Patent · US Expired

Methods of indicating states of software processes cooperating on a single task

US5388268A · kind A · utility

27Cited by
19References
9Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateApr 28, 1994
Grant dateFeb 7, 1995
Priority date
Expiry dateApr 28, 2014

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
  • CPC primaryY10S715/97
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A visual display system providing an operator simultaneous descriptions of the states of many cooperating sub-processes working on a task and residing in various instruments in a distributed system. A server process is connected to receive and translate status signals from the sub-processes into a standardized language. The translated signals are interpreted by a screen manipulation program. A monitor, connected to the server process, displays the interpreted signals to show the states of the sub-processes. The visual indication on the monitor includes a plurality of representations of indicator lights. Each indicator light indicates the state of one of the sub-processes. Next to each indicator light is an identifier which identifies the sub-process represented by the indicator light. The visual indication also includes two types of meters. One type of meter indicates the speed of one of the sub-processes and the other indicates the amount of data used at any given time by one of the sub-processes. Finally, a picture of each of the operators using the system is also included in the indication. In one embodiment, the present invention is implemented to monitor a rule-based programmi…

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.