Field device with means for performing diagnostic methods

• US 8,683,366 B2
• Filed: 06/04/2008
• Issued: 03/25/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/11/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Endress+Hauser Wetzer GmbH+Co. KG
• Original Assignee: Endress + Hauser GmbH + Company KG (Endress+Hauser AG)
• Inventors: Hammer, Manfred, Spanke, Dietmar, Schroth, Herbert
• Primary Examiner(s): SHIAU, SHEN C
• Application Number:
  US12/663,839
• Publication Number:
  US 20100169816A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,120 Days
• Field of Search: 715/710, 715/740, 715/771, 715/831, 715/965, 700/108, 700/143, 700/183, 702/183
• US Class Current: 715/771
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/0428 Safety, monitoring G05B19/0423 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/24038 Several test signals stored in memory and used as input signals
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/24054 Self diagnostic
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/24063 Select signals as function of priority, importance for diagnostic
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/25428 Field device

Abstract

A field device is able to diagnose a broad spectrum of possible faults and/or states, and includes: structure for performing user defined, diagnostic methods; which has an input circuit, via which at least one input variable is fed to the structure; which has an evaluation unit, which serves for deriving, on the basis of at least one input variable selected by the user and at least one evaluating method selected by the user, at least one characterizing variable; which has a monitoring unit, which monitors the derived characterizing variables on the basis of monitoring criteria selected by the user; and which has an output unit, which, upon the meeting of a monitoring criterion, outputs a diagnosis associated with such monitoring criterion; and an interface, via which a user selects the input variables for each user defined diagnostic method, selects the evaluating methods to apply to the input variables, selects the monitoring criteria, and specifies the diagnosis.

Claims

1. A field device, comprising:

means for performing user-defined application-specific diagnostic methods, which said means are a component of a signal processing unit in the field device, an independent unit or a number of decentralized subunits, that are arranged at functionally relevant locations in the field device and connected with one another;

an input circuit, via which said means is fed at least one input variable;

an evaluation unit, which serves for deriving, on the basis of at least one input variable selected by the user and at least one evaluating method selected by the user, at least one characterizing variable, said at least one evaluating method is implemented in the form of a software module in the field device or executed by circuits specially provided for such, which are correspondingly activated by an input variable of the use;

a monitoring unit, which monitors derived characterizing variables on the basis of monitoring criteria selected by the user;

an output unit, which, upon the meeting of a monitoring criteria outputs a diagnosis associated with such monitoring criteria; and

an interface, via which a user, for each user defined application-specific diagnostic method, selects input variables, selects evaluating methods to apply to the input variables, selects monitoring criteria, and specifies the diagnosis for the output via the output unit.

2. The field device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

at least one memory, in which available input variables, available evaluating methods, and available monitoring criteria are stored, wherein;

said interface is connected with a display, which serves for reporting to the user the available input variables, the available evaluating methods, and the available monitoring criteria; and

said interface is connected with an input means, via which the user specifies, for each user defined diagnostic method, associated input variables, evaluating methods, monitoring methods, and diagnoses.

3. The field device as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

the evaluating methods comprise static evaluations.

4. The field device as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

the monitoring criteria comprise comparisons and/or logic operations.

5. The field device as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

an internal clock is associated with said evaluation unit.

6. The field device as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

said interface is connected with a user interface having a display and an input means and the user interface is arranged directly on the field device.

7. The field device as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

the diagnosis comprises a report, which is predetermined by the user as regards content, is stored in said at least one memory in the field device, and identifies a fault or state to be diagnosed.

8. The field device as claimed in claim 7, wherein:

the diagnosis comprises a cause and/or a corrective measure, which are/is predetermined by the user as regards content, and are/is stored in said at least one memory in the field device, and are/is output together with the associated report.

9. A method for implementing a user defined, application-specific diagnostic method in a field device comprising the steps of:

the user selects from available input variables the input variables relevant for the diagnostic method and stores such in a field device;

the user selects from available evaluating methods the evaluating methods relevant far the diagnostic method and specifies, to which of the selected input variables they should be applied;

the evaluating methods are implemented in the form of software modules in the field device or executed by circuits specially provided for such, which are correspondingly activated by input variable of the user,

the user selects from available monitoring criteria the monitoring criteria relevant for the diagnostic method and specifies the characterizing variable, to which they should be applied; and

the user specifies for each monitoring criterion an associated diagnosis, which is output by a diagnostic output upon the meeting of such monitoring criterion.