System control method and system

Abstract

To facilitate the use of a system with multiple measurement devices and to make the system more efficient.SOLUTION: A method of controlling a system having multiple measurement devices is provided, the method comprising: causing a controller (200) of the system (10) to receive a request to determine a desired measured value; causing the controller to create a proposal as to which of the measurement devices is suitable for determining the specific measured value; and causing the controller (200) to output the established proposal to a user of the system (10).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a system and a method for controlling a system. [Background technology]

[0002] Characterizing various materials is of great importance for many applications in research and industry. For this purpose, various measuring devices are used, which, depending on the application, sometimes provide very complex measurement processes.

[0003] To ensure the success of the desired measurement, users must have a certain level of expertise to perform these measurements, as the technical and scientific background of each measurement process must be taken into account. Furthermore, most laboratory environments contain multiple measurement devices. This means that users must be familiar with multiple measurement devices in order to determine which device is particularly suitable for which measurement. Furthermore, measurement devices are typically used by multiple people. Therefore, which device should be used for which measurement must be agreed upon on a case-by-case basis. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Against this background, it is an object of the present invention to facilitate the use of systems with multiple measuring devices and to make them more efficient.

[0005] This problem is solved by a method having the features of claim 1 and a system having the features of claim 9.

[0006] Accordingly, there is provided a method of controlling a system comprising a plurality of measurement devices, the method comprising receiving, by a controller of the system, a request to determine a desired measurement, generating, by said controller, a suggestion as to which of a plurality of measurement devices are suitable for determining the particular measurement, and outputting, by said controller, the generated suggestion to a user of the system.

[0007] Furthermore, a system is provided that includes a plurality of measurement devices configured to perform the method according to the present invention.

[0008] The basic idea of ​​the invention is that the user of the system is assisted by a controller designed for this purpose, which provides the user with suggestions on which of several measuring devices is suitable for determining the desired measurement value, thereby significantly shortening this step during measurement preparation.

[0009] According to an exemplary embodiment of the method, the controller accesses a database when generating the proposal, the generation of suitable proposals being advantageously aided by suitable configuration of the database.

[0010] According to a further development of the method, the database contains a plurality of pieces of information relating to material properties, measurement methods and the plurality of measurement devices, and the controller autonomously generates the proposal based on the plurality of pieces of information, as a result of which the controller can advantageously support a plurality of virtually possible measurements.

[0011] According to one embodiment of the method, the controller updates the database after the measurements are determined, so that knowledge gained during measurements can be used to aid in future measurements.

[0012] According to an exemplary embodiment of the method, the suggestion comprises sequential or simultaneous use of multiple measurement devices of the plurality of measurement devices, as a result of which the workload of the individual measurement devices can be advantageously optimized.

[0013] According to an exemplary embodiment of the method, measurements made by each of the multiple measurement devices used are taken into account for determining the desired measurement value, resulting in a simplified determination of the desired measurement value.

[0014] According to a further development of the method, the determination of the desired measurement value is performed autonomously by a controller, as a result of which the determination of the desired measurement value is simplified.

[0015] According to a further development of the method, the controller takes into account the current or planned future operating states of the plurality of measuring devices while generating the proposal, as a result of which the workload of the individual measuring devices can be advantageously optimized. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0016] The present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic flow diagram of a method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] 1 is a schematic diagram of a system with multiple measurement devices according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 3] 1 is a schematic diagram of a measurement device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

[0017] In the drawings, like reference numbers indicate identical or functionally identical elements unless otherwise indicated. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0018] FIG. 1 is a schematic flow diagram of a control method M for a system comprising multiple measurement devices according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0019] In a first method step M1, the controller receives a request to determine a desired measurement value. In a further method step M2, the controller generates a proposal as to which of a plurality of measurement devices is suitable for determining the desired measurement value. In a further method step M3, the controller outputs the generated proposal to a user of the system.

[0020] The following method M will be explained in detail with reference to FIGS.

[0021] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a system 10 including a measurement device 100 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0022] In the illustrated exemplary embodiment, the system 10 includes a total of two measurement devices 100 , a controller 200 , and a database 300 .

[0023] The controller 200 is configured to receive a request to determine a desired measurement value. The request may be made by a user of the system 10, for example, via an input device (not explicitly shown) of the controller 200. The input device may comprise, for example, a keyboard, a touchscreen, etc. Alternatively, the request may be transmitted to the controller 200 via an external interface.

[0024] The controller 200 is further configured to, in response to the received request, generate a proposal regarding which of the plurality of measurement devices is suitable for determining the desired measurement value. For this purpose, the controller 200 can access the database 300. The database 300 may contain a plurality of pieces of information regarding material properties, measurement methods, and a plurality of measurement devices. In this case, the controller 200 autonomously generates the proposal based on this plurality of pieces of information. During this process, the controller 200 may also determine that the desired measurement value cannot be determined by any of the measurement devices 100. In this case, instead of the parameter list, a corresponding notification may be output.

[0025] The controller 200 is further configured to output the generated suggestions to a user of the system 10. For example, an output device (not explicitly shown) of the controller 200 can be used for this purpose. This output device may comprise, for example, a screen and / or a speaker. For example, the output device and input device of the controller 200 may be combined into a touchscreen. Alternatively or additionally, individual components of the measurement device 100 may be highlighted, for example by illuminating a switch panel that should be activated.

[0026] In particular, the controller 200 may be configured to update the database 300 after a particular measurement has been performed. Measurement results regarding the material properties of the sample used in the measurement are then recorded, for example, in the database 300 and made available for future measurements and measurement schedules. A predetermined measurement schedule may also be modified taking into account the performed measurements. Information required for this regarding the performed measurements may be transferred from the user system 10 to the controller 200. Alternatively or additionally, the controller 200 may receive the relevant information directly from the measurement device 100.

[0027] The proposal made by the controller 200 may involve the sequential or simultaneous use of several measurement devices from the plurality of measurement devices. This may be advantageous, for example, if the desired measurement value is determined several times for reproducibility reasons or if several different measurement processes must be performed to determine the desired measurement value in order to determine intermediate results from which the desired measurement value is indirectly derived. In such cases, it may be provided that the measurements taken by each of the measurement devices 100 used are taken into account to determine the desired measurement value. In this case, the determination of the desired measurement value may be performed autonomously by the controller 200.

[0028] The controller 200 may also be configured to take into account the current or future planned operating states of the measurement devices 100 while generating the proposal. For example, even if one of the measurement devices 100 is in principle better suited to determine the desired measurement value, another of the measurement devices 100 may be proposed if that measurement device 100 is already intended for other measurement processes in the foreseeable future.

[0029] FIG. 2 shows two measurement devices 100. However, in practice, any number of measurement devices 100 may be provided. The measurement devices 100 may be configured to have the same functionality or to perform different measurements in each case. This allows the respective measurement processes to be performed simultaneously or sequentially, depending on the application. In particular, the measurement device 100 may be configured as an apparatus for thermal analysis of materials. Specifically, the measurement device 100 may be configured to perform differential thermal analysis, dynamic differential calorimetry, dynamic mechanical analysis, thermomechanical analysis, etc. In such measurement processes, user assistance by the controller 200 is particularly advantageous.

[0030] Database 300 is shown here as a specific component of system 10. However, it is also contemplated that controller 200 and / or database 300 may be connected to an extended network, in particular the Internet, and may obtain relevant information directly via this network instead of storing it locally.

[0031] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a measurement device 100 that may be provided in a system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0032] The measurement device 100 includes a controller 110 , a database 120 , a sensor device 130 , an output device 140 , an input device 150 , and a sample receiving device 160 .

[0033] The controller 110 may be configured to communicate with the controller 200 of the higher-level system 10 and to directly implement in the measuring device 100 recommendations and the like determined by the controller 200 of the system 10. For this purpose, the controller 110 may have access to a database 120 integrated in the measuring device 100, in which information relating to the measuring device 100 may be stored. In principle, the controller 110 and the database 120 of the measuring device may have the same functionality as and support the corresponding components of the higher-level system 10.

[0034] The sensor device 130 may be configured to monitor the measurement parameters while determining the measurements. In this case, the controller 110 may be configured to evaluate the monitored measurement parameters so that the controller 110 can be configured to output a warning, abort the measurement determination, or autonomously change parameters of the measurement device 100 if necessary to determine the desired measurements.

[0035] The output device 140 may comprise, for example, a screen and / or a speaker. The input device 150 may comprise, for example, a keyboard, a touchscreen, etc. For example, the output device 140 and the input device 150 may be combined into a touchscreen. Individual components of the measurement device 100, such as the input device 150 and the sample receiving device 160, may be configured to be highlighted, for example by illuminating a switch field that activates it. [Explanation of symbols]

[0036] 10 Systems 100 Measuring Device 110 Controller 120 databases 130 Sensor Device 140 Output Device 150 Input Device 160 Sample receiving device 200 Controller 300 databases M method M1 Method Step M2 Method Steps M3 Method Steps

Claims

1. receiving, by a controller of the system, a request to determine a desired measurement value; generating, by said controller, a recommendation as to which of a plurality of devices for thermal analysis of materials is suitable for determining a particular measurement value; outputting, by said controller, said generated proposal to a user of the system; 10. A method for controlling a system having multiple devices for thermal analysis of materials, comprising:

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the controller accesses a database to generate the proposal.

3. the database includes a plurality of pieces of information relating to material properties, measurement methods, and the plurality of devices for thermal analysis of materials; The method of claim 2 , wherein the controller autonomously generates the proposal based on the plurality of pieces of information.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the controller updates the database after the measurements are determined.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein generating the proposal includes sequential or simultaneous use of multiple measurement devices from the multiple devices for thermal analysis of materials.

6. 6. A method according to claim 5, wherein for the determination of the desired measured value, the measurements made by each of the plurality of devices for thermal analysis of the material used are taken into account.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein determining the desired measurement is performed autonomously by a controller.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the controller takes into account current or future planned operating conditions of the plurality of devices for thermal analysis of materials to generate the proposal.

9. A system comprising a plurality of devices for the thermal analysis of materials configured to carry out the method of any one of claims 1 to 8.

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