Strategy Editor Drag and Drop Connections for Process Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Developing customized control programs for automated industrial processes is complex and time-consuming, requiring skilled programmers and involving low-level programming, which can be inefficient and labor-intensive.
Innovation Solution
A graphical user interface-based control program development environment that allows users to create connections between control objects using drag-and-drop actions, with a declaration system that supports graphical representation and connection of I/O attributes between control strategies, facilitating efficient program creation and execution order designation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If graphical user interface-based control program development environment is used, then ease of operation is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a graphical user interface as an intermediary layer between the user and the control program development process. This interface provides drag-and-drop functionality for placing control objects and automatically generates the underlying program code, thereby simplifying user operation while managing system complexity through abstraction.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical programming methods (manual coding, low-level programming) with a graphical interface-based system. Users interact through visual elements and drag-and-drop operations instead of writing code directly, substituting the mechanical act of programming with a more intuitive graphical manipulation process.
2Ease of operation
If drag and drop connections are implemented, then ease of operation is improved, but loss of information increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms that automatically detect and validate connections as users create them through drag-and-drop operations. The system provides real-time feedback about connection validity, data type compatibility, and configuration requirements, ensuring that no critical information is lost during the simplified connection creation process.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary actions by automatically generating and validating connection data during the drag-and-drop process. The system pre-processes connection information, assigns appropriate data types, and configures parameters before the user completes the connection, thereby preventing information loss and ensuring data accuracy from the outset.
3Ease of operation
If graphical representation of declarations is added, then ease of operation is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates visual copies or representations of declaration objects within the graphical interface. These graphical representations mirror the underlying data structures and allow users to configure declarations through visual manipulation rather than code editing, simplifying the configuration process while the system manages the complexity of maintaining the graphical-to-data structure mapping.
Data Source
AI summary
Enhancements to a strategy object editor for creating and modifying control strategies for process control systems (both distributed and discrete) is described. The improvements include: supporting a set of graphical depictions for individual control object (modified by an appearance object editor), drag and drop connections for declarations that connect control strategies to other control strategies, GUI-based designation of object execution order, automatically applied line styles based upon connection data type, and automatic modification of elements within an appearance object to accommodate a moved attribute.