Software architecture system and method for operating an appliance utilizing configurable notification messages

• US 20070162158A1
• Filed: 12/29/2006
• Published: 07/12/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 06/09/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Whirlpool Corporation
• Original Assignee: Whirlpool Corporation
• Inventors: McCoy, Richard, Ebrom, Matthew, Kmet, David, Glotzbach, Patrick, Carroll, Joshua, Putnam, Daniel, Whipple, Andrew
• Application Number:
  US11/571,450
• Publication Number:
  US 20070162158A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/17
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/042 using digital processors G05B19/05 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/23237 Program execution by message passing
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/2642 Domotique, domestic, home control, automation, smart house
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/26 Special purpose or proprietary protocols or architectures network applications for proprietary or special purpose networking environments H04L67/12

Abstract

A method for controlling a system of devices through a series of steps to perform a useful cycle of operation comprising the steps of running a control program for directing the operation of the devices through a series of steps; dynamically generating during the running of the control program a memory heap, the memory heap comprises a plurality of event structures each having condition parameters comprising at least one each of external memory pointers to the event structure, event operators, and arguments associated with an event; identifying event conditions that evaluate as true by looking into the memory heap of structures during the running of the control program and evaluating the condition parameters for the event structures; and generating a configurable notification message when a true condition is found.

Claims

1. A method for controlling a system of devices through a series of steps to perform a useful cycle of operation, the method comprising the steps of:

running a control program for directing the operation of the devices through a series of steps,

dynamically generating during the running of the control program a memory heap, the memory heap comprising a plurality of event structures each having condition parameters comprising at least one each of external memory pointers to the event structure, event operators, and arguments associated with an event,

identifying event conditions that evaluate as true by looking into the memory heap of structures during the running of the control program and evaluating the condition parameters for the event structures, and

generating a configurable notification message when a true condition is found.

2. The method according to claim 1, and further comprising assigning each event structure a unique identifier during the running of the control program.

3. The method according to claim 1, and comprising the altering the operation of the control program in response to the notification message.

4. The method according to claim 1, and selectively enabling and disabling the generating of the notification message.

5. The method according to claim 1, and comprising evaluation multiple notification messages to determine the cumulative effect of multiple event structures.