate correctly for each object in the POC's temporary list before it can be added to the POC's final list.
  • a single Property Filter Rule may be associated with more than one POC.
  • the Property Filter Rule object's parameterized properties map a Property Name to a structure holding a Filter Value, Object Type, and an Expression defining the property value's relationship to the filter value.
  • a Scope Filter Rule acts to populate a Printable Object Collection (POC) by specifying an ordered list of objects that are searched (or whose children are searched) for those matching a specific type. Objects matching this type are added to the POC's temporary list and are further filtered by the POC's Property Filter Rule before being added to the POC's final list. The objects in these lists remain in the order they were added and are subsequently printed in this order by the Report associated with the POC.
  • a Scope Filter Rule can also contain a type of object that is a link to an Active Document object These objects are treated a little differently by the POC.
  • a Report is an association between a Printable Object Collection (POC) and a list of Report Templates. It is a Parameterized Object maintained in a list by the Report Manager. Report names are preferably unique within the scope of the Report Manager.
  • the POC contains a list of objects that are to be printed, and the Report Templates describe how they are to be printed. If no objects in the POC match an Object Type associated with a given Report Template, then no object will be printed.
  • the Report preferably initializes the POC before getting the objects to print.
  • a Report maintains default Print Specifications (i.e., paper size, orientation, etc.) that are configurable by the user. If the job is either quick printed using the print toolbar button or printed as part of a batch print job, the stored Print Specifications are used. These default specifications may be overridden by the object type-specific Print Specifications associated with a Report Template within the Report.
  • Print Specifications i.e., paper size, orientation, etc.
  • a Print Specification physically describes how printable views of objects should be printed. It includes:
  • Reports have a default Print Specification which may be overridden by the Print Specification associated with a Report Template. If an object is of a type having a Print Specification, these override all others during printing. All instances of Print Specifications except those belonging to an Object Type can be edited by the user.
  • the Report Manager can have a default Print Specification associated with it that is applied to newly created Report objects. This allows users to go to a single location to configure the default Print Specification for each new Report that will be created.
  • Report Templates All instances of Report Templates in the system are maintained in a list by the Report Manager and preferably have unique names identifying them. There are three types of Report Templates all deriving from the Report Template base class: Graphical Report Templates, Tabular Report Templates, and Composite Report Templates.
  • Report Templates have one or more Object Types associated with them that determines what objects the Report Template can be applied to, forming legal relationships.
  • a Report Template may maintain a default Print Specification (i.e., paper size, orientation, etc. . . . ) that is configurable by the user. This Print Specification overrides those associated with the Report when printing objects.
  • the objects themselves are associated with an Object Type which may have a Print Specification that in turn, overrides the one specified by the Report Template.
  • the Object Type's Print Specification is not editable.
  • Standard Report Templates are included. These include implementation-standard Graphical and Tabular Report Templates that are provided as read-only templates. With these templates, users are able to report data for any objects in a number of practical formats. Users also use these Standard Report Templates to build custom Composite Report Templates.
  • a Graphical Report Template is a Report Template that represents a fixed association between its object types, and a set of object type-specific rules for printing (Object Type Rules).
  • This type of Report Template prints objects as “What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get” (WYSIWYG) reports—the same way they are seen from within the graphical editor.
  • a Graphical Report Template also maintains print sequence information. This information includes the order print views should be printed in, and whether objects get printed consecutively with each of their views, or grouped by view. In some embodiments, users will be able to create an editable copy of a Graphical Report Template.
  • Object Type Rules specify how objects with a specific Object Type should be printed. It names the Object Type, and lists the named print views that should be printed.
  • Object Type Rules provide the following information: the default print view for the Object Type; specific named views to be printed for the Object Type; and all print views registered for the Object Type.
  • a Tabular Report Template is a Report Template that represents a dynamic relationship between presentation information, and a query responsible for populating the presentation to be printed. Unlike a Graphical Report Template that is only concerned with static WYSIWYG representations of individual objects, Tabular Report Templates combine the information about many objects into one Crystal Reports report that can be sorted and grouped as desired.
  • the Presentation object contains information about how to retrieve the data to be printed, and how to print it out as a Crystal Reports report. It also specifies how the data should be grouped.
  • Crystal Reports report expects to find data in a fixed “n ⁇ n” array. It uses this data to populate itself in its persisted format.
  • the Query object for the Tabular Report Template indicates the properties that the user can group by.
  • the user could choose to sort loops by “Block Count” rather than by “Name”.
  • the Presentation object has a list of object type and/or property names that it uses to retrieve data from the objects contained in the report. The data is then organized into an “n ⁇ n” variant array passed to the Crystal Reports report.
  • the Query object contains information to be used for selecting the data to be printed, and also specifies what aspects of the query are user configurable. Most of the user configurable aspects of the query pertain to Filter Rules, but some are formatting rules that apply to the Presentation Object.
  • a Query object contains the following information:
  • the Query object may impose limitations on what properties of the object can or cannot have user-specified Property Filter Rule expressions.
  • the “Block Count” property on the loop may be designated as one for which a user cannot specify a Property Filter Rule expression. If a Property Filter Rule supplies one, a warning will be displayed, and the rule will be ignored at run time.
  • the properties by which the report can be grouped will be limited to those that actually appear in the report and may have additional constraints.
  • New Property Filter Rules can be created in the following ways:
  • Property Filter Rules can only be edited from within the Filter Editor, as depicted in FIG. 41 .
  • the Filter Editor dialog box allows the user to build an expression to evaluate against the property values of a parameterized object type.
  • the Expression builder will let the user build simple nested expressions.
  • users may have the option of writing a custom expression as a Visual Basic style script to run against the object. This allows more complex relationships among properties of the object as well as child or parent objects.
  • the Filter Editor can be displayed in the following ways in order to edit an existing Property Filter Rule:
  • Property Filter Rules can be deleted in the following ways:
  • New Composite Report Templates can be created in the following ways:
  • users can only edit Composite Report Templates.
  • users are able to modify a copy of any existing Report Template. What the user is able to modify will be limited to what is allowed by the Report Template object itself.
  • Composite Report Templates can be edited in the following ways: using the Composite Report Template Editor ( FIG. 42 ); and drag and drop operations in the System Hierarchy.
  • the Composite Report Template Editor depicted in FIG. 42 , allows the user to add and remove Report Templates to and from the Composite Report Template. They can also change the Composite Report Template's template order and bring up the dialog box used to edit another template.
  • the Composite Report Template Editor can be invoked by:
  • New Reports are added as children to the “Reports” folder in the System Hierarchy with a default name.
  • New Report objects can be created in the following ways:
  • Reports can be edited in the following ways:
  • the Report Editor depicted in FIG. 43 , allows the user to add and remove Report Templates and objects to and from the Report. They can also pick the Filter to use for the Report and bring up the dialog box used to edit the filter.
  • the Report Editor can be invoked in the following ways:
  • Print settings for a Report can be edited by selecting the Report, then selecting “File
  • a Report can be print previewed by selecting the Report, then selecting “File
  • a Report can be printed in the follow ways:
  • New folders can be created as children of the “Report Templates”, “Reports” and “Filters” folders. Users can then move any Report, Filter, and user created Report Template objects around inside their respective parent and user folders but cannot move them to any other parent or user folder. Standard Report Templates cannot be moved.
  • New organizational folders can be created in the following ways:
  • Version control in IDA provides the ability for the system to record changes made to the control database. It allows the user to be able to tell what the state of the system is now, what the state of the system was at a specific time in the past, and the history of changes made to a specific object over time. With IDA version control, the change history of an object is tracked from the moment it was created through its current version.
  • the IDA system does this by capturing versions of the objects which make up an IDA configuration, and providing methods to trace the genealogy of those objects forwards and backwards throughout the entire genealogy representing each object's life cycle.
  • IDA version control may be conceptualized as two separate databases (an Offline and an Online database) as depicted in FIG. 45 with the user being able to make edits in either database.
  • Synchronization processes are run in order to keep the two databases in synch with each other.
  • the offline database contains the configuration data that forms the basis for the configuration contained in the online, or running, database.
  • a common scenario for a user would be to lock one or more objects in the offline database (check-out), edit them in a personal workspace over the course of several hours or days, then place the changes back into the offline database (check-in). Objects that have been modified in the offline database are then manually downloaded to the target hardware.
  • Another scenario for editing objects may occur when the user edits a small amount of data, such as a single block parameter.
  • the object will be implicitly checked-out, without the user being aware, and edits performed on the object(s).
  • a simultaneous check-in/download process is initiated by the user. Edits such as these are meant to cover a short period of time (e.g., minutes) rather than an edit session spanning several hours or days.
  • the download process is responsible for compiling the modifications to ensure that the edits are valid, and for actually downloading the new data to the appropriate control processors. If either the compile or the download to the control processor(s) fails, then the entire download process is rolled back.
  • the online database contains the configuration data that has been downloaded from the offline database, and represents that data which is currently running on the control processors.
  • the database in this case, is not in the same form as that in the IDA database (i.e., it is not an OODBMS), but rather is in a form, e.g., typically proprietary, understandable by the target.
  • data is downloaded from the offline database in a separate process, and compiled to ensure that it is valid for the target processor.
  • the user modifies the online database via an external process (not shown).
  • an external process not shown
  • edits to the online database are done in this manner, they become out of synch with the corresponding objects in the offline database.
  • a manual upload process is performed. In this procedure, data is copied to a temporary work area, then compared to the objects which are currently in the offline database. Users will manually decide which objects need to be uploaded using a version compare utility provided by the Framework.
  • the user workspace may be thought of as a “mini-database”, containing a subset of the objects contained in the database being modified.
  • the user locks the object(s), reserving a copy of the current version of the object(s), and placing this copy into the user's personal workspace. This copy cannot be seen by other users of the system. Once locked, an object is only available for read access by other IDA users. Attempts by other users to modify the object will result in a dialog box being displayed indicated that the object is checked-out, and by whom.
  • This act of placing edited objects back into the database is referred to as a commit, or check-in, process.
  • the user may elect to keep the object locked, or to release the lock completely, thereby allowing other users to modify it once the act of check-in is completed.
  • An object which has been checked-out may also be explicitly unchecked-out. This action will release the lock on the object, and discard any changes made to it since the last check in. Once unchecked-out, an object will be automatically removed from the user's workspace, and once again become editable by other DA users and processes.
  • object ID's are as a means of uniquely identifying an object in the database, rather than the pointer or reference which is inherent with the OODBMS
  • FIG. 46 depicts an object which was created in the offline database, and has not undergone any modifications (e.g., only version 1.0 is “officially” recognized).
  • a user has checked-out the object (either implicitly or explicitly), causing an IDA-specific Checked-Out attribute to be set on version 1.0 of the object.
  • the user may make one or more modifications to it, causing the information to be stored in the database as version 2.0 of the object, and an edit stamp is created which captures the user-id (among other things) of the user who is performing the changes.
  • the object may be considered to be in the user's personal workspace.
  • version 1.0 is still the current object, and that version 2.0 is only visible to the user who has checked the object out for modification. This is done primarily via user ID comparison between the user ID of the user attempting to access the object, and the user ID contained within the edit stamp.
  • the user may explicitly release the lock on the object being modified via the Revision Editor. When this occurs, all accumulated changes made to that point are discarded, the edit stamp is destroyed, and the Checked-Out attribute of the original object is reset.
  • version 2.0 of the object now “officially” exists, and both versions 1.0 and 2.0 get pointers to each other updated, effectively creating a doubly-linked list to allow traversal of the version tree for this object.
  • a pointer to the current object now returns version 2.0, and not version 1.0.
  • the user may optionally keep the Checked-Out attribute on the object set. Other users now see the modified version, but are prevented from making edits. If the attribute is reset, the edit stamp previously associated with the object is destroyed.
  • This information will be generated automatically during a minor edit, such as when the user modifies a parameter value.
  • the Framework provides the application developer the methods necessary to “walk” the version tree for any versioned object, and to extract the change and/or revision associated with any particular version of the object.
  • the Revision Editor permits the user to: see a list of all objects currently checked-out; record modifications, or changes, made to individual objects; record a reason for having modified one or more objects (a revision); explicitly release locks on one or more objects currently checked-out; and initiate a check-in of one or more objects.
  • FIG. 48 A sample user interface for the Revision Editor appears in FIG. 48 .
  • the Revision Editor When the user is ready to check objects back into the database, or unlock objects that have previously checked-out, the Revision Editor is invoked. This editor displays a list of objects which the user currently has checked out. As objects are modified, the actual modification made to the object can be recorded by selecting the desired object, and entering the change in the edit window labeled “Modification.” At check-in time, if the object(s) hasn't had a change description filed for it, the user will be prompted to supply that information on a per-object basis.
  • the “Check-In” button on the Revision Editor is selected, resulting in the display of the dialog box depicted in FIG. 49 .
  • This dialog box prompts the user to supply a label and a “Reason for Revision:” in the edit box.
  • the user selects “OK” the new version of the object officially becomes the current object, and the previously current object moves downward in the version tree as described in FIG. 47 . Selecting “Cancel” on this dialog box will result in the cancellation of the revision process.
  • the user has the option of checking the “Keep Objects Checked-Out” checkbox. If this is checked on when the user selects the “OK” button, the Checked-Out attribute of the new version of the object stays set. If the user does not select this checkbox, all locks to the objects are released after check-in, and the edit copy and time stamp associated with the object are deleted.
  • versions of the same object existing all at the same time (although not all in the IDA database).
  • versions include: the current offline image of the object; the current online image of the object; an online edit session image of the object; and multiple previous versions of the object (one of which may be the current online image of the object).
  • FIG. 50 (which reads chronologically from bottom to top) illustrates an object undergoing various edits, each edit establishing a new version of the original object.
  • the object is created (version 1.0), and is then downloaded (Download A) to the target, synchronizing the online image with the offline.
  • the user then makes a change to the object in an offline edit session, then performs a check-in, which creates version 2.0.
  • the online and the offline images are out of sync.
  • Another offline edit produces version 3.0, which is then downloaded to the target (Download B), and the images fall in sync again.
  • the online version is edited via an external process, which produces version 4.0 of the object.
  • an external process which produces version 4.0 of the object.
  • the external process is not aware that the object is going from version 3.0 to version 4.0—only that the objects are different.
  • a new version number is shown in FIG. 50 only to visually emphasize that the object has been modified.
  • an upload (Upload C) is performed.
  • the upload process actually places the object(s) in a temporary work file, and then changes which were done in the external process are manually inserted into a checked-out version of the same object which is in the user's workspace.
  • the newly-modified object is now checked-in to the offline database, and the two images are now back in synch with each other.
  • the merge operation is a manual process, which is represented by an offline edit which results in the creation of version 7.0 of the object.
  • the object is then downloaded again to the target (Download D), and the online and offline versions of the object are once again synchronized.
  • a feature of the IDA system is the ability to run the system locally on a computer, disconnected from the main IDA database. This feature is intended to allow users to continue configuration activities on computer systems temporarily disconnected from the main IDA database. Users can disconnect from IDA and continue configuring simply by making a copy of the entire IDA database onto their local drive, then disconnecting from the network. When the user begins a new IDA session, the temporary copy of the database will be opened.
  • Disconnected users can make changes concurrently with normally connected users, and may make changes which conflict with other users.
  • IDA may make changes which conflict with other users.
  • a merge operation of some type is effected. That merge operation results in new versions of the edited objects, and that the versions will all be associated with a single revision.
  • OID's object ID's
  • a macro language with a record macro feature, helps solve this problem.
  • the entire disconnected session is recorded as a single macro, and at reconnection time, that macro is played against the main IDA database.
  • Conflicts regarding the consistency of OID's can be minimized by using Globally Unique Identifiers (GUID's).
  • GUID is a 128-bit integer which is virtually guaranteed to be unique, and is based on the current date and time, an incremented counter, and a unique IEEE machine identifier.
  • the macro language is “smart” enough to assert that an object in the main IDA database is unchanged since the start of the disconnected session (e.g., by date), and handle the case where an object has changed. Similarly, the disconnected session playback stops when such a discrepancy is discovered, allowing the user to properly merge the change, and then continue on with the playback.
  • the user checks it out into their own personal workspace. This may either be done explicitly by the user, or implicitly.
  • an edit copy of the Parameterized Object (and its associated parameters) is created.
  • a temporary Edit Stamp containing the user ID of the user who checked-out the object is created, and associations made between the current version of the object, the Edit Stamp, and the edit copy of the object ( FIG. 51 ).
  • the Abstract Workspace class is used only to provide common data and/or methods to two specialized subclasses—the User Workspace, and the System Workspace. Being an abstract class, no instances of this class may exist.
  • the purpose of an instance of the Workspace class is to maintain a list of Parameterized Objects which are contained within it.
  • the User Workspace object one for each user in the IDA system, contains a list of all the objects which a user has checked out in their personal workspace.
  • the User Workspace object provides a mechanism by which other processes can obtain a list of objects which have been checked-out by other users, since these checked-out objects would otherwise not be visible to anyone but the user who has the object(s) checked-out.
  • the System Workspace object contains two lists: one of all the User Workspaces in the system, and one containing a reference to all objects in IDA which have been checked-in, but not yet downloaded to a target platform.
  • the second list is the one which will be referenced by the Download process developed by the Application group.
  • the System Workspace is visible from the System Hierarchy tree view. When “exploded”, the System Workspace will display a list of all the User Workspaces contained within it.
  • An instance of a Checked-Out Parameterized Object is that version of the object which has been checked out into a user's workspace for editing purposes. This version of the object does not exist until the first time an update transaction against the object is committed to the database.
  • an Edit Stamp object is created, containing the user-ID and a time stamp of the time of check-out. Until the object is checked-in, only the user with the same ID as the user-ID contained in the Edit Stamp will be permitted to see the edited version of the object. Other users will be able to see the current, or checked-in, version of the object.
  • the Edit Stamp is basically the user identification, and a time stamp which indicates the time that a check-out occurred to a Parameterized Object. Once the user has committed an object being edited back to the database, this information is recorded in a Revision object.
  • An instance of a Checked-In Parameterized Object is that version which corresponds to the last committed public version of the object. This version is the view that is open to the public whenever a Parameterized Object is extracted from the database.
  • a downloadable object which has been checked-in, but not yet downloaded to its target platform is in a state which needs to be made known to the application developer.
  • An object is deemed as being “downloadable” at the time it is created via its association to instances of the Object Type class.
  • a reference to these types of objects is added to the System Workspace object is added at check-in time. Downloadable objects associated with the System Workspace object are removed from the System Workspace once they have been successfully downloaded to their target platform.
  • the Previous Version of a Parameterized Object is that version which corresponds to the last previously committed public version of the object.
  • Each Parameterized Object is aware of it immediate ancestor, and its immediate descendant, in the “genealogy” hierarchy. Relationships are:
  • a Revision object contains data about who created the revision, a timestamp when the revision occurred, and the reason for the revision.
  • a Revision object also contains a text field explaining the nature of the revision. Relationships are that one Revision object exists for each version of each Parameterized Object in the database. Multiple Parameterized Objects can reference the same Revision object.
  • a Change Description object contains a description of the modification(s) made to an object in support of the associated Revision level. Relationships are that one Change Description object exists for each version of each Parameterized Object in the database. Change Descriptions are unique, and may not be applied to more than one Parameterized Object.
  • the Framework provides a utility to display that history, in a user interface similar to FIG. 52 .
  • the user needs to select the desired object from the combobox provided in the dialog box shown in FIG. 52 .
  • the version history associated with the object will appear in the scrolling listbox.
  • Each line in the listbox represents a different version of the object, with the modification (or revision label), e.g., ordered from new to old.
  • the user may select the “Compare” button and obtain a comparison between the two selected versions (see next section).
  • the user may obtain a report of the versioning displayed in the listbox by selecting the “Print” option, and obtain an output similar to that shown in FIG. 56 .
  • a utility is provided by the Framework which allows the user to compare two versions of the same object, or two versions of different objects, and obtain a report detailing those differences.
  • a sample user interface to perform this function is presented in FIG. 53 .
  • the differences between two versions of the same object is shown.
  • Each version's parameters are listed, along with the value for each parameter.
  • the “Next Diff” button the user is automatically advanced to the next difference between the two versions (either in parameter name or value). Differences between the two objects can be outlined (as shown), or appear in a different color. Although not shown in this example, to make this comparison easier, the parameters will probably need to be sorted alphabetically. Once the first difference is viewed, the user will be able to select the “Prev Diff” button in order to move to the previous difference between the two versions of the object.
  • the menu command(s) used to provide this functionality are based simply on the fact that two (or more) objects are selected in the configuration. If more than two objects are selected, a listbox could prompt the user to pick the two objects on which to run a comparison.
  • compaction consists of two distinctly different operations:
  • the Framework provides the user with a mechanism for baselining an IDA configuration.
  • the resulting revision and change information is captured, and each versionable object in the database is versioned with a common revision.
  • the information associated with baselining i.e. a common revision label
  • baselining can be extended to only selected objects, rather than the entire database. For example, a user may want to baseline all the objects associated with a certain plant section. In this scenario, the user selects the desired plant section in the Plant Hierarchy, and select “Baseline” from a right-mouse click, pulldown menu. After capturing the change and revision information, all the objects associated with the selected plant section would be automatically versioned with the baseline information.
  • the version control features described above are database operations—the entire history of all the changes done to each IDA configuration object is contained within the database. Archiving change history is done using vendor-provided backup utilities (e.g., for ODI's ObjectStore, the utility osbackup). These backups are meant to be special historical backups rather than the ones associated with normal day-to-day system operations.
  • vendor-provided backup utilities e.g., for ODI's ObjectStore, the utility osbackup.
  • a playback macro is archived at the same time that the configuration is archived, and a new macro initialized to an empty state in preparation for ongoing changes to the now-archived database.
  • the playback macro of a database represents the total changes which occurred to a configuration from one historical archive to the next.
  • a rollback provides database auditors with a means of viewing the database at a particular date and time. There are at least three ways in which some degree of rollback can be accomplished, all of which create the rolled-back version of the database separately from the current offline database for obvious reasons.
  • a utility which allows the user to produce an audit trail detailing the changes and/or revisions which have occurred on selected objects over a period time.
  • the functionality of producing an audit trail lists the individual changes which have been recorded from one version of the object to the next. The process would begin with the oldest version of each selected object, and traverses the version tree of the object, output the change records associated with each succeeding version. The resulting report could appear as FIG. 56 .
  • the information of interest includes the version number, the date that each version was made, who made the version, the nature of the modification (change), and the reason for the modification (revision).
  • a modification of this report (or interface) suffices for any audit trail requirements which have been imposed on IDA. If this is the case, then the audit trail for any object(s) can be produced on demand, rather than kept up-to-date everytime a modification to an object is made.
  • the Framework provides a basic Undo/Redo capability in the form of an Undo Manager for IDA application developers.
  • the Undo Manager enables multi-level undo and redo operations for actions which have been defined for each object by the application developer. Each developer is responsible for creating the undo units (i.e. actions) which mean something to the object. Undo units may be nested hierarchically (i.e., undo units can contain other undo units), resulting in a parent undo unit. This allows complex operations such as a change on a multiple selection to be treated as a single undoable action.
  • the Undo Manager provides a centralized undo/redo service, managing both simple and parent undo units on the undo and redo stacks.
  • Undo units are typically created in response to actions taken by the end user, or a programmatic function which is simulating a user-generated action.
  • an object's state changes, it creates an undo unit encapsulating all the information it needs to undo that change.
  • the object then calls methods within the undo manager to place the corresponding undo units on the stack.
  • the Undo Manager then has all the data it needs to support the undo/redo user interface.
  • the Undo Manager manages two stacks, the undo and redo stacks, each of which is a repository for undo units generated by application software. When an object's state changes, it creates an undo unit encapsulating all the information necessary to undo that change, and passes it to the Undo Manager. The Undo Manager, depending upon what state it's in, will place the undo unit on the undo or the redo stack, as appropriate.
  • the Undo Manager takes the top unit off the undo stack, invokes it, then discards it.
  • the Undo Manager take the top unit off the redo stack, invokes it, then discards it.
  • the Undo Manager has three states: the base state, the undo state, and the redo state. It begins in the base state. To perform an action from the undo stack, it puts itself in the undo state, invokes the action, then returns to the base state. To perform an action from the redo stack, it puts itself in the redo state, invokes the action, then returns to the base state. If the Undo Manager receives a new undo unit while in the base state, it places the unit on the top of the undo stack, and empties the redo stack. If it receives one while in the undo state, it puts incoming units on the redo stack. Finally, if it receives a new unit while in the redo state, it places them on top of the undo stack without flushing the redo stack.
  • the object model depicted in FIG. 57 shows a subclass of the Undo Manager (the IDA Undo Manager). This subclass extends the Undo Manager to be aware of the current modification state of the MFC document which the instance of the Undo Manager is associated with. Depending upon the state of the Undo Manager, the modified state of the document may need to be changed programmatically. For example, if the user performs Undo and empties the undo stack, essentially no changes have been performed to the configuration. The document associated with the application, however, is not aware of that, and will continue to indicate a modified state unless reset.
  • An Undo Unit encapsulates the information necessary to undo (or redo) a single action. Its principal methods are Do( ) and GetDescription( ).
  • the Do( ) method implements the actual undo (or redo) operation. Calling Do( ) on an undo unit in the undo stack creates a corresponding (inverse) object on the redo stack, and vice versa.
  • the GetDescription( ) method returns a description of the unit, used to edit menu text (e.g., Undo Color Change, etc. . . . ).
  • a Simple Undo Unit contains the information to undo a single operation, such as creating or moving an object.
  • Simple Undo Units preferably do not change the state of any object if they return failure. This includes the state of the redo stack (or undo stack if performing a redo). They are also used to put a corresponding unit on the redo (or undo) stack if they succeed.
  • a Parent Undo Unit can also contain other Undo Units. This becomes useful when the user performs a complex action, yet perceives it as a single action. For example, the user might select several objects on the screen all at one time, and move them as a group to some other location. To support an undo of this type of behavior, the Undo Manager preferably has a single undo unit which encapsulates all the actions of all these objects.
  • the Parent Undo Unit has two methods, Open( ) and Close( ) which provide the encapsulation. Simple Undo Units are added to parents by an Add( ) method. Parent units are added through Open( ), which leaves the unit open. In this way, Parent Undo Units keep simple ordered lists of child units. Each Parent Undo Unit is responsible for managing the child units it receives through the Open( ) or Add( ).
  • Parent Undo Units preferably do not change the state of any object if they return failure.
  • the parent unit if one or more children succeeded prior to another child's failure, the parent unit preferably commits its corresponding unit on the redo stack, and return the failure to its parent. If no children succeeded, then the parent unit only has to commit its redo unit only if a state change has been made which needs to be rolled back.
  • the Framework provides security functions to allow users and other personnel to restrict access to objects which need to be protected from unauthorized modification or access.
  • User-level security is optional, and is disabled by default.
  • Implementation-standard security restricts modification of implementation-standard standard objects (such as standard I/A Block definitions) to authorized personnel, and is preferably always enabled.
  • the security functions provide authentication by presenting a log-in dialog requesting a user name and password when a user starts any IDA application.
  • access control is provided by assigning users to groups which have various access permissions (read, write, create, etc.). Groups are based on roles, such as Process Engineer or Advanced Operator, and users can assume multiple roles by being assigned to multiple groups. Implementation-standard default groups and permissions are provided, but users can create their own groups, and can modify the permissions of the default groups. Permissions are assigned by object type (such as Loops) and by Plant Area (such as East Plant Section). This provides selective access by geographic area.
  • a switch user/group function is also provided which allows users to assume a subset of their permissions or allows another user to temporarily log-in. Users use this function to assume a more restrictive set of permissions to ensure that they do not make an inadvertent change if they were only interested in viewing configuration data.
  • the ability to temporarily log-in would be used to allow a supervisor to assist another user in making changes which may require special access permission to an existing configuration work space, and then return control to the original user.
  • the Framework supplies user interface dialogs to allow developers to register objects and permissions to assign permissions to the default groups.
  • the Framework also supplies an API to allow the various configurator applications to check for access permission before responding to access requests for objects they control. A consistent “access-denied” mechanism will be provided to advise the application of a security access violation.
  • IDA uses a security system to control access to configuration objects by users. Given a particular user and a particular object, the security system determines what permissions the user has (e.g. read, write) with respect to the object.
  • the security object model is depicted in FIG. 58 .
  • the Group object is used to categorize Users, with many instances of Users belonging to the same Group object (e.g., Operator, Engineer, etc.). These broad categories are each associated with a specific set of permissions. These permissions pertain to various areas throughout the plant, as well as to object types within the plant.
  • Groups may form a hierarchy, and contain other Groups (e.g., Test Operator within the Operator Group). However, an instance of a Group can only be contained by one, and only one, other Group. For example, the Test Operator group could be in the Operator group, but not also in the Engineer group. Each Group has permissions of its containing Group, and may add additional permissions. See “Users and Groups Example” in FIG. 59 .
  • Members of a Group can have permissions objects via the object's association to instances of the Process Area and Object Type classes.
  • the group preferably has that permission to both the Process Area, and the Object Type. If the object is not assignable to a Process Area, then the group only needs type permission against the object in order to access it.
  • a User object is someone who initiates an Edit session using a unique identifier. This identifier is captured from within the Framework in order to determine security permissions.
  • a User preferably belongs to at least one Group.
  • a User may belong to more than one Group, limited only by the number of Groups defined in the system.
  • the groups which a User belongs to at any point in time is referred to as the Active Group Set.
  • the Active Group Set will be used for determining permissions.
  • the permissions which a User has at a specific point in time are determined by the sum of the permissions of all the Groups within the Active Group Set.
  • a User can change groups at any time, but only to groups within the set which have been defined for him in the Group hierarchy. Summarizing relationships:
  • a Group can only be in one other Group, so that for example, Test Operators could not appear more than once in the hierarchy.
  • the group “PE Administrator” has all of the permissions of “Process Engineer”, and may have additional permissions. Note that user “User X” belongs to both the “Process Engineer” and “Advanced Operators” groups.
  • Process Area objects can contain other Process Area objects, and they can be associated with one or more configurable objects which are capable of being assigned to that Process Area. Examples of such configurable objects are Loops and Compounds.
  • Each instance of a Process Area object has permissions of its containing Process Area, and may add additional permissions.
  • Objects may be indirectly associated with a Process Area.
  • a Block may be associated with a specific Process Area as the result of being part of a Loop or Compound associated with that area. The ramifications of this on the design needs to be explored further.
  • the Area Permission class is used to restrict a user's access to an object by considering where the object resides in the plant hierarchy.
  • Area Permission objects allow system administrators to set user access permission to the objects assigned to Process Areas by groups that the user belongs to.
  • Area Permission objects contain a reference to the permission in the permission hierarchy for the indicated Group/Process Area object pair. Summarizing relationships:
  • An Assignable Object is an instance of an object associated with an Object Type (refer to object model depicted in FIG. 13 ) capable of being assigned to a Process Area.
  • One or more instances of Assignable Object may be assigned to the same Process Area object.
  • Objects associated with an instance of the Object Type class are deemed “assignable” when they are created.
  • Access to an Assignable Object is dictated first by the user's group access to the object's type, then by the user's group access to the Process Area object which the object has been assigned to. Summarizing relationships:
  • FIG. 60 depicts the hierarchical relationships between instances of Process Areas, and Assignable Objects.
  • Object Type Permission classes control access to objects by considering what type they are.
  • Object Type Permission objects allow system administrators to set user access permissions to the object types by groups that the user belongs to.
  • Object Type Permission objects contain a reference to the permission in the permission hierarchy for the indicated Group/Object Type pair. Summarizing relationships:
  • Permissions (both Process Area and Object Type Permissions) for IDA form a hierarchy defined by static data within IDA, and not allowed to be changed by the user ( FIG. 61 ). General read and write permissions will need to be more fine grained than simply read vs. write. Permissions stated in the Process Area Permissions and Object Type Permissions objects are stated in terms of one of the higher entries in the hierarchy, but can be as fine grained as needs dictate.
  • Download permission governs who is allowed to download configuration data to the targeted I/A system.
  • the download is the process by which edited configuration information gets transferred to the target.
  • a download permission is a special case of IDA security—although effectively it is only an IDA database read, the fact that it affects a running target makes it special.
  • download permissions may be set on an object type basis, and/or on process areas.
  • a mechanism by which a user can switch groups is provided in IDA.
  • the mechanism allows a user to perform the majority of his daily operations with a default minimal security setting, then switch to a more restrictive security setting by changing the Active Group Set they are currently associated with.
  • Another mechanism allows the user to switch user ID's. This is accomplished by the same mechanism described above.
  • the mechanism would also allow a supervisor to temporarily “log-in” to a user's session, perform a restricted operation, then “log-out” and return security (and user ID) to its previous settings.
  • a simple dialog box like the one presented in FIG. 62 is provided to perform this switching.
  • the first property page presented in FIG. 63 represents a way in which the security administrator manage Groups.
  • the existing Group structure is placed into a type of tree hierarchy control, which is imploded/exploded as necessary to gain an entry point into the Group hierarchy.
  • To add a new Group the administrator finds the proper spot in the control where the new Group could be inserted, and press “New Group”.
  • a dialog box pops up, prompting the administrator for information to create a new Group.
  • the new Group is displayed at the proper point in the hierarchy.
  • a Group automatically inherits all Object Type and Area Permissions associated with its root Group.
  • the security administrator presses the “New User” button, and a dialog box (also not shown) pops up, prompting the administrator for any information IDA requires to establish a User.
  • This information contains the User's name, password, and possibly some other information which is needed for adminstrative purposes by IDA.
  • the new User Upon exiting the dialog, the new User will have been established as a valid User within the IDA administrative system, but not yet assigned to a specific Group (or Groups).
  • the administrator would select the “Users” tab on the property sheet.
  • the administrator is able to select the User from the combobox depicted by “User ID”. Once the User was selected, the administrator would be able to modify their password and/or description in the edit fields provided, and pick the Group(s) that the User would need to be associated with.
  • the following property page shown in FIG. 65 represents a method by which Group access, or permission, could be given to specific Object Types.
  • the administrator picks the Group and Object Type to be “linked” together via a permission, then picks from a list of available permissions all those which apply for this Group.
  • the mechanism allows for permissions to be added, as well as deleted. Permissions can be established at any level in the Permission Hierarchy, since the Permission Hierarchy is allowed to be as fine-grained as necessary for the customer's unique requirements.
  • the property page shown in FIG. 66 represents a way in which the security administrator manages Process Areas.
  • the existing Process Area hierarchy are placed into a type of tree hierarchy control, which is imploded/exploded as necessary to determine an entry point into the Process Area Hierarchy.
  • the administrator would find the proper spot in the control where the new area is to be inserted, and press “New Area”.
  • a dialog box (not shown) pops up, prompting the administrator for information to create a new Process Area.
  • the new Process Area is displayed at the proper point in the hierarchy.
  • a Process Area When a Process Area is first created, it will automatically inherit all Assignable Objects, and Area Permissions associated with its root Area.
  • the following property page in FIG. 67 represents a method by which Group access, or permission, could be given to specific Process Areas.
  • the administrator picks the Process Area and Group to be “linked” together via a set of permissions, then picks from a list of available permissions all those which apply for this Process Area/Group combination.
  • Permissions can be established at any level in the Permission Hierarchy, since the Permission Hierarchy is allowed to be as fine-grained as necessary for the customer's unique requirements.
  • a User Authentication Service This service is responsible for providing the security service with the identity of an authorized user of the IDA system.
  • the authentication service is responsible for providing the application's security mechanism with the name of an authorized user. Whenever the security system needs to evaluate a user's permissions to an object, it will ask the authentication service for the name of the user. The first time this happens, the authentication service queries the operating system for the name of the user, and responds with the name of that user. The name is then cached for use in later calls.
  • Another implementation results in the user being presented with a “login” dialog box asking for a username/password combination the first time the authentication service is asked for the name of the user. Again, the user's name, once captured and verified, is cached for later use. This implementation is desirable in certain I/A installations in which all users commonly log-in as “root” or “administrator”, making an operating system query for the name of the user meaningless.
  • the Project Manager is the navigator's view into the project database. It allows the user to browse through the project configuration hierarchies and data.
  • the GUI interface is similar to the Microsoft Explorer's look and feel.
  • the Framework described in Part 1 provides a common Project Manager navigational capability. This section describes the functionality specific for Control Algorithm Configuration.
  • FIG. 68 shows the Navigation Manager's System Tree View.
  • the Components item holds the main items involved in control configuration: Control Levels (shown as compounds in the figure), Control Algorithm Diagrams (shown as Loops in the figure), and processors.
  • the Control Algorithm Diagram Editor supports adding and connecting blocks to specify control algorithms. Blocks are only created through Control Algorithm Diagrams. The blocks in a Control Algorithm Diagram must preferably be assigned to a Control Level. A default Control Level may be set for a Control Algorithm Diagram, setting all blocks in the diagram to that level. However, blocks may be reassigned to any Control Level.
  • Control processors execute the control applications created by the users.
  • the blocks specifying the control application are contained within the control processor in Control Levels.
  • the Control Levels are assigned to Control Processors.
  • Control Levels act as a logically named container for control applications. Within control processors, the control algorithm blocks are contained in Control Levels.
  • the control levels provide a hierarchy structure following the IAS S88 standard. This standard defines seven levels of plant hierarchy with each level serving as a logical container for the next lower level.
  • the control naming hierarchy implemented by IAS does not address the top two levels of the ISA S88 hierarchy.
  • the control hierarchy begins with the “Area”.
  • the implementation defines three additional levels: blocks, parameters, and attributes.
  • Every level of the naming hierarchy may contain blocks. There is no restriction that only the “Control Module” level contains blocks.
  • a second set of rules specify the relationships to control stations:
  • the levels in a control hierarchy are not only divisible between control stations in a child relationship; they can also be divided among parent control stations:
  • All of the blocks contained by a level preferably execute in the same control station.
  • All used levels are preferably assigned to a control station
  • Area2 is not assigned to any control station, this is illegal
  • the Block Definition Editor allows control blocks and their parameters to be defined for use on IAS. Through the editor, users create entirely new block definitions or derive new blocks from existing definitions. Only blocks derived from implementation standard control blocks download to control stations. User-defined blocks also appear in the list of defined blocks when viewed with this or the Control Algorithm Diagram Editor, but are not installed into a control station. This list contains only single Block definitions; no Composite Block Definitions appear.
  • FIG. 69 shows the main display for the Block Definition Editor.
  • the user is presented with the Project Manager tree branch representing the hierarchy of block definitions. All block definitions derived from the base types show as lower branches in the tree.
  • a grid view shows the parameters for each block. Each row is a block parameter with the columns representing the parameter attributes. The attribute values for each parameter can be modified by the user. However, some inherited parameters cannot be overridden in the derived block definition: parameter name, value type, etc. Values that are overridden are displayed differently from those defined in the local block definition or in the parent block definition. Both the tree and grid views are based on Framework supplied editor classes.
  • Definitions for derived blocks can add parameters or modify the attributes of inherited parameters, but inherited parameters cannot be removed. Blocks are derived from exactly one other block definition.
  • This block set is part of IDA.
  • Personnel with the appropriate security permissions can add, modify and remove any parameters when creating the standard set of IAS blocks. Users can add parameters to definitions derived from these standard block definitions or create new “base” block definitions (not derived from an IAS block type).
  • the first four rows in FIG. 69 show examples of user-added parameters in the Block Definition for block AIN2. These parameters are available for documentation and calculation purposes only, but are not downloaded into running control stations.
  • Control parameters are those downloaded to Control Processors and participate in the running of the control system, such as parameters associated with the standard control block types AIN, PID, AOUT, etc.
  • Non-control parameters can be used for calculations, documentation, etc. and are not downloaded to the CP. Normal users can only add non-control parameters, only authorized personnel (e.g., engineers) can add control parameters.
  • Each parameter in a block definition contains a fixed set of predefined attributes. Values can be given to all of these attributes in the block definition where the parameter is defined. A subset of these parameter attribute values can be changed in derived blocks, which results in the creation of a parameter override object being created.
  • the value of a parameter can be defined in two ways—by setting the “value” attribute to a constant value or by setting the “formula” attribute to a formula.
  • “value” attribute of a parameter users can supply constant default values for parameters in block definitions. If a formula is supplied, the result of the formula calculation is used as the parameter value. These formulas are executed when the value of the parameter is requested.
  • Formulas can consist of references to other parameters in the current block, mathematical operations, etc.
  • Modifier Block Definitions are defined in a manner identical to that of Block Definitions.
  • references to other parameters in formulas are not restricted to existing parameters. See Part 1 for a detailed description of modifier blocks.
  • Parameter groups can be defined to contain any or all parameters defined in the local definition or parent definitions. Parameter groups correspond to the tabs on the Block Property sheet display.
  • the parameter group definition contains information on ordering for parameters contained in the group. All parameters are contained in at least one parameter group, but can be assigned to multiple groups. The user can select the group(s) to which each parameter belongs. Versioning of blocks is supported via standard versioning features supplied by the Framework classes. Each time a block definition is changed, the block version is incremented. This data is used for reporting and tracking of block definition history.
  • a security mechanism is used to verify that the user has privileges to edit the selected block. No customer will have privileges to edit implementation-standard block definitions. These defined blocks can be derived from, but not changed. Reports can be generated on block definitions, changes in the current edit session, and audit trails. The report for changes between versions is helpful internally to facilitate version upgrades to customer systems.
  • Block definitions follow the basic paradigm defined for Parameterized Objects.
  • Block definitions contain lists of parameter definitions and overrides and maintain a pointer to their parent definition.
  • Block definitions can be “base” definitions—those with no parent definitions, or “derived” definitions—those that inherit parameter definitions and overrides from a parent block definition.
  • control blocks The implementation includes a set of base definitions that correspond to control algorithms in Control Processors, called control blocks. Users can derive definitions from this set or create their own base definitions that do not correspond to Control algorithms, called non-control blocks. Only block definitions derived from control blocks will be downloaded into a CP when instantiated in a running system.
  • Block parameter definitions consist of a standard, framework defined set of attributes.
  • the attributes of name and type compose the basic definition for a parameter.
  • Other attributes such as default value, limits, description, etc. all contribute to the definition and can be overridden in derived block definitions.
  • Block parameter definitions contain attributes which indicate whether it is a control or non-control parameter.
  • Control parameters are those recognized by the control algorithms in Control Processors. Only implementation standard blocks can contain control parameters. Non-control parameters can be used for calculation or documentation purposes and do not get downloaded into a CP when they are part of a compound in a running system.
  • Blocks like PLB and Sequence have parameters which are not standard parameter types such as string, float, int, etc. but contain compiled ladder or sequence code.
  • Block parameter overrides can modify a value or attribute of an inherited parameter definition.
  • any attribute modifications which are made to inherited parameters are stored in the current block definition as an override. Overrides are cumulative. Overrides which appear in a parent apply to derived block definitions as well.
  • a Block Definition Container provides a grouping mechanism for all block definitions. Separate containers exist for block definitions, modifier blocks, and user work areas for block definitions. At system installation time, the single block definition container for system block definitions is created. Users can create other containers for working copies of block definitions.
  • a Block Definition Container provides a mechanism for iterating over all of the definitions it contains. This feature is inherited from the standard Parameterized Object Container. Additional iteration methods are supplied by this class to report on block definitions alphabetically or hierarchically.
  • Block Definition Containers take many forms: nodes of the Project Manager “System” hierarchy which are used to hold Block Definitions, palettes of Block Definitions for use in the Control Algorithm Diagram Editor, and others. Class Relationships:
  • a Modifier Block Definition is a block definition. It can contain parameters exactly like a standard block definition. Derived modifier blocks can override parameter attributes from parent modifier blocks. A modifier block instance can be contained in a loop or composite block just like any other block, but does not behave in the same manner. All parameters in a modifier block instance override parameters matching by name in the block to which it is attached. Modifier block definitions, however remain identical to block definitions.
  • a Modifier Block can contain formulas which reference parameters not necessarily defined in the Modifier Block. Like Block Definitions, the calculations are executed whenever the value of the calculated parameter is requested.
  • a Parameter Group Definition maintains parameter grouping information to allow reporting or displaying parameters by selective groupings.
  • Standard parameter groupings such as Input/output, High/Low Alarms, Tuning
  • Users can add their own groupings but are not allowed to change the standard groupings.
  • the Control Algorithm Editor is the single editor for all Control Algorithm related work. With this editor, the user can graphically create and edit Loop Templates, Simple Loops, Composite Block Definitions, Blocks and Connections. The user can also view and edit some properties of Composite Blocks and Template-Derived Loops. Composite Blocks and Template-Derived Loops are shown graphically based on their definition or template.
  • FIG. 71 shows a single Simple Loop in the Control Algorithm Editor. All control algorithm diagrams graphical views look similar to this display, allowing new Blocks to be added by dragging and dropping from a palette of available Blocks and positioning and connecting Blocks through mouse actions.
  • the block or blocks which compose a loop or Composite Block are displayed in the center of the display. Modifier blocks which are applied to individual are shown in the center with arrows indicating which blocks they are modifying (ModType1). Modifier Blocks which apply to the entire Loop or Composite Block are shown attached to the drawing boundary (ModType2 and ModType2).
  • Loop Templates define the blocks, block parameters, internal connections, and connections to external hardware points (Tags) for a loop. Any defined block or Composite Block type can be inserted into a Loop Template.
  • the user is prompted to download all of the derived loops. Changes made to the Loop Template are automatically inherited by the derived Loops, since the Template is referenced whenever the derived Loops are accessed for display or download.
  • the user defines any parameter values or connections for the loop and connects the externally exposed block source and sink parameters to I/O Blocks.
  • the placeholder I/O Block attributes (Name, type, enclosure, etc.) are assigned values. Tags are then assigned to connections made within the I/O Block.
  • the I/O Block Placeholders serve to group Tag List Row Placeholders associated with the same I/O device (FBM).
  • FBM I/O device
  • Template-Derived Loops are loops which are instantiated from Loop Templates. Individual block parameters and connections to I/O hardware devices can be customized in each separate instantiation. When instantiated, the user assigns the loop to a compound, assigns “real” block names, connects the I/O points to actual tags, and modifies values of parameters in the loop. This is either done manually or via the Loop generation function of the Tag List Editor. Any changes made to information specified in the Loop Template (Blocks included in the Loop, internal Block connections, etc.) result in the user being prompted to convert the Loop to a Simple Loop, which will result in breaking the link to the Loop Template. Parameters for Blocks in a Template-Derived Loop can only be modified if they have been exposed as Loop parameters, as described below.
  • Simple Loops are loops which have no template. They are edited nearly identically to Loop Templates but can be created in the context of a compound and assigned to “real” blocks and I/O Blocks.
  • Composite Block Definitions define the blocks, block parameters, internal connections, and externally exposed connection points for a Composite Block, as shown in FIG. 72 .
  • a Composite Block When a Composite Block is instantiated, it maintains an association with its defining Composite Block Definition. Individual block parameter values can then be modified, or “overridden”, in the Composite Block instance.
  • a Composite Block Definition is preferably used for every instance of a Composite Block.
  • the user assigns block parameter value overrides and connections within the Composite Block.
  • Composite Blocks are instances of Composite Block Definitions. They can be used like standard blocks in anything which can contain blocks. (Loops, Composite Blocks, etc.) Users cannot modify the defined values or connections within the Composite Blocks unless the parameters have been exposed by the Composite Block Definition. Users modify and connect to or from the exposed parameters of the Composite Block, similar to other Blocks. The exposed parameters can be edited on a loop sheet via the parameter property sheet like the parameters of any standard Block.
  • FIG. 73 shows an instance of a Composite Block in a loop diagram. Some exposed parameters for internal blocks are shown like parameters for any standard block.
  • FIG. 74 shows the same loop diagram with the Composite Block expanded in-place to show its internal structure. While Composite Block internals can be viewed this way on a Loop drawing, they cannot be edited. Any attempt to add, delete, or manipulate the Blocks within the Composite Block outline results in the user being prompted to invoke the Composite Block Definition editor view.
  • Control Algorithm Diagram objects can be stored in the user's workspace or the appropriate branch of the System tree.
  • Simple Loops, Template-Derived Loops and Composite Blocks can be created in the context of a Compound.
  • Composite Blocks and Composite Block definitions define groups of blocks, connections between them and specific values for the contained block parameters. Simple Loops, Loop Templates and Template-Derived Loops extend this to connect the blocks to external I/O points, represented by an I/O Block.
  • Blocks and Connections for standalone blocks in compounds can be made with this editor.
  • the user can edit parameter values and make connections to other standalone blocks graphically as shown in FIG. 75 .
  • Blocks containing parameters which supply inputs to the current block appear in the left margin and blocks containing parameters receiving outputs appear in the right margin. Only blocks not associated with Loops or Composite Blocks can be edited in this manner.
  • Placeholder holds information about the geometry, placement, and size of the visual block representation.
  • the placement of the object is user-modifiable.
  • the basic appearance, geometry and size information for an object is maintained in the user-definable Appearance object.
  • the object's Placeholder maintains a reference to its Appearance object. From this representation of a block, the user can access parameter and connection information or navigate to other loops, composite blocks or blocks by accessing the block's context menu.
  • Context menus contain unique functions depending on the object on which they are invoked. For example, the user has the option to edit connections, parameters, block information, etc.
  • the default double-click function for the Compound/block name section is to prompt for new Compound and Block Names.
  • the default function for the source/sink parameters sections is to bring up a connection dialog.
  • the default action is to select parameters displayed from a list of block parameters.
  • the default action for the center of a block is to bring up the block's Property Sheet.
  • FIG. 76 shows a typical block on a graphical display.
  • the type of the block is displayed in the center in a larger font than any other in the block for easy viewing.
  • the optional compound name and block name appear at the top in a medium font.
  • Sink parameters are shown on the left, source parameters on the right. Parameter values that the creator of the diagram have considered to be relevant to the drawing appear at the bottom.
  • the block is automatically resized.
  • Parameters are selected for display from a list presented in a dialog. Internally, these parameter selections are stored with the Placeholder, probably as part of the Appearance Definition. See Part 1 for a more complete discussion of Placeholders and related objects.
  • Composite Blocks have additional functionality which allows them to be expanded in place on a control algorithm diagram.
  • Composite Blocks can expand to show the internal block representation in a trimmed-down view of the actual Composite Block diagram. The expanded view is shown outlined, to still denote the original Block, as shown in FIG. 74 .
  • the Control Algorithm Diagram Editor has the ability to generate a default graphical representation of a Template-Derived Loop or Composite Block. When loops are automatically generated via the Tag List Editor, for example, the Loop is created, but the graphical representation is not. When the Loop is first printed or displayed, a default representation is created.
  • All objects on the diagram are “active.” Each area of an object has a context which is used for displaying popup menus.
  • the default action for the block type area is to show the property sheet for the block.
  • the default action for the relevant block parameters area is to bring up a list of parameters available to be displayed there. Clicking and dragging from within one of the sink or source areas to another blocks source or sink generates a new connection. If the parameters to be connected are exposed on the Block Placeholders, the connection can be made directly. If the parameters to be connected are not shown on the Placeholders, the user can invoke a connection dialog.
  • FIG. 77 users can connect Block parameters in Simple Loops and Template-Derived Loops to parameters in other Blocks in the loop, parameters in blocks outside of the loop, I/O points from a Tag List, or “expose” the parameter as a tuning parameter of the loop.
  • the connection definition portion of the Connection Dialog looks like FIG. 78 . Users can only make internal connections or expose parameters as tuning parameters for templates and definitions.
  • FIG. 79 shows the connection definition portion of the dialog when the user has decided to expose a parameter as a tuning parameter or for external connection for a Composite Block.
  • Connections between blocks and their respective source and sink parameters are indicated with arrows from source to sink parameter. External connections are displayed in the margins—inputs to the Loop, Block, or Composite Block are to the left and outputs are to the right. Connections to and from these blocks and placeholders are indicated in the same manner as internal connections. Connections to Blocks outside the loop or “exposed” parameters in Composite Blocks and Loop Templates are shown as Connections that come out of a Block Placeholder and terminate at a label a short distance from the point of origin. This label then appears in a table at the lower corner of the screen. Inputs are in a table in the lower left, outputs in the lower right.
  • Blocks in the input and output margins can be reordered or moved between margins.
  • Blocks, Loops, and Composite Blocks can be assigned to Compounds and downloaded via main menu or context menu picks on the individual blocks. Users may select “Edit Parameters . . . ” from the context menu of any block. This brings up the property sheet for the block as shown in FIG. 70 . From the Parameter Property Sheet, the user can modify values for the Parameters of the selected Block. For Composite Blocks and Template-derived Loops, the user is presented with a dialog like that in FIG. 81 .
  • the pull-down list box shown on the Composite Block Property sheet is a shortcut to navigate to all the internal Block parameters which are exposed.
  • An alternative to this approach is to group all the exposed parameters onto separate Property sheet pages, grouped by Block.
  • the pull-down menu is also useful to incorporate in the Property sheet for Simple Loops, as a shortcut to access Block parameters without having to navigate the Loop drawing.
  • Block Parameters In addition to entering constant values, the user can enter formulas for Block Parameters to be calculated based on other Parameters, Tags, Connections, etc. as shown in FIG. 82 . Refer to the discussion of this document on Smart Blocks for a more detailed description of these formulas.
  • Control Algorithm Diagram Editor The following sections describe functions that are implemented by the Control Algorithm Diagram Editor. Most graphical functions apply to all of the visual block/connection type objects which can be configured. Functions specific to the object being edited are in their respective sections.
  • FIG. 83 shows the basic control objects and the Framework objects from which they are derived. These objects are shown in greater detail in later figures. Note that the I/O Block described in these sections is actually a Tag List Row, as described in the Tag List Editor section of this document.
  • Modifier Block Definitions, Composite Block Definitions, and Loop Templates are unique definitions in that unlike Block Definitions, other definitions cannot be derived from these objects. If a user wants to create a variant of these definitions, this can be done by copying the definition and then modifying the copy.
  • Block is the foundation for all control on the IAS system. All of the control structures defined in this editor are based on Blocks and collections of Blocks.
  • a Block is a container for Parameters. Each of these parameters has a type (float, string, integer, etc.) and attributes (connectable, high range, low range, length, etc.) which define the range of values it can contain. These parameters can also be connected to parameters in the same block or any other block in the system via the Source Endpoint and Sink Endpoint lists. Each Endpoint object represents a parameter in the current block. A single parameter can be the source for many other parameters, but may only be a sink of one parameter. Therefore, only one Sink Endpoint may exist for each parameter while many Source Endpoints can exist for each parameter.
  • Blocks must preferably have a definition.
  • a Block Definition defines the set of parameters names, types, attributes and values for a block.
  • the set of parameters defines the block type. See Part 1 for a detailed description of Parameters, Parameter Definitions, and Parameter Overrides.
  • the Block Definition can be a simple Block Definition, a derived Block Definition or a Block Instance. In any case, the Block contains a list of Parameter Overrides which override the default values in the definitions.
  • Modifier Blocks contain a list of Modifier Blocks which are applied to them.
  • Modifier Blocks contain a list of parameter values. For any parameter values in the Modifier Block which have matching names, the values in the Modifier Block override the values in the Block.
  • Block's parameter values are needed, they are determined by the following algorithm. For each parameter defined in any parent Block Definition, all Modifier Blocks are searched for matching parameter names. If there is a match, the value is used. Otherwise, the heritage tree is searched for any overrides or default values. The exact logic is encapsulated into Parameters, described in the Part 1. If the root Block Definition for this Block is defined as an implementation standard Control Block, the control parameter values then can get installed to a IAS control station.
  • Blocks can be contained in Compounds, Loop Templates, Simple Loops, and Composite Block Definitions. Blocks are not actually contained, but logically contained in Composite Blocks and Template-Derived Loops by way of their parent definitions or templates. Blocks which are in Template-Derived Loops, Simple Loops, Composite Blocks, or single Blocks can be assigned to a Compound in an IAS system. When Blocks are installed, they are then contained by both the loop or composite block to which they belong and the Compound to which they are assigned.
  • Blocks contain lists of Source Endpoints, Sink Endpoints, Parameter Overrides, and Modifier Blocks. All of these lists and their handling are inherited from Parameterized Object.
  • the list of Modifier Blocks inherited is a Parameterized Object list, Block enforces that only Modifier Blocks are placed in that list.
  • Blocks are capable of interacting with the IAS via its application programming interface (FoxAPI) and the DB Installer. When a block is told to download or upload to/from a CP, it establishes a connection to the CP and performs the requested function. When viewing live data on a loop diagram in the future, the Block will be capable of creating an list via FoxAPI and retrieving live values for displayed parameters and connections.
  • FoxAPI application programming interface
  • Block and Block Definition are derived from Parameterized Object to take advantage of the services provided by that class.
  • Block and Block Definition are separate classes because they perform different roles in the Control Algorithm Diagram object model.
  • Block Definitions are static objects, which cannot be downloaded, can contain definitions of Parameters and Overrides, and can only reside in the Block Definition portion of the database. Blocks can be downloaded, can only contain Overrides, and reside in the Project portion of the database.
  • a Modifier Block is an object that modifies all matching parameters in an associated Block or block collection object. Whenever an object needs to reply to a request for parameter values, any associated Modifier Block parameter values override Block values and Block Definition default values. Handling of the Parameter Values is managed by the inherited Block class. No Source Endpoints or Sink Endpoints are used by Modifier Block. Connections cannot be made to parameters in a Modifier Block.
  • Modifier Blocks have definitions which give each Modifier Block its type.
  • Modifier Block maintains a reference to its parent definition. This mechanism is identical to that of the Block object.
  • Modifier Blocks can be attached to all types of block collection objects, but do not appear in Compounds. They contain parameters but do not get downloaded like other Block types.
  • the Modifier Block parameters apply to the matching parameters of all Blocks or block collections which contain it.
  • Modifier Blocks do not apply Parameter Overrides to Blocks within Composite Blocks or Template-Derived Loops. Parameters are preferably be exposed for Modifier Blocks to affect Parameters in Blocks inside the Composite Block or Loop. Parameter values for a block are determined by looking at related objects in the following order:
  • FIG. 86 presents a Simple Loop containing a Composite Block with several Modifier Blocks. Three scenarios are presented for the configuration.
  • Composite Block Definition is a Parameterized Object Collection derivative.
  • Composite Block Definition provides the common functionality for all objects that contain collections of Block objects: Composite Block Definitions, Loop Templates, and Simple Loops. It is an extension of the Parameterized Object Collection class which restricts the Parameterized Objects it contains to objects derived from the Block class.
  • Composite Block Definition inherits from Parameterized Object Collection the ability to manage Parameterized Objects, (in this case, Blocks) its own parameters, (a Parameterized Object Collection is a Parameterized Object) attached Modifier Blocks, and its Connection Endpoints. Like the Block class, Composite Block Definition is responsible for ensuring that only Modifier Blocks are stored in the Modifier Block list. From Parameterized Object Collection it inherits the abilities to maintain lists of Connection Endpoints, Parameters, Modifier Blocks, and Blocks. To Parameterized Object Collection it adds special handling of the lists of Parameters and Connection Endpoints inherited from parent classes. Composite Block Definition defines Composite Blocks to be instantiated in other Composite Block Definition-derived Collections.
  • the Parameters that are owned by this class represent the “exposed” parameters of the Composite Block These Parameters are linked to the parameters in the contained Blocks that they “expose” through the Connections maintained by this class. These parameters are the only parameters that any container of the instantiated Composite Block can access. The initial values for the attributes of the parameters are copied from the parameters they expose. These attributes can then be modified.
  • Composite Block Definition is not responsible for maintaining any Connections outside of this object. All Connections maintained in this object refer to “exposed” parameters. Connections can be made in instances of Composite Blocks from parameters defined here to other Blocks. With the “exposed” parameters defined and their values connected to internal parameters, the Composite Block defined looks like a Block to other Composite Block Definition-derived classes. The instantiated Composite Block derived from this definition can be used like any other block in Composite Block Definition-derived Classes.
  • Modifier Blocks contained by Composite Block Definition apply to all blocks contained by the object.
  • Composite Block Definition is responsible for adding Modifier Block references to all of its contained Blocks when a Modifier Block is attached to it. This allows the Parameter Facade classes defined by the Framework to access Modifier Block parameters.
  • Composite Block Definitions can create instances of the Composite Blocks they define. These instances maintain a pointer to this class as their definition. These instances maintain overrides of the “exposed” parameters and of parameter value changes made via an Upload operation to retrieve current parameter values from the Control Processor. Composite Block Definitions supply their instances with the actual block names of “exposed” parameters on request. This is useful when displaying the value of a connected point or when the value must actually be placed in a running control system.
  • Loop Template is a Composite Block Definition derivative. It defines the Blocks and Connections contained in a control loop. From Composite Block Definition and its ancestors it inherits the abilities to maintain lists of Connection Endpoints, Parameters, Modifier Blocks, and Blocks. It also inherits the ability to “expose” parameters of blocks in the loop from the Composite Block Definition class. These parameters are then available as tuning parameters or to connect to other Loops or Blocks. To Composite Block Definition it adds the ability to add I/O Blocks. The I/O Blocks added to a Loop Template do not represent real tag points, but are placeholders for actual Tags in the derived Template-Derived Loop instances.
  • the Parameters that are owned by this class represent the “exposed” parameters of the Loop. These Parameters are linked to the parameters in the contained Blocks that they “expose” through the Connections maintained by this class. These parameters are the only parameters that are available for tuning or external connections. The initial values for the attributes of the parameters are copied from the parameters they expose. These attributes can then be modified.
  • Loop Template is not responsible for maintaining any Connections outside of this object. All Connections maintained in this object refer to “exposed” parameters. Connections can be made in instances of Template-Derived Loops from parameters defined here to other Loops. With the “exposed” parameters defined and their values connected to internal parameters, the Template-Derived Loop defined looks like a Block to other Composite Block Definition-derived classes. This allows connections to be made into the Loop look like Composite Block connections. Modifier Blocks contained by Loop Template apply to all blocks contained by the object. Loop Template is responsible for adding Modifier Block references to all of its contained Blocks when a Modifier Block is attached to it. This allows the Parameter classes defined by the Framework to access Modifier Block parameters.
  • Loop Templates can create instances of the Template-Derived Loops they define. These instances maintain a pointer to this class as their definition. These instances can maintain overrides of the “exposed” parameters only. Instances which are created from this definition in the context of a definition library are allowed to override parameter attributes and values for “exposed” parameters. Instances created from this definition in a usage context as a stand-alone Template-Derived Loop can only override values.
  • Simple Loop is derived from Loop Template. From Loop Template and its parent classes, Composite Block Definition and Parameterized Object Collection it inherits all of the collection and connection functionality of Loop Templates. Simple Loop adds to Loop Template the ability to connect to actual I/O Blocks and to install its Blocks into an online Compound. Class Relationships:
  • a Composite Block is a Block. It can be inserted into any block collection as if it were a Block. It maintains a list of parameter overrides which, if present, override the default values and attributes of the Composite Block Definition “exposed” parameters, just like a Block. Connections can be made to parameters in the Composite Block, just like a Block.
  • a Composite Block uses the Parameter list inherited from Parameterized Object to maintain a mapping of internal block parameters to exposed parameters.
  • a Composite Block instance simply overrides the values of the “exposed” parameters. It cannot add Blocks or Connections to the Composite Block definition.
  • overrides can be attached to this object which override parameters in blocks contained in the Composite Block Definition. These overrides refer to the parameter in a hierarchical manner, using local block names. If a Composite Block Definition contains Blocks A and B, the Composite Block can override the value of the contained Block B by creating an override of “B.parm”. This behavior is supported by the Framework. Class Relationships:
  • Template-Derived Loop inherits all Parameter Override, external Connection handling, instantiation/definition relationship, and contained-Block name mapping functionality from Composite Block. Template-Derived Loops have the additional responsibility that they preferably manage the mapping of I/O Blocks to actual parameters. I/O Blocks contain the name of the point they represent, so mapping is preferably done from that point to a contained Block parameter, via the same mechanism outlined in the Composite Block description. Template-Derived Loops add the restriction that they cannot be contained in block collections. See the description of the Block class for how this is accomplished. Class Relationships:
  • Block Placeholder is the base Placeholder class for all Block objects. It is derived from Parameterized object Placeholder.
  • FIG. 92 shows an example of a graphical Block representation.
  • Block Placeholder maintains the graphical representation of the rectangular dimensions of the block, the location for the associated Compound and Block names, the location for the Block type, the location and list of parameters displayed in the “relevant block parameters” section, and the location, order and list of parameters displayed in the source and sink sections.
  • the model shown in FIG. 92 shows the I/O Block Placeholder collecting the Tag List Row Placeholders that are associated with its related FBM Module. Alternate embodiments can allow for connecting Tag List Row Blocks to other Blocks (AIN, AOUT, etc.) before it is known which FBMs will be used. This requires the ability to integrate a number of existing Tag List Row Placeholders into a common I/O Block Placeholder rather than starting with the I/O Block Placeholder and adding Tag List Rows.
  • Control Algorithm Diagram Document is the basic Persistent Document class (see FIG. 93 ) for all graphical drawings of block collections. It derives its persistence and management of Placeholders from the Persistent Document Framework class. This class is responsible for maintaining all information necessary to graphically reproduce a Control Algorithm Diagram Document.
  • Control Algorithm Diagram Document maintains information about the overall view of the block collection it represents. This information includes title, subtitle, and scale. Information about each individual object is stored in its respective placeholder. This information includes location, size, color, font, or any attribute which can be specified about an individual Control Algorithm Diagram object.
  • Control Algorithm Diagram Document supplies lists of placeholders to the Control Algorithm Diagram Editor. The placeholders are then queried for specific drawing information.
  • This class is used as the persistent drawing class for Composite Block Definition drawings and Composite Block drawings.
  • the object model provides Template-derived Loops and Composite Blocks with their own Control Algorithm Diagram Document objects. This allows more flexibility for adding Modifier Blocks and for repositioning Blocks defined in the definition objects.
  • An alternative approach to consider during detailed design is to have Template-derived Loops and Composite Blocks use the document objects associated with the Loop Templates and Composite Block Definitions, instead of having their own documents.
  • Loop Document derives all Control Algorithm Diagram functionality from its parent class, Control Algorithm Diagram Document. This class adds management of two margin areas reserved for I/O Blocks. The ordered list of I/O Block Placeholders is maintained for both input and output margins. I/O Block placement within the margin is maintained by the I/O Block Placeholder. This class is used as the persistent drawing class for Loop Template drawings, Template-Derived Loop Documents, and Simple Loop Documents. Class Relationships:
  • the Programmable Logic Block supports a ladder logic diagram program executing in a digital Field Bus Module. See FIG. 94 .
  • the PLB specifies the source for the Ladder Logic Diagram.
  • the block is preferably created before the ladder diagram can be built.
  • the block's parameters are configured through the Control Algorithm Diagram editor.
  • the PLB (Programmable Logic Block) Editor allows the user to graphically configure PLBs in a manner similar to the existing PLB Editor.
  • the Ladder Diagram Editor consists of a graphical ladder editing window that works in conjunction with a palette/library used to store and retrieve sample source and a compiler output window used to list and locate ladder errors.
  • the ladder elements are selected from the palette view and placed onto a graphical representation of the ladder logic.
  • the currently selected PLB element is highlighted.
  • the user may alternately insert elements through keystrokes. Arrow keys may also be used to select different PLB elements in the view.
  • the IDA main frame window provides menu items for the PLB editor.
  • the PLB editor supports the following menu items: Menu Item Name Description File Close Close PLB editor Compile Compiles PLB ladder Import Prompts for a .p file to import Download Generates default displays then calls interface to download compiled ladder to FBM Page Setup . . . Allows printed page setup Print Preview . . .
  • All configured ladders are stored as parameters for their associated PLB in the IDA database. This is a many-to-one relationship. Many PLBs may be associated with one Ladder.
  • Ladders contain one or more rungs, with each rung consisting of one or more lines and rung descriptors.
  • the lines in a rung can be either primary or secondary lines.
  • the first line in a rung is the one and only primary line and all other lines are secondary lines.
  • the primary line is the only line in a rung, which is connected from input power rail to the output power rail. All connections between lines are preferably made between the primary line and a secondary line.
  • a user is able to enter optional descriptors for the rung.
  • Each rung has an area associated with it that allows the user to enter separate comments for the operator and engineer.
  • the comments are displayed after the last line of the rung with the operator comment above the engineer comment.
  • the operator comment can be 3 lines of text each 60 characters in length.
  • Lines consist of up to eight symbols.
  • the first seven symbols in a line can only be input symbols.
  • the eighth (last) symbol in a line is preferably an output symbol.
  • the primary line in a rung has an input symbol in the first slot and an output symbol in the last slot.
  • Symbols are entered into a rung via a palette selection or function key. They are entered through the palette by drag and drop. To enter a symbol via function key, the user selects an entry selection (1 of 8) in a ladder rung and enters a predefined function key.
  • Symbols have a logic type, a Tech ID, and Tech ID description and are shown for each symbol on the Ladder Editor view. Preset and reset counts are also shown for counter and timer symbols.
  • the user assigns a Tech ID for a symbol from a list of valid Tech IDs through a context menu.
  • the user can assign an optional description to each Tech ID via a menu pick which presents a list of Tech IDs and associated description fields which the user can edit.
  • Connections between symbols are made automatically for symbols placed in adjacent slots on a line. Connections between symbols on different lines are made by dragging and dropping symbol endpoints. Logic for valid connections is maintained by the editor application, since it is too intricate for static meta-data.
  • the ladder editor allows separate operator and engineer commenting of a ladder. Operator comments are compiled with the ladder.
  • the ladder logic syntax can be checked at anytime by selecting the ‘compile’ menu item. Note that this does not save the ladder.
  • This action opens an output window for status and error messages associated with the compile, similar to the functionality of the Microsoft Visual C++ compiler. Selecting a compile error displayed in the output will position the editing cursor to the line or symbol containing the error (this is dependent upon the output of the compiler). If the user attempts to exit the editor without successfully compiling the source code, a dialog is displayed. This dialog prompts the user to name and save the ladder to the palette/library or discard it. Naming and saving the ladder to the palette allows the user to re-use the uncompiled ladder at a latter time. This action is necessary to keep the ladder representation and compiled code in sync for the PLB.
  • the user When the PLB is subsequently opened for edit, the user is prompted to select either the temporary ladder logic or the last successfully compiled ladder logic. While modifying a ladder, the user can view the last successfully compiled ladder by initiating another session of the IDA configurator. This view is read-only but allows the user to copy elements from this view into the edited ladder. Interface between separate PLB compiler and framework output window to display compiler messages to the user.
  • An installed ladder is part of a PLB and is assigned to an FBM via the Block and Connection Editor. Several individual ladders can be loaded into the same FBM. Once the Ladder logic is successfully compiled, it can be downloaded into its assigned FBMs in response to either a request from the Download Editor or from the file->download menu item. When downloaded, the editor stores the source and compiled code in the parameters of the PLB.
  • the PLB Editor provides the capability to generate a report for a defined ladder.
  • the report is requested via standard IDA Reporting mechanisms.
  • the content of the editors report is a graphical print out of the ladder as well as a cross reference of technical identifiers and their line locations with in the ladder.
  • Individual rungs may be copied to other PLBs and can also be copied and stored in a library of ladder components for easy re-use through the palette.
  • a user can interact with the define logical palette. This palette contains the standard elements that can become part of a PLB ladder. The user can drag and drop ladder components from the palette to the ladder window to create a PLB's ladder. The user can also define their own palette and store off ladder components (elements, lines or rungs) for latter use. When copying line or rungs to the palette, elements retain their technical identifiers and descriptions.
  • This section describes the object models associated with the PLB Ladder Editor. Models are described for Ladders, Persistent Documents, and PLBs.
  • the Ladder model shown in FIG. 96 is based on the Framework Connection Classes. A simplified version of the Ladder implementation of the Connection Framework model is shown in that the classes for Ladder Definition, Ladder Slot Definition, and Object and Connection Type Specifiers are not shown. Refer to Part 1 for an explanation and example of a Nest type Parent/Child Connection model and see the Enclosure Loading Editor section of this document for an example of how the Definition classes are used.
  • the Persistent Document model shown in FIG. 97 is simplified in that it shows only the relationships from the Placeholders to their related Parameterized objects and not the relationships to other objects (Appearance, View Type, etc.) as described in Part 1.
  • the Ladder class is the top level container for a PLB ladder. It contains an ordered set of connections to Ladder Rungs. The description, last modify date, compiled binary version of the ladder, and last compile date are all maintained as parameters of a Ladder. Only successfully compiled Ladders are stored to the database for later download. The last modify date and last compile dates can be compared before downloading as a validity check. TechIDs and their user-defined descriptions are maintained by this object. TechID descriptions can be modified in the context of any symbol on a ladder diagram. When the description is changed for one symbol, every symbol referencing the same TechID in the same ladder reflects the change. This class provides an interface for basic syntax checking for the ladder. It verifies that the ladder has a valid number of rungs (>0) and queries the rungs for validity. This class has the ability to generate a ladder source in an appropriate format for the existing ladder compiler.Class Relationships:
  • a Ladder Rung is the only component which can be connected to a Ladder.
  • the Ladder Rung maintains connections to an ordered set of Ladder Lines. It also contains a string parameter which acts as a rung descriptor.
  • a Ladder Rung consists of a primary line followed by zero or more secondary lines.
  • the primary line consists of Ladder Elements connected from the left power rail to the right power rail in the diagram. Secondary lines can supply additional logic via “or” connections to the primary line.
  • the top most line is preferably the primary line.
  • This class provides basic syntax checking for the ladder rung. It verifies that the rung has a valid number of lines (>0) and queries the lines for validity, ensuring that the first line meets the criteria for a primary line.
  • This class can provide data in the file format necessary for the existing ladder compiler. It supplies data specific to the rung and invokes similar methods on the contained lines.
  • the Ladder Line object represents one line of a rung in a ladder logic diagram.
  • One or more Ladder Lines comprise a Ladder Rung and one or more Ladder Rungs comprise a Ladder.
  • a Ladder Line can either represent a primary ladder line or a secondary ladder line.
  • a primary ladder line is the logical first line of a rung and is indicated by a power connection from left power rail to right power rail. All connections to elements on secondary lines preferably branch from or join the primary line.
  • this class determines what types of elements can be dropped into a given slot on the line. Only Output Ladder Elements are allowed in slot 8 and only Input Ladder Elements are allowed in slots 1-7.
  • This class provides syntax checking, based on whether it is a primary or secondary line. If this line is the first in a rung, Ladder Rung can query this class to validate that it is a primary line. For all other lines in a rung, this class would be queried by Ladder Rung to determine if it were a valid secondary line.
  • This class can provide data in the file format necessary for the existing ladder compiler. It supplies data specific to the line and invokes similar methods on the contained elements.
  • a Ladder Element represents a single logic symbol in a ladder diagram. It can represent either an input or output symbol, depending on the meta data contained in the object. Up to 8 Ladder Elements can be placed on a single line of a ladder diagram. The type of element which can be placed in any given socket of a line is determined by data stored in the Parameter Connection Type Specifier. The meta data stored in Ladder Elements determine if it is an Input Ladder Element or Output Ladder Element. Input Ladder Elements can appear in any of the first 7 columns of a line. Output Ladder Elements can appear only in the last column of a line, and preferably appear in the last column of a Primary Ladder Line.
  • Ladder Elements can be queried to determine their element type.
  • Ladder Elements contain parameters for TechID, and optionally, preset and reset counters.
  • the TechID description is maintained by the Ladder object, so it need not be maintained by the Ladder Element.
  • the description is retrieved from the list maintained by the Ladder object.
  • Ladder Elements can provide data formatted appropriately for the existing ladder compiler. When ladder elements are substituted for one another in a diagram, all corresponding parameters will carry over to the new symbol. Values such as TechID, preset, and reset will carry over if the appropriate types are substituted. Any values which have no counterpart in the new symbol will be lost. Class Relationships:
  • Ladder Connection encapsulates connection data between two symbols on a ladder diagram.
  • Ladder, Rung and Line Connections are all Parent/Child Connections which connect the parent objects to one or more children objects contained by the parent. These three classes may all be implemented as a common “Nest” class if there is no distinguishing behavior among the classes.
  • This class encapsulates drawing information to draw an entire ladder diagram. This class contains information on scaling, orientation, and other style parameters. All other drawing information is maintained within the contained classes.
  • this class contains standard Block methods and manages the parameters associated with PLB Blocks.
  • Source code, interpretive code, and operator display code for the ladder are generated by the PLB Ladder editor and stored as Block parameters.
  • the PLB Ladder Editor presents the contents of this parameter for editing until it is successfully compiled, at which time the contents are copied into the Last Compiled Source Code parameter and deleted from this parameter. If Full Versioning is not implemented, the transfer of the contents of this parameter to the Last Compiled Source Code parameter may not take place until the code is successfully downloaded, in order to ensure that a copy of the source corresponding to the running Block is preferably always available.
  • This code representation is used to compile interpretive code for download to an FBM. This intermediate representation may not be needed if the compiler contains the logic to translate the ladder directly into interpretive code.
  • the Swap Editor allows mapping parameters between different Block types. By dragging and dropping an Foundation Fieldbus Block from the Control Algorithm Diagram Editor palette and dropping it onto an IAS AIN Block in a Loop drawing, a user can convert the AIN to an AI Block.
  • the Swap Editor functions include dialogs which allow mapping parameters between different Block types so that the proper conversions take place during swapping.
  • a swap object model can parallel the connection object model discussed above and can reflect the permissibility of swapping between objects of different types.
  • Use of that model can parallel the methodology described above in Section 1.3.6 (Establishing a Connection), Level 1—Object to Object.
  • a swap object model need not retain information identifying objects that have been swapped: it need only reflect permissible swaps.
  • the connection object model need only reflect a single variety of swap types, not the multiple varieties provided for by the connection object model.
  • a parameter swap type object model can parallel the object connection type object model described above and can identify specific parameters between which mappings exist.
  • a methodology for this generally parallels that described above in Section 1.3.6 (Establishing a Connection), Level 2—Parameter to Parameter. Where applicable, parameter-to-parameter conversions can be maintained in parameter swap type object model, as well.
  • the parameter swap type object model need only reflect permissible mappings (not those that have already been made) and it need only reflect a single variety of mappings.
  • mappings and conversions can be represented in tables associated with the respective object types or their instances.
  • the swap editor provides an interface to the above described object models or other data structures, permitting a user to create or edit permissible parameter mappings.
  • the editor can utilize a graphical interface, e.g., similar to the control strategy editor, for this purpose. Alternatively, or in addition, it can use dialog boxes, list boxes, check boxes, combo boxes, or other such interfaces, of the type shown elsewhere herein, to allow the user to select mappings and specify conversions.
  • the Block Execution Editor provides the capability to view and edit a control station's block processing order. This includes providing the capability to reorder blocks within a control level, reordering child control levels within a parent control level, and control levels within a control station.
  • the Block execution Editor manipulates a single control station's block processing order per instance.
  • the Block Execution Editor is invoked from the IDA Navigation Tree by selecting a control level or control station and selecting Block Execution Editor from the context popup menu.
  • the Block Execution Editor provides a view of the control levels and blocks assigned to a selected control station. Only those control levels assigned to a single selected control station will be displayed.
  • the Block Execution Editor provides controls necessary to allow the user to adjust the block processing order for a selected control level, as well as adjust the processing order of control levels within a control station.
  • the Block Execution Editor provides automatic algorithms to optimize processing order, as well as validate processing order. Control station statistics for the selected control station are available upon user request.
  • the Block Execution Editor also provides the capability to reassign blocks between different control levels as well as reassigning control levels to other control stations. The reassignment of blocks to control levels and control levels to control stations may be accomplished either by dragging a block from the editor to the IDA Navigation Tree, or by invoking the assignment editor on a selected block.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Automation & Control Theory (AREA)
  • Software Systems (AREA)
  • Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
  • Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
  • Quality & Reliability (AREA)
  • Computer Security & Cryptography (AREA)
  • Stored Programmes (AREA)
  • Control By Computers (AREA)
US11/434,005 1999-05-17 2006-05-15 Methods and apparatus for control configuration using live data Abandoned US20060206866A1 (en)

Priority Applications (10)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US11/434,005 US20060206866A1 (en) 1999-05-17 2006-05-15 Methods and apparatus for control configuration using live data
US12/247,872 US7890927B2 (en) 1999-05-17 2008-10-08 Apparatus and method for configuring and editing a control system with live data
US12/265,506 US7984420B2 (en) 1999-05-17 2008-11-05 Control systems and methods with composite blocks
US12/265,544 US8060222B2 (en) 1999-05-17 2008-11-05 Control system configurator and methods with object characteristic swapping
US12/265,560 US8028275B2 (en) 1999-05-17 2008-11-05 Control systems and methods with smart blocks
US12/265,474 US8229579B2 (en) 1999-05-17 2008-11-05 Control systems and methods with versioning
US12/265,527 US8028272B2 (en) 1999-05-17 2008-11-05 Control system configurator and methods with edit selection
US12/265,837 US8225271B2 (en) 1999-05-17 2008-11-06 Apparatus for control systems with objects that are associated with live data
US12/717,845 US8056056B2 (en) 1999-05-17 2010-03-04 Methods and apparatus for configuring a process control system with a configuration editor executing on a digital data processing device
US12/717,848 US8060862B2 (en) 1999-05-17 2010-03-04 Apparatus and method for configuring a process control system having one or more digital data processors

Applications Claiming Priority (6)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US13459799P 1999-05-17 1999-05-17
US09/448,223 US7089530B1 (en) 1999-05-17 1999-11-23 Process control configuration system with connection validation and configuration
US09/448,374 US7096465B1 (en) 1999-05-17 1999-11-23 Process control configuration system with parameterized objects
US09/448,845 US6754885B1 (en) 1999-05-17 1999-11-23 Methods and apparatus for controlling object appearance in a process control configuration system
US09/572,343 US7272815B1 (en) 1999-05-17 2000-05-17 Methods and apparatus for control configuration with versioning, security, composite blocks, edit selection, object swapping, formulaic values and other aspects
US11/434,005 US20060206866A1 (en) 1999-05-17 2006-05-15 Methods and apparatus for control configuration using live data

Related Parent Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US09/572,343 Continuation US7272815B1 (en) 1999-05-17 2000-05-17 Methods and apparatus for control configuration with versioning, security, composite blocks, edit selection, object swapping, formulaic values and other aspects

Related Child Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US12/247,872 Continuation US7890927B2 (en) 1999-05-17 2008-10-08 Apparatus and method for configuring and editing a control system with live data

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US20060206866A1 true US20060206866A1 (en) 2006-09-14

Family

ID=27495114

Family Applications (10)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US11/434,005 Abandoned US20060206866A1 (en) 1999-05-17 2006-05-15 Methods and apparatus for control configuration using live data
US12/247,872 Expired - Fee Related US7890927B2 (en) 1999-05-17 2008-10-08 Apparatus and method for configuring and editing a control system with live data
US12/265,506 Expired - Fee Related US7984420B2 (en) 1999-05-17 2008-11-05 Control systems and methods with composite blocks
US12/265,474 Expired - Fee Related US8229579B2 (en) 1999-05-17 2008-11-05 Control systems and methods with versioning
US12/265,527 Expired - Fee Related US8028272B2 (en) 1999-05-17 2008-11-05 Control system configurator and methods with edit selection
US12/265,544 Expired - Fee Related US8060222B2 (en) 1999-05-17 2008-11-05 Control system configurator and methods with object characteristic swapping
US12/265,560 Expired - Fee Related US8028275B2 (en) 1999-05-17 2008-11-05 Control systems and methods with smart blocks
US12/265,837 Expired - Fee Related US8225271B2 (en) 1999-05-17 2008-11-06 Apparatus for control systems with objects that are associated with live data
US12/717,848 Expired - Fee Related US8060862B2 (en) 1999-05-17 2010-03-04 Apparatus and method for configuring a process control system having one or more digital data processors
US12/717,845 Expired - Fee Related US8056056B2 (en) 1999-05-17 2010-03-04 Methods and apparatus for configuring a process control system with a configuration editor executing on a digital data processing device

Family Applications After (9)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US12/247,872 Expired - Fee Related US7890927B2 (en) 1999-05-17 2008-10-08 Apparatus and method for configuring and editing a control system with live data
US12/265,506 Expired - Fee Related US7984420B2 (en) 1999-05-17 2008-11-05 Control systems and methods with composite blocks
US12/265,474 Expired - Fee Related US8229579B2 (en) 1999-05-17 2008-11-05 Control systems and methods with versioning
US12/265,527 Expired - Fee Related US8028272B2 (en) 1999-05-17 2008-11-05 Control system configurator and methods with edit selection
US12/265,544 Expired - Fee Related US8060222B2 (en) 1999-05-17 2008-11-05 Control system configurator and methods with object characteristic swapping
US12/265,560 Expired - Fee Related US8028275B2 (en) 1999-05-17 2008-11-05 Control systems and methods with smart blocks
US12/265,837 Expired - Fee Related US8225271B2 (en) 1999-05-17 2008-11-06 Apparatus for control systems with objects that are associated with live data
US12/717,848 Expired - Fee Related US8060862B2 (en) 1999-05-17 2010-03-04 Apparatus and method for configuring a process control system having one or more digital data processors
US12/717,845 Expired - Fee Related US8056056B2 (en) 1999-05-17 2010-03-04 Methods and apparatus for configuring a process control system with a configuration editor executing on a digital data processing device

Country Status (3)

Country Link
US (10) US20060206866A1 (fr)
AU (2) AU5025600A (fr)
WO (2) WO2000070417A1 (fr)

Cited By (136)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20020029300A1 (en) * 1999-07-29 2002-03-07 Fujitsu Limited Object collaboration apparatus using message type
US20020120482A1 (en) * 2001-02-26 2002-08-29 International Business Machines Corporation Separations-of-duties analysis tool for object-oriented integrated enterprise wide computing applications
US20030200004A1 (en) * 2002-04-15 2003-10-23 Peter Renner System for automation of technical processes
US20040130572A1 (en) * 2003-01-07 2004-07-08 Aravind Bala Active content wizard: execution of tasks and structured content
US20040148367A1 (en) * 2002-12-20 2004-07-29 Hideki Takano Method for integration edition of setting file and setting file integration base
US20040201604A1 (en) * 2000-06-19 2004-10-14 International Business Machines Corporation System and method for developing and administering web applications and services from a workflow, enterprise, and mail-enabled web application server and platform
US20040250214A1 (en) * 2003-01-07 2004-12-09 Microsoft Corporation Automatic image capture for generating content
US20050033713A1 (en) * 2003-01-07 2005-02-10 Microsoft Corporation Automatic text generation
US20050055695A1 (en) * 2003-09-05 2005-03-10 Law Gary K. State machine function block with a user modifiable state transition configuration database
US20050114785A1 (en) * 2003-01-07 2005-05-26 Microsoft Corporation Active content wizard execution with improved conspicuity
US20060059433A1 (en) * 2004-09-14 2006-03-16 Microsoft Corporation Active content wizard testing
US20060101390A1 (en) * 2004-10-19 2006-05-11 Microsoft Corporation Lookup control configuration
US20060125827A1 (en) * 2004-12-15 2006-06-15 Microsoft Corporation System and method for interactively linking data to shapes in a diagram
US20060294047A1 (en) * 2005-06-27 2006-12-28 Johnston David A Method and apparatus for communicating transactions between an industrial controller and a programming interface
US20070075916A1 (en) * 2005-10-05 2007-04-05 Invensys Systems, Inc. Generic utility supporting on-demand creation of customizable graphical user interfaces for viewing and specifying field device parameters
US20070083573A1 (en) * 2005-10-12 2007-04-12 Gillespie Allan E Reduction of join operations when archiving related database tables
US20070168909A1 (en) * 2002-08-12 2007-07-19 Microsoft Corporation System And Method For Context-Sensitive Help In A Design Environment
US20070193645A1 (en) * 2005-12-14 2007-08-23 Christian Mohr Control object based report generation using a central class
US20070220488A1 (en) * 2006-03-15 2007-09-20 Business Objects, S.A. Apparatus and method for automatically sizing fields within reports
US20070226687A1 (en) * 2002-06-25 2007-09-27 Tim Fallen-Bailey Method and apparatus to control translatable properties of metadata
US20070244583A1 (en) * 2005-05-04 2007-10-18 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Method for operating an automation device
US20070288891A1 (en) * 2006-06-12 2007-12-13 Michael Aakolk Meta-data driven implementation of business objects and their transactional behavior
US20080066049A1 (en) * 2006-09-12 2008-03-13 Sandeep Jain Method for enforcing change policy based on project state
US20080092067A1 (en) * 2006-10-16 2008-04-17 Invensys Systems, Inc. Custom properties for automation control
US20080155495A1 (en) * 2006-11-27 2008-06-26 Sourcecode Technology Holding, Inc. Methods and apparatus for modeling a workflow process in an offline environment
US20080189637A1 (en) * 2006-10-16 2008-08-07 Invensys Systems, Inc. Data quality and status behavior for human machine interface graphics in industrial control and automation systems
US20080228550A1 (en) * 2007-03-14 2008-09-18 Business Objects, S.A. Apparatus and method for utilizing a task grid to generate a data migration task
US20080243880A1 (en) * 2007-03-28 2008-10-02 International Business Machines Corporation Automatic identification of components for a compound document in a content management system
US20080243897A1 (en) * 2007-03-28 2008-10-02 John Edward Petri Autonomic updating of templates in a content management system
US20080270266A1 (en) * 2003-08-22 2008-10-30 Vistaprint Technologies Limited System and method for remote assistance
US20080295085A1 (en) * 2007-05-25 2008-11-27 Microsoft Corporation Integrated code review tool
US20080301658A1 (en) * 2005-11-18 2008-12-04 International Business Machines Corporation Object Replacement Method, System and Computer Program Product
US20080301639A1 (en) * 2007-05-29 2008-12-04 International Business Machines Corporation Identifying Changes in Source Code
US20090037302A1 (en) * 2006-09-27 2009-02-05 Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc. Programmatically scheduled verification
US20090083705A1 (en) * 2007-09-20 2009-03-26 Siemens Energy & Automation, Inc. Systems, Devices, and/or Methods for Managing Program Logic Units
US20090089233A1 (en) * 2007-09-28 2009-04-02 Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc. Correlation of non-times series events in industrial systems
US20090183139A1 (en) * 2008-01-11 2009-07-16 The Mathworks, Inc. Enumeration classes
US20090193420A1 (en) * 2008-01-29 2009-07-30 International Business Machines Corporation Method and system for batch processing form data
US20090235196A1 (en) * 2008-03-11 2009-09-17 Microsoft Corporation Customizable controls provided by a messaging application for performing selected actions
US20090319408A1 (en) * 2008-06-19 2009-12-24 Michael Callahan Provison application system and method
US20100050097A1 (en) * 2008-08-19 2010-02-25 Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc. Visualization profiles and templates for auto-configuration of industrial automation systems
US20100070255A1 (en) * 2008-09-17 2010-03-18 Accenture Global Services Gmbh Method and system for simulating a plurality of devices
US20100070909A1 (en) * 2008-09-17 2010-03-18 Accenture Global Services Gmbh Method and system for simulating a plurality of devices
US20100131472A1 (en) * 2008-08-01 2010-05-27 International Business Machines Corporation Detection and utilzation of inter-module dependencies
US20100142001A1 (en) * 2008-12-10 2010-06-10 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Information processing apparatus, method for controlling the information processing apparatus, and storage medium
US20100222902A1 (en) * 1999-05-17 2010-09-02 Invensys Systems, Inc. Methods and apparatus for control configuration with object hierarchy, versioning, inheritance, and other aspects
US7802247B1 (en) 2005-12-30 2010-09-21 United Services Automobile Association (Usaa) Method and system for restoring software
US7831968B1 (en) * 2005-12-30 2010-11-09 United Services Automobile Association (Usaa) Method and system for restoring software
WO2010138412A1 (fr) * 2009-05-29 2010-12-02 Invensys Systems, Inc. Configuration de commande avec des objets de commande qui sont sensibles au protocole de bus de terrain et qui auto-définissent les paramètres suivis
US20100305721A1 (en) * 2009-05-29 2010-12-02 Invensys Systems, Inc. Methods and apparatus for control configuration with control objects that self-define tracked parameters
US20110010687A1 (en) * 2004-05-19 2011-01-13 International Business Machines Corporation Synchronization of concurrently modified interdependent semi-derived artifacts
US20110099543A1 (en) * 2007-07-11 2011-04-28 Thorley Jeb Stuart Method and system for version independent software release management
US20110099183A1 (en) * 2007-06-28 2011-04-28 Microsoft Corporation Search-based filtering for property grids
US20110113412A1 (en) * 2008-07-23 2011-05-12 Fujitsu Limited Object linkage device for linking objects in statically linked executable program file, method of linking objects, and computer readable storage medium storing program thereof
US8023500B2 (en) 1996-08-20 2011-09-20 Invensys Systems, Inc. Methods for process control with change updates
US8090452B2 (en) 1999-06-11 2012-01-03 Invensys Systems, Inc. Methods and apparatus for control using control devices that provide a virtual machine environment and that communicate via an IP network
EP2407839A1 (fr) * 2010-07-14 2012-01-18 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Procédé destiné à structurer un schéma logique dans des zones d'un schéma logique
US8127060B2 (en) 2009-05-29 2012-02-28 Invensys Systems, Inc Methods and apparatus for control configuration with control objects that are fieldbus protocol-aware
US20120117117A1 (en) * 2010-11-07 2012-05-10 International Business Machines Corporation Aiding report construction based on inference of implicit application level relationships
US8296848B1 (en) * 2007-06-20 2012-10-23 Symantec Corporation Control flow redirection and analysis for detecting vulnerability exploitation
US8312420B1 (en) * 2005-11-18 2012-11-13 The Mathworks, Inc. System and method for performing structural templatization
US8368640B2 (en) 1999-05-17 2013-02-05 Invensys Systems, Inc. Process control configuration system with connection validation and configuration
US20130086506A1 (en) * 2011-09-30 2013-04-04 Mark E. Molander Organization and display of tabs and tab groups over hierarchical levels
US20130124460A1 (en) * 2008-05-02 2013-05-16 Invensys Systems Inc. System For Maintaining Unified Access To Scada And Manufacturing Execution System (MES) Information
US8463964B2 (en) 2009-05-29 2013-06-11 Invensys Systems, Inc. Methods and apparatus for control configuration with enhanced change-tracking
US8566820B1 (en) 2005-12-30 2013-10-22 United Services Automobile Association (Usaa) Method and system for installing software
US8594814B2 (en) 2008-06-20 2013-11-26 Invensys Systems, Inc. Systems and methods for immersive interaction with actual and/or simulated facilities for process, environmental and industrial control
US20130325153A1 (en) * 2011-02-21 2013-12-05 Mitsubishi Electric Corporation Engineering apparatus
US20140039846A1 (en) * 2012-08-06 2014-02-06 Fujitsu Limited Information processing method, information processing device, and information processing system
US20140082155A1 (en) * 2012-09-14 2014-03-20 Ca, Inc. User interface with configuration, registration, and runtime selection of views
CN103677793A (zh) * 2012-09-11 2014-03-26 帝斯贝思数字信号处理和控制工程有限公司 用于计算机辅助生成可执行控制程序的至少一部分的方法
US8726271B1 (en) 2005-12-30 2014-05-13 United Services Automobile Association (Usaa) Method and system for installing software
US20140223413A1 (en) * 2013-02-04 2014-08-07 David Wei Ge Method for visual manipulations of all kinds of programming objects
US20140282473A1 (en) * 2008-06-05 2014-09-18 Accenture Global Services Limited Software Upgrade Analysis System
US8843919B1 (en) 2005-12-30 2014-09-23 United Services Automobile Association (Usaa) Method and system for restoring software
US20140298243A1 (en) * 2013-03-29 2014-10-02 Alcatel-Lucent Usa Inc. Adjustable gui for displaying information from a database
US8886601B1 (en) * 2013-06-20 2014-11-11 Palantir Technologies, Inc. System and method for incrementally replicating investigative analysis data
US9009827B1 (en) 2014-02-20 2015-04-14 Palantir Technologies Inc. Security sharing system
US9021260B1 (en) 2014-07-03 2015-04-28 Palantir Technologies Inc. Malware data item analysis
US9081975B2 (en) 2012-10-22 2015-07-14 Palantir Technologies, Inc. Sharing information between nexuses that use different classification schemes for information access control
US9087064B2 (en) * 2011-10-27 2015-07-21 International Business Machines Corporation User-defined hierarchies in file system data sets
US9086688B2 (en) 2013-07-09 2015-07-21 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. State machine function block with user-definable actions on a transition between states
US9098500B1 (en) * 2010-04-08 2015-08-04 Xilinx, Inc. Revision history storage and maintenance
US9189492B2 (en) 2012-01-23 2015-11-17 Palatir Technoogies, Inc. Cross-ACL multi-master replication
US9262125B2 (en) * 2014-05-15 2016-02-16 Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc Contextual focus-agnostic parsing-validated alternatives information
US20160071314A1 (en) * 2014-09-10 2016-03-10 My Virtual Reality Software As Method for visualising surface data together with panorama image data of the same surrounding
US9330157B2 (en) 2006-11-20 2016-05-03 Palantir Technologies, Inc. Cross-ontology multi-master replication
US20160357982A1 (en) * 2015-06-08 2016-12-08 Accenture Global Services Limited Mapping process changes
US20160380816A1 (en) * 2015-06-24 2016-12-29 Yokogawa Electric Corporation System and method for configuring a data access system
US9569070B1 (en) 2013-11-11 2017-02-14 Palantir Technologies, Inc. Assisting in deconflicting concurrency conflicts
US20170085427A1 (en) * 2014-12-22 2017-03-23 Servicenow, Inc. Auto discovery of configuration items
US20170090917A1 (en) * 2015-06-15 2017-03-30 International Business Machines Corporation Context-specific view of a hierarchical data structure
US20170131998A1 (en) * 2015-11-06 2017-05-11 International Business Machines Corporation Work-item expiration in software configuration management environment
US20170261969A1 (en) * 2016-03-10 2017-09-14 Honeywell International Inc. Automation control system point configuration from controller program files
US9785773B2 (en) 2014-07-03 2017-10-10 Palantir Technologies Inc. Malware data item analysis
US20170300482A1 (en) * 2016-04-15 2017-10-19 International Business Machines Corporation Obtaining insights from a distributed system for a dynamic, customized, context-sensitive help system
US9798784B1 (en) * 2008-08-22 2017-10-24 Salesforce.Com, Inc. System, method and computer program product for defining custom junction objects in an on-demand database service
US20170364225A1 (en) * 2012-10-08 2017-12-21 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. Derived and Linked Definitions with Override
US10037352B1 (en) * 2013-03-18 2018-07-31 The Boston Consulting Group, Inc. Methods for editing hierarchical data
US10068002B1 (en) 2017-04-25 2018-09-04 Palantir Technologies Inc. Systems and methods for adaptive data replication
US10127261B2 (en) * 2013-12-31 2018-11-13 Dassault Systems Enovia Corporation Methods and systems for resolving conflicts in hierarchically-referenced data
US10222772B2 (en) * 2015-07-08 2019-03-05 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Method and configuration system for configuring hardware modules in an automation system
US10244043B1 (en) * 2017-09-22 2019-03-26 Yokogawa Electric Corporation Management system for a plant facility and method for managing a plant facility
CN109597377A (zh) * 2017-10-02 2019-04-09 费希尔-罗斯蒙特系统公司 便于过程控制工厂中的图形显示设计工作流的系统和方法
US10262053B2 (en) 2016-12-22 2019-04-16 Palantir Technologies Inc. Systems and methods for data replication synchronization
US10311081B2 (en) 2012-11-05 2019-06-04 Palantir Technologies Inc. System and method for sharing investigation results
US10331828B2 (en) * 2015-04-01 2019-06-25 Xendee Corporation Cloud computing engineering application
US10354071B2 (en) * 2016-06-30 2019-07-16 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Method for updating process objects in an engineering system
US10380196B2 (en) 2017-12-08 2019-08-13 Palantir Technologies Inc. Systems and methods for using linked documents
US10379699B2 (en) * 2013-12-12 2019-08-13 Sony Corporation Information processing apparatus, relay computer, information processing system, and information processing program
US10430062B2 (en) 2017-05-30 2019-10-01 Palantir Technologies Inc. Systems and methods for geo-fenced dynamic dissemination
US20190340383A1 (en) * 2018-04-27 2019-11-07 Aras Corporation System and method for implementing domain based access control on queries of a self-describing data system
US20190347246A1 (en) * 2015-01-02 2019-11-14 International Business Machines Corporation Determining when a change set was delivered to a workspace or stream and by whom
US20190369607A1 (en) * 2015-10-09 2019-12-05 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. Distributed industrial performance monitoring and analytics platform
US10521412B2 (en) * 2017-01-13 2019-12-31 Accenture Global Solutions Limited Complex multi-layer token apportionment stack for token assignment within multiple-tiered data structures
US10572496B1 (en) 2014-07-03 2020-02-25 Palantir Technologies Inc. Distributed workflow system and database with access controls for city resiliency
US10621198B1 (en) 2015-12-30 2020-04-14 Palantir Technologies Inc. System and method for secure database replication
US10884603B2 (en) * 2014-03-03 2021-01-05 Life Technologies Corporation Graphical user interface system and method for transferring data acquisition and analysis settings
US10915542B1 (en) 2017-12-19 2021-02-09 Palantir Technologies Inc. Contextual modification of data sharing constraints in a distributed database system that uses a multi-master replication scheme
US20210103380A1 (en) * 2019-10-02 2021-04-08 Palantir Technologies Inc. Enhanced techniques for building user interfaces
US11030494B1 (en) 2017-06-15 2021-06-08 Palantir Technologies Inc. Systems and methods for managing data spills
USRE48589E1 (en) 2010-07-15 2021-06-08 Palantir Technologies Inc. Sharing and deconflicting data changes in a multimaster database system
US11150632B2 (en) * 2018-03-16 2021-10-19 Yokogawa Electric Corporation System and method for field device management using class parameter set
US11204690B1 (en) * 2020-03-05 2021-12-21 Unqork, Inc. Systems and methods for software development and deployment platforms having advanced workflow and event processing capabilities and graphical version controls
US11216159B2 (en) 2012-10-08 2022-01-04 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. Configuration element for graphic elements
US11308116B2 (en) * 2019-05-31 2022-04-19 Snowflake Inc. Accessing listings in a data exchange
US11514018B2 (en) * 2017-07-11 2022-11-29 Endress+Hauser Process Solutions Ag Method and data conversion unit for monitoring an automation system
EP4152145A1 (fr) * 2021-09-20 2023-03-22 Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc. Séparation d'état en ligne/hors ligne d'un projet de contrôleur d'automatisation industrielle
US11645285B2 (en) 2018-04-27 2023-05-09 Aras Corporation Query engine for recursive searches in a self-describing data system
US20230251837A1 (en) * 2022-02-07 2023-08-10 Red Hat, Inc. User customizable compiler attributes for code checking
US11748245B2 (en) * 2018-07-27 2023-09-05 Oracle International Corporation Object-oriented regression-candidate filter
US11774927B2 (en) 2012-10-08 2023-10-03 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. Methods and apparatus to provide a role-based user interface
US12020305B2 (en) 2018-04-27 2024-06-25 Aras Corporation Query engine for executing configurator services in a self-describing data system
US12056152B2 (en) * 2019-05-22 2024-08-06 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Operational policies of industrial field devices and distributed databases
US12182553B2 (en) 2022-02-07 2024-12-31 Red Hat, Inc. User customizable compiler attributes for code optimization
US12327012B2 (en) 2017-10-02 2025-06-10 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. Systems and methods for configuring and presenting a display navigation hierarchy in a process plant

Families Citing this family (344)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US7623932B2 (en) 1996-03-28 2009-11-24 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. Rule set for root cause diagnostics
US7630861B2 (en) 1996-03-28 2009-12-08 Rosemount Inc. Dedicated process diagnostic device
US7085610B2 (en) 1996-03-28 2006-08-01 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. Root cause diagnostics
US7254518B2 (en) 1996-03-28 2007-08-07 Rosemount Inc. Pressure transmitter with diagnostics
US6907383B2 (en) 1996-03-28 2005-06-14 Rosemount Inc. Flow diagnostic system
US7010459B2 (en) 1999-06-25 2006-03-07 Rosemount Inc. Process device diagnostics using process variable sensor signal
US6947798B2 (en) 1999-09-24 2005-09-20 Rockwell Software Inc. System and method for developing software programs by way of multiple applications and users
JP3896849B2 (ja) * 2000-11-24 2007-03-22 三菱電機株式会社 プログラミング装置及びプログラミング方法
US6886160B1 (en) * 2000-11-29 2005-04-26 Hyung Sup Lee Distribution of mainframe data in the PC environment
US6795798B2 (en) * 2001-03-01 2004-09-21 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. Remote analysis of process control plant data
US6970003B2 (en) 2001-03-05 2005-11-29 Rosemount Inc. Electronics board life prediction of microprocessor-based transmitters
US6859755B2 (en) 2001-05-14 2005-02-22 Rosemount Inc. Diagnostics for industrial process control and measurement systems
US6819960B1 (en) 2001-08-13 2004-11-16 Rockwell Software Inc. Industrial controller automation interface
US7324983B1 (en) * 2001-11-08 2008-01-29 I2 Technologies Us, Inc. Reproducible selection of members in a hierarchy
DE10348563B4 (de) 2002-10-22 2014-01-09 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. Integration von Grafikdisplayelementen, Prozeßmodulen und Steuermodulen in Prozeßanlagen
US7146231B2 (en) * 2002-10-22 2006-12-05 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc.. Smart process modules and objects in process plants
GB0228279D0 (en) * 2002-12-04 2003-01-08 Ibm A synchronization method
US7117052B2 (en) 2003-02-18 2006-10-03 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. Version control for objects in a process plant configuration system
US7526347B2 (en) 2003-02-18 2009-04-28 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. Security for objects in a process plant configuration system
US7043311B2 (en) 2003-02-18 2006-05-09 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. Module class objects in a process plant configuration system
FR2855621B1 (fr) * 2003-05-28 2005-07-01 Schneider Electric Ind Sas Systeme de controle d'acces a un equipement d'automatisme
US7502323B2 (en) 2003-05-28 2009-03-10 Schneider Electric Industries Sas Access control system for automation equipment
EP1646864B1 (fr) 2003-07-18 2018-11-07 Rosemount Inc. Diagnostic de procede
US7018800B2 (en) 2003-08-07 2006-03-28 Rosemount Inc. Process device with quiescent current diagnostics
US7627441B2 (en) 2003-09-30 2009-12-01 Rosemount Inc. Process device with vibration based diagnostics
US7676793B2 (en) * 2003-12-08 2010-03-09 Honeywell International Inc. Determination of dependent objects by a source control system and a method to automatically include those objects with the parent object when changes are enabled
US7523667B2 (en) 2003-12-23 2009-04-28 Rosemount Inc. Diagnostics of impulse piping in an industrial process
US8037102B2 (en) 2004-02-09 2011-10-11 Robert T. and Virginia T. Jenkins Manipulating sets of hierarchical data
US6920799B1 (en) 2004-04-15 2005-07-26 Rosemount Inc. Magnetic flow meter with reference electrode
US7046180B2 (en) 2004-04-21 2006-05-16 Rosemount Inc. Analog-to-digital converter with range error detection
JP2007536634A (ja) 2004-05-04 2007-12-13 フィッシャー−ローズマウント・システムズ・インコーポレーテッド プロセス制御システムのためのサービス指向型アーキテクチャ
US20080300693A1 (en) * 2004-08-30 2008-12-04 Sesay Sahid Abu-Bakarr Process Control System and Method
DE102004045196A1 (de) * 2004-09-17 2006-03-30 Siemens Ag Verfahren zur Anpassung von Parametern einer Steuerungs- oder Regelungseinrichtung
WO2006033159A1 (fr) * 2004-09-24 2006-03-30 Fujitsu Limited Programme, procede et appareil de contribution a la creation de tableau de modeles commerciaux
US7953767B2 (en) * 2004-10-05 2011-05-31 Sap Ag Developing applications using configurable patterns
US8126937B2 (en) * 2004-10-05 2012-02-28 Sap Ag Visual database modeling
US7627591B2 (en) 2004-10-29 2009-12-01 Skyler Technology, Inc. Method and/or system for manipulating tree expressions
US7801923B2 (en) 2004-10-29 2010-09-21 Robert T. and Virginia T. Jenkins as Trustees of the Jenkins Family Trust Method and/or system for tagging trees
US7630995B2 (en) 2004-11-30 2009-12-08 Skyler Technology, Inc. Method and/or system for transmitting and/or receiving data
US7636727B2 (en) 2004-12-06 2009-12-22 Skyler Technology, Inc. Enumeration of trees from finite number of nodes
US8316059B1 (en) 2004-12-30 2012-11-20 Robert T. and Virginia T. Jenkins Enumeration of rooted partial subtrees
US8117591B1 (en) 2005-01-07 2012-02-14 Interactive TKO, Inc. Graphical model for test case viewing, editing, and reporting
US8060864B1 (en) * 2005-01-07 2011-11-15 Interactive TKO, Inc. System and method for live software object interaction
US8615530B1 (en) 2005-01-31 2013-12-24 Robert T. and Virginia T. Jenkins as Trustees for the Jenkins Family Trust Method and/or system for tree transformation
US8122354B1 (en) * 2005-02-25 2012-02-21 The Mathworks, Inc. Systems and methods for providing an indicator of detection of input related to an element of a user interface
US7681177B2 (en) 2005-02-28 2010-03-16 Skyler Technology, Inc. Method and/or system for transforming between trees and strings
US9363481B2 (en) * 2005-04-22 2016-06-07 Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc Protected media pipeline
US7899821B1 (en) 2005-04-29 2011-03-01 Karl Schiffmann Manipulation and/or analysis of hierarchical data
EP1929383A1 (fr) 2005-07-20 2008-06-11 Rosemount, Inc. Dispositif de champ a alimentation sur ethernet
US7657871B2 (en) * 2005-07-22 2010-02-02 Sbc Knowledge Ventures, L.P. Method and system of managing configuration profiles of a plurality of deployed network elements
US7752651B2 (en) * 2005-09-26 2010-07-06 Bea Systems Inc. System and method for propagating security information in a web portal system
US7730477B2 (en) * 2005-09-26 2010-06-01 Bea Systems Inc. System and method for propagation in a web portal system
US7650196B2 (en) * 2005-09-30 2010-01-19 Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc. Production monitoring and control system having organizational structure-based presentation layer
US7738975B2 (en) * 2005-10-04 2010-06-15 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. Analytical server integrated in a process control network
US7444191B2 (en) * 2005-10-04 2008-10-28 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. Process model identification in a process control system
US8036760B2 (en) * 2005-10-04 2011-10-11 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. Method and apparatus for intelligent control and monitoring in a process control system
US7738973B2 (en) * 2005-11-14 2010-06-15 Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc. Distributed historian architecture and interfaces
US7831317B2 (en) * 2005-11-14 2010-11-09 Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc. Distributed historian architecture
US8209201B1 (en) * 2005-12-08 2012-06-26 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. System and method for correlating objects
WO2007072310A1 (fr) * 2005-12-22 2007-06-28 Shapiro Alan J Systeme et procede de fourniture de logiciel
US8769479B2 (en) * 2006-01-31 2014-07-01 Digital River, Inc. Physical on demand
US8560109B1 (en) * 2006-02-09 2013-10-15 Cadence Design Systems, Inc. Method and system for bi-directional communication between an integrated circuit (IC) layout editor and various IC pattern data viewers
US8924335B1 (en) 2006-03-30 2014-12-30 Pegasystems Inc. Rule-based user interface conformance methods
US8458661B2 (en) 2006-03-31 2013-06-04 Ebay Inc. Distributed parallel build system
US7856617B2 (en) * 2006-04-25 2010-12-21 Acs State And Local Solutions, Inc. Method, system and computer program product for creating software for processing an insurance claim
US8065168B2 (en) * 2006-04-25 2011-11-22 Acs State And Local Solutions, Inc. Method, system and computer program code for automatically generating software for reformatting incoming data
US7774744B2 (en) * 2006-04-26 2010-08-10 Sap Ag Using relatedness information for programming
WO2007128544A1 (fr) * 2006-05-05 2007-11-15 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Système d'automatisation à protection d'accès pour les paramètres mémorisés dans des appareils de terrain
US8397208B2 (en) * 2006-08-31 2013-03-12 Serena Software, Inc. Method and system for baselining across multiple domains
US8645907B2 (en) * 2006-09-12 2014-02-04 Sandeep Jain Capturing effort level by task upon check-in to source control management system
US8020108B1 (en) * 2006-09-29 2011-09-13 Emc Corporation Separation of presentation and business models for common management platform tasks in a storage area network
US7321846B1 (en) 2006-10-05 2008-01-22 Rosemount Inc. Two-wire process control loop diagnostics
EP2073134B1 (fr) * 2006-10-11 2023-03-08 Zuken Inc. Procédé de traitement, dispositif de traitement, programme et support de stockage lisible par ordinateur
WO2008049518A1 (fr) * 2006-10-24 2008-05-02 Krones Ag Assistance opératoire pour un dispositif de traitement de contenants
CA2565847A1 (fr) * 2006-10-27 2008-04-27 Cognos Incorporated Systeme et methode de controle d'edition et de fusion de modele
US7899845B2 (en) * 2006-11-23 2011-03-01 Dell Products L.P. Methods, apparatus and media for modifying information
US8438535B2 (en) * 2006-12-04 2013-05-07 Sap Ag Method and apparatus for persistent object tool
US7990724B2 (en) 2006-12-19 2011-08-02 Juhasz Paul R Mobile motherboard
US8539473B2 (en) * 2007-01-30 2013-09-17 Microsoft Corporation Techniques for providing information regarding software components for a user-defined context
DE102007024687A1 (de) * 2007-05-25 2009-01-02 Phoenix Contact Gmbh & Co. Kg Verfahren zum Parametrieren von Betriebsmitteln
WO2008148801A2 (fr) 2007-06-05 2008-12-11 Nsab, Filial Of Neurosearch Sweden Ab, Sverige Nouvelles phénylpyrrolidines disubstituées en tant que modulateurs de la neurotransmission catécholaminergique corticale
US8578330B2 (en) 2007-06-11 2013-11-05 Sap Ag Enhanced widget composition platform
US8122428B2 (en) * 2007-06-26 2012-02-21 Analog Devices, Inc. Methods and apparatus for automation and facilitating design of register maps
US8266138B1 (en) * 2007-07-19 2012-09-11 Salesforce.Com, Inc. On-demand database service system, method and computer program product for generating a custom report
US10079912B2 (en) 2007-07-27 2018-09-18 Blackberry Limited Wireless communication system installation
US9270682B2 (en) * 2007-07-27 2016-02-23 Blackberry Limited Administration of policies for wireless devices in a wireless communication system
EP2034775B1 (fr) 2007-07-27 2010-05-26 Research In Motion Limited Appareil et procédés de fonctionnement d'un serveur sans fil
DE602008004389D1 (de) 2007-07-27 2011-02-24 Research In Motion Ltd Vorrichtung und Verfahren zur Koordination von drahtlosen Systemen
US8914009B2 (en) 2007-07-27 2014-12-16 Blackberry Limited Administration of wireless systems
EP2031912B1 (fr) 2007-07-27 2013-01-09 Research In Motion Limited Systèmes de communication sans fil
US8015546B2 (en) * 2007-08-03 2011-09-06 International Business Machines Corporation Rapidly assembling and deploying selected software solutions
US8898036B2 (en) 2007-08-06 2014-11-25 Rosemount Inc. Process variable transmitter with acceleration sensor
US8763115B2 (en) * 2007-08-08 2014-06-24 Vmware, Inc. Impeding progress of malicious guest software
US20090063240A1 (en) * 2007-08-30 2009-03-05 Oracle International Corporation Routing transactions in a multiple job environment using an approval framework
US8321919B2 (en) * 2007-09-05 2012-11-27 Oracle International Corp. Framework for delegating roles in human resources ERP systems
US7945601B2 (en) * 2007-09-06 2011-05-17 Oracle International Corporation Reporting of approval workflow transactions using XMLP
JP4967939B2 (ja) * 2007-09-07 2012-07-04 横河電機株式会社 デジタル指示調節計
US7590511B2 (en) 2007-09-25 2009-09-15 Rosemount Inc. Field device for digital process control loop diagnostics
US8225288B2 (en) * 2008-01-29 2012-07-17 Intuit Inc. Model-based testing using branches, decisions, and options
US9285946B2 (en) * 2008-02-29 2016-03-15 Red Hat, Inc. Generation of a progress notification in a software loop
DE102008017289B4 (de) * 2008-03-03 2021-10-14 Rohde & Schwarz GmbH & Co. Kommanditgesellschaft Anpassbares Messgerät und Verfahren zur Anpassung
ATE538442T1 (de) * 2008-04-24 2012-01-15 Siemens Ag Verfahren und system zur erkennung von gruppierungseigenschaften
US20090288027A1 (en) * 2008-05-16 2009-11-19 Dwita, Inc. Visualization and management of information technology components
US8191036B2 (en) * 2008-05-19 2012-05-29 Apple Inc. Mechanism to support orphaned and partially configured objects
CN101661367A (zh) * 2008-08-25 2010-03-03 扬智科技股份有限公司 菜单快捷方式的生成方法及使用者接口装置
US8438192B2 (en) * 2008-09-30 2013-05-07 Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc. System and method for retrieving and storing industrial data
US9111019B2 (en) 2008-09-30 2015-08-18 Interactive TKO, Inc. Modeling and testing interactions between components of a software system
US20100106543A1 (en) * 2008-10-28 2010-04-29 Honeywell International Inc. Building management configuration system
US20110093493A1 (en) 2008-10-28 2011-04-21 Honeywell International Inc. Building management system site categories
US20100153335A1 (en) * 2008-12-12 2010-06-17 Microsoft Corporation Synchronizing multiple classes with disparate schemas in the same collection
US9141663B2 (en) * 2008-12-15 2015-09-22 Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc. User interface and methods for building structural queries
US8312038B2 (en) * 2008-12-18 2012-11-13 Oracle International Corporation Criteria builder for query builder
US7945589B1 (en) 2009-02-11 2011-05-17 Bsp Software Llc Integrated change management in a business intelligence environment
US8751464B1 (en) 2009-02-11 2014-06-10 Avnet, Inc. Integrated version control in a business intelligence environment
CN102317877B (zh) * 2009-02-18 2014-07-09 三菱电机株式会社 程序分析支援装置
EP2221682B1 (fr) * 2009-02-19 2013-07-31 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Procédé de mise à disposition de fonctions dans un système industriel d'automatisation, programme de commande et système industriel d'automatisation
EP2221694B1 (fr) * 2009-02-19 2013-03-27 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Procédé de concession d'une justification d'utilisation d'une fonction dans un système d'automatisation industriel comprenant plusieurs unités de commande en réseau et système d'automatisation industriel
JP2010198155A (ja) * 2009-02-24 2010-09-09 Fujitsu Ten Ltd プログラム更新装置、プログラム更新方法、及び情報処理装置
US8843435B1 (en) 2009-03-12 2014-09-23 Pegasystems Inc. Techniques for dynamic data processing
US8881039B2 (en) 2009-03-13 2014-11-04 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. Scaling composite shapes for a graphical human-machine interface
US8468492B1 (en) * 2009-03-30 2013-06-18 Pegasystems, Inc. System and method for creation and modification of software applications
US8484560B2 (en) * 2009-04-24 2013-07-09 Apple Inc. Interactive sub-summaries in database applications
CN102356618B (zh) * 2009-05-15 2015-01-14 费希尔-罗斯蒙德系统公司 无线现场设备的改进的维护
CN102356364A (zh) * 2009-05-15 2012-02-15 费希尔-罗斯蒙德系统公司 具有增强功能的手持现场维护工具
US8121826B1 (en) * 2009-07-17 2012-02-21 Xilinx, Inc. Graphical user interface for system design
US8155761B2 (en) * 2009-07-23 2012-04-10 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. Process control system with integrated external data sources
US8762886B2 (en) * 2009-07-30 2014-06-24 Lenovo (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. Emulating fundamental forces of physics on a virtual, touchable object
US8656314B2 (en) 2009-07-30 2014-02-18 Lenovo (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. Finger touch gesture for joining and unjoining discrete touch objects
US20110029904A1 (en) * 2009-07-30 2011-02-03 Adam Miles Smith Behavior and Appearance of Touch-Optimized User Interface Elements for Controlling Computer Function
US20110029864A1 (en) * 2009-07-30 2011-02-03 Aaron Michael Stewart Touch-Optimized Approach for Controlling Computer Function Using Touch Sensitive Tiles
US8352919B2 (en) * 2009-09-30 2013-01-08 Sap Ag Operation support in versioning systems
US9135312B2 (en) * 2009-11-02 2015-09-15 Google Inc. Timeslider
US8532797B2 (en) * 2009-12-30 2013-09-10 Honeywell International Inc. Mechanism for constructing generic control logic including versions in various protocols
US9116708B2 (en) * 2010-03-05 2015-08-25 Nec Corporation Program creation support apparatus, program, and information system
JP5056880B2 (ja) * 2010-03-24 2012-10-24 横河電機株式会社 フィールド機器メンテナンスシステム
US9772834B2 (en) 2010-04-27 2017-09-26 Red Hat, Inc. Exportable encoded identifications of networked machines
US9110690B2 (en) * 2010-04-28 2015-08-18 General Electric Company Systems, methods, and apparatus for deploying application code change configurations for multiple target controllers
US8762931B2 (en) * 2010-05-26 2014-06-24 Red Hat, Inc. Generating an encoded package profile
US20110302551A1 (en) * 2010-06-02 2011-12-08 Hummel Jr David Martin System and method for analytic process design
US8745581B2 (en) * 2010-06-21 2014-06-03 Touch Technologies, Inc. Method and system for selectively copying portions of a document contents in a computing system (smart copy and paste
US9274842B2 (en) * 2010-06-29 2016-03-01 Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc Flexible and safe monitoring of computers
US9201414B2 (en) 2010-07-28 2015-12-01 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. Intrinsically-safe handheld field maintenance tool with image and/or sound capture
US8504914B1 (en) * 2010-08-11 2013-08-06 Apple Inc. Dynamic previewing of graphics objects
US8707187B2 (en) 2010-09-16 2014-04-22 Siemens Products Product Lifecycle Management Software Inc. Concurrent document markup
US8930880B2 (en) * 2010-09-29 2015-01-06 Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc. Development of functional modules using a module bus
US8984490B1 (en) 2010-10-26 2015-03-17 Interactive TKO, Inc. Modeling and testing of interactions between components of a software system
US8966454B1 (en) 2010-10-26 2015-02-24 Interactive TKO, Inc. Modeling and testing of interactions between components of a software system
CA2719653A1 (fr) * 2010-11-05 2011-01-18 Ibm Canada Limited - Ibm Canada Limitee Inclusion partielle par reference avec redemarrage logiciel
WO2012065127A1 (fr) * 2010-11-12 2012-05-18 Abraham Benjamin De Waal Systèmes et procédés de gestion de messages de modification de contenu
US9256666B2 (en) * 2010-12-14 2016-02-09 International Business Machines Corporation Linking of a plurality of items of a user interface to display new information inferred from the plurality of items that are linked
CN102566527B (zh) * 2010-12-30 2015-06-10 中国科学院沈阳自动化研究所 半导体制造设备前端模块的传输控制平台化实现方法
JP5370376B2 (ja) * 2011-01-13 2013-12-18 横河電機株式会社 機器情報表示装置、機器情報表示プログラム、及び記録媒体
US20120194502A1 (en) * 2011-02-01 2012-08-02 Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc. Searchable catalog for externally defined graphic element (edge) definitions
US9280439B2 (en) * 2011-02-11 2016-03-08 Sap Se Usage analysis of productive environment to establish new data source for process optimization and project planning
US8904284B2 (en) * 2011-03-01 2014-12-02 Apple Inc. Object placeholders in electronic documents
US8897900B2 (en) * 2011-03-18 2014-11-25 Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc. Graphical language for optimization and use
US20120239169A1 (en) * 2011-03-18 2012-09-20 Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc. Transparent models for large scale optimization and control
US8874242B2 (en) * 2011-03-18 2014-10-28 Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc. Graphical language for optimization and use
US9207670B2 (en) 2011-03-21 2015-12-08 Rosemount Inc. Degrading sensor detection implemented within a transmitter
US20120247374A1 (en) * 2011-03-31 2012-10-04 Bender Robert J Independent vector control system for gasification furnace
US9817677B2 (en) * 2011-04-22 2017-11-14 Microsoft Technologies Licensing, LLC Rule based data driven validation
US9130853B2 (en) 2011-05-31 2015-09-08 General Electric Company Systems and methods for identifying foundation fieldbus linking devices
US8713166B2 (en) 2011-05-31 2014-04-29 General Electric Company Systems and methods for facilitating communication with foundation fieldbus linking devices
US8868732B2 (en) 2011-05-31 2014-10-21 General Electric Company Systems and methods for facilitating communication with foundation fieldbus linking devices
US8762528B2 (en) 2011-05-31 2014-06-24 General Electric Company Systems and methods for write protecting foundation fieldbus linking devices
US8769072B2 (en) * 2011-05-31 2014-07-01 General Electric Company Systems and methods for identifying foundation fieldbus linking devices
EP2710525A1 (fr) * 2011-06-28 2014-03-26 Abb Ab Transfert de responsabilité dans un environnement multisystème
US8442980B2 (en) * 2011-07-07 2013-05-14 Oracle International Corporation Attribute change coalescing in order to deal with component moves on a page
AT511334B1 (de) * 2011-07-14 2012-11-15 Fronius Int Gmbh Schweissstromquelle und verfahren zu deren steuerung
US8589363B2 (en) * 2011-07-19 2013-11-19 Exagrid Systems, Inc. Systems and methods for managing delta version chains
CN103765337A (zh) * 2011-08-11 2014-04-30 Abb研究有限公司 告警可视化
US9245272B2 (en) * 2011-08-16 2016-01-26 Oracle International Corporation Reverse benefits designer
US20130227520A1 (en) * 2011-09-01 2013-08-29 Eric Hosick Rapid process integration through visual integration and simple interface programming
JP5370618B2 (ja) * 2011-09-19 2013-12-18 日本電気株式会社 工程評価装置、プログラム、及び、方法
US8533237B2 (en) 2011-09-23 2013-09-10 Siemens Product Lifecycle Management Software Inc. Data structure partitioning in product data management systems
US8458228B2 (en) * 2011-09-23 2013-06-04 Siemens Product Lifecycle Management Software Inc. Occurrence management in product data management systems
CN103049590A (zh) * 2011-10-14 2013-04-17 鸿富锦精密工业（深圳）有限公司 信号线检查系统及方法
US9104389B2 (en) 2011-10-18 2015-08-11 International Business Machines Corporation Hierarchical functional and variable composition diagramming of a programming class
US9588953B2 (en) * 2011-10-25 2017-03-07 Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc Drag and drop always sum formulas
US9275364B2 (en) * 2011-11-02 2016-03-01 Sap Se Semantic configuration in a business process platform
US9529355B2 (en) * 2011-11-11 2016-12-27 Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc. Control environment change communication
EP2608020A1 (fr) * 2011-12-22 2013-06-26 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Personnalisation d'une interface graphique utilisateur d'un écran MES
CN103176784A (zh) * 2011-12-23 2013-06-26 中国科学院沈阳计算技术研究所有限公司 基于面向对象可重构的开放式数控系统人机界面设计方法
US8732655B2 (en) * 2011-12-29 2014-05-20 Sap Ag Systems and methods for metamodel transformation
US9195936B1 (en) * 2011-12-30 2015-11-24 Pegasystems Inc. System and method for updating or modifying an application without manual coding
US9529348B2 (en) 2012-01-24 2016-12-27 Emerson Process Management Power & Water Solutions, Inc. Method and apparatus for deploying industrial plant simulators using cloud computing technologies
WO2013116153A1 (fr) 2012-01-30 2013-08-08 DoDat Process Technology, LLC Appareils, procédés et systèmes d'attribution de tâches administratives à la demande distributifs
US9223839B2 (en) 2012-02-22 2015-12-29 Honeywell International Inc. Supervisor history view wizard
US9471659B2 (en) * 2012-03-06 2016-10-18 Sap Se Providing continuous database access during database modification
US20130246995A1 (en) * 2012-03-13 2013-09-19 Outsystems - Software Em Rede S.A. Systems, methods, and apparatus for model-based security control
US9356933B2 (en) 2012-03-23 2016-05-31 Netapp, Inc. Implementing policies for an enterprise network using policy instructions that are executed through a local policy framework
DE102012102518A1 (de) * 2012-03-23 2013-09-26 Endress + Hauser Process Solutions Ag Verfahren zum Parametrieren eines Feldgeräts
CN104603700B (zh) * 2012-03-30 2017-08-15 Abb技术有限公司 用于设计分布控制系统的方法及其设计工具
US9031956B2 (en) * 2012-04-18 2015-05-12 Salesforce.Com, Inc. Mechanism for facilitating conversion and correction of data types for dynamic lightweight objects via a user interface in an on-demand services environment
US20130282190A1 (en) * 2012-04-24 2013-10-24 General Electric Company System and method for configuration and management of power plant assets
US8504519B1 (en) * 2012-06-27 2013-08-06 Dropbox, Inc. Determining a preferred modified version from among multiple modified versions for synchronized files
US9052240B2 (en) 2012-06-29 2015-06-09 Rosemount Inc. Industrial process temperature transmitter with sensor stress diagnostics
DE102012106774A1 (de) * 2012-07-25 2014-01-30 Endress + Hauser Gmbh + Co. Kg Verfahren zur Aufrechterhaltung der Funktionsfähigkeit eines Feldgerätes
US20150254073A1 (en) * 2012-08-01 2015-09-10 Sherpa Technologies Inc. System and Method for Managing Versions of Program Assets
US20140059518A1 (en) * 2012-08-24 2014-02-27 Velocio Networks, Inc. Method for Object Oriented Programming of Programmable Logic Controllers in Graphical Programming Languages
US8782631B2 (en) * 2012-09-19 2014-07-15 Sap Ag Copy management of process versions over lifecycle
US9207129B2 (en) 2012-09-27 2015-12-08 Rosemount Inc. Process variable transmitter with EMF detection and correction
US9602122B2 (en) 2012-09-28 2017-03-21 Rosemount Inc. Process variable measurement noise diagnostic
US8751504B2 (en) * 2012-10-16 2014-06-10 Esc Apps, Llc Providing procedures
US9400495B2 (en) 2012-10-16 2016-07-26 Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc. Industrial automation equipment and machine procedure simulation
US9201940B2 (en) 2012-10-16 2015-12-01 Rockwell Automation Technologies Providing procedures
US9171305B2 (en) 2012-10-16 2015-10-27 Rockwell Automation Technologies Providing confined space permits and confined space access procedures
US9529349B2 (en) 2012-10-22 2016-12-27 Honeywell International Inc. Supervisor user management system
KR101697031B1 (ko) * 2012-10-25 2017-01-16 미쓰비시덴키 가부시키가이샤 시스템 구축 지원 툴 및 시스템
US9747194B2 (en) * 2012-10-30 2017-08-29 Ebay Inc. Systems and methods to maintain consistency between software specification and code
US9244452B2 (en) * 2012-11-02 2016-01-26 Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc. Configuration and monitoring via design diagram representation
US8914771B2 (en) * 2012-11-13 2014-12-16 International Business Machines Corporation Indicating hierarchy diversion in a class diagram
US9141407B2 (en) * 2012-11-14 2015-09-22 Honeywell International Inc. System and approach for defining labels for enumeration values of parameters in a wall module
US8799858B2 (en) * 2012-12-14 2014-08-05 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Efficient execution of human machine interface applications in a heterogeneous multiprocessor environment
US11397970B2 (en) * 2013-01-24 2022-07-26 Roy Peleg Visual designation of a zone in rendered code
US9904721B1 (en) * 2013-01-25 2018-02-27 Gravic, Inc. Source-side merging of distributed transactions prior to replication
US9372596B2 (en) 2013-01-28 2016-06-21 International Business Machines Corporation Assistive overlay for report generation
WO2014124051A1 (fr) * 2013-02-05 2014-08-14 Brigham Young University Système et procédés de gestion de conflit d'édition cax multiutilisateur
WO2014130580A2 (fr) * 2013-02-19 2014-08-28 Quick Eye Technologies Inc. Techniques de visualisation de données
CN105074590A (zh) * 2013-02-20 2015-11-18 三菱电机株式会社 工程设计工具以及工程设计系统
KR101700553B1 (ko) 2013-02-22 2017-01-26 미쓰비시덴키 가부시키가이샤 시스템 개발 장치, 방법 및 프로그램
US9501586B2 (en) 2013-02-27 2016-11-22 Lenovo Enterprise Solutions (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. Displaying data sets across a plurality of views of a user interface
US20140297230A1 (en) * 2013-03-26 2014-10-02 Siemens Product Lifecycle Management Software Inc. System and method for handling plant engineering data
US10656800B2 (en) * 2013-03-29 2020-05-19 Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc Visual configuration and activation
US8671352B1 (en) 2013-05-07 2014-03-11 Axure Software Solutions, Inc. Variable dimension version editing for graphical designs
US9904541B2 (en) * 2013-05-09 2018-02-27 Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc Semantic baselining
US9092224B2 (en) * 2013-05-14 2015-07-28 Noblis, Inc. Method and system to automatically enforce a hybrid branching strategy
US10061688B2 (en) 2013-05-14 2018-08-28 Noblis, Inc. Method and system to automatically enforce a hybrid branching strategy
US10452222B2 (en) 2013-05-29 2019-10-22 Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc Coordination of system readiness tasks
US10360297B2 (en) 2013-06-14 2019-07-23 Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc Simplified data input in electronic documents
USD749616S1 (en) * 2013-07-19 2016-02-16 Robert Bosch Gmbh Display screen with a graphical user interface
US9015657B2 (en) * 2013-08-01 2015-04-21 Modo Labs, Inc. Systems and methods for developing and delivering platform adaptive web and native application content
US10339231B2 (en) * 2013-10-14 2019-07-02 Schneider Electric Software, Llc Entity type templates in process simulation
US10108317B2 (en) * 2013-10-14 2018-10-23 Schneider Electric Software, Llc Configuring process simulation data for semantic zooming
US10210197B2 (en) * 2013-10-18 2019-02-19 New York Air Brake Corporation Dynamically scalable distributed heterogenous platform relational database
US9971977B2 (en) 2013-10-21 2018-05-15 Honeywell International Inc. Opus enterprise report system
CN104636401B (zh) * 2013-11-15 2018-04-06 中国石油天然气股份有限公司 一种scada系统数据回滚的方法及装置
US10025839B2 (en) 2013-11-29 2018-07-17 Ca, Inc. Database virtualization
EP2881903A1 (fr) * 2013-12-03 2015-06-10 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Mises à jour de conception de gestion dans un système d'exécution de fabrication
US9336228B2 (en) * 2013-12-18 2016-05-10 Verizon Patent And Licensing Inc. Synchronization of program code between revision management applications utilizing different version-control architectures
US9996058B2 (en) * 2013-12-19 2018-06-12 General Electric Company Systems and methods for dynamic mapping for end devices of control systems
US10282905B2 (en) 2014-02-28 2019-05-07 International Business Machines Corporation Assistive overlay for report generation
US11138531B1 (en) * 2014-03-13 2021-10-05 Aligned Services, Inc. Method and system of planning and scheduling that incorporates inheritance, feedback learning, path optimization, and simulation
US9727314B2 (en) 2014-03-21 2017-08-08 Ca, Inc. Composite virtual services
US9531609B2 (en) 2014-03-23 2016-12-27 Ca, Inc. Virtual service automation
US9378384B2 (en) * 2014-04-16 2016-06-28 Bank Of America Corporation Secure endpoint file export in a business environment
US9910680B2 (en) * 2014-04-22 2018-03-06 Oracle International Corporation Decomposing a generic class into layers
US9933762B2 (en) 2014-07-09 2018-04-03 Honeywell International Inc. Multisite version and upgrade management system
WO2016009474A1 (fr) * 2014-07-14 2016-01-21 三菱電機株式会社 Programme de génération d'interface de paramètres communs et programme de lecture de paramètres
US9535688B2 (en) * 2014-07-23 2017-01-03 Verizon Patent And Licensing Inc. Efficient deployment of application revisions and implementation of application rollbacks across multiple application servers
WO2016023573A1 (fr) * 2014-08-11 2016-02-18 Abb Technology Ltd Création d'objet dans des systèmes de commande de traitement
CN105487498B (zh) * 2014-10-04 2020-04-14 布里斯托公司商用名远程自动化解决方案 针对远程终端单元的设备层级构建
US10469396B2 (en) 2014-10-10 2019-11-05 Pegasystems, Inc. Event processing with enhanced throughput
CN107209486A (zh) * 2014-11-06 2017-09-26 时空防御系统有限责任公司 用于保护基础设施的自主控制系统和方法
US20160132037A1 (en) * 2014-11-11 2016-05-12 Yokogawa Electric Corporation Process control systems and systems and methods for configuration thereof
US10108183B2 (en) * 2014-11-12 2018-10-23 Yokogawa Electric Corporation Process control system and configuration system
US9851712B2 (en) 2014-11-12 2017-12-26 Yokogawa Electric Corporation Process control system and configuration system for an industrial plant
US9501516B2 (en) 2014-12-19 2016-11-22 Sap Se Zero downtime upgrade of database applications using triggers and calculated fields
US10146752B2 (en) * 2014-12-31 2018-12-04 Quantum Metric, LLC Accurate and efficient recording of user experience, GUI changes and user interaction events on a remote web document
US9716692B2 (en) * 2015-01-01 2017-07-25 Bank Of America Corporation Technology-agnostic application for high confidence exchange of data between an enterprise and third parties
US9898495B2 (en) 2015-02-23 2018-02-20 Sap Se Zero downtime upgrade for database applications with altering sequences
US9898494B2 (en) 2015-02-23 2018-02-20 Sap Se Zero downtime upgrade for database applications using tables with sequences
US20160334974A1 (en) * 2015-05-14 2016-11-17 Gilad GRAY Generating graphical representations of data using multiple rendering conventions
US10360130B2 (en) * 2015-05-20 2019-07-23 Sap Se Symbol tables for processing hierarchical data structures in data flow analysis
US10261756B2 (en) * 2015-06-01 2019-04-16 Brigham Young University Method for preventing reference invalidation when reversing operations in synchronous collaborative applications
US9710362B2 (en) * 2015-06-29 2017-07-18 International Business Machines Corporation Evaluating user interface usability for task completion
US10318592B2 (en) 2015-07-16 2019-06-11 Quantum Metric, LLC Document capture using client-based delta encoding with server
US10362104B2 (en) 2015-09-23 2019-07-23 Honeywell International Inc. Data manager
US10209689B2 (en) 2015-09-23 2019-02-19 Honeywell International Inc. Supervisor history service import manager
US10073794B2 (en) * 2015-10-16 2018-09-11 Sprinklr, Inc. Mobile application builder program and its functionality for application development, providing the user an improved search capability for an expanded generic search based on the user's search criteria
US10198422B2 (en) 2015-11-06 2019-02-05 Mitsubishi Electric Corporation Information-processing equipment based on a spreadsheet
US10839302B2 (en) 2015-11-24 2020-11-17 The Research Foundation For The State University Of New York Approximate value iteration with complex returns by bounding
US11004096B2 (en) 2015-11-25 2021-05-11 Sprinklr, Inc. Buy intent estimation and its applications for social media data
US9898390B2 (en) 2016-03-30 2018-02-20 Ca, Inc. Virtual service localization
US10114736B2 (en) 2016-03-30 2018-10-30 Ca, Inc. Virtual service data set generation
US10592864B2 (en) 2016-04-28 2020-03-17 Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc Share token issuance for declarative document authoring
CN109154808A (zh) 2016-05-16 2019-01-04 费希尔-罗斯蒙特系统公司 过程控制系统中的多协议现场设备
US10698599B2 (en) 2016-06-03 2020-06-30 Pegasystems, Inc. Connecting graphical shapes using gestures
US10698647B2 (en) 2016-07-11 2020-06-30 Pegasystems Inc. Selective sharing for collaborative application usage
EP3285162A1 (fr) * 2016-08-15 2018-02-21 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Procédé de projection d'un projet et système d'exécution du procédé
US10397326B2 (en) 2017-01-11 2019-08-27 Sprinklr, Inc. IRC-Infoid data standardization for use in a plurality of mobile applications
US10877470B2 (en) * 2017-01-26 2020-12-29 Honeywell International Inc. Integrated digital twin for an industrial facility
JP6579123B2 (ja) * 2017-02-13 2019-09-25 横河電機株式会社 エンジニアリング装置、エンジニアリング方法及びプログラム
US10120652B2 (en) * 2017-02-16 2018-11-06 Wipro Limited System and method for representing software development requirements into standard diagrams
US11474496B2 (en) * 2017-04-21 2022-10-18 Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc. System and method for creating a human-machine interface
US20190018545A1 (en) * 2017-07-13 2019-01-17 International Business Machines Corporation System and method for rapid financial app prototyping
US10747778B2 (en) 2017-07-31 2020-08-18 Cohesity, Inc. Replication of data using chunk identifiers
EP3441918A1 (fr) * 2017-08-09 2019-02-13 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Système et procédé d'évaluation de l'efficacité d'une centrale
US10877735B1 (en) * 2017-09-25 2020-12-29 Amazon Technologies, Inc. Automated generation of software applications using analysis of submitted content items
US11243677B2 (en) 2017-10-02 2022-02-08 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. Systems and methods for ease of graphical display configuration design in a process control plant
US10740550B1 (en) 2017-11-20 2020-08-11 Amazon Technologies, Inc. Network-accessible data management service with web-of-sheets data model
US20190227676A1 (en) * 2018-01-23 2019-07-25 Iheartmedia Management Services, Inc. Generation and display of linkage between elements of a file
US20190294706A1 (en) * 2018-03-22 2019-09-26 Ca, Inc. Method to reduce online impact when unloading a database
US10887190B2 (en) 2018-03-23 2021-01-05 Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development Lp System for simultaneous viewing and editing of multiple network device configurations
US10778517B2 (en) 2018-03-23 2020-09-15 Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development Lp System and method for validating correctness of changes to network device configurations
US10749759B2 (en) 2018-03-23 2020-08-18 Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development Lp System and method to provide network insights for correct and efficient network configuration
JP6901430B2 (ja) * 2018-04-09 2021-07-14 ファナック株式会社 制御装置及び編集装置
US10573034B2 (en) 2018-04-13 2020-02-25 Honeywell International Inc. System and method for translation of graphics to newer format using pattern matching
EP3567441B1 (fr) * 2018-05-07 2024-06-26 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Système de conduite de processus doté d'un système d'ingénierie, d'opérateur et d'archivage
US10747207B2 (en) 2018-06-15 2020-08-18 Honeywell International Inc. System and method for accurate automatic determination of “alarm-operator action” linkage for operator assessment and alarm guidance using custom graphics and control charts
US10331424B1 (en) 2018-07-27 2019-06-25 Modo Labs, Inc. User interface development through web service data declarations
US11048488B2 (en) 2018-08-14 2021-06-29 Pegasystems, Inc. Software code optimizer and method
US10699159B2 (en) 2018-08-17 2020-06-30 Honeywell International Inc. Objects aggregation and standardization for legacy graphics conversion
US10592589B1 (en) * 2018-08-21 2020-03-17 Axure Software Solutions, Inc. Multi-view masters for graphical designs
WO2020050550A1 (fr) * 2018-09-03 2020-03-12 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Procédés et systèmes de réalisation d'opérations de modification sur un support
US10521332B1 (en) * 2018-09-28 2019-12-31 Dspace Digital Signal Processing And Control Engineering Gmbh Parametrization of a simulation model
US10796031B1 (en) * 2019-03-20 2020-10-06 Yokogawa Electric Corporation Method and system of preparing engineering data for industrial control systems
JP6962345B2 (ja) * 2019-03-22 2021-11-05 オムロン株式会社 情報処理装置、情報処理方法、および情報処理プログラム
US12223262B1 (en) 2019-03-27 2025-02-11 Amazon Technologies, Inc. Expressions management service for data sheet-based applications
US11562105B2 (en) 2019-07-11 2023-01-24 Yokogawa Electric Corporation System and method for module engineering with sequence libraries
US11050794B2 (en) 2019-07-24 2021-06-29 EMC IP Holding Company LLC Generating security policies for end-user devices using group rankings and partial policy determinations
US11099530B2 (en) 2019-08-23 2021-08-24 Johnson Controls Technology Company Central plant control system with device geometric modeling and control
US11144020B2 (en) * 2019-08-23 2021-10-12 Johnson Controls Tyco IP Holdings LLP Central plant control system with geometric modeling of operational sequences
US11645047B2 (en) 2019-09-13 2023-05-09 Axure Software Solutions, Inc. Focused specification generation for interactive designs
US11733669B2 (en) * 2019-09-27 2023-08-22 Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc. Task based configuration presentation context
US20210096704A1 (en) * 2019-09-27 2021-04-01 Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc. User interface logical and execution view navigation and shifting
US11366567B2 (en) * 2019-09-27 2022-06-21 Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc. Preferential automation view curation
US11092939B2 (en) * 2019-10-07 2021-08-17 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. Preview mode for configuration logic
EP3835896B1 (fr) * 2019-12-10 2026-01-28 Siemens Schweiz AG Session de montage pour gestion d'outils multiples
US11042957B1 (en) 2019-12-12 2021-06-22 Honeywell International Inc. Identification of process and control linkages from custom graphics for the purpose of backbuilding standard operating procedures
WO2021121675A1 (fr) * 2019-12-17 2021-06-24 Abb Schweiz Ag Mise à jour d'un objet numérique représentant un objet du monde réel
CN111309216B (zh) * 2020-02-10 2022-03-22 广州虎牙科技有限公司 列表页面的显示方法、装置、计算机设备及存储介质
EP3929672A1 (fr) * 2020-06-22 2021-12-29 Honeywell International Inc. Application avec des boucles de commande flexibles pour programmer un contrôleur de bâtiment
US11409726B2 (en) 2020-07-20 2022-08-09 Home Depot Product Authority, Llc Methods and system for concurrent updates of a customer order
US11567945B1 (en) 2020-08-27 2023-01-31 Pegasystems Inc. Customized digital content generation systems and methods
US11449028B2 (en) 2020-09-03 2022-09-20 Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc. Industrial automation asset and control project analysis
US11294360B2 (en) 2020-09-09 2022-04-05 Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc. Industrial automation project code development guidance and analysis
US11561517B2 (en) * 2020-09-09 2023-01-24 Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc. Industrial development hub vault and design tools
US12327210B2 (en) 2020-09-11 2025-06-10 Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc. Digital engineering on an industrial development hub
US11415969B2 (en) 2020-09-21 2022-08-16 Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc. Connectivity to an industrial information hub
US11796983B2 (en) 2020-09-25 2023-10-24 Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc. Data modeling and asset management using an industrial information hub
US11153363B1 (en) 2021-02-26 2021-10-19 Modo Labs, Inc. System and framework for developing and providing middleware for web-based and native applications
US11662115B2 (en) * 2021-02-26 2023-05-30 Honeywell International Inc. Hierarchy model builder for building a hierarchical model of control assets
US11640281B2 (en) * 2021-05-17 2023-05-02 International Business Machines Corporation Tool for introspection in object-oriented source code
EP4198781B1 (fr) * 2021-12-17 2024-11-06 Wobben Properties GmbH Procédé de gestion de l'accès d'une commande d'éolienne d'une éolienne, ainsi que commande d'éolienne et éolienne correspondantes
US11861376B2 (en) 2022-01-26 2024-01-02 Red Hat, Inc. Live edit of configuration management execution
US12067392B2 (en) * 2022-05-27 2024-08-20 Red Hat, Inc. Providing access to historical metadata for software repositories
CN117519540A (zh) * 2022-07-28 2024-02-06 北京小米移动软件有限公司 调节分屏窗口的方法、装置、电子设备及存储介质
US20240086810A1 (en) * 2022-09-13 2024-03-14 Sap Se Method of partial validation of an organizational structure
US12399963B2 (en) * 2022-11-17 2025-08-26 Salesforce, Inc. System and method for configurable multi-factor health credential validation
US20240428537A1 (en) * 2023-06-21 2024-12-26 Autodesk, Inc. Techniques for sampling and remixing in immersive environments
US20250036428A1 (en) * 2023-07-28 2025-01-30 Stmicroelectronics International N.V. Flexible configuration components
US11949231B1 (en) * 2023-09-20 2024-04-02 8Me Nova, Llc Renewable energy power plant network simulator
US20250278266A1 (en) * 2024-02-29 2025-09-04 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. Methods and apparatus to provide version control in a process control system graphical user interface development environment

Citations (97)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4377000A (en) * 1980-05-05 1983-03-15 Westinghouse Electric Corp. Automatic fault detection and recovery system which provides stability and continuity of operation in an industrial multiprocessor control
US4719593A (en) * 1984-07-09 1988-01-12 Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. Apparatus for generating digital timing waveforms
US4727477A (en) * 1985-03-22 1988-02-23 International Business Machines Corp. Logically transportable microprocessor interface control unit permitting bus transfers with different but compatible other microprocessors
US4733366A (en) * 1983-05-16 1988-03-22 Data General Corporation Apparatus for providing an interrupt signal in response to a permanent or transient power failure
US4740955A (en) * 1986-10-29 1988-04-26 Tie/Communications, Inc. Communications system having voice and digital data capability and employing a plurality of voice and data buses in main service unit and serial packetized transmission to and from telephones
US4742349A (en) * 1986-05-22 1988-05-03 Chrysler Motors Corporation Method for buffered serial peripheral interface (SPI) in a serial data bus
US4805107A (en) * 1987-04-15 1989-02-14 Allied-Signal Inc. Task scheduler for a fault tolerant multiple node processing system
US4816996A (en) * 1987-07-24 1989-03-28 Motorola, Inc. Queued serial peripheral interface for use in a data processing system
US4817094A (en) * 1986-12-31 1989-03-28 International Business Machines Corporation Fault tolerant switch with selectable operating modes
US4896290A (en) * 1987-08-24 1990-01-23 Wang Laboratories, Inc. Method for routing events from key strokes in a multi-processing computer systems
US4910691A (en) * 1987-09-30 1990-03-20 E.I. Du Pont De Nemours & Co. Process control system with multiple module sequence options
US4910658A (en) * 1985-09-04 1990-03-20 Eaton Leonard Technologies, Inc. Real time process controller with serial I/O bus
US4934196A (en) * 1989-06-02 1990-06-19 Micro Motion, Inc. Coriolis mass flow rate meter having a substantially increased noise immunity
US4991076A (en) * 1989-06-30 1991-02-05 Icom Inc. Method and apparatus for creating custom displays for monitoring ladder logic programs
US4991170A (en) * 1989-07-17 1991-02-05 Ag Communication Systems Corporation Circuit for interfacing a digital signal processor to a serial interface controller
US5008805A (en) * 1989-08-03 1991-04-16 International Business Machines Corporation Real time, fail safe process control system and method
US5193175A (en) * 1988-12-09 1993-03-09 Tandem Computers Incorporated Fault-tolerant computer with three independently clocked processors asynchronously executing identical code that are synchronized upon each voted access to two memory modules
US5212784A (en) * 1990-10-22 1993-05-18 Delphi Data, A Division Of Sparks Industries, Inc. Automated concurrent data backup system
US5283729A (en) * 1991-08-30 1994-02-01 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. Tuning arrangement for turning the control parameters of a controller
US5289365A (en) * 1991-12-23 1994-02-22 Donnelly Corporation Modular network control system
US5295263A (en) * 1991-05-07 1994-03-15 Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha Programmable controller which allows control in formation to be updated during execution
US5295258A (en) * 1989-12-22 1994-03-15 Tandem Computers Incorporated Fault-tolerant computer system with online recovery and reintegration of redundant components
US5301346A (en) * 1991-06-21 1994-04-05 Cad Forms Technology Inc. Method and apparatus for transferring data between a host device and plurality of portable computers
US5303375A (en) * 1991-04-26 1994-04-12 Hewlett-Packard Company System and method for facilitating selection of running functional process in object-oriented environments
US5303392A (en) * 1992-02-27 1994-04-12 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Accessing current symbol definitions in a dynamically configurable operating system
US5302952A (en) * 1992-08-28 1994-04-12 Motorola, Inc. Automatic A/D converter operation with pause capability
US5303227A (en) * 1992-08-03 1994-04-12 Motorola, Inc. Method and apparatus for enhanced modes in SPI communication
US5307372A (en) * 1985-07-19 1994-04-26 Clinicom Incorporated Radio transceiver for transmitting and receiving data packets
US5310998A (en) * 1989-10-31 1994-05-10 Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba Method and system for placing a bus on hold during the insertion/extraction of an IC card into/from a computer
US5317726A (en) * 1987-11-09 1994-05-31 Tandem Computers Incorporated Multiple-processor computer system with asynchronous execution of identical code streams
US5325339A (en) * 1993-08-31 1994-06-28 The United States Of America As Represented By The Administrator Of The National Aeronautics And Space Administration Absolute calibration technique for broadband ultrasonic transducers
US5381529A (en) * 1991-08-30 1995-01-10 Nec Corporation Shift register with dual clock inputs for receiving and sending information between I/O channels and host based on external and internal clock inputs respectively
US5386373A (en) * 1993-08-05 1995-01-31 Pavilion Technologies, Inc. Virtual continuous emission monitoring system with sensor validation
US5386417A (en) * 1993-03-18 1995-01-31 At&T Corp. Method and apparatus for establishing connections in a communications access network
US5390321A (en) * 1991-05-31 1995-02-14 Proesel; Ronald J. General purpose parallel port interface
US5392280A (en) * 1994-04-07 1995-02-21 Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc. Data transmission system and scheduling protocol for connection-oriented packet or cell switching networks
US5398331A (en) * 1992-07-08 1995-03-14 International Business Machines Corporation Shared storage controller for dual copy shared data
US5400140A (en) * 1991-07-30 1995-03-21 Fisher-Rosemount Limited Method of decoding a spectrally modulated light signal
US5410492A (en) * 1992-01-29 1995-04-25 Arch Development Corporation Processing data base information having nonwhite noise
US5410717A (en) * 1991-03-22 1995-04-25 Allen-Bradley Company, Inc. Removable function card for a programmable controller processor
US5421017A (en) * 1993-01-18 1995-05-30 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Real time control system and method for replacing software in a controlled system
US5428781A (en) * 1989-10-10 1995-06-27 International Business Machines Corp. Distributed mechanism for the fast scheduling of shared objects and apparatus
US5428769A (en) * 1992-03-31 1995-06-27 The Dow Chemical Company Process control interface system having triply redundant remote field units
US5481715A (en) * 1993-12-15 1996-01-02 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Method and apparatus for delegated communications in a computer system using trusted deputies
US5485617A (en) * 1993-12-13 1996-01-16 Microsoft Corporation Method and system for dynamically generating object connections
US5491625A (en) * 1993-12-23 1996-02-13 The Dow Chemical Company Information display system for actively redundant computerized process control
US5499023A (en) * 1992-05-27 1996-03-12 Kaye Instruments, Inc. Method of and apparatus for automated sensor diagnosis through quantitative measurement of one of sensor-to-earth conductance or loop resistance
US5499365A (en) * 1993-08-04 1996-03-12 International Business Machines Corporation System and method for controlling versions of objects in an object oriented computing environment
US5501608A (en) * 1993-12-20 1996-03-26 Intel Corporation Computer system with an interconnection receptacle suitable for different external connectors
US5504895A (en) * 1992-03-24 1996-04-02 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Method of managing data structure containing both persistent data and transient data
US5526353A (en) * 1994-12-20 1996-06-11 Henley; Arthur System and method for communication of audio data over a packet-based network
US5530868A (en) * 1991-08-12 1996-06-25 International Business Machines Corporation Notification of event handlers in broadcast or propagation mode by event management services in a computer system
US5604737A (en) * 1993-12-15 1997-02-18 Hitachi, Ltd. Voice communication system and voice communication method
US5608608A (en) * 1995-01-04 1997-03-04 International Business Machines Corporation Cartridge-based design for portable and fixed computers
US5608607A (en) * 1995-04-24 1997-03-04 Compaq Computer Corporation PCMCIA card and associated support and circuitry augmenting apparatus and methods
US5613164A (en) * 1995-03-22 1997-03-18 International Business Machines Corporation Portable system having data distribution and power distribution removably positioned within portable enclosure during shipping and adapted for repositioning within internal storage space during operation
US5613190A (en) * 1995-05-01 1997-03-18 Bell Atlantic Network Services, Inc. Customer premise wireless distribution of audio-video, control signals and voice
US5623670A (en) * 1995-02-17 1997-04-22 Lucent Technologies Inc. Method and apparatus for crash safe enforcement of mutually exclusive access to shared resources in a multitasking computer system
US5629872A (en) * 1992-01-29 1997-05-13 Arch Development Corporation System for monitoring an industrial process and determining sensor status
US5642259A (en) * 1996-01-31 1997-06-24 Ma; Hsi-Kuang Arrangement for connecting an expansion card to a connector socket in a personal computer
US5713045A (en) * 1995-06-29 1998-01-27 Object Technology Licensing Corporation System for processing user events with input device entity associated with event producer which further links communication from event consumer to the event producer
US5715178A (en) * 1989-11-02 1998-02-03 Combustion Engineering, Inc. Method of validating measurement data of a process parameter from a plurality of individual sensor inputs
US5716221A (en) * 1995-10-20 1998-02-10 Itt Corporation Stacked IC card assembly for insertion into stacked receivers
US5717880A (en) * 1993-09-06 1998-02-10 Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba Method and apparatus for relaying events and requests in a windows systems
US5734902A (en) * 1992-01-31 1998-03-31 Gpt Limited Communication system for maintaining data consistency among replicated shared objects
US5742596A (en) * 1995-11-12 1998-04-21 Phonet Communication Ltd. Network based distributed PBX system
US5746511A (en) * 1996-01-03 1998-05-05 Rosemount Inc. Temperature transmitter with on-line calibration using johnson noise
US5748912A (en) * 1995-06-13 1998-05-05 Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. User-removable central processing unit card for an electrical device
US5761033A (en) * 1993-02-19 1998-06-02 Sejus Corporation Open computer system with externally interconnected peripheral modules
US5761090A (en) * 1995-10-10 1998-06-02 The University Of Chicago Expert system for testing industrial processes and determining sensor status
US5774378A (en) * 1993-04-21 1998-06-30 The Foxboro Company Self-validating sensors
US5864773A (en) * 1995-11-03 1999-01-26 Texas Instruments Incorporated Virtual sensor based monitoring and fault detection/classification system and method for semiconductor processing equipment
US5867704A (en) * 1995-02-24 1999-02-02 Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. Multiprocessor system shaving processor based idle state detection and method of executing tasks in such a multiprocessor system
US5875430A (en) * 1996-05-02 1999-02-23 Technology Licensing Corporation Smart commercial kitchen network
US5876122A (en) * 1996-01-03 1999-03-02 Rosemount Inc. Temperature sensor
US5917840A (en) * 1992-03-13 1999-06-29 Foxboro Company Protection against communications crosstalk in a factory process control system
US6033257A (en) * 1995-11-20 2000-03-07 The Foxboro Company I/O connector module for a field controller in a distributed control system
US6038486A (en) * 1996-11-29 2000-03-14 Scan Technology Co., Ltd. Control method for factory automation system
US6049578A (en) * 1997-06-06 2000-04-11 Abb Combustion Engineering Nuclear Power, Inc. Digital plant protection system
US6052629A (en) * 1997-07-18 2000-04-18 Gilbarco Inc. Internet capable browser dispenser architecture
US6070250A (en) * 1996-12-13 2000-05-30 Westinghouse Process Control, Inc. Workstation-based distributed process control system
US6073109A (en) * 1993-02-08 2000-06-06 Action Technologies, Inc. Computerized method and system for managing business processes using linked workflows
US6076124A (en) * 1995-10-10 2000-06-13 The Foxboro Company Distributed control system including a compact easily-extensible and serviceable field controller
US6078848A (en) * 1996-07-27 2000-06-20 Lexitech, Inc. Browser kiosk system
US6173414B1 (en) * 1998-05-12 2001-01-09 Mcdonnell Douglas Corporation Systems and methods for reduced error detection latency using encoded data
US6195774B1 (en) * 1998-08-13 2001-02-27 Xilinx, Inc. Boundary-scan method using object-oriented programming language
US6195694B1 (en) * 1997-03-13 2001-02-27 International Business Machines Corporation Server for reconfiguring control of a subset of devices on one or more kiosks
US6212440B1 (en) * 1997-08-21 2001-04-03 Okuma Corporation Numerical control system
US6212608B1 (en) * 1996-11-04 2001-04-03 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Method and apparatus for thread synchronization in an object-based system
US6216158B1 (en) * 1999-01-25 2001-04-10 3Com Corporation System and method using a palm sized computer to control network devices
US6349287B1 (en) * 1997-08-01 2002-02-19 Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. Work-flow support system
US6353860B1 (en) * 1995-03-22 2002-03-05 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Methods and apparatus for managing collections of objects
US6853867B1 (en) * 1998-12-30 2005-02-08 Schneider Automation Inc. Interface to a programmable logic controller
US7020532B2 (en) * 1999-06-11 2006-03-28 Invensys Systems, Inc. Methods and apparatus for control using control devices that provide a virtual machine environment and that communicate via an IP network
US20070019560A1 (en) * 2005-07-19 2007-01-25 Rosemount Inc. Interface module with power over ethernet function
US7177052B2 (en) * 1998-11-09 2007-02-13 Silverbrook Research Pty Ltd Dithered image for bi-level printing
US7199784B2 (en) * 2003-05-16 2007-04-03 Fisher Rosemount Systems, Inc. One-handed operation of a handheld field maintenance tool

Family Cites Families (662)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US574762A (en) * 1897-01-05 eowbotha m
US3096434A (en) 1961-11-28 1963-07-02 Daniel Orifice Fitting Company Multiple integration flow computer
US3404264A (en) 1965-07-19 1968-10-01 American Meter Co Telemetering system for determining rate of flow
US3665172A (en) 1969-06-25 1972-05-23 Shell Oil Co Control of a process variable by a computer and a controller which replaces the computer
US3701280A (en) 1970-03-18 1972-10-31 Daniel Ind Inc Method and apparatus for determining the supercompressibility factor of natural gas
US3810119A (en) 1971-05-04 1974-05-07 Us Navy Processor synchronization scheme
US3802590A (en) 1972-05-22 1974-04-09 Bernardin Inc Linerless container closure
US3825905A (en) 1972-09-13 1974-07-23 Action Communication Syst Inc Binary synchronous communications processor system and method
USRE29383E (en) 1974-01-10 1977-09-06 Process Systems, Inc. Digital fluid flow rate measurement or control system
GB1488304A (en) 1974-06-20 1977-10-12 Yukogawa Electric Works Ltd Signal transmission system
FR2296221A1 (fr) 1974-12-27 1976-07-23 Ibm France Systeme de traitement du signal
US4006464A (en) 1975-02-20 1977-02-01 Fx Systems, Inc. Industrial process controller
US4058975A (en) 1975-12-08 1977-11-22 General Electric Company Gas turbine temperature sensor validation apparatus and method
US4648064A (en) 1976-01-02 1987-03-03 Morley Richard E Parallel process controller
US4312068A (en) 1976-08-12 1982-01-19 Honeywell Information Systems Inc. Parallel generation of serial cyclic redundancy check
US4276593A (en) 1979-03-30 1981-06-30 Beckman Instruments, Inc. Transfer system for multi-variable control units
US4302820A (en) 1979-08-20 1981-11-24 Allen-Bradley Company Dual language programmable controller
US4428044A (en) 1979-09-20 1984-01-24 Bell Telephone Laboratories, Incorporated Peripheral unit controller
US4347563A (en) 1980-06-16 1982-08-31 Forney Engineering Company Industrial control system
US4323966A (en) 1980-02-05 1982-04-06 The Bendix Corporation Operations controller for a fault-tolerant multiple computer system
US4351023A (en) 1980-04-11 1982-09-21 The Foxboro Company Process control system with improved system security features
US4413314A (en) 1980-06-16 1983-11-01 Forney Engineering Company Industrial process control system
US4471457A (en) 1980-08-21 1984-09-11 International Business Machines Corporation Supervisory control of peripheral subsystems
DE3040080C1 (de) 1980-10-24 1987-11-12 Standard Elektrik Lorenz Ag, 7000 Stuttgart Einrichtung zur signaltechnisch sicheren Datenuebertragung zwischen einer Trasse und auf dieser gefuehrten Fahrzeugen
US4410942A (en) 1981-03-06 1983-10-18 International Business Machines Corporation Synchronizing buffered peripheral subsystems to host operations
US4435762A (en) 1981-03-06 1984-03-06 International Business Machines Corporation Buffered peripheral subsystems
US4443861A (en) 1981-04-13 1984-04-17 Forney Engineering Company Combined mode supervisory program-panel controller method and apparatus for a process control system
US4423486A (en) 1981-04-30 1983-12-27 Hobart Corporation Commodity display for weighing scale
US4493027A (en) 1981-05-22 1985-01-08 Data General Corporation Method of performing a call operation in a digital data processing system having microcode call and return operations
JPS5864503A (ja) 1981-10-14 1983-04-16 Hitachi Ltd 装置の異常状態に対する原因推定方法
US4466098A (en) 1982-06-11 1984-08-14 Siemens Corporation Cross channel circuit for an electronic system having two or more redundant computers
JPS58225442A (ja) 1982-06-25 1983-12-27 Toshiba Corp 優先順位制御回路
DE3236812C2 (de) 1982-10-05 1987-01-08 Standard Elektrik Lorenz Ag, 7000 Stuttgart Fernwirksystem
US4488226A (en) 1982-11-23 1984-12-11 Challenge Systems, Inc. Method and apparatus for high speed asynchronous serial data transfer
US4641269A (en) 1983-01-26 1987-02-03 Emhart Industries, Inc. Programmable control system for glassware forming machines
US4675812A (en) 1983-02-14 1987-06-23 International Business Machines Corp. Priority circuit for channel subsystem having components with diverse and changing requirement for system resources
US4872106A (en) 1983-04-06 1989-10-03 New Forney Corp. Industrial process control system with back-up data processors to take over from failed primary data processors
US4692859A (en) 1983-05-16 1987-09-08 Rca Corporation Multiple byte serial data transfer protocol
US4612620A (en) 1983-06-06 1986-09-16 Ird Mechanalysis, Inc. Apparatus for collecting scheduled maintenance data
US4530234A (en) 1983-06-30 1985-07-23 Mobil Oil Corporation Method and system for measuring properties of fluids
US4682304A (en) 1983-08-04 1987-07-21 Tektronix, Inc. Asynchronous multiple buffered communications interface having an independent microprocessor for controlling host/peripheral exchanges
JPS6054052A (ja) 1983-09-02 1985-03-28 Nec Corp 処理継続方式
US4558413A (en) * 1983-11-21 1985-12-10 Xerox Corporation Software version management system
JPH0754442B2 (ja) 1983-11-24 1995-06-07 大倉電気株式会社 プロセス制御システム
JPH0638600B2 (ja) 1983-12-28 1994-05-18 株式会社東芝 ローカルエリアネットワークシステム
US4682158A (en) 1984-03-23 1987-07-21 Ricoh Company, Ltd. Guidance device for manipulation of machine
US4615001A (en) 1984-03-29 1986-09-30 At&T Bell Laboratories Queuing arrangement for initiating execution of multistage transactions
US4683530A (en) 1984-04-10 1987-07-28 Telemecanique Electrique Serial information transfer protocol
US4633217A (en) 1984-06-04 1986-12-30 Yamatake Honeywell Communication apparatus
US4959774A (en) 1984-07-06 1990-09-25 Ampex Corporation Shadow memory system for storing variable backup blocks in consecutive time periods
US4641276A (en) 1984-10-22 1987-02-03 General Electric Company Serial-parallel data transfer system for VLSI data paths
US4663704A (en) 1984-12-03 1987-05-05 Westinghouse Electric Corp. Universal process control device and method for developing a process control loop program
US4692918A (en) 1984-12-17 1987-09-08 At&T Bell Laboratories Reliable local data network arrangement
US4672530A (en) 1984-12-17 1987-06-09 Combustion Engineering, Inc. Distributed control with universal program
US4649479A (en) 1985-02-28 1987-03-10 International Business Machines Corp. Device driver and adapter binding technique
US4649473A (en) * 1985-06-17 1987-03-10 International Business Machines Corporation Flexible data transmission for message based protocols
DE3523289A1 (de) * 1985-06-28 1987-01-08 Busch Dieter & Co Prueftech Verfahren und vorrichtung zur ermittlung und auswertung von maschinenzustandsdaten
US4790762A (en) 1985-07-23 1988-12-13 Honeywell Inc. Backplane for a modularly expandable programmable controller
US4839854A (en) * 1985-09-13 1989-06-13 Seiko Instruments & Electronics Ltd. Data collection system having stationary unit with electromagnetic induction circuitry for bidirectionally relaying data
US4647276A (en) * 1985-09-20 1987-03-03 Smoczynski Frank E Rosary card
US5371895A (en) 1985-10-08 1994-12-06 The Foxboro Company Local equipment controller for computerized process control applications utilizing language structure templates in a hierarchical organization and method of operating the same
US4703421A (en) 1986-01-03 1987-10-27 Gte Communication Systems Corporation Ready line synchronization circuit for use in a duplicated computer system
JPH0812206B2 (ja) 1986-03-07 1996-02-07 ヒューレット・パッカード・カンパニー 測定器制御装置
US4704676A (en) 1986-03-24 1987-11-03 The Foxboro Company Method and apparatus for configuring a controller
US5481741A (en) 1986-04-14 1996-01-02 National Instruments Corporation Method and apparatus for providing attribute nodes in a graphical data flow environment
US5218187A (en) 1990-01-18 1993-06-08 Norand Corporation Hand-held data capture system with interchangeable modules
US4806905A (en) * 1986-10-01 1989-02-21 Honeywell Inc. Transmitter for transmitting on a two-wire transmitting line
US4770841A (en) * 1986-10-08 1988-09-13 Westinghouse Electric Corp. Methods and apparatus for dynamic systems control
US4885707A (en) 1987-02-19 1989-12-05 Dli Corporation Vibration data collecting and processing apparatus and method
US5282851A (en) * 1987-07-07 1994-02-01 Jacob Labarre Jean Intraocular prostheses
US4965880A (en) 1987-07-15 1990-10-23 Ciba-Geigy Corporation Productio installation for the manufacture of a product
US4958277A (en) 1987-07-24 1990-09-18 Motorola, Inc. Queued serial peripheral interface for use in a data processing system
EP0306211A3 (fr) 1987-09-04 1990-09-26 Digital Equipment Corporation Système synchronisé à double calculateur
US4965742A (en) 1987-09-30 1990-10-23 E. I. Du Pont De Nemours And Company Process control system with on-line reconfigurable modules
US4918690A (en) 1987-11-10 1990-04-17 Echelon Systems Corp. Network and intelligent cell for providing sensing, bidirectional communications and control
US5129087A (en) 1988-02-03 1992-07-07 International Business Machines, Corp. Computer system and a method of monitoring transient data structures in a computer system
US4897777A (en) 1988-04-11 1990-01-30 Square D Company Peer-to-peer register exchange controller for PLCS
US5596331A (en) * 1988-05-13 1997-01-21 Lockheed Martin Corporation Real-time control sequencer with state matrix logic
EP0353819B1 (fr) 1988-08-02 1997-04-09 Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. Méthode et dispositif pour la synchronisation de processeurs parallèles utilisant un barrage flou
US5109692A (en) 1988-08-25 1992-05-05 Fisher Controls International Inc. Diagnostic apparatus and method for fluid control valves
US5175829A (en) 1988-10-25 1992-12-29 Hewlett-Packard Company Method and apparatus for bus lock during atomic computer operations
DE68925271T2 (de) 1988-10-27 1996-08-14 Texas Instruments Inc Kommunikations-, Informations-, Wartungsdiagnostik und Ausbildungssystem
US4940974A (en) * 1988-11-01 1990-07-10 Norand Corporation Multiterminal communication system and method
US4924462A (en) * 1988-11-01 1990-05-08 Norand Corporation Multiterminal communication system and method
NO303200B1 (no) * 1988-11-04 1998-06-08 Merlin Gerin Bygningsteknisk styringsenhet med totrÕds data- og kraftforsyningslinje
US5068778A (en) 1988-11-28 1991-11-26 Reliance Electric Industrial Company Industrial control system device
JP2927484B2 (ja) * 1989-01-25 1999-07-28 株式会社日立製作所 プログラムの自動生成方法及び装置
US5349678A (en) 1991-08-21 1994-09-20 Norand Corporation Versatile RF data capture system
US4926158A (en) 1989-02-01 1990-05-15 Zeigler John R Powered communication link
US5121318A (en) 1989-04-19 1992-06-09 Westinghouse Electric Corp. On-line plant operating procedure guidance system
US5050165A (en) 1989-06-01 1991-09-17 Seiko Instruments Inc. Bridge circuit for interconnecting networks
DE69034101T2 (de) 1989-06-07 2005-06-09 Broadcom Corp., Irvine Handgehaltenes datenerfassungssystem mit auswechselbaren modulen
US5136704A (en) 1989-06-28 1992-08-04 Motorola, Inc. Redundant microprocessor control system using locks and keys
US5138708A (en) 1989-08-03 1992-08-11 Unisys Corporation Digital processor using current state comparison for providing fault tolerance
US5167010A (en) 1989-08-03 1992-11-24 Westinghouse Electric Corp. Expert advice display processing system
US5513095A (en) 1989-08-16 1996-04-30 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Flexible automation system for variable industrial processes
CA2284248C (fr) 1989-09-01 2001-12-04 Amdahl Corporation Systeme pour creer, editer, exposer et executer des regles de language de programmation a base de regles ayant une part de sous-ensemble d'actions pour l'evaluation au conditionnel de vrai ou faux
US5131092A (en) 1989-09-01 1992-07-14 Square D Company Communication system enabling programmable logic controllers access to host computer tasks and host computer access to programmable logic controllers without polling
DE59009791D1 (de) 1989-09-21 1995-11-23 Siemens Ag Verfahren zur Personensuche in einer Fernsprechnebenstellenvermittlungsanlage mit Hilfe einer Personensucheinrichtung, die zur Personensuche sich voneinander unterscheidende Betriebsarten bereitstellt.
US5115235A (en) 1989-09-25 1992-05-19 Cabletron Systems, Inc. Flexible module interconnect system
US5089927A (en) * 1989-10-12 1992-02-18 Northern Telecom Limited Power feed circuit for digital communications terminal equipment
JPH03156559A (ja) 1989-11-14 1991-07-04 Nec Corp マルチプロセッサシステムに於ける割込み処理方式
US5181978A (en) 1989-11-25 1993-01-26 Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd. Tire and rim assembly with the tire having 15 degree taper bead parts
EP0513206B1 (fr) 1990-01-30 1995-04-12 Johnson Service Company Systeme de gestion d'unites interconnectees en reseau
US5134574A (en) 1990-02-27 1992-07-28 The Foxboro Company Performance control apparatus and method in a processing plant
CA2034878C (fr) 1990-03-08 2002-04-02 Craig S. Hyatt Module de communication pour controleur programmable
US5245704A (en) 1990-03-22 1993-09-14 Square D Company System for sharing data between microprocessor based devices
US5159673A (en) 1990-03-22 1992-10-27 Square D Company Apparatus for networking programmable logic controllers to host computers
US5151978A (en) 1990-03-22 1992-09-29 Square D Company Lan interface which permits a host computer to obtain data without interrupting a ladder program executing in the interface
GB9006661D0 (en) 1990-03-24 1990-05-23 Reflex Manufacturing Systems L Network-field interface for manufacturing systems
US20010007183A1 (en) 1998-05-12 2001-07-12 Weder Donald E. Plant package having a waxy layer and a decorative printed pattern
US5335186A (en) * 1990-03-30 1994-08-02 Texas Instruments Incorporated Intelligent programmable sensing
US5257208A (en) 1990-04-23 1993-10-26 Fire & Safety Electronics Inc. Computerized portable testing device for backflow valves
US5124908A (en) 1990-04-23 1992-06-23 Ellis Corporation User interactive expert machine controller
US5164894A (en) 1990-04-26 1992-11-17 Elsag International B.V. Method of data entry into a plant loop
US5251125A (en) 1990-04-30 1993-10-05 Eaton Corporation User interface for a process control device
US5271013A (en) 1990-05-09 1993-12-14 Unisys Corporation Fault tolerant computer system
US5140677A (en) 1990-05-11 1992-08-18 International Business Machines Corporation Computer user interface with window title bar mini-icons
CA2041992A1 (fr) 1990-05-18 1991-11-19 Yeshayahu Artsy Acheminement d'objets dans des trajets d'intervention dans un systeme informatique reparti
EP0458495A3 (en) 1990-05-21 1993-04-14 Texas Instruments Incorporated Apparatus and method for managing versions and configurations of persistent and transient objects
US5168441A (en) 1990-05-30 1992-12-01 Allen-Bradley Company, Inc. Methods for set up and programming of machine and process controllers
US5202961A (en) 1990-06-08 1993-04-13 Apple Computer, Inc. Sequential information controller
US5163055A (en) 1990-06-27 1992-11-10 Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson Communications system using a fault tolerant protocol
US5122948A (en) 1990-06-28 1992-06-16 Allen-Bradley Company, Inc. Remote terminal industrial control communication system
US5151981A (en) 1990-07-13 1992-09-29 International Business Machines Corporation Instruction sampling instrumentation
US5175698A (en) 1990-07-23 1992-12-29 Dz Company Method and system for transfer function measurement
US5150289A (en) 1990-07-30 1992-09-22 The Foxboro Company Method and apparatus for process control
US5224203A (en) 1990-08-03 1993-06-29 E. I. Du Pont De Nemours & Co., Inc. On-line process control neural network using data pointers
US5167009A (en) 1990-08-03 1992-11-24 E. I. Du Pont De Nemours & Co. (Inc.) On-line process control neural network using data pointers
US5197114A (en) 1990-08-03 1993-03-23 E. I. Du Pont De Nemours & Co., Inc. Computer neural network regulatory process control system and method
GB2247318B (en) 1990-08-20 1994-08-10 Rosemount Ltd A transmitter
US5166685A (en) 1990-09-04 1992-11-24 Motorola, Inc. Automatic selection of external multiplexer channels by an A/D converter integrated circuit
US5168276A (en) 1990-09-04 1992-12-01 Motorola, Inc. Automatic A/D converter operation using a programmable control table
US5905248A (en) 1990-09-11 1999-05-18 Metrologic Instruments, Inc. System and method for carrying out information-related transactions using web documents embodying transaction enabling applets automatically launched and executed in response to reading URL-encoded symbols pointing thereto
US5170340A (en) 1990-09-28 1992-12-08 Xerox Corporation System state controller for electronic image processing systems
US5162986A (en) 1990-10-19 1992-11-10 Allen-Bradley Company, Inc. Remote downloading and uploading of motion control program information to and from a motion control I/O module in a programmable controller
US5249274A (en) 1990-10-24 1993-09-28 Vanderbilt University Simultaneous data-driven and demand-driven computational model for dynamically configured systems
JPH06266727A (ja) 1990-10-24 1994-09-22 Osaka Gas Co Ltd 診断表示方法及び表示装置
US5297143A (en) 1990-12-03 1994-03-22 Echelon Systems, Corp. Network communication protocol including a reliable multicasting technique
JPH0727504B2 (ja) 1990-12-10 1995-03-29 インターナショナル・ビジネス・マシーンズ・コーポレイション ネットワークの構成を定義するシステム、ネットワークのための構成パラメータを生成する方法及びネットワークを構成するためのシステム
JP2864741B2 (ja) 1990-12-19 1999-03-08 株式会社日立製作所 データインテグリティを保証する通信システム
DE59109059D1 (de) 1991-02-22 1998-10-29 Siemens Ag Flexibles Automatisierungssystem
EP0576574B1 (fr) 1991-03-18 2001-10-31 Echelon Corporation Structures de langage de programmation destinees a etre utilisees dans un reseau pour communiquer, detecter et gerer des informations
AU1587592A (en) 1991-03-18 1992-10-21 Echelon Corporation Networked variables
CA2246940C (fr) 1991-03-28 2003-03-11 Ibm Canada Limited-Ibm Canada Limitee Methode et moyen pour encoder, entreposer et extraire des donnees de traitement archivistiques pour un systeme informatique
US5517655A (en) 1991-04-26 1996-05-14 Hewlett-Packard Company Method for monitoring transactions in an object-oriented environment
US5367640A (en) 1991-04-30 1994-11-22 Hewlett-Packard Company System for configuring an input/output board in a computer
JPH04329408A (ja) 1991-04-30 1992-11-18 Osayasu Sato 機械装置の制御方法
US5432705A (en) 1991-05-31 1995-07-11 Itronix Corporation Administrative computer and testing apparatus
US5233615A (en) 1991-06-06 1993-08-03 Honeywell Inc. Interrupt driven, separately clocked, fault tolerant processor synchronization
DE4120388C2 (de) 1991-06-19 2001-05-03 Bosch Gmbh Robert Verfahren zur Temperaturerfassung
DE59107794D1 (de) 1991-07-26 1996-06-13 Siemens Ag Konfigurierbare Werkzeugmaschinensteuerung
CA2062620C (fr) 1991-07-31 1998-10-06 Robert Paff Appareil de surveillance a commande amelioree de la camera et de son objectif
US5272702A (en) 1991-08-05 1993-12-21 Fisher Controls International, Inc. Integrity mapping in data communication system
JPH0546568A (ja) 1991-08-08 1993-02-26 Internatl Business Mach Corp <Ibm> 分散アプリケーシヨン実行装置および方法
US5671436A (en) 1991-08-21 1997-09-23 Norand Corporation Versatile RF data capture system
CA2068486C (fr) 1991-08-30 1998-09-15 Stephen S. Fleming Systeme et methode graphique de creation d'objets
US5500934A (en) 1991-09-04 1996-03-19 International Business Machines Corporation Display and control system for configuring and monitoring a complex system
US5459839A (en) 1991-09-05 1995-10-17 International Business Machines Corporation System and method for managing queue read and write pointers
US5258999A (en) 1991-10-03 1993-11-02 Motorola, Inc. Circuit and method for receiving and transmitting control and status information
US5305889A (en) * 1991-10-18 1994-04-26 Ganz John M Center feed cyclone
US5619716A (en) * 1991-11-05 1997-04-08 Hitachi, Ltd. Information processing system having a configuration management system for managing the software of the information processing system
CA2073516A1 (fr) 1991-11-27 1993-05-28 Peter Michael Kogge Ordinateur a reseau de processeurs paralleles multimode dynamiques
US5276901A (en) 1991-12-16 1994-01-04 International Business Machines Corporation System for controlling group access to objects using group access control folder and group identification as individual user
US5359721A (en) 1991-12-18 1994-10-25 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Non-supervisor mode cross address space dynamic linking
US5339362A (en) 1992-01-07 1994-08-16 Rockford Corporation Automotive audio system
US5517618A (en) * 1992-02-10 1996-05-14 Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. Mobile migration communications control device
US5267240A (en) 1992-02-20 1993-11-30 International Business Machines Corporation Frame-group transmission and reception for parallel/serial buses
DE59203908D1 (de) 1992-02-24 1995-11-09 Siemens Ag Regelung mit Vorsteuerung, insbesondere für ein Walzgerüst.
US5461710A (en) 1992-03-20 1995-10-24 International Business Machines Corporation Method for providing a readily distinguishable template and means of duplication thereof in a computer system graphical user interface
US5352033A (en) 1992-03-27 1994-10-04 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. Operator work station having a monitor support assembly
US5408603A (en) 1992-03-31 1995-04-18 Dow Benelux N.V. Global process control information system and method
CA2064541C (fr) 1992-03-31 1998-09-15 Thomas A. Gray Comptage cyclique des erreurs pour la maintenance d'une liaison
WO1993020511A1 (fr) 1992-03-31 1993-10-14 Aggregate Computing, Inc. Systeme d'execution a distance integre pour un environnement de reseaux informatiques heterogenes
US5361198A (en) 1992-04-03 1994-11-01 Combustion Engineering, Inc. Compact work station control room
US5408653A (en) * 1992-04-15 1995-04-18 International Business Machines Corporation Efficient data base access using a shared electronic store in a multi-system environment with shared disks
JP3489123B2 (ja) 1992-04-15 2004-01-19 株式会社日立製作所 アプリケーション結合方法
US5845078A (en) 1992-04-16 1998-12-01 Hitachi, Ltd. Network integrated construction system, method of installing network connection machines, and method of setting network parameters
JP3050348B2 (ja) 1992-04-17 2000-06-12 インターナショナル・ビジネス・マシーンズ・コーポレイション プロセス制御システムにおけるユーザ制御のための方法と装置
GB9208704D0 (en) 1992-04-22 1992-06-10 Foxboro Ltd Improvements in and relating to sensor units
US5347181A (en) 1992-04-29 1994-09-13 Motorola, Inc. Interface control logic for embedding a microprocessor in a gate array
US5630152A (en) 1992-05-18 1997-05-13 Motorola, Inc. Communication protocol between master and slave device with register information sharing
US5444861A (en) 1992-06-01 1995-08-22 United Technologies Corporation System for downloading software
DE69316009T2 (de) 1992-06-12 1998-04-23 Dow Benelux Sicheres frontendverbindungssystem und verfahren fur prozesssteuerungsrechner
US5434952A (en) 1992-06-26 1995-07-18 The Texas A&M Univesity System System and method for specifying an expert system
DE4222043C1 (fr) 1992-07-04 1993-07-22 Kloeckner Moeller Gmbh
EP0930566A3 (fr) 1992-07-06 2006-07-05 Microsoft Corporation Méthode et système pour composer des objets
US5557559A (en) * 1992-07-06 1996-09-17 Motay Electronics, Inc. Universal burn-in driver system and method therefor
US5386559A (en) * 1992-07-16 1995-01-31 International Business Machines Corporation Variant domains and variant maps in a versioned database management system
US5513192A (en) 1992-08-28 1996-04-30 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Fault tolerant disk drive system with error detection and correction
EP0592079A2 (fr) 1992-09-20 1994-04-13 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Installation de logiciel automatisée et configuration d'environnement d'exploitation sur un système d'ordinateur
US5579487A (en) 1992-10-02 1996-11-26 Teletransaction, Inc. Portable work slate computer with multiple docking positions for interchangeably receiving removable modules
US5434997A (en) 1992-10-02 1995-07-18 Compaq Computer Corp. Method and apparatus for testing and debugging a tightly coupled mirrored processing system
US5896138A (en) 1992-10-05 1999-04-20 Fisher Controls International, Inc. Process control with graphical attribute interface
CA2107519C (fr) 1992-10-05 2002-04-09 Stephen George Seberger Systeme et methode de communication
US5377315A (en) 1992-10-06 1994-12-27 Leggett; Andrew G. Regeneration of process control flow diagrams for programmable logic controllers
US5432711A (en) 1992-10-16 1995-07-11 Elcon Instruments, Inc. Interface for use with a process instrumentation system
US5437007A (en) 1992-11-10 1995-07-25 Hewlett-Packard Company Control sequencer in an iconic programming system
US5841991A (en) 1992-11-18 1998-11-24 Canon Information Systems, Inc. In an Interactive network board, a method and apparatus for storing a media access control address in a remotely alterable memory
US5513354A (en) 1992-12-18 1996-04-30 International Business Machines Corporation Fault tolerant load management system and method
US5469150A (en) 1992-12-18 1995-11-21 Honeywell Inc. Sensor actuator bus system
AU5954194A (en) 1992-12-21 1994-07-19 Apple Computer, Inc. Method and apparatus for transforming an arbitrary topology collection of nodes into an acyclic directed graph
US5428734A (en) 1992-12-22 1995-06-27 Ibm Corporation Method and apparatus for enhancing drag and drop manipulation of objects in a graphical user interface
US5384910A (en) 1992-12-31 1995-01-24 International Business Machines Corporation Method and apparatus for facilitating operator reconfiguration of a graphical user interface in a data processing system
US5719761A (en) * 1993-01-15 1998-02-17 Alaris Medical Systems, Inc. Configuration control system for configuring multiple biomedical devices
US6272529B1 (en) 1993-01-26 2001-08-07 Logic Controls, Inc. Point-of-sale system and distributed computer network for same
US5551047A (en) 1993-01-28 1996-08-27 The Regents Of The Univeristy Of California Method for distributed redundant execution of program modules
GB2275113B (en) 1993-02-09 1996-04-03 Rosemount Ltd Displacement sensor
US5450403A (en) 1993-03-02 1995-09-12 The Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd. Method and apparatus for multiplex transmission
US5542039A (en) 1993-03-05 1996-07-30 International Business Machines Corporation Control for scaled parameters
US5787444A (en) * 1993-03-15 1998-07-28 International Business Machines Corp. Method and apparatus for maintaining revision contol of a set of objects within a data processing system
US5676141A (en) 1993-03-31 1997-10-14 Nellcor Puritan Bennett Incorporated Electronic processor for pulse oximeters
US5405779A (en) 1993-04-09 1995-04-11 Agracetus, Inc. Apparatus for genetic transformation
US5327144A (en) 1993-05-07 1994-07-05 Associated Rt, Inc. Cellular telephone location system
US5873097A (en) * 1993-05-12 1999-02-16 Apple Computer, Inc. Update mechanism for computer storage container manager
JPH06332710A (ja) 1993-05-21 1994-12-02 Fujitsu Ltd オブジェクト指向データ処理システム
JPH06331781A (ja) 1993-05-26 1994-12-02 Toshiba Corp プラント状態表示装置
US5440237A (en) 1993-06-01 1995-08-08 Incontrol Solutions, Inc. Electronic force sensing with sensor normalization
JP3365576B2 (ja) 1993-06-14 2003-01-14 インターナショナル・ビジネス・マシーンズ・コーポレーション オブジェクトの実行方法および装置
US5467264A (en) 1993-06-30 1995-11-14 Microsoft Method and system for selectively interdependent control of devices
US5513329A (en) 1993-07-15 1996-04-30 Dell Usa, L.P. Modular host local expansion upgrade
WO1995003586A1 (fr) 1993-07-21 1995-02-02 Persistence Software, Inc. Procede et appareil de generation du code de mise en correspondance de donnees relationnelles avec des objets
ATE180902T1 (de) 1993-07-28 1999-06-15 Siemens Ag Aufdatverfahren
KR100320360B1 (ko) 1993-07-29 2002-04-22 페레고스 조지, 마이크 로스 원격재프로그램이가능한마이크로콘트롤러용프로그램메모리
US5594858A (en) * 1993-07-29 1997-01-14 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. Uniform control template generating system and method for process control programming
CN100545828C (zh) 1993-07-30 2009-09-30 佳能株式会社 控制连接到网络的网络设备的控制设备及其控制方法
JP3541039B2 (ja) 1993-08-03 2004-07-07 サン・マイクロシステムズ，インコーポレイテッド コンピュータアプリケーションのためのフレキシブル多重プラットフォームパーティショニング
JP2986051B2 (ja) 1993-08-04 1999-12-06 インターナショナル・ビジネス・マシーンズ・コーポレイション オブジェクト指向コンピュータ・システム及びオブジェクト実行方法
US5539638A (en) 1993-08-05 1996-07-23 Pavilion Technologies, Inc. Virtual emissions monitor for automobile
US5880775A (en) 1993-08-16 1999-03-09 Videofaxx, Inc. Method and apparatus for detecting changes in a video display
EP0640905A1 (fr) 1993-08-17 1995-03-01 Emhart Glass Machinery Investments Inc. Console pour la commande de processus d'une machine pour la production des articles en verre
US5530643A (en) 1993-08-24 1996-06-25 Allen-Bradley Company, Inc. Method of programming industrial controllers with highly distributed processing
US5452201A (en) 1993-08-24 1995-09-19 Allen-Bradley Company, Inc. Industrial controller with highly distributed processing
US5549137A (en) 1993-08-25 1996-08-27 Rosemount Inc. Valve positioner with pressure feedback, dynamic correction and diagnostics
US5887145A (en) 1993-09-01 1999-03-23 Sandisk Corporation Removable mother/daughter peripheral card
US5453933A (en) 1993-09-08 1995-09-26 Hurco Companies, Inc. CNC control system
US5504672A (en) 1993-09-10 1996-04-02 Hardiman; Ted L. Industrial process controller and method of process control
US5629949A (en) 1993-09-21 1997-05-13 Cirrus Logic, Inc. Error correction verification method and apparatus using CRC check remainders
US5576946A (en) 1993-09-30 1996-11-19 Fluid Air, Inc. Icon based process design and control system
FR2710996B1 (fr) 1993-10-06 1995-12-01 Gemplus Card Int Carte portable multi-applications pour ordinateur personnel.
EP0647909B1 (fr) 1993-10-08 2003-04-16 International Business Machines Corporation Système d'archivage d'informations avec une fonctionnalité dépendant de l'objet
US5442639A (en) 1993-10-12 1995-08-15 Ship Star Associates, Inc. Method and apparatus for monitoring a communications network
US6129724A (en) 1993-10-14 2000-10-10 Ep Technologies, Inc. Systems and methods for forming elongated lesion patterns in body tissue using straight or curvilinear electrode elements
US5381259A (en) * 1993-10-14 1995-01-10 Xerox Corporation Raster output scanner (ROS) using an overfilled polygon design with minimized optical path length
US5724025A (en) * 1993-10-21 1998-03-03 Tavori; Itzchak Portable vital signs monitor
US5517645A (en) 1993-11-05 1996-05-14 Microsoft Corporation Method and system for interfacing components via aggregate components formed by aggregating the components each with an instance of a component manager
US5450425A (en) 1993-11-19 1995-09-12 Multi-Tech Systems, Inc. Protocol for communication of a data packet
FI94680C (fi) 1993-11-26 1995-10-10 Nokia Mobile Phones Ltd Laajennettu PCMCIA-liitäntä ja menetelmä sen tunnistamiseksi
US5664168A (en) 1993-11-29 1997-09-02 Motorola, Inc. Method and apparatus in a data processing system for selectively inserting bus cycle idle time
US5483660A (en) 1993-11-29 1996-01-09 Motorola Inc. Method and apparatus for performing multiplexed and non-multiplexed bus cycles in a data processing system
US5504902A (en) 1993-12-01 1996-04-02 Patriot Sensors And Controls Corporation Multi-language generation of control program for an industrial controller
US5572673A (en) 1993-12-01 1996-11-05 Sybase, Inc. Secure multi-level system for executing stored procedures
US5555376A (en) 1993-12-03 1996-09-10 Xerox Corporation Method for granting a user request having locational and contextual attributes consistent with user policies for devices having locational attributes consistent with the user request
JP2867860B2 (ja) 1993-12-16 1999-03-10 日本電気株式会社 クロスコネクト装置
US5555437A (en) 1993-12-22 1996-09-10 Adaptec, Inc. Read-write state machine in a host interface for controlling read and write operations in a disk drive
US5664101A (en) 1993-12-22 1997-09-02 Heidelberg Druckmaschinen Ag Intelligent industrial local area network module for use in a distributed control system
JP3660366B2 (ja) 1993-12-28 2005-06-15 富士通株式会社 図形を用いたプログラミングシステム
US5509811A (en) 1994-01-12 1996-04-23 Dell Usa, L.P. Computer enclosure with embedded PCMCIA modem card
US5422816A (en) 1994-02-22 1995-06-06 Trimble Navigation Limited Portable personal navigation tracking system
US5485620A (en) 1994-02-25 1996-01-16 Automation System And Products, Inc. Integrated control system for industrial automation applications
JP3239286B2 (ja) 1994-03-01 2001-12-17 富士通株式会社 チャネル切替制御方式
US5459825A (en) 1994-03-14 1995-10-17 Apple Computer, Inc. System for updating the locations of objects in computer displays upon reconfiguration
JP3214776B2 (ja) 1994-04-13 2001-10-02 株式会社東芝 仮想環境表示装置および方法
US5534912A (en) 1994-04-26 1996-07-09 Bell Atlantic Network Services, Inc. Extended range video on demand distribution system
US5664231A (en) 1994-04-29 1997-09-02 Tps Electronics PCMCIA interface card for coupling input devices such as barcode scanning engines to personal digital assistants and palmtop computers
US5805922A (en) 1994-05-02 1998-09-08 Motorola, Inc. Queued serial peripheral interface having multiple queues for use in a data processing system
AU2193395A (en) * 1994-05-06 1995-11-29 Motorola, Inc. A method for establishing a communication link
WO1995031775A1 (fr) 1994-05-16 1995-11-23 Apple Computer, Inc. Systeme de personnalisation de la representation et du comportement d'interfaces utilisateurs graphiques
US5694546A (en) 1994-05-31 1997-12-02 Reisman; Richard R. System for automatic unattended electronic information transport between a server and a client by a vendor provided transport software with a manifest list
US5544073A (en) 1994-06-02 1996-08-06 Computational Systems, Inc. Rotor balancing calculator
US6175556B1 (en) * 1994-06-06 2001-01-16 International Business Machines Corporation Remote powered ethernet repeater
US5461611A (en) 1994-06-07 1995-10-24 International Business Machines Corporation Quality of service management for source routing multimedia packet networks
US5586066A (en) 1994-06-08 1996-12-17 Arch Development Corporation Surveillance of industrial processes with correlated parameters
US5841963A (en) 1994-06-08 1998-11-24 Hitachi, Ltd. Dual information processing system having a plurality of data transfer channels
US5587899A (en) 1994-06-10 1996-12-24 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. Method and apparatus for determining the ultimate gain and ultimate period of a controlled process
US5544008A (en) 1994-06-30 1996-08-06 International Business Machines Corporation Computer expansion module apparatus
US5526287A (en) 1994-07-01 1996-06-11 Ada Technologies, Inc. Portable data collection device
US5627979A (en) 1994-07-18 1997-05-06 International Business Machines Corporation System and method for providing a graphical user interface for mapping and accessing objects in data stores
US5844796A (en) 1994-07-19 1998-12-01 Minolta Co., Ltd. Machine control device
US5600845A (en) 1994-07-27 1997-02-04 Metalithic Systems Incorporated Integrated circuit computing device comprising a dynamically configurable gate array having a microprocessor and reconfigurable instruction execution means and method therefor
US5687316A (en) 1994-07-29 1997-11-11 International Business Machines Corporation Communication apparatus and methods having P-MAC, I-MAC engines and buffer bypass for simultaneously transmitting multimedia and packet data
KR100357338B1 (ko) 1994-08-02 2003-02-11 가부시끼가이샤 히다치 세이사꾸쇼 데이타처리시스템
US5555510A (en) 1994-08-02 1996-09-10 Intel Corporation Automatic computer card insertion and removal algorithm
US5598536A (en) 1994-08-09 1997-01-28 Shiva Corporation Apparatus and method for providing remote users with the same unique IP address upon each network access
US5564055A (en) 1994-08-30 1996-10-08 Lucent Technologies Inc. PCMCIA slot expander and method
US5621871A (en) 1994-08-31 1997-04-15 Jaremko; Mark Automated system and method for annotation using callouts
US5630056A (en) 1994-09-20 1997-05-13 Stratus Computer, Inc. Digital data processing methods and apparatus for fault detection and fault tolerance
US5611057A (en) 1994-10-06 1997-03-11 Dell Usa, L.P. Computer system modular add-in daughter card for an adapter card which also functions as an independent add-in card
US5623592A (en) 1994-10-18 1997-04-22 Molecular Dynamics Method and apparatus for constructing an iconic sequence to operate external devices
US5531328A (en) 1994-10-20 1996-07-02 Rochelo; Donald R. Container for electronic card
JP3859015B2 (ja) 1994-10-24 2006-12-20 フィッシャー−ローズマウント システムズ， インコーポレイテッド 分散コントロールシステムに於けるフィールドデバイスへのアクセスを提供するための装置
US5519605A (en) 1994-10-24 1996-05-21 Olin Corporation Model predictive control apparatus and method
US5793963A (en) 1994-10-24 1998-08-11 Fisher Rosemount Systems, Inc. Apparatus for providing non-redundant secondary access to field devices in a distributed control system
US5568378A (en) 1994-10-24 1996-10-22 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. Variable horizon predictor for controlling dead time dominant processes, multivariable interactive processes, and processes with time variant dynamics
US5704011A (en) 1994-11-01 1997-12-30 The Foxboro Company Method and apparatus for providing multivariable nonlinear control
MY114883A (en) 1994-11-14 2003-02-28 Ibm Method and apparatus for providing a remotely located outrigger card electrically coupled to a control card
DE69534796T2 (de) 1994-12-01 2006-10-12 Sharp K.K. Kommunikationseinrichtung
US5633811A (en) * 1994-12-09 1997-05-27 Computational Systems, Inc. Hand held data collector and analyzer system
US5642511A (en) 1994-12-16 1997-06-24 International Business Machines Corporation System and method for providing a visual application builder framework
US5748964A (en) 1994-12-20 1998-05-05 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Bytecode program interpreter apparatus and method with pre-verification of data type restrictions
US5802389A (en) 1994-12-29 1998-09-01 Siemens Energy & Automation, Inc. Expansion module address method and apparatus for a programmable logic controller
JP2957104B2 (ja) 1994-12-29 1999-10-04 株式会社アイ・ヒッツ研究所 単相入力整流回路
US5648768A (en) * 1994-12-30 1997-07-15 Mapsys, Inc. System and method for identifying, tabulating and presenting information of interest along a travel route
US5602749A (en) * 1995-01-12 1997-02-11 Mtc Method of data compression and apparatus for its use in monitoring machinery
US6167253A (en) 1995-01-12 2000-12-26 Bell Atlantic Network Services, Inc. Mobile data/message/electronic mail download system utilizing network-centric protocol such as Java
US5491791A (en) 1995-01-13 1996-02-13 International Business Machines Corporation System and method for remote workstation monitoring within a distributed computing environment
US6983227B1 (en) 1995-01-17 2006-01-03 Intertech Ventures, Ltd. Virtual models of complex systems
WO1996023377A1 (fr) * 1995-01-27 1996-08-01 Intecom, Incorporated Systeme multimedia ayant une source d'alimentation centrale et un sous-systeme de distribution
US7133845B1 (en) * 1995-02-13 2006-11-07 Intertrust Technologies Corp. System and methods for secure transaction management and electronic rights protection
US5748467A (en) 1995-02-21 1998-05-05 Fisher-Rosemont Systems, Inc. Method of adapting and applying control parameters in non-linear process controllers
JPH08265358A (ja) 1995-03-20 1996-10-11 Hitachi Ltd 無線ｌａｎシステム及びその基地局装置、無線端末装置及び情報フレームの中継方法
EP0733972B1 (fr) 1995-03-22 2003-07-09 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Méthode et appareil pour gérer des relations entre des objets dans un environnement d'objets distribué
US5907675A (en) * 1995-03-22 1999-05-25 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Methods and apparatus for managing deactivation and shutdown of a server
US5519701A (en) 1995-03-29 1996-05-21 International Business Machines Corporation Architecture for high performance management of multiple circular FIFO storage means
US5850352A (en) * 1995-03-31 1998-12-15 The Regents Of The University Of California Immersive video, including video hypermosaicing to generate from multiple video views of a scene a three-dimensional video mosaic from which diverse virtual video scene images are synthesized, including panoramic, scene interactive and stereoscopic images
EP0735472A3 (fr) 1995-03-31 2000-01-19 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Méthode et appareil pour conspiration entre des objets
US5815152A (en) * 1995-04-18 1998-09-29 Logical Software Solutions Corporation Method and apparatus for defining and evaluating a graphic rule
US6212575B1 (en) * 1995-05-05 2001-04-03 Apple Computer, Inc. Extensible, replaceable network component system
US5790791A (en) 1995-05-12 1998-08-04 The Boeing Company Apparatus for synchronizing flight management computers where only the computer chosen to be the master received pilot inputs and transfers the inputs to the spare
US5742762A (en) 1995-05-19 1998-04-21 Telogy Networks, Inc. Network management gateway
US5691897A (en) 1995-05-30 1997-11-25 Roy-G-Biv Corporation Motion control systems
GB2301742A (en) 1995-06-02 1996-12-11 Dsc Communications Subscriber terminal monitor system for a wireless telecommunications system
US5752246A (en) 1995-06-07 1998-05-12 International Business Machines Corporation Service agent for fulfilling requests of a web browser
US6181867B1 (en) 1995-06-07 2001-01-30 Intervu, Inc. Video storage and retrieval system
JP3447432B2 (ja) 1995-06-07 2003-09-16 三菱電機株式会社 ネットワークデータサーバ装置およびプログラマブルロジックコントローラシステム
US5701451A (en) 1995-06-07 1997-12-23 International Business Machines Corporation Method for fulfilling requests of a web browser
US6807558B1 (en) 1995-06-12 2004-10-19 Pointcast, Inc. Utilization of information “push” technology
US5761499A (en) 1995-12-21 1998-06-02 Novell, Inc. Method for managing globally distributed software components
US5701414A (en) 1995-06-19 1997-12-23 Motorola, Inc. Controller for selective call receiver having memory for storing control information, plurality of addresses, status information, receive address information, and message
JP3088268B2 (ja) 1995-06-21 2000-09-18 日本電気株式会社 ビデオ・オン・デマンドシステムにおけるビデオサーバ
US5555213A (en) 1995-06-29 1996-09-10 Rockwell International Corporation Interface circuit, system and method for interfacing an electronic device and a synchronous state machine having different clock speeds
US5839094A (en) 1995-06-30 1998-11-17 Ada Technologies, Inc. Portable data collection device with self identifying probe
US5659680A (en) 1995-06-30 1997-08-19 Micro Processor Systems, Inc. PC compatible modular based diagnostic system
US5530377A (en) 1995-07-05 1996-06-25 International Business Machines Corporation Method and apparatus for active termination of a line driver/receiver
US5740429A (en) 1995-07-07 1998-04-14 Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. E10 reporting tool
US5586156A (en) 1995-07-14 1996-12-17 General Electric Company Reactor protection system with automatic self-testing and diagnostic
US6138140A (en) 1995-07-14 2000-10-24 Sony Corporation Data processing method and device
US5745049A (en) 1995-07-20 1998-04-28 Yokogawa Electric Corporation Wireless equipment diagnosis system
US5812394A (en) * 1995-07-21 1998-09-22 Control Systems International Object-oriented computer program, system, and method for developing control schemes for facilities
US5673401A (en) 1995-07-31 1997-09-30 Microsoft Corporation Systems and methods for a customizable sprite-based graphical user interface
US5617540A (en) 1995-07-31 1997-04-01 At&T System for binding host name of servers and address of available server in cache within client and for clearing cache prior to client establishes connection
US5781449A (en) * 1995-08-10 1998-07-14 Advanced System Technologies, Inc. Response time measurement apparatus and method
US5680409A (en) 1995-08-11 1997-10-21 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. Method and apparatus for detecting and identifying faulty sensors in a process
WO1997007486A1 (fr) * 1995-08-21 1997-02-27 Prism Video, Inc. Surveillance d'evenements
US5786119A (en) 1995-08-22 1998-07-28 Eastman Kodak Company Electrophotographic elements having charge transport layers containing high mobility polyester binders
US5872992A (en) 1995-08-24 1999-02-16 Motorola, Inc. System and method for avoiding bus contention on a multiplexed bus by providing a time period subsequent to a read operation
US6480903B1 (en) 1995-08-24 2002-11-12 Compaq Information Technologies Group, L.P. Hardware component interface for desktop computer management systems
EP0760501B1 (fr) 1995-09-04 2002-02-20 Hewlett-Packard Company, A Delaware Corporation Système de traitement de données avec file d'attente circulaire en mémoire paginée
DE19533961A1 (de) 1995-09-13 1997-03-20 Siemens Ag Verfahren zum Laden von Software in Kommunikationssystemen mit nichtredundanten, dezentralen Einrichtungen
US5774670A (en) 1995-10-06 1998-06-30 Netscape Communications Corporation Persistent client state in a hypertext transfer protocol based client-server system
US6131067A (en) 1995-10-09 2000-10-10 Snaptrack, Inc. Client-server based remote locator device
US5859966A (en) 1995-10-10 1999-01-12 Data General Corporation Security system for computer systems
US5841654A (en) 1995-10-16 1998-11-24 Smar Research Corporation Windows based network configuration and control method for a digital control system
US5572643A (en) 1995-10-19 1996-11-05 Judson; David H. Web browser with dynamic display of information objects during linking
US5805889A (en) 1995-10-20 1998-09-08 Sun Microsystems, Inc. System and method for integrating editing and versioning in data repositories
US6618754B1 (en) 1995-10-23 2003-09-09 Sun Microsystems, Inc. System for transmission of embedded applications over a network
US5872973A (en) 1995-10-26 1999-02-16 Viewsoft, Inc. Method for managing dynamic relations between objects in dynamic object-oriented languages
US5764906A (en) 1995-11-07 1998-06-09 Netword Llc Universal electronic resource denotation, request and delivery system
US5917822A (en) 1995-11-15 1999-06-29 Xerox Corporation Method for providing integrated packet services over a shared-media network
US6008985A (en) 1995-11-20 1999-12-28 The Foxboro Company Industrial field controlling device with controller and expansion modules
US5805153A (en) 1995-11-28 1998-09-08 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Method and system for resizing the subtitles of a video
US5956484A (en) 1995-12-13 1999-09-21 Immersion Corporation Method and apparatus for providing force feedback over a computer network
US5761477A (en) 1995-12-04 1998-06-02 Microsoft Corporation Methods for safe and efficient implementations of virtual machines
US5708709A (en) 1995-12-08 1998-01-13 Sun Microsystems, Inc. System and method for managing try-and-buy usage of application programs
US5848393A (en) 1995-12-15 1998-12-08 Ncr Corporation "What if . . . " function for simulating operations within a task workflow management system
US5748896A (en) * 1995-12-27 1998-05-05 Apple Computer, Inc. Remote network administration methods and apparatus
US5978933A (en) 1996-01-11 1999-11-02 Hewlett-Packard Company Generic fault tolerant platform
US5732074A (en) * 1996-01-16 1998-03-24 Cellport Labs, Inc. Mobile portable wireless communication system
CN1109278C (zh) 1996-01-17 2003-05-21 西门子公司 自动化设备
DE69734399D1 (de) 1996-01-24 2006-03-02 Sun Microsystems Inc Verfahren und vorrichtung zur stapel-cachespeicherung
US5845230A (en) 1996-01-30 1998-12-01 Skf Condition Monitoring Apparatus and method for the remote monitoring of machine condition
AU4548796A (en) 1996-02-05 1997-08-28 Athena Telecom Lab, Inc. Method and apparatus for object management
US5930768A (en) 1996-02-06 1999-07-27 Supersonic Boom, Inc. Method and system for remote user controlled manufacturing
US6094600A (en) * 1996-02-06 2000-07-25 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. System and method for managing a transaction database of records of changes to field device configurations
US5777874A (en) 1996-02-12 1998-07-07 Allen-Bradley Company, Inc. Programmable controller backup system
US6075863A (en) 1996-02-28 2000-06-13 Encanto Networks Intelligent communication device
US5761518A (en) 1996-02-29 1998-06-02 The Foxboro Company System for replacing control processor by operating processor in partially disabled mode for tracking control outputs and in write enabled mode for transferring control loops
US5848274A (en) 1996-02-29 1998-12-08 Supercede, Inc. Incremental byte code compilation system
US5752007A (en) 1996-03-11 1998-05-12 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. System and method using separators for developing training records for use in creating an empirical model of a process
US5838910A (en) 1996-03-14 1998-11-17 Domenikos; Steven D. Systems and methods for executing application programs from a memory device linked to a server at an internet site
US5828882A (en) 1996-03-15 1998-10-27 Novell, Inc. Event notification facility
US5806074A (en) * 1996-03-19 1998-09-08 Oracle Corporation Configurable conflict resolution in a computer implemented distributed database
US5761421A (en) 1996-03-25 1998-06-02 Sun Microsystems, Inc. System and method for secure peer-to-peer communication between downloaded programs
US5844601A (en) 1996-03-25 1998-12-01 Hartness Technologies, Llc Video response system and method
US5706502A (en) * 1996-03-25 1998-01-06 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Internet-enabled portfolio manager system and method
US5754772A (en) 1996-03-26 1998-05-19 Unisys Corporation Transaction service independent HTTP server-to-transaction gateway
JP3146150B2 (ja) 1996-04-01 2001-03-12 スター精密株式会社 監視カメラシステム
US5754830A (en) 1996-04-01 1998-05-19 Openconnect Systems, Incorporated Server and web browser terminal emulator for persistent connection to a legacy host system and method of operation
JPH09270793A (ja) 1996-04-03 1997-10-14 Sony Corp 通信制御方法
US5909368A (en) 1996-04-12 1999-06-01 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. Process control system using a process control strategy distributed among multiple control elements
US5862052A (en) 1996-04-12 1999-01-19 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. Process control system using a control strategy implemented in a layered hierarchy of control modules
US5768119A (en) 1996-04-12 1998-06-16 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. Process control system including alarm priority adjustment
US6098116A (en) 1996-04-12 2000-08-01 Fisher-Rosemont Systems, Inc. Process control system including a method and apparatus for automatically sensing the connection of devices to a network
US5828851A (en) 1996-04-12 1998-10-27 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. Process control system using standard protocol control of standard devices and nonstandard devices
US5838563A (en) * 1996-04-12 1998-11-17 Fisher-Rosemont Systems, Inc. System for configuring a process control environment
US6032208A (en) 1996-04-12 2000-02-29 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. Process control system for versatile control of multiple process devices of various device types
US5995916A (en) 1996-04-12 1999-11-30 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. Process control system for monitoring and displaying diagnostic information of multiple distributed devices
US6868538B1 (en) 1996-04-12 2005-03-15 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. Object-oriented programmable controller
US5801942A (en) 1996-04-12 1998-09-01 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. Process control system user interface including selection of multiple control languages
US5940294A (en) 1996-04-12 1999-08-17 Fisher-Rosemont Systems, Inc. System for assisting configuring a process control environment
US6185611B1 (en) 1998-03-20 2001-02-06 Sun Microsystem, Inc. Dynamic lookup service in a distributed system
US6832223B1 (en) 1996-04-23 2004-12-14 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Method and system for facilitating access to a lookup service
DE19616827C1 (de) 1996-04-26 1998-01-08 Siemens Ag Verfahren und Applikationseinrichtung zur Anzeige und Alarmierung von Meßwerten an Kommunikationsendgeräten
US5710340A (en) * 1996-04-29 1998-01-20 Albemarle Corporation Synthesis of cycloalkyldiarylphosophines
US6612022B1 (en) 1996-05-03 2003-09-02 Invensys Systems, Inc. Printed circuit board including removable auxiliary area with test points
US5835712A (en) 1996-05-03 1998-11-10 Webmate Technologies, Inc. Client-server system using embedded hypertext tags for application and database development
US5778368A (en) 1996-05-03 1998-07-07 Telogy Networks, Inc. Real-time embedded software respository with attribute searching apparatus and method
US5727128A (en) 1996-05-08 1998-03-10 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. System and method for automatically determining a set of variables for use in creating a process model
US5854944A (en) 1996-05-09 1998-12-29 Motorola, Inc. Method and apparatus for determining wait states on a per cycle basis in a data processing system
US5838969A (en) 1996-05-10 1998-11-17 Apple Computer, Inc. System and method for collecting and dispatching selected events in a computer application program
US6628413B1 (en) 1996-05-14 2003-09-30 Ricoh Company, Ltd. Java printer
TW329520B (en) 1996-05-16 1998-04-11 Texas Instruments Inc Integrated circuit with speed detector
US5884014A (en) * 1996-05-23 1999-03-16 Xerox Corporation Fontless structured document image representations for efficient rendering
US5752008A (en) 1996-05-28 1998-05-12 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. Real-time process control simulation method and apparatus
US7146408B1 (en) 1996-05-30 2006-12-05 Schneider Automation Inc. Method and system for monitoring a controller and displaying data from the controller in a format provided by the controller
US6219708B1 (en) * 1996-05-30 2001-04-17 Multi-Tech Systems, Inc. System for network resource management
US5982362A (en) 1996-05-30 1999-11-09 Control Technology Corporation Video interface architecture for programmable industrial control systems
US5805442A (en) 1996-05-30 1998-09-08 Control Technology Corporation Distributed interface architecture for programmable industrial control systems
US5950172A (en) 1996-06-07 1999-09-07 Klingman; Edwin E. Secured electronic rating system
US5729744A (en) * 1996-06-10 1998-03-17 International Business Machine Corp. Method and system of enhanced versioning control of objects in a data processing system using change control information which includes reasons for changes
US5946487A (en) 1996-06-10 1999-08-31 Lsi Logic Corporation Object-oriented multi-media architecture
WO1997049017A1 (fr) 1996-06-17 1997-12-24 Endress + Hauser Conducta Gesellschaft Für Mess- Und Regeltechnik Mbh & Co. Circuit permettant a des appareils exterieurs de communiquer au moyen d'un bus avec un systeme centralise/decentralise de traitement de donnees
US6148346A (en) 1996-06-20 2000-11-14 Peerless Systems Imaging Products, Inc. Dynamic device driver
US5927398A (en) 1996-06-22 1999-07-27 Carrier Corporation Device identification system for HVAC communication network
US5787262A (en) * 1996-06-26 1998-07-28 Microsoft Corporation System and method for distributed conflict resolution between data objects replicated across a computer network
JP3763937B2 (ja) 1996-06-28 2006-04-05 富士通株式会社 オブジェクト指向プログラミング装置、およびオブジェクト結合プログラム記憶媒体
US6272556B1 (en) 1996-07-01 2001-08-07 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Object-oriented system, method and article of manufacture for migrating a client-server application (#5)
US5768510A (en) 1996-07-01 1998-06-16 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Object-oriented system, method and article of manufacture for a client-server application enabler system
US5922050A (en) 1996-07-02 1999-07-13 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Method and apparatus for controlling a device on a network
JPH1019655A (ja) 1996-07-03 1998-01-23 Mitsubishi Heavy Ind Ltd 振動騒音測定システムおよび振動騒音測定装置
US5835724A (en) 1996-07-03 1998-11-10 Electronic Data Systems Corporation System and method for communication information using the internet that receives and maintains information concerning the client and generates and conveys the session data to the client
US5831669A (en) 1996-07-09 1998-11-03 Ericsson Inc Facility monitoring system with image memory and correlation
US5787247A (en) 1996-07-12 1998-07-28 Microsoft Corporation Replica administration without data loss in a store and forward replication enterprise
US5809247A (en) 1996-07-22 1998-09-15 Intel Corporation Method and apparatus for guided touring of internet/intranet websites
US5757925A (en) 1996-07-23 1998-05-26 Faybishenko; Yaroslav Secure platform independent cross-platform remote execution computer system and method
US5919247A (en) 1996-07-24 1999-07-06 Marimba, Inc. Method for the distribution of code and data updates
US6115744A (en) 1996-07-30 2000-09-05 Bea Systems, Inc. Client object API and gateway to enable OLTP via the internet
EP0825506B1 (fr) 1996-08-20 2013-03-06 Invensys Systems, Inc. Méthodes et appareil de commande à distance de processus
US5726911A (en) * 1996-08-22 1998-03-10 Csi Technology, Inc. Electric motor monitor
US6826590B1 (en) 1996-08-23 2004-11-30 Fieldbus Foundation Block-oriented control system on high speed ethernet
JP3115237B2 (ja) * 1996-09-03 2000-12-04 株式会社東芝 制御プログラム作成装置及び制御プログラム作成方法
US5854750A (en) 1996-09-03 1998-12-29 Insession, Inc. System and method for processing transactions in an environment containing a number of object oriented applications
US5822220A (en) 1996-09-03 1998-10-13 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. Process for controlling the efficiency of the causticizing process
US5726912A (en) * 1996-09-06 1998-03-10 Honeywell Iac Control system monitor
US5797038A (en) 1996-09-09 1998-08-18 Ford Motor Company Method and system for serially based host/peripheral communication
US5784275A (en) 1996-09-23 1998-07-21 National Instruments Corporation System and method for performing interface independent virtual instrumentation functions in a graphical data flow program
US5928345A (en) 1996-09-30 1999-07-27 Rosemont Inc. Field instrument with data bus communications protocol
US6047222A (en) 1996-10-04 2000-04-04 Fisher Controls International, Inc. Process control network with redundant field devices and buses
DE69710201T3 (de) 1996-10-04 2007-07-05 Fisher Controls International Llc (N.D.Ges.D.Staates Delaware) Netzwerkzugangs-interface für prozesssteuerungsnetzwerk
WO1998014855A1 (fr) 1996-10-04 1998-04-09 Fisher Controls International, Inc. Dispositif d'interface de maintenance destine a etre utilise dans un reseau de commande de processus
US6044305A (en) * 1996-10-04 2000-03-28 Fisher Controls International, Inc. Method and apparatus for debugging and tuning a process control network having distributed control functions
US5970430A (en) 1996-10-04 1999-10-19 Fisher Controls International, Inc. Local device and process diagnostics in a process control network having distributed control functions
IL119454A (en) 1996-10-21 2002-07-25 Serconet Ltd Distributed serial control system
EP0932865B1 (fr) 1996-10-25 2002-08-14 SCHLUMBERGER Systèmes Utilisation de langage de programmation evolue avec un controleur microprogramme
US5956487A (en) 1996-10-25 1999-09-21 Hewlett-Packard Company Embedding web access mechanism in an appliance for user interface functions including a web server and web browser
US5935242A (en) 1996-10-28 1999-08-10 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Method and apparatus for initializing a device
US6112020A (en) 1996-10-31 2000-08-29 Altera Corporation Apparatus and method for generating configuration and test files for programmable logic devices
US5909586A (en) 1996-11-06 1999-06-01 The Foxboro Company Methods and systems for interfacing with an interface powered I/O device
US5835704A (en) 1996-11-06 1998-11-10 Intel Corporation Method of testing system memory
US5828567A (en) 1996-11-07 1998-10-27 Rosemount Inc. Diagnostics for resistance based transmitter
US6052380A (en) * 1996-11-08 2000-04-18 Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. Network adapter utilizing an ethernet protocol and utilizing a digital subscriber line physical layer driver for improved performance
US5987506A (en) 1996-11-22 1999-11-16 Mangosoft Corporation Remote access and geographically distributed computers in a globally addressable storage environment
US5969632A (en) 1996-11-22 1999-10-19 Diamant; Erez Information security method and apparatus
JP3398676B2 (ja) 1996-11-26 2003-04-21 株式会社四国総合研究所 機器の管理システム
US6035264A (en) * 1996-11-26 2000-03-07 Global Maintech, Inc. Electronic control system and method for externally controlling process in a computer system with a script language
US5758073A (en) 1996-12-02 1998-05-26 Tritech Microelectronics International, Ltd. Serial interface between DSP and analog front-end device
US6139177A (en) 1996-12-03 2000-10-31 Hewlett Packard Company Device access and control using embedded web access functionality
US6745224B1 (en) 1996-12-06 2004-06-01 Microsoft Corporation Object framework and services for periodically recurring operations
US5920873A (en) * 1996-12-06 1999-07-06 International Business Machines Corporation Data management control system for file and database
JPH10187224A (ja) 1996-12-25 1998-07-14 Smc Corp 自動コントロールシステム
US5732218A (en) 1997-01-02 1998-03-24 Lucent Technologies Inc. Management-data-gathering system for gathering on clients and servers data regarding interactions between the servers, the clients, and users of the clients during real use of a network of clients and servers
US5978578A (en) 1997-01-30 1999-11-02 Azarya; Arnon Openbus system for control automation networks
US6029171A (en) 1997-02-10 2000-02-22 Actioneer, Inc. Method and apparatus for group action processing between users of a collaboration system
US7146381B1 (en) 1997-02-10 2006-12-05 Actioneer, Inc. Information organization and collaboration tool for processing notes and action requests in computer systems
EP0858174A3 (fr) 1997-02-11 2002-09-04 Philips Patentverwaltung GmbH Procédé et système pour transmèttre des données et de l'énergie
TW384611B (en) 1997-02-14 2000-03-11 Canon Kk Data communication apparatus and method
DE69837356T2 (de) 1997-02-14 2007-11-29 Canon K.K. Vorrichtung, System und Verfahren zur Datenübertragung und Vorrichtung zur Bildverarbeitung
US5980078A (en) * 1997-02-14 1999-11-09 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. Process control system including automatic sensing and automatic configuration of devices
US6105132A (en) 1997-02-20 2000-08-15 Novell, Inc. Computer network graded authentication system and method
US5935249A (en) 1997-02-26 1999-08-10 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Mechanism for embedding network based control systems in a local network interface device
US5903894A (en) 1997-03-03 1999-05-11 Microsoft Corporation System and method for using a hierarchical data structure to control and identify devices and represent connections between the devices
US6366300B1 (en) * 1997-03-11 2002-04-02 Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha Visual programming method and its system
US5878415A (en) 1997-03-20 1999-03-02 Novell, Inc. Controlling access to objects in a hierarchical database
US6094684A (en) 1997-04-02 2000-07-25 Alpha Microsystems, Inc. Method and apparatus for data communication
US6018816A (en) 1997-04-04 2000-01-25 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Information processing system and method, image processing system and method, information processing apparatus and computer readable memory
US5940839A (en) 1997-04-04 1999-08-17 Hewlett-Packard Company Fault-tolerant system and method of managing transaction failures in hierarchies
US6223343B1 (en) * 1997-04-04 2001-04-24 State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. Computer system and method to track and control element changes throughout application development
US6016515A (en) 1997-04-04 2000-01-18 Microsoft Corporation Method, computer program product, and data structure for validating creation of and routing messages to file object
US5966304A (en) 1997-04-29 1999-10-12 Allen-Bradley Company, Llc Redundant automation controller permitting replacement of components during operation
JPH10301773A (ja) 1997-04-30 1998-11-13 Sony Corp 情報処理装置および情報処理方法、並びに記録媒体
US6353859B1 (en) 1997-04-30 2002-03-05 International Business Machines Corporation Object-oriented apparatus and method for controlling accesses to objects in a distributed object environment
AU7171198A (en) 1997-04-30 1998-11-24 Foxboro Company, The Methods and systems for synchronizing processes executing on a digital data processing system
US5974497A (en) 1997-05-22 1999-10-26 Dell Computer Corporation Computer with cache-line buffers for storing prefetched data for a misaligned memory access
US5994998A (en) 1997-05-29 1999-11-30 3Com Corporation Power transfer apparatus for concurrently transmitting data and power over data wires
JPH1115761A (ja) * 1997-06-02 1999-01-22 Internatl Business Mach Corp <Ibm> 赤外線通信機能を持つ情報処理装置及びその制御方法
US5847957A (en) 1997-06-16 1998-12-08 Base Ten Systems, Inc. Web access for a manufacturing execution system
US5832418A (en) * 1997-06-23 1998-11-03 Micron Electronics Apparatus for testing a controller with random contraints
US6487558B1 (en) 1997-06-27 2002-11-26 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Method for generating database server configuration documentation
US6006164A (en) 1997-07-22 1999-12-21 Skf Condition Monitoring, Inc. Portable vibration monitor
US6006171A (en) 1997-07-28 1999-12-21 Vines; Caroline J. Dynamic maintenance management system
US6377543B1 (en) 1997-08-13 2002-04-23 Telecommunications Research Laboratories Path restoration of networks
JPH1169392A (ja) 1997-08-15 1999-03-09 Nec Corp 交換機加入者線路を利用した局給電方式
US6151625A (en) 1997-09-10 2000-11-21 Schneider Automation Inc. Internet web interface including programmable logic controller for controlling output devices based on status of input devices
US6282454B1 (en) 1997-09-10 2001-08-28 Schneider Automation Inc. Web interface to a programmable controller
US6199068B1 (en) 1997-09-11 2001-03-06 Abb Power T&D Company Inc. Mapping interface for a distributed server to translate between dissimilar file formats
US6018627A (en) 1997-09-22 2000-01-25 Unisys Corp. Tool-independent system for application building in an object oriented development environment with data stored in repository in OMG compliant UML representation
US6807583B2 (en) 1997-09-24 2004-10-19 Carleton University Method of determining causal connections between events recorded during process execution
US6014612A (en) * 1997-10-02 2000-01-11 Fisher Controls International, Inc. Remote diagnostics in a process control network having distributed control functions
US6096094A (en) 1997-10-03 2000-08-01 National Instruments Corporation Configuration manager for configuring a data acquisition system
DE69818494T2 (de) 1997-10-13 2004-07-01 Rosemount Inc., Eden Prairie Übertragungsmethode für Feldvorrichtungen in industriellen Prozessen
US6055633A (en) 1997-10-28 2000-04-25 Honeywell Inc. Method of reprogramming memories in field devices over a multidrop network
US5960205A (en) 1997-10-30 1999-09-28 Lucent Technologies Inc. Upgrading the control of switching systems
US6088665A (en) 1997-11-03 2000-07-11 Fisher Controls International, Inc. Schematic generator for use in a process control network having distributed control functions
JPH11143511A (ja) 1997-11-04 1999-05-28 Fanuc Ltd 数値制御装置
US5950006A (en) 1997-11-05 1999-09-07 Control Technology Corporation Object-oriented programmable controller
EP0917034B1 (fr) 1997-11-14 2002-03-06 Engel Maschinenbau Gesellschaft Mbh Procédé de surveillance et/ou d'entretien à distance pour machine de moulage à injection
US6032151A (en) * 1997-11-17 2000-02-29 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Database system employing polymorphic entry and entry matching
US6085120A (en) 1997-11-17 2000-07-04 International Business Machines Corporation Data system processing and method for creating application extension
US6138174A (en) 1997-11-24 2000-10-24 Rockwell Technologies, Llc Industrial control system providing remote execution of graphical utility programs
JP4124873B2 (ja) 1997-12-17 2008-07-23 キヤノン株式会社 電力制御システム
US6104875A (en) 1997-12-18 2000-08-15 Honeywell Inc. Method for field programming an industrial process transmitter
US6009103A (en) 1997-12-23 1999-12-28 Mediaone Group, Inc. Method and system for automatic allocation of resources in a network
US6133914A (en) 1998-01-07 2000-10-17 Rogers; David W. Interactive graphical user interface
JPH11203009A (ja) 1998-01-20 1999-07-30 Sony Corp 情報処理装置および方法、並びに提供媒体
US6266716B1 (en) 1998-01-26 2001-07-24 International Business Machines Corporation Method and system for controlling data acquisition over an information bus
US6049775A (en) * 1998-01-30 2000-04-11 Bell & Howell Mail And Messaging Technologies Company Systems, methods and computer program products for monitoring and controlling mail processing devices
US5980090A (en) 1998-02-10 1999-11-09 Gilbarco., Inc. Internet asset management system for a fuel dispensing environment
US6345382B1 (en) 1998-02-12 2002-02-05 International Business Machines Corporation Run-time customization in object-oriented design
US7162510B2 (en) 1998-03-16 2007-01-09 Schneider Automation Inc. Communication system for a control system over Ethernet and IP networks
US6226783B1 (en) 1998-03-16 2001-05-01 Acuity Imaging, Llc Object oriented method of structuring a software step program
EP0945812A1 (fr) 1998-03-23 1999-09-29 Application Building Blocks Limited Système de traitement de données
US6269473B1 (en) 1998-03-23 2001-07-31 Evolve Software, Inc. Method and apparatus for the development of dynamically configurable software systems
US6148391A (en) 1998-03-26 2000-11-14 Sun Microsystems, Inc. System for simultaneously accessing one or more stack elements by multiple functional units using real stack addresses
US6115468A (en) 1998-03-26 2000-09-05 Cisco Technology, Inc. Power feed for Ethernet telephones via Ethernet link
US6487214B1 (en) 1998-04-13 2002-11-26 Cisco Technology, Inc. Method and apparatus for implementing an ethernet protocol using three wires
US6317438B1 (en) 1998-04-14 2001-11-13 Harold Herman Trebes, Jr. System and method for providing peer-oriented control of telecommunications services
US6002104A (en) 1998-04-17 1999-12-14 Lincoln Global, Inc. Electric arc welder and controller therefor
US6701284B1 (en) 1998-04-17 2004-03-02 Ge Fanuc Automation North America, Inc. Methods and apparatus for maintaining a programmable logic control revision history
US6134559A (en) 1998-04-27 2000-10-17 Oracle Corporation Uniform object model having methods and additional features for integrating objects defined by different foreign object type systems into a single type system
US6157864A (en) 1998-05-08 2000-12-05 Rockwell Technologies, Llc System, method and article of manufacture for displaying an animated, realtime updated control sequence chart
US6108662A (en) 1998-05-08 2000-08-22 Allen-Bradley Company, Llc System method and article of manufacture for integrated enterprise-wide control
US6201996B1 (en) 1998-05-29 2001-03-13 Control Technology Corporationa Object-oriented programmable industrial controller with distributed interface architecture
FI114745B (fi) 1998-06-01 2004-12-15 Metso Automation Oy Kenttälaitteiden hallintajärjestelmä
US6314448B1 (en) 1998-06-04 2001-11-06 International Business Machines Corporation Method and system for inter-applet communication in a computer network
US6080207A (en) 1998-06-04 2000-06-27 Gateway 2000, Inc. System and method of creating and delivering software
JP3469120B2 (ja) 1998-06-12 2003-11-25 矢崎総業株式会社 通信網および通信装置
FI108678B (fi) 1998-06-17 2002-02-28 Neles Controls Oy Kenttälaitteiden hallintajärjestelmä
US6373841B1 (en) 1998-06-22 2002-04-16 Agilent Technologies, Inc. Integrated LAN controller and web server chip
US6285966B1 (en) 1998-06-25 2001-09-04 Fisher Controls International, Inc. Function block apparatus for viewing data in a process control system
US6636900B2 (en) 1998-06-29 2003-10-21 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Method and apparatus for executing distributed objects over a network
DE19832974A1 (de) 1998-07-22 2000-01-27 Siemens Ag Vorrichtung und Verfahren zur Erstellung eines virtuellen Anlagenmodells
US6499048B1 (en) 1998-06-30 2002-12-24 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Control of multiple computer processes using a mutual exclusion primitive ordering mechanism
US6260187B1 (en) 1998-08-20 2001-07-10 Wily Technology, Inc. System for modifying object oriented code
US6243717B1 (en) * 1998-09-01 2001-06-05 Camstar Systems, Inc. System and method for implementing revision management of linked data entities and user dependent terminology
US6738388B1 (en) 1998-09-10 2004-05-18 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. Shadow function block interface for use in a process control network
US7574693B1 (en) 1998-09-17 2009-08-11 Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. Internet-based service for updating a programmable control device
US6412070B1 (en) 1998-09-21 2002-06-25 Microsoft Corporation Extensible security system and method for controlling access to objects in a computing environment
US6167464A (en) 1998-09-23 2000-12-26 Rockwell Technologies, Llc Mobile human/machine interface for use with industrial control systems for controlling the operation of process executed on spatially separate machines
US6348874B1 (en) 1998-10-14 2002-02-19 Agilent Technologies, Inc. Power distribution to nodes in a distributed system
US6141794A (en) 1998-10-16 2000-10-31 Sun Microsystems, Inc. System and method for synchronizing access to shared variables in a virtual machine in a digital computer system
DE19847701C2 (de) 1998-10-16 2001-11-22 Pepperl & Fuchs Verfahren zur Anpassung von busfähigen Geräten an das von einer sendenden Station verwendete Datenübertragungsprotokoll
US6282455B1 (en) 1998-10-19 2001-08-28 Rockwell Technologies, Llc Walk-through human/machine interface for industrial control
US7120684B2 (en) * 1998-10-22 2006-10-10 Electronic Data Systems Corporation Method and system for central management of a computer network
US6112246A (en) 1998-10-22 2000-08-29 Horbal; Mark T. System and method for accessing information from a remote device and providing the information to a client workstation
US6158010A (en) 1998-10-28 2000-12-05 Crosslogix, Inc. System and method for maintaining security in a distributed computer network
US6393050B1 (en) * 1998-10-30 2002-05-21 Compaq Information Technologies Group, L.P. Transmit/receive switch for 10BASE-T home network
US6429885B1 (en) 1998-10-30 2002-08-06 Sony Corporation GUI resource editor for an embedded system
AU1343800A (en) 1998-11-05 2000-05-22 Neuvis, Inc. Method for controlling access to information
GB9825102D0 (en) 1998-11-16 1999-01-13 Insignia Solutions Plc Computer system
US6763370B1 (en) 1998-11-16 2004-07-13 Softricity, Inc. Method and apparatus for content protection in a secure content delivery system
USH1845H (en) 1998-12-11 2000-03-07 Caterpillar Inc. Method and apparatus for using a control system of an earthworking machine as a training system
US6236909B1 (en) 1998-12-28 2001-05-22 International Business Machines Corporation Method for representing automotive device functionality and software services to applications using JavaBeans
US6327511B1 (en) 1998-12-30 2001-12-04 Schneider Automation, Inc. Input/output (I/O) scanner for a control system with peer determination
US6557056B1 (en) 1998-12-30 2003-04-29 Nortel Networks Limited Method and apparatus for exchanging data between transactional and non-transactional input/output systems in a multi-processing, shared memory environment
DE19900884A1 (de) * 1999-01-12 2000-07-20 Siemens Ag System und Verfahren zum Bedienen und Beobachten eines Automatisierungssystems mit Prozeßvisualisierung und Prozeßsteuerung durch virtuelle Anlagenmodelle als Abbild einer realen Anlage
US6345295B1 (en) * 1999-01-22 2002-02-05 International Business Machines Corporation Conducting traces in a computer system attachment network
US6574694B1 (en) 1999-01-26 2003-06-03 3Com Corporation Interrupt optimization using time between succeeding peripheral component events
US6176421B1 (en) 1999-02-04 2001-01-23 Marconi Commerce Systems Inc. Fuel dispenser architecture having server
US6806847B2 (en) 1999-02-12 2004-10-19 Fisher-Rosemount Systems Inc. Portable computer in a process control environment
US6289299B1 (en) 1999-02-17 2001-09-11 Westinghouse Savannah River Company Systems and methods for interactive virtual reality process control and simulation
US6718533B1 (en) 1999-02-26 2004-04-06 Real-Time Innovations, Inc. Method for building a real-time control system with mode and logical rate
US6430564B1 (en) 1999-03-01 2002-08-06 Hewlett-Packard Company Java data manager for embedded device
US6493405B1 (en) 1999-03-02 2002-12-10 Harris Corporation Correlator having enhanced memory for reference and input data
US6038271A (en) 1999-03-02 2000-03-14 Harris Corporation Correlator with cascade data paths to facilitate expansion of correlator length
US6438182B1 (en) 1999-03-02 2002-08-20 Harris Corporation Correlator with serial-parallel partition
US6434594B1 (en) 1999-03-09 2002-08-13 Talk2 Technology, Inc. Virtual processing network enabler
US6218930B1 (en) 1999-03-10 2001-04-17 Merlot Communications Apparatus and method for remotely powering access equipment over a 10/100 switched ethernet network
US6445962B1 (en) 1999-03-15 2002-09-03 Fisher Rosemount Systems, Inc. Auto-tuning in a distributed process control environment
US6295513B1 (en) 1999-03-16 2001-09-25 Eagle Engineering Of America, Inc. Network-based system for the manufacture of parts with a virtual collaborative environment for design, developement, and fabricator selection
US6640308B1 (en) 1999-04-16 2003-10-28 Invensys Systems, Inc. System and method of powering and communicating field ethernet device for an instrumentation and control using a single pair of powered ethernet wire
US6789054B1 (en) 1999-04-25 2004-09-07 Mahmoud A. Makhlouf Geometric display tools and methods for the visual specification, design automation, and control of adaptive real systems
JP2000315167A (ja) 1999-04-30 2000-11-14 Toshiba Corp データ管理装置、計算機システムおよびプログラムを記憶した記憶媒体
US6754885B1 (en) * 1999-05-17 2004-06-22 Invensys Systems, Inc. Methods and apparatus for controlling object appearance in a process control configuration system
AU5025600A (en) 1999-05-17 2000-12-05 Foxboro Company, The Process control configuration system with parameterized objects
US7272815B1 (en) * 1999-05-17 2007-09-18 Invensys Systems, Inc. Methods and apparatus for control configuration with versioning, security, composite blocks, edit selection, object swapping, formulaic values and other aspects
US7096465B1 (en) * 1999-05-17 2006-08-22 Invensys Systems, Inc. Process control configuration system with parameterized objects
US7089530B1 (en) * 1999-05-17 2006-08-08 Invensys Systems, Inc. Process control configuration system with connection validation and configuration
US6978294B1 (en) 2000-03-20 2005-12-20 Invensys Systems, Inc. Peer-to-peer hosting of intelligent field devices
US6501995B1 (en) 1999-06-30 2002-12-31 The Foxboro Company Process control system and method with improved distribution, installation and validation of components
US6199195B1 (en) 1999-07-08 2001-03-06 Science Application International Corporation Automatically generated objects within extensible object frameworks and links to enterprise resources
US6480955B1 (en) 1999-07-09 2002-11-12 Lsi Logic Corporation Methods and apparatus for committing configuration changes to managed devices prior to completion of the configuration change
WO2001009690A1 (fr) 1999-07-29 2001-02-08 The Foxboro Company Procede et dispositif de commande de procede sur la base d'objets
US6370573B1 (en) 1999-08-31 2002-04-09 Accenture Llp System, method and article of manufacture for managing an environment of a development architecture framework
US6332163B1 (en) 1999-09-01 2001-12-18 Accenture, Llp Method for providing communication services over a computer network system
US6850973B1 (en) 1999-09-29 2005-02-01 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. Downloadable code in a distributed process control system
US6442442B1 (en) 1999-09-30 2002-08-27 Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc. System level data flow programming interface for a multi-axis industrial control system
US6700869B1 (en) * 1999-10-01 2004-03-02 Lucent Technologies Inc. Method for controlling data flow associated with a communications node
US6449715B1 (en) 1999-10-04 2002-09-10 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. Process control configuration system for use with a profibus device network
US6775707B1 (en) 1999-10-15 2004-08-10 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. Deferred acknowledgment communications and alarm management
US6449624B1 (en) 1999-10-18 2002-09-10 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. Version control and audit trail in a process control system
US6687698B1 (en) * 1999-10-18 2004-02-03 Fisher Rosemount Systems, Inc. Accessing and updating a configuration database from distributed physical locations within a process control system
US6675193B1 (en) 1999-10-29 2004-01-06 Invensys Software Systems Method and system for remote control of a local system
US6792321B2 (en) 2000-03-02 2004-09-14 Electro Standards Laboratories Remote web-based control
US6574515B1 (en) 2000-05-12 2003-06-03 Rosemount Inc. Two-wire field-mounted process device
AU2001292703A1 (en) 2000-09-15 2002-03-26 Wonderware Corporation A method and system for animating graphical user interface elements via manufacturing/process control portal server
EP1334411B1 (fr) 2000-11-16 2014-09-10 Invensys Systems, Inc. Appareil, systeme de commande et procede de communication inductive a travers une barriere d'isolement
US6382226B1 (en) 2001-04-17 2002-05-07 Fisher Controls International, Inc. Method for detecting broken valve stem
US6799148B2 (en) 2001-05-03 2004-09-28 Invensys Systems, Inc. Electronic mail based remote historian and system
US6799185B2 (en) 2001-05-09 2004-09-28 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Frameworks for accessing Java class files
US6760687B2 (en) 2001-05-31 2004-07-06 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. Sequence of events detection in a process control system
WO2003001376A1 (fr) * 2001-06-22 2003-01-03 Wonderware Corporation Systeme personnalisable de creation de commandes de processus de supervision et de fabrication d'applications d'information
US7650607B2 (en) 2001-06-22 2010-01-19 Invensys Systems, Inc. Supervisory process control and manufacturing information system application having a layered architecture
US7322025B2 (en) * 2001-07-17 2008-01-22 Tata Consultancy Services Limited Method and apparatus for versioning and configuration management of object models
US6959356B2 (en) 2001-07-30 2005-10-25 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. Multi-protocol field device and communication method
US7594220B2 (en) * 2001-08-14 2009-09-22 National Instruments Corporation Configuration diagram with context sensitive connectivity
US7062718B2 (en) * 2001-08-14 2006-06-13 National Instruments Corporation Configuration diagram which graphically displays program relationship
US6563420B2 (en) 2001-09-13 2003-05-13 Square D Company Power line communications apparatus and method
US7032045B2 (en) 2001-09-18 2006-04-18 Invensys Systems, Inc. Multi-protocol bus device
US6888541B2 (en) * 2002-02-25 2005-05-03 Schneider Automation Inc. Real time three dimensional factory process monitoring and control
US6988156B2 (en) 2002-04-18 2006-01-17 Sun Microsystems, Inc. System and method for dynamically tuning interrupt coalescing parameters
US20070265089A1 (en) 2002-05-13 2007-11-15 Consolidated Global Fun Unlimited Simulated phenomena interaction game
US7151966B1 (en) 2002-06-04 2006-12-19 Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc. System and methodology providing open interface and distributed processing in an industrial controller environment
US6895409B2 (en) 2002-06-17 2005-05-17 Adaptik Corporation Method and apparatus for creating an adaptive application
US20040059802A1 (en) * 2002-06-24 2004-03-25 Christian Jacquemot Modeling states and/or transitions in a computer system
US7024282B2 (en) 2002-09-26 2006-04-04 Siemens Building Technologies, Inc. Multi-node utilization of a single network variable input for computation of a single control variable at a sink node
US7146231B2 (en) 2002-10-22 2006-12-05 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc.. Smart process modules and objects in process plants
US7123974B1 (en) 2002-11-19 2006-10-17 Rockwell Software Inc. System and methodology providing audit recording and tracking in real time industrial controller environment
US7574509B2 (en) 2002-11-25 2009-08-11 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. Interactive two-way collaboration in process control plants
US7398481B2 (en) * 2002-12-10 2008-07-08 Science Applications International Corporation (Saic) Virtual environment capture
US7054972B2 (en) * 2002-12-13 2006-05-30 Lsi Logic Corporation Apparatus and method for dynamically enabling and disabling interrupt coalescing in data processing system
US6978194B2 (en) 2003-01-31 2005-12-20 Siemens Building Technologies, Inc. Field panel event logging in a building control system
US7275062B2 (en) 2003-03-10 2007-09-25 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. Automatic linkage of process event data to a data historian
US6968973B2 (en) 2003-05-31 2005-11-29 Microsoft Corporation System and process for viewing and navigating through an interactive video tour
EP1543834A1 (fr) * 2003-12-16 2005-06-22 Biodynamics Production de d'extraits de houblon ayant une bioactivité oestrogénique et anti-proliférative
US7356588B2 (en) 2003-12-16 2008-04-08 Linear Technology Corporation Circuits and methods for detecting the presence of a powered device in a powered network
US7249330B2 (en) * 2003-12-31 2007-07-24 International Business Machines Corporation Method, system and program product providing a configuration specification language having split latch support
JP4174032B2 (ja) 2004-02-20 2008-10-29 インターナショナル・ビジネス・マシーンズ・コーポレーション 設定装置、設定方法、プログラム、及び記録媒体
JP2007536634A (ja) * 2004-05-04 2007-12-13 フィッシャー−ローズマウント・システムズ・インコーポレーテッド プロセス制御システムのためのサービス指向型アーキテクチャ
WO2006004649A2 (fr) * 2004-06-28 2006-01-12 Siemens Building Technologies, Inc. Procede et appareil permettant de representer une installation de validation d'un systeme de construction a des fins de maintenance
US7840285B2 (en) 2005-10-28 2010-11-23 Invensys Systems, Inc. Sequence of events recorder facility for an industrial process control environment
US9152412B2 (en) * 2005-12-08 2015-10-06 International Business Machines Corporation Compositing deltas when merging artifacts in a version control system
US8814947B2 (en) 2006-03-31 2014-08-26 W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc. Deformable flap catch mechanism for occluder device
JP5024141B2 (ja) 2008-03-21 2012-09-12 富士通セミコンダクター株式会社 パターンデータの作成方法、そのパターンデータを作成するプログラム、及び、そのプログラムを含む媒体
CN104407518B (zh) 2008-06-20 2017-05-31 因文西斯系统公司 对用于过程控制的实际和仿真设施进行交互的系统和方法
EP2187571B1 (fr) 2008-11-12 2011-06-15 VEGA Grieshaber KG Génération d'une description d'appareil pour un appareil de mesure
US8914783B2 (en) 2008-11-25 2014-12-16 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. Software deployment manager integration within a process control system
US8463964B2 (en) * 2009-05-29 2013-06-11 Invensys Systems, Inc. Methods and apparatus for control configuration with enhanced change-tracking
US8122434B2 (en) 2009-05-29 2012-02-21 Invensys Sytems, Inc. Methods and apparatus for control configuration control objects associated with a track attribute for selecting configuration information
WO2010138412A1 (fr) 2009-05-29 2010-12-02 Invensys Systems, Inc. Configuration de commande avec des objets de commande qui sont sensibles au protocole de bus de terrain et qui auto-définissent les paramètres suivis
US8127060B2 (en) 2009-05-29 2012-02-28 Invensys Systems, Inc Methods and apparatus for control configuration with control objects that are fieldbus protocol-aware
US9256219B2 (en) 2009-08-11 2016-02-09 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. System configuration using templates
US8739150B2 (en) * 2010-05-28 2014-05-27 Smartshift Gmbh Systems and methods for dynamically replacing code objects via conditional pattern templates

Patent Citations (99)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4377000A (en) * 1980-05-05 1983-03-15 Westinghouse Electric Corp. Automatic fault detection and recovery system which provides stability and continuity of operation in an industrial multiprocessor control
US4733366A (en) * 1983-05-16 1988-03-22 Data General Corporation Apparatus for providing an interrupt signal in response to a permanent or transient power failure
US4719593A (en) * 1984-07-09 1988-01-12 Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. Apparatus for generating digital timing waveforms
US4727477A (en) * 1985-03-22 1988-02-23 International Business Machines Corp. Logically transportable microprocessor interface control unit permitting bus transfers with different but compatible other microprocessors
US5307372A (en) * 1985-07-19 1994-04-26 Clinicom Incorporated Radio transceiver for transmitting and receiving data packets
US4910658A (en) * 1985-09-04 1990-03-20 Eaton Leonard Technologies, Inc. Real time process controller with serial I/O bus
US4742349A (en) * 1986-05-22 1988-05-03 Chrysler Motors Corporation Method for buffered serial peripheral interface (SPI) in a serial data bus
US4740955A (en) * 1986-10-29 1988-04-26 Tie/Communications, Inc. Communications system having voice and digital data capability and employing a plurality of voice and data buses in main service unit and serial packetized transmission to and from telephones
US4817094A (en) * 1986-12-31 1989-03-28 International Business Machines Corporation Fault tolerant switch with selectable operating modes
US4805107A (en) * 1987-04-15 1989-02-14 Allied-Signal Inc. Task scheduler for a fault tolerant multiple node processing system
US4816996A (en) * 1987-07-24 1989-03-28 Motorola, Inc. Queued serial peripheral interface for use in a data processing system
US4896290A (en) * 1987-08-24 1990-01-23 Wang Laboratories, Inc. Method for routing events from key strokes in a multi-processing computer systems
US4910691A (en) * 1987-09-30 1990-03-20 E.I. Du Pont De Nemours & Co. Process control system with multiple module sequence options
US5317726A (en) * 1987-11-09 1994-05-31 Tandem Computers Incorporated Multiple-processor computer system with asynchronous execution of identical code streams
US5193175A (en) * 1988-12-09 1993-03-09 Tandem Computers Incorporated Fault-tolerant computer with three independently clocked processors asynchronously executing identical code that are synchronized upon each voted access to two memory modules
US4934196A (en) * 1989-06-02 1990-06-19 Micro Motion, Inc. Coriolis mass flow rate meter having a substantially increased noise immunity
US4991076A (en) * 1989-06-30 1991-02-05 Icom Inc. Method and apparatus for creating custom displays for monitoring ladder logic programs
US4991170A (en) * 1989-07-17 1991-02-05 Ag Communication Systems Corporation Circuit for interfacing a digital signal processor to a serial interface controller
US5008805A (en) * 1989-08-03 1991-04-16 International Business Machines Corporation Real time, fail safe process control system and method
US5428781A (en) * 1989-10-10 1995-06-27 International Business Machines Corp. Distributed mechanism for the fast scheduling of shared objects and apparatus
US5310998A (en) * 1989-10-31 1994-05-10 Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba Method and system for placing a bus on hold during the insertion/extraction of an IC card into/from a computer
US5715178A (en) * 1989-11-02 1998-02-03 Combustion Engineering, Inc. Method of validating measurement data of a process parameter from a plurality of individual sensor inputs
US5295258A (en) * 1989-12-22 1994-03-15 Tandem Computers Incorporated Fault-tolerant computer system with online recovery and reintegration of redundant components
US5212784A (en) * 1990-10-22 1993-05-18 Delphi Data, A Division Of Sparks Industries, Inc. Automated concurrent data backup system
US5410717A (en) * 1991-03-22 1995-04-25 Allen-Bradley Company, Inc. Removable function card for a programmable controller processor
US5303375A (en) * 1991-04-26 1994-04-12 Hewlett-Packard Company System and method for facilitating selection of running functional process in object-oriented environments
US5295263A (en) * 1991-05-07 1994-03-15 Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha Programmable controller which allows control in formation to be updated during execution
US5390321A (en) * 1991-05-31 1995-02-14 Proesel; Ronald J. General purpose parallel port interface
US5621890A (en) * 1991-06-21 1997-04-15 John Notarianni Method and apparatus for transferring data between a host device and a plurality of portable computers
US5301346A (en) * 1991-06-21 1994-04-05 Cad Forms Technology Inc. Method and apparatus for transferring data between a host device and plurality of portable computers
US5400140A (en) * 1991-07-30 1995-03-21 Fisher-Rosemount Limited Method of decoding a spectrally modulated light signal
US5530868A (en) * 1991-08-12 1996-06-25 International Business Machines Corporation Notification of event handlers in broadcast or propagation mode by event management services in a computer system
US5283729A (en) * 1991-08-30 1994-02-01 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. Tuning arrangement for turning the control parameters of a controller
US5381529A (en) * 1991-08-30 1995-01-10 Nec Corporation Shift register with dual clock inputs for receiving and sending information between I/O channels and host based on external and internal clock inputs respectively
US5289365A (en) * 1991-12-23 1994-02-22 Donnelly Corporation Modular network control system
US5410492A (en) * 1992-01-29 1995-04-25 Arch Development Corporation Processing data base information having nonwhite noise
US5629872A (en) * 1992-01-29 1997-05-13 Arch Development Corporation System for monitoring an industrial process and determining sensor status
US5734902A (en) * 1992-01-31 1998-03-31 Gpt Limited Communication system for maintaining data consistency among replicated shared objects
US5303392A (en) * 1992-02-27 1994-04-12 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Accessing current symbol definitions in a dynamically configurable operating system
US5917840A (en) * 1992-03-13 1999-06-29 Foxboro Company Protection against communications crosstalk in a factory process control system
US5504895A (en) * 1992-03-24 1996-04-02 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Method of managing data structure containing both persistent data and transient data
US5428769A (en) * 1992-03-31 1995-06-27 The Dow Chemical Company Process control interface system having triply redundant remote field units
US5499023A (en) * 1992-05-27 1996-03-12 Kaye Instruments, Inc. Method of and apparatus for automated sensor diagnosis through quantitative measurement of one of sensor-to-earth conductance or loop resistance
US5398331A (en) * 1992-07-08 1995-03-14 International Business Machines Corporation Shared storage controller for dual copy shared data
US5303227A (en) * 1992-08-03 1994-04-12 Motorola, Inc. Method and apparatus for enhanced modes in SPI communication
US5302952A (en) * 1992-08-28 1994-04-12 Motorola, Inc. Automatic A/D converter operation with pause capability
US5421017A (en) * 1993-01-18 1995-05-30 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Real time control system and method for replacing software in a controlled system
US6073109A (en) * 1993-02-08 2000-06-06 Action Technologies, Inc. Computerized method and system for managing business processes using linked workflows
US5761033A (en) * 1993-02-19 1998-06-02 Sejus Corporation Open computer system with externally interconnected peripheral modules
US5386417A (en) * 1993-03-18 1995-01-31 At&T Corp. Method and apparatus for establishing connections in a communications access network
US5774378A (en) * 1993-04-21 1998-06-30 The Foxboro Company Self-validating sensors
US5499365A (en) * 1993-08-04 1996-03-12 International Business Machines Corporation System and method for controlling versions of objects in an object oriented computing environment
US5386373A (en) * 1993-08-05 1995-01-31 Pavilion Technologies, Inc. Virtual continuous emission monitoring system with sensor validation
US5325339A (en) * 1993-08-31 1994-06-28 The United States Of America As Represented By The Administrator Of The National Aeronautics And Space Administration Absolute calibration technique for broadband ultrasonic transducers
US5717880A (en) * 1993-09-06 1998-02-10 Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba Method and apparatus for relaying events and requests in a windows systems
US5485617A (en) * 1993-12-13 1996-01-16 Microsoft Corporation Method and system for dynamically generating object connections
US5604737A (en) * 1993-12-15 1997-02-18 Hitachi, Ltd. Voice communication system and voice communication method
US5481715A (en) * 1993-12-15 1996-01-02 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Method and apparatus for delegated communications in a computer system using trusted deputies
US5501608A (en) * 1993-12-20 1996-03-26 Intel Corporation Computer system with an interconnection receptacle suitable for different external connectors
US5491625A (en) * 1993-12-23 1996-02-13 The Dow Chemical Company Information display system for actively redundant computerized process control
US5392280A (en) * 1994-04-07 1995-02-21 Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc. Data transmission system and scheduling protocol for connection-oriented packet or cell switching networks
US5526353A (en) * 1994-12-20 1996-06-11 Henley; Arthur System and method for communication of audio data over a packet-based network
US5608608A (en) * 1995-01-04 1997-03-04 International Business Machines Corporation Cartridge-based design for portable and fixed computers
US5623670A (en) * 1995-02-17 1997-04-22 Lucent Technologies Inc. Method and apparatus for crash safe enforcement of mutually exclusive access to shared resources in a multitasking computer system
US5867704A (en) * 1995-02-24 1999-02-02 Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. Multiprocessor system shaving processor based idle state detection and method of executing tasks in such a multiprocessor system
US6353860B1 (en) * 1995-03-22 2002-03-05 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Methods and apparatus for managing collections of objects
US5613164A (en) * 1995-03-22 1997-03-18 International Business Machines Corporation Portable system having data distribution and power distribution removably positioned within portable enclosure during shipping and adapted for repositioning within internal storage space during operation
US5608607A (en) * 1995-04-24 1997-03-04 Compaq Computer Corporation PCMCIA card and associated support and circuitry augmenting apparatus and methods
US5613190A (en) * 1995-05-01 1997-03-18 Bell Atlantic Network Services, Inc. Customer premise wireless distribution of audio-video, control signals and voice
US5748912A (en) * 1995-06-13 1998-05-05 Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. User-removable central processing unit card for an electrical device
US5713045A (en) * 1995-06-29 1998-01-27 Object Technology Licensing Corporation System for processing user events with input device entity associated with event producer which further links communication from event consumer to the event producer
US5761090A (en) * 1995-10-10 1998-06-02 The University Of Chicago Expert system for testing industrial processes and determining sensor status
US6076124A (en) * 1995-10-10 2000-06-13 The Foxboro Company Distributed control system including a compact easily-extensible and serviceable field controller
US5716221A (en) * 1995-10-20 1998-02-10 Itt Corporation Stacked IC card assembly for insertion into stacked receivers
US5864773A (en) * 1995-11-03 1999-01-26 Texas Instruments Incorporated Virtual sensor based monitoring and fault detection/classification system and method for semiconductor processing equipment
US5742596A (en) * 1995-11-12 1998-04-21 Phonet Communication Ltd. Network based distributed PBX system
US6033257A (en) * 1995-11-20 2000-03-07 The Foxboro Company I/O connector module for a field controller in a distributed control system
US6183289B1 (en) * 1995-11-20 2001-02-06 The Foxboro Company I/O connector module for a field controller in a distributed control system
US5876122A (en) * 1996-01-03 1999-03-02 Rosemount Inc. Temperature sensor
US5746511A (en) * 1996-01-03 1998-05-05 Rosemount Inc. Temperature transmitter with on-line calibration using johnson noise
US5642259A (en) * 1996-01-31 1997-06-24 Ma; Hsi-Kuang Arrangement for connecting an expansion card to a connector socket in a personal computer
US5875430A (en) * 1996-05-02 1999-02-23 Technology Licensing Corporation Smart commercial kitchen network
US6078848A (en) * 1996-07-27 2000-06-20 Lexitech, Inc. Browser kiosk system
US6212608B1 (en) * 1996-11-04 2001-04-03 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Method and apparatus for thread synchronization in an object-based system
US6038486A (en) * 1996-11-29 2000-03-14 Scan Technology Co., Ltd. Control method for factory automation system
US6070250A (en) * 1996-12-13 2000-05-30 Westinghouse Process Control, Inc. Workstation-based distributed process control system
US6195694B1 (en) * 1997-03-13 2001-02-27 International Business Machines Corporation Server for reconfiguring control of a subset of devices on one or more kiosks
US6049578A (en) * 1997-06-06 2000-04-11 Abb Combustion Engineering Nuclear Power, Inc. Digital plant protection system
US6052629A (en) * 1997-07-18 2000-04-18 Gilbarco Inc. Internet capable browser dispenser architecture
US6349287B1 (en) * 1997-08-01 2002-02-19 Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. Work-flow support system
US6212440B1 (en) * 1997-08-21 2001-04-03 Okuma Corporation Numerical control system
US6173414B1 (en) * 1998-05-12 2001-01-09 Mcdonnell Douglas Corporation Systems and methods for reduced error detection latency using encoded data
US6195774B1 (en) * 1998-08-13 2001-02-27 Xilinx, Inc. Boundary-scan method using object-oriented programming language
US7177052B2 (en) * 1998-11-09 2007-02-13 Silverbrook Research Pty Ltd Dithered image for bi-level printing
US6853867B1 (en) * 1998-12-30 2005-02-08 Schneider Automation Inc. Interface to a programmable logic controller
US6216158B1 (en) * 1999-01-25 2001-04-10 3Com Corporation System and method using a palm sized computer to control network devices
US7020532B2 (en) * 1999-06-11 2006-03-28 Invensys Systems, Inc. Methods and apparatus for control using control devices that provide a virtual machine environment and that communicate via an IP network
US7199784B2 (en) * 2003-05-16 2007-04-03 Fisher Rosemount Systems, Inc. One-handed operation of a handheld field maintenance tool
US20070019560A1 (en) * 2005-07-19 2007-01-25 Rosemount Inc. Interface module with power over ethernet function

Cited By (257)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US8023500B2 (en) 1996-08-20 2011-09-20 Invensys Systems, Inc. Methods for process control with change updates
US8028272B2 (en) * 1999-05-17 2011-09-27 Invensys Systems, Inc. Control system configurator and methods with edit selection
US8368640B2 (en) 1999-05-17 2013-02-05 Invensys Systems, Inc. Process control configuration system with connection validation and configuration
US8229579B2 (en) 1999-05-17 2012-07-24 Invensys Systems, Inc. Control systems and methods with versioning
US8225271B2 (en) 1999-05-17 2012-07-17 Invensys Systems, Inc. Apparatus for control systems with objects that are associated with live data
US8060862B2 (en) * 1999-05-17 2011-11-15 Invensys Systems, Inc. Apparatus and method for configuring a process control system having one or more digital data processors
US7984420B2 (en) * 1999-05-17 2011-07-19 Invensys Systems, Inc. Control systems and methods with composite blocks
US20100222902A1 (en) * 1999-05-17 2010-09-02 Invensys Systems, Inc. Methods and apparatus for control configuration with object hierarchy, versioning, inheritance, and other aspects
US8060222B2 (en) * 1999-05-17 2011-11-15 Invensys Systems, Inc. Control system configurator and methods with object characteristic swapping
US7890927B2 (en) * 1999-05-17 2011-02-15 Invensys Systems, Inc. Apparatus and method for configuring and editing a control system with live data
US8056056B2 (en) * 1999-05-17 2011-11-08 Invensys Systems, Inc. Methods and apparatus for configuring a process control system with a configuration editor executing on a digital data processing device
US8028275B2 (en) * 1999-05-17 2011-09-27 Invensys Systems, Inc. Control systems and methods with smart blocks
US8090452B2 (en) 1999-06-11 2012-01-03 Invensys Systems, Inc. Methods and apparatus for control using control devices that provide a virtual machine environment and that communicate via an IP network
US20020029300A1 (en) * 1999-07-29 2002-03-07 Fujitsu Limited Object collaboration apparatus using message type
US7584252B2 (en) * 1999-07-29 2009-09-01 Fujitsu Limited Object collaboration apparatus using message type
US9805337B2 (en) * 2000-06-19 2017-10-31 International Business Machines Corporation System and method for developing and administering web applications and services from a workflow, enterprise, and mail-enabled web application server and platform
US20040201604A1 (en) * 2000-06-19 2004-10-14 International Business Machines Corporation System and method for developing and administering web applications and services from a workflow, enterprise, and mail-enabled web application server and platform
US20020120482A1 (en) * 2001-02-26 2002-08-29 International Business Machines Corporation Separations-of-duties analysis tool for object-oriented integrated enterprise wide computing applications
US7290256B2 (en) * 2001-02-26 2007-10-30 International Business Machines Corporation Separations-of-duties analysis tool for object-oriented integrated enterprise wide computing applications
US20030200004A1 (en) * 2002-04-15 2003-10-23 Peter Renner System for automation of technical processes
US7474925B2 (en) * 2002-04-15 2009-01-06 Peter Renner System for automation of technical processes
US20070226687A1 (en) * 2002-06-25 2007-09-27 Tim Fallen-Bailey Method and apparatus to control translatable properties of metadata
US7596777B2 (en) * 2002-06-25 2009-09-29 Siebel Systems, Inc. Method and apparatus to control translatable properties of metadata
US20070168909A1 (en) * 2002-08-12 2007-07-19 Microsoft Corporation System And Method For Context-Sensitive Help In A Design Environment
US7937688B2 (en) * 2002-08-12 2011-05-03 Microsoft Corporation System and method for context-sensitive help in a design environment
US7266807B2 (en) * 2002-12-20 2007-09-04 Hitachi, Ltd. Method for integration edition of setting file and setting file integration base
US20040148367A1 (en) * 2002-12-20 2004-07-29 Hideki Takano Method for integration edition of setting file and setting file integration base
US20040130572A1 (en) * 2003-01-07 2004-07-08 Aravind Bala Active content wizard: execution of tasks and structured content
US20040250214A1 (en) * 2003-01-07 2004-12-09 Microsoft Corporation Automatic image capture for generating content
US7565607B2 (en) * 2003-01-07 2009-07-21 Microsoft Corporation Automatic image capture for generating content
US20050033713A1 (en) * 2003-01-07 2005-02-10 Microsoft Corporation Automatic text generation
US20050114785A1 (en) * 2003-01-07 2005-05-26 Microsoft Corporation Active content wizard execution with improved conspicuity
US20080270266A1 (en) * 2003-08-22 2008-10-30 Vistaprint Technologies Limited System and method for remote assistance
US7730415B2 (en) * 2003-09-05 2010-06-01 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. State machine function block with a user modifiable state transition configuration database
US20050055695A1 (en) * 2003-09-05 2005-03-10 Law Gary K. State machine function block with a user modifiable state transition configuration database
US8600524B2 (en) 2003-09-05 2013-12-03 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. State machine function block with a user modifiable state transition configuration database
US8387014B2 (en) * 2004-05-19 2013-02-26 International Business Machines Corporation Synchronization of concurrently modified interdependent semi-derived artifacts
US20110010687A1 (en) * 2004-05-19 2011-01-13 International Business Machines Corporation Synchronization of concurrently modified interdependent semi-derived artifacts
US7574625B2 (en) 2004-09-14 2009-08-11 Microsoft Corporation Active content wizard testing
US20060059433A1 (en) * 2004-09-14 2006-03-16 Microsoft Corporation Active content wizard testing
US7962856B2 (en) * 2004-10-19 2011-06-14 Microsoft Corporation Lookup control configuration
US20060101390A1 (en) * 2004-10-19 2006-05-11 Microsoft Corporation Lookup control configuration
US20060125827A1 (en) * 2004-12-15 2006-06-15 Microsoft Corporation System and method for interactively linking data to shapes in a diagram
US7564458B2 (en) * 2004-12-15 2009-07-21 Microsoft Corporation System and method for interactively linking data to shapes in a diagram
US20070244583A1 (en) * 2005-05-04 2007-10-18 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Method for operating an automation device
US8942834B2 (en) * 2005-06-27 2015-01-27 Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc. Method and apparatus for communicating transactions between an industrial controller and a programming interface
US20060294047A1 (en) * 2005-06-27 2006-12-28 Johnston David A Method and apparatus for communicating transactions between an industrial controller and a programming interface
US20070075916A1 (en) * 2005-10-05 2007-04-05 Invensys Systems, Inc. Generic utility supporting on-demand creation of customizable graphical user interfaces for viewing and specifying field device parameters
US8782539B2 (en) * 2005-10-05 2014-07-15 Invensys Systems, Inc. Generic utility supporting on-demand creation of customizable graphical user interfaces for viewing and specifying field device parameters
US7836022B2 (en) * 2005-10-12 2010-11-16 International Business Machines Corporation Reduction of join operations when archiving related database tables
US20070083573A1 (en) * 2005-10-12 2007-04-12 Gillespie Allan E Reduction of join operations when archiving related database tables
US20080301658A1 (en) * 2005-11-18 2008-12-04 International Business Machines Corporation Object Replacement Method, System and Computer Program Product
US8312420B1 (en) * 2005-11-18 2012-11-13 The Mathworks, Inc. System and method for performing structural templatization
US8276119B2 (en) * 2005-11-18 2012-09-25 International Business Machines Corporation Object replacement method, system and computer program product
US9052923B2 (en) 2005-11-18 2015-06-09 International Business Machines Corporation Object replacement method, system and computer program product
US7873615B2 (en) * 2005-12-14 2011-01-18 Sap Ag Control object based report generation using a central class
US20070193645A1 (en) * 2005-12-14 2007-08-23 Christian Mohr Control object based report generation using a central class
US8726271B1 (en) 2005-12-30 2014-05-13 United Services Automobile Association (Usaa) Method and system for installing software
US10592229B1 (en) 2005-12-30 2020-03-17 United Services Automobile Association Method and system for restoring software
US7802247B1 (en) 2005-12-30 2010-09-21 United Services Automobile Association (Usaa) Method and system for restoring software
US8843919B1 (en) 2005-12-30 2014-09-23 United Services Automobile Association (Usaa) Method and system for restoring software
US7831968B1 (en) * 2005-12-30 2010-11-09 United Services Automobile Association (Usaa) Method and system for restoring software
US8566820B1 (en) 2005-12-30 2013-10-22 United Services Automobile Association (Usaa) Method and system for installing software
US7757161B2 (en) * 2006-03-15 2010-07-13 Business Objects Software Ltd Apparatus and method for automatically sizing fields within reports
US20070220488A1 (en) * 2006-03-15 2007-09-20 Business Objects, S.A. Apparatus and method for automatically sizing fields within reports
US7809451B2 (en) * 2006-05-04 2010-10-05 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Method for operating an automation device
US20070288891A1 (en) * 2006-06-12 2007-12-13 Michael Aakolk Meta-data driven implementation of business objects and their transactional behavior
US8001521B2 (en) * 2006-06-12 2011-08-16 Sap Ag Meta-date driven implementation of business objects and their transactional behavior
US20080066049A1 (en) * 2006-09-12 2008-03-13 Sandeep Jain Method for enforcing change policy based on project state
US8645906B2 (en) * 2006-09-12 2014-02-04 Sandeep Jain Method for enforcing change policy based on project state
US20090037302A1 (en) * 2006-09-27 2009-02-05 Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc. Programmatically scheduled verification
US20080189637A1 (en) * 2006-10-16 2008-08-07 Invensys Systems, Inc. Data quality and status behavior for human machine interface graphics in industrial control and automation systems
US20080092067A1 (en) * 2006-10-16 2008-04-17 Invensys Systems, Inc. Custom properties for automation control
WO2008048576A3 (fr) * 2006-10-16 2008-06-12 Invensys Sys Inc Propriétés personnalisées pour commande d'automatismes
US10061828B2 (en) 2006-11-20 2018-08-28 Palantir Technologies, Inc. Cross-ontology multi-master replication
US9330157B2 (en) 2006-11-20 2016-05-03 Palantir Technologies, Inc. Cross-ontology multi-master replication
US20080155495A1 (en) * 2006-11-27 2008-06-26 Sourcecode Technology Holding, Inc. Methods and apparatus for modeling a workflow process in an offline environment
WO2008112387A1 (fr) * 2007-03-14 2008-09-18 Business Objects Data Integration, Inc. Appareil et procédé destinés à utiliser une grille de tâche pour générer une tâche de migration de données
US20080228550A1 (en) * 2007-03-14 2008-09-18 Business Objects, S.A. Apparatus and method for utilizing a task grid to generate a data migration task
US20080243880A1 (en) * 2007-03-28 2008-10-02 International Business Machines Corporation Automatic identification of components for a compound document in a content management system
US7970761B2 (en) * 2007-03-28 2011-06-28 International Business Machines Corporation Automatic identification of components for a compound document in a content management system
US8140589B2 (en) 2007-03-28 2012-03-20 International Business Machines Corporation Autonomic updating of templates in a content management system
US20080243897A1 (en) * 2007-03-28 2008-10-02 John Edward Petri Autonomic updating of templates in a content management system
US20080295085A1 (en) * 2007-05-25 2008-11-27 Microsoft Corporation Integrated code review tool
US20080301639A1 (en) * 2007-05-29 2008-12-04 International Business Machines Corporation Identifying Changes in Source Code
US8375361B2 (en) * 2007-05-29 2013-02-12 International Business Machines Corporation Identifying changes in source code
US8296848B1 (en) * 2007-06-20 2012-10-23 Symantec Corporation Control flow redirection and analysis for detecting vulnerability exploitation
US20110099183A1 (en) * 2007-06-28 2011-04-28 Microsoft Corporation Search-based filtering for property grids
US20110099543A1 (en) * 2007-07-11 2011-04-28 Thorley Jeb Stuart Method and system for version independent software release management
US8117596B2 (en) * 2007-07-11 2012-02-14 Trend Micro Incorporated Method and system for version independent software release management
US8739152B2 (en) 2007-07-11 2014-05-27 Trend Micro Incorporated Method and system for version independent software release management
US20180052895A1 (en) * 2007-08-22 2018-02-22 Salesforce.Com, Inc. System, method and computer program product for defining custom junction objects in an on-demand database service
US10949435B2 (en) * 2007-08-22 2021-03-16 Salesforce.Com, Inc. System, method and computer program product for defining custom junction objects in an on-demand database service
US8296733B2 (en) * 2007-09-20 2012-10-23 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Systems, devices, and/or methods for managing program logic units
US20090083705A1 (en) * 2007-09-20 2009-03-26 Siemens Energy & Automation, Inc. Systems, Devices, and/or Methods for Managing Program Logic Units
US7908360B2 (en) 2007-09-28 2011-03-15 Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc. Correlation of non-times series events in industrial systems
US20090089233A1 (en) * 2007-09-28 2009-04-02 Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc. Correlation of non-times series events in industrial systems
WO2009089477A1 (fr) * 2008-01-11 2009-07-16 The Mathworks, Inc. Catégories d'énumération
US8527942B2 (en) 2008-01-11 2013-09-03 The Mathworks, Inc. Enumeration classes
US20090183139A1 (en) * 2008-01-11 2009-07-16 The Mathworks, Inc. Enumeration classes
US20090193420A1 (en) * 2008-01-29 2009-07-30 International Business Machines Corporation Method and system for batch processing form data
US8170992B2 (en) * 2008-01-29 2012-05-01 International Business Machines Corporation Method and system for batch processing form data
US20090235196A1 (en) * 2008-03-11 2009-09-17 Microsoft Corporation Customizable controls provided by a messaging application for performing selected actions
US9563877B2 (en) * 2008-03-11 2017-02-07 Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc Customizable controls provided by a messaging application for performing selected actions
US20130124460A1 (en) * 2008-05-02 2013-05-16 Invensys Systems Inc. System For Maintaining Unified Access To Scada And Manufacturing Execution System (MES) Information
US8744609B2 (en) * 2008-05-02 2014-06-03 Invensys Systems, Inc. System for maintaining unified access to SCADA and manufacturing execution system (MES) information
US9400648B2 (en) * 2008-06-05 2016-07-26 Accenture Global Services Limited Software upgrade analysis system
US20140282473A1 (en) * 2008-06-05 2014-09-18 Accenture Global Services Limited Software Upgrade Analysis System
US20100005100A1 (en) * 2008-06-19 2010-01-07 Michael Callahan Data management system and method
US20090327350A1 (en) * 2008-06-19 2009-12-31 Michael Callahan Interactive review system and method
US20090319408A1 (en) * 2008-06-19 2009-12-24 Michael Callahan Provison application system and method
US8594814B2 (en) 2008-06-20 2013-11-26 Invensys Systems, Inc. Systems and methods for immersive interaction with actual and/or simulated facilities for process, environmental and industrial control
US8561047B2 (en) * 2008-07-23 2013-10-15 Fujitsu Limited Object linkage device for linking objects in statically linked executable program file, method of linking objects, and computer readable storage medium storing program thereof
US20110113412A1 (en) * 2008-07-23 2011-05-12 Fujitsu Limited Object linkage device for linking objects in statically linked executable program file, method of linking objects, and computer readable storage medium storing program thereof
US20100131472A1 (en) * 2008-08-01 2010-05-27 International Business Machines Corporation Detection and utilzation of inter-module dependencies
US9557899B2 (en) * 2008-08-19 2017-01-31 Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc. Visualization profiles and templates for auto-configuration of industrial automation systems
US8473854B2 (en) * 2008-08-19 2013-06-25 Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc. Visualization profiles and templates for auto-configuration of industrial automation systems
US20140173472A1 (en) * 2008-08-19 2014-06-19 Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc. Visualization profiles and templates for auto-configuration of industrial automation systems
US8689120B2 (en) 2008-08-19 2014-04-01 Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc. Visualization profiles and templates for auto-configuration of industrial automation systems
US20100050097A1 (en) * 2008-08-19 2010-02-25 Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc. Visualization profiles and templates for auto-configuration of industrial automation systems
US9798784B1 (en) * 2008-08-22 2017-10-24 Salesforce.Com, Inc. System, method and computer program product for defining custom junction objects in an on-demand database service
US8825462B2 (en) 2008-09-17 2014-09-02 Accenture Global Services Limited Method and system for simulating a plurality of devices
US8893035B2 (en) * 2008-09-17 2014-11-18 Accenture Global Services Limited Method, system and graphical user interface for configuring a simulator to simulate a plurality of devices
US20100070255A1 (en) * 2008-09-17 2010-03-18 Accenture Global Services Gmbh Method and system for simulating a plurality of devices
US20100070909A1 (en) * 2008-09-17 2010-03-18 Accenture Global Services Gmbh Method and system for simulating a plurality of devices
US9430446B2 (en) * 2008-12-10 2016-08-30 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Information processing apparatus, method and storage medium including a function for establishing exceptions applied to print settings when specified conditions are met
US20100142001A1 (en) * 2008-12-10 2010-06-10 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Information processing apparatus, method for controlling the information processing apparatus, and storage medium
US8122434B2 (en) * 2009-05-29 2012-02-21 Invensys Sytems, Inc. Methods and apparatus for control configuration control objects associated with a track attribute for selecting configuration information
US8127060B2 (en) 2009-05-29 2012-02-28 Invensys Systems, Inc Methods and apparatus for control configuration with control objects that are fieldbus protocol-aware
US20100305721A1 (en) * 2009-05-29 2010-12-02 Invensys Systems, Inc. Methods and apparatus for control configuration with control objects that self-define tracked parameters
WO2010138412A1 (fr) * 2009-05-29 2010-12-02 Invensys Systems, Inc. Configuration de commande avec des objets de commande qui sont sensibles au protocole de bus de terrain et qui auto-définissent les paramètres suivis
US8463964B2 (en) 2009-05-29 2013-06-11 Invensys Systems, Inc. Methods and apparatus for control configuration with enhanced change-tracking
US9098500B1 (en) * 2010-04-08 2015-08-04 Xilinx, Inc. Revision history storage and maintenance
WO2012007215A1 (fr) * 2010-07-14 2012-01-19 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Procédé pour structurer un schéma fonctionnel en des zones de schéma fonctionnel
EP2407839A1 (fr) * 2010-07-14 2012-01-18 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Procédé destiné à structurer un schéma logique dans des zones d'un schéma logique
KR101805956B1 (ko) 2010-07-14 2017-12-06 지멘스 악티엔게젤샤프트 기능도를 기능도 섹션들로 구조화하기 위한 방법
CN103003762A (zh) * 2010-07-14 2013-03-27 西门子公司 用于将功能图结构化为功能图区域的方法
US8782594B2 (en) 2010-07-14 2014-07-15 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Method for structuring a function plan into function plan sections
USRE48589E1 (en) 2010-07-15 2021-06-08 Palantir Technologies Inc. Sharing and deconflicting data changes in a multimaster database system
US8782090B2 (en) * 2010-11-07 2014-07-15 International Business Machines Corporation Aiding report construction based on inference of implicit application level relationships
US20120117117A1 (en) * 2010-11-07 2012-05-10 International Business Machines Corporation Aiding report construction based on inference of implicit application level relationships
US9632496B2 (en) * 2011-02-21 2017-04-25 Mitsubishi Electric Corporation Engineering apparatus which associates programmable logic controller data with human machine interface data
US20130325153A1 (en) * 2011-02-21 2013-12-05 Mitsubishi Electric Corporation Engineering apparatus
US11693877B2 (en) 2011-03-31 2023-07-04 Palantir Technologies Inc. Cross-ontology multi-master replication
US20130086506A1 (en) * 2011-09-30 2013-04-04 Mark E. Molander Organization and display of tabs and tab groups over hierarchical levels
US8799807B2 (en) * 2011-09-30 2014-08-05 International Business Machines Corporation Organization and display of tabs and tab groups over hierarchical levels
US9087064B2 (en) * 2011-10-27 2015-07-21 International Business Machines Corporation User-defined hierarchies in file system data sets
US9189492B2 (en) 2012-01-23 2015-11-17 Palatir Technoogies, Inc. Cross-ACL multi-master replication
US9715518B2 (en) 2012-01-23 2017-07-25 Palantir Technologies, Inc. Cross-ACL multi-master replication
US20140039846A1 (en) * 2012-08-06 2014-02-06 Fujitsu Limited Information processing method, information processing device, and information processing system
CN103677793A (zh) * 2012-09-11 2014-03-26 帝斯贝思数字信号处理和控制工程有限公司 用于计算机辅助生成可执行控制程序的至少一部分的方法
US9348490B2 (en) * 2012-09-14 2016-05-24 Ca, Inc. User interface with configuration, registration, and runtime selection of views
US20140082155A1 (en) * 2012-09-14 2014-03-20 Ca, Inc. User interface with configuration, registration, and runtime selection of views
US10379707B2 (en) 2012-09-14 2019-08-13 Ca, Inc. Providing a user interface with configurable interface components
US10387003B2 (en) 2012-09-14 2019-08-20 Ca, Inc. User interface with runtime selection of views
US10691311B2 (en) * 2012-10-08 2020-06-23 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. Derived and linked definitions with override
US11599251B2 (en) 2012-10-08 2023-03-07 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc Derived and linked definitions with override
US11774927B2 (en) 2012-10-08 2023-10-03 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. Methods and apparatus to provide a role-based user interface
US11650718B2 (en) 2012-10-08 2023-05-16 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. Derived and linked definitions with override
US11216159B2 (en) 2012-10-08 2022-01-04 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. Configuration element for graphic elements
US20170364225A1 (en) * 2012-10-08 2017-12-21 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. Derived and Linked Definitions with Override
US10891312B2 (en) 2012-10-22 2021-01-12 Palantir Technologies Inc. Sharing information between nexuses that use different classification schemes for information access control
US9836523B2 (en) 2012-10-22 2017-12-05 Palantir Technologies Inc. Sharing information between nexuses that use different classification schemes for information access control
US9081975B2 (en) 2012-10-22 2015-07-14 Palantir Technologies, Inc. Sharing information between nexuses that use different classification schemes for information access control
US10311081B2 (en) 2012-11-05 2019-06-04 Palantir Technologies Inc. System and method for sharing investigation results
US10846300B2 (en) 2012-11-05 2020-11-24 Palantir Technologies Inc. System and method for sharing investigation results
US8930891B2 (en) * 2013-02-04 2015-01-06 David Wei Ge Method for visual manipulations of all kinds of programming objects
US20140223413A1 (en) * 2013-02-04 2014-08-07 David Wei Ge Method for visual manipulations of all kinds of programming objects
US10037352B1 (en) * 2013-03-18 2018-07-31 The Boston Consulting Group, Inc. Methods for editing hierarchical data
US20140298243A1 (en) * 2013-03-29 2014-10-02 Alcatel-Lucent Usa Inc. Adjustable gui for displaying information from a database
US9785694B2 (en) 2013-06-20 2017-10-10 Palantir Technologies, Inc. System and method for incremental replication
US10762102B2 (en) 2013-06-20 2020-09-01 Palantir Technologies Inc. System and method for incremental replication
US8886601B1 (en) * 2013-06-20 2014-11-11 Palantir Technologies, Inc. System and method for incrementally replicating investigative analysis data
US9086688B2 (en) 2013-07-09 2015-07-21 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. State machine function block with user-definable actions on a transition between states
US10274926B2 (en) 2013-07-09 2019-04-30 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. State machine function block with user-definable actions on a transition between states
US9569070B1 (en) 2013-11-11 2017-02-14 Palantir Technologies, Inc. Assisting in deconflicting concurrency conflicts
US10379699B2 (en) * 2013-12-12 2019-08-13 Sony Corporation Information processing apparatus, relay computer, information processing system, and information processing program
US10127261B2 (en) * 2013-12-31 2018-11-13 Dassault Systems Enovia Corporation Methods and systems for resolving conflicts in hierarchically-referenced data
US10873603B2 (en) 2014-02-20 2020-12-22 Palantir Technologies Inc. Cyber security sharing and identification system
US9009827B1 (en) 2014-02-20 2015-04-14 Palantir Technologies Inc. Security sharing system
US9923925B2 (en) 2014-02-20 2018-03-20 Palantir Technologies Inc. Cyber security sharing and identification system
US10884603B2 (en) * 2014-03-03 2021-01-05 Life Technologies Corporation Graphical user interface system and method for transferring data acquisition and analysis settings
US9262125B2 (en) * 2014-05-15 2016-02-16 Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc Contextual focus-agnostic parsing-validated alternatives information
US9785773B2 (en) 2014-07-03 2017-10-10 Palantir Technologies Inc. Malware data item analysis
US9021260B1 (en) 2014-07-03 2015-04-28 Palantir Technologies Inc. Malware data item analysis
US10572496B1 (en) 2014-07-03 2020-02-25 Palantir Technologies Inc. Distributed workflow system and database with access controls for city resiliency
US10269178B2 (en) * 2014-09-10 2019-04-23 My Virtual Reality Software As Method for visualising surface data together with panorama image data of the same surrounding
US20160071314A1 (en) * 2014-09-10 2016-03-10 My Virtual Reality Software As Method for visualising surface data together with panorama image data of the same surrounding
US20170085427A1 (en) * 2014-12-22 2017-03-23 Servicenow, Inc. Auto discovery of configuration items
US9998333B2 (en) * 2014-12-22 2018-06-12 Servicenow, Inc. Auto discovery of configuration items
US20180278475A1 (en) * 2014-12-22 2018-09-27 Servicenow, Inc. Auto discovery of configuration items
US10601660B2 (en) * 2014-12-22 2020-03-24 Servicenow, Inc. Auto discovery of configuration items
US11762822B2 (en) * 2015-01-02 2023-09-19 International Business Machines Corporation Determining when a change set was delivered to a workspace or stream and by whom
US11768815B2 (en) * 2015-01-02 2023-09-26 International Business Machines Corporation Determining when a change set was delivered to a workspace or stream and by whom
US20190347246A1 (en) * 2015-01-02 2019-11-14 International Business Machines Corporation Determining when a change set was delivered to a workspace or stream and by whom
US10331828B2 (en) * 2015-04-01 2019-06-25 Xendee Corporation Cloud computing engineering application
US9824205B2 (en) * 2015-06-08 2017-11-21 Accenture Global Services Limited Mapping process changes
US9600682B2 (en) * 2015-06-08 2017-03-21 Accenture Global Services Limited Mapping process changes
US20160357982A1 (en) * 2015-06-08 2016-12-08 Accenture Global Services Limited Mapping process changes
US20170109520A1 (en) * 2015-06-08 2017-04-20 Accenture Global Services Limited Mapping process changes
US10140120B2 (en) 2015-06-15 2018-11-27 International Business Machines Corporation Context-specific view of a hierarchical data structure
US20170090917A1 (en) * 2015-06-15 2017-03-30 International Business Machines Corporation Context-specific view of a hierarchical data structure
US9720689B2 (en) * 2015-06-15 2017-08-01 International Business Machines Corporation Context-specific view of a hierarchical data structure
US20170090918A1 (en) * 2015-06-15 2017-03-30 International Business Machines Corporation Context-specific view of a hierarchical data structure
US9733932B2 (en) * 2015-06-15 2017-08-15 International Business Machines Corporation Context-specific view of a hierarchical data structure
US10462261B2 (en) * 2015-06-24 2019-10-29 Yokogawa Electric Corporation System and method for configuring a data access system
US20160380816A1 (en) * 2015-06-24 2016-12-29 Yokogawa Electric Corporation System and method for configuring a data access system
US10222772B2 (en) * 2015-07-08 2019-03-05 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Method and configuration system for configuring hardware modules in an automation system
US20190369607A1 (en) * 2015-10-09 2019-12-05 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. Distributed industrial performance monitoring and analytics platform
US12547160B2 (en) * 2015-10-09 2026-02-10 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. Distributed industrial performance monitoring and analytics platform
US20170131998A1 (en) * 2015-11-06 2017-05-11 International Business Machines Corporation Work-item expiration in software configuration management environment
US9684506B2 (en) * 2015-11-06 2017-06-20 International Business Machines Corporation Work-item expiration in software configuration management environment
US10621198B1 (en) 2015-12-30 2020-04-14 Palantir Technologies Inc. System and method for secure database replication
US10175682B2 (en) * 2016-03-10 2019-01-08 Honeywell International Inc. Automation control system point configuration from controller program files
US20170261969A1 (en) * 2016-03-10 2017-09-14 Honeywell International Inc. Automation control system point configuration from controller program files
US10970095B2 (en) * 2016-04-15 2021-04-06 International Business Machines Corporation Obtaining insights from a distributed system for a dynamic, customized, context-sensitive help system
US10241809B2 (en) * 2016-04-15 2019-03-26 International Business Machines Corporation Obtaining insights from a distributed system for a dynamic, customized, context-sensitive help system
US20170300482A1 (en) * 2016-04-15 2017-10-19 International Business Machines Corporation Obtaining insights from a distributed system for a dynamic, customized, context-sensitive help system
US20190171469A1 (en) * 2016-04-15 2019-06-06 International Business Machines Corporation Obtaining insights from a distributed system for a dynamic, customized, context-sensitive help system
US10354071B2 (en) * 2016-06-30 2019-07-16 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Method for updating process objects in an engineering system
US11163795B2 (en) 2016-12-22 2021-11-02 Palantir Technologies Inc. Systems and methods for data replication synchronization
US10262053B2 (en) 2016-12-22 2019-04-16 Palantir Technologies Inc. Systems and methods for data replication synchronization
US11829383B2 (en) 2016-12-22 2023-11-28 Palantir Technologies Inc. Systems and methods for data replication synchronization
US10521412B2 (en) * 2017-01-13 2019-12-31 Accenture Global Solutions Limited Complex multi-layer token apportionment stack for token assignment within multiple-tiered data structures
US11966418B2 (en) 2017-04-25 2024-04-23 Palantir Technologies Inc. Systems and methods for adaptive data replication
US10068002B1 (en) 2017-04-25 2018-09-04 Palantir Technologies Inc. Systems and methods for adaptive data replication
US10915555B2 (en) 2017-04-25 2021-02-09 Palantir Technologies Inc. Systems and methods for adaptive data replication
US11604811B2 (en) 2017-04-25 2023-03-14 Palantir Technologies Inc. Systems and methods for adaptive data replication
US11099727B2 (en) 2017-05-30 2021-08-24 Palantir Technologies Inc. Systems and methods for geo-fenced dynamic dissemination
US11775161B2 (en) 2017-05-30 2023-10-03 Palantir Technologies Inc. Systems and methods for geo-fenced dynamic dissemination
US10430062B2 (en) 2017-05-30 2019-10-01 Palantir Technologies Inc. Systems and methods for geo-fenced dynamic dissemination
US11030494B1 (en) 2017-06-15 2021-06-08 Palantir Technologies Inc. Systems and methods for managing data spills
US11514018B2 (en) * 2017-07-11 2022-11-29 Endress+Hauser Process Solutions Ag Method and data conversion unit for monitoring an automation system
US10244043B1 (en) * 2017-09-22 2019-03-26 Yokogawa Electric Corporation Management system for a plant facility and method for managing a plant facility
CN109597377A (zh) * 2017-10-02 2019-04-09 费希尔-罗斯蒙特系统公司 便于过程控制工厂中的图形显示设计工作流的系统和方法
US12327012B2 (en) 2017-10-02 2025-06-10 Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. Systems and methods for configuring and presenting a display navigation hierarchy in a process plant
US11921796B2 (en) 2017-12-08 2024-03-05 Palantir Technologies Inc. Systems and methods for using linked documents
US11580173B2 (en) 2017-12-08 2023-02-14 Palantir Technologies Inc. Systems and methods for using linked documents
US10380196B2 (en) 2017-12-08 2019-08-13 Palantir Technologies Inc. Systems and methods for using linked documents
US12229200B2 (en) 2017-12-08 2025-02-18 Palantir Technologies Inc. Systems and methods for using linked documents
US10915542B1 (en) 2017-12-19 2021-02-09 Palantir Technologies Inc. Contextual modification of data sharing constraints in a distributed database system that uses a multi-master replication scheme
US11150632B2 (en) * 2018-03-16 2021-10-19 Yokogawa Electric Corporation System and method for field device management using class parameter set
US10891392B2 (en) * 2018-04-27 2021-01-12 Aras Corporation System and method for implementing domain based access control on queries of a self-describing data system
US20190340383A1 (en) * 2018-04-27 2019-11-07 Aras Corporation System and method for implementing domain based access control on queries of a self-describing data system
US11645285B2 (en) 2018-04-27 2023-05-09 Aras Corporation Query engine for recursive searches in a self-describing data system
US12020305B2 (en) 2018-04-27 2024-06-25 Aras Corporation Query engine for executing configurator services in a self-describing data system
US11748245B2 (en) * 2018-07-27 2023-09-05 Oracle International Corporation Object-oriented regression-candidate filter
US12056152B2 (en) * 2019-05-22 2024-08-06 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Operational policies of industrial field devices and distributed databases
US11308116B2 (en) * 2019-05-31 2022-04-19 Snowflake Inc. Accessing listings in a data exchange
US20210103380A1 (en) * 2019-10-02 2021-04-08 Palantir Technologies Inc. Enhanced techniques for building user interfaces
US11199955B2 (en) * 2019-10-02 2021-12-14 Palantir Technologies Inc. Enhanced techniques for building user interfaces
US12321578B2 (en) 2019-10-02 2025-06-03 Palantir Technologies Inc. Enhanced techniques for building user interfaces
US11204690B1 (en) * 2020-03-05 2021-12-21 Unqork, Inc. Systems and methods for software development and deployment platforms having advanced workflow and event processing capabilities and graphical version controls
EP4152145A1 (fr) * 2021-09-20 2023-03-22 Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc. Séparation d'état en ligne/hors ligne d'un projet de contrôleur d'automatisation industrielle
US12182553B2 (en) 2022-02-07 2024-12-31 Red Hat, Inc. User customizable compiler attributes for code optimization
US11941382B2 (en) * 2022-02-07 2024-03-26 Red Hat, Inc. User customizable compiler attributes for code checking
US20230251837A1 (en) * 2022-02-07 2023-08-10 Red Hat, Inc. User customizable compiler attributes for code checking

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
WO2000070417A1 (fr) 2000-11-23
US20090125129A1 (en) 2009-05-14
WO2000070531A3 (fr) 2001-07-12
US7890927B2 (en) 2011-02-15
US20100222902A1 (en) 2010-09-02
US20100223593A1 (en) 2010-09-02
WO2000070531A2 (fr) 2000-11-23
US8028272B2 (en) 2011-09-27
US7984420B2 (en) 2011-07-19
US8225271B2 (en) 2012-07-17
US20090125128A1 (en) 2009-05-14
US20090118845A1 (en) 2009-05-07
US20090125131A1 (en) 2009-05-14
AU5273100A (en) 2000-12-05
US8028275B2 (en) 2011-09-27
US8229579B2 (en) 2012-07-24
US8060862B2 (en) 2011-11-15
US8056056B2 (en) 2011-11-08
US20090118846A1 (en) 2009-05-07
US20090125130A1 (en) 2009-05-14
AU5025600A (en) 2000-12-05
US8060222B2 (en) 2011-11-15
US20090132996A1 (en) 2009-05-21

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
US8028272B2 (en) Control system configurator and methods with edit selection
US7272815B1 (en) Methods and apparatus for control configuration with versioning, security, composite blocks, edit selection, object swapping, formulaic values and other aspects
US7096465B1 (en) Process control configuration system with parameterized objects
US7089530B1 (en) Process control configuration system with connection validation and configuration
US6754885B1 (en) Methods and apparatus for controlling object appearance in a process control configuration system
US8122434B2 (en) Methods and apparatus for control configuration control objects associated with a track attribute for selecting configuration information
US8127060B2 (en) Methods and apparatus for control configuration with control objects that are fieldbus protocol-aware
JP6388682B2 (ja) グラフィック・プログラミング言語オブジェクトを編集及び報告する方法及び編集・報告システム
US6334158B1 (en) User-interactive system and method for integrating applications
US9513785B2 (en) Tool for creating customized user interface definitions for a generic utility supporting on-demand creation of field device editor graphical user interfaces
CN102269989B (zh) 基于过程控制标签间关系的用于数据驱动界面的方法及装置
WO2010138412A1 (fr) Configuration de commande avec des objets de commande qui sont sensibles au protocole de bus de terrain et qui auto-définissent les paramètres suivis
US20080189638A1 (en) Bridging human machine interface technologies in a process automation and information management environment
US20080092131A1 (en) Centralized management of human machine interface applications in an object-based supervisory process control and manufacturing information system environment
US20160154913A1 (en) Common plant model for modeling physical plant items of a production plant
McGehee et al. The MMST computer-integrated manufacturing system framework
US7451007B2 (en) Integration of MES and controls engineering
Lapalus et al. Manufacturing integration

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
STCB Information on status: application discontinuation

Free format text: EXPRESSLY ABANDONED -- DURING EXAMINATION