DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claims 1-20 are presented for the examination.
§ 101 2. 35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1, 11, 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more.
As to Claims 1, 11, 17 have been rejected under 35 USC 101 for abstract idea without significantly more. Under Step 2A, Prong 1, the “ indicating completion of the changes made to the process simulation model in response to the second API call ” recite a mental process since “indicating” is function that can be reasonably performed in the human mind with the aid of pen and paper through observation, evaluation, judgment, opinion.
Under Prong 2, the additional element “ dynamically updating the information displayed with at least a changed portion of the process simulation model receiving, at an external control service distinct from a process simulation service, requested information in response to a first API call, the requested information corresponding to a defined portion of a process simulation model associated with assets of an industrial environment; displaying, on a display associated with the external control service, at least some of the requested information; sending, from the external control service to the process simulation service, a second API call associated with changes to be made to the process simulation model; ” are recited at a high-level of generality such that it amounts no more than mere instructions to apply the exception using a generic computer component, or merely a generic computer or generic computer components to perform the judicial exception, Accordingly, the additional elements do not integrate the recited judicial exception into a practical application, and the claim is therefore directed to the judicial exception. See MPEP 2106.05(f).
Under Step 2B, the additional elements “ receiving, at an external control service distinct from a process simulation service, requested information in response to a first API call, the requested information corresponding to a defined portion of a process simulation model associated with assets of an industrial environment; displaying, on a display associated with the external control service, at least some of the requested information; sending, from the external control service to the process simulation service, a second API call associated with changes to be made to the process simulation model;” - this generally have been a mental process although the external control service could be a generic computer component if the spec describes it as actual computer software in computer hardware.
“dynamically updating the information displayed with at least a changed portion of the process simulation model” - this is mere instructions to apply the mental process under mpep 2106.05(f), amounts to merely generally linking the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment or field or use, and is merely applying the judicial exception, therefore, does not amount to significantly more, hence, cannot provide an inventive concept.
4. The claim does not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. As discussed above with respect to integration of the abstract idea into a practical application. See MPEP 2106.05(d). Thus, the claim is not patent eligible.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 1, 11, 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Al-Zawawi ( US 20160024893 A1 ) in view of Roesner(US 20100153898 A1).
As to claim 1, Al-Zawawi teaches A computer-implemented method for providing a dynamic external user interface to a process simulation service, the method comprising: receiving, at an external control service distinct from a process simulation service, requested information in response to a first API call, the requested information corresponding to a defined portion of a process simulation model ( A need for an API according to an embodiment of the invention—a “proxy API,” for example—can exist in implementing workflows using response surfaces for statistical analysis. A proxy API can also be used for any other project that would need to probe reservoir simulation proxies to estimate uncertainty or risk parameters, however. Advantageously, embodiments can include simplifying development and integration of complex applications and dashboars that extract uncertainty and risk information from various response surface models (proxies), para[0039], ln 9-34/ FIG. 1B, for example, can include use of a dashboard 66 and a simulation results database 67. The simulation results database 67 can include data related to: strategies, well tactics, operational tactics, and OFDP; objective functions (NPV, plateau, cost, etc.); critical uncertainty factors; simulation run results; technical description and recommendations; and other information, for example. The dashboard 66 can transmit SQL queries to the simulation results database 67 to thereby retrieve some of the information stored therein. Simulation run results stored in the simulation results database 67 can relate, for example, to a plurality of simulation studies, including simulation study 1 71, simulation study 2 72, and other simulation studies through simulation study N 73. Each simulation study can have an associated proxy model. That is, simulation study 1 71 can have an associated proxy model 1 74, and simulation study 2 72 can have an associated proxy model 2 75. Proxy model 1 74 and proxy model 2 75 can each have been generated by technology 1 68, for example. Further, simulation study N 73 can have an associated proxy model N 76. In contrast to proxy model 1 74 and proxy model 2 75, proxy model N 76 can have been generated by technology M 69. process simulation service, a second API call associated with changes to be made to the process simulation model; receiving, at the external control service from the process simulation service, information indicating completion of the changes made to the process simulation model in response to the second API call; and dynamically updating the information displayed with at least a changed portion of the process simulation model, para[0016], ln 11-45),
process simulation model associated with assets of an industrial environment( upstream activities in oil and gas industries can depend on integrated multidisciplinary teams to manage oil and gas fields and develop optimized field development plans (OFDP). Workflow processes to accelerate the delivery of OFDP are illustrated in FIG. 1A, for example. Reservoir engineers can develop multiple reservoir simulation studies under uncertainty 58 using one or more assisted history matching (AHM), optimization, or uncertainty and risk analysis packages. Each of these reservoir simulation studies can have its own response surface model (proxy) implementation. That is, each proxy can be generated using a different approach or technology. For instance, a particular software package for AHM, for example, can produce output in a format dissimilar to that of other approaches. These studies can also produce other simulation information, such as, for example: alternative field development strategies; alternative well tactics; alternative operational tactics; optimized field development plan (OFDP); objective functions of the study (net present value (NPV), plateau, cost, etc.); critical uncertainty factors (permeability, oil-water contact (OWC), etc.); simulation run results; and technical description and details, para[0008]/ The simulation results database 67 can include data related to: strategies, well tactics, operational tactics, and OFDP; objective functions (NPV, plateau, cost, etc.); critical uncertainty factors; simulation run results; technical description and recommendations; and other information, for example. The dashboard 66 can transmit SQL queries to the simulation results database 67 to thereby retrieve some of the information stored therein. Simulation run results stored in the simulation results database 67 can relate, for example, to a plurality of simulation studies, including simulation study 1 71, simulation study 2 72, and other simulation studies through simulation study N 73. Each simulation study can have an associated proxy model. That is, simulation study 1 71 can have an associated proxy model 1 74, and simulation study 2 72 can have an associated proxy model 2 75. Proxy model 1 74 and proxy model 2 75 can each have been generated by technology 1 68, for example. Further, simulation study N 73 can have an associated proxy model N 76. In contrast to proxy model 1 74 and proxy model 2 75, proxy model N 76 can have been generated by technology M 69. To retrieve information related to a proxy model, the dashboard 66 can be required to query a custom adaptor associated with each technology. For example, technology 1 68 can have an associated custom adaptor 1 77, and technology M 69 can have an associated custom adaptor N 78. Further, custom links can also be used, for example, to provide access to proxies from a dashboard though multiple custom links, para[0016], ln 10-40);
displaying, on a display associated with the external control service, at least some of the requested information( More specifically, embodiments of the invention can include an application programming interface that provides an interface to probe reservoir simulation response surface models (proxies). Embodiments can enable probing of hydrocarbon reservoir simulation response surface model proxies—sometimes called “proxies,” “proxy models,” “response surface models,” “response functions,” “response surfaces,” or “reservoir simulation response surface models,” for example—by use of an application programming interface (API) and a user interface, e.g., a “dashboard,” to display uncertainty and risk information, para[0039], ln 6-25);
sending, from the external control service to the process simulation service, a second API call associated with changes to be made to the process simulation model ( FIG. 7 depicts a workflow designed using proxy API routines and, in particular, a workflow to design a dashboard 110 using proxy API routines. All routines can access a set of stored response surface models (proxies) of reservoir simulation studies. These response surface models can be implemented as R image files (built using R language utilities). API routines getModifiers and getObjectiveFunctions can be called from a dashboard 110 and can return lists of modifiers (simulation parameters) and objective functions, respectively, to the dashboard 110. Users then can interrogate the response surface models through the dashboard 110, which can call the routines defined in the proxy API., para[0068], ln 3-19/ for example, can include use of a dashboard 66 and a simulation results database 67[process simulation model], para[0016], ln 9-14/ Initiating the proxy API can thereby interrogate one or more of the surface model proxies from the one or more databases[process simulation model]. In addition, the proxy API can be configured to include a plurality of different preselected operations. The steps can also include interpreting each of the one or more of the surface model proxies. Interpreting each of the one or more of the surface model proxies can thereby retrieve a simulation data set for each of the one or more surface model proxies responsive to each of the plurality of different preselected operations of the proxy API. The steps can further include displaying—for each of the one or more surface model proxies, para[0020], ln 3-16/ initiating a proxy application programming interface (API) to thereby interrogate one or more of one or more different hydrocarbon reservoir simulation response surface model proxies. The one or more different hydrocarbon reservoir simulation response surface model proxies can thereby define surface model proxies. Additionally, each of the surface model proxies can be associated with one of one or more hydrocarbon reservoir simulation models. Furthermore, the surface model proxies can have a common image format based on a conversion from a plurality of different simulation model technology formats to the common image format. In addition, the proxy API can be configured to include a plurality of different preselected operations. A method can also include interpreting each of the one or more of the surface model proxies to thereby retrieve a simulation data set for each of the one or more of the surface model proxies responsive to each of the plurality of different preselected operations of the proxy API, para[0059], ln 3-25 );
the process simulation model in response to the second API call
and dynamically updating the information displayed with at least a changed portion of the process simulation model(FIG. 9. A method as illustrated in FIG. 9 can include, for instance, initiating the proxy API 331 before determining which of a plurality of operations of the proxy API a user selects 332. If the user chooses to query a proxy 333, a method can then include interpreting the proxies to retrieve a simulation data set that includes the output value of the queried proxy for a set of modifiers 341 and displaying that output value 342. If the user selects “get model name” 334, however, a method can include interpreting the proxies to retrieve a simulation data set that includes the hydrocarbon reservoir simulation model associated with a proxy that has the closest output value for a selected scenario 343. A method can then include displaying the name of that model 344. If the user chooses to identify hydrocarbon reservoir simulation models having close realization bracketing 335, a method can include interpreting the proxies to retrieve a simulation data set that includes the models that have close realization bracketing 345 and displaying the names of those models 346. If the user selects to identify modifiers associated with a particular simulation objective 336, a method can include interpreting the proxies to retrieve a simulation data set that includes the associated modifiers 347. A method can then include displaying the names of the modifiers 348. Further, if the user selects “get S-curve” 337, a method can include interpreting the proxies to retrieve a simulation data set that includes uncertainty characteristics of one of the proxies 349 and displaying the corresponding S-curve 350, para[0064], ln 1-30);
Roesner teaches receiving, at the external control service from the process simulation service, information indicating completion of the changes made to the process simulation model in response to the second API call( the configuration API 1406 makes a call to PUTFAC( ) API 1414 to set the configuration latch in simulation model 1400 to the determined value utilizing the latch name specified within the latch name field 1244 of the corresponding latch data structure 1204, para[0169], ln 2-9/ configuration latch values are to be applied to simulation model 1400 during the current phase, as indicated by an apply parameter value of TRUE, the end_phase( ) API routine proceeds to block 1842. At block 1842, the end_phase( ) API utilizes latch pointer array 1210 to examine each latch data structure 1204 in configuration database 1404. For each latch data structure 1204 in which latch set field 1248 has the value TRUE, the end_batch( ) API routine issues a call to PUTFAC( ) API 1414 of simulator 1410 to update simulation model 1400 with the latch value contained in latch value field 1246. In addition, as shown at block 1844, the end_phase( ) API performs a logical OR operation between the value of latch set field 1248 and set history field 1249, storing the result within set history field 1249. In this manner, each set history field 1249 maintains an indication of whether or not the corresponding configuration latch has been set during any phase of the batch mode process, para[0189]).
It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of claimed invention was made to modify the above teaching to incorporate the above feature because this provides hierarchical design technique is very useful in managing the enormous complexity of the overall design and facilitates error detection during simulation.
As to claims 11, 17, they are rejected for the same reason as to claim 1 above. In additional, teaches processor( processor, para[0042], ln 1-5), non-transitory computer-readable storage medium( non-transitory computer-readable medium, para[0019], ln 2-3).
Claim(s) 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Al-Zawawi ( US 20160024893 A1 ) in view of Roesner(US 20100153898 A1) and further in view of Ramesh( US 20210333119 A1).
As to claim 2, Al-Zawawi teaches wherein the requested information includes a topology of the process simulation model, a status of one or more assets, an execution state of the process simulation model, a condition of one or more assets, and/or a value of one or more attributes( para[0080], ln 1-20)
Ramesh teaches value of one or more attributes( At OPERATION 410, the vehicle simulation model 220 may be applied on each route requested and received from the routes database 218. For example, the route and associated route data may operate as a digital route on which the vehicle simulation model 220 may run a plurality of simulations, wherein the plurality of simulations correspond to each vehicle configuration that a vehicle OEM or dealer may offer for sale. Results of the simulations (e.g., determined KPIs) may be determined, and at OPERATION 412, the results and the simulation parameters (e.g., the route(s), attributes of the route(s), drive cycle data, and the vehicle configuration) may be stored in the simulations database 210, para[0058]).
It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of claimed invention was made to modify the above teaching to incorporate the above feature because this maximize the customer's performance priorities while additionally complying with regulatory emissions requirements and equipment regulations
Claim(s) 3, 4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Al-Zawawi (US 20160024893 A1 ) in view of Roesner(US 20100153898 A1) and further in view of Roesner I (US 20060015314 A1).
As to claim 3, Roesner I teaches the information displayed is in a flowsheet view and/or a tabular view(One common tool that is utilized to visualize the operation of a simulated system is a trace viewer (sometimes referred to as an All Events Trace (AET) viewer) that presents the states of various signals of interest within the system as they vary over time, para[0007], ln 9-15/ Utilizing the above information within trace files 35, AET viewer 206 can present a tabular or graphical representation of the trace data that indicates accesses to simulation model 200 in response to API calls by RTX 204 in a graphically distinctive manner. In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, AET viewer 206 presents the trace data in graphical form (e.g., within a hardcopy printout or on a display device), and accesses to simulation model 200 in response to API calls by RTX 204 are depicted in a graphically distinctive manner, para[0034]).
It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of claimed invention was made to modify the above teaching to incorporate the above feature because this provides improved methods, systems and program products for recording and presenting the state of a system under test.
As to claim 4, Roesner teaches the second API call includes a request to change one or more assets, a request to add one or more assets, a request to change one or more connections between one or more assets, a request to add one or more connections between one or more assets, a request to change a state of one or more assets, and/or a request to change a value of one or more attributes( para]0008], ln 1-11) for the same reason as to claim 1 above.
Claim(s) 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Al-Zawawi ( US 20160024893 A1 ) in view of Roesner(US 20100153898 A1) in view of Roesner I (US 20060015314 A1 and further in view of Boys(US 20150106758 A1).
As to claim 5, Boy teaches the request to change one or more assets corresponds to a change of a graphical icon of the one or more assets to a flowsheet view of the information displayed; and wherein the request to add one or more assets corresponds to an addition of a graphical icon of the one or more assets to the flowsheet view of the information displayed( In an embodiment, Simulation Manager is a hierarchical view of the Simulation and the Models contained within it. The Simulation Manager displays a Flowsheet or adds Models, Parameters, Variables, Equations, Sub-Models, Connectors and Ports to a Flowsheet. The Keyword View enables viewing and editing objects selected in the Simulation Manager. When selecting a Simulation object in the Simulation Manager, the Keyword View displays a detailed view of the selected object and enables editing of specific Variables and Parameter values, para[0095]).
It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of claimed invention was made to modify the above teaching to incorporate the above feature because this allows a user to capture the economic benefit from processes such as refinery, chemical or petrochemical plant operations and ensure the accuracy of the model and responsive performance of the simulation while running such aspects facilitate the solving of large systems of equations.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Al-Zawawi ( US 20160024893 A1 ) in view of Roesner(US 20100153898 A1) and further in view Bortfeld(US 6718294 B1).
As to claim 6, Bortfeld teaches sending, from the external control service to the process simulation service, a third API call instructing the process simulation service to halt execution of the process simulation model( n a preferred embodiment, communications occur using API calls. The API between the scheduler 430 and the processor models 410a, 410b, 410c is primarily used for establishing connections. In one embodiment, the processor models 410a, 410b, 410c register with the scheduler. The registration defines the how the processor will be updated. For example, a processor model can request updates, recalcs or both as described in further detail later, col 4, ln 55-67/ Synchronization is accomplished using API calls for notifications of mode changes which indicate when the simulator has started running or stopped. Single stepping is implemented by putting the simulator into run mode for one cycle. In run mode, iterations of the simulation loop are continuously performed, i.e., a series of continual steps are performed.), col 8, ln 20-30/API also exists between the debug adapters 440a, 440b and 440c and the scheduler 430. This interface supports control commands, such as step, run and halt as described in further detail below. It will be appreciated that the APIs described above represent a preferred embodiment of the present invention and that other embodiments are possible. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, additional interfaces are included in addition to the APIs described above. For example, a SimQuitListener interface is used for the scheduler to notify other software modules (i.e., all processor models and debug adapters) that the simulator is about to terminate, a simulatorWillRestart interface is used for the scheduler to notify other software modules (i.e., all processor models and debug adapters) that the simulator is about to restart and a simulatorStatusChanged interface is used for the scheduler to notify other software modules (i.e., all processor models and debug adapters) that the simulator status has changed, for example, from running to halted or from halted to running, col 5, ln 20-40)
It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of claimed invention was made to modify the above teaching to incorporate the above feature because this ensures that all of the processors and debuggers maintain synchronization.
Claim(s) 7, 8, 9, 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Al-Zawawi ( US 20160024893 A1 ) in view of Roesner(US 20100153898 A1) in view of Bortfeld(US 6718294 B1) and further in view of Nelson(US 20050149309 A1).
As to claim 7, Bortfeld teaches sending, from the external control service to the process simulation service, a fourth API call instructing the process simulation service to resume execution of the process simulation model; and receiving, at the external control service from the process simulation service, ( col 4, ln 55-67 to col 5, ln 1-10/ col 5, ln 20-40) for the same reason as to claim 6 above.
Nelson teaches an indication of completion of the process simulation model upon resuming of the execution( Returning to FIG. 15, after each trace array instance within the simulation model has been processed at block 1510 or in response to a negative determination at block 1508, the process depicted in FIG. 15 proceeds to block 1512. Block 1512 illustrates the RTX determining whether or not fail signal 511 was asserted to signal detection of an occurrence of a fail event. If an occurrence of fail event was detected within the simulation model, as indicated by assertion of fail signal 511, execution of the testcase terminates with a fail status at block 1514. If, however, fail signal 511 was not asserted, the RTX makes a further determination at block 1516 whether or not termination signal 513 was asserted to indicate that simulation of the testcase has completed. In response to a determination that termination signal 513 was not asserted, meaning that execution of the testcase against the simulation model has not completed, the process returns to block 1504, representing the RTX instructing the simulator to resum testcase execution. If, however, RTX determines that termination signal 513 was asserted to signal that the end of the testcase has been reached, the process proceeds to block 1516, which depicts the RTX calling an entry point of an API to close the trace files opened in block 1512. Thereafter, the process shown in FIG. 15 terminates at block 1520, para[0252]).
It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of claimed invention was made to modify the above teaching to incorporate the above feature because this creates a simulation model containing at least one design entity and a trace array within the design entity for storing trace data regarding specified signals of interest.
As to claim 8, Nelson teaches sending, from the external control service to the process simulation service, a fifth API call registering an event notification trigger with the process simulation service( para[0204], ln 1-17 to para[0205], ln 1-10) for the same reason as to claim 7 above.
As to claim 9, Nelson teaches receiving, at the external control service from the process simulation service, an event notification corresponding to the registered event notification trigger( para[0213] / para[0217] Fig. 16 A) for the same reason as to claim 7 above.
As to claim 10, Nelson teaches the event notification trigger is associated with completion of the process simulation model, updating of the process simulation model, changing a state of an asset, and/or changing a value of an attribute( para[0204], ln 1-16/para[0205]/ para[0238], ln 1-10/ para[0216]/ para[0223], ln 6-10-15 for the same reason as to claim 7 above.
Claim(s) 12, 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Al-Zawawi ( US 20160024893 A1 ) in view of Roesner(US 20100153898 A1) in view of Ramesh( US 20210333119 A1) and further in view of Roesner(US 20060015314 A1).
As to claim 12, Al-Zawawi teaches wherein the requested information includes a topology of the process simulation model, a status of one or more assets, an execution state of the process simulation model, a condition of one or more assets, and/or a value of one or more attributes( para[0080], ln 1-20).
Ramesh teaches value of one or more attributes( At OPERATION 410, the vehicle simulation model 220 may be applied on each route requested and received from the routes database 218. For example, the route and associated route data may operate as a digital route on which the vehicle simulation model 220 may run a plurality of simulations, wherein the plurality of simulations correspond to each vehicle configuration that a vehicle OEM or dealer may offer for sale. Results of the simulations (e.g., determined KPIs) may be determined, and at OPERATION 412, the results and the simulation parameters (e.g., the route(s), attributes of the route(s), drive cycle data, and the vehicle configuration) may be stored in the simulations database 210, para[0058]).
It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of claimed invention was made to modify the above teaching to incorporate the above feature because this maximize the customer's performance priorities while additionally complying with regulatory emissions requirements and equipment regulations.
Roesner teaches the information displayed is in a flowsheet view and/or a tabular view(One common tool that is utilized to visualize the operation of a simulated system is a trace viewer (sometimes referred to as an All Events Trace (AET) viewer) that presents the states of various signals of interest within the system as they vary over time, para[0007], ln 9-15/ Utilizing the above information within trace files 35, AET viewer 206 can present a tabular or graphical representation of the trace data that indicates accesses to simulation model 200 in response to API calls by RTX 204 in a graphically distinctive manner. In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, AET viewer 206 presents the trace data in graphical form (e.g., within a hardcopy printout or on a display device), and accesses to simulation model 200 in response to API calls by RTX 204 are depicted in a graphically distinctive manner, para[0034]).
It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of claimed invention was made to modify the above teaching to incorporate the above feature because this provides improved methods, systems and program products for recording and presenting the state of a system under test.
As to claim 18, it is rejected for the same reason as to claim 12 above.
Claim(s) 13, 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Al-Zawawi ( US 20160024893 A1 ) in view of Roesner(US 20100153898 A1) in view of Roesner I (US 20060015314 A1) and further in view of Boys(US 20150106758 A1).
As to claim 13, Roesner I teaches the second API call includes a request to change one or more assets, a request to add one or more assets, a request to change one or more connections between one or more assets, a request to add one or more connections between one or more assets, a request to change a state of one or more assets, and/or a request to change a value of one or more attributes( para]0008], ln 1-11).
It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of claimed invention was made to modify the above teaching to incorporate the above feature because this provides improved methods, systems and program products for recording and presenting the state of a system under test.
Boy teaches the request to change one or more assets corresponds to a change of a graphical icon of the one or more assets to a flowsheet view of the information displayed; and wherein the request to add one or more assets corresponds to an addition of a graphical icon of the one or more assets to the flowsheet view of the information displayed( In an embodiment, Simulation Manager is a hierarchical view of the Simulation and the Models contained within it. The Simulation Manager displays a Flowsheet or adds Models, Parameters, Variables, Equations, Sub-Models, Connectors and Ports to a Flowsheet. The Keyword View enables viewing and editing objects selected in the Simulation Manager. When selecting a Simulation object in the Simulation Manager, the Keyword View displays a detailed view of the selected object and enables editing of specific Variables and Parameter values, para[0095]).
It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of claimed invention was made to modify the above teaching to incorporate the above feature because this allows a user to capture the economic benefit from processes such as refinery, chemical or petrochemical plant operations and ensure the accuracy of the model and responsive performance of the simulation while running such aspects facilitate the solving of large systems of equations.
As to claim 19, it is rejected for the same reason as to claim 13.
Claim(s) 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Al-Zawawi ( US 20160024893 A1 ) in view of Roesner(US 20100153898 A1) in view of Bortfeld(US 6718294 B1).
As to claim 14, Bortfeld teaches sending, from the external control service to the process simulation service, a third API call instructing the process simulation service to halt execution of the process simulation model( n a preferred embodiment, communications occur using API calls. The API between the scheduler 430 and the processor models 410a, 410b, 410c is primarily used for establishing connections. In one embodiment, the processor models 410a, 410b, 410c register with the scheduler. The registration defines the how the processor will be updated. For example, a processor model can request updates, recalcs or both as described in further detail later, col 4, ln 55-67/ Synchronization is accomplished using API calls for notifications of mode changes which indicate when the simulator has started running or stopped. Single stepping is implemented by putting the simulator into run mode for one cycle. In run mode, iterations of the simulation loop are continuously performed, i.e., a series of continual steps are performed.), col 8, ln 20-30/ API also exists between the debug adapters 440a, 440b and 440c and the scheduler 430. This interface supports control commands, such as step, run and halt as described in further detail below. It will be appreciated that the APIs described above represent a preferred embodiment of the present invention and that other embodiments are possible. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, additional interfaces are included in addition to the APIs described above. For example, a SimQuitListener interface is used for the scheduler to notify other software modules (i.e., all processor models and debug adapters) that the simulator is about to terminate, a simulatorWillRestart interface is used for the scheduler to notify other software modules (i.e., all processor models and debug adapters) that the simulator is about to restart and a simulatorStatusChanged interface is used for the scheduler to notify other software modules (i.e., all processor models and debug adapters) that the simulator status has changed, for example, from running to halted or from halted to running, col 5, ln 20-40)
It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of claimed invention was made to modify the above teaching to incorporate the above feature because this ensures that all of the processors and debuggers maintain synchronization.
Claim(s) 15, 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Al-Zawawi ( US 20160024893 A1 ) in view of Roesner(US 20100153898 A1) in view of Bortfeld(US 6718294 B1) and further in view of Nelson(US 20050149309 A1).
As to claim 15, Bortfeld teaches sending, from the external control service to the process simulation service, a fourth API call instructing the process simulation service to resume execution of the process simulation model; and receiving, at the external control service from the process simulation service, ( col 4, ln 55-67 to col 5, ln 1-10/ col 5, ln 20-40) for the same reason as to claim 6 above.
Nelson teaches an indication of completion of the process simulation model upon resuming of the execution( Returning to FIG. 15, after each trace array instance within the simulation model has been processed at block 1510 or in response to a negative determination at block 1508, the process depicted in FIG. 15 proceeds to block 1512. Block 1512 illustrates the RTX determining whether or not fail signal 511 was asserted to signal detection of an occurrence of a fail event. If an occurrence of fail event was detected within the simulation model, as indicated by assertion of fail signal 511, execution of the testcase terminates with a fail status at block 1514. If, however, fail signal 511 was not asserted, the RTX makes a further determination at block 1516 whether or not termination signal 513 was asserted to indicate that simulation of the testcase has completed. In response to a determination that termination signal 513 was not asserted, meaning that execution of the testcase against the simulation model has not completed, the process returns to block 1504, representing the RTX instructing the simulator to resum testcase execution. If, however, RTX determines that termination signal 513 was asserted to signal that the end of the testcase has been reached, the process proceeds to block 1516, which depicts the RTX calling an entry point of an API to close the trace files opened in block 1512. Thereafter, the process shown in FIG. 15 terminates at block 1520, para[0252]).
It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of claimed invention was made to modify the above teaching to incorporate the above feature because this creates a simulation model containing at least one design entity and a trace array within the design entity for storing trace data regarding specified signals of interest.
As to claim 16, Nelson teaches the at least one non-transitory memory and the program code are further configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: send, from the external control service to the process simulation service, a fifth API call registering an event notification trigger with the process simulation service; and automatically receive, at the external control service from the process simulation service, an event notification corresponding to the registered event notification trigger(para[0204], ln 1-17 to para[0205], ln 1-10/ para[0213] / para[0217] /Fig. 16 A) for the same reason as to claim 7 above.
Claim(s) 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Al-Zawawi ( US 20160024893 A1 ) in view of Roesner(US 20100153898 A1) in view of Bortfeld(US 6718294 B1) in view of view of Nelson(US 20050149309 A1).
As to claim 20, Bortfeld teaches sending, from the external control service to the process simulation service, a third API call instructing the process simulation service to halt execution of the process simulation model( a preferred embodiment, communications occur using API calls. The API between the scheduler 430 and the processor models 410a, 410b, 410c is primarily used for establishing connections. In one embodiment, the processor models 410a, 410b, 410c register with the scheduler. The registration defines the how the processor will be updated. For example, a processor model can request updates, recalcs or both as described in further detail later, col 4, ln 55-67/ Synchronization is accomplished using API calls for notifications of mode changes which indicate when the simulator has started running or stopped. Single stepping is implemented by putting the simulator into run mode for one cycle. In run mode, iterations of the simulation loop are continuously performed, i.e., a series of continual steps are performed.), col 8, ln 20-30/ API also exists between the debug adapters 440a, 440b and 440c and the scheduler 430. This interface supports control commands, such as step, run and halt as described in further detail below. It will be appreciated that the APIs described above represent a preferred embodiment of the present invention and that other embodiments are possible. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, additional interfaces are included in addition to the APIs described above. For example, a SimQuitListener interface is used for the scheduler to notify other software modules (i.e., all processor models and debug adapters) that the simulator is about to terminate, a simulatorWillRestart interface is used for the scheduler to notify other software modules (i.e., all processor models and debug adapters) that the simulator is about to restart and a simulatorStatusChanged interface is used for the scheduler to notify other software modules (i.e., all processor models and debug adapters) that the simulator status has changed, for example, from running to halted or from halted to running, col 5, ln 20-40/ sending, from the external control service to the process simulation service, a fourth API call instructing the process simulation service to resume execution of the process simulation model; and receiving, at the external control service from the process simulation service, ( col 4, ln 55-67 to col 5, ln 1-10/ col 5, ln 20-40) for the same reason as to claim 6 above.
It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of claimed invention was made to modify the above teaching to incorporate the above feature because this ensures that all of the processors and debuggers maintain synchronization.
Nelson teaches an indication of completion of the process simulation model upon resuming of the execution( Returning to FIG. 15, after each trace array instance within the simulation model has been processed at block 1510 or in response to a negative determination at block 1508, the process depicted in FIG. 15 proceeds to block 1512. Block 1512 illustrates the RTX determining whether or not fail signal 511 was asserted to signal detection of an occurrence of a fail event. If an occurrence of fail event was detected within the simulation model, as indicated by assertion of fail signal 511, execution of the testcase terminates with a fail status at block 1514. If, however, fail signal 511 was not asserted, the RTX makes a further determination at block 1516 whether or not termination signal 513 was asserted to indicate that simulation of the testcase has completed. In response to a determination that termination signal 513 was not asserted, meaning that execution of the testcase against the simulation model has not completed, the process returns to block 1504, representing the RTX instructing the simulator to resume testcase execution. If, however, RTX determines that termination signal 513 was asserted to signal that the end of the testcase has been reached, the process proceeds to block 1516, which depicts the RTX calling an entry point of an API to close the trace files opened in block 1512. Thereafter, the process shown in FIG. 15 terminates at block 1520, para[0252]).
It would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of claimed invention was made to modify the above teaching to incorporate the above feature because this creates a simulation model containing at least one design entity and a trace array within the design entity for storing trace data regarding specified signals of interest.
Conclusion
US 20160024893 A1 teaches els. Embodiments can utilize an application programming interface (API) to interrogate one or more different hydrocarbon reservoir simulation response surface model proxies (surface model proxies) associated with hydrocarbon reservoir simulation models. The API (a proxy API) can be configured to include preselected operations, and surface model proxies can be in a common image format. Surface model proxies can be interpreted to retrieve simulation data associated with the surface model proxies responsive to operations of the proxy API. Results of operations of the proxy API can also be displayed to probe a hydrocarbon reservoir simulation model associated with a surface model proxy and to thereby estimate probabilities of simulation outcome for potential simulation scenarios yet to be run.
US 8265916 B1 teaches an exemplary embodiment, for metric settings 107 based on metrics provided by the simulation model 104, an application program interface (API) may be provided for the test environment 102 to incorporate the metrics provided by the simulation model 104 into the test environment 102. To have the metrics provided by the simulation model 104 incorporated into the test environment 102, the simulation model 104 may need to comply with the requirements of the API. The API may allow the test environment 102 to interact with the metrics provided by the simulation model 104, such as, for example, directing the metrics to display in a graphical user interface in a particular form, or to provide the test environment 102 with information as to the metrics' dimension(s), data type(s), name, etc. As an option, the simulation model 104 may be provided by a third party, and the simulation model 104 may generate metrics and provide the generated metrics to the test environment by using the API.
US 20210191694 A1 teaches the runtime 308 is a collection of APIs that allows an external program to control the simulation of the simulation-based twin model 302 (set inputs, get outputs, advance simulation, and/or perform another type of action). The runtime 308 manages the data flow within the model, without any extra action from an external program (e.g., a client application does not need to know the internal topology of the augmented digital twin model).
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/LECHI TRUONG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2194
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