Process control system with an embedded safety system

• US 20040158713A1
• Filed: 01/28/2003
• Published: 08/12/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 01/28/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fisher-Rosemount Systems Incorporated (Emerson Electric Company)
• Original Assignee: Fisher-Rosemount Systems Incorporated (Emerson Electric Company)
• Inventors: Aneweer, Tom, Burr, Kent A., Law, Gary K., Jundt, Larry O., Lewis, Marty J., Ott, Michael G., Naidoo, Julian K.
• Granted Patent: US 7,289,861 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/166
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 23/027 Alarm generation, e.g. communication protocol; Forms of alarm
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/02 Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]

Abstract

A process plant includes a process control system having a safety system embedded therein. The integrated process control and safety system includes a host computer arranged to send and receive process level messages and safety level messages, a controller operatively connected to the host computer by a first communication network, at least one first input/output device adapted for operative communication with at least one process control field device, and at least one second input/output device adapted for operative communication with at least one safety-related field device. The first and second input/output devices are operatively connected to the controller via a second communication bus. The second input/output device includes a processor programmed to monitor both the process level messages and the safety level messages, to distinguish the process level messages from safety level messages, to select the safety level messages and to communicate with the safety-related field device based on the safety level messages.

Claims

1. A process control system having an embedded safety network comprising:

a host computer arranged to send and receive process control messages and safety messages;

a first communication network;

a controller operatively connected to the host computer by the first communication network and adapted to perform process control functionality; and

a plurality of input/output (I/O) cards operatively connected to the controller via a second communication network, the plurality of I/O cards including;

a first I/O card adapted for operative communication with a first process control related field device; and

a second I/O card adapted for operative communication with a safety-related field device, the second I/O card including a processor that executes a safety module for implementing safety functionality apart from the process control functionality using the safety-related field device.

2. The process control system of claim 1, including a third I/O card, the third I/O card adapted for operative communication with a second safety-related field device, the third I/O card including a second processor that executes a second safety module for implementing the safety functionality using the second safety-related field device.

3. The process control system of claim 2, wherein the second and third I/O cards are connected by a local communication bus adapted to communicate safety messages between the second and third I/O cards.

4. The process control system of claim 3, wherein the second and third I/O cards are operatively connected to a message propagation device on the local communication bus.

5. The process control system of claim 2, wherein the second and third I/O cards are operatively connected to primary and secondary message propagation devices via a primary and a secondary local communication bus.

6. The process control system of claim 2, wherein the second and third I/O cards are connected by a primary local communication bus and by a secondary local communication bus, each of the primary and secondary local communication buses adapted to communicate safety related messages between the second and third I/O cards.

7. The process control system of claim 2, wherein each of the second and third I/O cards is operatively connected to a message propagation device which is in operative communication with the second communication network.

8. The process control system of claim 1, wherein the second I/O card is operatively connected to a message propagation device which is in operative communication with the second communication network.

9. The process control system of claim 1, wherein the second I/O card is operatively connected to a primary and a secondary message propagation device, the primary and secondary message propagation devices being in operative communication with the second communication network.

10. The process control system of claim 9, wherein the primary and secondary message propagation devices are connected to the second I/O card via a redundant local communication link.

11. The process control system of claim 1, including a plurality of additional safety-related I/O cards, each of the additional safety-related I/O cards in operative communication with one of a plurality of additional safety-related field devices, each of the additional safety-related I/O cards including a processor adapted to perform additional safety modules using a corresponding one of the additional safety-related field devices.

12. The process control system of claim 1, wherein the host computer includes an operator interface arranged to send re-programming signals to both the first I/O card and the second I/O card, the processor of the second I/O card programmed to evaluate the re-programming signals to determine if the re-programming signals are directed to the second I/O card.

13. The process control system of claim 1, wherein the host computer is arranged to communicate process-related reprogramming signals and safety-related reprogramming signals to the second communication network, and wherein the processor of the second I/O card is programmed to distinguish the process-related reprogramming signals from the safety-related reprogramming signals.

14. The process control system of claim 1, wherein the host computer includes a viewing application adapted to receive process control data from the first I/O card and safety data from the second I/O card and to display the process control data and the safety data in an integrated display to a user.

15. The process control system of claim 14, wherein the controller is arranged to generate alarm data associated with the process control data, the controller further arranged to generate alarm data associated with the safety data.

16. The process control system of claim 1, wherein the first I/O card has a first security level associated therewith used to enable the first I/O card to accept process control reprogramming signals from the host computer and wherein the second I/O card has a second security level associated therewith used to enable the second I/O card to accept reprogramming signals from the host computer, wherein the first and the second security levels are different security levels.

17. The process control system of claim 17, wherein the first and the second security levels are user identity based security levels.

18. The process control system of claim 17, wherein the first and the second security levels are location based security levels.

19. A safety system for use in a process plant, the safety system comprising:

a first safety logic device communicatively connected to a first safety field device;

a first safety logic module stored in and adapted to be executed by the first safety logic device to perform first safety functionality using the first safety field device;

a second safety logic device communicatively connected to a second safety field device;

a second safety logic module stored in and adapted to be executed by the second safety logic device to perform second safety functionality using the second safety field device; and

a first communication bus interconnecting the first and the second safety logic devices to enable the first and the second safety logic devices to communicate with one another.

20. The safety system of claim 19, wherein the first safety logic device includes a primary redundant safety logic solver and a secondary redundant safety logic solver.

21. The safety system of claim 20, wherein the first communication bus includes a primary redundant communication bus and a secondary redundant communication bus.

22. The safety system of claim 19, wherein the first communication bus is provided in a backplane at a node of the process plant, and wherein the first and the second safety logic devices are adapted to be attached to the backplane.

23. The safety system of claim 19, wherein the first and the second safety logic devices are disposed at a first node of the process plant, and further including a first message propagation device disposed at the first node of the process plant and coupled to the first communication bus to communicate with the first and the second safety logic devices, and including a third safety logic device disposed at a second node of the process plant, a third safety logic module stored in and adapted to be executed by the third safety logic device to perform third safety functionality, a second message propagation device disposed at the second node of the process plant, a second communication bus interconnecting the third safety logic device and the second message propagation device at the second node of the process plant and a remote communication bus that connects the first message propagation device at the first node of the process plant and the second message propagation device at the second node of the process plant.

24. The safety system of claim 23, wherein the first and second communication busses use a time division multiplexing communication scheme.

25. The safety system of claim 24, wherein the first and second safety devices are adapted to communicate local safety messages to each other via the first communication bus and at least one of the first and second safety devices is adapted to send remote safety messages to the third safety device via the first communication bus, the first message propagation device, the remote communication bus, the second message propagation device and the second communication bus.

26. The safety system of claim 23, wherein the remote communication bus is a ring bus.

27. The safety system of claim 23, further including a process controller communicatively connected to the first and second safety logic devices via a further communication network and a user workstation communicatively coupled to the process controller via a third communication network.

28. The safety system of claim 27, wherein the third communication network is an Ethernet bus.

29. The safety system of claim 27, further including a process control input/output device communicatively connected to the further communication network and one or more process control field devices connected to the process control input/output device.

30. The safety system of claim 19, further including a process controller communicatively connected to the first and second safety logic devices via a second communication bus and a user workstation communicatively coupled to the process controller via a third communication bus.

31. The safety system of claim 30, further including a process control input/output device communicatively connected to the second communication network and one or more process control field devices connected to the process control input/output device.

32. A configuration system for use in a process plant having a safety network, a process control network and a user workstation communicatively coupled to the safety network and to the process control network via a shared communication network, the configuration system comprising:

a computer readable memory;

a configuration application stored on the computer readable memory and adapted to be executed on a processor to;

assign a safety module to a safety element within the safety network to perform a safety function;

assign a process control module to a process control element within the process control network to perform a process control function; and

download the safety module to the safety element and the process control module to the process control element via the shared communication network.

33. The configuration system of claim 32, wherein the configuration application is adapted to enable a user to create the safety module.

34. The configuration system of claim 33, wherein the configuration application is adapted to create the safety module to communicate with other safety modules located in other safety elements at a same node of the process plant via a local bus connected between the safety element and the other safety elements but not connected to the process control element.

35. The configuration system of claim 34, wherein the safety element is at a first node of the process plant and wherein the configuration application is adapted to create the safety module to communicate with a remote safety module located in a remote safety element at a second node of the process plant via a remote bus connected between the first and the second nodes of the process plant.

36. The configuration system of claim 32, wherein the configuration application is adapted to display the safety element and the process control element in an integrated configuration view.

37. The configuration system of claim 36, wherein the configuration application is adapted to display the safety module as being associated with the safety element in the integrated configuration view.

38. The configuration system of claim 32, wherein the configuration application is adapted to enable the user to create the safety module and to assign the safety module to the safety element by dragging the safety module to the safety element within the configuration view.

39. A safety logic module system for use in a safety network disposed in a process plant having a process controller communicatively coupled to one or more process control input/output devices which perform process control functions and to a safety logic solver via a first communication bus, with the safety logic solver connected to one or more safety field devices, the safety logic module system comprising:

a computer readable memory;

a safety logic module stored on the computer readable memory and adapted to be executed on a processor of the safety logic solver to;

perform a safety function with respect to the one or more safety field devices;

communicate via a second communication bus to another safety logic module within another safety logic solver connected to the first communication bus; and

communicate with the process controller and the process control input/output devices via the first communication bus.

40. The safety logic module system of claim 39, wherein the process plant includes a first message propagation device communicatively connected to the controller via the first communication bus at a first node and a second node having one or more safety logic solvers and a second message propagation device connected to the first message propagation device via a third communication bus and wherein the safety logic module is adapted to communicate to the one or more safety logic solvers at the second node of the process plant via the message propagation devices and the third communication bus.

41. The safety logic module system of claim 39, wherein the safety logic module is further adapted to receive and read process control messages from the controller or the one or more process control input/output devices via the first communication bus and to receive and read safety messages from other safety modules disposed in other safety logic solvers via the second communication bus.

42. The safety logic module system of claim 39, wherein the safety logic module is adapted to communicate via the second communication bus to the another safety logic module using a time division multiplexing communication scheme.