Integrated configuration in a process plant having a process control system and a safety system
First Claim
1. A configuration system for use in a process plant having a process control system that performs manufacturing related control functions with respect to the process plant and a safety system that performs safety related control functions with respect to the process plant, comprising:
- a computer having a processor and a memory;
a process control system controller communicatively coupled to the computer and adapted to perform process control functionality using one or more process control field devices;
a safety system controller communicatively coupled to the computer and adapted to perform safety system functionality using one or more safety system field devices;
a configuration database adapted to store configuration data related to both the process control system and to the safety system; and
a configuration application stored on the memory of the computer and adapted to be executed on the processor to use the configuration database to enable one or more users to perform configuration of both the process control system and the safety system.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A process plant includes a safety system that is physically and logically integrated with a process control system such that the safety system and the process control system can use common communication, configuration hardware and software within the process plant while still providing functional isolation between the safety system controllers and the process control system controllers. This integrated process control and safety system uses a common data communication structure for both the safety system and the process control system so that the configuration application can send data to and receive data from devices in either system in the same manner, e.g., using the same communication hardware and software. However, the common data communication structure is set up to distinguish process control system devices from safety system devices using tags, addresses or other fields within the messages sent to or received from the devices, which enables data associated with the process control system to be distinguishable from data associated with the safety system, thereby enabling a configuration application within a user interface to automatically treat this data differently depending on the source (or destination) of the data.
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Citations
68 Claims
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1. A configuration system for use in a process plant having a process control system that performs manufacturing related control functions with respect to the process plant and a safety system that performs safety related control functions with respect to the process plant, comprising:
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a computer having a processor and a memory;
a process control system controller communicatively coupled to the computer and adapted to perform process control functionality using one or more process control field devices;
a safety system controller communicatively coupled to the computer and adapted to perform safety system functionality using one or more safety system field devices;
a configuration database adapted to store configuration data related to both the process control system and to the safety system; and
a configuration application stored on the memory of the computer and adapted to be executed on the processor to use the configuration database to enable one or more users to perform configuration of both the process control system and the safety system. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A configuration system for use in a process plant having a process control system with a process control system controller that performs manufacturing related control functions using one or more process control field devices, a safety system with a safety system controller that performs safety related control functions using one or more safety system field devices, and a computer having a processor communicatively coupled to the process control system controller and to the safety system controller, the configuration system comprising:
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a memory;
a configuration database adapted to store configuration data related to both the process control system and to the safety system; and
a configuration application stored on the memory and adapted to be executed on the processor to use the configuration database to enable one or more users to perform configuration of both the process control system and the safety system. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47)
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42. The configuration system of claim 42, wherein the portion of the process control system and the portion of the safety system are associated with the same area within the process plant.
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48. A method of configuring a process plant having a process control system with a process control system controller that performs manufacturing related control functions using one or more process control field devices and a safety system with a safety system controller that performs safety related control functions using one or more safety system field devices, the method comprising:
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storing configuration data related to both the process control system and to the safety system in a common configuration database; and
providing a common user interface application that performs configuration activities for both the process control system and the safety system using the configuration data stored in the common configuration database. - View Dependent Claims (49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68)
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Specification