Customized object design for industrial automation application

• US 8,887,134 B2
• Filed: 11/06/2012
• Issued: 11/11/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/06/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies Incorporated (Rockwell Automation, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies Incorporated (Rockwell Automation, Inc.)
• Inventors: Weatherhead, Norman, Stump, Andrew R., Mansouri, Haithem, Rodriguez, Axel, Thomsen, Joachim
• Primary Examiner(s): Khatri, Anil
• Application Number:
  US13/670,144
• Publication Number:
  US 20140129181A1
• Time in Patent Office: 735 Days
• Field of Search: 717104-109, 717120-123
• US Class Current: 717/121
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2119/18 Manufacturability analysis or optimisation for manufacturability
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/00 Computer-aided design [CAD]
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/02 Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]

Abstract

Described herein are systems, methods and apparatuses that can provide an approach to facilitate the design of objects (e.g., modular objects that can facilitate industrial automation applications). The design approach includes: facilitate a display of configuration data representing a configuration of objects selected for an application; analysis of metadata associated with an object of the configuration of objects; and generation of suggestion data representing a suggestion regarding an optimization of the configuration of the objects for the application based on the analysis of the metadata.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a memory, communicatively coupled to a processor, the memory having stored therein executable instructions, comprising;

a design tool configured to;

display configuration data representing a configuration of objects selected for an application;

analyze metadata associated with at least one object of the configuration of objects in relation to a production goal of a workflow associated with an industrial process; and

generate suggestion data representing a suggestion regarding an optimization of the configuration of the objects for the application based on the analysis of the metadata to satisfy the production goal of the workflow associated with the industrial process,

wherein the suggestion comprises identification of a missing object from the configuration based on the analysis of the metadata.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the suggestion comprises an additional object to include in the configuration based on the application or the analysis of the metadata.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the suggestion is further based on another workflow that is determined to be similar to the workflow.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the suggestion is further based on a type of industry associated with the industrial process.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the suggestion is further based on a type of customer associated with the industrial process.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the suggestion is further based on a role of an entity determined to have contributed to a construction of the configuration.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the suggestion further comprises a optimized layout of the configuration of objects based on the analysis of the metadata.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the suggestion further comprises a ranking of the objects based on the analysis of the metadata.

9. A method, comprising:

presenting, by a system including a processor, a display of a design of an application comprising a plurality of objects;

analyzing, by the system, metadata associated with at least one object from the plurality of objects with respect to a production goal of a workflow associated with an industrial process; and

generating, by the system, suggestion data representing a suggestion regarding an optimization of the application based on the analyzing of the metadata to achieve the production goal of the workflow associated with the industrial process,

wherein the suggestion comprises identification of a missing object from the configuration based on the analysis of the metadata.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the suggestion further comprises an additional object to include in the application based on the analyzing the metadata.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the suggestion is further based on another workflow determined to be similar to the workflow.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the suggestion is further based on a role of an entity determined to have contributed to constructing the application.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the suggestion further comprises a optimized layout of the configuration of objects based on the analyzing the metadata.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein the suggestion further comprises a ranking of the objects based on the analyzing the metadata.

15. A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon computer executable instructions that, in response to execution, cause a computing device including a processor to perform operations, comprising:

displaying a configuration of an application comprising a plurality of objects;

analyzing metadata associated with at least one object from the configuration in regard to a production goal of a workflow associated with an industrial process; and

presenting a suggestion with which to optimize the configuration based on the analyzing the metadata to achieve the production goal of the workflow associated with the industrial process,

wherein the suggestion comprises identification of a missing object from the configuration based on the analysis of the metadata.

16. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the suggestion further comprises an additional object to include in the configuration based on the analyzing the metadata.

17. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the suggestion is further based on another workflow determined to be similar to the workflow.