Managing field devices having different device description specifications in a process control system
First Claim
1. A method of managing a plurality of field devices from a client system in a process control plant, each of a first plurality of device descriptions specifying a manner in which a corresponding one of said plurality of field devices is to be managed, said first plurality of device descriptions being defined according to a corresponding different plurality of specifications, said method comprising:
- forming a second plurality of device descriptions from said first plurality of device descriptions, all of said second plurality of device descriptions being in a common format and also specifying said manner in which said plurality of field devices are to be managed,wherein said first plurality of device descriptions are received by said forming from a corresponding first plurality of files and said second plurality of device descriptions are stored by said forming in a corresponding second plurality of files on a non-volatile storage;
receiving in said client system data representing a user action associated with a first field device contained in said plurality of field devices;
identifying in said client system a first device description corresponding to said first field device among said second plurality of device descriptions, wherein said first device description is contained in a first file in said common format, wherein said first file is contained in said second plurality of files; and
examining in said client system said first device description in said first file in said common format to determine the manner in which to process data representing said user action, wherein a common parser is used by said client system in said examining due to the use of said common format,wherein said examining is performed after said receiving, andwherein said forming is performed external to said client system.
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Abstract
According to an aspect of the present invention, device descriptions specified using different device description (DD) specifications are converted (represented) into a single format. In an embodiment, the single format corresponds to extended markup language (XML). The device description in the single format is then examined to provide a user interface for management of the corresponding field devices. Due to such use of a common format, integration of field devices (into a management system) having device description defined according to a new device description specification, may be simplified.
67 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A method of managing a plurality of field devices from a client system in a process control plant, each of a first plurality of device descriptions specifying a manner in which a corresponding one of said plurality of field devices is to be managed, said first plurality of device descriptions being defined according to a corresponding different plurality of specifications, said method comprising:
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forming a second plurality of device descriptions from said first plurality of device descriptions, all of said second plurality of device descriptions being in a common format and also specifying said manner in which said plurality of field devices are to be managed, wherein said first plurality of device descriptions are received by said forming from a corresponding first plurality of files and said second plurality of device descriptions are stored by said forming in a corresponding second plurality of files on a non-volatile storage; receiving in said client system data representing a user action associated with a first field device contained in said plurality of field devices; identifying in said client system a first device description corresponding to said first field device among said second plurality of device descriptions, wherein said first device description is contained in a first file in said common format, wherein said first file is contained in said second plurality of files; and examining in said client system said first device description in said first file in said common format to determine the manner in which to process data representing said user action, wherein a common parser is used by said client system in said examining due to the use of said common format, wherein said examining is performed after said receiving, and wherein said forming is performed external to said client system. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A computer readable medium carrying one or more sequences of instructions for causing a client system to manage a plurality of field devices in a process control plant, wherein each of a first plurality of device descriptions specifying a manner in which a corresponding one of said plurality of field devices is to be managed, said first plurality of device descriptions being defined according to a corresponding different plurality of specifications, wherein execution of said one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors contained in said system causes said one or more processors to perform the actions of:
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receiving data representing a user action associated with a first field device contained in said plurality of field devices; identifying a first file containing a first device description corresponding to said first field device in a common format, wherein said first device description is contained in a second plurality of device descriptions in said common format and said first file is contained in a second plurality of files in said common format, wherein said second plurality of device descriptions are formed from said first plurality of device descriptions and are stored in corresponding ones of said second plurality of files, all of said second plurality of device descriptions being in said common format and also specifying said manner in which said plurality of field devices are to be managed; and examining said first device description in said common format to determine the manner in which to process data representing said user action, wherein a common parser is used by said examining due to the use of said common format, wherein said examining is performed after said receiving. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. An apparatus for managing a plurality of field devices in a process control plant, each of a first plurality of device descriptions specifying a manner in which a corresponding one of said plurality of field devices is to be managed, said first plurality of device descriptions being defined according to a corresponding different plurality of specifications, said apparatus comprising:
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means for receiving data representing a user action associated with a first field device contained in said plurality of field devices; means for identifying a first file containing a first device description corresponding to said first field device in a common format, wherein said first device description is contained in a second plurality of device descriptions in said common format and said first file is contained in a second plurality of files in said common format, wherein said second plurality of device descriptions are formed from said first plurality of device descriptions and are stored in corresponding ones of said second plurality of files, all of said second plurality of device descriptions being in said common format and also specifying said manner in which said plurality of field devices are to be managed; and means for examining said first device description in said common format to determine the manner in which to process data representing said user action, wherein a common parser is used by said examining due to the use of said common format, wherein said examining is performed after said receiving.
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Specification