Patent Application
20120084660
The present disclosure pertains to stations and platforms and particularly to actions relative to the stations and platforms.
The disclosure reveals quick connect, quick disconnect, style configurator and baseline change actions for station/platform systems. For the quick connect, a user interface may be provided with a list of groups available. After selecting a particular group, the user may need to provide site and controller numbers. Based on these values, a station may be identified and connected. For a quick disconnect, a user interface may be provided with a list of all active station/platform connections. Using this list, the user may select a set of stations/platforms that the user wants to disconnect. There may be an option to disconnect all stations/platforms at one go or action. A user may invoke the style configurator user interface, which can populate a window with a relevant color chosen to be applied for different components like a menu bar, tool bar, navigator bar, view bar and scroll bar. The color scheme dialog may contain the buttons such as preview, reset styles, save default styles and cancel. The preview button may show a preview of the style configuration. The reset styles button may reset the style and/or revert to the default settings. The save button may save a user profile. A new menu option may be provided in the tool bar where a user can change the baseline from the old configuration file to a new configuration file. Thus, the next time the user creates a new site controller, the configuration file may reflect control strategies added before as the baseline.
A “quick connect” is an aspect of the present disclosure may help a user to connect to a specific site virtually instantly without navigating through an entire tree hierarchy. There may be thousands of deployed sites and it may be time consuming for the user to manually browse the hierarchy looking for the desired site for connection. Using the quick connect feature, the user may connect to deployed stations/platforms virtually instantly by providing the group name, site number and XCM number. The group number and XCM number are remembered and not required on subsequent usage; therefore, only the site number entry is required.
A “quick disconnect” is another aspect of the present disclosure. After connecting to the stations/platforms, if the user wants to disconnect the stations/platforms to release network communication resources, the user may need to navigate the tree of sites to find and disconnect the connections one after another. It may lead to a tedious task if the user wants to disconnect large number of stations/platforms. Using the quick disconnect feature, the user may disconnect all or a set of stations/platforms at one go. This aspect may be invoked from a tool menu that shows a dialog of all connected stations. The present approach may allow a user to select all, one or multiple stations to do a disconnection of such platform and station connections.
The default Niagara™ workbench does not necessarily provide the user an option to select specific visual style theme for the workbench. The user may have to use the default theme provided by Niagara. A style configurator may provide an improvement to the user interface (UI) where the user can select a specific theme, background and font for the Opus™ workbench.
In Opus Supervisor, when a user creates a new offline XCM (site controller), a default station configuration may be used as the default initial configuration set up. This default station configuration is referred to as the baseline. At times, the user may add a new control strategy or station configuration improvements to a station configuration and require this new station configuration to be made as the baseline to be used while creating a new XCM. The present aspect may be invoked from a tool menu to make the baseline configuration for that particular new XCM station configuration which has been selected by the user.
With a quick connect, to connect to a downloaded station, the user may need to give a group name, site number and XCM number. Using this information, the downloaded stations may be identified and connected. In this way, the user does not necessarily have to browse through an entire Opus Enterprise hierarchy.
With a quick disconnect, a UI may be provided with a list of all active station/platform connections. Using this list, the user may select a set of stations/platforms that the user wants to disconnect. There may be an option to disconnect all stations/platforms at one go or action.
The users may be able to change theme colors and font size in the workbench using a style configurator menu option provided in the tool bar. A dialog box may contain various color and font options, which a user can select to change the appearance of the workbench. Once the user invokes the style configurator UI, the UI may populate a window with the relevant color chosen to be applied for the different components like a menu bar, tool bar, navigator bar, view bar and scroll bar.
A color scheme dialog may contain the following buttons for preview, reset styles, save default styles and cancel. The preview button may show a preview of the style configuration. The reset styles button may reset the style and revert it to the default settings. The save button may save the new user selected theme profile.
Verification criteria may include default color and font sizes as follows: Font Style [Heading]: default=bold, Tahoma; Font Size [Heading]: default=11pt; Font Style [Text]: default=Tahoma; Font Size [Text]: default=11pt; Background Color: default=#fff2f2f2; ControlShadow Color: default=#25587E; Foreground Color: default=#ff000000; WindowBackground Color: default=#ffffffff; WindowForeground Color: default=#ff000000; SelectionBackground Color: default=#306754; DropOkForeground Color: default=#ffffffff; and Control Auxiliary Color: default=#ddf0fe.
The next time a user performs a login, the user may get the specific style and theme to the workbench that the user had saved before. The color scheme dialog box may be a client side specific aspect. Once a user saves his/her style settings with the “save” button available on the style configurator dialog box, the settings may be saved in an XML file under the workbench Niagara home directory. When a user re-logs into the same machine, the saved XML file containing the desired style settings may be parsed and set for that user.
The change baseline aspect may help a user to replace an old baseline configuration file with a new file which has new control strategies or configurations implemented. Once the baseline is done, a creation of a new XCM may create the new station configuration from the new baseline station configuration. Thus, the user will not necessarily be forced to re-create the same control strategies and configuration updates in the new XCM station each time.
For the quick connect, a UI may be provided with a list of groups available. After selecting a particular group, the user may have to provide a site number and XCM number. Based on these values, a station may be identified and connected. One may refer to
For a quick disconnect, a UI may be provided with the list of all active station/platform connections. Using this list, the user may select a set of stations/platforms that the user wants to disconnect. There may be an option to disconnect all stations/platforms at one go or action. One may refer to
A user may invoke the style configurator UI, which can populate a window with a relevant color themes chosen to be applied for different components like a menu bar, tool bar, navigator bar, view bar and scroll bar.
The color theme dialog may contain the buttons such as preview, reset styles, save default styles and cancel. The preview button may show a preview of the style configuration. The reset styles button may reset the style and/or revert to the default settings. The save button may save the user style profile. One may refer to
To reiterate, an arrow from symbol 29 to symbol 31 may indicate that symbol 31 uses the theme (xml) info from 29 to apply to the supervisor at symbol 28. Symbol 26 may just read the symbol 29 theme (xml) to know if it exists or not. If it exists, then there is a custom theme, so the decision may be “Yes” to flow to 31. If the symbol 29 theme (xml) does not exists, the symbol 26 decision may be “No” to flow to symbol 27 to apply default theme settings.
A new menu option may be provided in the tool bar where a user can change the baseline from the old station configuration to a new station configuration. Thus, the next time the user creates a new XCM using the “Add New XCM” menu option in the Opus Explorer, the new XCM station configuration may reflect the control strategies and configuration updates added before as the new baseline. One may refer to
At symbol 59, after symbol 57, in a repetitive connect activities block 58, the user may need to connect to an XCM site controller at symbol 59. After this, a question as to a user's decision to quick connect to a remote XCM site controller may be asked at symbol 61. If an answer is yes, then the user may select a quick connect toolbar button at symbol 62. At symbol 63, the Opus Architect may open up a quick connect popup. The user may enter a site number of the XCM controller at symbol 64. At symbol 65, the Opus Architect may retrieve XCM connection information from the Opus Supervisor. The Opus Architect may establish a connection to the XCM controller at symbol 66 which results in an end at symbol 67.
Returning to the question at symbol 61 as to the user's decision to quick connect to a remote XCM site controller may be with an answer of no. With this answer, another question at symbol 68 is a user's decision whether to connect using an Opus Explorer or a main table view. If an answer is to use the Opus Explorer, then the user may expand an Opus System tree node at symbol 69. At symbol 71, the user may expand a desired Opus Group tree node. The user may search and expand a desired site node at symbol 72. At symbol 73, the user may expand a desired XCM node. The user may double click on an XCM station node at symbol 74. At symbol 65, the Opus Architect may retrieve XCM connection information from the Opus Supervisor. The Opus Architect may establish a connection to the XCM controller at symbol 66 and end at symbol 67.
Another answer to the question at symbol 68 may be for a user to connect using a main table view. The user may search and click on a desired group in the main table view at symbol 75. At symbol 76, the Opus Architect may retrieve and render all sites into a select group in the main table view. The user may search and click on a desired site in the main table view at symbol 77. At symbol 78, the Opus Architect may retrieve and render all XCMs in the select site into the Main table view. The user may click on a desired XCM table entry at symbol 79. Then at symbol 65, the Opus Architect may retrieve XCM connection information from the Opus Supervisor. The Opus Architect may establish a connection to the XCM controller at symbol 66 and end at symbol 67.
From initial activity block 52, the quick disconnect approach may continue on into a repetitive disconnect activities block 82. At symbol 83, it is noted that the user has been connected to many XCM controllers. The user needs to disconnect multiple XCM connections as indicated at symbol 84. At symbol 85, a question is whether the user decision is to quick disconnect from all XCM controllers. If an answer is yes, then the user may select a quick disconnect toolbar option at symbol 86. At symbol 87, the Opus Architect may open a quick disconnect popup showing all of the XCMs currently connected. The user may select all or select an XCM to disconnect and close an OK at symbol 88. The Opus Architect may close all connections selected by the user at symbol 89 and end at symbol 91.
If an answer to the question, at symbol 85, whether the user decision is to quick disconnect from all XCM controllers, is no, then a question at symbol 92 may be whether a user decision to disconnect is to be with an Opus Explorer or Opus Architect closure. If the answer is the Opus Explorer, then the user may expand the Opus Systems node at symbol 93. At symbol 94, the user may expand a desired group node. Then the user may search and expand a desired site node at symbol 95. At symbol 96, the user may expand a desired XCM node. The user may select an XCM station node and close the connection at symbol 97. Then at symbol 98, a question is whether there are any more XCMs to disconnect. If the answer is yes, then the user may again search and expand the desired site node at symbol 95, expand a desired XCM node at symbol 96 and select an XCM station node and close the connection at symbol 97. Again the question at symbol 98 may arise and if the answer is yes, then the activity indicated at symbols 95-97 may be repeated for disconnecting another XCM. If the answer is no, then this approach may end at symbol 91.
If an answer to the question at symbol 92 is that the user decision is to disconnect with the Opus Architect, then the user may select an Opus Architect exit to menu option at symbol 99. All active XCM connections may then be closed at symbol 101 and the Opus architect closed at symbol 102.
Returning to the question at symbol 107 whether a customized Opus Architect theme exists, the answer may be yes, which leads to reading an Opus Architect theme file at symbol 118. Theme data may be received at symbol 118 from the data store at symbol 117. After reading the theme file at symbol 118, then the custom theme may be applied to the Opus Architect client application at symbol 116. After application of the custom theme at symbol 116, the question at symbol 109 of whether the user decides to change the user interface style may be asked again. If the answer is no, then the Opus Architect client may be used. If the answer is yes, then the activities at symbols 112, 113, 114, 115 and 116, as noted herein, may be repeated.
From symbol 57 in the initial activity block 52, symbol 123 with a question whether a user decides to create a new XCM, may follow in a repetitive configuration block 122. If an answer to the question is no, then the approach may stop. If the question at symbol 123 is yes, then a user may navigate to a desired group in an Opus Explorer tree at symbol 124. At symbol 125, the user may navigate for a desired site in an Opus Explorer tree. The user may select a site node and invoke an “Add New XCM” action at symbol 126. At symbol 127, the Opus Architect may copy a baseline XCM station to a new initial XCM station configuration. Baseline XCM station data may flow from a data store 128 in Opus Supervisor 129. At symbol 127, the Opus Architect may copy a baseline XCM station from a data store at symbol 128 in the Opus Supervisor at block 129 to a new initial XCM station configuration. The new XCM station configuration may be stored in a data store at symbol 131 of the Opus Supervisor. At symbol 132, the user may create custom XCM configuration changes which may be stored as the new XCM station configuration in the data store at symbol 131.
A question of whether the user decides to make a new XCM station configuration as a new baseline configuration may be asked at symbol 133. If the answer is no, then the approach may stop at symbol 138. If the answer is yes, then the user may navigate to the XCM node in an Opus Explorer at symbol 134. At symbol 135, the user may invoke a “Change Baseline” toolbar button. The Opus Architect may make a backup of the current baseline XCM configuration at symbol 136. At symbol 137, the Opus Architect may copy a selected XCM station to a new baseline XCM station. A copy of the new XCM station configuration from the data store at symbol 131 may go to the Opus Architect at symbol 137 and a copy of the new baseline XCM station may go to the data store at symbol 128. After symbol 137, the approach may stop at symbol 138.
Some of the terms utilized herein may have corresponding designations as noted in the following: XCM station—site controller configuration; XCM auto discover service—site controller auto discovery service; XCM—site controller; Opus™ XCM—site controller; Opus workbench—user interface (console); Opus systems—enterprise site controllers (multi-site); Opus supervisor station—supervisor data server; Opus supervisor server—supervisor data server; Opus supervisor—supervisor; Opus group—site groups; Opus explorer—site navigation tree; Opus architect client—user interface (console); Opus architect—user interface (console); Opus—building management system (BMS); Niagara™ workbench™user interface (console); Niagara network™communication network; enterprise components—enterprise hierarchal elements; and enterprise—enterprise (business or customer) building site locations (all multi-site).
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/260,046, filed Oct. 28, 2008, and entitled “A Building Management Configuration System”, may be pertinent to the present disclosure. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/260,046, filed Oct. 28, 2008, is hereby incorporated by reference.
In the present specification, some of the matter may be of a hypothetical or prophetic nature although stated in another manner or tense.
Although the present system has been described with respect to at least one illustrative example, many variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the specification. It is therefore the intention that the appended claims be interpreted as broadly as possible in view of the prior art to include all such variations and modifications.
