Historian module for use in an industrial automation controller

• US 7,627,385 B2
• Filed: 11/10/2006
• Issued: 12/01/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/14/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies Incorporated (Allen-Bradley Co., Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies Incorporated (Allen-Bradley Co., Inc.)
• Inventors: McGreevy, Robert J., Herbst, Robert J., Hartman, Justin R., Sadowski, Deborah A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Masinick; Michael D
• Application Number:
  US11/558,712
• Publication Number:
  US 20070142941A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,117 Days
• Field of Search: 700/1, 700/17, 700/19, 700/20, 700/26, 700/83, 702/183
• US Class Current: 700/20
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management

Abstract

A distributed historian framework is provided where historical data is collected in accordance with an organizational model of a hierarchical system that is distributed across various elements of an enterprise. A directory service operates with the organizational model to enable configuration of historian components within the organization and to enable data to be located within the organization. In one aspect, an industrial automation system is provided. The system includes at least one historian component to archive data within an organization. A common data model then exposes functionality and data of the organization to the historian component.

Claims

1. An industrial automation historian module, comprising:

a module having at least one communications port coupled with a storage medium for collecting historical data from a controller, the module employs an organizational data model which is a hierarchical and heterogeneous structure of organizational units in an enterprise, the module shifts historian functionality to a disparate module at a different level in the organizational data model to efficiently employ system resources, a security service is distributed to the module based in part on at least one of a data model or a directory service; and

a backplane component within the module to automatically discover one or more tags within the controller, the one or more tags indicate at least one of significance of data for data collection purposes or security information that is distributed throughout the enterprise.

2. The module of claim 1, further comprising a graphical user interface (GUI) to interact with the module.

3. The module of claim 2, the GUI is provided by a web page.

4. The module of claim 1, the backplane component communicates to one or more other modules across a programmable controller chassis.

5. The module of claim 1, the at least one communications port is associated with at least one of an Ethernet port, a universal serial bus port, a common information protocol port, or a computer console port.

6. The module of claim 1, further comprising one or more auto configuration components where one or more historian components are automatically discovered and configured.

7. The module of claim 1, further comprising a component to enable data collection load sharing between historian components.

8. The module of claim 1, further comprising a data structure that represents at least one of an enterprise, a plant, or a control layer within the plant.

9. The module of claim 1, further comprising a publish and subscribe component that enables data to be reported and generated based upon a change in the data.

10. An industrial automation controller, comprising:

a chassis having slots adapted to receive modules;

a processor;

a network in communication with the processor; and

a historian module removably connected in a slot of the chassis, the historian module having a storage medium in communication with the network to collect historical data from the processor, the historian module adapted to automatically discover data structures associated with the controller, the data structures employed to indicate security information that is distributed throughout an enterprise, the historian module shifts historian functionality to disparate historian modules at different levels in the organizational data model to facilitate efficient utilization of system resources.

11. The controller of claim 10, further comprising a backplane component adapted to the historian module to communicate across the chassis.

12. A communications method for a programmable controller backplane, comprising:

adapting a historian module to communicate over a controller chassis by employing metadata that indicates at least one of significance of data for data collection purposes or security information that is distributed throughout an enterprise;

storing data on the historian module collected from the controller chassis;

collecting tag data from an industrial controller via the chassis;

communicating with disparate historian modules at different levels in an organizational data model associated with the enterprise; and

sharing data collection responsibilities with the disparate historian modules in a manner such that resources are efficiently utilized.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising interfacing to the historian module via a web page.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising collecting data on the historian module from at least one other chassis across a network.

15. The method of claim 12, further comprising collecting alarm or event data across the chassis.

16. The method of claim 12, further comprising collecting tag data from at least a second industrial controller across the chassis.

17. The method of claim 12, further comprising generating at least one graphical user interface to configure the historian module.

18. The method of claim 12, further comprising storing data on the historian module that has been published from at least one other module.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising subscribing to data that is stored on the historian module.

20. A rack mounted historian module, comprising:

means for communicating across a controller backplane;

means for storing historian data on the controller backplane;

means for shifting of historian functionality between and across levels of an organization data model associated with an enterprise to facilitate efficient utilization of resources; and

means for indicating at least one of significance of data for data collection purposes or security information that is distributed throughout the system, to facilitate adaptability of the rack mounted historian module within the organization data model.