Provision of information in an automation system

• US 7,231,398 B2
• Filed: 10/21/2002
• Issued: 06/12/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/09/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Siemens AG
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: Schlereth, Michael, Wagner, Peter
• Primary Examiner(s): Wong; Don
• Assistant Examiner(s): Vy; Hung Tran
• Application Number:
  US10/494,737
• Publication Number:
  US 20050015398A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,695 Days
• Field of Search: 707/1, 707/9, 707100-102, 709/203, 705 7- 9, 711/117
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 23/0264 Control of logging system, e.g. decision on which data to store; time-stamping measurements
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface

Abstract

The invention relates to a system and a method for providing information in an automation system, which permits scaled access to said information. The system contains storage means for storing information in the form of an information hierarchy, whereby said storage means form hierarchical tiers and to enhance the information the system comprises first storage means of lower-level hierarchical tiers for the provision of information to second storage means of higher-level hierarchical tiers. The system also contains an engineering system for generating the information from projected information of the automation system and for the automatic projection of the storage means and access means, for accessing the stored information.

Claims

1. A system for provision of information in an automation system, comprising:

an engineering system for generating information indicative of a project planning;

a plurality of storage devices for storing the information in the form of an information hierarchy, wherein the storage devices from hierarchy levels, and further wherein the plurality of storage devices is coupled to the engineering system for performing an automatic project planning;

at least a first storage device of the plurality of storage devices being configured to store one or more subordinate hierarchy storage levels for mapping the information in accordance with the one or more subordinate hierarchy storage levels;

at least second storage device of the plurality of storage devices being configured to store one or more superordinate hierarchy storage levels of the second storage device or mapping the information accordance with the one or more superordinate hierarchy storage levels of the second storage device wherein information mapped in accordance with the one or more superordinate hierarchy storage levels constitute enriched information relative to information mapped in accordance with the one or more subordinate hierarchy storage levels;

a processor configured to link information mapped in accordance with the one or more subordinate hierarchy storage levels in the first storage device to the second storage device to generate enriched information mapped in accordance with the one or more superordinate hierarchy storage levels; and

an access mechanism for access to the stored information the information is stored in XML formats.

2. A system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the engineering system is provided for generating of contents and a configuration of the project planning from the project planning information, for transmitting the contents and the configuration of the project planning in the syntax of a markup language, for assigning the contents to the hierarchy levels of the storage devices and for storing the contents in the relevant storage devices.

3. A system in accordance with claim 2, wherein the storage devices are embodied as Web Servers installed on processing units, wherein the scaling of the Web servers is provided depending on the power of the relevant Web server and the processing units each comprise one or more Web servers.

4. A system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the storage devices are embodied as Web Servers installed on processing units, wherein the scaling of the Web servers is provided depending on the power of the relevant Web server and the processing units each comprise one or more Web servers.

5. A system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the project planning information comprises system information of the automation system and project data.

6. A system in accordance with claim 2, wherein the project planning information comprises system information of the automation system and project data.

7. A system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the system is provided for automatically assigning information of the information hierarchy to data.

8. A system an accordance with claim 7, wherein the data are messages from a runtime system.

9. A system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the engineering system is provided for generating the information from a Manufacturing Execution System and/or an Enterprise Resource Planning System.

12. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the storage devices are embodied as Web servers installed on processing units, wherein the Web server scaling depends on the power of the relevant Web server and the processing units each comprise one or more Web servers.

10. A system for provision of information in an automation system, comprising:

an engineering system for generating information indicative of project planning;

a plurality of storage devices for storing the information in the form of an information hierarchy, wherein the storage devices form hierarchy levels, and further wherein the plurality of storage devices is coupled to the engineering system for performing an automatic project planning;

at least a first storage device of the plurality of storage devices being configured to store one or more subordinate hierarchy storage levels for the information;

at least a second storage device of the plurality of storage devices being configured to store one or more superordinate hierarchy storage levels of the second storage device for the information, wherein the first storage devices is linked to the second storage device to generate information enriched by content in the one or more superordinate hierarchy storage levels; and

an access mechanism for access to the stored information, the information is stored in XML formats.

11. A method in accordance with claim 10, wherein the engineering system

generating contents and a configuration of the project planning from the project planning information;

transferring the contents and the configuration of the project planning in the syntax of a markup language;

assigning the contents to the hierarchy levels of the storage devices; and

storing the contents in the relevant storage devices.

13. A method in accordance with claim 11, wherein the project planning information comprises system information of the automation system and project data.

14. A method in accordance with claim 10, wherein the storage devices are embodied as Web servers installed on processing units, wherein the Web server scaling depends on the power of the relevant Web server and the processing units each comprise one or more Web servers.

15. A method in accordance with claim 10, wherein the project planning information comprises system information of the automation system and project data.

16. A method in accordance with one of the claim 10, wherein information of the information hierarchy is automatically assigned to messages from a runtime system.

17. A method in accordance with claim 10, wherein the engineering system generates the information from a Manufacturing Execution System and/or an Enterprise Resource Planning System.