Microhistorians as proxies for data transfer

• US 7,809,656 B2
• Filed: 09/27/2007
• Issued: 10/05/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/2007
• 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): HOLMES, MICHAEL B
• Application Number:
  US11/862,891
• Publication Number:
  US 20090089232A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,104 Days
• Field of Search: 706/12
• US Class Current: 706/12
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 17/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/05 Programmable logic controllers, e.g. simulating logic interconnections of signals according to ladder diagrams or function charts
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/14055 Make log, journal, history file of state changes
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/15038 Internet, tcp-ip, web server see under S05B219-40
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/34038 Web, http, ftp, internet, intranet server

Abstract

Systems and methods that enable historians (e.g., micro-historians) to function as proxies, to supply plant level data, (e.g., history data) back to the controllers. Accordingly, typically such micro historians can function as clients/servers, to provide higher level data to the controllers (e.g., from third part databases). The historians can create a proxy that image an object on a server associated with controllers (e.g., programmable logic controller.) Such objects can contain data; pieces of code; attributes; operations or combinations thereof, for example.

Claims

1. An industrial automation system, comprising:

a control component that employs historian data for a control of the industrial automation system; and

a plurality of embedded historians that collect the historian data and serve as a proxy thereof for the control component.

2. The industrial automation system of claim 1 further comprising a locator component that detects the embedded historians and assigns type of historian data to be collected.

3. The industrial automation system of claim 1 further comprising an organizational hierarchy data model with nodes that represent units associated with the industrial automation system.

4. The industrial automation system of claim 1 the locator component operatively connected to a directory service to facilitate discovery service.

5. The industrial automation system of claim 1 further comprising an artificial intelligence component that facilitates identification of data collected by the embedded historians.

6. The industrial automation system of claim 1 further comprising a Human Machine Interface (HMI) to graphically display a view of the industrial automation system.

7. The industrial automation system of claim 1 further comprising a graphical user interface (GUI) that forms an application view of a historian data collection system.

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

9. The industrial automation system of claim 1, the embedded historians associated with at least one of a controller, a module in a chassis, a server, a sensor, and a factory component.

10. The industrial automation system of claim 3, the organizational hierarchy data model employs metadata for identification of embedded historians to the locator component.

11. The industrial automation system of claim 2, further comprising a publish and subscribe component that identifies embedded historians to the locator component.

12. A method of supplying key performance indicators to controllers of an industrial plant comprising:

collecting data via a plurality of embedded historians;

creating a proxy for the data via the embedded historians; and

supplying the data to the controllers.

13. The method of claim 12 further comprising locating the embedded historians via a locator component.

14. The method of claim 13 further comprising employing metadata to facilitate a trail to the embedded historians.

15. The method of claim 13 further comprising defining a common organizational data model for the industrial plant.

16. The method of claim 13 further comprising employing a directory to track source of data.

17. The method of claim 13 further comprising collecting historian data across various levels of the industrial plant.

18. The method of claim 13 further comprising employing a polling mechanism for embedded historian detection and identification.

19. The method of claim 13 further comprising integrating additional embedded historians to the industrial plant.

20. An industrial controller system comprising:

representing means for representing collected data in form of a proxy in an industrial process;

means for locating the representing means; and

means for publishing the representing means.