Automation Object Inheritance for Unified Industrial IDE Updates
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Solution Overview
Problem
Industrial automation systems face inefficiencies due to the need for separate configuration tools for disparate aspects, leading to piecemeal design and complex debugging efforts, which hinder integrated programming and coordination across control, visualization, and other system components.
Innovation Solution
An integrated development environment (IDE) is introduced that uses a common design environment and data model to facilitate integrated, multi-discipline programming of industrial automation systems, employing automation objects with inheritance features to propagate changes across system projects, and supports object-based development with modular code and visualizations specific to industry verticals.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If separate configuration tools are used for different aspects of industrial automation systems, then each tool can be optimized for its specific function, but the overall system integration becomes complex and debugging efforts increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple separate configuration tools into a single integrated development environment that can handle control programming, visualization development, and device configuration simultaneously. This unified IDE allows users to work with all system components in one environment, eliminating the need to switch between multiple tools and reducing integration complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The IDE is designed as a universal platform that performs multiple functions: control program development, visualization application creation, device configuration, and system debugging. This multi-functional approach allows a single tool to replace several specialized tools while maintaining optimized capabilities for each specific task through dedicated modules or plugins.
2Adaptability or versatility
If separate configuration tools are used for control, visualization, and device configuration, then each aspect can be developed independently, but coordination across components becomes difficult and debugging efforts increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges control programming, visualization development, and device configuration into a single integrated environment where all components can be developed independently yet remain coordinated through shared project data and unified object models. The IDE maintains separate workspaces for each component type while enabling seamless interaction and joint debugging.
3Ease of operation
If manual updates are performed for automation object changes across system projects, then flexibility and control are maintained, but time consumption and effort increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by automatically detecting changes to automation objects and proactively updating all referenced system projects before the user needs to use them. This automated propagation mechanism eliminates manual update efforts while maintaining full control flexibility, as users can still review and approve changes before they are applied.
4Measurement precision
If piecemeal design approach is used for industrial automation systems, then each component can be designed separately with focused attention, but overall system integration and coordination become complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines separate component design processes into a unified IDE that supports piecemeal development of control programs, visualizations, and device configurations while automatically managing their integration. The system maintains precise component-level design capabilities through dedicated editors and tools while handling system integration automatically through unified project management and automated coordination mechanisms.
Data Source
AI summary
An industrial integrated development environment (IDE) provides a development framework for designing, programming, and configuring multiple aspects of an industrial automation system using a common design environment and data model. Projects creating using embodiments of the IDE system can be built on an object-based model rather than, or in addition to, a tag-based architecture. To this end, the IDE system can support the use of automation objects that serve as building blocks for this object-based development structure. To ensure consistency within and between projects, as well as to ensure that a given industrial project is dynamically updated to reflect changes to an industrial asset's attributes (e.g., control code, visualization definitions, testing scripts, analytic code, etc.), embodiments of the IDE system can use automation object inheritance features to propagate changes made to an automation object definition to all instances of the automation object used throughout a control project.