Control Parameter Data Typing With Deferred Type Assignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Industrial process control and automation systems face challenges in accommodating process parameters with undefined data types, leading to inefficiencies, complexity, and high costs due to fixed data types that prohibit end-users from easily modifying or customizing data types during system configuration.
Innovation Solution
The system allows for associating process parameters with undefined data types, enabling flexible and intuitive graphical user interfaces that permit end-users to modify these associations to defined data types during or after initial configuration, reducing complexity and cost.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If fixed data types are used in the control system configuration, then system stability and data integrity are ensured, but user flexibility and ease of customization are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements dynamic data type association where data types are not fixed at configuration time but can be flexibly assigned and modified during runtime. The controller accepts process parameters with undefined data types initially, then allows users to associate specific data types later through graphical interface operations, making the system adaptable to different industrial processes while maintaining data integrity through proper type association.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary configuration by accepting process parameters with undefined data types during initial system setup, allowing the control logic and graphical displays to be prepared in advance. The specific data type association is deferred to a later stage when users have more context about the actual process requirements, enabling both early system deployment and later customization.
2Productivity
If data types are defined during initial system configuration, then system implementation is streamlined, but end-user customization capability is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The system allows preliminary configuration of control logic, graphical displays, and process parameters without requiring specific data type definitions at implementation time. Users can set up the overall system architecture and control strategies first, then define specific data types later when they have better understanding of process requirements, thus improving both implementation speed and customization capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically allows data type associations to be created and modified after initial configuration. The controller maintains flexibility by accepting parameters with undefined data types initially, then enabling users to associate specific data types through graphical interface operations, thus supporting both rapid implementation and ongoing customization.
3Adaptability or versatility
If undefined data types are supported, then user flexibility and customization are improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system introduces an intermediary mechanism where a runtime service or configuration module mediates between the controller and the data type definitions. This intermediary handles the complexity of undefined data type management, type association, and validation, thus providing user flexibility without significantly increasing the perceived system complexity for end users.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables users to self-configure data type associations through intuitive graphical interfaces without requiring deep technical knowledge or complex manual configurations. The controller automatically manages the underlying complexity of type checking and data validation, allowing users to benefit from flexible data type support while the system handles the computational complexity in the background.
Data Source
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AI summary
An example method for supporting an undefined data type in an automation control system comprises receiving, from a user, a selection of a process parameter associated with a control system for an industrial process; receiving a selection of the undefined data type from a plurality of data types, wherein the plurality of data types include defined data types and the undefined data type; associating the undefined data type with the process parameter; and storing the association between the undefined data type and the process parameter.