MECHANISM FOR INTERFACING A DISPLAY SCREEN OF ANOTHER TECHNOLOGY WITH A COMPUTING PLATFORM

• US 20100251266A1
• Filed: 03/25/2009
• Published: 09/30/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/25/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: Walter, Gerald, Stough, Joe, Majewski, Joseph Steven, Brett, Don L.
• Granted Patent: US 8,375,402 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 719/323
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/545 Gui
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0486 Drag-and-drop
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/452 Remote windowing, e.g. X-Window System, desktop virtualisation protocols for virtual reality H04L67/131
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/542 Event management; Broadcasting; Multicasting; Notifications

Abstract

A system for constructing embedded display content and navigation where a computing platform is based on one technology and the embedded display content is based on another technology. For instance, the one technology may be NiagaraAX and the other technology may be non-Niagara. The system may, for instance, leverage NiagaraAX Workbench tooling to generate displays rendered in heterogeneous technologies, i.e., non-Niagara, to extend the range and application of user interfaces for Niagara-based technologies.

Claims

1. An interface mechanism comprising:

an application control engine platform;

a communications link connected to the application control engine platform; and

a heterogeneous display device connected to the communications link; and

wherein the interface mechanism is for a building control system.

2. The mechanism of claim 1, wherein the communications link comprises:

a low-level driver; and

a high-level driver software component connected to the low-level driver.

3. The mechanism of claim 2, wherein:

the application control engine platform is Niagara-based;

the heterogeneous display device is a non-Niagara based display; and

the display device is an embedded display device.

4. The mechanism of claim 3, wherein:

the Niagara system comprises Workbench tooling; and

the Workbench tooling is leveraged by the interface mechanism to generate the display device in a non-Niagara heterogeneous technology.

5. The mechanism of claim 4, wherein a definition of screens and navigation for the heterogeneous display is provided by a combination of software components added to the Niagara system and the display device.

6. The mechanism of claim 4, wherein:

the low-level driver is for transferring packets over the communications link with software resident on the Niagara system and the embedded display; and

the high-level software component is for reading and writing Niagara objects including, but not limited to, data points, alarms, screen definitions and navigation information to and from the low-level driver.

7. The mechanism of claim 6, wherein transfers between the display device and the Niagara system comprise:

screen definitions;

screen navigation hierarchy;

live data;

user-initiated data updates;

alarm objects; and

alarm acknowledgements.

8. The mechanism of claim 3, further comprising:

a set of objects in the Niagara system; and

wherein the objects of the set are for representation of data items to be displayed on the embedded display;

further comprising means for exposing data from the objects; and

wherein;

the means are slots;

the slots are building blocks for defining simple and complex data objects;

the simple data objects are wrappers for low level primitive data types; and

the complex data objects provide software behavior for subscription and/or proxy across devices external to the mechanism.

9. The mechanism of claim 8, further comprising:

objects provided to represent the Niagara primitive types and point-based types; and

wherein;

the objects are for selecting which data items are to be represented on the embedded display; and

the objects are for linking source data objects of the Niagara system to destination data items on the embedded display.

10. The mechanism of claim 3, wherein:

the Niagara system comprises a PC-based Niagara Workbench tool;

the operating system, software and display rendering technology of the embedded display comprise screen definition elements designed to run in the PC-based Niagara Workbench tool; and

the software of the embedded display can be executed by Niagara system action to provide a screen preview mode and other screens on the embedded display.

11. The mechanism of claim 10, wherein:

screen definition elements, screen navigation and data item selections performed in the Niagara system are objects persisted in a BAJA object graph (BOG) which can be encoded to an XML formatted representation referred to as a BOG snippet and be transferred from the Niagara system via the communications driver to the embedded display; and

upon receipt of the BOG snippet, the embedded display decodes XML data in the BOG snippet and populates an internal database for use of rendering screens and navigation between the screens.

12. A system for interfacing comprising:

an application control engine platform rendered in a first technology;

a link connected to the application control engine platform; and

a display platform rendered in a second technology connected to the link; and

wherein the system for interfacing is for a building control system.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein:

the application control engine platform comprises;

an operating system and device drivers; and

resident software components; and

the display platform comprises;

an operating system and device drivers;

a display screen; and

display resident software components.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the resident software components of the application control engine platform comprise:

a communications driver connected to the link;

a station connected to the communications driver;

graphics files connected to the communications driver; and

a screen layout, alarm and data point XML connected to the communications driver.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the resident software components of the display platform comprise:

a communications driver connected to the link;

graphics files connected to the communications driver;

a data point updater connected to the communications driver; and

a XML parser/normalizer connected to the communications driver.

16. The system of claim 13, wherein the first technology is Niagara based.

17. A method for interfacing comprising:

providing an application control engine platform rendered in a first technology;

providing a display platform rendered in a second technology; and

linking the application control engine platform and the display platform; and

wherein;

the linking of the control engine platform and the display platform comprises a communications driver; and

the interfacing is for a building control system.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the communications driver comprises:

a low-level driver; and

a high-level driver software component connected to the low-level driver.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein:

the low-level driver is for transferring packets over the communications link with software resident on the application control engine platform and the display platform; and

the high-level software component is for reading and writing application control engine platform objects including, but not limited to, data points, alarms, screen definitions, and navigation information to and from the low level driver.

20. The mechanism of claim 19, wherein:

the first technology comprises a Niagara based technology; and

the second technology comprises a non-Niagara based technology.