Honeywell International Inc.

Honeywell G.m.b.h.

Jethro F Steinman

Paul Francis McLaughlin

John J Rosa-Bian

Richard P Himmer

Elliott H Rachlin

Joseph Pradeep Felix

Ziad M Kaakani

Jason Thomas Urso

Brian Reynolds

Raj L Bandekar

M Gulam Kanji

Pratap Parashuram

Dinesh Kumar Kn

James Michael Schreder

Nagaraja Sundaresh

Norman Raymond Swanson

James A Strilich

Paul B Gerhart

Michael L Baker

Christopher Pulini

Sai Krishnan Jagannathan

Ananthapadmanabha Krishnamurthy

Amol Kinage

W Russell Massey

Muslim Gulam Kanji

Joseph J Pane

Ram Mohan Anugu

Suraj Prakash

Vivek B Varma

Gary L Fox

Sunil S Bale

Kenneth W Dietrich

Piyush Garyali

Pekka M Salpakari

Keijo Manninen

Ashutosh Singh

Jennifer L O'Connell

Yahia C Chehadeh

Alexander V Chernoquzov

Shashank S Narayan

Matti H Ollikainen

Hannu J Rehikainen

Irina Radomy

Ken Gorman

Gregory R Leib

Matthias Rose

John Rosa-Bian

Paul Francis Mclaughlin

Paul F Mclaughlin

A process control system includes a process controller level including at least one process controller, and an input/output (I/O) module level including at least one I/O module. The process controller level and the I/O module level are communicatively coupled. and each include control logic comprising control hardware or algorithm blocks. The control logic in the process controller level and the I/O module level are configured to execute and exchange data to perform process control for a process run by the process control system in a distributed fashion across the process controller level and the I/O module level.

Industrial control system having multi-layered control logic execution

A method of fault-tolerant process control includes providing a network process control system in an industrial processing facility (IPF) including a plant-wide network coupling a server to computing platforms each including computing hardware and memory hosting a software application for simultaneously supporting a process controller and another process controller or an I/O gateway. The computing platforms are coupled together by a private path redundancy network for providing a hardware resource pool. At least some of the computing platforms are directly coupled by an I/O mesh network to a plurality of I/O devices to field devices that are coupled to processing equipment. Upon detecting at least one failing device in the hardware resource pool, over the private path redundancy network a backup is placed into service for the failing device from the another process controller or I/O gateway that is at another of the computing platforms in the hardware resource pool.

Redundant controllers or input-output gateways without dedicated hardware

This disclosure provides an apparatus and method for use in industrial control systems and other systems. A method includes detecting, by a primary node, that a backup node is available and unconfigured. The method includes automatically replicating, by the primary node, the primary node to the backup node, including replicating a personality of the primary node to the backup node.

Automatic firmware upgrade of an embedded node

A method of dynamically establishing a communication connection for mobile equipment (ME) to a process controller of an industrial processing facility (IPF) configured to run an industrial process. The process controller has a computing device includes a processor with a memory storing a different ME classes including a first ME class that the ME is in. The computing device is configured to implement dynamic establishment of a communication connection for ME to the process controller, including reading a representation of a first industrial protocol for the ME while docked at the process controller, translating the representation into a first industrial protocol address, and setting the first industrial protocol address as a first configuration instance in its industrial protocol infrastructure block to render the ME an attached ME. After undocking the ME, the process controller communicates with the ME while controlling the industrial process.

Dynamically establishing communication between mobile equipment and a process controller

A device includes multiple communication interfaces configured to send and receive data over multiple communication paths. The device also includes multiple input/output (I/O) channels configured to communicate with multiple field devices. The device further includes at least one processing device configured to process at least some of the data and control at least one of the field devices based on the processed data. The device may also include an intrinsic safety barrier electrically separating the communication interfaces and the I/O channels. The communication interfaces may include at least one first interface configured to communicate over one or more first communication paths with at least one component of an industrial control system and at least one second interface configured to communicate over one or more second communication paths with at least one other device that is configured to communicate with additional field devices.

Intelligent field input/output (I/O) terminal for industrial control and related system and method

A system and method for converting data sets. The method includes providing a data provider device (DPD) and a controller communicably coupled to one another. The controller or an interface device between the controller and the DPD includes a processor that is connected to a memory device which stores a data converter program. The memory device stores an earlier in time descriptive data set having an earlier data set format and a different later in time descriptive data set having a later data set format. The data converter program determines if a format associated with a received DPD data set is the later data set format. In response to determining that a data set format associated with the received DPD data set is the later data set format, the received DPD data set is converted into a converted data set that has the earlier data set format.

Converting data sets in a shared communication environment

An apparatus includes a first interface configured to communicate over a first industrial process control network using a first protocol. The apparatus also includes a second interface configured to communicate over a second industrial process control network using a second protocol. The apparatus further includes a third interface configured to communicate with at least one supervisory device over a third network. In addition, the apparatus includes at least one processing device configured to provide concurrent access for the at least one supervisory device to process control devices coupled to the first and second industrial process control networks during a migration of process control devices that use the first protocol to process control devices that use the second protocol.

Gateway offering logical model mapped to independent underlying networks

A method includes executing one or more applications in a deterministic execution environment and executing a plurality of background tasks in the deterministic execution environment. The one or more applications and the background tasks are executed in different time slots. At least one of the background tasks cannot be completed within a single time slot. The at least one of the background task is executed incrementally in multiple non-adjacent time slots so as to prevent the at least one background task from interfering with the execution of the one or more applications.

Deterministic runtime execution environment and method

A method includes executing one or more applications in an execution environment. The one or more applications are capable of requesting allocation of memory during execution. The method also includes allocating a plurality of memory blocks in a heap to the one or more executing applications. The plurality of memory blocks are allocated sequentially in the heap to the one or more executing applications. In addition, the method includes deallocating the plurality of memory blocks during a single deallocation. Memory blocks in multiple heaps could be allocated to the one or more executing applications. A particular memory block in a particular heap could be allocated to a particular executing application by pushing an indicator identifying the particular heap onto a stack. The particular memory block is allocated in the particular heap based on the indicator, and the indicator is popped from the stack after allocation.

System and method for managing a short-term heap memory

A system and method for managing the activities of a process. The system includes a first computer that uses standard control classes to manage the activities according to a standard control strategy. A second computer is used by a user to input custom data. A custom application program uses the custom data to automatically develop a customized control strategy as a custom class that operates as an inherited class of a base class of the standard classes to augment the standard control strategy with the customized control strategy in the management of the activities.

Method and apparatus for providing a standard control system with custom application capability

A system for, and method of, validating an interface of a dynamically linkable component, such that one dynamically linkable component can assess its interface compatibility with another. In one embodiment, the system includes: (1) a check code generator that transforms the interface of the dynamically linkable component into an interface identifier representing the interface and couples the interface identifier to the dynamically linkable component and (2) a interface verifier that employs the interface identifier to determine a compatibility of the dynamically linkable component.

System and method for validating interfaces of dynamically linkable components and real-time process control system incorporating the same

The present invention provides systems and methods for controlling associated processes in a process facility and, in particular, for distributing data among nodes of a real time process control system that controls the process facility. An exemplary real time process control system includes a plurality of sensors, controllable devices, and communication paths, as well as a computer system. The sensors and controllable devices are associated with various ones of the processes of the process facility, and the communication paths associate the sensors and controllable devices with the computer system. The computer system operates on data relating to the process facility, and distributes the data among the nodes thereof. The nodes are associated with one another by ones of the communication paths also. The computer system includes subscriber nodes that desire data associated with certain of the processes and a publisher node. The publisher node monitors subscription lists associated with the subscriber nodes and, in response thereto, selectively communicates instances of the data to the subscriber nodes using ones of the communication paths. The communication paths have data traffic capacities and the computer system controls data distribution using the publisher node to efficiently utilize such data traffic capacities.

Systems and methods for accessing data using a cyclic publish/subscribe scheme with report by exception

For use in a digital process controller (DPC), a system for, and method of, balancing a control algorithm processing load and distributing the load over a given time interval and a real time plant control system employing the system or the method. In one embodiment, the system includes: (1) a model for estimating execution time of at least one control algorithm based on configuration data applied to that algorithm, the DPC capable of balancing and distributing the load based on the estimate generated by the model and (2) a data entry process, associated with the model, that allows an empirically-determined execution time to be associated with at least one control algorithm, the DPC capable of balancing and distributing the load based on the time in lieu of the model based estimate and balancing and distributing the load upon configuration of at least one control algorithm.

System and method for balancing and distributing control algorithm processing load and real time plant control system employing the same

For use within a computer-based digital control system, a calling mechanism and method for allowing both dynamic linked application objects and static linked application objects created with heterogeneous development tool sets to interact with a kernel of the system or with each other. In one embodiment, the calling mechanism includes: (1) a dynamic link interface that employs only standards-based software calls to allow the dynamic linked application objects to interact with the kernel, (2) a static link interface that employs at least one non-standard software call to allow the static link application objects to interact with the kernel and (3) at least one call router, operative to manage software calls among the kernel, the dynamic link application objects and the static link application objects, that detects software call types and routes the software calls to a selected one of the dynamic link interface or the static link interface based on the software call types.

Call mechanism for static and dynamic linked functions within an object-oriented controller using heterogeneous development tool sets

A system for, and method of, achieving heterogeneous data flow between first and second algorithm blocks in a control system, and a distributed, real-time process control system employing the system or the method. In one embodiment, the system includes: (1) a passive connection, associated with a control module containing the second algorithm block, that provides for the communication of data from the first algorithm block to the second algorithm block without requiring the allocation of connector resources within the second algorithm block; and (2) an active connection, associated with the second algorithm block, that provides for the communication of data from the first algorithm block to the second algorithm block using dedicated connector resources within the second algorithm block, the control system thereby capable of providing data to the second algorithm block through both passive and active connections.

System and methods for achieving heterogeneous data flow between

Growing community of inventors

Havertown, PA, United States of America

Jethro F Steinman