Derived and linked definitions with override

• US 9,792,004 B2
• Filed: 10/08/2013
• Issued: 10/17/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/08/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fisher-Rosemount Systems Incorporated (Emerson Electric Company)
• Original Assignee: Fisher-Rosemount Systems Incorporated (Emerson Electric Company)
• Inventors: Hammack, Stephen G., Gilbert, Stephen C., Sullivan, Matthew J., Jundt, Larry O.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kasenge, Charles
• Application Number:
  US14/048,516
• Publication Number:
  US 20140100669A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,470 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/4188 characterised by CIM planning or realisation
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/25067 Graphic configuration control system
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/31418 NC program management, support, storage, distribution, version, update
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/31467 Display of operating conditions of machines, workcells, selected programs
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/31472 Graphical display of process
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/32128 Gui graphical user interface
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/02 Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]

Abstract

Flexible graphic element objects in a process plant are configurable both in a run-time operating environment in which a process is being controlled and in a configuration environment. An instantiated flexible graphic element object may be a display view or may be another graphic element included on a display view. A graphic element object may be linked to and/or derived from another graphic element object, and changes to a particular graphic element object may be propagated to its derivations, e.g., according to a distribution policy. Changes to definitions corresponding to a particular graphic element object (e.g., to the definition of a graphic element attribute such as a shape, animation, event handler or property) may be overridden or modified in another object derived from the particular graphic element object. The modified derived object may be renamed and saved separately from the particular graphic element object.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving, at an operator interface of a run-time environment of a process plant, an indication of an override to at least a portion of an instance of a graphic element object executing in the run-time environment,

the graphic element object instance (i) configured, in a configuration environment of the process plant, from the graphic element object and defining a shape, a dynamic graphical behavior, and multiple visual representations of the shape, (ii) instantiated from the graphic element object into the run-time environment, and (iii) executing, in the run-time environment, in an instance of a display object, the display object instance comprising a plurality of graphic elements,

the display object instance (i) configured, in the configuration environment, from the display object, (ii) instantiated from the display object into the run-time environment, and (iii) executing in the run-time environment and thereby linked to a respective process element, and

the display object instance providing real-time data generated by the respective process element corresponding to real-time control of an industrial process by the process plant;

generating a definition of the override and storing the override definition separately from a stored configuration of the graphic element object instance, thereby causing the override definition to be available for use separately from the graphic element object instance;

applying, in the run-time environment, the override definition to the at least the portion of the graphic element object instance, thereby generating a modified graphic element object instance; and

executing, in the run-time environment, the modified graphic element object instance in the display object instance.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the definition of the override comprises generating one or more changes to one or more values of one or more parameters of the graphic element object instance.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein storing the definition of the override comprises storing the definition of the override with the graphic element object instance.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the definition of the override comprises generating a child object of the graphic element object, the child object including the definition of the override.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein generating the child object of the graphic element object including the definition of the override comprises generating a class object including the definition of the override.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the definition of the override comprises generating a derived object of the graphic element object without creating a new level in a hierarchy of objects in which the graphic element object is included.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the graphic element object instance is a first instance of the graphic element object and the modified graphic element object instance is a first modified graphic element object instance; and

the method further comprises applying the override definition to a second instance of the graphic element object, thereby generating a second modified graphic element object instance.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the modified graphic element object instance is a first instance of the graphic element object; and

the method further comprises executing a second instance of the graphic element object, the second graphic element object instance excluding the override.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein storing the override definition separately from the stored configuration of the graphic element object instance comprises storing the override definition as a new object in a library, the library including at least one of the stored configuration of the graphic element object instance, the graphic element object, or the display object.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the graphic element object comprises a plurality of view definitions, each view definition respectively corresponding to a different visual representation of the shape corresponding to the graphic element object; and

executing the modified graphic element object instance comprises executing the modified graphic element object instance in a particular visual representation corresponding to a particular view definition of the shape defined by the graphic element object.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein causing the override definition to be available for use separately from the graphic element object instance comprises causing the override definition to be available for use in conjunction with other instances of the graphic element object.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein causing the override definition to be available for use separately from the graphic element object instance comprises causing the override definition to be available for use across a plurality of operator workstations in the run-time environment of the process plant.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein:

receiving the indication of the override to the at least the portion of the instance of the graphic element object comprises receiving an indication of a modification corresponding to at least one attribute of the graphic element object;

the at least one attribute includes at least one of a property, an animation, or an event handler defined in the graphic element object;

the animation defines a first particular dynamic graphical behavior of at least a portion of a visual representation of the graphic element object instance that changes based on changes in the real-time data generated by the respective process element;

the event handler defines a second particular dynamic graphical behavior of the graphic element object instance that is to be executed when a trigger occurs; and

the property defines a characteristic of the visual representation of the graphic element object instance.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the at least one attribute of the graphic element object includes a first attribute, and wherein the modification corresponding to the at least one attribute of the graphic element object includes at least one of a modification to the first attribute, a deletion of the first attribute, or an addition of a second attribute to the graphic element object.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising tokenizing the at least one attribute of the graphic element object with at least one respective placeholder.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising defining a value of a particular placeholder included in the graphic element object.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein:

receiving the indication of the override to the at least the portion of the instance of the graphic element object comprises receiving an indication of a modification corresponding to a definition included in the graphic element object;

a source of the definition is another graphic element object from which the graphic element object is derived; and

the definition includes at least one of;

a definition of a visual representation of the graphic element object, a definition of a link via which the real-time data generated by the respective process element is received at the instance of the graphic element object, or a definition of at least one attribute of the graphic element object.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the definition included in the graphic element object is a first definition, and the modification corresponding to the first definition included in the graphic element object includes at least one of a modification to the first definition, a deletion of the first definition, or an addition of a second definition to the graphic element object.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the graphic element object is a child object of the another graphic element object.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the indication of the override to the at least the portion of the instance of the graphic element object comprises receiving an indication of a modification corresponding to a usage pattern of the graphic element object, the usage pattern comprising a grouping of graphic element objects in which the graphic element object is included, the grouping of graphic element objects based on one or more definitions.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the usage pattern is a first usage pattern, and wherein the modification corresponding to the first usage pattern of the graphic element object includes at least one of a modification to the first usage pattern, a deletion of the first usage pattern, or an addition of a second usage pattern corresponding to the graphic element object.

22. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the indication of the override to the at least the portion of the instance of the graphic element object comprises receiving an indication of a modification corresponding to a global set to which the graphic element object belongs, the global set including a definition of a configuration of at least one of a state or a dynamic behavior that is shared across multiple graphic element objects.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the global set is a first global set, and wherein the modification corresponding to the first global set includes at least one of a modification to the first global set, a deletion of the first global set, or an addition of a second global set to which the graphic element object belongs.

24. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the indication of the override to the at least the portion of the instance of the graphic element object comprises receiving an indication of a modification corresponding to a style set utilized by the graphic element object, the style set including a definition of a collection of one or more pairs of field names and values.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the style set is represented in the configuration environment by a respective object.

26. The method of claim 1, wherein the graphic element object instance further defines a dynamic textual behavior.

27. The method of claim 13, wherein the animation is a first animation, and wherein the at least one attribute includes a second animation defining a dynamic textual behavior of at least a portion of the visual representation of the graphic element object instance that changes based on changes in the real-time data generated by the respective process element.