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US 7,085,841 B2Granted
Industrial controller interface providing standardized object access
AssigneeRockwell Automation Technologies, Inc.
InventorsJayme Edwards, David J Lillie
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An interface for an industrial control system provides, at a server side, a set of objects for programmer use. Instances of object provider objects, linked to each of the software objects, provide a uniform interface for the software objects allowing software objects from different vendors to be used while preserving a common programmer interface.
Claims23
An object based interface for an industrial control system comprising:
- a server program that receives communications from a client program that employs a standard object protocol, which includes discovery instructions, the client program communicates with the server program over a network;
- a set of software objects including at least two third-party objects having differing proprietary object protocols also differing from the standard object protocol;
- and
- at least two object providers that each communicate with the server program and one proprietary object to translate between standard object protocol and an associated one of the proprietary object protocols, the object providers expose proprietary objects that are associated with a URL and respond to the discovery instructions via identification of object features of software objects with which they are associated, wherein an interceptor monitors communications between the server program and the object providers and performs at least one of verifying license validity and recording a fee for use of an object;
- whereby objects from multiple vendors may be simply utilized by the client program.
2 more elements
A method for communicating with an industrial control system comprising:
- receiving at a server program, standard object protocol communications, including discovery instructions, from a client program that communicates with the server program over a network;
- and
- translating by means of an object provider between the standard object protocol communications and at least one proprietary object protocol associated with proprietary software objects including at least two third-party objects having differing proprietary object protocols also differing from the standard object protocol, the object provider exposes proprietary objects that are associated with a URL and responds to the discovery instructions by identifying object features of software objects with which they are associated, wherein an interceptor monitors communications between the server program and the object provider and executes a predetermined program in response to such communications;
- whereby objects from multiple vendors may be simply utilized by the client program.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.