Method, apparatus and system for configuration-dependent control of furnishing information

• US 7,974,958 B2
• Filed: 04/27/2007
• Issued: 07/05/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/05/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Siemens Healthcare GMBH (Siemens AG)
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: Ebert, Rudiger
• Primary Examiner(s): Wong, Don
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen, Merilyn P
• Application Number:
  US11/796,311
• Publication Number:
  US 20070288528A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,530 Days
• Field of Search: 707/100, 707/101, 707/104.1, 707/200, 707/201, 707/203, 707/687, 707/694, 707/695, 707/792, 707/796, 707/821, 707/825
• US Class Current: 707/694
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/93 Document management systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0631 Resource planning, allocation, distributing or scheduling for enterprises or organisations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/101 Collaborative creation, e.g. joint development of products or services

Abstract

A method and apparatus for updating technical data sets that perform maintenance processes in technical systems is provided. The technical systems include a plurality of components that can each be configured dynamically. After a change in configuration of a component is detected, a report is sent by a configuration database to a central management system. The current management system provides the current version of the technical data sets to a document server.

Claims

1. A method for controlling a technical data set for performing a maintenance process in a technical system that includes a plurality of configurable components, the method comprising:

providing a central management system that includes a memory that is operable to store technical data sets that perform maintenance processes;

providing a local document server in the technical system, the local document server being operable to retrieve the technical data sets with respect to an applicable system in an arbitrary configuration;

providing a local configuration database of the plurality of configurable components of the technical system and attributes for control of a respective component;

transferring a report from the local configuration database to the central management system based on a change of at least one configurable component of the plurality, or a change of one of the technical data sets, wherein the report includes a request to update the technical data sets with respect to the change;

automatically determining an updated technical data set based on the report and a set of rules stored in the memory of the central management system; and

automatically forwarding the updated technical data set to the local document server,

wherein the report including the request to update the technical data sets is transferred from the local configuration database to the central management system when an addition of another configurable component to the technical system or a change, replacement or change in configuration of the at least one configurable component of the plurality is detected.

2. The method as defined by claim 1, wherein transferring a report from the configuration database to the central management system includes exchanging the report from the technical system to the central management system via a communications connection.

3. The method as defined by claim 1, wherein each of the technical data sets and/or each version of a technical data set is assigned a unique identification signal.

4. The method as defined by claim 1, wherein the attributes that are allocated to the respective component and that are stored in memory in the local configuration database include a reference to the updated technical data set or an identification signal that uniquely refers to a version of the technical data set.

5. The method as defined by claim 1, wherein the technical system is automatically updated with the updated technical data set.

6. The method as defined by claim 1, wherein the forwarding of the updated technical data set is tripped by the central management system or the local document server.

7. The method as defined by claim 1, wherein determining the updated technical data set includes generating the updated technical data set based on a current configuration of the technical system.

8. The method as defined by claim 7, wherein generating the updated technical data set is based on a current configuration of one configurable component of the plurality of the technical system.

9. The method as defined by claim 1, comprising:

forwarding a central change in at least a part of the technical data set to the technical system, and/or configurable components of the plurality that are affected by the central change.

10. The method as defined by claim 1, wherein forwarding the updated technical data set to the local document server includes exchanging the updated technical data set from the central management system to the technical system via a communications connection.

11. A control system that updates technical data sets that perform a maintenance process in a technical system, the control system comprising:

the technical system including a plurality of configurable components; and

a central management system that includes a memory that is operable to store technical data sets for configurations of the technical system and a set of rules,

wherein the technical system includes a local configuration database and a local document server, the local document server including a memory that is operable to store and communicate technical data sets that correspond to a present configuration of the system, the local configuration database including an allocation module that is operable to allocate attributes of a configuration that are necessary for a control of a configurable component of the plurality, and a reporting unit that is operable to send a report to the central management system,

wherein the central management system is configured to automatically determine technical data sets that correspond to the present configuration of the technical system based on the report and the set of rules stored in the memory of the central management system, and

wherein the report includes a request to update the technical data sets and is sent from the reporting unit of the local configuration database to the central management system when an addition of another configurable component to the technical system, or a change, replacement or change in configuration of at least one configurable component of the plurality is detected.

12. The control system according to claim 11, wherein the memory of the central management system is operable to store a rule database that includes a plurality of sets of rules and is operable to automatically determine a most recently updated version of a technical data set based on the report sent from the technical system.

13. The control system according to claim 11, comprising a plurality of technical systems.

14. A method for updating a technical data set in a technical system that includes at least one configurable component, the method comprising:

transferring a report from a configuration database disposed in the technical system to a central management system;

automatically processing the report in the central management system to determine an updated technical data set based on the report and a set of rules stored in a memory of the central management system; and

communicating the updated technical data set from the central management system to a document server disposed in the technical system,

wherein the report includes a request to update the technical data set and is transferred from the configuration database to the central management system when an addition of another configurable component to the technical system or a change, replacement or change in configuration of the at least one configurable component is detected.

15. The method according to 14, wherein the report is transferred as a function of current technical data sets.

16. The method according to 14, wherein the updated technical data set is automatically determined based on the report.