Fisher-rosemount Systems, Inc

Ling Zhou

Mark J Nixon

Christopher J Worek

Neil J Peterson

Stephen Gerard Hammack

David L Deitz

Lee Allen Neitzel

Grant Wilson

Ebtesam S Tanyous

Larry Oscar Jundt

Robert Burke Havekost

Stephen Copps Gilbert

J Michael Lucas

Arthur Webb

Alper Turhan Enver

Terrence L Blevins

Wilhelm K Wojsznis

Cindy Alsup Scott

Paul Richard Muston

Bruce Hubert Campney

John Michael Lucas

James Henry Moore, Jr

Paul Kenneth Daly

Brian Crandall

Bruce Hurbert Campney

Example methods and apparatus to access process data stored on a server are described herein. An example method includes receiving a request to access process data via a web browser, identifying a server that stores at least a portion of the process data, wherein the server is associated with an interoperability data packing format, accessing the server to receive the process data, converting the process data from a format associated with the interoperability data packing format to a web browsing format, and embedding at least a first portion of the converted process data into at least one data field for display via the web browser.

Methods and apparatus to access process data stored on a server

A web services-based communication system and technique uses an information server to facilitate the communication of process control data and analysis results between a plurality of web services coupled to a communication network. A graphical user interface coupled to the network enables users to store user profile information and configuration information in a database within the information server. The information server uses the configuration information and the profile information to control the operations of a scheduler and a router within the information server to enable users to selectively view process control information via the graphical user interface and to route process control information to appropriate ones of the web services.

Web services-based communications for use with process control systems

Example methods, apparatuses and systems to correlate candidate factors to a predicted fault in a process control system are disclosed. Techniques may include obtaining a value associated with a particular factor corresponding to a process, and predicting a fault based on the value. A set of candidate factors corresponding to the predicted fault may be determined, and a correlation between the predicted fault and at least one factor from the set may be displayed. Different sections of the display may respectively correspond to the predicted fault and to the at least one factor, and the correlation may be indicated by time aligning the different sections. Modifications to one displayed section may result in automatic modification of other sections to maintain the correlation. A user may select one or more candidate factors to be displayed, and may indicate a particular point of a particular section to obtain additional details.

Predicted fault analysis

Example methods and apparatus to dynamically display data associated with a process control system are disclosed. A disclosed example method includes receiving in a graphics engine, process control information selected by a user, identifying process data associated with the selected process control information, retrieving the identified process data from a process controller, determining metadata associated with the retrieved process data, generating in the graphics engine a data representation based on the metadata, and displaying the data representation via a user interface.

Methods and apparatus to dynamically display data associated with a process control system

Example methods and apparatus to display localized process control objects. A disclosed example method includes receiving a request to view a process control object associated with a process control system, selecting a device description file based on the process control object, the device description file including a tag, selecting a set of locale templates based on a locale associated with the request, selecting a locale template from the set of locale templates based on the process control object, and processing the process control object for display by inserting portions of the selected locale template into the tag in the device description file.

Methods and apparatus to display localized process control objects

Example methods and apparatus to access process data stored on a server are disclosed. A disclosed example method includes receiving a request to access process data via a web browser, identifying a server that stores at least a portion of the process data, wherein the server is associated with an interoperability data packing format, accessing the server to receive the process data, converting the process data from a format associated with the interoperability data packing format to a web browsing format, and embedding at least a first portion of the converted process data into at least one data field for display via the web browser.

Navigation between process control graphics representative of process control entities in an operator display includes a list of relationship value references and process control graphical element identifications associated with each relationship value reference. Each process control graphical element identification uniquely identifies a process control graphical element of the operator display, each relationship is between various physical/logical entities and each relationship value reference uniquely identifies a logical and/or physical relationship between two or more entities within the process plant. One or more relationships are associated with a graphical object. Each relationship value reference is bound to two or more process control graphical elements of the operator display based on associated process control graphical element identifications.

Methods for a data driven interface based on relationships between process control tags

Example methods and apparatus to display localized resources in a process control system are disclosed. A disclosed example method includes receiving in a server a locale identifier and a resource identifier from an application, identifying via the server a language file in a database that corresponds to the locale identifier, determining via the server using the language file a resource included within a memory that corresponds to the resource identifier, accessing the resource from the memory via the language file, and sending via the server the resource to the application to display the resource in a format associated with the locale identifier.

Methods and apparatus to display localized resources in process control applications

Methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture for accessing process control data involve loading a client object and communicating a data access request from the client object to a real object configured to communicate with a server. The real object then communicates a query to the server based on the data access request and obtains process control data from the server in response to the query. The process control data is then mapped from a first data layout associated with a server schema to a second data layout associated with a client schema. The mapped process control data is then communicated to an application.

Methods and apparatus for accessing process control data

Methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture for modifying process control data involve obtaining the process control data in an extensible markup language format, converting the process control data in the extensible markup language format to a second data format, and storing the process control data in a database. The process control data is subsequently edited by retrieving the process control data from the database, modifying the process control data, storing the modified process control data in the second data format in the database, converting the modified process control data from the second data format to the extensible markup language format, and storing the modified process control data in the extensible markup language format.

Methods and apparatus for modifying process control data

Graphic elements and graphic displays are provided for use in a process environment to display information to one or more users about the process environment, such as the current state of devices within a process plant. The graphic elements and displays may be associated with various logical and physical elements within the process plant during configuration of the process plant, and may be configured and downloaded to the hardware within the process plant along with other configuration items, such as control routines. In particular, the graphic elements and graphic displays may be created and stored in a library, and may then be configured by being associated with various logical or physical entities within the plant. During the configuration process, the graphic elements and graphic displays may be associated with areas, equipment, process modules, control routines or control strategies of the plant as defined elsewhere in the plant configuration, or may be associated with interfaces or display devices, to define the hardware on which the graphic displays will execute during runtime, as well at to define the process entities to which these displays will be bound for display purposes. Still further, each of the graphic displays may be defined with a role or a functional use, such as an operator view, a maintenance view, etc., and these roles may be used to define the proper access and use of the graphic displays within the runtime environment.

Graphics integration into a process configuration and control environment

Graphic elements and graphic displays are provided for use in a process environment to display information to one or more users about the process environment, such as the current state of device within a process plant. The graphic elements and display may be associated with various logical and physical elements within the process plant during configuration of the process plant, and may be configured and downloaded to the hardware within the process plant along with other configuration items, such as control routines. In particular, the graphic elements and graphic displays may be created and stored in a library, and may then be configured by being associated with various logical or physical entities within the plant. During the configuration process, the graphic elements and graphic displays may be associated with areas, equipment, process modules, control routines or control strategies of the plant as defined elsewhere in the plant configuration, or may be associated with interfaces or display devices, to define the hardware on which the graphic displays will execute during runtime, as well as to define the process entities to which these displays will be bound for display purposes. Still further, each of the graphic displays may be defined with a role or a functional use, such as an operator view, a maintenance view, etc., and these roles may be used to defined the proper access and use of the graphic displays within the runtime environment.

A method and system of editing a graphical programming language object for designing a process control entity within an off-line database. The method and system enables a user to select one or more programming language object fragments from a library of programming language object fragments, and displays the selected programming language object fragments within a graphical programming language object interface display. The programming language object fragments are programming logic routines for a process control entity, such as steps, transitions and actions. Using the selected programming language object fragments, the user is enabled to configure a graphical programming language object for a process control entity within a graphical programming language object interface display. The graphical programming language object is stored as a configuration file in a format used by the off-line database, and is mapped to a format different from that used by the off-line database for generating reporting documentation and sharing the configuration file with a configuration database.

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Austin, TX, United States of America

Ling Zhou