Services portal

• US 7,840,296 B2
• Filed: 01/18/2008
• Issued: 11/23/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/08/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Schneider Electric Systems USA, Inc. (Schneider Electric SE)
• Original Assignee: Invensys Systems Incorporated (Invensys PLC)
• Inventors: Culverhouse, Martin, Russell, Melanie, Barr, Russell, Martin, Peter, Bather, Robert, Sanford, Fred, Hasselbaum, Robert, Sikora, Walter
• Primary Examiner(s): Jarrett; Ryan A
• Application Number:
  US12/016,576
• Publication Number:
  US 20080140356A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,040 Days
• Field of Search: 700/108, 702/188
• US Class Current: 700/108
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/31457 Factory remote control, monitoring through internet
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2223/06 Remote monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 23/0245 based on a qualitative model, e.g. rule based; if-then decisions
• 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 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other groups of this subclass
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/80 Management or planning

Abstract

An apparatus for monitoring performance of an industrial process includes a service portal for collecting, transmitting and analyzing parameter data from process field devices that includes a network connection that connects to a process control system of the industrial process, a remote collector that collects parameter data from process field devices, a processor that identifies, sorts, and stores the collected parameter data and a communications module for transmitting the stored parameter data to a remote monitoring station for analysis.

Claims

1. A method of optimizing industrial production comprising:

providing an onsite production process parameter monitoring device to a client for monitoring parameters of a set of field devices associated with a client production process wherein the monitoring device is configured to transmit process data offsite for analysis, and the monitoring device comprises;

a remote collector configured to connect to and communicate with a field device within the set of field devices and to receive an application object from the field device, and

a communications module configured to transmit the application object offsite;

associating the monitoring device with a data output of each field device within the set of field devices, wherein each field device gathers process parameter data associated with an operation performed and provides the data to the monitoring device;

monitoring each field device through a plurality of performances of the process, while gathering process parameter data from each performance; and

transmitting data included in the application object offsite for analysis, wherein the application object comprises the process parameter data from each performance of the client production process and attributes used for monitoring the client production process.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising maintaining an on site central data collection device wherein all of the data associated with the process is collected for on site use and offsite use.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein associating the monitoring device with a data output of every individual field device includes:

defining a potential data output stream from each field device; and

establishing a data communications link between each field device and the associated monitoring device.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein defining a potential data output stream includes:

identifying relevant process parameters; and

ensuring that each relevant process parameter is being monitored.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein establishing a data communications link between each field device and the associated monitoring device includes linking the field devices to the associated monitoring device using any combination of wireless, infrared, RF, direct connect, POTS, Ethernet, LAN, WAN, internet, intranet, fiber optic, or optical communications.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein gathering parameter data from each performance of a field device includes:

creating a data historian for each parameter, for each field device and for each production process; and

storing the data in an on site central data collection device and in an offsite storage and analysis device.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the monitoring devices transmit the data offsite using any combination of wireless, infrared, RF, direct connect, Ethernet, LAN, WAN, interne, intranet, fiber optic, or optical communications.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein multiple onsite production process parameter monitoring devices are provided to the client.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein each of the multiple onsite production process parameter monitoring devices are associated with the data output of at least one field device.

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising maintaining an on site central data collection device, and wherein all of the data associated with the process is collected for on site use.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the field devices provide data to the monitoring device using any one or more of wireless, infrared, RF, direct connect, Ethernet, LAN, WAN, internet, intranet, fiber optic, or optical communications.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the attributes used for monitoring the client production process comprise one or more of a rate at which data is provided, a date of last update, a time of last update, an error string for a data probe error message, an indication that a data probe was executed during the specified period, a one-shot execution of a data probe to set attribute values, a signal to reinitialize a data probe, a description text string to describe the application object, an alarm description to be used in an alarm message, a log file to specify a path of a log file used by a data probe, and a version of the application object.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the data provided from each field device is split into individual process parameter data.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein the process parameter data comprises real-time and archived parameter data from a field device.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

analyzing the data included in the application object offsite using a process expert that develops optimal physical parameter ranges for each field device of each client production process; and

initiating an adjustment to a field device controller for each field device through instructions sent to an on site service portal and based on the analysis of the data performed by the offsite process expert.

16. The method of claim 15 further comprising transmitting the optimal physical parameters for each field device to the client.

17. The method of claim 16 further comprising making an adjustment, based on the analysis of the data performed by the expert, to a field device controller for each field device.

18. The method of claim 15 further comprising making an adjustment, based on the analysis of the data performed by the experts, to a field device controller for each field device.

19. The method of claim 15 wherein the adjustment is made while the process is running.

20. The method of claim 15 wherein the adjustment is made while the process is idle.

21. The method of claim 15 wherein the adjustment results in optimal productivity for the process.

22. The method of claim 15 wherein analyzing the data includes one or more of developing a statistical model for the data, developing simulation models of the process using the data, or performing a trend analysis of the data.