Programmable controller including diagnostic and simulation facilities

Abstract

A controller for one or more pieces of industrial equipment accommodates multiple sensed conditions--that is, different conditions each associated with a different response, which may be an alarm or a branch control procedure. The controller includes a database of diagnostic templates specifying conditions, and actions or states associated therewith. For example, a template may provide multiple, specified, discrete time spans each reflecting a different machine condition, and each specifying a different action associated with that condition. The templates may be associated with a model of machine behavior, e.g., one based on probabilities, which utilizes the templates and programmed control instructions to simulate machine behavior over time. More broadly, the behavior model may be used to perform a simulated execution of control instructions based on various specified values for limit parameters, which may be provided by the user or computed in accordance with the behavior model (e.g., using a Monte Carlo method) as simulation proceeds.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.