# US 2008/0188960 A1 · Methods and module class objects to configure absent equipment in process plants > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2008/0188960 A1 - Document ID: US20080188960A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 11/537,138 - Filed: 2006-09-29 - Published: 2008-08-07 - Earliest claimed: 2006-09-29 - Assignees: Fisher-Rosemount Systems, Inc. - Inventors: Mark John Nixon; Larry Oscar Jundt; John Michael Lucas; Dennis Stevenson; Nancy Stevenson; Julian Kevin Naidoo; Herschel Odis Koska - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20080188960A1 ## CPC - G05B 19/41865: {characterised by job scheduling, process planning, material flow} - G05B 2219/32137: Configure, connect, combine different program modules - Y02P 90/02: Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS] - 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) - Y02P: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS ## Abstract Methods and module class objects to configure equipment absences in process plants are disclosed. An example disclosed method of creating a configuration entity for use in configuring a process plant comprises creating a class object representative of a process entity within the process plant that includes a first data structure representative of one or more process elements that make up the process entity; and creating a module object based on the class object that includes a second data structure, the second data structure to include a configurable first indication to represent whether a specific process element that conforms to a first one of the one or more process elements that make up the process entity is absent. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method of creating a configuration entity for use in configuring a process plant, the method comprising: creating a class object representative of a process entity within the process plant that includes a first data structure representative of one or more process elements that make up the process entity; and creating a module object based on the class object that includes a second data structure, the second data structure to include a configurable first indication to represent whether a specific process element that conforms to a first one of the one or more process elements that make up the process entity is absent. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) A method as defined in claim 1, further comprising binding the created module object to a specific process entity of the process plant represented by the class object. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) A method as defined in claim 1, wherein creating the module object based on the class object creates an object for the specific process element, and wherein the second data structure contains a representation of the process element object, and the first indication is a parameter of the process element object. ### Claim 4 (depends on 4) A method as defined in claim 4, further comprising binding the process element object to the specific process element of the process plant if the specific process element is not configured as absent. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) A method as defined in claim 1, further comprising presenting a user interface to create the module object from the class object and to bind the module object to the specific process entity of the process plant. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the second data structure further includes programming associated with the specific process element, and wherein the programming is to be executed during operation of the process plant based on the configurable first indication. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) A method as defined in claim 6, further comprising controlling execution of the programming based on the first indication. ### Claim 8 (depends on 6) A method as defined in claim 6, wherein the first indication allows the programming to execute without an error when the specific process element is absent. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the class object includes a second indication that enables configuration of the first indication. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) A method as defined in claim 9, further comprising presenting a user interface to facilitate configuration of the second indication ### Claim 11 (depends on 9) A method as defined in claim 9, further comprising enabling configuration of the first indication when the second indication has a first predetermined value. ### Claim 12 (depends on 9) A method as defined in claim 9, further comprising applying changes made to the class object to the module object. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) A method as defined in claim 12, wherein the changes may be applied to the module object regardless of a value of the first indication. ### Claim 14 (depends on 12) A method as defined in claim 12, further comprising preserving a state of the first indication when changes are made to the module object. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) A method as defined in claim 1, further comprising presenting a user interface to facilitate configuration of the first indication. ### Claim 16 (depends on 1) A method as defined in claim 1, further comprising processing bulk input data to configure the first indication. ### Claim 17 (depends on 1) A method as defined in claim 1, further comprising presenting a user interface that indicates that the specific process element is being ignored. ### Claim 18 (depends on 1) A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the second data structure further includes one or more additional indications of one or more present specific process elements that conform to one or more process elements that make up the process entity, and wherein programming associated with the one or more present specific process elements is to be executed during operation of the process plant. ### Claim 19 (depends on 1) A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the process entity is a unit and the one or more process elements are sub-elements of the unit. ### Claim 20 (depends on 19) A method as defined in claim 19, wherein the one or more sub-elements of the unit include an equipment element. ### Claim 21 (depends on 1) A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the process entity is an equipment entity and the one or more process elements are sub-elements of the equipment entity. ### Claim 22 (depends on 1) A method as defined in claim 1, further comprising creating a download script for a controller of the process plant based on the first indication. ### Claim 23 (depends on 1) A method as defined in claim 1, further comprising providing the first indication to a controller of the process plant. ### Claim 24 A module class object entity for use in configuring a process plant, the module class object entity comprising: a machine accessible memory; and a class object stored on the machine accessible memory, the class object representative of a process entity within the process plant and including: a first data structure representative of one or more process elements that make up the process entity; and a second data structure representative of a module object created from the class object, the module object to include a configurable first indication whether a specific process element that conforms to a first one of the one or more process elements that make up the process entity is absent. ### Claim 25 (depends on 24) A module class object entity as defined in claim 24, wherein the first data structure includes a binding of the module object to a specific process entity of the process plant represented by the class object. ### Claim 26 (depends on 24) A module class object entity as defined in claim 24, wherein the module object includes a reference to an object for the specific process element, and wherein the second data structure includes a reference of the process element object, and the first indication is a parameter of the process element object. ### Claim 27 (depends on 26) A module class object entity as defined in claim 26, wherein the process element object includes a binding of the process element object to the specific process element of the process plant if the specific process element is not configured as absent. ### Claim 28 (depends on 24) A module class object entity as defined in claim 24, wherein the module object further includes programming associated with the specific process element, and wherein the programming is to be executed during operation of the process plant based on the first indication. ### Claim 29 (depends on 28) A module class object entity as defined in claim 28, wherein the first indication allows the programming to execute without an error when the specific process element is absent. ### Claim 30 (depends on 28) A module class object entity as defined in claim 28, wherein the first indication is a parameter associated with the second data structure and is useable to control execution of the programming. ### Claim 31 (depends on 28) A module class object entity as defined in claim 28, wherein the first indication is parameter that may be compared to a value to control a flow of the programming. ### Claim 32 (depends on 24) A module class object entity as defined in claim 24, wherein the module object is created from the class object, and the class object includes a second indication that enables configuration of the first indication. ### Claim 33 (depends on 32) A module class object entity as defined in claim 32, wherein a value of the first indication is selectable when the second indication has a first predetermined value. ### Claim 34 (depends on 32) A module class object entity as defined in claim 32, wherein changes made to the class object are inherited by the module object. ### Claim 35 (depends on 32) A module class object entity as defined in claim 32, wherein changes made to the class object are automatically applied to the module object while preserving a state of the first indication. ### Claim 36 (depends on 24) A module class object entity as defined in claim 24, wherein the first indication is user configurable via a configuration interface. ### Claim 37 (depends on 24) A module class object entity as defined in claim 24, wherein the first indication is configurable via a bulk processing application. ### Claim 38 (depends on 24) A module class object entity as defined in claim 24, wherein the second data structure further includes one or more additional indications of one or more present specific process elements that conform to one or more process elements that make up the process entity, and programming associated with the one or more present specific process elements to be executed during operation of the process plant. ### Claim 39 (depends on 24) A module class object entity as defined in claim 24, wherein the process entity is a unit and the one or more process elements are sub-elements of the unit. ### Claim 40 (depends on 39) A module class object entity as defined in claim 39, wherein the one or more sub-elements of the unit include an equipment element. ### Claim 41 (depends on 24) A module class object entity as defined in claim 24, wherein the process entity is an equipment entity and the one or more process elements are sub-elements of the equipment entity. ### Claim 42 An article of manufacture storing machine readable instructions which, when executed, cause a machine to: create a class object representative of a process entity within the process plant that includes a first data structure representative of one or more process elements that make up the process entity; and create a module object based on the class object that includes a second data structure, the second data structure to include a configurable first indication to represent whether a specific process element that conforms to a first one of the one or more process elements that make up the process entity is absent. ### Claim 43 (depends on 42) An article of manufacture as defined in claim 42, wherein the machine readable instructions, when executed, cause the machine to bind the created module object to a specific process entity of the process plant represented by the class object. ### Claim 44 (depends on 42) An article of manufacture as defined in claim 42, wherein the machine readable instructions, when executed, cause the machine to present a user interface to create the module object from the class object and to bind the module object to the specific process entity of the process plant. ### Claim 45 (depends on 42) An article of manufacture as defined in claim 42, wherein the machine readable instructions, when executed, cause the machine to control execution of the programming based on the first indication. ### Claim 46 (depends on 42) An article of manufacture as defined in claim 42, wherein the class object includes a second indication that enables configuration of the first indication. ### Claim 47 (depends on 46) An article of manufacture as defined in claim 46, wherein the machine readable instructions, when executed, cause the machine to present a user interface to facilitate configuration of the second indication. ### Claim 48 (depends on 46) An article of manufacture as defined in claim 46, wherein the machine readable instructions, when executed, cause the machine to enable configuration of the first indication when the second indication has a first predetermined value. ### Claim 49 (depends on 46) An article of manufacture as defined in claim 46, wherein the machine readable instructions, when executed, cause the machine to apply changes made to the class object to the module object. ### Claim 50 (depends on 42) An article of manufacture as defined in claim 42, wherein the machine readable instructions, when executed, cause the machine to present a user interface to facilitate configuration of the first indication. ### Claim 51 A configuration system to configure a process plant, the configuration system comprising: a library that stores a module class object, the module class object representing a process entity within the process plant and including associations of one or more process elements of the process entity; a processor; and machine accessible instructions which, when executed, cause the processor to: present a first user interface to create a module object data structure based on the module class object and to associate the one or more process elements with specific process elements of the process entity; and present a second user interface to configure an absence indication for a particular one of the one or more process elements. ### Claim 52 (depends on 51) A configuration system as defined in claim 51, wherein the machine readable instructions, when executed, cause the processor to present a third user interface to enable absence configuring for the particular one of the one or more process elements. ### Claim 53 (depends on 52) A configuration system as defined in claim 52, wherein the machine readable instructions, when executed, cause the processor to present the second user interface when absence configuring of the particular one of the process elements is enabled via the third user interface. ### Claim 54 (depends on 51) A configuration system as defined in claim 51, wherein the machine readable instructions, when executed, cause the processor to present a third user interface to configure a program for the particular one of the one or more process elements based on the absence indication. ### Claim 55 (depends on 51) A configuration system as defined in claim 51, wherein the machine readable instructions, when executed, cause the processor to store the absence indication in the module object data structure. ### Claim 56 (depends on 51) A configuration system as defined in claim 51, wherein the machine readable instructions, when executed, cause the processor to set a property of the module class object based on the first user interface, wherein the property is stored in the library. ### Claim 57 (depends on 51) A configuration system as defined in claim 51, wherein the machine readable instructions, when executed, cause the processor to create a download script for the process entity based on the created module object and the absence indication. ### Claim 58 (depends on 51) A configuration system as defined in claim 51, wherein the machine readable instructions, when executed, cause the processor to provide the absence indication to a controller of the process plant. ### Claim 59 (depends on 58) A configuration system as defined in claim 58, wherein the machine readable instructions, when executed, cause the processor to write the absence indication into a memory of the controller. ### Claim 60 (depends on 51) A configuration system as defined in claim 51, wherein the process entity is a unit and the one or more process elements are sub-elements of the unit. ### Claim 61 (depends on 60) A configuration system as defined in claim 60, wherein the one or more sub-elements of the unit include an equipment element. ### Claim 62 (depends on 51) A configuration system as defined in claim 51, wherein the process entity is an equipment entity and the one or more process elements are sub-elements of the equipment entity. ### Claim 63 A method of creating download script for a controller of a process plant, the method comprising: determining if a process element of a process entity associated with the controller is configured to be absent; and adding a field to the download script to indicate that the process entity is absent when the process entity is configured to be ignored, wherein the field used by the controller to suppress errors when the field is set to a first value. ### Claim 64 (depends on 63) A method as defined in claim 63, determining if the process entity is configured to be absent is based on a parameter of a module object associated with the process element. ### Claim 65 (depends on 64) A method as defined in claim 64, wherein determining if the process entity is configured to be ignored comprises comparing the parameter to a predetermined value. ### Claim 66 (depends on 65) A method as defined in claim 65, wherein the parameter and the predetermined value are Boolean values. ### Claim 67 (depends on 63) A method as defined in claim 63, wherein adding the field comprises adding a Boolean valued field to a download script clause. ### Claim 68 (depends on 63) A method as defined in claim 63, wherein the process entity is a sub-element of a unit. ### Claim 69 (depends on 63) A method as defined in claim 63, wherein the process entity is an equipment entity. ### Claim 70 (depends on 63) A method as defined in claim 63, wherein the process entity is a sub-element of an equipment entity. ### Claim 71 (depends on 63) A method as defined in claim 63, wherein the process entity is a subordinate object of a module object. ### Claim 72 An article of manufacture storing machine accessible data, the data comprising a download script for a controller of a process plant, the script including: a first field identifying an element of a process entity of the process plant; and a second field that indicates if the process entity is absent. ### Claim 73 (depends on 72) An article of manufacture as defined in claim 72, wherein the second field comprises a Boolean value. ### Claim 74 (depends on 73) An article of manufacture as defined in claim 73, wherein the Boolean value is determined by comparing a parameter associated with the process entity to a predetermined value. ### Claim 75 (depends on 74) An article of manufacture as defined in claim 74, wherein the parameter is a second Boolean value, and the second field is set to represent a value of TRUE when the second Boolean value represents a value of TRUE. ### Claim 76 (depends on 72) An article of manufacture as defined in claim 72, wherein the process entity is a sub-element of a unit. ### Claim 77 (depends on 72) An article of manufacture as defined in claim 72, wherein the process entity is an equipment entity. ### Claim 78 (depends on 72) An article of manufacture as defined in claim 72, wherein the process entity is a sub-element of an equipment entity. ### Claim 79 (depends on 72) An article of manufacture as defined in claim 72, wherein the process entity is a subordinate object of a module object. ### Claim 80 An article of manufacture storing machine readable instructions which, when executed, cause a machine to: determine if a process element of a process entity associated with the controller is configured to be absent; and add a field to the download script to indicate that the process entity is absent when the process entity is configured to be ignored, wherein the field used by the controller to suppress errors when the field is set to a first value. ### Claim 81 (depends on 80) An article of manufacture as defined in claim 80, wherein the machine readable instructions, when executed, cause the machine to determine if the process entity is configured to be absent based on a parameter of a module object associated with the process element. ### Claim 82 (depends on 81) An article of manufacture as defined in claim 81, wherein the machine readable instructions, when executed, cause the machine to determine if the process entity is configured to be ignored comprises by the parameter to a predetermined value. ### Claim 83 (depends on 80) An article of manufacture as defined in claim 80, wherein the machine readable instructions, when executed, cause the machine to add the field by adding a Boolean valued field to a download script clause. ### Claim 84 A method of processing a download script at a controller of a process plant, the method comprising: parsing a clause of the download script to determine if a process element of a process entity associated with the controller is configured to be absent; and ignoring an error associated with the process element if the process element is configured to be absent. ### Claim 85 (depends on 84) A method as defined in claim 84, further comprising downloading a control routine associated with the process element if the process element is not configured to be absent. ### Claim 86 (depends on 84) A method as defined in claim 84, wherein determining if the process entity is configured to be absent is based on a field of the clause. ### Claim 87 (depends on 86) A method as defined in claim 86, wherein the field is Boolean valued field. ### Claim 88 (depends on 84) A method as defined in claim 84, wherein the process entity is a sub-element of a unit. ### Claim 89 (depends on 84) A method as defined in claim 84, wherein the process entity is an equipment entity. ### Claim 90 (depends on 84) A method as defined in claim 84, wherein the process entity is a sub-element of an equipment entity. ### Claim 91 (depends on 84) A method as defined in claim 84, wherein the process entity is a subordinate object of a module object. ### Claim 92 An article of manufacture storing machine readable instructions which, when executed, cause a machine to: parse a clause of the download script to determine if a process element of a process entity associated with the controller is configured to be absent; and ignore an error associated with the process element if the process element is configured to be absent. ### Claim 93 (depends on 92) An article of manufacture as defined in claim 92, wherein the machine readable instructions, when executed, cause the machine to download a control routine associated with the process element if the process element is not configured to be absent. ### Claim 94 (depends on 92) An article of manufacture as defined in claim 92, wherein the machine readable instructions, when executed, cause the machine to determine if the process entity is configured to be absent based on a field of the clause.