Method for selecting shapes in a graphical display

• US 8,316,313 B2
• Filed: 10/14/2009
• Issued: 11/20/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/14/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fisher-Rosemount Systems Incorporated (Emerson Electric Company)
• Original Assignee: Fisher-Rosemount Systems Incorporated (Emerson Electric Company)
• Inventors: Campney, Bruce Hubert, Hammack, Stephen Gerard, Beoughter, Ken J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Belousov, Andrey
• Application Number:
  US12/579,104
• Publication Number:
  US 20110087977A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,133 Days
• Field of Search: 715/762, 715/763, 715/771, 715/837
• US Class Current: 715/771
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/0426 Programming the control sequence
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/23258 GUI graphical user interface, icon, function bloc editor, labview
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/32128 Gui graphical user interface
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/0225 User interface arrangements, e.g. keyboard, display; Interfaces to other computer systems

Abstract

A selector shape may serve as the background to a configurable composite shape and may include one or more expressions that are evaluated to select between several composite shape definitions via links to the definition. Each selector shape includes an animation expression and a lookup table converter to select an identifier of the composite definition to be loaded and displayed. When the value of the animation expression changes, the value may be matched to the name of a new composite definition using the lookup table, and the new definition may be displayed. The previously-used composite definition may then be marked for removal by a caching system, and removed. These selector shapes also enable the same graphic element to be used in displays designed for different types of display devices, such as display devices having large display screens, standard computer screens and very small display screens.

Claims

1. A computing device for reducing a number of composite shape sub-elements stored in a runtime memory of a graphical display for the process control system, the device comprising:

a processor;

a memory;

a display; and

a composite shape sub-element selection application maintained in the memory and executed on the processor to select a composite shape sub-element for display within a composite shape of the graphical display, the composite shape configured to include a selector shape, a plurality of composite shape sub-elements, and an expression, the composite shape sub-element selection application including instructions for;

evaluating the expression at runtime to determine an expression result;

executing an array indexing operation to identify a composite shape sub-element within a lookup table using the expression result by matching the expression result to an item within the lookup table, the item identifying the composite shape sub-element and the composite shape sub-element identified from the plurality of composite shape sub-elements;

displaying the identified composite shape sub-element within or in place of the selector shape; and

removing any composite shape sub-elements not identified by the expression result.

2. The computing device of claim 1, wherein each of the composite shape sub-elements include one or more of a primitive, an animation, and an action.

3. The computing device of claim 2, wherein each action and animation includes one or more parameters to perform changes to the composite shape sub-element and to operate a visual trigger associated with the sub-element.

4. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the expression includes one or more user-configurable parameters that identify the composite shape sub-element.

5. The computing device of claim 4, wherein the one or more user-configurable parameters include additional user-configurable parameters that determine how the identified composite shape sub-element is displayed within or in place of the selector shape, the additional user-configurable parameters including one or more of a sub-element color, a sub-element text format, a sub-element binding, and link to process parameter and field device data.

6. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the expression includes a value and the instructions further comprise validating the expression value by matching the value against a valid value.

7. The computing device of claim 1, wherein if the expression result includes an error or if a missing composite shape sub-element is identified using the expression result, the displayed composite shape sub-element includes a default sub-element or an error sub-element.

8. The computing device of claim 1, wherein removing any composite shape sub-elements not identified by the expression result includes marking the unidentified composite shape sub-elements for removal from a runtime memory of the graphical display for the process control system.

9. The computing device of claim 8, wherein a caching system removes the unidentified composite shape sub-elements.

10. A method for reducing a number of composite shape sub-elements stored in a runtime memory of a graphical display for a process control system, the method comprising:

displaying a composite shape within the graphical display, the composite shape including a selector shape, a plurality of composite shape sub-elements, and an expression;

evaluating the expression at runtime to determine an expression result;

executing an array indexing operation to identify a composite shape sub-element within a lookup table using the expression result by matching the expression result to an item within the lookup table, the item identifying the composite shape sub-element and the composite shape sub-element identified from the plurality of composite shape sub-elements;

displaying the identified composite shape sub-element within or in place of the selector shape; and

at runtime, removing any composite shape sub-elements from the composite shape not identified by the expression result.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein each of the composite shape sub-elements include one or more of a primitive, an animation, and an action, wherein each action and animation includes one or more parameters to perform changes to the composite shape sub-element and to operate a visual trigger associated with the sub-element.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the expression includes one or more user-configurable parameters that identify the composite shape sub-element, wherein the one or more user-configurable parameters include additional user-configurable parameters that determine how the identified composite shape sub-element is displayed within or in place of the selector shape, the additional user-configurable parameters including one or more of a sub-element color, a sub-element text format, a sub-element binding, and link to process parameter and field device data.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein if the expression result includes an error or if a missing composite shape sub-element is identified using the expression result, the displayed composite shape sub-element includes a default sub-element or an error sub-element.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein removing any composite shape sub-elements not identified by the expression result includes marking the unidentified composite shape sub-elements for removal from the a runtime memory of the graphical display for the process control system, wherein a caching system removes the unidentified composite shape sub-elements.

15. A computer-readable memory having computer-executable instructions for performing steps to reduce a number of composite shape sub-elements stored in a runtime memory of a process control system, comprising:

displaying a composite shape within the graphical display, the composite shape including a selector shape, a plurality of composite shape sub-elements, and an expression;

evaluating the expression at runtime to determine an expression result;

executing an array indexing operation to identify a composite shape sub-element within a lookup table using the expression result by matching the expression result to an item within the lookup table, the item identifying the composite shape sub-element and the composite shape sub-element identified from the plurality of composite shape sub-elements;

displaying the identified composite shape sub-element within or in place of the selector shape; and

removing any composite shape sub-elements not identified by the expression result.

16. The computer-readable memory of claim 15, wherein each of the composite shape sub-elements include one or more of a primitive, an animation, and an action, wherein each action and animation includes one or more parameters to perform changes to the composite shape sub-element and to operate a visual trigger associated with the sub-element.

17. The computer-readable memory of claim 15, wherein the expression includes one or more user-configurable parameters that identify the composite shape sub-element, wherein the one or more user-configurable parameters include additional user-configurable parameters that determine how the identified composite shape sub-element is displayed within or in place of the selector shape, the additional user-configurable parameters including one or more of a sub-element color, a sub-element text format, a sub-element binding, and link to process parameter and field device data.

18. The computer-readable memory of claim 15, wherein if the expression result includes an error or if a missing composite shape sub-element is identified using the expression result, the displayed composite shape sub-element includes a default sub-element or an error sub-element.

19. The computer-readable memory of claim 15, wherein removing any composite shape sub-elements not identified by the expression result includes marking the unidentified composite shape sub-elements for removal from the a runtime memory of the graphical display for the process control system, wherein a caching system removes the unidentified composite shape sub-elements.