US 5,995,916 A · Process control system for monitoring and displaying diagnostic information of multiple distributed devices · patentgrep

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Abstract

A process control system includes a diagnostic monitoring and display functionality for viewing, in a coherent manner, diagnostic information relating to a process that operates over multiple devices and system components. Although the multiple devices and system components typically encompass widely different device types and operational standards, the process control system incorporates diagnostic information relating to all devices and presents this information to a system user in a uniform manner so that an operating control strategy and the diagnostic information are presented as though all control actions and diagnostic information were performed or generated at a single location. A user-defined diagnostic program is assembled as a set of function blocks and control modules and represented as a set of layers of interconnected control objects identified as modules which include informational structures accessed as attributes. Information is accessed using device hierarchy attribute addressing, supporting direct addressing of I/O signals from modules, bypassing the use of I/O function blocks and avoiding I/O function block behavior.

Claims40

Dependent claims

A process control system comprising:

a field device including a source of diagnostic information;
a controller coupled to the field device;
a workstation coupled to the controller and including a user interface;
and
a software system implementing a diagnostic monitoring and display program for the process control system, the diagnostic monitoring and display program including:
a configuration routine for user-selectively defining and creating the diagnostic modules and event attributes defining the diagnostic information of the diagnostic modules, and for user-selectively distributing the diagnostic modules among the field device, the controller, and the workstation;
a plurality of diagnostic modules selectively defined and created via the user interface using the configuration routine for access using the diagnostic monitoring and display program, the diagnostic modules operating mutually independently and in parallel accessing the source of diagnostic information;
and
a display routine for accessing diagnostic information from the plurality of diagnostic modules and displaying the diagnostic information accessed from the plurality of diagnostic modules uniformly for all diagnostic modules in the process control system so that the diagnostic information relating to a process that operates both in the controller and in the field device is displayed in the same manner regardless of the source of the diagnostic information.

6 more elements

A process control system comprising:

a field device including a source of diagnostic information;
a controller coupled to the field device;
a workstation coupled to the controller and including a user interface;
and
a software system implementing a diagnostic monitoring and display program for the process control system, the diagnostic monitoring and display program including:
a configuration routine for user-selectively and interactively:
defining and creating new types of control modules and diagnostic modules and modifying previously existing types of control modules and diagnostic modules;
defining and setting control module attributes, the control modules and control attributes specifying a control strategy;
defining and setting diagnostic module attributes;
and
selectively distributing the control modules and the diagnostic modules among the field device, the controller, and the workstation;
a plurality of control modules for selectively implementing a process control strategy,
a plurality of diagnostic modules selectively defined and created via the user interface using the configuration routine for access using the diagnostic monitoring and display program, the diagnostic modules operating mutually independently and in parallel accessing the source of diagnostic information;
and
a display routine for accessing diagnostic information from the plurality of diagnostic modules and a control scheme from the plurality of control modules and for respectively displaying the diagnostic information accessed from the plurality of diagnostic modules and the control strategy accessed from the plurality of control modules so that the diagnostic information and the control information are accessed in the same manner.

12 more elements

A process control system comprising:

a plurality of field devices, a field device of the plurality of field devices including a source of diagnostic information;
a plurality of controllers, a controller of the plurality of controllers being coupled to a field device of the plurality of field devices;
a workstation coupled to the controller and including a user interface;
and
a software system implementing a diagnostic monitoring and display program for the process control system, the diagnostic monitoring and display program including:
a configuration routine for user-selectively and interactively:
defining and creating new types of diagnostic modules and modifying previously existing types of diagnostic modules;
defining and setting diagnostic module attributes;
and
selectively distributing the diagnostic modules among the field device, the controller, and the workstation;
a plurality of diagnostic modules selectively defined and created via the user interface using the configuration routine for access using the diagnostic monitoring and display program, the diagnostic modules operating mutually independently and in parallel;
and
a display routine for accessing diagnostic information from the plurality of diagnostic modules operating mutually independently on the field devices, the controllers and the workstation and displaying the diagnostic information accessed from the plurality of diagnostic modules uniformly so that the diagnostic information relating to a process that operates more than one of the field devices, the controllers and the workstation is displayed as being generated at a single location.

10 more elements

A process control system comprising:

a plurality of field devices, a field device of the plurality of field devices including a source of diagnostic information;
a plurality of control means for controlling a field device, a control means of the plurality of control means being coupled to a field device of the plurality of field devices;
an interface means coupled to the plurality of control means for interfacing the control process system to a user;
a configuration means for user-selectively and interactively:
defining and creating new types of diagnostic means and modifying previously existing types of diagnostic means;
defining and setting diagnostic means attributes;
and
selectively distributing the diagnostic means among the field device, the controller, and the workstation;
a diagnostic means for implementing a process control strategy, the diagnostic means being selectively defined and created as a plurality of diagnostic modules, the plurality of diagnostic modules upon creation being selectively distributed among the field device, control means and interface means, the diagnostic modules operating mutually independently and in parallel;
and
a display means for accessing diagnostic information from the plurality of diagnostic means operating mutually independently on the field devices, the controllers and the workstation and displaying the diagnostic information accessed from the plurality of diagnostic modules uniformly so that the diagnostic information relating to a process that operates more than one of the field devices, the controllers and the workstation is displayed as being generated at a single location.

8 more elements

A process control system comprising:

a field device including a source of diagnostic information;
a controller coupled to the field device;
a workstation coupled to the controller and including a user interface;
and
a software system implementing a diagnostic monitoring and display program for the process control system, the diagnostic monitoring and display program including:
a configuration routine for user-selectively and interactively:
defining and creating new types of control strategy modules and modifying previously existing types of control strategy modules;
defining and setting control module attributes, the control strategy modules and control module attributes specifying the control strategy;
and
distributing the control strategy modules among the field device, the controller, and the workstation;
a control strategy for the process control system, the control strategy being selectively apportioned into a plurality of control strategy modules and selectively distributed among the field device, controller and workstation, the control strategy modules operating mutually independently and in parallel;
a plurality of diagnostic modules selectively defined and created via the user interface for access using the diagnostic monitoring and display program, the plurality of diagnostic modules upon creation being selectively distributed among the field device, the controller and the workstation, the diagnostic modules operating mutually independently and in parallel accessing the source of diagnostic information;
and
a display routine for accessing diagnostic information from the plurality of diagnostic modules and displaying the control strategy and the diagnostic information accessed from the plurality of diagnostic modules uniformly so that the diagnostic information relating to a process that operates both in the controller and in the field device is displayed as being generated at a single location.

11 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.