METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING A PROCESS PLANT WITH LOCATION AWARE MOBILE CONTROL DEVICES

• US 20140280497A1
• Filed: 09/17/2013
• Published: 09/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fisher-Rosemount Systems Incorporated (Emerson Electric Company)
• Original Assignee: Fisher-Rosemount Systems Incorporated (Emerson Electric Company)
• Inventors: Nixon, Mark J., Beoughter, Ken J., Christensen, Daniel D.
• Granted Patent: US 10,324,423 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 11/01 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 13/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/048 Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/02 Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]

Abstract

A computer-readable storage medium for controlling a process plant includes instructions operable to determine the location of a device in the process plant and to display data related to proximate devices. The instructions cause a processor to transmit to a server a first request for first data from a data storage area and to receive from the server, in response to the first request, first data from the storage area. The instructions cause the processor to cause the display to display the first data received from the server and to receive an indication that the mobile user interface device is in proximity to an external device. The instructions cause the processor to transmit to the server a second request for second data according to the received indication and to receive second data from the server.

Claims

1. A computer-readable medium storing instructions, executable by a processor in a mobile user interface device for controlling a process plant, the instructions operable to cause the processor to:

transmit to a server a first request for first data from a data storage area;

receive from the server, in response to the first request, first data from the storage area;

cause the display to display the first data received from the server;

receive an indication that the mobile user interface device is in proximity to an external device;

transmit to the server a second request for second data according to the received indication; and

receive from the server, in response to the second request, second data.

2. A computer-readable medium according to claim 1, wherein the instructions for causing the processor to receive an indication that the mobile user interface device is in proximity to an external device comprise instructions for causing the processor to receive an indication that the mobile user interface device is in proximity to an additional user interface device.

3. A computer-readable medium according to claim 1, wherein the instructions for causing the processor to transmit to the server a second request for second data according to the received indication comprise instructions for causing the processor to transmit a request for state information of the additional user interface device and wherein the instructions for causing the processor to receive from the server second data comprise instructions for causing the processor to receive the requested state information of the additional user interface device.

4. A computer-readable medium according to claim 1, further comprising instructions for causing the processor to display process control data from the storage area according to the received state information of the additional user interface device.

5. A computer-readable medium according to claim 4, wherein the instructions for causing the processor to display process control data from the storage area according to the received state information of the additional user interface device comprise instructions for causing the processor to duplicate on the display of the mobile user interface device the display of the additional user interface device.

6. A computer-readable medium according to claim 4, wherein the instructions for causing the processor to display process control data from the storage area according to the received state information of the additional user interface device comprise instructions for causing the processor to arrange on the display of the mobile user interface device the data displayed on the additional user interface device.

7. A computer-readable medium according to claim 1, wherein the instructions for causing the processor to receive an indication that the mobile user interface device is in proximity to an external device comprise instructions for causing the processor to receive an indication that the mobile user interface device is in proximity to a process control device.

8. A computer-readable medium according to claim 1, wherein the instructions for causing the processor to transmit to the server a second request for second data according to the received indication comprise instructions for causing the processor to transmit to the server an indication that the mobile user interface device is in proximity to the process control device, and wherein instructions for causing the processor to receive second data comprise instructions for causing the processor to receive process control data related to the process control device.

9. A computer-readable medium according to claim 8, wherein the instructions for causing the processor to receive process control data related to the process control device comprise instructions for causing the processor to receive and display data of one or more of:

(a) an alarm associated with the process control device;

(b) a maintenance task associated with the process control device;

(c) an diagrammatic depiction of the area of the process plant associated with the process control device;

or

(d) a status of an area of the process plant associated with the process control device.

10. A computer-readable medium according to claim 1, wherein the instructions for causing the processor to receive an indication that the mobile user interface device is in proximity to an external device comprise instructions for causing the processor to receive an indication that the mobile user interface device is in a particular area of the process plant.

11. A computer-readable medium according to claim 1, wherein the instructions for causing the processor to transmit to the server a second request for second data according to the received indication comprise instructions for causing the processor to transmit to the server an indication that the mobile user interface control device is in the particular area of the process plant, and wherein instructions for causing the processor to receive second data comprise instructions for causing the processor to receive process control data related to the particular area of the process plant.

12. A computer-readable medium according to claim 11, wherein the instructions for causing the processor to receive process control data related to the process control device comprise instructions for causing the processor to receive and displaying data of one or more of:

(a) an alarm associated with the particular area of the process plant;

(b) a maintenance task associated with the particular area of the process plant;

(c) a diagrammatic depiction of the particular area of the process plant;

or

(d) a status of an area of the process plant associated with the process control device.