Proxy object configuration of industrial component

• US 7,966,427 B2
• Filed: 09/29/2006
• Issued: 06/21/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies Incorporated (Allen-Bradley Co., Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies Incorporated (Allen-Bradley Co., Inc.)
• Inventors: Mann, Joseph Francis
• Primary Examiner(s): TSENG, CHENG YUAN
• Application Number:
  US11/529,813
• Publication Number:
  US 20080162671A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,726 Days
• Field of Search: 710/8
• US Class Current: 710/8
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/23109 Configuration of display device, operator panel
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/23258 GUI graphical user interface, icon, function bloc editor, labview
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0253 using browsers or web-pages for accessing management information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0813 characterised by the conditions triggering a change of settings
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0853 by actively collecting configuration information or by backing up configuration information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0879 Manual configuration through operator
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]

Abstract

An electrical device may be configured by coupling the device to a human machine interface (HMI) that is equipped with software for interacting with a configuration station. The software may include components that can enumerate properties of objects on the device to be configured. The device to be configured provides a file to the server-enabled HMI, such as a schema file. The server-enabled HMI then enumerates properties of the objects or otherwise provides an indication of the properties to the configuration station. The properties may be altered by a user at the configuration station. The reconfigured properties are then transmitted from the server-enabled HMI back to the device to be configured.

Claims

1. A method for configuring an electrical device comprising:

generating a schema file in a device to be configured summarizing configuration of the device;

transmitting the file to a human machine interface including a design environment for configuring an interface screen, and a server for serving a view representative of the interface screen for configuration by a user;

altering the schema file based upon configuration input by a user via the human machine interface by serving an interface screen view to a configuration station for display in a browser on the configuration station, receiving an alteration from the configuration station via the interface screen view, and altering the schema file to reflect the alteration made on the configuration station; and

transmitting the altered schema file from the human machine interface to the device, the altered schema file defining reconfiguration of the device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the schema file is in an extended markup language.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein altering the file includes accessing an object defining a feature of an interface screen view and changing a property of the object.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the device to be configured does not include a design environment or a server.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the interface screen view is altered on the human machine interface.

6. A method for configuring an electrical device comprising:

coupling a device to be configured to a human machine interface, the human machine interface including a design environment for configuring an interface screen, and a server for serving a view representative of the interface screen for configuration by a user;

transmitting a file from the device to the human machine interface, the file representing a configuration of the device prior to alteration;

serving an interface screen view from the human machine interface to a configuration station to be displayed in a browser on the configuration station for alteration of the interface screen view on the configuration station;

altering the configuration on the human machine interface to reflect alterations in the interface screen view;

altering configuration of an object stored on the device by input of configuration changes via the human machine interface; and

storing the altered configuration in the device, the altered configuration defining a reconfiguration of the object on the device;

wherein the file is a schema file defining an aspect of a function performed by the device when in operation.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the interface screen view is altered on the human machine interface.

8. A system for configuring an interface comprising:

a device to be configured, the device including an object defining a function of the device in operation, the device being configured to generate a schema file summarizing configuration of the object;

a human machine interface coupled to the device and configured to receive the schema file and alter the configuration of the object based upon user alterations of the properties of the object, wherein the human machine interface includes a design environment for configuring an interface screen view, and a server for serving a view representative of the interface screen view for configuration by a user; and

a configuration station, the human machine interface being configured to transmit an interface screen view to the configuration station for display in a browser on the configuration station and to receive user alterations of the interface screen view from the configuration station and to alter the configuration of the object based upon the user alterations.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the interface screen view is altered on the human machine interface.