Use of a really simple syndication communication format in a process control system

• US 8,055,727 B2
• Filed: 09/22/2005
• Issued: 11/08/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/22/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fisher-Rosemount Systems Incorporated (Emerson Electric Company)
• Original Assignee: Fisher-Rosemount Systems Incorporated (Emerson Electric Company)
• Inventors: Cahill, James S., Schleiss, Trevor D., Law, Gary K.
• Primary Examiner(s): Moore; Ian N
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen; Thai
• Application Number:
  US11/233,082
• Publication Number:
  US 20070067725A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,238 Days
• Field of Search: 715/733, 709217-219
• US Class Current: 709/218
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/31181 Controller and device have several formats and protocols, select common one
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/35582 Control format in browser, use of xtml and xslt
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 23/027 Alarm generation, e.g. communication protocol; Forms of alarm

Abstract

A process control system within a process plant and, in particular, different devices and applications within the process control system such as field devices, controllers, user interfaces, alarm applications, diagnostics applications, etc. create, store and make data generated therein available using a really simple syndication (RSS) XML communication format, thereby making this data easily retrievable from the plant and useable for various purposes both within and outside of the plant. The RSS data communications may provide RSS data for use in control of the plant or for use in other applications not directly associated with the control of the plant, including third party applications run on devices outside of the plant, such as personal data assistants, pagers, phones, laptop computers, etc. The RSS data sent from one device to another may include enclosures, such as video, audio or text files, or may include references such as hyperlinks to other sources of information stored on the receiving device or on a further device that may be accessed and used to understand or process the RSS data.

Claims

1. A process plant, comprising:

(1) a computing device including an operator interface;

(2) a multiplicity of process control devices, each configured to communicate with other process control devices using a protocol that is not a web content syndication format, and the multiplicity of process control devices includes at least one of;

(a) a process controller that is;

1) communicatively coupled to the computing device,

2) configured to store and execute a control module configured to receive a sensor signal from a first field device and generate at least one corresponding control signal to at least one of the first or a second field device for controlling equipment in the process plant based on the sensor signal, the control module including at least one function block used in implementing a process control loop in the process plant, and

3) directly connected to each of the first field device and the second field device via a corresponding input/output device or card;

(b) at least one of the first, the second, or a third field device configured to perform a physical action in the process plant to affect a process variable or to sense the process variable;

or

(c) the corresponding input/output device or card;

(3) a plurality of web content syndication data conversion units, each of the web content syndication data conversion units coupled to a different process control device of the multiplicity of process control devices and configured to convert process control data generated by the different process control device into the web content syndication format; and

(4) one or more communication networks that connect the multiplicity of process control devices and the computing device,

(5) and wherein the each of the multiplicity of process control devices communicates the process control data to a corresponding different web content syndication data conversion unit, and the corresponding different web content syndication data conversion unit converts the process control data generated by the each of the multiplicity of process control devices into the web syndication format and communicates the converted process control data over the one or more communication networks directly to another one of the multiplicity of process control devices,

wherein the multiplicity of process control devices includes the process controller.

2. The process plant of claim 1, wherein the multiplicity of process control devices further includes the first, the second, or another field device.

3. The process plant of claim 1, wherein the another one of the multiplicity of process control devices is at least one field device communicatively coupled to the process controller.

4. The process plant of claim 1, wherein the another one of the multiplicity of process control devices is a user interface device communicatively coupled to one or more process controllers.

5. The process plant of claim 1, wherein the multiplicity of process control devices includes an OLE for Process Control (OPC) communication device.

6. The process plant of claim 1, wherein the web content syndication format is the really simple syndication (RSS) communication format and the each web content syndication data conversion unit is a RSS data conversion unit.

7. The process plant of claim 6, wherein the RSS data conversion unit includes a memory for storing RSS data.

8. The process plant of claim 6, wherein the RSS data conversion unit includes a subscriber list for RSS data and a communication unit that communicates the RSS data to subscribers based on the subscriber list.

9. The process plant of claim 6, wherein the RSS data conversion unit includes an event list associated with RSS data and a communication unit that communicates the RSS data to another device based on the occurrence of an event within the events list.

10. The process plant of claim 6, wherein the RSS data conversion unit includes a media memory storage that stores rich media files for use within RSS data.

11. The process plant of claim 10, wherein the media memory storage stores one or more of a video file, an audio file and a color or black and white image file.

12. The process plant of claim 10, wherein the media memory storage stores one or more applications that may be executed to process the RSS data.

13. The process plant of claim 10, wherein the media memory storage stores specific data associated with a particular process control device or an application that created the RSS data.

14. The process plant of claim 13, wherein the specific data includes one of global positioning system data and mapping data.

15. The process plant of claim 10, wherein the media memory storage stores a reference to a source of a media file or an application for use with the RSS data.

16. The process plant of claim 6, wherein the another one of the multiplicity of process control devices is a host device that receives RSS data from one of the multiplicity of process control devices, wherein the host device includes an RSS data storage unit for storing RSS data and a user interface for interfacing with a user with respect to the received RSS data.

17. The process plant of claim 16, wherein the host device further includes a storage unit that stores one or more data files or applications associated with the received RSS data and that may be used in conjunction with the user interface to interface with a user with respect to the received RSS data.

18. The process plant of claim 17, wherein the one or more data files or applications includes one of an audio file, a video file, a voice over IP data stream, and an image file.

19. The process plant of claim 17, wherein the one of the multiplicity of process control devices is adapted to send a reference to one of the one or more of the data files or applications stored within the host device as part of the received RSS data.

20. The process control device of claim 1, wherein:

the process controller is a first process controller and the corresponding input/output device or card is a first input/output device or card, and

the other process control devices in the process plant include at least one of;

a second process controller;

at least one of the first, the second or a third field device;

or at least one of the first input/output device or card or a second input/output device or card.