Automated operator interface generation in a control system

• US 9,182,755 B2
• Filed: 08/26/2010
• Issued: 11/10/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/26/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies Incorporated (Allen-Bradley Co., Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies Incorporated (Allen-Bradley Co., Inc.)
• Inventors: Bliss, Ronald, Daily, Gordon, Killian, David R., Hogan, Keith M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Belousov, Andrey
• Application Number:
  US12/869,524
• Publication Number:
  US 20120054650A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,902 Days
• Field of Search: 715/762, 715/744, 715/810
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/042 using digital processors G05B19/05 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/418 Total factory control, i.e. centrally controlling a plurality of machines, e.g. direct or distributed numerical control [DNC], flexible manufacturing systems [FMS], integrated manufacturing systems [IMS] or computer integrated manufacturing [CIM]
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/23008 Computer aided software engineering, program generation, case tools, CASE
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/32128 Gui graphical user interface
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces

Abstract

System(s), device(s), and method(s) provide automated configuration of operator interface(s) in an industrial control system, the automated configuration is based at least on control logic that regulates a process and associated equipment in an industrial environment. A terminal that renders control data can acquire the control logic and associate a set of control data structures therein to one or more display objects, which can be retained in a set of libraries stored in the terminal. Based at least on the association, the terminal automatically generates a rendering project that can render an operator interface that conveys control data according to the control logic. A mapping enables association amongst a control data structure and a display object; the mapping can include relationships amongst display objects for numerous domains of industrial control. The operator interface can be refined autonomously or through external data received at the terminal and associated with predetermined event(s).

Claims

1. A device, comprising:

at least one processor configured to execute computer-executable components retained in at least one memory, the computer-executable components comprising;

a display component configured to display a human-machine interface that renders data retrieved from an industrial controller;

an acquisition component configured to read a control instruction defined in an industrial control program executing on the industrial controller and to determine a location of the control instruction within the industrial control program;

an association component configured to select a display object, from a set of display objects, based on mapping definition information that defines respective mappings between a set of control instructions, including the control instruction, and the set of display objects, wherein the mapping definition information defines an association between a type of the control instruction and the display object based on the location of the control instruction within the industrial control program; and

a rendering constructor component configured to add the display object to the human-machine interface in response to the control instruction being read by the acquisition component based at least on the mapping definition information, wherein the human-machine interface renders control data associated with the control instruction via the display object.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the acquisition component is further configured to read a data structure comprising definition information that defines an input/output (I/O) module of the industrial controller, and the association component is further configured to select another display object from the set of display objects based on the mapping definition information, wherein the mapping definition information defines additional mappings between a set of data structures, including the data structure, and the set of display objects.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the mapping definition information defines the mappings to be specific to at least one of a control domain, a security clearance, a location of the device, or state information of equipment controlled in part by the industrial control program.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein at least one mapping of the mappings comprises a one-to-one relationship, a one-to-many relationship, a many-to-one relationship, or a many-to-many relationship.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein the acquisition component is further configured to read the control instruction in response to detection of a modification to the industrial control program during a runtime mode of the industrial controller.

6. The device of claim 1, wherein the acquisition component is further configured to read the control instruction from a control project in a design environment.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein the rendering constructor component is further configured to retain the display object in the human-machine interface in response to first input data that represents acceptance of the display object or delete the display object in response to second input data that represents rejection of the display object.

8. The device of claim 1, wherein the rendering constructor component is further configured to deliver the human-machine interface to an external display that operates in an apparatus communicatively coupled to the device, a peer device, or a legacy terminal that renders the control data.

9. The device of claim 1, wherein the rendering constructor component is further configured to select a placement of the display object in the human-machine interface based at least on learning from historical data relating to at least one of previously accepted human-machine interfaces or previously modified human-machine interfaces that include the display object.

21. The device of claim 1, wherein the rendering constructor component is further configured to, in response to the control instruction being read by the acquisition component, create a communicative link between the display object and the control instruction and control a state of the display object based on the control data read from the control instruction.

23. The device of claim 1, wherein the mapping definition information defines the respective mappings to be a function of at least one of a control domain or a market to which the industrial control program relates.

24. The device of claim 1, wherein the association component is configured to select the display object based in part on a subroutine of the industrial control program from which the control instruction is read.

25. The device of claim 1, wherein the location comprises at least one of a logical block within the industrial control program, a subroutine of the industrial control program, or a program module within the industrial control program.

10. A method, comprising:

rendering, by a system including a processor, data read from an industrial controller on a human-machine interface;

detecting a control instruction comprising a portion of a control program executing on the industrial controller;

determining a location of the control instruction within the control program;

identifying a defined association between the control instruction and a display object as a function of the location based on mapping information that defines respective associations between a plurality of control instructions and a plurality of display objects, wherein the mapping information defines the respective associations as a function of location within the control program;

generating an instance of the display object on the human-machine interface based at least on the defined association; and

rendering control data associated with the control instruction via the display object.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

detecting, in the control program, a control data structure comprising at least one of a data type or a metadata tag; and

identifying a another defined association between the control data structure and a another object based on the mapping information, wherein the mapping information further defines respective associations between a plurality of control data structures, including the control data structure, and the plurality of display objects.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the detecting comprises:

scanning an automation control layer in response to a determination that a defined event has occurred;

determining that the automation control layer has changed based at least on information collected by the scanning; and

reading a portion of the control program in response to the determining.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the defined event comprises at least one of a change in the control program, a control system startup event, or a request for scanning the automation control layer.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the detecting comprises:

subscribing to a notification service provided by at least one apparatus that retains the control program; and

receiving, based on the notification service, an indication from the at least one apparatus in response to a determination that the control program has changed.

15. The method of claim 10, further comprising binding the instance of the display object to a rendering project that defines the human-machine interface.

16. The method of claim 10, further comprising merging a portion of a first rendering project with a second rendering project to yield the human-machine interface.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the merging comprises combining a first set of rendering instructions associated with the first rendering project with a second set of rendering instructions associated with the second rendering project.

18. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

generating a set of human-machine interfaces configured to convey control data generated by the control program; and

selecting at least one human-machine interface, of the set of human-machine interfaces, as the human-machine interface in response to a determination that the at least one human-machine interface satisfies at least one suitability criterion.

22. The method of claim 10, further comprising communicatively linking the instance of the display object to the control instruction in response to the detecting.

19. A computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon computer-readable instructions that, in response to execution, cause a system comprising at least one processor to perform operations, the operations comprising:

displaying a human machine-interface that renders data retrieved from an industrial controller;

identifying a control instruction defined in an industrial control program that executes on the industrial controller;

determining a location of the control instruction within the industrial control program;

determining an association between the control instruction, the location, and a display object based on mapping information that defines respective linkages between a set of control instructions, including the control instruction, and a set of display objects, including the display object, as a function of location within the industrial control program; and

rendering the display object on the human-machine interface based at least on the association and displaying control data associated with the control instruction via the display object.

20. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein the operations further comprise:

acquiring the control program at control runtime from the industrial controller in response to a determination that the control instruction has been added to the industrial control program.