Distributed database in an industrial automation environment
First Claim
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1. A distributed database system within an industrial automation environment, comprising:
- a processor;
a memory communicatively coupled to the processor, the memory having stored thereon computer-executable instructions configured to implement the system, including;
a hierarchically structured data model representation of a plurality of controllers within an industrial automation system, the hierarchically structured data model representing data stored within the plurality of controllers as data objects located within a nested plant hierarchy;
a reception component that receives and services a request for data that is located within at least one of the plurality of controllers, the reception component employs the hierarchically structured data model to collectively query the plurality of controllers as a single unit and to retrieve the requested data from the at least one of the plurality of controllers; and
a directory structure that receives a pointer from one of the plurality of controllers indicating a location of a data object within the plant hierarchy, the directory structure maintaining the pointer to facilitate location and retrieval of the data object by the reception component.
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Abstract
A distributed database system within an industrial automation environment comprises a plurality of associated programmable logic controllers, wherein each of the programmable logic controllers includes data relating to one of a process and a device. Furthermore, the data within the plurality of programmable logic controllers can conform to a hierarchically structured data model, which, for example, can be based upon ISA S95, ISA S88, OMAC, or any suitable combination thereof. A reception component receives and services a request for data that is located within at least one of the programmable logic controllers.
259 Citations
29 Claims
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1. A distributed database system within an industrial automation environment, comprising:
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a processor; a memory communicatively coupled to the processor, the memory having stored thereon computer-executable instructions configured to implement the system, including; a hierarchically structured data model representation of a plurality of controllers within an industrial automation system, the hierarchically structured data model representing data stored within the plurality of controllers as data objects located within a nested plant hierarchy; a reception component that receives and services a request for data that is located within at least one of the plurality of controllers, the reception component employs the hierarchically structured data model to collectively query the plurality of controllers as a single unit and to retrieve the requested data from the at least one of the plurality of controllers; and a directory structure that receives a pointer from one of the plurality of controllers indicating a location of a data object within the plant hierarchy, the directory structure maintaining the pointer to facilitate location and retrieval of the data object by the reception component. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A computer implemented method for utilizing a plurality of controllers as a distributed database comprising:
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representing an automation environment that includes the plurality of controllers as a hierarchically structured data model having at least a site level, an area level, a line level, and a workcell level; communicatively associating the plurality of controllers; representing data stored within the plurality of controllers as data objects within the hierarchically structured data model; providing a unified hierarchical view of the data objects within the plurality of controllers, the data conforms to the hierarchically structured data model; receiving a pointer from at least one of the plurality of controllers indicating a location of a data object within the automation environment; and maintaining the pointer to facilitate location and retrieval of the data object from the automation environment. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A distributed database system for utilization in an industrial automation environment, the system is recorded on a computer-readable medium and capable of execution by a computer, comprising:
means for providing direct access to content stored on a plurality of controllers, the content including data that conforms to a hierarchically structured data model representation of the industrial automation environment; means for receiving a pointer from at least one of the plurality of controllers indicating a location of a subset of the content; means for maintaining the pointer to facilitate location and retrieval of the subset of the content from the industrial automation environment; means for receiving a request for the subset of the content; and means for employing the hierarchically structured data model and the pointer to collectively search the content of the plurality of controllers for the requested subset as a single entity. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29)
Specification