Taxonomy engine and dataset for operating an appliance

• US 8,005,780 B2
• Filed: 12/29/2006
• Issued: 08/23/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/09/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Whirlpool Corporation
• Original Assignee: Whirlpool Corporation
• Inventors: Ebrom, Matthew P., McCoy, Richard A.
• Primary Examiner(s): STARKS, WILBERT L
• Application Number:
  US11/571,453
• Publication Number:
  US 20070156265A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,698 Days
• Field of Search: 706/48, 706/45, 340/933, 700/295
• US Class Current: 706/48
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/0426 Programming the control sequence
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/23261 Use control template library
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/23273 Select, associate the real hardware to be used in the program
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/2642 Domotique, domestic, home control, automation, smart house
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/26 Special purpose or proprietary protocols or architectures network applications for proprietary or special purpose networking environments H04L67/12

Abstract

A control system for controlling the operation of a useful system comprises at least one controller configured to control an operation of the useful system in response to a well formed command from a group of well formed commands. At least one taxonomy engine of the system is adapted to generate a taxonomy dataset establishing the group of well formed commands, and at least one command generator of the system is adapted to generate a well formed command using the taxonomy dataset. The taxonomy engine is configured to deliver the taxonomy dataset to the command generator, and the command generator is configured to deliver the well formed command to the controller.

Claims

1. A method of controlling an operation of a system comprising:

generating a taxonomy dataset derived from at least one available function of the system operation for use by a software component to generate well formed commands associated with the at least one available function in at least one state of the system, wherein the taxonomy dataset is generated in at the least one state and limited to the at least one state;

operably sending the taxonomy dataset at runtime to the software component;

receiving at least one well formed command based on the taxonomy dataset and operably sent from the software component;

validating the at least one well formed command by comparing the at least one well formed command to the taxonomy dataset sent to the software component; and

controlling an operation of the system at runtime in response to the at least one well formed command.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the controlling step comprises controlling the system from a controller selected from:

a controller on a node, a controller external to the internal network but within a network of the system, and an external controller.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the taxonomy dataset dictates commands selected from commands that are permissible for controlling the system and commands that are required for controlling the system.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the taxonomy dataset is defined by a plurality of taxonomic levels wherein at least one taxonomic level specifies at least one required decision.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the decision is selected from at least one of a selection or rejection of an option, entering a value setting, and selecting of an option from multiple possible options.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the option is selected from a group of options available for a cycle of operation for the system.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the generating of the taxonomy dataset is accomplished by a controller that controls at least a portion of the operation of the system.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the controller generates the taxonomy dataset based on at least one of the following factors:

the type of the current operation, the status of the current operation, and any operational restrictions of the current operation.

9. The method of claim 7 wherein the controller generates the taxonomy dataset as a function of at least one of:

currently applicable resource restrictions, currently applicable safety restriction, user preferences, and time restriction.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the system comprises an internal network and further wherein at least a first command generator is within the internal network and a second command generator is outside of the internal network.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein either command generator is selected from:

a user interface on a control panel, an external user interface, a user interface, a resource management system, a home automation system, another system sharing resources, and another system performing a related operation.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the software component is on a user interface device that provides a user feedback guiding a user to generate well formed commands.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the user feedback comprises informing a user that an option is not available.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of generating a taxonomy dataset is repeated.

15. The method of claim 1 and further comprising the step of periodically generating a taxonomy revision message.

16. The method of claim 1 and further comprising the step of verifying a well formed command.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the step of verifying a well formed command is selected from verifying receipt of the command, verifying that the command is well formed, and verifying execution of the command.

18. The method of claim 1 wherein the generating of the taxonomy dataset comprises assembling a plurality of command components permissible for the well formed commands.

19. The method of claim 1 wherein the command components include options and data inputs that form different levels in a taxonomy structure that provide a logic for the validation step.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein the options and data inputs are user selectable in forming the well formed command.

21. The method of claim 20 wherein the selections include at least one of an option, data input, cycle, cycle attribute, and cycle option.

22. The method of claim 20 wherein if the selections used to form the well formed command are not found in the taxonomy structure, the validating step will indicate an error.

23. The method of claim 20 wherein the validating step includes traversing the taxonomy dataset to compare the selections within the well formed command to the selections at the different levels of the taxonomy dataset to confirm that each selection within the well formed command is found within the different levels of the taxonomy dataset wherein an error indication can result from the traversing and comparing.

24. The method of claim 23 wherein for at least one command component of the taxonomy dataset, an additional collection of key words and values needed to form a message for the controlling step is associated within the taxonomy structure.

25. The method of claim 24 wherein the controlling step further comprises the step of forming at least one additional well formed command from the additional collection of key words and values and further comprises sending the at least one additional well formed command to a software component for controlling at least a portion of the operation.

26. The method of claim I wherein the system is an appliance having at least one control board and the at least one additional well formed command is sent to the at least one control board for controlling the operation.

27. A taxonomy dataset stored in memory and from which parameters thereof can be selected for enabling a programmable command generator to generate well formed commands for controlling an operation of an appliance, the taxonomy dataset generated in at least one state of the appliance and limited to the at least one state, and having a plurality of command components associated with at least one function of the appliance, wherein at least one of the plurality of command components is related to at least one other of the plurality of command components, both of which must be selected to control the operation of the appliance in at least one well formed command.

28. The taxonomy dataset of claim 27 further comprising a plurality of taxonomic levels wherein at least one taxonomic level specifies at least one required decision.

29. The taxonomy dataset of claim 28 wherein the required decision is selected from:

selecting or rejecting an option, entering a value setting, and selecting an option from multiple possible options.

30. The taxonomy dataset of claim 27 wherein the taxonomy dataset dictates commands selected from commands that are permissible for controlling the appliance and commands that are required for controlling the appliance.

31. The taxonomy dataset of claim 27 wherein at least one command component reflects status information.

32. The taxonomy dataset of claim 31 wherein the status information is selected from:

sensor status information, cycle status information, environment status information, resource information, user preference information, historical operational information, network information, control operating mode information, and operational status information.

33. A taxonomy dataset stored in memory for enabling a programmable command generator to generate a well formed command for controlling an operation of an appliance in at last one state, the taxonomy dataset having a plurality of command components associated with at least one function of the appliance operation in the at least state,

the improvement wherein the taxonomy dataset is generated in the at least one state of the appliance, received in the memory at runtime and wherein the plurality of command components is limited to only those functions available for the appliance operation in the at least one state.

34. The taxonomy dataset of claim 33 further comprising a plurality of taxonomic levels wherein at least one taxonomic level specifies at least one required decision.

35. The taxonomy dataset of claim 34 wherein the required decision is selected from:

selecting or rejecting an option, entering a value setting, and selecting an option from multiple possible options.

36. The taxonomy dataset of claim 33 wherein the taxonomy dataset dictates commands selected from commands that are permissible for controlling the appliance and commands that are required for controlling the appliance.

37. The taxonomy dataset of claim 33 wherein at least one command component reflects status information.

38. The taxonomy dataset of claim 37 wherein the status information is selected from:

sensor status information, cycle status information, environment status information, resource information, user preference information, historical operational information, network information, control operating mode information, and operational status information.