Object processing system using an object model

• US 20040066406A1
• Filed: 11/03/2003
• Published: 04/08/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 11/24/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Siemens AG
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: Schlereth, Michael, Dinges, Clemens, Lange, Ronald, Feld, Joachim
• Granted Patent: US 8,275,809 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/764
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/0426 Programming the control sequence
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/23255 Object oriented programming, OOP
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/31393 Object oriented engineering data management
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/32161 Object oriented control, programming
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/34038 Web, http, ftp, internet, intranet server

Abstract

Several tools are included in an object processing system that also includes a common object model containing a data structure and an administrative program for the data structure. The tools have read access and optionally also write access to partial areas of the data structure via the administrative program. The partial areas can be different from one another and can contain mutually corresponding information. The administrative program optionally updates the other partial areas by compulsion, during write access approaches by a tool.

Claims

1. An object processing system having an object model (8) and at least one basic tool (2, 3) and a supplementary tool (4, 5),

where the object model (8) is in the form of a common object model (8) which has a data structure (6) and an administrative program (7) for the data structure (6),

where the data structure (6) can be accessed by the tools (2-5) using the administrative program (7),

where the data structure (6) comprises a control program (SP) which can be executed by a process control unit (20) and can be taken as a basis for the process control unit (20) to control and/or monitor a technical installation (28) using at least one input/output unit (27, 29),

where the data structure (6) contains information about variables used by the process control unit (20) when executing the control program (SP), the storage location of said variables in the process control unit (20) and possibly their links to one another,

where the basic tool (2, 3) has read access to an associated subregion (9, 10) of the data structure (6),

where the supplementary tool (4, 5) has read and write access to an associated subregion (11, 12) of the data structure (6),

where the subregions (9-12) differ from one another at least in part and contain information items which correspond to one another,

where the administrative program (7) is designed such that write access to the data structure (6) by the supplementary tool (4, 5) involves that subregion (9, 10, 12 or 9-11) of the data structure (6) which cannot be read by the supplementary tool (4, 5) being mandatorily updated at the same time if appropriate.

2. The object processing system as claimed in claim 1, characterized

in that the basic tool (2, 3) is a user interface display tool (3).

3. The object processing system as claimed in claim 2, characterized

in that the supplementary tool (4, 5) is a user interface creation tool (5).

4. The object processing system as claimed in claim 1, characterized

in that the basic tool (2, 3) is an execution tool (2) for the control program.

5. The object processing system as claimed in claim 4, characterized

in that the supplementary tool (4, 5) is a control program creation tool (4).

6. The object processing system as claimed in one of the above claims, characterized

in that the data structure (6) has a common region (13-19) to which at least two tools (2-5) have read access.

7. The object processing system as claimed in one of the above claims, characterized

in that the data structure (6) contains a full information record for each tool (2-5) which has access to the data structure (6).

8. A computer having an object processing system (1) as claimed in one of the above claims.

9. The computer as claimed in claim 8, characterized

in that it is in the form of a process control unit (20).

10. The computer as claimed in claim 8 or 9, characterized

in that it is in the form of a computer (20) with Internet capability and in that the tools (3-5) can be called via the Internet (30).