Fisher-rosemount Systems, Inc

Stephen Copps Gilbert

Mark J Nixon

Stephen Gerard Hammack

J Michael Lucas

Larry Oscar Jundt

Ken J Beoughter

Bruce Hubert Campney

Matthew Sullivan

Teresa A Chatkoff

Tennyson Hao

Gary Keith Law

Godfrey Roland Sherriff

David R Denison

John Michael Lucas

James Randall Balentine

Francis De Guzman

Edward McDevitt

Matt Stoner

Terrence L Blevins

Robert Burke Havekost

Ling Zhou

Richard Rodriguez

Hao Tennyson

Julian Kevin Naidoo

Daniel R Strinden

Cindy Alsup Scott

Arthur Webb

Alper Turhan Enver

Herschel Odis Koska, Ii

Mike Lucas

Michael J Lucas

Ryan Gallardo Valderama

Molly Marie Firkins

Adrian A Sanchez

Paul Kenneth Daly

Roberta Coffman

Cheyenne Hernanadez

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

Flexible graphic element objects in a process plant are configurable both in a run-time operating environment in which a process is being controlled and in a configuration environment. An instantiated flexible graphic element object may be a display view or may be another graphic element included on a display view. A graphic element object may be linked to and/or derived from another graphic element object, and changes to a particular graphic element object may be propagated to its derivations, e.g., according to a distribution policy. Changes to definitions corresponding to a particular graphic element object (e.g., to the definition of a graphic element attribute such as a shape, animation, event handler or property) may be overridden or modified in another object derived from the particular graphic element object. The modified derived object may be renamed and saved separately from the particular graphic element object.

Derived and linked definitions with override

A configuration element is presented on a configuration display view for configuring a graphic element object. The graphic element object is to be instantiated on a process control display view, and corresponds to a process entity in a process plant. The configuration element object has a set of properties for an attributed of the graphic element object and includes a link to a configuration display object from which the configuration display view is instantiated. The instantiation of the configuration element object includes a visual representation of the set of properties for the attribute of the graphic element object, and a link to the graphic element object to send data corresponding to a property configured in the configuration element from the set of properties. The configured property corresponds to at least one configured attribute of the graphic element.

Configuration element for graphic elements

A user interface system for a process plant includes a graphic display editor to configure a process graphic display having a graphic display element representative of a process plant element of the process plant. The process graphic display is specified via configuration information set forth in a declarative language. A graphics rendering engine generates a depiction of the process graphic display during runtime based on commands derived from the configuration information set forth in the declarative language. The configuration information for the process graphic display may be stored as an object, which, for instance, may include first and second portions to define a graphical parameter and identify a data source, respectively. The graphical parameter may be directed to defining a graphical depiction of the process plant element and, to this end, may be set forth in a formal in accordance with the declarative language. The data source may specify a location or path for data indicative of on-line operation of the process plant element to be displayed via the graphical depiction.

Markup language-based, dynamic process graphics in a process plant user interface

A display configuration system enables a graphical designer to create reusable template graphical display elements that can be easily modified by, for example, other graphical designers with less experience in graphical design programming, such that the modified graphical display elements can reflect one of various different possible functionalities of plant equipment or plant usages to which the modified graphical display element is to be tied during operation. The display configuration system includes a graphical design application that enables the creation of generic or library graphical elements that include basic graphical functionality associated with particular types of plant equipment or associated with particular types of graphic display functionality and includes a configuration form editor that enables a user to create quick configuration forms that define predetermined potential modifications to be made to the template graphical element when creating a usage from the template graphical element.

Reusable graphical elements with quickly editable features for use in user displays of plant monitoring systems

Example methods and apparatus to manage process control status rollups are disclosed. A disclosed example method includes receiving process control information from at least one process control device included within a process control system, determining at least one issue associated with a portion of the received process control information, receiving a selection of a status type, determining if the at least one issue is associated with the selected status type, and displaying a process control status rollup associated with the selected status type and including the at least one issue.

Methods and apparatus to manage process control status rollups

A common process control graphical user interface plant operators, plant maintenance personnel, and management is disclosed which provides a real-time interface to both the process and the plant. The common interface is modular in design and is capable of supporting various specializations for each user type. Operator consoles are dedicated to each section of the plant and include additional functions such as maintenance, configuration, simulation and supervisory information. The unified for common graphical interface replaces control room displays filled with single case analog controllers, meters, and digital indicators. The common interface addresses the functions that previously were provided by the panel motor start/stop buttons and status indications, chart recorders, annunciator panels and subsystem interfaces. From a console, operators manage alarms, adjust the process by entering new setpoints or other parameters, 'zoom in' on particular portions of the process for details, and utilize other specialized applications to work with their batch, advanced control, or business applications. The interface will run in both dedicated and non-dedicated modes, will run as a rich client or as part of a browser style interface utilizing web services and will run on workstations, laptops, tablet PC's, handhelds, and smart phones.

Graphic display configuration framework for unified control system interface

A method in a computer system for developing a process control strategy includes providing a module template having a first plurality of components and being associated with a control operation, receiving a selection of one or more of the first plurality of components of the module template, generating an instance of a module based on the module template, including instantiating only the selected one or more of the first plurality of components, and associating the generated instance of the module with the process control strategy.

System configuration using templates

Example methods and apparatus to bind properties in a process control system are disclosed. A disclosed example method involves associating a binding type with a property of a configuration element. A plurality of values for the property are then retrieved based on the plurality of values being associated with the binding type. At least some of the plurality of values are presented to a user. The example method also involves receiving a user-selected value from the at least some of the plurality of property values and generating a binding reference to bind the user-selected value to the configuration element.

Methods and apparatus to bind properties in a process control system

Parameters associated with sub-elements of a composite shape may determine how the sub-element is scaled during resizing of the composite shape. A graphical display editor may use the scaling parameters to calculate various scaling factors that are then applied to the sub-elements of each composite shape during resizing. The editor may apply the scaling parameters to the sub-elements for resizing in one or more axes (e.g., the length, width, and height or X, Y, and Z axes, etc.) to adjust the composite shape for a particular graphical display. The editor may apply the scaling parameters directly to each sub-element to prevent any distortion of those sub-elements. The configured scaling parameters may then be linked to the composite shape so that, at runtime, the parameters are applied to the composite shape and its sub-elements. The scaling parameters may be applied to both composite shapes and animations associated with the composite shapes.

Scaling composite shapes for a graphical human-machine interface

Growing community of inventors

Austin, TX, United States of America

Stephen Copps Gilbert