US 11,960,473 B2 · Distributed ledgers in process control systems

Abstract

To provide a trusted, secure, and immutable record of transactions within a process plant, techniques are described for utilizing a distributed ledger in process control systems. The distributed ledger may be maintained by nodes which receive transactions broadcasted from field devices, controllers, operator workstations, or other devices operating within the process plant. The transactions may include process plant data, such as process parameter data, product parameter data, configuration data, user interaction data, maintenance data, commissioning data, plant network data, and product tracking data. The distributed ledgers may also be utilized to execute smart contracts to allow machines such as field devices to transact by themselves without human intervention. In this manner, recorded process parameter values and product parameter values may be retrieved to verify the quality of products. Moreover, regulatory data may be recorded in response to triggering events so that regulatory agencies can review the data.

Claims27

Dependent claims

A computing device operating as a validating network node in a process plant on a distributed ledger network comprising:

a transceiver configured to communicate with one or more field devices each performing a physical function to control an industrial process in the process plant and to exchange distributed ledger data with peer network nodes, the distributed ledger data including transactions having process plant data including at least one of:
(i) product parameter data including characteristics of a product manufactured at the process plant, or (ii) process parameter data for a process plant entity that contains, transforms, generates, or transfers physical materials within the process plant, identity data for an entity generating the process plant data, and a cryptographic signature to provide proof-of-identity that the entity generated the process plant data;
a storage media configured to store a copy of the distributed ledger;
and
a processor configured to apply a set of consensus rules to the distributed ledger data received from the peer network nodes, the processor being further configured to append the distributed ledger data received from the peer network nodes to the copy of the distributed ledger if the distributed ledger data satisfies the consensus rules;
wherein a shelf-life of a product is predicted by assigning a quality score to each of a plurality of components of the product using the product parameter data or the process parameter data included in the distributed ledger for the product.

3 more elements

A method for recording data in a process control system using a distributed ledger maintained by a plurality of participants, the method comprising:

obtaining, by a computing device, process plant data related to a process control element within a process plant, the process plant data including at least one of:
(i) product parameter data including characteristics of a product manufactured at the process plant, or (ii) process parameter data for a process plant entity that contains, transforms, generates, or transfers physical materials within the process plant;
generating a transaction, wherein the transaction is stored in the distributed ledger;
generating a cryptographic signature for an entity that generated the process plant data;
augmenting the transaction with identity data for the entity and the cryptographic signature to provide a proof-of-identity that the entity generated the process plant data;
augmenting the transaction with at least one of:
(i) the product parameter data, or (ii) the process parameter data;
transmitting the transaction to at least one other participant in a distributed ledger network of participants maintaining the distributed ledger;
predicting a shelf-life by assigning a quality score to each of a plurality of components of the product using the product parameter data or the process parameter data included in the distributed ledger for the product.

6 more elements

A system for recording data in a process control system using a distributed ledger maintained by a plurality of participants comprising:

one or more devices disposed in a process plant each performing a physical function to control an industrial process;
and
a computing device executing in the process plant including:
one or more processors;
a communication unit;
and
a non-transitory computer-readable medium coupled to the one or more processors and the communication unit and storing instructions thereon, that when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing device to:
obtain process plant data related to the one or more devices within the process plant, the process plant data including at least one of:
(i) product parameter data including characteristics of a product manufactured at the process plant, or (ii) process parameter data for a process plant entity that contains, transforms, generates, or transfers physical materials within the process plant;
generate a transaction;
generate a cryptographic signature for an entity that generated the process plant data;
augment the transaction with identity data for the entity and the cryptographic signature to provide a proof-of-identity that the entity generated the process plant data;
augment the transaction with at least one of:
(i) the product parameter data or (ii) the process parameter data;
and
transmit the transaction to at least one other participant in a distributed ledger network of participants maintaining the distributed ledger for validating and recording the transaction in the distributed ledger,
wherein a shelf life of a product is predicted by assigning a quality score to each of a plurality of components of the product using the product parameter data or the process parameter data included in the distributed ledger for the product.

14 more elements

A non-transitory computer-readable memory coupled to one or more processors and storing instructions thereon that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:

receive transactions that include process plant data generated by one or more field devices each performing a physical function to control an industrial process in a process plant, each received transaction including identity data for an entity generating the process plant data, and a cryptographic signature to provide proof-of-identity that the entity generated the process plant data, the process plant data including at least one of:
(i) product parameter data including characteristics of a product manufactured at the process plant, or (ii) process parameter data for a process plant entity that contains, transforms, generates, or transfers physical materials within the process plant;
store a copy of a distributed ledger;
apply a set of consensus rules to the received transactions;
append one of the received transactions to the copy of the distributed ledger if the received transaction satisfies the consensus rules;
and
transmit the appended transaction to at least one peer network node that stores a copy of the distributed ledger,
wherein a shelf-life of a product is predicted by assigning a quality score to each of a plurality of components of the product using the product parameter data or the process parameter data included in the distributed ledger for the product.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Distributed ledgers in process control systems

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Distributed ledgers in process control systems

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Abstract

Claims27