CONTINUOUS EQUIPMENT OPERATION IN AN AUTOMATED CONTROL ENVIRONMENT

• US 20130006393A1
• Filed: 06/29/2012
• Published: 01/03/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mega Fluid Systems, Inc. (Kinetics Holding GmbH)
• Original Assignee: Mega Fluid Systems, Inc. (Kinetics Holding GmbH)
• Inventors: FLETCHER, Bryan Henry, GRAVES, James Andrew, WILLIAMS, Quay Isaac Gene, ALLEN, David Peter
• Granted Patent: US 9,459,619 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/12
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 23/0291 Switching into safety or degraded mode, e.g. protection and supervision after failure
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 9/02 electric

Abstract

Continuous equipment operation is facilitated despite disablement of an automation controller for controlling the equipment. A safe state in which equipment is to be maintained upon disablement of the automation controller is determined. Safe state data is provided for configuring an I/O module, through which the automation controller controls the equipment, with the safe state data to facilitate maintaining the equipment in the safe state during disablement of the automation controller. In one embodiment, upon subsequent enablement of the automation controller, a current state of the I/O module is evaluated and an automatic control state into which the equipment is to be transitioned is determined. The equipment is then transitioned to the determined automatic control state.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

determining a safe state in which equipment is to be maintained upon disablement of an automation controller for controlling the equipment; and

configuring, by a processor, an I/O module, through which the automation controller controls the equipment, with safe state data to facilitate maintaining, by the I/O module, the equipment in the safe state upon disablement of the automation controller, wherein the configuring facilitates continuous equipment operation upon disablement of the automation controller.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

based on at least one of enablement or replacement of the automation controller, evaluating a current state of the I/O module, the current state reflecting a current state in which the equipment is being maintained;

determining, based on the evaluating, an automatic control state into which the equipment is to be transitioned; and

transitioning the equipment to the determined automatic control state.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the disablement comprises a failure of the automation controller.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the equipment is controlled by the automation controller via the I/O module.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the processor is a processor of the automation controller.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the safe state data is built by the processor based on the determined safe state, and wherein the configuring comprises providing the safe state data by the processor to the I/O module.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the I/O module is a network I/O module, and wherein the processor is in communication with the network I/O module via one or more network connections.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the configuring occurs under normal operating conditions of the equipment, in which the automation controller is enabled.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the equipment comprises industrial equipment, and wherein the automation controller comprises a programmable logic controller for controlling the industrial equipment.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by the I/O module, the safe state data and storing the safe state data in a safe state data store; and

based on disablement of the automation controller, transitioning, by the I/O module, operation of the equipment from a current state to the safe state.

11. A system comprising:

a memory; and

a processor in communication with the memory, the processor configured to execute program code stored in the memory to perform;

determining a safe state in which equipment is to be maintained upon disablement of an automation controller for controlling the equipment; and

configuring an I/O module, through which the automation controller controls the equipment, with safe state data to facilitate maintaining, by the I/O module, the equipment in the safe state upon disablement of the automation controller, wherein the configuring facilitates continuous equipment operation upon disablement of the automation controller.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the processor is configured to execute program code stored in the memory to further perform:

based on at least one of enablement or replacement of the automation controller, evaluating a current state of the I/O module, the current state reflecting a current state in which the equipment is being maintained;

determining, based on the evaluating, an automatic control state into which the equipment is to be transitioned; and

transitioning the equipment to the determined automatic control state.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the system comprises the automation controller and wherein the automation controller comprises the memory and the processor.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the system further comprises the I/O module, and wherein the equipment is controlled by the automation controller via the I/O module.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the I/O module comprises another processor, the another processor configured to execute program code of the I/O module to perform:

receiving the safe state data and storing the safe state data in a safe state data store; and

based on disablement of the automation controller, transitioning operation of the equipment from a current state to the safe state.

16. The system of claim 13, wherein the equipment comprises industrial equipment, and wherein the automation controller comprises a programmable logic controller for controlling the industrial equipment.

17. A computer program product comprising:

a computer readable storage medium readable by a processor and storing instructions for execution by the processor to perform a method comprising;

determining a safe state in which equipment is to be maintained upon disablement of an automation controller for controlling the equipment; and

configuring an I/O module, through which the automation controller controls the equipment, with safe state data to facilitate maintaining, by the I/O module, the equipment in the safe state upon disablement of the automation controller, wherein the configuring facilitates continuous equipment operation upon disablement of the automation controller.

18. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein the method further comprises:

based on at least one of enablement or replacement of the automation controller, evaluating a current state of the I/O module, the current state reflecting a current state in which the equipment is being maintained;

determining, based on the evaluating, an automatic control state into which the equipment is to be transitioned; and

transitioning the equipment to the determined automatic control state.

19. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein the method further comprises building the safe state data by the processor based on the determined safe state, and wherein the configuring comprises providing the safe state data by the processor to the I/O module.

20. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein the equipment comprises industrial equipment, and wherein the automation controller comprises a programmable logic controller for controlling the industrial equipment.