Auto discovery of embedded historians in network

• US 7,742,833 B1
• Filed: 09/28/2006
• Issued: 06/22/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies Incorporated (Rockwell Automation, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies Incorporated (Rockwell Automation, Inc.)
• Inventors: Palmieri, Frank Anthony Jr., Baier, John J., Campbell, John T., McGreevy, Robert J., Herbst, Robert J., Jasper, Taryl J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Jarrett; Ryan A
• Application Number:
  US11/536,522
• Time in Patent Office: 1,363 Days
• Field of Search: 702/187, 702/188, 700/108
• US Class Current: 700/108
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 23/0264 Control of logging system, e.g. decision on which data to store; time-stamping measurements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/04 Manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/30 Computing systems specially adapted for manufacturing

Abstract

Systems and methods that facilitate discovery of history data via a locator component associated with a plant embedded historian(s) of an industrial programmer (e.g., a controller device.) Such locator component can further detect micro historians that are distributed on the back plane of an industrial network. The locator component can be part of applications running on a control unit, which can function as a management control center for the industrial network system. A common data model can be employed to expose functionality and data of the organization to the embedded historian component.

Claims

1. An industrial automation system, comprising one or more processors executing the following components:

a plurality of embedded historians that are distributed as part of a networked industrial automation system to collect data associated with the industrial automation system, wherein each of the embedded historians has a direct interface to at least one controller, and wherein the embedded historians are configured to self-identify upon the occurrence of a predetermined event;

a locator component that locates one or more embedded historians by employing a trail of metadata based at least on an identified data type of historian data to be collected;

an organizational hierarchy data model with nodes that represent units associated with the industrial automation system;

an artificial intelligence component that facilitates identification of data collected by the embedded historians;

a Human Machine Interface (HMI) to graphically display a view of the industrial automation system; and

a graphical user interface (GUI) that forms an application view of a historian data collection system, wherein the embedded historians are distributed as part of industrial units of an industrial plant and collect data across various levels of the industrial plant, and wherein historian functionality is shifted upwards or downwards between the levels based upon at least one of;

overloading at one or more levels, or a network message from another level.

2. The industrial automation system of claim 1, wherein the locator component is operatively connected to a directory service to facilitate discovery service.

3. The industrial automation system of claim 1, wherein the organizational hierarchy data model facilitates data determined for collection.

4. The industrial automation system of claim 1, wherein the embedded historian component is associated with at least one of a controller, a module in a chassis, a server, a sensor, or a factory component.

5. The industrial automation system of claim 1, wherein the organizational hierarchy data model employs metadata for identification of embedded historians to the locator component.

6. The industrial automation system of claim 1, further comprising a publish and subscribe component that identifies embedded historians to the locator component.

7. The industrial automation system of claim 1, further comprising a socket arrangement wherein at least one of the embedded historians initially identifies itself to the network and to a central controller using a socket bound to a specific port number.

8. A method of locating embedded historians within an industrial plant comprising:

collecting data using a plurality of embedded historians that are distributed as part of industrial units of the industrial plant, the collecting data comprising collecting historian data across various levels of the industrial plant;

identifying a data type of data to be acquired;

detecting at least one embedded historian that collects data of the identified data type using a locator hardware component that employs metadata to facilitate a trail to the embedded historian;

defining a common organizational data model for the industrial plant;

utilizing an artificial intelligence component to facilitate identification of data collected by the embedded historian;

acquiring the data from the embedded historian;

wherein if one or more of the levels become overloaded with the collection data, historian functionality is shifted upwards or downwards between the levels.

9. The method of claim 8 further comprising employing a directory to track source of data.

10. The method of claim 8 further comprising employing a polling mechanism for embedded historian detection and identification.

11. The method of claim 8 further comprising integrating additional embedded historians to the industrial plant.

12. The method of claim 8 further comprising incorporating the embedded historian as part of a controller.

13. The method of claim 8 further comprising incorporating self identifying the embedded historian upon occurrence of a predetermined event.

14. An industrial automation system, comprising:

a plurality of embedded historians that are distributed as part of a networked industrial automation system to collect data associated with the industrial automation system and the embedded historians are configured to self-identify upon the occurrence of a predetermined event, wherein a subset of the embedded historians are plugged into a rack, at least one controller plugged into the rack, the rack having a backplane that communicatively couples the subset of the embedded historians with the at least one controller; and

a locator component that detects embedded historians by communicating to the subset of embedded controllers through the controller and employing a trail of metadata based at least on an identified data type of data to be collected and assigns type of historian data for an industrial plant to be collected, wherein the embedded historians are distributed as part of industrial units of an industrial plant and collect data across various levels of the industrial plant, and wherein historian functionality is shifted upwards or downwards between the levels based upon at least one of;

overloading at one or more levels, or a network message from another level.

15. The industrial automation system of claim 14 further comprising an interface that points to a source of data.

16. The industrial automation system of claim 14 further comprising a data base that services the embedded historians.

17. The industrial automation system of claim 14, wherein the locator component is part of an application that runs on a control unit of the industrial plant.

18. The industrial automation system of claim 14 further comprising a directory that determines where a source or destination for a particular embedded historian data structure is located.

19. The industrial automation system of claim 14 further comprising a publish and subscribe component to identify embedded historians to the locator component.