ASSET MONITOR FOR FIELDBUS DEVICES

• US 20080294771A1
• Filed: 05/23/2008
• Published: 11/27/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/24/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ABB Incorporated (ABB Limited)
• Original Assignee: ABB Incorporated (ABB Limited)
• Inventors: Argentieri, Paolo, Hermes, Martin, Schubert, Joerg
• Granted Patent: US 7,953,849 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/31467 Display of operating conditions of machines, workcells, selected programs
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/33149 Publisher subscriber, publisher, master broadcasts data to slaves, subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 23/0267 Fault communication, e.g. human machine interface [HMI]
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/80 Management or planning

Abstract

A software product and method of monitoring a field device in an enterprise having an industrial process. A subscription to the OPC DA server for diagnostic data from the field device is made and a subscription to an OPC AE server for event notifications from the OPC AE server is made. The subscription to the OPC AE server is activated, but the subscription to the OPC DA server is not activated. When an event notification is received from the OPC AE server, the subscription to the OPC DA server is activated. Diagnostic data from the field device is received and device health information from the diagnostic data is generated. The device health information is displayed on a viewing monitor. The subscription to the OPC DA server is then deactivated.

Claims

1. In an enterprise having an industrial process and a field device, a method of monitoring the field device comprising

connecting a computer system to the field device, wherein the computer system comprises a viewing monitor, memory with first and second server software programs stored thereon and a processor for executing the first and second server software programs, the first server software program being operable through an activated subscription to provide event notifications from the field device, and the second server software program being operable through an activated subscription to provide diagnostic data from the field device;

activating a subscription to the first server software program;

activating a subscription to the second server software program only after receiving an event notification from the first server software program;

receiving diagnostic data from the second server software program;

generating device health information from the diagnostic data;

displaying the device health information on the viewing monitor; and

deactivating the subscription to the second server software program.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the field device comprises memory with a plurality of software blocks stored thereon and a processor for executing the software blocks, and wherein one or more of the software blocks is operable to issue one or more alarms.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the event notification received from the first server software program is generated by the first server software program from an alarm received from the one or more of the software blocks in the field device.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the device health information comprises a probable root cause of the alarm and a suggested corrective action therefor.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the subscription to the second server program is deactivated when the alarm is deactivated.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the computer system has a graphical user interface (GUI).

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the device health information is displayed on the viewing monitor through the GUI.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising generating an asset condition document using the event notification and the device health information and transmitting the asset condition document to the GUI.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the asset condition document is an XML document.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising transmitting the asset condition document to a maintenance management system.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the device health information comprises the diagnostic information.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the computer system comprises a plurality of computers.

13. A computer program product for execution on at least one processor of a computer system connected to a field device in an enterprise having an industrial process, the computer system comprising a viewing monitor, memory with first and second server software programs stored thereon and the at least one processor for executing the first and second server software programs, the first server software program being operable through an activated subscription to provide event notifications from the field device, and the second server software program being operable through an activated subscription to provide diagnostic data from the field device, the computer program product comprising:

computer readable medium;

program instructions stored on the computer readable medium and executable by the at least one processor to;

activate a subscription to the first server software program;

activate a subscription to the second server software program only after an event notification from the first server software program is received;

receive diagnostic data from the second server software program;

generate device health information from the diagnostic data;

display the device health information on the viewing monitor; and

deactivate the subscription to the second server software program.

14. The computer program product of claim 13, wherein the field device comprises memory with a plurality of software blocks stored thereon and a processor for executing the software blocks, one or more of the software blocks being operable to issue one or more alarms, and wherein the event notification received from the first server software program is generated by the first server software program from an alarm received from the one or more of the software blocks in the field device.

15. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the device health information comprises a probable root cause of the alarm and a suggested corrective action therefor.

16. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the program instructions deactivate the subscription to the second server program when the alarm is deactivated.

17. The computer program product of claim 13, wherein the at least one computer has a graphical user interface (GUI), and wherein the device health information is displayed on the viewing monitor through the GUI.

18. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein the program instructions are executable by the at least one processor to also:

generate an asset condition document using the event notification and the device health information; and

transmit the asset condition document to the GUI.

19. The computer program product of claim 18, wherein the asset condition document is an XML document.

20. The computer program product of claim 18, wherein the program instructions are executable by the at least one processor to also transmit the asset condition document to a maintenance management system.

21. The computer program product of claim 13, wherein the device health information comprises the diagnostic information.

22. The computer program product of claim 13, wherein the at least one computer comprises a plurality of computers.