Control systems and methods with versioning
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and apparatus for configuring process, environmental, industrial and other control systems generate and/or utilize models representing configurations of control systems and/or the systems controlled by them. Records of changes to the models or the configurations represented by them are maintained, thereby, for example, providing bases for determining current states, prior states and histories of changes. Objects in the model have characteristics, such as an object type characteristic and an area characteristic. Users can have corresponding permissions. A security mechanism apparatus controls access by users to the objects. Composite objects are defined by definition objects and are displayed in encapsulated or expanded formats. Objects can include an edit control type identifier that determines how they are presented for editing. Functionality responds to user commands by transferring characteristics of a first object depicted by the graphical user interface to a second object. Configuration-time formulas contained objects are evaluated to constants prior to downloading to the control system.
186 Citations
202 Claims
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1-134. -134. (canceled)
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135. (canceled)
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136. Apparatus for configuring a control system, comprising
a model representing a configuration of at least one of the control system and a system controlled thereby, and a record of at least selected changes made to at least one of the configuration and the model, wherein the model comprises a plurality of objects representing entities in any of the control system and the system controlled thereby, and wherein the apparatus further comprises multiple versions of at least one of the objects, at least selected ones of those multiple versions reflecting changes made to at least one of the configuration and the model.
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140. (canceled)
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141. Apparatus for configuring a control system, the apparatus comprising
a first database comprising a model representing a configuration of at least one of the control system and a system controlled thereby, the first database comprising a record of changes made to at least one of the configuration and the model, wherein the first database comprises a collection of objects that make up at least part of the model, the objects representing entities in any of the control system and the system controlled thereby, the first database comprises multiple versions of at least one of the objects, at least selected ones of those multiple versions reflecting changes made to at least one of the configuration and the model.
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148-149. -149. (canceled)
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150. Apparatus for configuring a control system, comprising
a model representing a configuration of at least one of the control system and a system controlled thereby, the model comprising a plurality of objects, the objects representing entities in any of the control system and the system controlled thereby, multiple versions of at least one of the objects, the multiple versions including a version that forms part of the model, and an online version representing data executing in the control system, wherein at least one of (i) an identity of an object and (ii) an address, pointer or other reference to the object remains constant.
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155. Apparatus for configuring a control system, comprising
a model representing a configuration of at least one of the control system and a system controlled thereby, the model comprising a plurality of objects representing entities in any of the control system and the system controlled thereby, and multiple versions of at least one of the objects, the multiple versions including a current version and a prior historical version, wherein the multiple versions comprise a current version and a workspace version of an object being modified, and wherein the current version of an object being modified by a first user is blocked from modification by one or more other users.
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156-157. -157. (canceled)
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164. (canceled)
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165. Apparatus for configuring a control system, comprising
a model representing a configuration of at least one of the control system and a system controlled thereby, the model comprising a plurality of objects representing entities in any of the control system and the system controlled thereby, and multiple versions of a plurality of the objects, the multiple versions including offline versions that form part of the model, online versions representing data executing in the control system, and the multiple versions including, for at least one of the objects, a current version and a modified version, wherein at least one of the current version and the modified version references the other.
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167. (canceled)
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170-173. -173. (canceled)
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175. Apparatus for configuring a control system, comprising:
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a model representing a configuration of at least one of the control system and a system controlled thereby, a record of at least selected changes made to at least one of the configuration and the model, functionality that permits any of viewing and editing information pertaining to the changes, wherein the functionality permits any of viewing a listing of objects being modified, recording changes made to objects, recording reasons for changes to objects, releasing locks on objects, checking-in objects that have been checked-out for modification, viewing a version history of an object, comparing objects, comparing versions of an object, compacting a version history, marking at least selected objects with a common revision identification, archiving any of a model and a history of changes thereto, generating an audit trail of changes to one or more objects. - View Dependent Claims (177, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182, 184)
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176. (canceled)
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183. (canceled)
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185-186. -186. (canceled)
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187. Apparatus for configuring a control system, comprising
a first model representing a first configuration of at least one of the control system and a system controlled thereby, and a second model representing a second configuration of at least one of the same control system and the same system controlled thereby, a third model representing a third configuration of at least one of the same control system and the same system controlled thereby, the third model representing a merge of the first and second models.
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193. Apparatus for configuring a control system, comprising
a model representing a configuration of at least one of the control system and a system controlled thereby, a record of at least selected changes made to at least one of the configuration and the model, a mechanism, coupled to the model and to the record, that reinstates a prior version of the model.
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197. Method of configuring a control system, comprising
representing a configuration of at least one of the control system and a system controlled thereby with a model, and maintaining a record of at least selected changes made to at least one of the configuration and the model, wherein the model comprises a plurality of objects representing entities in any of the control system and the system controlled thereby, and wherein the method further comprises maintaining multiple versions of at least one of the objects, at least selected ones of those multiple versions reflecting changes made to at least one of the configuration and the model.
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202-258. -258. (canceled)
Specification