BACKGROUND COLLECTION OF DIAGNOSTIC DATA FROM FIELD INSTRUMENTATION DEVICES

• US 20140257529A1
• Filed: 03/11/2013
• Published: 09/11/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/11/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fisher-Rosemount Systems Incorporated (Emerson Electric Company)
• Original Assignee: Fisher-Rosemount Systems Incorporated (Emerson Electric Company)
• Inventors: Schleiss, Trevor D., Dicaire, Andre A.
• Granted Patent: US 10,120,350 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/79
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 23/0267 Fault communication, e.g. human machine interface [HMI]

Abstract

In a method and system, a device tag allows automatic configuration of a process control system to download and cache device diagnostic data associated with one or more process control field devices. The device diagnostic data are downloaded and cached using bandwidth not otherwise required for real-time process control communications. The device diagnostic data may be polled asynchronously and/or according to a low priority, background task. The device diagnostic data include one or more non-static parameter values. The cached parameter values may be used in display routines, control routines, or any routine for which the update frequency is sufficient. Each cached parameter value may also have associated with it a status.

Claims

1. A method for controlling a process, the method comprising:

communicatively coupling a process control field device to a process controller via an input/output device;

obtaining a device tag for the field device;

configuring the input/output device according to data in the device tag to;

retrieve device diagnostic data from the field device;

cache the device diagnostic data;

provide one or more applications access to the cached device diagnostic data;

retrieving the device diagnostic data from the field device;

caching the device diagnostic data; and

providing the cached device diagnostic data to the one or more applications.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein obtaining a device tag for the field device comprises retrieving device tag data from the field device.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein obtaining a device tag for the field device comprises receiving in a configuration application a selection of a device tag to associate with the field device.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein retrieving the device diagnostic data from the field device comprises retrieving from the field device a value for at least one non-static parameter.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein retrieving from the field device a value for at least one non-static parameter comprises retrieving a value of at least one of the group consisting of:

a calibration state;

a calibration due date;

a device state;

an alert status;

an alarm status;

a device health status;

a measured process parameter;

an input of a function block; and

an output of a function block.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein retrieving a value of an output of a function block comprises retrieving a value of a an output of a statistical processing module (SPM) block.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein retrieving the device diagnostic data from the field device comprises polling the device diagnostic data utilizing bandwidth not otherwise required for real-time process control communications.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein retrieving the device diagnostic data from the field device comprises polling the device diagnostic data according to an asynchronous call.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein retrieving the device diagnostic data from the field device comprises polling the device diagnostic data according to a low priority, background task.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein caching the device diagnostic data further comprises:

determining a data status for each of one or more cached device diagnostic data values; and

storing the determined data status as associated with the corresponding cached diagnostic data value.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein determining a data status comprises:

determining a time elapsed since the cached device diagnostic data value was retrieved;

comparing the time elapsed to a predetermined threshold value;

determining that the data status is good if the time elapsed is less than the predetermined threshold value; and

determining that the data status is bad if (1) the time elapsed is greater than the predetermined threshold value or (2) an active communication alert exists for the field device from which the device diagnostic data value was retrieved.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the predetermined threshold value to which the elapsed time for a first one of the one or more cached device diagnostic data values is compared is different from the predetermined threshold value to which the elapsed time for a second one of the one or more cached device diagnostic data values is compared.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein caching the device diagnostic data comprises caching the device diagnostic data in a memory device of the input/output device.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein providing the cached device diagnostic data to the one or more applications comprises providing the cached device diagnostic data to at least one of the group consisting of:

a device detail display;

an alarm display; and

a device faceplate.

15. The method according to claim 1, wherein providing the cached device diagnostic data to the one or more applications comprises providing the device diagnostic data to a control routine.

16. The method according to claim 1, wherein providing the cached device diagnostic data to the one or more applications including a maintenance display and an operator control display, the maintenance display and the operator control display each including cached device diagnostic data and the method further comprising:

identifying a problem with the process in using maintenance display; and

fixing the problem with the process using the operator control display.

17. A process control system comprising:

a process controller executing one or more process control routines to control a process;

an input/output device communicatively coupled to the process controller;

a plurality of field devices communicatively coupled to the input/output device via a bus and, via the input/output device, to the process controller, at least one of the plurality of field devices generating device diagnostic data;

a device tag associated with the at least one field device and storing data for configuring the input/output device to retrieve the device diagnostic data from the at least one field device;

a first routine stored as instructions on a first memory device, the routine operable to retrieve the device diagnostic data generated by the at least one field device;

a cache storing device diagnostic data retrieved from the at least one field device; and

a second routine operable to read the stored device diagnostic data from the cache and perform a process control function using the device diagnostic data.

18. The process control system according to claim 17, wherein the device tag for the at least one field device is stored in a memory device disposed within the at least one field device.

19. The process control system according to claim 17, wherein the device tag is stored in a configuration database and associated with the at least one field device according to an input received via a configuration application.

20. The process control system according to claim 17, wherein the device diagnostic data generated by the at least one field device comprises a value for at least one non-static parameter.

21. The process control system according to claim 20, wherein the at least one non-static parameter is one of the group consisting of:

a calibration state;

a calibration due date;

a device state;

an alert status;

an alarm status;

a device health status;

a measured process parameter;

an input of a function block; and

an output of a function block.

22. The process control system according to claim 21, wherein the at least one non-static parameter is the output of a function block and the output of the function block comprises the output of a statistical processing module (SPM) block.

23. The process control system according to claim 17, wherein the first routine is operable to poll the at least one field device using bandwidth not otherwise required for real-time process control communications.

24. The process control system according to claim 17, wherein the device diagnostic data stored in the cache comprises:

one or more device diagnostic data values, each of the data values associated with a corresponding device diagnostic data parameter; and

a data status corresponding to each of the one or more device diagnostic data values.

25. The process control system according to claim 24, wherein the data status is determined according to a comparison of a time elapsed since the corresponding device diagnostic data value was retrieved to a predetermined threshold value.

26. The process control system according to claim 25, wherein the predetermined threshold value to which the elapsed time for a first one of the one or more cached device diagnostic data values is compared is different from the predetermined threshold value to which the elapsed time for a second one of the one or more cached device diagnostic data values is compared.

27. The process control system according to claim 17, wherein the cache is stored on a memory device of the input/output device.

28. The process control system according to claim 17, wherein the second routine is a device detail display routine, an alarm display routine, or a device faceplate display routine.

29. The process control system according to claim 17, wherein the second routine is a control routine.

30. The process control system according to claim 17, wherein the second routine is a maintenance display routine that includes device diagnostic data stored in the cache and further comprising:

an operator control display routine that includes a user interface component dynamically linked to the one or more process control routines to control the operation of the process via user interaction with the user interface component, such that a problem with the process identified in the maintenance display routine is fixed using the accessible operator control display routine.

31. The process control system according to claim 17, wherein the first routine is an asynchronous polling routine.

32. The process control system according to claim 17, wherein the first routine is a low priority, background task.