Configuration of a modular plant
AssigneeABB Schweiz AG
InventorsMario Hoernicke, Ralf Jeske, Joerg Schubert
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method of providing a control software configuration for a module of a modular plant, the method including, in a module engineering phase: receiving a user definition for the module; and automatically generating the control software configuration for the module based on the user definition, the automatically generating including: specifying parameters for the module that are not specific to any target system; and providing the control software configuration as a controller-agnostic configuration file for subsequent binding of controller software instantiated according to the controller-agnostic configuration file to a hardware controller of the module when the module is integrated into a target system during a plant engineering phase.
Claims13
A method of providing a control software configuration for a module of a modular plant, the method comprising, in a module engineering phase:
- receiving a user definition for the module;
- and
- automatically generating the control software configuration for the module based on the user definition, the automatically generating comprising:
- specifying parameters for the module that are not specific to any target system;
- and
- providing the control software configuration as a controller-agnostic configuration file for subsequent binding of controller software instantiated according to the controller-agnostic configuration file to a hardware controller of the module when the module is integrated into a target system during a plant engineering phase;
- and the method further comprising, in a workflow for project execution:
- testing the control software configuration as defined by the controller-agnostic configuration file;
- attaching an input/output configuration to the control software configuration at the modular plant;
- testing the input/output configuration in conjunction with the control software configuration on a virtual controller;
- assigning the hardware controller to an instance of the software controller instantiated according to the controller-agnostic configuration file;
- adding physical input/output to the hardware controller and software controller instance;
- and
- adding pretested supervisory control and/or orchestration for plant control.
A method of configuring a modular plant, the method comprising, in a plant engineering phase:
- receiving a user definition for the modular plant as a target system, the definition identifying modules to be integrated into the modular plant according to the user definition, at least one the module of the modules being associated with a controller-agnostic configuration file specifying parameters for the the at least one module that are not specific to any target system;
- and
- automatically binding controller software instantiated according to the controller-agnostic configuration file to a hardware controller of the at least one module of the target system, the binding comprising automatically adapting the controller software to the target system according to the user definition;
- and the method further comprising, in a workflow for project execution:
- testing the control software configuration as defined by the controller-agnostic configuration file;
- attaching an input/output configuration to the control software configuration at the modular plant;
- testing the input/output configuration in conjunction with the control software configuration on a virtual controller;
- assigning the hardware controller to an instance of the software controller instantiated according to the controller-agnostic configuration file;
- adding physical input/output to the hardware controller and software controller instance;
- and
- adding pretested supervisory control and/or orchestration for plant control.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.