Self organizing industrial control system importing neighbor constraint ranges

• US 6,272,391 B1
• Filed: 03/03/1999
• Issued: 08/07/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Allen-Bradley Company LLC (Rockwell Automation, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Rockwell Technologies, LLC
• Inventors: Vasko, David A., Maturana, Francisco P., Herr, Rebecca J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Grant, William
• Assistant Examiner(s): Rapp, Chad
• Application Number:
  US09/261,275
• Time in Patent Office: 888 Days
• Field of Search: 700/95, 700/97, 700/100, 700/101, 700/102, 700/103, 700/105, 700/109, 700/115, 700/116
• US Class Current: 700/103
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/41865 characterised by job scheduling, process planning, material flow
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/32328 Dynamic scheduling, resource allocation, multi agent negotiation
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/02 Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]

Abstract

An industrial control system uses a number of autonomous control units, each associated with one piece of equipment in an industrial process. The autonomous control units include data indicating not only their constraints of operation but also reflecting the constraints of operation of machines to which they are attached and with which they share common operating parameters. An autonomous controller associated with a machine having operating parameters in common with another machine adopts the intersection of the ranges of the machine constraint of the two machines. Machine constraints are preserved to the extent possible as ranges so as to permit flexibility in selecting and seeking goals by the individual autonomous control units.

Claims

1. An industrial control system for controlling an industrial process of interconnected machines operating to produce a manufactured product according to a job plan, the industrial control comprising:

a plurality of interconnected autonomous control units, one associated with each machine, the autonomous control units having

(a) an electronic memory holding data representing;

(i) machine constraints indicating constraints on an operation of a given machine resulting from limitations of the machine;

(ii) inter-machine relationships indicating physical operating parameters of the given machine linked to physical operating parameters of another machine;

(b) an electronic computer executing a stored program to;

(i) modify the machine constraints associated with the given machine by the machine constraints of machines related by the inter-machine relationships; and

(ii) evaluate a feasibility of execution of a portion of a job plan for the manufacture of a product by the given machine based on the modified machine constraints whereby more rapid convergence on a solution to produce the manufactured machine is provided.

2. The industrial control system of claim 1

wherein the memory holds multiple machine constraints and inter-machine relationships identified to different material paths between machines, and

wherein the machine constraints associated with a given material path are modified by the machine constraints of only machines related by the inter-machine relationships associated with the given material path.

3. The industrial control system of claim 1

wherein a job plan defines a single material path between machines;

and

wherein the evaluation of the feasibility of execution of a portion of the job plan for the manufacture of a product by the given machine is based on the modified machine constraints associated with the single material path.

4. The industrial control system of claim 1 wherein the electronic computer evaluates the feasibility of execution of a portion of the job plan by:

(iii) in response to a job plan and bids by other autonomous control units, creating a bid for the job plan describing performance of a portion of the job plan that may be performed by the given machine according to the modified machine constraints, and in the alternative creating a counter-bid proposing further modification of the machine constraints;

(ii) in response to counter-bids by other autonomous control units, creating a modified bid for the job plan describing performance of a portion of the job plan that may be performed by the given machine according to the modified machine constraints adjusted by the received counter-bid, and in the alternative creating a counter-bid proposing new machine constraints within the modified machine constraints.

5. The industrial control system of claim 1 wherein the inter-machine relationships match identical operating parameters that are inputs and outputs of interconnected machines.

6. The industrial control system of claim 1 wherein the machine constraints are ranges of input parameters to the given machine and wherein the other machine is prior to the given machine in a material path and wherein the given machine adopts the intersection of the input parameter range of the given machine and an output parameter range of the other machine as modified machine constraints.

7. The industrial control system of claim 1 wherein the machine constraints are ranges of output parameters to the given machine and wherein the other machine is subsequent to the given machine in the material path and wherein the given machine adopts the intersection of the output parameter range of the given machine and an input parameter range of the other machine as modified machine constraints.

8. The industrial control system of claim 1 wherein the electronic memory further includes data representing a model of the operation of the given machine and wherein the electronic computer modifies the machine constraints associated with the given machine by evaluating the machine constraints of machines related by the inter-machine relationships as processed by the model.

9. The industrial control system of claim 1 wherein the machine constraints are a range of operating parameters and the modification of the machine constraints produces a multivalues range of operating parameters that is a subset of the range of operating parameters.

10. The industrial control system of claim 1 wherein the autonomous control unit are partitions of a single computer.

11. The industrial control system of claim 1 wherein the autonomous control unit are separate individual computers communicating on a common communication link.