Dynamic Hyperlinks for Process Control Systems

• US 20110072338A1
• Filed: 09/23/2009
• Published: 03/24/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/23/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fisher-Rosemount Systems Incorporated (Emerson Electric Company)
• Original Assignee: Fisher-Rosemount Systems Incorporated (Emerson Electric Company)
• Inventors: Caldwell, John M.
• Granted Patent: US 9,494,931 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/205
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/41845 characterised by system universality, reconfigurability, modularity
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/32126 Hyperlink, access to program modules and to hardware modules in www, web server, browser
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/94 Hypermedia Hyperlinking G06F40/134
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6218 to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file system or database
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2111 Location-sensitive, e.g. geographical location, GPS
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/134 Hyperlinking
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/02 Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]

Abstract

Methods and systems for providing knowledge access in a process control system and methods and systems for providing dynamic hyperlinks in a process control system are disclosed. A dynamic hyperlink may define an association between a process control object corresponding to a process control element and a knowledge object corresponding to a knowledge reference stored internally or externally to the process control system. At a run-time of a display view that includes the process control object, the defined dynamic hyperlink may be established without a configuration or a download. Upon selection of the defined dynamic hyperlink, the corresponding knowledge reference may be displayed. Defined dynamic hyperlinks may be stored in a process control system database independent of process control objects or knowledge objects. Embodiments of user interfaces for administrating dynamic hyperlinks are also disclosed.

Claims

1. A method for providing dynamic hyperlinks in a process control system, comprising:

defining a dynamic hyperlink, the dynamic hyperlink specifying an association between a process control object defined in the process control system and a knowledge reference accessible by the process control system;

storing the dynamic hyperlink in an entry of a dynamic hyperlink database that is accessible to the process control system and independent of any configuration database of the process control system, the entry including;

an indication of the process control object, and

an indication of a knowledge object corresponding to the knowledge reference; and

establishing the dynamic hyperlink at run-time of any display view that includes the process control object, including;

exhibiting the any display view, including the process control object, on a computing device of the process control system;

after exhibiting the any display view, determining, based on the entry of the dynamic hyperlink database, the knowledge object corresponding to the process control object; and

displaying the dynamic hyperlink on the any display view in proximity to the process control object, including displaying an indication of the knowledge reference.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving an indication of a selection of the dynamic hyperlink;

accessing the knowledge reference; and

displaying the accessed knowledge reference.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising updating the entry of the dynamic hyperlink database when at least one of:

one of a name or a location of the process control object is changed, or one of a name or a location of the knowledge object is changed.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the knowledge reference is stored external to a firewall of the process control system.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the knowledge reference is one of:

a device reference material, a product data sheet, a specification sheet, an operating manual, a service manual, a customer documentation, a standard operating procedure, an incident report, a safety manual, a best practices document, a drawing, a loop sheet, a P&

ID (Process and Instrumentation Diagram), a picture, an animated clip, a logbook entry, a note, a work order, a help topic, a particular display view, a chart, or a second process control object.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein defining the dynamic hyperlink comprises selecting the process control object from a list of available process control objects and selecting the knowledge reference from a list of available knowledge references.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein defining the dynamic hyperlink comprises defining the dynamic hyperlink during a configuration of the process control object.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the entry of the dynamic hyperlink database further includes an indication of an expiration time or an expiration time interval, wherein upon an expiration of the expiration time or the expiration time interval, the dynamic hyperlink is disabled and the entry is deleted from the dynamic hyperlink database.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing an access permission corresponding to the dynamic hyperlink, wherein:

the access permission corresponds to an authorization level of a user or an authorization level of a group of users, and

the access permission indicates a permission to at least one of create, view, modify or delete the dynamic hyperlink.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein establishing the dynamic hyperlink at the run-time of the any display view comprises establishing the dynamic hyperlink at the run-time of the any display view without a configuration change or a download.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the process control object is a class object and the method further comprises:

automatically defining a sub-class dynamic hyperlink for each sub-class object of the class object, the sub-class dynamic hyperlink specifying an association between the each sub-class object and the knowledge reference;

storing the sub-class dynamic hyperlink in another entry of the dynamic hyperlink database; and

establishing the sub-class dynamic hyperlink at a run-time of any display view that includes the each sub-class object.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising, when a new process control object is defined in the process control system:

searching a list of available knowledge objects;

identifying a subset of the list of available knowledge objects corresponding to the new process control object;

defining a separate dynamic hyperlink for each of the subset of the list of available knowledge objects wherein the separate dynamic hyperlink associates the new process control object with the each of the subset of the list of available knowledge objects;

storing the separate dynamic hyperlink in the dynamic hyperlink database; and

establishing the separate dynamic hyperlink at a run-time of any display view that includes the new process control object.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the dynamic hyperlink database is at least one of searchable or indexed.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing a user interface for a set of dynamic hyperlink administrative operations, the set of dynamic hyperlink administrative operations including at least one of:

create, define, delete, modify, view, search or link.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein providing the user interface comprises at least one of:

providing the user interface upon a selection of a specific process control object;

providing the user interface upon a selection of a specific knowledge object;

or

providing the user interface via at least one of;

a drop-down menu, a display control, or a drag-and-drop operation.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein providing the user interface for the set of dynamic hyperlink administrative operations comprises displaying the user interface for at least one of the set of dynamic hyperlink administrative operations based on at least one of:

an authority level of a user, an authority level of a group to which the user belongs, a plant location, a plant area, a selected process control object subject, a workstation or computing device, or a selected knowledge object.

17. A method of providing access to knowledge references in a process control system, comprising:

presenting a display view on a screen of a computing device in the process control system;

identifying, based on an entry of a dynamic hyperlink database, a dynamic hyperlink corresponding to a process control object exhibited on the display view wherein;

the dynamic hyperlink specifies an association between the process control object and a knowledge object corresponding to a knowledge reference accessible by the process control system, and

the dynamic hyperlink is independent of a definition or a configuration of the display view;

displaying the dynamic hyperlink; and

upon receiving an indication of a user selection of the dynamic hyperlink, displaying the knowledge reference.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein:

identifying the dynamic hyperlink corresponding to the process control object comprises identifying more than one dynamic hyperlink corresponding to the process control object, and

displaying the dynamic hyperlink comprises displaying a list of the more than one dynamic hyperlink.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein displaying the list of the more than one dynamic hyperlink comprises displaying the list in conjunction with a display control corresponding to a search operation for the list.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the knowledge reference comprises at least one of:

a device reference material, a product data sheet, a specification sheet, an operating manual, a service manual, a customer documentation, a standard operating procedure, an incident report, a safety manual, a best practices document, a drawing, a loop sheet, a P&

ID (Process and Instrumentation Diagram), a picture, an animated clip, a logbook entry, a note, a work order, a help topic, a display, a chart, or a second process control object.

21. The method of claim 17, wherein the process control object corresponds to one of:

an area, a unit, a module, a block, a tag, a display, a chart, an alarm, a piece of equipment, a node, a device, a particular display view, or an event.

22. The method of claim 17, further comprising providing a visual indication on the display view indicating a presence of the identified dynamic hyperlink.

23. The method of claim 17, wherein:

the process control object corresponds to a content of a particular knowledge reference; and

displaying the dynamic hyperlink comprises displaying the dynamic hyperlink embedded within the content of the particular knowledge reference.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the embedded dynamic hyperlink links the particular knowledge reference to real-time data so that a current value of the real-time data is displayed when the content of the particular knowledge reference is displayed.

25. The method of claim 17, wherein displaying the knowledge reference comprises displaying the knowledge reference in conjunction with a user interface for editing the knowledge reference.

26. The method of claim 17, further comprising creating a new dynamic hyperlink, comprising, after presenting the display view:

receiving an indication of a selected process control object;

displaying a list of available knowledge references accessible by the process control system;

receiving an indication of a selected knowledge reference from the list of available knowledge references; and

defining the new dynamic hyperlink, including storing a new entry of the dynamic hyperlink database indicating the selected process control object and the selected knowledge reference.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein creating the new dynamic hyperlink comprises creating the new dynamic hyperlink based on one of:

a user selection of a menu item from a drop-down menu, a user selection of a display control, or a user-initiated drag-and-drop operation.

28. A knowledge access system for use in a process control system of a process control plant for providing access to knowledge references, the knowledge access system comprising:

a configuration database stored on a first centralized memory internal to a firewall of the process control system;

a dynamic hyperlink database stored on a second centralized memory accessible to the process control system, wherein each entry of the dynamic hyperlink database corresponds to a specific dynamic hyperlink and includes;

an indication of a process control object defined in the configuration database; and

an indication of at least one knowledge object corresponding to a knowledge reference accessible by the process control system;

a display view exhibited on a computing device in communication with the process control system; and

a knowledge access provider comprising computer-executable instructions stored on a memory of the computing device and adapted to be executed by a processor of the computing device, the knowledge access provider being enabled to;

identify, based on the dynamic hyperlink database, at least one dynamic hyperlink corresponding to the exhibited display view;

display the at least one dynamic hyperlink;

receive a user indication of a selected dynamic hyperlink; and

display a content of a corresponding knowledge reference based on an entry of the dynamic hyperlink database corresponding to the selected dynamic hyperlink.

29. The knowledge access system of claim 28, further comprising an audit operation for the dynamic hyperlink database, wherein the audit operation ensures that for the each entry of the dynamic hyperlink database, a valid process control object and a valid knowledge object exist.

30. The knowledge access system of claim 28, wherein at least one knowledge reference is stored externally to the firewall of the process control system.

31. The knowledge access system of claim 28, wherein:

the process control object is a class object;

the dynamic hyperlink database includes an entry corresponding to each sub-class object of the class object; and

each entry corresponding to the each sub-class object includes an indication of the each sub-class object and an indication of the at least one knowledge object;

and the each entry of the each sub-class object is created in conjunction with a creation of the entry corresponding to the class object.

32. The knowledge access system of claim 28, wherein the knowledge access provider is further enabled to provide a user interface for editing the corresponding knowledge reference via the selected dynamic hyperlink.

33. The knowledge access system of claim 29, wherein the each entry of the dynamic hyperlink database further includes at least one of:

an expiration time, and after the expiration time expires, a corresponding dynamic hyperlink is disabled and the each entry is deleted from the dynamic hyperlink database;

an indication of at least one corresponding display view;

or

an access permission.

34. The knowledge access system of claim 29, wherein the knowledge access provider is further enabled to, without re-configuring or downloading:

modify the entry of the dynamic hyperlink database corresponding to the selected dynamic hyperlink; and

update the display of the content of the corresponding knowledge reference based on the modification.