# US 11,353,854 B2 · Methods and apparatus for configuring remote access of process control data

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- Number: US 11,353,854 B2
- Document ID: US11353854B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 16/746,099
- Filed: 2020-01-17
- Published: 2020-05-14
- Granted: 2022-06-07
- Earliest claimed: 2016-10-17
- Assignees: Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc.
- Applicants: Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc.
- Inventors: Mark J. Nixon; David R. Denison; Hoa Van Lai; Ken J. Beoughter; Daniel R. Strinden; Mariana C. Dionisio; Kim Ordean Van Camp; Matthew William Poplawski
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11353854B2

## CPC

- G05B 19/41855: {by local area network [LAN], network structure}
- G05B 15/02: electric
- G06F 3/0482: Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
- G06F 16/2428: {Query predicate definition using graphical user interfaces, including menus and forms (G06F16/2423 takes precedence)}
- G06F 16/248: Presentation of query results
- G06F 16/951: Indexing; Web crawling techniques
- G06F 16/953: Querying, e.g. by the use of web search engines
- H04L 12/40: Bus networks
- H04L 12/4625: {Single bridge functionality, e.g. connection of two networks over a single bridge}
- H04L 41/06: Management of faults, events, alarms or notifications
- H04L 41/069: using logs of notifications; Post-processing of notifications
- H04L 41/0806: for initial configuration or provisioning, e.g. plug-and-play
- H04L 43/045: for graphical visualisation of monitoring data
- H04L 43/10: Active monitoring, e.g. heartbeat, ping or trace-route
- H04L 63/0218: {Distributed architectures, e.g. distributed firewalls}
- H04L 65/1083: In-session procedures
- H04L 65/70: Media network packetisation
- H04L 67/10: in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network (software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46)
- H04L 67/125: involving control of end-device applications over a network
- H04L 67/34: {involving the movement of software or configuration parameters (network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416)}
- H04L 67/75: Indicating network or usage conditions on the user display
- H04M 1/72472: wherein the items are sorted according to specific criteria, e.g. frequency of use
- H04W 12/06: Authentication
- H04W 12/088: using filters or firewalls
- G05B 2219/31105: Remote control of network controller
- G05B 2219/31246: Firewall
- G05B 2219/31457: Factory remote control, monitoring through internet
- H04L 67/55: Push-based network services
- Y02P 90/02: Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]
- Y02P 90/80: Management or planning
- G05B: CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS (systems for controlling or regulating non-electric variables G05D; systems for regulating electric or magnetic variables G05F; control devices or systems insofar as characterised by mechanical features only G05G)
- G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N)
- H04L: TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION (arrangements common to telegraphic and telephonic communication H04M)
- H04M: TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION (circuits for controlling other apparatus via a telephone cable and not involving telephone switching apparatus G08)
- H04W: WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS (broadcast communication H04H; communication systems using wireless links for non-selective communication, e.g. wireless extensions H04M1/72)
- Y02P: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS

## Abstract

A method of providing process data to a remote computing device includes receiving configuration data describing a configuration of at least part of the process control system. The configuration data includes information associated with a plurality of process control entities, and the information regarding each entity includes at least one tag associated with a level in a hierarchy of the system. The method includes identifying a plurality of levels within the system based upon the tags, including at least a first-level identifier and a plurality of second-level identifiers associated with the first-level identifier. Further, the method includes identifying a plurality of control modules, each associated with a second-level identifier, and each associated with the entities based upon the configuration data. The method includes generating a hierarchical list of available process data, and selecting from the hierarchical list a set of information to include on a watch list or alarm list.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A tangible, non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions for providing process data from a process control system to a remote computing device that, when executed by one or more processors of a computing device, cause the computing device to:
receive configuration data describing a configuration of at least part of the process control system from one or more components within the process control system via a first network, wherein the configuration data includes information associated with a plurality of entities within the process control system, and wherein the information associated with each entity includes at least one tag;
receive a query from the remote computing device via a second network, the query including one or more search parameters associated with the tags of the entities;
identify one or more entities based upon the one or more search parameters and the tags associated with the one or more entities;
generate a list of entries including entries associated with the identified one or more entities;
communicate the list to the remote computing device via the second network;
receive a selection of a set of entries from the list via the second network from the remote computing device;
receive a set of data values including data values associated with the set of entries via the first network from a data server; and
communicate the data values associated with the set of entries to the remote computing device via the second network.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The tangible, non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the set of data values is received as a data stream of process data values from the data server.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The tangible, non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 2, wherein the process data values are generated by a plurality of devices within the process control system, and wherein each process data value is received in real-time from the data server when the respective process data value is generated.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The tangible, non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the configuration data is received as one or more configuration files used by controllers within the process control system to control the process plant.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The tangible, non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, further storing instructions that cause the computer system to:
receive a polling request for a list of data to be received from the data server via the first network;
generate the list of data based upon the received selection of the set of entries; and
communicate the list to the data server via the first network only in response to the polling request, and
wherein the set of data values received from the data server is based upon the list.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The tangible, non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the selection of the set of entries is an indication of a predetermined view list stored in the tangible, non-transitory computer readable medium.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The tangible, non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, further storing instructions that cause the computer system to:
identify one or more additional entities associated with the selected set of entries; and
communicate additional data values associated with the additional entities, and
wherein the received set of data values further includes the additional data values associated with the additional entities.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The tangible, non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 7, wherein at least one of the one or more entities or at least one of the one or more additional entities is an area of a process plant, the area including a plurality of equipment units controlled by the process control system.

### Claim 9 (depends on 7)

The tangible, non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 7, wherein the one or more additional entities are (i) control modules implemented by process controllers within the process control system, and/or (ii) identified based upon the configuration data associated with the selected set of entities.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The tangible, non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the configuration data includes hierarchy information for a plurality of devices within the process plant.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

The tangible, non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the query includes one or more additional search parameters associated with process data values and wherein the one or more additional search parameters indicate at least one of the following: a time frame, a level of an alarm, a type of a condition within the process plant, or a level of an environmental parameter within the process plant.

### Claim 12 (depends on 1)

The tangible, non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein:
the configuration data is received via a plurality of separate communications; and
at least some of the plurality of separate communications include only new or changed information associated with the plurality of entities.

### Claim 13 (depends on 1)

The tangible, non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the configuration data includes information associated with a plurality of process parameters associated with entities within the process control system.

### Claim 14

A method of providing process data from a process control system of a process plant to a remote computing device, comprising:
receiving, at a computing device from one or more components within the process control system via a first network, configuration data describing a configuration of at least part of the process control system, wherein the configuration data includes information associated with a plurality of entities within the process control system, and wherein the information regarding each entity includes at least one tag associated with a level in a hierarchy of the process control system;
identifying, by one or more processors of the computing device, a plurality of levels within the process control system based upon the tags, including at least a first-level identifier and a plurality of second-level identifiers associated with the first-level identifier;
identifying, by the one or more processors of the computing device, a plurality of control modules associated with the entities based upon the configuration data, wherein each control module is further associated with a second-level identifier;
generating, by the one or more processors of the computing device, a hierarchical list of available process data;
selecting from the hierarchical list of available process data a default set of information to include on a watch list or an alarm list, the default set of information determined according to a feature of the configuration data.

### Claim 15 (depends on 14)

The method according to claim 14, wherein selecting from the hierarchical list of available process data a default set of information to include on a watch list or an alarm list comprises selecting from the hierarchical list of available process data a default set of information to include on a watch list, and wherein the feature of the configuration data comprises an overview display module in the configuration data.

### Claim 16 (depends on 14)

The method according to claim 14, wherein selecting from the hierarchical list of available process data a default set of information to include on a watch list or an alarm list comprises selecting from the hierarchical list of available process data a default set of information to include on a watch list, wherein the feature of the configuration data comprises an area, unit, or cell in the process plant, and wherein the default set of information comprises all modules in the area, unit, or cell.

### Claim 17 (depends on 14)

The method according to claim 14, wherein selecting from the hierarchical list of available process data a default set of information to include on a watch list or an alarm list comprises selecting from the hierarchical list of available process data a default set of information to include on an alarm list, wherein the feature of the configuration data comprises an operator station alarm configuration, and wherein the default set of information includes a set of alarms associated with the operator station alarm configuration.

### Claim 18 (depends on 17)

The method according to claim 17, wherein the default set of information further includes a set of pre-defined filter criteria including alarm priority, alarm function, and/or alarm notification settings.

### Claim 19 (depends on 14)

The method according to claim 14, further comprising:
receiving, at the computing device from the one or more components within the process control system via the first network, updated configuration data describing an updated configuration of at least part of the process control system, wherein the updated configuration data includes updated information associated with the plurality of entities within the process control system; and
selecting from the hierarchical list of available process data an updated default set of information to include on a watch list or an alarm list, the updated default set of information determined according to a feature of the updated configuration data.