Industrial IDE View Curation for Task-Focused Automation Engineering
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Solution Overview
Problem
Industrial automation systems face challenges in integrated, multi-discipline programming and configuration due to the need for separate development environments and interfaces, leading to a piecemeal design approach that complicates data interfacing and requires significant testing and debugging.
Innovation Solution
An integrated development environment (IDE) that provides a common design environment and data model for designing, programming, and configuring industrial automation systems, featuring a user interface with customizable panels and workspaces, and a project generation component that automates system project creation based on user input, allowing for integrated programming of control and visualization aspects.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If separate development environments are used for different industrial automation disciplines, then each discipline can have specialized tools and interfaces, but the overall system integration becomes complex and requires significant testing and debugging
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple separate development environments into a single integrated development environment (IDE) that provides unified access to control programming, HMI design, and other automation disciplines. This consolidation eliminates the need for separate tools while maintaining discipline-specific capabilities through a common interface, thereby reducing integration complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The IDE is designed as a universal platform that performs multiple functions across different industrial automation disciplines. A single interface supports control logic programming, HMI screen design, device configuration, and system debugging, allowing users to work with all disciplines through one toolset rather than requiring separate specialized environments.
2Ease of manufacture
If multiple separate development interfaces are used, then each interface can be optimized for its specific task, but the overall development process becomes time-consuming and inefficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple task-specific interfaces into a single unified IDE that provides access to all development functions. This merger maintains the specialized capabilities needed for different tasks while eliminating the time required to switch between separate applications, thereby improving overall development efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The IDE is pre-configured with all necessary tools and interfaces for different automation disciplines available within a single environment. Users do not need to separately install or configure multiple development tools; everything is prepared in advance and accessible from the unified interface, reducing setup time and improving productivity.
3Device complexity
If a comprehensive development environment is provided for all industrial automation aspects, then integration is simplified, but the interface becomes cluttered and less intuitive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the comprehensive development environment into distinct functional modules or workspaces within the IDE. Each discipline (control programming, HMI design, device configuration) has its own organized section, allowing the unified interface to remain clear and intuitive while providing access to all integration functions through structured, easily navigable categories.
Data Source
AI summary
An industrial integrated development environment (IDE) comprises a development interface that affords a user a great deal of control over the editing tools, workspace canvases, and project information rendered at a given time. The industrial IDE system automatically filters the tools, panels, and information available for selection based on a current project development task, such that a focused subset of editing tools relevant to a current development task or context are made available for selection while other tools are hidden. The development interface also allows the user to selectively render or hide selected tools or information from among the relevant, filtered set of tools. This can reduce or eliminate unnecessary clutter and aid in quickly and easily locating and selecting a desired editing function. The IDE's development interface can also conform to a structured organization of workspace canvases and panels that facilitates intuitive workflow.