DATA QUALITY AND STATUS BEHAVIOR FOR HUMAN MACHINE INTERFACE GRAPHICS IN INDUSTRIAL CONTROL AND AUTOMATION SYSTEMS

• US 20080189637A1
• Filed: 10/16/2006
• Published: 08/07/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 10/16/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Invensys Systems Incorporated (Invensys PLC)
• Original Assignee: Invensys Systems Incorporated (Invensys PLC)
• Inventors: McIntyre, James Paul, Anderson, Jerome Richard, Krajewski, John Joseph, Francois, Frederic Andre Gerard
• Application Number:
  US11/549,801
• Publication Number:
  US 20080189637A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/771
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/36 Software reuse
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces

Abstract

An industrial control and automation human machine interface (HMI) technology is disclosed that includes a centralized definition of data quality and status behaviors for graphical elements. The centralized definition is thereafter applied to every graphical element that is linked to a data value for which status is maintained/provided. Centrally configured data quality and status indication behaviors are incorporated across entire HMI applications and even sets of HMI applications in a system to inform an operator of the data quality and/or status of read/written data through globally defined data status animation behavior. The centrally defined behaviors are distributed to all nodes on a system and incorporated in live applications without shutting down the applications to update their behavior definition. A status graphic element type. The status graphical element examines a designated data variable and displays a picture or icon indicating the quality or status of the data.

Claims

1. A system for facilitating centralized configuration of data status behaviors for graphical elements within human machine interface (HMI) applications distributable across multiple nodes of the system, the system comprising:

a global data status behaviors definition maintained in a central configuration storage;

a definition editor interface supporting designation of the global data status behaviors definition; and

a definition distribution mechanism for propagating changes to the global data status behaviors definition to a set of remote nodes executing HMI applications on a network, wherein the HMI applications include graphics associated with data having associated statuses.

2. The system of claim 1 further comprising a status graphic element data status display property, wherein the status graphical element is configurable for a designated data source via the definition editor.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein the status graphic element comprises a set of icons corresponding to a set of supported data statuses.