Use of a really simple syndication communication format in a process control system

• US 20070067725A1
• Filed: 09/22/2005
• Published: 03/22/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/22/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fisher-Rosemount Systems Incorporated (Emerson Electric Company)
• Original Assignee: Fisher-Rosemount Systems Incorporated (Emerson Electric Company)
• Inventors: Law, Gary, Cahill, James, Schleiss, Trevor
• Granted Patent: US 8,055,727 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/733
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/31181 Controller and device have several formats and protocols, select common one
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/35582 Control format in browser, use of xtml and xslt
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 23/027 Alarm generation, e.g. communication protocol; Forms of alarm

Abstract

A process control system within a process plant and, in particular, different devices and applications within the process control system such as field devices, controllers, user interfaces, alarm applications, diagnostics applications, etc. create, store and make data generated therein available using a really simple syndication (RSS) XML communication format, thereby making this data easily retrievable from the plant and useable for various purposes both within and outside of the plant. The RSS data communications may provide RSS data for use in control of the plant or for use in other applications not directly associated with the control of the plant, including third party applications run on devices outside of the plant, such as personal data assistants, pagers, phones, laptop computers, etc. The RSS data sent from one device to another may include enclosures, such as video, audio or text files, or may include references such as hyperlinks to other sources of information stored on the receiving device or on a further device that may be accessed and used to understand or process the RSS data.

Claims

1. A process plant, comprising:

a multiplicity of process control devices; and

one or more communication networks that interconnect the multiplicity of process control devices;

wherein the multiplicity of process control devices communicate process control data over the one or more communication networks using a web content syndication format.

2. The process plant of claim 1, wherein at least one of the multiplicity of process control devices is a process controller.

3. The process plant of claim 1, wherein at least one of the multiplicity of process control devices is a field device.

4. The process plant of claim 1, wherein the multiplicity of process control devices includes a field device communicatively coupled to a process controller.

5. The process plant of claim 1, wherein the multiplicity of process control devices includes a user interface device communicatively coupled to one or more process controllers.

6. The process plant of claim 1, wherein the multiplicity of process control devices includes an OPC communication device.

7. The process plant of claim 1, wherein the web content syndication format is the really simple syndication (RSS) communication format.

8. The process plant of claim 7, wherein at least one of the multiplicity of process control devices includes an RSS data conversion unit that converts process data into the RSS communication format.

9. The process plant of claim 8, wherein the RSS data conversion unit includes a memory for storing RSS data.

10. The process plant of claim 8, wherein the RSS data conversion unit includes a subscriber list for the RSS data and a communication unit that communicates the RSS data to subscribers based on the subscriber list.

11. The process plant of claim 8, wherein the RSS data conversion unit includes an event list associated with the RSS data and a communication unit that communicates the RSS data to another device based on the occurrence of an event within the events list.

12. The process plant of claim 8, wherein the RSS data conversion unit includes a media memory storage that stores rich media files for use with the RSS data.

13. The process plant of claim 12, wherein the media memory storage stores one or more of a video file, an audio file and a color or black and white image file.

14. The process plant of claim 12, wherein the rich media memory storage stores one or more applications that may be executed to process the RSS data.

15. The process plant of claim 12, wherein the rich media memory storage stores specific data associated with a process control device or an application that created the RSS data.

16. The process plant of claim 15, wherein the specific data includes one of global positioning system data and mapping data.

17. The process plant of claim 11, wherein the rich media memory storage stores a reference to a source of a media file or an application for use with the RSS data.

18. The process plant of claim 7, wherein one of the multiplicity of process control devices is a host device that receives RSS data from another one of the multiplicity of process control devices, wherein the host device includes an RSS data storage unit for storing the received RSS data and a user interface for interfacing with a user with respect to the received RSS data.

19. The process plant of claim 18, wherein the host device further includes a storage unit that stores one or more data files or applications associated with the received RSS data and that may be used in conjunction with the user interface to interface with a user with respect to the received RSS data.

20. The process plant of claim 19, wherein the one or more data files or applications includes one of an audio file, a video file, a voice over IP data stream, and an image file.

21. The process plant of claim 19, wherein the another one of the multiplicity of process control devices is adapted to send a reference to one of the one or more of the data files or applications stored within the host device as part of the RSS data.

22. A process control device for use in a process plant, comprising:

a web content syndication format data generator that generates web content syndication data from a process control signal or an output of a process control application; and

a web content syndication format data communication unit that communicates the web content syndication format data to a further device within the process plant using the web content syndication format.

23. The process control device of claim 22, wherein the web content syndication format is the really simple syndication (RSS) format, wherein the web content syndication format data generator is an RSS data generator, the web content syndication format data is RSS data, and the web content syndication format data communication unit is an RSS data communication unit.

24. The process control device of claim 23, wherein the RSS data generator comprises an RSS data conversion unit that converts process data into the RSS communication format.

25. The process control device of claim 24, wherein the RSS data conversion unit includes a memory for storing RSS data.

26. The process control device of claim 23, further including a subscriber list for the RSS data and wherein the RSS data communication unit communicates the RSS data to subscriber devices based on the subscriber list.

27. The process control device of claim 23, further including an event list associated with the RSS data and wherein the RSS data communication unit communicates the RSS data to another device based on the occurrence of an event within the events list.

28. The process control device of claim 23, further including a media memory storage that stores media files for use with the RSS data.

29. The process control device of claim 28, wherein the media memory storage stores one or more of a video file, an audio file and a color or black and white image file.

30. The process control device of claim 28, wherein the media memory storage stores one or more applications that may be executed to process the RSS data.

31. The process control device of claim 28, wherein the media memory storage stores specific data associated with the process control device or an application within the process control device to be sent as part of the RSS data.

32. The process control device of claim 31, wherein the specific data includes one of global positioning system data and mapping data.

33. The process control device of claim 31, wherein the media memory storage stores a reference to a source of a media file or an application external to the process control device for use with the RSS data.

34. The process control device of claim 23, wherein the process control device comprises one of a process controller, a field device, a user interface device and an OPC communication device.

35. The process control device of claim 23, further including an RSS data receiver that receives RSS data from another process control device and a user interface for interfacing with a user with respect to the received RSS data.

36. The process control device of claim 35, further including a storage unit that stores one or more data files or applications associated with the received RSS data and that may be used in conjunction with the user interface to interface with a user with respect to the received RSS data.

37. The process control device of claim 36, further including a processing unit that processes the received RSS data to determine a reference to one of the one or more data files or applications stored within the process control device.

38. The process control device of claim 35, further including a processing unit that processes the received RSS data to determine a reference to a source of one or more data files or applications stored outside of the process control device but accessible to the process control device via a communication link.

39. A data conversion unit for use in a process control device within a process plant, comprising:

a really simple syndication (RSS) data conversion unit that converts process data into an RSS communication format to produce RSS data;

a memory for storing the RSS data; and

a communication unit adapted to communicate the RSS data to another device within the process plant.

40. The data conversion unit of claim 39, further including a subscriber list for the RSS data and wherein the communication unit communicates the RSS data to subscribers based on the subscriber list.

41. The data conversion unit of claim 39, further including an event list associated with the RSS data and wherein the communication unit communicates the RSS data to another device based on the occurrence of an event within the events list.

42. The data conversion unit of claim 39, further including a media memory storage that stores media files for use with the RSS data.

43. The data conversion unit of claim 42, wherein the media memory storage stores one or more of a video file, an audio file and a color or black and white image file.

44. The data conversion unit of claim 42, wherein the media memory storage stores one or more applications that may be executed to process the RSS data.

45. The data conversions unit of claim 42, wherein the media memory storage stores specific data associated with a process control device or associated with an application that created the RSS data.

46. The data conversion unit of claim 45, wherein the specific data includes one of global positioning system data and mapping data.

47. The data conversion unit of claim 45, wherein the media memory storage stores a reference to a source of a media file or an application outside of a device in which the data conversion unit is located for use with the RSS data.