Method for transmission of a process value and control system

• US 7,539,935 B2
• Filed: 08/23/2002
• Issued: 05/26/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/10/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Siemens AG
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: Becker, Hans, Schlereth, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Hong; Stephen S
• Assistant Examiner(s): Faber; David
• Application Number:
  US10/489,041
• Publication Number:
  US 20040243933A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,468 Days
• Field of Search: 715/501.1, 715505-507, 715/500.1, 715/771, 715/513, 715200-204, 715234-242, 700/51, 700/17, 700/19, 700/9, 717 1- 10
• US Class Current: 715/234
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/00 Network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/025 for remote control or remote monitoring of applications
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/02 Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]

Abstract

Control system with at least one control unit, a server computer, a first document in a markup language and a second document in a markup language for loading through a client computer, whereby the first document contains at least one field and the second document contains data for directing the field to an address in a control unit.

Claims

1. A method for transmission process values from stored program controls to a client computer, comprising:

providing a plurality of stored program controls, wherein a system is controlled based upon the plurality of stored program controls, wherein at least one stored program control has a plurality of different addresses, for accessing the process values;

retrieving a first document in a markup language from a server computer into a client computer the first document comprising first, second, and third fields for the process values and a pointer to a second document in a markup language in the server computer;

retrieving the second document into the client computer via the pointer, with the second document having data for

assigning the first field to a first address of a first stored program control,

assigning the second field to a second address of the first stored program control, and

assigning the third field to a first address of a second stored program control;

assigning the first field to the first address of the first stored program control using the data in the second document;

assigning the second field to the second address of the first stored program control using the data in the second document;

assigning the third field to the first address of the second stored program control using the data in the second document;

querying the process values from the addresses of the first stored program control and the second stored program control;

transmitting the process values from the server computer to the client computer; and

displaying the process values in the fields of the first document on the client computer.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein the data in the second document for assigning each field of the first document to a respective address of a respective stored program control contains the respective address of the respective stored program control.

4. A method according to claim 1, wherein the second document assigns a designation to each field of the first document, and a database of the server computer is queried using a script, the database containing an assignment of the designation to the respective address of the respective stored program control.

2. A method for transmission of an input value from a client computer to a particular stored program control, comprising:

providing a plurality of stored program controls, wherein a system is controlled based upon the plurality of stored program controls, wherein at least one stored program control has a plurality of different addresses, for accessing process values;

retrieving a first document in a markup language from a server computer into a client computer the first document comprising first, second, and third fields for the process values and a pointer to a second document in a markup language in the server computer;

retrieving the second document into the client computer via the pointer, the second document containing data for;

assigning the first field to a first address of a first stored program control,

assigning the second field to a second address of the first stored program control, and

assigning the third field to a first address of a second stored program control;

assigning the first field to the first address of the first stored pro gram control using the data in the second document;

assigning the second field to the second address of the first stored program control using the data in the second document;

assigning the third field to the first address of the second stored program control using the data in the second document;

entering the input value into the first field of the first document at the client computer; and

transmitting the input value from the first field of the first document on the client computer via the server computer to the first stored program control.

6. A method according to claim 2, wherein the pointer to the second document is a URL.

7. A method according to claim 2, wherein the data in the second document for assigning each field of the first document to a respective address of a respective stored program control contains the respective address of the respective stored program control.

8. A method according to claim 2, wherein the second document assigns a designation to each field of the first document, and a database of the server computer is queried using a script, said database containing an assignment of the designation to the respective address of the respective stored program control.

5. A method for transmission of process values from stored program controls to a client computer, the method comprising:

providing a plurality of stored program controls, wherein a system is controlled based upon the plurality of stored program controls, wherein at least one stored program control has a plurality of different addresses, for accessing the process values;

providing at least one access to a first document in a markup language of a server computer, the first document comprising first, second, and third fields for the process values;

providing at least one access to a second document in a markup language, with the second document having data for

assigning the first field to a first address of a first stored program control,

assigning the second field to a second address of the first stored program control, and

assigning the third field to a first address of a second stored program control;

assigning the first field to the first address of the first stored program control using the data in the second document;

assigning the second field to the second address of the first stored program control using the data in the second document;

assigning the third field to the first address of the second stored program control using the data in the second document;

assigning the second document to the first document, whereby a database is accessed on behalf of the server computer for the purpose of assigning;

querying the process values from the addresses of the first stored proaram control and the second stored program control;

transmiffing the process values from the server computer to the client computer; and

displaying the process values in the fields of the first document on the client computer;

whereby the first document is initially independent of the addresses of the stored program controls.

10. A method according to claim 5, wherein the method is performed by means of a computer program executed on a control system.

9. A method for transmission of an input value from a client computer to stored program control, comprising:

providing a plurality of stored program controls, wherein a system is controlled based upon the plurality of stored program controls, wherein at least one stored program control has a plurality of different addresses, for accessing process values;

providing at least one access to a first document in a markup language of a server computer, the first document comprising first, second, and third fields for the process values;

providing at least one access to a second document in a markup language, the second document containing data for

assigning the first field to a first address of a first stored program control,

assigning the second field to a second address of the first stored program control, and

assigning the third field to a first address of a second stored program control;

assigning the first field to the first address of the first stored program control using the data in the second document;

assigning the second field to the second address of the first stored program control using the data in the second document;

assigning the third field to the first address of the second stored program control using the data in the second document;

entering the input value into the first field of the first document at the client computer;

assigning the second document to the first document, whereby a database is accessed on behalf of the server computer for the purpose of assigning; and

transmitting the input value from the first field of the first document on the client computer via the server computer to the first stored program control;

whereby the first document is initially independent of the first address of the first stored program control.

11. A method according to claim 9, wherein the method is performed by means of a computer program executed on a control system.

12. A control system comprising:

a server computer;

a plurality of stored program controls connected to a common system to be controlled, wherein the stored program controls are connected to the server computer, the stored program controls providing process data values and specific addresses for access thereof, wherein at least one stored program control has at least two specific addresses for respective ones of the process data values;

a first document specified in a markup language on the server computer, the first document comprising first, second, and third data fields;

a second document specified in a markup language on the server computer, the second document comprising associations of the data fields of the first document with respective specific addresses of the process data values;

a pointer linking the first document to the second document; and

the first document designed via the markup language to instruct a browser program on a client computer that each data field of the first document is to be displayed with one of the process data values via one of the associations in the second document;

wherein

the first field is assigned to a first specific address of a first stored program control using the associations in the second document,

the second field is assigned to a second specific address of the first stored program control using the associations in the second document, and

the third field is assigned to a first specific address of a second stored program control using the associations in the second document;

whereby a change of one of the specific addresses only requires a change in said one of specific addresses in one of the associations in the second document.

13. The control system of claim 12 wherein the first document is further designed to receive a client-entered value in a given data field on the client computer, and to transmit the client-entered value via the browser to the server, and the server further comprises a computer program that stores the client-entered value in the specific address that is associated in the second document with the given data field in the first document.

14. A control system according to claim 12, wherein the associations are provided in a field assignment table in the second document that associates a set of data fields in the first document with a corresponding set of addresses for read and write access to respective process control variables in the stored program controls connected to the server computer.

15. A control system according to claim 14 wherein the pointer is in the first document.

16. A control system according to claim 14 wherein

the pointer is provided in a document pointer table on the server computer that associates each of a first set of documents with a corresponding one of a set of second documents;

the field assignment table uses symbolic parameter designations as the corresponding set of addresses; and

further comprising a parameter-designation-to-address association table in the server that associates each of the symbolic parameter designations with a respective one of the corresponding set of addresses for read and write access to process control variables in the stored program controls connected to the server computer.

17. A control system according to claim 12, wherein the associations are provided in a field assignment table in the server computer that associates the data fields in the first document with a corresponding set of addresses for read and write access to respective process control variables in the stored program controls connected to the server computer, and further comprising a field value table in the second document that associates the set of data fields in the first document with corresponding values of the respective process control variables.