Application builder for industrial automation

• US 9,075,959 B2
• Filed: 06/19/2012
• Issued: 07/07/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rockwell Automation Canada Ltd. (Rockwell Automation, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies Incorporated (Allen-Bradley Co., Inc.)
• Inventors: Chouinard, Julien, Brunet, Gilles, Lavallee, Denis, Trang, Chan-Dara, Laliberte, Jean-Francois, Darveau, Frdric, Larouche, Olivier
• Primary Examiner(s): Dao, Thuy
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen, Mongbao
• Application Number:
  US13/526,856
• Publication Number:
  US 20120272215A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,113 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3648 using additional hardware
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/10 Protecting distributed programs or content, e.g. vending or licensing of copyrighted material protection in video systems or pay television H04N7/16 ; Digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/20 Software design
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/34 Graphical or visual programming
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/38 for implementing user interfaces

Abstract

A control system development platform is provided. The platform includes a shell component adapted to support development of a control systems application. An abstract model is associated with the shell component to facilitate development of the control systems applications.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

providing, by a system including a processor, a development interface comprising one or more services or views for constructing a control systems application, wherein the one or more service or views employs an abstract model that interfaces to a plurality of industrial automation programming languages and a common programming language, wherein development interface is configurable between two operating modes;

an isolated mode that configures the one or more services or views for use with a single industrial automation programming language of the plurality of industrial automation programming languages; and

an integrated mode function that configures the one or more services or views for use with the plurality of industrial automation programming languages and the common programming language; and

browsing, by the system, hardware devices in a tree structure, acquiring, by the system, respective direct input and output variable addresses of the hardware devices, and mapping, by the system, the direct input and output variable addresses to symbolic variables;

displaying, by the system, the mapping of the direct input and output variable addresses to symbolic variables; and

debugging, by the system, the control systems application using the abstract model.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the debug component is further configured to delegate debugging commands to a plurality of Fieldbus protocol instances that delegate back event notifications to the debug component.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the debugging component is further configured to delegates event notifications to a debug engine.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the debug component is further configured to processes multiple concurrent resource connections.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein the debug component is further configured to translate breakpoints, stepping commands, and events.

7. The system of claim 1, further comprising a framework component configured with a plurality of loggers to log events from the plurality of industrial automation protocols in a hierarchical log corresponding to a hierarchy of associated industrial automation components.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein a logger inherits properties from an associated industrial automation component.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the framework component is further configured to receive one or more log filters specifying criteria to employ for excluding events from being logged.

10. The system of claim 1, further comprising a spy list configured to enable setting or displaying variable values.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the spy list is configured to display short descriptions for instances of variables.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the spy list is further configured to enable dragging and dropping of variables from a dictionary onto the spy list.

2. A system, comprising:

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

a shell component configured to employ an abstract model to provide one or more services or views for development of a control systems application, wherein the abstract model provides interfaces to a plurality of industrial automation programming languages and a common programming language, wherein the shell component further is configurable between two operating modes;

an isolated mode that configures the one or more services or views for use with a single industrial automation programming language of the plurality of industrial automation programming languages; and

an integrated mode function that configures the one or more services or views for use with the plurality of industrial automation programming languages and the common programming language; and

an input output configuration component configured to browse hardware devices in a tree structure, acquire respective direct input and output variable addresses of the hardware devices, and map the direct input and output variable addresses to symbolic variables;

a dictionary view that displays the mapping of the direct input and output variable addresses to symbolic variables; and

a debug component operative with the shell component, wherein the debug component is configured to enable debugging of the control systems application using the abstract model.

13. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon that, in response to execution, cause at least one device to perform operations comprising:

providing an integrated programming environment comprising one or more services or views for constructing a control systems application, wherein the one or more service or views employs an abstract model that interfaces to a plurality of industrial automation programming languages and a common programming language, wherein integrated programming environment is configurable between two operating modes;

an isolated mode that configures the one or more services or views for use with a single industrial automation programming language of the plurality of industrial automation programming languages; and

an integrated mode function that configures the one or more services or views for use with the plurality of industrial automation programming languages and the common programming language; and

browsing hardware devices in a tree structure, acquiring respective direct input and output variable addresses of the hardware devices, and mapping the direct input and output variable addresses to symbolic variables;

displaying the mapping of the direct input and output variable addresses to symbolic variables; and

debugging the control systems application using the abstract model.