Invensys Systems, Inc.

Steven Dardinski

Mark Allen Johnson

Robert Hall

Keith E Eldridge

Scott Volk

Paul Meskonis

Brian Mackay

Kenneth A Burke

Brian McKay

Connection objects or other such data structures facilitate establishing and configuring connections between objects that model components in a process control system. A first set of data structures (e.g., the object connection type structures) identify valid types for component-to-component pairings and the respective roles of each component in the pairing (e.g., parent or child, source or sink). A second set of data structures (e.g., the parameter connection type structures) supply similar information for parameter-to-parameter connections. Together, these data structures can be used, for example, to validate component-to-component connections suggested by the user and to automatically configure parameter-to-parameter connections. Actual connections, both at the component or parameter level, are reflected using parameter overrides within the parameterized object model&#x2014;with which the connection objects are constructed.

Process control configuration system with connection validation and configuration

Methods and apparatus for configuring process, environmental, industrial and other control systems generate and/or utilize models representing configurations of control systems and/or the systems controlled by them. Records of changes to the models or the configurations represented by them are maintained, thereby, for example, providing bases for determining current states, prior states and histories of changes. Objects in the model have characteristics, such as an object type characteristic and an area characteristic. Users can have corresponding permissions. A security mechanism apparatus controls access by users to the objects. Composite objects are defined by definition objects and are displayed in encapsulated or expanded formats. Objects can include an edit control type identifier that determines how they are presented for editing. Functionality responds to user commands by transferring characteristics of a first object depicted by the graphical user interface to a second object. Configuration-time formulas contained objects are evaluated to constants prior to downloading to the control system.

Control systems and methods with versioning

Apparatus for control systems with objects that are associated with live data

Apparatus and method for configuring a process control system having one or more digital data processors

Control system configurator and methods with object characteristic swapping

Methods and apparatus for configuring a process control system with a configuration editor executing on a digital data processing device

Control system configurator and methods with edit selection

Control systems and methods with smart blocks

Control systems and methods with composite blocks

Apparatus and method for configuring and editing a control system with live data

Methods and apparatus for control configuration with versioning, security, composite blocks, edit selection, object swapping, formulaic values and other aspects

A process control system is configured via manipulation of objects that model system components, e.g., sensors, blocks, control processors, historians, workstations, etc. Individual objects include parameters that characterize the underlying components and/or the behavior of the objects themselves. These parameters are derived from the 'parents,' from which the objects are created. Derived characteristics need not be defined explicitly but, rather, are defined implicitly or by reference. These derived characteristics may be overridden for an individual object and, thereby, its progeny. Although objects have class-like characteristics (i.e., insofar as they are definitional in nature), they can be created at configuration time, without the need for recompilation.

Process control configuration system with parameterized objects

Connection objects or other such data structures facilitate establishing and configuring connections between objects that model components in a process control system. A first set of data structures (e.g. the object connection type structures) identify valid types for component-to-component pairings and the respective roles of each component in the pairing (e.g., parent or child, source or sink). A second set of data structures (e.g., the parameter connection type structures) supply similar information for parameter-to-parameter connections. Together, these data structures can be used, for example, to validate component-to-component connections suggested by the user and to automatically configure parameter-to-parameter connections. Actual connections, both at the component or parameter level, are reflected using parameter overrides within the parameterized object model&#x2014;with which the connection objects are constructed.

The invention provides improved apparatus for configuring process, environmental, industrial and other control systems. Such apparatus employs &ldquo;appearance&rdquo; objects (or other data and/or programming constructs) defining the appearance of configurable system components in graphical editors or other views in which the components may be depicted. &ldquo;Placeholder&rdquo; objects (or other constructs) persist the location, size, color, or other aspects of appearance defined by an appearance object for a configurable component in views in which it is actually depicted. By way of example, a process control configuration apparatus according to this aspect of the invention uses &ldquo;configurable&rdquo; objects to define blocks, loops and other components of a process control system. Appearance objects provide (or reference) icons or representations indicating how the configurable objects are to be depicted, e.g., in a configuration editor. Placeholder objects are created for each configurable object that is placed in a configuration using that editor. The placeholder objects identify the sizes, locations, colors, etc., of the icons used in the editor to represent the configurable objects.

Methods and apparatus for controlling object appearance in a process control configuration system

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Westford, MA, United States of America

Steven Dardinski