Method of programming and executing object-oriented state machine logic in a controller

• US 6,477,439 B1
• Filed: 07/09/1998
• Issued: 11/05/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 04/03/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Johnson Controls Technology Company (Johnson Controls International plc)
• Original Assignee: Johnson Controls Technology Company (Johnson Controls International plc)
• Inventors: Drees, Kirk H., West, Jonathan D., Bernaden, Alex III, Kuckuk, William R., Seem, John E., Decious, Gaylon M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Picard, Leo
• Assistant Examiner(s): Rapp, Chad
• Application Number:
  US09/112,620
• Time in Patent Office: 1,580 Days
• Field of Search: 700/86, 700/103, 700/79, 707/102, 707/103, 707/104, 707/503, 707/509
• US Class Current: 700/103
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/30 for purposes related to the operation of the system, e.g. for safety or monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/63 Electronic processing
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/74 for controlling air flow rate or air velocity
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/23289 State logic control, finite state, tasks, machine, fsm
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/2638 Airconditioning
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 9/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99944 Object-oriented database structure
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

A method is disclosed for programming and executing a state machine control program represented as a diagram in an HVAC controller. The diagram is converted to tabular data which is entered into one or more spreadsheet pages. The tabular data includes the defined output states, the defined input states and defined transition states, whereby a given output state and a given set of inputs will cause transition to a next output state. The tabular data is translated, through execution of a routine in a macro-instruction language, into a plurality of data structures for downloading into a finite state machine object data structure in the controller, where it will be acted upon by an object-oriented execution module, referred to as a class execute method, which is also present in the controller.

Claims

1. A method of programming a controller for execution of a state machine logic program, the method comprising:

entering data for a state machine logic program based upon a state diagram into a programming terminal, the diagram representing a plurality of current output states, a present state of a plurality of inputs, and at least one next output state, said programming terminal displaying said data on a screen for observation by a human operator;

translating the data into at least one data structure for execution as part of a state machine logic program in the controller, the data structure including at least one state table;

transferring the data structure from the programming terminal to the controller, the data structure including at least one of a state mask table and an event guard mask table;

loading the data structure into an object in an object-oriented program in the controller; and

executing an object-oriented execution routine in the controller, the controller operating on the data to execute the state machine logic program.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the data for the state machine logic program is entered into a programming terminal in a plurality of pages in a spreadsheet application program running on the programming terminal.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the data is translated into at least one data structure for execution as part of a state machine logic program in the controller by executing a translation routine resident in the programming terminal.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the data structure is transferred from the programming terminal to the controller through a network.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the data structure is transferred from the programming terminal to the controller as a binary file.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the execution routine which operates on the data to execute the state machine logic program in the controller is a class method associated with the data structure through a state machine object in the controller.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the data that is entered into the programming terminal for the state machine logic program provides for at least one output superstate and a plurality of output substates, which are included in said output superstate.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the data that is entered into the programming terminal for the state machine logic program provides for at least one output superstate and a plurality of tiers of output substates, which are included in said output superstate.

9. A method of programming a VAV controller for execution of a state machine logic program related to HVAC control, the method comprising:

entering data for a state machine logic program based upon a state diagram into a programming terminal, the diagram representing a plurality of current output states, a present state of a plurality of inputs, and at least one next output state, said programming terminal displaying said data on a screen for observation by a human operator;

translating the data into at least one data structure for execution as part of a state machine logic program in the controller, the data structure including at least one state table;

transferring the data structure from the programming terminal to the controller, the data structure including an event guard mask table;

loading the data structure into an object in an object-oriented program in the controller; and

executing an object-oriented execution routine in the controller, the controller operating on the data to execute the state machine logic program.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the data for the state machine logic program is entered into a programming terminal in a plurality of pages in a spreadsheet application program running on the programming terminal.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the data is translated into at least one data structure for execution as part of a state machine logic program in the controller by executing a translation routine resident in the programming terminal.