System for remote management of applications of an industrial control system

• US 6,801,920 B1
• Filed: 07/05/2000
• Issued: 10/05/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 07/05/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Schneider Automation Incorporated (Schneider Electric SE)
• Original Assignee: Schneider Automation Incorporated (Schneider Electric SE)
• Inventors: Wischinski, Rainer H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Rones, Charles
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mahmoudi, Hassan
• Application Number:
  US09/609,355
• Time in Patent Office: 1,553 Days
• Field of Search: 717/1, 717/11, 455/428, 703/21, 709/201, 710/7, 710/302, 710/104, 710/8, 707/202, 707/203, 707/204, 707/7, 707/104.1, 707/8
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/31334 Database with devices, configuration, of plant
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/02 Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99937 Sorting
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99954 Version management

Abstract

A system for providing remote configuration management for an industrial control system (ICS) over a wide area network (such as the Internet), including keeping track of each application used by each device of the ICS, the system including: a configuration database, for keeping track of past and present configurations (which devices are or were in use by the ICS in each configuration); a remote sensing module, for determining information about the ICS devices and about applications used by the ICS devices; a configuration manager, for providing over the wide area network a restored copy of an application used by an ICS device; and utilities for enabling communication over a wide area network. The system optionally includes a billing manager that receives from the configuration manager information about each service performed by the configuration manager.

Claims

1. A system for providing remote configuration management over a wide area network for an industrial control system (ICS), the configuration management including keeping track of each application used by each device of the ICS, the system comprising:

a) a configuration database, responsive to updates on which devices are in use by the ICS and to which versions of which applications are used by each device, and further responsive to which applications on which devices constitute each past configuration about which update information has been made and also to the present configuration of the ICS, for providing copies of each version of each application for which an update has been made;

b) a remote sensing module, responsive to information stored in the configuration database, for providing over the wide area network to the ICS devices queries as to the identity of the ICS devices and as to the application identifier and version number of at least some applications used by at least some of the devices, and responsive to corresponding application information provided over the wide area network by the at least some devices and for storing the corresponding application information in the configuration database;

c) a configuration manager, responsive to the corresponding application information in the configuration database, for obtaining over the wide area network backup copies of the current version of at least some of the applications on at least some of the devices, and responsive to restore commands, for providing over the wide area network a restored copy of an application based on either an application identifier and version number or based on a configuration identifier; and

d) utilities for enabling communication over a wide area network.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the restore commands issued to the configuration manager are provided over the wide area network directly from an ICS operator at the ICS.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the wide area network is the Internet, and further comprising a browser, for providing communication over the Internet.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the configuration manager also provides information about a service it performs, and also wherein the system further comprises a billing manager, responsive to the information about the service performed by the configuration manager, for making a record of the service performed by the configuration manager.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the information about the service performed by the configuration manager includes the type of service and the total size of all of the applications to which the service is directed.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the wide area network is the Internet, and further comprising a browser, responsive to and for providing communication over the Internet.