Factory automation transactions

• US 8,326,764 B1
• Filed: 09/30/2004
• Issued: 12/04/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies Incorporated (Allen-Bradley Co., Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies Incorporated (Allen-Bradley Co., Inc.)
• Inventors: Morse, Richard A., Marquardt, Randall A., Kalan, Michael D., Baier, John J., Farchmin, David W., Briant, Stephen C., Chand, Sujeet
• Primary Examiner(s): Hewitt, II, Calvin L
• Assistant Examiner(s): Qayyum, Zeshan
• Application Number:
  US10/955,547
• Time in Patent Office: 2,987 Days
• Field of Search: 705/64
• US Class Current: 705/64
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/4186 by protocol, e.g. MAP, TOP
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/31449 Monitor workflow, to optimize business, industrial processes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/254 Extract, transform and load [ETL] procedures, e.g. ETL data flows in data warehouses
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 19/211 Software architecture within ATMs or in relation to the ATM network
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/02 Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/80 Management or planning

Abstract

A system that facilitates direct communication of a transaction between an automation controller and a business system comprises a request analyzer that receives a request for data relating to the automation controller and locates a transaction definition within the automation controller based upon the request. A subscribing component subscribes the business system to the automation controller based at least in part upon the located transaction definition.

Claims

1. A system that facilitates direct communication of a transaction between an industrial automation controller and a business system, comprising:

a processor;

a memory communicatively coupled to the processor, the memory having stored therein computer-executable instructions that when executed by the processor cause the processor to perform the following steps of;

storing a plurality of transaction definitions in the industrial automation controller, wherein each transaction definition specifying a common set of semantics between the business system and the industrial automation controller for a transaction associated with the transaction definition;

receiving a request for a transaction relating to the industrial automation controller, wherein the requested transaction generates multiple occurrences of at least one of writing data to or extracting data from the industrial automation controller and the business system prior to completion of the requested transaction;

locating a transaction definition within the industrial automation controller associated with the requested transaction;

subscribing the business system to the automation controller based at least in part upon the located transaction definition, wherein subscribing includes generating a direct transactional communication channel between the business system and the automation controller by employing the common set of semantics specified by the transaction definition;

initiating the requested transaction by using the communication channel;

determining that the requested transaction has not been completed based upon a failure of at least one of the multiple occurrences of the at least one of writing data or extracting data; and

in response to determining that the transaction has not been completed, rolling back to a state prior to the requested transaction initiating in both the industrial automation controller and the business system.

2. The system of claim 1, the requested transaction is within a maintenance class of data.

3. The system of claim 2, the requested transaction is an alarm.

4. The system of claim 3, the requested transaction initiated between the industrial automation controller and the business system upon the industrial automation controller receiving the alarm.

5. The system of claim 1, the requested transaction is within a production schedule class of data.

6. The system of claim 1, the requested transaction initiated between the industrial automation controller and the business system upon passage of a predefined amount of time.

7. The system of claim 1, the requested transaction is within a batch record class of data.

8. The system of claim 7, the data includes an electronic batch recipe report.

9. The system of claim 8, the data includes sensed data relating to a product created via a recipe.

10. The system of claim 1, the requested transaction originates from a user.

11. The system of claim 1, the requested transaction originates automatically from software.

12. The system of claim 1, the industrial automation controller communicates with a disparate industrial automation controller.

13. The system of claim 1, the business system communicates with a disparate business system.

14. The system of claim 1, the business system is an Enterprise Resource Planning system.

15. The system of claim 1, the industrial automation controller is a programmable logic controller.

16. The system of claim 1, automatically loading the industrial automation controller with the plurality of transaction definitions upon being connected to an industrial automation system.

17. The system of claim 1, further comprising an event or condition leading to an acknowledge of the previously initiated transaction.

18. The system of claim 1, the plurality of transaction definitions modifiable via a graphical user interface.

19. A method for direct communication of a transaction between an industrial automation controller and a business system, comprising:

storing, by a device including a processor, a plurality of transaction definitions in the industrial automation controller, wherein each transaction definition specifying a common set of semantics between the business system and the industrial automation controller for a transaction associated with the transaction definition;

receiving, by the device, a request for a transaction relating to the industrial automation controller, wherein the requested transaction generates multiple occurrences of at least one of writing data to or extracting data from the industrial automation controller and the business system prior to completion of the requested transaction;

locating, by the device, a transaction definition within the industrial automation controller associated with the requested transaction;

subscribing, by the device, the business system to the automation controller based at least in part upon the located transaction definition, wherein subscribing includes generating a direct transactional communication channel between the business system and the automation controller by employing the common set of semantics specified by the transaction definition;

initiating, by the device, the requested transaction using the communication channel;

determining, by the device, that the requested transaction has not been completed based upon a failure of at least one of the multiple occurrences of the at least one of writing data or extracting data; and

in response to determining that the transaction has not been completed, rolling back, by the device, to a state prior to the requested transaction initiating in both the industrial automation controller and the business system.

20. The method of claim 19, the requested transaction is within a maintenance class of data.

21. The method of claim 19, the requested transaction is an alarm.

22. The method of claim 19, the requested transaction initiated between the industrial automation controller and the business system upon the industrial automation controller receiving the alarm.

23. The method of claim 19, the requested transaction is within a production schedule class of data.

24. The method of claim 19, the requested transaction initiated between the industrial automation controller and the business system upon passage of a predefined amount of time.

25. The method of claim 19, the business system is an Enterprise Resource Planning system.

26. The method of claim 19, further comprising automatically loading the industrial automation controller with the plurality of transaction definitions upon being connected to an industrial automation system.

27. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored thereon computer executable instructions that when executed by a processor cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

storing a plurality of transaction definitions in the industrial automation controller, wherein each transaction definition specifying a common set of semantics between the business system and the industrial automation controller for a transaction associated with the transaction definition;

receiving a request for a transaction relating to the industrial automation controller, wherein the requested transaction generates multiple occurrences of at least one of writing data to or extracting data from the industrial automation controller and the business system prior to completion of the requested transaction;

locating a transaction definition within the industrial automation controller associated with the requested transaction;

subscribing the business system to the automation controller based at least in part upon the located transaction definition, wherein subscribing includes generating a direct transactional communication channel between the business system and the automation controller by employing the common set of semantics specified by the transaction definition;

initiating the requested transaction using the communication channel;

determining that the requested transaction has not been completed based upon a failure of at least one of the multiple occurrences of the at least one of writing data or extracting data; and

in response to determining that the transaction has not been completed, rolling back to a state prior to the requested transaction initiating in both the industrial automation controller and the business system.

28. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 27, wherein the operations further comprise automatically loading the industrial automation controller with the plurality of transaction definitions upon being connected to an industrial automation system.