# US 12,271,183 B2 · Controller and control method > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,271,183 B2 - Document ID: US12271183B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 17/688,153 - Filed: 2022-03-07 - Published: 2022-09-29 - Granted: 2025-04-08 - Earliest claimed: 2021-03-29 - Assignees: Yokogawa Electric Corporation - Applicants: Yokogawa Electric Corporation - Inventors: Yuuzou Hasegawa; Kazuyuki Ito; Hideharu Yajima - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12271183B2 ## CPC - G05B 19/0421: {Multiprocessor system} - G05B 19/41865: {characterised by job scheduling, process planning, material flow} - G05B 19/0428: {Safety, monitoring (G05B19/0423 takes precedence)} - G05B 19/4183: {characterised by data acquisition, e.g. workpiece identification} - G05B 19/4185: {characterised by the network communication} - G05B 9/03: with multiple-channel loop, i.e. redundant control systems - G05B 2219/24182: Redundancy - 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) ## Abstract A controller is a controller forming, with another controller, a redundant controller. The controller includes a communication function unit that performs communication with an external device capable of executing control calculation needed for process control for a plant, and a redundancy management unit that switches states of the controller between an active state where a result of the control calculation obtained from the external device via the communication function unit is reflected in the process control and a standby state where the result of the control calculation is not reflected in the process control. The redundancy management unit switches the states of the controller to bring one of the controller and the another controller into the active state. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A control device comprising: a first controller executing control calculation needed for process control for a plant and performing the process control by reflecting the executed control calculation in the process control; a second controller forming a redundant controller with the first controller, wherein the second controller does not have any control calculation function which executes the control calculation needed for the process control for the plant in the second controller; an external device connected to the second controller via a network and executing control calculation of the second controller; the first controller being configured to switch states of the first controller between a plurality of states including an active state where a result of control calculation is reflected in the process control and a standby state where the result of the control calculation is not reflected in the process control; and the second controller being configured to switch states of the second controller between the plurality of states including the active state and the standby state, and communicate with the external device, wherein the second controller is further configured to switch the states of the second controller to the active state by obtaining the result of the control calculation executed by the external device and reflecting the obtained result of the control calculation in the process control, wherein the second controller is configured to perform the process control only by (i) receiving the control calculation from the external device and (ii) reflecting the received control calculation in the process control, wherein the plural states include a stopped state where the result of the control calculation is not obtained, and the second controller comprises a redundancy management unit configured to switch the second controller between the standby state and the stopped state at any time when the first controller is in the active state, wherein the redundancy management unit of the second controller detects an abnormality of the first controller, and sends an abnormality notification to the external device to cause the external device to stand by for processing, determines whether the second controller is able to be switched to the active state to shift control from the first controller to the second controller, when the answer is affirmative, switches the second controller to the active state, and notifies the external device of control resumption to cause the external device to resume the control calculation. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The control device according to claim 1, wherein the second controller is configured to be temporarily utilized to form the redundant controller. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The control device according to claim 1, wherein a fee is set according to utilization of the external device. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The control device according to claim 1, wherein the redundancy management unit is configured to copy data needed for the control calculation from the first controller to the second controller, to transmit the copied data to the external device via a communication function unit and to obtain the result of the control calculation from the external device. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The control device according to claim 4, wherein the external device is capable of executing plural different sets of control calculation, and the redundancy management unit is capable of obtaining a result or results of at least one of the plural different sets of control calculation, from the external device, via the communication function unit. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The control device according to claim 1, wherein the second controller is further configured to switch the state of the second controller to the standby state by not reflecting the result of the control calculation executed by the external device in the process control. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The control device according to claim 1, wherein the first controller and the second controller are connected with each other through a hardware bus. ### Claim 8 A control method of a control system comprising: a first controller executing control calculation needed for process control for a plant and performing the process control by reflecting the executed control calculation in the process control; a second controller forming a redundant controller with the first controller, and an external device connected to the second controller via a network and executing control calculation of the second controller, wherein the second controller does not have any control calculation function which executes the control calculation needed for the process control for the plant in the second controller, the control method including: switching, by the first controller, states of the first controller between a plurality of states including an active state where a result of control calculation is reflected in process control and a standby state where the result of the control calculation is not reflected in the process control; and switching, by the second controller, states of the second controller between the plurality of states including the active state and the standby state, and communicating with the external device, wherein the switching further comprises switching, by the second controller, the states of the second controller to the active state by obtaining the result of the control calculation executed by the external device and reflecting the obtained result of the control calculation in the process control, wherein the control method further includes performing by the second controller the process control only by (i) receiving the control calculation from the external device and (ii) reflecting the received control calculation in the process control, wherein the plural states include a stopped state where the result of the control calculation is not obtained, and the second controller comprises a redundancy management unit configured to switch the second controller between the standby state and the stopped state at any time when the first controller is in the active state, the control method further comprises: by the redundancy management unit of the second controller, detecting, an abnormality of the first controller, and sending an abnormality notification to the external device to cause the external device to stand by for processing, determining whether the second controller is able to be switched to the active state to shift control from the first controller to the second controller, when the answer is affirmative, switching the second controller to the active state, and notifying the external device of control resumption to cause the external device to resume the control calculation. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The control method according to claim 8, wherein the second controller is temporarily utilized to form the redundant controller. ### Claim 10 (depends on 8) The control method according to claim 8, wherein a fee is set according to utilization of the external device. ### Claim 11 (depends on 8) The control method according to claim 8, wherein in obtaining the result of the control calculation, data needed for the control calculation is copied from the first controller to the second controller, the data copied is transmitted to the external device, and the result of the control calculation is obtained from the external device. ### Claim 12 (depends on 8) The control method according to claim 8, wherein the external device is capable of executing plural different sets of control calculation, and in the switching, a result or results of at least one of the plural different sets of control calculation is/are able to be obtained from the external device via the communication.