Fisher-rosemount Systems, Inc

Fisher-rosemount Systems, Inc. Emerson Process Management

David R Denison

Mark J Nixon

Gary Keith Law

Brandon Hieb

Kim Ordean Van Camp

Daniel R Strinden

Mariana C Dionisio

Hoa Van Lai

Ken J Beoughter

Godfrey Roland Sherriff

Larry Oscar Jundt

Cheyenne Hernandez

Matthew William Poplawski

Stephen Copps Gilbert

J Michael Lucas

James Randall Balentine

Matt William Poplawski

Edward McDevitt

Matt Stoner

Ram Ramachandran

Alper Turhan Enver

Peter Wojsznis

Ashish Mehta

Marty James Lewis

Manikandan Janardhanan

David Mark Smith

Trevor Duncan Schleiss

Julian Kevin Naidoo

Kent Allan Burr

Cindy Alsup Scott

Scott Nels Hokeness

Bruce Hubert Campney

John Michael Lucas

Steven Lee Dienstbier

Tiong P Ong

Nicholas T Meyer

William L Sells

Yicheng Peter Pan

Paul Kenneth Daly

Hubbard F Fellows

Robert Kent Huba

Fred G Middendorf

Shaobo Qiu

Guido Maria Re

Kuo-Lung Chin

Vidya Ramadoss

Manikandan Nambiar

Anna Velena

Deeann Gates DelGuzzi

Rajaraman Ramachandran

Nate Kube

Kyle Tetmeyer

Gary Law

Process control systems for operating process plants are disclosed herein. The process control systems include control modules that are decoupled from the I/O architecture of the process plants using signal objects or generic shadow blocks. This decoupling is effected by using the signal objects or generic shadow blocks to manage at least part of the communication between the control modules and the field devices. Signal objects may convert between protocols used by control modules and field devices, thus decoupling the control modules from the I/O architecture. Generic shadow blocks may be automatically configured to mimic the operation of field devices within a controller executing the control modules, thus partially decoupling the control modules from the I/O architecture by using the shadow blocks to manage communication between the control modules and the field devices.

Architecture-independent process control

Techniques for accessing and controlling field devices to collect data and convert protocols include receiving data encoded in a process control protocol, extracting a payload, storing some of the payload, and transmitting some of the payload in a general-purpose computing communication protocol via a wireless network. A method of accessing a field device includes receiving a command of a user from a user communicator, identifying a target field device, generating a command, encoding a protocol-encoded data set, and transmitting the protocol-encoded data set to the target field device. A field communicator device includes instructions for retrieving and interpreting field device data, storing the data, and transmitting the data. A computing system includes a field communicator, wireless user communicator, and a wireless computer network for accessing and controlling field devices in a process plant.

Wireless protocol converter for field devices

A system for securely disseminating information relating to a process control plant includes a process control node and a controller that is coupled to a plurality of process control devices. The process control node includes a communicator module operable to transmit, via a first network, information of the process plant received from the controller. The system also includes a data services module operable to receive from the communicator module, via the first network, the information of the process plant and to transmit some or all of that information via a second network, and a mobile server, coupled to the second network and to a third network, and operable to receive data from the data services module. The mobile server is operable to communicate with a plurality of mobile computing devices via the third network.

Systems and apparatus for distribution of process control data to remote

An augmented reality (AR) node location and activation technique for use in an AR system in a process plant or other field environment quickly and easily detects an AR node in a real-world environment and is then able to activate an AR scene within the AR system, which improves the usability and user experience of the AR system. The AR node location and activation system generally enables users to connect to and view an AR scene within an AR system or platform even when the user is not directly at an existing AR node, when the user is experiencing poor lighting conditions in the real-world environment and in situations in which the user is unfamiliar with the AR nodes that are in the AR system database. As a result, the user can quickly and easily activate the AR system and connect to an AR scene for an AR node close to the user in the field environment under varying weather and lighting conditions in the field and without requiring a large amount of image processing to locate the correct AR scene based on photographic images provided by the user.

Quick activation techniques for industrial augmented reality applications

Systems and apparatus for distribution of process control data to remote devices

A method of providing process data to a remote computing device includes receiving configuration data describing a configuration of at least part of the process control system. The configuration data includes information associated with a plurality of process control entities, and the information regarding each entity includes at least one tag associated with a level in a hierarchy of the system. The method includes identifying a plurality of levels within the system based upon the tags, including at least a first-level identifier and a plurality of second-level identifiers associated with the first-level identifier. Further, the method includes identifying a plurality of control modules, each associated with a second-level identifier, and each associated with the entities based upon the configuration data. The method includes generating a hierarchical list of available process data, and selecting from the hierarchical list a set of information to include on a watch list or alarm list.

Methods and apparatus for configuring remote access of process control data

A performance monitoring system enables users of computing devices to easily view performance indicators for any of a number of different process control sites. A computing device displays a graphical user interface (GUI) that enables a user to identity one or more process control sites he or she is interested in monitoring. The computing device communicates with one or more servers associated with the process control site(s) to receive and display a set of performance indicators tailored to the selected process control sites and to the user's interests. In some instances, the user selects multiple sites and the system acts as an aggregator that selects, prioritizes, and/or categorizes (based on any of a number of different factors) performance indicators to be provided to the user for the multiple sites.

Systems and methods for multi-site performance monitoring of process control systems

A tangible, non-transitory computer readable medium stores machine readable instructions optimized for a microprocessor on a mobile computing device. When executed by the microprocessor, the instructions cause the microprocessor to display a graphical user interface (GUI). The instructions also cause the microprocessor to receive, via the GUI, a selection of one or more items to view. Each of the one or more items is related to a process control system. The instructions cause the microprocessor to transmit to a mobile server, via either the Internet or a mobile telephony data connection, the selection of the one or more items. Thereafter, the instructions cause the microprocessor to receive from the mobile server, via either the Internet or the mobile telephony data connection, a plurality of real-time values corresponding to the selected one or more items, and to display the plurality of real-time values on the GUI.

Mobile devices for remote access of process control data

A method of providing data from a process control system to remote computing devices includes obtaining, at a data server via a first network from a mobile server, one or more lists including indications of requested process data parameters indicating process data for communication from the server to the remote devices via a second network. The method includes receiving, from a plurality of controllers within the process control system via a third network, a stream of process data parameter values associated with process data parameters included in one or more configuration files. The configuration files describe a configuration of the process control system. The method includes identifying, by processors of the data server, a subset of the received parameter values corresponding to the requested process data parameters of the lists, and communicating, from the data server to the mobile server via the first network, the identified subset of parameter values.

Methods and systems for streaming process control data to remote devices

Techniques for controlling the operation of a process plant or several process plants within a process control system using a centralized or distributed controller farm allow for increased flexibility in the process control system. Any of the controllers in the controller farm may be utilized to execute modules corresponding to any of the field devices in one or several process plants. Control modules or other operations may be allocated amongst the controllers distributing the load so that one controller is not performing several operations while others are inactive. Additionally, the controller farm may be located in a temperature controlled room or area in an offsite location from the process plants. In some scenarios, load balancing techniques are performed to distribute the load for the modules equally or at least similarly amongst the controllers.

High performance control server system

Generic shadowing allows a shadowing device in a process plant to automatically discover, without pre-configuration or pre-definition, and without the use of a configuration tool, source control objects that are hosted at other devices and that are to be shadowed. Source control objects may utilize any data type, format, structure, language, etc. The shadowing device includes a shadow manager and a set of primitive components defining simple data types that are utilized to discover the configurations/definitions and data types of source control objects, and includes a shadow library in which signatures of discovered source control objects are stored. Signatures are instantiated and used by the shadowing device to provide dynamic data to recipient devices, applications, and/or control objects in the process control system, where the dynamic data is a mirror of data that is observed first-hand by the source control objects during their on-line operations at their host devices.

Generic shadowing in industrial process plants

A method of providing batch process data from a process control system of a process plant to a remote computing device includes receiving a request to create a list of batch data to be provided to the remote computing device, presenting a selection interface to facilitate selection of batch data to be provided, and receiving, via the selection interface, a selection of a batch executive from which to provide the batch process data. The method also includes receiving, via the selection interface, one or more filter criteria, applying the filter criteria to data available from the batch executive to determine a set of data to be included on the list of batch data to be provided to the remote computing device, and transmitting to a mobile server an indication of the set of data associated with the list of batch data to be provided to the mobile device.

Systems and apparatus for distribution of batch and continuous process control data to remote devices

Growing community of inventors

Austin, TX, United States of America

David R Denison