Industrial controller interface providing standardized object access

• US 7,085,841 B2
• Filed: 09/28/2001
• Issued: 08/01/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 07/13/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Rockwell Automation, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies Incorporated (Rockwell Automation, Inc.)
• Inventors: Lillie, David J, Edwards, Jayme
• Primary Examiner(s): Thomson, William
• Assistant Examiner(s): Opie, George L.
• Application Number:
  US09/967,296
• Publication Number:
  US 20030084201A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,768 Days
• Field of Search: 707/102, 707/10, 719315-316, 719/321, 719/310, 719/328, 709/230, 709/250, 709/203, 709/217, 709/224, 370/231, 705/59, 705/75, 705/78
• US Class Current: 709/230
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/00 Programme-control systems
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/0426 Programming the control sequence
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/056 Programming the PLC
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/31161 Java programcode or simular active agents, programs, applets
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/31196 SOAP, describes available services and how to call them remotely
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/31422 Upload, download programs, parameters from, to station to, from server
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/32126 Hyperlink, access to program modules and to hardware modules in www, web server, browser
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/34038 Web, http, ftp, internet, intranet server

Abstract

An interface for an industrial control system provides, at a server side, a set of objects for programmer use. Instances of object provider objects, linked to each of the software objects, provide a uniform interface for the software objects allowing software objects from different vendors to be used while preserving a common programmer interface.

Claims

1. An object based interface for an industrial control system comprising:

a server program that receives communications from a client program that employs a standard object protocol, which includes discovery instructions, the client program communicates with the server program over a network;

a set of software objects including at least two third-party objects having differing proprietary object protocols also differing from the standard object protocol; and

at least two object providers that each communicate with the server program and one proprietary object to translate between standard object protocol and an associated one of the proprietary object protocols, the object providers expose proprietary objects that are associated with a URL and respond to the discovery instructions via identification of object features of software objects with which they are associated, wherein an interceptor monitors communications between the server program and the object providers and performs at least one of verifying license validity and recording a fee for use of an object;

whereby objects from multiple vendors may be simply utilized by the client program.

2. The object based interface of claim 1, the standard object protocol controls object features selected from the group consisting of:

object creation, object destruction, setting parameters of the objects, invoking methods of the objects, subscribing to events of objects, and canceling event subscriptions.

3. The object based interface of claim 1, the proprietary object protocol controls object features selected from the group consisting of:

object creation, object destruction, setting parameters of the objects, invoking methods of the objects, subscribing to events of objects, and canceling event subscriptions.

4. The object based interface of claim 1, the object features identified are selected from the group consisting of:

parameters of the objects, the methods of the objects, and events of the object.

5. The object-based interface of claim 1, the object providers are software objects that provide encapsulation of data passed to proprietary software objects.

6. The object based interface of claim 1, proprietary software objects are selected from the group consisting of Java, Com, C++, XML, and Visual Basic objects.

7. The object based interface of claim 1, further including an asserter that communicates with the object providers and the proprietary software objects that execute a predetermined program in response to such communications.

8. The object based interface of claim 1, including an Internet interface, the client program communicates with the server program through the Internet interface.

9. The object based interface of claim 1, the client program is a Java applet.

10. The object based interface of claim 1, the software objects include graphic display elements.

11. The object based interface of claim 1, the software objects include graphic control elements.

12. A method for communicating with an industrial control system comprising:

receiving at a server program, standard object protocol communications, including discovery instructions, from a client program that communicates with the server program over a network; and

translating by means of an object provider between the standard object protocol communications and at least one proprietary object protocol associated with proprietary software objects including at least two third-party objects having differing proprietary object protocols also differing from the standard object protocol, the object provider exposes proprietary objects that are associated with a URL and responds to the discovery instructions by identifying object features of software objects with which they are associated, wherein an interceptor monitors communications between the server program and the object provider and executes a predetermined program in response to such communications;

whereby objects from multiple vendors may be simply utilized by the client program.

13. The method of claim 12, the standard object protocol controls object features selected from the group consisting of:

object creation, object destruction, setting parameters of the objects, invoking methods of the objects, subscribing to events of objects, and canceling event subscriptions.

14. The method of claim 12, the proprietary object protocol controls object features selected from the group consisting of:

object creation, object destruction, setting parameters of the objects, invoking methods of the objects, subscribing to events of objects, and canceling event subscriptions.

15. The method of claim 12, the object features identified are selected from the group consisting of:

parameters of the objects, methods of the objects, and events of the objects.

16. The method of claim 12, the object providers expose a common software interface that provides an abstraction of the underlying proprietary software object interface.

17. The method of claim 12, the proprietary software objects are selected from the group consisting of Java objects, XML objects, COM, C++, and Visual Basic objects.

18. The method of claim 12, the predetermined program performs at least one of the tasks of verifying license validity and recording a fee for use of the object.

19. The method of claim 12, communicating between the object providers and an assertor program executing a predetermined program in response to such communications.

20. The method of claim 12, the client program communicates with the server program through the Internet.

21. The method of claim 12, the client program is Java applet.

22. The method of claim 12, the software objects include graphic display elements.

23. The method of claim 12, the software objects include graphic control elements.