Process control configuration system with connection validation and configuration

• Main Authors: DARDINSKI STEVEN, ELDRIDGE KEITH, HALL ROBERT, VOLK SCOTT, MACKAY BRIAN, MESKONIS PAUL, JOHNSON MARK
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 05.02.2013
• Subjects: CALCULATING; CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION ORPROCESSING OF GOODS; COMPUTING; CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; CONTROLLING; COUNTING; ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS ORELEMENTS; PHYSICS; REGULATING; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS; TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINSTCLIMATE CHANGE

Connection objects or other such data structures facilitate establishing and configuring connections between objects that model components in a process control system. A first set of data structures (e.g., the object connection type structures) identify valid types for component-to-component pairings and the respective roles of each component in the pairing (e.g., parent or child, source or sink). A second set of data structures (e.g., the parameter connection type structures) supply similar information for parameter-to-parameter connections. Together, these data structures can be used, for example, to validate component-to-component connections suggested by the user and to automatically configure parameter-to-parameter connections. Actual connections, both at the component or parameter level, are reflected using parameter overrides within the parameterized object model-with which the connection objects are constructed.