SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DYNAMIC MULTI-OBJECTIVE OPTIMIZATION OF MACHINE SELECTION, INTEGRATION AND UTILIZATION

• US 20090204245A1
• Filed: 09/30/2008
• Published: 08/13/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/10/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies Incorporated (Allen-Bradley Co., Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies Incorporated (Allen-Bradley Co., Inc.)
• Inventors: Baier, John J., Sustaeta, Angel, Discenzo, Frederick M., Funderburk, Mark, Lin, Ka-Hing, Sugars, Michael Eugene, Snyder, Ric, Theron, John Christopher
• Granted Patent: US 8,914,300 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/99
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 13/024 in which a parameter or coefficient is automatically adjusted to optimise the performance
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 13/0265 the criterion being a learning criterion
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 13/0285 using neural networks and fuzzy logic
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/04 Forecasting or optimisation specially adapted for administrative or management purposes, e.g. linear programming or "cutting stock problem" market predictions or forecasting for commercial activities G06Q30/0202
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/125 involving control of end-device applications over a network
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/82 Energy audits or management systems therefor

Abstract

The invention provides control systems and methodologies for controlling a process having computer-controlled equipment, which provide for optimized process performance according to one or more performance criteria, such as efficiency, component life expectancy, safety, emissions, noise, vibration, operational cost, or the like. More particularly, the subject invention provides for employing machine diagnostic and/or prognostic information in connection with optimizing an overall business operation over a time horizon.

Claims

1. An apparatus operable in an industrial automation environment, the apparatus comprising:

a memory that retains instructions related to;

eliciting financial information from a corporate entity'"'"'s business systems or product schedules from a production facility associated with the corporate entity;

optimizing profitability of the production facility based at least in part on variable costs associated with the financial information or the product schedules; and

based at least in part on the optimizing, projecting a visual instrumentation associated with an optimized predictive visualization; and

a processor, coupled to the memory, configured to execute the instructions retained in the memory.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, the visual instrumentation associated with the optimized predictive visualization provides a multi-dimensional manipulable view of at least one of the production facility'"'"'s current capacity or the production facility'"'"'s future capacity.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, the optimizing further comprising analyzing at least one of the financial information or the production schedules associated with the corporate entity to mitigate negative factors associated with the financial information or the product schedules or enhance positive factors associated with the financial information or the product schedules.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, the optimized predictive visualization facilitates failure analysis and dynamic rectification of identified failures.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, the optimizing further comprising automatically inferring an event based at least in part on real-time input or historical data received from a non-human knowledge source.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, the optimizing further comprising generating event classifications utilized to minimize cascading events, and based at least in part on the event classifications undertaking root cause analysis to identify a root cause for an occurrence of an event included in the event classifications.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, the generating event classifications further comprising creating a hierarchical event tree.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, the optimizing further comprising pruning the hierarchical event tree to identify the root cause of the cascading events.

9. A method employed in an industrial automation environment, comprising:

soliciting financial information from a corporate entity'"'"'s business systems or product schedules from a production facility associated with the corporate entity;

optimizing profitability of the production facility based at least in part on variable costs associated with the financial information or the product schedules; and

based at least in part on the optimizing, projecting a visual instrumentation associated with an optimized predictive visualization.

10. The method of claim 9, the visual instrumentation associated with the optimized predictive visualization provides a multi-dimensional manipulable view of at least one of the production facility'"'"'s current capacity or the production facility'"'"'s future capacity.

11. The method of claim 9, the optimizing further comprising analyzing at least one of the financial information or the production schedules associated with the corporate entity to mitigate negative factors associated with the financial information or the product schedules or enhance positive factors associated with the financial information or the product schedules.

12. The method of claim 9, the optimized predictive visualization facilitates failure analysis and dynamic rectification of identified failures.

13. The method of claim 9, the optimizing further comprising automatically inferring an event based at least in part on real-time input or historical data received from a non-human knowledge source.

14. The method of claim 9, the optimizing further comprising generating event classifications utilized to minimize cascading events, and based at least in part on the event classifications undertaking root cause analysis to identify a root cause for an occurrence of an event included in the event classifications.

15. The method of claim 14, the generating event classifications further comprising creating a hierarchical event tree.

16. The method of claim 15, the optimizing further comprising pruning the hierarchical event tree to identify the root cause of the cascading events.

17. A system operable in an industrial automation environment, comprising:

means for retrieving financial information from a corporate entity'"'"'s business systems or product schedules from a production facility associated with the corporate entity;

means for optimizing profitability of the production facility based at least in part on variable costs associated with the financial information or the product schedules; and

based at least in part on the means for optimizing, means for projecting a visual instrumentation associated with an optimized predictive visualization.

18. The system of claim 17, the visual instrumentation associated with the optimized predictive visualization provides a multi-dimensional manipulable view of at least one of the production facility'"'"'s current capacity or the production facility'"'"'s future capacity.

19. The system of claim 17, the means for optimizing further comprising means for analyzing at least one of the financial information or the production schedules associated with the corporate entity to mitigate negative factors associated with the financial information or the product schedules or enhance positive factors associated with the financial information or the product schedules.

20. The system of claim 17, the optimizing further comprising means for automatically inferring an event based at least in part on real-time input or historical data received from a non-human knowledge source.